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 Love’s Origin, Object, Definition and Divisions

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Subsection 2 Love’s Origin, Object, Definition and Divisions

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1651 English

414–414–415

S. Austin lib. 15. de civ. Dei & sup. Psal. 64. hath delivered as much in effect. Every creature is good, and may be loved well or ill: And Two cities make two loves, Jerusalem and Babylon, the love of God the one, the love of the world the other; of these two cities we all are Citizens, as by examination of our selves we may soon finde, and of which: The one love is the root of all mischief, the other of all good.

So in his 15 cap. lib. de amor. Ecclesiæ, he will have those four cardinall vertues to be naught else but love rightly composed; in his 15, book de civ. Dei cap. 22. he calls vertue the order of Love, whom Thomas following 1. part. 2. quæst. 55. art. 1. and quæst. 56. 3. quæst. 62. art. 2. confirmes as much, and amplifies in many words.

Lucian to the same purpose hath a division of his own, one love was born in the sea, which is as various and raging in young mens brests as the sea it self, and causeth burning lust: the other is that golden chain which was let down from heaven, and with a divine Fury ravisheth our souls, made to the image of God, and stirs us up to comprehend the innate and incorruptible beauty, to which we were once created. Beroaldus hath expressed all this in an Epigram of his:

Dogmata divini memorant si vera Plaontis, Sunt geminæ Veneres, & geminatus amor. Cælestis Venus est nullo generata parente, Quæ casto sanctos nectit amore viros. Altera sed Venus est totum vulgata per orbem, Quæ divûm mentes alligat, atq; hominum; Improba, seductrix, petulans, &c.If divine Plato’s Tenents they be true, Two Veneres, two Loves there be; The one from heaven, unbegotten still, Which knits our souls in unitie. The other famous over all the world, Binding the hearts of Gods and men; Dishonest, wanton, and seducing she, Rules whom she will, both where and when.

This twofold division of Love, Origen likewise followes in his Comment on the Canticles, one from God, the other from the Divell, as he holds, (understanding it in the worst sense) which many others repeat and imitate. Both which (to omit all subdivisions) in excesse or defect, as they are abused, or degenerate, cause melancholy in a particular kinde, as shall be shewed in his place.

Austin in another Tract, makes a threefold division of this love, which we may use well or ill: God, our neighbour, and the world: God above us, our neighbour next us, the world beneath us. In the course of our desires, God hath three things, the world one, our neighbour two. Our desire to God, is either from God, with God, or to God, and ordinarily so runs. From God, when it receives from him, whence, and for which it should love him: with God, when it contradicts his will in nothing: to God, when it seeks and rest it self in him.

8249.BurtonPrinted page 414, p: “Omnis creatura cum bona sit, & bene amari potest & male.” “Since every creature is good, it can be loved both well and badly.”

8250.BurtonPrinted page 414, q: “Duas civitates duo faciunt amores; Jerusalem facit amor Dei, Babylonem amor sæculi; unusquisq; se quid amet interroget, & inveniet unde sit civis.” “Two loves make two cities: love of God makes Jerusalem; love of the world makes Babylon. Let each person ask himself what he loves, and he will discover which city he belongs to.”

8253.BurtonPrinted page 414, r: “Alter mari ortus, ferox, varius, fluctuans, inanis, juvenum, mare referens, &c. Alter aurea catena cœlo demissa bonum furorem mentibus mittens, &c.” “One, born of the sea, fierce, changeable, fluctuating, empty, belonging to the young, resembling the sea, and so on. The other, a golden chain let down from heaven, sending a good madness into minds, and so on.”

8257.BurtonPrinted page 414, s: “Tria sunt, quæ amari à nobis bene vel male possunt; Deus, proximus, mundus; Deus supra nos; juxta nos proximus; infra nos mundus. Tria Deus, duo proximus, unum mundus habet, &c.” “Three things can be loved by us well or badly: God, our neighbour and the world. God is above us, our neighbour beside us, the world beneath us. God has three, our neighbour two, the world one, and so on.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Subsection 2 Love’s Origin, Object, Definition and Divisions

p. 678

Saint Augustine, in book 15 of The City of God and his exposition of Psalm 64, says much the same. “Every creature is good, and may be loved well or badly.” And “two cities make two loves: Jerusalem and Babylon, one the love of God, the other the love of the world. We all belong to one of these two cities, and by examining ourselves we may soon discover which.” One love is the root of all evil, the other of all good.

Likewise, in chapter 15 of his book On the Love of the Church, he takes the four cardinal virtues to be nothing but love rightly ordered. In The City of God, book 15, chapter 22, he calls virtue the order of love. Thomas follows him in the First Part of the Second Part, question 55, article 1; question 56, article 3; and question 62, article 2, confirming and explaining this at length.

Lucian makes a similar division of his own: “One love was born in the sea, and is as changeable and raging in young men’s hearts as the sea itself, causing burning lust. The other is that golden chain let down from heaven, which with divine rapture transports our souls, made in God’s image, and stirs us to comprehend the innate and incorruptible beauty in which we were originally created.” Beroaldus expresses all this in one of his epigrams:

If the teachings of divine Plato tell the truth, There are twin Venuses, and love is doubled. The heavenly Venus was born of no parent; She binds holy men in chaste love. But the other Venus is spread throughout the world, Binding the minds of gods and mortals: Wicked, seductive, wanton, and so forth.

If divine Plato’s teachings are true, There are two Venuses, two loves. One is from heaven, always unbegotten, And binds our souls in unity. The other, known throughout the world, Binds the hearts of gods and men. Wicked, wanton and seductive, She rules whom she will, wherever and whenever.

Origen likewise follows this twofold division of love in his commentary on the Song of Songs: one comes from God, the other, he holds, from the Devil—taking the term in its worst sense. Many others repeat and follow this distinction. Both kinds, to omit all subdivisions, cause a particular kind of melancholy through excess or deficiency, when they are misused or degenerate, as will be shown in the appropriate place.

In another treatise Augustine divides this love, which we may use well or badly, into three: “God, our neighbour and the world: God above us, our neighbour beside us, the world beneath us. In the course of our desires, God has three relations, the world one, our neighbour two. Our desire for God proceeds either from God, with God or towards God, and this is its proper course. It proceeds from God when it receives from him the means and reason for loving him; with God when it contradicts his will in nothing; towards God when it seeks and finds its rest in him.”

8251.The body reverses the relationship given in the margin: “two cities make two loves” versus “two loves make two cities.” This difference is preserved. The text presents moral assessment as a question of the object and manner of loving, not simply whether love exists.

8252.The four cardinal virtues are prudence, justice, courage and temperance. The printed title de amor. Ecclesiæ appears to point to Augustine’s On the Morals of the Catholic Church 15.25, which treats the four virtues as forms of love; its title form is retained in the original and translated literally here. The City of God 15.22 does define virtue as the order of love. Thomas is Thomas Aquinas; Burton’s compressed references to the Summa require full collation.

8254.“Divine fury” means inspired rapture. The passage mixes classical images with the Christian language of creation in God’s image. The exact Lucian passage and the intermediary behind this wording remain unresolved; the attribution is Burton’s.

8255.The Latin prints Plaontis for Platonis; the modern version gives the evident name Plato. Burton supplies an eight-line English rendering after the seven Latin lines, whose final “and so forth” marks an abbreviated quotation. Both versions are retained separately; the exact Beroaldus source remains for collation.

8256.Canticles is the Song of Songs. Burton’s qualification distinguishes the Devil from the non-evil philosophical daemon discussed earlier. Origen’s exact wording and Burton’s intermediary remain for collation; the twofold scheme is presented as Burton reports it.

8258.The parallel is De substantia dilectionis 5, transmitted under Augustine’s name. Heidelberg’s catalogue of Pal. lat. 193, item 15, identifies chapters 1–5 with Hugh of Saint Victor’s Institutiones in Decalogum 4 (PL 176, 15A–18B). Burton’s attribution remains as transmission evidence, not verified authorship. “Ordinarily” means in due order; the parallel has ordinate. The three, two and one describe the directions of love explained next.

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.