Robert Burton
Robert Burton
An Oxford University scholar, he is best known for his classic 1621 work, The Anatomy of Melancholy. He was also a mathematician and an amateur astrologer.
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionTeacher
Date of Birth8 February 1577
bitter drink freely health indeed lies man open precious preserve purse recover restore thee undergo
Health indeed is a precious thing, to recover and preserve which we undergo any misery, drink bitter potions, freely give our goods: restore a man to his health, his purse lies open to thee
cruel pen sword
How much more cruel the pen may be than the sword
thinking self-loathing self-hatred
[T]hou canst not think worse of me than I do of myself.
friendship old-friends enemy
Old friends become bitter enemies on a sudden for toys and small offenses.
love passion power
To enlarge or illustrate this power and effect of love is to set a candle in the sun.
real moon mind
Worldly wealth is the Devil's bait; and those whose minds feed upon riches recede, in general, from real happiness, in proportion as their stores increase, as the moon, when she is fullest, is farthest from the sun.
exception
No rule is so general, which admits not some exception.
years mayors scholar
We can make mayors and officers every year, but not scholars.
solitary idle
Be not solitary, be not idle
writing ifs
If you like not my writing, go read something else.
book
What a glut of books! Who can read them?
overcoming melancholy
Melancholy can be overcome only by melancholy.
mind miserable rich
Let thy fortune be what it will, 'tis thy mind alone that makes thee poor or rich, miserable or happy.
dog business ambition
Like dogs in a wheel, birds in a cage, or squirrels in a chain, ambitious men still climb and climb, with great labor, and incessant anxiety, but never reach the top.