The Anatomy of Melancholy

Indeed, as Rodericus a Fonseca concludes in his twelfth consultation, ichors and watery fluids become phlegm when thickened; phlegm degenerates into choler, and burnt choler becomes verdigris-coloured melancholy. In the same way, pure wine becomes vinegar through decay or through the evaporation of its finer spirits, turning sour and sharp. From the sharpness of this humour come much sleeplessness, disturbing thoughts and dreams, and so forth.

So I conclude as before: if the humour is cold, Faventinus says, it causes mental derangement with milder symptoms; if hot, the sufferers are reckless, raving mad or inclined that way. If the brain is hot, the animal spirits are hot, and great madness follows, with violent actions; if cold, intellectual incapacity and dullness follow, according to Capivaccius.

The colour of this blend likewise varies with its mixture, whether hot or cold: sometimes it is black, sometimes not, says Altomarus. Melanelius proves the same from Galen and from Hippocrates’s book on melancholy—if it is indeed his—using the example of a burning coal: when hot, it shines; when cold, it looks black. So does the humour.

This variety of melancholy substance produces a variety of effects. If it remains inside the body without putrefying, it causes black jaundice; if it putrefies, a quartan fever. If it breaks out onto the skin, it causes leprosy; if into particular parts, various diseases such as scurvy. If it disturbs the mind, its different mixtures produce different kinds of madness and mental derangement. I shall discuss these in their proper place.