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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 MelancholySource Record

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English Introduction · Branch 1219 of 1495

Source Record

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The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1219

Scan 460; printed 352; sequence 360; image block96-source-460.png. Complete body and ten marginal containers: oStellaFomahant, daggerLibDeLibPropriis, asteriskHor, daggerQuiInduit, asteriskSalvian4, pPlutarchLysandro, qOvidMet, rMagistratusVirum, sIdeoBoniViri, uAelian. Complete twelfth applicant and fictional award; preserve Muse verse. Continue unsuitable office, pride, Socrates and quarrels. Last body or if patience had taken completes on461. Catchword excluded.

Scan 461; printed 353; sequence 361; image block96-source-461.png. Complete body and thirteen marginal containers: xInjuriarum, yMat18.22/5.39 combined, zRom12.17, daggerSiToleras, daggerDispeream both replies, asteriskCamerarius, aHeliodorus, daggerTerAdelph, asteriskOvid, bCamden, cUsqueAdPectus complete anecdote, daggerChrysostome, dRom12.14. Include both branch verses and both magnanimity verses. Preserve Euclid role reversal and Colonna motto/gloss contradiction with notes. Terence note retains its dagger placement at the lion passage. Final quo quisque stultior continues462. Catchword excluded.

Scan 462; printed 354; sequence 362; image block96-source-462.png. Include body through But stab’d or maim’d to hell they hie, with Plautus, Horace and Juvenal verse and Burton English gloss. All thirteen margins belong096: ePro, fContendNot, asteriskOccidere, daggerNonFacile, daggerArcana, unmatched fPsal45, gRom12, asteriskPsa13.12, daggerNullusTam, daggerArcturus, asteriskHor3.2, daggerWisd11.6, asteriskJuvenal. Preserve numerical discrepancies, deseruit and & sanguine with notes. Correct the CharlesII beheading claim only in an editorial note. The remaining paragraph beginning Oftentimes too a base contemptible fellow starts097; it and the catchword are excluded here.

Opening words: MEMB. 7.

Closing words: But stab’d or maim’d to hell they hie.

Passages DJR-097-01 to DJR-097-56

Source page labels: 354–358 (sequence 362–366). Scan pages: 462, 463, 464, 465, 466.

Scan 462; printed 354; sequence 362; image block96-source-462.png. Begin Oftentimes too a base contemptible fellow immediately after096 closing English couplet. Include only the remaining body through Haman, completed on463. All462 margins already included096; none repeated. Catchword excluded.

Scan 463; printed 355; sequence 363; image block96-source-463.png. Complete body, beginning Haman continuation from462 and ending sufficient to, continued on464. Include all15 marginal containers: iLeo, daggerChrysostom, kValerius, daggerEpQfrat, daggerCamerarius, asteriskPape, daggerQuodTibi, l1Pet2, kSiquidem, daggerAlciato, daggerNaturam, lByManyIndignities, unmarkedEpictetus, daggerPlutarch, asteriskLib18. Preserve put it it up, Dionysius, Bracidas and Cato Censorius. Notes explain Dion and Cato conflations. The last two unanchored moral notes are placed editorially and flagged.

Scan 464; printed 356; sequence 364; image block97-source-464.png. Complete body and all5 margins: mHocScio, daggerPlinyLib8Cap2, nChrysostom, oCiceroDolabella, daggerBoethius4.3. Include two reward-and-punishment couplets; preserve the awkward first Latin line and Burton separate gloss. Keep notoriour and deprendi. Final i’th aire continues465. Catchword excluded.

Scan 465; printed 357; sequence 365; image block97-source-465.png. Complete body and one unmarked Terence Phormio margin. Preserve both Latin and English bird-trapping couplets and the separate Quocunque verse fragment. Includes fleeting news, guilt and unequal punishment, repentance, recovered credit and exile. Final trouble not thy selfe continues466. Catchword excluded.

Scan 466; printed 358; sequence 366; image block97-source-466.png. Include body through he shall much ease and benefit himself, ending before In fine, if Princes would do justice. All11 margins included: daggerCamerarius61, pLipsius, asteriskCatullus, oCiceroDolabella repeated, oKevenbeder, asteriskGonzaga, qPresSat1, asteriskSeneca31, daggerCiceroFin2, rConscientiaBoethius, sPuteanus. Preserve repeated Cicero container and flag ambiguous attachment. Preserve animal-emblem marker mismatch and Kevenbeder reading. Preserve salvare and proba bonitas, with tentative gloss and Boethius comparison. All verse and separate English glosses included. Remaining466 body and all467 body/margins excluded.

Opening words: Oftentimes too a base contemptible fellow is the instrument of Gods justice

1219

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.