The Anatomy of Melancholy

Name: The Anatomy of Melancholy
Author: Robert Burton

1651 English with a close modern English rendering

Explore the Lexicon

The Anatomy of MelancholyGeneral Symptoms: Love of Their Own Sect; Hatred of All Other Religions…

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

1651 English Page · Branch 984 of 1495

General Symptoms: Love of Their Own Sect; Hatred of All Other Religions…

Book Mode

1651 English

651 [659]–660

Other fears and sorrows, grievances of body and mind, are troublesome for the time; but this is for ever, eternal damnation, hell it self, a plague, a fire: an inundation hurts one Province alone, and the loss may be recovered; but this superstition involves all the world almost, and can never be remedied.

Sickness and sorrows come and go, but a superstitious soul hath no rest; superstitione imbutus animus nunquam quietus esse potest, no peace, no quietness. True Religion and Superstition are quite opposite, longe diversa carnificina & pietas, as Lactantius describes, the one ereares, the other dejects; illorum pietas, mera impietas;

the one is an easie yoak, the other an intolerable burden, an absolute tyranny; the one a sure anchor, an haven; the other a tempestuous Ocean; the one makes, the other marrs; the one is wisdome, the other is folly, madness, indiscretion; the one unfained, the other a counterfeit; the one a diligent observer, the other an ape; one leads to heaven, the other to hell. But these differences will more evidently appear by their particular symptomes.

What Religion is, and of what parts it doth consist, every Catechism will tell you, what Symptomes it hath, and what effects it produceth: but for their superstitions, no tongue can tell them, no pen express, they are so many, so diverse, so uncertain, so unconstant, and so different from themselves. Tot mundi superstitiones, quot cœlo stellæ, one saith, there be as many superstitions in the world, as there be stars in heaven, or divels themselves that are the first founders of them:

with such ridiculous, absurd symptomes and signs, so many several rites, ceremonies, torments and vexations accompanying, as may well expresse and beseem the divel to be the author and maintainer of them. I will only point at some of them, ex ungue leonem, guesse at the rest, and those of the chief kinds of superstition, which beside us Christians now domineer and crucifie the world, Gentiles, Mahometans, Jews, &c.

Of these symptomes some be general, some particular to each private sect: general to all, are, an extraordinary love and affection they bear and shew to such as are of their own sect, and more then Vatinian hate to such as are opposite in Religion, as they call it, or disagree from them in their superstitious rites, blind zeal, (which is as much a symptome as a cause,) vain fears, blind obedience, needless works, incredibilities, impossibilities, monstrous rites and ceremonies, wilfulness, blindness, obstinacy, &c.

For the first, which is love and hate, as Montanus saith, nulla firmior amicitia quàm quæ contrahitur hinc; nulla discordia major, quàm quæ à religione fit; no greater concord, no greater discord then that which proceeds from Religion.

It is incredible to relate, did not our dayly experience evince it, what factions, quam teterrimæ factiones, (as Rich. Dinoth writes) have been of late for matters of Religion in France, and what hurly burlies all over Europe for these many years. Nihil est quod tam impotenter rapiat homines, quam suscepta de salute opinio; siquidem pro ea omnes gentes corpora & animas devovere solent, & arctissimo necessitudinis vinculo se invicem colligare.

The Anatomy of Melancholy: General Symptoms: Love of Their Own Sect; Hatred of All Other Religions…

p. 984

Other fears and sorrows, afflictions of body and mind, trouble us for a time; but this is for ever: eternal damnation, hell itself. A plague, a fire or a flood harms only one province, and the loss may be repaired; but this superstition engulfs almost the whole world and can never be remedied.

Sickness and sorrows come and go, but a superstitious soul has no rest: “A mind steeped in superstition can never be at peace”—no peace, no quiet. True religion and superstition are complete opposites: “Torture and piety are far apart,” as Lactantius puts it. One raises us, the other casts us down; “their piety is sheer impiety.”

One is an easy yoke, the other an intolerable burden, an absolute tyranny; one a secure anchor, a harbour, the other a stormy ocean; one builds up, the other ruins; one is wisdom, the other folly, madness and lack of judgment; one sincere, the other counterfeit; one a careful observer, the other a mere imitator; one leads to heaven, the other to hell. These differences will appear more clearly in their particular symptoms.

Every catechism will tell you what religion is and what its parts are, what signs it has and what effects it produces. But as for their superstitions, no tongue can tell them, no pen describe them: they are so many, so diverse, so uncertain, so unstable and so inconsistent with themselves. “As many superstitions in the world as stars in heaven,” someone says: there are as many superstitions in the world as stars in heaven, or as the devils themselves who first founded them.

They are accompanied by such ridiculous, absurd symptoms and signs, so many different rites, ceremonies, torments and afflictions, that they plainly display the Devil as their author and supporter, as befits him. I shall only point out some of them—“from the claw, the lion”; infer the rest—and examples from the chief kinds of superstition that, besides those of us Christians, now tyrannize over and torment the world: pagans, Muslims, Jews and so on.

Some of these symptoms are general; others belong to each individual sect. Common to all are the extraordinary love and affection they bear and show towards members of their own sect, and more than Vatinian hatred towards those who oppose them in religion, as they call it, or differ from them in their superstitious rites; blind zeal, which is as much a symptom as a cause; groundless fears; blind obedience; needless works; incredible and impossible beliefs; monstrous rites and ceremonies; wilfulness, blindness, obstinacy, and so on.

As for the first, love and hatred, Montanus says, “No friendship is stronger than that formed by religion; no discord greater than that which arises from it”: no greater concord, no greater discord than that which proceeds from religion.

Were it not proved by daily experience, it would be incredible to relate what factions—what utterly hideous factions, as Richard Dinoth writes—have lately arisen over religion in France, and what turmoil has convulsed all Europe for so many years. “Nothing carries people away so uncontrollably as an accepted belief about salvation: for its sake, all nations commonly devote their bodies and souls and bind themselves to one another by the closest ties of fellowship.”

12355.The source cites Cicero, On Ends 1. The quotation adapts 1.60, where Cicero says that someone steeped in superstition can never be at peace; compare 1.63 on relief through knowledge of nature. Lactantius, Divine Institutes 5.19, distinguishes religious devotion from torture and argues against coercion in religion. Burton abbreviates his words.

12356.The “easy yoke” recalls Matthew 11:30. An ape is an imitator. Burton’s sharp distinction between true religion and superstition preserves a positive role for faith even as he subjects religious conduct to satire and medical explanation.

12357.“From the claw, the lion” is the proverbial inference of a whole from a small sample. Gentiles and Mahometans become pagans and Muslims in the modern column. The source page is misnumbered 651; its sequential place is 659. The following leaf is printed 660.

12358.Vatinian hatred is proverbial bitter enmity, associated with the Roman politician Vatinius. Sect here means a religious party or community. The scan reads printed page 660. The body begins here without omission.

12360.The scan reads Montanus, with a reference to a commentary on Micah. The precise edition and passage remain to be collated. Burton gives both a Latin maxim and an English restatement, retained separately here.

12362.Richard Dinoth is cited for the French religious wars. Quam teterrimæ factiones intensifies Burton’s preceding “what factions”: “what utterly hideous factions.” The Latin statement about salvation is translated separately; the exact passage in the history remains uncollated.

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.