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

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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$€ tiff US Girald, Nat» Comes. ■fApuleius /ifc.4. flor. Lar. fmi- liaris inter homines atatis fuit cultus efly litlum om¬ nium & jurgiorm inter pro- pinquos ar¬ biter & difceptator, Adverfm iracundi- am, invi¬ diam, ava- rltiam, ll- bidinem, cateraqm animi hu- mani vitia monflra. Vhilofophus ifle Hercu¬ les fuit. Feftes eas mentibus exegit om- nes, &c. g VetisHa- vig. Snda in Crete^ which. have few. (hips in them, little or no traffick or trade, which have fcarce a Village on them, able to bear great Cities, fed viderint politici. I could here juftly tax many other negleds, abufes, errors, defeds among us, and in other Countreys, depopu¬ lations, riot, drunkennefs,^c. and many fuch, quA nunc in aurem fufurrure non libet. But I muft take heed, ne quid gravius die am ^ that I do not over-lhoot my felf, Sus eJddfner- vam, I am forth of my element, as you per- adventure fuppofe • and fometimes •veritas odium parity as he faid, verjuice and oatmeal is good for a Parret. For as Lucian faid of an Hiftorian,! fay of a Politician,He that will free¬ ly fpcak and write, muft be for ever no fub- jed, under no Prince or Law, but lay out the matter truly as it is, not caring what any can, will, like ordiflike. We have good Laws, I deny not, to redi- fiefuch enormities, and fo in all other Coun¬ treys, but it feems not alwayes to good pur- pofe. We had need of fome general Vifi- tor in our age, that fhould reform what is amifs; a juft army oiRofe crofs men , for they will amend all matters, (they fay)religion, policy, manners, with arts, fciences , &c. Another Attila, Tamberlane^ Hercules, to ftrive with Achelous, Augea flabulum purgare, to fubdue Tyrants, as ® he did Diomedes and Bufiris ; to expel Thieves, as he did C^cwjand Lacinius: to vindicate poor captives, as he did Hefone : to pafs the Torrid Zone, the De¬ farts of Libya^ and purge the world of Mon- fters and Centaures : Or another Theban Crates to reform our manners, to compofe quarrels and controverfies, as in his time he did, and was therefore adored for a god in Athens, As Hercules^ purged the world of zAfonJierSy and fubdued them^ fo did he fight againfi envy, lufi, anger, avarice, ^c, and all thofe feral vices and monfiers of the mind. It were to be wilhed we had fome fuch Vifi- tor, or if wiftiing would ferve, one had fuch a ring or rings, as Timolaus defined in s Lu¬ cian , by vertue of which he fhould be as ftrong as ten thoufand men, or an army of Gyants, go invifible, open gates and caftle doors, have what treafure he would, tranfport himfelf in an inftant, to what place hedefired, alter affediions, cure all manner of difeafes, that he might range over the world, and re¬ form all diftrefied ftates and perfons , as he would himfelfi He might reduce thofe wan¬ dring in order, that infeft China on the one fide, Jldufcovy, Poland on the other ^ and tame the vagabond <sy4rabians that rob and fpoil thofe Eafiern Countreys, that they fhould never ufe more Caravans, or Janiz^a- ries to condudf themi He might root out Barbarifm out of America, and fully difeover 'Terra Aufiralis Incognitaj find out the North- eaft, and Norfh-weft paffages ^ drean thofe mighty ^tMoeotian fens, cut down thofe vaft Hircinian woods, .irrigate thofe barren Ara¬ bian defarts, &c. cure us of our Epidemical difeafes, Plica, morbus Neapolitan nus, cf-c. end all our idle controverfies, cut off our tumultuous defires , inordinate lufts, root out atheifm , impiety, herefie , fehiftn and fuperftition, which now fo crucifie the world, catechife grofs ignorance, Italy of luxury and riot, Spam of fuperftition and ]t2\ou^\t,Germany of drunkennefs, all our Nor¬ thern Countreys of gluttony and intemperance^ caftigate our hard-hearted Parents, Mafters, Tutors •, lafh difobedient children, negligent fervants, corred thefe fpendthrifts and prodi¬ gal foils, enforce idle perfons to work, drive drunkards off the Ale-houfe, reprefs Thieves, vifit corrupt and tyrannizing Magiftrates, &c. But as L. Licinitis taxed Timolaus , you may us. Thefe are vain, abfurd and ridiculous wifhes not to be hoped : all muft be as it is, ^Bocchalinus may cite Common-wealths 10 \i^aggni'^^ come befor? Apollo, and feek.to reform the Uospart.^l world it felf by Commifficners , but there is no remedy, it may not be redre’fTed, nent homines turn demum flulte/cere quando effe defment , fo long as they can wag their beards, they will play the knaves and fools. , Becaufe therefore it is a thing fo difficult, impofiible , and far beyond Hercules labours to be performed * let tnem be rude, ftupid, ignorant, incult, lapis fuper lapidem fedeat,. ^ . . and as the > Apologift will, Refp. tuffi, & graveolentia laboret, mundus vitio, let them Apolog.md^ be ‘ barbarous as they are , let them ^ ty- nip. 604. rannize, epicurize, opprefs, luxuriate, con- fume themfelves with fadions, fupcrftitions,yj,^^^y'^^{’ law-fuits, wars and contentions, live in riot, adhua poverty, want, mifery ; rebel, wallow asfo many fwine in their own dung, with Vlyjfes companions , fiultos jubeo ejfe , libenter, I will yet to fatisfie and pleafe my felf, make an Vtopia of mine own, a new Atlantis, a poe¬ tical Common-wealth of mine own, it) which I will freely domineer, build Cities, make Laws, Statutes, as I lift my felf,' And why may I not? ^ --^ PiBoribus atque fPoetis, ^cl I You know what liberty Poets ever had, and befides, my predecefiTor Democritus was a Politician, a Recorder of oAbdera , a Law¬ maker as fome fay. and why may not I pre¬ fume fo much as he did ? Howfoever I will adventure. For the fite, if you will needs urge me to it, I am not fully refolved, it may be in Terra Aufirali Incognita, there is room enough ( for of my knowledge neither that hungry nor Mercurius Britan- nicus, have yet difeovered half of it) or elfe one of thofe floti'ng Iflands in Mare del Zur, which like the Cyanian Ifles in the Euxine fea, alter their place, and are acceffible only at fet times,’ and to fome few perfons •, or one of the Fortunate Ifles , for who knows yet where,or which they are? there is room enough in the inner parts of America, and northern coafts of Afia. But I will choofe a fite, whofe latitude ffiall be 45.degrees (I refpeft not mi¬ nutes ; in the midft of the temperate Zone, or perhaps urder the Equator, that* Paradife of ^ , the world, ubi femper virens laurus, &c. where ^$

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