Robert Burton

Más que un tratado médico, esta obra enciclopédica y desmesurada es un examen exhaustivo, complejo y a menudo humorístico, de la melancolía, término que en la época abarcaba desde la tristeza simple hasta la locura, o lo que hoy llamariamos depresion y otros trastornos psiquicos.Robert Burton, bajo el seudonimo de Democrito Junior, estructura el libro en tres grandes particiones, explorando su definicion, causas y sintomas; sus curas, incluyendo dieta, ejercicio, musica y remedios filosoficos; y sus tipos especificos, como la melancolia amorosa o la religiosa.La obra destaca por su estilo unico, siendo una vasta compilacion de citas de autores clasicos, medicos, poetas, teologos y filosofos, demostrando la inmensa erudicion de Burton. No solo analiza el temperamento melancolico a nivel individual, sino tambien sus manifestaciones en la sociedad y la politica. Es un espejo de la condicion humana, una reflexion profunda y a ratos satirica sobre la afliccion y la universalidad del sufrimiento, que sigue siendo relevante por su amplitud de miras y su riqueza literaria.

Obra desmesurada cuya enorme extensión ha hecho sumamente azarosa su trayectoria editorial, la "Anatomía de la melancolía" (1621) es un minucioso examen de un rasgo propio de numerosos temperamentos humanos que, vinculado a veces al genio y otras a la locura, ha hallado forma de manifestarse desde la antigua hipocondria al moderno "spleen" o los actuales trastornos psiquicos. Contemporaneo de John Donne y en buena medida de Shakespeare, Robert Burton (1577-1640) -hombre de carrera silenciosa, sedentaria, solitaria, intima en el Christ Church College de Oxford- incluyo en su magna obra su vasto caudal de conocimientos sobre los mas diversos autores y materias en forma de resumenes historicos, consideraciones filosoficas, anecdotas literarias, mitos y leyendas, citas poeticas, informaciones cientificas, meditaciones teologicas, juicios medicos y entretenidas digresiones. Alberto Manguel nos guia por esta intrincada selva seleccionando los pasajes mas curiosos y cercanos al lector actual, a la vez que proporciona una inmejorable posibilidad de asomarse a una obra mucho mas citada que conocida y que constituye un hito de la cultura occidental.

El sueño utópico de Robert Burton (1577-1640), el desmedido autor de Anatomía de la melancolía, maestro de la prosa barroca inglesa y uno de los raros por excelencia de la literatura europea.

Not simply an investigation into melancholy, these unique essays form part of a panoramic celebration of human behaviour from the time of the ancients to the Renaissance. God, devils, old age, diet, drunkenness, love and beauty are each given equal consideration in this all-encompassing examination of the human condition. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

This edition of The Anatomy of Melancholy is based on a nineteenth-century edition that modernized Burtons spelling and typographic conventions. In preparing this electronic version, it became evident that the editor had made a variety of mistakes in this modernization: some words were left in their original spelling (unusual words were a particular problem), portions of book titles were mistaken for proper names, proper names were mistaken for book titles or Latin words, etc. A certain number of misprints were also introduced into the Latin. As a result, I have re-edited the text, checking it against images of the 1638 edition, and correcting all errors not present in the earlier edition. I have continued to follow the general editorial practice of the base text for quotation marks, italics, etc. Rare words have been normalized according to their primary spelling in the Oxford English Dictionary. When Burton spells a persons name in several ways, I have normalized the names to the most common spelling, or to modern practice if well-known. In a few cases, mistakes present in both the 1683 edition and the base text have been corrected. These are always minor reference errors (e.g., an incorrect or missing section number in the synopses, or misnumbered footnotes). Incorrect citations to other texts (Burton seems to quote by memory and sometimes gets it wrong) have not been changed if they are wrong in both editions. To display some symbols (astrological signs, etc.) the HTML version requires a browser with unicode support. Most recent browsers should be OK.KTH

Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

One of the major documents of modern European civilization, Robert Burton's astounding compendium, a survey of melancholy in all its myriad forms, has invited nothing but superlatives since its publication in the seventeenth century. Lewellyn Powys called it "the greatest work of prose of the greatest period of English prose-writing," while the celebrated surgeon William Osler declared it the greatest of medical treatises. And Dr. Johnson, Boswell reports, said it was the only book that he rose early in the morning to read with pleasure. In this surprisingly compact and elegant new edition, Burton's spectacular verbal labyrinth is sure to delight, instruct, and divert today's readers as much as it has those of the past four centuries.

One of the richest, most inexhaustible books in the English language, "The Anatomy of Melancholy" is an elaborately systematized medical treatise dealing with various morbid mental states -- their causes, symptoms, and cures -- as well as a compendium of memorable utterances on the human condition in general, compiled from classical, scholastic, and contemporary sources.

Obra desmesurada, cuya enorme extensión ha hecho sumamente azarosa su trayectoria editorial desde que se publicara por vez primera en 1621, la ANATOMÍA DE LA MELANCOLÍA es un minucioso examen de un rasgo propio de numerosos temperamentos humanos que, vinculado a veces al genio y otras a la locura, ha hallado forma de manifestarse desde la antigua hipocondria al moderno spleen o los contemporaneos trastornos psiquicos. Contemporaneo de John Donne y en buena medida de Shakespeare, ROBERT BURTON (1577-1640), hombre de carrera silenciosa, sedentaria, solitaria, intima en el Christ Church College de Oxford, del que llego a ser bibliotecario en 1626, incluyo en su magna obra el vasto caudal de sus conocimientos sobre los mas diversos autores y materias en forma de resumenes historicos, consideraciones filosoficas, anecdotas literarias, mitos y leyendas, citas poeticas, informaciones cientificas, meditaciones teologicas, juicios medicos y entretenidas digresiones. Prologuista y antologo de este volumen, Alberto Manguel hace de guia por esta intrincada selva, seleccionando los pasajes mas curiosos y cercanos al lector actual, y proporciona una inmejorable posibilidad de asomarse a una obra mucho mas citada que conocida y que constituye una obra fundamental de la cultura.

A field in Warwickshire stands untouched by time, its stories buried beneath the soil. Spanning centuries, this collection of historical tales unveils the secrets of one unchanging field across different eras, all connected by the mystery of a lost treasure.In the present day, farmer Geoff Knight is puzzled by barren patches in his field. With the help of his archaeologist friend, he uncovers remnants of a Roman villa, a WWII ammunition box, and clues hinting at a hidden treasure. In World War II, Major Pete Caruso of the USAAF discovers his family ties among Italian POWs and embarks on a gold-smuggling scheme. In 1307, Templar knights bury their wealth as their order faces dissolution. During Roman times, Legate Antonius Bassius hides his familys gold on his new farm. In the 17th century, Sir John Byron camps with stolen plate from Oxford colleges. Lastly, a Viking named Torston conceals his loot won in battles before joining King Alfred.Oxhill, a real village in South Warwickshire, serves as the backdrop for these intertwined stories, blending historical facts with fictional elements.Uncover the layers of history and mystery within this field. Will you discover the treasures final resting place?

Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) has cast a long, shimmering shadow, on Milton (L'Allegro and Il Penseroso in particular), on the wits of Queen Anne's reign and the beginning of George I's, and on Swift. Doctor Johnson praised it vehemently. Sterne is its most comprehensive beneficiary in Tristram Shandy. He was a favourite with Coleridge, Lamb and Southey. Keats owes 'Lamia' and much else to Robert Burton. Byron praised it as the most entertaining of literary miscellanies. The Anatomy is either the first major text in the history of Western cognitive science, or a satire on human learning and striving. Burton is not original, but he is comprehensive, and he writes with a wry brilliance. He was familiar with nearly all the medical, astrological, and magical books then extant. He introduces several key terms which remain dominant in models of cognition through to the Victorian era, among them Phantasy or Imagination, Reflection, the Senses and Understanding. Locke in 1690 was to adopt much of Burton's model and terminology. Anthony a Wood gives the following character of Robert Burton (1577-1640): 'As he was by many accounted a severe student, a devourer of authors, a melancholy and humorous person, so by others who knew him well a person of great honesty, plain dealing and charity. I have heard some of the ancients of Christ Church often say that his company was very merry...' This new selection draws on The Anatomy and other key writings.

Journey through the subject of melancholia in this easily accessible volume, touching on topics from love and sex to religion and geography. A new volume to add to Hesperuss unique and bestselling On

Dryness, paleness, waking, sighing, despair, frenzy, death: loves repercussions can be dire indeed. Perhaps that is why Robert Burton devoted the largest part of his pioneering 17th-century psychological work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, to this supreme passion. Edited to offer the modern reader easier access to this classic text, this abridged version preserves all the fantastic variety of the original, as Burton knits together stories and quotations drawn from millennia of European literature in order to understand loves causes, consequences, and cures.We encounter gods and goddesses, ancient kings and queens, lascivious monks and pure-hearted shepherds, marriages happy and unhappy, allurements natural and unnatural, and, most importantly, many cures for love-melancholy, from the obvious to the arcane. Intricate yet commonsensical, learned yet earthy, and twinkling throughout with ironic warmth, Burtons masterpiece speaks to the deepest concerns of the human heart as well today as it did four centuries ago.