Diotimos Library · Journals, Notebooks & Fragments Collection · Parallel Edition

Robert Burton

The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

Explore the Lexicon

The Anatomy of MelancholyMember 7 Against Rejection, Abuse, Injuries, Contempt, Disgrace, Insults…

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Facing Pages · Branch 593 of 1495

Member 7 Against Rejection, Abuse, Injuries, Contempt, Disgrace, Insults…

Book Mode

1651 English

352–353

Or be it thou art more deserving then any of thy rank, God in his providence hath reserved thee for some other fortunes, sic superis visum. Thou art humble as thou art, it may be; hadst thou been preferred, thou wouldst have forgotten God and thy self, insulted over others, contemned thy friends, been a block, a tyrant, or a demi-god, sequiturque superbia formam: Therefore, saith Chrysostome, good men do not alwayes finde grace and favour, lest they should be puffed up with turgent titles, grow insolent and proud.

Injuries, abuses, are very offensive, and so much the more in that they think veterem ferendo invitant novam, by taking one they provoke another: but it is an erroneous opinion: for if that were true, there would be no end of abusing each other; lis litem generat; ’tis much better with patience to bear, or quietly to put it up. If an Asse kick me, saith Socrates, shall I strike him again? and when his wife Xantippe stroke and misused him, to some friends that would have had him strike her again, he replied that he would not make them sport, or that they should stand by and say Eia Socrates, eia Xantippe, as we do when dogs fight, animate them the more by clapping of hands.

Many men spend themselves, their goods, friends, fortunes, upon small quarrels, and sometimes at other mens procurements, with much vexation of spirit and anguish of minde; all which with good advice, or mediation of friends might have been happily composed, or if patience had taken place.

Patience in such cases is a most soveraign remedy, to put up, conceal, or dissemble it, to forget and forgive, not seven, but seventy seven times, as often as he repents forgive him; Luk. 17.3. as our Saviour enjoyns us stroken, to turn the other side: as our Apostle perswades us, to recompence no man evill for evill, but as much as is possible to have peace with all men: not to avenge our selves, and we shall heap burning coales upon our adversaries head.

For if you put up wrong (as Chrysostome comments) you get the victorie; he that loseth his mony, loseth not the conquest in this our Philosophy. If he contend with thee, submit thy self unto him first, yeeld to him.

Durum & durum non faciunt murum, as the diverb is, two refractory spirits will never agree; the onely means to overcome, is to relent, obsequio vinces. Euclide in Plutarch, when his brother had angred him, swore he would be revenged; but he gently replied; Let me not live if I do not make thee to love me again, upon which meek answer he was pacified.

Flectitur obsequio curvatus ab arbore ramus, Frangis si vires experiare tuas.A branch if easily bended yeelds to thee, Pul’ hard it breaks: the difference you see.

The noble family of the Columni in Rome, when they were expelled the city by that furious Alexander the sixt, gave the bending branch therefore as an Impresse with this motto, Flecti potest, frangi non potest, to signifie that he might break them by force, but so never make them stoop; for they fled in the midst of their hard usage to the kingdome of Naples, and were honourably entertained by Frederick the King, according to their callings.

7206.BurtonPrinted page 352, r: “Magistratus virum indicat.” Office reveals the man.

7207.BurtonPrinted page 352, s: “Ideo boni viri aliquando gratiam non accipiunt, ne in superbiam eleventur ventositate jactantiæ, ne altitudo muneris negligentiores efficiat.” Good men therefore sometimes receive no favour, lest the empty wind of boasting raise them into pride, or high office make them more careless.

7209.BurtonPrinted page 352, u: “Ælian.” Aelian; precise passage requires collation.

7211.BurtonPrinted page 353, x: “Injuriarum remedium est oblivio.” The remedy for injuries is forgetting.

7212.BurtonPrinted page 353, y: “Mat. 18.22. Mat. 5.39.” Matthew 18:22 and 5:39. Both references share one marginal container.

7213.BurtonPrinted page 353, z: “Rom. 12.17.” Romans 12:17; the body also draws on the following verses.

7215.BurtonPrinted page 353, dagger: “Si toleras injuriam, victor evadis; qui enim pecuniis privatus est, non est privatus victoria in hac Philosophia.” If you endure an injury, you emerge victorious; for someone deprived of money is not deprived of victory in this philosophy.

7217.BurtonPrinted page 353, dagger: “Dispeream nisi te ultus fuero: dispeream nisi ut me deinceps ames effecero.” May I perish unless I take revenge on you; may I perish unless I make you love me hereafter.

7219.BurtonPrinted page 353, asterisk: “Joach. Camerarius Embl. 21. cent. 1.” Joachim Camerarius, Emblems, first century, emblem 21.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Member 7 Against Rejection, Abuse, Injuries, Contempt, Disgrace, Insults…

p. 593

Or suppose you are more deserving than anyone of your rank: God in his providence has reserved you for a different fortune; “so the powers above have decreed.” Perhaps you are humble as you are. Had you been promoted, you might have forgotten God and yourself, lorded it over others, despised your friends, and become a blockhead, a tyrant or a demigod: “pride follows beauty.” Therefore, says Chrysostom, good men do not always find favour, lest inflated titles puff them up and make them insolent and proud.

Injuries and abuse are deeply offensive, all the more because people think that “by bearing an old injury they invite a new one”: that accepting one provokes another. But this is a mistaken opinion, for if it were true there would be no end to our abusing one another. “One quarrel breeds another.” It is far better to bear it patiently or quietly put up with it. “If an ass kicks me,” says Socrates, “shall I strike it back?” And when his wife Xanthippe struck and ill-treated him, he told friends who wanted him to hit her back that he would not provide them with entertainment, letting them stand by crying, “Go on, Socrates! Go on, Xanthippe!” as we clap our hands to encourage fighting dogs.

Many men exhaust themselves, their possessions, friendships and fortunes over petty quarrels, sometimes at others’ instigation, with great vexation of spirit and anguish of mind. All these disputes might have been happily settled through good advice or friends’ mediation, or if patience had prevailed.

Patience is a supreme remedy in such cases: endure the injury, conceal it or act as though it has not occurred; forget and forgive, “not seven but seventy-seven times; as often as he repents, forgive him”: Luke 17:3. When we are struck, our Saviour commands us to turn the other cheek. Our Apostle urges us to repay no one evil for evil, to live at peace with everyone as far as possible, and not to avenge ourselves; thus we shall heap burning coals on our adversary’s head.

As Chrysostom comments, if you bear an injury, you win the victory: in this philosophy of ours, losing your money does not mean losing the contest. If he quarrels with you, be the first to submit; yield to him.

“Hard and hard do not make a wall,” as the proverb says: two stubborn spirits will never agree. The only way to prevail is to soften; “you will conquer by yielding.” Euclid, in Plutarch, swore revenge when his brother angered him; but the brother gently replied, “May I not live if I do not make you love me again.” This gentle answer pacified him.

A branch is bent from its tree by gentle handling; You break it if you try your strength.

A branch bends to you when gently bent; Pull hard and it breaks: you see the difference.

When the noble Colonna family were expelled from Rome by the furious Alexander VI, they therefore adopted the bending branch as their emblem, with the motto, “It can be bent; it cannot be broken,” to signify that he might break them by force but could never make them bow. Amid their harsh treatment they fled to the kingdom of Naples, where King Frederick received them honourably according to their rank.

7208.The Ovid fragment is Fasti 1.419, where pride accompanies physical beauty; Burton reapplies it to the danger of preferment. Turgent means swollen or inflated. The exact Chrysostom passage remains uncollated.

7210.Lis litem generat means one dispute breeds another. Compare Diogenes Laertius 2.21, where Socrates likens legal retaliation to suing a kicking donkey, and 2.37, where Xanthippe tears off his cloak and he rejects a fight that spectators would cheer. Burton alters the details. His Aelian margin and immediate intermediary remain unreconciled.

7214.Burton prints seventy seven, retained here; the King James Version of Matthew 18:22 reads seventy times seven. His paragraph combines Matthew 18:22 and 5:39, Luke 17:3–4, and Romans 12:17–20. The coal image belongs to kindness towards an enemy, including feeding him, in the surrounding Pauline passage.

7216.Chrysostom, Homily 16 on First Corinthians, commenting on 1 Corinthians 6:7, makes this comparison: enduring injustice can win the moral contest despite losing money. The English translation locates the passage; Burton’s Latin version and edition remain uncollated. “Philosophy” here concerns disciplined conduct.

7218.The printed syntax makes Euclid the threatening brother; the rendering preserves that sequence. In Plutarch, On Brotherly Love, the brother threatens Euclid, and Euclid gives the conciliatory reply. This is Euclid of Megara, associated with Socrates, rather than the geometer. The source discrepancy has not been silently repaired.

7220.The lines are Ovid, Ars amatoria 2.179–180, cited here through Camerarius. Burton’s experiare differs from the consulted experiere. Ovid applies yielding conduct to love; Burton uses the image to counsel restraint in conflict.

7221.The printed Latin says the branch can bend but cannot break, while Burton’s following explanation says the family can be broken but will not bow. Both are retained so the contradiction remains visible. Columni means the Colonna family; the historical details and emblem’s transmission remain uncollated.

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.