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Robert Burton

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 4 How Mockery, Slander and Bitter Jokes Cause Melancholy

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Facing Pages · Branch 323 of 1495

Subsection 4 How Mockery, Slander and Bitter Jokes Cause Melancholy

Book Mode

1651 English

148–149

SUBSECT. 4. Scoffs, Calumnies, bitter Jests, how they cause melancholy.

It is an old saying, A blow with a word strikes deeper then a blow with a sword: & many men are as much gauled with a calumny, a scurril and bitter jest, a libel, a pasquil, Satyre, Apologe, Epigram, Stage-playes, or the like, as with any mis-fortune, whatsoever.

Princes & Potentates, that are otherwise happy, and have all at command, secure & free, quibus potentia sceleris impunitatem fecit, are grievously vexed with these pasquelling libels, and Satyrs: they fear a rayling Aretine, more then an enemy in the field, which made most Princes of his time (as some relate) allow him a liberal pension, that he should not taxe them in his Satyres.

The Gods had their Momus, Homer his Zoilus, Achilles his Thirsites, Philip his Demades: The Cæsars themselves in Rome were commonly taunted. There was never wanting a Petronius, a Lucian in those times, nor will be a Rablais, an Euphormio, a Boccalinus in ours.

Adrian the sixth Pope, was so highly offended, and grievously vexed with Pasquillers at Rome, he gave command that statue should be demolished and burned, the ashes flung into the river Tiber, and had done it forthwith, had not Lodovicus Suessanus, a facete companion, disswaded him to the contrary, by telling him, that Pasquils ashes would turn to frogs in the bottome of the river, and croak worse and lowder then before.

—genus irritabile vatum, and therefore Socrates in Plato adviseth all his friends, that respect their credits, to stand in awe of Poets, for they are terrible fellows, can praise and dispraise as they see cause. Hinc quam sit calamus sævior ense patet.

The Prophet David complains, Psal. 123. 4. that his soul was full of the mocking of the wealthy, and of the despitefulnesse of the proud, and Psal. 55. 4. for the voice of the wicked, &c. and their hate; his heart trembled within him, and the terrors of death came upon him: Fear and horrible fear, &c. and Psal. 69. 20. Rebuke hath broken my heart, and I am full of heavinesse.

Who hath not like cause to complain, and is not so troubled, that shall fall into the mouths of such men? for many are of so petulant a spleen, and have that figure Sarcasmus so often in their mouths, so bitter, so foolish, as Baltasar Castilio notes of them, that they cannot speak but they must bite; they had rather lose a friend then a jest; and what company soever they come in, they will be scoffing, insulting over their inferiours, especially over such as any way depend upon them, humoring, misusing, or putting gulleries on some or other, till they have made by their humoring or gulling ex stulto insanum: a mope or a noddy, and all to make themselves merry:

—dummodo risum Excutiat sibi, non hic cuiquam parcit amico,

3746.BurtonPrinted page 148, f: “Leviter volant graviter vulnerant. Bernardus.” They fly lightly and wound gravely. Bernard.

3747.BurtonPrinted page 148, star: “Ensis sauciat corpus, mentem sermo.” A sword wounds the body; speech wounds the mind.

3749.BurtonPrinted page 148, dagger: “Sciatis eum esse qui a nemine fere cujusvis magnate, non illustre stipendium habuit, ne mores ipsorum Satyris suis notaret. Gasp. Barthius præfat. parnodid.” Know that he is the man who received a splendid stipend from almost every magnate, so that he would not censure their conduct in his satires. Caspar Barth, preface to Parnodid. The abbreviated title is retained.

3752.BurtonPrinted page 149, g: “Iovius in vita ejus, gravissime tulit famosis libellis nomen suum ad Pasquilli statuam fuisse laceratum, decrevitque ideo statuam demoliri &c.” Giovio, in his life: he took it very badly that his name had been torn apart in defamatory writings at Pasquin’s statue, and therefore decided to demolish the statue, and so on.

3754.BurtonPrinted page 149, star: “Plato lib. 13. de legibus. Qui existimationem curant, poetas vereantur, quia magnam vim habent ad laudandum & vituperandum.” Plato, Laws, book 13. Those who care about their reputation should fear poets, because they have great power to praise and blame.

3757.BurtonPrinted page 149, h: “Petulanti splene cachinno.” I guffaw with insolent spleen.

3758.BurtonPrinted page 149, i: “Curial. lib. 2. Ea quorundam est inscitia, ut quoties loqui, toties mordere licere sibi putent.” The Courtier, book 2: some people are so ignorant that they think every occasion to speak permits them to bite.

3759.BurtonPrinted page 149, k: “Ter. Eunuch.” Terence, The Eunuch.

3761.BurtonPrinted page 149, dagger: “Hor. ser. lib. 1. Sat. 4.” Horace, Satires, book 1, satire 4.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 4 How Mockery, Slander and Bitter Jokes Cause Melancholy

p. 323

SUBSECTION 4 How mockery, slander and bitter jokes cause melancholy

It is an old saying: a blow from a word strikes deeper than a blow from a sword. Many people are as deeply wounded by a slander, a coarse and bitter joke, a defamatory writing, a lampoon, satire, fable, epigram, stage play or the like as by any misfortune whatever.

Princes and rulers who are otherwise happy, with everything at their command, secure and free, “whose power has given them immunity for their crimes,” are grievously troubled by such lampoons and satires. They fear a railing Aretino more than an enemy in the field. This led most princes of his time, according to some accounts, to give him a generous pension so that he would not attack them in his satires.

The gods had their Momus, Homer his Zoilus, Achilles his Thersites, Philip his Demades. The Caesars themselves were regularly taunted in Rome. There was always a Petronius or a Lucian in those days, just as there will always be a Rabelais, an Euphormio or a Boccalini in ours.

Pope Adrian VI was so deeply offended and troubled by the lampooners at Rome that he ordered the statue to be demolished and burned, and its ashes thrown into the Tiber. He would have done so immediately if Lodovicus Suessanus, a witty companion, had not dissuaded him by saying that Pasquin’s ashes would turn into frogs at the bottom of the river and croak worse and louder than before.

“The touchy tribe of poets”: hence Socrates in Plato advises all his friends who care about their reputations to stand in awe of poets. They are formidable fellows, able to praise or blame as they see fit. “This shows how much fiercer the pen is than the sword.”

The prophet David complains in Psalm 123:4 that his soul was filled with the mockery of the wealthy and the contempt of the proud. In Psalm 55:4, because of the voice of the wicked and their hatred, his heart trembled within him and the terrors of death came upon him: fear and horrible fear, and so on. And in Psalm 69:20: “Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of sorrow.”

Who, falling into the mouths of such people, does not have the same cause to complain, and feel the same distress? Many are so insolently spiteful, with sarcasm so constantly on their tongues, so bitter and so foolish, that, as Baldassare Castiglione observes, they cannot speak without biting. They would rather lose a friend than a joke. Whatever company they enter, they mock and lord it over their inferiors, especially those who depend on them in any way. They play on someone’s weakness, mistreat or trick them, until by their manipulation and deceit they have made “a madman out of a fool,” a dazed simpleton or idiot, all to amuse themselves.

As long as he can get a laugh for himself, He spares none of his friends.

3748.A pasquil is a lampoon or defamatory satire, from Pasquin, the Roman statue discussed below. Apologe means an instructive fable. Burton’s catalogue includes both written and performed attacks; calumny is a false or malicious accusation.

3750.Aretine is Pietro Aretino; taxe means censure or attack. Burton gives the pension story as a report, “as some relate,” and that qualification is retained. The precise Barth preface and the preceding Latin maxim remain for collation.

3751.Momus personifies fault-finding; Zoilus is proverbial as Homer’s detractor. Thersites and Demades extend the catalogue of revilers. Euphormio is the satirical persona of John Barclay’s Euphormionis Satyricon. The list joins ancient authors to Rabelais, Barclay and Traiano Boccalini, whom Burton names as contemporaneous kinds of satirist.

3753.The statue is Pasquino, used for posting anonymous satires in Rome; pasquillers are writers of those lampoons. Facete means witty. Giovio is Paolo Giovio. The anecdote about Adrian VI and Lodovicus Suessanus remains to be checked against Giovio’s life; no literal historical transformation into frogs is implied.

3755.Genus irritabile vatum adapts Horace, Epistles 2.2.102. The warning about the power of poets occurs in Minos 320e–321a, transmitted under Plato’s name, rather than the printed Laws, book 13. The original citation is preserved. Calamus, literally a reed pen, is contrasted with the sword.

3756.Burton combines and paraphrases biblical passages. The Psalm 55 material extends across verses 3–5, though he gives 4; the other references are Psalm 123:4 and 69:20. The modernization follows Burton’s wording, rather than replacing it with the text of a different Bible translation.

3760.Humoring and gulling here mean manipulating a person’s weaknesses and making a fool of them; a noddy is an idiot or simpleton. The marginal petulanti splene cachinno echoes Persius, Satire 1.12. Burton’s rhetoric connects ridicule with social dependence: inferiors may be unable to escape it. The precise Castiglione and Terence references remain for collation.

3762.Horace, Satires 1.4.34–35. Burton prints parcit, “spares,” where the consulted Latin text has parcet, “will spare.” The translation follows the source as printed.

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.

Rights

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.