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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 MelancholyBy Counsel and Persuasion, the Foulness of the Deed, the Faults of Men And…

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By Counsel and Persuasion, the Foulness of the Deed, the Faults of Men And…

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1651 English

559–560

Ille quod obscœnas in aperto corpore partes Viderat, in cursu qui fuit, hæsit amor.The love stood still, that ran in full cariere, When once it saw those parts should not appear.

It is reported of Seleucus King of Syria, that seeing his wife Stratonices bald pate, as she was undressing her by chance, he could never affect her after. Remundus Lullius the Physitian, spying an ulcer or canker in his mistris breast, whom he so dearly loved, from that day following abhorr’d the looks of her.

Philip the French King as Neubrigensis, lib. 4. cap. 24. relates it, married the King of Denmarks daughter, and after he had used her as a wife one night, because her breath stunk, they say, or for some other secret fault, sent her back again to her father.

Peter Mattheus in the life of Lewis the eleaventh, findes fault with our English Chronicles, for writing how Margaret the King of Scots daughter and wife to Lewis the 11. French King, was ob graveolentiam oris rejected by her husband.

Many such matches are made for by-respects, or some seemly comeliness, which after hony moons past, turn to bitterness: for burning lust is but a flash, a gunpowder passion; and hatred oft follows in the highest degree, dislike and contempt.

—— Cum se cutis arida laxat, Fiunt obscuri dentes:

when they wax old, and ilfavoured, they may commonly no longer abide them.

—— Jam gravis es nobis, be gone, they grow stale, fulsome, loathsome, odious, thou art a beastly filthy queane,

—— faciem Phœbi cacantis habes,

thou art Saturni podex, withered and dry, insipida & vetula,

—— Te quia rugæ turpant, & capitis nives,

(I say) be gone, portæ patent, proficiscere.

Yea but you will infer, your mistris is compleat, of a most absolute form in all mens opinions, no exceptions can be taken at her, nothing may be added to her person, nothing detracted, she is the mirror of women for her beauty, comeliness and pleasant grace, unimitable, meræ delitiæ, meri lepores, she is Myrothetium Veneris, Gratiarum pixis, a meer magazine of naturall perfections, she hath all the Veneres, and Graces,

—— mille faces & mille figuras,

in each part absolute and compleat,

Læta genas, læta os roseum, vaga lumina læta:

10741.BurtonPrinted page 559, z: “Ovid. 2. rem.”

10744.BurtonPrinted page 559, a: “Post unam noctem incertum unde offensam cepit, propter fœtentem ejus spiritum alii dicunt, vel latentem fœditatem repudiavit, rem faciens plane illicitam, & regiæ personæ multum indecoram.” “After one night he took offence, for an uncertain reason; some say because of her foul breath, or he rejected her because of a hidden foulness, doing something plainly unlawful and highly unbecoming a royal person.”

10746.BurtonPrinted page 559, †: “Hall and Grafton belike.”

10749.BurtonPrinted page 559, *: “Juvenal.”

10751.BurtonPrinted page 559, †: “Mart.”

10753.BurtonPrinted page 559, *: “Hor. ode. 13. lib. 4.” “Horace, Odes, book 4, ode 13.”

10755.BurtonPrinted page 559, *: “Tully in Cat.” “Cicero, Against Catiline.”

10759.BurtonPrinted page 560, †: “Lochæus.”

The Anatomy of Melancholy: By Counsel and Persuasion, the Foulness of the Deed, the Faults of Men And…

p. 851

Because he had seen the private parts of the naked body, The love that had been racing came to a halt.

The love that ran at full speed stood still Once it saw those parts that should stay hidden.

It is reported that Seleucus, king of Syria, happened to see his wife Stratonice’s bald head as she undressed and could never love her afterwards. The physician Raymond Lull, discovering an ulcer or cancer in the breast of the mistress he loved so dearly, abhorred the sight of her from that day on.

Philip, king of France, as William of Newburgh relates in book 4, chapter 24, married the king of Denmark’s daughter; after sleeping with her as his wife for one night, he sent her back to her father, they say, because her breath stank or because of some other hidden defect.

Pierre Matthieu, in his life of Louis XI, criticizes our English chronicles for saying that Margaret, daughter of the king of Scots and wife of Louis XI of France, was rejected by her husband “because of the foul smell of her breath.”

Many such marriages are made for ulterior considerations or some outward beauty; after the honeymoon is past they turn to bitterness. Burning lust is only a flash, a gunpowder passion; intense hatred often follows, along with dislike and contempt.

When the dry skin sags And the teeth grow dark:

when women grow old and unattractive, their lovers commonly cannot bear them any longer.

“Now you are a burden to us”—be gone! They grow stale, disgusting, repulsive, hateful: you are a beastly, filthy slut,

You have the face of Phoebus taking a shit,

you are “Saturn’s arse,” withered and dried up, “insipid and old,”

Because wrinkles and the snow upon your head disfigure you,

be gone, I say: “The gates are open; depart.”

Yes, but you will argue that your mistress is perfect, with a faultless figure in everyone’s opinion. No objection can be made to her: nothing can be added to her appearance or taken away. In beauty, comeliness and pleasing grace she is the model of womanhood, beyond imitation, “sheer delight, sheer charm”; she is “Venus’s perfume box, the casket of the Graces,” a complete storehouse of natural perfections. She has all the charms of Venus and all the Graces,

A thousand torches and a thousand forms,

perfect and complete in every part,

Radiant in her cheeks, radiant in her rosy mouth, radiant in her roving eyes:

10742.Ovid, Remedies for Love 429–430. The quoted two-line sentence is retained, followed by Burton’s own separate English version. “Cariere” in that version is a rapid course or gallop.

10743.“Affect” means love or desire. “Canker” may denote a cancerous sore. These are reported anecdotes about Seleucus and Raymond Lull, not verified medical or biographical accounts; their sources and historical identities require collation.

10745.The consulted William of Newburgh places this episode at 4.26, not 4.24, and calls the woman the Danish king’s sister, not daughter. He reports several alleged causes, says the actual reason was unknown, and condemns the repudiation. Burton’s different kinship, numbering and return-to-father detail are preserved as his account.

10747.Peter Mattheus is Pierre Matthieu. “Belike” in Burton’s margin means probably: he tentatively names Edward Hall and Richard Grafton. The sentence reports Matthieu’s objection to a story, not the editor’s acceptance of that story. Its precise historical sources remain uncollated.

10748.“By-respects” are subsidiary or ulterior motives. “Gunpowder passion” makes desire an intense but short-lived flash. Burton moves from particular stories to a general warning about marriages founded on appearance.

10750.Juvenal, Satire 6.144–148, supplies the sagging skin, dark teeth and subsequent iam gravis es nobis. Burton changes the conditional laxet and fiant of the consulted text to laxat and fiunt and excerpts the surrounding dismissal. The implied agents of “abide them” are the women’s lovers or husbands.

10752.Martial 3.89.2 addresses a man: nam faciem durum, Phoebe, cacantis habes, “Phoebus, you have the face of someone passing hard stool.” Burton omits durum and prints Phœbi, a genitive, producing “the face of Phoebus defecating.” The modern column follows that printed construction and retains the vulgarity. The following “Saturn’s arse” is another insult, not a verified continuation of Martial.

10754.Horace, Odes 4.13.11–12. The “snow” is white hair. Burton excerpts and joins the clauses within his catalogue of insults; the modern wording follows that arrangement.

10756.Cicero, Against Catiline 1.10, has patent portae; proficiscere. Burton reverses the first two words and transfers the political command to his imagined rejection of an ageing lover. The margin appears above the Horace entry but belongs to this final phrase.

10757.“Mirror” means model or exemplar; “magazine” means storehouse. Myrothetium is a perfume container and pixis a small box. The extravagant praise prepares Burton’s answer that even supposedly perfect beauty cannot endure.

10758.Faces is the Latin plural of fax, a torch or flame, not the English “faces.” The fragment combines the imagery of kindled desire and manifold forms. It is left without a verified attribution.

10760.The Latin uses accusatives of respect: radiant as to cheeks, mouth and eyes. “Lochæus” is preserved as the marginal attribution; the name and exact poem remain unresolved.

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.