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 MelancholyDemocritus Junior to the Reader

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1651 English Page · Branch 63 of 1495

Democritus Junior to the Reader

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1651 English

So long as they are behoveful, they love, or may bestead each other, but when there is no more good to be expected, as they do by an old dog, hang him up or casheer him: which Cato counts a great indecorum, to use men like old shoes or broken glasses, which are flung to the dunghil; he could not finde in his heart to sell an old Ox, much lesse to turn away an old servant: but they in stead of recompense, revile him, and when they have made him an instrument of their villany, as Bajazet the second Emperor of the Turks, did by Acomethes Bassa, make him away, or in stead of reward, hate him to death, as Silius was served by Tiberius.

In a word, every man for his own ends. Our summum bonum is commodity, and the goddesse we adore Dea moneta, Queen money, to whom we daily offer sacrifice, which steers our hearts, hands, affections, all: that most powerful goddess, by whom we are reared, depressed, elevated, esteemed, the sole commandresse of our actions, for which we pray, run, ride, go, come, labor, and contend as fishes do for a crum that falleth into the water.

Its not worth, vertue, (that’s bonum theatrale) wisdom, valor, learning, honesty, religion, or any sufficiency for which we are respected, but money, greatnesse, office, honour, authority: honesty is accounted folly; knavery, policie; men admired out of opinion, not as they are, but as they seem to be: such shifting, lying, cogging, ploting, counterploting, temporizing, flattering, cozening, dissembling, that of necessity one must highly offend God if he be conformable to the world, Cretizare cum Crete, or else live in contempt, disgrace, and misery.

One takes upon him temperance, holinesse, another austeritie, a third an affected kinde of simplicity, when as indeed he, and he, and he, and the rest are hypocrites, ambodexters, out sides, so many turning pictures, a lyon on the one side, a lamb on the other. How would Democritus have been affected to see these things?

634.BurtonP. 36, f: “Plutarch. vit. ejus. Indecorum animatis ut calceis uti aut vitris, quæ ubi fracta abjicimus, nam ut de meipso dicam, nec bovem senem venderem, nedum hominem ætate grandem laboris socium.” Translation: “Plutarch, his Life. It is improper to use living creatures like shoes or glass vessels which we throw away when broken; speaking for myself, I would not sell an old ox, much less an elderly person who had shared my labour.” Located in Plutarch’s Life of Cato the Elder, in his criticism of Cato’s treatment of worn-out slaves and animals. The sentiments belong to Plutarch; see the editorial note.

635.BurtonP. 36, g: “Jovius. Cum innumera, illius beneficia rependere non posset aliter, interfici jussit.” Translation: “Since he could not otherwise repay his innumerable services, he ordered him killed.” Giovio is cited, but the exact passage remains unlocated.

636.BurtonP. 36, h: “Beneficia eo usque læta sunt dum videntur solvi posse, ubi multum antevenere pro gratia odium redditur. Tac.” Translation: “Benefits are welcome as long as they seem capable of repayment; when they far exceed that, hatred is returned instead of gratitude.” Located in Tacitus, Annals 4.18, on Silius’s services to Tiberius.

638.BurtonP. 36, i: “Paucis charior est fides quam pecunia. Salust.” Translation: “Few value good faith more than money.” Adapted from Sallust, The Jugurthine War 16, where Jugurtha corrupts the Roman commissioners.

639.BurtonP. 36, k: “Prima fere vota & cunctis &c.” Translation: “The first prayers, for almost everyone,” and so on. The source is Juvenal, Satire 10.23–25, on the prayer for growing wealth; Burton gives only a fragment.

641.BurtonP. 36, l: “Et genus & formam regina pecunia donat. Quantum quisque sua nummorum servat in arca, tantum habet & fidei.” Translation: “Queen Money bestows both birth and beauty. Each man has as much credit as the money he keeps in his chest.” The first sentence is Horace, Epistles 1.6.37; the second, Juvenal, Satire 3.143–144.

642.BurtonP. 36, m: “Non à peritia sed ab ornatu & vulgi vocibus habemur excellentes. Cardan. l. 2. de cons.” Translation: “We are held excellent not for our skill but for our adornment and the crowd’s acclaim.” Girolamo Cardano, book 2 of the work abbreviated de cons., likely On Consolation; exact title and passage remain to be checked.

643.BurtonP. 36, n, continued at the foot of the page: “Perjurata suo postponit numina lucro, Mercator. Ut necessarium sit vel Deo displicere, vel ab hominibus contemni, vexari, negligi.” Translation: “The merchant puts divine powers, by whom he has sworn falsely, below his own profit. So that one must either displease God or be despised, harassed, and neglected by people.” The verse and the following prose are not attributed here; their precise sources remain unresolved.

645.BurtonP. 36, a, at the foot of the page: “Qui Curios simulant & Bacchanalia vivunt.” Translation: “They pretend to be men like Curius but live lives of Bacchic revelry.” Juvenal, Satire 2.3: stern Roman rectitude is contrasted with riotous indulgence.

646.BurtonP. 36, b, at the foot of the page: “Tragelapho similes vel centauris, sursum homines, deorsum equi.” Translation: “Like a goat-stag or centaurs: human above, horses below.” Hybrid creatures figure the double nature of these pretenders. No separate source is named.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Democritus Junior to the Reader

p. 63

They love one another as long as they are useful, or can serve each other’s purposes. But when there is no further benefit to be expected, they hang a man or dismiss him, as they would an old dog. Cato considers it a great “impropriety” to treat people like old shoes or broken glasses thrown onto the rubbish heap. He could not bring himself to sell an old ox, much less dismiss an old servant. Yet these men abuse their servant instead of rewarding him; once they have made him an instrument of their wickedness, they kill him, as Bayezid II, emperor of the Turks, did Ahmed Pasha, or repay him with deadly hatred, as Tiberius treated Silius.

In a word, everyone pursues his own ends. Our “highest good” is profit, and the goddess we worship is “the goddess Money,” Queen Money, to whom we sacrifice daily. She directs our hearts, hands, affections—everything. This most powerful goddess raises us up, casts us down, promotes us, gives us standing; she alone commands our actions. For money we pray, run, ride, go, come, labour, and compete like fish for a crumb dropped into the water.

We are respected for money, greatness, office, rank, and authority, rather than worth, virtue—which is “a good fit for the stage”—wisdom, courage, learning, honesty, religion, or any ability. Honesty is counted folly; knavery, shrewdness. People are admired on the strength of reputation, for what they seem rather than what they are. There is such evasion, lying, cheating, plotting, counterplotting, trimming, flattery, fraud, and pretence that a person who conforms to the world must gravely offend God, “playing the Cretan with a Cretan,” or else live in contempt, disgrace, and misery.

One assumes an air of temperance and holiness, another of austerity, a third of studied simplicity, when in fact he, and he, and he, and all the rest are hypocrites, double-dealers, mere exteriors, so many pictures that change as you turn them: a lion on one side, a lamb on the other. How would Democritus have felt at the sight of these things?

637.The humane speech belongs to Plutarch, not Cato. In the Life of Cato the Elder, Plutarch criticizes Cato’s willingness to sell aged slaves and discard animals, then says that he himself would not sell an old ox or old servant. Burton reverses the attribution; both columns retain his claim, with the correction here. Acomethes Bassa is understood as Gedik Ahmed Pasha; Burton’s exact Giovio source remains unresolved. The Silius example is independently supported by Tacitus, Annals 4.18–19.

640.Summum bonum is the philosophical “highest good,” here reduced to personal gain. Dea moneta personifies money as a goddess. Burton develops the image of worship through prayers, sacrifice, and obedience.

644.Bonum theatrale calls virtue a good admired as a spectacle rather than rewarded in ordinary life. “Policie” here means shrewd calculation, unlike its public-governance sense above. To “Cretize with a Cretan” invokes the proverbial association of Cretans with deception: to meet trickery with trickery. The exact proverbial source used by Burton has not been established.

647.“Ambodexters” are people who serve both sides for advantage. “Turning pictures” makes the same person display opposed faces according to the angle of view; the literal optical device, if any, is unspecified. The goat-stag and centaurs in Burton’s margin extend the imagery of incompatible forms combined in one body.

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.

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