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 2 Corrective Medicines to Expel Wind. Against Constipation, and So On

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Modern English Page · Branch 661 of 1495

Subsection 2 Corrective Medicines to Expel Wind. Against Constipation, and So On

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1651 English

402

If Costiveness offend in this, or any other of the three species, it is to be corrected with suppositories, clysters, or lenitives, powder of Sene, condite Prunes, &c.

℞. Elect. lenit. è succo rosar. ana ℥ j. misce.

Take as much as a nutmeg at a time, half an hour before dinner or supper, or pil. mastichin. ʒ j. in six pills, a pill or two at a time. See more in Montan. consil. 229. Hildesheim spicel. 2. P. Cnemander, and Montanus commend Cyprian Turpentine, which they would have familiarly taken, to the quantity of a small nut, two or three hours before dinner and supper, twice or thrice a week if need be; for besides that it keeps the belly soluble, it clears the stomack, opens obstructions, cleanseth the liver, provokes urine.

These in brief are the ordinary medicines which belong to the cure of melancholy, which if they be used aright, no doubt may do much good; Si non levando saltem leniendo valent, peculiaria bene selecta, saith Bessardus, a good choice of particular receipts, must needs ease, if not quite cure, not one but all or most, as occasion serves.

Et quæ non prosunt singula, multa juvant.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 2 Corrective Medicines to Expel Wind. Against Constipation, and So On

p. 661

If constipation causes trouble in this or either of the other two kinds, it is to be corrected with suppositories, enemas or gentle laxatives, senna powder, preserved prunes and the like.

Take one ounce each of lenitive electuary and the electuary made from rose juice; mix.

Take an amount the size of a nutmeg at a time, half an hour before dinner or supper; or one dram of mastic pills divided into six pills, one or two pills at a time. See further in Montanus, consultation 229, and Hildesheim, Gleanings 2. P. Cnemander and Montanus recommend Cyprian turpentine, which they would have taken regularly, in an amount the size of a small nut, two or three hours before dinner and supper, twice or three times a week if necessary. Besides keeping the bowels loose, it clears the stomach, opens obstructions, cleanses the liver and promotes urination.

These, in brief, are the ordinary medicines used to treat melancholy, which, if properly used, may undoubtedly do much good. “Well-chosen specific remedies can at least alleviate, if they cannot remove, the trouble,” says Bessardus: a good selection of particular recipes must bring relief, even if it does not completely cure—not one alone, but all or most, as circumstances require.

And remedies that do no good singly may help in numbers.

8110.“Costiveness” is constipation; “lenitives” are gentle laxatives. The three kinds are the forms treated in this section: melancholy of the head, throughout the body, and of the hypochondriacal region.

8111.The recipe occurs within the running paragraph and is set apart here for clarity. Ana, “of each,” supports reading the abbreviated prescription as two electuaries: lenitive electuary and electuary of rose juice. The omitted second noun is supplied in the modern rendering; the compressed Latin remains on the left.

8113.Mastic is the named resin in the pills; Cyprian turpentine is the historical medicinal resin preparation. The body permits two or three hours and twice or three times weekly; the margin specifies three hours, dinner or supper, and three times weekly. These differences remain visible.

8114.Burton’s Latin maxim and separate English paraphrase are both retained. Levando means removing the trouble, contrasted with soothing it. Bessardus probably denotes Jean Baptiste Besard, whose Antrum philosophicum is catalogued in a 1617 printing; compare Bassardus Visontinus in Block 105. This is a probable identification, not verification of the maxim’s exact source or location.

8115.Ovid, Remedies for Love 420. The standard Latin text begins Sed, “But”; Burton prints Et, “And,” which is retained in translation. The maxim endorses the combined effect of smaller remedies and also anticipates the next partition’s subject, love.

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.

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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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