Book description
Not simply an investigation into melancholy, these unique essays form
part of a panoramic celebration of human behaviour from the time of the
ancients to the Renaissance. God, devils, old age, diet, drunkenness,
love and beauty are each given equal consideration in this
all-encompassing examination of the human condition. Throughout history,
some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see
ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and
revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted.
They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you
the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries
whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. Robert
Burton (1577 1640) was an English scholar and vicar at Oxford
University, best known for writing
The Anatomy of Melancholy
.
