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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 MelancholyMember 4 Subsection 1 Symptoms or Signs of Love Melancholy in Body and Mind…

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Member 4 Subsection 1 Symptoms or Signs of Love Melancholy in Body and Mind…

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1651 English

534–535

A Painters shop, a flowry meadow, no so gracious aspect in Natures store-house as a yong maid, nubilis puella, a Novitsa or Venetian Bride, that looks for an husband, or a yong man that is her suitor; composed looks, composed gate, cloaths, gestures, actions, all composed; all the graces, elegancies in the world are in her face.

Their best robes, ribbins, chains, Jewels, Lawns, Linnens, Laces, Spangles, must come on, præter quam res patitur student elegantiæ, they are beyond all measure coy, nice, and too curious on a sudden: ’Tis all their study, all their business, how to wear their cloaths neat, to be polite and terse, and to set out themselves. No sooner doth a yong man see his sweet-heart coming, but he smugs up himself, puls up his cloak now faln about his shoulders, ties his garters, points, sets his band, cuffs, slicks his hair, twires his beard, &c. When Mercury was to come before his Mistress,

Chlamydemque ut pendeat aptè Collocat, ut limbus totumque appareat aurum.He puts his cloak in order, that the lace, And hem, and gold-work all might have his grace.

Salmacis would not be seen of Hermaphroditus, till she had spruced up her self first.

Nec tamen ante adiit, etsi properabat adire, Quam se composuit, quam circumspexit amictus, Et finxit vultum, & meruit formosa videri.Nor did she come, although ’twas her desire, Till she compos’d her self, and trim’d her tire, And set her looks to make him to admire.

Venus had so ordered the matter, that when her son Æneas was to appear before Queen Dido, he was

Os humerosque deo similis (namque ipsa decoram Cæsariem nato genetrix, lumenque juventæ Purpureum & lætos oculis afflarat honores.)

Like a God, for she was the tire-woman her self, to set him out with all natural and artificial impostures. As Mother Mammæa did her son Heliogabalus new chosen Emperor, when he was to be seen of the people first.

When the hirsute Cyclopical Polyphemus courted Galatea;

Jamque tibi formæ, jamque est tibi cura placendi, Jam rigidos pectis rastris Polypheme capillos, Jam libet hirsutam tibi falce recidere barbam, Et spectare feros in aqua & componere vultus,And then he did begin to prank himself, To please and combe his head, and beard to shave, And look his face ith’ the water as a glass, And to compose himself for to be brave.

He was upon a sudden now spruce and keen, as a new ground hatchet. He now began to have a good opinion of his own feature, and good parts, now to be a gallant.

Jam Galatea veni, nec munera despice nostra, Certè ego me novi, liquidâque in Imagine vidi Nuper aquæ, placuitq; mihi mea forma videnti.Come now my Galatea, scorn me not, Nor my poor presents; for but yesterday I saw my self ith’ water, and me thought Full fair I was, then scorn me not I say.Non sum adeò informis, nuper me in littore vidi, Cum placidum ventis staret mare————

The Anatomy of Melancholy: Member 4 Subsection 1 Symptoms or Signs of Love Melancholy in Body and Mind…

p. 816

A painter’s shop, a flowery meadow—nothing in nature’s storehouse offers so lovely a sight as a young maid, “a girl of marriageable age,” a novitsa or Venetian bride looking for a husband, or the young man who courts her. Their looks are studied, their walk studied; clothes, gestures, actions—all studied. Every grace and elegance in the world is in her face.

On must go their best robes, ribbons, chains, jewels, fine linens, laces and spangles: “they pursue elegance beyond what their means allow.” Suddenly they become excessively fastidious, particular and painstaking. Their whole concern, their whole business, is to wear their clothes neatly, look polished and trim, and display themselves to advantage. No sooner does a young man see his sweetheart coming than he tidies himself up: pulls up the cloak that has slipped about his shoulders, ties his garters and fastening cords, adjusts his collar and cuffs, smooths his hair, twists his beard, and so on. When Mercury was about to appear before his mistress,

He arranges his cloak so that it hangs becomingly, And its border and all its gold are displayed.

He sets his cloak in order, so the lace, The hem and gold-work all may show their grace.

Salmacis would not let Hermaphroditus see her until she had first made herself smart.

Yet, eager though she was to approach him, she did not go Until she had arranged herself, inspected her clothes, And composed her face, deserving to be thought beautiful.

Nor did she come, although she longed to go, Till she arranged herself and dressed with care, And set her looks to win his admiration.

Venus had so arranged matters that, when her son Aeneas was to appear before Queen Dido, he was

Like a god in face and shoulders—for his mother herself Had breathed upon her son lovely hair, the radiant Glow of youth, and joyful splendour in his eyes.

Like a god: she herself acted as his dresser, adorning him with every natural and artificial device of deception. So Mother Mamaea did for her son Heliogabalus, newly chosen emperor, when he was first to appear before the people.

When the shaggy Cyclops Polyphemus courted Galatea,

Now you care for your looks, now you care to please; Now, Polyphemus, you comb your stiff hair with a rake; Now you like to cut back your shaggy beard with a sickle, And study and compose your savage features in the water.

And then he began to dress himself up, To please, to comb his hair and shave his beard, To view his face in water as a mirror, And arrange himself to look splendid.

Suddenly he was smart and sharp as a freshly ground hatchet. Now he began to think well of his own looks and fine qualities, and to act the gallant.

Come now, Galatea, and do not despise my gifts. I certainly know myself: lately I saw my reflection In clear water, and was pleased with my looks as I gazed.

Come now, my Galatea, do not scorn me Or my poor gifts; for only yesterday I saw myself in water, and I thought Myself quite handsome. Do not scorn me, then.

I am not so ugly: lately I saw myself on the shore, When the sea lay calm, undisturbed by winds.

10302.Novitsa is Burton’s term for a Venetian bride; its particular ceremony or costume is not specified here. Nubilis means marriageable, not newly married. “Composed” means deliberately arranged or studied; “gate” is gait. The scan reads no so; the modern column supplies the evident comparative sense without altering the original.

10304.Lawn is fine linen. “Coy,” “nice” and “curious” here express excessive care and fastidiousness; “terse” means polished or neat. Points are cords fastening clothing, a band is a collar, and “twires” means twists. The h Plautus margin stands below the Latin about elegance, without a clear h in the body; it is attached to that quotation here. Exact Plautus locator unresolved.

10306.Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.733–734: Mercury prepares to court Herse. Burton excerpts the cloak passage. The Latin rendering and his independent English couplet are retained separately, as throughout this block.

10308.Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.317–319. Salmacis composes her appearance before approaching Hermaphroditus. “Tire” means attire; the English verse makes the hoped-for admiration explicit.

10310.Virgil, Aeneid 1.589–591. Venus enhances Aeneas’s appearance before Dido. Purpureum denotes the radiant bloom of youth here; a narrowly literal “purple” would obscure the description.

10311.A tire-woman dresses and adorns another person. Burton’s imperial example confuses family members: Herodian 5.3.3 names Soaemias as the mother of Bassianus, the future Heliogabalus, and Mamaea as the mother of Alexianus, the future Severus Alexander. The modernization retains Burton’s claim; the precise source of the dressing anecdote remains unverified.

10313.Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.764–767. The tools—rake and sickle—preserve the giant’s rustic scale. “Prank” in Burton’s following English version means adorn; “brave” means splendidly dressed. His version omits the specific tools.

10314.Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.839–841. Polyphemus admires his own reflection. The scan has liquidâque in Imagine where the consulted Ovid text has liquidaeque in imagine. The modern column renders the intended image of clear water; the original retains Burton’s reading.

10316.Virgil, Eclogue 2.25–26. The speaker is Corydon addressing Alexis, a male beloved; these lines are a new parallel, not a continuation of Polyphemus’s speech. Burton prints Non where the consulted Virgil has nec.

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.