Parties affected.] To the part affected, I may here add the parties, which shall be more opportunely spoken of elsewhere, now only signified.  Such as have the moon, Saturn, Mercury misaffected in their genitures, such as live in over cold or over hot climes:  such as are born of melancholy parents; as offend in those six non-natural things, are black, or of a high sanguine complexion, [1047]that have little heads, that have a hot heart, moist brain, hot liver and cold stomach, have been long sick:  such as are solitary by nature, great students, given to much contemplation, lead a life out of action, are most subject to melancholy.  Of sexes both, but men more often; yet [1048]women misaffected are far more violent, and grievously troubled.  Of seasons of the year, the autumn is most melancholy.  Of peculiar times:  old age, from which natural melancholy is almost an inseparable accident; but this artificial malady is more frequent in such as are of a [1049]middle age.  Some assign 40 years, Gariopontus 30.  Jubertus excepts neither young nor old from this adventitious.  Daniel Sennertus involves all of all sorts, out of common experience, [1050]_in omnibus omnino corporibus cujuscunque constitutionis dominatar_.  Aetius and Aretius [1051]ascribe into the number “not only [1052]discontented, passionate, and miserable persons, swarthy, black; but such as are most merry and pleasant, scoffers, and high coloured.”  “Generally,” saith Rhasis, [1053]"the finest wits and most generous spirits, are before other obnoxious to it;” I cannot except any complexion, any condition, sex, or age, but [1054]fools and stoics, which, according to [1055]Synesius, are never troubled with any manner of passion, but as Anacreon’s cicada, sine sanguine et dolore; similes fere diis sunt.  Erasmus vindicates fools from this melancholy catalogue, because they have most part moist brains and light hearts; [1056]they are free from ambition, envy, shame and fear; they are neither troubled in conscience, nor macerated with cares, to which our whole life is most subject.

SUBSECT.  III.—­Of the Matter of Melancholy.

Of the matter of melancholy, there is much question betwixt Avicen and Galen, as you may read in [1057]Cardan’s Contradictions, [1058]Valesius’ Controversies, Montanus, Prosper Calenus, Capivaccius, [1059]Bright, [1060]Ficinus, that have written either whole tracts, or copiously of it, in their several treatises of this subject. [1061]"What this humour is, or whence it proceeds, how it is engendered in the body, neither Galen, nor any old writer hath sufficiently discussed,” as Jacchinus thinks:  the Neoterics cannot agree.  Montanus, in his Consultations, holds melancholy to be material or immaterial:  and so doth Arculanus:  the material is one of the four humours before mentioned, and natural.  The immaterial or adventitious, acquisite, redundant, unnatural, artificial; which [1062] Hercules de Saxonia will have reside in the spirits alone, and to proceed from a “hot, cold, dry, moist distemperature, which, without matter, alter the brain and functions of it.”  Paracelsus wholly rejects and derides this division of four humours and complexions, but our Galenists generally approve of it, subscribing to this opinion of Montanus.