The Anatomy of Melancholy Author:Robert Burton Subtitle: In Which the Kinds, Causes, Consequences, and Cures of This English Malady, ... Are -- "traced From Within Its Inmost Centre to Its Outmost Skin." General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1824 Original Publisher: Printed for N. Hailes, ... John Bumpus, ... John Walker, ...; and Richard Griffin and Co. Glasgow.... more » Subjects: Melancholy Psychology / Emotions Psychology / Depression Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER V. THE CURE OF MELANCHOLY. Melancholy is said to be the inexorable parent of every mental disease ; but Paracelsus ridicules the idea of its being incurable ; and certain it is, that this dreadful malady, even in its most afflicting stages, seldom causes immediate death) except, indeed, by the ungoverned hand of the miserable sufferer. Montanus, however, is of opinion, that to whatever extent the patient may be relieved, some dregs and vestiges, the vcteris vestigia flamma:, will still remain, and accompany him to his grave; and unquestionably it is a disease much more easy to be prevented than entirely cured. " To administer to a mind diseased, Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Raze out the written troubles of the brain, And with some sweet oblivious antidote Cleanse the foul bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart, is certainly a task surrounded with difficulties seemingly insurmountable ; but when we seriously consider the assistance that may be derived from Him who turns " the mourning of those that trust in Him into joy and gladness," the frowns of despair will be converted into thesmiles of hope, and the idea of difficulty will vanish in proportion to our faith in the Almighty. licclmaaticua. " For the Almight...« less