Book 1, The Anatomy of Melancholy : Chapter 1, The Introductory Material Summary and Analysis

The author Robert Burton assures readers that he is not pursuing this work for the purposes of fame. He also does not advertise himself as the author of the work, but explains that this is the further development of the work of Democritus. He gives some explanation of Democritus and of Democritus Junior, who are unrelated. Burton vouches for Democritus as having provided one of the better viewpoints on melancholy that anyone has been able to come up with for the medieval period. Democritus is known to have had a melancholic temperament himself.

The book is a treatise on what melancholy is, what causes it and how to treat and cure it. Readers of today should see this as addressing two things that differ only...