Volume 3
The anatomy of melancholy / edited by the Rev. A.R. Shilleto ; with an introduction by A.H. Bullen.
- Robert Burton
- Date:
- 1903-1912
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: The anatomy of melancholy / edited by the Rev. A.R. Shilleto ; with an introduction by A.H. Bullen. Source: Wellcome Collection.
16/602 page 2
![1 Erubuit, posuitque meum Lucretia librum, Sed coram Bruto ; Brute recede, leget. But let these cavillers and counterfeit Catos2 know, that, as the Lord John answered the Queen in that Italian zGuazzo, an old, a grave, discreet man, is fittest to discourse of Love matters, because he hath likely more experience, observed more, hath a more staid judgement, can better discern, resolve, discuss, advise, give better cautions, and more solid precepts, better inform his auditors in such a subject, and by reason of his riper years sooner divert. Besides, nihil in hdc amoris voce subtimendum, there is nothing ] here to be excepted at; Love is a species of melancholy, and a j necessary part of this my Treatise, which I may not omit; operi i suscepto inserviendum fuit; so Jacobus Micyllus pleadeth for him- ; self in his translation of Lucian's Dialogues, and so do I; I must j and will perform my task. And that short excuse of Mercerusior i his edition of Aristcenetus shall be mine, 4If I have spent my time 1 ill to write, let 7iot them be so idle as to read. But I am persuaded j it is not so ill spent. I ought not to excuse or repent myself of j this subject, on which many grave and worthy men have written l whole volumes, Plato, Plutarch, Plotinus, Maximus Tyrius, j Alcinous, Avicenna, Leon ILebrceus in three large Dialogues, Xenophon, sympos. Theophrastus, if we may believe Athenceus, lib. 13. cap. 9, Pious Mirandula, Marius XEquicola, both in Italian, Kornmannus, de linea Amoris, lib. 3, Petrus Godefridus hath handled in three books, P. Hcedus, and which almost every Physician, as Arnoldus, Villanovanus, Valleriola, observat. vied, lib. 2. observ. 7, Allian Montallus, and Laurentius, in their Treatises of Melancholy, Jason Pratensis, de morb. cap. Valescus de Taranta, jj Gordonius, Hercules de Saxonid, Savanarola, Langius, arc. haven treated of apart, and in their works. I excuse myself therefore If with Peter Godefridus, Valleriola, Ficinus, and in 5Langius' words : jj Cadmus Milesius writ fourteen books of Love, and why should Ibem ashamed to write an Epistle in favour of young men, of this subject ?{f A company of stern Readers dislike the second of the sFneids, and| Virgil's gravity, for inserting such amorous passions in an heroicaljt ] Martial, [xi. 16. 9, 10. In Brutus’ presence Lucretia blushed and laid my bookjl aside ; if you retire, Brutus, she will take it up again and read it. J [2 Proverbial® for severe moralists. See Juv. ii. 40 ; Mart. x. 19. 21; xi. 15. 1. J s Lib. 4. ofjl; civil conversation. 4 Si male locata est opera scribendo, ne ipsi locent in legendoJt 5 Med. epist. 1. 1. ep. 14. Cadmus Milesius, teste Suida, de hoc Erotico Amor*. 14 libros scripsit, nec me pigebit in gratiam adolescentum hanc scribere epistolamJfc-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b24876008_0003_0016.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
