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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 1230 of 1495

Source Record

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1230

Scan 567; printed 459; sequence 467; image block118-source-567.png. Complete body and thirteen marginal units,dagger,asterisk,dagger,z,asterisk,dagger,a,b,c,dagger,d,dagger,asterisk. Perno enlarged and retained. Priamus,labore and Sterpsichores preserved and annotated. Final Provinces carried from568; omit catchword and signature.

Scan 568; printed 460; sequence 468; image block118-source-568.png. Complete body and all twelve margins,asterisk,e,f,dagger,g,dagger,h,k,dagger,asterisk,l,m. Preserve Curtius l.1,Ast eares word-division issue,Apuleius and Ovid book mismatches,body Antiochus and margin Antiloquus. The final presence spans568–569; omit catchword.

Scan 569; printed 461; sequence 469; image block118-source-569.png. Body through I could hold out no longer. Include eight margins,n,dagger,o,p,q,r,dagger,asterisk. Greek enlarged and retained; Spenser lineation and separate Latin/English expressions preserved. Reserve Such another mishap and the remainder of569,including final dagger Amaranto dial,for119.

Opening words: Inanimate creatures I suppose, have a touch of this, when a drop of Psyches Candle fell on Cupids shoulder, I think sure it was to kiss it.

Closing words: I could hold out no longer.

Passages DJR-119-01 to DJR-119-74

Source page labels: 461–467 (sequence 469–475). Scan pages: 569, 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575.

Scan 569; printed 461; sequence 469; image block119-source-569.png. Begin Such another mishap after118 ends I could hold out no longer. Include remaining body and dagger Amaranto dial note. Enlarged opening reads muco plenus. Omit catchword look, which is read from570.

Scan 570; printed 462; sequence 470; image block119-source-570.png. Complete body and five margins:dagger,s,t,u,x. Preserve the altered Seneca dedit quotation, source Chaucer wording and separate Plautus/English couplet. Omit catchword Urit.

Scan 571; printed 463; sequence 471; image block119-source-571.png. Complete body and nine margins:y,dagger,z,asterisk,dagger,dagger,asterisk,a,dagger. Body pointer for the Petronius note differs from margin z. Cava thyma and illa rosas spirat retained; all Latin translated. Omit catchword picture and signature.

Scan 572; printed 464; sequence 472; image block119-source-572.png. Complete body and eleven margins:b,c,asterisk,dagger,asterisk,dagger,d,asterisk,e,dagger,f, including bottom notes. Enlarged the apparent flatorem; statorem retained as alternative in apparatus pending another-copy collation. Preserve blank in Priapus marginal quotation. Read final other from573 rather than catchword.

Scan 573; printed 465; sequence 473; image block119-source-573.png. Complete body and ten margins:dagger,asterisk,g,h,dagger,i,k,n,p,q. Extra l-like marker before Castilio has no matching marginal text; editorial note records this. Enlarged Lernutius,flammeolis heræ,faceteely. Preserve Sulpitio and printed source references. Musaeus Latin continues574; omit catchword Oculus.

Scan 574; printed 466; sequence 474; image block119-source-574.png. Complete body and all ten margins:r,s,t,dagger,dagger,u,dagger,asterisk,x,y. Preserve printed flamma in margin though body has water. The purported Ovid verse is identified in Editor note as Horace Ars poetica37. Preserve Son of beauty; interpret sun in modern text. Omit catchword dull,read from575.

Scan 575; printed 467; sequence 475; image block119-source-575.png. Only opening continuation through yet without question they are most amorous, and marginal z Sands relation fol67. Next paragraph Now last of all and all remaining margins reserved for120.

Opening words: Such another mishap, but worse, had Stratocles the Physitian, that blear-eyed old man

Closing words: yet without question they are most amorous.

Passages DJR-120-01 to DJR-120-63

Source page labels: 467–473 (sequence 475–481). Scan pages: 575, 576, 577, 578, 579, 580, 581.

Scan 575; printed 467; sequence 475; image block120-source-575.png. Begin Now last of all immediately after119, which included only the top paragraph and z Sandys margin. Include remaining body and nine margins a,b,c,d,e,f,g,dagger,h. Enlarged mirror clause directly checked; continuation read from576 rather than catchword.

1230

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.