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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 1247 of 1495

Source Record

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Source Record

p. 1247

Scan 742; printed 630; sequence 642; image block150-source-742.png. Opening continuation through the reading list ending Sam. Neander.&c. Include five margins star, dagger, q, dagger, star. Exclude next paragraph These cautions concern him and margins beginning r Lib.5.num.11.

Opening words: The best means to avoid these and like inconveniences, are, to take away the causes and occasions.

Closing words: Sam. Neander.&c.

Passages DJR-151-01 to DJR-151-45

Source page labels: 630–635 (sequence 642–647). Scan pages: 742, 743, 744, 745, 746, 747.

Scan 742; printed 630; sequence 642; image block151-source-742.png. Begin These cautions concern him after the reading list included in150. Include all following body and four margins r, s, dagger, star. The Alcibiades sentence continues onto743.

Scan 743; printed 631; sequence 643; image block151-source-743.png. All body and seven margins t, u, star, x, dagger, star, dagger. The last marginal entry, Tertullian Apology46, is printed here but anchored to the body on744. Preserve de Nabod and the abbreviated title spirit.et in can. The divorce sentence continues onto744.

Scan 744; printed 632; sequence 644; image block151-source-744.png. All body and five margins y, star, z, a, b. End the jealousy discussion, preserving the one-line Virgil verse. Begin Section4 with the displayed MEMB4 retained in original and corrected to Member1 in modern. Preserve the three-line Grotius verse. Final sentence continues onto745.

Scan 745; printed 633; sequence 645; image block151-source-745.png. All body and five margins c, d, e, f, g. Preserve Plater c13 in the margin and cap3 in body. The closing statement of the new discussion continues onto746.

Scan 746; printed 634; sequence 646; image block151-source-746.png. All body and six margins h, i, dagger, k, l, m. Preserve the defective plausible-sermon clause and wooes up; modern sense supplied with notes. Direct enlarged inspection confirms incomprehensible. The Song of Solomon description continues onto747.

Scan 747; printed 635; sequence 647; image block151-source-747.png. All body through or summum bonum, or cheifest good, and six margins n, o, p, r, s, t. Include all of the Osorius note continuing across the foot and the adjacent Leone Ebreo note. Preserve the clearly printed Cap27.11 and seem him as he is; explain in Editor notes. Exclude the following paragraph This likewise should we now have done, which begins152.

Opening words: These cautions concern him; and if by those or his own discretion otherwise he cannot moderate himself

Closing words: or summum bonum, or cheifest good.

Passages DJR-152-01 to DJR-152-36

Source page labels: 635–640 (sequence 647–652). Scan pages: 747, 748, 749, 750, 751, 752.

Scan 747; printed 635; sequence 647; image block152-source-747.png. Begin the final paragraph This likewise should we now have done. Margins on this page belong to151 and are not repeated. The opening sentence continues onto748.

Scan 748; printed 636; sequence 648; image block152-source-748.png. All body and eight margins u,x,y,z,a,b,c,d. Include the Philo and Ficino margins continuing across the foot of the page. The Ficino sentence continues onto749. Preserve erroneous1 John17.15 in original; supply2.15–17 in modern with explanation.

Scan 749; printed 637; sequence 649; image block152-source-749.png. All body and eight margins e,dagger,f,g,h,i,k,l. Preserve the Aquinas reference1.2 question23 and Ficino Cap18 Rom. Two separate Ficino exhortations remain. Preserve erroneous1 Corinthians15.4,5 in original; correct13.4–5 in modern with note. Retain displayed Ovid verse. Last sentence continues onto750.

Scan 750; printed 638; sequence 650; image block152-source-750.png. All body and two margins m,n. Preserve Burton’s classifications and polemical judgements, explaining their historical character. Final sentence on false religion continues onto751.

Scan 751; printed 639; sequence 651; image block152-source-751.png. All body and ten margins n (body o),p,q,dagger,r,s,t,u,x,y. Preserve marginal Seneca Letter223 and explain123.16. Preserve altered Latin from Pliny, Seneca and Horace. Correct2 Sam2.22 only in modern with note. Closing image of harp strings continues onto752.

1247

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.