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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 MelancholySubsection 3. Uniform Parts.

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Subsection 3. Uniform Parts.

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1651 English

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Fibræ are strings, white and solid, dispersed through the whole member, and right, oblique, transvers, all which have their several uses. Fat is a similar part, moyst, without bloud, composed of the most thick and unctious matter of the bloud. The skin covers the rest, and hath Cuticulam, or a little skin under it. Flesh is soft and ruddy, composed of the congealing of bloud, &c.

16

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 3. Uniform Parts.

p. 147

Fibres are white, solid strands distributed throughout a bodily part. They run straight, obliquely or across, each direction having its own use. Fat is a uniform part, moist and bloodless, made from the thickest and oiliest matter of the blood. The skin covers the other parts and has a cuticle, or little skin, beneath it. Flesh is soft and reddish, formed from congealed blood, and so on.

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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.