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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 1220 of 1495

Source Record

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1220

Closing words: And whosoever he is that shall observe these short instructions, without all question he shall much ease and benefit himself.

Passages DJR-098-01 to DJR-098-45

Source page labels: 358–363 (sequence 366–371). Scan pages: 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 471.

Scan 466; printed 358; sequence 366; image block97-source-466.png. Begin In fine, if Princes would do justice directly after097 end. Include remaining body from this paragraph; all11 margins already included097, none repeated. Continue enemies on467. Catchword excluded.

Scan 467; printed 359; sequence 367; image block97-source-467.png. Complete body, finishing social-duty catalogue, then handling quarrels and starting biblical moral counsels. Both margins included: Plautus Miles gloriosus and Bion anecdote. Preserve bridle up himself. Final apply your selves to the times continues468.

Scan 468; printed 360; sequence 368; image block98-source-468.png. Complete body and all34 marginal containers, including15 left-margin and19 bottom-margin containers. Preserve dense maxim series, contradictory faction counsels, original Horace references and inscrutaberis, pace, tardo and Crete. Unresolved basil proverb translated literally. Final Memb8 catchword excluded; heading retained on469.

Scan 469; printed 361; sequence 369; image block98-source-469.png. Complete body and all5 margins: Seneca burden, Livy, Terence, Plautus and Petronius Catul. Retain source heading and two displayed Latin units, with fresh translations and Burton separate English gloss. Preserve sinit and Catul.; record comparison differences. Final down-right remedy phrase continues470.

Scan 470; printed 362; sequence 370; image block98-source-470.png. Complete body and all8 marginal containers: Parmeno Celestina, Busbecq/Sandys, Menippean satire, Boece, Ortelius, Capella, Blefken, Lemnius. Unanchored Menippean note attached editorially and disclosed. Retain three source heading units across469–470. Medicine discussion begins; retain120 and250 year claims as attributed reports, not verified. Last sentence ends on471.

Scan 471; printed 363; sequence 371; image block98-source-471.png. Opening continuation only, use of Apothecaries Physick. All remaining body and all margins excluded.099 begins next sentence Many are overthrown by preposterous use of it.

Opening words: In fine, if Princes would do justice

Closing words: use of Apothecaries Physick.

Passages DJR-099-01 to DJR-099-44

Source page labels: 363–367 (sequence 371–375). Scan pages: 471, 472, 473, 474, 475.

Scan 471; printed 363; sequence 371; image block98-source-471.png. Begin Many are overthrown by preposterous use of it immediately after098 ending. All remaining body and all eight marginal containers included. Extra Dutch-proverb asterisk retained in body, with no invented marginal text. Ends one saith this another that continuing472. Running head, signature and catchword excluded.

Scan 472; printed 364; sequence 372; image block99-source-472.png. Complete body and all five marginal containers included. Four-line epigram and Ovid gout line preserved as distinct displayed verse. Preserve pro frigidis humida and explain unusual opposition. Herodotus Egyptian/Babylonian conflation retained and annotated. Final they continues473.

Scan 473; printed 365; sequence 373; image block99-source-473.png. Complete body and all nine marginal containers included. Preserve Eccles.58.1, explaining Sirach38. Transition from attack to praise of medicine retained; every Latin quotation translated separately from any English gloss. Unresolved Arnoldus, Bart. and other references recorded.

Scan 474; printed 366; sequence 374; image block99-source-474.png. Complete body and all nine marginal containers included: c,d,e,f,g,h,unmarked Sincerus,dagger,k. Single subsection heading and Greek plus English verse preserved. Greek ligatures and accents normalized; printed lexical reading ἠδ᾽ retained against comparison αἳ δ᾽. Preserve henbane versus marginal cicuta and safety versus benefit in Fuchs gloss. Disclose g mismatch, missing h anchor and editorial Sincerus attachment. Continue final sentence on475.

Scan 475; printed 367; sequence 375; image block99-source-475.png. Opening body through which he must of necessity use, completing Subsection2. Include first three margins only: asterisk Pliny, dagger Melchior Adam, and m Fuchs. Subsection3 heading and all following body excluded. Remaining five margins n,o,p,q,r deferred100.

1220

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.