The Anatomy of Melancholy

Though he has so far charged ahead at full gallop and rushed headlong, following his passions and giving his desires free rein, let him now stop abruptly and rein himself in. As Lemnius advises, he should resist with all his strength and effort, and should not cherish those foolish imaginings that creep so secretly into his mind: delightful and attractive at first, but bitter as gall in the end, and so headstrong that no reasoning, skill, counsel, or persuasion can shake them off.

Even if he is far gone and accustomed to such fantastic imaginings, let him, as Cicero and Plutarch advise, resist them and strengthen or prepare himself against them through forethought and reason; or, as we do with a crooked stick, bend himself in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, flee whatever sadly troubles the mind; Command cares, pale fear, and vengeful anger To stay far away; let everything be joyful.

Meanwhile drive them from your mind: Pale fears, sad cares, and grinding griefs, Vengeful anger, pain, and discontent; Let your whole soul turn to merriment.

Cast off heavy cares; regard anger as a sin.

If idleness has caused this illness, or he notices that he is inclined to solitude, to walking alone and delighting his mind with foolish imaginings, let him avoid it by every means. It is an intimate enemy, a delightful melancholy, a friend in appearance but a secret devil, a sweet poison; in the end it will ruin him. Let him go at once, give himself a task or set himself to work, and find some good company.

If he continues, like a gnat flying around a candle until at last it burns its body, he will in the end destroy himself. If some distressing sight or bad company is the cause, let him leave it immediately. If it is his own fault, through poor diet, bad air, lack of exercise, and so forth, let him now begin to reform his habits. It would be a perfect remedy against all bodily decay if, as Roger Bacon puts it, we could only govern ourselves moderately in those six non-natural things.

If it is disgrace, mistreatment, worldly loss, slander, the death of friends, imprisonment, or banishment, do not be troubled by it; do not fear, be angry, or grieve over it, but bear it with all your courage. So says Bernard of Gordon, On the Preservation of Life, book 1, chapter 1. “Go forward all the more boldly against it.”

If sickness, failure, or some other adversity has caused it, meet it with invincible courage. Strengthen yourself through God’s word, or otherwise: “Evils must be argued away by good things.” Set prosperity against adversity. As we refresh our eyes by looking at a pleasant meadow, fountain, picture, or the like, so refresh your mind with something of an opposite character, and divert your thoughts with some more pleasing meditation.