The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

Explore the Lexicon

The Anatomy of MelancholyDemocritus Junior to the Reader

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Facing Pages · Branch 48 of 1495

Democritus Junior to the Reader

Book Mode

1651 English

Hyppocrates asked the reason why he laughed. He told him, at the vanities and fopperies of the time, to see men so empty of all vertuous actions, to hunt so far after gold, having no end of ambition; to take such infinite pains for a little glory, and to be favored of men; to make such deep mines into the earth for gold, and many times to finde nothing, with losse of their lives and fortunes. Some to love dogs, others horses, some to desire to be obeyed in many Provinces, and yet themselves will know no obedience. Some to love their wives dearly at first, and after a while to forsake & hate them, begetting children, with much care and cost for their education, yet when they grow to mans estate, to despise, neglect, and leave them naked to the worlds mercy.

Do not these behaviours expresse their intolerable folly? When men live in peace, they covet war, detesting quietness, deposing Kings, and advancing others in their stead, murdering some men to beget children of ther wives. How many strange humors are in men? When they are poor and needy, they seek riches, and when they have them, they do not enjoy them, but hide them under ground, or else wastfully spend them. O wise Hyppocrates, I laugh at such things being done, but much more when no good comes of them, and when they are done to so ill purpose.

There is no truth or justice found amongst them, for they daily plead one against another, the son against the father and the mother, brother against brother, kinred & friends of the same quality, and all this for riches, whereof after death they cannot be possessors. And yet notwithstanding they wil defame & kil one another, commit all unlawfull actions, contemning God and men, friends and countrey. They make great account of many senslesse things, esteeming them as a great part of their treasure, statues, pictures, and such like moveables, dear bought, & so cunningly wrought, as nothing but speech wanteth in them, and yet they hate living persons speaking to them.

Others affect difficult things; if they dwel on firm Land, they wil remove to an Iland, and thence to land again, being no way constant to their desires. They commend courage & strength in wars, & let themselves be conquered by lust & avarice; they are in brief, as disordered in their minds, as Thersites was in his body. And now me thinks, O most worthy Hyppocrates, you should not reprehend my laughing, perceiving so many fooleries in men; for no man will mock his own folly, but that which he seeth in a second, and so they justly mock one another. The drunkard cals him a glutton, whom he knows to be sober. Many men love the sea, others husbandry; briefly, they cannot agree in their own trades and professions, much lesse in their lives and actions.

451.BurtonPrinted p. 24, y: “Aust. l. 1. in Gen. Jumenti & servi tui obsequium rigide postulas, & tu nullum præstas aliis, nec ipsi Deo.” Translation: “You strictly demand obedience from your beast of burden and your servant, yet offer none to others, not even to God himself.” Explanation: The abbreviation attributes the saying to Augustine, book 1 on Genesis. The precise work and passage have not yet been established.

452.BurtonPrinted p. 24, z: “Uxores ducunt, mox foras ejiciunt.” Translation: “They marry wives, then soon cast them out.”

453.BurtonPrinted p. 24, a: “Pueros amant, mox fastidiunt.” Translation: “They love their children, then soon disdain them.”

454.BurtonPrinted p. 24, b: “Quid hoc ab insania deest?” Translation: “How does this fall short of madness?”

455.BurtonPrinted p. 24, c: “Reges eligunt, deponunt.” Translation: “They choose kings, then depose them.”

457.BurtonPrinted p. 24, d: “Contra parentes, fratres, cives perpetuo rixantur, & inimicitias agunt.” Translation: “They constantly quarrel with parents, brothers, and fellow citizens, and pursue their enmities.”

458.BurtonPrinted p. 24, *: “Credo equidem vivos ducent è marmore vultus.” Translation: “They will, I indeed believe, draw living faces from marble.” Explanation: Virgil, Aeneid 6.848: part of Anchises’s comparison of other peoples’ arts with Rome’s vocation. The unlettered marginal quotation is attached here to the speaking likenesses it illustrates; no distinct corresponding body marker is legible.

459.BurtonPrinted p. 24, e: “Idola inanimata amant, animata odio habent, sic pontificii.” Translation: “They love lifeless images and hate living ones; so do adherents of the pope.” Explanation: The final words are Burton’s anti-Catholic application, not a remark attributable to an ancient Greek speaker.

461.BurtonPrinted p. 24, f: “Suam stultitiam perspicit nemo, sed alter alterum deridet.” Translation: “No one sees his own folly, but each mocks the other.” Explanation: The scan abbreviates the final nasal in Suam; it is expanded here.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Democritus Junior to the Reader

p. 48

Hippocrates asked why he laughed. He said it was at the vanities and follies of the age: to see people so devoid of virtuous actions, searching so far for gold, with no end to their ambition; taking endless trouble for a little glory and human favour; digging so deep into the earth for gold, often finding nothing and losing their lives and fortunes. Some love dogs, others horses; some want obedience throughout many provinces, yet will obey no one themselves. Some love their wives dearly at first, then abandon and hate them. They have children, spend much care and money on their education, yet when they reach adulthood despise and neglect them, leaving them exposed to the world’s mercy.

Do these actions not reveal their intolerable folly? When people live in peace, they long for war and hate tranquillity, deposing kings and putting others in their place, murdering men so that they can father children with their wives. How many strange impulses people have! When poor and needy, they seek wealth; when they have it, they do not enjoy it but bury it underground or squander it. O wise Hippocrates, I laugh at these actions, but still more when no good comes of them and when they serve such bad ends.

There is no truth or justice among them. Every day they sue one another: son against father and mother, brother against brother, relations and friends doing the same—all for riches they cannot possess after death. Yet they slander and kill one another, commit every unlawful act, and show contempt for God and humankind, friends and country. They prize many lifeless things, counting them among their greatest treasures: statues, pictures, and other possessions, bought at great cost and made so skilfully that they lack only speech; yet they hate living people who speak to them.

Others seek out difficulties: if they live on the mainland, they move to an island, then back to the mainland, never remaining constant in their desires. They praise courage and strength in war, yet let lust and greed conquer them. In short, their minds are as misshapen as Thersites’s body. Surely now, most worthy Hippocrates, you should not blame my laughter when you see so much foolishness in people. No one mocks his own folly, only the folly he sees in someone else; thus they rightly mock one another. A drunkard calls someone a glutton whom he knows to be sober. Many love the sea, others farming: in short, they cannot agree even in their trades and occupations, still less in their lives and actions.

456.“Humors” here denotes changing impulses or dispositions; the passage does not assign each action to one of the four bodily humours. The repeated reversals—peace into war, attachment into rejection, poverty into wealth without enjoyment—supply Democritus’s reasons for laughing.

460.“Senslesse” means without sensation, hence lifeless, and “moveables” means movable possessions. The contrast between affection for images and hatred of people attracts Burton’s anti-Catholic addition in the margin. That application is distinguished from the ancient narrative.

462.Thersites is the Greek soldier described as physically misshapen in Iliad 2.211–219. Burton turns that bodily description into a comparison with disordered minds. The judgement is preserved as part of his rhetoric. “Sober” in the following sentence refers to sobriety in drinking, not necessarily moderation in eating.

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.