Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Parallel Edition
Swipe or use the arrow keys.
Modern English Page · Branch 378 of 1495
Subsection 2. Symptoms or Signs in the Mind.
1651 English
190The Tower of Babel never yielded such confusion of tongues, as this Chaos of melancholy doth variety of symptomes. There is in all melancholy similitudo dissimilis, like mens faces, a disagreeing likeness still; And as in a river we swim in the same place, though not in the same numericall water; as the same instrument affords severall lessons, so the same disease yields diversity of symptomes. Which howsoever they be diverse, intricate, and hard to be confined, I will adventure yet in such a vast confusion and generality, to bring them into some order; and so descend to particulars.
The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 2. Symptoms or Signs in the Mind.
p. 378The Tower of Babel never produced such confusion of tongues as this chaos of melancholy produces variety of symptoms. In all melancholy there is “a dissimilar likeness,” as in people’s faces: always a likeness with differences. And as we swim in the same place in a river, though not in the very same water, and as the same instrument provides different tunes, so the same disease yields different symptoms. However various, intricate and hard to contain they may be, I will still venture, amid such vast confusion and breadth, to bring them into some order, and so descend to particulars.
Socrates
Reading The Anatomy of Melancholy · Subsection 2. Symptoms or Signs in the Mind.
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.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.
- PDF editionComplete annotated edition — PDF
- EPUB editionComplete annotated edition — EPUB
- Word editionComplete annotated edition — Word
- Markdown editionComplete annotated edition — Markdown
- Principal historical witnessMcGill University Library — 1651 edition
- Supplied 1651 openingBavarian State Library — supplied opening
- Independent local comparison witnessIndependent 1651 microfilm — comparison opening