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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 1242 of 1495

Source Record

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1242

Scan 684; printed unnumbered verso after575; sequence 584; image block140-source-684.png. Complete unnumbered verso and five margins. Rejected lovers, Daphne, choosy women, Strozzi’s Ariadne, T.H., Virgil’s changed gender, torments and spoils, Atalanta and Narcissus. Preserve petiere/dira/petiere readings against Ovid. English Narcissus rendering continues on 685.

Scan 685; printed 576; sequence 585; image block140-source-685.png. Complete body and three margins. Printed page 576. English Narcissus rendering, Echo, Psyche and Fracastoro, Gargiliana, Plutarch’s mare, Ausonius, the circle of love, Nisa/Mopsus and opportunities. Closing proverb begins on 686.

Scan 686; printed unnumbered verso after576; sequence 586; image block140-source-686.png. Complete unnumbered verso and four margins. Proverb, multiple suitors, Turnus and Phyllis, fox and grapes, parents and wealth, Chrysostom and Terence. End-page Non catchword omitted; actual Non possum begins next page.

Scan 687; printed 577; sequence 587; image block140-source-687.png. Include the continuation Non possum pater through the Marlowe couplet ending For will in us is over-rul’d by fate. Include first seven margins: Livy, Apuleius, Genesis26, Bonaventure, Plato, Philostratus, Juvenal. Stop before A servant maid in Aristænetus; its Lib.2.ep.7 and Ejulans notes and all later margins belong to141.

Opening words: SUBSECT. 5. The last and best cure of Love Melancholy, is, to let them have their desire.

Closing words: For will in us is over-rul’d by fate.

Passages DJR-141-01 to DJR-141-53

Source page labels: 577–580 with two unnumbered pages (sequence 587–592). Scan pages: 687, 688, 689, 690, 691, 692.

Scan 687; printed 577; sequence 587; image block140-source-687.png. Begin A servant maid in Aristænetus. Four remaining marginal entries belong to141: Aristaenetus2.7, Ejulans, Bodin and Melanchthon. First seven margins and prior body belong to140. Final family-history sentence continues on688; omit catchword as.

Scan 688; printed unnumbered page after577; sequence 588; image block141-source-688.png. Complete unnumbered page and ten margins. Free love, parental responsibilities, medical and legal arguments for timely marriage, Ambrose, Lucretia, Lysistrata and first Latin rose couplet. The English version begins689; omit catchword She.

Scan 689; printed second unnumbered page after577; sequence 589; image block141-source-689.png. Complete unnumbered page and seven marginal entries including unnumbered Idem. Rose poems, Catullus and Jonson, parental responsibility, Plautus, dowries, Eubulides, Acontius and Cydippe. Proverb begins690; omit catchword Blessed.

Scan 690; printed 578; sequence 590; image block141-source-690.png. Complete printed578 and five margins: Virgil, Fabius Pictor, Lipsius/Mayer, Mayer/Aelian and Pausanias. Short courtship, Dido, Sophonisba, golden age, Athenais/Eudocia, Rhodopis, Sirach, Danaus and riches. Omit catchword Crales.

Scan 691; printed 579; sequence 591; image block141-source-691.png. Complete printed579 body and five margins, including final Apuleius and Anacreon notes. Serbian marriage, social ambition, Galeazzo and Lionel, institutional obstacles and Tantalus. End-page sentence continues on692. Omit signatureEeee and catchword will.

Scan 692; printed 580; sequence 592; image block141-source-692.png. Printed580: complete opening sentence and dilemma, Beza advice, Paul’s proposed journeys. Include first three margins: Continentiæ, Acts16:7, Romans1:13. End but hindred of Satan he could not. Nextblock142 begins There be those that think they are necessitated by Fate; remaining body and three lower margins belong to142.

Opening words: A servant maid in Aristænetus loved her mistris Minion

Closing words: but hindred of Satan he could not.

Passages DJR-142-01 to DJR-142-65

Source page labels: 580–585 (sequence 592–597). Scan pages: 692, 693, 694, 695, 696, 697.

Scan 692; printed 580; sequence 592; image block141-source-692.png. Begin There be those that think they are necessitated by Fate. The first three marginal entries belong to141; include final three: Præfix. gen. Leovitii, Idem Wolfius dial., That is make the best of it. Astrology and freedom, then continue the final sentence onto693. Omit catchword ruisse.

1242

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.