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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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The Anatomy of MelancholyMember 3 Against Poverty and Want and Other Such Adversities

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Facing Pages · Branch 554 of 1495

Member 3 Against Poverty and Want and Other Such Adversities

Book Mode

1651 English

320–321–321

He is rich, wealthy, fat, what gets he by it? pride, insolency, lust, ambition, cares, feares, suspicion, trouble, anger, emulation, and many filthy diseases of body and minde. He hath indeed variety of dishes, better fare, sweet wine, pleasant sawce, dainty musick, gay clothes, Lords it bravely out, &c. and all that which Micillus admired in Lucian, but with them he hath the gout, dropsies, apoplexies, palsies, stone, pox, rheumes, chatarres, crudities, oppilations, Melancholy, &c. lust enters in, anger, ambition, according to Chrysostome, the sequel of riches is pride, riot, intemperance, arrogancy, fury, and all irrational courses.

—— turpi fregerunt sæcula luxu Divitiæ molles ——

with their variety of dishes, many such maladies of body and mind get in, which the poor man knowes not of. As Saturn in Lucian, answered the discontented commonalty, (which because of their neglected Saturnal feasts in Rome, made a grievous complaint and exclamation against rich men) that they were much mistaken in supposing such happiness in riches;

you see the best (said he) but you know not their several gripings and discontents: they are like painted wals, fair without, rotten within: diseased, filthy, crasie, full of intemperances effects; And who can reckon half? if you but knew their fears, cares, anguish of mind and vexation, to which they are subject, you would hereafter renounce all riches.

O si pateant pectora divitum, Quantos intus sublimis agit Fortuna metus? Brutia Coro Pulsante fretum mitior unda est.O that their breasts were but conspicuous, How full of fear within, how furious? The narrow Seas are not so boisterous.

Yea, but he hath the world at will that is rich, the good things of the earth: suave est de magno tollere acervo, he is a happy man, adored like a God, a Prince, every man seeks to him, applauds, honours, admires him.

He hath honours indeed, abundance of all things: but (as I said) withal pride, lust, anger, faction, emulation, fears, cares, suspicion enter with his wealth; for his intemperance he hath aches, crudities, gowts, and as fruits of his idleness, and fulness, lust, surfeiting and drunkenness, all manner of diseases: pecuniis augetur improbitas, the wealthier, the more dishonest.

He is exposed to hatred, envy, peril and treason, fear of death, of degradation, &c. ’tis lubrica statio & proxima præcipitio, and the higher he climbs, the greater is his fall.

—— celsæ graviora casu Decidunt turres, feriuntque summos Fulgura montes,

the lightning commonly sets on fire the highest towers; in the more eminent place he is, the more subject to fall.

Rumpitur innumeris arbos uberrima pomis, Et subito nimiæ præcipitantur opes.

6625.BurtonPrinted page 320, s: “Gallo Tom. 2.” The Cock, volume 2; Lucian’s dialogue.

6626.BurtonPrinted page 320, dagger: “Et è contubernio fœdi atque olidi ventris mors tandem educit. Seneca ep. 103.” And death finally leads [us] out of companionship with a foul and stinking belly. Seneca, letter 103, as printed; compare Letter 102.27.

6627.BurtonPrinted page 321, asterisk: “Divitiarum sequela, luxus, intemperies, arrogantia, superbia, furor injustus, omnisque irrationalis motus.” The consequences of riches: luxury, excess, arrogance, pride, unjust rage, and every irrational impulse.

6629.BurtonPrinted page 321, dagger: “Juven. Sat. 6.” Juvenal, Satire 6; compare lines 299–300.

6631.BurtonPrinted page 321, u: “Saturn. Epist.” Saturnalian Letters, by Lucian.

6633.BurtonPrinted page 321, x: “Vos quidem divites putatis felices, sed nescitis eorum miserias.” You indeed think the rich happy, but you do not know their miseries.

6634.BurtonPrinted page 321, y: “Et quota pars hæc eorum quæ istos discruciant? si nossetis metus & curas, quibus obnoxii sunt, planè fugiendas vobis divitias existimaretis.” And how small a part is this of what torments them? If you knew the fears and cares to which they are subject, you would certainly consider riches something to avoid.

6635.BurtonPrinted page 321, dagger: “Seneca in in Herc. Oeteo.” Seneca, in Hercules Oetaeus. The repeated “in” is printed in the margin; compare lines 648–651.

6637.BurtonPrinted page 321, z: “Et diis similes stulta cogitatio facit.” And foolish thinking makes them like gods.

6639.BurtonPrinted page 321, a: “Flamma simul libidinis ingreditur; ira, furor & superbia, divitiarum sequela. Chrys.” At the same time the flame of lust enters; anger, rage, and pride are the consequences of riches. Chrysostom.

6641.BurtonPrinted page 321, b: “Omnium oculis, odio, insidiis expositus, semper solicitus, fortunæ ludibrium.” Exposed to everyone’s eyes, hatred, and plots, always anxious, the plaything of fortune.

6642.BurtonPrinted page 321, c: “Hor. 2. l. od. 10.” Horace, Odes, book 2, ode 10; compare lines 10–12.

6644.BurtonPrinted page 321, d: “Quid me felicem toties jactastis amici? Qui cecidit, stabili non fuit ille loco. Boeth.” Why have you so often proclaimed me happy, my friends? The man who fell was not in a stable place. Boethius; compare Consolation of Philosophy 1, metre 1.21–22. Burton’s second line differs from the consulted text.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Member 3 Against Poverty and Want and Other Such Adversities

p. 554

He is rich, wealthy, fat: what does he gain by it? Pride, insolence, lust, ambition, cares, fears, suspicion, trouble, anger, rivalry, and many foul diseases of body and mind. He certainly has a variety of dishes, better food, sweet wine, pleasant sauces, exquisite music, splendid clothes, and struts about magnificently as a lord, with all that Micillus admired in Lucian. But along with these he has gout, dropsy, apoplexy, palsy, stones, the pox, rheums, catarrhs, indigestion, obstructions, melancholy, and so on. Lust enters, anger, ambition; according to Chrysostom, the consequences of riches are pride, dissipation, excess, arrogance, fury, and every irrational course.

Softening riches have broken the age With shameful luxury.

With their variety of dishes, many such maladies of body and mind slip in, of which the poor man knows nothing. As Saturn in Lucian answered the discontented common people, who complained bitterly and cried out against the rich because their Saturnalian feasts in Rome had been neglected: they were much mistaken in supposing riches brought such happiness.

You see the best of it, he said, but you do not know their various pains and discontents. They are like painted walls, fine outside and rotten within: diseased, filthy, infirm, full of the effects of excess. And who can reckon half of them? If you only knew the fears, cares, mental anguish, and vexation to which they are subject, you would renounce all riches from then on.

Oh, if the hearts of the rich lay open, What fears does lofty Fortune stir within? The Bruttian sea, when the northwest wind Beats upon it, has gentler waves.

Oh, if only their hearts could be seen, How full of fear within, how furious! The narrow seas are not so stormy.

Yes, but the rich man has the world at his command, the good things of the earth: “It is pleasant to draw from a great heap.” He is a happy man, revered like a god or a prince; everyone courts him, applauds, honours, and admires him.

He has honours indeed, and an abundance of everything; but, as I said, pride, lust, anger, faction, rivalry, fears, cares, and suspicion enter with his wealth. For his excesses he has aches, indigestion, and gout; and as the fruits of his idleness, overindulgence, lust, gluttony, and drunkenness, every kind of disease. “Wickedness increases with money”: the wealthier, the more dishonest.

He is exposed to hatred, envy, danger, and treachery, to fear of death, of losing his rank, and so on. It is “a slippery station on the edge of a precipice”; the higher he climbs, the greater his fall.

Tall towers fall with a heavier crash, And lightning strikes The highest mountains.

Lightning commonly sets the highest towers on fire; the more exalted his position, the more liable he is to fall.

The most fruitful tree breaks under its countless apples, And excessive wealth suddenly comes crashing down.

6628.These are Burton’s traditional disease categories and moral associations. “Crasie” below means infirm. Lucian’s The Cock features Micillus, usually called Micyllus. The Seneca marginal quotation adapts Letter 102.27, not the printed 103: there the soul’s departure is compared with release from the body, not a diagnosis of melancholy.

6630.Juvenal, Satires 6.299–300, on the destructive effects of luxury. Molles suggests softness or enervation. The modern lines give a fresh translation of Burton’s quotation and preserve its two-line display.

6632.Lucian’s Saturnalian Letters 25–30 supplies Saturn’s consolatory reply to the poor, describing the anxieties, illness, and dependence of the rich. Burton compresses and adapts the dialogue. His wall image is retained; the consulted translation instead compares wealthy people to theatrical costumes, splendid outside and wretched within.

6636.Hercules Oetaeus 648–651, transmitted among Seneca’s tragedies with disputed authorship. Burton prints divitum for ditum and mitior for the consulted lenior. Corus is the northwest wind; the Bruttian sea is off southern Italy. Burton’s three-line English rendering follows the fresh translation as a separate verse unit.

6638.Horace, Satires 1.1.51: it is pleasant to draw from a large stockpile. Burton prints de where the consulted text has ex. The apparent advantage of wealth is voiced as an objection before the catalogue of its accompanying troubles resumes.

6640.The passage links luxury with moral and bodily disorders within Burton’s consolatory argument. “Crudities” means imperfect digestion or undigested matter; “emulation” means rivalry. The Chrysostom passages are quoted without an exact work or section and remain to be collated.

6643.Horace, Odes 2.10.10–12. Burton prints the irregular graviora for graviore; the modern rendering gives the clear comparative sense, “with a heavier crash.” The Latin has lightning striking high mountains; Burton’s following English gloss transfers the lightning to towers.

6645.Direct inspection of Camerarius’s first century, emblem XIII, confirms this couplet beneath the fruit tree and its fallen branches. The wording agrees with Burton apart from spelling and punctuation. Excessive abundance causes collapse; Burton’s separate prose gloss follows. This comparison verifies the consulted printed witness, without identifying Burton’s particular copy or edition.

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.