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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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Section 3 Member 1. Subsection 1 a Digression on Consolation, Containing…

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1651 English

308–309

So it is, and so it was, and ever will be. He that refuseth to see and hear, to suffer this, is not fit to live in this world, and knows not the common condition of all men, to whom so long as they live, with a reciprocall course, joyes and sorrows are annexed, and succeed one another. It is inevitable, it may not be avoided, and why then shouldst thou be so much troubled? Grave nihil est homini quod fert necessitas, as Tully deems out of an old Poet, that which is necessary, cannot be grievous.

If it be so, then comfort thy self in this, That whether thou wilt or no, it must be indured: make a vertue of necessity, and conform thy self to undergo it. Si longa est, levis est; si gravis est, brevis est. If it be long, ’tis light; if grievous, it cannot last. It will away, dies dolorem minuit, and if nought else, yet time will wear it out. custome will ease it; oblivion is a common medicine for all losses, injuries, griefes, and detriments whatsoever,

and when they are once past, this commodity comes of infelicity, it makes the rest of our life sweeter unto us: Atque hæc olim meminisse juvabit, the privation and want of a thing many times makes it more pleasant and delightsome then before it was. We must not think the happiest of us all to escape here without some misfortunes,

—— Usque adeo nulla est sincera voluptas, Solicitumque aliquid lætis intervenit. ——

Heaven and earth are much unlike; Those heavenly bodies indeed are freely carried in their orbes without any impediment or interruption, to continue their course for innumerable ages, and make their conversions: but men are urged with many difficulties, and have divers hindrances, oppositions, still crossing, interrupting their endeavours and desires, and no mortall man is free from this law of nature. We must not therefore hope to have all things answer our own expectation, to have a continuance of good success and fortunes, Fortuna nunquam perpetuò est bona.

And as Minutius Fœlix the Roman Consul told that insulting Coriolanus, drunk with his good fortunes, look not for that success thou hast hitherto had; It never yet happened to any man since the beginning of the world, nor ever will, to have all things according to his desire, or to whom fortune was never opposite and adverse. Even so it fell out to him as he foretold.

6413.BurtonPrinted page 308, t: “Ita est profecto, & quisquis hæc videre abnuis, huic seculi parum aptus es, aut potius nostrorum omnium conditionem ignoras, quibus reciproco quodam nexu læta tristibus, tristia lætis invicem succedunt.” Indeed it is so; whoever you are who refuse to see these things, you are ill suited to this age—or rather you do not know the condition of us all, for whom, in a reciprocal connection, joys follow sorrows and sorrows joys. The printed huic seculi is retained.

6414.BurtonPrinted page 308, u: “In Tusc. è vetere poetâ.” In the Tusculan Disputations, from an ancient poet.

6416.BurtonPrinted page 309, x: “Cardan lib. 1. de consol. Est consolationis genus non leve, quod à necessitate fit; sive feras, sive non feras, ferendum est tamen.” Cardano, On Consolation, book 1: no slight consolation comes from necessity; whether you bear it willingly or not, it must still be borne.

6417.BurtonPrinted page 309, y: “Seneca.” Seneca.

6418.BurtonPrinted page 309, z: “Omni dolori tempus est medicina; ipsum luctum extinguit, injurias delet, omnis mali oblivionem adfert.” Time is medicine for every grief: it extinguishes mourning itself, effaces injuries, and brings forgetfulness of every evil.

6420.BurtonPrinted page 309, a: “Habet hoc quoque commodi omnis infelicitas, suaviorem vitam cum abierit relinquit.” Every misfortune has this advantage too: when it departs, it leaves life sweeter.

6421.BurtonPrinted page 309, b: “Virg.” Virgil.

6423.BurtonPrinted page 309, c: “Ovid.” Ovid.

6425.BurtonPrinted page 309, d: “Lorchan. Sunt namque, infra superis, humana terrenis longe disparia. Etenim beatæ mentes feruntur liberè, & sine ullo impedimento, stellæ, æthereique orbes cursus & conversiones suas jam sæculis innumerabilibus constantissimè conficiunt: verum homines magnis angustiis. Neque hâc naturæ lege est quisquam mortalium solutus.” Lorchan: things below differ greatly from things above, human things from earthly things. Blessed spirits move freely and without any hindrance; the stars and heavenly spheres have completed their courses and revolutions with perfect constancy for countless ages. Human beings, however, are in great straits; no mortal is released from this law of nature. The difficult opening, including human things versus earthly things, follows the printed wording.

6427.BurtonPrinted page 309, e: “Dionysius Halicar. lib. 8. non enim unquam contigit, nec post homines natos invenies quenquam, cui omnia ex animi sententia successerint, ita ut nulla in re fortuna sit ei adversata.” Dionysius of Halicarnassus, book 8: it has never happened, nor since human beings first existed will you find anyone, that everything has gone as he wished and Fortune has opposed him in nothing. The final word continues at the foot of the page.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Section 3 Member 1. Subsection 1 a Digression on Consolation, Containing…

p. 538

So it is, so it was, and so it always will be. Whoever refuses to see, hear, and endure this is unfit to live in the world and does not understand the common human condition: throughout our lives, joys and sorrows are linked and succeed one another in turn. It is inevitable; it cannot be avoided. Why, then, should you be so troubled? “Nothing that necessity brings is burdensome to a human being,” as Cicero judges, quoting an old poet: what is necessary cannot be grievous.

If so, take comfort in this: whether you wish it or not, it must be endured. Make a virtue of necessity and reconcile yourself to bearing it. “If it is long, it is light; if it is severe, it is brief.” If it lasts, it is light; if grievous, it cannot last. It will pass: “Time lessens grief.” If nothing else helps, time will wear it away; habit will ease it. Forgetfulness is a universal medicine for losses, injuries, griefs, and harms of every kind.

Once they have passed, misfortune brings this benefit: it makes the rest of our life sweeter. “One day it will be pleasant to remember even these things.” Being deprived of something, and missing it, often makes it more pleasant and delightful than it was before. We must not expect even the happiest among us to pass through this life without some misfortunes:

So true it is that no pleasure is unmixed: Something troubling intrudes upon our joys.

Heaven and earth are very different. The heavenly bodies travel freely in their spheres, without hindrance or interruption, continuing their courses and revolutions for countless ages. Human beings, however, are beset by difficulties, with obstacles and opposition continually crossing and interrupting their efforts and desires; no mortal is exempt from this law of nature. We must therefore not expect everything to meet our expectations, or our success and good fortune to continue unbroken: “Fortune is never favourable forever.”

As Minutius Felix, the Roman consul, told the arrogant Coriolanus, drunk on his good fortune: do not expect the success you have enjoyed so far to continue. Never since the beginning of the world has anyone had everything go as he wished, with Fortune never opposing him; nor will anyone ever do so. And things happened to him just as he had been warned.

6415.Burton offers necessity as consolation. Compare the close parallel in the Consolation to Apollonius attributed to Plutarch, section 16: Amphiaraus consoles Archemorus’s mother with verses from Euripides’ Hypsipyle, ending that what necessity brings need not be grievous. This locates a parallel in English translation, not Burton’s Latin wording or the marginal attribution to Cicero’s Tusculan Disputations, which remains unresolved.

6419.The maxim about pain is attributed here to Seneca; compare Letter 78.7, which argues that pain is either bearable or brief. Burton’s formula is not a literal quotation of that passage. Both the fresh Latin rendering and Burton’s own English gloss are represented.

6422.Compare Virgil, Aeneid 1.203. Burton’s Atque hæc, “and these things,” replaces Virgil’s forsan et haec, “perhaps even these things.” His more certain wording remains in the original and is reflected in the translation.

6424.Ovid, Metamorphoses 7.453–454, in the account of Aegeus’s joy at recognizing Theseus, before war interrupts the celebration. Burton’s two lines are kept as verse.

6426.The contrast assumes the orderly celestial spheres of older cosmology. Burton opposes their uninterrupted revolutions to human uncertainty; the marginal Latin’s opening is textually awkward and has not been silently repaired.

6428.Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 8.27, gives the warning in an embassy to Coriolanus. The speaker is Minucius, identified earlier as Marcus Minucius, a former consul. Burton’s added Felix appears to conflate him with another name; it is retained rather than silently removed.

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.