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Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Parallel Edition

Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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The Anatomy of MelancholyContextual Lexicon

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English Introduction · Branch 1130 of 1495

Contextual Lexicon

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Contextual Lexicon

p. 1130

In this edition. “ex traduce” → “propagated from the parent” (DJR-026-03). The English phrase states the theory directly; the accompanying candle comparison preserves Burton’s explanatory image. His opening attribution to some authorities remains essential.

See also. Soul; Maternal impressions.

Excrements

Source forms: excrements

The word. Excrements can mean waste or residual matter generally, including bodily discharges and secretions. Its scope in these passages is wider than faeces.

In Burton. Excessive sleep is said to accumulate excrements in the brain and other parts, within the historical account of humours and spirits. The contrasting description of a dry brain mentions few excrements in the eyes and nostrils. The bodily locations make the broader sense clear.

The places. Too much sleep is said to accumulate residual matter. (p. 90; DJR-038-24.) Dryness is associated with few discharges from eyes and nostrils. (p. 198; DJR-062-05.)

In this edition. “great store of excrements” → “a great accumulation of waste matter” (DJR-038-24); “Few excrements in their eyes and nostrils” → “few discharges from the eyes and nostrils” (DJR-062-05). Waste matter gives the general category; discharges specifies the visible secretions. Both follow the immediate bodily context.

See also. Concoction; Strangury; Meat; Defecate.

Exercise

Source forms: exercise; Exercise

The word. Exercise can be activity of the body or mind, but it can also name a particular academic performance or assignment. The object and setting determine its scope.

In Burton. The scholar fears being out in his next exercise: faltering in an academic task. The medical headings, meanwhile, distinguish excessive exercise as a cause from exercise of body and mind properly regulated. Together they show that the book concerns both intellectual performance and the management of activity.

The places. The scholar fears failure in an academic exercise. (p. 195; DJR-061-07.) Excessive exercise is introduced among causes. (p. 84; DJR-037-15.) Exercise of body and mind is to be regulated. (p. 265; DJR-078-01.)

In this edition. “his next exercise” → “his next academic exercise” (DJR-061-07); “Immoderate exercise” → “Excessive exercise” (DJR-037-15); “Exercise rectified of Body and minde” → “Exercise of body and mind regulated” (DJR-078-01). Academic supplies the institutional context of the scholar’s task. Regulated gives rectified its sense of bringing activity into an appropriate order.

See also. Non naturals.

Exhibition

Source forms: exhibition; Lecture

The word. An exhibition is financial maintenance, support or a stipend. A lecture in this institutional setting can be an endowed teaching post, rather than one spoken lesson.

In Burton. Burton imagines an appeal for support to maintain or enlarge a college, teaching foundation or library. His criticism falls on patrons who resent the revenues devoted to learning and would rather see existing institutions ruined or diverted to other uses.

The places. An appeal for an exhibition seeks support for learning. (p. 281–282; DJR-081-20.)

In this edition. “an exhibition” → “financial support” (DJR-081-20); “College, Lecture, Library” → “college, lectureship, library” (DJR-081-20). Financial support removes the modern association with a public display. Lectureship identifies the continuing educational provision among the institutions named.

See also. Art.

Experimental

Source forms: try conclusions; conclusions; experimentall

The word. Experimental can mean learned or tested through experience. To try conclusions is to make experiments or practical trials; conclusions here are things attempted, not merely propositions reached by reasoning.

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About This Reading Edition

Robert Burton’s Anatomy ranges across medicine, philosophy, poetry, religion, and everyday life in its inquiry into melancholy. This complete parallel edition pairs the 1651 English text with a close modern English rendering, preserving the three Partitions, Democritus Junior’s address to the reader, verse, and the historical index.

Historical Text and Translation

The historical text follows the sixth edition, printed at Oxford for Henry Cripps in 1651, using the McGill University Library copy. The supplied edition documents missing printed pages 98–99 supplied from another 1651 copy at the Bavarian State Library. Historical folio labels and their irregularities remain visible; web reader numbers identify reflowed passages and do not claim to reproduce PDF pagination.

About Diotimos Editions

Diotimos Editions prepared the close modern English rendering and editorial matter. All 8,755 original and modern passage pairs remain aligned, with verse breaks, italics, continuations, and linked annotations preserved. Burton’s 6,781 historical notes retain their attribution; 6,895 editorial notes remain distinct. The introduction, Note on the Text, contextual lexicon, indexes, source documentation, and bibliography are included. The engraved frontispiece remains available in the original downloads.

Rights

Burton’s historical text is in the public domain. The modern English rendering, introduction, notes, and editorial matter are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and appear with the site owner’s permission. The complete supplied PDF, EPUB, Word, and Markdown files remain available unchanged. The PDF and Word edition preserve the original parallel page layout.