Book 1, The First Partition : Chapter 4, More on Melancholy Summary and Analysis

Robert Burton writes that from his world view, frenzy, madness, and melancholy are distinct. He observes that some writers put these together, and call melancholy a form of madness. Most forms of melancholy are dispositional and relatively normal. For some, they become a matter of habit. The parts viewed as most involved are the brain and the heart.

The author also refers to lycanthropy. This seems to date the text, as this illness has since been dismissed or assumed to be something else. The sufferer falls under the delusion of being a wolf. Those who have lycanthropy also exhibit other signs. Their eyes are hollow. They tend to be a bit dehydrated and suffer from dry skin and to have scabby legs. They hide themselves from others...