The Anatomy of Melancholy

In this edition. “Strangury” → “strangury” (DJR-099-17). The historical name is retained and explained in the note. The edition does not turn the period’s assertion of incurability into a current medical conclusion.

See also. Issue; Excrements.

Stupid

Source forms: stupified; stupid; stupidity

The word. Stupid, stupified and stupidity can describe being stunned, numbed or mentally insensible. They need not make a judgment about a person’s intelligence.

In Burton. Niobe’s grief and the women’s response to military disaster produce stupefaction. In the comic scene before the magistrate, stupidity names the company’s bewildered insensibility. The symptom passage uses stupid for an episodic state in which distressed people will not speak or answer.

The places. Stupified names the numbing force of Niobe’s grief. (p. 32; DJR-009-30.) Stupid describes women stunned by the disaster at Cannae. (p. 164; DJR-054-44.) Stupidity names the company’s stupefaction before the magistrate. (p. 171; DJR-056-30.) Stupid describes a temporary or recurrent state of insensibility. (p. 203; DJR-063-05.)

In this edition. “quite stupified” → “utterly numb” (DJR-009-30); “stupid women” → “stupefied women” (DJR-054-44); “their stupidity” → “their stupefaction” (DJR-056-30); “stupid for the time” → “insensible for the time” (DJR-063-05). The equivalents preserve states of shock or impaired responsiveness rather than substituting the modern insult. Their different causes and narrative uses remain visible.

See also. Silly; Crased.

Suit

Source forms: suiters; sute

The word. A suit can be a legal action or a petition for favour or office. Suiters in the legal catalogue are litigants, not people seeking marriage.

In Burton. Burton’s attack on litigation condemns the expense, bitterness and delay of pursuing cases. The account of ambition instead describes the exhausting performance of deference required when seeking a favour or position. Both involve pursuit, but the institutions and objects differ.

The places. Suiters are parties pursuing legal cases. (p. 51; DJR-013-41.) A sute is a petition pursued through attendance and ingratiation. (p. 113; DJR-043-23.)

In this edition. “ordinary suiters” → “ordinary litigants” (DJR-013-41); “about a sute” → “pursuing a petition” (DJR-043-23). Litigants and petition distinguish the contexts. The modern text retains Burton’s divided attribution of blame in the legal complaint.

See also. Dowry and jointure.

Supererogation

Source forms: supererogate

The word. To supererogate is to perform good works beyond what duty requires. Supererogation supplies the noun for that claimed surplus of merit.

In Burton. Burton sarcastically applies the term to monks whom he accuses of political intrigue and violence. His alleged peacemakers become incendiaries, and the phrase about earning heaven sharpens the contrast between their profession and the conduct charged against them.

The places. Supererogate appears in the sarcastic conclusion of an attack on monks. (p. 29; DJR-009-14.)

In this edition. “to supererogate” → “to perform works beyond duty” (DJR-009-14). The explanatory phrase retains the technical meaning so that the irony remains intelligible. The surrounding charges and account of merit are Burton’s polemical presentation.

See also. Mortification.

Synderesis

Source forms: synteresis; dictamen rationis

The word. Synderesis is the innate grasp of moral principles. Dictamen rationis is the dictate of reason. Burton lists both alongside conscience as innate kinds of understanding.