The Anatomy of Melancholy: Philosophy Classic. Robert Burton

which the body works on the mind, and this malady

       is caused by precedent diseases; as agues, pox,

       &c., or temperature, innate Subs. 1.

      Or by particular parts distempered, as brain, heart,

       spleen, liver, mesentery, pylorus, stomach &c.

       Subs. 2.

      Particular to the three species. See [Symbol: Gemini].

      [Symbol: Gemini] Particular causes. Sect. 2. Memb. 5.

      Of head Melancholy are Subs. 3.

      Inward

       Innate humour, or from temperature adjust.

       A hot brain, corrupted blood in the brain

       Excess of venery, or defect

       Agues, or some precedent disease

       Fumes arising from the stomach, &c.

      Or Outward

       Heat of the sun, immoderate

       A blow on the head

       Overmuch use of hot wines, spices, garlic, onions, hot baths,

       overmuch waking, &c.

       Idleness, solitariness, or overmuch study, vehement labour, &c.

       Passions, perturbations, &c.

      Of hypochondriacal or windy melancholy are, [Subs. 4.]

      Inward

       Default of spleen, belly, bowels, stomach, mesentery, miseraic

       veins, liver, &c.

       Months or hemorrhoids stopped, or any other ordinary evacuation

      or Outward

       Those six non-natural things abused.

      Over all the body are, Subs. 5.

      Inward

       Liver distempered, stopped, over-hot, apt to engender melancholy,

       temperature innate.

      or Outward

       Bad diet, suppression of hemorrhoids &c. and such evacuations,

       passions, cares, &c. those six non-natural things abused.

      [Symbol: Taurus] Necessary causes, as those six non-natural things, which are, Sect. 2 Memb. 2.

      Diet offending in Subs. 1.

      Substance

       Bread; course and black, &c.

       Drink; thick, thin, sour, &c.

       Water unclean, milk, oil, vinegar, wine, spices &c.

       Flesh

       Parts: heads, feet, entrails, fat, bacon, blood, &c.

       Kinds:

       Beef, pork, venison, hares, goats, pigeons, peacocks,

       fen-fowl, &c.

       Herbs, Fish, &c.

       Of fish; all shellfish, hard and slimy fish, &c.

       Of herbs; pulse, cabbage, melons, garlic, onions, &c.

       All roots, raw fruits, hard and windy meats

      Quality, as in

       Preparing, dressing, sharp sauces, salt meats, indurate, soused,

       fried, broiled or made-dishes, &c.

      Quantity

       Disorder in eating, immoderate eating, or at unseasonable times,

       &c. Subs. 2 Custom; delight, appetite, altered, &c. Subs. 3.

      Retention and evacuation, Subs. 4. Costiveness, hot baths, sweating, issues stopped, Venus in excess, or in defect, phlebotomy, purging, &c.

      Air; hot, cold, tempestuous, dark, thick, foggy, moorish, &c. Subs. 5.

      Exercise, Subs. 6. Unseasonable, excessive, or defective, of body or mind, solitariness, idleness, a life out of action, &c.

      Sleep and waking, unseasonable, inordinate, overmuch, overlittle, &c.

       Subs. 7.

       Memb. 3. Sect. 2.

      Passions and perturbations of the mind, Subs. 1. With a digression of the force of imagination. Subs. 2. and division of passions into Subs. 3.

      Irascible,

       Sorrow, cause and symptom, Subs. 4. Fear, cause and symptom, Subs. 5. Shame, repulse, disgrace, &c. Subs. 6. Envy and malice, Subs. 7. Emulation, hatred, faction, desire of revenge, Subs. 8. Anger a cause, Subs. 9. Discontents, cares, miseries, &c. Subs. 10.

      or concupiscible.

       Vehement desires, ambition, Subs. 11. Covetousness, [Greek: philargurian], Subs. 12. Love of pleasures, gaming in excess, &c. Subs. 13. Desire of praise, pride, vainglory, &c. Subs. 14. Love of learning, study in excess, with a digression, of the misery of scholars, and why the Muses are melancholy, Subs. 15.

      B. Symptoms of melancholy are either Sect. 3.

      General, as of Memb. 1.

      Body, as ill digestion, crudity, wind, dry brains, hard belly, thick blood, much waking, heaviness, and palpitation of heart, leaping in many places, &c., Subs. 1.

      or Mind

      Common to all or most.

       Fear and sorrow without a just cause, suspicion, jealousy,

       discontent, solitariness, irksomeness, continual cogitations,

       restless thoughts, vain imaginations, &c. Subs. 2.

      Or Particular to private persons, according to Subs. 3. 4. Celestial influences, as [Symbol: Saturn] [Symbol: Jupiter] [Symbol: Mars], &c. parts of the body, heart, brain, liver, spleen, stomach, &c.

      Humours

       Sanguine are merry still, laughing, pleasant, meditating

       on plays, women, music, &c.

       Phlegmatic, slothful, dull, heavy, &c.

       Choleric, furious, impatient, subject to hear and see

       strange apparitions, &c.

       Black, solitary, sad; they think they are bewitched,

       dead, &c.

      Or mixed of these four humours adust, or not adust,

       infinitely varied.

      Their several customs, conditions, inclinations, discipline,

       &c.

      Ambitious, thinks himself a king, a lord; covetous, runs on his money; lascivious on his mistress; religious, hath revelations, visions, is a prophet, or troubled in mind; a scholar on his book, &c.

      Continuance of time as the humour is intended or remitted,

       &c.

      Pleasant at first, hardly discerned; afterwards harsh and

       intolerable, if inveterate. Hence some make three

       degrees,

       1. Falsa cogitatio. 2. Cogitata loqui. 3. Exequi loquutum.

      By fits, or continuate, as the object varies, pleasing,

       or displeasing.

      Simple, or as it is mixed with other diseases, apoplexies, gout, caninus appetitus, &c. so the symptoms are various.

      [Symbol: Cancer] Particular