The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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The Anatomy of MelancholyDemocritus Junior to the Reader

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Facing Pages · Branch 24 of 1495

Democritus Junior to the Reader

Book Mode

1651 English

Many men, saith Gellius, are very conceited in their inscriptions, and able (as Plinie quotes out of Seneca) to make him loyter by the way, that went in hast to fetch a mid-wife for his daughter, now ready to lie down. For my part I have honorable presidents for this which I have done: I will cite one for all, Anthonie Zara Pap. Episc. his Anatomie of wit, in four sections, members, subsections, &c. to be read in our Libraries.

If any man except against the matter or manner of treating of this my subject, and will demand a reason of it, I can alleage more then one, I write of melancholy, by being busie to avoid melancholy. There is no greater cause of melancholy then idlenesse, no better cure then businesse, as Rhasis holds:

and howbeit, stultus labor est ineptiarum, to be busied in toyes is to small purpose, yet hear that divine Seneca, better aliud agere quam nihil, better do to no end than nothing. I writ therefore, and busied my self in this playing labour, otiosaq; diligentiâ ut vitarem torporem feriandi with Vectius in Macrobius, atq; otium in utile verterem negotium. Simul & jucunda & idonea dicere vitæ, Lectorem delectando simul atque monendo.

To this end I write, like them, saith Lucian, that recite to trees, and declaim to pillars for want of auditors: as Paulus Ægineta ingeniously confesseth, not that any thing was unknown or omitted, but to exercise my self, which course if some took, I think it would be good for their bodies, and much better for their souls; or peradventure as others do, for fame, to shew my self (Scire tuum nihil est, nisi te scire hoc sciat alter.)

I might be of Thucydidis opinion, to know a thing and not to expresse it, is all one as if he knew it not. When I first took this task in hand, & quod ait ille, impellente genio negotium suscepi, this I aimed at; vel ut lenirem animum scribendo, to ease my minde by writing, for I had gravidum cor, fætum caput, a kind of impostume in my head, which I was very desirous to be unladen of, and could imagin no fitter evacuation then this.

144.BurtonPrinted p. 5, t: “Præfat. Nat. hist. patri obstetricem parturienti filiæ accersenti moram injicere possunt.” Translation: Preface to the Natural History: they can delay a father fetching a midwife for his daughter in labour. The Pliny and Seneca references are disentangled in the editorial note.

145.BurtonPrinted p. 5, u: “Anatomie of poperie. Anatomie of immortalitie. Angelus salas, Anatomie of Antimony, &c.” These are further examples of “anatomy” titles. Sala’s work is identifiable as Anatomia antimonii (Leiden: Godefridus Basson, 1617), a Latin account of antimony’s uses, properties and powers. Burton gives an English rendering of its title. The works intended by “poperie” and “immortalitie,” and his particular copy of Sala, remain unverified.

148.BurtonPrinted p. 5, x: “Cont. l. 4. c. 9. Non est cura melior quàm labor.” Translation: Continens, book 4, chapter 9: there is no better cure than work. Burton attributes this to Rhasis, or Rhazes; the cited edition and passage remain to be collated.

150.BurtonPrinted p. 5, y: “Hor.” Horace. Burton combines Ars Poetica 334 and 344, with changes: the second line of the consulted Latin text reads “lectorem delectando pariterque monendo.”

153.BurtonPrinted p. 5, z: “Non quod de novo quid addere, aut à veteribus prætermissum, sed propriæ exercitationis causâ.” Translation: Not to add anything new or anything omitted by the ancients, but for my own exercise. The opening of Paul’s own preface supplies the comparison: Opus de re medica, Guinter’s Latin translation (Cologne, 1534), unnumbered preface, scan n51. Paul says that the ancients omitted nothing necessary and that his compendium will serve readers and exercise himself. Burton condenses these remarks; his exact Latin differs from Guinter’s, so the version he used remains unproved.

156.BurtonPrinted p. 5, a: “Qui novit, neque id quod sentit exprimit, perinde est ac si nesciret.” Translation: Someone who knows but does not express what he thinks is as if he did not know. Compare Thucydides 2.60.6, in Pericles’ speech; Burton gives a general formulation of the claim.

157.BurtonPrinted p. 5, b: “Jovius Præf. Hist.” Paolo Giovio, preface to his History. The precise passage remains to be checked.

158.BurtonPrinted p. 5, c: “Erasmus.” Burton’s attribution is retained; no work is specified, and the exact source remains unresolved.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Democritus Junior to the Reader

p. 24

Many writers, Gellius says, are very ingenious in devising titles, which can—as Pliny quotes from Seneca—make a man dawdle on his way to fetch a midwife for his daughter, who is about to give birth. For my part, I have honourable precedents for what I have done. One will stand for them all: Bishop Antonio Zara's Anatomy of Wit, divided into four sections, members, subsections, and so on, available to read in our libraries.

If anyone objects to my subject, or to the way I treat it, and demands a reason, I can give more than one. I write about melancholy to avoid melancholy by keeping busy. Nothing causes melancholy more than idleness, and nothing cures it better than activity, as Rhazes maintains.

And although “labour spent on trifles is foolish”—occupying oneself with trivial things serves little purpose—listen to the divine Seneca: better “to do something else than nothing,” better to do something without purpose than nothing at all. So I wrote and kept myself occupied in this playful labour, “with an idle diligence, to escape the torpor of doing nothing,” like Vettius in Macrobius, “and to turn leisure into useful work.” To say things both pleasant and useful for life, delighting the reader while offering instruction.

For this purpose I write, like those who, Lucian says, recite to trees and deliver speeches to pillars for want of listeners. As Paul of Aegina frankly admits, it is not because anything was unknown or left out, but to exercise myself. If certain people followed that course, I think it would be good for their bodies and much better for their souls. Or perhaps I write, as others do, for fame, to display myself: “Your knowledge counts for nothing unless someone else knows that you know it.”

I might share Thucydides' opinion that knowing something without expressing it is as good as not knowing it. When I first took up this task, “and, as that writer says, undertook the work at the prompting of my genius,” this was my aim: “at least to soothe my mind by writing,” to ease my mind through writing. For I had “a burdened heart, a pregnant head,” a kind of abscess in my head that I very much wanted to discharge, and I could imagine no better way to empty it than this.

146.“Conceited” here means ingenious or fanciful. Compare Gellius, Attic Nights, preface 4–10, and Pliny, Natural History, preface 24, on elaborate book titles. The father fetching a midwife occurs separately in Seneca, Moral Letters 117.30, where he would not stop to read a public notice. Burton combines these passages and reverses the force of Seneca’s example. His composite account is preserved in the modern column.

147.“Presidents” means precedents; “wit” means intellect. The full title of Zara’s Anatomia ingeniorum et scientiarum (Venice, 1615) specifies four sections. Burton’s “members” are subdivisions, extending the anatomical metaphor. The 1615 title page calls Zara “episcopo Petinensi,” bishop of Pedena, now Pićan. It confirms his office and the four sections, but does not explain Burton’s “Pap. Episc.” The abbreviation is retained on the left; “Bishop” on the right leaves its uncertain first element unexpanded.

149.“Businesse” means occupation or activity. Writing about melancholy is itself Burton’s chosen occupation: the subject that troubles him also gives him the work by which he hopes to find relief.

151.The Latin about trifling labour is from Martial, Epigrams 2.86.10. “Toyes” means trifles, not specifically children’s playthings. “Divine Seneca” is praise of the writer, not an identification of him as a Christian theologian. Compare Seneca, Moral Letters 88.45: “Satius est supervacua scire quam nihil,” better to know useless things than nothing. There Seneca contrasts useless learning with denial of knowledge; Burton speaks of activity and idleness. This is a possible parallel, not a verified source for his wording.

152.Compare Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.7.7, where Vettius Praetextatus describes learned conversation during a festival as a way of avoiding idle torpor and making leisure useful. Burton adapts the wording to himself. “Idle diligence” preserves his paradox; “Vectius” is the name as printed in the 1651 text.

154.Paul of Aegina is a medical author. Printed “ingeniously” is rendered “frankly” because the context is an admission. “Auditors” are listeners; “exercise” means mental practice. Compare the opening of Lucian’s Symposium, or A Feast of Lapithae: Philo says that Lycinus, eager to recount a drunken banquet, would tell it to a pillar or statue if no listener were available. This offers a parallel for the pillars, but not Burton’s trees or an example of practising declamation. The full allusion remains uncertain.

155.Persius, Satire 1.27. In its original setting the line is a question challenging the need to have one’s learning noticed. Burton uses it while admitting that a wish for recognition may be among his motives.

159.A “genius” is a guiding spirit or inner prompting. “Gravidum cor, fætum caput” gives Burton a laden heart and a pregnant head; an “impostume” is an abscess. These bodily images convey the pressure to write and discharge what has accumulated.

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.

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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.