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 MelancholySubsection 3 Preparatives and Purgatives

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Facing Pages · Branch 641 of 1495

Subsection 3 Preparatives and Purgatives

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1651 English

387

One drop of their Chymical preparatives, shall do more good then all their fulsome potions. Erastus, and the rest of the Galenists vilifie them on the other side, as Hereticks in Physick: Paracelsus did that in Physick, which Luther in Divinity.

A drunken rogue he was, a base fellow, a Magitian, he had the divel for his master, divels his familiar companions, and what he did, was done by the help of the Divel.

Thus they contend and rail, and every Mart write books pro and con, & adhuc sub judice lis est, let them agree as they will, I proceed.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 3 Preparatives and Purgatives

p. 641

“One drop of their chemical preparations will do more good than all those nauseating potions.” Erastus and the other Galenists, on the opposing side, revile them as heretics in medicine: “Paracelsus did in medicine what Luther did in theology.”

“He was a drunken rogue, a worthless fellow, a magician; the devil was his master, devils his familiar companions, and whatever he did was done with the devil’s help.”

Thus they dispute and rail, and at every book fair write books for and against; “the case is still before the judge.” Let them settle it as they please: I shall proceed.

7829.“Fulsome” means nauseating or offensive here, not lavishly complimentary. The comparison with Luther is a polemical analogy between innovation in medicine and religious reform. Its force comes from the Galenists’ accusation of heresy; the sentence records their position rather than supplying a neutral judgment.

7831.These charges are presented as hostile assertions by Paracelsus’ opponents. Burton’s English “rogue” and “base fellow” do not correspond exactly to the margin’s “illiteratus,” or illiterate. Both versions are retained. “Familiars” are attendant spirits in the accusation, not merely ordinary acquaintances.

7832.“Mart” refers to a book fair or market occasion. “Adhuc sub judice lis est” comes from Horace, Art of Poetry 78, where the unresolved dispute concerns the origin of elegiac verse. Burton reuses the judicial phrase for rival medical schools. The block ends with this sentence; Subsection 4, Averters, follows. See Horace below.

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.