Opium and opiates · Lexicon

From the book

The Anatomy of Melancholy

Robert Burton · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordOpium is a narcotic substance treated as a simple in Burton’s medicinal classification.
In the Anatomy of MelancholyOpium crosses several of Burton’s explanatory settings.
In this editionThe modern column retains opium and expands the inflected or abbreviated forms according to context.
A place to readSurrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.

Meaning

Opium is a narcotic substance treated as a simple in Burton’s medicinal classification. The synopsis’s Latin “opii” is rendered “opium”. An opiate here is a compounded sleeping preparation: “opiats” becomes “opiate preparations”. The local category must be read within the discussion of sleep remedies, rather than stretched to every modern opioid or every plant named alongside it.

“Laudanum Paracelsi” is a named compound associated with Paracelsus. The synopsis places it among solid medicines, and the main discussion distinguishes it from opium itself. Neither this name nor “opium Thebaicum”, rendered “Theban opium”, establishes identity with a standardized later product.

Use in the book

Opium crosses several of Burton’s explanatory settings. Reports through Belon and Garcia de Orta illustrate custom’s supposed ability to alter tolerance; the foreign-simples digression makes a further claim about different effects in different countries. These historical assertions do not establish that opium was safe for particular populations. The local-remedy argument itself is qualified by preparation, suitability and acclimatization.

In the restorative discussion, Burton says only some people take opium for the purpose just described around coffeehouse sociability, digestion and alacrity. Bhang is then compared with opium for an alleged temporary trance and laughter; it remains another substance, and the adjacent datura report is distinct. In the sleep section, opium and named compounds appear among internal medicines, while smelling preparations, ointments and dressings appear among external practices. Burton’s description of opium itself as mostly external is therefore a local practice claim, not a denial of the internal uses he also reports.

Other appearances widen the purpose without changing the substance into a universal explanation. A marginal ingredient list accompanies the discussion of alleged witchcraft experiences, where medicinally induced imagination and demonic deception coexist as possibilities. Theban opium appears in a Latin catalogue of supposed means to suppress sexual activity. These are attributed historical claims, not validated accounts of efficacy or instructions for present use.

Related entries

Ecstasy: The temporary state attributed to bhang in comparison with opium

Obnubilate: The language of clouding or obscuring mental activity

Places to read

Subsection 5. Old Age as a Cause · paragraph 31Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 5. Old Age as a Cause · paragraph 32The marginal list accompanies explanations of supposed witchcraft journeys or experiences through sleep and imagination; it is not independent evidence that the alleged mixtures were used.
Subsection 5. Old Age as a Cause · paragraph 33Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 3 Habit in Diet, Pleasure, Appetite and Necessity How They Cause Or… · paragraph 52Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 3 Habit in Diet, Pleasure, Appetite and Necessity How They Cause Or… · paragraph 53Belon’s report contrasts alleged habitual use among Turks with the writer’s own community’s inability to tolerate it. The following Orta case makes the same point through a person at Goa.
Subsection 3 Habit in Diet, Pleasure, Appetite and Necessity How They Cause Or… · paragraph 54Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 3 Habit in Diet, Pleasure, Appetite and Necessity How They Cause Or… · paragraph 55Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Synopsis of the Second Partition · paragraph 24Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Synopsis of the Second Partition · paragraph 25The Latin inflected form stands among internal remedies for sleeplessness; the same synopsis distinguishes simples from liquid and solid compounds.
Synopsis of the Second Partition · paragraph 26Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Synopsis of the Second Partition · paragraph 27Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 2 Simple Remedies Suited to Melancholy Against Imported Simples · paragraph 38Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 2 Simple Remedies Suited to Melancholy Against Imported Simples · paragraph 39Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 2 Simple Remedies Suited to Melancholy Against Imported Simples · paragraph 40The assertion of different effects between regions supports the preference for local remedies, but the apparatus does not endorse it as an established national difference in safety.
Subsection 2 Simple Remedies Suited to Melancholy Against Imported Simples · paragraph 41Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 2 Simple Remedies Suited to Melancholy Against Imported Simples · paragraph 42Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 2 Simple Remedies Suited to Melancholy Against Imported Simples · paragraph 43Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 5 Alteratives and Cordials That Strengthen the Body, Disperse The… · paragraph 1Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 5 Alteratives and Cordials That Strengthen the Body, Disperse The… · paragraph 2After describing coffeehouse sociability and the reported promotion of digestion and alacrity, Burton says some people take opium toward the same end; he does not attribute the practice to all.
Subsection 5 Alteratives and Cordials That Strengthen the Body, Disperse The… · paragraph 3Opium serves as the comparator for bhang’s alleged temporary trance and laughter. Similar effect does not mean the two substances are identical.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 34Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 35Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 36The plural appears within the classification of internal sleep remedies, alongside syrups; it names a preparation class rather than every simple listed nearby.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 37Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 38Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 39Opium itself is contrasted with the named laudanum compound and described as mostly used externally, while reported Turkish and Goan uses are internal and cordial.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 40Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 41Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 42Montanus’s commendation belongs to external sleep remedies, followed by ointments, dressings and other applications in the wider catalogue.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 43Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 44Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 45Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 46Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 47Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 48Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
Subsection 6 Remedies for Accompanying Symptoms: To Bring Sleep, and Against… · paragraph 49Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
The Cure of Love Melancholy by Work, Diet, Medicine, Fasting and Other Means · paragraph 43Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.
The Cure of Love Melancholy by Work, Diet, Medicine, Fasting and Other Means · paragraph 44The Latin catalogue includes it in an external preparation alleged to suppress sexual activity; the name does not establish a standardized modern formulation.
The Cure of Love Melancholy by Work, Diet, Medicine, Fasting and Other Means · paragraph 45Surrounding argument or qualification for the cited medicinal use.

In this edition

The modern column retains opium and expands the inflected or abbreviated forms according to context. “Laudanum Paracelsi” becomes “Paracelsus’s laudanum” in the synopsis and “Paracelsus’ laudanum” in the treatment discussion. The possessive difference belongs to the supplied modern wording; neither rendering silently substitutes a later tincture for Burton’s compound. “odoraments of Opium” becomes “aromatic preparations of opium”.

The source’s compressed quantity comparison is not harmonized: it contrasts smelling with internal use and then reports a different amount at Goa. Those quantities do not belong in a lexical definition or a reconstructed regimen. Likewise, the opium in the witchcraft material is a word in Burton’s Latin marginal list with a supplied note translation, not a modern-body insertion. Keeping these layers and settings apart prevents a list of remedies from becoming an assurance of safety.

Laudanum Paracelsi

Printed “Laudanum Paracelsi” (Latin; phrase).

A named compound sleeping medicine associated with Paracelsus.

Here: The synopsis explicitly puts this named preparation among solid compounds, in contrast to liquid syrups and simples.

Context: Burton’s classification; supplied apparatus warns against equating the name with a later standardized tincture.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: Laudanum Paracelsi

Modern rendering: Paracelsus’s laudanum

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a named compound sleeping medicine associated with Paracelsus in this expression.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “Laudanum Paracelsi” (Latin; phrase).

Citation key: Laudanum Paracelsi.

Here: The detailed discussion cites Croll’s approval of a compounded use before turning to opium itself; the distinction of names and preparations remains consequential.

Context: Historical prescription attributed through Croll, not a current formulation or safety claim.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: Laudanum Paracelsi

Modern rendering: Paracelsus’ laudanum

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a named compound sleeping medicine associated with Paracelsus in this expression.

Sense relation: A further significant local use of this same defined sense; its attribution and argumentative force remain specified separately.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

opiate

Printed “opiats” (English; lemma).

A compound medicinal preparation employed to induce sleep.

Here: The plural appears within the classification of internal sleep remedies, alongside syrups; it names a preparation class rather than every simple listed nearby.

Context: Burton’s historical medicinal category, not the full modern pharmacological class of opioids.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: opiats

Modern rendering: opiate preparations

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a compound medicinal preparation employed to induce sleep in this expression.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

opium

Printed “opii” (Latin; lemma).

A narcotic medicinal substance used for its effects on sensation and the mind.

Here: The Latin inflected form stands among internal remedies for sleeplessness; the same synopsis distinguishes simples from liquid and solid compounds.

Context: Burton’s synopsis of historical medicines; the form does not supply a modern product specification.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: opii

Modern rendering: opium

Word and construction: The indexed form names the narcotic substance within this expression.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “Opium” (English; lemma).

Citation key: opium.

Here: Opium itself is contrasted with the named laudanum compound and described as mostly used externally, while reported Turkish and Goan uses are internal and cordial.

Context: Burton’s geographically differentiated report, with a compressed and unresolved quantity comparison in the source.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: Opium it self

Modern rendering: Opium itself

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a narcotic substance classified here as a simple medicinal ingredient in this expression.

Sense relation: A further significant local use of this same defined sense; its attribution and argumentative force remain specified separately.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “Opium” (English; lemma).

Citation key: opium.

Here: Belon’s report contrasts alleged habitual use among Turks with the writer’s own community’s inability to tolerate it. The following Orta case makes the same point through a person at Goa.

Context: Reports through Belon and Orta, subordinated to Burton’s argument about custom; no general safety rule follows.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: eat Opium familiarly

Modern rendering: habitually eat opium

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a narcotic substance used here to illustrate an asserted power of habituation in this expression.

Sense relation: A further significant use of the same substance name, with its distinct attribution, purpose and qualifications preserved.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “Opium” (English; lemma).

Citation key: opium.

Here: The assertion of different effects between regions supports the preference for local remedies, but the apparatus does not endorse it as an established national difference in safety.

Context: Burton’s historical assertion; the subsequent universal-cure promise belongs specifically to Voschius.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: Opium in Turky doth scarce offend

Modern rendering: Opium scarcely harms people in Turkey

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a narcotic substance used here to illustrate an asserted power of habituation in this expression.

Sense relation: A further significant local use of this same defined sense; its attribution and argumentative force remain specified separately.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “Opium” (English; lemma).

Citation key: opium.

Here: After describing coffeehouse sociability and the reported promotion of digestion and alacrity, Burton says some people take opium toward the same end; he does not attribute the practice to all.

Context: A geographically framed report of some users, not Burton’s recommendation.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: Some of them take Opium to this purpose.

Modern rendering: Some of them take opium for this purpose.

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a narcotic substance, historically taken or applied for its effects on sensation and the mind in this expression.

Sense relation: A further significant use of the same substance name, with its distinct attribution, purpose and qualifications preserved.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “Opium” (English; lemma).

Citation key: opium.

Here: Opium serves as the comparator for bhang’s alleged temporary trance and laughter. Similar effect does not mean the two substances are identical.

Context: Burton reports Garcia de Orta’s account; the preceding datura claim is a separate item.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: Bange, like in effect to Opium

Modern rendering: bhang, similar in effect to opium

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a narcotic substance, historically taken or applied for its effects on sensation and the mind in this expression.

Sense relation: A further significant local use of this same defined sense; its attribution and argumentative force remain specified separately.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “Opium” (English; lemma).

Citation key: opium.

Here: Montanus’s commendation belongs to external sleep remedies, followed by ointments, dressings and other applications in the wider catalogue.

Context: An attributed historical practice, not a safe modern method of administration.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: odoraments of Opium

Modern rendering: aromatic preparations of opium

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a narcotic substance incorporated in a historical medicinal preparation intended to be smelled in this expression.

Sense relation: A further significant use of the same substance name, with its distinct attribution, purpose and qualifications preserved.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

Further local use

Printed “opium” (Latin; lemma).

Citation key: opium.

Here: The marginal list accompanies explanations of supposed witchcraft journeys or experiences through sleep and imagination; it is not independent evidence that the alleged mixtures were used.

Context: Burton’s marginal quotation within a contested explanatory discussion, with material explanations and demonic deception both still in view.

Source: original marginal quotation

Source and modern wording: opium

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a narcotic substance appearing among ingredients alleged to produce deceptive experiences in this expression.

Modern container: note

Sense relation: A further significant use of the same substance name, with its distinct attribution, purpose and qualifications preserved.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.

opium Thebaicum

Printed “opium Thebaicum” (Latin; phrase).

A historically named kind of opium designated Theban.

Here: The Latin catalogue includes it in an external preparation alleged to suppress sexual activity; the name does not establish a standardized modern formulation.

Context: A historical prescription claim within the treatment of love-melancholy; efficacy is not verified by its inclusion.

Source: original body

Source wording and original alignment: opium Thebaicum

Modern rendering: Theban opium

Word and construction: The indexed form names or supplies a historically named kind of opium designated Theban in this expression.

Alignment conventions: Alignment convention.