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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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1651 English Page · Branch 582 of 1495

Member 5 Against Sorrow Over the Death of Friends or Other Causes, Groundless…

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1651 English

343–344

—— est quædam flere voluptas, Expletur lachrymis egeriturque dolor:

yet after a dayes mourning or two, comfort thy self for thy heaviness, Eccles. 38. 17. Non decet defunctum ignavo questu prosequi: ’twas Germanicus advice of old, that we should not dwell too long upon our passions, to be desperately sad, immoderate grievers, to let them tyrannize, there’s indolentiæ ars, a medium to be kept:

we do not (saith Austin) forbid men to grieve, but to grieve overmuch. I forbid not a man to be angry, but I ask for what cause he is so: Not to be sad, but why is he sad? Not to fear, but wherefore is he afraid? I require a moderation as well as a just reason.

The Romans and most civil Commonwealths have set a time to such solemnities, they must not mourn after a set day, or if in a family a child be born, a daughter or son married, some state or honour be conferred, a brother be redeemed from his bands, a friend from his enemies, or the like, they must lament no more. And ’tis fit it should be so; to what end is all their funeral pomp, complaints and tears?

When Socrates was dying, his friends Apollodorus and Crito with some others, were weeping by him, which he perceiving, asked them what they meant: for that very cause he put all the women out of the room, upon which words of his they were abashed, and ceased from their tears.

Lodovicus Cortesius, a rich Lawyer of Padua (as Bernardinus Scardeonius relates) commanded by his last will, & a great mulct if otherwise to his heir, that no funeral should be kept for him, no man should lament: But as at a wedding musick and minstrels to be provided; and instead of black mourners he took order, that twelve virgins clad in green should carry him to the Church. His will and testament was accordingly performed, and he buried in S. Sophies Church.

Tully was much grieved for his daughter Tulliola’s death at first, until such time that he had confirmed his mind with some Philosophical precepts; then he began to triumph over fortune and grief, and for her reception into heaven to be much more joyed then before he was troubled for her loss. If an heathen man could so fortifie himself from Philosophy, what shall a Christian from Divinity? Why doest thou so macerate thy self? ’Tis an inevitable chance, the first statute in Magna Charta, an everlasting Act of Parliament, all must die.

Constat æternâ positumque lege est, Ut constet genitum nihil.

7044.BurtonPrinted page 343, f: “Ovid. 4 Trist.” Ovid, Tristia, book 4; the lines are 4.3.37–38.

7046.BurtonPrinted page 343, dagger: “Tacitus lib. 4.” Tacitus, book 4, as printed. Germanicus’s words are in Annals 2.71.

7048.BurtonPrinted page 343, asterisk: “Lib. 9 cap. 9. de civitate Dei. Non quæro cum irascatur sed cur, non utrum sit tristis sed unde, non utrum timeat sed quid timeat.” City of God 9.9, as printed: “I ask not when he is angry but why; not whether he is sad but from what cause; not whether he fears but what he fears.” The relevant passage is 9.5; Burton’s wording is adapted.

7050.BurtonPrinted page 343, dagger: “Festus verbo minuitur. Luctui dies indicebatur cum liberi nascerentur, cum frater abit, amicus ab hospite captivus domum redeat, puella desponsaretur.” Festus, under minuitur: “A limit to mourning was appointed when children were born, when a brother departs, a captive friend returns home from a host, or a girl was betrothed.” The awkward printed frater abit and ab hospite are retained and translated literally; Burton’s body instead speaks of release from captivity and enemies. The Festus entry requires collation.

7052.BurtonPrinted page 343, g: “Ob hanc causam mulieres ablegaram ne talia facerent; nos hæc audientes erubuimus & destitimus a lachrymis.” “For this reason I had sent away the women, so that they would not do such things. Hearing this, we blushed and stopped weeping.” Compare Plato, Phaedo 117d–e.

7054.BurtonPrinted page 344, dagger: “Lib. 1. class. 8. de claris Jurisconsultis Patavinis.” Bernardino Scardeone, book 1, class 8, on distinguished Paduan jurists. The printed book numeral is 1; the anecdote remains to be collated in Scardeone.

7055.BurtonPrinted page 344, asterisk: “12. Innuptæ puellæ amictæ viridibus pannis, &c.” “Twelve unmarried girls dressed in green garments,” and so on.

7057.BurtonPrinted page 344, h: “Lib. de consol.” Book On Consolation. The attribution to Cicero requires caution; see the editorial note.

7058.BurtonPrinted page 344, i: “Præceptis philosophiæ confirmatus adversus omnem fortunæ vim, & te consecratâ in cœlumque receptâ, tantâ affectus lætitiâ sum ac voluptate, quantam animo capere possum, ac exultare plane mihi videor, victorque de omni dolore & fortuna triumphare.” “Strengthened by philosophy’s teachings against every assault of fortune, and with you consecrated and received into heaven, I am filled with as much joy and delight as my mind can hold. I seem truly to exult and, victorious, to triumph over all grief and fortune.” The quotation’s exact source text remains to be collated.

7059.BurtonPrinted page 344, dagger: “Ut lignum uri natum, arista secari, sic homines mori.” “As wood is born to be burned and an ear of grain to be cut, so human beings are born to die.” No author is named.

7061.BurtonPrinted page 344, k: “Boeth. lib. 2. met. 3.” Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy, book 2, metre 3.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Member 5 Against Sorrow Over the Death of Friends or Other Causes, Groundless…

p. 582

There is a certain pleasure in weeping: Grief finds satisfaction in tears and is poured away.

Yet, “after a day or two of mourning, take comfort for your sorrow”—Ecclesiasticus 38:17. “It is not fitting to attend the dead with helpless lamentation.” Germanicus advised long ago that we should not dwell too long on our emotions, becoming desperately sad and immoderate in grief, letting them rule us. There is “an art of freedom from grief,” a middle course to keep.

We do not, says Augustine, forbid people to grieve, but to grieve excessively. “I do not forbid a man to be angry, but ask what makes him so; not to be sad, but why he is sad; not to fear, but what he is afraid of.” I require moderation as well as a just cause.

The Romans and most civilised commonwealths have set a limit to such observances. People must not mourn beyond a fixed day; or, if a child is born in the family, a daughter or son marries, an office or honour is conferred, a brother is freed from captivity, a friend is rescued from his enemies, or something similar happens, they must lament no longer. And rightly so: what purpose is served by all their funeral ceremony, lamentations and tears?

When Socrates was dying, his friends Apollodorus and Crito, with some others, wept beside him. Seeing this, he asked what they meant by it: that was the very reason he had sent all the women out of the room. At these words they were ashamed and stopped crying.

Lodovico Cortesio, a wealthy lawyer of Padua, as Bernardino Scardeone relates, directed in his will, with a heavy penalty on his heir for disobedience, that no funeral observances should be held for him and no one should lament. Instead, there should be music and musicians as at a wedding; in place of mourners in black, he arranged for twelve maidens dressed in green to carry him to church. His will was duly carried out, and he was buried in St Sophia’s Church.

At first Cicero grieved deeply over the death of his daughter Tulliola, until he had strengthened his mind with philosophical teachings. Then he began to triumph over fortune and grief, and to feel far more joy at her reception into heaven than he had previously felt distress at losing her. If a pagan could fortify himself so well through philosophy, what may a Christian do through theology? Why do you torment yourself so? It is an inevitable event, the first statute in Magna Carta, an everlasting Act of Parliament: everyone must die.

It is fixed and laid down by eternal law That nothing born shall endure.

7045.Ovid, Tristia 4.3.37–38. Ovid, still alive in exile, addresses his wife: the grief is separation rather than death. Burton carries the lines into his consolation for bereavement.

7047.Eccles. here abbreviates Ecclesiasticus, or Sirach, not Ecclesiastes. The Germanicus quotation adapts Tacitus, Annals 2.71, where the dying general asks his friends to remember and carry out his wishes rather than merely lament; the margin’s book 4 is incorrect.

7049.Augustine, City of God 9.5, rather than the margin’s 9.9. The original argument judges emotions by their objects and purposes. Burton turns it into a rule for moderate grieving.

7051.Civil commonwealths means societies Burton regards as civilised. State here means office or status; bands are bonds or captivity. Burton’s body expands the abbreviated Latin list; the Festus entry and its transmission remain to be collated.

7053.Plato, Phaedo 117c–e. The narrator describes his own tears, Crito’s withdrawal and Apollodorus’s loud grief before Socrates urges composure. Burton condenses the scene and retains its gendered contrast.

7056.Mulct means a monetary penalty. Burton cites Scardeone for this unusual Paduan funeral; its details, including the twelve green-clad bearers and burial at Santa Sofia, remain to be checked directly in that work.

7060.Tully is Marcus Tullius Cicero; Tulliola is an affectionate form of his daughter Tullia’s name. His genuine Consolatio survives only in fragments. A purported complete Consolatio published in 1583 and associated with Carlo Sigonio is spurious; Burton’s extended quotation needs collation against it before being assigned to Cicero. Magna Carta and the Act of Parliament are metaphors for an unalterable law of mortality.

7062.Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy 2, metre 3. Burton’s constet in the second line means endure or remain stable; the following argument makes mortality universal.

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.