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 14 Self-Love, Vainglory, Praise, Honour, Excessive Applause, Pride…

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Facing Pages · Branch 289 of 1495

Subsection 14 Self-Love, Vainglory, Praise, Honour, Excessive Applause, Pride…

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1651 English

126

How did this work with Alexander, that would needs be Jupiters son, and go like Hercules in a Lions skin? Domitian a God, (Dominus Deus noster sic fieri jubet) like the Persian Kings, whose Image was adored by all that came into the City of Babylon. Commodus the Emperor was so gulled by his flattering parasites, that he must be called Hercules. Antonius the Roman would be crowned with Ivy, carried in a Chariot, and adored for Bacchus. Cotys King of Thrace, was married to Minerva, and sent three severall messengers one after another, to see if she were come to his bed-chamber.

Such a one was Iupiter Menecrates, Maximinus Iovianus, Dioclesianus Herculeus, Sapor the Persian King, brother of the Sun and Moon, and our modern Turks, that will be Gods on earth, Kings of Kings, Gods shadow, Commanders of all that may be commanded, our Kings of China and Tartaria in this present age. Such a one was Xerxes, that would whip the sea, fetter Neptune, stultâ jactantiâ, and send a challenge to Mount Athos: and such are many sottish Princes, brought into a fools Paradise by their parasites,

’tis a common humor, incident to all men, when they are in great places, or come to the solstice of honor, have done, or deserv’d well, to applaud and flatter themselves. Stultitiam suam produnt, &c. (saith Platerus) your very tradesmen if they be excellent, will crak and brag, and shew their folly in excess. They have good parts, and they know it, you need not tell them of it; out of a conceit of their worth, they go smiling to themselves, a perpetual meditation of their Trophies and plaudites, they run at the last quite mad, and lose their wits. Petrarch, lib. 1. de contemptu mundi, confessed as much of himself,

and Cardan in his 5 book of wisdom, gives an instance in a Smith of Millan, a fellow Citizen of his, one Galeus de Rubeis, that being commended for refinding of an instrument of Archimedes, for joy ran mad. Plutarch in the life of Artaxerxes, hath such a like story of one Chamus a souldier, that wounded King Cyrus in battle, and grew thereupon so arrogant, that in a short space after he lost his wits.

3343.BurtonFirst star margin, page 126: “Sueton. c. 12. in Domitiano.” Suetonius, Domitian, chapter 12 as printed; the wording is in chapter 13.2. Suetonius has “Dominus et deus noster hoc fieri iubet,” “Our Lord and God commands this to be done.” Burton omits “et” and gives “sic” for “hoc.”

3344.BurtonSecond star margin, page 126: “Brisonius.” Barnabé Brisson, on Persian kingship; exact passage unlocated.

3345.BurtonMargin q, page 126: “Antonius ab assentatoribus evectus Librum se patrem appellari jussit, & pro deo se venditavit redimitus hedera & corona velatus aurea, & thyrsum tenens, cothurnisque succinctus curru velut Liber pater vectus est Alexandriæ. Pater. vol. post.” “Antony, exalted by flatterers, ordered himself called Father Liber and advertised himself as a god. Wreathed in ivy and crowned with gold, holding a thyrsus and wearing buskins, he rode in a chariot at Alexandria like Father Liber.” Velleius Paterculus, latter volume. “Librum” is printed; the divine name intended is Liber, another name for Bacchus. The passage is Roman History 2.82.4. The consulted Latin reads Liberum and crocotaque velatus aurea, clothed in a golden saffron robe, where Burton has Librum and corona velatus aurea, a golden crown. McGill p. 126 confirms Burton’s readings. They and their translation are retained; his source edition remains unidentified.

3346.BurtonMargin r, page 126: “Minervæ nuptias ambit, tanto furore percitus, ut satellites mitteret ad videndum num dea in thalamis venisset, &c.” “He seeks marriage with Minerva, driven by such frenzy that he sends attendants to see whether the goddess has entered the bedchamber, and so on.” No separate source is specified.

3348.BurtonMargin s, page 126: “Ælian. li. 12.” Aelian, Various History 12.51: the physician Menecrates calls himself Jupiter, and Philip exposes his pretension by serving him incense while other guests eat. This establishes the cited anecdote’s location; Burton’s Latin intermediary is not identified.

3350.BurtonThird star margin, page 126: “De mentis alienat. cap. 3.” Plater, On Mental Derangement, chapter 3, as cited.

3351.BurtonMargin t, page 126: “Sequiturque superbia formam. Livius li. 11. Oraculum est, vivida sæpe ingenia luxuriari hac & evanescere multosque sensum penitus amisisse. Homines intuentur, ac si ipsi non essent homines.” “Pride follows beauty. Livy, book 11. It is an oracular saying that lively minds often grow luxuriant and dissipate through this, and that many have entirely lost their reason. They look at human beings as though they themselves were not human.” The note has no clear matching t in the body; attached to the preceding account of self-admiration. The first phrase is Ovid, Fasti 1.419; the Livy locator and remaining wording require collation.

3353.BurtonMargin u, page 126: “Galeus de rubeis, civis noster faber ferrarius, ob inventionem instrumenti Cocleæ olim Archimedis dicti, præ lætitia insanivit.” “Galeus de Rubeis, our fellow citizen, an ironworker, went mad with joy at discovering the device called the screw, formerly named for Archimedes.” Cardano’s example, as cited in the body.

3354.BurtonMargin x, page 126: “Insania postmodum correptus, ob nimiam inde arrogantiam.” “Afterwards seized by madness through the excessive arrogance that followed.” Burton’s condensation; see the editorial note on the Plutarch comparison.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 14 Self-Love, Vainglory, Praise, Honour, Excessive Applause, Pride…

p. 289

How did this work upon Alexander, who insisted on being Jupiter’s son and going about like Hercules in a lion’s skin? Domitian became a god—“Our Lord God commands that it be done so”—like the Persian kings, whose image was worshipped by everyone entering Babylon. The emperor Commodus was so deceived by his flattering parasites that he had to be called Hercules. The Roman Antony would be crowned with ivy, carried in a chariot and worshipped as Bacchus. Cotys, king of Thrace, was married to Minerva and sent three separate messengers, one after another, to see whether she had come to his bedchamber.

Such were Menecrates the Jupiter, Maximinus the Jovian, Diocletian the Herculean, Shapur the Persian king, brother of the sun and moon, and our present-day Turks, who insist on being gods on earth, kings of kings, God’s shadow, commanders of everything that can be commanded; so too the kings of China and Tartary in our own age. Such was Xerxes, who would whip the sea, put Neptune in chains “with foolish boasting,” and send a challenge to Mount Athos. Such are many foolish princes, led into a fool’s paradise by their parasites.

It is a common disposition in everyone, when they hold high office, reach the height of honour, perform well or deserve well, to applaud and flatter themselves. “They betray their own folly,” and so on, says Plater. Even your tradesmen, if they excel, will boast and brag and display their folly to excess. They have ability and know it; you need not tell them. From a conceit of their own worth they go about smiling to themselves. Continually brooding on their trophies and applause, they at last go quite mad and lose their senses. Petrarch, in book 1 of On Contempt for the World, confessed as much of himself.

Cardano, in his fifth book of wisdom, gives the example of a smith of Milan, a fellow citizen of his, one Galeus de Rubeis, who went mad with joy when praised for rediscovering an instrument of Archimedes. Plutarch, in the Life of Artaxerxes, tells a similar story of a soldier named Chamus, who wounded King Cyrus in battle and became so arrogant as a result that he soon afterwards lost his senses.

3347.The list turns extravagant praise into claims to divine identity. Antony is Mark Antony; Bacchus is the wine god, and Minerva the goddess identified with Athena. The individual anecdotes are Burton’s historical exempla, not independently established events here.

3349.Burton’s imperial names and divine titles are retained as printed; “Maximinus Iovianus” and “Dioclesianus Herculeus” require collation. “Modern” means Burton’s own time. His broad claims about Turkish, Chinese and Tartar rulers express his polemical perspective.

3352.The “solstice” of honour is its highest point; “parts” means abilities, and “plaudites” applause. The movement from kings to tradesmen makes self-congratulation a general human tendency. Petrarch’s cited title is commonly associated with his Secretum.

3355.Plutarch, Artaxerxes 14.3–5, describes a Carian who claimed credit for killing Cyrus and resented the reward. Burton’s “Chamus” and subsequent madness do not match that account closely; the naming and adaptation remain unresolved. The Archimedean device is a water screw.

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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