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Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Parallel Edition

Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

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The Anatomy of MelancholySubsection 2 Symptoms of Windy Hypochondriacal Melancholy

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Facing Pages · Branch 394 of 1495

Subsection 2 Symptoms of Windy Hypochondriacal Melancholy

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1651 English

201

One commoditie above the rest which are melancholy, these windy flatuous have, lucida intervalla, their symptomes and pains are not usually so continuate as the rest, but come by fits, fear and sorrow, and the rest: yet in another they exceed all others; and that is, they are luxurious, incontinent, and prone to Venerie, by reason of wind, & facile amant, & quamlibet ferè amant. (Jason Pratensis) Rhasis is of opinion, that Venus doth many of them much good; the other symptomes of the minde be common with the rest.

201

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 2 Symptoms of Windy Hypochondriacal Melancholy

p. 394

Those with this windy, flatulent melancholy have one advantage over other melancholic people: “lucid intervals.” Their symptoms and pains—fear, sorrow and the rest—are usually less continuous, coming instead in fits. Yet in another respect they exceed all others: they are lustful, sexually unrestrained and inclined to intercourse because of wind, “and they readily fall in love, and love almost any woman”—Jason Pratensis. Rhasis holds that sexual intercourse does many of them much good. The other symptoms of the mind are shared with the remaining types.

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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.