What are the motifs in The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton?

This treatise is dated. The author has amended the body of knowledge on this subject. He has done this as a major project; part of his life's work. As such, this work serves as an excellent example of what the medical profession of the time was like. Readers will find some of it to be rather pathetic; at the same time, much of it makes a great deal of sense. Once readers get a sense for the terminology of the time and the limits of the technology available for treatment, they will see the value of Burton's contributions.