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 MelancholySubsection 5. Fear as a Cause.

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Facing Pages · Branch 252 of 1495

Subsection 5. Fear as a Cause.

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1651 English

97 repeated [PDF199]–98 [supplied]

Subsect. 5. Fear, a Cause.

Cosen german to Sorrow, is Fear, or rather a sister, fidus Achates, and continual companion, an assistant and a principal agent in procuring of this mischief; a cause and symptome as the other. In a word, as Virgil of the Harpies, I may justly say of them both,

Tristius haud illis monstrum, nec sævior ulla Pestis & ira Deum stygiis sese extulit undis. A sadder monster, or more cruel plague so fell, Or vengance of the Gods, ne’r came from Styx or Hell.

This foule fiend of fear was worshipped heretofore as a God by the Lacedæmonians, and most of those other torturing affections, and so was sorrow amongst the rest, under the name of Angerona Dea, they stood in such awe of them, as Austin de Civitat. Dei, lib. 4. cap. 8. noteth out of Varro, Fear was commonly adored and painted in their Temples with a Lions head; and as Macrobius records 1. 10. Saturnalium; In the Calends of Ianuary Angerona had her holy day, to whom in the Temple of Volupia, or Goddess of pleasure, their Augures and Bishops did yearly sacrifice; that being propitious to them, she might expell all cares, anguish, and vexation of the minde for that yeer following.

Many lamentable effects this Fear causeth in men, as to be red, pale, tremble, sweat, it makes sudden cold and heat to come over all the body, palpitation of the heart, Syncope, &c. It amazeth many men that are to speak, or shew themselves in publike assemblies, or before some great personages, as Tully confessed of himself, that he trembled still at the beginning of his speech; and Demosthenes that great Orator of Greece before Philippus. It confounds voice and memory, as Lucian wittily brings in Iupiter Tragœdus, so much afraid of his auditory, when he was to make a speech to the rest of the Gods, that he could not utter a ready word, but was compelled to use Mercuries help in prompting.

Many men are so amazed and astonished with fear, they know not where they are, what they say, what they do, and that which is worst, it tortures them many dayes before with continuall affrights and suspition. It hinders most honourable attempts, & makes their hearts ake, sad and heavy. They that live in fear are never free, resolute, secure, never merry, but in continual pain: that, as Vives truely said, Nulla est miseria major quam metus, no greater misery, no rack, nor torture like unto it, ever suspicious, anxious, sollicitous, they are childishly drooping without reason, without judgment, especially if some terrible object be offered, as Plutarch hath it.

2852.BurtonRepeated page 97, o: “Lib. 3. Æn. 4.” Virgil’s Aeneid, book 3, as cited; the Harpies passage is at 3.214–15.

2854.BurtonRepeated page 97, p: “Et metum ideo deam sacrarunt ut bonam mentem concederet. Varro, Lactantius, Aug.” “And they therefore consecrated Fear as a goddess, so that she might grant a sound mind.” Varro, Lactantius, Augustine.

2855.BurtonRepeated page 97, q: “Lilius Girald. Syntag. 1. de diis miscellaniis.” Lilio Gregorio Giraldi, Syntagma 1, on miscellaneous gods.

2856.BurtonRepeated page 97, r: “Calendis Jan. feriæ sunt divæ Angeronæ, cui pontifices in sacello Volupiæ sacra faciunt, quod angores et animi sollicitudines propitiata propellat.” “On the Kalends of January is the festival of the goddess Angerona, to whom the pontiffs offer sacrifices in Volupia’s shrine, because, when propitiated, she drives away anguish and mental anxieties.” The date differs from Macrobius 1.10.7; see the Editor note.

2858.BurtonSupplied page 98, s: “Timor inducit frigus, cordis palpitationem, vocis defectum atque pallorem. Agrippa lib. 1. cap. 63. Timidi semper spiritus habent frigidos. Mont.” “Fear produces cold, palpitation of the heart, failure of the voice and pallor.” Agrippa, book 1, chapter 63. “The fearful always have cold spirits.” Mont., left abbreviated.

2860.BurtonSupplied page 98, t: “Effusas cernens fugientes agmine turmas, quis mea nunc inflat cornua Faunus ait? Alciat.” “Seeing the scattered troops fleeing in a throng, Faunus said, ‘Who is blowing my horns now?’” Alciato; an allusion to panic.

2861.BurtonSupplied page 98, u: “Metus non solum memoriam consternat, sed et institutum animi omne et laudabilem conatum impedit. Thucidides.” “Fear not only confounds memory but obstructs every purpose of the mind and every praiseworthy effort.” Thucydides.

2862.BurtonSupplied page 98, x: “Lib. de fortitudine & virtute Alexandri, ubi propè res adfuit terribilis.” “In the book On the Fortitude and Virtue of Alexander: when a terrifying thing was close at hand.” Plutarch, as cited; precise passage unverified.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 5. Fear as a Cause.

p. 252

Subsection 5. Fear as a cause.

Fear is sorrow’s first cousin—or rather its sister, its “faithful Achates” and constant companion, a helper and a principal agent in bringing about this affliction; like sorrow, it is both a cause and a symptom. In a word, I may justly say of them both what Virgil says of the Harpies:

No more dreadful monster, no fiercer plague Or wrath of the gods ever rose from the waters of Styx. A sadder monster, a more cruel, deadly plague, Or vengeance of the gods never came from Styx or Hell.

This foul fiend, fear, was formerly worshipped as a god by the Spartans, as were most of those other tormenting emotions. Sorrow was among them, under the name of the goddess Angerona: such was their dread of these passions, as Augustine notes from Varro in The City of God, book 4, chapter 8. Fear was commonly worshipped and depicted in their temples with a lion’s head. And as Macrobius records in Saturnalia 1.10, Angerona had her festival on the Kalends of January. In the temple of Volupia, the goddess of pleasure, their augurs and pontiffs offered her an annual sacrifice, so that, favourably disposed towards them, she might banish all cares, anguish and vexation of mind for the coming year.

Fear causes many distressing effects: people flush, turn pale, tremble and sweat; sudden cold and heat run through the whole body; the heart palpitates, they faint, and so on. It overwhelms many who must speak or appear in public assemblies or before some great personage. Cicero confessed that he always trembled at the beginning of a speech, and Demosthenes, that great Greek orator, did so before Philip. It confounds voice and memory, as Lucian wittily shows in Jupiter the Tragedian: when Jupiter must address the other gods, he is so afraid of his audience that he cannot get a word out readily and has to enlist Mercury as his prompter.

Many are so overwhelmed and stunned by fear that they do not know where they are, what they are saying or what they are doing. Worst of all, it tortures them for many days beforehand with continual terrors and suspicions. It obstructs the most honourable undertakings and leaves their hearts aching, sad and heavy. Those who live in fear are never free, resolute or secure, never cheerful, but constantly in pain. As Vives truly said, “No misery is greater than fear”: no greater misery, no rack or torture equals it. Always suspicious, anxious and worried, they droop like children, without reason or judgement, especially when confronted with something terrifying, as Plutarch puts it.

2853.“Cosen german” means first cousin. Achates is Aeneas’s faithful companion; the Harpies are the monstrous creatures described in Aeneid 3.214–15. Styx is a river of the underworld. The first two modern verse lines translate the Latin afresh; the next two modernize Burton’s own English couplet.

2857.The recovered pages begin within this sentence. “Bishops” here renders pagan pontiffs; the modern side uses that term. The Kalends are the first day of a Roman month, but Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.10.7, places Angerona’s festival on the twelfth day before the Kalends of January—21 December, by inclusive counting. Burton omits the qualifying date both in the body and in his Latin note; his date is preserved and explained rather than silently replaced.

2859.“Syncope” is fainting; “amaze” and “astonish” have the stronger sense of overwhelming or stunning. “Still” means always. Tully is Cicero; Philip is the Macedonian king. Jupiter the Tragedian is the title of Lucian’s comic dialogue; Mercury acts as a prompter. The precise Cicero and Demosthenes passages remain for collation.

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.