34:
292:
causing forwardness in us, or a dislike. In which equivocal and improper sense, we call him melancholy, that is dull, sad, sour, lumpish, ill-disposed, solitary, any way moved, or displeased. And from these melancholy dispositions no man living is free, no Stoic, none so wise, none so happy, none so patient, so generous, so godly, so divine, that can vindicate himself; so well-composed, but more or less, some time or other, he feels the smart of it. Melancholy in this sense is the character of
Mortality... This
381:. The following three sections proceed in a similarly exhaustive fashion: the first section focuses on the causes and symptoms of "common" melancholies, the second section deals with cures for melancholy, and the third section explores more complex and esoteric melancholies, including the melancholy of lovers and all manner of religious melancholies. The
376:
volume nearly 900 pages long; subsequent editions were even longer. The text has three major sections plus an introduction, written in Burton's sprawling style. Characteristically, the introduction includes not only an author's note (titled "Democritus Junior to the Reader"), but also a Latin poem
193:
In his satirical preface to the reader, Burton's persona and pseudonym "Democritus Junior" explains, "I write of melancholy by being busy to avoid melancholy." This is characteristic of the author's style, which often supersedes the book's strengths as a medical text or historical document as its
291:
which goes and comes upon every small occasion of sorrow, need, sickness, trouble, fear, grief, passion, or perturbation of the mind, any manner of care, discontent, or thought, which causes anguish, dulness, heaviness and vexation of spirit, any ways opposite to pleasure, mirth, joy, delight,
1001:
143:
The
Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Philosophically, Medicinally, Historically, Opened and Cut
189:
uses melancholy as a lens through which all human emotion and thought may be scrutinized, and virtually the entire contents of a 17th-century library are marshalled into service of this goal. It is encyclopedic in its range and reference.
931:
233:. In recent decades, increased interest in the book, combined with its public domain status, has resulted in new print editions, most recently a 2001 reprinting of the 1932 edition by
209:
s vast breadth – addressing topics such as digestion, goblins, the geography of
America, and others – make it a valuable contribution to multiple disciplines.
514:. Sterne also mocked Burton's divisions in the titles of his chapters, and parodied his grave and sober account of Cicero's grief for the death of his daughter
366:, much of it from ancient sources left untranslated. Although his "citations" sound convincing, many are incorrect, taken out of context, or simply fabricated.
377:("Democritus Junior to His Book"), a warning to "The Reader Who Employs His Leisure Ill", an abstract of the following text, and another poem explaining the
304:
and others call it, not errant, but fixed: and as it was long increasing, so, now being (pleasant or painful) grown to a habit, it will hardly be removed.
510:
225:
has survived, later reprints have drawn more or less faithfully from the editions published during Burton's life. Early editions have entered the
780:
497:
151:, first published in 1621, but republished five more times over the next seventeen years with massive alterations and expansions.
355:
is filled with more or less pertinent references to the works of others. A competent
Latinist, Burton included a great deal of
221:
during his lifetime. It has often been out of print, particularly between 1676 and 1800. Because no original manuscript of the
265:
185:(unique) work of literature as it is a scientific or philosophical text, as Burton covers far more than the titular subject.
650:
950:
638:
389:
called "a readerly pleasure in itself"). Most modern editions add explanatory notes and translate most of the Latin.
253:
20:
241:
1097:
664:
Obladen, Michael (14 September 2021). "Ignored Papers, Invented
Quotations: A History of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome".
1102:
199:
765:
1012:
33:
504:
Burton's solemn tone and his endeavour to prove indisputable facts by weighty quotations were ridiculed by
235:
111:
889:
515:
1112:
939:
1117:
198:
is "vitalized by pervading humour", and Burton's digressive and inclusive style, often verging on a
172:
576:
414:
217:
Burton was an obsessive editor of his own work, publishing five revised and expanded editions of
51:
1107:
875:
865:
799:
1070:
611:
418:
450:
245:
61:
813:
781:"The 100 best nonfiction books: No 98 – the Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton (1621)"
308:
In expounding on his subject, Burton drew from nearly every science of his day, including
202:, consistently informs and animates the text. In addition to the author's techniques, the
8:
1092:
749:
724:
301:
284:
95:
1020:
1007:
987:
692:
634:
492:
446:
378:
261:
249:
230:
39:
19:
This article is about the book by Robert Burton. For the album by
Paradise Lost, see
903:
1026:
744:
736:
673:
548:
406:
297:
257:
122:
968:
924:
899:
505:
339:
Much of the book quotes ancient and medieval medical authorities, beginning with
993:
740:
859:
470:
466:
438:
434:
402:
1086:
426:
226:
164:
148:
1064:
1051:
973:
854:
581:
553:
536:
479:
458:
430:
194:
main source of appeal to admirers. Both satirical and serious in tone, the
945:
1059:
484:
340:
321:
181:
168:
474:
442:
422:
333:
313:
309:
283:, the subject of our present discourse, is either in disposition or in
75:
677:
163:
textbook in which Burton applies his vast and varied learning, in the
982:
911:
462:
344:
329:
317:
932:"Melancholy, Medicine and Religion in Early Modern England: Reading
870:
1038:
454:
325:
296:
of which we are to treat, is a habit, a serious ailment, a settled
160:
71:
1032:
651:"Introduction · the Anatomy of Melancholy · USU Digital Exhibits"
461:(who wrote the Introduction to the NYRB Classics 2001 reprint),
947:
Robert Burton's
Rhetoric: An Anatomy of Early Modern Knowledge.
373:
359:
356:
348:
123:
998:
Online reading and multiple ebook formats at Ex-classics
372:
is especially lengthy, the first edition being a single
42:
to the 1628 third edition, engraved by
Christian Le Blon
537:"Mad world: Robert Burton's the Anatomy of Melancholy"
602:Émile Legouis, A History of English Literature (1926)
229:, with several available from online sources such as
1067:– BBC Radio 4 exploration and modern extrapolation
908:by Robert Burton, introduction by William H. Gass"
828:
826:
1084:
890:"Robert Burton and the 'Anatomy of Melancholy',"
898:
574:
449:(who used a quote as an epigraph to his story "
823:
605:
570:
568:
566:
564:
878:, Vol. 65, No. 2, April 1970, pp. 261–66
561:
159:On its surface, the book is presented as a
1045:
413:was based on the style and presentation),
32:
832:Ferriar (1798), chapter 3, pp. 55–59, 64.
748:
552:
385:concludes with an extensive index (which
175:). Although presented as a medical text,
835:
623:
425:(who said it was his favourite book) to
871:A Rhetorical Topic in "Tristram Shandy"
763:
690:
663:
534:
473:(who sees it anticipating 20th-century
256:), and a new edition in 2023 under the
1085:
778:
457:(William Sidney Porter), Amalia Lund,
87:1621, 1624, 1628, 1632, 1638, and 1651
722:
392:
287:. In disposition, is that transitory
495:quotes from it on the title page of
951:Pennsylvania State University Press
13:
961:
882:
575:Nicholas Lezard (17 August 2001).
491:"survives among the cognoscenti".
260:imprint, edited by Angus Gowland (
14:
1129:
956:
629:William H. Gass, Introduction to
21:The Anatomy of Melancholy (album)
633:, New York Review of Books 2001
806:
791:
772:
757:
716:
276:Burton defined his subject as:
764:Pullman, Philip (2005-04-09).
711:The New York Times Book Review
703:
684:
657:
643:
596:
528:
387:The New York Times Book Review
212:
1:
1065:The New Anatomy of Melancholy
848:
779:McCrum, Robert (2017-12-18).
691:Nuttall, A. D. (1989-11-23).
1052:"The Anatomy of Melancholy"
895:Vol. CCLXXXI, pp. 46–53
729:BMJ: British Medical Journal
236:The New York Review of Books
7:
923:The introduction by author
741:10.1136/bmj.39301.684363.59
725:"The Anatomy of Melancholy"
577:"The Book to End All Books"
271:
154:
10:
1134:
1041:(public domain audiobooks)
940:Cambridge University Press
841:Petrie (1970) pp. 261–262.
167:manner, to the subject of
27:The Anatomy of Melancholy
18:
16:1621 book by Robert Burton
1078:The Anatomy of Melancholy
1034:The Anatomy of Melancholy
1022:The Anatomy of Melancholy
1014:The Anatomy of Melancholy
1003:The Anatomy of Melancholy
995:The Anatomy of Melancholy
983:The Anatomy of Melancholy
934:The Anatomy of Melancholy
906:The Anatomy of Melancholy
893:The Gentleman's Magazine,
631:The Anatomy of Melancholy
619:The Anatomy of Melancholy
399:The Anatomy of Melancholy
370:The Anatomy of Melancholy
219:The Anatomy of Melancholy
177:The Anatomy of Melancholy
137:The Anatomy of Melancholy
121:
109:
101:
91:
81:
67:
57:
47:
31:
927:runs just under 10 pages
888:Edward W. Adams (1896).
766:"Reasons to be cheerful"
521:
1098:Works about melancholia
1046:Discussions of the book
860:Illustrations of Sterne
415:George Armstrong Custer
200:stream of consciousness
1103:Books about depression
1029:– scan of 1896 edition
930:Mary Ann Lund (2010).
876:Modern Language Review
814:Classics of the Future
800:From Dawn to Decadence
697:London Review of Books
411:Anatomy of Bibliomania
306:
820:, September 16, 2000.
278:
944:Susan Wells (2019).
554:10.1093/brain/awq282
535:Edwards, M. (2010).
451:The Library of Babel
62:Early Modern English
1072:The Complete Review
904:"Remedial Reading:
735:(7615): 351.2–351.
613:The Complete Review
173:clinical depression
28:
723:Dunea, G. (2007).
393:Critical reception
26:
1113:Medical textbooks
1008:Making of America
988:Project Gutenberg
713:, October 3, 1991
699:. pp. 18–19.
678:10.1159/000518534
547:(11): 3480–3482.
493:Washington Irving
447:Jorge Luis Borges
266:978-0-141192-28-4
231:Project Gutenberg
133:
132:
92:Publication place
1125:
1118:Philosophy books
1027:Internet Archive
990:
969:The 1638 edition
922:
920:
918:
842:
839:
833:
830:
821:
810:
804:
797:Jacques Barzun,
795:
789:
788:
776:
770:
769:
761:
755:
754:
752:
720:
714:
707:
701:
700:
688:
682:
681:
661:
655:
654:
647:
641:
627:
621:
609:
603:
600:
594:
593:
591:
589:
572:
559:
558:
556:
532:
483:literary critic
477:). According to
407:Holbrook Jackson
258:Penguin Classics
208:
125:
83:Publication date
36:
29:
25:
1133:
1132:
1128:
1127:
1126:
1124:
1123:
1122:
1083:
1082:
1048:
980:
964:
962:Online editions
959:
925:William H. Gass
916:
914:
900:William Monahan
885:
883:Further reading
851:
846:
845:
840:
836:
831:
824:
811:
807:
796:
792:
777:
773:
762:
758:
721:
717:
709:Thomas Mallon,
708:
704:
689:
685:
662:
658:
649:
648:
644:
628:
624:
610:
606:
601:
597:
587:
585:
573:
562:
533:
529:
524:
511:Tristram Shandy
506:Laurence Sterne
498:The Sketch Book
395:
274:
215:
206:
157:
147:) is a book by
114:
102:Media type
84:
43:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
1131:
1121:
1120:
1115:
1110:
1105:
1100:
1095:
1081:
1080:
1068:
1062:
1047:
1044:
1043:
1042:
1030:
1018:
1010:
999:
991:
978:
976:
963:
960:
958:
957:External links
955:
954:
953:
942:
928:
896:
884:
881:
880:
879:
866:Petrie, Graham
863:
850:
847:
844:
843:
834:
822:
812:Nick Lezard, "
805:
790:
771:
756:
715:
702:
683:
672:(6): 647–653.
656:
642:
622:
604:
595:
560:
526:
525:
523:
520:
471:Jacques Barzun
467:Samuel Beckett
439:Philip Pullman
435:Anthony Powell
403:Samuel Johnson
394:
391:
273:
270:
214:
211:
156:
153:
131:
130:
127:
119:
118:
115:
110:
107:
106:
103:
99:
98:
93:
89:
88:
85:
82:
79:
78:
69:
65:
64:
59:
55:
54:
49:
45:
44:
37:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
1130:
1119:
1116:
1114:
1111:
1109:
1108:NYRB Classics
1106:
1104:
1101:
1099:
1096:
1094:
1091:
1090:
1088:
1079:
1075:
1073:
1069:
1066:
1063:
1061:
1057:
1055:
1050:
1049:
1040:
1036:
1035:
1031:
1028:
1024:
1023:
1019:
1016:
1015:
1011:
1009:
1005:
1004:
1000:
997:
996:
992:
989:
985:
984:
979:
977:
975:
971:
970:
966:
965:
952:
949:
948:
943:
941:
937:
935:
929:
926:
913:
909:
907:
902:(Fall 2001).
901:
897:
894:
891:
887:
886:
877:
873:
872:
867:
864:
862:
861:
856:
855:Ferriar, John
853:
852:
838:
829:
827:
819:
815:
809:
802:
801:
794:
786:
782:
775:
767:
760:
751:
746:
742:
738:
734:
730:
726:
719:
712:
706:
698:
694:
687:
679:
675:
671:
667:
660:
652:
646:
640:
639:0-940322-66-8
636:
632:
626:
620:
616:
614:
608:
599:
584:
583:
578:
571:
569:
567:
565:
555:
550:
546:
542:
538:
531:
527:
519:
517:
513:
512:
507:
502:
500:
499:
494:
490:
486:
482:
481:
476:
472:
468:
464:
460:
456:
452:
448:
444:
440:
436:
432:
428:
427:Northrop Frye
424:
420:
416:
412:
408:
404:
400:
390:
388:
384:
380:
375:
371:
367:
365:
361:
358:
354:
350:
346:
342:
337:
335:
331:
327:
323:
319:
315:
311:
305:
303:
299:
295:
290:
286:
282:
277:
269:
267:
263:
259:
255:
254:0-940322-66-8
251:
247:
244:
243:
242:NYRB Classics
238:
237:
232:
228:
227:public domain
224:
220:
210:
205:
201:
197:
191:
188:
184:
183:
179:is as much a
178:
174:
170:
166:
162:
152:
150:
149:Robert Burton
146:
145:
140:(full title:
139:
138:
128:
126:
124:LC Class
120:
116:
113:
112:Dewey Decimal
108:
104:
100:
97:
94:
90:
86:
80:
77:
73:
70:
66:
63:
60:
56:
53:
52:Robert Burton
50:
46:
41:
35:
30:
22:
1077:
1071:
1053:
1033:
1021:
1017:at PsyPlexus
1013:
1002:
994:
981:
974:Google Books
967:
946:
933:
915:. Retrieved
905:
892:
869:
858:
837:
818:The Guardian
817:
808:
798:
793:
785:The Guardian
784:
774:
759:
732:
728:
718:
710:
705:
696:
693:"Joke Book?"
686:
669:
665:
659:
645:
630:
625:
618:
612:
607:
598:
586:. Retrieved
582:The Guardian
580:
544:
540:
530:
509:
503:
496:
488:
480:The Guardian
478:
459:William Gass
431:Stanley Fish
419:Charles Lamb
410:
398:
397:Admirers of
396:
386:
382:
379:frontispiece
369:
368:
363:
352:
351:. Hence the
338:
307:
293:
288:
280:
279:
275:
240:
234:
222:
218:
216:
203:
195:
192:
186:
180:
176:
158:
142:
141:
136:
135:
134:
40:frontispiece
38:Allegorical
1060:BBC Radio 4
1054:In Our Time
666:Neonatology
485:Nick Lezard
401:range from
341:Hippocrates
328:, and even
322:meteorology
316:, but also
213:Publication
182:sui generis
169:melancholia
1093:1621 books
1087:Categories
1074:discussion
849:References
803:, 221–224.
615:discussion
475:psychiatry
443:Cy Twombly
423:John Keats
334:demonology
314:physiology
310:psychology
302:Aurelianus
294:Melancholy
289:Melancholy
281:Melancholy
239:under its
165:scholastic
129:PR2223 .A1
76:philosophy
912:Bookforum
463:Nick Cave
345:Aristotle
330:astrology
318:astronomy
1039:LibriVox
917:14 April
455:O. Henry
326:theology
272:Synopsis
155:Overview
72:Medicine
58:Language
1056:episode
868:(1970)
857:(1798)
750:1949452
588:20 June
489:Anatomy
409:(whose
383:Anatomy
364:Anatomy
362:in the
353:Anatomy
246:imprint
223:Anatomy
204:Anatomy
196:Anatomy
187:Anatomy
161:medical
96:England
747:
637:
516:Tullia
487:, the
374:quarto
360:poetry
347:, and
298:humour
264:
252:
117:616.89
48:Author
1058:from
541:Brain
522:Notes
357:Latin
349:Galen
300:, as
285:habit
207:'
105:Print
68:Genre
919:2007
635:ISBN
590:2016
469:and
453:"),
421:and
332:and
312:and
262:ISBN
250:ISBN
171:(or
1076:of
1037:at
1025:at
1006:at
986:at
972:on
816:",
745:PMC
737:doi
733:335
674:doi
670:118
617:of
549:doi
545:133
508:in
268:).
1089::
938:.
910:.
874:,
825:^
783:.
743:.
731:.
727:.
695:.
668:.
579:.
563:^
543:.
539:.
518:.
501:.
465:,
445:,
441:,
437:,
433:,
429:,
417:,
405:,
343:,
336:.
324:,
320:,
144:Up
74:,
936:"
921:.
787:.
768:.
753:.
739::
680:.
676::
653:.
592:.
557:.
551::
248:(
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
