The Anatomy of Melancholy, volume 1: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Anatomy of Melancholy, volume 1, credited to Robert Burton, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of The Anatomy of Melancholy, Volume 1, by Robert Burton. The Anatomy of Melancholy is a book by Robert Burton, first published in 1621. On its surface, the book is a medical textbook in which Burton applies his large and varied learning in the scholastic manner to the subject of melancholia (which includes what is now termed clinical depression). Though presented as a medical text, The Anatomy of Melancholy is as much a sui generis work of literature as it is a scientific or philosophical text, and Burton addresses far more than his stated subject. In fact, the Anatomy uses melancholy as the lens through which all human emotion and thought may be scrutinized, and virtually the entire contents of a 17th-century library are marshalled into service of this goal. Burton is forthright about his intentions in writing the Anatomy — "I write of melancholy by being busy to avoid melancholy," he concedes. This acknowledged desire to distract and amuse himself motivated Burton to produce a wide-ranging document, containing digressions and commentary. Whatever its strengths as a medical text or as a historical document, it is the Anatomy's vast breadth — addressing topics such as digestion, goblins, the geography of America, and others — and the particularly characteristic voice of its author that are most commonly cited by its admirers as the main sources of its appeal. Both satirical and serious in tone, the Anatomy is "vitalized by (Burton's) pervading humour", and Burton's digressive and inclusive style, often verging on a stream of consciousness, consistently informs and animates the text. (Summary from Wikipedia)

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Anatomy of Melancholy, volume 1
• Author credits: Robert Burton
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 53
• Combined MP3 track duration: 21:51:17

Catalogue topics

• Melancholy
• 17th century
• psychology
• medicine

Opening tracks: first 24 of 53

1. 01 - Advertisement of the last London edition & Account of the author — 24:47
2. 02 - Dedication and Argument — 14:22
3. 03 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 1 — 17:13
4. 04 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 2 — 27:38
5. 05 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 3 — 22:26
6. 06 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 4 — 28:07
7. 07 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 5 — 19:37
8. 08 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 6 — 31:39
9. 09 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 7 — 22:39
10. 10 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 8 — 22:40
11. 11 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 9 — 33:11
12. 12 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 10 — 25:50
13. 13 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 11 — 34:32
14. 14 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 12 — 31:05
15. 15 - Democritus Junior to the reader part 13 — 28:37
16. 16 - Partition 1, Section 1, Member 1, Subsection 1 — 20:52
17. 17 - Partition 1, Section 1, Member 1, Subsections 2-5 — 27:26
18. 18 - Partition 1, Section 1 , Member 2, Subsections 1-4 — 25:12
19. 19 - Partition 1, Section 1 , Member 2, Subsections 5-8 — 26:10
20. 20 - Partition 1, Section 1 , Member 2, Subsections 9 - 11 — 18:38
21. 21 - Partition 1, Section 1, Member 3 — 24:13
22. 22 - Partition 1, Section 2, Member 1, Subsections 1 and 2 part 1 — 28:04
23. 23 - Partition 1, Section 2, Member 1, Subsection 2 part 2 — 30:13
24. 24 - Partition 1, Section 2, Member 2, Subsections 2 part 3 — 28:53

Listen to this recording

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.