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 9. Anger as a Cause.

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1651 English Page · Branch 262 of 1495

Subsection 9. Anger as a Cause.

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1651 English

105

Ægesippus de excid. urbis Hieros. l. 1. c. 37. hath such a story of Herod, That out of an angry fit, became made, leaping out of his bed, he killed Iosephus, and played many such Bedlam pranks, the whole Court could not rule him for a long time after: Sometimes he was sorry and repented, much grieved for that he had done, Postquam deferbuit ira, by and by outragious again.

In hot cholerick bodies, nothing so soon causeth madness, as this passion of Anger, besides many other diseases, as Pelesius observes, Cap. 21. l. 1. de hum. affect. causis; Sanguinem imminuit, fel auget: And as Valesius controverts, Med. controv. lib. 5. contro. 8. many times kills them quite out. If this were the worst of this passion, it were more tolerable, But it ruines and subverts whole Towns, Cities, Families, and Kingdoms; Nulla pestis humano generi pluris stetit, saith Seneca, de Ira, lib. 1. No plague hath done mankinde so much harm.

Look into our Histories, and you shall almost meet with no other subject, but what a company of hare-brains have done in their rage. We may do well therefore, to put this in our procession amongst the rest: From all blindness of heart, from pride, vain-glory, and hypocrisie, from envy, hatred and malice, anger, and all such pestiferous perturbations, Good Lord deliver us.

2974.BurtonPage 105, u: “Indignatione nimia furens, animique impotens, exiliit de lecto, furentem non capiebat aula. &c.” “Frenzied with excessive indignation and unable to control his mind, he leaped from his bed; the court could not contain him in his rage, and so on.”

2976.BurtonPage 105, x: “An ira possit hominem interimere.” “Whether anger can kill a person.”

2977.BurtonPage 105, y: “Abernethy.” A surname without further locator; the exact work and passage remain to be identified.

2978.BurtonPage 105, z: “As Troy, sævæ memorem Junonis ob iram.” “As Troy, because of savage Juno’s unforgetting anger.” The Latin phrase recalls Virgil, Aeneid 1.4.

2980.BurtonPage 105, a: “Stultorum regum & populorum continet æstus.” “It contains the frenzies of foolish kings and peoples.” The phrase recalls Horace, Epistles 1.2.8.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 9. Anger as a Cause.

p. 262

Hegesippus, On the Destruction of Jerusalem, book 1, chapter 37, tells a similar story of Herod: in a fit of anger he went mad, leaped from his bed and killed Josephus, and performed many such mad acts. For a long time afterwards the entire court could not control him. Sometimes, “after his anger had cooled,” he was sorry and repentant, deeply grieved by what he had done; a moment later he was raging again.

In hot, choleric bodies nothing causes madness more quickly than anger, besides many other diseases, as Pelesius observes in On the Causes of Human Emotions, book 1, chapter 21: “It diminishes the blood and increases the bile.” And, as Valesius discusses in Medical Controversies, book 5, controversy 8, it often kills people outright. If this were its worst effect, it would be more tolerable. But it ruins and overthrows whole towns, cities, families and kingdoms. “No plague has cost humankind more,” says Seneca in On Anger, book 1. No plague has done humanity so much harm.

Look into our histories and you will find scarcely any other subject than what a crowd of hotheads have done in their rage. We might therefore do well to include this among the petitions in our litany: From all blindness of heart, from pride, vainglory and hypocrisy, from envy, hatred and malice, anger and all such destructive passions, good Lord, deliver us.

2975.In the work now commonly called Pseudo-Hegesippus, On the Destruction of Jerusalem, 1.37, Joseph is Herod’s brother-in-law, married to Salome—not the historian Josephus. The narrative says Herod ordered Joseph and Mariamne killed; Burton compresses this to “he killed Josephus.” The scan’s “became made” is rendered “went mad.” “Bedlam” supplies a conventional image of frenzied behaviour.

2979.“Choleric” refers to a hot constitution associated with bile. The medical claims belong to Burton’s humoral explanation; Pelesius’s and Valesius’s passages remain uncollated. Seneca’s statement about anger’s cost to humanity is at On Anger 1.2.1, followed by examples of cities and peoples destroyed.

2981.“Procession” refers here to the litany, a form of public prayer. Burton adapts the Book of Common Prayer’s petition against blindness of heart, pride, vainglory, hypocrisy, envy, hatred and malice, adding anger and destructive passions. The movement from histories of violence to communal prayer closes the subsection.

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.

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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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