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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 MelancholySection 1. Member 1. Subsection 1 the Preface

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Facing Pages · Branch 669 of 1495

Section 1. Member 1. Subsection 1 the Preface

Book Mode

1651 English

406–407

The First Section. Member. Subsection. The Preface.

There will not be wanting, I presume, one or other that will much discommend some part of this Treatise of Love-Melancholy, and object (which Erasmus in his Preface to Sʳ Thomas Moore suspects of his) that it is too light for a Divine, too Commical a subject to speak of Love-Symptomes, too phantastical, and fit alone for a wanton Poet, a feeling young love-sick gallant, an effeminate Courtier, or some such idle person.

And tis true they say: for by the naughtiness of men it is so come to pass, as Caussinus observes, ut castis auribus vox amoris suspecta sit, & invisa, the very name of love is odious to chaster ears: And therefore some again out of an affected gravity will dislike all for the names sake before they read a word; dissembling with him in Petronius, and seem to be angry that their ears are violated with such obscene speeches, that so they may be admired for grave Philosophers, and staid carriage.

They cannot abide to hear talk of Love toies, or amorous discourses, vultu, gestu, oculis in their outward actions averse, and yet in their cogitations they are all out as bad, if not worse then others.

Erubuit, posuitq; meum Lucretia librum, Sed coram Bruto, Brute recede, legit.

But let these cavillers and counterfeit Cato’s know, that as the Lord John answered the Queen in that Italian Guazzo, An old, a grave discreet man is fittest to discourse of love matters, because he hath likely more experience, observed more, hath a more staid judgment, can better discern, resolve, discusse, advise, give better cautions, and more solid precepts, better inform his auditors in such a subject, and by reason of his riper years sooner divert.

Besides, nihil in hac amoris voce subtimendum, there is nothing here to be excepted at; Love is a species of melancholy, and a necessary part of this my Treatise, which I may not omit; operi suscepto inserviendum fuit; so Jacobus Mycillus pleadeth for himself in his translation of Lucians Dialogues, and so do I; I must and will perform my task. And that short Excuse of Mercerus, for his edition of Aristænetus shall be mine, If I have spent my time ill to write, let not them be so idle as to read.

But I am perswaded it is not so ill spent, I ought not to excuse or repent my self of this subject, on which many grave and worthy men have written whole volumns, Plato, Plutarch, Plotinus, Maximus, Tyrius, Alcinous, Avicenna, Leon Hebreus in three large Dialogues, Xenophon sympos. Theophrastus, if we may believe Athenæus lib. 13. cap 9. Picus Mirandula, Marius Æquicola, both in Italian, Kornmannus de linea Amoris, lib. 3. Petrus Godefridus hath handled in three books, P. Hædus,

8129.BurtonPrinted page 406, a: “Encom. Moriæ leviores esse nugas quam ut Theologum deceant.” Praise of Folly: “Trifles too frivolous to befit a theologian.”

8131.BurtonPrinted page 406, dagger: “Lib. 8. Eloquent. cap. 14. de affectibus mortalium vitio fit qui præclara quæq; in pravos usus vertunt.” Eloquence, book 8, chapter 14, on the emotions: “It happens through the fault of mortals, who turn everything excellent to bad uses.”

8132.BurtonPrinted page 406, b: “Quoties de amatoriis mentio facta est, tam vehementer excandui; tam severa tristitia violari aures meas obsceno sermone nolui, ut me tanquam unam ex Philosophis intuerentur.” “Whenever amorous matters were mentioned, I flared up so vehemently and with such stern solemnity refused to have my ears offended by obscene talk that they regarded me as one of the philosophers.” Printed unam is retained.

8134.BurtonPrinted page 406, dagger: “Martial.” Epigrams 11.16.9–10; see the editorial note for the variant.

8136.BurtonPrinted page 406, asterisk: “Lib 4. of civil conversation.” Book 4 of Civil Conversation.

8138.BurtonPrinted page 407, asterisk: “Si male locata est opera scribendo, ne ipsi locent in legendo.” “If effort has been ill spent in writing, let them not spend theirs in reading.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Section 1. Member 1. Subsection 1 the Preface

p. 669

SECTION 1. MEMBER 1. SUBSECTION 1 The preface

I presume there will be someone or other who strongly disapproves of part of this treatise on love melancholy, objecting—as Erasmus anticipates about his own work in his preface to Sir Thomas More—that it is too frivolous for a clergyman, too comic a subject: to discuss the symptoms of love is too fanciful, fit only for a licentious poet, a sensitive young lovesick gallant, an effeminate courtier or some such idle person.

And what they say is true: human wickedness has brought things to such a pass, as Caussin observes, “that the word love is suspect and hateful to chaste ears”—the very name of love is offensive to more modest ears. So some, putting on an air of solemnity, will reject the whole work for its name before reading a word. Like the character in Petronius, they pretend to be angry that such obscene talk offends their ears, hoping to be admired as serious philosophers with sober manners.

They cannot bear talk of love’s trifles or amorous subjects; “in expression, gesture and eyes,” their outward behaviour shows aversion, yet in their thoughts they are every bit as bad as others, if not worse.

Lucretia blushed and put my book aside, But only before Brutus. Brutus, leave: she reads.

But let these faultfinders and counterfeit Catos know that, as Lord John answered the queen in the Italian Guazzo, an older, serious and judicious man is best fitted to discuss matters of love. He is likely to have more experience, to have observed more and to have sounder judgement. He can better distinguish, decide, examine and advise; give better warnings and firmer precepts; instruct his listeners better on such a subject; and, because of his mature years, more readily turn them away from it.

Besides, “there is nothing to fear in this word love”; there is nothing here to object to. Love is a kind of melancholy and a necessary part of this treatise of mine, which I cannot omit. “The work undertaken had to be served”: so Jacobus Micyllus pleads for himself in his translation of Lucian’s Dialogues, and so do I. I must and will carry out my task. And I shall adopt Mercerus’ brief excuse for his edition of Aristaenetus: if I have wasted my time writing, let them not be so idle as to read.

But I am convinced my time is not so ill spent. I need neither excuse nor regret this subject, on which many serious and worthy men have written whole volumes: Plato, Plutarch, Plotinus, Maximus of Tyre, Alcinous, Avicenna, Leone Ebreo in three long dialogues, Xenophon in his Symposium, Theophrastus—if we may believe Athenaeus, book 13, chapter 9—Pico della Mirandola and Mario Equicola, both in Italian; Kornmann, On the Line of Love, book 3; Petrus Godefridus, who has treated it in three books; and P. Haedus.

8130.“Divine” means a theologian or clergyman. Erasmus’ dedicatory preface to Thomas More opens The Praise of Folly. “Feeling” means sensitive or emotionally affected; “phantastical” means fanciful.

8133.Nicolas Caussin is cited on eloquence and the emotions. The Petronius passage is Satyricon 85: Eumolpus describes feigned moral indignation used to conceal his intentions. Burton adapts its wording. His margin’s feminine unam is retained rather than corrected to unum.

8135.Martial, Epigrams 11.16.9–10. Lucretia is invoked as an emblem of chastity, Brutus as a stern Roman observer. The 1651 text prints legit, “she reads”; the consulted Latin text has leget, “she will read.” The modern line follows Burton’s printed present tense.

8137.Cato, proverbial for stern morality, supplies the name for Burton’s ostentatiously severe critics. Stefano Guazzo’s Civil Conversation is a dialogue; the lord and queen belong to its speaking company. “Sooner divert” is understood as more readily diverting listeners from excessive love; the object is implicit.

8139.Micyllus is the humanist translator Jacob Moltzer; Mercerus is the Latinised name of an editor of Aristaenetus’ love letters. Burton uses their prefatory defences as precedents. The Latin phrases are translated as well as their separate English glosses.

8140.The commas in “Maximus, Tyrius” separate what is one name, Maximus of Tyre; the modern text joins it. “Sympos.” abbreviates Symposium. Leone Ebreo is Judah Abravanel; P. Haedus is Pietro Edo. The exact editions and some title forms in this catalogue remain for bibliographical collation.

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.