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

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Modern English Page · Branch 602 of 1495

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

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1651 English

360

Have peace with all men, war with vice. Be not idle. Look before you leap. Beware of Had I wist.

Honour thy parents, speak well of friends. Be temperate in foure things, lingua, loculis, oculis, & poculis. Watch thine eye. Moderate thine expences. Hear much, speak little. sustine & abstine. If thou seest ought amiss in another, mend it in thy self. Keep thine own counsel, reveal not thy secrets, be silent in thine intentions.

Give not ear to tale-tellers, bablers, be not scurrilous in conversation. Jest without bitterness: give no man cause of offence: set thine house in order. take heed of suretiship. Fide & diffide, as a fox on the ice, take heed whom you trust.

Live not beyond thy means. Give chearfully. Pay thy dues willingly. Be not a slave to thy mony; Omit not occasion, embrace opportunity, loose no time. Be humble to thy superiors, respective to thine equals, affable to all but not familiar. Flatter no man.

Lie not, dissemble not. Keep thy word and promise, be constant in a good resolution. Speak truth. Be not opinative, maintain no factions. Lay no wagers, make no comparisons. Find no faults, meddle not with other mens matters. Admire not thy self. Be not proud or popular. Insult not. Fortunam reverenter habe.

Fear not that which cannot be avoided. Grieve not for that which cannot be recalled. Undervalue not thy self. Accuse no man, commend no man rashly. Go not to law without great cause. Strive not with a greater man. Cast not off an old friend, Take heed of a reconciled enemy.

If thou come as a guest, stay not too long. Be not unthankful. Be meek, merciful and patient. Do good to all. Be not fond of fair words. Be not a newter in a faction; moderate thy passions. Think no place without a witness.

Admonish thy friend in secret, commend him in publike. Keep good company. Love others to be beloved thy self. Ama tanquam osurus. Amicus tardo fias. Provide for a tempest. Noli irritare crabrones.

7354.BurtonPrinted page 360, a: “Pace cum hominibus habe, bellum cum vitiis. Otho. 2. imperat. symb.” Have peace with people, war with vices. Motto of Emperor Otto II. Pace is printed; the sense requires pacem.

7355.BurtonPrinted page 360, b: “Dæmon te nunquam otiosum inveniat. Hierom.” Let the devil never find you idle. Jerome.

7356.BurtonPrinted page 360, c: “Diu deliberandum quod statuendum est semel.” What must be decided once for all requires long deliberation.

7357.BurtonPrinted page 360, d: “Insipientis est dicere non putâram.” It is the fool who says, “I had not thought of that.”

7359.BurtonPrinted page 360, e: “Ames parentem, si æquum, aliter feras; præstes parentibus pietatem, amicis dilectionem.” Love a parent if he is just; otherwise bear with him. Show dutiful affection to parents and love to friends.

7360.BurtonPrinted page 360, f: “Comprime linguam. Quid de quoq; viro & cui dicas sæpe caveto. Libentius audias quam loquaris; vive ut vivas.” Restrain your tongue. Always take care what you say about each man, and to whom. Be readier to listen than to speak; live so that you may live.

7361.BurtonPrinted page 360, dagger: “Epictetus: optimè feceris si ea fugeris quæ in alio reprehendis. Nemini dixeris quæ nolis efferri.” Epictetus: You will do best if you avoid what you blame in another. Tell no one what you do not wish to have divulged.

7363.BurtonPrinted page 360, g: “Fuge susurrones. Percontatorem fugito, &c.” Avoid whisperers. Shun the inquisitive person, and so on.

7364.BurtonPrinted page 360, asterisk: “Sint sales sine vilitate. Sen.” Let wit be free of baseness. Seneca.

7365.BurtonPrinted page 360, h: “Sponde, præsto noxa.” Stand surety, and harm is at hand.

7366.BurtonPrinted page 360, dagger: “Camerar. emb. 55. cent. 2. cave cui credas, vel nemini fidas. Epicarmus.” Camerarius, Emblems, second hundred, emblem 55. Take care whom you trust, or trust no one. Epicharmus.

7368.BurtonPrinted page 360, i: “Tecum habita.” Dwell with yourself.

7369.BurtonPrinted page 360, k: “Bis dat qui cito dat.” He gives twice who gives promptly.

7370.BurtonPrinted page 360, l: “Post est occasio calva.” Opportunity is bald at the back.

7371.BurtonPrinted page 360, m: “Nimia familiaritas parit contemptum.” Excessive familiarity breeds contempt.

7373.BurtonPrinted page 360, n: “Mendacium servile vitium.” Lying is a slavish vice.

7374.BurtonPrinted page 360, o: “Arcanum neq; inscrutaberis ullius unquam, commissumq; teges, Hor. lib. 1. ep. 19. Nec tua laudabis studia aut aliena reprendes. Hor. ep. lib. 18.” You will never pry into anyone’s secret, and you will conceal what has been entrusted to you. Horace, book 1, letter 19. Nor will you praise your own pursuits or disparage another’s. Horace, letter, book 18. Both references and the form inscrutaberis are retained as printed.

7375.BurtonPrinted page 360, p: “Ne te quæsiveris extra.” Do not seek yourself outside yourself.

7377.BurtonPrinted page 360, q: “Stultum est timere, quod vitari non potest.” It is foolish to fear what cannot be avoided.

7378.BurtonPrinted page 360, dagger: “De re amissa irreparabili ne doleas.” Do not grieve over an irrecoverable loss.

7379.BurtonPrinted page 360, asterisk: “Tanti eris aliis quanti tibi fueris. Neminem cito laudes vel accuses.” You will be worth as much to others as you are to yourself. Do not be quick to praise or accuse anyone.

7380.BurtonPrinted page 360, s: “Nullius hospitis grata est mora longa.” No guest’s prolonged stay is welcome.

7381.BurtonPrinted page 360, asterisk: “Solonis lex apud Aristotelem Gellius lib. 2. cap. 12.” Solon’s law in Aristotle; Gellius, book 2, chapter 12.

7382.BurtonPrinted page 360, t: “Nullum locum putes sine teste, semper adesse Deum cogita.” Think of no place as without a witness; remember that God is always present.

7384.BurtonPrinted page 360, u: “Secretò amicos admone, lauda palam.” Admonish friends privately; praise them openly.

7385.BurtonPrinted page 360, x: “Ut ameris amabilis esto. Eros & anteros gemelli Veneris, amatio & redamatio. Plat.” To be loved, be lovable. Eros and Anteros, Venus’s twins: love and love returned. Plato.

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

p. 602

“Be at peace with everyone, at war with vice. Do not be idle. Look before you leap. Beware of having to say, ‘If only I had known.’”

“Honour your parents; speak well of your friends. Be moderate in four things: your tongue, your purse, your eyes and your cups. Watch your eye. Keep your spending moderate. Listen much; speak little. Endure and abstain. If you see something wrong in someone else, correct it in yourself. Keep your own counsel; do not reveal your secrets; keep your intentions to yourself.”

“Do not listen to tale-bearers or babblers; do not be coarse or abusive in conversation. Make jokes without bitterness; give nobody cause for offence; put your house in order. Beware of standing surety. Trust, yet be wary: like a fox on the ice, take care whom you trust.”

“Do not live beyond your means. Give cheerfully. Pay what you owe willingly. Do not be a slave to your money. Do not miss the occasion: seize the opportunity and waste no time. Be humble towards your superiors, respectful towards your equals, and courteous to everyone, but not overfamiliar. Flatter nobody.”

“Do not lie or dissemble. Keep your word and your promise; remain firm in a good resolution. Speak the truth. Do not be opinionated or support factions. Lay no wagers; make no comparisons. Do not find fault or meddle in other people’s affairs. Do not admire yourself. Be neither proud nor eager for popular favour. Do not exult over others. Treat Fortune with respect.”

“Do not fear what cannot be avoided. Do not grieve for what cannot be recalled. Do not undervalue yourself. Do not rashly accuse or praise anyone. Do not go to law without serious cause. Do not contend with a more powerful man. Do not cast off an old friend; beware of an enemy who has been reconciled.”

“If you come as a guest, do not stay too long. Do not be ungrateful. Be gentle, merciful and patient. Do good to everyone. Do not be taken in by fine words. Do not remain neutral in a factional conflict; moderate your passions. Think of no place as being without a witness.”

“Admonish your friend in private; praise him in public. Keep good company. Love others so that you yourself may be loved. Love as though you might one day hate. Be slow to become a friend. Prepare for a storm. Do not stir up hornets.”

7358.“Had I wist” means “Had I known”: the regret that follows failure to think ahead. Jerome, Letter 125.11, recommends work so that the devil will find one occupied. The motto’s attribution to Otto II remains unverified.

7362.The list plays on the rhyming loculis, oculis and poculis: purse, eyes and cups. With lingua, the tongue, these concern speech, spending, looking or desire, and drinking. Sustine et abstine is the Stoic rule of endurance and restraint. The adjoining Epictetus margin contains two further counsels, both translated in its note.

7367.Suretyship means becoming responsible for another person’s debt or obligation. Fide et diffide combines trust with caution. The fox-on-ice emblem and its Camerarius number remain for direct collation.

7372.“Respective” means respectful. Tecum habita, literally “dwell with yourself,” occurs at Persius 4.52 as an injunction to self-examination; Burton attaches it to living within one’s means. Bald-backed Opportunity can be grasped as she approaches but not after she has passed.

7376.“Popular” here is taken as courting popular favour; “insult” as exulting over others. The Horace marginal quotations correspond to Epistles 1.18.37–39, despite the printed references to 1.19 and “book 18.” The unusual inscrutaberis is retained. Burton’s version generalizes Horace’s advice about a powerful friend.

7383.Gellius, Attic Nights 2.12, records through Aristotle a law attributed to Solon penalizing neutrality during armed civil division. Gellius explains it as a means of ending strife through the intervention of responsible citizens. Burton’s abbreviated counsel sits in tension with “maintain no factions” earlier in this catalogue.

7386.Ama tanquam osurus counsels guarding against the possibility that affection may turn into enmity. Amicus tardo fias is printed with tardo; its intended sense is “be slow to become a friend.” The Eros/Anteros margin associates love with reciprocal love; its precise Plato reference remains unresolved.

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.