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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 571 of 1495

Member 3 Against Poverty and Want and Other Such Adversities

Book Mode

1651 English

334–335

Chear up, I say, be not dismayd; Spes alit agricolas; he that sowes in teares, shall reap in joy, Psal. 126.7.

Si fortune me tormente, Esperance me contente.

hope refresheth, as much as misery depresseth; hard beginnings have many times prosperous events, and that may happen at last which never was yet. A desire accomplished delights the soul, Prov. 13.19.

Grata superveniet quæ non sperabitur hora.Which makes m’ enjoye my joys long wish’d at last, Welcome that houre shall come when hope is past:

a louring morning may turne to a fair afternoone,

Nube solet pulsâ candidus ire dies.

the hope that is defer’d, is the fainting of the heart, but when the desire commeth, it is a tree of life, Prov. 13.12. suavissimum est voti compos fieri. Many men are both wretched and miserable at first, but afterwards most happy; and oftentimes it so falls out, as Machiavel relates of Cosmos Medices, that fortunate and renowned Citizen of Europe, that all his youth was full of perplexity, danger and misery till forty yeares were past, and then upon a sudden the Sun of his honour brake out as through a cloud. Hunniades was fetched out of prison, and Henry the third of Portugall out of a poor Monastery, to be crowned kings.

Multa cadunt inter calicem supremaque labra,

beyond all hope and expectation many things fall out, and who knows what may happen? Nondum omnium dierum Soles occiderunt, as Philippus said, All the Sunnes are not yet set, a day may come to make amends for all. Though my father and mother forsake me, yet the Lord will gather mee up, Psal. 27.10. Waite patiently on the Lord, and hope in him, Psal. 37.7. Bee strong, hope and trust in the Lord, and he will comfort thee, and give thee thine hearts desire, Psal. 27. vers. 14.

Sperate & vosmet rebus servate secundis.

Fret not thy self because thou art poor, contemned, or not so well for the present as thou wouldest be, not respected as thou oughtest to be, by birth, place, worth; or that which is a double corrosive, thou hast been happy, honourable and rich, art now distressed and poor, a scorn of men, a burden to the world, irksome to thy self and others, thou hast lost all:

Miserum est fuisse felicem, and as Boethius cals it, Infelicissimum genus infortunii; this made Timon halfe mad with melancholy, to think of his former fortunes and present misfortunes; this alone makes many miserable wretches discontent. I confess it is a great misery to have been happy, the quintessence of infelicity, to have been honourable and rich, but yet easily to be endured:

Security succeeds, and to a judicious man a far better estate. The loss of thy goods and money is no loss; thou hast lost them, they would otherwise have lost thee. If thy mony be gone, thou art so much the lighter, and as Saint Hierome perswades Rusticus the Monke, to forsake all and follow Christ: Gold and silver are too heavy metals for him to carry that seeks heaven.

6890.BurtonPrinted page 335, asterisk: “Ovid.” Ovid, as printed; the verse is Horace, Epistles 1.4.14.

6892.BurtonPrinted page 335, dagger: “Ovid.” Ovid, Tristia 2.142.

6894.BurtonPrinted page 335, n: “Thales.” Thales. No work or intermediary is supplied; the exact attribution remains to be collated.

6895.BurtonPrinted page 335, o: “Lib. 7. Flor. hist. Omnium felicissimus, & locupletissimus, &c. incarceratus sæpe adolescentiam periculo mortis habuit, solicitudinis & discriminis plenam, &c.” Florentine History, book 7: “Most fortunate and wealthiest of all, and so on; imprisoned, he often spent his youth in danger of death, full of anxiety and peril, and so on.” Burton’s compressed Latin summary is retained separately from the English account.

6901.BurtonPrinted page 335, p: “Lætior successit securitas quæ simul cum divitiis cohabitare nescit. Camden.” “A happier freedom from anxiety followed, which cannot dwell together with riches.” Camden; the work and passage are not specified.

6902.BurtonPrinted page 335, q: “Pecuniam perdidisti, fortassis illa te perderet manens. Seneca.” “You have lost your money; perhaps, had it stayed, it would have ruined you.” Seneca; exact location still to be established.

6903.BurtonPrinted page 335, r: “Expeditior es ob pecuniarum jacturam. Fortuna opes auferre non animum potest. Seneca.” “You are less encumbered through the loss of money. Fortune can take away wealth, but not the mind.” Seneca; exact location still to be established.

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

p. 571

Take heart, I say; do not be dismayed. “Hope sustains farmers.” “Whoever sows in tears will reap in joy,” Psalm 126:7.

If fortune torments me, Hope consoles me.

Hope refreshes as much as misery weighs down. Hard beginnings often have happy outcomes, and something that has never happened yet may happen at last. “A fulfilled desire delights the soul,” Proverbs 13:19.

The hour you do not expect will arrive as a welcome surprise.

It lets me enjoy at last the joys I have long wished for; Welcome is the hour that comes when hope has passed.

A gloomy morning may turn into a fine afternoon:

When the cloud is driven away, a bright day often follows.

“Deferred hope makes the heart faint, but when desire is fulfilled it is a tree of life,” Proverbs 13:12. “It is most sweet to obtain one’s wish.” Many people are wretched and miserable at first, but afterwards very happy. It often happens as Machiavelli relates of Cosimo de’ Medici, that fortunate and renowned citizen of Europe: all his youth was full of anxiety, danger and misery until forty years had passed; then suddenly the sun of his honour broke out as through a cloud. Hunyadi was brought from prison, and Henry the Third of Portugal from a poor monastery, to be crowned kings.

Much can happen between the cup and the edge of the lips.

Many things happen beyond all hope and expectation; who knows what may happen? “The suns of all our days have not yet set,” as Philip said. Not all the suns have set; a day may come to make amends for everything. “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me in,” Psalm 27:10. “Wait patiently for the Lord and hope in him,” Psalm 37:7. “Be strong, hope and trust in the Lord, and he will comfort you and give you your heart’s desire,” Psalm 27:14.

Keep hoping, and preserve yourselves for better times.

Do not fret because you are poor, despised, or not as well off at present as you would wish; because you do not receive the respect your birth, position or worth deserves. Or, what eats away at you doubly, because you were once happy, honoured and rich, but are now afflicted and poor, an object of scorn, a burden to the world, wearisome to yourself and others, having lost everything:

“It is misery to have been happy,” and, as Boethius calls it, “the unhappiest kind of misfortune.” Thinking of his former fortune and present misfortunes made Timon half mad with melancholy. This alone makes many miserable people discontented. I admit that having been happy is a great misery—the very essence of unhappiness, having once been honoured and rich—yet it can readily be endured.

Freedom from anxiety follows, and, for a discerning man, a far better condition. Losing your goods and money is no loss: you have lost them; otherwise they would have ruined you. If your money is gone, you are that much lighter. As Saint Jerome urges the monk Rusticus to leave everything and follow Christ: gold and silver are too heavy for someone seeking heaven to carry.

6888.“Hope sustains farmers” is the opening of Tibullus 2.6.21. The psalm quotation is Psalm 126:5 in common English numbering; Burton prints verse 7, although that psalm has six verses.

6889.A French rhyming maxim: fortune torments, hope consoles. Burton supplies no author. Its verse form is retained without forcing a new rhyme.

6891.Horace, Epistles 1.4.14, despite the margin’s attribution to Ovid. In context, Horace urges treating each day as the last; an additional, unexpected hour then becomes welcome. Burton’s English couplet instead stresses the eventual enjoyment of long-desired joys.

6893.Ovid, Tristia 2.142. In its original setting, the clearing weather supports hope that imperial anger may soften. Burton uses it after his own morning-and-afternoon comparison.

6896.Machiavelli’s Florentine History, book 7, describes Cosimo de’ Medici’s anxieties before forty and later good fortune. The identities and details of the following two royal anecdotes need further historical collation. “Henry the third of Portugall” is retained as printed; the apparent intended figure is Cardinal Henry of Portugal, not a king conventionally styled Henry III.

6897.A form of the proverb “many a slip between cup and lip.” Burton uses its uncertainty hopefully: events can change before the outcome is settled. The exact Latin source is not given.

6898.Philippus is Philip; Burton does not identify him further or give a source for the saying. Psalm 27:14 urges waiting and courage; “give you your heart’s desire” recalls Psalm 37:4. The modern text preserves Burton’s composite quotation and printed references.

6899.Adapted from Virgil, Aeneid 1.207. The consulted text begins Durate, “endure,” while Burton substitutes Sperate, “hope.” The rest urges preservation for more favourable circumstances.

6900.Compare Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy 2, prose 4: recollection of former happiness intensifies present adversity. Timon is the traditional Athenian misanthrope, associated with ruined fortune and hatred of humanity; Burton gives no precise source for this account. Corrosive means something that eats away at the sufferer.

6904.“Security” means freedom from care; fortassis means “perhaps,” weaker than Burton’s assertion. Manipulus florum, Amissio h/l source sheets, link these sayings to Pseudo-Seneca, De remediis fortuitorum 11.1–3. Burton’s intermediary, Camden, the fortune-and-mind maxim and Jerome’s heavy-metals phrase remain unlocated; the latter was not found in Letter 125.

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.