The anatomy of melancholy : what it is, with all the kinds auses, symptomes, prognostickes, & seuerall cures of it, in three partitions, with their severall sections, members, & subsections, philosophically, medicinally, historically opened & cut up / By Democritus Junior [i.e. Robert Burton]. With a satyricall preface conducing to the following discourse.

  • Robert Burton
Date:
1676
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The anatomy of melancholy : what it is, with all the kinds auses, symptomes, prognostickes, & seuerall cures of it, in three partitions, with their severall sections, members, & subsections, philosophically, medicinally, historically opened & cut up / By Democritus Junior [i.e. Robert Burton]. With a satyricall preface conducing to the following discourse. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    them all extremity of bicternefs • much melan¬ choly is without afflidion of confcience , as t rraL% I Bright and Perkins illuftrate by four reafons- jyitUru yef melancholy alone again may be fome- 2/'times a fuflBcient caufe of this terror of confei- r de ence. Feelix Plater fo found it in his obfer- mintis all- vations/ melancholicis alii damnatos fe pHtantf en. Deo funt, nec frjedeflinati^ They liirTeffe fredefiinate, God hath for- nec ad jl faken them:, and yet otherwife very zealous Intern p>\e- and religious •, and his common to be feen, dejiinatos jif^lancholy for fear of Gods judgement and defperation •, fear and onem f^pe forrorv, if they be immoderate., end often with dnclt h<ec it. Intolerable pain and anguifh, long ficknefs, mdancho- captivity, mifery, lofs of goods, lofs of friends, andihofe leffergriefsdofometimes effed it, or jima ob ^ fuch difmal accidents. Si non flatim relevan- fupplicU tur, faith Jidercennus^ duhitant an jit Dens, metnm jp {3^ not eafed forthwith, they doubt fudS^l whether there be any God, they rave, curfe, tmm & n,nd are defperately mad, becaafegood men are met ns in opprejfed, wicked men floHrijh, they have not as delperatio- they think^to their deferts, and through impati- qi(e^dlf^‘ ence of calamities are lo mifaffeded. Demo- nunt. critfis put out his eyes, ne malorim civium pro- •f Comment, fperos videret fiiccejfm, becaufe he could not in I. cap, Pee wicked men profper, and was there¬ fore ready to make away himfelf, as ^ jigel- Uhs writes of him. Foelix Plater hath a memo¬ rable example in this kind, of a Painters wife in Tdaftly that was melancholy for her fons death, and for melancholy became defperate, fhe thought God would not pardon her fins, ^ and tione hujus for four months, jltll raved, that Jhe was in hell flria defps- jirg., already damned. When the humour is aggravates and cap. 1*7. * incenfeth it, as the parties are addided. “ The t Damna- fame Author hath an example of a merchant tam^ fe^ pu- man, that for the lofs of a little wheat, which troubled in confei- Vm]}s\e- ^tice, for that he had not fold it fooner, or henn£ pee- given it to the poor, yet a good Scholar and a nam fenti- gj-eat Divine • no perfwafion would ferve to V' .. , the contrary, but that for this fad he was damn- tritiem diuti is fer ziatm con fcienti.c fii mulls agitdtur, cine. ^Tom. 2. cap. 27. num. 282. 5' 419 gen. artic. 5. quia, impii flo- , lynt, boni ^opprimm- tur, &c. . alius ex confidera ed ^ in other matters very judicious and dif- creet. Solitarinefs, much faffing, divine medi- tations,and contemplations of Gods judgements moflpart accompany this melancholy, and are main caufes, as * Navarrw holds • to converfe with fuch kind of perfons fo troubled, is fuffici- ent occafion of trouble to fome men. Nonnulli eb longas inedias, jludia meditationes coe- converjatio ^ religione femper agi- cimfcYHpu- tant, &c. Many ( faith P. Forefins ) through lofis,vigi- long ^fafting, ferious meditations of hea- lix,,jejunia. yc^jy things, fall into fuch fits , and as Lemnius ^s%%Jr- lib,Of. cap. Zl, Jf they be folitarygiven, jtitiofos fuperftitious, precife, or very devout : feldome p’.erumque jhall you find a Merchant, a Souldier, an Inn- exagitat ^ a Bawd, an fJoJl, an Vfurer,fo troubled ^mnm7rca-‘ mind, they havecheverel confidences that will tores, Itno- flretch, they are feldome moved in this kjnd or jjes, caupo- mole filed', young men and middle age are more nesf-cnera- tores, largiorem hi naefi f'lnt conficientixm. Juvenes plerumque confeientiam negligimt, fenes autem, &c. wild, and lefis apprehenfiive ^ but old folks, mofii part, fuch as are timorous and religioufly given, Pet. Forejlus obfervat-. lib. 1 o. cap. 12. demorbis cerebri, hath a fearful example of a Minifter, that through precife faffing in Lem, and over-much meditation contraded this mif- chief, and in the end became defperate, thought he faw Devils in his chamber, and that he could not be faved ^ he fmelled nothing, as he faid, but fire and brimffome, was already in Hel), ^ and would ask them ff ill, if they did not y fmel l ferais”%h as much. I told him he was melancholy, hut phur in-- he laughed me to fcorn, and replyed that he faw ^ Devils, talked with them in good earneff, would fpit in my face, and ask me if I did not fmell briraftone, but at laff he was by him cured. Such another ffory I find in Plater ob¬ fervat. lib. I. A poor fellow had done fome foul offence, and for fourteen dayes would eat no meat, in the end became defperate, the Di¬ vines about him could not eafe him, ^ but fo he f died. Continual meditation of Gods judge ments troubles many, Multi ob timerem futuri judicii, faith GuatineriUJ cap, 5* tracl, ly. fufpicionem defperabundi funt: David himfelf complains that Gods judgements terrified his Soul, Pfal. 119. part. 16. verf.S. My filtfii tremblethfor fear of thee, and 1 am afraid of thy judgements, ^oties diem ilium cogito ( faith ® Hierom ) toto corpore contremifeo, I a j/z tremble as often as I think of it. The terrible hamis. meditation of hell-fire and eternal punifbment i^onpaud much torments a finful filly foul* Whai^s a thoufand years to eternity ? Vbimeeror, ubifle- TarhificlTt tus, ubi dolor fempitemus. Mors fine morte, finis in tantim * fine fine ^ a finger burnt by chance we may not endure, the pain is fo grievous, we may not , abide an hour, a night-is intolerable- rndteque^ta-^ what fhall this unfpeakable fire then be th^it mm aliud burns for ever, innumerable infinite millions of bxc mentis years, in omne avum, in aternum, O eter- nity 1 * z^ternitas efi ilia vox, Vo.x ilia fidminatri.x, Tonitruis minacior, Fragoribufque cceli, syFfernitas eft ilia vox, -metd carens ^ ortu, ^ci Tormenta nulla territant, Qu£ finiuntur annis •, ty£ternitas, aternitas Ter fat cocfuitque peel us* nAuget hac poenas indies, Centuplicatqiue flammas, ^Ci This meditation terrifies thefe poor diffrefi* fed fouls, efpecially if their bodies be predif- pofed by melancholy, they religioufly given, and have tender confciences, every fmall objedt affrights them, the very inconfiderate reading of Scripture it felf, and miC-interpretation of fome places of it, as, Many are called, few ar^ chofen. Not every one that faith, Lord, Fear not little flocks fitands, let him take heed lefi he fall. Work, out your falvation with fear and trembling. That night two fhall be in a bed, one received , the other left* Strait is the way that leads to heaven, and few eficiiint, quxm ut diabolo p6- tejiatem . . faciant ip- fos per de- jperationeni ad inferos producendi, ^ Dnxeliiis 'Ficet.lih.z, Cap. II.