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Saturn and Melancholy


Studies in the
Phil~phy

History of N atural

Religion and Art


by
Raymond

~libansky

Erwin Panofsky and Fritz Sax!

~,~rm :il i i~ i i:S lhe..

der Vni.,,~r:;il .'; 1

Jn ~ !ih' f

I\, 1Lin :-:/fr

Tomb o f Robert Uurton, Chrillt Church Cathedral, Ox ford

KRAUS REPRI NT
Nendeln/ Liechtenstein

1979

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Preface to Reprint
SfIturn and Melancholy has been out of print for a long time.
Following requests from scholars in many count-ries the book is now
made available again. Much could be added to it, especially in the
lig ht of recent studies in the his tory of ancient medicine. However

this would hardly be possible without affecting the balance of the

whole. Since neither of my co~authors is alive - Erwin Panofsky


di.ed in March 1968. - I considered it best to leave the work in the
form in which it fIrst appeared fifteen years ago.

R.K.
First Publisbed 1964

Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd 1964

Oxford, February 1979.


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ISBN 3-262-00381 -6

Reprinted by permission of the Licensors

KRAUS REPRINT
A Division of
KRAUS-THOMSON ORGANIZATION LIMITED
NendelniLiechtenstein
1979
Printed in The Netherlands

Preface

.;

.,

From the remote times when events in the world of man were first held to be
linked with the stars, Saturn was thought to retard any undertaking connected with him. No doubt the ancients would have found ample evidence
of his sluggish influence in the fate of this book.
]n 1923. Erwin Panofsky and Fritz Saxl published Dilrers 'Melencolia . l' .
Eitle queJJ.en- fmd typengeschichiliche UnteTsuchung (Studien der Bibliothek
Warburg, B. G. Teubner, Leipzig). When this study was out of print, it was
decided to prepare a new, revised and enlarged edition in which the development of the doctrine of the temperaments would be described in detail and
the history of "Saturn, Lord of Melancholy" traced to the threshold of
modem times. In due course, the broadened scope of the work made it
necessary to abandon the framework of the monograph on Diirer's engraving.
The plan of a new book on Saturn and Melancholy emerged, to be undertaken
by the three authors whose names now appear on the title-page.
At every st age, the preparation of the book was beset by delay and adversity. After a lengthy interruption due to the political upheaval in Germany
during the Thirties and t o the authors' emigration from that country, work
was resumed in Britain. In the summer of 1939, the fi nal proofs were
votumed to the printers in GHickstadt near Hamburg; shortly after the
)..rmistice, in 1945, it was learned that the standing type had been destroyed
during the war. To resurred the now defunct Gennan book seemed out of
:he question. [nstead, the a ut hors agreed t o publish an English translation,
'. be made from a surviving copy of the German proofs. Owing t o the
untime1y death of Fritz Saxl in March 1948, the e.xtcution of this project
suffered a long de1ay.
When eventuaUy the work was taken in hand again , some rearrangements
and several modifications were found necessary; however, the contents of the
book were left substantially unaltered. During the last two decades much
has been written concerning the various fields touched upon in this book; in
particular. almost every year presents us with new interpretations of Durer'S
engraving, a few of which are mentioned in E . Panofsky's Albrecht Dii r~r
(4th edition, Princeton 1955). Any attempt to take account of all this
literature would have swelled the present volume to an unma'1ageable size.
Some further details might have been filled in, some controversial points
more fully discussed; yet the aut hors feel confident that the argument as a
whole would not have been affected.
At the same time, they are aware of some gaps in the treatment of their
vast subject . There ' are many re1ated themes which might have been
foUowed up. To name only a few : The legend of Democritus, the melancholy
philosopher. whom "the world's vanity. full of ridiculous contrariety," moves
t o laughter, could have been traced from its Hellenistic origins to its memorable appearance in the preface by 'Democritus Junior to the Atlatomy of

PREFACE
;1/tlancholy. )t Uc)1 might have been added concerning the part played by
melancholy in French literature of the later Middle Ages, e.g. in the poetry of
Charles d 'OrMans. In trea ting of astrology, the authors confined themselves
to investiga ting the historical origins and the development of the belief in
Saturn 's in fluen~ ; there remain the wider tasks of understanding the signi.6
cance of a ny such belief in the power of the stars and of elucidating the reasons
for which human beings have invested the planets 'w ith the very forces that
rule their own microcosm.
The limits set to this book excluded any endeavour to do justice to the
complex a nd enthr.illing topic of Elizabethan and Jacobean melancholy.
Tempt ing as It was to delve into the riches of Bunon, the authors had to
content themselves with paying homage to the great 'melancholiz.er' by
prefixing his cffigy to the present volume.
Our wa rm thanks a re due to Miss Frances Lobb who carried out the
arduous task of preparing the first d raft of the translation from ~e Gennan.
Wi th part icula r gratitude we record the aid received from the staff of the
\Varburg Institu te. University of London, above all in procuring the photog raphs for the illustrations and in rendering valuable assistance throughout
the long period of prcparation and in the e.arlier stages of the proofs. We
a rc especially beholden t o the la t c Hans Meier who first drew our attention
to the origina l vcrsion of Agrippa's D~ ocadJ4 Philosqphia, discovered by him
in a manuscript of t he University Library of Wiirzburg.
Wc wish also to express our appreciation to the many institutes and
libraries whose coUections we were able to use: in particular, to the J ohns
Hopkins I nstitute of the H istory of Medicine, Baltimore, and t o the ltutitut
Hir Geschich te der Medizin, J ohann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat, Frankfurt
(ilolain); to the Courtauld [nstitute, University of London; to the British
Museum. London ; to the Budldan Lil,.oralY, Oxford; to the Dayerische
Staa tsbiblio thek, Munich, a nd to the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; last,
not least , to the librarians and the staff of the Redpath Library and the
Osler Library of McGill University. Montreal.
We a re obliged to the .many scholars a nd collectors who answered our
enqu iries; a nd to Miss Desiree Park, M.A. (McGill), for sharing the burden of
reading the proofs.
We are most grateful to aU those wbo collaborated with us in revising the
translation: Dr Gertrud Bing, London, "{iss Rosemary Wooll, Fellow of
Somer;iIIe CoUege, Oxford and above all Dr Lotte Labowsky, Lady Carlisle
Research FeUow of SomerviUe College, who by her valuable observations abo
helped in establishing thc Greek tcxt of the fam ous Problem XXX, I,
attributed to Aristotle.
F inally. we are indebted to the publishers, Thomas Nelson & Sons, for
their patience and assista nce in seeing the book through the press.

R. K.

Contents
Part I

The NaHan of Melancholy and Its


Historical Development

Chapter 1 Melancholy in the Physiological Literature of


the Ancients
I

The Doctrine of the Four Humours

The Notion of Melancholy as revolutionised by the Peripatetics :


Problem XXX, I

3 The Development of the Notion of Melancholy after the Peripatetics


(a) Melancholy as an Illness
The Stoic View
ii Aukpi4du, Arciligenu and SorllPltU
. iii Rufus of Ep/tQtU
(b)

Melancholy in the System of the Four Temperaments

Chapter II
1

'5
4'

4'
43

....

48
55

Melancholy in Medieval Medicine Science


and Philosophy
,

The Survival of the Aristotelian Notion of Melancholy in tbe AliddIe


Ago;

Melancholy as an lilness
(a)

Melandloly in Theology and Moral Philosopby

(b)

Melancholy in Scholastic Medicine


Early Arabic Mediciru and its rraPlsl4tion to the Wut ' Con.
staPlli"us Afrk4P1US
.
ii AIkm;u at Syslemal~1l OPllJu Basis of Humoral PiUhology
.
Atnunna'.s DodrilU a/the. Four Form.s
iii Atumpl.s a~ Clauificalion 0" a P.sychologkal BtJsi.s: AVen'ae.s
a"I Sclwla slic Medkiru

3 llelancholy in the System of the Four Temperaments


(a)

The Galenie Tradition, particularly among the Arabi~ and


Conslantinus Africaous

(b)

Th~ Revival of Humoral Cbarac:lerologr. in Western Natural


Philosophy during the Fint Half of the fweUth Century

E. P.
(c)

The Popular Doctrine of Temperaments in the Later Middle

Ages, and its Effects

75
75
8,

8,
86
90

97

""

LIST OF CQNTE:STS

VI1l

Part
Chapter I

LIST OF CONTENTS

Saturn, Star of Melancholy

Part IV Durer

Saturn in the Literary Tradition

Chapter I

The Notion of Saturn in Arabic Astrology

I'l7

:2

Saturn in Ancient Literature


(aJ KroI1()5.Satum as a Mythical Figure

133
133

(b)

1)6

Krol1()5.Saturn as a Planet
K,cmos-Sal"NI iN Ancien.! AsJrophysics
ii K'lYIIos-SatuNi iN AncUnl Astrology
iii K,onos-Sal"NI iN Neoplaiotlism

3 Saturn in Medieval Literature


(a)

Saturn in the Controversies of the Church Fathers

(b) Saturn in Later Medieval Speculation


S at,.'N in Moral Thwkgy
ii Saturn in Mtriieval Mythcgraphy
iii SaturNi" Medieval A strolegy: Ast,olegical Elements aMple(/,
by Sclwkutic Nalw ral Pltiwsop"y

Chapter Il
I

131
140
15t

Chapter II
I

165
16,5

170
178

t</J

Text-illustmlion and Oriental Influence

200

The Picture of Saturn and his Children

201

.. Saturn in Mythographical TIlustrations of the late Middle Ages

20'}

.5 Saturn in Humanism

201)

Chapter I

Poetic,Melancholy in post-Medieval Poetry

Melancholy as a Subjective Mood in Poetry

It

"Dame

M~fencol ye"

3 Melancholy

Chapter II

Heightened Selfawareness

:2

284

(a)

284

Traditional Motifs
The Punt atUl tlu Keys

284

ii

The Motif of the Droopi"lllead

286

iii

The CknthtJ. Fist _nti tAt Blad Face

289

(b) Traditional Images in the Composition of the Engraving


IUuslraliOfts of Disease
ii Pictlfre Cycles of jhe Four Temperaments, [ : Descriptive SIngle
Figu,es (the Fou, Temperaments and the FOll r Ages of Man )II : Dramatic Groups: temperaments aNd Vices
iii Porl,aits of the Liberal Arts

306

The New Meaning of "Melencolia I "

317

(a)

317

The New Fonn of Expression

290

29 1

321

Symbols of Satll'" or M daruholy

ii Geomdrical SymtoU
iii

290

322
327

Symboh oISa'",,1I: or of MWlfICholy combined IlIith Geomlln'c.al

Sym1JoU: iN RdatiOflllo My/Jwlogy aNd Ast,oIogy-in Relation


to EjH'skmclogy MUi Psye/wl.oty
iv Art and Pradice
(c) The Significance of " Melencolia 1"
(d) The "Four Apostles"

Chapter III

331

339
345
366

The Artistic Legacy of "MelencoHa I"

Portraits of Melancholy as a Single Female Figure in the Manner of


DOrer

376

Typical Portraits of Melancholy in Late Medieval Almanacs

393

Melancholy in Portraits of Saturn or of his Children

397

"Melancholia Generosa"

The Glorification of Melancholy and Saturn in Florentine


Neoplatonism and the Birth of the Modem Notion of Genius
I

The Engraving "Me1encolia I"

(b) The New Notional Content

Part III
"Poetic Melancholy" and "Melancholia Generosa"

277

The Historical Background of "Melenco!ia I "

159

Melancholy in Conrad Celtes

Dnrer's Woodcut on the Title-page of Celtes's "Quattuor Libri


Amorum" The Doctrine of Temperaments in DUrer's Writings

159

Saturn in the Pictorial Tradition

Saturn in Ancient Art and the Survival of the Traditional Representa- ,


tion in Medieval Art

lX

Appendices

r"

The Intellectual Background of the New Doctrine

The Polyhedron in "Melencolia

Mani.lio Ficino

II

The Meaning of the Engraving B;ro

400
403

Acknowledgements
Most of the illustrations in this book are reproduced from blocks made for the
projected German book of 1939. Gra teful acknowledgements for pennission to
reproduce manuscripts. paintings or drawings in their possession are made to the
Trustees of the British Museum, the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, and to the
authorities of the following libraries and museums: Antwerp, Musee Royal des
Beaux-Arts : Athas, Panteleimon; Autun, ?!fusee Rolin; Bamberg, Staatliche
Bibliolhek; Basle. Kupferstichkabinett; Bayonne, M~ Bonnat; Berlin, Deutsche
Staatsbibliothek amI Kupfers tichkabinett; Bonn, Landesmuseum ; Boston,Isabella
Stewart Gardner ;\[useum ; Bremen, Kunsthalle; Brussels. Bibliotb~ue Royale;
Budapest. Library of the Hungarian Academy of ~ences; Cambridge. Gonville
and Caius College: Chantilly. Mus~ CoRdi!; CittA del Vaticano, Bibliot~ Vaticana; Copenhagen, Royal Museum of Fine Arts; Dijon, Mu* Magnin ; Dresden,
Landesbibliothek and Kupferstichkabinelt; Erfurt, WissenschaItliche Bibliothek
and Anger-Museum ; Frankfurt, Sladclsches Kunstinstitut ; Gotha, Museum ;
The Hague, Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum ; Hanover, Kestner-Museum ;
Leiden, University Library ; Madrid, Instituto Valencia de Don Juan; Milan,
BibJioteca Ambrosiana ; Monte Cassino, Bibtioteca Abbaz.iale ; Munich, Bayerische
Staatsbibtiothek and Alte Pinakothek; Naples, Museo Nazionale ; New York,
Pierpont Morgan Library; Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek ; Oxford, Bodleian Library;
Paris, Biblioth~ ue Nationale, Mus du Louvre, Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Muste
Jaquemart-t\ndre; Rome, Museo del Laterano; Stuttgart, Landesbibliothek ;
Tubingen, UniversiUitsbibtiothek; Vienna, Oesterrcichische Nationalbibliothek and
Ku nsthistorisches Museum; Wolfegg, FUrstliche Sammlungen ; Woilenbo.ttei,
H er.eog August Bibliothek; ZUrich, Zentralbibliothek.
The photographs fo r pis. 10, 32, 33 and 49 were supplied by Messrs. Alinari,
for pI. 13 by the Archivio Fotografico of the Gallerie Pontificie, for pis. 86 and 88
by the Courtauld Institute of Art, for pI. 55 by the German Archaeological I nstitute
in Rome, and for pI. 1 00 by MademoisdIe M. Bouvet, Chartres.

List of Illustrations
FrrmJispieu: Tomb of Robert Burton, died 1640. Author of .A,flalomy of MeJa1lcholy. Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford .
I DUrer, MeUmolia I. Engraving, Bartsch 74. X517.
2
Dilrer, Seated woman, study for Meknrolia J. Pen drawing, Lippmann 79.
1514. Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett.
3 Oilier, Studies for the putto's head. Pen drawing, Lippmann 249. 15 14 .
London, British Museum .
4 Copy of a lost sketch by D Urer. Study for the dog. Dra....IDg. Formerly
Bayonne, Musee Bonnat.
5 DUrer, Scales. Pcn drawing, Tietze 587. 1514. Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett.
6 DUrer, Compasses and moulding plane. Pen drawing, Tietze 586. 1514.
Dresden, Landesbibliothek. F rom Robe rt Bruck, Da.s Skizzenbt#:h von
Albrecht Durer, Strasbourg 1905. pI. x34.
7 Diirer, Polyhedr01I. Pen drawing, Tietze 585. 1514. Dresden, Landesbibliothek. From Robert Bruck, Das Skiul1Ibw ch von A lbrecht DI1rer,
Strasbourg 1905, pI. 131.
8 DUrer, Putto. Pen drawing, Tiet7.e 538. 1514. London, British Museum.
9 Mithraic ruon. Rome, Villa Albani. From S. Reinach, Repertoire de Ja
staJuaire gruque et nmwi~, I, 299.
IO Saturn. Fresco from Pompeii, Casa dei Dioscuri. Fourth style under
Nero, alter 63 A.D. Naples. Musco Nat.ionale.
I I Saturn.
Calendar of 354. Biblioteca Vaticana, MS Barb. lat. 2154, Col. 8.
12 Saturn, Ju piter, Janus and Neptune.
Raban us Maueus, De UllivU50.
About 1023. Monte Cassino. MS 132. p. 386.
13 S:.ttlm. Tomb of Corouttls. Vatican Gardens.
14 Kronos devouring the swaddled stone. St Gregory of Nazianzus, OraliOnM.
Eleventh century. Athos, Panteicimon, 1o1S 6, fo1. 162 -.
15 Saturn. Germanicus, AraJu. Ninth century. Leiden, University Library,
Cod. Voss. lat. Q.79, fol. 93-, detail.
x6 Kronos and Zeus. 5t Gregory of Nazianzus, Orationes. Ninth century.
Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS E.491so inf. vol. 11, p. 755.
17 Corybantes and Curetes protecting the infant Zeus. St Gregory of Nazianzus,
OTaJionu. Eleventh century. Athos, Panteleimon, MS 6, fol. I63~.
18 The Pagan Gods. Remigius of Auxerre. Commentary on Martianus
Capella's N uptiae P/ailologiae. About 1100. Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. MS lat. 14271, fol. II.
X9-;22 Saturn's e:\:altation and decline. Albumasar, Jntroductio in ast10J0~iam,
translated by Zotori Zappari. Mid-thirteenth century. Paris. BlbJiothequc Nationale, MS lat. 7330, fols. 42r. 42-, 43~, 43-.
23 Saturn's and Jupiter's e:\:altation and decline. Albumasar, Kitab al-Bullaafl.
x399 Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS BodL Orient 133, fo1. 26-.
24 Saturn and his zodiacal signs. Albumasar, InJroduclw ill lUfroJogiam .
. About 1400. New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 785, fol 34.
25 Saturn. Qaswlnt, W01Iders of Crt4Jion. 1366. Munich, Bayerische Staats. bibliothek, MS arab. 464, fot 17 r.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Xli

26 Saturn and his zodiacal signs. Bartolomeo di Bartoli, Cantone delle virtu
e delle scien%t. Fourteenth century. Chantilly. Muree Cond~, MS 1426,
tol.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

51

II.

27 Saturn and Philyra. Andalus de Nigro, Introdudorius ad iudi,," astrologie


crnnpositus. About 1352. London, British Museum, Add. MS 2377,
fol. 2g v,

28 Saturn.

Sphaera armularis cum XII signis.

52
53

Fifteenth century. Biblioteca

Vaticana, MS Urb. lat. 1:398, fa!. II.

29 Saturn on horseback. Liber de septem signis. About 1400. Buqapest.


Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, MS Lat. Fa!. 14. fol. 2.
30 Saturn and bis zodiacal signs. Von den XII Zeichen des Gestirns. ! 1470.
Zurich, Zentralbibliothek, MS C.54 (719), fol. 25-,
31 Children of the planets. Albumasar, Kitab alBulhan. 1399- Oxford,
Bodleian Library, MS Bodl. Orient. 133. fols. 25- and 26~.
32-33 Children of Saturn. Fresco. Fourteenth century. Padua. Sala deUa
Ragione.
34 Minerva and her children. Boccace, Cas des nobles ftmmes. 1402. Paris,
Bibliotheque Nationale, 101:S fro 598, foL 13
35 Community of the faithful. rroparium and Stqutnliarium. About 1000.
Bamberg, Staatliche Bibliothek, MS liturg. 5, fol. 3.
36 Saturn and his children. Christine de Pisan, Epttre dOtMa. Beginning
of the fifteenth century. Paris. Bibliotheque Nationale, MS ft. 606,
fol. 6-.
37 Influences of the planets. Losbuch in Rtimpaaren. End of fourteenth
century. Vienna, Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Set. nova 2652.
fol. 2. '
38 Saturn and his children. Blockbook, probably German copy of a lost
Netherlandish original. About 1470.
39 Saturn and his children. Italian copper engraving, attributed to Maso
Finiguerra. Second half of the fifteenth century.
40 Saturn and his children. German. Early flftC(lnth century. Tilbingen,
Universitatsbibliothek, MS Md. 2, fol. 2fi7.
41 Saturn and his followers. German. End of the fifteenth century. Wolfenbuttel, Herwg August Bibliothek, MS 29. 14 Aug. 4, fol. go-.
42 The children of Saturn. Single leaf from an astrological MS. 1458. Erfurt,
Anger-Museum.
43 Saturn counting money. Ober die Planeten. 1444. Biblioteca Vaticana,
MS Pal. lat. 1369, fol. 1:44.
44 $aturn as founder of Sutrium. Florentine Pic'ure Chronicle. About '1460.
London, British Museum.
45 Saturn as Wisdom. Fulgentius meta/oralis. Middle of the filteenth century.
Biblioteca Vaticana. MS Pal lat. 'I066, fo1. 226.
46 Saturn with the Dragon of Time. OvUle moralise. Se<:ond half of the
fourteenth century. Paris, BibliotMque Nationale, MS fro 373, fol. I.
47 The castration of Saturn. Silverpoint drawing. First third of the ~fteenth
century. Dresden, Kupferstichkabinelt.
48 Saturn devouring a child. Engraving by Gerard de Jode after Marten de
Vos, Sepum Planetae. IS81.
49 Saturn. Studio' of Agostino di Duccio. About 1454-5. Rimini, Tempio
Malatestiano.
50 Roman tomb of a master mason. Autun, Musb: Rolin.

54
55
56
57
58
59

60

6'1
62
63

64
65

66
67

68
6g
70
71
72

73
74
75

xiii

Eros as carpenter. Etruscan mirror. From E. Gerhard. Etruskische Spiegtl,


Part 4. Berlin, 1867, pI. CCCXXX.
Saturn and his children. Engraving after Marten van Heemskerck.
Sixteenth century.
Saturn and his children. Engraving by Henri Leroy. Sixteenth century.
Saturn. Engraving by Giulio Campagnola. Fifteenth century.
River God. Sculpture from the Triumphal Arch of Benevento. II4 A.D.
Girolamo da Santa Croce (died 1556). Saturn (sometimes attributed to
Mocetto). Paris, Musee J acquemart-Andre.
Pesellino (J422-1457), The Triumph of Time. Boston. Isabella Stewart
Gardner Museum.
The Wheel of Life dominated by Time. French. About 1400. Formerly
Strasbourg, Forrer Collection.
Time gnawing at the torso of the Apollo Belved!!re. Title-page to FranIYois
Perrier, Eigenflyke aJbuldinge van roo der aldervermaerdste statuen of
antique-hedden, Amsterdam (1702].
Le CUer and Melencolie. Rene d'Anjou. Le Cuer d'amcz/TS espris. About
1475. Vienna, Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, M5 2597. fo!. 17'
Merencolye and Entendcment visiting the Poet. Title-page to Les Fais
de Maistre Alain Charlier. Paris, Ig.
Anima and the Psalmist. Psalter. Early ninth century. Stuttgart,
Landesbibliothek, MS Biblia Fo!. 23. fo!' 55
The Author and Philosophy. Boethius. De consola/ioll dt philosophle,
translated into French by Jehan de Meung. About 1415-1420. New
York, Pierpont Morgan Library. M5 332, fol. 4.
The Author on his sickbed. Alain Chartier, L 'Espiran ct ou CO tlsolalt'on dts
trois vutus, C'tSI assatoir Foy, Esperance et Charite. Second quarter of
the fifteenth century. Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, 115 fr. J26. 101. 218 .
The Author, MeJancholy an9 Reason. Alain Chartier. Le 1'riomph~ dt
l'Espiranct. About 1525-30. New York. Pierpont Morgan Library.
MS 438, fol. I.
Acedia. Tapestry. End of the fifteenth century. Madrid, Instituto
Valencia de Don Juan.
Consolation through music. Aldcbrandin de Sienne. Ul'res POllY 1(1 sa nte
garder (Regime du corps). Late thirtC(lnth century. London. British
Museum, Sloane MS 2435. foL 10".
The Melancholic. Cesare Ripa. lcono/{Jgja. Rome. 1603. p. 79
Abraham Janssens, Melancholy and J oy. 1623. Dijon. ~Iu see ~l agnin.
Healing by music. Aristotle, D~ 50"1110 tt vigilia. Thirteenth century .
Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek, MS Cent. V. 59. fo1. 231.
Healing by scourging. Teodorico dei Borgognoni, Cliirurgia. About 1300.
Paris, BibliotMque Nationale, MS lat. t'I226. 101. 107.
The Melancholic. Cauterisation diagram. Prescriptiotls for call1eri satiOll.
Thirteenth century. Erfurt, '''.'issenschaftlich e Bibliothek. MS Amplon ,
Q. 185. fol. 247
The Melancholic as a miser. Von den vier Complexion der Me nsch~11.
Fifteenth century. Tiibingen, Universitatsbibliothek,!IIS Md. 2, ioL u 6'.
Melancholies. De conservanda bona va/eilidine. 0pusclilum Scholae Salernitanae ... , ed. Johannes Curio. Frankfurt. 1557. fo L 239<'
The Ages of Man and the Temperaments. Tracl(ltl15 de qllaternano. About
1100.
Cambridge. Gonville and Cains College, ~I S 42S, iol 2S'.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOKS

XIV

;6

ii
78
i9
:;'0

8,

82
83

84

The Four Ages of Man. Aldebranrun de Sienne, Livrt.S poor Is sarUi garaer
(Rigwle d,t corps). Late thirteenth century, London, British Museum,
Sloane MS 2435, fol. 31.
The Four Temperaments. Probltl1Us d'Arisrote. First half of the fifteenth
century. Paris, Bibliotheque NationaJe, MS Nouv. acq. fro 3371, fol. 4-.
The Four Temperaments. Broadsheet. Middle of the fifteenth century.
ZOrlch. Zentra.lbibliothek (Schreiber 1922 m).
The Wheel of Life. German Losbw;h. Augsburg, 1461. Munich, Bayerisehe Staatsbibliothek, MS germ. 312, fol. .
The Four Temperaments. Guild-book of the Barber-Surgeons of the City
of York . End of the fifteenth century. London, British Museum,
Ege"on i\lS 2572, foJ. 51".
The Four Temperaments as riders. Broadsheet. Second baJf of the
fifteenth century. Gotha, Museum (Schreiber 1922 0).
The Four Temperaments. Woodcut. Simon Vastre, Book of Hours.
Paris, 1502.
Durer, Philosophia. Woodcut, Bartsch 130. Title-page to ~nrad Celtes,
Quattuor Libri AmOfum. Nuremberg, 1502.
The Four Temperaments. Italian miscellany. Second halI of the thirteenth century. Berlin, Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, MS Hamilton 3go,
fol. 83".

85 Sanguinies. Woodcut. First German Calendar. Augsburg. About 1480.


86 Luxuria. Relief. Amiens Cathedral, West Porch. About 1225-36.
87 Cholerics. Woodcut. First German Calendar. Augsburg. About 1480.
88 Discordia. Relief. Amicns Cathedral, West Porcl1. About 1225-36.
81}3 Phlegmatics. Woodcut. First German Calendar. Augsburg. About
1480.
Sqb Melancholies. Woodcut. First Gennan Calendar. Augsburg. About
1480.
goa-d Sanguinies, Phlegmaties, Cholerics, 1I1e1ancholics. Woodcut. Strasbourg
Calendar. About 1500.
91 Paresse, Labeur:, and Prouesse with David and GoliaU.. Fr~re Laurent
du Bois, La Somnu Ie Roi. Beginning of tlte fifteenth century. Brussels.
Biblioth~ue Royale, MS 2294, foL 51.
92 Acedia. Franconian, Broadsheet About 1490. BasIe, Kupfer.>tichkabinett.
93 Envy and Sloth. Antwerp Master, about 1490-1500. Antwerp, Musee
Royal des Beaux-Arts.
94 The Astronomer. Title-page to Johannes Angelus, Aslrolabium planum.
Venice, 1494.
95 Peter FlOtner. The Opticians. Title-page to Witelo, Perspeaiva. Nuremberg, 1535.
cp Durer, The Doctor's Dream. Engraving. Bartsch 76, X497-8.
9i Pictures of the Months. De signis XII m~ium. Salzburg,8I8. Vienna,
Oesterreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS J87, fol. go-.
9B Pictures of the Seasons. Rabanus Maurus, De U"iverso. About 1M3.
Monte Cassino, MS 132, p. 253.
99 Peasants. Sarcophagus of L. Annius Octavius Valerianus (detail). Rome,
Museo del Latc:rano.
100 Aristotle. Chartres Cathedral, West Porch. About II45.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

xv

Science, Art, Prudence, Entendement, Sapience. Aristotle, Ethics. French


translation by Nicola.<; Oresme. 1376. The Hague, Museum MeennannoWestreenianum, MS 10 0.1, 10J. IIO.
Geometry. De septem rlrtibus liberalibus. Second baH of the fifteenth
century. London, British Museum, Add. MS 15692, fol. 29-.
Deducc.ion loable. Douze Dames de ritlwrique. Late fifteenth century.
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, loiS Gall. IS, fol. 38-.
Gregor Reisch, Margarita pJsjwsophica. Strasbourg, j. Grnnin
'4 Geometry.
ger, 1504.
'05 The Hand of God with scales and compasses. Eadwi Gospels, Canon
Table, fol. 9-. Beginning of the eleventh century. Hanover, KestnerMuseum.
God the Father with scales and compasses. Psalter. First haJf of the
eleventh century. London, British Museum. MS Cotton. Tib. C. VI,
fol. 7-.
Saturn
with putto as Geometer. Title-page to Hans DOring, Eyn llesprecJs
"'I
eintS allen erfarnen kriegstllanns. Mamz, 1535.
,oS God the Father measuring the world. Bible moralisee. About 1250.
Vienna, Oesterreichisc:he Nationalbibliothek. MS II79, fol. 1-.
"Xl Fructus Laborum. Title-page to Hendrik Hondius, Picteru", aliquot
celtbrium ... Effigies. About 1610.
Honore, Disegno, Labore. Title-page to Pieter de Jode, Varje Figl4fe
Academiche. Antwerp, 1639.
DUrer, The Four Apostles. 1526. Munich, Alte Pinakotbek.
The Anatomy of Mtla"duJ/y. TiUe-page by C. Le Blon to Robert Burton's
book. Oxford, 1638.
113 Temperaments and E lements. SepUm Plandae. 1581. Title-page by
Gerard de jode after M. de Vos.
114 Melancholy. Engraving by Master A.C., Passavant 112. About 1525.
II5 Melancholy. E ngraving by H. S. &ham, Bartsch 144 1539.
116 Melancholy. Engraving by Master F.B. (Franz Brun?), Bartsch 78. 1560.
II 7 Copy alter Dilrer's Mtltncoli(l. Title-page of New Formu/aTbuc.h. Fnulkfurt , Egenolff, 1545.
lI8 Melancholy. j ost Amman, Wappen- urul Stammbuch. Frankfurt, 1589.
119-122 The Four Temperaments. Engravings by Virgil Solis (15%4-62),
Bartsch 178--181.
123 Matthias Gerung, Melancholy. 1558. FonnerJy Vienna, Trau Collection.
124- 127 South German Master (Jost Amman ?) , The Four Temperaments.
About 1570. Woifegg, Filrstliche SammJungen.
u S Lucas Cranach, Melancholy. 1528. Collection of the Earl of Crawford
and Balca.rres.
129 Lucas Cranach, Melancholy. 1532. Copenhagen, Royal Museum of Fine
Arts,
130 Lucas Cranach, Melancholy. 1533. Formerly The Hague, private colle<:tion.
131 Melancholic Maiden. Wood.cut from A. F. Doni, I A-1armi. Venice, 1552.
132 Jan Boeckborst (1605-68), Geometria. Bonn, Landesmuseum.
133 Melancholy. (Inscribed 'terra'). Engraving by Comelis Bloemaert after
Abraham Bloemaert (1564- 1651).
134 Domenico Feb, Melancholy. About 1614. Paris, Mus~e du Louvre.
135 Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1610-65). Melancholy. Etching, Bartsch 22.

'3

xvi

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIO NS

Nicolas Chaperon (1612- 56), Melancholy. Red chalk drawing. Paris,


MuRe du Louvre. Cabinet des Dessins, No. 12511)8.
Pen and water-c;olour. 1867_ Frankfurt, SUldelsches Kunstinstitut .
Melancholy. Woodcut by Christian Friedrich, 1818, after Caspar David
Friedrich, 1801.
Melancholies.
Pen drawing. probably Swiss. Second quarter of the
' 39

List of Abbreviations

'37 Eduard von Steinle. Melancholy_

'40

sixteenth century. Paris, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Cabinet Jean Masson.


Melancholies. Engraving by Pieter de Jooe after Marten de Vos (1532-

1603).
Phlegmatics. Engraving by Pietee de Jode after Marten de Vos (1532-1603).
'42 Phlegma. Engraving by J acob I de Gheyn (1532-82) after H. Goltzius.

'43 Melancholy. E ngraving by J acob I de Gheyn after H . Goitzius.

Clm.
Corp. flVd. Gr.
Corpus Ss. Eccl. Lat.

FIGURES IN THE TEXT

Page
The magical square of Mars. From a Spanish manuscript of about
1300. Bib!. Vat., Cod. Reg. lat. 1283
:2 FlOm Eobanus Hesse, De conservamlo bona r:a1dtuline, Frankfurt , 1551
3, 4 Reconstruction of the polyhedron on Durer's engraving, by Professor
G. Niemann
5 Malinconia. F rom Cesare Ripa's l conologia, Padua, I6u
t

3:26
395

Diirers

MtI~ .u;olia

FlcnfO, De v. tripl.

400

405

GnnlLow (1903)

GIEHLOW

(1904)

HAltTLAUB ,

Gdceimnis
(Jones)

HIPPOCltATU

H .d.C.
I SI DORE,

1.

Of

ElY"' .

Lippmann

LF, N tzdUu$

M. A. R. S.

Vois. I- XXI, nouvelle

Bou., C. BEWLD, W . GUNDEL. SlentglduN und S/4 ~N

ieutu"" 4th edn.

B.ERNARDUS S Il.VllSTRIS,
De ~"ci". m.,ftd;

Cat. asIT. Gr.

'45 Durer, Sclf-portrait with the yellow spot. Drawing. Lippmann 130.
1512- 14. Bremen, Kunstballe.
DOrer, Man in despair. Etching on iron, Bartsch 70. 1515- 16.

F.

BBC, SUnil1awt

'4'

'44 Marten van Heemskerck (1498-1574) . Children of Saturn. Engraving.

A. BARTSCH. Le peint" 8rtzv,." .


Milian. Leipzig 1854-70.

B or Bartsch

Leipdg 1931 .
D, m.,PIlli universitak libri duo
Ii", AfeglU<)S~U5 eJ; MiU-(N;oSmul. edd. C. S. 8ara<:h a nd
J. Wrobel. IllllSbruck 1876.
_ Cdta/o8us codieum ast,ologDrum Gratcorum, tom. I - X II .
Drussels 1898--1953 (continued).
Codell lati"us mOtlac.msis _ Munich , Bayeri!IChe Staatsbibliothek, MS lat.
Corpus mediw",," Grauorum, edd. Academiat Berolinensi!
Havniensis Lipsien!is. Leipzig and Berlin (later, Berlin
only) 1908-56 (continued j.
Corp ws SCriPIorWM Eee/,sia~tiw~m Latlnorum, editum
coll9ilio et impensis Academlae Lltterarum Caes. Vindobonensls (now Acad . Scientiarum AustTiacae), Vienna
1866--1<}62 (continued ).
Frqml"H4 der Vorsolmdike" ed. H . Diels, revl~ed by
W . Knnt. Vol!. I- It I, 5th edn. Berlin 193,,-)7
E . PANor.nc:Y and F . SAXL, DUffrS 'Mefeou:"lia l' tStudlen
del Bibliothek Warburg}, Leipzig and Berlm 192)
M ARSILIUS FICISUS , De vild 'npI,c;, 10: MaTSlhu$ Ficinlls,
Opera on".ia. Basle 1576.
Ct..AUDIUS GAL ESUS, Opera o,.",ia. ed. C. G
I-CUhn.
Vols. I- XX, Leipzig 1821-33
= KARL ylHLOW, "DUren Stich 'Melencolia I' nnd der
maximilianische Humanistenkreis" , l"fittcilu"X~ 1I d"
GlUllscluJ/' /il r vcroiel/iiltigcnd, Kunst . Vienna 190),
PP 29-4 1.
KAR L CIEKLOW, "DUren Stich ' l\Ielencolia l' und del
maximil ianische H umanistcnkreis", II/tll,ilullge., du
G,sefllcha/t jii' vervitljiilli8",de Kunst. \"ienna 19O~.
pp. 6-18; 57-58.
G . F . HARTLAUB, Giorgiollts Gtheimllls. )lum(.h 192 5
HIPPOCRATES, with an English translation by \\. H S.
Jones. Vol!. I-IV. London and r\ew York 19 2 )-3 1
C . H O'STE DE DE GROOT, DIe llanaulc/:,,""gUl Rtmbrandts. Haarlem 1906
I SIDORUS, Etymologia1tlm sit,~ oriCin"m 111m In , ed .
W . M . Lindsay. Oxford 1911.
F . LIPP MAN N, DlSsi..s d'A lln rl Durtr-Zeie.~nung~ " uo n
AIb"elll Duft' , Vols. I- VII . Berlin 1883- 1<)Z,}
K. LANCE und F . FUHSE, Daft'S s,hrijllieh e~ Nu,hlass.
Halle a.. S. 1893
"'" Oeuvres completes d'Hippocrate, tradu ct ion nouvtlle
avec Ie texte grec t n regard, par . Littn!. \ ol ~ . I - X .
Paris 183!}-61.
_ Mediaeval and Retla"sa"" S tudies , cd. R. Hunt and R
K1iba.nsky, Vots. I-V, l.ondon, 1941-61
BRNAROUS SILVESTRIS,

xvii i
)I IG.'I' ,

LIST Of ABBREVIATIONS

Patrologiae cunus completu$ ... Series Graeca, accurante


P . Migne. Puis 18.57-66
Patrologiae ClI ....U' eomplews . . . Series Lati na, .
accurante J. P . Migne. Paris 18....-6.t.
_ Po.ulys Rto.l-E~dopddu der ClaSJistM>I AlJerhmuwisst>lu;}w.fl, neue Bearbeitu ng, begonnen von G. Wissowa, .. "

f> Gr

J.

)(IGSE , P . L

Vols. I-(continlled) and Suppl. {- (COntinued).

PART I

Stutt-

gart ISq .. fl .

P or Panavant

J. D . PASSAVM"T.

peim.-'Ir/lv,wr, Vols. I- VI, Leipzig

The Notion of Melancholy and its


Historical D evelopment

1860-6...
THIWDORUS PRISC IANUS, Euporiston libM 111, ed. v . ROSt',

ScHREI BER

T or Tietze

VINUI CIANUS,

W E DEL,

Epi$l.

M .A .A .

Leipzig 189.. .
_ RUFus EPHU IUS, Oeuvru, edd. C. Daremberg and
E. RueHe. Paris 1879.
F. SAXL, Verzrid>lis IUI,ologilcJur w>li ...ythologilc/uf'
ill,u/ri"I,,, HaMulIri!"n des lahifliltlle n M illelDlterl,
Vol. I, Heidelberg 191.5; Vol. n, Heidelbug 1927.
_ W. L. ScHREIBBR, H/lrwJbwfll tier HoU- wild M,~cll1lilu
del XV. ]/lh,hwNkrl$, Vols. I-VIII, Leipzig 1926-)0.
_ H . TIETZE und E . TIETtft-CoNRAT, Krirnches Veruicltflis
de, W'f'ke Albre,ht Daren. Vol. l , Augsburg 1928; Vo1.11,
i- ii. Ba!!le and Leipzig 19.H-)8.
VIND1ClANUS, EPislwlo. lUi Pentadiulfl fI,potem SHum, in :
THEODORUS PRISC'A'H)S, Ewporisum libri 1 [J ._Accedunt
Vindiciani Arri quae reruntur reliquiae. Ed. V. Rose.
Leipzig 189.. .
_ T. O. W EOEL, Tile lt1edialtl)al Alii/Md. towards As/,0lcfY,
parluulafly in England (Yale English Studies, Vol. LX).
New Haven 19:.10.

In modem speech the word "melancholy" is used to denote anyone of


.several somewhat different things. It can mean a mental illness
characterised mainly by attacks of anxiety , deep depression and
fatigue-though it is true that recently the medical concept has largely
become disintegrated.1 It may mean a type of character-generally
associated with a ccrlain type of physique-which together with the
'sanguine, the choleric and the phlegmatic, constituted the system of the
" four humours", or the "four complexions" as the old expression was.
It may mean a temporary state of mind, sometimes painful and depress~
mg, sometimes merely mildly pensive or nostaJgic. In this case it is a
purely subjective mood. which can then by transference be attributed to
the objective world, so that one can legitimately speak of " the melan~
choly of evening", "the melancholy of autumn'',' or even, like Shakespeare's Prince Hal. of "the melancholy of Moor~tch".~

See E . K"' ..... ' .. WN, M/I,.w-D,p,.uj~. [fU/I.,.Uy IUUI P/l.~/I.,.(/i.. Tn;~1. by R. M.
B&rcla.y, Edinburgh 19n; G. L. DUYI'U5. Di. M.kn.doli" with ~face by E.
Ka.u'&l,.llf, Jena 1907 : E. L. HO'J.WJ.u..-oUH, MUiJ><dIoli. /ttEw'1lo.y PrlJdiu, London
193.. : E . DICIllfAIfIf'S survey DM Mtr..rodtoli#fr..,. i,. Lite"lJll4r ,,"" SIat/mA, MS. di.MeJ"~
tatioo, Jeu 1926: L. B~SW"IfG.a., Mu.'lKluJlie
M ...... Pfulllil,gea 1960 .

tI""

It b eariou. bo.. tbe&e literary eommonplaoes in wbkb 'melaoebol.y' is UKd as a


~ matte!" of eou""" u denoting a SIIbJeetive mood, sWI eeho the ancient medical and

cosmological correlations (_ below, p. 'n,5).


I

H~n",

IV, n. I, I.i!, 88.

CHAPTER

MELANCHOLY IN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL


LITERATURE OF THE ANCIENTS
I.

TilE DOCTRINE: OF T H:E FOUR HUMOURS

In the order stated above-not necessarily following one another.


but often existing side by side-these various meanings evolved
in the course of a development covering more than two thousand
years. Although new meanings emerged, old meanings did not
give way to them; in short, it was a case not or decay and meta
morphosis, but of parallel survival. The original basis of the
different meanings was the quite literal conception of a concrete.
visible and tangible part of the body, the "black bile" (atra bili s,
1lii\alVa xoAf), llWryx.oMa), which, together with the phlegm, the
yellow (or "red") bile, and the blood. constituted the Four
Humours. These humours corresponded, it was held, to the
cosmic elements and to the divisions of time; they controlled the
whole existence and behaviour of mankind , and, according to
the manner in which they were combined. determined the character
of the individual.
Sunt enim quattuor hurnous in homine, q ui imitantur diversa elementa;
crescunt in diversis temporibus. regnant in diversis aetatibus. Sanguis
imitatur aerem. crescit in vue, regnal in pueritia. Cholera imitatur ignem,
crescit in aestate. regnal in adoJescentia. Melancholia imi tatur te.rrarn ,
crescit in autwnno, regnat in maturitate. Phlegma imitatur aquam,
crescit in hieme, regnat in senectute. Hi cum nec plus nec minus iusto
exuberant. viget homo.'

In these clear. terse sentences of an early medieval natura!


philosopher, we have the ancient doctrine of the Four Humours.
This system was destined to dominate the whole trend of physiology
and psychology almost until the present day; for what the
AMON., De ",wouli eDfIl1ilwl i(lfl' (MIGNa. P. t ., VOL. XC, col. 88 ID). Tbis cosmology. datmg
from before Jl35, it prirlted amon, Bede', worn. Though hitherto aJlIlost Ignored i~e
below, p . l8lo
~tu

131), it I, R.mukable In many ......,.., I.lId we Shiall deal .... ithit elst:.... hcrf In

detail.

MELANCHOL Y IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[I.

I.

"heterodox" schools of antiquity had opposed to humoral pathology was either forgo tten or else merged into the orthodox doctrine
by the second-century eclectics, especially Galen. In the same
..
way, Paracelsus's objections went long unheard.
This system can be accounted for only by the combmahon
of three ~ery ancient (and, in part at least, specifically Greek)
principles:
. .
1. The search for simple primary elements or qualibes, to
which the complex and apparently irrational structure of both
macrocosm and microcosm could be directly traced.
:2 .
The urge to fin d a numerical expression for this complex
structu re of bodily and spiritual existence.
3. The theory of harmony, symmetry, isonomy, or whatever
other name men may have chosen to express that perfect proportion in parts, in materials, or in faculties, which Greek thought
down to Plotinus always regarded as essential to any value, moral,
aesthetic or hygienic.
In seeking, then, to ascertain "the origin of humoralism, we
must go back to the Pythagoreans, not only because the veneration
of number in general attained its highest e>:pression in Pythagorean
philosophy, but more particularly because the Pythagorcans
regarded the number four as specially significant. They used to
swear bv four, "which holds the root and source of eternal nature"!;;
and not only nature in general, but rational man in particular.
seemed to them governed by four principles, locat ed in the brain,
the heart, the navel and the phallus respectively.' Even the soul
was later on envisaged as fo urfold, enclosing intellect. understanding, opinion and percept ion (VcM , hncrrlJ~ll, S~a, a~o&n(Jl5).?
The Pythagoreans themselves did not evolve a d~trme o~ four
humours, but they prepared the ground by postulatmg a senes of
tetrad ic categories (such as, for instance, those already mentioned ;
earth. air. fire and water; spring, summer, autumn and winter).8
In this system, once it was evolved, the four humours could easily
be accommodated. Above all, they defined health as the
equilibrium of different qualities. and sickness as the predominance
of one-a concept truly decisive for humoralism proper.
Dun.s.

F~illim. , Anonyme Pythagoreer,

B15: d. TJl l!o SMYJUIABUS.

1878, p. 97, >I.


I DII;LS. Frillim., Philolaus, BI J.
t

DIELS.

FrillJm . Anonyme Pythagorec:r. 1115

I TlIlIO S MYItNAH US. ed. (;it., pp. 93 sqq.

ed.

E. Hiller. Le.ipti{

l]

THE DOCTRINE OF THE FOUR HUMOURS

Alcmaeon of Croton, a Pythagorean doctor who lived about


500 B.C., declared that "equality of rights (to"OVOIJ.1a) between the
qualities (6vvaJJEI5) moist, dry, cold, hat , bitter. !.;.weet, and the
rest, preserved health, but the rule of one among them (~ovapxla)
produces sickness"; and he condensed the notion of health into
the formula " a well-balanced mixture of the qualities" (aUlJ.llETflOS
TWV 1fOLWV Kp5:o"L5).'
Whereas Alcmaeon left indefinite the number
and nature of the quatities whose isonomy constituted health
("moist. dry, cold, hot, bitter, sweet, and the rest"), Philolaus
t ook a step forward t owards humoralism by describing the number
four as "the principle of health" (Vylelas apxfJ).lO
The emergence of a thoroughgoing doctrine of humoralism
required, however, the fulfilment of three further conditions.
First, the P ythagoreans had venerated four as being a perfect
number. It was now also given a physical content ; this was
achieved when the Pythagorean number symbolism was transformed into a doctrine of the cosmic elements. Secondly, each of
these four elements had to be interpreted in terms of a quality
which established, as it 'yere, an apparent link between the original
elem'e nts and the corresponding components of the human body
which could not, in their empirical actuality, be regarded as pure
earth, pure water, and so on. Thirdly. certain real substances
which appeared to correspond to t hose elements and qualities had
to be found in the hUmall body, for only then could the speculations
of na tural philosophy be reconciled with the empirical evidence of
medicine and physiology.
Thus from the Pythagoreans t he road leads next to Empedocles.
in whose doctrine the first of these conditions was fulfi.lled. He
endeavoured to combine . the speculations of the old natural
philosophers, such as Thales or Anaximenes, who thought only in
terms of matter and therefore traced all existence back to one
prim'a ry element, wit h t he precisely opposite tetradic doctrine of
the Pythagoreans, which was based on t he idea of pure number.
DII;[.5, lo-T",,"'., Akma.ec>n, 8-4 (similarly PLATO. Rep . H>lp). Cl. here (and with what
JoUows) C. FII.BDRI(;H'S valuable study "HippokratiKhe Untersucbungen, in P4il%gisclu
Ufileft~lIunge", xv (1899). pp. JJ sqq. (edd. A. Kiessling a.nd U. von Wila.mowitz-MoeUendorlf);
K. SUD IIOYl', Kline, Hilmlbudl.;,." Guu.i,/ok ier Medinfl, Berlin 1922; M. WBLLMANN, 'Die
Fragmente dct 5ikcliKben .hute Akron. Philisuon und Dioklt:!l von KarysWs", in F"agnt4"t
t lllflml" ng deT GriuAucloe .. Jrzl" ed. M. Wellmann, Berlin 19o1. VOL. I, pp. 76 sqq.; O.
TEMKIN. "Otr systematische Zusammenhang im Corpus Hippocraticum", in Kyklos UII"rb~h
des fnstilllls fu" Gesch idle deT Medm.. ), I. l..eip.r.ig 1928, pp. 9 sqq.; and L. EDUSTEIN, article
"Hippokrates' in PAULY -WlSSOWA, supplementary vol. VI, COUI. 12'}O sqq.

" DIELS, F TilIJm Philolaus, All .

MELANCIIOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[I.

I.

In this attempt he evolved the doctrine of the Four Elements,


which paired the "four roots of the All" with (our specific cosmic
entities-the sun , the earth, the sky and the sea. These elements
(called ~I~ by Empedocies, but ever since Democritus
OTOIXda) were of equal value and power, but each had its own
particular task and its own particular nature. In the course of
the seasons each in tum gained the ascendancy, and it was their
combination (KpOaIS). different in each single case, which brought
into existence all individual things and which alone determined
the characters of men. The perfect combination was, first, that
in which all the elements were equally apportioned ; secondly, that
in which the elemental units- as we should say, t he atom5-()f the
combination were neither too many nor too few in quantity,
neither too coarse nor too fine in quality. This perfect combina
tion produced the man with the largest understanding and the
keenest wit. If all the elements were not equally apportioned,
the man wou ld be a fool. If the number of the apportioned atoms
was either too great or too small, the man produced would be
either gloomy and lethargic, or hot blooded and enthusiastic, but
incapable of sustained effort. And if the combination was more
perfect in one part of the body than in another, this would produce
individuals with a marked specific talent-orators, for insta nce, if the
"crasis" of t he tongue. artists if that of the hands, was especially
good.l1
.
From this it will be seen that Empedocles had firmly~most
too flrmly-established the unity of macrocosm and microcosm
{man and universe deriving (rom the same primary elements),
and that he had already made an attempt to demonstrate a
systematic connexion between physical and mental factors-in
other words, to put forward a psychosomatic theory of character.
But it will also be seen that this attempt was far too general
and far too speculative to satisfy the requirements of a specifically
anthropological theory, much less of a medical one. In so far
as he held that human beings, as well as the physical universe,
were composed "only. of earth, air, fire and water, Empedoc1es did
indeed establish a common basis for the macrocosm and the
microcosm: but he ignored what was proper to the microcosm
as such. He reduced man to general, cosmic elements, without

I]

",pi

probing that which is specifically human ; he gave us, as it were,


the original matter, but not the materials of man's composition.
Those of a more anthropological tum of mind could not rest
content with this, but were driven to search for specific substances
(and faculties) in man, which should somehow correspond to the
primary elements constituting the world as a whole, without being
simply identical with them.
EmpedocJes's immediate successors had already felt the need
of making his anthropological concepts rather more elastic. by
partly depriving the elements composing man of their purely
material nature and by attributing to them a more dynamic
character. Philistion, the head of the Sicilian school of medicine
founded by Empedocles, still, it is true; described man as a
combination of the four elements earth, air, fire and water, just
as his master had done: but he added the notion that each of
these elements possessed a certain quality (Swal.lIs)- "to fire
belongs heat, to air cold , to water the moist, to earth t he dry" .12
In so doing he fulfilled the second of our conditions.
Thus Empedoc1es's theory of the elements was reconciled with
Alcmaeon's theory of the qualities, with the result that the
elements lost their uncompromisingly material nature, while the
number of qualities, which Alcmaeon had left indefinite, was now
reduced to a tetrad . It was therefore only logical that in answer
to the question " \Vhen is the crasis of the qualities right and
proper?", Philistion himself should reply simply with the \VOTcI~ :
" Illnesses arise from the predominance or defect of a quality" ,13
While, regarding the primary particles of the elements, t he
Empedoc1ean theory of character (of Empedoclean medicine
nothing certain is known1" ) had introduced the notion of "too
coarse" and "too fine" side by side with the notion of " t OO
much" and "too little", the new method, using only the ideas
of superfluity and deficiency. made them stretch to cover a vast
number of differentiations. For the qualities cou ld not on1r form
dual combinations (warm and moist, warm and dry, cold and
moist, and cold and dry): they also, which was of more immediat e
importance, could free themselves from the Empedoclean primary
elements and so be used as predicates of any other substances.
I.

.. Cf. especially TJnO,.UJ..UTtn. 0, #OI.J'II, I II (Dmu., F~.,... E mpedok le.. -'86) and
G . M. S TlUoTTOlf, T'-P"~.JltU .,,", ,... C~ult Pllyri~ P')'f'TwlOO lx/on Ari,tolU (...tth
tnt o f
aW.fot-s), LondoA 19'7. pp . 74 sqq.

THE DOCTRINE OF THE FOUR HU"JOURS

Pap. Loud.

ICC. : ,

.. cr. f"Q.DaJCH.

(T'" M, dic.J WoiIi.." o{

,4,,/1>1 .

Lo"d., W. Jones. Cambro 19-.7, p 80)

op. cit., p. 47

"This i. the pater pity u Empedoc:lt...l..... ys thoulbt of himself as a pb},>C:i.1.D and


nclcoDed as .uch in antiquity : d . DiaLS. F~., ...., -'). 1111 .

" 'JoJ

MELANCHOLY I N ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[ I. I.

Both theories reached their full maturity not long before 400,
when humoralism really originated. It originated then for the
vcry reason that the ideas discussed by us so far concerning the
elements and qualities were now-not without violence-applied
to the humours (xwol) as empirically demonstrated in the human
bod\.I$ These humours had long been known in the specifically
medical tradition, in the first instance as causes of illness, and.
if they became visible (as in vomiting or the like). as symptoms
of illness. Nourishment brought substances into the body which,
thanks to the digestion, were partly made use of (that is, turned
into bones. flesh and blood). but were partly lin,,! IU indigestible;
and from the latter arose the "surplus humours" (lftPlcrcJWuara).
the notion of which had developed very similarly to that of the
cosmic primary elements. Euryphon of Cnidus had .assumed an
indefinite number of such humours, which rose to the head and
generated illnesses: Timotheus of Metapontus believed they were
caused by a single acid salty fluid; and Herodicus of Cnidus dis
tinguished two such fl uids, one sour and one bitter.16 These were
the two humours which later received the names phlegm (,Atwa)
and bile (xo"An)-phlegm because it caused inflammation, although
not a few writers attributed to it the qualities of cold and moisture.
Such a correlation is presupposed in the very important t reatise
Of a~ Nature of Ma" (nEp\ ~\OO;: avepc.:mov),l1 attributed by the
ancients. as we know from Galen, either to Hippocrates or to his
soninlaw Polybus,'8 and written in any case not later than 400 B.C.
What gave this document its uniq ue value for posterity was its
attempt to combine in one system humoral pathology proper with
general cosmological speculation, more particularly that of
Empedocles.lI'
.. Such Iln attempt ...., m.ade in the "'Mk n~,: .,pl-rrs :".~ IbelOR 4(0) bkb tn.....
formed AJcmaoon 'l doctrine .a .. \.0 apply primarily \.0 subsu.nces actually pruent in the
body (Ialt. bitter. fWeet . .aur, .harp and inlipid ItuU.) ..... hile reprnenting the Qual ities w;u-m.
cold. wet and dry u mere aceident.: d . FAIDI!.ICH , op. cit .. p . )). 1'hiI attempt, however,
deviates Irom Ol e trend lIDder in ..... til.tio n. ;11. .a fu u it increues the number of these
... b5tances even more IDdefi.~itely tha n the orilina! Alcuuoeic doctrine had increued the
n umbo:r of qualities : ;:... ,..., ,~ _",po:,.", "Ill .u,...,o.. ...1 " ,q>O. ..1Il yAoori - ' 4EiI ...u IIT~ ...u
".A..s..p<I~ .. ,,! 4,A;\ .,,,,pl,, (C. 14; C"..p. _d. Gr 1.1,4')'
" FIUIO.'C", op. cit., pp. l4 ~q.
If We a re con~rned only with ths (11_ part of this composite work.
11 FU.DII ' CII. op. cit . pp. 51Iqq.: H.",ocaATU. ed. W . H . S. Jones. vo... IV, p. uvi, London
I. FIlI:DIUCK, 01'. cit., pp. 'lI8 &qq. ; d . also R. O. MOOK. H ippo.r.r lJlII "". lI is Sr:auors in
(>/ t./wi, Ti_. l.oodoo 192). especially pp. 67 IqQ. AlIII O.
VU.LAa!:TS diaseru.tlon H ippomuu", .."t ..~. AaMi,," lilr. Berlin 1911 ; GAUI'f. I" lIif'POv.ti.
de "aI. ..""'. W illi'll in Cllf'p.
Cr., v,Ur., I.
Rfl",;" .. t (> III. P~i14",p.y

_fl.

jI]

THE DOCTRINE OF THE FOUR HUMOURS

9
Guided by this desire, the author's first step was to reject
the view of those who held that the human body originated
from, and subsisted in virtue of, a single element only. He was
moreover, as far as we mow, the first writer who put forward a
theory of the four humours. At the outset- though later it was
to become almost canonical- it could only be established with
the help of two quite arbitrary assumptions. The blood had t o
be included in the system , although it was not in fact a surplus
humour ; and in the bile, which hitherto had been regarded as a
single fluid, or else split down into innumerable sub-species, it
was necessary to distinguish two independent "humours", the
yellow bile (xoAli ,(~). and the black (0JIAa'"" xol"" = "",ayxo>la)."
These four humours were always present in the human body and
determined its nature; but according to the season sometimes
one and sometimes another gained the ascendancy-the black
bile, for instance, in the autumn, whereas the winter was un
favourable to it and the spring inimical, so that autumnengendered
pains would be relieved by the spring. 'The four humours, then,
caused both illness and health, since their right combination was
health, but the predominance or defect of one or another, illness:
VylolV1:1 ~~v ow ~\OTa, 6Tav \JiTpl(o)S" (XI) Tcx&ra Tfjs TrpOs 6JJI.ll"Aa 5w6:I.I(o)S"
KCrl TOO Tr}.~6os KCrl ~\O'Ta, ~v 1.II'~lyj.dva {l .ll

These are all ideas of which the origin can now be established.
The notion of the humours as such comes from empirical medicine.
The"notion of the tetrad, the definition of health as the equilibrium
of the different parts, and of sickness as the disturbance of this
equilibrium, are Pythagorean contributions (which were taken up
by Empedocles) . The notion that in the course of the seasons
each of the four substances in turn gains the ascendancy seems
t o be purely Empedoclean. But the credit for combining all
these notions in one system, and thereby creating the doctrine of

-Ad mitted ly. already Phikllau. (DInt, F ....,..... U7) col1lidered blood a c;aute o f illness,
while the division. nf bile Into yO xo.\WI.t .nd
xol.~ 1&$ in De:dppU3 of Coa) Or into
~"l<>..80 a nd .ro.\~"
(u in El>UI.",iu I. cue 5, H1PPQCIlATU, VOL. I, p. ' 96. ed.
w. H . S. J Ones. London 192)) teems t o havs been known to some Ulppoeratea.na. Th ese
refere:nceI are Isolated. howsvu--t'1<* in OexlppUi and In pUkmis Me de1initely not olda
than the work D~': ~_ ...,.......~d here too there II a te1ldeoey to incl ude them in the
cos~ .pUm.
In any ease. that the doctrine contained in n~,: ~ ...,,..;-..
nther than any other pined the da.y (d. WELLMMHI, cp. Cit.. pp. -1.5 IqQ.) ~ due to the
fact. that it ...., th e one to m.ke this Inclulion complete a nd to present the .ystem with
Imp~ve a mpliclty.

1""""

,.0...,...

1I De "aI... _., ap. 4 ; we follow G.u.sJf, CoM ....

"t. I, 20, Cllf'p. WId.. Gr . v, ill, I, p. )J.

10

(r. I.

MELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSfOLOGY

hum?raJism whic.h was to dominate the future. is no doubt due to


the powerful wnter who composed the first part of n 1 .
a.e~:-,,,
Tho
'P """'"
...--" __ .
15 sys t em Incl uded not only the Pythagorean
and
0

E~~oclean

tetrad but also the doctrine of the qualities that


handed down to us-first, in groups of two, forming a
l~nk between the ?UDlOUrS and the seasons, later also a-ppearin
smgly
and
connectmg
g
I
t
F
. the humours
. with the Empedoclean'Pnmary
~hl~lstton

e ernen s.

' rom !his the author of the nfpl ~os: &vepc!mov

evolved the followmg schema, which was to remain in fbrce for


more than two thousand years=:
.
'\

Humour

Season
Spring

Blood
Yellow Bile
Black Bile

Summer

Phlegm

Winter

Autumn

Qualities

Warm and Moist


Warm and Dry
Cold and -Dry
Cold and Moist

Probably as early ~ with the Pythagoreans, the four seasons


had been ~:ltched Wlth the Four Ages of Man, the latter being
counted. Clther as boyh~, youth, manhood and old age; or,
~temattvely.' as youth till twenty, prime till about forty, dedine
till about SIxty, and after that old age. A connexion could
therefore be established "vithout more ado between the Four
Humours (and later the Four Temperaments) and the Four Ages
of Man- a connexion which held good for all time and which wa
to be of fundamental significance in the future development
both speculation and imagery.
. Through the. whole of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
thIS cycle re~amed virtually unchanged, apart from some contr~versy over I t~ starting point: it could begin with " phlegmatic"
ch~dhood , paSSIng through "sanguine" youth and "choleric"
pnm~. to "melan~holic" ,?ld age (in certain circumstances returning
to a second childhood ); or else it could begin with "sanguine"
youth, pass through a "choleric" period between twenty and

o~

I
~ ~t:lll: ancleot writers bclieVl!d In the lenuinely 'Hippoc:,.,teao' origin of rr,,cN .010.01
lee above, p. g and DOtc I'; in"y ease the author o f thil work appeani to b

r--- .

been the lim to put this doctriDe in ..mil",.

Cf. hlloalCH, cp. elt., pp. 49, 51 sqq.

ave

_III
cd.. FU:Il&l 01, cp. CI't. , p. 45 Cl GAUK. 1), ~is HiJl~~iI " PWo.is libn
: I. Ml1d1ef. Lcipd, 11114, VOL.. I, pp. 679 Iqq. ("....Is" M,ooJ I,,". btl "" T_ ........
If Bon is rilbt, the Kriel in 'ADtioc.hlll 01 Athl!nl'
bl
;:ontemporuy
(Cot. IlJIr. G,.., VOL. VII. p. 104; UBC, S,...,.,ffllllo., p. 54): ....
oweveJ". the rubnc teruJieramenta' Ihould be omitted.

~t.....).

--i

wl~ ~a]el1

would~be~

he~:

THE DOCTRINE OF THE FOUR H UMO URS

II

forty and a "melancholic" period between forty and sixty, and


end in a "phlegmatic" old age."
But tlus combination of the purely medical doctrine of humours
with a system of natural philosophy gave rise to a curious difficulty
of which earlier writers were quite unconscious but which was
later to come very much to the fore and which was never wholly
resolved. On the one hand, with the exception of blood , the
humours taken over from medicine were quite useless substances,
not to say hannful.2S They were excretions, "humores vitiosi",
causing illness, first observed primarily in vomiting and other
symptoms"; the adjectives derived from them, 'AEYwrrll(~
(~~"",,,,) , XoMp,Kh< (xo'"",",), and especially ",'O'()(o'''''<,
were in origin merely descriptive of illness; and one could only
speak of true health when all the humours were present in the right
combination, so that each harmful influence neutralised the other.
On the other hand. these very substances, though regarded
as in themselves causes of illness, or at least as predisposing
factors, were paired with the universal (and hygienically neutral)
qualities, cold , moist, wann and dry. Each gained the ascendancy
once a year without necessarily causing acute illnesses; and since
the absolutely healthy man was one who was ne\'er ill a t a ll (so
that he must be as like every other absolutely health y man as twO
peas in a pod, the right combination of the humours being one
alone and permitting no divergencies), the physician, of all people,
could not avoid the conclusion that this ;\bsnl ntely healthy man
represented an ideal hardly ever met with in reality.~
.. For theM correlations. ct. F . Be !,!,. " Die Lebensalter, in N . .., JIIA,I,,'''.~r Iil r till S ~IIlJlH'ht
lCx Xt (Lelp~il 191)), pp. 10 1 sqq., .... it h numerOUI references: also below, Pi"> II'
sqq. and pp. )69 .qq. While IOUle pDlt-cLa5$iea.l autbon exte nd the tycll! of tbe four season.
10 as to apply to each of the &II!' o f l1Ioao (tbil VM: ......Iso lound ltl w .. y into rabbiniul .. nllnll),
othen nanowed it to a5 to ~pply to the di"~nt t. met; o f day. Thus. bk>o<l rl!Isno-d fr om
the ninth bout of the ni,ht lIntil the third hO\l.f 01 thl! day, I.e . from 3 .. m. to 9 a .m &r,d
thereaflel" the others reiVIed m ..... bourty Ibifu. nd bile, black bile Ind pblegm : d rnt DOSoRAtl UI (Mdi" Goo/i,Ni. Vl!nice 1541, fol. 159") and VIlIDICIA" (PltISCIA:< , Effpor . f' ~ ~; I .
The distribution 01 thl! humours .mon, the four "Ie!! of man diRers ' hgh tll' from the o , "in ..' y
in these two autbors: phll!gm ..... m II/I. ngul nl! " re;lned from birth till th ~ fif ! ~c nt h yur,
red bile "tum parto .....guinis .. till tbe twtnt}"~ixth ru. black b ile cum muima pane
oanpmis" till tha 10rty.leCOod ytar, and Last ly. "sicut in puerW '. phll!gm oncl! mort CI
the commenU oa Pwudo-$or&DOS a nd Vindici&o btlow. pp. 6] Iqq. and pp. ,oS IIqq

Alh~I .. ,",

-See the familu passage in PulO, Ti_IiS, 8H-81E.


.. Fa.llalCK, op . cit. (aee above, p . 5. nOle 9). p . )4
Cf. SUOROP"", op. tit., p . u o: "Everyone (OK. according 10 C .. len: li,e' on :a ~frUIn
distemJll!r ; tempen.ment is :lLrf~ y t he beginning of a painful and diso rde red c{ond,ll" n . ,n
every iodl vldual one o f thl! lour ~umOUTl predominates I,ainlt nature."
If

12

)IELANC HOLY IN ANCIE NT PHYSIOLOGY

Ll.

I.

Thus, in such a tradition, what had of old been symptoms of


illness came gradually to be regarded , at first unconsciously. as
t ypes of disposition . Complete health was only an ideal, approximated. but never in fact attained. It was logical enough, if one
said of someone in whose body the humours were perfectly combined that he was " in the very best of health" (~ IQTa Vyla(vel).
for it \Vas thereby implicitly admitted that someone in whom
one or other humour predominated could nevertheless enjoy good

health, t hough not in the highest possible degree. And thus it


had to be conceded that in fact it was usually a predominance
of one or other humour which detennined a man's constitution
and that such an individual, though predisposed to certain quite
definite illnesses, normally seemed quite healthy. The words
"phlegmatic" and so on came to be used for peculiar but (within
the limits of t his peculiarity) not necessarily morbid aspects of
human nature; and once the doctrine of four humours had been
systematised in the form described, it was bound gradually to
become a doct rine of four temperaments.
As 'H ippocra tes' says at one point, "too dry a summer or
au tumn suits phlegmatics but does the greatest hann to cholerics,
who are in danger of being dried up completely, for their eyes
run dry, t hey arc feverish, and some fall into melancholy sicknesses"2.8- which shows that the Hippocrateans themselves
envisaged men wi th constitutions determined by a pennanent
predominance of either phlegm or yellow bile, who were not as
a rule a ctually ill but merely predisposed to certain illnesses,
and who were in certain circumstances even susceptible to illnesses
other than those deriving from their predominant humour. From
this lime onward the; expressions " choleric", "phlegmatic", and
" melancholy " , were capable of two fundamentally quite different
meanings. They could denote either pathological states or
constitutional aptitudes. It is true, however, that the two were
closely linked, since it was usually one and the same humour
whi ch adverse circumstances permitted to develop from mere
pre disposition into actual illness. As Isidore says, "the healthy
are governed by these four humours, and the sick suffer from
them" .2\!
The system into which humoralism developed brought with
it. however, another complication, in that two of the four humours,
It

11~,.

"'P<". oi&I~"""

10 I SIDOIUI,

?&...... ~. cap. 10,

EI,. ...., I V,.5, ;to

(LlnRIt, II, p . ;10; eMp. med . Gr., I, I, p, 66).

I)

THE DOCTRINE OF THE FOUR HUMOURS

13

blood, and black bile, clearly occupied an exceptional position,


ariSing out of the system's historical development ; and this distinction makes itself felt in the terms used.
As to the blood, from the very beginning it had (so to speak)
got in only by the back door, for not only was it not a surplus
humour, it was the noblest and most essential part of the body.3G
Though it remained a recognised principle that the blood too
caused illnesses (mainly acute, like those caused by the yellow
bile, the two cold humours generating more chronic ones), and
though the Corpus Hippocratic'" m ranged excess of blood alongside
phlegmatic, choleric, and melancholy sickness,3J. yet constitutional
predominance of the blood was generally regarded, not as a
morbid disposition, but rather as the healthy one par excelknce,
and therefore the best,:tIl so that medical texts often replace the
usual wording "complexio sanguinea" simply by the term
"complexio temperata".a3
Greek physiology, in which humoralism meant primarily
humoral pathology, apparently lacked an adjcctive to describe
a constitution detcnnined by the blood,1U as the choleric is determined by the yellow bile, or the phlegmatic by the phlegm. And
it is significant that in the later doctrine of the four temperaments
(in which, as in modem speech, the terms were applied to the
habitus and character of the healthy) the "sanguine" temperament,
and only that, bore a Latin name.3&
Tile opposite was the case with the "humor me1ancholicus" .
The blood fitted into the series of humours (conceivt:u as waste)
so little that it was difficult to make a purely pathological diagnosis
of the condition caused by an excess of blood; for that very reason,
the sanguine temperament stood out from the others in much
.. FUURICH. op. cit., P. 1.5; G.o. l.Rl<. Ih,oi ",,0--, ed . Helmreicb, LeipU&' 1904, 11. 6oJ. p . 59.
wbcre, for inttance. blood i:I called ...... ~ 4 ,.& ~Th .... "'" ........."W).
.. FRs ulue l!. op.

~it .

p. 1.5.

.. ~ below pp. .58 "lq .. 98 .qq. (esp. un) and passi m.


See belo .... p. 128. Dote s.

.. The expreuion Ufa'l'-"f had indeed 100t its morbid meaning among the Pby5iognom~U.
but as far as we know it ....as Dot equ.ated with ~ ete . but meant ll!ither "fuU-blooded"
(as in ARlSl"OTUI '. in St:rip' rnfS p.,.nopot'fl 'c i p llUi " l4Ii ..', ed. R. FOUTU. Le.ipl.ig ~39J,
VOL. I, p. 18. 8) or, more geoera.lly, was used for the t\lddy o r bloodshot appea.-.nce of
individual features {&riPI. pit,.. ",. ,( ltU. , I, JO, 17; II, 225, 16) . The Pby. iogoomilts ~
to bave uxd the word ~ ooly in the latter "Me (&rip ' .
p . d 141., I. )88, .5;
J3 1, 3J
M Significaotly enough. It took the form "u.ngllinc\tJ", ... bern. tbe three o ther adje<:tives
had bee n formed witb ".lcUJ".

P.,&.

'4

MELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

(I. I.

the same way as the beautiful but vacant "normal profile" stands
oul . from the ugly but striking "character profiles" in Durer's
physiognomic drawings. The black bile, on the contrary, had
long been considered a noxious degeneration of the yellow bile.
or, alternatively, of the blood.36 It presented such a well ~known
and characteristic picture of morbidity (dating possibly even from
pre.Hippocratean times) that the disease as such was denoted by
one noun. Against the compound expressions XOMplI<cd or
tpMyl1QTIKcrl vOaol . XOApuca o r ,).ry'\.laTIKCr: ".a6tl~a. were set the
simple pt),ay)(oAla, lJE}.ayxoAlm.37 So, too, later conceptions of the
melancholy temperament were coloured far more by the notion
of a melancholy illness than was the case with the other three
temperaments. It is also significant that melancholy as an
illness became the subject of monographs particularly early and
often. 38
l1lUs it is understandable that the special problem of
me1ancholy should have furnished, as it were, the leaven for the
further development of humoralism. For the more striking and
terrifying the morbid manifestations that came to be associated
with the notion of a certain humour, the greater became its
power to create a character type; and it is only by an ~pparent
paradox that this very melancholy, which of a11 the "'crases"
bore the most markedly pathological connotation, came to be
the one in which a difference was earliest and most cIe1.rly discerned between actual disease and mere predisposition, between
pathological states and divergencies of character, in short between
disease and temperament; whereas an analogous development of
the other humoral conceptions followed only much later.,g
There is, however, a further consideration. Unlike the others.
the illness called "melancholia" was one mainly characterised by
symptoms of mental change, ranging from fear, misanthropy and
depression, to madness in its most frightful f('rm s. Later,
melancholia could equally well be defmed as a boduJ illness wit h
mental repercussions or as a "permixtio rationis" of physical
origin ; a peculiarity which must have considerably facili tated
See below, p. 103.
.. Ct. S" ip,/W,s PA,.'iDl"O",i~ i IriJui ,'/cliHi. cd. R.
lS

F(h'$ TI!R.

Ldprlg 1293,

' OL. II ,

p . 27.,

and p . d2. 1 1.

I. Cf. Rulu and Galen, re view of older works. cited below. pp. H sqq.
As lar as we know, the complete .yst em of the doctrine nf the four temperamenu,
correlating habitual p hyl w and mental qualities wi th the four humours, wu not fuUy
dC~'eloped until ....0. 200 or a little later (see below. p . ,8).

2]

THE NOTION OF M.ELANCHOLY: PROBLEM XXX, I

'5

the process of separating the merely melancholic temperament


from melancholic illness. For the ambigu ity of psychological
symptoms blurred the borderline between illness and normality
and compelled recognition of a habitude which. though being
melancholy, did not make it necessary to describe the subject
as one who was really a sick man all the time . This peculiarity
was bound to shift the whole conception of melancholy into the
realm of psychology and physiognomy, thereby making way for
a transformation of the doctrine of the four humours into a theory
of characters and mental types. In fact we can see how even the
medical writers had begun to conceive t he melancholic in decidedly
physiognomic and psychological terms: the lisping, the bald, the
stuttering, and the hirsute are afflicted with strongly melancholic
diseases,tO emotional dishlfbances were described as an indication
of "mental melancholy,"n and fmally- a constantly repeated
diagnosis- the symptoms were summarised in the phrase:
"Constant anxiety and depression are signs of meiancholy.",12
2.

THE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY AS REVOLUTIONISED

PERI PATETICS:

PROBLE~I

BY T HE

xxx, I

We are now in a position to understand the great transformation


which the notion of melanCholy underwent during the fo urth
century B.C . owing to the irruption of t wo great cultural influences :
the notion of madness in the great tragedies, and the notion of
frenzy in Platonic philosophy. The clouding of consciousness,
depression, fear and delusions. and fin ally the dread lycanthropy,
which drove its victims through the night as howling, ravening
wolves,~ were all regarded as effects of the sinister substance
.. EpiU .... , II. s. I (Ps. Hippoa.). in Scriplflr" p~)'si08>U1 ....'ci 8,.0~cj d [01"" . \01.. II.
p. 2-46. 18 ; and p . 2-47. 14 from Eptdt ... . , 11. 6. I : ... Tpa.J.oi, TmxV1~"~" I'.A"n:o.\,~"'
.... =<Opl'f..... ~~.:........ 4l~.
., Epi4e ..... III, J7P; H,,, POe!!. VOL. I. p . 262 J ones. A $O me,,hu later addition 10 Ep,d~ , ....
V1 . 8. 31, poinu out the close COllnellion between melancholy and epilepsy. and aCl ually
states that the only difference between them b that while the LUneu is one and Ihe same. il
attacks the body in the case of epUcpsy. but the mind in the case of melancholy
.. Aplwrismala. V1, 23. Even Calen. though alread y po$5e5Sing a higbly devdoJ>('d sr!tem
of psychological semiology, wrote with reg ard to this passage that " lhppocrate~ Wa! IIghl
in summing up aU melancholy Iymptoms in the two following: Fear and Depression (Dc
kK;,s G1f~ct,s III. In. in CALa .. (KOliN) , VOl.. VIII , p. 190) .
.. M ..."cu.r.us SIOJtTU.

trlln,milted b y Oriba$ius an d others: S&r,p'o,u phys'cf" o,,""


Also to the collection " f
excerpts n~pt ~~ in Ps-C"'LlN (KOHN) . VOL . XIX. pp. 7'9 sqq. For C'o'a ,ceHu, S,dele$
see U. v . Wu_.....IIowrnMO.UJlNOO...... Sb. d. P",U$. Abd,...., d. Wisu,u:II .. I<PS. II. J sq. :
M. WEl-UII ...
"MarceUus von Side ai, Arzt ". in P hilo/c8Ks. 5U"L. VOL. XX\II. Z (19Hl.

6'IJui el fiJli,, ' . cd. R. FOnT.!!. Leipzig ,893. VOl.. II . p. 282. 10.

"l<f.

tu

~ I E LA NCIIO L Y

IN AI\C' ENT PH YSIOLOGY

(t. t.

whose \'cry name ( ~v.a~ = black) conjured up the idea of all t hat
was cd l and noctumal. This substance was SO generally
acce pted as the source of insanity t hat the verb \JEMxyxoA&v (with
which d. XOAepulv) was used from t he end of the fifth century
B.C svn onvmously with llalve06cu (to h e m ad). ' ''W \JoXanp~ .
IJtAoyx~A~s,' ;45 mean t " Poor man, you are mad;" Dcmosthenes'
word s concerning Oly mpiodorus, "oV 116vov &5u<os aJJ..a KCrl ~ayxoAav

5oKwv," 46 might be translated as " one who seems not only an


offender but a madman" . In the fourt h century B.C., the religious
intuition of an earlier age was giving way t o discursive scientific
reasoning. and symbolic interpretations of myths are found side
by side wit h rationalist explanations; hence it is not surprising
that traits of pathological melancholy now began to be discerned
in the great figures of those accursed heroes punished with madness
by an insulted godhead- Heracles, Ajax and Bcllerophon-whom
Euripides had represented in their mythical superhuman greatness. 47 But even for the fourth century the spell of those great
figu res was strong enough to give the notion of melan choly now
associated with them a nimbus of sinister sublimi ty. It became,
as GeJliu5 later ironically said, "a disease of heroes".48 Thus it
came about that, associated with the myths, the melancholic
disposition began to be regarded as, in some degree, heroic; it
was idealised still further when equated with " frenzy" , inasmuch
as the " humor melancholicus" began t o figure as a source, how~
ever dangerous, of the highest spiritual exalt ation , as soon as t he
notion of frenzy itself was interpreted (or rather, re~ interpreted)
in this way. As is well known, this t ransvaluation was effected
by P lato. As Socrates says in t he Phaedrus. "if it were simply
that frenzy were an evil" , Lysias would be righ t; "bu t in fact we
receive the greatest benefits through frenzy. that is, in so far as

" ",e wo~d I'lAor. as ita equivalent in most other languagel. means far more than a CUlou r ;
1'1,\,0....
(or instance. are rulhlru men, l'iAa ...... ~. ue horrible pains. HeD(:e _
have no ditf,culty ;n understanding Gal~. word.: " J us t as outward darkness 6L1s nearly all
men wi th fear. unle.. they are very brave or very enlightened. 10 the dark colour of black
bile generates fear. in that it darkens the seat 01 rcallOn:' (D~ Io<is "fftdi, . 111. la, in GALEr<
( KOli N), VOl... \" 111 , p. 19 1.) Tbere are countiesa parallels ill later literature.

2]

THE

0""051"1111"1:$. Or. 48. / .. Olymp iod. }6.

~.

p.

~2<).

Quot ed below. p. 42. note

100.

17

.. PJilUdnu. 24-4 4. Tbis ill not the place to enlarge Oft the historiCl.I ante.:l:denb 01 Plato',
doctrine of freuy. Nevertheless we may point ou t that Empedoelea had already disti ngu isbed
between a " furor " ell1llnatilll "ex aDimi pursamenlo and an "alienatio mentis e,. corporis
causa si ve iniquitat.e" (D ins. Fragm., A<)8). and tbat a &imilar dininction seems to be
implied in Democrltu,, doctri.ne of poetic mwness (n.pl ....,,10'101", DilLS, Frllcm . B I 7-18.
21). as is e vident from bis choice of warda. It wa.J an essentially Platonic thought. bowever.
that ,.... ,....M i.n It.. " fourth (erotic) 1000m tranllCetlds the p rophetic, religiws and poetic
forms. and becomes the uni~SiLI power whicb n.ises aouls to the viaion of idea!!.

M PA"td""s. 24811. In the Timuws (, IA !qq .) only the unconscious aide of the p rophetic
.tate seems to be linked in some compl icated way with the function 01 the liver and the
"bltter" bile.
II

Rep ublic .57)C .

.. The notino of mclancholy generally held by educated men of the. late fou rth ceIltUI;}" a.c.
i3 admirably illustrated b y lOme lines of MIIr<M<OZ,," (ed. C. JeDleil. &rli01929) . E.mpl.........:t.
lines 494 sqq . io which the slave Onesimll8 expreues hi..s opinion of hia m.aster:
~t..9" o~, ~

~T'

...w 'A..AW,~,

.u,s.-,. ,.J~ . .; ....w leNs .

T<l.. H~ Ai)w

X..."w-..

~~

~ .~IfO

i.--G-rd "n.
TI ,...lp I. ... r c<dn""" .tUo ".yo"'-';

I n F. G. Alli nsoo '. rendering (MltN4NDU. TA4 P , iou iptd Frag ..." .ls. London and New ()I"k
19 11) :1,
He', going crazy, by Apollo; yes. he's crued!
Clean crued he is, in truth: he', cruy. by tile gO<iJ I

"Cf ,\T<lSI01"LE. l'folliem XXX. 1 (below. pp. 18--:19). where the previously mentioned
heroes "and m'lny others" atl! q uoted as melall(;bolics. See also E . D. BAli}!"'''''', P s,du ,
Ujd, ,,, Rotterdam 1917. pp. 178 sqq.

NotllS AttiCiU, XVIII , 1,

OF toIELANCHOLY: PROBLEM XXX, I

it is sent as a divine gift" .u In the beginning, however. there


was nothing in Pla to's thought to connect the notion of melancholy
with that of the ecstasy which elevated philosopher, lover, and poet
alike, t o the suprarational apprehension o f pure ideas. For him ,
melancholy meant p rimarily, if not actual madness. a t least moral
insanity. clouding and weakening will and reason ; for he regarded
it as a symptom of what he describes in the Phaedru.s as t he worst
soul of all- that of the tyrant. 60 As we read in t he Republic, "a
man becomes a tyrant when, whether by nature or by manner of
life, or both, he is a drunkard. a voluptuary and a melancholic."61
. It! was Arist ot elian natural philosophy wh.ich first brought
about the union bet ween the purely medical notion of melancholy
and the Plat onic conception of frenzy. This union found
expression in what for the Greeks was the paradoxical thesi~2
that not only the tragic heroes. like A j ax, Heracles and
Bellerophon, b ut all really outstanding men. whether in t he realm
of the arts or in those of poetry , philosophy or stat esmanshipeven Socra tes and Plato-, were me1a.ncholics.&3

""'pontO<

.. Pilrvdrus 268 11 .

NOTIO~

Chariliul 1 mean. my m-.ter. Taken with


An atrabiliou$ fit he is. or some s uch thing.
Nay, what else would ODO f.a.ncy has befallen him I

SeC below, p p. 18- 19.

18

MELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PRYSlOLOGY

[I.

I.

The theory is explained in the most famous of the "Problems"


attributed to AristotJe, which shall be rendered in full.

THE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY : PROBLEM XXX, I

.)

).a.s, 6 6l .bs IprUllas ISiWkW, 616

Mc.lS .broi'low .D\1I)~


. "a\m'lp hrEl Kat KETVOS

PROBLEM XXX. 1"

~X6eTo

nOm &toTalv.
b KCm mSlov -rb 'AAfJTov otos:
6Aiho.

"'TOt
lua .1 nWrEs 0001 mplTTOI YEYb.
vaow 6v6pfS ~ KaTa q>1).ooa.plav i'l
1To;\I'T1KflY 1"1 1TO{'lO'IV Tj -rtx,vas: ~I
VOVTOI ~oYX:.o~ I KOI 6vn5. Kat 01
~ M(o)') txrre Km ;\~ailat -roTs
am, IJEhOIVf\S XOh1)S &:ppc..>OTij ~O'O' I\I,
oIov htyFrOI -r&v TE 1'lP(':liKOOV .a TIEpl
TOv 'Hpcnc).to; m l yap lKElVOS WIKE
ywWeal Ta\mys Tik: ~Ol:Co)'). SIb KClI
.a appc.xrrljJ.UITo .6)v nrv.'ll1lll((;)v
&n' tKtlvou 1Tpoatly6pEuov ot apxo1ol
IEpav vOaov. Kol fl mpl -reVs 1TOt5as
OOnO'O'IS Kal " lfpb "",5 &:qKMa.>S tv
OTT!) TOOv tMcwv fKq>IX1lS ~
ToV-ro Sl1hoT' I(Q\ yap -roVro yl\I'TOI
1ToMois' am, llEholVl'lS xohiis. 11\.M~1)
6t 1(0'1 "VO'&v5~ Tt;) NJ,xCI)\Il 1Tpb Tns
Td.vri'k: ywta6m Ta t\K1) TaUTO'. h i
~ TO: mpl AravrO' Kal BU.M:p0<p6VTT1\I.
i:lv 6 IJtv b<<TTaT,Kbs tyt\lE'ro 1Tavrt-

,",Vhy is it that all those who


have become eminent h\ philosophy or politics or poetT or the

arts are clearly melap,cholics,


and some of them t o slIch an
extent as to be affected by
diseases caused by blac1;c bile?
An example from heroic mythology is Herac1es.- For he apparently had this constitution, and
therefore epileptic afflictions
were called alter him "the
sacred disease" by the ancients. 55
His mad fit in the incident with
the children points to this, as
well as the eruption of sores
which h ~ppened before his disappearance on Mount Oeta; for
this is with many people a
symptom
of
black
bile.
Lysander the Lacedaemonian
too suffered from such sores
before his death. There are
also the stories of Ajax and
Bellerophon: the one went completely out of his mind, while
the other sought out . desert

.. Editions. tnnsliltions. critical worka : Aa ,s'rOTELBS. PflIbk",IJUJ ploysiu edd. Ruelle. Knoel.
linger, Klek. Leipli8 19n _ Ruelle; Ari,lotlli.r, AluIJ"ilri d ClISrii Probl4 rNoJII ""rN TMfr
/llm...' .................."d,,,... toluu._i cum prUfatiODe Friel . Sylburyl l. FnuJcof. I SiS - Sy1bu '1l: :

H. P. Richard" A , ;$Ioklitll. London 1915 _ Richilrds : Tio. Wor.h 0/ Aris/otl. tlllwsl. ;,,10
E"6lisll. cd. W. D. Ron. vol. VII: Pmblemat$.. tr. E . S. FOl'$ter. Oxford 19'27 - Forster. Except where stated in the app;ora.tlls. we follow the t ext of Rllelle.
.. The close Inne>do n betw~D melancboly and epilepsy wu poill ted Ollt by the Hippoera.tealll; lee p. 1.5. note 41 .

6y ev..Kw KCJTt6wY. 1T6:rOV lrvOpc.!:nrCl)v


6MElv(,,)Y"
Kat 6:).).01 Si trOMol -rCw ilpWc.Jv
6s,iolarra9Ts tpalVOVTOI -roVroIS. T&V S~
Vcrnpov 'Evm:50KA1)S Kat ffiO:rc.>V Kat
~ Kat nepal O'V)(\'OI T6)V
~lj.ICoJV hi 5lTi:wlfP1 'T1'\V1TOlflO'IV
oT 1TM.1aToI, TfohMTS..,J.v yap -ri:w
'TOloUTCI)V yivnm vocn'\lJ(rTa 6:ttb ""'S
TOIa\rn)s KptXaECo)') Tit> O'Wpan, 'TOTS 5l

~ tv<n< ""~~ ~a ,,~ TO "Mn.


m'wns: S' cAN ~ dllETv 6:rr;v;)s dat,
KCl9&mp DJx&rl, TOloVrol -rlIv .vaIV.
SET 6" h~lv 'rl\v ahlav 1TpWTOV
hrl1Tapa5t:l~ 1TpoXElpla~vovs .

6 yap o(VOOS 6 1T~Vs ~I<TTO qKJl\l'Too


1T~IV TOloVTaus olaus ~
lID' TOVs ~o).IKOV) dlXXl. Kal

1fMTCI"T<X fje., 11'Ol1v lTIvOlJEYOi, 01011'


l>py~,

,lAavepc:rnOUS.

v.d!l1ovaS,
IT~ ' aM' oU'xt -r6 ~I oV& Tb
y6).a oV6I: -rb \i&lp OUS' 6AAo T6)V
TOIWrc.w wSw. (601 6' 6v TIS 6'n

19

places for his habitation ; wherefore Homer says:


. f And

since of all the Gods he


was hated,
Verily o' er the Aleian plain
alone he would wander,
Eating his own heart out,
avoiding the pathway of
mortals; "

Among the heroes many others


evidently suffered in the same
way, and among men of recent
times Empedodes: Plato. and
Socrates, and numerous other
well-known men, and also most
of the poets. For many such
people have bodily diseases as
the result of this kind of temperament; some of them have only
a clear constitutional tendency
towards such afflictions, but to
put it briefly, all of them are.
as has been said before. melancholies by constitution.
In order to find out the reason .
we must begin by making use
of an analogy: Wine in large
quantity manifestly produces in
men much the same characteristics which we attribute to
t he melancholic, and as it is
being drunk it fashions various
characters, for instance irritable,
benevolent, compassionate or
rec kless ones ; whereas honey or
milk or water, or anything else
of this kind. do not have this
effect. One can see that wine
makes the most vari ed cha racters, by ohserving how it

MELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

20

TfavTo&cnTo\Ji arr(pya-gm:n, &t~

Ws LIIT~I

ToV-;

Trl\.lOVT'aS be. 'Tfpo<J-

napa>.ajlWv yap ~
~ fyTQ viJ~IV ked O'IW1TTl>.oVs \JI~
ay~,.
~

Tf>..I(.)1I

".oEh:l~

MV-IO"'Tipovs: 'TrOllt,

m aI: TTMIc.w (JTlTopIKOVs m\ Gappa).tOlJ1.j, npoloVfCIS 61: npbs TO 11'prTl1V


\'tOlloVs. h i 5l ~o\l 'TL'Iv61JEVOS V~PIO'
6l noAu.;

orOS, InE.\TC \lCXY1~, }.Iav

P;AVf:1 kal nOll1 ~, WcrnlP 'fOIls


be n ol5wv trnA1\11"TO\IS fj 1<01 tx~
TOTS ~ayxoAl1(OIs: (ryav. Wcrrr[P oW
6 ds 6:v(IpcomOS 1JTO~6:M.u TO MQ5:
nl\lCol\l Kol XpW~ 'Tl.;l ollKt' 1TOO'~

TIVI, OVTW Ka9' lKaOTOV TO

flOos

elO'\

yap oVws
~wv vVv lO'Tlv, 6MOS TtS TO loV-rQS
IfvO't1 l<TTlv, 6 IJtv 7I.6AOS. 6 6i J(O(IVTl.aTIIltS

&vepc..:llfOI.

e las

IIOS, 6 lH 6:plbplJi' 11'OlEl yap TWO'S


tilo mlOIolTlpos hrotf)l71

Kal TOL~,

"Kal IoIi 'flOl 6ca<pv'n'AWElV jX~

advov or~".
Ka! yap v.r1\~s lTO'TE ylVOVTll\ m\
11\ O'lc.m1\Aol (vIOl y6p cro

6:yPIOI

anOO It.m'GXn,

111

~10"'Ta

TliW

aw.ayxM IKCw 6aOI txaTcrnxol. ".0111


6t KaI ,V.l1T1KoVs- 0 otl105 ' O'TllJoltov

[I.

I.

gradually changes those who


drink it; for those who, to begin
with, when sober, are cool and
taciturn become more talkative
when they have drunk just a
little too much; if they drink a
little more it makes them' gran
diloquent and boisterous and,
when they proceed to action,
reckless; if they drink still more
it makes them insolent, and
then frenzied ; while very great
excess enfeebles them completely and makes them as
stupid as those who have been
epileptic from childhood or as
those wh? are a prey to excessive
melancholy. Now, even as one
individual who is drinking
changes his .. character according
to the quantity of wine he con
sumes, so there is for each
character a class of men who
represent it. For as one man
is momentarily, while drunk,
another is by nature : one man
is loquacious. another emotional.
another easily moved to tears;
for this effect, too. wine has on
some people. Hence Homer
said in the poem:

THE NOTION OF l'oIELANCHOL Y : PROBLEM XXX, I

2)

0: -rrlvwy lUll Tt;'>


~crn " wTY. oVs vtt'P"W oU5' IN
lIs !pIAnC'f.IEY 1\ 5u!.: TO d50s ,. 510 T1lY
ilAIKi(IY. b ~ oW olvos oV ;rO)..w
xp6v<w TWld mpl-rrOv,li)J..' OAlyov. fl
6l; CP\XlIS &:Ei, Ws TIS IN l'l ' 01 ~Y yap
epaC'f.TS, 01 BE o lc.rnflAo1, 01 5i v.d\I.IO\l(S. 01 st 51).01 ylYOVTOI qlWEI.
WaTE SijJ..ov 6'n SIC;' TOO airroijlal
n otEi 0 TE olVOS 1Ul\ fl cpValS tKlmTov<'>l
TO neo.; nlwTa yap >ntPYl'3 mu TIl

6l; UTI 1TpoCryn-al

6t:PlJ.Ctrrtn T~IE~
)("1'0, "'" " ><plio" "

6 TE Sil

Til< '-''''''

xoAf'\s 'TTW.\II.Iamca &o-nY ' 510 lCeli Tc!r:


'fTVWPP:TMll lTci9T) 11\ TO: VrrOXoy
SPlaKO: ~<XYX0}..IKtl 01 tCC'Tpol ~O IY
d\I(X1. Kcxi 0 olyos SA lTYVI.IClTWSnS
Tflv SIlvapIV. 610 5il taT l Tflv "Vow
61.101a 0 TE olves 11\ il KpCiOIS. Sn}..ol
6l 0:11 ~fl~ b olv6s WTIY 0:
6:qlp6s: . TO phi yap (Aaloy 6t:Wbv 6v aU
1TO~1 ~p6v, b 6Ii ot\105 ,,-oAVY. 1((11
!JOMav b 1.IiA~ 'TeV MvtcoV, 6n
IltplJ.bupos 1((1\ oWIJQTc.Xiro-npos.
.Kal 610: 'TO\ho 0 TE ot\lOS

6:w0610IaaTIKOVs c!m'tPYIX3FTal, Kal


6p6Ws AIOwoos: 11\ AcppoSlTT\
MycnmIl IJET' 1i)J..f\"Av:JY dvcu, ItOl ot
lJ.i1o.a'yxo}..l1rol 01 1T'MTO'TOI M:yvol
E1mv.
6 'TE yap 6:1pp06IOKXOI.I0s
lI'VNJ,I(rT~T)S . OllI.Ilov 6i TO 0\&11011.

" He says that I swim in tears


like a man that is heavy
with drinking. "
Sometimes they also become
compassionate or savage or
t aciturn-for some relapse into
complete silence. especially
those melancholies who are out
of their minds. Wine also makes

tal 01(;' TOO


a\n"o codd.
(1)1

aV-rou Richards] 010: 'TO

bocrrov Richards.

H Cf. the passacet cited 011 p. 34. IlOte 71.

21

men amorous ; this is shown by


the fact that a man in his cups
may even be induced to kiss
persons whom, because of their
appearance or age, nobody a t
all would kiss when sober. Wine
makes a man abnormal not for
long. but for a short time only,
but a man's natural constitution
does it permanently, for his
whole lifetime ; for some are
bold, others taciturn, others
compassionate and others cow
ardly by nature. It is therefore
clear that it is the same agent
that produces character both in
the case of wine and of the
individual nature, for all pro
cesses are governed by heat .
Now melancholy, both the
humour and the temperament,
produce ai~; wherefore Ule
physicians say that flatulence
and abdominal disorders are
due to black bile. Now wine
too has the quality of generating
air, so wine and the melancholy
temperament are of a similar
nature. The froth which forms
on wine shows that it generates
air; for oil does not produce
froth. even when it is hot, but
wine produces it in large quan
tities, and dark wine more than
white because it is warmer and
has more body.
It is for this reason that wine
excites sexual desire, and
Dionysus and Aphrodite are
righUy said to belong together,

22

MELANCHOLY IN ANC IENT PHYSIOLOGY

~ fK IUKpOV -raxdav 'lTol(lTaa "",V


~flO1V 510 TO ll,I(PUOaoikJl.

1(al fn

".plv 6Vvacrlkn npotEOtlm o;rip~,


yl\lTO:l 'TIS ~ h,le' nOlcriv OiiO'IV,

am.

/yyVs

lIvn<

TO: ol60ta 6,'

..w ~Jl<iv

~aalav'

ylvnm st

6~Aov 616: TO 'fl'lIijpa lilE~lblQl 610:


TWV'Jf6pwV, 6,' W\I
TO UypOv

w-npov

,tpnOI. f! TE lICXuol5 TOO O"'ITip~O'i Lv


TaTs OIJ.IAiOIS t<o\ il ~TIfIIS lmc!n oii "ITvv.
1lCJTO'i W6r0VvTos- tpcn.'EpOv 6T1 yl \/TOt./dl
wcrn Kol "TWV t5E~wv J(Q\ TlO'TWv

ruMyws TaUT' loTI... O:<ppoSIO'uXO"Tlka,


6aa TTVElJl.laTWliT} TOv mpl Ta alSoTo
nOIEI TOrrOV. 610 1(01 6 IJtA~ olvas
oV6evOs fino\! TOloVT~ 6mpYG3no l,
0101 1(al 01 lJ,EAo:yxoAlI<o1 (TrVEVlJaTW-

5i'ji\01 S' dolv h,.' tvlwv '


yap 01 1T;\tlovs 'T(::lV IJMayXo1!lIi:w, 1(00 01 <p~s l~txovcnv'
1'O&Tou S' ahlOV OJ 'TO TOO ai~os
nAil60s. &>.6; ToO TTvtV~OS ' S.ln.
&15),10 '

aM.f)pol

6l: o\t& 1TavnS 01 ~o}.IKOI mO..1"\pol oUst [01]11'1 ~Q\I(S. 6JV,.' ollJaAAcw

KmC6xWOI. 6Mos MyOS.

mpl oV st l~ apxi'is 'TTpol1I.~


tv Til !pVot1 EVINs OTOloV-

Sao-ad"" &r,

,-os x~ 6 JV.o:y)(OALKOs Kf:p&wvral

[~ hI Bonitz, Richards] trrl codd.


!<II &n ylvnal Richards] ylvtoikn

nId.
"1 l't\IWa"fW&:IS sed.
III 01

std. Bekker.

Forster.

[I.

I.

and most melancholy persons


are lustful.
For the sexual
act is connected with the gener.
ation of air, as is shown by the
fact that the virile organ quickly
increases from a small size by
inflation. Even before they are
capable of emitting semen, boys
approaching puberty already
find a certain pleasure in rubbing
their sexual . organs . from
wantonness, the manifest reason
being that the air escapes
through the passage through
which the fluid fl ows later on.
Also the effusion and impetus
of the semen in sexual inter
course is clearly due to pro
pulsion by air.
Accordingly
those foods and liquids which
fill the region of the sexual
organs with air have an aphro
disiac effect. Thus dark wine
more than anything else: makes
men such as the melancholies
a re . That they contain air is
obvious in some cases; for most
melancholy persons have finn
flesh and their veins stand out,
t he reason being the abundance
not of blood but of air. How
ever, the reason why not all
melancholies have hard flesh
and why not all of t hem are
dark but only those who
contain particularly unhealthy
humours, is another question.
But to return to our original
subject: the atrabilious humour
in the natural constitution IS
already somet hing mixed as it

2]

THE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY : PROBLEM XXX, I'

op\J.ov yap Ked "MpoV KpO:als !aTIl1 '


iK TOVrWV yap Ti:w 6voTII il ,Vats
avvtaTT\KtV. 610ICal il ~atvaxoAil Ked
ElEPlJCmnov Kat ~p6ia i ov ylvnal.
TO yap a\.rro mrOXEIV "Tft.qM;E TCriiT'
Cq.tcpw, 010v Kat ,.0 ii6wp 6v '+"Xp6v,
Ol.lWS to:v tK~ EkplJQll6ij, 010\1 TO ltov,
-rik: !phoyOs" ~~ 6tpl.lOnp6v loTI,
KCII AI60sKOI al6flp05 6u!rnvpCl ~
llCi:Uov ElE~a ylvn-al 6v6pcrtcos, 'f'VXpO:
avra !pIIat1. dpl),.at 51: ao~<rn:pov
If'fpi ,.o\rrWV (II "rOlS 1ffpl TNp6o;.

"'" ~ x""il "

~ "",." .,:rn, 'M(pO

Kal oVK mITTo}.alws"1 oVaa,

6-T"<W

IJ.tll

o\rrc.)S" (Xl) Ws" dpl)"TCll, iav Vm:p~1)


!II ,.~ C"OOlJCfn, arrOTT).I)~lexs 1) vaplCex')
1) Mlvllias 1fOIET 1) <pO~VS, iav S~
UmpElEpll<XV6i), ,.cXs UE"T' c.;,Sfis r.J9vlllexs
Kaj KO""TO:C"EtS Kal b<3WE1S lAxwv Kat

6JJ,.a

"TOlaVra.

,.oTs

IJ!v oiiv

ano Tiis

TToJV.oi~

m9' i'j~pav ,.pocp~ tyyl\lO0Ii5l:v TO i'l60s TTOIEl 6lacp6povs,


6XAa lJ6vov \l6cr"i)lJ6: "TI llfAayxOAIKOv

I-IMl

(J)

bTl1f6).alo~

Sylburg.

23

is a mixture of heat and cold,


for of these two things nature is
composed. Black bi1e can there.
fore become both very hot and
very cold , for one and the same
substance can naturally under
go both: for example water,
which although in itself cold ,
yet when sufficiently heated (for
example, when boiling) is hotter
than the flame itself. And stone
and iron when redhot become
hotter th'a n charcoal, though
they are cold by nature. This
subject is dealt with in more
detail in the book conceming
f1re. 67
Now, if black bile, being cold
by nature and not superficially
so, is in the stated condition. it
can induce paralysis or torpor
or depression or 3."'1xiety when
it prevails in the body ; but if it
is overheated it produ ces cheer
(ulne!;.!', hursting intn song, a nd
ecstasies and th e eruption of
sores and the like. To most
people the bile engendered from
their daily nutriment does not
give a distinctive character but
merely results in some atra
bilious disease.
But among
those who constitutionally pos
sess this temperament there is

.. It hu been obHrved (e. PaAJlrI., .Abll. 4 . by'~. Ahd., VI, 1, 353) that thIS reference
cleuly point. to a c:onnexlon of our Prob)em with Theopbrutu$. It e\"dently refers 10
TbeopWuw. n.~..."., (ed. A . Cudo:s, C ... U."'ald 18')6), ch. J' whlc:h deals wllh maluial.
lib iron. and ItolM which, tbou,b 'naturllily cold', let WIry bot. ....s ""c kno .... from t he hit
of hi!! writiop Jivea i.I1 Diot:eDet Laertilll tv, H l that TheophTutll5 wrOtc a book Oil
Md....u.oly. tbe inkrene. that Ol1r Problem it connec ted with this book $Cern, Wofe.. Cf .1so
below, p. 41, and O. RaGII<IIOGIIO", An.. 'Tbeophraatos' , Pa")r-Wilo5OW", Rut ...:. d K l .
.Alt.rlt4_"';IU/l.UMft, Suppl. 1. eoI$, 142. 1406.

:-.tELANC HOLY IN ANC I ENT PHYSIOLOGY

a-rrE!py6GOTO. ClaOIS SI lv ~ cpVaf:1


0\Nw-r'l Kpaal ~ "T0!cniTr\, EVOVs OiI"TOI
"TO -fJ6Tt ylVOVTOI lI"OV"To5<rrrol, 6:N\os
KaT' 6).}.'lV KpaOIV' otov ClaOIS ~Iv

lToi\Ail mi
t:OL ~Wpo{,

lwrrapxu, vw6pol
CaO!S 6l Alav TToMi} t:oi

eEp~r'l, LlcvlKOl 1(01 N.pvEtS mlljXo)Tlt:Ol

t:ol V1<iVTlTOI TT~ TeVs

6viJoVs 1C01 T~

lTTleVLII~, lVlol 6t 1%1 A6:).01 lJaAAoV,


TToAAol 6 t:ol 610: TO tyyVs Elval TOU
VOpoV '"!"OTTOU TTJV 6pp6TnTtI '1"~V
VOCJT'lIJQOW 6AioxOVToi ~QVIt:QtS fI tv6oUo"10crrlt:QtS' 66ev II~uMoll%\ SaxlS~S t:O\ 0\ lveeol Y!VOVTOI Tr~,

OTOV Lil'! VOOf)lJaTl y{VWVTCJI cUAa


IfIUGIKij t:p6:au.-MapcrKOs 5l b IupaKOVOIOS t:al O:IJE!\lWV T)V TrOlflT1'\S, 6T'
tt:<TToil"\.-OaoIS 6' au tTTOVf:~ (~1 TTJV

6:yav OfHJCrrT)Ta TTp6S TO IJlaov , OVTO I


lJEM1yxoi\lIcoi ~i\v flal, CPPOVI~Wn:PO I

(IIJ

rnavt:6i) Bywater] rnavei) rodd,

(I. I.

straight away the greatest variety of characters, each according to his individual mixture.
For example, those who possess
much cold black bile become
dull and stupid , whereas those
who possess much hot bile are
elated and brilliant or erotic or
easily moved to anger and desire,
while some become more loquacious. Many too are subject
to fits of exalt ation and ecstasy,
because this heat is located near
the seat of the 'intellect; and
this is how Sibyls and soothsayers arise and all that arc
divinely inspired, when they
become such not by illness but
by natural temperament, Maracus, the Syracusan, was
actually a better poet when he
was out of his mind, -Those,
however, in whom the black
bile's excessive hea~ is rt:laxed
towards a mean,$8 are melan,
choly, but they are more rationaJ

.. The lenIence o....r " .~ l.,..,fj ..... . ,... ~nJ .,os " JAi- is IUliD te1li(ible .. it stands
(H. Donlu in h... dml .... ble 1>14" A .i"i1Uliuo,. p. 1.6,. &be> <:Ite$! tbe verb bt."q u corrupt).
and I, .. ,Iven file to K"eral emendabanl. oone eotWly satisfaetory ; the best. perb.~
's Byw.ter's i ..... " ; .,...Ic~" Aor;ordine to the context tbe mea.niag most be that
reasonable (a nd therefore h13hly giftt-d) melancholic. are protectt-d both from OVe'I".butin,
(u occurs among~.nd especi.ny among Bakides. Sibyb, etc.) and h"om cbill (as occur.
amon, ....,.- ... , ,,~), thus. to that extent. achievine a
It miebl be . uggested to
replace ..i ....
by "i..a.,a",8'I"', thus not only makin, tbe 8e nleoce cornet pmm.UcaUl,
a nd ,i ving it meaning. but making it ac:cord .... ith Aristotle's uuge elsewbere: d . II,,!
u..~ I ~,
a): .. ' """,,<POi ~ fir"'; "I."... .. ~ ...
':-p/Ia).~. Howevr.,
we prefer to read lro.. 911 ,~. ciyo.w 8l,,.&T1tf"a (understood as "accusative of retpect"). Earlier
Innslaton wert! a llO .., eed " to the necessl.ty for emending this passage. Tbeodorus of
Ga.u m nsl.let It: ".t q uibus minus (JU- f 'Di.mius'] iI1e calor remissus ad mcd.iocritatelll
sil"; the Venice edition of I SO ' (APi"ord,s ProbIe"",I., fol. 2 ~~') bas "quibutc1lDque .utern
...Ido calidillie m redud l ad medium", al\d the edition with uceUent commentary 01
LlIDOVICl.:S S'"ALI lIS (111 Arislokli,
Lyons 1633 , VOL. UI , p, )46)
has "At quibul calidilal ma,na ad rnodiocritatem redu<:ltv.''',

.er
47'

2]

TilE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY : PROBLE ..l XXX, I

st, JCa\ frrrov Iliv ()c-roWOI, TrpOs


TrOMa at SIO<p4:povns TWV dMWII, 01
jd:1I TrpOs 1T<XI5E1av, 0 1 ~ "TI"pOs -nxvas,
01 SE "TI"pOs n oAmlav. TroAA"v 5i JCaI
lis 70Vs KW~ 1fOIEl 61oifOpO:v -fJ
TOIati'rt\ l~ls "Tt;)lil tviO'Tl ~
dVO} h,>Ikl Tots ~IS "TI"oMoVj TWv
av5fi;w. Ws yelp av WxCoXJI TO a(;)po
IXOVT"ES" Trpbs -rl}1I TOIa\.rrnV kpO:aw,
6la<pipouol\l aVTol aVrWv, l'\ 5t
l-AAan:.oAlKll KpOO" IS, WatrEp Ill tv
Tals vOOolS 6:vws.taAovs- nOlET, oUTGo)

Ka\ a\mi 6:v<.:lIJaJ..6s mw' 61i ~


yap IfI\IXjX.l mlV Wo-rrEP V5c.>p, b-ri &
6PIJ~,
WoT& cpo~p6v '1"1 6-rav
daayyA&ij, fay $.ltv '+"'XpoTl~ o<ioT}s
Tiis kpQaEWS TVxIJ, 6171.bv TrOIEI'
"TI"pcx.>50mno!TlKE yap Tij) q6~~, kal b
q6~ kO"TaIfIIixu. 6Tl7l.oVcJ1 6i 01
npf~I' TplIJOUal yap.
Mv 6i
lJai\Aov eEp~ft. ds TO ,","PIOII JCaT-

10000atv 6 ~, m\ tv a\rr~ t<al

.maeii.
~ft\lS 6E kOl npOs TaS kae'
ilj.li\pav 6:6vtlfcrs ' noM6:KlS yap oUTWS
fxolJ.EV Wcrn i\vnlla&;tl, bp' In<t> GI,

oVk ~ fx0 11J.EV dmIII' 6-ri 6l ~,


~' 4> 5' oU 6i\Aov, Ta S", TOlaiha

"1',_".

* :c.-

ProbI#_'. _ ...............

(II Tt;; Richards] TOO coda.


., Iv Rkhards] p1v codd.

25

and less eccentric and m many


respects superior to others eit her
in culture or in the arts or in
statesmanship.
Such a constitution also makes for great
differences in behaviour in
dangerous situations in that
many of these people react
inconsistently in frightening cir
cumstances; for according to the
condition of their bodies at a
given time in re1ation to their
temperament, they behave now
one way now another: the melancholy temperament, just as it
produces illnesses with a variety
of symptoms, is itself variable,
{or like water it is sometimes
cold and sometimes hot. Therefore .if it so happens that something alarming is announced a t
a time when the admixture is
rather cold, then it makes a man
cowardly;- for it has prepared
a way for the fear, and fear
makes one cold, as is shown by
the fact that those who are
fright ened trembJe. -If however
the mixture is rather warm, (ear
reduces it to a moderate temperature and so he is self-possessed
and unmoved,
So too with the despondency
which occurs in everyday life,
{or we are often in a state of
grieving, but could not say why,
while at other times we fee1
cheerful
without
apparent
reason . To such affections and

26

MELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

".aQr] . KO:\ .6: ".QJ..a\(1) AEXeEvra


KaTer I.Ilv TI I.IIKpOV 1Taal ylveTa\' 1TOCJI
yap 1d1.l1K'Tol T1 Tile;: 6walJl'~' 000le;:
5' Elc;: ~. MOl 5' i\8T] 11"0101 'Tlvtc;:
do-I TO: i\6rj. Warnp yap TO ~150s
l~pol
lxE1V,

01

y!VO\.-ro:t ou Ti;l 1TpOawrrOV


&"".:'Aa ili'> nOlov TI TO np6aOO"lTOV,

vlv

KcxAov, 01

ot

a1axp6v, 01 5e

1.I'l6!v XOV'TES nEpn.6v, OVrOI 5e


I.IEO"OI -n'jv IJ'vaw, oV-r(O) Kexi oll.ltv I.ILKpa
Il'lixOlTTts Tile;: TOIa\.rrnS Kparu:~ I.I~O"OI

do-Iv, 01 O! 1TA~O~ 1'\511 av611olol 'ToiS


lTOAAOi$. M:v lJev yap aq>OOpa KaTa
KOPf)C;: ~ fl E~lS, ~ccyx.o}.IKol e\o"1 Mav.
rov st lfWS KpO:6il>aI, lfEPITrol. ~hroval
5', av O:lJEhWO"IV, bTl 'TO IlEAccyx.OAIKO:
vooiWa'To, li:).AOl lTEpi mo llSpoo;: TOU
acblJaTOS' leal LoiS ~ trnA1)1TTIKCx
CmOOtll.laiVl, TolS

5e

O:Tr01TAT]KTlKa,

&&vv.icu Icrxvpa\ i\ 1J'6~1,


TolS 5 {)6:PPTl Xiav, olav Kal 'ApXeMV?

aA}.OIS 5l:
awE~lVt

criTlav

T'i> MaKEoovicro;:

~-a\Aei.

oe Tile;: iOIa\mJS 8vvalJEws 1'\

a...

KpaCI"lS, OTT"X
(Xl) qN~EWs TE Kai
Ctp\.L6-rrrT~. '+'VXpoTIpa \.LW yap oOOa

(II ".O)..al

Sylburg (superius Thco-

dorus Gaza)] lTaAooa codd.

[r. r.

2]

mentioned befonf9 we

to those
are all subject in some small
degree, for a little of the stuff
which causes them is mixed in
with everybody.
But with
people in whom this quality
goes deep, it determines the
character. For as men differ in
appearance not because they
possess a face but because they
possess such and sucli .a face,
some handsome, other~ ugly,
others with nothing extraordinary about it (those whose looks
are ordinary); so those who
have a little of this temperament
are ordinary, but tho.~e who
have much of it are unlike the
majority of people. For if their
melancholy habitus is quite undiluted they are too melancholy;
but if it is somewhat tempered
they are outstanding. If they
are not careful they tend to
melancholy sicknesses, different
individuals being affected in
different parts of the body:
some people suffer from epileptic
symptoms, others from paralytic ones, others from violent
despondency or terrors, others
from over-confidence, ' as happened to Archel.us, King of
Macedonia.
Such tendencies are caused by
the temperament, according to
whether it is hot or cold. If itis

Sylburg's conjecture 5e<'nt.'I necessa.-y and restore!! an expres$ion frequently used by


Aristotle when referring to something said above ', cl. Po/it. 14, I~62 b 29: and 1'1 I, 1282 a IS
The referenCe here is to the melancholy symptoms d escribed before. There is. hl,lwever, the
possibility, that the reference as such has been lifted from the original source of tb6 Problema,
just as the one above (see note 57), and refers to a tnssage in Theophrastus's wo~k now lost.

.I

THE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY: PROBLEM XXX, 1

unduly cold, considering the


circumstances,
it
produces
irrational despondency ; hence
suicide by hanging occurs most
frequently among the young,
and sometimes also among
elderly men . Many men, also,
put an end to themselves after
drunkenness, and some melancholies continue in a state of
despondency after drinking: for
the heat -of the wine quenches
their natural heat. (Heat in the
region in which we think and
hope makes us cheerful; and
therefore all men are keen on
drinking to the point of intoxication, for wine makes everybody
hopeful, even as youth does
children; for old age is pessimistic, but youth is full of hope. )
There are a few who are seized
with despondency while act uaUy
drinking, for the same reason as
makes others despondent after
Now those who
drinking .
become despondent as the heat
in them dies down are inclined
to hang themselves. Hen ce the
young and the old are more
likely to hang themselves; for in
one case old age itself makes the
heat die down , in the other .
passion, which is something
physical too. :\lost of those
men in whom the heat is ext in
guished suddenly make away
with t hemselves unexpectedly ,
to the astonishment of all. since
sed, they have given no previolls
sign of any such intention .

ToV KCllpoV 5vaihJj.L1~ 11"011 &A6yOl./S


SIb at T' Cr:yx6V<l1 IlaAUTTa TOi~ vtOIS.
~vIOTf. 5~ Kal 1TptO~VTi:po's. 1TOAAol
5~ KClI llETa Ta<; l1te~ Sla<p6E1povalV
t~ fvlOI st TWV l-lU.ayxOA1KWV iK
T(;;V ".6Tc..w 66VIlWS 5u'yovolv, o~tv
VVOI yap 1'1 TOO o[vou CtPl-lo-n,s Tilv
qlV01K1'jV 6f:pIJo-n,Ta. Tb St 6:pllbv TO
".epl TOV TOtrOV 4> qlpovo\h.Iv Ka\
tAmJOI.lV ".oleT EVaVI.J.OVS Kai SIO:
TOUTo ".pbs TO 1Th'l:IV els I.J.fflny Tf6vres
tx0val 1Tpo6V\.L"'S, lrn ml.VT(lIj: 6 olvOS
b ".oMs MA1TIOOS 1ToleT, Kcr66:mp -fj
vtan,s TOIls ".aToos TO Ill:v yap yiipas
SUalA".! {OTIV, 1'1 S~ VE6-rrtS v..".!80s
lfATJPTlS, elol 5t TIVES 6Alyot oVs
".Ivovras SvoihJllial Aal.J.~val, SUJ:
T1'jv cx&ri)y alTlav 51' fly 1Xi IJETIl: TOVs
lf6:rOVS tviOl./S. OOOIS \.L~V
l1apalvoIJ.h.oov TOO CtP\.loO al 06vl-lial yivovral,
IJaAAov CnrcXyxOVTOO. Sib Ka\ 01 vtOl
[fj] Ka\ 01 . Tfpt~iiTal \.LaMov arrcryXOVTcn TO IJh> yap yilpas \.lapaivel TO
Ctp\.L6v, TWV Sl TO 1TCt6os", ql1.JO"IKOV OV
Ka\ af.rr6 [TO lJocpalv6\.LEVOV eEf'1J6v] 3m)
&7()IS El o~tvov t~alqlVl)S, 01
".)..TOTOI SlaxpWVTal lCIVTo\!s, W<Me
6ClVj.L6:Jelv mwras Sia TO \.IT\6tv "'01-

ow

float OT)l.J.fioY '1Tprnpoy,

(ml

TO

l1apo:ly6~v

Forster.

6ep\J6v

) IELANCHOL Y I N ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

I./NXpoTEpaulv ow YIVOlJfvTJ i) I(paals


f, OTrb Tfjs ~QIIl1l~ XOAij~, Wc:nnp
dp'1TOI. nOIEi &6vLJiw; TTavTo&x1TOS,
O p~ OTtpo: 5t ouao EVOvlliw;. lilo 1(0\
01 LJ!v 'fTaiSs \i6vuOn:po', 01 51\
YEPOV1"ES 5ucrlluIJOTEPOI. 01 LJV yap
6EP1ol01, ot 5i y;vxpoi "1"0 yap y i'\pas
l(Q"Ta'f'U~is "1"15.
O'VIoIj30IVl:I 5~ O~Ev
wa6al ~~olq)Vll~ \rno TI "I"(;w tl('f6s
OlTIWV, wS 1(0.\ 1TOpa lJIvalV "l"a
1TVpwetVTO, olov CtvepaKa v5crros mlXveivros. 5u.) 1(0.1 b< I1ffiflS EVIOI tau"l"OVs 51a:(pWVTOI' 1) yap erno "1"00
olvov OtPIJ.OT'1~ ~TTdactK'Tb;: lO"TIV, lis
O!3EVllUl.\t,l'1S avlll3aivcl TO 'fTCx60s. 1(0\
LJETa TO 6:q:opoSlalO oi 'fTMiO"TOI &evLJOTE?OI y lvolITal, 0001 51: 'mplTTWlJa
no}.v 'fTpOIEVTal I.\E"I"a "l"OU CTTTp..,crrOS,
OVTOI Ii9v..,OTEPOI l(ovq:oi30VTai yap
1Tl PlTTW~crr6s it: I(ai tTVEVlJcrros Ka\
6pLJOU VTfEp~Ai'is. b:ivol St a6uu6npol 1ToA)'6KI~' KCX1'roMovral yap
af po5LOIOaaVTtS 5La "1"0 "l"WV Il(avWv Tt
aq>alpE6ijval' 5'1}.ot 51: "l"oU-ro "1"0 1.11'1
1TO}.}.i)V TIlV Crnoppoilll ytyOvf:VOL.
WS ovv ~v 1<<;lMoi<{) !mTv, 51a IJ. ~V"l"O
avw..,aAov elvoLTftv 5wollIV TIis I.\v"olvllS xoMs Cxvwl.\aAol etalV 01 lJEi.ayXOAIKO!' Kai yap ~pO: aq>65pa

[ I. I.

When the mixture dominated


by black bile is colder it gives
rise, as has already been remarked, to despondency of
various kinds, but when it is
hotter, to states of cheerfulness.
Hence children are more cheerful and the old more despondent,
the former being hot and the
latter cold; for old age is a
process of cooling. Sometimes
the heat is extinguished suddenly from external causes,
juSt as red-hot 'o bjects being
quenched against their natural
tendency (i.e. artificially) , for
example, coal when water is
poured on. Hence men ' sometimes commit suicide after
drunkenness; for the heat of the
wine is introduced from outside,
and when it is quencbed suddenly this condition is set up.
Also after sexual intercourse
most men become despondent;
those however who emit abundant secretion with the semen
become more cheerful, for they
are relieved of superfluou s
liquid, of air, and of excessive
heat.
But the others often
become rather desJX>ndent, for
they become cooled by the sexual act, because they lose necessary constituents, as is shown by
the fact that the amount of fluid
emitted is not great .
To sum up: The action of
black bile being variable, melancholies are variable, for the
black bile becomes very hot and

2}

THE NOTION OF M.ELANCHOLV: PROBLEM XXX , I

yiV"TQI 1(0\ 6Epl1n. 5 ux 51: TO 'fJ6cm010s


~l val (Tj6olf01Ov yap TO 6PIlOV Kai
't"X,pOv 1la.1uO"T0 "l"WV tv ill1tv to'Tlv)

W(TTfEP /) 01\105 'Tfi.Elc.w 1(0\ v,,6:nc.>v


KEpowV\lE\I05 "l"i;> a W1J(X'T1 'frOid '"f0
liSos 1fOloVs TI~ ill1Cis. 6pq.w 5!
~VilQ"TIKa, Kol6 oTvos I(a\ ilv"OIVQ
xoAl\. mel 5' lO"T1 Ka\ Mp<rTOV dval
TT'lv avc.>llaAlav Kat kaA~ 1TW; ~XE1V,
Kal Onov 6d 6EplJan:pav d val -rl\v
516:6eo1v Ka[ lfO:AIV 't"X,pclv fa "l"oVvav'"flov 8 10: "1"0 VmpjklA~v lx~lV, TfEpI"l"Tol ~v dal If(Xvn:s 01 1JU.cry){OAll(oi,
oV 816: vOOov (5t),{~1 &J.J..6: SI6: 1JIW1V.

(a)

5~

add. Richards.

29

very cold. And as it determines


the character (for heat and cold
are the factors in our bodies
most important for detennining
our character): like wine introduced in a larger or smaller
quantity into the body, it makes
us persons of such and such a
character. And both wine' and
bile contain air. Since it is
JX>ssible for this vaI iable mixture
to be well tempered and well
adjusted in a certain respectthat is to say , to be now in a
warmer and then again a colder
condition, or vice versa, just as
required, owing to its tendency
to extremes-therefore all melancholy persons are out of the
ordinary, not owing to illness, bu t
from their natural constitution .

Black bile-so runs t he argument in the preceding Problem


XXX, I, which has been called Ita monograph on black bilc"is a humour present in every man without necessarily manifesting
itsd f either in a low bodily condition ur ill pt:t;uliarilies of character.
These latter depend rather, either on a temporary and qualitative
alteration of the melancholy humour as caused by digestive
disturbances o. by immoderate heat or cold, or on a constitutional
and quantitative preponderance of the melancholy bumour over
the others. The fi rst generates " melancholic d iseases" (among
them epilepsy, paralysis, depression , phobias, and, if immoderate
heat be the cause, recklessness, ulcers and fren z.y) ; the second
makes' a man a melancholic by nature (I.\~AayxoAII>S: 510: q>VOIV)and here for the first time the difference. present in the theories
of medical writers as a tacit presupposition of which they were
at most only partially aware, was clearly shown and expressed.
Evidently the second possibility did not exclude the first, for it
was obvious that the natural melancholic would be particularly
subject to melancholy diseases, and in a particularly virulent
form. On the other hand, men nonnal by nature-ol TIQ;.).O (could never acquire the qualities proper to the natural melancholic

30

ME LANCHOL V I N ANCIENT PIIYS IOLOGY

[I.

l.

thanks to his habitual disposition . The normal man certainly


was liable to melancholy diseases, but these diseases would then
be merely temporary disturbances with no psychical significance,
having no lasting effect on his mental constitution. The natural
melancholic, however, even when perfectly well, possessed a quite
5pecial " ethos" , which, however it chose to manifest itself, made
him fundamentally and pennanently different from "ordinary"
men ; he was, as it were, normally abnonnal .
This spiritual singularity of the natural melancholic was due
to the fact th at the black bile possessed one quality lacking in
th e other humours, namely that it affected the . disposi tion
(1I9oTro16v) . The basic idea was that there were some substanceswater, milk or honey, for instance-whose absorption into the
body did not influence the condition of t he soul a t all; but there
were others which worked immediately and powerfully upon the
mind and also threw the victim into all sorts of spiritual conditions
which normally were foreign to him. Wine was a good example
of this, and black bile produced comparable effects (an idea often
repeated in later authors).10 Just as wine, according to its
temperature and the amount drunk, produced the most varied
emotional effects, making men cheerful or sad, or garrulous or
tacit um , or raving or apathetic, so black bile too produced the
most varied mental conditions. The main difference from the
effects of wine was t hat the effects of black bile were not always
temporary, but became permanent characteristics wherever the
black bile had a natural ascendancy and was not merely f9;orbidly
chilled or inflamed. " \ Vine then makes a man abnormal (lfEpITT6v) ,
but for a short time only, while nature (that is to say,' in this
case, the melancholy disposition) does so pennanently , for his
whole lifetime." The reason, however, was the sa.me in both
cases- black bile, like wine, was of an airy nature (~ll~),
the proof lying, on the one hand, in the froth of wine ;J on the
other, in the tightly-stretched skin and distended veins of the
melancholic. In this "pneuma" there dwells a singularly stimulating driving-force which sets the whole organism in a state
of tension (6pE~15), strongly affects the mind and tries, above all
in sexual intercourse, literally to "vent itself"; hence both the
aphrodisiac effect of wine and the lack: of sexual restraint, proper,
in the author's view, to t he man of melancholic temperament. 11
.. F ICI NO,

D . lripl.,

, See belo..... p . 34.

I, 5

in

O/Hrt. o",,,i_,

&sla

1 j76, V OL.

nfE N OTl O~ OF lotELAl'CHOLV : PROBLEM XXX, I

2]

31

There was also the very important fact that the black bilc, like
stone or iron , could be powerfully affected by heat and cold.
Naturally cold, it could become immoderately so, as well as
immoderately hot (5 u~ 111 1\ ~~alVa xoM 11\ ep~6-raTOV Kal 'V)(p6TO'TOV
y IVFT(X\). Marsilio Fieino, whose ideas decisively influenced the
notion of melancholy in the Renaissance, was later to say :
Bilis enim atra ferri instar, quando multum ad fogus intenditur, fri g~
ad summum. quando contra ad calidum valde declinat, caler 3d summum.

And as character was primarily determined by heat and col d


(f1 6ottolCw yap 'Tb eEpl1bv Kat I.jIVXpOv \.IaAlO"'Ta 'TWV t v iW1v tOTIV) it was
clear that those men in .....whose bodies black bile played a predominant role were bound to be also mentally " abnonnal" in one
way or another.
Once t his was established, it formed a basis of argumen t .for
the main thesis that all outstanding men were melancholies.
Admittedly only a basis, for to follow the argu ment to t he end
it was necessary to show t hat (and also, in what . cir~umstances)
the " abnonnality " of the melancholics could consist .10 abnormal
faunt. Even in our t ext, t he notion "lfEPITT6c;" (which we ha\'e
t ranslated "abnomlal") is a neut ral conception, imply~ng ~o
more than a deviation from normal conditions or behan our In
one direction or another, so that either a beau tiful or an .u g~ y
face-and even drunkenness-could be called an "abnormalit y .
Only in a context where it is clear that the word is used .. 10 .1
favourable sen ~e (as in the introduction to the Problem. ~o n
ceming philosophers, statesmen, poets and art ists'), or w~I~~e
t he one word " m pl"TTOs"" is opposed to an unworthy charactenstlc
(as in the sentence " lav IJ.h> yap oq>65pa lI'TakOPftS ~ '" i~, s, llh crrxOhlKOi
dOl Alav, lav 5l 1Tc.>S Kpa6CXrI, mpl"T'Tol " ), wou ld wc be . IlI.stl fled III
replacing "abnonnal" by "outstanding" . .The den atlon from
t he nonnal, distinguishing every mclanchohc. docs n~1 of Itself
include a capacity for outstanding intellectual acht.e~el1len ls.
Indeed, the prevalence of black bile-and it does prevad In every
natural melancholic- is directly detrimental to charact.7r and
ability as long as its "anomaly" operates u.nchecked. \\ Ith . ~oo
overwhelming a predominance of black blle. men become :ll~
too melancholy" , but with too small a proportion t~ey ~ re ha.rdl).
distinguishable from the many. If the black bile .IS e n llre~}
cold it produces lethargic weaklings or dull fools (Vw6pOl Ital UWpol).

p . ..9d.
.. FICINO,

D,

II.

l ripl .

I, }

32

MEt.ANCHOLY IN ANCIE NT PHYSIOLOGY

[I.

I,

if cntirc! \ hot it produces mad, lively, erotic, and otherwise


excit able people, who (since the seat of the black bile lies near
the seat of reason) are prone to trances and ecstasies like the

Sib\"Is and soothsayers, or those poets who only produce good


wo;k when in an ecstasy. Really "outstanding" talent, as shown
in object ive achievement, presupposes a double limitation of the
effects emanating from the black bile. The finaJ answer to the
question put at the beginning reads that the amount of melancholy
humou r must be great enough to raise the character above the
average, but not SO great as to generate a melancholy "all t oo
deep" ,63 and t hat it must maintain an average temper~ture,
between "too hot" and "too cold". Then and only then 15 the
melancholic not a freak but a genius; for then and only then,
as the admirable conclusion runs, is it " possible that this anomalous
admixt ure is well at tempered and in a certain senSe well adjusted"
(hni S' O'"TI ",aj EV!I;pcrrov Elval nlv &:vWV-aAlctV Kai lCaAW$ "TTWS fxElv) . It
was not alwavs easy, however, for Aristotle's followers to draw the
line between nat ural melancholy and melancholy sickness, for it
need hard Iv be said that even a well-attempered melancholy was
constantly in danger of turning into an actual ~ess, either
through a temporary increase in the quantity of bile already
present, or above all through the influence of heat or cold on the
temperature of the bile. Even the gifted melancholic walked .a.
narrow path between two abysses; it was expressly stated that If
he did not take care he would easily fall into melancholy sickness,
would be afflicted with overwhelming depression (ailvllial hrxvpcd)
and fits of terror or else of recklessness.
Melancholy, then, within the limits of "natural melancholy"
(v-v,ayxo},ia Su;x qlvow) could be regarded in two ways, each with a
double aspect. One concerned the fonnation of character, ~
that the " humor melancholicus", if permanently present III
abnormal quantity or condition, produced exaggerated types of
one sort or another, known as freaks or "[""onol". The other
concerned the outlining of particular states of mind in that the
"lmmor meJancholicus", if temporarily present in abnormal
qua.ntity or condition, could plunge people who in themselves
were not pathological cases into either illness or at least unhealthy
.. Fieino even givu the lormula. for the "!)est combination in figures: 8 put.!! b lood, 7parts yellow bile, 2 put. black bile (De u. " 'pl ., I , 05). Ac;aIPPA OJ' NETTa5HEUI (D' ouvltll
pAUosqpllili. II, 7.1,l n 11. ~~lii At,ipptu.b Ndtuhey ... ot-. Lyons [11 s.d . [16JoJ), p . 7.47,
makes the propor tion 01 black bile in
" homo !lanus et bene compositua" even tmaller;

U".

blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile ue in the proportion 8:4:7. :1.

2]

TilE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY: PROBLEM XXX, I

33

moods, hurling them back and forth between creative excitement


gloomy dullness. A penetrating phra.se---coined, it is true,
only in the fifteenth century A.D.-applics to both:
an~

Ad utrumque extremum melancholia vim habet, unitate quadam stabilis


naturae. Quae quidem eJCtremitas ceteris humoribus non contingit."

fi~~eque

Problem XXX, I, whose content Melanchthon described as


a "dulcissima doctrina", and which has seldom been equalled
and still more rarely surpassed in psychological subtlety, was
CQpsidered a genuine Aristotelian work by both Cicero and
Plutarch, who cite it independently of each other.M From this
it is clear ... t least that it bore Aristotle's name even before the
edition of his complete works, which appeared probably not
earlier than the first or second century A.D ," But had it any
right to bear that name ?
It is typically Aristotelian not only to try to show a connexion
between mental and physical processes (as the Hippocrateans had
begun to do)67 but to try to prove it down to the last detail.
The conceptions, too, made use of to prove the case are typically
Aristotelian. There is the notion of heat, which here, as in
Aristotle generally, signifies the foremost dynamic principle of
organic nature and which (an important point) was thought to be
independent of physical substances, so that the same black bile
could as easily become very hot as very cold ; and thanks to this
"thermodynamic ambivaJence" it achieved its effects in the formation of character. 68 Then, too, there is the notion of the " mean"
.. Flcu;o, De II.

trip'.,

I, o5.

.. ClCEIlO, Tuscllt..... , di,Pu41tiOfUS, I, 80: " Aratoteles qllid~ &it omDU ingenioeos
melaneholicoe esse, Ilt ego me tardiorem esse non molesto tenun." Cl. abo SIU<c.!,. De
1r1l"'1"iUiltIk, 11, 10 : "nam . iye Gn.eoo poetae eredimllS 'a1iquaodo et insaoiu illcllndllm 'est'
liVe ~to~ ' f~stn. poeticas foretl compot I lli pepulit', live Aristoteli 'nullum magnu~
iDgeo.oum lme DllIltura dementia.e luit': non pota:t gn.nde a,liqaid et I Uper ceteros loqui nisi
m~ta

mens."

cr. PLVTuCH, Li!, 0/ LyUt.I,d" II, 3: 'AJHInO"ihtr u ~.u~ ;.m<t ".of<oI-~

nw.........,. ...u 'Hp<ao<MolIS", ~.... A~~ ooi.. ~o\r LU.l.


Of.... L)'I8.11der himself was always described by Plutarch

~r, Wr n)~ l:c.o..-pcl:TO..r .....I


./KD{JVr~p<W .;..,." Tj jW.oyx0-\4 ...,.....

as

,...,.u" f""<t.

',' Ct.

E. S. FORST!:R',

""~ lite ldilDrsilip

introduction to VOL.

of w.

VII 0 1 T~, Worh 0/ Amlolu Irluulllud

i",o "8';'"

D . Ron, OdOfd 19z7.

." tf. esp. n.pl 3w.l~"r, chapter 3~, whicb describe. the conditioning of the ;p6"'l0" by a
IlllXture 01 the tour elements (IlipPOCR . VO L. IY, p. 280 sq . Jones). Sec also above, p. 14.
.. Althougb Arebelau, and DiogeQes derived tbe afJoetions from the relationship between
beat and cold, they ltill con,illere(! heal a lld cold as elemental power, bollnd up with matter,
and fiot as mere states of an in itself indifferent 01.\'1, which Aristotle was the first to con~t
with the determining factors,,, a constant "'I4rnoillll"dllm. ct. FIIEDIUCH, op. cit., pp. 134,
IJ1 and 140. n.pl -.z~, t, 7. (LITTd, VI, p . 141.) b puticularly informa.tive, lor it tells
UI that ilIneuetl may come';"'; TOG BfPlU'G v..P&f'I'oIJ.~G""1 ...u ...w .;.w..rJ v.~r;
oo1y the essentially warm ca.D become In(H"dinatoly hot, and the etaentially cold inordina~IJ
cold. For Rulla's eveD. more mataialistie conception, lee below, p. 057. (text) .

MELANCHOLY I N ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY


[ I. I.
34
(llEoin-rls), which determines the ideal melancholic in the same way
as it det ermines the ideal mental and physical performance in the
genuine Aristotelian writings. For even if (say) courage seems
to be the mean between cowardice and recklessness, it is not a
fixed point between two other fixed points, but a varying equilibrium between two vital, constantly opposed forces, which is
preserved not by a weakening of the opposed energies but by
their controlled interaction. Finally, also the notion of ;"cp08p6TrJ~
which is used t o characterise the melancholic is typically
Aristotelian.~9

The constant high tension of the melancholic's spirit1;Jal ]ife,


which originated from the body and was therefore independent
the will, made it as impossible for him to act reasonably as it
was for the choleric; except that in the latter case it was rashness
(Taxvnis) which prevented calm reflection, in the former, ,vehemence (O'~p6rr)s), Melancholies followed their fancy entire~y , were
uncontrolled in every respect,7o and were driven by ungo~e mable
lust .71 (Plat o had already classed the melancholic with the lover
and the drunkard- a connexion which may have inspired the
comparison, brill iantly traced in t he Problem, of black bile with
wine,) They were greedy,~ and had no command over their
memory, which refused to recall things when wanted, only to
bring them to mind later and unseasonably.73 All t hese weaknesses, to which Problem X I, 38, adds stuttering (supposed to
result from speech lagging behind thought),74 came from the immoderate initability of their physical constitut ion, so that neither

6\.

.. D , diuiMliMl' In>' "'... "'..... I[ (161 b .5): &.i r? ~ .....J.. I ..."".;."", ..,;.,..;.,. ..
..:...,....r ,.' idr- "~f, Cf. EU, Nir. . ".54 b II: ,,;, U fU,\.,.Y.~o.\..'ol '-;. +M- 1 Uo..... .
iH~las. ..... .,., T9 ...z,." &."",,*,...- 5<4 ...4., &i .... ..pO"' ...u ...1 dt>i/<. ~
'IC>'O .....
u ~ '\~." .... J....".,.i4 ....1.. "'?;Ow.. , ,;." d ~ ....2 3ui n;;'" .....IA1U7TOI ....I ~it.\o. ,.l-.".,

.un..

ol

.. ' 4. Nie. , I 1S0 b 2S : ,.4.\......" J' ol ohif .... ljUAayp.\.tn>l.,.,p. .."....n"ij ........,,{... lu!. u,.. .... o1.
,.~. y4p 50 .. n).. nxu"ir", "I If 3ui nj. af<>SpG"fT" DOl .......,.1.. 0 ...... T9 .\&yo., 50 .. ....I "-ADo..9>rr.....l

or.... "tfl "'''''GII~,


71 Cf. P , obh ..." I V.)o (880 a). where t he melanehQlic's "libido" is attributed. just as in
P'oOiema XXX, I, 10 an exeeSll ot"pneuma", This view, 100, is based on gen uinely Aristotelia n presuppositlQ ns: ct, D, 1,..u,.liQ"t ""I..."I'.. m, 7,8 a 9, and elsewhere,

n D, ' '''''"0 e/ vitili", III (1S7 a 29).

.. D, _mori" .I'-'''''..iu,.. to'",

II

(4.5) a 19).

~ &or. nI Tij """,.. "", ~i>o ""xl_ .... ,...Ara~ rl..,.l


J.......
y4p .; &"...) "' ~ Myf. TIjf J.,.dp(",r """'ir . , ....., ... T"'~ U ....... ~. This
elose agree men t with the pas$age from P$eudo-H ippocrates's Eftidem. /ibn, II , S, I, cited Qn
p. IS (text) wu aJready obKrved by Fa" .. t; PosCHItHRIRnRR, "Die naturwiue~a fllicben
Schriften des Aristotelea in ihnm Verh.l.ltnis EU deu Buehem der Hippokrat bchen Sa,mmh.n s",
in p".,p" ...... d&r
Slwdilfl,.Hslall no BaMber" 1887, p, 63.

.. to ... d III ~_ ,..AaYk",\..,IIl;

It!>'",,,,,

.,1.

:oj

THE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY: PROBLEM XXX, I

35

could love give them lasting satisfa ction nor gluttony alter their
congenital leanness, In both cases they sought enj oyment not for
its own sake but simply as a necessary protection against an
organic failin g; for just as t heir sexual craving came from excessive
t ension, so did their greed spring from a metabolic deficiencythe latter having the virtue of protecting them from normal
after-lunch sleepiness." The melancholic's capricious memory,"
however, was the effect of another peculiarity derived from his
vehemence, which was to prepare the way for the concept ion
of the melancholic as a man of genius, This peculiarity lay in
his capacity to react just as easily and violently to all physical
and psychical influences-especia1ly to visual images-as the
melancholy humour in Problem XXX, I, reacted to heat and
cold, If the melancholic was more liable than other men to be
seized with a recollection too late or unseasonably. after he had
tried and failed to conjure it up by an effort of will, it was due
to the very fact that this exertion of his memory had produced
in him mental pictures or images (!pavTClO'l.1crTO') which affected
his mind more strongly and were more compelling than was the
case wit h other people; a nd this agitated and crowded memory,
once it had been awakened , could as little be arrested in its
automatic course as an archer could recall an arrow once shot, n
It would seem that the expression axohOV&rrnKoi Tfj !pCIvmO'i9' is
meant to characterise this exaggerated irritability of the ""is
7f D~ """10(1 II "itiU" , III ('U 7 a 2.9).
Thill IndiBerenu to $lee p ...u later re<:koned as One
of the fe ... favourable tn.its ill tlIe melanc;hol y dispositinn-" Hi vigilant studiis, neC men.
ell dedita. somno." In view o f .n thill, Aristotle as a moralist cannot reall y condemn the
mehu>eholie'$ haek 0 1 control, for .inee bis Qrg-anie constitution excl udes Ihe prulJb,h ~y QI
Iree win. he is monal1y Ies" to be blamed (and, in fac t. easier 10 Cll re sinCe the t reument IS
purely medical) than lboae who ruolve to do evil. or those who ha"e [he ca paci t y tQ make
good r esoill tions but lack the Itrengtb to k.eep them . FQr th e latter can oo"ttol them se\vu
more ea.sily in tbe AllIe way as: penon who !rno..... he IS SQing to be tidded can take b,mself
in haud (EIII, Ni", IJ SO b ,S aqq,. esp , IlS2. 19 and 1132 hn), The passage in the MaG""
M""AliD (n, 1'03 b 7 8Qq.) wblch treats the melancholic's lack of self-control lUI more bla meworthy, on the groulld tha t, heillg by nature. cold, he is uncontrolled only from a eemun
weakness (~,...j n s), il in contradiction with all other pusages. and ~" be expla ,ned ,as
a mistaken attempt to ret()ndle Ar ittotle' l nQ tionl with the Simple doctune of the qU<lllt'es
h eld by sebool medidne. I n any cue it might be arglled that the author of the .If''8l11'
MorAli" falls into many errors at lOOn at he attemptll to go forw ard On his o,,'n: and the
eontradiction just pointed out it freJh evidence that, despite H. von Arnlm's iltl empt to
reseue it, the work should be reguded more or less as an abridgment of the twO Ar IS totelian
EIl.Su. Cl. E, I{App in C ........... , VOl III (19a7), pp . 19 sqq., and 73 sqq.

In later literature, especiall y after a eonnellion b&d been ntahlished between temperaments and plan~tlI, the "constant" Saturn became patron of melanchQlics, and the latte r
..ere thougb t to have particularly good memories.
.. D. MnPIaria ., r.",i .. i lcnoli". II , 1S)" f 8 sqq.

;\IE LANCHOL Y IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[ I. I.

imaginativa", wh ich was later believed to produce hallucinations,


or to enhance the power of visual imagination.78 It was this
facultv which sent the melancholic true dreams, as described in
the E;,demhm EUdes,'" and which even enabled him to prophesy
the future with astonishing accuracy (EVaToxol dOw) . Just by
virtue of the vehemence of his imagination the melancholic was
in a position- in fact he was bound- to associate every given
idea with the next, and becam e like those "possessed ones"
(!VlJavEis) who continually wrote and recited songs like those
composed by Philainisso; it was no coincidence that later the
Arabic expression fo r "black" or "melancholic" became
synonymous with " passion".81
);eyertheiess, a fundamental contradiction exists between the
picture of the melancholic as a complete and expressive whole,
shown in Problem XXX , I, and t hat which we can piece together,
mosaic-wise, from statements made by Aristotle elsewhcre.
(Albertus )lagnus. in the chapter of his Ethics in which he collected
all the Aristotelian statements concerning the melancholic, showed
this in a significant "quamvis-tamen" .82) Elsewhere, melancholy
TO For the mOTbid perversions 01 th e "vii im aginativa," wbich, o f cou rse. are best de$Cribed
in medical literature. d . pp. 41 . .so, .s.s, 9] . The notion of a melancbolic as a man with
cuhanced POWCl"I of inward vision occ urs in the thirteenth~"tvry Kbolastics, .. nd we shall
deal with this be low in grea ter dewl : tee pp. 337 IIqq. (text).
"Eth. '14 . VIII, 2 1' 248 a 40).
" D, d'vi"atio ..~
10.......... , II, 46 4 a ]2 sqq. The traditional tex t haa Toi clIoMuylSou
..<nil''' ..... but the Old eme.ndation 11>1A<u~ is ull viu ..... y right, &I the eant.".t "1'1'1;.,. to
poems treatin g of love, the characteristic nf these poems beill! the .... y they dn.ggt<l in 8VU}'
p<mihle u wciiuion; and this migbt well be said of the WOTks o j the notorious P hilai nis o f
Leucad ia.
" Arabi c SI",do:l'" _ bl ack (fe m.); Arabi c saU<Uwi al-mi.at _ black by i.dm i:dure, melancboly: T urkish and Persian s.UJ!lIJ _ passion (i nfOTmation kindly s upplied by D r. BjOrkmann).

p,.

.. EO.." . VII . 2 . .s (B. AI~.ti Ma,,,i o/,"a 0 ..... "". ed. A. Borgnet, Paris 1890-99, VOL. VU,
p . .s l l ). The young m&n u well u the old multi. laborat defectibu." . the youlll because
he w;utes too m ucb energy , the old because 'i n se.nectute, q ua.e frigida et sicca est ad mod um
melancho!illt,', he, like a building fallen into rui n!, Is In constan t need of rep,a;r ; 'Ne<:: hoc
dicimu s tanturn de melancholici s melanchol ia inndun.li, quae com busta cholera est et nign,
sed de mclancholicis gene ... litet. QtI<IMvis erum melanchoLici de melancholia aceldeutali ex
ae\1mine humoru morsa babeant eorpon., ta,,"11 dicit Amtoteles in Probiematibul. quod
omncs hi, qui fuerunt heroicaru m virtutu m, Hector e t Priamus et alii. in hac melancholia
laborabant : co quod b aec melancholia rube; vini, q \1od vaponnum eat, babet similitud inem :
et quia gra.vitatem habet, constantiam facit; quia vern vapocon, virtut em erigit ad
operation em . Melancholia enim natun.lis. ut dicit Galenus, l rigida est et licx:a. P er
!rigiditatem abscidens motllm et otVaporatioueJD, per l1ecitatem autem gravitate propria
decldi t ; propteT quod Itomachul mel&n<:bolicorum e.t II<:Dnm l uperlu. V&CuUI est, omlli
evaporation e destitutus. et semper luam se.ntien. in aui tioneJD ex nutrimen ti defect u; propter
quod continue cibum desi deraut . . .. Cuius signum est. q\100 tales m ultum et eontinu e
come<lunt. multl stercoria luot et puv i nutrimenti. IIppet uot conti nue et lupplena defect\1m
et expellens tristitiam, quae " t e:o: de lectu . Ddectatio a utun !Ii fortis lit, fadt u puislonem.
l ive ilia delectatio sit con~a slve etiam con~nieDs q"uc umque. Vehemena enim

2]

37
is treatcd throughout as a pathological abnormality always
needing medical aid, with virtues that are merely the reverse
side of its failings (true dreams. for instance, come not from
good SCIl5C---qlpOvncJls- but, to put it in modem language, from
the unchecked activity of t he " unconscious") . The Problem,
however, considers a melancholy disposition essential for just
those achievements which require conscious aim and deliberate
action- those in fact which correspond to the essentially
intellectual virtues, that is to say achievements in the realm of
art, poetry, philosophy or politics. Such a conception is not
"un-Aristotelian" , but to a certain extent it does go beyond
Aristotle's own range of interests. In the Parva naturalia it is
t he physiologist who speaks, for whom the " abnormal" means
merely a " modus deficiens"; in the Et.hics the speaker is the
moralist, who considers the individual in his relation to the
community, and who to that exten t sees the existence and
behaviour of men from the standpoint of decorum and responsibility.. In both cases t he melancholic is conceived as "melancholic
t hrough illness", whose physical suffering results either in quite .
clear,deviations from the normal, or in a smaller degree of moral
responsibility. The author of Problell\ XXX, I, however, sets
himself the task of doing justice to a type of character which
evades judgement from the medical as well as from the moral
point of view- the " exceptionaJ " type (mprrrb;:).
This concept really denoted the fatal lack of moderation
characteristic of the heroes and victims in the great tragedies,
shown in E lectra's grief83 or Antigone's work of charity; these
seemed insolent and pointless to the reasonable Ismene or the
rigidly autocratic Creon, but they meant the fulfilment of a
higher moral law to poet and audience." The epit het "exceptional" carried a certain sinister pathos because of the suspicion of
Vj3pls which any attempted departure from the recognised human
nonn seemed to imply. To this popular religious feeling Aristotle
alludes in t he beginning of t he MuaPhysicSJ5: "If there is
THE NOT ION OF MELANCUOL Y: PROBLEM XXX, I

delectatio in quoc umqu e sit. ad lie trabit an imam, ~t non si nit ave:rte:re tristitias, qu a~ ex
allis contilli unt deloctibus. Propter hoc ergo, q uod tam teoes q uam juvenes I UpeTabu nd&ntiu pnJSCquun t ur delectation 11m, .6URt inumperati et pravi: quia inunlperatu! eiru tales
est delectatiooes: ' The derivation from Aristotle is obvious alDlO5t ~verywhere.
oJ SoPHOCUIS, E k a rll line 1.5.s.
.. AIItig""" linea 68, 780. Whell Cu()D. calls Antigo<l~'1 burial of her b rother .0"". ,,~~
it Includ es the notio\lS both of 'excen (because the act is contrary to woman. nature Or a
citiun's duty) and 0 1 " I u pertlulty" (d. the frequen Uy quoted medica.l espreuion .._....,.., .... ).
Mdllphyn", ' . '1 (<)82 b 32 IIqq .).

MELANCHOLY IX ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[ I. I.

something in what the poets say and the godhead is by nature


jealous,. then all exceptional (outstanding) men are boun!:I to be
unfortunate."
Again, in passages where Aristotle uses his favourite met hod
of analysing popular assumptions in order to arrive at a clearer
distinction between ethical tenns, the word "lTfPITI6v" is sometimes
used in the colloquial sense, in which it had become one of the
slightly ambiguous expressions of exaggerated admiration used
by the philistine concerning things which are above his head and
therefore suspect. 86 But if this concept eventually came to have
a mainly positive connota.tion, and the "mean" sank to denote
"med iocrity", this deVelopment can aft er all be traced back to
Aristotle, who extended the notion of the " exceptional" beyond
the realm of emotion and action, and used it in such a way as to
cover rational behaviour and even that highest of human achieve
ments, the contemplative thought of the philosopher.
In his Ethics the "greatness of soul" (IJEyaAO\f'VXla) of the
outstanding man is considered as a value over and ab(}ve the
simple equilibrium of forces achieved by lesser natures. The
magnanimous is described as "in respect to greatness an ~xtreme ,
in respect to (right) proportion a mean".87
With the same feeling for greatness as an absolute value, the
contemplation of the First Principles, which is the Object. of the
philosopher, is characterised as a mprrr6v in the popular as well
as the more profound sense. For it does not only go beyond
any knowledge of immediately utilitarian or even mo(al and
political value,ss but, being an end in itself, might be thought
to transcend human nature and to be a privilege of the gods.
But it is just because of the "transcending" value of this Wisdom
that Aristotle, rejecting the old superstition of the jealous deity,
claims it to be the true aim and pedect felicity of. man. ~.
Whoever he was, the author of Problem XXX, I, t ried to
understand and to a certain extent to justify the man who was
Cf. e.g. Eth. Nu., Vl (1141 b 6): "Therefore they 'lily that Anaxagoras. Thales and men
like that are wise, but not sensible. when it appear-s that they do not kn ow wbat is useful to
themselves, and they say that [these men) know out-of.theway_things, things wonderful.
difficult and marvellous. but useless".
.. Or: absolutely speaking an extreme, relatively a mean' (EtA. Ni,., IV, 7, 1 U 3 b 13:
..q, p~. ",...,le I.><por, .,..;-. u ":'s a ",...,,). The resemhlance of tb .. thought to the pb...... in
the Problem, "since it is po$Sible fOT an abnormal admixture to be well attempered .. ," is
striking.
.. Cf. Politics, V iii. 2 (1337 a 42): . disciplines useful in life or those tending to virtu/! or
to the 11"........
0 Mtklphysics, I, 2 (983 a 2 sqq.): EI". Nk, :or, 7 (1177 b 20 sqq.).

2}

THE NOTlO:-l' OF MELANCHOLY: PROBLEM XXX , J

39
great because his passions were more violent than those of ordinary
men and because he was strong enough, in spite of this, to achieve
a balance out of excess ; not only Ajax and Bellerophon, but
Plato and Socrates belonged to this t ype. And so the Problem
links up \\>;th genuine Aristotelian themes. The notions of creative
frenzy and of enthusiasm were not unacceptable to t he young
Aristotle,OO nor did he abandon them in the course of his develop
ment; they remained operative in his thought and feelings, though
t hey were not always explicitly stated. For the same thinker who
sometimes used the words 1J00I1K6s and !VaOVO"lOO"T1KO$ in an entirely
derogatory sense91 was also the man who described the art of
poetry itself as inspired,n and who said in the Poetics93 tha t,
because t he poet must have a clear picture of every moment of the
drama and must in himself directly experience aU the emotions
experienced by his heroes, he must eit her be a talen ted man
(eV'l'vtis) or inspired by frenzy, for the one has an impressionable
(EVrrAaO"TOS) nature, the other is ecstatic.94
.. Cf. WERNER J "EGER, ArislC1lit, Oxford 1934, passim.
Here the notion of "~';a is
tOQ much considered as having been taken over from Plato and as ha vi ng become less imporla l\t
to Aristotle as he became mOTe independent ; whereas in our opinion it is something q uite
conS(>nant with Aristotelian thought. which in tbe coun;e of his developme nt was no: SO muc h
pushed aside as assimilated. and Ihu~, of course. modified .
" See for instance Eth. Eud., 1130 a 31: ,.~ ",11M.

.. Rhetoric.

11!, 7 (1408 b

,;.ua ,.,,'"''''.;.

19).

.. Poetics. 17 (14SSa 33): ct. J. V"HL.El< , Dt ilnlge .." rlristoltles Powl!, new ed n . l'r~ ?a,~ ,J
(from Sit,"Nt.b.n~"'. du AA"dc"". d,r lI' i... " ,<;"./,'~. P~ ,i .!" "
J<I . '.Il ..... ienna ,866. p. ' 29). The ~~'-"1' is the man equipP"d with 'n r~ll~ t"al g ' I:~ h"
nature (the opposit e of )'<Y"p ....a,.l.o.). especially he who knows and chooses t ru t h t ~ar..' ~ "I
his native powers of judgement (th . N ic. , tll4 b 7, Tol"'~. 163 b 13). and may :lk rdo:~
be described as w.rM...,.OS (pliant. easily sympathet ic to olher peoples idea;;. \ahl er. ad
othe";' read if"""""''''''' instead of ''',,",''TIHo/. but pai ri ng ~.: '-"1< with <.i"h O"Tol and ,.nl ~~ ;
with '~a/rt,,, ol would not make such good u nsc. sin<;e judgeme nt app lies 10 tne ,,'-<f,'~ 5
mu ch sooner than to the p"",,,,,x. Ct. also the Arabi<; text, J"ROSL"lS TKA1:5C H . it,.
~Tabisch Uebersdnmg de~ Pottik des A t istoftln. I (A kad, ..." dIT lI'is.u " s~h~fl.r. '" Wi." .
PMI.-kist. KI., Kom ... iui()fl fu ~ <lie HlPau!cabe de, ",,,bische,, A,ulotd ... /J. b.rul",,,so: )
Vienna 1928, pp. 2S0 &qq.
NThe fragment from SltXTUS EltIf'IRICUS, AaVtT$l1! doS,~~titos. Ut, 2 0-~ 2 . (.hislote!;s Fyag .
"'tnta, ed. V. Rose, frag. 10) is important for Aristotles attitude to enthusiasm and prophec )'.
We cannot say whetber Aristotle bimulf was a melancholie. (If he was, it would of COu rSe
be a very ;Uurninating dtcum stance with regard to the presuppositions of Proble m XXX,I. I
In any case it is c urious that a malicious satire should give a list of the very traits which
appear in the genuine writings of Arist<.>tle as signs of th e melancholic :
l.>y R . S<;h""n ... Leipzig '914

o....."Os, ~a"pk. TPIW.\.k'; r.......,...pi"1<,/ A.;'Y"D<, "''''''''''''''''''1', "."ua~,,;< <TL""'1"~'os .


(An slott/;s Fnq >'llenlD.. ed. V. Rose, p. 1<'>, at the end of a short hie of Arl~tolle whiCh al.o
names some of the tTaiu here ridiculed.) On the otber hand. there is no dOllbt tha t the
conception of the melancholic set forth in Problem XXX,I was realised in the persolls of
olkt~ great philosophers.
For Heraclitus, ~ below p .p : and Socrates is <;on\"incincly
described as completely "uncontrolled", irascible and sensual by nature, attaining the Slalu
of a philosopher only by deliberate effort .

"IELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[I.

I.

Admittedly Aristotle could not concede this frenzy to be


"god like" in the sense that it could be traced back to a. non-natural
oriein One might say that he would have accepted It only when
It l~ad lost its transcendental character, and when it had acquired
legitimate status by being drawn into the natural nexus of cause
and effect.
This indeed was precisely the task undertaken by Problem
XXX, 1. The mythical notion of frenzy was replaced by the
scie ntific notion of melancholy, a task made the easier as "melancholic" and "mad"-in the purely pathological sense-had long
been sy nonymous, and as t he peculiar gift of true dreams and
proph ecies belonging to the diseased melancholic corresponded to
the Pla tonic eq uat ion of " mant ic" and "manic" .
In this way the notion of melancholy acquired in its turn a
new and positive content , and thanks to this it was pOssible at
once to recognise and to explain the phenomenon of the "man
of genius" . Plato described how an abnormal condition :which
when seen from without looked like madness and made a deep
thinker appea r a fool in the eyes of t he world':; might be the
source of all great intellectual achievements; and only this idea
could have enabled a type of mind more scientific than metaphysical to conceive the notion that even the dread melancholy
cou ld furnish its victims with gifts of the spirit surpassing reason,
Only the distinction between divine frenzy and frenzy as a human
disease t hat is established in the Phaelirus'i'd could have made
possible the differentiation between natural and pathological
melancholy (IJEAayxohla /510: ,Vow'; 610: \/000\/) set forth in P roblem
XXX , 1. But only the Aristotelian notion of matter coupled
with the Arist otelian theory of heat made it possible to bring
systematic order into' the many (orms of "vehemence" ascribed
t o the melancholic in the clear terms of a theory of opposites;
only t he Arist otelian conception of the "mean" made it possible
to conceive an effective equilibrium between the poles of t his
antit hesis, a "eucrasia within an anomaly" which justified the
apparently paradoxical statement that only the abnormal was
great. The miracle of the man of genius remained; but it was
conceived (thereby perhaps becoming even more miraculous) no
longer as an irruption o( mythical forces into reality, but as nature
.. A Gennan au thor of the six teeoth eentury. JOH.-.NI'U:S AnauH U' MULlClIIUIi,
W1.)rd "~hellig " in his tntnalatlon of Flcioo, Strassburg, about 1505 (quoted p . 282) .
"

Pllud~$.

2654,

u~

the

2]

THE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY : PROBLEM

xxx,

41

surpassing herseU by following her own immanent laws. making


man, though necessarily very seldom, a superman.
Problem XXX, I, stands therefore at a point in t he history
of thought where Platonism and Aristotelianism interpenetrate
and 'balance one another. The conception of frenzy as the sole
basi:s for the highest creative gifts was Platonic. The attempt
to bring this recognised mysterious relationship between genius
and madness, which Plato had expressed only in a myth. into the
bright light of rational science was Aristotelian. as was likewise
the attempt to resolve the contradictions between t he world of
physical Objects and the world of ideas by a new interpret ation
of nature. This union led to a shift of values through which the
"many" were equated with t he "average", and which stressed the
emotional "Be different! " rather than the ethical "Be virtuous !'"
and this SUbj ectivism is characteristically hellenistic- which
perhaps accounts for its peculiarly modern flavou r. Divine frenzy
came to be regarded as a sensibility of soul, and a man's spiritual
greatness was. measured by his capacity for experience and, above
all. for suffenng . In fine. t he conception of Problem XXX I
points to Theophrastus, the philosopher who was the first to writ~

a whole book on melancholy, and who said of Heraclitus that


owing to melancholy he left most of his work' unfinished or lost
himself in contradictions. 97
For the first time the dark source of geniUS-already implicit
in the word "mel~choly"-was uncovered. Plato's divine frenzy
,;as the recollt:clloll of an otherworldly realm of supracelestial
ltght. now recaptured only in moments of ecstasy: in Peripatetic
thought melancholy was a form of experience in which light was
a mere c~rrelati ve of darkness. and in which the way t o the light,
as la,t er hmes understood. was exposed t o daemonic perils.98

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TIlE NOTION OF MELANCHOLY AFTER


TllE PERI PATETICS

It wks only natural that this conception shou1d not have been .
capab~e at once of satisfactory development; a true understanding
of ~roblem XXX, I, . c.ould not begin to emerge until something
which was here antICIpated had become a reality for men's
.. [hOG. /O u t.... .. ~TIU ', LillU of llu I>Aiklfl1/>Iwr" v, 2, -H alId IX, I , 6. H . Usener', AouoJu; 11I
n~Jt"'~ (Kl. Schrifteo I, 54), uipzi, 1912- 14. tra(:es the whole Problem back to

TbeopbrastU$.

See IlIo above. p . :I), note 57.


.. See:t>elow, pp. 2,50 Iqq. (tex t ).

MELANCHOLY I N ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[I.

l.

selfconsciousness, namely, the phenomenon of "genius". One may


say that the Italian Renaissance of the fifteenth century was the
first age that grasped the full significance of the Problem. (It
was no sooner grasped than transformed.) Ancient writers record
its main thesis, that all great men are melancholics, with either
a certain remote astonishment" or else with frank irony,IOO but
in any case with dwindling sympathy for the tragic anomaly of
the out standing man hurled back and forth between exaltation
and ovenvhelming depression. Lost too was the basis of this
sympathy, the manner of regarding the melancholy humour itscU
like a highly sensit ive precisio!l instrument which cduld be
thrown out of equilibrium by any outside or inner influence.
According to a doctrine of elements and qualities which took no
account of the "thcrmodynamic ambivalence", the black bile was
a cold, dry, earthy substancetol and nothing more.
Apart from the complex of symptoms described in Problem
XXX, I, and in the corpus of indubitably Aristotelian writings,
all that survived of the new conception was a feeling that there
was some special connexion between me1ancholy and the
intellectual life; and that a sharp distinction must be drawn
between what was "natural" and what was "diseased", which
led to the conclusion that the humOUTS, envisaged in terms of
"natural" predominance, also deterrnined a man's mental condition . Both thoughts were pregnant enough, the first for the
further deve10pment of the notion of pathological melancholy, the
second for the creation of a type of character- an idea which,
before the end of antiquity, was to merge with the doctrine
of the four temperaments as four types of disposition.

3]

MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PER1PATETICS

43

the latter mainly by Rufus of Ephesus (c. A. D . 2 00) , who played


as great a part in the history of the medical conception of
me1ancholy as the author of Problem XXX, I, in the history
of the philosophical and psychological conception of genius.
(i) The Stoic View
The Stoics affirmed that a wise man can never be overta ken
by madness because the notions of wisdom and madness w~ re
mutually exclusive-so much so that anyone who was not Wlse
could be described as "a madman" ( llahn:05al olloiws 1!aVTC~. OoOL
lIt) u<>qlOI) .I02 But though the Wise Man of the Stoics was safe from
mania he could. curious1y enough, be occasionally onrtaken by
melancholy. "The Wise Man cannot become mad. but he may
occasionally be subject to delusions owing to melancholy .or
delirium."I03 He could even lose his virtue, which the StOICS
normally considered imperishable: according to Diogenes Laertiu s.
Chrysippus declared that the Sage could forfeit his e xcc \l e n ~e
through me1ancholylllo&; and that was apparcntly the usual Sto."
teaching. Cicero also adopted it, declaring with a certam
patriotic pride that the Latin word " furor" (as he transla ted
the Greek "melancholia") was more appropriate because It d i r~ct ly
and clearly described a convulsion of the soul which could not
be gathered from the mere concept of " atrabil iousne5s".'~ The
opponents of Stoic ethics seized on the Sage's c~n cessl~n. to
human weakness with eaSerness an d with a cert3.m m.liLrlnll"i
pleasure.l Ol
What concerns us in the Stoic doctrine is that in it the nOllon
of melancholy reverted to that of pure illness, and a \'ery SC\'ere
one at that, in the pre-Aristotelian sense. Cicero calls It a

(a) Melancholy as an Illn ess

With regard to the further deve10pment of a pathological notion


of melancholy, a distinction must be drawn between the moral
judgment of the philosophers and the purely curative appro~ch
of the physicians. The form er was represented by th e StOICS,
HCICIIlO, loco cit. {el. D. dluillalll1lll, I, 81). PLuTA!.CII. loc. cit .

lee

abo ... e p.

S3, DOto 6,.

' .. AULu, GaLl.l u Noell"," AllitllrN'" tibri 20. XVIII. 7.4: "Cumq\le dij:reui t,Memu
'Non tempestive,' inqu it FavoriDu,. 'hune hominem acQe$Simus. Videtur e?im mihl t.r~
$citote: Inqult. 'tamen intemperiem ~tac.. quae: ,...,\anM~ d1f; ltur non ~rvl.
nee ab ieeti. illsenii. attldere .l.U.I .r... "xes.;.. TO . . . .u... .....v.. ,J,.,..r.a.. et ven tat_
pleTumque fortlt.er d icere. ted retpeCtllm non habere "fT' "...,.6 ,,>In pl.".. ...

,....w........

' . ' See etlp . RUFu, . p. 3.5S. 2 : ,#voh"'" ",02 ~ " """'~...k X""" : .bo Gal en , COm'
mmtaty on the U.pl.--U,.:....III. 40-1 {Corp. ,",d.G". v. Ix. I. p. SI).quoted. fOriD.tance
by Aibertul ~tacnu. : lee above. p . )6. DOte 81.

,.. Sto;t:(W"'" w it ...... fr.I'N IIUI , ~ . 1. AI AUll loI . vo t.. Ill . lrags 658. ~l . ~J , 66$
With fno g. 664 : .a..... r .....:.s6", ... .LUG .on nj. i(l'l~ ril ciOpoCl"''!1 1''''-''' -(I,""
...,.0........., eI. lra g. 66S ( _ C,C O, T."t. D'lp .. I.... .H ): Slole . qui omnn Ins'p,.,nttJ lnunOi
esse dieunt. " Cf. alto frat! . 666 : " Slolcl omne. homin" inu nos er s tul:os esse tl,cun~. c"cep to
sapiente." Ac<::ordinSl y . the . ta terne nt t ha l l ho wite man ca n M,er be ovena;'en b), madneu
is lo~ieal ; wh05Of>ver is ,,~ "~f {In. lple nl) I. a
(;n53n ul ). and as t he "*1 cllnnot

l.,......, ".1....

"n,01S".""f

be po} "ofO~. neither CIIn ho be a " 011" ..".

''' D'OGElfIlS ....... ZItTI \:S. Li~'J o/ '~ ' pMIOlopA, r J, "1 1. 11 8 _

AS

"'R:<I~I (ell ' . 01'. Cit .

vot.. III. lrag. 644 .


,.. I. AI. ARNUI (ed.). op. ci t ., VOL. HI. Iras . 231 : the a...i "llhj. i, pro~bly an add ,!,,,n h~
Diogenes UUtill l, at tho notion oJ Itole virtue eomprilu th 'je .... th at t he Sagt" ,;I n :len'r
be tbe victim of drunken ness.

Twu . di&p . III. S,

:I .

... I. AI. Aunt (ed.).

or. clt . YOt..

III . flUS. :1)8 (el. alto lU ll 2 391.

)!ELA:\ CHQLY I N ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

44

[I.

l.

" mentis ad omnia caecitas", contrasting it with " insania", which

arose from mere dullness and whose victims might still be equal
to managing their lives and affairs moderately well. But on the
other hand. this illness was treated throughout as a negative

pnY ilege or the Sage. Melancholy as a disposition ceased to be


the main requisite for outstanding gifts. but as a disease it
remained the main danger for the outstandingly gifted; it alone
had the right to take away from a man what in the opinion of
the Peripatetics it had had the power to confer. Posidonius
seems to have been the first to acknowledge again the prophetic
gift of the d iseased melancholic, and thence to have rediscovered a
SciClllific basis for the phenomenon of prophecy- so important in
t he eyes of the StoiC. 107 It was this basis to which a mystic
like Iamblichus was bound to take violent exception just because
of its scientific nature .loa

(ii) Asclepiades, Archigeues a,td Soranus


Tn the introduction to his monograph on black bile, Galenus passed in review the older writings on this subject; and in so
doing he seemed , somewhat maliciously, to take exception to
those who had opposed the true doctrine from a spirit of pure
contradiction, particularly those who "called themselves
Erasi stratians, Asclepiadians and Methodics" .109 The common
vice in all these heretics was that, following the example of the
medical school of Cnidus, they had made a more or less decisive
break with the humoralism of Cos; and that in so far as they
concerned themselves at all with melancholy, which Erasistratus
". S~X 1I:S EJoIPIIIICli l. Adw1I.u dOllt!lJliUlS. I. 241. Among true conceits. a di!Jtioct>oo it
drawn between "cau.!eptk". ones. Le. those based on evidellt pe-rceptioDl, I.nd those occurrin,
in a ltate of orJIor. To these latter belo ng the admittedly true, but not "cata.leptk" and
therefore lubjective!y unC('rtain ~""""I,,"," 01 the ~ ..?l(_s "..2 ~s. Along thelle
linC$, which correspond to the notion of the prophetic melancholic contained in the EuUlt!iIJa
EI"i~ rather than to the theory of genius CQotai.ned in Problem XXX.I, there are Itale01enU
such M Cicero', in D, dilliOllJti(l1U. I. 81 (that Aristotle bad credited melancholic. with "allquid
praesagiena atque divin um"), or Plutarch'" who opposed. the prevailing opinion u to the
melan chol ic', true dream~: dreaming a lot. and lm"l! ining a lot. they often hit on tllCl truth
by chancCl (D' 4,j'~I" (1'4.: ..1(1''''''. jO).
10. lA MUL JCHUS, D, "'>'il~.;ii, Ill . a. 1S, ed . G. Parthey, Berlin 18j1, pp. u6 flI.: I S~
Melancholy frenlY belongs to those ecstasies which. like drunkenness Of hydrophobia, degrade
us J.l ~d x<ipo~ ; the true prophetic IrenlY, on the other lund. raises us ~'" TOfJIATIOt'. and is
a p red isposi tion nei tber of the body nor of the soul nor yet of the "natural" man rCliulting
from t he combination o f the two, but i, something entirely supernatural, namely, ?cI ,,-"lei,.'; ?w.. (1<.:;,., ~'''' or. as he MyS elsewhere (ed. cit., p. Joo) eI~ 0';,.. .... .,.,g",. ".pl Ni:r
.....,...". "..9>7,........... Thus he consider. melancholy fre:ru;y in '""'preas contrast to

Ie,.. ,.....-...

... CALlIN (KUHN ), VOL.

P291.

V, p . lOS (_ Corp. _d. Gr. V 4. J.I. P.1 1), printed io partin Rurva.

MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PERIPATETICS

45
himself, according to Galen, "did not dare to do" , they had
defined it in a new manner.
Asclepiades of Bithynia, who came to Rome in 91 B.C. and
became the friend of Cicero and other noble Romans, was the
first to bring Greek medicine into repute on Italian soil uo ; and his
teachings have been transmitted to us mainly by Aulus Cornelius
Cclsus, who flourished under Tiberius. w It is from Celsus's
writings that we first learn of a systematic division of mental
illness into three categories: (I) fren zy ("phrenesis"), which came
on suddenly and was accompanied by fever; (2) the more lasting
and generally feverless "tristitia quam videtur atra bilis
contrahere"; and (3) an absolutely chronic form, which arose
either from a disorder of t he imagination, sometimes sad and
som~times cheerful, or else from a disorder of the understanding.
Thu ~., not merely the second but also the third t ype came
under what in earlier-and again later- authors was described as
"melancholy". This is clear from the fact that it was exemplified
in A'j ax, among others, whom Problem XXX, 1, had explicitly
repr(lsented as a melancholic. Celsus barely mentions symptoms
and causes but confines himself mainly to therapeutic prescriptions'; and in accordance with the general principles of Asclepiades,
the treatment of all these illnesses was based far less on the use
of medicaments and surgeryU2 than on dietary and, most important
of all, on psychological remedies. These remedies were: living in
rooms full of light (as opposed to the old view that darkness was
soothing); avoidance of heavy food; moderation in the drinking
of wine, espedally of strong wines; massage, baths, exercises, and
(if the patient was strong enough) gymnastics; fighting insomnia
(not with medicaments but by gentle rocking to-and-fro, or by
the sound of running water); change of surroundings, and long
journeys U3; especially, strict avoidance of all frightening ideas;
cheering conversation and amusements; gentle admonition;
K. SU DHOI''', KUfltS HIJOIdbud 114' Gndkh/, Ur M.dUi" . Berlin 19H, pp. 93 &qq.
'" A. Coroulii Cds; '114.... , .. pc.su"'. cd. F. Marx (C(lrpus ...tdiC<l ....... Ltui"orun.. VOL. I ,
Leipzig 191 j , pp. 121 sqq.). For this and the following. d . M . WJl.LLMANN. A . Corne/iut
Cehus, eiM Q..elle",mJ"S'"'''''''I, Berlin 191]. pp. 10j sqq., and J. L. HEl liERG. Gthted"IJd
",il, ,, i ... ItlIJssis~",,, AII,r/ult!. Berlin 1917, offprint from AI/BettU;'" Z';/.scArijljiJ., Psyc",,,,, i,,
II.

VOL. LXXXVI.

'" Pres:cribing (among other things) hellebore. proverbi'" in lIDaeDt and modem times ..
an aid to the undenlaDding .
& mc.a ... ot dlatnction Ia typical. : Porphyry says in chapter XI of hla
that be himself WU onte Dear auiclde; PlotiDns, diagnosinc it as arising
~" poAa~ ......., .0..0'" advisW him to travel. and. this saved him.

.u Pracribing tIavelas

L;j, oj

PloS;",,~

,,
MELANCHOLY I N ANC lENT PHYSIOLOGY

[ I. I.

sympat het ic treatment of any fixed ideas; discussions in. which


the patient should be brought into a different frame of mind
more by unobtrusive suggestion than by open contradiction ; and ,
most important of all, music, whose psychiatric use, first suggested
by Theophrastus,u, had finally been systematised by Asclepiadesu5
- we even know which modes he recommended for the various
forms of mental illness. uS Thus one of the earliest conceptions
of humanity , expressed not only in the teachings of the
Pythagoreans, but also in the myths of Orpheus and in the
biblical story of Saul and David , was linked with Plato's t heory

of the moral effects of the different keys"' to form a "musical


therapy" which was held t o be valid almost until to-daYlus and
even seems t o be reviving after a fashion at this moment. On
the ot her hand, Asclepiadcs's pupil Titus (unlike Asclepiades
himself) recommended shock therapy (as it is called) ' for certain
cases and, for violent madmen, overtly forcible measures, ranging
from compu lsory memorising to fettering, flogging (also much
employed in the Middle Ages-see plate 71), deprivation of
food and drink, artificial intoxication and inducement to sexual
indulgence. lIo
Almost at the opposite pole to the Asclepiadian doctrine was
t hat of Archigenes of Apamea, who lived under Traj an and
was one of the last and most important representatives of t he
"pneumatic" school. l2O Asc1epiades had a ttempted to separate
the illness "which probably originated from the bla ck b~e" both
from acute mania and from the chronic fonn of ~adness;
Archigencs recognised only " melancholy" and " mania", and
'" T ll aO r IUIAITUI. fnlm . 81. 01'"" o"'ltilt. cd. F . Wimmer. Parit 19l ' . p. 416 ( _ ATN ':''''UI,
D,ipIUUOpIliIlU, XIV, 624a): fragm. as, Ibid.
, .. UNSOIl INUI. IN d., ItWIt/i. XII . 4 : CA.LOUS AUlu.t...,f UI, D. "'o,bi~ It' .. ,;~ ~" d ,"ltiri"
Amsterdam '7<19, chrotl. I. 5, JlP.ll8 aqq.: " Asclepiatlt'S leCundo libl'O adhlb<l:Ddam praqt
eantilenam."
"'CABLI\l1 A\lU:LI ,U <1J5. op. cit., p. 331 : The ~d are to be cheered by air. In the
Phrygian mode. the fri voloul IObcrcd by th~ in thl! Doran.

on R. p"blic, 198D IllIJ. For the P hrYlia n and Doria n ",odet see eliI'. 399A-<:; further,
ef. ARISTOTLE, P olilie1. VIII, 4-9 (1339b S<J'l.) : Pr..UTA RC H, n (pl """"'''~f, 17 ; in Chllstlan
times. CII"jot!.n; SUlllofis VllriM, n . 40. ed. Th. Mommsen, BerUn 18g4, in MOltll",'1I11I
G,nnllll"" HI$llniclt. Aou;/Of"tI AHliq"iSlj'rli, VOL. XII. pp, 70-2 .
... See below, pp. '5,

2~

Iqq. and ptWoim (teJ:t).

!
I

MELANCHO LY AFTE R TH E PERIPATET ICS


47
3l
further limited this distinction by making melancholy independent
in principle o f the "atm bilis"ltl and treating it as merely an
"early fonn or symptom of mania"-although he admitted that
irascible cheerful and violent nat ures tended more to a manic
illness,
the dull , gloomy and slow to a melancholy one, which
he described as a depression without fever, d ue to an obsession
(Ion 50 (~ ..,>.ayxoAl"> QOv,d" tnl ij """,a.l~ m.ve. nvp<roO' 60<1" 50
1-101 pavlfls" yt f~~ 6:px<f\ k(l\ ~pos tt ~eMryxo"lfl).l!! And while. in
Asclepiades semeiology was somewhat neglected and attention
concentrated on psychological remedies, the cont rary was the
case in Archigenes. H is analysis of symptoms was sometimes of
a penetration and subtlety which is unsurpassed even lo-day;
his therapy. on the contrary-in general not unlike the
Asclepiadean - ignored all psychological m~thods, except . lh~t
those used ~in st insomnia were t o be smted to the p~tl ent 5
type of mind, the musician being lulled to sleep b~ mUSIC, ~he
schoolmast er by the prattle of children. Accordmg to hun,
IZl
the conspicuous symptoms of melancholy were: d ark sk In,
puffirless, bad odour,lu greed coupled with permanent leanness,
depression , misanthropy. suicidal tendencies,. ~rue dre~s, fears,
visions, and abrupt transitions from hostlhty, peitmcss and
avarice t o sociability and generosity. If mere melanchol y turned
t o dow'n right madness, the symptoms were: various h~llu c!na
tions fear of "daimoncs", delusions (the educated launchlllg mto
fant~tic astronomical or philosophical theories or a.rtistic acti\-ities
supposedly inspired by the Muses, the uned~ cated, how('\"er.
believing themselves extraordinarily gifted In other field.s).
religious ecstasy. and curious obsessions such as the compul~1\'e
belief that one was an earthenware jar. Archigenes menllons
only heat or dryness as basic factors, the immediate causes .being
overeating, immoderate fulness, drunkenn:ss, lust , sexual indu lgence, or disturbance of the normal excretions. .
The school of the "Methodics"-much despIsed by Galenwas influen ced by Themison, a pupil of Asclepiades. To this

a'nd

... Mn-lCTJ,.. ... 5l oW~ f - 0';'" ,,1M..... p1j iyytY"<?a" om a~ "~lI"tY"Of. ...., ~':"', .. 01 ~a""fi~
"wof. ..... ......s..k.:. ~~ nJt/",.,.., pi! ,oJ. 'if omf fv".,..(~<V1fi". I'.4."!J ~ ....l,,o;.

_. ""....,.,or (A..-r....os, III. 5, 2) .

II. Bnides <:ell Ul, d. CAII!.LIUS AUIIELlA:CCS, IN mortis ""NJis d clt,oltieis, cap. cit., p . l39 ; ~I .
WIU..UlAl'IS, A . CllnldlNI CdslU, ,in. QNdklt"nl~"t<fh".r, p. 65.

.. ." .aTA.Ut. 111, 5, 3

' -Tnnsmitted by AII.l.TA.l.UI. III, 5 (01'4' . OIItrl/a, ed. C. G. Kllhn, Leipzig 1828, p. 74 :
ed. C. H ude, in Corp . ...,d. G,. , II , p. 19. whose tex t we follow).

,,, ARET .... US. 111, 5, I :

I.. AllaTA.Ut, 1If, 5. 7 :.vo<'


.."".;.Ku, ~_~n.

,..A.!yx"""".
?f w., 'Il"", ...... i~f

fw.>-

~a.or.:.a.M, lx8"";~ .... : 111. " 1: .. ~ .,...

MELA>i CI-:!QLY l~ ANCI EXT PHYSIOLOGY

[I.

1.

school belonged Soranus of Epheslls,l25 who lived in t he first half


of the second century and who, though he invented little that
was ne w m diagno;is, yet sharply criticised the thera~utic
teachings of his predecessors. In general he supported a mil~er
treatment of the sick, t hereby bringing psychological remedies
\"cn much to the fore again. He enriched therapy in many
wa;s some ver v subtle126 : for instance, the bed of a sick man
\\a~ ~o be placed so that he should not be upset by his visitors'
changing expressions; in conversation he should be given an
opportunity of triumphing in argument, so as to strengthen his
self-rcspccl ; in musical therapy the flute was to be avoided as
too stim ulat ing, and so on . For us Soranus's main importance
lies in IllS a ttempt to draw a sharper distinction again between
madness and mebncholy (the first located in the head, the second
in the body), and in his formal and explicit denial of tbe opinion
(held "by most people" and queried only within certain limits
even by Archigcnes) that the origin of melancholy lay in the
black bile:
Melancholia dicta, quod nigra Cella aegrotantibus saepe per vomitum
veniallt . . . et non , ut plerique existimant, quod passionis causa vel

gencratio nigra sint fella; hoc enim est aestimantium magis quam videntium
vcritatem, vel potius falsum , sicut in aliis ostendimus.J..t;

(ii i) Rufu s 0/ Ephesus


T he teachings of the physicians so far mentioned could exert
on ly a partial and indirect influence on future development.
The future , indeed. did not belong to the opponents of the "School
of Cos and its hUOloral pathology. Through its great representati ve Galen, eclecticism was now to attain almost unchallenged
supremacy, and Galen made it his supreme task to re-establish
ancient lmmoralism, as modified by the spirit of the age .
Electicism did sometimes take advantage of the diagnostic and
thera peutic discoveries of the "Asclepiadians and Methodics";
but it could not accept their aetiological concepts as authoritative,
and we have already heard how bitterly Galen expressed himself
with regard to their idea of melancholy. All the more, however,
did he appreciate Rufus of. Ephesus, who flourished in the first
, .. T ransmitted by

CAELIUS AUREL IANUS,

op. dt.,

I,

5 and 6 (pp. 325 sqq .).

ihe e mphasis on sea voy ages. abo ree<>rnmendw by Vindician. w as imp<>rtant for the
fUlur..,.
!II

'" CAELIUS A Ul<l!r.I A:":Us,

or. cit., I , 6.

p. 339

3]

MELANCHOLY AFTE R THE PERIPATETICS

49

half. of the second century A.D. His work On Melancholy can be


paply reconstructed from citations, acknowledged or unacknowledged, in other authors, and it is this work which Galen declared
the best- and in fact an unexceptionable- presentation of the
subjcct. l28
'It was Rufus of Ephesus's teaching, too, which was to govern
the views of medical schools up to the threshold of the present
time, for not only did Galen associate himself unreservedly with
it but it was embraced also by the great ninth-century Arabic
writers. One of them, Isl:taq ibn Amran, called Rufus's writing
"the one ancient work which gave one satisfaction" ; and his
trea~ment of melancholy, based as it was mainly on Rufus,
seems to have been the direct source of Constantinus Africanus's
monograph. Constantin us, closely connected with the medical
school of Salerno, had in turn a decisive influence on the development of medicine in the west during the Middle Ages ; it may
therefore be said that Rufus of Ephesus led the way with regard to
the medical conception of melancholy for more than fifteen
hundred years.L."9
The first and most important thing that Rufus did was to
re-forge the link made in Problem XXX, I, between melancholy
and intellect, which the other physicians had broken; but in so
doing he approached the Stoic view, and made the link a perilous
snare. He too saw primarily the intellectual man, the "man of
large understanding and keen wit", as threatened with melancholy,
for- just as in Aristotleilli qui sunt subtilis ingenii et multae perspicationis, de facili incidunt
in melancolias, eo quod sunt \'elocis motus et multae praemeditationis et
imaginationis. l3O

In :Tbe main passages are; the fragment triutsmitted by Rhus (RuFUS, p. 4.54, 18 sqq.);
the ~cerpt from Aetius (Rul'us, p. 354. 1 sqq.) ; and the fragment in Rul'us, p . 3:10, 8 sqq.,
also from Adius. Cf. J. 1t.81i:I<O, Rut"" vcm Ep"esos, Leipzig 1930 (AbbndJ"n8~n du
S4clz~;sc"m AktJdemi~ tier WinenscAajten, P"il.lzisl. Klasse, VOL. XLI, p. 35).
'" ,C f. A. BU1UI, Obey di4 Ilhntit.u der Ablzandlultgen de! IJJz411 ibn AmraII' "lid des Cons/an_
tinus. AjriCllnUS fiber .Mtlandwli4, Munich, privately prioted, no date. R. CREU"I.t aod W.
CR.l!UTZ. in A""hi~ fur P$ychialri~, XCVI( ( 1 93~), PP.:1H sqq., attempt to prove that Constantine
owed his knowledge not to ls.\llq but to Rufus direct, but their proof (whicb, inddentally, Ur
put fOfward witbout reference to Is\1iq'5 original text) is mainly based on the fact tbat
Constantine named Rufus and not the Arabic author a s bis authority ; but thUr, of course,
means little in view of the medieval habits of quoting. For us, the question wheth
Constantine made use of Ruluss treatise on melancholy directly or indirectly makes hardly
any t1i~ereuce.

lO.

R .UFUS,

p . 45 7, 18.

50

MELANCHOLY I N ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[I. I .

But the physician went one step further than the natural
philoso?hers: for the author of Problem XXX, I, intellectual
pre-emmenc:e ,:as a direct consequence of natural melancholy;
for. the StOlCS It had becomc merely a predisposition t~ patho10glca~ melancholy; but for Rufus activity of the mind becamc
the direct cause of melancholy illness:
dixit , quod muIta cogitatio et tristitia faciunt accidere melancoliam.ul

!his tum oC phrase reverses completely

the relation established


betwecn cause and effect, and the tragic
destmy of the man of genius became merely the "splcenT' of an
ovenvorked scholar. It also reveals an antithesis which ;was to
determine t~e development of .men's conception of melancholy
for a long bme to come, that IS to say, the antithesis lJetwecn
specifically medical views and aims and those of natural or moral
philosophers.
In diagnosis as well as in aetiology, then, Rufus reinstated
the observations and discoveries of the Peripatetics, which the
heterodox physicians had neglected. The symptoms of the
melancholic were by now established. He was bloated and
~wa~,thy; . pl.agued by all manner of desires, depressed (KaTrJip~S,
I.e. lookmg at the ground", a symptom later to be cited particularly often, bu: in its li teral sense); cowardly and misant hropic;
g:neraUy sad wIthout cause but sometimes immoderately cheerfu l132 ;
given over to various eccentricities, phobias and obsessions.l33
Among these, like some of his predecessors. Rufus of Ephesus
accounted stuttering and lisping,JU as well as the gift of prophecy;
In

~roblem XXX,

I,

"1,,~lJYUs.. p. 4~5, 31. Of th~ three physicians previously mentioned, only Soranll l cit"
the mten h~ nlm,. sensuum et mtelloctllJ ob cllpiditatem d ~iptinarum", and then as CaU!(I
only of mama. oot of melancholy, and not as any thin, v"'ry remarkabl", ; it is ranged alonglid", "quaeslus pecunialis" and "gloria" (C .... LIUS AUaBUANU I, D. "'Of bit acwtis tl u,r(!.is,
ehron. I, 5, p. 316),

... According to ISII)OlU: (ElY"'., XI, 111J. who is celtainly Iollowing older IOUrct;S the spleen
is ~he organ gcnl'!rating blaclr. bile, is abo ilie seat of laugbter: "ham sple~e ridemllS:
feU~ ~"nu~, corde sapimU$, iecore amamU$." A curious wftnes. for the longevity of I nch
notions IS a dUIJogue from CASANOVA'S M,,,,oirs (I, 9): Whatl The hypochondria/f affections,
whleh make al! who luffer from them sad, mak e you cheerfnl1" ' Yes, becauS(j without
doubt y 'Oati' do not affec t the diaphragm hut the ipleen, which, in the opinion 01 my
doctor, 15 the organ oj laughter. It is his discovery." "Not at all. This idea ;1 very
aneient' - in whicb we fully agree with the autbor.

wbic~

.u.

- Among oompuls{ve idms he "'",nt iollt not only the delusion of being an earthenwar",
jar (already cited by An;higenca) bot alao the beUeI that one had no hQ(! , an example
frequently quoud In lat",r time!!; as remedy 10m", physicians . uggest<!d a lead",q headpi_t
,.. I:'t r"" too, ....Xo/y.w.. ....., ~,.,,...,;Ito(. Rbazes (RUFUII, p. 4.54. 18 sq,q.) "'y.
expHc,Uy that th",y ca nnot pronounce S, lind tay T instead.

I
i
I
!

MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PERI PATETICS

51

above all. he returned with full conviction to the Hippocratean


and Peripatetic opinion as to the cause of all these symptoms; the
root of the evil was partly an excess of "pneuma", which caused
the puffiness, stuttering, and lust ; partly the predominance of
black bile, t he earthy dryness and coldness of which produced, for
instance, the obsession of being an earthenware jar, and also
explained the dull depression, the reserve, the sudden maniacal
outbursts of the man in a state of melancholy. It is true, however,
t hat at the very point where it concerned met hod and principle,
Rufus of Ephesus gave to the main thesis of Problem XXX, I , a
medical turn, with significant and far-reaching results.
The 'Aristotelian' Problem had declared that the melancholy
humour could either attain a temporary preponderance as a consequence of daily nutriment, without influ encing the character, or
could from the beginning possess a permanent preponderance in
certain people, determining the fonnation of character : in this
latter case, the black bile, if too cold, resulted in fea r and
depression; if too hot, in inflammations, ecstasies, and man iacal
states; but if at a moderate temperature, in important intellectual
qualities. Among these statements, Rufus first adopted the
differentiation between the melancholy deriving from t he taking
in of daily nutriment and that deriving from a constitutional
preponderance,l35 But what for the natural philosopher had
signified a difference between acute illness and habitual disposition, as also between purely physical !'iuffering and moral
character, acquired an aetiological, and thereby a therapeutic.
shade of meaning for the physician:
In treatment it makes a not unimportant d iffe r~nce whrre the illness
comes from , for you must know that melancholy is of two kinds: some of
them (that is : of melancholies) have it naturally, thanks to an inborn
combination of humours, but others have acquired this combination of
humours later, through bad diet. 1M

Thus. temporary illness was not divorced from natural constitution, but within t he limits of the disease a distinction was made
between an innate and an acquired form.U7 Next, howeverand this was perhaps still more enlightening and more important
.... Problem XXX, I, 954 a.

~6

"'N.

.... RUFUS, p. 357, 12.


ut Ooly io ce.-wn circumstanc:et ("'quando residet melancholia") ca.n a m:J.n. despi te
"multiplicatio" of the black bile, b e ta fl'! from melancholy disease: Rurus, p. ~ 56, 35,

52

) IELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

[I.

I.

for future development-Rufus of Ephesus took over the conceptions of excessive heat and cold but applied them in an entirely
new way According to 'Aristotle' it was the property of black
bile to manifest both great heat and great cold without altering
its matenal nature ; according to Rufus, its property was to
originate from the immoderate heating or cooling of other elements
of the body. Rufus declared that either the blood could change
uno black bilc by being chilled, or yellow bile could change into
black by onrheating (\fTn~(ns), for the black colour could
result both frolll cooling (as in quenched coals) and from heating
ias shown by fru it dried up by the sun) .I311
The physician tried to combine the medical humoralism with
the Peripatctic ambivalence of melancholia . He thought in terms
1I0t of fu nction but of matter, and rather than attribute two
differen t symptoms and effects to one and the same substance,
he preferred to recognise two different substances. In SO doing
he distinguished the black bile deriving from the cooling of the
blood from a fa r more noxious " melancholia combusta" or
"adusta" arising from "burning" of the yellow. bile, a difference
which from then onwards was never forgotten. I n Rufus's text,
which has been handed down to us only indirectly, this does not
emerge q Uil(, as distinctly as we have put it here; but Galen
(especially in his work De [ods aifectis), put it in so clear a form
that we can certainly deduce Rufus's opinion from him .131I
A ccording t o Its compositi o n . black bil~ m::tnifesl.. distinct differences.
One is like the dregs of t he blood,It' very t hick and not unlike the dr~gs of
wine. The other is much thinner and so acid that it eats into the ground
. .. and produces bubbles. The one I have compared with dregs . . . I call
" melancholy humour" or " melancholy blood" (llAcryxoAIKOs: xw6s or
IJlAayxOAIKOV O'TIJO'), for it cannot really be described as black bile. I n
some it predominates, wh~ther as the result of tbe original combination, or
as the result of nourishment. . .. If it establishes itSelf in the passages of
a brain ventricle, it usually generates epilepsy: but if it predominates in

,M Ru.u,. p . ll6,

1~

111'1.: 101<0\0(1< ... 61 "

x~

w.....c .......

jdt> m"."...~,

1,"''''''''. !."UY/.,.,,,_,.l,,

......i a.1

~".p~xC" ....r ..:.". "ei"",,,.,.,,,.;1' n 01 " ... 6,.10<),


&...u 111 tNrr/.. fI~""Ir
f>i .->is ~ O:...,,...h/""........ ~O'QVr6 .. ~, ",.; ~ ~t'f ".pi nI ;.a,$,..,w xPoI''' you ..'I' ...."s IpyclCoo... ...
>I u "". pjJoJolj ,-flg
h'O..........1 J., .. ...,f<ro"" nls .iyJ><inrn.s ... I'tAotr.. yo,), ~.

.:.c.f'

,.,,..,0.u....

orol d ~or "'" ...,.~ ... ,"T. U Jf ......,........,........ "is fa"'Vr ,ro.\~ ." ~-.
..,....1...
The lound.tlon of this theory of .d .... tioo <;an be ~n ;n Ole Ti ....... ",
8,,,-<:. 8,51.l, where. it i. true. t be bUe is Attributed to . dUltiOn of tbe body io Gelleral.

0.... . ..

"' D, IDd, . f1,ulJ. III. 9. in G..... ltI<I (K OliN), VOL. VIII. pp. 7ti eqq .
,.. Ho:n: ?,Mt. utin floU: In II.noth~ puMfle ... bere the cold quality 01 the fI ..k! th ..,

U"".

produced ~ emphullcd. It iI.called ~"'f. Latin .. sesid .... m: ILDd


Lat;'" -.bo ''.u",
G ... Uli. D, 1, "'jHrlllfl,,,li II. 603 (ed. G. Hdm",icb. Leipzig 1904. p . .59).

MELANCHOLY AFTER TilE PERIPATETICS

53

the substance of t he brain itself, it causes t hat sort of madness which we


call melancholy. . .. But as for the other at rabilious humour. which arises
from overheated yellow bile (6 KCITW'TTTTl~V1)S Tiis ~av&ils Xo1l.i'j~ ywO~),
if it predominates in the substance of the brain, it causes bestial raving
both with and withou t fever.

One cannot say that the notion of melancholy was much


simplified by this transformation . The melancholy humour, as
one of the four primary humours, no longer had anything to do
with the bile but was thickened and chilled blood; what was
really black bile 'Yas a corruption through burning of the yellow
bile-and therefore no longer belonged to the four humours. But
one advantage of this complicated theory was that it provided
a finn basis for the different types of mental disturbances and
linked up t he distinction drawn in Problem XXX, I, between
"natural" and "diseased" melancholy with a difference in tangible
substances. Thereafter those physicians who admitted this dist inction at all (popular scientific literat ure generally ignored it)
understood thus fi rst , under "natural black bile", one of the four
humours always present Ul the body-essentially nothing but a
thick ,a nd cold residuum of the blood, a.nd (as such) still tainted
with the stigma of dross and dregs, capable of generating illness,
even if it was not actually harmful in a small quantity. And
secondly, under "melancholia adusta" or "incensa" they understood disM sed black bile, which (as such) did not belong to t he
four humours but arose from "superassatio" , " combust io", or
whatever expressions were later used, of the yellow hile; it there~
fore not only always caused illness, even when present in the
smallest quantity, but owed its very existence to a process of
corruption . This la.id the foundati ons for the medical theory of
melancholy. Neit her Galen1t1 nor the later Romans such as
10 A particularly si mple detCtipt.ion it in tbe 1,.,01' i" T'I"; ("1"'1) GIIh.i by j OH"':; I' ITIU5
(HoDein ibD hbiq), a t el< t much used in the W.t bofOl'O the Greek originala wtte kno .... n.
".Cholera uigr.l duobus mod~ constat : 1100 modo ~t natu ral~ in modo feQs san,uinU et
elusdem perturbationis ... et ~te modlD eII t veraciter (rJaid ... el ak.c..... Eat et alius modul
extra natunJem eUl'1um; et origo ellI. elt de u. lIone cbolerict commixtioni. el hie venadter
appellat .. r niger ; et est uUdior et levior ac . uperior modus. habena in", impe tum pemeeabilem
~t qu.!Ju~m ~ojc1o..m : (ISl D?IUI. Elym . IV. 5 triel to combine both viewpoints:
l\IeI~cbolia dICta eo quod .It u "Igrl IIt.l:I8UiDit laoce edmtda abund;antia fellis").
Aput (rom the f.. ndatmln taUy important diltiaction between tlle various morbid I tu6
~uf.\I.I II..1so estab~ ~ eq llaUy Important o no between the varioul leaU. 01 illness. H~
dUltmguilhed {Il nlfi ltntoon of AU the blClOd. resultinl, AfIlOIl8 other thi n,l. in a d;arkenlng
of the skin: (~) an a ffection of 0.0 brain, wbleb wu the U UIIe particularly 0 1 mental dbturbanc:ee; and (l) a hypochondriac form of illneQ. In ... bicll the black bile establisbed itadf
In the '031 Ilouacld. primarily lcueralilla Ilat.. IeD(;O .... d dlsestive dilt .... bances, but
secondarily dfecting eonxio.. anes, to a eoa liderable decree u _u {tbil threefold divilion

54

MELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PIIYSIOLOGY

[I. I.

Theodore, Priscian,142 t he early Byzantines such as Aetius,lf.3 Pau l


of Aegina' and Alexander of Tralles,Wi nor t he first of the Arabic
writers added much that was new; in many ways they even
simplified. The last trace of the melancholic's heroic nimbus
vanished ; in particular, his connexion with "profunda cogitatio"
was more and morc lost sight of, not to be emphasised again till
Isl:uiq ibn Amran 1u ; and it is also very significant that the
melancholic's gift of prophecy, which was observed by Aristotle
and which Rufus still considered a reality despite its pathological
origin, now began to be regarded merely as a sick man's illusion .
Rufus's words, !tEt contingit quod ... prognosticantur (utura, et
eveniunt ea, quae ipsi praedicunt,"147 were juxtaposed with those
of Paul of Aegina : "Some men give t he impression of being visited
by higher powers and of foretelling the future as if ~y divine
inspiration, so that they are called iv6f:o:o-rll(O{ (that is to say,
god-pos'iessed) in the proper sense."IU
I n the practical fie ld many new features were added by later
writers. AJexander of Tralles mentioned an addit ional symptom
of melancholy-allegedly observed by himself- which, as we
shall see, was to play a certain role in later pictorial tradition,
namely a spasm of the fingers. By this, according to the Greek
tex t, he seems to have meant a morbid stiffening of the middle
finger}" but later authors, perhaps owing to an ambiguity in the

>

"ItI.

can be found in C"La" (KO .... ). vo ...


p . 8,; AutXA><OJl" 0'" Ta"l.l.lIs. OriGi';"lIul ..,,,1
DlMrJllnlr'l. ed. T. PulJ(.hmann, VieDIia 1878. I. pp. j9I Mjq.; and many othen) . Rufus
was alto natura lly interested in clinical questions proper, and provided a thotOO.l8h .)'Stem
of therapy which collated all the previoul informa.tion and banded it doWD to ;posterity.
He combiDJ Mclepiade$', dietetic and gymnastic measures with the prescription o f drug.,
including the long famolu Ifp4 Poo:;...
~ (p. 3~3, 7). recommended- In opposition
to Soranut-i ntercoune with women as the best remedy for the non-manie form 01 the
disease, and. unlike Archigenes, pn.ised the enlivening eHects of dramatlc poetry and lDu sie
{p. j83). Rufu. alto deal. with the treatment fo{ melancholy in a treatise on morbid
dbturbance. (n,pI ol..O<>"'1,.,..G~"",), d . J. tUlKKO, R ..fll!I VOII 1>11'-$05, pp. 31 Mjq. His enr.
for melancholy by "quartll.f)' fever" (obviously malaria). recalling as it doe. the modem
fever.th~py, i, particularly interesting.

*"'"

... I"aI!lCIAN,

J.

Eupor.,

11,

18. p .

J '~.

G,isl'5JmJt.U,it,.. ;m kl"5.isch,.. AllutNm, Be rlin 1927 (offprint from


AII"m,;II, Z,iudri!1 fa r P5yclli,./ri,. VO ... LXXXVI), pp. 37 .qq.
.q

HK I811'10.

" PAU I,.US AI!.OIMIlTA, ed. 1. L, Helberg. Leipzig

I 9~1

(Corp. med.

Gr .. IX, I).

pp. 1.56 ff.

... Edited by T. Puschmann, Vienna 1878, I, pp . .591 sqq.; HII18&RO, op cit .. pp. 40 ,qq.
II' For thit mlLO, and hilluoc.eason in the later Middle Ages.
,II

Ru,us, p. 4$6,

I.

C~.

I,

_d. Gr. IX. I. p. Ij6.

10. ALIlXAMDIl.

~o.

0' TULLltI,~. T . Puschmann, p . .506.

tee

below. pp. 83 IKJq. (ted) .

1
,

3J
MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PERIPATETICS
55
Latin t ranslation, took it to mean an involuntary clenching of
the fist:
Novimus quippe foeminam ipsi eiusmodi phantasia obrutam, quae
pollicem tam arctissime constringebat, ut nemo digitum facile posset
corrigere, affinnans se universum orbem sllstinere... .uo

It is further remarkable that Paul of Aegina advised treating


melancholy by cautery- a practice to which we owe the inclusion
of the melancholic's portrait in the medieval series of wdiacal
diagrams of cauterisation.l 61

(b) Me l ancho l y in the System of the Four


Temperament s 'Hippocrates' had already tried to relat e physical characteristics
to mental behaviour- he was even said to have reckoned the pulsebeat a sign of the moral disposition; and in the course of a development involving close co-operation between medical, biological
and ethnological observations and the speculations of natural
philosophy, it is understandable that a special science called
"physiognomy" should have emerged, dealing with the idiosvncrasies of healthy people, as a counterpart of the medical
s~eiology of invalids. m1 The earliest text treating it as an
independent science was attributed to Aristotle himself; and it
certainly started in his circle. Indeed, these efforts received their
confirmation and impulse from the Aristotelian doctrine that the
soul is the "entelechy" of the body. and from the highly developed
analysis of emotions and character in Aristotelian ethics. To this
was added in t he fourth century the specifically Hellenistic taste
... ALEXANDII. Oil' TRAl.Lti. D. 5;~lor ..m ~orporu I>"rll .. ", .. . " ili;5, ~:,_ (tr. by Albanu!
TorinU$), Basle 1.533. p . .50. ObYiouly in connelfion ""ith this tradition. ),1. PLAr,A \t I1,;5.
Pr/Ulu,,.," tJtgril. Ulpili5, chap. v, in the Venice edition of 1497, p. 173 : "Aln tenent pugnum
clausum. quod oon pottst aperiri: credunt enim Ie tenere thesaurum in manu vd tOlum
muodum" (for the meaning of the "thesaurus" interpolated in Alexander's text. see below.
p. 303, not.! ~) . Earlier, CUIU,IILIoIU& Bllllfl"NS'S (Cuglielm~ de Coni. d: I3 l 6), PTI>cliro.
Venice Is08, fol. ~o: "quidam putant $e mundum teneTe '" manu : et Ideo 'PSI manum
elaudunt." See our PLATK 7~. The con~tant motH of "the whole universe" . which the
unfortunate creatures think they hold, makes the conn exion of the~ later pan a ges with
Alexander'l passage clear .

... Cf. K . ScnRo..... B,i/r'" .fUr Gu&/lidl' d,~ C";~"rli' , ,,' ."!illd(lll~~ (Sr"dirn ....
G,sdliduf der Muiirill, VOl,.. x), Leip%ig 1914, pp. 76 $Qq. In Paul of Aegina. howe~'er, it
set:ms to be a question of eaulerieillg the region of the spleen, and not yet the "me<!,,, "ertel("
as described in medievaltourcea ~tee below, p . ~9 1 ).

.. The relative te%ts and pauasel an collected in Sml>'(1T1f pAYS;Olnom;&i


ed. R . F Ok5Tn. Leiplig 1893.

,.tu,;

~ll"l;n;,

56

)IE LA:\C HOL Y IN

A~C I NT

P HYSIOLOGY

[ I. I.

for close obsen'ation of ind ividual details. It a ppears particularly


clearly in t he Charaders of Theophrastus, where thousands of
psychological peculiarities were observed, as it were, in close view,
and then embodied in main ty pes. The same trait appears in
Hellenistic poetry and art, which enriched certain recurrent genres
with a wealth of realistically observed details. F inally there was
th~ fact that philosophy inclined more and more decisively to
the view that "et morum varietates mix tura elementonun facit".153
I t wa s perhaps Posidonius who gave t he final impetus; he himself
was exceedingly interested in physiognomic and ethnological
questions: and he emphasised so strongly the dynamic fun ction
of the cosmic elements and of t he powers abiding in them, that
t he elements themselves became in his philosophy intennediaries,
as it were, between what is usually termed matter and spirit .l~
On t he other hand, as we have already seen, the opinion had
steadily persisted t hat the humours with their warm, cold, dry
and moist qualities were not only sources of illness but also
factors in determining men's constitutions. Sextus Empiricus
took it simply fo r granted t hat t he natural constitution of every
living t hing was determined by one of the four humours; for
t hose govemed by t he blood and the phlegm he already used
the adjectives "sanguine" and " phlegmatic" (TI"o>.Vo:1\lOS and
qJAEY~aTw51ls), while he still described the two other types by the
periphrasis "those who are governed by, and have a superfluity
of, yellow or black bile" .1M With the growth of interest in
physiognomic and characterological theory it was now inevitable
that all t he humours should be held t o possess that power of
informing the character which Problem XXX, I, had attributed
only to t he black bile. In other words, in the new psychology of
t ypes t he paths of liumoral pathology converged with those of
physiognomy and charact erology-Problem XXX, I , stand ing at
the crossing of the roads like a signpost.
, .. SEN"CA, D, i ..... II. '9, obv iously following older Stoic S<iurces.

H e sayl further ;

"iracundo' fervida animi nat ura taciet . .. frigidi mix tu ra timido. rscit:'

'''1(. RII:II<HAIlOT.

P l)ui<Wtliol, Munieh 1921, esp. pp. 22S .qq., )17 sqq. and ) 8S sqq.

... SBXT11S EMPIRIC,.,'. f1 ~p;..;...... ywo..,..........{ AS I (ed. H . Mubclllna nn , Leipzig 19 u,


p. 16). He wa, merely in terested io provi ng t he l ubjcctivity and indiv id ual diffcrenecs 01
sensory pcn;cplion, and he t hought he could do this most easily by rclemog to the humoral
"c:ra.ses". which by their very ndure involved a difference in UD50ry impressions. The rcuon
"'hy SeAtu, did I>Qt yet use the ex pressions ;xoMPUo,. a nd p..w.~ fOT me~ govenlcd
respectively by yellow and b lac k bile il perhaps tha l, to him. th ese were still specifically
pathological terms.

3]

MELANCHOLY .... FTER THE PERIPATETICS

57

We can see from the above-mentioned works of the physicians


how greatly this interest grew even among purely medical circles,
whe["e, ~si?es frankly morbid symptoms, purely physiognomic
charactensttcs were also described, such as emaciated limbs,Iss
a relatively large torso, and quick movements1S7 . and in addition
psyc,hologica1 symptoms were pictured with th~ sa~e feeling fo;
de tail as we see in Hellenistic minor arts. The more t he 'Coan '
doctrine of the four humours displaced the heterodox opinions,
the clearer became the n ecessit y of including physiognomic and
"characterological" observations in a definite system . Galen
himself, especially in his commentary on the nEpl !JIVe-lOS &v6pW-n'ov
and in his book n Epi KpclO'EWV, systematically classified the visible
signs of each pa rticular "combination", t hough always with the
empiricist's regard t o the variety of the symptoms. ISS Of importance to us is the principle that heat made a man tall, cold short ,
moisture fat, and dryness thin, and such a statement as that the
soft , 'fair and fat possessed least melancholy humour, the thin ,
d.ark, hirsute and prominently-veined the most.158 Galen emphasLSed more clearly than anyone else the direct causal connexion
between bodily const itution and character, and maintained in a
special monograph that " spiritual disPosition depends on the
" crasis" in the body"l60; it is therefore not surprising t hat he
pressed on to a systematic presenta tion of mental characteristics
determined by the humours, t hough admittedly his system was
not yet complete, for the phlegm was still denied any power to
foml character;
There is also another theory ... according to which the four humours
are shown to cont ribute to tbe formation of moral characteristics and
... RUFUS, p . 4S6, 6.
... R UFUS, p. 4S6, 2 1.

... Cf: tor instance GALIIN. D , t,,"pe~Il'"fflt;$, III , 6~6 sqq. (ed. G. Helmnich, Leipzig
J~ pp. 86 sqq.) . who disting uish" between nat ural and acquired qualities: or ibid., II ,
64.' (ed .C. HeI~e1ch, PJ? b ~q . where it is reeommended that atten tion be paid to age ;
thick haJr,. lor lnatan(:c. IS an rndlCatloo of melancholy in the prime o r life, but neitbu in
!outb: Dor In old age. Stlltemen13 u to the melancholic's out.... ud appearante are also fOl1nd
In Galen 's commentary (s urviving only In Arable: German tra nslation in Corp. ,,"d. G~.,
V.:II, 1, p . )jS) on thesecood book of Pt.-Hippocratee'. EpUk ... /u. For tbe "chanu:teroIogical"
side of the d!Xtrine 01 "cruea" see below. p. 100 (ta t).

.l'

.. 0 GALIIN, D, kuis

4JJIlIiI. III, 10 ( K Oli N, VO l.. VIII. p . I S~l _ St~i/#I)~" pllydl)l"I)"' ~

,.,tun dill/i .. ;, ed. R. F OUTIIR , VOL. II, p . ~9). trag. 100.

[f."';.so_

, ' ''.Galen q uot~ this work a moOC othen in the patSage o f. bQ commt oWy Oft
(G AUIO US, Sa '; p'" Mi,"",".
VOL. II, .Ldp.ug 1891, pp. 32-79); "0,., T<U{ .... a.,Q,~ ..pOJno"' ..i ~'ir ~ J~.r "'"""""',

hlf'W7r<I~, quo~ed In tex t belo.... The work is edited. by I. MUl.LJI: ll

58

MELANCHOLY IN ANC IENT PHYSIOLOGY

aptitudes . . But ?n~ would l1avc to start by demonstrating first that the
mental ~aractenstJcs depend on the bodily constitution. About this we
have wntten elsewhere. Assuming it, therefore. as proved, it follows that
acute~ess and in t~igence of the mind come from the bilious humours,
steadl~ess and SOI!dlty from tl'Ie atrabilious, but from the blood simplicity
bordenng on . foolishness. But phlegm by its nature does not contribute

to the fonnatlon of character, as it evidently is always a by~product at the


first stage of the metabolic process,l'l

Blood, then, made a man simple and foolish, yellow bile


keen witted and adroit, black bile firm and constant ; and we
can see at a glance how much ancient cosmological speculat ion
lies behind this statement. But as thought progressed in this
direction-tha t is, as the new theory of character wove itself
more and more into the old system of the four elements, and
was enriched by fresh properties and relations corresponding to
t he humours and elements-there arose , in the course of the
second, or at latest the third century A.D., a complet e ,schema
of the four temperamellts as t ypes of physical and mental can.
stitutions. This revivaJ of the old cosmological tenets was carried
farthest in a short work entitled npi TIis ToG K6ol.tov KaTCICKEViis (Kal
Tiis) ToO a vOpWTTOV (OJ the Constitution oj the Universe and of Ma7l) .1'2
Air was warm and moist, fire warm and dry, earth cold and dry,
and water cold and moist. Each of these elements " was like"
(~OIKtV) one of the substances composing the human organism, air
like blood, fire like yeUow bile, earth like black bile, water like
~)hlt:gln . Each u f lil~ humuurs gained Lht: ascendaJlcy (TTAll6Vvf"nll)
m one of the seasons and governed (KllPtMl) one of the Four Ages
of Man : blood was proper to spring and childhood, yellow bile
to summer and youth, black bile to autumn and prime, phlegm
to winter and old age. With the exception of the blood, which
here as elsewhere showed its special position by being located
only in the heart, each of the humours was now located in two
bodily organs (black bile in the liver and-owing to a gap in the
text- in some part now unknown) , and had its own means of
exit: b!ood through the nose, yeUow bile through the ears, phlegm
through the mouth, and black bile through the eyes. And now

10. Commenta~ Oil f'!fpl. f.J<nor ""'~u. ed: c. C. Kuhn. xv. p. 97 : ed. J . Mewaldt. Cm-p .
,.., d. Cr .. v. 9. I, LelllElg 1914: p . .5 1. also pnnted in FOrster (ed.), op. cit . VO L. ". p. '19.5.
frae 10] (el . 'bill., p. '196, fnr. 10.5).
... hblished br J. L. II)&UJ;. Ploysici" MdiQ ,.,.w:.i
II. p. ]oJ.... Fredrieh u)'s, op. cit., p. 49).

31

[ I. I.

"'_.s.Berlin 184', I. 'p.. 33 (oot


.

MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PERIPATETICS

59

the humours caused differences of character alSO:

)
I

I
f

I
\

Why is it that some people a re amiable and la ugh a nd jest, others are
peevish, sullen and depressed, some again are irritable, violent and given
to rages, while others are indolent, irresolut e and timid ? The cause lies in
the four humours. For th ~ governed by the purest blood (of t~ ailJCITOS
Ka60:pw-rQ-rOV 'TVY)(cXvovrts) are agreeable, laugh, joke and have rosy. well
coloured bod ies; those governed by yellow bile are irritable, violent , bold,
and have fair, yellowish bodies; those governed by black bile are indolent.
timid, ailing, and. with regard to body, swanhy and black-haired: but those
governed by phlegm are sad, forgetful, and. with regard to the body, very
pale.I &!

In

this detailed and schemat ic exam ple of late antiquity. the


facto rs composing the new doctrine of the four temperamen ts
emerge very distinctly ; the cosmological hain of thought had
become bound up with the discoveries of therapy proper and
with the observations of physiognomy. Thus, for instance, the
signs distinguishing a man "governed by the blood" (whom we
are now justified in calling " sanguine" and whose disposition was
later almost always considered the best or noblest) became largely
identical with those of the tVqMls, the "bene natus" , whose pink
and white complexion and amiable na ture the sanguine sha red .l &.!
The characteristics of the melancholic, on the contrary . corre
sponded mainly to those of the TTIKp6s, who is distinguished by
black hair and swarthy skin' "; we have already come across this
latter peculiarity as a symptom of illness in Archigenes and
Rufus. A bent head (Tb TTpOOc.mOV aEaTlp6s) , and leanness, were
also among the symptoms of gaU, and when , according to
other physiognomers, all these signs came to be regarded as

Some o f these peeulianliet

ap~ar

not onl)' pennarwntly

In

Ihose men whose d ispositio ns

are governed by one 0<' other of the fou r humou .... but also tem po....I) In ,,'er}'One. Sluee

eaeh humour temporari ly lai n. the upper hand in one o f the four ages of man SO tha t " p" rt
from thOM who ;Ire by na tu re sanilli nie.. (holene.. melancholic. 01 ph iegmat icl. ehildren.
youths. men in tbnr p!"ime and old men each .hare in the nature of the dllf~rent femperam<,nlf
(and so say Pse udo-Soranul. Vindician and tbe medieval authon .... ho .ellow them! Ho,,"
deliberately tbe eharaetera d........ n in n.pl. ..a.A"O<'...)f "'er" dislinRu lShed fWr:l actuill pat!!!)
logical portraits il clear from the fact th lt each norm'll type ...... credited "jth a pa rticular
form of disorder ; wben (u nluin,,) ch ildren cry. they aoon cheer up; when \chole(lcl you thS
let angry. they take longer to reeover (cIMoI ..-,"",). hu l do SO of their o,"n accord . \\"h"n
(melancholy) ml!n go mad. it it! ditllcult to brin&, Ihem 10 a!>Other frame of mind. lind. to do
.., the inft ...... ee of othen .. ntl!d.d (a..o~'1_. th pa&Sl,e \,olce IS used l: and ", her. in
(phlegmatie) old age the ume thin&, oceuTl. change il no Jonger possible (ciJlToifl.l.~T'OI 3,apfCI'(1U(1,).
.. " A aISYOTLz". in Smpl(W1S I'Ays'OI .. o... i,i ~"'" dlali.. i . ed. R FlIrs l.'. " Ot

liDe

JO ; A" OIfYIIIlUS.

F6ra1H led.). op. cit.,

, .. "A. ISTOTLK". in FOr'Iter (ed.),

VOL.

op. cit.,

II. p. 11]2. I'ne I) .

VOL.

I. p. 34. line 7.

1. p, ~~ .

60

;\!ELAXCHOI. Y I ~ Ar:-:C IENT PHYSIOLOGY

[I. I.

characteristic uf misers a nd cowards,l66 yet another contact was


made with the picture of a melancholic in whom "timor" and
'a,:t.ritia" had been constant features.
The work wh ich for brevity's sake we will call n~pl KClTaO'XEVi'\~
cannot be assigned a precise date ; however, there is no reason to
suppose It an ea rl y med ieval product affected by Islamic not.ions.l n
The equi\'alents to 'melancholicus". "cholericus", "sangumeus" ,
' phlC'smali c u~ seem al ready to have been finnly established
among nmth-century Arabic astrologers. But when these expres
sions became common parlance is quite irrelevant beside the
question whether the ancients had already conceived the notion
of the fo ur types; that is to say, whether they had succeeded in
dividi ng healthy people systematically into four physical and
mental categories and in attri buti ng the differences between them
to the predominance of one or another humour. The answer is
unreservedly " Yes'. Luckily t he nEpl KCXTaO'KEvii~ is by no means
the only work which conta ins a complete schema of the four temperamen ts, for we can produce a whoie series of further tes timonies,
some late r. some certainly more ancient, which clearly show the
furth er development of Galen's still incomplete schema. They are
as follows :
{I}

The pseudo-Galenian work n Epl

Xvtlwv.U8

(2) A treatise falsely attributed to Soranus. but possibly


dating from the third century A.D.'"

(3) Closely related with NO.2 above, Vindician's Letler to


Pe"tadius. Vindician was a friend of St Augustine and
lived in North Africa in the latter half of the fourth
,.. rOLI!.NON in FOrster (ed ,). op . cIt. VOL. I. p.

178. line

" timidus' Is dlstlngul'hed by. among other thingl , "flex io staturae," dark skin. a nd " tri, tl,
ou tUIU,: '
undermlnu J. van Wa geningen ', theory that we owe the formula tion o f the
doctrine of the fou r temperaments as character types to ' H OllOri U5 01 Autun' (that;', WlItia m
of Conches), CI. J. V,"H W"GI!.~tHGINlarticlc 'De quattuor tcmpen.m~n tis'.in M"'mo". ....
new ~l"ICi. :XLVI, (19 18), pp, JH sqq . Also F . Don, 'VitacoDtcmpIaUva'. in Sj'~",~e."
.uT H.,<kU-" ,A b1J4 ",j, d" Wi$u,udaJ"OI. PAII.-Md, Kkme. VIIt ( Heidel ~1 1910). p, 20.
aion ~

". G"LaN (KO HN).

VOL. :X UI.

pp. 1 8$ sqq" esp. p . 91.

M ,di,i OI'''f"i, Venice 1$17, fol. t W' sq.

MELAN CUOI, \" AFTF.R T HE PERIPATETICS

61

century. This short treatise of his was to exerl a determining influence on the medieval notion of the temperaments which began to take shape in the twelfth centuryPO
It is certain that the pseudo-Galenian work nipl X\,l\.l&v cannot
have been composed under Arabic influence but must have been
written not later than the sixth or seventh century. because some
of its statements--cornbined with the genuine commentary on the
nEpl cpVo1os &vepc.:mov, and more particularly with the letter to
Pentadius-ound their way into Bede's De tempoT"Um ratiom.l7I
We will now tabulate the statements met with in all these
works, in so far as they are of importance to U 5. 172
What makes the development shown in this table so particularly interesting is the growing acceptance of the idea that
the humou rs possessed the power of determining types of men.
In the commentary on the n fp l CPV(lIO') &vepWTfOV it is still stated
in a neutral manner- "keen wit arises or increases through the
yellow bile." In fact, it is very doubtful whether Galen ever
believed that the predominance of one or other humour could
determine the whole being of a specific type of man. But later
the theory is expressed by a t ransitive verb- "yellow bile produces
quick~tempered men," to which the expression used in the n Epl
X~v; "yellow bile makes the soul more irritable," provides a kind
of stepping stone. Moreover, amid all the vacillations and irrelevancies. there appears a clear shifting of values which decisively
determines-and, in fact, il11.ticipatcs- both medieval and modem
conceptions of the temperaments. The sanguine person, who in
the genuirle Galenian writings was still merely the simpleton,
gradually became what he was always to remain-a merry, lighthearted, good-tempered, handsome person of an altogether good

I. (the coUigenda.e pecuniaeama .....

is or mean StatuN. dsrk.halred and .... ith a ra pid gai t. "in quo aliqn;d inclination;' ""t " l ;
p . 170. tine I ) {the bo ...ed a ttitude and dark colouring ..... a sign of " vir timid"s ignavul"}:
p. 2H . line j the da ,k .kin mean. "timiditatem et d iuturnam sollicitudinem et ffiaelltitiam " I,
In the anon ymous lext. FOuter (ed.). op. cit.. VOL. II , p . 92, !iDe 7, black hak means "tlmldum
nimium et avarum""; in PIIauoo POLaIllON. F Orster (ed.l. op. cit . VOL. U, p. 160, line 6. the

, .. Th is

31

". Printed in PJoISCI"'''. E ..por. pp. 4&t sqq. For P8eudo-SoranUll's and Vindician',
distributio n o r the hmno uflI amon l the ase. o f ,nan s nd lho houts of the day. see above.
pp. 10 sqq. (text), Distribution among the teallOlU It customary : Vindiclan's distribution
among the ori fice. ot the body, which Pteu do-Soranus does not men tion. agree!! with t ho
. tatemen ts in the wor k n .oI "'......."'..tjr. For the rovivlli or Vlnd ie ian', doctrine in the
twelfth ce';'tu ry. s,.., betow, pp. toc: Kjq .. es p, pp, 112 sqq. (too:t/.

'" Ch. xxxv (M'GNI!, P . L ., vo ... xc, cot. ~ 59). Amo ng points of si mitarity with Jhpl
we may mention the appticatlon 0 1 the term " hltarel"' t o the ",ngulnie, and of "audllCe!j'
to the chol~ic. It can alto be .bown tha, the work flf.ol XUfI';;" mllllt have been know o to the
Byzantine .m onk ;\lektius who wfote in the ninth centu ry (ace below. p. 99, note gSl .
xu~.

.,. We include the statement. In b idore and in t be t hort wotk, prob;ably early sirlh-ntury,
S .. pi.",i" ..l is wudi,;,,_ (ed. by M. Wlue.hlty in Kyliwl. j.'"bw.A du /rulitJdI J.... d i,
CeuA~/d6 in' iIIedi,;". I, Lei pzig 1918. pp. 10) tqq .). tbous h here it is merely a q uestion of
tnditional elements .... bleb are embedded in ltatcments 00 patholo(y .

r ~

62

MELANCHOLY I N ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PERIPATETICS

31

[I. I.

Sapic.ntia
Galen Commentary

0.,:. .,so,,,,

pteudo-Galen

""',.;no..

n.pI.~

...,.. 1-'. ,.>.;. ......"':.'!."


I.e.
W " .r,..}

0..,-1,..("". "nn&-

,......... +"X'f.>

in ..

P!leOido-Son.nu Vindiciall, I..ettel


to Pcnlad iul

-.

........""
r~

(sc. faci t )

booi voli

(_ benivolol)
::r,liotS,

.'"'

fifp/. .......n ...;., ..

(unde et
bomine:t, ;n
qllibua
dominatur
Ans uia)
dulcet et

-~ ...., ...... ,.."...,


~

x_ .

....u/.

~""
bbndos,
eUCh~ot

...

Yellow

...

~~

oral -..-.

,,...,.,.1,...

i
i~,.'onol.

~/JU

iracur>dos,

iracuo<Jo.,

~"'.
ingeniolos
et !eves,
maci.l=ntos

III~
ao;utol. !eves,

et multum

et
cito digerentu

comedentel,
citodigerentu

.,""

blandl (Iun l )

(tc. ac:it)

..0

.1,.;"" ....1JUfJo,,,,,

macilcntol,
plu~itQum
comedeDt~

~ - ... ''''''''I

. ."'';:'' '''"' l
I
I

.
~/(IQII' .... lt"~

.1"",
(feroclort!m et
impudentiorem)

bile

'ubdolos,

avaros et
perfido!,

, ubdolos cu m
ifac uod; .. ,
avaros,

tristes,
Mlmnicll lOlOl,

IOmniculosol,

iQvidiosot; et

invidiosos

l
......
;r't'
""'' '01, (6:lr
1" .... . "" t
dflOI,

Bod.

Isidore

Medleinae

plX'"

timidO!!, t rilltu,

I
.

~d ry

audace.,
iraeundos,

UIOS.

",I.m
Irpcr&m , ' .
Fervidi

alih~.

f'I1Int in in
tt eeleriul

dedioant, . ,

Faciem IUbIonpm
habeRt,
lupercUia
obducta
Deulo- ob-

(melancholiei
diculllu r)
homin es, qui
et 000-

Ibbilet,

venationem

d o l,**

graves,
compollitos
morlbul,

humanam
rel..,tunl et

amicorom

reddent.

w.~

c:omedentH,

k'~

timidos

,~

mixricoo'de&,
multd m
rideote. et
loquentu
(IC. facitj

........

...........
~'111os

....

hi lans.

m lleola..
multllm tamen

Fadem
rotuod.m
babent et

Gl.len T/X"'J ;ATPU<~


(Rem.rb on the eompound 'dys<;rasilUl')

_,m

pavilattm

p&tillntdr et

,n IIOmoo Intenti erunt.

e...,..
, ......
,

"""'"
sunt

rtllnatica

IDdaDcboliei
~nt ... et
m~~

illl:gntlldlnes

..

&I ~ror p.1o.


""- ~
1.,u. ~ 4Uf1"OJ

~'!t::r~,j
1'~~Tc... ... ~

""'-'~
(pi(liorem e t

IlupidioremJ

""P""

compaita.
vigib.ntes et
intra lie
cog itantes.

canos eite;>
produceotel

.......
I

~.......... I""

compositos,
..-.,pol. aT1fY"OI1. """'"~
vi&i1&.ntea, intra

=:ur

..,""".

.amnolenkll,
obliv;o-

lie cogi~tet,

cito a~feren~e.
canos ID capIte.
minua aud~

dis~ition; and although in the strictly Galenian system' the pre


dommance, of the blood too was accounted a "dyscrasis", it
advanced In status so far beyond the others that in the twelfth
century the other three temperaments could actually be described
as degenerate forms of the sanguine,l?l
I.. In WlI,.LI",,.. op CoIofC K.s, P"itD~pltilJ, printed under the name. 01 Honnriul of Autu n
in ~hCKK, P . ~ . , VOL. cuum, eol. 93. and q uoted under th is wrong natn'! by J, VAN
W"CKN INCKIof. In M .., ..",yu, new ~rielo, VOL. XLVI (19 18), pp. 374 sqq. See al", below,
p . 102 (tut ).

On the other hand. the choleric. whose predominant humour


(according to Galen) produced keen perceptions and wit, now
b ecame merely violent, abrupt, and hot-tempered, Wit h regard
tq the melancholic there are two points: first , that in course of
time his "earthy" humour, which Galen considered t he source
of finnness and constancy, was endowed more and more with
unfavourable properties, and secondly, that his characteristics
began to merge into those of the phlegmatic; in the end the"

~IEL."'XCHOLY

I K ANC IE XT PHYSIOLOGY

[ l. l.

iJecame interchangeable, so that in the fifteenth and sixteenth


centurv illustrations the portrait of the melancholic frequently
chang~d places with the portrait of the phlegmatic, sometimes
one ami sometimes the other occupying the third place, whereas
the sanguine regularly appeared first and the choleric second (see
PL.HES 77, 78, 81, II9- 122, 124-'7). According to the n fp l Xvv.(;)v,
the ph legm, to which Galen had express1y denied any power of
characterformation, inherited the inanity which Galen had traced
to the blood ; in pseudo-Soranus and Vindician the phlegmatic is
described as constant, wakeful, and thoughtful, while according
to Bede constancy belongs t o the melancholic ; and finally in the
npi KCX"TOUKEvi)s and in Bede he is sad, sleepy, and forgetful-which
qualities are again attributed to the melancholic by pseudoSoranus an d Vindician. One can see that the notions "phlegmatic"
and "melancholic" were intermixed and that this confusion
lo\vered the sta tus of the melancholy disposition until at length
there was sca rcely anything good to be said of it.
We believe that this shift in values was due to two factors: (1)
the inclination, quite understandable from an historical point of
"iew, to attribute to the blood, which did not belong to the surplus
humou rs, a morc and more favourable influence on the formation
of character- at the expense of the other three humours, especially
of the black bile : and (2) the effect of Galen's doctrine of the
, crases" .
Galen, without prejudice to the great significance which he
attributed to the four primary humours, really reckoned not
them but the simple qualities of warm, cold, dry, and moist, as
the authentic principles of division in his doctrine of the different
const itutions. Against the one perfect combination, which could
never be attained, he set eight imperfect combinations in which
either one of the four qualities, or one of the combinations of two
qualities, predominated. He therefore envisaged four simple and
four compound temperaments (SVCJ1<paokn an-Aot and SVtl1<pCIolol
uVvikrol)' which, however- and t his is the important thing-were
not originally hu moral but determined purely by qualitiesP' On
the other hand, of these eight, or really nine, "temperaments"and we must always put the word in inverted commas when
'" FlY< Ciden's doctrine of "Cra.se9, cf. J. VA :-' WAQBNI"GE,., loc. cit .. and below. p. 100
(te:o:t). Also the very instructive work by WIIIN EE SI!;VI'U T , "1-:in Kompluioofnte:o: t tiner
Lelp.iger lnkunabel und seine hand!oChri ftliche Hetlei tullg", in A~,Mv fil~ Gndidu .ur
/II,di~i .. , xx (Leipzig 1928), pp. 272 $CJ,q., which provides mu ch valuabl e material for the
h is tory of the doctrine of temperaments.

3J

MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PERIPATETICS

65

speaking of Galen or orthodox Galenists, to avoid confusing it


with the complexions as determined by the humours- the four
compound ones were connected with the humours in so far as the
latt~1; were also invested with the corresponding compound
qualities. Black bile was cold and dry, phlegm was cold and
wet, and so on. It was therefore inevitable that what Galen
bad said of the compound "temperaments" should later be quite
automatically transferred to the humours.!" There is, as far as
we know, no overt statement by the master himself affirming the
equivalence, and in our table his compounds are therefore shown
separately as not strictly referring to the humours. But when
his successors, as already mentioned, applied to the humours the
defmitions of character which Galen had only coupled with the
"crases", they did so all the more readily because they had no
other for phlegm. They created some confusionp' but one has
only to glance at the texts to see that even pseudo-Soranus and
Vindician could not have drawn up their tables of the humoral
dispositions without using Galen's doctrine of the dispositions
determined by "crases".l??
The most important point, however, is that after pseudoSoranus the picture even of the melancholic by temperament
was generally coloured by the idea of the disease which bore the
same name, and disfigured by traits of character directly taken
over from psychiatric treatises. Even as a type the melancholic
was crafty. avaricious, despondent, misanthropic and timid- aU
qualities constantly met with in writings on mental illness. Traces
of this are found in Isidore of Seville, in whose writings two
contradictory notions exist side by side without being reconciled.
One is the old physiological theory that health means the
equilibrium of the four humours, sickness the preponderance of one
of tJ:iem178 ; the other is the new theory of the four character-types.

... Esp. in TIM

Uarl'''nf, ch. ?-I I ; CAUIf (KOliN), VOl.. I" pp. 3241fC(q.

no In P!leudo-Soranus and Vindician, for Instance, one can hudly eacape the thought that
certain "cold and moist" and "",ann and. dry" qualities were attributed to the blac k bile
purdy by mistake, since the latter it both cold and dry. Were it not for such a miltaito,
the a ttribution to the mela ncholic uf IUch ulltraditional attribute. u "sleepiness" and
" iraselbllity.. , or, to tbe phlegma.tjc, of "wakefulness" a nd "reflexion", OO\Ild hardly be
uplaiDed. Belle restores the traditionil order.
'" Th~ . tatement that the phlegmatic mao. "goes grey eady" ill 10 specifi.c that 113 I18ree.:
me nt Wlth the ~~ ... TflxI-s 10 Galen', "cold and dry crasis" eau hardly be a pure
coincide nce.
.... isiDORE,

Elym.,

IV, "

7.

66

MELANCHOLY IN ANCIENT PHYSIOLOGY

Therefore, ~hile coupling the word "sanguis" with "5u~is", so


that people In whom the blood predominates are (or him' "dulces
ct blandi",t" he links the word "melancholia" with ' :malus"
and even endeavours to derive "malus" from the Greek name fo;
the black bile:
malus appellalur a nigro Celle. quod Graeci ~av dieunt unde et
me1aneholici appellantur homines. qui et conversationem 'huma.nam
rdugiunt, rt a.micorum carorum suspecti sunt.'.

1I
Il

i
I

CHAPTER

MELANCHOLY IN ~mDmVAL MEDICINE, SCIENCE


AND PHILOSOPHY
We have now traced the development of the notion of melancholy
among the ancients in two. or even three directions. Its starting
point was an idea of illness, t raced originally to an immoderate
increase or unnatural a1 teration in the "humor melancholicus."
later t o an "adustio" of the yeJ low bile. As well as t his idea of
a purely morbid melancholy, however, there arose th at of a
melancholy constitution, which in tum was interpreted in two
ways: either as the condition, exceptional in every way, of "great
men", as described in Problem XXX, I; or else as one of the
"types of disposition" which constit uted the doctrine of the four
temperaments, systematised after the time of Galen . I n this
context the melancholy type depreciated more and more and in
future times it was to mean, unambiguously. a bad disposition in
which unpleasant traits of mind and character were combined
with poor physique and with unattractiveness; not unnaturally,
this notion remained alW<l.YS conditioned by the original idea of
illness.

I.

... 1"00 EI)' .... 1V


-

11100,

.s. 6-

E"..... x, '76-

II

THE SURVIVA.L OF THE ARISTOTELIAN NOTIO::\' OF


MELANCHOLY I N THE MIDDLE AGES

We have seen how a1ready in post-Aristotelian antiquity the


thought expressed in Problem XXX, I, could no longer find full
acceptance. In the Middle Ages. which assessed the worth of an
individual not according to his intellectual gifts and capacities hut
according to his virtues in which God's grace enabled him t o
persevere. such an idea was even less acceptable; indeed, whenever it raised its head , it came into conRiet with certain basic
principles. During t he first twelve hundred years after Christ
the idea of the highly gifted melancholic had apparently been
completely forgotten . The great scholastic rehabilitation of
Aristotle had brought the Probltmaia as well as the other scientific

68

MELANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I. n .

work s within the horizon of the west-their first complete trans


Iation b v Bartholomcus of Messina, must have been finished
betwe~n ~ 258 and 1266, for it was dedicated to King Manfred of
Sicily,l But even after this, the thesis in Problem XXX, I,
though respectfully mentioned here and there, was chiefly a
matter for erudite quotation ; references to the Aristotelian theory
_aenerally
,
. made more for completeness' sake than from conviction- barely influenced the general view and tended, moreover,

partly to weaken the ancient author's true meaning and always


to modify it more and more. Except for a lost work of Albertus
I\'!agnus, the Liber super Proble11lata,'J only Pietro d'Abano's commentary on the Problemata {I3IO)3 dealt exhaustively with t he
contents of the Peripatetic doctrinc; but only the mcn of the
Quattrocento, with their new conception of humanity, .drew from
it conclusions amounting to a basic revaluation of the notion
of melancholy and to the creation of a modem doctrine of genius,
F amous for the important role he played in the revival of
an tiqui ty ,4 Alexander Neckham (who died in 1217) is (as far as
we know) the first medieval writer to mention the Aristotelian
thesis. His reference, based perhaps on Cicero's, was m ade with
considerable reservations and with a certain diffidence. In
agreement with the view most widely held in scholastic psychology,
Neckham declared that t he human intellect comprised three
distinct functions, each located in a different part of the brain:
(1) Imagination (" vis imaginativa"), located in the warm and
dry ventricle of the rore-brain, generally described as tile "cellula
phantastica"; (2) Reason ("vis rationalis" or "~ogitativa").
'Cf. e.g. C . i\f ..ltCH I:SI, Ltu. N;U1ftIQ~"'" ...JI .. I~.dinofu I,,'i.,. ... ui~"IOI . Mcu.ina 190"1.
pp. 9 sqq. a nd R. SI! I.IG$OH t<. Di, OIH,ulnt" I "' puwlo-.rislot.liul"f1 PrtJblnH.J. d.. ~.A
B ....lllo/~ ..'ws """ M,ui" .., rlis.scrl;ltlon. Serlin '9]]. On the other band. excerpts must
have already been transln.ted earlier, for Albertus Magnus sa~ in D. 50""111> eI lIifili., lib.
I . tract. II. t h. V (OPt~.. , ed. A. Dorgnet. Paris 1890-99, VOL. IX, p , 14.5): "dictum est in libro
d~ prol>lematibus ab Ari,totele, qui liber non ad me pervenit lieet viderim quaedam ucerpta
de ipso", It wou ld be interesting to know ir Albertu.'. reOlarIts on melancholy were based
on knowledge of the complete tralllllation or only o f the "excerpta". In which caso bit mention
01 Heetor and P riam could be partieularly e asily accounted for.

J. QUltTlI'

and

J.

E(:IIAltD. Scriplort$ Qrdi,.i$ P'lUdiull_,.., Paris 1719, VOL, I. p. 180.

PETRUS tI& A.I'O!fo, EJI/>Osi#o Prob/sma/.um "',iJ/#lis, Mantua 147.5. Padua 1"181. In
the postscript to th~ Mantuan edition, Pietro's commentary it ~xpr_ly deseribed as the
first attempt of its kind. and the date of Its completion it given as 1310. For printed edition,
and mallu scripts. ~ L. NoltPOYII, "Zur Bio-, Bibliograpllie und Wis.senscb.'tslehre des
Pietro d'Abauo." in Kylllos, VOL, 111, Leipzig 19]0. p . ]03.
Cf. esp . H . LIJlIII!SCll O'n.
Leipzig 19l6, esp. pp. 16 aqq.

F.u",,'ilU

I>f."'/tw,,/is (Studien der Bibliothek Warburg IV),

THE ARISTOTELIlt.N NOTION OF MELANCHOLY

located in the warm and moist "cellula logistica" in the middlebrain; and (3) Memory, located in the cold and dry ventricle of
the back part of the h ead.6 For this reason the sanguine natures,
whose warm and moist complexions (already regarded as indisputably the most favourable) corresponded to the "cellula
logistica", were most inclined towards learning:
Videtur autem nobis contrarius esse Aristoteles, qui dicit solos
melancholicos ingeniosos esse. Sed hoc dictum est ab Aristotele propter
felicitatem memoriae. quae frigida est et sicca, aut propter eorum astutiam.'
Whereas h ere the outstanding qualities of the Aristotelian
melancholic were somewhat arbitrarily limited to a good memory
and astu teness, Albertus Magnus attempted to restore the thesis
of Problem XXX, I, to its full stature, but in order to harmonise
it with t he general opinion he was obliged to take refuge in an
almost reckless reconstruction of the whole doctrine. The
expressive "tamen" in his introduction t o the Ethics (cited above,
p. 36) suggest s t hat he was not quite happy about the' Aristotelian'
Problem; and in the fuller statements contained in certain passages
of the Liber de a1~imalibus7 he attempted to resolve the contradiction as fo llows: natural melancholy was (as in Rufus and Galen)
This theory o f locali$atioo. oo:asionally attributed to Ariltotle in the Middle Ages (thus
AOI!LAlto 01' BATH. Quan liOf1IJ f1aJ ..rlOlu, ed. M. MUlier. MOnster 19]4, ch. XVIII) preI Upposes Galen', anatomy of the br ... in and the division (probably Stoic, but tnlnsmitted by
Galen) o f the !sculties into #a"'... "ia., 1""11"'1 a nd ...!'l"',r. a n analysis which Galen bimself had
not fully dev~loped: for the early history o f t.hi" thflOry see the remarkt of H . LU:BucIiOn.
Vorl'4,r~ 4~r 8ibliollld W"rb"'I, VOL. III , 192)- 14, p. 117; this 6hould be supplemented bv
WALTIlIfR SUDHO""'S very thorough-going rc:sean:h. tra.ci1l8 the notipn back to the fourth
century A.D. and down to Leonardo and VeM.iius; "Die Lehre von den Him ventrikeln", in
"'r,hi" fr. r G's,,"~IaI, du M,dUi .., VII (Leiplig 19 1]). pp. 1"19 ""q. According to Liobeechfitz
the claSsification o f the various brain ven t rl.:::1es " "warm and moist," etc., as taugh t by
Neck.am as well as by the professional anatomists (Richardu! Salernltanus, Lanfranc. etc).
it to be attributed to William o f Conches (see. how.,'er. below, text. pp. 104 sqq.}--al! euily
explici.b!1I byprod uct o f !Wi urge to scientilie systemat.iaatio~d abo W. SudbotJ dOO!'s
not p lace this eoneeption any earlier (QP. cit. p . 170).
ALlIXANOBB NJlCKAJoI, D~ ..al .. ~i$ r, ru,.. Iibn duo, ed. T. Wrigbt. London J863 (R., ..."
Br;"'f1l1iu....... medii aa;j StripttwU. \'OL. XXIV). p . ~1 . Aocording to the vie,.. held there
Neckam ;" bound to gi ve tbe pt.net Venll. (which ho abo ~ds as .....arm and moist" the
patronage of .aence: "Quintu. autem planeta propU:r eRactus, quOll exercet in inferiO!'ibus,
c:a.lidus dicitur et hum id us, ideoque $Cientia eI aptatur, quae in sanguineia vig~ sold ... "
thougti- a very . igniJica.nt distinctioll- ho put!! wisdom under the influe nce of Saturn. The
view that meIancholy. as correspolldin( to the heavy and hnprcssionablo elements water and
eutb, favoured memory ....as everywhere ... idely beld; d . the passage from R.an iUNDus
LULLUS. PrirodpitJ plli.losop'"i<u. quoted by L. VOLX"ANH, in Jallrowlt d" ItUtI.J',"i..s~"
Sllmml ....g' .. i .. Willi, M.I'.'II (1919) . p. 117: "Rursllll ai t Memoria. 'eftactiv" mea natura es t
melancholia. quoniam per frigid itatem restri ngo speciu et eonwrvo metaphorico loquendo, .
quoniam aqua habet nat uram restringend i, el quia terra habet nat ul"lUlt vacuativam, habeo
Inca, III quibUi possum ponere ipl species:" (Seo alto belo..., text pp. 337 &qq.).
I Quoted in G IKHLOW (190-4), p . 6 1.

70

MELASCHOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE.

[I.

II .

a "faex sanguinis"8 as opposed to the "melancholia non naturalis"


arising from the " adustio" of the natural humours and t hus
divided into four sub-species.' It might now have been expected
that the 'Aristotelian' notion of the outstandingly gift ed melancholic would , in accordance with the division between natural and
pathological melancholy. be coupled with the notion of a naturally
melancholic temperament . But that was impossible for Albertu5,
because he conceived the " natural" melancholic (that is to say.
the representat ive of the " complexio sicca et frigida") as the unam iable, gloomy, dirty, misanthropic, suspicious and occasionally
kleptomaniac creature t hat the doctrine of the temperaments
had made him .IO For Albertus Magnus, too, the predisposit ion
to intellectual ability was bound up with the qua lities of warm
and moist, with which the coldness and dryness of "melancholia
naturalis" compared unfavourably. There was tllcrefore nothing
left for him but to make the gi ft ed melancholic of the 'A ri stotelian '
Problem into a sort of optimal special form of the inherently
morbid "melancholia adusta" . When the process of "adustio"
to which this owed its origin was not carried too far, and when
the blood for its part was warm and powerful enough to bear the
admixture of "melancholia adusta", then there arose that worthy
melancholic who did not really, for Albertus, represent a type of
temperament at all but was simply an exceptionally favourable
example of the " melancholia non naturalis" .
I
. If th~~ mela~c h oly be not violently affected by '"adustio" , it will ~enerate

spmts whIch are abundan t. constant and strong. .For this reason
such pea Ie have firm convictions and verj well regulated passio.ns ; and
they wiIJ be industrious and possess t he highest virtucs. Therefore
Aristotle says in his book of Problems that all the great philosophers such
VItal

AUIli:JtTI1S MAO:<I1S. D, "" j...,,(ibUJ libri .'1m. ed. H. Stadler, Milnster tW. 19 16-2 1, VOL
I, p. 329, f " 9 (Beitrllge zu r Getchiehte der Philosophie des Mittelalten, va l.. xv).
t See op, cit., VOL. I, p . 3l9, ! no lor the division of "melan.;:holia non natunal is" into
four $1I b-speeies, whieh we c:all the " doctrine o j tbe fOllr lonns," see below, pp. 86 sqq. (lu i).

I. See op. cit. VOL. II , p. 1 30~. i 6 1: "Nihi l delectation;s aplld n invenientes et malae
IU$picionis etiam ex;stentea ad a lios, oeddunt Ie ipsos, et sunt nec diligenle. nee dilig ibi let,
solitudine.m, qu ae malitia vitae humanae est, amantes, et in sor dibll ' ease. delectabile. ett eil,
el alia multa mala oon tingunt ni. et sunt frequente.r fures etiam quando non ind ige ut de re
quam lurantur, et multum aunt insomnes propter (:() mplex ionis siedtatem et frigidltatem."
Here, ptlrhapi in un(:()nKious regard tor Aristotle.. the melancholi.;: is not 10 .;:slled by name ,
but. q uite ..""r t fro.n the traditJonal samene... of the prediea.tes and tho exprelfion
"oomplexionil skcita. et frigidiw, " the d e$Cription is so obviously oonnectod with t be
doctrine of umpenamentl contained in
~g~l (for this see below, text p . 119) tha t there
(:.I.n be no doubt o f the author's intention. Moreover in tbe same work, VOL. I. p . H , i 129,
it has been ltated that the melan<:holie is &ad aod gloomy. a.nd s uBen from terrifying
del urions.

,"
I

I j

THE ARISTOTELIA N NOTION OF MELA NC HOLY

7'

as Anaxagoras and Thales of Miletus, and all those who distinguished


themselves by heroic virtue, such as Hector. Aeneas, Priam, and others,
were in this sense melancholies. He says that such a melancholy is of the
nature of red wine, which is airy and st rong, and possesses the power of
generating constant vital spirits,U

In the short sentences at the end Albertus once more su mmarised


t he physiognomic signs of the different temperaments. But even
here he felt obliged, for t he sake of the ' Aristotelian' doct ri ne, to
introduce a special category for the "melancolicus de melancolia
adusta calida", who combined the mobility of a warm-blooded
temperament with the "stabilitas" of earth. and owing to his
" melancholia adusta" shared a number of characteristics with
the choleric, such as being " longus et gracilis".
Sanguine persons are of good flesh and good general condi tion, cholerics
are tall and slender. phlegmaties short and stout. Melancholies are thin ,
short and swarthy, But those who are of that sort of melancholy which
is \\'arm and affected by "adustio" [that is to say, the Aristotelian great
men] are Yery tall and slender and dark, a nd have firm flesh,lz
" Op. (:it.. VOl-. I. p. 330. ; 121 : "Quoniam , i non sit multum arlu5ta.
tu nc ill a
me\auoolia edt habens multo. et stabiles et (:(Infirmatos spiritus : qu,a cahdum "'US belle
mo,-et et hum.idum eius .;:u m yposQS; terresu i non i nd nera ta opt.me move:" , l':"rn cr Ij un<!
b les habent stabilitos oorta'ptU$ et ordinatissimO! afftttus, et effi .;:iu ntllT .tU.h05; n ,-,. tr.: t um
optimiUUm . EI ideo di.;:il Aristoteles Ln libra de Problema tibu s. quod OlD!les 1'I:&'OI(' S
philosophi .i.;:ut Anaxagoras e t Tilt'S Mylesiul, n omnes illl q u, , ',rtut,bus pae<;tl! .. ~ n t
hcroycis. sicut Hoc tor et E neas e.t I'mmus et alii (u.e replaci ng of G reek ~er""s b~' r"'J:1'"
is t)'piea\ly mooieval]. de Q Ii erallt melancolia, Didt tn im. quod b lis mda ncolya habet
""-t,,ram ,in; ru bei.. qllod fum<)5um est et tol'lfirma lorum et stabilillm sp,rit 'Jurr. gene, &, in:m "
Cf. a l$o VOL. II, p. 1) 0'1 . 560; " QlIaecu mque .. utem (Kil. aOlma! ia) gma .. su", ..... ngu'nis 0'1
c;alidi. immix b m in ADfUine haben t eoleram SUUlia m vel ad uri HI.;:ip' entem quac <'ot
quoddam genus mela ncoliae : et haec ntis l unt s tabih .. eo!. eonsta ntis a udacl&e e: m"ltMum
spirituu m mediorum inter g~ e: lubtiles: propter quod euam tal " .;:omple,,,olll i ex ,,-n:..,.
homines stabUl! I Unt a nimi et fortis, et non praecipi lol.'l . Ta lis emm mela nco!!.. ~ : q uas, de
c:omplexione vini rubei. skut dixit AriSloteln in libro de Problematibus . .
Et qlll<l l umo.8
(..~~l est huiu$mod i eolen, multiplicat 5piritum stabilem qui bene lenet for mas
(Le. because o f dryness : in water, everything: lIows away. benu t he phlegmal '.;:s ....uk
memory] . .. el resultan t coneeptlls mentis I ta bilQ et operation"" ord",atae : et ~r hu.u. ,
modi c:alorem ;l!l(:endentem .. , non desptlnnt seip50S semper et con lotlant, sieu t !~ it Ental
alloquens $O(;i<)5 in perkulis exl!ten tes et d io:en" '0 passi graviora. dabi! Deus hiis <'l"O<J " t
finem: Et id eo dieit Aristoteles, quod omnes "iri in philosophia 0'1 h .. royci~ '- lrt u l: hu.
praecipu i de huiusmod i fu erunt me~ n.;:o lya . teut Hector et Eneas e1 Pnam u tt alii .
Propter quod et leo et a lia quaedam hu iusmodi (:Omplexioni' animalia mag's ~ 1In: al115
HOOraHa et (:Ommunkativa:'
.. See op. cit., VOL . II. p . 130j. i 61 ; .. ... sanguinei lu nt bonae carnis et bonae ba blw d in is
Colerid autem longi et gradles. lIeumat id breves et pmguci el melaneoliCl sunt I" nu e, el
breves et nigri. Hii autem, qul . unt de melaneolia auu5ta calida, su nt "aide long; et g,acil~!
et nigri et durae cam i.: See.\.to the anriblltioo of tho lion. m" !ltioned in t he pr e,.oll,
no te. wbich is otherwise aJ ...... }'1I a typic:a! .;:holeri.;: beast, 10 the special for m o f ro elanchO!J
oomplexioo h ere in qllet;tion . The attem pt of F, M. BARIIAOO (Rei"" T;'("~;st,. ne" se~'e .
XlV (193 1). pp. 314 "Qq.) 10 bring Albertus Mal nll " S doc trine of t~m~ramen a '"to har roo:!'
both with the findings 01 modem psyc:hology and t he d octrine of gland ular secre tion$ is in leteU
ing, tboogh perhaps not from an historical poi nt of view.

(I.

MELANC IJOLY I N ME DIEVAL MEDICINE

72

II.

Albertus's attempt to relegate the melancholy ~ f:: e xcep~ional"


to the realm of " melancholia non naturalis remamed a
~~;ti\'elr isolated instance. I n. general, the Middle Ages t~k
little interest in the interpretation o f Problem XXX, I , w~ile
writers of t.he Renaissance, realising very soon t~e true mearung
of the d istinction between natural and pathologtcal melancholy.
were to apply it regardless of its dive~gences (rom the then already
vulgarised doctrine of the. co~pleXlons.
Only Pietro d'Abano, In hiS somewhat obscure ~omm entary
on t he Problems,13 seems to have made an attempt m the. saml~
direction as Albcrtus, but this was either ignored by l a t~~ wnters,
or else explicitly and even passionately rebutted.
In the
I 3 0 f 8th fCommentary
(the boe...quod
tilul
, N ' , . "Notaodum
" T he cltarest are the followIng pas~gel : ' I ) . ~o.
.
I
n
ge number.' In t he edlUOQ of '4 2, O. 2 .

''',uon 0,1 I~ ;:I ~~Pho,..!''',uid .. m enid. IIIn! n .. tura frigid; el,iee!, maxime io q uibulmden,"
me .. nco ICI I U .. uU
~.,
,
.
t
, non eoim fuent
dom.nln! ~e<;undu m G( alen"rn) ul humor n'le. ; de qu.b us noll ~. &ermo. tione eoleno ae
ILL predict" 11Iu5lnlJIII aut pu;untu. preta,:: ,t a"t s ~n: ~t~~ .. ~~~ :~ ~;:~r q uod melan.
. '
ueo ler
r.an8u ls [II C] . " (II Th e nn.l piUSage ...... CI ., O. 4 , .
Ii i sh 'e
r!le sive qualilCtCuruqu c coatingat , pr~lIuot alio$ LD ~~ oonaeq
l:C:t per M: mag is. delnde eoleric:.l e! ,qui
me1aooolia
est
" 15u'" e~t : sec undum en!m primam coleram IlLg.... m I,ve hlitoOn:m rna!" 11Lsru m 0
m"
(Uf!l non lu n\ hu;usmodi. verum propter le(:unda m, oolere perm
, ~tamhr Ubee v~ a: II:!:w~)
Plet;o d ' \bano seeml in lut, th",t.lore. like Albertua ala.g IlUI w m ,,~y
v
b
to ha ve been nluctant to include the higbly-&ift~ atoO?,' IUltunJ. .melam:bo~~nd:ad::~

~:meperau,

dei~cep$;

~n.,,;,

prelerred Identlf)'Ln' them wittl th," re~~~_~t.a'::::~leyh'?!:~l~::


with red bile", beca.uM ,ueh peop" po..........u r as w~11 a'IL a good memory (pen ultimate column of the Commeotary).

du~~,::

~h~n~g viU:I ,piria,"

.
. 't u r ~ to bills ilb.., q u.un clixim ua naturalem,
0. II. 1,lpI.,
I. $, p, 497,. " Sob. 181
judiciu m nobil et ppientiam eondue;t; neque t~men semper,

" CI. FICII'fO,


0 '

" .. Espec.oall)' .uU,f(CHTMOlf, 0.

."i",..

"Hie
1\ (CorJ'1lJ R'f~~"'"'" :. X ILI ) : co I. A115' oeoaia
uuritu r de atra bile: a n et quomodo prae.tan~ motus LD Ln,en~q ef6eiaH
po
i
~on netc iud ic:at, qui exiltima.t bot mol Wi In ~ vi , is ;Lb
bile _ , ~;OD" Da~~
Nam a.dulta effie!t fu rore. et ~menti.u. non. pa.nt motu . qUI '""'."o tur eo~ieI ~nt
est Apooenli, eum putavlt An.toulem hoc: lnterrop.re, an p;Lub.tim aeate
ta
melUICbolic:.> ' 1d enim nOD propooit Aristote1es, sed ipsas _tUn.l et tempe ...... n eor\Idm
senut esse ~"la.ncholiea. Ac dei nde NtI. OIItendi t. K DOD de vicioso ~ulDOr'fl Ioqui,. sed~
.. Th. fo, I Ihat P ietro d'Abano', view was 001 ~hle to preva il In the 'pee,.1
nuura I.
tha th
rat e ileet
0 1 the "problem of meLancholy does not of eoune a lter the fa.et
t
e gene
U of bilL
Commen ul)' was very (onJiden.ble. .u euly as 1)' $, J OU AMIU[lII OK JIUfOU"O eaD e
J.. ndun) head 01 th" Parit.ian Avetrolsts, made a collUllentary o n Pietro'l commentary. ~E.
A W"Dlf, 3rd edn,.
ri. 1866, p. ~~o) ; be ~d fe(;eived the mll;"~~p=h~':~~~;
01 P,dua a nd It a.ppean that the Avem.l trend In North Italy, "'hi
t
Id
bl
denou nced and .... hieh W:I.. partly ba5ed o n AriILtotle'l Prohk"" . WIoI due, to a OOIlt
e
t t; Pietro d'AhAno', a ctivit1e"
R ICH ..... D OF M ZI)'A"ILLA (Q...1Wf Ollul,_,
/ Ul1dll lj"i ... i dOdo rl, m'ardi d4
q.oacstio
Venice 1$09, tol. 19"
:t
.J makes '" li mllu attempt, though adm ittedly Without douet reler~Dce to Problem
xxic.\ The qUeltion at to wblch
..... the best lor sc.holartln p was lenert.!ly
anl we'red ;n f~vour of t he choler ic:. and the sanguine, a nd , the objection t hd ~el. nchOltc~
too were often partlc uhuly gifted lehol .... wu brushed astd e by the h ypothests t hat suc
Ie .... ere really cholerlca and had only become mela.ncbolics "accideoter propter ad ustione m
" ted inlcllui boc: [I.e. th .. t th" mela,;",boly
w.. hy nat,,", oot
favourable to IICholarship) de melanchotici.t n.turaltter ... dlL erum $lint minime apti per lie
ad lCieotiam."

a:tU$ta

R.. ". . ",

P..

er:-

e:~~7ibetakJ

~~,, :

/I1e~i4t1i11lJ,
tem~ent

I)

THE ARJSTOTEU AN NOTION OF ME LA NC HOLY

73
thirteenth century, William of Auvergne, another great scholastic
who had adopted Aristotle's teaching, arrived once more at interpreting the meJancholy oCgrea t men in t erms of natural disposition ,
and in contrasting it, as particularly favourable for a man's
salvation, with t he phlegmatic complexion which (according to
Galen !) "benefits none of the faculties of the soul" . He was,
however, speaking entirely as a t heologian, concerned far less with
the scient ific basis of the Aristotelian thesis than he was with its
interpretation in t erms of Christian moral philosophy. H e could
therefore simply ignore the difficult ies which Albcrtus Magnus
and Neckham had found so considerable. In his eyes, the
immense advantage of the melancholy disposition, and the real
reason for its glorification in Aristotle, lay in the fact that it
withdrew men from physical pleasures and worldly turmoil,
prepared the mind for the direct influx of divine grace, and
elevated it, in cases of special holiness, to mystic and prophetic
visions,
There is nO doubt that many are hindered from direct illumination by
the stench of their vices and sins, but many are hindered by their complexions. For some complexions gorge the soul and hinder its noble powers,
for which reason Galen, the great physician. says t hat the phlegmatic
complexion benefits none of the faculties of t he soul. . .. The reason is
that they (that is to say, the relevant humours) bend t he soul and take
possession of it; for which reason they keep it far from the attainment of
sublime and hidden matters, even as a vessel filled with liquid can receive
no other liquid, or a tabJet or parchment COver-cd with writing CiUl rt:Ceive
no other writing. This accords with the words of the sage, when he says
"Non recipit stultus verba prudentiae, nisi ea dixeris, quae versantur in
corde eius .. .. " (Prov., XVIll.2). For these reasons Aristotle was of t he
opinion that all highlygifted men were melancholies; and he even believed
that melancholies were fi tted for inspirations of this kind in a higher degree
than men of other complexions-namely, because this complexion withdraws
men mpre from bodily pleasures and wordly t urmoil. Nevertheless, though
nature affords t hese aids to illumination and revelation, they are achieved
far more abundantly through the grace of the Creator, integrity of living,
and holiness and purity.1I

~vu!,

~~eot

.. W U..UA'" 0 ' AlJ\'tRGtfl, Bi&bop o f Parit, D, lI"iw~$ct, II, 3 , ~o (0/>n'4 _" .... , Venice 1$91,
p. 99): 0p"tI, Orleans . 674, VOL, " p. '0$.) : "F; t io mo ltls Ind obitllDter proh ibet irndiationem
Illmed la tam ipu. vitio .... m et pe(:<:a lorum tae tu l"ntia. . , , In multis .utem eomple;do;
quaedAm eDim eomplexlones inerupnt aol ..... et impediun t vi res eanlln nobile&, propte r
q uod dici t GAlenul ' UDUDIlS medkUI, quia. negmatica oom plexlo n lllliun virtutem aDimae
iLlYat . . " CaDsa in hoc: elt, q uoniam incur vant et occu pant animas h Ulnanu, p ropter hoC
probiboo.nt eu a perfectione retulll .ublimium et rerum oc:eU ltarulll, q uemadmod um pJen.i t udo
V2Ria de. uoo liquor" prohibe t ipw.m a ~tione liquorl.t altenUI, ale et iaacrip tio tabulae

74

[r.

MELANCHOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

II .

William of Auvergne, therefore, interpreted the 'Aristotelian'


con~eption in a typically medieval sense, and attributed to the
anCIents his own medieval approach ("propter huiusmodi causas
visum fuit Aristoteli ... "). He considered the excellence of the
melancholy temperament (as opposed to the particular worthlessness of the phlegmatic) as fitting for the ideal life of ascetic
contemplation . However, nature could admittedly contribute no
~no~e.than a favou rable condition; it would be of no avail wi thout
mdlvldual free will, and, above all, divine grace. This ideal
naturally required not so much a capacity (or great achievements
as secllnty from temptation. WilJiam, of course, was not unaware
of the danger that t oo deep an immersion in supernatural matters
and too sl~wing a fervour might cause a melancholic complexion
!o de~el~p mto a melancholic disease-that is to say, in~o manifest
tnsam.ty ; but even this real madness, he argues, was no more
an evil than were the sufferings which God inflicted on the holy
m~yrs. Even. in manifestly morbid melancholy the victims
retamed t he gift of inspired revelation, though this was
in termitten.tl S : and even complete alienation was earnestly desired
by the hohest of men, because it ensured once and for all the
s~v~tion o~. the ~ul ; for either a man was just and good before
hiS l~ness, m which case he could not lose merit, since be could
not sm when mad, or else he was a sinner, in which case his guilt,
at least, could not grow any greater.1D

,
" 1:1 pell~ . prohlbet aiiam inscriptionem ab ilia iw<u. sennonem Sapientis, que: dixit: 'Quia
no~ rec. p~t Itultul verba prudentiae nbi til. diJreris. quae veraan t ur in corde eJut Propter
hU lusmod. cauus vllum {uit Aristoteli om nes ;ngeniosos melanchoiieol esse et vide ri e 'd
potuit ~e~ncholico.t ad irradiationes huiulmod i magis idoneoa esse quam homin~ ai!~r::
compleXIOn,.,. propter hoc ~uia c~mpleli:io ista magis abstrahit a dcleetationibus Jorporalibul
~! a . tu~ultlbllS mund:mlS. LI~t autem adiu meota praenominata nat ura p racs:e t ad
Illuml~ationes et revelati(lnes, gratia larnen ereatoris mUllditiaquo eonvenationis et ..nctias
et puntas mu lto abllndantius ipsa, hnpetTant . . . . "

IT " l nvtniuntur tamen animae aJiquae, quibns istac irradia tiones auperve.n.il!nt e lortitudine cogiu.tionum in rebus divinalibns et ex vebementia devotionis io ~.'-"b:
. m ac sanetorum d eaiderionl m, quibua pulehritudioem-iucundissimam
- -mln er ex ardore PlOnI
~reatoris eo~cupi~unt. Galenus alltem in Jibro de rnelanchoUa dicit ex hu iusmodi desideri is
mterdu~ al~q \los me.urre.rf: ~(lrbum melancholieum, qui p rocul dubio desipientia magna est
et abahenatlo I. rectit ud me m telleet us et discretione ration;s:'

. .. '.' &:i re tam~n debes, q uia huiusmodi homio es, videlicet morbo melancholieo laborantes,
Irn.d ... tion~ ~plunt, ven.m partieula l... ct detruncatu. Quapropt.u ad iDstu prophduum
d~ ,rebus dl~' n .. libus natu .... l.t .... loq ... indpiu nt. Sfld Ioq" elant bul...... adl no .. con tle" a .. l,
n.'SI ad modICum . .E t propter hoe statim recid unt in verba delipkntiae consume. ta" Q"am
~. fumul melanehohcus ascendens ad v irttltem intellectivam in illill {ulgorem ipsiua inten:iplens
illam off"!IC~t, et propt~r hoc ab atti tudlne tantl lumin is mentcm i n &.Iiena deliciat. "

" ,. L?' ulli~~'""

" J, 7 (OP".~ 0":,"'1>, Venice 159 '. p. 725: 0P' ,I>, Orleans 1674,

VOL.

I, p. 769):

De 'I'' wa rn ma lo furon$ d,co, quod pl erumqlle, immo semper. valde utile .... t furioai.:

2]

MELA NCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS

2.

(a)

,I

75

MELANCHOLY AS AN I LLNESS

Melancholy in Th eo logy and Moral Philoso phy

These remarks of William of Auvergne lead us st raight from


Aristotle's' notion of melancholy to that of the psychopa thologists,
for whom it was nothing but a mental illness. Other theologians
had also dealt with the question of melancholy from this point
of view, and it is natural that the existence of a mental illness
which overtook the pious and unworldly, not in spite of their
piety and unworldliness. but because of it, should have appeared
a particularly burning problem for Christian moral philosophy.
Hardly anyone, admittedly, rose to the height of William's hymn
in praise of melancholy; but then, only someone who like him
was both a thorough-going Christian and a thorough-goi ng
Aristotelian could have felt as he did.
Here we shall quote only a few of the disquisitions on the
problem of pathological melancholy in moral theology. First
came Chrysostom's exhortation to the monk Stagirius, the 1\6yos
-rrapalVTIKOs TfpOs- :hcryElplov 6:I1K1lTilv 6ooIJov(;)VTO', \\Titten in :\ .0. 380
or 381.20 It is true that the condition from which the saint hoped
to beguile his protege was described neither in title nor in text
explicitly as "melancholy" , but was call ed despondency (&6uu ia):
hut quite apart from the fact that despondency had always been
the main symptom of melancholy illness, both the aetiology and
semeiology in this case (which gives us a deep insight into early
Christian asceticism) agree so completely with the defin itions in
medical li tera ture on melancholy that J ohannes Trithemi\ls was
full y justified in rendering the expression 6:6wlo. as it occurs in

I lve enl,., boni el iusti s'n l, cum in furorem incidunt, HI t uto ponit ur pet furorem .nC!l tas
eoru m sh'e boni tas, cu m tempore fured, peceare nO n poss int .. . . ai,., "'ai, t l :n,,,'f, 5;nl
in hoc eis per fu rorem consulitur, ut malitia eorundem to tempore no n a ug~a tu r
Qtlod
I i creditur Galeno, adiuvat hunc lermonem id quod didt in libro de ;\I t lan ehohn. "ldthcet
quia q uida m CJC nimio desiderio vidend i Deum nimiaqut solliciludine Circa hoc In(,,l~ re in
melancholiam. quod non esse! pouibile "pud neatoris oon;utem . . n i11 elsdem 'ps um
praenosceret utilem fore mu ltiplidtu et salubre. Debe...utem scire. q uia tempore mre
multi fuernot viri ...... ctiss.mi ac leliliol.iui mi. quibus desiderlO magno era t morb." melan
choliae propter It(; uritatcrn anteciictarn. Unde et cum Jnltr cos esset qUldam mela ochollC'"
e t sta tum elus non medk>eritu ,,8'e(:taTtnt, aperte dicebant Dtum onaumnabllerr, gr;oliam
iIIi ml:lancholieo cont" lissc . . . :'
.. MIONe. P . Cr.,
Al ost 1487.

VOL. XLVII, col~ . 42)

! qq . Ed. se pa rately. as D. p,ou;d~ " I;d D~ I ~.! 5 '"$i' 'I'''' '

76

)II::LA NC HOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I. u .

the epistle to Stagirius by "me1ancolische Traurigkeit".tI Nor is


there anv lack of contemporary witnesses who describe what
happened to Stagirius expressly as " melancholy" , with pity or
censure thrown in according to the author's viewpoint.2:1 But of
all the descriptions of this typical "monastic melancholy",
ChrysoSlom's letter is the most detailed and penetrating.!3 T~e
unfortunate Stagirius suffered from terrifying nightmares, disorders of speech, fils and swooning; he despaired of hiS. salv~t~on,
and was tormented by an irresistible urge to commIt sUIcIde;
and what rendered him completely desperate was the fact- a
very natural one, the physicians would have said-that none of
this had come upon him until his entrance into monastic life,
and that he could see some of his fellow sufferers immediately
cured of their illness when they came out into the world again
and married.
What Chrysostom held out to him as consolation was mainly
an appeal to God 's providence. God allowed the devil to continue
his work si mply fo r the good of mankind, for in giving the devil
"A"tuoo. J IItrr" Job .. Abu 1101 S/14I .. bi", awJf ~.J F.",sJ~, Iqoktad t 1,5,5,5, lot, Nt',
The .entenee quoted by Trithemius il in MIG~I, p, Gr. VOL. JtLVlt, col. 491.
TRrrll.~'U I:

" Ole gr6ne ode r vile ainer Melaneuli


tchen traufigkal t ist krefttiget vnnd achadt
aueh mer dann alle Trilnltehfl .... IiKi< unS.
CRRTSOSTOIII VS:
dana ""ollM:hel\ d.,.. MO la"t vNn.i"d .
~ roil' ~ m,-,.t..s ~ ..
den ,-benl.-indt er mit ""nu traurJcltait
'fir ~ n~, hel .01 d w,.- h ol.
des menachen. So du nun .akhe Metaa........~ ... "'oh-fr ......,..,... ... n,n..". ~".
coliK.he tnuriSltait auB deinem s inn
ooJIb. ~' i ..: - ..~ nr s.-......
s ehlechst .0 m",s d ir der Te8ftel gar nldlu
Khaden ."
.. Two u .. mpLu may be quoted. First. a paNaSo from Sr J ",.OIllI'1 p i,l,"", ~v. 16
("IIGNI, P. L . VOl.. XXII, coL. loSl): "Sun t qui hU1Il1IU ccllarum im moderatisqlle ieiulllil,
uedio IOlitudinl' ae nimia lec lione. dum diebul at noctibus auribus IUit penn_n t, vt untur
In meianehaham. et Hippocratis ~ falflentis quam norl::ris mocitiJ la dlsenL" Stcond,
tram the apposite poillt 01 view, .arne lioes by AuCUSti oe'1 QOlltemporary. R unutrS cu.VIHVI
NAIII/I,TlAlfV5, D. r,~ilw "',", V. 439 sqq., edd . e ,l. H . KI'~I a: G. F , S/l,V/I,GII, Laadou 1907
" ' PlI ttl manachot Graia c:og nomine dieullt ,
Quad aoll nullo vivere tn te volunt ...
Sive lua. repe tllnt !aetoru m orgastula pocnas.
Tri.tia IC II nigro v iKera lelle tument.
Sic nlmiae bills lIlorbum assigoavit Homerus
BeUerepboot.ei.lOllicltlldinibu.:
Nam luveoi affenlO _vi post tela doloris
Dicitll r huma.aum displicuiue seaos. "

.. 5! allO Ct.SSI/l,lf, CqlJllfioOUJ , ch&ptu "De lpiritu ac:ediae", 110' a rl ume.nu on the ... mfl
tbeme by JOH "~"' &S C"' IIIACUS and 15100.' 0" S.VIl.t.I (joiotl y dcalt with b y F. P /I,GIIT,
Til, 5p.,i, of DiuipU"" 7th ed n . Londan 11196, pp. 8 aqq.),

\ 2 'J

ME LA KC IIOL Y AS AN ILLNESS

77

the power of temptation and man the power of resistance He


the soul through the necessity of seU-defence to virtue;
and just as, like an umpire in the arena, he sets the strong greater
t ask~ than the weak, in order to reward them more richly on the
D ay~ of Judgement, so too He had sent these temptations to
Stag1rius (who by adopting a religious life had stepped out of
the audience and down into t he arena) at a time when He knew
him to be strong enough to overcome them, Stagirius's torments
were really gain, and the devil, whom holiness always provoked
to do battle, could only attain real power over an ascetic man
when .the latter yielded to temptation. Admit tedly, "melancholy
sadneSs" made the devil's victory easier," in fact it could be
said that he overcame men by their own {rlMJla : but this des
pondency in turn could be overcome by the thought that it was
one of those sufferings inflicted on men not by their own guilt
but by divine providence. "Thou canst overcome thy despondency
if thou sayest thou hast done nought that might justify it."
William of Auvergne therefore considered melancholy illness
as a grace, while Chrysostom interpreted it as a trial which
reasonable reflection could make comprehensible and tolerable,
(Incidentally, the great rationalist Maimonidcs attempted to
combat attacks of melancholic despair with similar consoiations,2:6
though these were addressed less to a religious hope of the next
g ui~

.. In tbe .u:tH'atb OI!:Dt\l1'}' this notioD ltill- "~pptan, treated no- . from the
a"lll! of bun:>onJ patbolofy ,athu th&n 01 JDOnll payeboloc:y. Coa~llLlua /I, L.t.PIO'" (Conottii
o LopiU . .. tmotlflftlorii. i" scripturo". ,ana".. Lyons.hriI 186,5, ays Ion I Reg. 16.231:
"Nullul. m m hlllllOr- map qu",m hic mdanc:boIiaI. (st. opportunu. cst diabolo. ut hommeIJ
vexet .) Quare daemon, q ui .glt per cau... nat\lrales, max imo uti tnr hUmnnI mdancholico."
.. fulltll MaYS ls, T , aQalou.u r~I .... i". , ... flalil, 1477 ",nd a ftu ; dapter I U (in the edition
to us. Aupburg 1,5 18, loll, b 4' MI .); "Et causa totiu. huiu. (st. the oondition a l
d illOJdered melancholy. and lear] est molUlia animae et lpaillS iCnorantia ruum veritatis,
Dacti vero tt acquiJVltes mares phiJosophiae ... ac:qainlftt .... imabut lUis fortitudi.aem , ..
fit qu&ntumcunque aliquls magis S\lKi p;t dfl doc trina, nUnua patittur ell: alDbobus aecidentibul
aequalit.er. videlicet ex die boni vel mali. Dooee" pervenerit ad aliquld magn am bonum
ex honis mundi, quae quiuem vOC&otur a philosophi! bona phantllttlca, non magoifica tur
mud apud ipsu m , , . el eum pervenerit ad cum magnu m d",mnum, et angustia magna u :
tempore~advenitatll . , , non . tupHCit n~lue timet, sed u.s tolent bouo modo .... Merito
na mq ue philosoph; a ppellave runt bona h ulul ueeull et hui " . mala bona tt mat... phan w t ica.
Pl ura etenilll suorum boaorum imaginatur hoalO bona _ , qu ae quidem in v itate mala
.unt, $iniliitu tt plura mala malorum s ucru m exiltimat _
mala, q ua.e q uldc:m bona
I\l ot. '.. .. " Nevertheleu, Maimooidet a llO p rueribts purely medical remedies. eapecially
med,,:ul<:s wbieb ",re particularly adapted to the dispoaitioa of the aUfU.lt addrasc:e. Nat\1n1!ly
reasoned reflectioo-with .pc:cific:alJy Christia n overtonet, of oourso--as a remedy against
melancholy oontinued to be rec:om~nded 10 westem liten.turt as well, II ntil far 11)10
modem ti.mca. A, ,",U .. medical .clentifle a nd ehuaeterolosical litec;atun!, tberi! is a whola
.mes a f writingl whieh migh t be gra upe(! uoder tho tlUe " Anti -melancholy bortatioo.s"; a very
avai!abl~

MELANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDICI NE

[r.

II .

world than to a stoical contcmpt of the present.} Melancholy,


however, could also be envisaged as a vice of one's own incu rring
as soon as it w as identified with the sinful "acedia" which was
sister-or mother- to "tristitia",U and tills identification was
made the easier by the fact that the outward symptoms of these
sins-" timor", "taedium cordis", "instabilitas loci", "amaritudo
animi" and " spei de salute aut venia obtinenda abiectio"- built
up a picture very like melancholy,!1 and were sometimes even
expressly linked with the "atra bilis".28 But on the other handand th is interpretation must have met the spiri tu al desires of the
devout most adequately- melancholy might be considered as a
chastisement from heaven which divine providence inflicted both
on men in general and on individuals in particular, partly to
punish past sins. partly, by painful experience, to avert future
ones.
.
St Hildegard of Bingen was particularly fond of re!ating the
origin of the "humor mf"J ancholicus" to the Fall of Man, but
NaU)lAvR 'S GII'''';o HI, llIou:AoIia. OT Ctiwlt i" T,wbslllt ...
17j11ll1d bter. while. on the other ha nd. there also appurtd collection. of jocular.nd witty
po!DU IlJ'Id .torie:t under title:t such I.S Exili ..... ,lIt!:l..u,oI;tu OT R'&1' IWrts JfW IAr MdfJ"dlOli,
(numeroulqllotationJ 111 A . FA. UISUoI. L. " i14 J. .... s""",,, Turin 19 16. pp. 151 and 28)}.
CI. abo TIw Mad P~.... h Il"d
J"'I oj Ilobi .. GoodJdl_. reprinted from the edition of
1613. wi th an Int roduction by J. Payne Collier. London 18~ 1 (percy Societ y, .rly ",lid;

typical e:u.mple Is t he Jesuit FaA)!l

M""

Poll..,. VOL.

I X) .

.. The complexity of the notion 0 1 "aeed~" j'>OSQ ill prol.Mem whieh eanl>Ol be dtalt wi th
hne.. 0 . the (u nfonunaUoty ';npu blioshed) diucrlation by M. A. CO.....u. of Comcll Unl.
vErSity. I th..:... entlt~ A 51""',. oj AtdJ/ill ."d _
oj ill Lit~~ar,. Pltaus. 19)2. kindly
pointed out to Oil by MT Herbert StoDe. New York.
n Cf. the dc:finitiofUI in IU. ... MU1I MA..,RUI {lhe."". P . 1-. VOl. . ClC Il. cols. 1150 ~q.}. wh_
"study a nd toad ororks" arcrecommcnded as a ntidotes. and in Ps. HuGO OF ST V,CTOR (~lle"
r . L . VOL. eLKXV I . cot\. 1000 ~ .) .
How nearly the thoo!OSical definitionl of ".cedia" or
"tri$titi." eoincldl! with modica! d tllCription. nl meb.ncll<>!y can be ICen from the bri lliant
description 0 1 " Irl.titia" by Theodul l o( Orleans (pn nted in C. ",,$CAL, p".ia l.ti ... ".,di(f."/'.
Catania '907. p. 120) :
"Est et e! line clade dolor. aine nomine moeror.
l ntima led cordis nubil .., error babet.
Hanc 1TlO(!0 IOmnUI babet. modo larda sileutia ~nJl,,1,nt.
Ambulat et sterti t. murmllnt a tqne tacct.
SIImni., hie oculis residen, isnavus apl!rtil.
r\ l1qllc loqu enl sese dicerc multa putat .
.".cluJ hebel. _ S UI int'r$, obl i" ;a pign
Sunl , et nil fixum mente vel ore vehi t .... "

.. ' H uJO of SI Vic;t"'" (toe. elL) considered " ! .;.,titia" as t he O\>lSter notton to wbich
" d espera l io, rallCOl'. torpor. timor, aeidia, ql1erela. pusil\anlmiw" are aubordiuted I.S
"egmitell". "!lancOT", ho ...ever. is dellned as "ex atra bill au t nlmia pigritla virium anim!
et egrporis _ n'atio et CGn'U ptio." To name a G~k auth as well. JOI<" D"'....ICII" ;n
bis Yi~'$ tlJ 1M 5ew/. lists. i>tJ" Q/i ...-.",,...ta. .\tion} L\oyft r'triltitia abaque ca",. "I}.
~. " ..lta. a...,u.. 1""""'''X{a (D. vi!luJibw$ II vi/iiJ, MIG~II. P. Gr., VOL . XCV, .tol. 88).

MELA NC HOLY .... S AN ILL NESS


2]
79
in so doing she admittedly had in mind not only real melancholy
illness and the melancholy temperament itself, which she adjudged
particularly unfavourable, but in the last resort every deviation
from the perfect and harmonious state of man in paradise. Combining an eye for realistic deta il with a taste for bold symbolism
in a manner characterist ic of many mystics , but particularly
marked in her own work, St Hildegard described the symptoms of
melancholy in her Catlsae et cttrae" with clinical precision, in order
to interpret t hem theologicall y; she remarks, for example :

Cum autem Adam transgressusest ... fel immutattlm est in amarituch nem

et melancolia in nigredinem impietatis.-

Picturing the physical quality of the melancholy humour ("qui


teoax est ct qui se ut gummi in longum protrahit").3l she paints
a graphic picture of how this humour originated in Adam's body
as the result of the F all (and to that extent "de flatu serpentis"
and "suggestione diaOoli"). I-lad man remained in paradise hc
would have been free from all harmful humours; but as it was,
men became " sad and timid and inconstant in mind , so that there
is no right constitution or bearing in them . But they are li ke a
high wind which is good for neither herbs nor fruit. For a humour
springs in them .. . generating the melancholy wluch was born
in the first fruit of Adam's seed out of the breath of the serpent
when Ada m followed its advice by devouring the apple,"3,! For
at t he same moment that Adam sinned in taking t ht> appll"
melancholy "curdled in his blood" (as 5t Hildegard cxprc5:ih'l!ly
interpreted the medical doctrine of "hypostasis"): "as when a
lamp is quenched, the smouldering and smoking wick rema in~
.. HiUlq.~diJ "c....,..." " ..tu". ed. P . K,iK r, LeIpz ig 190), esp pp 38. 13 t<1'1 I~}, I S
sqq. (many c;onectionl by P . VOM WII.nanto. in A"u l, " l IlT d~"'u1rll ..ft:"' ...,; XX IX
( 1 90~). pp. 292.qq.). For St Hildesard's ~mat'" applying only to mel2nc;hol~' III a I~mpef&
menl (Iinee they an contained in a continent doctrine 0 1 the four comple,uon s). iN t.e!o"
pp.IIOtqq.

.. Ka iser (ed.), op. cit. p. '4 S.

) j.

.. Kaiser (ed .). op. cit . p. )8, 24.


U Kaiser If'll .). op . cit., p. )8, 27. "Et haec melaneolia nigra est". sa)'1 the iolh:wmg 'KilO"
(entitled "De me~tiae morbo" , "et amara et omDe malum dRat ae III tudUnI etl3.m
innnnitaum ad cenobnom et sd eo.r <\ua'; yenll ebullire facll . (que I"nittam cl <!ub'<" alcm
totius coo!lO!ationii paral. ita quod homo nullilm gaudium habf.~ ?Illest. qu od 201 SUreltl2m
vitam eI ad c:onlOlationem p~nti. vitae ptrt inet. Hae<: Ilutem melancoha r.;aI!lra l1 t.~
omni homini de prima luggestion. diaboU, quando homo pneeeptum de! tnn 5.!F...sI'" t.t In
db<> pomi. t d" hoc elbo eadem melancoha In Adam ct in om n, gcr.erc elUs ere\!: ;;o:q ... c
omnem pestem in homlnibus excila t."

~('

:\!E I.A~CHOLY I~

MED I EVAL MEDICINE

[I.

2]

-king behind."3-1 Before Adam feU, "what is now gall in him


11,;1.:
f ood
ks and what
sparkled like crysta l. and bore the taste 0 g
wor.
.
is. now melancholy in man shone in him like the dawn and contamed
111 iU;elf the wisdom and perfection of good works; bu~ wl~en
Adam broke th e law, the sparkle of innocence was dulled ~ him,
a nd his eyes, which had formerly beheld heav~n, were blmded ,
and his gall was changed to bitterness, and hlS melancholy to
0,

blackness.":W
.
This tragic conception of melancholy to a cert~m ext~nt

reintroduced the ancient notion of a blasphemer stnc~~n wl~h


madness. e:-::ccpt that it replaced a single off~nce by ongmal Sill
a nd th us transformed an individual tragedy IDtD the .tragedy of
all mankind: no wonder , then, that it could not admit of moral
ex tenuation or consolation . Melancholy was once and for all the
"poena .-\dac' and had to be borne by th~ whole race, and only
a pll\"sician (a nd the saint herself spoke m Causae et curae no
less ;:; a physician than as a theologian) c?uld e~ Mthe worst
symptoms of this essentially incurable hereditary evil.
. It was reserved for the hypocritical malice of Gaspar Offhuys,
to whom we owe a remarkable account of the illness of his fellownovice H ugo van der Goes,36 t o interpret ~elanc.holy madness. as
a pu nishment fo r the spiritual pride.of.a highly g1fte~ man, whlch
should serve as a corrective to the Vlctun and a wammg to others.
He relates how, on deciding to enter the monastery in 14?~ ' the
famous painter han at first been granted all sorts of pnvileges
which shocked the other brot hers. After describing the noble
visitors with whom Hugo was allowed to eat and drink, he ga.v e
an account of the "curious mental illness" which overtook hIm
on a journey:
.\llO incessantcr dicebat se esse. dampnat~m et. .da.mpnatio.ni et~me
adindil'atum, quo cHam ipsi corporahter ct letahter (msl vlolenter tmpedllus
fu iSSC't auxil io ast antium) lI(lCere volebat.
li:a;ser (ed.), op. cit., p . 1~3 , l Z: '"Nam cu m Adam bonum sciv il e~ pomum comeden~o
malum ledt, in "icill$it utl ine mutationis imus melancolia in eo surTtXlt .. ,.. Cu~ en.lm
Ada m (\i\'inum p raecepturn pracvaricatus est, in ipso momento melancolia In sangume. eml
coag ulatl\ est, lit spLendor reccuit cum lUnlen extinguitur, et ut stupP': ardens ~ fUln lgacu
foe tendn remanet ; et sic factum est in Adam, quia cum .~pl end",: m eo extmctus est:.
melancoila in sanguine ei lll coagulata. est, de qua trilti tia et desper.ltio m eo surrexerunt ....
>I

so Kaiser (ed.), Op. d t., p. 14.5, 27


.. Cf. the diemy, Kaiser (ed.). op. cit., p . 146, 32, or the rem c<lic. for a melaneholr head
I\Che, 'bid., p. 166,7
n ),
I I Best edit;o;ln by Hjalmu G. San"'er, in Reperlori ..... Iii, K ...u l wb'lfuthf/. xx xv (19
PI' !il9 sqq.

81

MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS

1[ .

As they fmally reached Brussels, the abbot was hastily summoned,


and being of the opinion that Hugo's illness was like King Saul's,
he ordered music to be played diligently to Hugo-thus recalling
thc prescription, still valid, of ancient psychiatry 37-and also
recommended other "spectacula recreativa" to drive away his
fancies. But it was not until long after his return to the monastery
that he recovered .
Then follows a discussion as to the causes. Hugo's illness
could be regarded either as a "natural" one, such as tended to
originate "ex cibis melancolicis, aliquando ex potatione fortis vini,
ex animi passionibus, scilicet solicitudine, tristitia, nimio studio
et timore" - and the artist really did frequcntly lose himself in
gloomy thoughts because he despaired of the fulfilment of his
artistic aims,38 and the drinking of wine may have made his
condition worse; or else it might be traced to the providence
of God, who wished to save the artist from the sin of vanity
into which too much admiration had led him , and to recall him,
by a "humiliativa infirmitas", to modesty, which, from all
accounts, Hugo did display after his recovery by renouncing all
his privileges. In either case, however, his fate should serve as
a wholesome warning. for one should not only avoid the natural
causes of such an illness (that is to say, set a limit to "fantasiis
nostris et ymaginationibus, suspicionibus et allis vanis cogita~
tionibus") but also try to shun moral situations which might
force Providence to step in. "If thou art proud , humble thyself
greatly .. . for if thou dost not thyself amend thyself . . . then
God himself, who puts down the proud and who desires not that
thou shouldst be destroyed, will humble thee so greatly . . that
thou wilt become a warning example to others."3o
.. On pilgrimage., too, people with meotal doorders were calmed by music. which, how
ever, bad to be of an deva ting nature. Ct. Al.FUD MAURY, L.
d l'ulrologie
I'IIMquiU d .." moyell 41" 4th MO., Paris 18n, p . 333.

'"ati'

<fa."

II A German physician, ffieronymus Mlln~er, travelli ng in the Netherlands in 149$, \\'31


obvIously Ttterring to Hugo van der Goe. wben, in l pea.l<ing of the Ghent altarpiece by th e
brothel'S va.n Eyck, hOl&id that "another great painter" "supeTvenit voleltl imitari . . . hane
picturam, et factu s e.t melancolicus et insipioUl'" (W . H . WZAL&, H . ..lid J. 11<>11 Eyd, London
t908, p . !xxv). See E . P . GOLDSCHMIDT, H ierotly."s MiifUQ' ,,114 mil' BibliJuA, Shldie.
01 the 'Vuburg Inatituto IV, London 1938.

.. '"Si superbUI 9 . bumilia te ipsum vaJde, . . . quia. nisi te emendavcri... .. ipse deu"
qui superb;s re.istit, nolons quod peTCU, aden te bum iliabit . .. quod ezemplum alii,
uil."

82

:~

[I. n .

MELANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

(b) Melancholy in Scholastic Medicine

(i) Early Arabic Medicine and its Translation to

t~e

West:

Constanti1ms Africanus
In contrast to the blendings of theological and medical conceptions such as we may observe in the writings of St Hildegard
and in many other medieval works, especial1y of the twelfth
century,o Gaspar Offhuys drew a sharp line between the "ex
accidenti naturali" view, and the "ex dei providentia". But
what did he cite as "natural" causes of melancholy illness? The
partaking of "melancholy foods" and "strong wine", the " animi
passiones, scilicet solicitudo, tristitia, nimium studium et timor".
and in general "malicia humoris corrupti dominantis in corpore
hominis"- in other words, exactly the same as appeared in the
writings of RuIus of Ephesus and his followers in later antiquity.
The account given by this monastic chronicler, who later rose
to various honours, thus reveals the remarkable stability of views
in clinical psychiatry, which really had changed only in minor
points since the days of later Hellenism. The reason for this
remarkable stability lay mainly in the fact that, as we have said,
Constantinus Africanus's monograph on melancholy, which became
of great importance to the western world, wa!, based either directly
or indirectly on Galen and particularly on his account of the
doctrine of Rufus. oIl But. in addition, t he early Arabic treatises
on melancholy, which were absorbed into the culture of the school
of Salerno and therefore of the whole west, made use of the later
Greek conceptions, yet they adopted a considerably less theoretical,
and, regarding the subject matter, much more practical ;Point of
view. Both " Serapion" , whose writings were sometimes circulated
underthe nameof "Janus Damascenus",f2 and the great "Rhazes" ,43
.. C f. for il\5tance Hugues de Fouilloi. below.

pp. 101 sqq. (text).

.. CI. A. BUtUf. Ob"di~ tdeHlir<'IJ d~ r AU" .. dl""Cen t!.tJ tJ~4.1t. ib .. Am~<f" tid du CDtlJt.m /i" " J
Afrita .... s Ubtr MdIJ"'lt.oU. Munich , privately printed, no date, Th~ para of h~.l.q'. work
not given in Bumm can therefore be complcted from CONBTANTINUS AYRICAN US (Op"a,
VOL . I, Basle T536, pp. 280 sqq.) .
.. Really YUIIANJ<l IBN S .... lBIYON. of Damascus (later half of ninth <:entury): Ja .. '
D ....... su .. i ... ~ ..~a ..di arl;s lilwi, VOl. . III. u : in the BasJe edition (l5.U), pp. 123 1JqQ.: in
tbe edition which was published undCl" the n&me of

SllR ... 'ION

(Venice

I jSO),

fols.

1-

sqq.

.. Relolly Abll Bekr Mu1;lammad ibn Za.karlyi aIRb!, d . 91S : AlmalUOriJ lilu, ""....,.
eb . 13. frequently repri nted witb varMlus oommentari~. For westem commentaries set!
H . I Ll.GEN, Di. alu ..dl.tndische .. Rlt.aUJXomm fH /alootI iUs XIV, bis XVII. Ja~rhu ..dffts,
dissertation, Uip1ig 1921.

2]

MEI.ANC HOL Y AS AN ILL NE SS

strove less for a deeper psychological understanding or a refine


ment of theoretic distinctions, than for the perfection and
usefulness of semeiology and therapy as achieved in the prescribing
of medicines, dietetic measures, and, in certain cases, the letting
of blood. The author whom Constantinus copied, however. was
Is1Jaq ben 'Amr~n (said to have been executed at the beginning
of the tenth century) whose work on melancholy a thirteenth
century Arabic medical historian already extols as " incom
parable". He went deeper; and it is largely thanks to him that
in both the aetiological and in the therapeutic field, spiritual
factors once more came into the foreground of the medical picture.
Isl,laq described melancholy illness as "notions disturbed by black
bile with fear, anxiety, and nervousness"', that is to say, as a
physically-conditioned sickness of the soul which could attack aU
three "virtutes ordinativae"-imagination, reason, and memory
-and thence, reacting on the body, cause sleeplessness. loss of
weight, and disorder of all the natural functions. The author
never tired of picturing the boundless variety of the symptoms
and, most important, their obvious contradictoriness in many
cases. Men loquacious and quick-tempered by nature could
become silent and pacific, the shy and quiet could become bold
and eloquent; some became greedy, others refused nourishment :
very many went from one extreme to the other in their whole
behaviour,
Some .. , love solitude and the dark and living apart from mankind.
others love spaciousness, light, and meadow}' surroundings, and gardens
rich in fruits and streams. Some love riding, listening to different sorts
of music, or conversing with wise or amiable people. . .. Some sleep too
much, some weep, some laugh."

Added to this there were the various obsessions, "timor de re


non timenda", "cogitatio de re non cogitanda", "sensus rei quae
non est" ,&5 And this variety and contradictoriness of the symptoms
corresponded to the variety and contradictoriness of the causes .
"The astonishing thing is that in our experience melancholy can
always arise fTOm opposite causes," as, for instance, both from

.. Thua CoNSTANTlN US Anlc.uroa (OpffIJ, VOL. I. Basle 1536. p. 288) : " Alii
ama nt
$Olitudioom et oll:uritatem et ab Ilominibu$ remotionem. AliI spati0$8. loea. ama nt et
lucida atque pratoea, bortos tructiferos, aquosos. Alii amant equ ilare, dl\~rsa. mU5itorum
geDera audire. loqu i quoque cum sapientibu, vel ama bi libus .. Alii babent nim ium $On:num,
a li i ploratlt, .Iii ride lit."

.. After

COtfST ... tf TIN US APRI CAtfUIil (Op,ra, VOL.

I, p. 287).

) IELANC HOLY IN ME DIEVAL MEDICI NE

(1.

II.

c\"Cry sort of voluptuousness and from a too exaggerated


asceticism:' 6

As well as these physical causes, however, there were the


spirit ual ones, and this idea (which, as we know, originated from
Rufus) was traced in beautiful languagc acknowledging the burden
of intellectual achievement, recalling the Hippocratean definition
of thought as a "labour of the soul", and even bringing in the
Platonic doctrine of rccollection. [t ran as follows:
We say that their moods consta ntly fluctuate between irascible excitement and a peaceable frame of mind, recklessness and timidity, between
sadnC5! and fri\-olit\', and 50 on. The conditions [incidents] cited. apply
10 the ammal soul;- but Ihe activities of t he rational soul are strenuous
thinking, remembering. studying. investigating, imagining, ~king the
meaning 0 1 tllmgs. and fantasies and judgements. whether apt [founded on
fact ; ur mere suspicions. And all these conditions-which are partly
permanent forces [mental faculties], partly accidental symptoms [passions]
-ca n turn the soul within a short l ime to melancholy if it imm c~s itself
lou deepl\' ill them . There are very many holy and pious men who become
melancholy owing to their great piety and from fear of God's anger or
owing to their great longing for God unlil this longing masters and overpowers lhe soul; their whole feeling and thoughts are only of God, the
contemplation of God. His greatness and the example of His perfection.
They fall into melancholy as do lovers and volupt uaries. whereby the
abilities of both soul and body are harmed, since the one depends on the
other. And all those will fa U into melancllOly who overexert themselves
in reading philosophical books, or books on medicine and logic, or books
which pennit a view [theory} of all t hings; as well as books on the origin
of numbers. 011 the science which the Greeks call aritluul!lie ; on the origin
of the heavenly spheres and the stars, that is, the science of the stars,
which the Greeks call ast ronomy; on geometry, which bears the name of
"science of lines" among the Arabians, but which the Greeks call geometry ;
and finally t he science of composit ion, namely of songs and notes, which
means Ihe same as the ' Greek word " music". These sciences are products
of the soul. fo r the soul isolates and explores them; knowledge [recognition}
of them is innate to the soul , as Galen says. in recalling the philosopher
Plato.
. Such men- Allah knows-assimilate melancholy . . . in the
consciousncss of their intellectual weakness, and in their dist ress thereat
thcy fall into melancholy. 111c reason why their soul falls sick [disorders
of the understanding and the memory, and other disorders which affect
the soul) lies in fatigue and overexertion, as Hippocrates says in Book VI
of the EpidNilics : "F atigue of the soul comes from the soul's thillking."
" COlfITA"Tnlt15 AnuCANIlS (Opn/J. VOL I. p . dl sq.): Abo climatic: condi tiolll favow-able
10 it CaD vile h om too great heal and dryness as ~U.., fro m too 1""1 moisl,,", (". as then!
is in .utUftlo" it 01 course particularly hannful) : lack of physical ""erdH. It alway. harmful.
and .0 it the habitual parlaldulof foods and &inb ...hlc:h thic.lteft the blood and lavol;lr the
birth o f th. "bumor mdancholic:us."

2] ,

MELANCHOLY AS A N ILLNE SS

85

J ust as bodily overexertion leads to severe illnesses of which fatigue is the


leastj so does mental overexertion lead to severe illnesses of which the worst
is melancholy.-

Tr;eatment , too, which was always difficult and wearisome,


had !to be suited to the variety of symptoms and causes. As well
as the regulation of the six "vital things" (air, food, drink, sleeping
and waking, evacuation and retention, rest and movement) for
which precise orders were given,n and the prescribing of medicine,
spiritual measures played a particularly important role , The
physician was indeed expected to combat and overcome the
substance of the evil ("materia infinnitatis") in every illness;
~u t if the accompanying symptoms ("accidentia") were par_
ticularly burdensome, dangerous, or shocking, they were to be
dealt with first, and since this was the case in melancholy men tal
illness, it was the symptoms which had primarily to be overcome.
But the physician mus~ fight against the melancholies' suspicions, grant
them what they used to hke bfore . . . reasonable and pleasant discourse
should be employed ... with various kinds of music, and aromatic, clear.
and very light wine. 41

Men tal exertion was naturally to be avoided, but-and here be


quotes Rufus-moderate sexual intercourse was desirable: "Coitus,
inquit, pacificat, austeriorem superbiam refrenat, me1ancholicos
adiuvat."4iII If we remember that Rabanus Maurus recommended
2 4 &q.--CoNSTANYlN UI A"II IC A N1J~.

"perIJ. VOl T. 1' ...8 l sq.


(OPtlY": VOL. I, pp. 29 1 .qq.) : Tbo melancholic', dwellin g
. hould face the east a nd he open to It; to counteract the d ry na tu l'1l 01 the "atra bitis",
". A . B UK K.

op. ci t .. p.

" Co II STAIITlN UI AI'II ICA~ U'

prefe~nce shou~d be. slYe n 10 mois t things in b is diet, luch .. fr"Hh filb. honey. all ma nner
~I !nut. ~. WI th resard to meat. tho Il eab o f very you aS a nd, il poqible. female, animal .
like Ye:a-rlms Iaml, youos hen. and female partrid,es (vegetables, on tho contrary. uo to
be aVOIded. becaute of .nad); above aU. his diSestion is to be aided by means of thit d iet
as .....11 a.$ of euly montin, ...&lQ in d>eerlul dry iJIUTOUadin(l. Ul&NaCe .nth warm and
.

nos'::

oiatments. a.~ daily inlullioDt 01 lukewarm (01" cold. In aumma) ..... ttt: "Studi"m
~~ adhibeudulD en in dia:eItioae. Ordinetur dieta humida ot limpta. quia iUe cibus facile
d ,gen.~. 'i.vi in lubst&lltia limplex est et hllmid u.. "
Melancbolici """UeIQnt ad pedum
nerct~ ~~ u~nt~l um . Ipparen t. IUrora., per Ioc::a Jpltiou. Ie pllD&, ItCnosa. et $OI.porota ~ ,
Post eFef"C'tia lo lund.ntur aqua cal ida et d uld."
" . CotfSI Atf Tltf US ArluCANUS (Oper/J. VOl.. I. pp. 2!H and 290: "Oportet autem medic um
melior~e 5uspicionew melancholieorum. mitigare furorem eo,um et gra tific:are quod prius

babu.. nn~ charu~ . . . Adbi ~nda. rationabilia et grata verba. cum pedecto iosenlo et
l ufficlenti memon a, toUendo qUhln awma l unt pla.n tata c um diver... mUlica et vino odorifero
daro et 5ubtiliaimo."
.. CoNSTA NTllfU. A ICA MUI (OJu~/J. VOL " p. 29l) . CI. &lao h is Libn- .u wit .. (O/>4Y/J
VOL '. P. lOll : "Rufus vt:ro ait: Quod coitus ..h it mall;1m habitum corporis et fl;lrore ~
mil~,.t. Prodest melaacholieis et aJr.e:Dtes rnocat ad notitlam. et .oIvit &morem COft_
cup~~tis. lic:e.t COrICU~bat cum alia q1lllD COftCupivit". PLAT1IAJUUS', Pr-Wiu< (0.
M p-iJv4,,.. Ulpt.hs, v. Ven_ 1491, 101. ' 13), "'mmarisina: the flews CUlTeO t in. Saleroo at tho

86

MELANCHOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICJ~E

[I. II.
a more energetic preoccupation with intelledual studies to combat

the "acedia" of the pious, and Chrysostom constant perseverance


in abstinence to combat the despondency of the ascetic. it is at
this point that we encounter the main, insoluble contradiction
between medical and theological or ethical psychopathology-a
contradiction which, with minor exceplions.60 continued in later

times and even to-day governs discussions on such themes.


Shorter, and no less derivative. than ihe monograph De mela1lchola,
afC the chapters on melancholy in t he Constantinian TheJJTica and
Practicl1 Pantegm'S1 (1TavTtxVTl~); but their influence was nearly as
great. They are based on the Liber Tegills by 'Ali ibn Abbas
("Haly Abbas", who died in 994).5: and thus represented the
attitude of Arabic scholarship shortly before the appearance of
Avicenna. Considerably inferior in erudition and breadth of vision
to l s~ a.q ibn 'AmrAn's monograph, these short extracts' served
mainly as convenient summaries or "schemata" for essays, as
nearly alllatcr medical "practices" and the like began their chapter
on melancholy with similar words-"melancholia est alienat io
mentis sine febre"- and also followed the Pantegni in linking love
(generally called "hereos" and coupled with the notion o f t he
heroic) with melancholy : in fact, they treated passion as a "species
melancholiae", which was of decisive importance (or the development of the "melancholy lover" as a literary type.
(ii) Attempts at Systematisation on the Basis of Humoral Pathology :
Avicenna's Doctrine of the Four Forms
The early Salemilans were as yet unfamiliar with the writings
of the great Avicenna (who died in I037). We know that the
be:laht of Itt de~lopm~nt, aya: Adaint SODi musiconm i...trum~ntorum. eantilene iocundo
. ~t formose muliues, quibut quandoquo utantur. quia moderatus coitus lpiritum mund:.fieat
ot mal.. avlpiciones removet:'

HE. g. UGO SaNaNS]!. Corumlll, XIY, V~nice 15' S. fol . 14 : "Caveat a v~noroit" . Not
tHl Manilio Ficino. who otb~rwiH: accords ontiroly with medical tradition with ug .... d to
thorapeutical practico, do wo _ i n connoxion with his Neoplatonic attitlld_the a5efltic
idelll aSAI" applied to empirica.l dletotic admittedly those. designed especially for Intollect ual
men.
"Th(l. it4 P4~/~,..i, IX. 8 (Opl'~,
20 jO/U'II, VOL. I, pp. IS sq.).

YOLo II, Basle ' 539,

pp. 149 sqq.); P'lIctl~4 PII~hl~i. I,

H"'LY FILIUS As!!",s, Lib., /0/;14$ ,",di~;~tU. Lyons 1."113. TIuOf" . IX, 7, fol. 104'; Prlll.tie/l.,
v, 2], I.... 21 7' . Whother 'All Ibn ',\bbb for IU. part was familiar with hbiq Ibn. ' Am,",n'l
work. it it difficult to doeido. It ia f.irly c:ert.ain that Abulqhim knew it (ALhIl ..... n u
Libu 14lo"ctU ....~ p,...~, pr.d. 26127, Augsburg edition of 15' 9, foil. ]11<I1"j.).
CI. 1. 1- LoWIS. " Tho Loveres lt1aladyo of Her_". in MtHln. PAilok>f:y. XI (1914J.
pp. 491 .qq.

MELANCHOLY AS AN ILL NESS

distinction (deriving apparently from Rufus) between the substance of a "succus melancholicus" as a deposit of the blood and
that of a "melancholia adust a" originating from the scorching of
the yellow bile had to some extent disrupted the cogency of the
scheme of the four humours; and we can see how later times took
advantage of this loophole, in classifying and accounting for the
endless variety of symptoms of melancholy. If red bile could tum
to "melancholia adusta", why should the same not be possible
for other humours? 'Ali ibn 'Abbas (and of course Const antinus)
admitted that non-natural melancholy might originate both in
burnt red bile and in burnt black bile," and later added yet 3
third form originating in "adust blood", so that the difference
between the more depressive, more euphoric and more manic
symptoms seemed to repose on a genetic foundatio n.~ .'\11 tha t
was lacking was its logical completion by a fourth form originating
from the scorching of the phlegm, the possibility of which , however, had been expressly denied by the earlier school of Salemo.36
Avicenna's orderly mind adopted onc principle of division which
the authors so far cited had either not accepted or not known, and
which brought melancholy completely into the system of the four
humours.51
.. HALY, Tlwor., 1 .1~. fol. t9; follo"';"1 him. Co!<STAI'TlltuS .",a""11t:5. Tiu.,r':2 f'~>:lft":.
yo .... II, p. 22 MI.J, "CoImL nigna DOn naturali. u incens;&. colera nig-r .. Ut ruo.: Ilrah
EstquIl alicia ~t a "ut. . . Alii nascitu r ~x inluiono colorao < rub ... ~. el :> uut>or u
calidior priore. Haec: habet pessimas qualiu'eI dnlrvendl." This me\Ar.c:.o!y fn'm b~ rr.t
red bilo may be Identlcal ... ith Iho " molancholia 100nlna" lllII men tooned b~' Connamm". d 1:
and W. C.. un. In Ardlu /I'r P$ytl"lIIlri IlCIY 119)1), p~. ~H JIlq .1. sym ;>toms 01 " b,~ h
I . 1S (O~III.

includo "insol~Q(;e. foolhlfdine.. aru1 indifference to correction." all thmgs 10 oernam tha l"~'
t"ri$tie of tbe c holoric molancholic.
.. H .. LY. Tllter .. I ll, 1, fol. 104', aceordin, to CosaT .. STlSu . ..... IC .. S1l5 . Tk.. c"r.;l P"PlI'f~. ,
IX. 8 (opt,... vo .... II , p. 249J : "SiJnifieatio un,uselliusque lpeeiei propria. Qu ae "mm ,Ie
humoribus ost melancholu
In rebro innli.. nimam habe t ahenahonem. Ingusu.l.
tristitias. timOl"es. dubilationQ, malu imaginationes. , ufplcionu 6:: s.mllia . . .. Quu <'x
s&nguino estanlente, alionaliollom. cum rilu .t laotitia. CorpUI inflrmi macldu:n. color r ube~l .
Pili in corpore. ,"n t almii. nisi ill pectoro, uonae. ~tae. uli rubei. pulsus magn .... parutt]
uoJox. . . .. fD bllmoribu. ex coler-. rubel., babent alienalionem, clamorem, instlb,hutem ,
uigilias, non qu;etCulIt. multum i~untur. cal idum hlbent taClum ame f~brl. maCldllltem.
ol corporit liccitatem, oeuJorum instabi litatem, 'Ipec tum quasi leonis. Cltrinitatem colom."
.. Pu.nt ... luI'. P.llleljc. furth~r defi nes the H'ly.conllan l ;n~$ doctrine of tll~ threo lorm l,
and, recalling the o ld conftpond~nce with the $enons, Itales that aduslion of Ihe " ,,;holrra
rubra" occurs mainly In .ummer, of the "Cholera nigra" in aUlumn. and o f the blood In sf' rln~.
adding (fol. 11): "quod non habentur fieri (se. melancholiue pauiones] ex phlegma te, 'lula
phlegma. cum , it album, .tbedinem rebri nun Immutat." lnllud oi th is. Ha ly and th~
s..lomitans took "molancholla ex atOma.ebo". i.e. lh. hypochondriac form . no: relll,. .n a:l
Itlitablo, for tho fou rth form Of me~ncboly.
Of This princiJ'lo appears ill rnul>O-G .. LIt1< , ' 0,0. jAr,......, C .. u.S' (Kt'HS). 'OL. Xl:>' , J' 36~
Accordi,,&" to 1.1. Wau.N ....... Di. ~ .. _"ull. 5~1I ..1., PhiioiOSIKbe Un t~lSucllun&e". :00; 1\',
Berlin. 189."1. p. 65, this work u hued OD a " . follower of tho pnoumatic school Inclining to
.yncretism. who lived III the third century at tbo earliest."

SS

MEL ANC HOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDICIN E

[I.

II.

\lelancholy is d Oler natural. or secrctious and unnatural. '.' . Of


scc;CtiOU5 (unnatural] melancholy, one sort originates from the b~le '~h~n
burnt to ashes .. . another originates from the phlegm when urn 0
a~hi's .. . another is generated from the blood wben .burnt to ashes ... ,~
f~urth imally comes from natural melancholy when thIs bas become ashes.

From now on , therefore, melancholy illness coul~ ,~ave . a


sanguine . choleric, phlegmatic or " natural roelancbobc bas~,
which last might be described as, so to say, "melancholy squared ,
This sYStem had the advantage of coupling the variety of ~ymptoms
with ~ variety of causes. At t he same time, it logtcally ~nd
satisfactorily combined Galen's canonical theory ?f combust~on
witll the doctrine of the four humours. It remamed operahve
until the sc\enteenth or eighteent h century, which was not surM
prising in \jew of the fact t hat later medieval medicine largel~
lim ited itself to annotating Avicenna,5' and even the later SalemlGO
tans could not do without the doctrine of the four forms for 10ng.
The thirteenth-century encyclopaedists,61 the physicians from
Gordonius62 and Guglielmo de Corvi 63 to Giovanni da Concorreggio&t
O f rom F66d
and Antonio Guainerio,65 and the humamsts
lClno an
Melancht hon67 to Burton,68 all grasped the possibility of tracing

.. ""\'ICESI<A. LiMr 'II Noni5 , Venice ISS5, t. I. 4, ch. I, fo!. 7"


.. For th~ commenbtoTlO. cf. H. ECKLIlIIIlN'S Leipzig: dissertation. Die tWend16Ndis'h'"
A II." "na""o ...... rNlllfl. 19 ZI .
_ D~ ~" .. >."~ .. ,,J.. "",I~I ..J; ... . . . ~ ..... Al'NDldi Nmr""" ..... Nli. (Amaldus d e ViUano"a]
' ''AYTalio''ibMs. froquently pon ied and tra.n$lated; in the Fn.nldurt ed n . lS5'. lois. III -aq. :
ct. also AR!<ALDUS Oil VILU!<OVA. D, "'~s " "r"Ndil. I. 1;6. in the Stra3bourg edn . 1 ~1 1,
lois. 87' ~q
., AI.BERTe! /II AOIl US. Lwlt de o,,;,"olw .. ,. ed. H . Stadler. Mll nstt r tW. 1916-U. VO L. I.
p . )Z9 . 110. almost word for word like A " icenna. except that he addt a dl~urse 011 Problem
X XX.I . (d . abo"e. telCt pp. 69 sqq.). Also Barillolometlsde Giallvilla (tllat Ill, BAIlTHOI.oIIII!.UB
Al'IGL I CUS~ . Of proprido./lblU r.Y...... IY. II (in t he Strasbourg ell . 148S. no page numbers).

.. n GORDONIU5 {l2h- IJI81. 1'"/;"'. liIi ........,4ui,,,,. """"'1'0.10.. Venice 14<}8. VOL. II
fol. 30" &qq. He would also like treatment to be differmtiated aceording: to the four I()I'VII
respectively.
II GU ILLEL)lUS BRtXIEl<SIS (d. l)z6). P1,,,liUJ. Venice tS08. eh. u. 101. 1;0".
.. Died about IHo.

P flldieA "ovo.. Pavia 1 ~09. VOL. I. ch. 1;3. 101. 16'.

.. Pra.clica. . Venice 1517. tract. IS. fo!' ~ )'.

For GUAINItRI O (d. IHollee below. pp. 93

sqq. (text) .

" f"ICII<O. D. ".IT'pI .. I. S: "Melancholia. ldo elt atra bills, eat duplex: alten quidem naturali,
medici5 appeUa lur. altera vero adllstiooe contingit. Natural;' ilia nibil aliud. es~ q~am
d ensi01' quaedam licdorque pan sanguinis. Adusta vero in specia; q ua ttuQl" dl5trl~ul~'r.
a ut enim naturali. melancholiae. aut sanguinis purioris aut bili. [sc. fta,va.e] a ut salsac pitUitae
combustione oonclpitu r:
.. De /lni",,, . II : Corp ..s Refo' ...alrtr ...... x m , cols. 8) fl.

2]

MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS

the different varieties of "adust" melancholy back to the character


of the four prinlary humours. We read in Avicenna :
If the black bile which causes melancholy be mixed with blood it will
appear coupled with joy a nd laughter and not accompanied by deep
sadness; but if it be mixed with phlegm, it is coupled with inertia. lack of
movement. and q uiet; if it be mixed with yellow bile its symptoms will be
unrest, violence, and obsessions, and it is like frenzy. And if it I:e pure
black bile. then there is very great thoughtfulness and less agitation a nd
frenzy except when the patient is provoked and quarrels. or nourishes a
hatred which he cannot forget."

We can see how these few though clear"cut traits were built up
into a more and more vivid picture; until at length, deeply imbued
as "he was with the heroic conception of Problem XXX. I,
Melanchthon finally ennobled even the four forms of melancholy
disease as far as possible by classical and mythological exampLes,
and , by including Democritus, even anticipated the romantic
type of melancholy humorist:
When melancholy originates from the blood and is tempered with the
blood, it gives rise t o the insanity of the fatuously happy, just as the cheerful
madness of Democritus is said to have been. who used to laugh a t the
foolishness of mankind and by his unruffled mind prolonged his life to Ule
hundred-and-ninth year.
But when melancholy originates from the red bile or is tempered with
much red bi le, there a rise horrible ravings and frenzies; of this sort was
the Ipadness of Heracles a nd of Ajax. As Virgil says of Heracles's rage:
"Hie vero A1cidae furiis exarserat alro Fdle dolor." For although in anger
the red bile i.s irritated. Virgil calls it black bccall!lC the red is mixed with a

larger quantity or black, indeed it is burnt up t ogether with the black. and
t ogether with it becomes like ashes.
II A...uoIllY 0/ Melan' holy. London 16u. C. A. BIII DER (Oor Md"Nc~olilurtyp .., Sioall
'1"01<1 lid UiN U"p .... NI. Auglistiscbe Arbeiten. III . Heidelberg 1913. p . u) makes a curious
mistake when he dra~ the conclusi<:m. from the completely traditional distinction betwCC'n
sang uine. cboJttic. pblegmatic and melancl'lolic melancholy. that Burton sometimes used the
word 'melancholy' only as a synoo)"'l for temperament.

.. AVICIlNII .... Libf, 'II_is. Venice I ~~S. 111. I . 4. ch. 19. fol. 20S': Et dicimus q uod
cholera nigra. faciens melancholiam. cum est cum sanguine. est cum gaud io et r~u et non
cODcomibtur Ipsam lristitia vehemens. Si autem est cum phlegmate est cum pigritia et
paucitate mows et qu iete. Et si est cum cholera. vel ex cholera est c um agitatione e t aHquaJi
daemonio et est sl mitis maniae. Et s i fuerit c boleta nigra pura. tunc cogitatio in ip$& erit
plurima et agitatio se u turiositas edt minus: nisi moveatut et rixetur e t habeat odium c ui u,
non oblivUcitur." Tbe chal'acteristict of tb ese lour form5of melancholy. witb the exceptio n of
the phlegmatic. which b transformed joto the complete opposite. CQI"I'espond to t bose gi"en
in n.pI ~ for the general pathological sta tes deriving from the four bum"" ra:
........ [..:."'" """-] .iouo ,~ .y...Tot'. ,.(r' .frfi}f ...__ lrrowl .... ~eI yl~f'OS". 000. 3' .,;". ("~s
Uo-\ijs). 8~,.. ~eI ..."',w.(,... ... ' 00 ... a' .~ ";.0 I"N.Intr. "".A,."n-.-.,.. ,...l. .......".y...,..
,...l. "", .6n-,.. ........ 3' .~ .,;n ;>.iy,.-os "",....0&... "..1 .,; .........Aivo"" ... {Pnooo-GAU'I<. (KOul<j
VOL.; ;I<IX. p. 493)

0-.,..,

90

,:.

[I. II .
When it is tempered with much phlegm, it causes unusual apathy, and
MELANCHOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

we ourselves have seen a mentally deranged person who slept almost


constantly, spoke without expression, and could not be moved at all, save
bY,the sound of the lute ; when he heard t hat, he raised his head. began to
smIle, and answered questions moderately cheerfully.
"
When the black ~i1e. already present in preponderance, is inflamed. it
ea.uses deep depressIOn and misanthropy; of this sort was Bellerophon's

gnef :
"Qui miser in campis errabat solus Aleis,
I pse suum cor edens, hominum vestigia \'jtans,"
as Homer says.10

(iii ) Attempts at Classificalio,~ on a P sychological Basis: A u rroes


a1ul Scholastic Medicine
. This d,octrine of the four forms made many important distinc-

h ons possible ; even the difference between melancholy arid frenzy,71


always problematic, and sometimes confused even in antiquity,
could now be reduced to the relatively clear formula : " si ex colera
[scilicet melancholia], tunc vocatur proprie mania."72
.. MI! U NCNTHON, loc. ci t.; "At ra hilis viciosa est, cu m vel coderi hUll1orcs. vel ipsa atra
bili! ita aduri tu r. u t hUTQor cineris nllt uram c.ra.ssiorem et mordaum "'ferat . . .. Cum
melancholia est e,.,; saon&uine e t dilui lur modic.o u nguine, e.fficit a mentias ridic.ule laeQntium,
qu~!~ ai unl r~ ~ d elirium Dcmoc.riti hilariu qui ridere 5Ole~t hom.inum I tu!ti<:iam, eaqu e
a Dlml tranqu>liltate vitam produx it usque ad a nnulll untcsimu m nonum IU&e aetatis
"Cum "ero melancholia est ex rubra bile, aut diluituT mu lta rubra bile. 'fiunl a'tr~t
furores et maniae, quali' fult Herc." n. et Aiaei, furor. Ut Virgiliu l de ira Hereu!i. inquit;
'Hic. vero Alcidae furiis exarserat atro
Felle do lor.'
E~I eni m rubm bili. in ira cietu r. ta men Vir,i!ius atram nomin ... !. q uia ru bra mixta cst atrae
c.opiosiori. imo!it uritur. ac. veillt cinerea est l imul cu m atra.
"Si diluitur c.opioso phlegmate , fit inusitata segn icies, sieut ipse vidi mus me nte errantem
qu i fcre pe.rpetuo donnH:bat, lummisse loquebiLtur, Dec cxcitabiLtur, n"i c.ithar.:u. ~no. quen:
cum audire t, a Uollenl ca pu t, arriden incipiebat, d intelTOp.tu. hilarlu$Cllh' ratk>ndebat.
"Si ipsa per $eIIe atra bilis redundanl aduritur, IiIInt wOOae naiores, fugae hominulII,
qualis fuit BeUerophontis mocstici.:
'Qui miser in c.a mpis errabat lOins AIm,
11* l uum cor edens, hoPlinnm vestigia vltans.'
ut inquit Homerull."
It is remarkable that no mythological e"ample e><ists o f phlegmatic melancholy, Phlegm
1& ~;, /,h o}8o..od"" "XP'J"f'OI" alto in tela.tlon to morbid exagg~tion of the heroic. For the
aigniflcam;e of the doctrine o [ the fOUf forms in interpreting Dilrcr', I teel engraving B70,
leO below, p, .04 (text ).
.. See above, pp. 16 sqq., 46 (text), Al.ltXANDEI. 011' TXALLIt!i'1 remarlr. (OritiNalk 1 ..Nd
J, Pu..c:h mann, Vi"""a 1878 , VOL. I, pp. 591 Jqq .) is significant : ool&I~:t"<i,o fvn"
lMo ,.vi4 ; ""nuns >is ,w...~ (,,,I d Q..",...:ruP"'"
ObnutzwNf, cd.

.. Similarly in PUTEoUtt05, op, cit., fol, 113. In the pa.n.age quoted o n page 93, AVIQI<lfA
had already said that th" cboleric form o f melancholy resembled " mania", a nd elxwbere
(Ulur ' '' lIOIIis, Ven ice 1555, III, I, 4, cap. XVIII, fol. :101') he even declared. th ... t the "ultima.
.dustio" of yellow bile generated not melancholy but mania.

\2)

MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS

But as well as this there was also another opinion which


attributed tbe variety of mental disorders to an alteration not
in the noxious humours but in the damaged faculties of the mind .
According to Averroes, in a chapter entitled "Quod est de
accidentibus trium virtutum, scilicet imaginativae, cogitativae et
memorativae", melancholy could either attack the whole brain
and paralyse all three faculties, or else cause only partial damage,
according to it s field of action .
Quando fuerit causa in prora cercbri, tunc erit laesa imaginatio; et
quando fuerit in parte media, tunc erit laesa ratio et cogitatio; et quando
fuerit in parte posteriori, tunc erit laesa memoria el conserya tio.:3

This theory was not by any means entirely new ; Asc1epiades


had already distinguished between a melancholy disorder of the
imagination and one of the understanding,70S and I s~aq ibn 'Amr;\n
(and hence Constantin us Africanus) wrote that this disorder could
refer to all three "virtutes ordinativas, id est imagina tionem,
memoriam, rationem",7~ It was then only a step to combining
these views with the theory of localisation which assigned the
"virtutes ordinativas" to the three brain ventricles respecti\e ly. i6
The physician Posidonius (fourth century A. D.) had ah'ead\'
completed this classifica tion in associating disorders of the imagin ation with damage to the forebrain, disorders of the understanding
''lit h damage to the mid ventricle of t he brain, and disorders of
the memory with damage to the back part of the brain i1 : :md 'Ali
ibn 'Abbas and Constantinus even reinforced this yj cw with
examples from Galen. 78 Neverth eless, an e:-.:plicit conn c:-.: ion
between melancholy (as distinct from dama ge in general) and
the cells of the brain does not seem to have been g(' n e r a ll ~' current
before Averroes. Th is doctrine was at fi rst rather o "'~rsh a do'\'l'd
by pure humoral pathology, and later did not so much ::.u llt'rscd~
as supplement it"; at all events we can see how t he doctrine
.. C(tlli,d Awn'<1.Y" 111, 40. We q uote from AbAomer(t1l A b)'":~h,, r , C,,:h:;t: ,~ I' .... r"H,
Venice 1.5 1., 101. 65',
.. See above, tc"t p 83,
.. See above, text p. 45 (A $Clepiades).
.. See above, text p , 611 sq.
"C[, AI.TI In, VI , a (printed by K .... t, SUOHO" , i" j/div ! ilr G.stllir:ku d~ .. ,lI,di:, ... "11

Leipzig 19 13, p. 131)


,. TIMo,;,,, p,. ..t" .. i, V1, II (0,"0, VOL. II, p. 15 1). PrInted i" KARL SUDHor., (t p.
p . 166; H .. LY, TMor., VI , 10 (fol. 7~1, not mentioned in Sudhoff .
,. Even AvCfTOCS hinuell mention~ t he old humora l d i" " ions a.s ",-ell as the ,hn~;""u
according to menta! function : "Sed comaptio. q uae lla:i dit h ,s ,,;rtu f,but jlrn?:c~ C<)m!,!r~"ln(m
melancholiGam, est cu m ti more, quae lit sine c.aU$iL . , .. El q U;l.ndo "~ltl!r mclancn"lill I':
liunl accidentia c.holerae in ipsa , tunc /;Onvertitur homo ad fero nos morr_ ..

"ot,.

:'IE LA ~CHOLY

9'

I N MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I.

U.

ga med in importance aftcr the twelfth and thirteenth cent uries,


in proportion as medicinc proper began to yield to the influence
of scholastic philosophy both in form and in substance: how also,
not in opposition to this process of assimilation, but in close
alliance with it, the need grew for a systematic description of the
functions and disorders of t he soul This doctrine played its part
in gi ving future discussions on melancholy a new scholastic stamp.
Sometimes diseases of t he memory continued to be included in the
main Hot ion of melancholySO; but much more commonly, it seems,
melancholy was equated only with the " laesio virtutis imaginativae
sell aestimati\'ae [or cogitativae ) aut utriusque" , while disorder
of (he memory was regarded as a special form of illness
{"lithargla"}.81 In either case, discussion almost always centred
ruund the "d iversitas laesionis operationum", to use a conte mpormy expression.81 Not only was the doctrine of the three
fa culties of th e rnind83 used to differentiate between the various
forms of melancholy d iso rder, but from this angle an attempt
was made to elucidat e the old argument of "frenzy or
melancholy" ,84 and to a ttribute the examples of "frenzy", constantly quoted in literature or occasionally taken from experience'
.. TI'II"'. a mona: others. GIOVANIII I)A CONCOIIIIKGGIO, hulk" .. _ . P;t. .. I.. 1 ~09. fol. I ~ ' :
VAlltSCVS DIt TAIIAN TA, A"r...... a~ p.r"tiI. flpllJ Pllil()1C i...... I. I). Venice 1,11 . fol. 11':
and , with th" .hG ht dlffeffnte that melanch6ly Is defined ;as iUI uoutural alteralion of th"
.."lIu r.. tto naliJ" a nd ib . ubordin.te facu lties (oamdr. the "virtules .r!nsibiles". th"
"";rl", im.Sinath. and "menlOC"UI"l, GVIl.LBWOUS BRiXIENSIS (G uglielmo d" Corvi),
~I>d't". Vllniell 1,08. fol. 10'.
" Th"s A. GUAINItIlICS, P,II<li, ... Ven'te 1,17. tract. I,. fol. n . and JOH N OpGAOOUO&N
(johannt." ngliel" ). RQ$II IJfIIU,,, , p rlUlW:" ,,"4ki .... " UlP;k u ptdu, >;OUlplcted iD. 1)14.
I'll\',a 1~92. fol. 'l " fqq ._"'ho, howevt r, Llso mentions di50cden of the memory in bis
chaptet on mehl1lcholy: and mott c1e.a rly o f aU Gio .. anni d'AIl:oI" (Johanl>t!S An:Ul&nllS, d .
, ..,8) "'10 MY': " O..;itaf ($C . mdancholia) mlltatio existimationum tot WSilatioQII"" d,
supplet",,, etlam Imasinationllm . . . non aatem cornUnpitaf memoria. eum ail in cerebro
posteliori. led 'Yirtutes iam dictae lun t in anteriori" (GIOVANNI O'AIlCOLS, Pr/Uliul, V"ntee
1,60, pp. ~o Ioqq.).
n

1"l.ATII: ~a lU$,

loc. cit.

.. Two im por tanl medievalautllon admittedly adopted a 'Yery dHJerent I tandpoint, linking
t he IlOtio n o f melancholy (in on" CUll as iIIn.,.., in the other all t"mperament) with the ootion
of the facultiu of th~ lOlli, not in order to PU",UII the pathologica l d il tu rba nce. tllreatcoing
th e th ree facu lties (rtlm the aid" o f melancholy. but, on th e contrary, in order to co ofirm Ule
fact that lII(' n In ... hO$ll menial dispolition one of the three " 'Yirtu tes", i.e .. UI" imaginat ive,
predominated over the oilier two, wef" at tb" .ame time. indeed for thi, ver y realOn, ei th er
melancholic. ~Iready or bollnd to boco me ,"ch. But tbe3c t wo a utbors, H." IUCUS oa
G,o,NU,o,vO and R,o, I NU~OUS Ltrl.1,tr'. wjU be dealt with laler(_belo"" tozt pp. JJ7loqq .).
.. Cf. Pl.AT.... IlI~, loc:. ciL : "Mania elt inlcctio anterioris ceUulae capita cum privatioo"
Melancolia.,.t infcctio media" cdluw cum priYllUoQ<l ratio".,,: IIt:uilarly
Aa"'Al.DU' Olt VI1.LANO"A. 0. 1OII1f'6i. ctlr."dis, Strubours IH" fot $7, and, LI_t ... on:!
for word , BltllltH,o,II0 'YON W"'(OINO, R __llilllritl. """I,,, />tUia.. .. ilftO. ~I u",p..r_. dm. 18600.
imal'natoon~.

MELANCIIOLY AS AN ILLNESS

93

to disturbance of one or other of the three faculties. In those who

thought they had no head, or that they saw black men, the
" imaginatio" was disturbed, while understanding and memory
remained intact. Those who during a plague forgot the names
of their kinsmen still thought correctly on the whole and also
imagined correctly. Finally, the sick man who threw glass vessels
and a child out of the window was affected neither in imagination
nor memory. but in his power of thought and judgement, "because
he did not know that the vessels were fragile and the child
vulnerable. and beCause he thought it correct and useful to throw
such things out of the window as though they were harmful in

the bouse:'.
For the rest, later medieval medicine added little to the
traditional notion. On the one hand , the stream of medica l
knowledge trickled into the channels of popular medical literature,
preserved for u s in t he shape of countless calendars, pharmacopoeias and herbals86 ; on the other hand, though the medical
practitioners emphasised that they were speaking not as
philosophers or theologians but as "physici", they attempted
more and more to adopt the later scholastic way of thinking.
Thus the ancient problem, whether melancholy was possibly
caused by evil demons, was elaborated with ever greater abundance
of subtle distinctions, withou t progressing beyond Avicenna's
consciously sceptical attitude." "Subst antia l" and "accidental"
priot.~ in P.n, BiWiolAulII AJUfitlll. VOl.. VII, pp. 496 &qq.: a nd J OItN OP GAOOIISOEH (johanlt,ea
Anghcus). ROJIII ''''lllUl, j>f,wi", ""4k",,, .. Ul/Hf, 1114 pedn, completed in 1)14. Pavia 1"91,
!ol. 1)2 ' : h,...e however. only .. an addition to Averrot!II. triputito di .. iaion, and therefore
'~~uoed ... ith a "tounen proprie loquendo." VALUCUI os TALU<TA e .. en approved of a
~lv""":,I1.:.hich Ioca~ "I y~~ " " lllUal in the "cellula poItcrior" , hut pll t mclancholy aDd
.mama together 10 the 'med,a ceUnla." &nd (I"vcrith) Irwly in the "prima oeI.Illla ~op.
at., fol. 12"). Gu.a.inerill, repub Piateariu,'. di'Yirion, bllt ...- it only as a OOIlvenie!lt
.ylttm of nomenclatll~ and ultimately flJlt back on purely Iymptomatic di$t.inctiona :
me~oly proper is ah ra)'li ".ine riu," "m.oia" !lever (op. cit., fol. 111.

- .Thus Giovanni da Concorr('aaio'l vt:rslon of the frequently repaated . tory (P1.utitlll " ""I>
Pavia 1509. fol. I~) . Th" di.tributioll 01 GLlen', examples . mollg Ille three lac:ulties of
Ihe soul (though without lpeeial mention of melancholy) ace" r. already in 'All ibn 'AbbAs
anll COlista ntin us Afri<:enul. See p. 9! (text).
If

Examples in GtEHl.OW (1903).

., A\.;i~EN" A. LiWr ""IOll b, Venk" I ~~~. III . '.4, ch . 18. fo!. 204 ": "Et quibu$dam medicoru~ Visum est, quod melanc.holia cootingat ,. dumooio: ted nOlI non <:IIr;o.mUI. cllm
ph)'IJC&m. dooemu . ~ lU~~ w ntillgat a d:aorooaio au t noD am li",at, . . . quod. si contingat
a daemoOIO tunc: w nting.t.ta ul OO!lvet"tat >;omple>lioDem a d c.holen.m nicram d s it c::a.... eiu
propinqna [prob. "pl'OJtima"] <:bolen. niva : deiDd" lit causa iUill' daemonillm aut lIOII
daemonium." On the nther hand llie quettion becom.,. Important in Punao D'AaANO',
<Atw:i1i1114w, diBere.otla )ll;lDtll (E",ilUfltin. ...r /llIiloMI>lI~ _ _ Ilk. PUrl A ~N Ii_
CAouilw," diJ/~...tiMI4M pllilowpll'" ..... U ......."""14'" .Pt-u"tlU. Florence 1,.,6. fol. 46'1.

MELANC HOLY I N :M EDIEVAL MEDICINE


[I. H .
94
causes, " general" and " special" symp toms, as well as therapeutic
measures, were morc and more subtly differentiated, though in
theoretical expositions far less attention was paid t o the barbarous
method of chaining up, flogging and branding the patient, than
seems to have been the case in practice88 ; and certain controversies
on method which had arisen between physician and philosopher
were discussed with ever greater enthusiasm.1Ii But the inner
core of the conception remained untouched by all this ; earnest
study and deep thinking, still constantly mentioned, were reckoned ,
now as before, only as causes or symptoms of t he disease, and the
"higher inspiration" (to quote Durer), which, whatever form it
took, always seemed mere "alienation" to the physician, was also
accounted nothing but a symptom of illness. To the physician,
the "propheUci divinatores" were just as ill as the prostrated
creat ures who despaired of their salvation, those who thought
they spoke with angels, or the woman who said t hat the devil
lay with her every night and who yet could be cured by God's
grace.IX! Even in those days the true physician recognised neither
~
saints nor witches.
One event, hm'/ever, was a revolution of fundam ental
significance:. the permeation of medical thought- naturally
rational and concerned with the human microcosm-with
astrological and magical notions issuing from speculations on the
universe. In other words, medicine was transformed into
iat romathematil'$ ." Rnt. this process, though already begun in
the t hirteenth and fourteent h centuries by such men as 'Michael

,. T reatment by ca uteri$lltion and trepanning. so often mentioned in surgical ....orb and


directions for cau tery (ef. tut pp. 55. '191. and PLATZ 72) is on ly very rarely mentioned. in
specifically psychia tric texts, as. for ill!ltanoe in J OIl" OF GAOOIISOB1'I , op. ci t ., fol. 1)'1", and
in CUA ltlUIUI. op. cit., 101. '16' where "verberatioou" (ef. Pu:n: 71) are altlO mentioned.
II The mO$t characteristic point o f disc ussion is perhaps th e follow ing: as against medica l
(and espec ially Calenic) opinion. accordi ng to which melancholic an ",iety w.. derived fro m
the bla.cknen 01 t he "cholera nigra"-which put the reaso n in at much 01 a fright at natural
darkness did - Averroes stated t hat the colo ur 01 a X"P&$ was quite inclc" an t to it. patho
genic effect . This argumen t is dealt ,,~th by GIQVAtlN I D'ARCOLK, py"/j,,,, Venico ' 560,
pp . 50 sqq., in a discourse o f two folio columns' length containing seven "i nstanti&n" and
"1I01utione.", a nd reaches tho co ncl usion "nos autem. cum medici simus, sequa mur medicos;
lieet rationel medicorum 5up.-ucriptae non sint d","ons lTa tiones".
II V ALI!5eOS. op. cit .. foJ. u' : "et sciendum . .. quod ist;u s alienat io ni... multae lu nt
species. Nam quidam faciunt lie dh'i natores, alii praescientes omnia. alii credun t ;le loq"i cu m
angeli,. . .. Et ten" i mulierem In cura , quae dicebat, quod d iabolus enierat cum ell. qua lilJ.co t
noe le, et tamen c un. ta fuit c nm adiutorio deL"

II C f. K . SI;O" O",

r../rtltt"lIA, .....liJtn,

,.d",

t:<W"I<d",lido i ... 15. lI !IId 16. jd,k ..


(.Abhamlbodn,,", pp. ::66 sqq . (ted).

lungen %l1r Ceschichte der i\red;&in. II ), Dr"lau 190"3; moreover _

MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS

95

Scot, Pietro d'Abano and Amold o f Villanova, was essentially


a product of the Renaissance, intimately connected with the
revival of orientalised late classical learning and (to keep st rictly
to our subj ect) the' Aristotelian' notion of melancholy. ft reached
maturity in Ficino and Cioviano Pontano on Italian, in Agrippa
of Nettesheim and Paracelsus on German soil.
The speculations of the iatromathematicians were related to
medieval notions in much the same way as, say, the principles
of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century ar t were related to the Gothic.
This is not the place to discuss them in detail, but one typical
example of t he transition may be briefly mentioned. Lik e all
examples of transition it reveals both the historical connex ion
of the phenomena and t he basic differen ces between them.
Antonio Guainerio was a professor at Padua who died in 1 4";O.9~
He was on the whole a typical represen tative of scholastic medicine ,
or medical scholasticism; for this reason indeed we ha\"e already
had occasion to mention his views. Nevertheless, he may be
regarded as Ficino's predecessor, for it is in his treatise on
melancholy that a transformation becomes dearly visible. 1n
his fourth chapter, having previously discussed the notion , the
causes and the outward symptoms of melancholy illness in the
first three chapters, he poses the questions, "Quare ill iterati
quidam melancolici literati fac ti sUn t , et qualiter eham ex hi s
aliqui futura praedicunt ?"'3 The mere fact that these qUC5 ti on~
are allotted a com plete, long chnpter is something ne\\' and "hows :l
revival of interest in divination in general and once again a serious
considerat ion of melancholy inspiration in particular. In fa ct,
Guainerio treats the promptings of these sick peopl.:- no lon~e r
as mere delusions but as facts ; he himself knew a simple peasant
who, though quite illit erate, wrot e poems during his periodic
attacks of melancholy, and Guainerio (the first physician. III the
strict sense of the t erm , to refer to Problem XXX , I ) ('om pares
him with "Marcus" (Maracus), the poet mentioned by .\ ristotle,
"qui factus melancolicus poeta quoque factu s est. "s.t
.. Incid entally, h e was honou~d with a men tion in HAMH.M< I< SemmEL's tl"(I M C~"""' ''''I
(NurembeTg 149). fol. cc",lvi,}.
.. CU ...1N1UUU5. op . tit .. fol. 2) .
.. In fact, 'Aristotle' merely says tha t Marncus wrote better poetry when in ec5 ta~~' Just
as Guaineriu, brings in Aristo tle to lend authoTity to his story o f the j>'!a~ant \\'ho ,...,.Olt
poetry. so. " ice versa. Pietro d 'Abano reinforced Anstotle's 5u.I~menl by the c,,dcnce nf ;I.
" nliable physician" from who m he had heard "quod mulier quae , dam} ,mltt'.... !,.. du m
esset melanenli(e) a. latinum Ioq uebiltur congruurn. <iuu $anala "vanu;!" l,xf'D"!'" ;"(lI.o1~n:.
Ill .. ,.. A"'sllll~Ii$, col. J , in the Mantua edit ion of 1~ ?5 : fol. N.)' in the Padua .. clit'Nl <"I f qS : .

o (J

)IEU.NC IiOL Y IN MEDIEVAL MEDICIXE

(I.

3l

II .

97

to transform the contemporary notion of nature, and compeUed


even medicine, boWld by tradition though it was, to take up a
position for or against them. But this is still, as it were, an
advance guard. It was significant that although he expressly
referred to Aristotle, Guainerio denied the essential part of the
'Aristotelian' conception ("rationem hanc nullus acceptat"); he
took the melancholic's prodigious intellectual qualities quite
seriously, but considered them as nothing more than prodigies:
that is, they were for him symptoms of disease requiring explanation and not achievements of genius detennined by natural
melancholy. H e asked why people suffering from a melancholy
disease should sometimes develop remarkable gifts, but ignored
the real 'Aristotelian' question, why men who were, innately,
specially gifted, should always be melancholic by nature. In
Ficino and his successors, the notions based on astral influences
grew :to encompass so comprehensive a picture of the world that
the \'.;hole art of healing was considered as nothing but a particular
method of employing the general cosmic forces; and like the other
sciences, it merged in the last resort with magic, which in turn
was a kind of "applied cosmology".- But Guainerio's iatromathematical disquisition remained an isolated and somewhat
menacing foreign body in the structure of a school of medicine
simply and solely concerned with the practical and the mundane ,
It was no mere flower of speech when at the outset the Paduan
physician declared:

\ .u:unerio completely denies t1',e 'A Iistotelian' explanation of


this symptom. namely, the pecu liar quality of the melancholy
"humour" itself, and he also refuses to admit (on the grounds
tho'\t it was "heathenish" ) the view, sanctioned, as he maintains,
b\" .r\ \'icenna, that such exceptional achievements were due to
"dt'llloniac" influences. But what he himself substitutes for it
ill Ills 3llempls at explanation reveals an (;SSentially new interpre tation of the traditional heritage. All intellective souls, he
says, were equally perfect in the beginning and were born with
:lll the knowledge that they could ever attain. If in later life
somt' 5Ot:l5 achie\'c more or less than others, that is due merely
to their better or worse physical constitutions, which , in contrast
to the soul. are dissimilar and of unequal value, and thus to a
greakr or lesser ex t~t restrict the intellect. The "embodied"
soul is doomed to fo rget its innate ideas in a greater or lesser degree
and rCl,;ollccts only through learning part of what has been forgotten. " Et ex isti5 sequitur, quod nostrum scire est quoddam
rcmini sc i, ut voluit Plato." Apart from this, the moment of the
soul's incarnation is govern ed by a special constellation which
endows the soul with its qualities and adapts it to special forms
of acti\'ity ; but these "influentiae", too, can work only to a limited
extent in later li fe, because the soul, chained as it is to the body
and dependen t on the help of bodily organs, can recognise things
only "discursively", that is to say, not by immediate insight, but
only through the combination of reasoning and sense impressions.
Bu t if, owing to a sta te of ecstasy, the senses are put out of action
(" hound "), then the soul is left to itself and is enabled for a short
time to re,experience (as it were) its pre-natal state; it then
perceh'es "sine discursu" , by direc t intuition, and can receive the
influcnce of its presiding star without adulteration or diminution,
And since the melancholic was liable to this ecstatic state which
put the senses out or action, it was understandable that even
without any education he should then become "lileratissimus",
"absque eo, quod ab aliquo . . . didicerit vel addiscat, sed per
influxum solum."
One can see how the ideas which in Florence a few years later
were to be built into a doctrinal structure of imposing size and
solidity-namely, the theme of Problem XXX, I, the Platonist
epistemology. and finaUy, above all, the belief in an astral
"influxus" - had already come together here, though for the time
being merely coincidenta Uy ; they began gradually but inevitably

MEJ.ANCHOL Y AS A TEMPERAMENT

Although the solution oC the problems mentioned in this work in which


we had thought only to treat of practical healing, is not e ntir~y relevant.
yet we would like to provide a fairly probable explanation in order not to
remain silent in face of those laymen who very frequenUy enquire after the
origin of such symptoms. and in order not to appear ignorant of the causes
of the accidents which befall mankind.

And he concluded his exposition with a sigh of relief :


et hoc de problemate, cwus assignatae causae post se non leves difficultates teahunt, quas theoretizantibus dimitto. Et ad practicam gloriosam
transiens huic capiti finem impono.

MELANCIIOLY I N l 'H SYSTEM OF THE FOUR


TEMPERAMENTS

The overwhelming majority of treatises on melancholy written

.. See below. p .
Warbur'k.

'l6'l

(te::o:t).

The phflIM "lJlaIic b applied co.moIo(y" was coined by A.

98

MELANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I.

If.

in the Jl,lidd1e Ages began with a remark such as t he fQUowing:


Nota primo. quod melancolia potest sumi dupliciter. Uno modo pro
humare disti nct o ab a1iis humoribus: et sic non accipihlT hie. 4Jio modo
pro quadam passione cerebri: ct sic accipitur hie,"
"

Or:
Melancholia est nomen human s unius de quattuor, qui sunt in nostro
corpore : et est nomen aegritudinis provenientis ex dicto humare.1?

Such stereotyped phrases clearly point to a distinction between


the disease itself and its identically named "causa rnaterialis";
but their sudden and frequent appearance can be taken indirectly
as a sign that men were beginning to emphasise that the notion
"humor" was entirely independent of "aegritudo" and "passio";
in other words, non-pathological humoralism. which until then
had played a relatively modest part compared with the other
kind. had now risen t o equal if not greater significance in popular
opinion : the four humours were now the material causes not of
certain illnesses. but of certain physical and menta] types of
constitution.
(a) Th e Galenic Tr a dit ion, particularly among the

Ar abia n s a nd Consta ntinu s Africanus


\Vhile the ancient doctrine of melancholy as an illness had been
handed down to the Middle Ages as a firmly-cemented whole and
transmitted exclusively by the Arabs. the doctrine of temperaments (by which. whenever we use the expression without limiting
context, we mean the definition of humorally-determined types
of men) had to be built up of two different elements f'rpm two
different sources.
We can now say with some certainty that the basic idea of
the system was not transmitted by Arabic physicians, for the
Arabs. in so far as they may have been responsible for its transmission to the early and later school of Salerno, were generally
such orthodox adherents of Galen's doctrine of the "crases" t hat
they could not accept. let alone develop, the fundamental principle
of the humoral doctrine of temperaments, that is t o say, the idea
that the preponderance of one or other primary humour determined
" Thua the comme ntary on Rhazes b y Gttald o de Solo (d. 1] 71). We quote from AI"'" lIsoo-i
"o""s ~ .. ", , ,,,p oli# 01l6 GePIJWi " Solo, Lyon~ lS04, ell. I]. fol. ]4'.

1ilH:~

., Thu s VALa scu5. op. cit., fo1. 12'.

MELAN CHOLY AS A TEMPERAM E NT


3]
the charact eristic qualities of t he various types of men." aunain
ibn ISQaq (whom the west quoted as J ohannitius or sim ply as
"Physicus", because until independent t ranslations of Galen were
made, his I sagoge in arletn parvam Galeni represented the most
important source of general physiological knowledge)." 'Ali ibn
'AbbM, and Avicenna,loo all adhered to Galen 's doctrine,lOt which

.. The " Pure Brothers" .... ere S(Imething of a n exception. for by their Platonist syncretisro.
they linked in a remarkable manner the humoral stan dpoi nt with the doctrine based on th e
qualities alone. In their view. pb ySiog nomical and psychological types we~e intrinsically
based on U.e (simple) qualities of warmth, cold. etc. Dry people, for .rtstance. were
genenaUy patient in tbeir dealings. COnltant in opinion. unreceptive; predominant in the ro.
is patience. ha tred . a \"arlce. tenacIty. cau tion [or memory?)"". Th e qualit.es fM theIr plrt
"-ere doscly linked with the four hu roou". God sap of the ~re:;Jr.lio~ 01 Ad~m : '1 comfl'"'ltd
his bod y of moisture. dryness. beat and cold. and indeed I made h.m from dnlt and water
a.nd breathed breath and spirit into b im. Thus the drl'nell comes Irom dust. mo.Jtllu trom
~ter. beat from bru..th , and cold from .pi';t. Thereupon. after the.e. I set 10 hi , body
four o ther k inds which hold the bodily dispositio ns together. Withollt them the bod)" Clnnot
exist. and not even one of the m can ex i$t without the others. These arc the bl .. ck bit... ydlow
bile. blood a nd phlegm. And then I l ~t them ..... id e wit h one another, il nd gave dr)"n ..ss u.s
leat in the blac k b ile. heat in the yellow bi le, moistu re in the blood, .. nd cold III t!~e phlegm.
~o ... the body in wh ich th e fOllr admix tures, which I gave it as a wall and protectIon, are 01
equ ..1 strt'ngth. 50 th&t Cilch is in the proportion of one q uarter, neither mOre nor less_th.a t
bod y il completdy hnlthy. and constitu ted equall y. B~t when one of them exceeds It.~
broth ers. oppressin, them a nd departing from them, then SICkness overtakes the bodr ....
(in tn e RIIs.'il j~"' " IIf"JIJj ii'W/I-;iII' .. III-Wllja'. Cairo 1]41/19 28. VOL. I, pp. 220 sqq . ace
also VOL. II. p. ]21 ).
.
.
Middle Byzantine liternture . hows a certai n spli t . On the one ba nd. "T.ters remamed
faithful to Orib.a.siOll and Aetius and the orthodox doctrine of t he trilSl:s ; on the other hand.
tbe humora l doctrine 01 temperaments survived, such as it had been tr .. nsmitted a:$O m
Gre.ek. in n."z "".,_"'-"if, and , more especially. in n .pi X""",," . Thus the monk MI!:LETICS
in his (probably n ioth...:.entu ry) wQrlt U f pl rijr"";; d.~"';""" ""~"",,."1)s" ()II.. "",, P . G: .. ' ......
I..:'t IV. col . Ion tqq . esp. 1271. sq q.) repeats the traditoonal correlation of the humolHI "'Ih
the elements. q " ..1itie:s, seasons alld lies of m.. o (thollgh he qllalifies the ulull compamon
o f .. r,... .. _ you th. ~, _ ma nhood, ,...~an-o.\(IJ - mid dIll age, ~ty/''' - Qld age. by the
remuk th .. t phy.icians had &1$0 mentioned in l.. ncy a nd ICnility all tv.o spec.a! p~sses i : bU I
he also tDnsmits Il humoral " characterology" whic h w &.!l eJlj~n tlall)' based on 1I ,~, ~,.,.w a.o;
the use of otherwise rare expression. in both works . howl ; I~ap",,'p<>' b. ,.,;, <,I"ri" ~.,;.,.
(IC ..rp..] I"...:IC....... b> ot~ ...
i U fll>"f,\ xo-\.j yo~po~ ~
".,po~. ~ ~ ,,;,\ ....... " 'I'l'fYrl" ...
"... cUae_rnP'U [!t nI U ~ ~ ....IP'U " .....,.,\",....5<.,..;':"'..
.
Th e author a deb tha.t a lso ou t......-d appearance (proportion and colo"nn!"l .~ due to the

.\0""""0

,p....

mixture of hl>mooR.
N For the notion 01 melancholy in particular, t he important d.ivision in~ . tbe natural .. nd
ul>naturai 1clnd, givel> at the beginni ng o f h is hlll"I', rema.lDed d~fiml1,"e; I~ J. "'A:<
WAu81<"IlI(.a :I<". In M.umos)',,', new series. VOL. XLVI , 4 (1018). pp. 374 ,qq.
In ~ ..ct
J obannitius'l summary recommended itself by ilt unequa!led bre~i t }' and clamy:
"Commixtiones , lint lIOvem, octo inatqllales et una a equa lis. De \n ..equahbu$ \"~ro qua ttllor
I Uot simplice., hoc est cal . frig., h um .. alec. Et qu a ttuor ea his composltae. SCII. ca l e\
b\l1ll . cal. et ,icc. trig. et bum.. (rig. et sicc. Aequ~is veTO est, qu .. ndo cum moduilt.o"~
corpus incolumll d ucitor."
ON Cf. W. ~y .... aT. " F.iD Konoplexionentex t einer Leipliger I nkuna be! und Jl'LOe hanoi
achrifUiche Herleitung'. in A.d;!1IU~ GfSdlicJ.fc d6~ M edi:i .. , xx (19:8). p. ll!O.
'" See IlboVII, pp. ~7 sqq. (t""t). AVeJToeI was the fint to do a war ,,jth t.he fOllr "n.ple
"crases" and to recognise only the lour compound oncs. Cf. SaV PI'lRT, op. CI t .. r ~Sl

1 00

MEl.ANCHOLY IN MEDIE VAL MEDlCINE

[I.

3J

11.

,.. We quOle as uample CO" $TAl<TI""'1 A.I.,c ... II",S. T/uant;<1 P<1" Upi. I. I , (0/>1'.' YOLo
II . p. 16). ailer HALY. ThUlr" ' . 11. fol. ' .s :
Wann : "i nteileclul bollUI. hll mo mu.ltum facunduI, mobmnimus, audu:,
mu:und us. libidinosul. multum appele1:ls et cito diget"enl ."
Simple
Cold : "contrana e eontrario."
"Crax, "
{ D ry: (only phYliokltlical characleristics).
Mois l : (only pbyliolo(ical characteristics).

"Crases"

, .. CO"STAlI'TllI''''l APluu:OUI. Tlltorit;. P."uK_i, I. II (Op"", YOLo II . p. 16); ct. HAL'I".

TltOl'., I, 18. fol. l.s.


I.

'" AV.' CENN ....

to

lOme. Yery <:ok!. IUd dry,


I, 2 1

to

.., Cf. the passage cited in note 106 lrom Aykenn a.


. I.. In .a ~a ptet- d""i,necl. main.ly for the requirements of .... vo buyers. Ind therelore
ddierentiabng between white. bn;lwn and black ra.ccs. CoI<'TA"""UI A .....ICAIfI1$ __d alto
C ... LX", Dt k"'PW.JtIIfIl". II, 5 (ROHlf. I, 61')-coasiden the preJIOlldennoe of o~e or
~r homour as e.stel1tially a dishorbanoe of health: "5j qllis . . . Mnoo. vel. anci1b.s e1i1a t
abqllando. ad med.I(:UIQ cau... consilii, u.n.i no liat, reclllTit.
n.. . . , . .. .....,
_ ,_
.
_. woo
It. a .. 'ntQ ........ r
cor~s, e:s abundanti& co\erae I'lIbeu desiguatur. Si liYidu. wi p1umbeul mala cornplO!lCio
.ICniJieatur. Aut do epaU. fr(aklitato aut do abundaalia coleno .. , alit ex .~leaia defectinne.

others. cold and moisl.

(oper.,

Liba. ,.~" is. Venice 1.s55. I, z.]. 7, 101. .. ~ . Tho maa s ufte.:ia, from a

It !lOt only lea.a and diKolourecl. (as tho me1anehoUc:: ;. in tho rNl
~t"UIOn OC~I,r:e. but alto laboun IIMer " immodica sollic:itudo et oociu.tio." beartbWll.
falta appete:ntia, bad liken. and . pleell, and has nilbtmare. .bolll dark abysses, tortures
and black .an~ tenifyinl matters.. We must therefore di~reo witb Seylert wben he ~~
ueh desenptJoa. 01 I,..nl"y mor bid. .tates . imply .... ith Slngui niu, melancholies etc . th
temperamental senile.

., III e

Pwri'i .. (till ] 0) ~Uli<w d /Iw",Wlior.


j _NOIl..., (J00-.40) , ..1i~.. d ,Uca..
SftUl ... (till 60) jri~.. .. ,iua.

TIo-". P.fIfI"".,

2]) : d. IIAl,Y ,

,"pe~\lI.ty ~f ~)b'lc

, .. T he To\e wbich tho lour con' pound "Cruel" play in the COOl .... o f l1I an. liIe Is a1ao determined by a law of succession correspondinS uactJy to that CO" eroiDI Iho four humoun:

A,,., un,pi,.-..::eocdinS

~lI'STA"n ll'\U' A,a ' CAlI'US, T"~o.iu PIf""pi. I. 'l~ (Op'~(J, YOLo II. p.

TA.o,., I. 'l5, fol. II .

Warm and Dry : "homo intellectualis. audax, appetibilis et dif"Slibilis,


mu:irtle u.mm groai o hi, Iibid i_\I$."
Wann and moist : (only phy.iolotlical chan.cterisliet).
Cold and moist : "inteilectul dUTU" homo obliyiotul, anlmotu,. nequo
{ multum appe lenl nequo cito tiigeren,. non libidinosul ."
Co ld .nd dry : (only physiological characteristics) .

Thu. COI<!lTA"TII<UI A.aIU"us.


TlIOf"., I. 2 1, lois. 1.s "l<jq.

101

while accordinc: to the humoralists the simple preponderance of


one or ot~er .pnmary. humour was merely a factor in determining
the constitution, leading to disorders only in the case of abnormal
increase (" superexcessio"), yet for the orthodox Galenists it
signifled in any case a pathological condit ion, In strict Galenism
expressions such as "cholericus" and "pWegmaticus" never
became descriptive of constitutional types but remained tainted
wi.th the meaning given to the xoAiliOT}S or ,AEYI1aTWST}S by the
Hlppocrateans.
It' was no coincidence that Constan tinus
Africanus and 'Ali ibn 'AbbAs, who described the eight Galenic
"dyscrases" merely as "complexioncs extra temperantiam" or
:'intemperatae"lot (that is, simply distinguished them from the
Ideal combination as less well balanced), should without more ado
desc.ri~,~ ~an g~verned by the pre.dominance of a single humour
as SIck. qUla qwcurnque humores Ul quantitate sive in qualitate
praeva1ent ex necessitate morbidum corpus faciellt. "105
So, too, in attempting to describe the "signa cuiusque humoris
redundantis", Avicenna painted not so much types of character
as frankly morbid states, distinguished by various disorders and
even affecting the victim's dreamsUII--states which could indeed
be favoured by the "temperamenta" (that is presumably the
"cr,ases") ~ well as by age, climate and mod'e of living.to; but
WhICh,. as 15 clear from the very distinction drawn between an
actual condition and a mere predisposition, were in no way
dependent on these "temperamenta", let alone identical with
them. lOS The main assumption of the dOl:lrUlC of humoral

was of course accepted completely by Constantinus Africanus as


well . Thus the various types of men, considered if not as ideal,
a t least as normal in the framework of their dispositions, were
disti ngu ished by their proportions, by the ~olour of their .skin and
hair , by the quality of th~ flesh, by therr w.aY, of1:ovmg. and,
part ially at least , by their mental charactensb~.
But these
dist inctions derived exclusively from the qualities warm, dry,
cold . and moist . and although the characteristic dual qualities.
" cold -and-moist", and so on, proper to the four "compound
cra ses", were also applicable to the four humours, and. although,
for mstance, what Constantinus said of the representahves of the
" warm-and-dn' crasis" was almost word for word what Vindician
and Berle desCribed as the effects of "cholera rubra",I03 yet it
cannot ha\'c crossed the minds of the orthodox Galenists themsel\'es expressly to ident ify the "warm-and-dry" type of ~an
of the doct rine of "crases" with the "choleric" type of the doctnne
of humoral temperaments. or t o refer to the "cold-and-moist"
type expressly as the "phlegmatic" . Thi~ was p~eclud~? part~r
by the fundmental principle of the Galcruc doctnne of crases,
which measured every empirically-observed "combination" against
an ideal stAte, whereas the humoral doctrine regarded t~e
"sanguine" complexion, the eq.uivalent of the warm~and-molSt
combination, as the absolute optimum, frequen tly descnbed as the
"complexio temperata". It was also precluded by the fact t hat.

Compound

MEl.ANCHOl. Y AS A TEM PERAMENT

yo .... II . p . 17): do HALT.

102

MElANCHOl Y

I~

MEDJEYA.L MEDICI KE

[I.

temperaments, therefore. could not be transmitted to the Middle


Ages b y the Arabians, but was taken over directly from the writings
o f the later Empire, which, as we have seen, had presented themselves at lhe outset in Latin guise, and by the sixth or seventh

century had already passed into the general fund of knowledge


of north-west EurOpe. I OII
l~ ev i\'al o f Hum o ral Characterology
Wes tern Natural Philosoph y du rin g the
fir st half of th e Twelfth Ce ntu r y

(b) Th e

MELA!\CHOLY .\ 5 ,\ TEMPERAM ENT

II .

1fl

Tn view of all this, it is natural that it should have been not the
preponderantly Galenist clinical medicine but rather scholast ic
philosophy which, in the course of a comprehensive rev'ival of
leaming-,UG revived and codified anew the real doctrine of
temperaments.
One viv id and highly signifIcant exposition was that o ( W ill iam
of Conches, in whose Philasaphia the doctrine seems to have been
incorporat ed into a vast framework of Chris tian cosmology,III

When the earth was freed from the water , he says, moisture
prevailed in one place, fire in another, earth in another, whence
resulted the various substances for the creation of the animal
kingdom ; there arose choleric animals like the lion, phlegma.tic
ones like the pig, and melancholic ones like the ox and the ass;
and only where the mixture was equally proportioned could man
Sanllm e'1o corpus ex perlectione color.. , , ,c:osDOKitur" (TtVori.::.. P.at,,.;. I. 1. in Opt~.,
VOL. 11. p. ' 9); d , alto HALY. Tu-" I. 14. 101. 17'. On the other hand. the GalenK: doclrine.
too, connecta the "cruet", dettrmined Kllely by the qua.Uties. M> intimately with tIM! dl~e ...
ddermintd by the prepondelance of one of Ihtl humoars that , despite aU attempts t.o effect
a clear d ivilion, a urta in confusion wu inevitable. Thus. for In.tance, the conten t of
Aviunn ... cbapter mentioned in tbe JX"tlVioUI note, ~ well .... of other correspondi", pq... g..,
WQ taken over in M1CMAItt. ScOT', Lib..- pAi,,,",,,,,,;. ,; and this work beeeme very important
for the future deve~ment of this branch o f knowledge (cbs. 161:- 171, in the Braku "",nu
.:ript a vailable to nl, Cod. F. 11, fols. 6 1' Mfq.).
... See ou r a!),trac" from Isidore a nd Bedfl (text pp. 6, Mfq.). A rhymed vfnion of
hldoTfl'. statement l, of uncertain date, perhapl Carolingian. oeeuu In the I*udopigtl.phlc
OvidiuJ ,u f""llu or A","Ori/)Ul. for which d . elp. c. PASCAL. P lJ'lig luling _di,~"l,. Catania
1907. pp. 107 Mfq.
1
... Cf. !!.g. C. H. HA SIIC HI ,. TI" R,.."in ","' 011,1,. Twill/A C,xlu')'. Cambridge 1927.
u 'Thi$ work .... as printed under thr... different names (8ede. WiUiam o f Hltau and
HOPOriIlS of Autuo) until CHAltLb JOUJlD,UN discovered the real a llthor (d. Diupl./i.,. ' OIr
IItgl d, lu plti~Ai, tf/Jlurdll. #1'1 OteidePlI If priPlci/Jill'''''"t ,PI F r.PI". pnul/IPII ,,, /Wt.;."
"..,;til dOl XI/' JUd4. thete. Paril IS38). We quote from MIG",a, P . 1.., VOL. CLXXII, lIs.
39 .qq . A diiIC lllsio n o f William of Conches'l sou rces by R. Klibaolky will appear In
oonneJCion with his Il udi es on the mediaeval Immentuies o n Pla t.o.

103

be created. But man too lost his correct temperament owing


to the F all ; through the privations imposed on him by life ou tside
paradise, man, naturally wann and moist, lost either heat, or
moisture, or both; and so there arose three degenerate forms,
namely, the wann-and-dry, the cold-and-moist, and the coldand-dry temperaments, which are called respectively the choleric,
the phlegmatic and the melancholic. Only where the two original
qualities preserve something approaching their "aequalitas", in
being equally but only slightly reduced, could t here arise a i ype
of man who at least resembled the sinless Adam, \vithout being
exactly like him . This was the "homo sanguineus".
lIan is by nature warm and moist. and [harmoniously) conditioned by
the four qualities. But since his original nature is corrupted, It happens that
in certain individuals certain qualili ~ increase or dimimsh. \\nen warmth
increases and moisture diminishes in a man, he i!l called choleric, that is,
wann and (I,ry, When on the contrary moisture increases and wa rmth
diminishes. he is called phlegmatic. Whcn dryness increases and wannth
diminishes he is called melancholic. But when the qualities are present 1Il
equal strength he is called sanguine. 1i2

It is true that these four types were not yet distinguished


"characterologically" but on ly physiognomicallyll3: yet it was
important for future development that in so influential a
philosopher as William of Conches the representatins of the
four temperaments should have appeared with t he designat ions
still current t o-day-"sanguine", "choleric", and so on 11 4
Vindician had stated the relation between humour and character
in tenns of cause and effect; he could say, for example," cholera
facit homines iracundos"; but a choleric was still simply a sick
man suffering from a superfluity of red bile.1.l5
... Ploilo.opAi", IV. ~O, in MfGlta. P . L . VOL. CLXXll, col. 93 : "Homo n ... tur.ahtet cahdul et
hnmidos. et intet quattuor qualitatet temperalu,; sed q",a corrumpilu ~ natllr.a, cOnlingll
m~ in ... iquo intend! lit Tflmiui. Si vetO in al;qllo in teodatur calor et remlll<l.lur humidilu.
dicitur choleric"., id est calidu. et lic:eu. .. Sin vero in al iquo 'ntensus sit humor. calor ' fIO
TflmiSSllS, dicitur ph legmatK:uI. Sin autem InteoA si t licci t ..... remiulls calor. mf!ancbollG ul
Si n vero aequalitcr inlu nl, dicltur IInguine u. "

11.. Environment can aller !btl origina l constitution.


u< William of Concbct wu also acquainted with th e correapondenee be""'een temperament l
ItaSOns, and
0 1 mao : accord in, t.o P AilOJopIn"A. II . 16 (MIGNa. P. I... VO.L. CU XII . col. 6;),
and IV. 35/36 (MIGK., P. L., VOL. Ct.XXII, col. 99), c}IIldren are nn8U1ne. men cholerIC .
... idd1e-aced men melancholy. aDd old men phlecm& I>C.

.,e.

... Taken OVff by William 01 Conches (_ below). lhislenn'noiosY made r.ap,d head,,a )". A
twellth-ull tury pM:~o--Augu.ti,,;t.& ut.ct (D4 Jpirih. II ""' '''/J, xxv . .'otu.s!:. P. L . 'OL. :C~.
col. "]98) (;Onsider. In a ll'ettion dealin, ... ilh the maninl 01 dreams their different ellKt 0/1
the rour tempera.mellts : "Alia namq ue vldeot Anguinei, alia cholerici, alia phlfgmaucl. all ...
meb.ncholk:i." Another euly piece of evidcnCII fot the adject ;'a1 fo rm of the namel of the

I O.~

ME LANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDI CINE

,,'illiam of Conches gives Johannitius as his sourcc.

[I.

II .

The

latter was far from conceiving a doctrine of temperaments, but

this difficulty can be resolved when we think of the nu~er~us


commentaries on J ohannitius made in the schools at the ~gmnmg
of the twelfth century. It is among these commentanes that
we must look for the origin of the system of "types" adopt~ by
William. Whether the four types were systematically estab~shed
as early as the late eleventh century, at Salerno, or not until the
French schools of t he early twelfth century, is a question that
cannot ....et be decided. At all events, in the Glosae sl4-jJer
Johal/liit~IfIIIIHJ (of which we possess two ~w~fth.~entury I?~~;
scripts), and in the commentary on Theophilus s L,b~r de unnt~,
probably by the same author (both works bemg certamly
independent of William of Conches), we find the na~~ of the
temperaments as well as a whole series of c h~ractensttcs over
In pping from the physiognomic to the psychological.
Among men too there are some who arc of .a moderate temperament and
of a better complexion. They may be recogntsed by the fact that they are
more reasonable than the rest, more eloquent, more amiable, more cheerful
and more ingenious-the sanguine and the choleric. U I

Whenever t he orthodox list of names of the four temperaments


was nrst laid down, it is obvious that it only represented the
terminological fixation of a doctrine hundr~ds of years old. of
which the essential form had been transmitted to the western
world of the early Middle Ages by Vindician's Ie.tter: I~asmuch
as it emphasised the power of character-determmahon mherent
in the four humoUTs, that letter contained, as we have seen, the
core of a system later developed in detail. It was copied more
than once even in Carolingian times, but does not seem to have
become the basis or' a comprehensive system until the time of
the school of Salem o,.llil or to have influenced the development
of western European medicine decisively before IOSo-1l5 0 .

3J

MELANCHOLY AS A TEMPERAME NT

In this cOlU1exion the effect of clinical medical doctrine 0 11


philosophy can also be noted in Adelard o{ Bath,nG who, prior
to William of Conches, talks of "melancholy a.nimals", giving the
"physici" as his authority, and applies the expression "melan
cholic" to human beings in a way no longer descriptive of illness.
The close connexion of William of Conches with the medical
scientmc literature of his time is thus proved. In future development the form which William of Conches had given to medical
t ypology held good. One important feature of this development
was that he assigned the spedal place of a perfect type to the
warmandmoist of sanguine complexion which in Galenic doctrine
was merely one of the "dyscrases"; so much so that he considered
it not only the basis of a natural intelligence which the representatives of other temperaments had to replace by wearisome
diligence,Ut but also the exclusive privilege of man compared
with the beasts ; for William of Conches there were melancholy ,
choleric, and phlegmatic beasts, but none sanguine; whereas men,
on the contrary, were originally created sanguine, and had only
degenerated into melancholic, choleric, and phlegmatic t ypes
after the expulsion from paradise.
It" can be seen how William of Conches set himself the task
not odly of bringing the views of physiology an:d cosmology
(both inseparably linked by the doctrine of elements and qUalities)
into line with divine revelation, but of actually deducing them
from the Bible. The account of the creation of man just alluded
to was to him nothing but an elaboration of the words "formavit
Deus hominem ex limo terrae et inspiravit in fadem eius
spiraculum vitae". He found the medical tenet that woman was
colder and moister (that is to say, more phlegmatic) than manU2
expressed in the myth of Eve's creation out of Adam's rib. l23
' . ADELAIliD 0' BATH, {IN/U.$liMul

temperaments a ppean in a text in Cod. Drm . Dc. I S$, nth cent . pllblished by R. FUCHS,
"Anccdota. Hippocn.tica', in P/lilol~, ..s. VOL. LVII I (1899). p. 41 3

" ' Oxlord, Dodl.. Digby MS l OS. fols. 4--2.6; Berne, Cod. A :\2, folt. I -~ O; iIu;:. "Cllm inter
omnia . nimalia'.
". Oxford , Bod!., Digby MS

l OS.

fol. 7&'-9" ; M!e fol 79"

m Oxlord. Boe!.l.. Digby MS lOS, 101. 6".


." Cf. the piece D, q..IIU""'" .... ,,"'qrlb... printed in S. DB RlIIIZl, ~tio. 5,,/'.....' .....,
VOL. II (Naples '8:13). pp. ,, 'I _l ~ . which, accord ins to t h e editor (bllt on u~nvt.DCLOg evlde~ce! ,
might originate lrom Johann" Monachus, a pupil of Constantinu .. Alncanll$; the text 15
Vindician '!I epistlo enlarged by various additioll5.

105

."t.,IIk,. ctl. 1, ed . M. Miiller. MUllste:r 19]4 .

... PAi/Q$oplulI. IV, 39 (M.u::f<C, P. L , VOL. Cl..XXII , 00J. 100): "'(Jl1am"Yu "Yen:! sangulnea
oomplexio $it habilis ad doetrinam. in omn i tamen a1iqui. perfectu. pote.t esse Cu m labore,
q u ia labor omnia vi ncit:'

IU For th is view. par ticularly well expl"KSed. by William 0 1 Conches r'ulidissiftl;L ( mulier)
frisidior est tnpdiulmo viro')- .. h W;h l ";lI""Vived until well into the elgb teenth century_d.
GALU. D, """' I'Mti..... VII. 22. eel . G. HelJ:nreic.h, VOL. I (Lei.p~ '907), p. 440 _ XU'u; .
VOL. III. p. 606 ; CoHUANTUI U' An.ICANUS. T Aeork" P(J1Ut:pi, I, 22. "De mutatione
( complexionis> propter aexum" (OJ>M#. vo'- II , p. 19); ~d ADII.l.AID 0,. BATH', Q";'u/iO"llIlJ"
....I .. , .. lu. ch. 4' , For the
" 70 .lee below. p. 4~ 1Iq.

significance of th is axiom in

UI PAi'sopliia. I . 2] (MiGl. .,

P. L..

VOL. Cl-'UII,

inte<prllti~

col. :\6).

OUr....' teel eng ..... ing

106

MELANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDICI NE

[I.

MELA NCHOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT

II .

His new doctrine of the temperaments, then, served a. double


purpose: first, to trace the variety and inequality of men back
to the Fall, which had destroyed the original perfection an6 unity;
secondly. to establish and account for the inalienable nobility or
human nature.

While for this reason various beasts were created melancholic and
innumerable ones phlegmatic and choleric. only man was crea ted' as a
creature by himselr, because, as Bo~t h ius says in the A,ithnutic, every
e(luality is confined to a small and limited number of cases, but inequality
knows countless different forms.1M

Perhaps it was precisely this concern with the Christian


dogma which caused, or at least favoured, after the first half
of the twelfth century,ll!S the revival and expansion of the doctrine
t hat t he temperaments were conditioned by the humours. At
all events we can trace how t hroughout the century the tendency
to interpret t he temperaments theologically grew at t he same rate
as t he tendency to develop the doctrine in other ways, and how
t he attempt to differentiate them characterologically was even
expressly justified by reference to the claims of moral philosophy
and education. We might fairly speak of a revival of the ancient
characterological doctrine within the framework of Christian
moral theology.IM Perhaps the best witness for this process in
which the elaboration of the moral system advanced simultaneously with ~he deepening of psychological insight is a treatise
... PIIIl'lIoplli_. I. 'J (!dIGI'II:. P. L . VOL c;:LXX1I. col. 55): ' Unde. cum diverA animalia
mela ncbolica creaa .unt, el inlinlta pblegmatic.a et choleric&. un'llS 101\1.1 homo creat us et l,
quia. ut ait lloe thi'll' in Aritbmelica, omnis aequalitas pa._ est et linita, inacqualitu
n umerou. et mu ltiplex ..." CoI'ISTA.MTII'IUS An lCA.'Is too, TJuoriul P ,.pi, I, 5 (Op ......
VOL, II, p . 8) has the H nuoce " Homo .. omnibus temperatior est animalis (ak] .peelebus."
But, quite apart from tbe material ditlc:nce tmt Constantimtll did not yet cauider
"tem peratll'" a synonym for "warm and moist", let alone for ".nsume" . tbe .mphasit i.
quite di fferent,
"

... Bemardlili Silv" tri. modllies tbe doctrine IRnsmitted by William of Cone~e11 ollly I'll
far .. be introd uces sansuine sn imal. as well, while proclaimillg the "ght of a ll men by
nature to an equiUbrium o f the four bumours, Whertas in William of Conehu man.', .peelal
place was due 10 tbe fact that he ailln e cou ld be unguine, ani mall being limited to t he t hret!
other t~ mpe r.men t ', in Berna rdll ' Si h'eatris it is due to the fact that man alone II immune
froln the dilbarm ony o f the humours. "Ceterum non ea, q uae in homlne est. et in ceteris
a nimantibu, Na turae dlllgen tla reperitur. I ntemper1lDS enim h'llmonom cohaerentla bnotol'\lI:I1
conpl~ nem ..ephll a..o let de~van. AsinUI bebes elt ex phlegmate, leo lrieundul e:J[
cholen., canil lerio IOh.. in ficit ur odoratu. Sola et .ingularu. hominum c:ondlOo; de hUlJlOnlm
com ple>ru faeu. " t in qualitatibu. et quantitatibul temperatio . . . , Futurum enlm intelli.
genliao el n.Ooni. babitacu lum DOn oportuit inaeq'llalitatem l ut tlIrbatrieem colI.lli!
di ffidentfam paleretur" (BautAIlDUs SILVUTltIS. D. ",,,i~'#I4Ir. ".,,114;, II, I)),
fO

uo For. sfmilar d"veiopmellt in the typology of the vices, and Its Inlluell on portrayal.
of the tempen.menU, _ belo ... pp. ) _ 1IqQ.

107

fonnerly attributed to the great Hugh of 5t Victor, but probably


written by the P icard Hugues de Fouilloi (Hugo de Folieto, who
died about A,D, II 74). Essentially scientific and sometimes even
spe<:ifically medical matters (for example, remedies for baldness)
are here treated in such a moralising manner that the trea tise
rightly bears the title De m~dicina anima~. After a prologue
which begins by declaring the necessity of interpreting all natural
events "spiritualJ y", and an introductory chapter expounding
the familiar parallel between macrocosm and microcosm t heo10gically,t~7 there follows a general doctrine of the elements and
humours, Here, as usual, the four humours correspond to the
elements and seasons; but as fire a lso signifies intellectual subtlet y.
air purity, earth stability, and water mobility; and as, moreover,
there has to be the same harmony between the faculties of the
mind as between the elements, so the four htJ,mours and t heir
mutual relationships have also a moral significance.
Simila rly. the mind also makes llse of t he four humours. In place of
blood it has sweetness, in place of red bile bitterness. in place of blaek
bile grief, in place of phlegm equanimity, For the doctors ay that the
sanguine are sweet. cholerics bitter. melancholies sad, and phlegmatics
Thus in contemplation lies sweetness,
equable (corpore compositos].ln
from remembrance of sin comes bitt erness. from its commission grief. from
its atonement equanimity. And one must keep watch lesl spiritual sweet
ness be tai nted by worldly bitterness or the bitteme.."S arising from sI n
corrupted by Reshly sweetness, lest wholesome grief be troubled by Idleness
or weannl"S..<; nr Ihl!: equable spirit brought into confusion by unlawfulness.'n

We need only glance at our former table to discover the source


of Hugo's attributes,l30 The sweetness of the sanguine nature
comes from Isidore, the grief of the melancholic and equanimity
of the phlegmatic from Vindician : only the bitterness of the
," ct. SAXL.

Ynuj,biJ. VOL. II , pp. 40 Ioqq.

... See above, p . 61 : VI14DICIAl'f , Ep. lid P ... I...ti .. ,~ .


... HUGO DE FOLI no, in M,Gtu:. p , L . VOl.. CLXX VI, (a\. 11805 : "S, m,liuT e: an.mu uun:t
quatuor humoribul ; pro sanguine ut ltut duleedine ; pro cboiera r ubra aman:udme; P'O
cholera nigra tri , titia ; pro phies mste menl; ' Compo. ilione. D,eunt e nim physlci iJ,1. n gllin~i
e!l$e dulces, cholerico. amarOl , melaneboiieol l r i. tell, pbleilmalicol corpore com~1I05.
l,.;t
, it dulcedo in contempluione, amaritudo de pcecatl r...::ordatione. tTi$titia de l""pe"atlone,
compositio de emenda tione. E, t en;m altend('nd um , 'lie du lcedo sp.rit.ali, mrbe t ur
arnaritudine temporali, vel a ma rhudo habi ta d e peccato eorrumpatur dulcedine carnlll;
ne utilis tristitia turhetur Olio v~i inertia. v,1 men . eomposita d issol"a t ur per iiheit. " Cf.
also the approximately contemporary remarks by WILI.IAM o r ST THIER!!Y {MIGSE, P . t ..
VOL eLXXX, col. 6981 : "Eoctem , .. modo elemeDta operantur in m undo maion . quo operantu:
quattuor hurnoret: in mundo minori, qui H I bomo . . . ex lua l ibi d iveui ta:e eoneo~d antia
et per concordem d ivenita lem facie:ntla pu k herrimam ordim. I U, uni tal tm ."
1M St'e abo\'e, table on p . 61 Ioq. (Itxt),

lOS

)IELA:':C HOLY IN MED I EVAL ME DICI :.:E

[I.

ME LA XCH OL Y AS A TEMPERAMENT

II .

that laughter comes from the spleen ; from this proximi ty it seems to me
very understandable that melancholIes both laugh and cry. . .. It makes
men irascible. according to the words of t he Bible, "irascimini et nolite
pcccare." It makes lhem timid . because '"beatus homo, qui semper est
pavidus.'" Sometimes sleepy and sometimes wakeful means sometimes
bowed down by cares, sometimes wakefully direded to h eavenly aims.
it is like autumn, earth and old age, because in the shape of the earth, it
imitates eartb's constancy, in the shape of old age, it imitates the worthiness
of the old, in t he shape of autumn, it imitates the ripeness of fruit. Its
exit is from t he eyes, for if we free ourselves by confession of the sins that
sadden us we are purified ["purgamur"] by tears. . .. Its quantity increases
in autumn ... for t he more thou waitest upon ripeness of understanding and
age, the more must grow the agony of pain for the commission of sin ....
Through blood thou hadst the sweetness of love-now, through black bile
or "melancholia", hast thou grief for sin .ln

cholerics i ~ new ; no doubt he deduced it from the generally


recognised bitterness of t he bile. Against the humoral pathol?gy
whi ch, coupled with the doctrine of the "crases", then prevailed
in clinical medicine, the natu ral philosophy of the twelfth century
established a new interpretation of humoral characterology.
From its beginnings in the later Empire onwards this doctrine
had always had a slightly popular character, and in the e~rly
)Iiddle Ages it had already found its way into t he encyclopaedias ;
it could therefore be accommodated far more comfortably in a
cosmology with a moral and theological bias than could the less
eqllivocal science of the specialists. Science, including astrology,
had continued to flourish only among t he Arabians; and when it
found its way back to the west it still preserved a far more esoteric
character.
Hugues de Fouilloi especially emphasised that he ~r'ote only
for "edification"- it is a word of which he was particularly fondand that the examples in the fol1o,,":,ing four chapters aimed ~n1y
at showing the "diversitates morum " resulting from the "effectlbus
humorum". At every point in those chapters he reveals his
fam iliality with Bede, Isidore, and VindicianL'll; but here too all
ihe physiological and characterological data were essentially a
basis fo r iheological interpretations which, with t he help of
numerous Biblical quotations, completely obscured pure science.
We restrict ourselves here to an abbreviated version of the chapteJ;:
on melanchol ies:
We mu,;t now say something in brief of the nature of black bile. It
reigns in the left side of the body; its seat is in the spleen ; it is cold and
dry. It makes men irascible, timid, sleepy or sometimes wakeful. It
issuc.c; from the eyes. lts quantity increases in autumn. . .. By black
bi le we may. as we have said elsewhere, mean grief, which we should feel
for our evil actions. But olle may also speak of a different sort of grief.
when t he spirit is tormented by t he longing to be united with t he Lord .
The black bile reigns in the left side because it is subjed to the vices which
are on the left. It has its seat in the spleen because. in its sadness over
the delay in returning to its heavenly home, it rejoices in the spleen as in
hope ["splen"- " spcs"'). As I think 1 have read, the physicians declare
'11 H UGO DE FoultTo, In MIGNJ!:. P. L., VOL. tUllVI. cob. I t 8$ sqq. A, e videnc;e of thi,
famiiiMity we may quote th e following ; "'Pblegma habet sedem in pulmone . . . purgatiooem
habet per os"' from Vindiclan (practicalLy idc.ntical ..itb n.p< ..........lfWIlt); '"Uod e bunt homi nes
lard i ~ t oblivio$i a tq ue IIO mnoleoti" from BIe (though th~ pr~viou. traits &i v~n in chapter II
had included Vindician'l '"corpore compositi"'). The J~rnark tha t "cholera. rubra" "'habet
Itdem in felle ... respirUionc.m habet per a urn" oomes from Vindicia n. an d w doet "u nde
fiunt homines ira.cundi. i ng~niosi, &cuti, et leve.:' Statelacnti regarding the melancholic.
also co me from Vindician. even the addition of '"aliquando vigilantes" mentioned in the tCltt.

1"9

,I

I,

Though such a "moralised" text, relating every natural fact


with a certain element of the doctrine of salvation, was by no
means an exception, it has nevertheless a special interest for us,
firstly, because it confirms t he suspicion that t he moralising
tendencies of the twelfth century pl ayed a large part in the new
acceptance of the late classical doctrine of the temperaments,
and secondly, because it shows that this urge itseU could affect
even factual understanding of the traditional data. The charac
teristics which the basic text (a version of Vindician's treatise)
attributed to t he melancholic were the most unfavourable possible
and \vere not grea tly improved by the addition, to " somniculos",
of the qualifying remark "aliquando vigilantes". _ The allegorical
exposition, however, emphasised with the utmost clarity t hat it
was entirely a matter for men's willpower to tum the conditions
even of t his complexion to advantage. In that case, melancholy
could signify retirement from the world and a concentration on
heavenly matters; sadness might not only be a punishment for
past sins but might also arise from longing for union with Goda very illuminating interpretation of the melancholic's suicidal
tendencies; and even the autumnal signs of the zodiac, which
corresponded to the melancholy complexion, were to reveal to
the soul the possibility of choosing between "bestial" and
"rational" life. By "moralising" his text, the author therefore
interpre.ted its purely negative statements in such a way t hatwith the help of quite un-Aristotelian assumptions-the old
ambivalence of tile notion of melancholy seemed for an instant to
reappear.
, .. HUGO DE FOLI KTO,

op . cit., col. 1190.

,
lIO

MELANCHOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[1. n .

A very different spirit infonns 5t Hildegard's work . She too


adopted t he contemporary view of the four humoral tempera33
ments/ a~d.she too "moralised" this doctrine; that is to say, she
morahsed It In so far as she considered not only the melanchOly
humour but aU the humours other than the sanguine (and for these
she used the general term "flegmata") as the direct consequence
of the forbi dden apple; in other words, she condensed William of
Conch:s's the?I?" of corruption into a vivid aetiological myth.1M
Only 10 d:scnbmg the various types, among which the sanguine
now occ.uple~ the place of honour unopposed,lu did this theological
conception glvc way to a more scientific one, But everywhere
St. Hildegard's descriptions, agreeing, in the main, with those of
ISIdore, Vindician and Bede, were merged not only with the
physiognomic definitions of the medical doctrine of "crases", but
also, as far as the three non-sanguine temperaments ' are concerned, with the complex of symptoms in clinical pathology,
Th?s there emerged exceptionally vivid full- length portrait~, among
'~'h~ch th~t of the melancholic stands out, owing to the eSpecially
SInister, In fact almost diabolical, glow emanating from him.
That these pictures, though built up from such varied components
s~o~d ~everthe~ess possess an unsurpassed and absolu~e1y con~
villcmg mner unity can be explained mainly by the fact that their
~om~sitio~ centres throughout on one point; they are stated
10vanably In terms of sexual behaviour. In older literature in
which mclancholics had been endowed SOIllt:.tinlt!S with unu~ual
incontinence, sometimes with marked indifference sexual
behaviour had certainly been mentioned, and later' treatises
habitually devoted a special heading to it,138 But whereas generally
II. CallS.... rl
(females).

"""t,

IN Ibid., p, 36.
haberet".

1.5 ;

ed. P . Kaiser, Leipzig H}03. pp. 12,11-76,8 (males) and pp. 37,11-89.37
"Si erum bomo in paradiso pennansisset, Ih:gmata in corpore

taO

non

"' Tbid., p. 72. 16 $Ilq, (de sallluilleis) ..... Sed et delect:l.1.>ilem humon:m in Be habent
qui nee tri,ti!i .. nee acerbitate oppreuus eat, et quem !lcerbltal melanCOli .. e fugi t et de ... ita~
. , Sed cum mulicr ibu5 in hones tato et fertilitatc ene possu nt ct Sf: etiam lib I.'is
abstintre ... alent et pulchris et sobrii. {)C uli. eas inspiciunt, quoniam. uhi oc uli aliorum ad eu
velut sagittac . unt. ihi ocul i istorum ad Ip!<II.I honesle Iymphoniunt, et ubi auditu. aliorum
quasi validinimu l ... entus ad ipsu s uot. ibi audltus istorum ... elllt .anum cithanae habent ... .
et etiam intelligibU em intelJ.ectllm h;l.hoent. Sed qui de hu. naillCllntur. eontineotes et felice.
ac lltiks et probi in o mnibus operibus l unt et sine iovldia manent , , .. Et quia in ",u.u in
Iludit~ e t in eogitatiollibus suave'll sunt. aaepius quam alii aquoSOlm spumam et oon coctal'!: de
te emlttunt , , .. Atque Iadlius quam quidam Illii seu cu m temet ipsis seu cum aliis rebus
a calou libidinil solvun tur" ,

... &"e l.>c: low, pp . ' 7 aqq. (b>xt).

;\IELA:SCHOL Y AS A TEMPERAMENT
III
31
it was simply a question of different types of temperament distill
guishable, among other things, by their sexual behaviour, St
Hildegard 's account, painted in the liveliest turns of phrase, could
really be described as a picture of sexual types conditioned by
the temperaments underlying them; and perhaps this very
singular and entirely individual viewpoint also accounts for the
fact that St Hildegard was the first, and for a long time the on ly,
writer to treat of male and female types separately.137 Thus,
in the Catl>Sae et curae, we find the various traits whose origin
we have described always referred in the last resort to sex, and
the temperate and cheerful sanguine persons who "omnia officia
sua in honore et sobrio more perficiunt" are contrasted in particular
with the melancholy person, a type describea with horrible clarity
as a sadist driven by hellish desire : one who runs mad if he cannot
sate his lust, and, simultaneously hating the women he loves,
would kill them by his "wolfish" embraces if he could; and whose
children, "absque caritate emissi", are just as unfortunate, warped,
shunned and misanthropic as himself, although sometimes, like
him, "uWes et prudentes sunt in operibus manU\lm suarum et
libenter operantur."l38

.., Hitherto I1l1-Ono had gol beyond the ain:lldy mentioned ItMemen t that wom ~ 1l in general
were "colder alld moister" than men, and that therelorc men should onlr be compared with
men, women wIth women. This peculiarity alone IIf Caus",. cI e,,''''' must surely tHence any
doubt as to it:. authenticity. Against C.. StNGIl'S i,olated dllubt (St"ilIIS ;11 the History "lid
I>fllfuHl "I ScU..u, Od". d '9' 1, VOL. I, pp, "'lq.I, d . H , L I IUC HOU, D,u
'd.
Wt//bi/d tier HI. Hild"lJrd II. Bi"leM (Stud ie n der Bibliothek Warburg X"'") . ULp.'g 1930.

"'Il'," ....

plJ.Sri ....

...,

lH C",II,UI, II ,u~
p. 73,20 $Ilq. (ti. ",./a",,r,olit: .s): " Alii autem vin Sllnt , quorum ce re
brum pingue e.t , . , atque austcrum colorem facie; habent, ita quod etiam oculi torum
al iquantum ignei et vlperei sunt, et dura.s e t fortes venas habent , qu ae "'grum et sr isau m
sanguinem in Ie continent, et grouss et duru urnes habent atque grona ossa., qUilt! mod.cam
medullam in te tenent. quae tamelL tam fortiter aTdet, quod cum mu Heribu, " .. Iu t aOimaha
.. t nt vipuae iocontioentes SUllt . . . ; 5ed amarl et avan .. t inSlpient.., sunt et superftui In
Jibidine " l ine moderation .. cum mulieribus velut asini ; unde si de hac tibidme mter':!um
eessa. ... erint. facile illSalliam capitis iTH:UlTUnt. ita quod freneticl erunt. Et cum hane
libidinem in coniunctione mulierom ezercent, insaniam capitis nnn l'a tlUnlur ; sffl Ia,men
a mplexio . . tartuosa atque odiosa et marti/era eu ... elut rapldorum luporum. QUlda m
autem ex iltis . . . libenter cum reminis secund um humanam na t uram sun t , s<'d tamen ~u
odio habent, Quldam autem femineum l u:um devita!e fi<llL nt, qUIa lemina$ non diligunt
nec cas habere " olunl, sed in cordibus suis tam aCres sunt ut leonu, et mores m .arum lIahent :
sed tamen utiles et prudentes sunt in operibll$ ma nuum luarum atque !ibent~r 0l'uantnr,
Ventw autem dclectat>o.o is. qui ;11 duo tahernacul. pnaedictorum ,';Torum cad,t. tanta
immoder.t.tione e t tam n:pentino motu ... enit, quemadmooum ... entus, qm totam don'UIJI
repente et fortiter movei. et ltirpem in u.n.ta tyrann,de eri,i l, quod ead ~m Stirps qu:l.e ~n
ftorem 1I0rere debebat, in acerbitalem ... ipen:orum morum se .ntorqu.. t
, . qtlla sUll g..s: IO
diaboli io libidine vironom istorum ita furit, UI, si po$Sent, lemmam in conlUnc tl(1ne hac
morlificarent, quoniam nulla opera caritalil et ampl exionil in ei, I Unt . Cnde ill" aut fillae,
quos sic de Ie pro!lucunt, multotien. diabolicam insaniam in "itil, et in mori hus SUIS habent ,

MELANCHOLY

I12

(c)

1~

ME Dl E \ ' AL I'.IEOICI::\,E

Th e P opu lar D oc trin e of Temperament s

[1.

II .

In

the La t er Mid dle Ages, and its Eff ec ts


Roughly a t the same time as t he composition of the M edicinll.
(llIimae and the Causat: tt Cltrae we can again find mention of
humoral "characterology" in t he school of Salerno (the time given
by medical historia ns varies between about u 60 and about
IIS() .\.D.). but it is sign ificant t ha t the trea tise in which it occurs,
the Flores diada mm . attributed to the Frenchman J ean de 5 t Paul
(johannes de Sando Paulo), was intended merely to provide a
somewh at popularly conceived coUection of dietetic prescriptions.
The section devoted to t he doctrine of temperaments served only
as a short explanatory introduction139 ; and this section was nothing

bu t an almost literal copy of Vindician's lext,140 a fact which


eluded t he fi rst ed itor despite an " eager search".lU The distribution or the humours among the seasons, hours of the day and
ages of ma n : the account of the exits of the various humours'u ;
the principle that the predomina,nce of one humour determines
t he cha racter, but that its " too great predominance" causes
illnesses, which t hen have to be combated according to the
principle "cont raria contrariis"nam si aegritudo fucrit nata ex sanguine. qui est duicis, humidus et
calidus, ex amaris, siccis et frigidis curabitur 'o ;
qllOniam abtque (:arila le emiMi su nl. Nam qui de his nucantur, uepe inJelices erunt et
tnrtuOlli;n omnib us morib ul .uis, et ideo ab hominibul amari 1>0<1 P'CI""un t. nee ips. manaionem
c um hominibus liben ter haben l. quoniam mu ltis fantasmatibus Jatigantur. Si &II lem cum
hominibu, manen l, odio et invidi. et perversis moribus c um eis lu nl. et nullum s.udium cum
e" habtnt. Quidam tamen (l)ll h;" nali prudenU:t et utilet interd um lillnt. ted tame n in
eadem IItiliu te tam 8""Ya et eontnnn. mores OIItmdllnt. quod IDde nee: diJiI;i nee bonon.ri
pouun!. "elll i iSnouiJes lapid~, qui sine nitore iaeent . ... "
"Melancholiea" (p. 89. 7J I. Ihe female c:ou"lerpart o f this revolting I nd pil.ia.b!.! creature.
She i. of h>(:O"llant mind , ju)'le.., Ihun ned b)' m,,,,. steri!.! (only u nguine and luon, men can
sametilnes
her with child a t an adnDeed age). prone LO aoany diKi.Kl, fIIPK-iaU)'
melancholy m.tlneu. and threatened with dealh even in otherwise barmless eircumlurICtI.

,et

... H . J. Onalllo4uTH, Plorn Ji"d"r ..... , tin. S"'t~";I,, ,,iu". Nd' ....Csmjllddi4ll1;1I "''1 tit ...
n .J"",,,,,,,d,,I. ""j"lIl w~ ..."tli, /o VO " J ~Io"""rI d. S .. "do P.. "lo . dU:I('!ru t ion, Lcipdl ""'II.
, .. Thi, had frequently l>een copied in the eighth. ni nth and tenth een t urltl. (Cf. VIHDICIAH,
Epul .. p. 484. and C. " ""C AL. Pauia I ..ti"" ...,di..,.. It, Catania 1907, p p. 11 7 tqq .). An
extract quite independent of Salerno (and wi th partl y differe nt rcad in8') exists in a n E n8tish
manuscr ipt (Oxfo. d. 5 1 John', College, Cod. 17), whi ch ca'i IJo dated " ' 0- 1 11 3 with ao me
rlalnt y. (CI. C. S' I'OIll., "A Review 0 1 the Med ic:al Lit erat llre of t he Oar k A88, witb a
New Tex t of .bout 111 0", in Pnuudi..,1 ()j llot RQyal S", idy oj M,d~i .(. VOl.. l( (19 ' 7l. pp.
101 tqq .).

'" Osr.r.RloltJTI1 ,

op. cit., p. 54: Seyfert has meanwhile seen the c:on nexlon.

, .. Cf. p . .s8 (t~t). !-'Hllda-Soranu. has no sta tements as LO the orifices o f exit : the)' first
.ppur in Vmdician ano in Ihpl ....--..."'l,.
'" He lice abo the emphasis on the qualities of the

dil!e~nt

Joodstufb a nd delicacitll.

3)

MELA:-i"CHOL Y A S A TEMPE RAMEN T

I l3

-all this came out of the letter to Pentadius; and the characterological statements (except for the admittedly not unimportant
deletion of "somniculosus" in the description of the melancholic)
are taken over literally Crom this text, as they were also in the somewhat earlier De q~aU!"" J'U11wr~b~4-S (see above, p. 104, note II9).
There are no significant addillons, a nd so our interest in these
Saiernitan texts (the only ones known to us) is limited to two
quest.ions. The fi rst is the problem of their historical positiontha! IS t.O say. ~hether t~ey were connected at all with any of the
scholas~lC .~reatl~ .menh?ned above, in particular with Hugues
de FOUillOl s M ed1cma alufftae; the second is the problem of their
historical consequences. Inasmuch as the excellent researches of
the me~ical .h~storians have unfortunately not yet dealt with
scholastic wnhngs,l the. first question cannot yet be decided ;
the. ~swer to the second IS that these modest Saiernitan treatises
m~y be regarded, if not as the basis, nevertheless as the starting
POint, of a deVelopment which was to determine the commonly
accepted notion of the nature of the four temperaments in general
and of the "complexio melancholica" in particular.
. The echoes of Aristotle among the learned scholastics St
Hild.eg~rd's visionary descriptions, highly SUbj ective and ~ften
~omfym~. H~gues de Fouilloi's interpretations expressly designed
ad. aedtficatIonem claustraiium". the subtle doctrine of the
medical .schools, al~ays sceptical of, or downright inimical to, a
schematIc adaptatIon of pure humoraiism-a1I this was not
calculated to become part of the common stock of knowledge
or to serve as a guide to medieval man, overshadowed as his existence was by fear of diseases of aU kinds. Wha t was needed was
,.. All
. we. tu.o.11 tha t bo tb J no de St Paulaod lIugutli de FouiUni mu. t have made direct
useo f. ~'nd ic:ian s texl." eaeb of thent iaclucks . tate_tII ftO<llit whic:b theotber omillII. On!
~n cditioD of the CXlmmentar1es 011 Joloannili ... lurvivingia aevenl man lUCriptli bu t hi lbert!
ISnored b), scholl'" (_ above, tut p. J ~ ) ean anawer t he q utlltlon as to whether the doc;trioe
of tempera'."en ts was not .evolved In Salerno in tbe eleventh century I nd spread fro m there.
Abo d~ln, of mention'l a cla.e acoord between one o f I(u, ues de Fouil lol's senterlCtl a nd ..
SaJernita.n. frasme~t r:athcr di~" t to pt.c., but pnlbably 1110 datlq lro m the tweUth cen tury
(P. G Il,COSA, M #fU/n S"/...tlll....' , Turin 1901, p. 11 ' ) ' With both Jl".MiI.St8 e1 WII.I.IAIo4
0 ' .CoNCHES, Ploi/a,oplola, IV, ] 5- ] 6 (lfIOH., P . L ., VOl... cuomo col. 99) ; no doubt both arc
den ved from .. CXl mm on .aura:.

7'

S"kr"iI.... F,...,_ ..,


I . videmus enim q uod CXl lct'l l ui calid i
et IiCcl iu vat .. ppeti ti vam ; rnelencolia . ui
frigidiu.te et lie. reteD tionem: Heama fri,ida
I t h!l mida expulstv.. ; ..."",is wid ul et
humi(lus dlJettiv....

Mtd~"1 ."i",... (1.1101'1. ,

P. L., VOl..

CLXXVI, eol. 1195):

.... , cum ignis ealidus et liccus ait


virtu tQ appetitiv.e. terra frigida et Aoea
reten tlvae, acr ealidUl et humicilrs dipstl vac. &qll& hu mida et ~;da upuJ.i vae,
n~do oonti q it, lit . ..."

II4

MELANCHOY. V IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I.

II.

not SO mu~h a full or even a profound picture as one ~hat was


clearly defined. Men wished to know how the choleric, the
sanguine or the melancholy type could infallibly be recognised, at
what t imes each had to be particularly careful, and in what
manner he had to combat the dangers of his particuJar disposition ;
and in its original (orm Vindician's doctrine met this need so
thoroughly that it is not surprising that it should have formed a
considerable proportion of those easily memorised rules of health
that were destined to win great popularity among the wider
public.
The mnemonic verses "Largus, amans, hilaris ... ... quoted
almost ad nauseam until relatively modem times, must have
originated in the thirteenth century, and probably in Salerno.
As well as predications of character, these mnemonics contain a
number of physiognomic statements concerning hair, oolour of
skin, and general physical constitution. The lines on the
melancholic ran as follows 145:
I nvidus ct tristis, cupidus. dextraeque tenacis,
non expers fraudis, timidus. luteique colons.

MELANCHOLY A S A T EMPERAMENT
.TIS
31
favourable characteristics of the melancholic, namely, strength of
will and capacity for ceaseless study:

Restat adhuc tristis colerae substantia nigra.


quae reddit pravos, pe.rtristes, pauca loquentes.
Hi vigilant studiis, nee mens est dedita $Omno.
Servant propositum, sibi nil reputant fore tutum.
Invidus et tnstis, cupidus dextraeque tenacis.
non expen (raudis, timidus, luteique coloris.U '

The Tractatus de comptexioPlibtu, attributed to one J ohann von


Neuhaus. seems to have been written at the same time or a lillie
later. It combined the now established (and in the melancholic's
case unfavourable) character-traits in a detailed and systematic
way with physiological and physiognomic observations, as well
as with advice about diet. In this way the ideal of a comprehensive
and independent compendium of the medieval doctrine of temperaments was realised for the first time.I41 What still remained to
be done was to translate this cod ified doctrine into the vulgar
tongue, and this task was tackled with considerable alacri ty In
", Cf. K. SU1)HO..... G.u:MeJt/ .., M,di,ifl. Leipz.ig 1917. p. 18.s. .... 'th

In the course of the century they were expanded to six lines,


and the very widely circulated R egimen Sakmilamlm, which was
early translated into the vernacuJar, incorporated them. These six
lines arc remarkable for their readmission of two relatively

bibltogra ph~ .

,n W ...... SSVR.T. "11l Ko mpiexk\nentext einer Le; p~iger In kun abel und sellle
handsc:hriftiiebe Herleituo, " . In A,di~ fu, GllcMdl, d" /It,d"i". xX {1918J. pp . 56 sqq
The "compluio melzoncl:lolic:a" I. dllKribed ... 10110"" : " Et id~ .;c"t iste humor est frig,du.
et silXns. Ilk ina oomp\e.1lo Qt lrft;ida et .ieea CIt a"imiLatur terrae et a u tu mn(!. Signa
b .. iusmodi oomplexioni. '''Ilt pet" oppositum .igni. sanguineae oomplexiollis. Qui"t HUlpe:"
t::ristD et noa ioxutndus. pareu awporil ni.g:et lIku t lutum. P1a1e direrit. m' -idul. IIlfidelis.
malDS. fal\.a:l:. iDCOJUlt.ans alliroo.
III omnib..- f.aetis ,uia. ioordinatum habe t appeutum.
semper dili.g:it _
toIu .. et daudit oc.loI M'mpet" lIkut iePIlI, quando debet insplCt're hom mes,
timidus. 1\011 d.ilicit hononbilia, ebel est in inceoio. duru habet eames. w ,,\ru:n bibi t. patum
eomedit . quia _
potest digerere fatlODempli et . Ied. Parum apperit q " ia f::-igidui. parum
vel nihil pottst rlltione aioci, qllia a aicco huwidum spernutil:ilm vix vel ditficile poteat
tepaQri. Ideo DOta aDam doetrioam : II meiaocholitu. vult bene appetere. bona dbada
h umida lit pulverou. live beae pipefata comedat, boDl'm viDum vel pl"tDm calid um bib,at .
TUlle ratioDe eaton. In .peeiebul aurmentatur ealot natufali. ill ipsa et per conseq uens ap~tlt
Sed rariolle bumidltatis humidum ineipiet auementa" . . .. Haec S\l nt l Igna melantholiel
Unde VeRI'S :
lnridu. et trilti .
Cupid ul . du-traeque tellaeis,
Non expc:n nudi .
Timldu., luttlque colon..

tard".

... FOI" c:ompleu:_. lUe we include the other coupkts, which appear with .m.1I and
unimportant variatiolll:

Sane

l..alJu.,

am.lU. hilaria. ridelll rabeique coloris.

Cantant, CamotlUI, ... tis audu: atque benignus.


Chol.
Phlegm.

Hinutul. 'a!lax. irae ..nd ..... prodigu . aUdaJ;.


A.tutu.. rncilia iccu. c:roceique colorU.
Hie tomnolentu piga-, in .putaJDine multus.
Hu ie hebu"t 8eflSU pinguu. fadllI. color albll5.

Ct. also C. PA.SC:,l. L, P(Hfill III/'flil ""doell(Ju, Catania 1907. p. 114. and K . SUDHO'~ In ..hdiv
fiJ~ G."Mt~/' d., M,di#ifl. lUi (1910) , p. 151. Sudhoff also found the verlet In .. thlrtecHlth
century mAnutcrlpt wit h tile following additions:
San e .
Chol.
Mel.
Phl/llm.

Consona I Unt .er, IA nguil. puerieia verque.


(ca lid A et humida appedt et petit rnbea et turbida)
Conveniunt lilt... igni. colefaque. iuventus.
(cal ida et .icea .ppetlt et non petit rubeoa. et clara)
Autumpnl". terra, melancholia. tenectus .
(frigid. et sic:ea non .ppetlt et n(!D petit alba III dara)
Flecm. latex (not " Ia~r") et hyemps. senmm .ibi coMOcian tuf
(I"gKla e t humid. non .ppetit et peti t alba et tl'Tbida)

The coocludi ng statement... to the "!mmuUtio" of the humourl by the way of li fe. by clim3t~
aDd heredity, ~ alao important. especially t he introdu ction of combin~d typ"" of tempera.
mellt (SaY7s.T. op . cit . pp. 196 sqq.). Complexion. wbich have one quality In COmmOn Cl n
be combined III one and the lAm' individual. 10 that beside the lour pure ty pes t here are
fonr mixed typal. namely, the II.Ilguille.pWegmatle. tile melaneholie-eho!eric, the sa nguine
choleric and the. melandlolfe..phlq:onade. Thi. vi ..... complicating a!l agreeably .imp le
.ystem again. did not at once InlluellU the popular doetTln. of temperaments. but r.,a r~art<l
in the popular pbiloaopby 0 1 later cantu';ea: ct. am0nt: otherl J. H . BECKU . K"rl~" docl,
lrihu/Jid# UPIl,...,.v.Jol _
",.. T_PPII,tUfI"". Bremen 1139. ch. 6 " Von denen zuu.m
mengeseUttn oder venn.ilebtell Tanparamellten."

n6

MELANCHOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I.

II.

the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Apart from the merc


translation of the Regin!.en Salernitanum and other verses, some
<

l ' 148
of which described the melancholic as even more repu stve,
there is the rhyming jingle (1325) by the Low Germ~ Everhard
of \\'ampen . which describes the melancholy compleXIon expressly
as the "snodeste"149 ; and this was followed by a vast number
of cheap manuscripts, broadsheets, ahnanacs, and popular
pamphlets on the subject of th~ complexio~s. Generally bascd
on ] ohann von Neuhaus's treatise, they brmg to the humblest
cottage not merely those definitions (handed down from late
antiquity) of the types of temperament, but the still more venerable
conception of that mysterious correspondence between elements,
humours seasons and ages of man, in a rough and often somewhat
garbled form. Even the last great transf~rmation in. the medieval
notion of nature, which expressed itself m the medical field as a
recourse to iatromathematics, was reflected in these coarsely
but powerfully illustrated produc.tions; for they included the
,.. We quote twO italian stanzas '
.
(a ) LlO:< .. RDO DATi. SlmJ (London. Brit. Mu,., Add. MS 2))29 , fol. 5'; New York, P,erpont
",[organ Libr ary , )1 571 1 : and Cod. Vat. Chis., M. VII. 1-48, fol. I~') :
"Malincon;a ~ di tucte peggiore,
palidi et magri son santa letitia
color cbabbondan in cotale homore.
disposti a tuctc larte dauaritia
et a molti pensleri sempnl hanna il core,
~n Y1litari et di poca amicitia,
quartane $0 Ie febbr; malinconich e,
. ehe piu che tucte l'altre sono croniche."
(b)

F . G' OVAlI!'II M . TOLOSA1H.

La N"qlJa Sfera, Florence 15 1-4 '

" II maninconico t!; fuddo ed asciutto


Come)a t erra . e sempre ha il core amaro,

Resla pallido e magro e par distrutto


E d e tenaee. cupido ed avaro :
E vive in pianto. pena, doglia e lulto.
Ed a sua infermita nOn t!; riparo:
t solitario e pare un uorn monutico,
Sen!' amicizia. ed ha ingegno lantastico."
These te:< ts were rcprinted together, Florence 1859. See also the Carn ival Song published
by ER:<&l" STlm...... r<:< i DIIJ" Gd e;m,, ;s du Mtdi~igra~r Mi,hel Ange/"s, Leipzig 1906. p. 19):
"II quarto loco tien Maninconia
A cui Saturno e<Xelso t!; conjugato.
La terra in compagnia
eoll' Autunno Natura gli ha dato:
Chi t!; di sua Signoria,
Soil magri, avari, timidile sdegnosi,
Pallidi, solitar, gravi e pensosi."
... EVRRHAlI.D VON"

WAM Pl!N,

Anskrift, Upsala 1902. p. 12.

Spiegel tiff Nalur, ed. Erik BjOrkmall, Upsala Ullivenitets

MELANCHOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT
II7
3l .
conriexion between earthly life and the course of the stars, so that
each temperament appeared both in word and picture under the
dominion of certain constellations or planets (see PLATES 78, r44):

God has given me undu1y


In my nature melancholy.
Like the earth both cold and dry,
Black of skin with gait awry,
Hostile, mean, ambitious, sly,
Sullen, crafty. false and shy.
No love for fame or woman have I;
In Saturn and autumn the fault doth lie.l5O

Another description reads:


The ingredients which men have in their nature are four. Some have
two, some three, some four, but the one which a man has most of takes the
upper hand, and no man has only one. But let us fi rst write of the
melancholic. He resembles the earth, for the earth is cold and dry; and
his sign,; are the Bull, the Ram, and the Virgin, and though cold and dry
predominate in him, yet he inclines to those same signs in aU things. He is
also like to the autumn, for that is cold and dry. He is also like to age, for
when a man grows old the labour of his days of sickness begins, and t hus it
is when a man becomes seventy years old. But if a man is in good health
when he is seventy years old, yet has he still to labour and suffer pain,
Secondly, note and perceive that the melancholic is timid and not thirsty,
for he lacks something belonging to thirst, and that is warmth. And that
warmth is a property of thirst can be seen in the hot beasts, such as the
lion." Thirdly, it should be observed that the melancholic is lazy and of
slow movement, for he is of a cold nature : for the cold which is in him
makes the limbs slow and halts the limbs so that they become no longer
supple, just as wannth causes men's limbs to run swiftly . Fourthly, it
should be observed that the melancholic, because of his property of coldness,
is hostile, sad, forgetful, indolent and clumsy. Fifthly, the melancholic,
owing to his properties has but rare and weak desires, and is not much

,.. Thus the caption to the Zurich broadsheet reproduced in Pt.Al"K 78 uad!:
"'Gott hat gegeben vngehure
mir melanchoticu9 eyn nature
gtich der et"den kalt vnd druge
ertua[ haut swartz vnd ungefug e
kar(:h hes.sig girieh vnd bose
unmudig fabc h lois vnd blode
ieh enachten ell nOCD frowen h ulde
SaturnllS vlld herbs t habent die schulde."
In the Munich manuscript, elm. -4394, which shows the four complexions as riders (like our
PLATE 8 1), the variou s temperamellts are subordinated not to the p lanets but only to the
zodiacal $igll' of the~. the Bull, allel the Virgill (similarly, among others, ill.MS lat. 1-4068
of the Bib!. Nationale, dating from about 1-450) .

II8

MELANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL M.EDICINE

[I.

II.

given to liking. He desires little owing to his sadness, and likes little
owing to his coldness. He also resembles the planet Mars and the sun.l6l

But not only was the opinion of the readers of such almanacs
and pamphlets determined by this overwhelmingly negative
presentation of the melancholic's nature, only softened here and
there by recognition of his good memory, penitence, and love of
study. but so powerful was the influence of the new trend inspired
by Vindician. reinforced as it was by popular scientific literatu re
m TtulSu.u K"I. ..,ur, AugsbUfg 149.$ (H. ScH /)OISPERGRR). 101. g ..5'- ' , The mentlon of MAn
and th e sun in. tead o f Saturn aa the melancholic's plar.ets may be due to a misundeuunding.
Among other texu o f this type. we may mention (I) the r~lev"nt s eetions in the )'early
KJllitsp"It""h .. KII{e ..der Which. ateOnling to Gieb]ow. can be traced back in manusenll t
form to 141 1 (Viennll. Nntionalbibliothek. }f S ,H 86. GIKHLOW (1903), p. )1): (z) the vtr~'
simi lar I .. diu,,.. bieeh/,i .. wi., ,./uIlde.. 00 .. w",pkrio .. d,. "" ..
AugsburS. H.
SchOnsperger. ISI~, th. II, 101. a, 3 ("Melancoliti seind !<alt vnnd trucken gleich .dor Erden
vnd dern herbst. vn nd il t die vnwelS! complexion. Wt licher mensch der natur (ist) , Itt karg.
geytzig, traurig, aschenfar. trIg. vntrew. forcht$am. bOs~begitrig. eerliche ding nit Jiebhahend,
blM &C inn, "nwelss. hert Haisch. t rinekt vii vnnd iszt wen ig. mag nit vi I vnkeulJ(:h sein, hat t ain
bOse n magcn"): Ilppro.'Cimalely th e same in English. Oxford. Bodl.. Ashmol. MS 396, 101.
<)0'-. (melancholy as "the worst co mplexion of all",; and finally (3) the freq uently' reprint ed
CO"'POI/ tl/la/I",dri du /urtierl, Paris 1493. fol. I :" f'Le me.lencolique a nature de terre
SC'C et froit ; , i est triste, po;sant, conuoiteu:'!, cschers, mesdisant, susp icionneux, malicieux,
pansscux. A vi n de porceau c:est a dire quant a bien beu ne quiert qua dormi . ou ,ommtillcr,
Naturellement ayme J obc de noire couleur", translated word lor word in the CIII",dg, 0/
S"'ph"d~l, Pari, 1j03 (ed. H. O. Somme r, London 1891, 101. }\1') . Clm'094 reeeats. i .. lt~
a/ill, the $al"m;bl n vel'1e3. while the broadsheet corrcspondins 10 illl ilIustrationt in the
Golba MU$C\im {our PLATa SI} conalM the following lines:
"Oabey kent me~colicus
Vnd det hal kainen lust abus ;
VI'Ir ~eytlie h sorg tU kayner ' ...,ud
Mit .eincm su t mag e.r nit ,cud ;
Klainhait von lilber vnd du g011
VDd -ehon seticht, dacs hat er holt.
Danu ilt er neydig v nd kargk
Vnd geitzikai t er nye verba;-glo:,
DQch 1st er dechtig vnd aucb ,",Y5,
Wie er .ein sach it furt 1n preys.
Der erden art sagt sein natllr
Vnd plod ist cr. ei n plaich figu r.
GI'O$ lieb hat CT I U schatz vnd kunst,
Wem er daa givt des hat er gunst.
Trueken vnd kalt ist sein oatu r,
E. ist gem aUein in seiner llIaur,
Vnd ist iIOrelde.ltig sei nes guts,
Da rumb isl er eins schwern mutz.
Sein bann der lst rot gefar
Sagen die maister vos {ilr war."

,,/I,.. .. ..

The fact t h ..' The melancholic I, crl!dited sometimes with ;ndir,,",nce 10 .Jeep, sometime., on
the contrary, with a liking for much sleep, has its media! origins in the dual function ascribed
to the black bile with reprd to sleeping and waking (cf. CONSTAHnHUS AUICAHU5, Q#rfJ,
VOL, I, p, lIS8; Cholera /lulem nigra in "actione! l ua duplex elt circa soo:U:lnm et vigilia..
Quao enim dominatur essenti&iiter, CCTebrum de.primenl, ex fumi moltitudine nimium faeit
dormue. Quod Ii cum suu qu&iitatibus faciat, vel Cllm qualitate beiet lete ioeensa, undf'

MELANCliOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT

3J

119

aftenvards, that even poetslli2 and thinkers of a high order were


unable to rid themselves of it. We already know that ideas of the
melancholic held by Albertus Magnus and Pietro d'Abano were in
full accord with that which governed the literature on tempera
ments as first set out in the Flores diaetar1tnt. and that they could
only rescue the main thesis in Problem XXX, I , by postulating a
special type of melancholy derived from "melancholia adusta"}53
The greatest fifteenthcentury philosopher, Nicholas of Cusa, may
be cited, too, as witness to the general acceptance of this notion .
In his early work De concordanlia catholica, which he prepared for
the Council of Basle in 1433, he paints a powerful picture: the state
is conceived as a being with a soul, a living body whose limbs, in a
comparison traced down to the last detail, correspond to the limbs
of men. The end of this work runs:
The king therefore must be a luteplayer, who well understands. . how
to preserve hannony ... and how to tune the string neither too high nor
too low, so tha t through the combined tone of them all a companionable
harmonY sounds. . .. For that reason it is the business of the mler, like
a \\"ise doctor, duly to keep the body of the state healthy , so that the dtal

naturaliler tit nigTa. vet cum iam jere ineenA. . l"ip autem naturalitef SO mnu m lacn .
Fere incensa qualitu lacit viSitiu, quia punSi t cerebrum et deslccatj. T b"!i .E OIM. SI: S
HESSUS (F"17lf1i"'s. Sehwl.b. Hall I j39. VOL . II , fol . 8: ) wr ites in f" n aecoreance ",t h thf
caJender terls;
"Ansi"l d niger est. timd omnia triltia, d ormh,
Mote .... bili~ '1ucru nimi. U r. premit."
At tbe $aIDe time. !.hu existence o f contl'a.)es CJ<pruscs the polarity inherent in

m~lancholy

, .. } IATFU EJlMKNGAl,iD, L, Brnill" d'Amar. ed. G. A u.is. ~%iers 1861. line, 7779-7g~ 4 '
The poet (almost as in ArUitotle's doctrine o f te]f<control, see aoo,e. p . 35. not e n l conside~
avar ice and irritability relatively JIIOfe pardonable in the melancholic t han in t he nguHlIC.
though he maintains that tbe lonner, too. can control his passions b , the exercise 01 his
lree. will;

v.78jZ

"Que non et ~n Sllln' 10 peo:ab


D'un borne m&iincolios,
Si es /Ivan 0 es itot,
Que! d'rm .... oguini seria; .. .
"Pero Clfcusah non es get,
Q uar Dieu. a dat poder e 5en
De restlenger 10 movemen."

"'" See above. p . 70 sq. (text). ~;. "'ell known, Albertu s M.. gnus deals wit h the doc trin e of
tem peramen ts (Lille, d, " ..i",aliblO l, ed. H. Stadler. MUnster i.W , 1916-~O . VOt. II , p . 130 ~ .
59 sqq.) as a uo;vCTsal law governing man and beut, so that his remarks always apply bo t h
to certain ]clnds of animal. and to eertain human t y pes (for ",hich reason he attnbutea gr eat
in8uence to the quality 01 the blood). Here one can l ee a synthesis of Aristotle's co mprehensive idea of nature. and the "lOOlogical" doctrine of tem peraments brought to the lort 1 '
William of Conches. With res:u'd to phy. iognomics. too, (short or tall , fat Or t hin), Albenul 's
char2c:ter:istics correspond e..actly";!h Wim .. m of Conches's s tatements quoted above. pp. 10!

sqq. (text).

120

MELANCHOLY I N MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I. U.

Spirit. " per p(oportionabile medium " . can be at one with it.

He may
observe that one of the four vital humours goes beyond or lags behind
nght proportion in the combination. a nd that thereby the body is estranged
from its proper combination. This may occur through an excess of
CO\"('lOUS melancholy. which gives rise to the most varied pestilences in t he
body-usury. fra ud, deceit . t heft. pillage, and all the arts by which great
riches a re W'oll not by work but only by a ccrtain deceitful craftiness. which
can IIC\'cr exist without doing harm to the State; or again it may occur
through choleric dissensions. wars, {actions and schisms, or through sanguine
ostentation, excess, debauchery a nd suchlike. or throuth phlegmatic sloth
in all Good works, in the daily toil for existence a nd in the defence of the
fatherland. Then the body becomes paralysed, feverish. swollen up or
bled dry; t hen must he seek a remedy, consult books. and give ear to the
wisest State physicians: and when he has found a remedy he must bring it
fort h and test it by means of taste. sight and smell . . .. 1M

Here we must certainly take account of the fact that the


contf'Xt requ ires an elaborately worked-out exposition of the
unfavou rable characteristics of all the temperaments alike. Yet
not only the expressions used, but the whole construction of
Nicholas of Cusa 's sentences, make it plain that the indolence
of the phleg matic. the contentiousness of the choleric and the
ostenta tion and voluptuousness of the sanguine were in his view
far less weighty ma tters than the "pestilential" vices of the
avaricious, thievish, usurious, pillaging melancholic with his
ill-gotten gains, whose picture seems to have been drawn with
the most lively repugnance.
The doctrine of temperamenL.. may be described as one of the
longest-lived and in some respects one of t he most conservative
parts of modem culture. Though superficially affected, it was
not fun damentally altered either by the renascence of the
'Aristotelian' notion of genius, which we shall describe in Part III
, .. f' CCl'l OI. ... S o. CUt .... Ope"" ilaril. 151". VOL. IJI , tol.. 75 ' : " Debet itaquCl o;itharoedl>' ru
eue, e.t qu i bene seiat . . . conwc-dia m obKr v~ . . . nee nim~ nec mlolU extendere, ut
commun is coneordan lia per omni um hannon iam re.onet. Sit it.a.que CUfa imperatori. ut
reele ad modu m expert! med ici corpus in aanitate IICIrvet. ut vitalil I piritul rec:te per propol .
tionabile medium Rbi iun,1 pouit. Nl m dl>m viderit aliql>a.tD eI ql>attuor eompleJtionlbul
exudere a te mperamento vel defi u re. et p rop teR' eorplU d;'temperatum. vel propter a!wo
d.ante m avari ti osam mela neollll.m. quae pestes in corpus !teminavit .... arillS. uluram. fraude..
deception", furta. rapinas et omnel eas utes. quibus ab3que laban cum quadam ealliditate
decep toria d ivitiao mag na o quaeruntur, quod absque laesiono Reipublicao fieri nequit. vel.;
e lf cOlericb d iss;dlia. beUla. d iKlllonlbul et di visi\) nib...." au t sangu ine;' pompoaitatibul.
IUKurii_. oomcuationi bul et , im ilibul, , ut " es matio;is ac:ediO$itatibut in cu ne tb bonb operibul.
ct Jucra nd i victul a usa, et Db palria. tutelam laboribUI corpus torpe.cere. febreteere.
tum_o vel elfinaoiri: quaera t medelam e t audiat libros et coru.ilia peritiuilDOl"uD
quoru ndam Reipu blic:ao mediCOtU m. Receptam conJiciat, tentet pel" glllIUm. visum, CIt
odoratum .. . "

3]

MELANCHOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT

I2r

of this work, nor by the fact that the humoral explanation of the
temperaments was ultimately reduced to a mere outline of
characters and emotions. In a commentary on the Regitnen
Salerm'tanum lS6 printed in 1559. for instance. the words " Hi
vigilant stu~: ' were ~~de the point of departure foe a long
and enthuSiastic descnptlon of the contemplative life. Ovid
Quintilian,lM Cicero and, of course, Aristotle, were cited, and th~
ad~antages of the melancholic disposition were highly praised,
while the other purely negative statements in the text were no
Jess eagerly defended and substantiated. This attitude remained
typical of even the most scholarly treatises on the temperaments,I.57
In the popular ~hilosophi~ writ~gs of the eighteenth century
the cha~~cter ~rtralts first pamted ill later antiquity still preserve
a stability WhICh they have not entirely lost even to-day
Bud?eus,168 J. H. Becker,uI G. E. Stahl,11O Appelius,lGl and th~
rest.. were ~ content merely to fill in the old contours with new
~~lou.rs; :vhile elaborating the familiar traits with regard to the
tnchn~tions of the human mind, manners, and dispositions",
they lwd a stronger emphasis on the psychology of races, and,
as we should expect, devoted more space to what they caUed
" moral and historical" aspects. They were hardly affected at
all by the .great process of transformation which the picture of the
melancholic had undergone during the Renaissance, and which
~ad had such a significant effect in other realms of life and
hteratunf62; all of them continued irrunovably to maintain the
fundamen~al infe~ority of the melancholy temperament, the
most. obstmate bemg, perhaps, Appelius, who blamed it for the
a.va.n~e. ,~trayal and suicide of J udas, as well as for the "despicable
turudity of the Jews as a race; and all of them adopted the view
- A:<o l'l., Cmo_...t.w .."iI./# prOfU!". ulwIMrri ....., Frankfurt 1559, rol.. " ..8.
... QuintiJiao', remulct as to tho la vnurablo e/Jeelf of si lence and IIOlitude on menta.! .... ork
(I....,. Or. x , 3, n !!qq.) have been UeqllenUy quoted In this coonulon.

... cr. am~mg mlU:ly .o t her ex.mple~: LVl"U I LaMN!t1S. I), '..oilw d ~11H$tilwli01l' ""tjJorn
f NO ':' G~..tel q6."' fn lJiall$ nmlp,",_ ... -..lIf. Ant .... erp 1561. and T. W.u..JUNorolf TJu
OpticA GlAu. ,,111N_$, London. 1607.
'
' .. E~",,"t.I>"kntJfJ"o. pr..d luu, ed iUo noyissima a uctior et COrrec:tior Halle I " , <h
.
, . II ,

sect. Ill. Ii 9-14, pp. 66-68.


ItO
...

J. H. BII:CQI;. Kw'fu~ dod I~Ulldlil:h~ Ullf,.mllt """ 411

T, .....- .

_.

y-' . """''''.

rt men 1739.

' 71 ;

N,w-IIItIMSSI'/' Ldn "" " " T,,,,prr.. 'fIInIJ'N tranalated by G HUla Le


'
..
".
'pz"
n ..... a~d enlarged edition, Leipr.l, '734 .

1&1! W. ApP11.LI Ua.

JIiJlcoriulJ-_aliuJ,n

'. See belo..... PI". 1.. 9 !!qq. {textl.

E.t.wrff"'. r""-"-"""wII
,_" "'.,,_
y-' .
, .....
1.....0. ' 737.

122

MELANCIIOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE

[I.

lI .

that each temperament in tum governed the stages of man's


lifc.143
Even the magnificent description in Kant's Observat1'ons on
tlfe Sense of tM Beautiful and the Sublimel " may be included in
this category. In material matten.. Kant foUows tradition
entirely. When he says, "As in the phlegmatic combination no
ingredients of the sublime or the beautiful generally appear in
a particularJy noticeable degree, this type of temperament d~
not belong to the contex t of our reflections", Kant still echoes t he
Galenic "no power to determine character" . But just as
Vindician's text had once received a theological interpretation
by Hugues de Fouilloi, so does Kant now give an aesthetic and
et hical interpretation to the traditional doctrine of temperaments.
He docs even more ; for through his attitude to the question with
which we are here concerned he breaks down the rigid scheme
at a decisive point. Kant was not untouched, perhaps, by the
Renaissance view, but it was rather, in all probability, a deep
feelin g of sympathy which led him to endow the melancholy
character, limited though its traits were by tradition, with the
stamp of the "sublime", and, point by point, to interpret every
trait of melancholy as the expression of a great moral consciousness. The melancholic and no other represented Kant's notion
of virtue ("True virtue based on principle has something in it
which seems to accord best with the melancholy disposition in
its more moderate sense") . The melancholic became in this way
the possessor of an ideal of freedom, and the chains with which
the sick melancholic used to be bound became the symbol of all
the chains which free men abhor, ltl~ no matter whether they
shackle the slave, or decora te the courtier. The "sadness without
cause" was based on his possession of a moral scale which destroyed
personal happiness by the merciless revelation of his own and
others' worthlessness.

3l

MELA NCHOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT

123

He whose emotions incline him to melancholy does not have that name
because he is affli cted with gloomy depression as being robbed of li fe's joys,
but because his sensibilities, when strung above a certain pitc~ " or when
for some reason given a wrong direction, attain to this condlh~n more
easily than to any other. In. particular, he h~ a sense of the ~ubl~me . . ..
All the sensations of the sublime possess for hIm a greater fascmatlOn than
the transient channs of the beautiful. . . . He is constant. For th~ l
reason he subjects his sensibilities to principles.. . , The man of melancholic
disposition cares little for the opinions of o th~rs . . . for that , re~n he
depends solely on his own judgme~t, ~ause Imp.ulses assume In hIm the
nature of principles, he is not eaSIly distracted ; his constancy,. too, t urns
sometimes into obstinacy.. . , Friendship is sublime and he I~ therefore
susceptible to it. He may lose a fickle friend, but the latter ~1I not 1~
him as quickly. Even the remembrance of a severed fri endshIp, remains
precious to him. . . . He is a good guardian of his" own and others . s~cret s.
Truth is sublime, and he hates lies or deceit. He has a deep convl~tlo~ of
the nobility of human nature. . .. He will not suffer base ~u~J e<:lion :
instead, he breathes freedom in a noble breast. From the courher s golden
chains to the heavy irons of the galley-slave, all fetters are abhorrent to
him. He is a stem judge of himself and of others; and is not seldom weary
both of himself and of the world.I"

\
I

, .. Generally In the followl nl order: Phlegma. SaD(1IU, Cholera rubra, Melancholia {and.
possibl y. asain Ph legma). Casanova. too, at 71 yea.rs of age, writ9 in th e prefaee to bl.
/tf,,,",irs: "I have had every temperament ODe ,,!tee the other, the phl egmatie in ehlldl'lood,
the ..nguine hl youth, and later the eholeTle, and DOW J have tbe mel ancholic which will
probably DOt ].u.VI. rna any mote."
l/o. diet lor t he different tempenmellta even . ucvive<! ill the fashionablo beauty m&guille. o (
U>e 01....'1 nineteenUl century, a bo .. t whlc:b rica Strau.. wrote in Q"ITu A"W, Sept, 19z1l.
, .. Put II , pp, 27 $(Jq. o f tl'le 2nd ed n., I<Onigsberll 1766:
Derlin 1912, pp, 1.511-64 ,
1M With this. d . W .u -n ..
p. '4 1,

B"~J.AM t M.

Un/WV"K

lV~rh,

u. ",dub_

ed . E , Casslrer, VOl. , II ,

rJ',," IUIr"/,ull, Berlill 19"t1l,

1M Kant deKnbu tbe wdl-knowlI da.rker upectJ 01 the melancbolr temr~.r2m(nt tOO,
qaite ill aooGI"d with tradition. He c:olI,lideno . th~m as "deg(ne~te forms a:lli d,DO(:,at u
them from ""bat he considers the essenually Ilgmlic:an t c.haracten, ucs.

PART II
S aturn, Star of Melancholy

;.

Lcs sages d'autrefois, qui valaient bien ccux-ci.


Crurent-et c'cst un point enecr mal eclairciLire au del les bonheurs a insi que lcs desa.stres,
Et que chaque arne etailli-e a I'un des astres.
(On a beaucoup raille, sans penser que souvent
Le rire est ridicule autant que decevant,
Cette explication du mysterc nocturne.)
Or ceu.."(~la qui sont n ~ sous Ie signe Satume.
Fauve planete. chere aux nh:romanciens,
Ont entre tous, d'apres les grimoires anciens.
Bonne part de malheur et bonne part de bile.
L'imagination. inqwete et debile,
Vient rcndee nul en eux r effort de la Raison.
Dans leurs veines, Ie sang. subtile comme un poison,
Bnilant comme WlC lave, et rare, coule et roule
En deyorant leur lristc id ~ l qlli J'i'f.croule.
Tels les saturniens doivent soufIrir et tels
Mourir-en admettant que nous $Oyens marleis- ,
Leur plan de vie etant dcssme ligne a ligne
Par la logique d'une influence maligne.
PAUL VERLAlNE

C HAPTER

SATURN IN TH E LITERARY TRADITION


I.

THE NOTION OF SAT UR N I N ARA BIC ASTROI.OC Y

Nearly all t he writers of the lat er Middle Ages and the Renaissance

considered it an incontestable fact that melancholy, whether


morbid or natural, stood in some special relationship to Sa turn ,
and t hat t he Jatter was really to blame for th e m elancholic's

unfortunate character and destiny.1 To-day, a sombre and


melancholy disposition is still described as "Satumine"2 ; and. as
Karl Giehlow has incont rovertibly proved, for a sixteenth-century
artist t he task of drawing a melancholic was equivalent to drawing
a child of Saturn .!
This close and fundament al connexion between melancholv

and Saturn, toget her with the corresponding connexions between


t he sanguine disposition and J upiter, the choleric and :'\ Iars, and
the phlegmatic and t he moon or Ven us, seems to h~\\"e heen
definitely established for t he fi rst t ime by certain Arab writers
of t he ninth century. Tn Book [V of his " ztraduction to A strology,
Abu-Ma'Sar (who died in 885) inveighs against a certain primi t l\'e
" analysis of the spect rum ," which he attribu tes not to one author
b ut to the " universitas astrologorum" and which endern'oured to
relat e t he planet s to t he humours. According to this doctrine,
stars. elements and humours could and must be Jinked with their
corresponding colours. The colour of b lack bile is dar k and black ;

' Thll. t he rhymed caption (quoted a bove, text p_ 11 1) to the woodcut In Pl. ' TI':-5
Cf. also th e Portugu~ "sotu rno,'" dark, unfriend ly, and the group of wo rd. of Roma nce
origin collected by G . K ORTH<G , J. ..I ,.... isth~I) ... (J "u~h~& II'lirlub " ch . nd cdn . P"der \l.-.r ll

'<]Q '

GUIMLOW ( 1904).

p.

6, .

Abu Ma'tar, i ndeed, occaaionally quotes Apolloniu' in this conn n:ioll n e saf'''Tll>u~
Secundu m AppoUi ne m [IJ humld' t ... in natu ra sua. ,,01 luav ,. lapori ,. ,ic,,"," \ u o am3"
(from the rna nus.;:ript q uo ted in the fo llo wing not e. foL )2 '). The I.a tin tra,u la tio n o f tilt
IIO-CaiZed ApoUonius in Cod. P arit, Bib!. ~,. t . liS tat. 1)9~1 d~s contaon t h,. ~! .. : e-r."It nt
(el. fo l. I ~ and fol.. 17'). b ut we could not lind the planet-spectrum t heory t hec . F o r
Apollon ius. ICe J. Rusx". Tab"l.. $"''''''14;,." (Heidelberger Akt~o de. \" Po rt llti mS t dn:ng.
XVI). H eide lber, 1926, " .. u i ... ; for planetspec tr um theories cf. BOG, H sq.

"7

12$

SAT UR:-< IN THE LITERARY

TRADITIO~

[n,1.

its nature, like that of the earth, is cold and dry, But the colour
of Saturn also is dark and black, so that Saturn too I~ust be c?ld
and tin' by nature, Similarly red Mars is coupled WIth red bile,
Jllpitt:~ with blood, and the mo~n wi~h phlegm ,~ As we learn
from Abu )'la'i5ar's detailed polemics, thlS hypothesis of the colours
and correlation of planets with humours must h~ve been rega~ded
as a pro\'Cll theory in certain circl:s in the rmddle ~f the ~mth
ce ntury, Abu l\Ia'sar himself attnbutes to the vanous plan~ts
the qu'alities corresponding to the t:mpera:nents (cold and ~OIst,
and so forth) and credits them with an mfluence on phySique,
~motions and' character largely corresponding to t~e effects of
the humours' but he does not relate them systemattcally to the
four l:ull1our~,6 I-low widespread this correlation must .11ave b,een
in the east among Abu Ma'sar's predecessors and ,lmmedla~e
Sllcces:>ors, howewr , can be seen even from t.11e medi~val Latt~
translations which are our only source of mfonnahon, ~bu
),la';ar's master, .\1-Kindi (born in the early part of the mnth
cent un') distinguishes the four parts of the circle of the day
accordin~ t o the four humours, Men born in the first, qu,,:drant
from the cast point to the centre of the sky are sangume, m the
---; ~I,'re ,,< alwav~ Johannes Hispalensis's translation j~ more detail,,.,! than Dalmata's, ,\\c
, the manuscript
- '
" Collese, Ofd
' S f oI33'
'''ooen:
quote from
in Co rpus Chnstl
x or , N
, I ) , _4,
.'
nigre wlor \.'st {u!;Cus, id est gr;sius. et eius 5apor acredo. Natura quoque ~IUS Ingl
su;ca~
ro rieh9 ,'erO e;u5 cst siccit.l$ ct opus e;us rdent;o rerum: et hoc oongrult ~a~re terre e
p mPriet~i; eius, Hoc est quod O:\Travt_runt ex naturis e!ementorum et co~.m 'xllon~m""
~er~i]li""tUr enim natu~ eorum (I.e. planetarum j atq ue coLores per cO,noor<1'",'" calons CQrutll
cum colorn harum 1111 eommilttionum, quia cuiu. planete coLorem ",demu5 conoorda~e:,"m
colore harum comm ixtionum, scimus quod natura eiusdem planete sit moors oa,ture ~IU em
clcmenti cni ipsa com mi,~tio concordat per natufarn ac proprietatem, Et ".' fuen~ cOI~r
planet" :Ii"e,.,;u. a colore I I11 co mmi"tionum, oommlseemus ei, id , est, quenm~s ~I (33.:
comrle~i,.,ncm e~ po n emn ~ natura [I] e;"s, secundu m quod congru.t ~'us color., urn S'
comml,;tio, Di xcrllnt itn<I'I<'. cum si t color (eulere) ni gr!: fuseu. et m~er, natll:a quoq:
eius ut natura tene {ri!tlda et sicca, Color uerO saturni ~"t f~SCuS et ~.ger; novlmus qu .
esset "i concors per naturam frigoris et siccitntis et per propnetatcm e,~s atque QpUS '
colorenl co]ere mfe . lmilem co lori ign is , , ' coloTque ~ larti9 similis coLon eor~m , , , na t\lra
e i\ls [i ,. Soli ~l sit cal ida sicca, quemadmodum indicauim~s li e natum Martl$ , ' .- propter
,., , ,_ [i e VenercJ qui est similis oolori colere rule , retuhmus earn
."
. ,
I'd h d
croccum co orem, qUI."
'_I"_"l~,m
assim;latur colori flegmatis , , . natura lou's !lIt ca I a urn' a
I ou~v<--...
I
"
,"
, {' 'd h
'd
a d caorcro,e
temperatll et hoc congruit nature s;l.lIt.:uinis et aeris : ' , , quod natur ... lu ne Slt ns' a UIll1"',
et hoc consrui t nature I\egmatis ' , ,"
Joha nnu Hispale nsis's Latin tr ... nslation 01 Abu )la'.sar, wh.ich is gencral1,~ more lait~I~~
than Hermannus Dalmata's. differs Irom the iatt~r in introdu cmg the wor" melanchollca
into th<' description o f Saturn's natun:, bu~ this interpretation, tlluugh u nderstanda,b le .for
the twelfth century, is I\ot justified by the ori!;inal Arabic ted, AsO B"'''R ,(Albulml"~ ~Ibe.
Ge"tlhiill'''s, Xurem~rg 1~ ~0: d , GEOR(iK SARTO!'!, ltd,odlle/ion t~ 'lot Hula.)' of 5" ~Ct,
VOl,. I Baltimore '927, p, 6031. who floudshed probably in the thln\ quarter 01. the mn~
ccn~u;r, countenanced a systematic correl ation between humours al1(\ planets a! httle as <.lid
AbU J\.[a'ar,
'

"da'

lj

THE NOTION OF SATURN IN ARABIC ASTROLOGY

129

second choleric, in the third melancholic, in the fourth phlegmatic,'


The very remarkable Liber Aristotelis de cctv IndoTum voluminibus.
translated by Hugo Sanctallensis, contains a similar account; it
actually names the four planets corresponding to the humours,
Venus, Mars, Saturn and the moon,s and gives a detailed theoretic
justification of these correlations,
Moreover, even outside the strictly astrological field, we find
this relationship established in principle at the end of the tenth
centtiry among the so-called "Faithful of Basra", or "Pure
Brothers". Admittedly the phlegm is not yet included in the
systeJ.ll as it is here described, Of Saturn they say:
Th,e spleen occupies the same position in the body as Saturn in the
world:. For Saturn with its rays sends forth transcendent powers which
penetr'a te into every part of the world, Through these. forms adhere to,
and remain in, matter. Even so goes forth from the spleen the power of the
black bile, which is cold and dry and it flows with the blood through the
, "Alkyndus", Oxford. Bod!., Amm, MS 369. fol. 86"; 'Super omnem itcm horam , , ,
quadripartite secemitllr , , , prima ab horientis gradu ad celi medi um nascens,
sanguinea, uernalis et D1MCUla dicitur, Se<::unda quidem pal'S a celi medio ad oe<:identis
gndum Cl'C$Ceus, ignea, es tivalis, oolerica atqua leminea, _ Tcycius quidem quadrans a VlI.
gradu ad quartulll proccnsus [!] , ' , meiancolicus, decn:pitus et m3.SCUiU8 et autumnalis,
Quartus autero quadrans spacium a quarto in orientem optinens, seDilis, flegmaticus, finiens.
hyetnalis. lemineus existit,"
~i~culus

I Oxford, Bodl" Digby hiS ' 059, 101. ~ ': 'Nu nqu am enim ipsum sperma in oriticium descendit
matrici s, neo::: plana terre inseritur. nisi juxta ipsius stelle ortus (sup,.-1IS6r, uel ascensu s] vel
naturam, que ipsius hore temperanciam et proprietatem deo coopel"3.nte vendicauit, Nam
quocien~ ;n prima tr;um diurnalil1m horarum et " lib vernal; . igno .perma matrici comm" n_
datur et sub stellarum eiusdem generis ac proprietatis de trigono vel oppo$icione ad ipsum
respectll nascitur vir precipue s ub Venuis potencia, in propria lege summus ac excellell!!,
honeste forme, omni utilitate dcspecta, risibus, iocis deditus et ocio ince!itus [ IJ, Cuius
tandem natura mens atque uoluntas et operacio, ad eius complexionis et temperantie modum
neo:::en atio ref~runtur, Cuius eDim conceptus ,ive plantatio io sequcntibus tribus horis e t
sub signis igneis. sub Martis preelpue po":eState facta e';t, durn stelle (prout supradictum est)
ipl um respiciant, nascetur vi r col(!l'icus, audax, I trenUIlS, prorntlls, impacabilis [101. 6']
iraeundie : Huius runum doctrinam, naturam, plutem. morbum, animos a tque ncgocia
Marti necessario similari oportet, Si vew in his, que ucuntur, tribus quid con~ptul'l\ uel
plantatum sit, sub Saturni potissilllum potestate et in signo teaeo. melancoliclls eeit, corpulentus. iracundus. fraudulentu8 deoque in actibus SlIis contrariUI, Sicque color, natur.."
plus atque infirmitas, animus et opera.cio ah eiusdem ordine non n:<;edunt. In reliqnis
demum niblls, que videlicet diem tenninant, plantaeio sive conceptio facta muime luna
dominan~ et signo aquatico magnum. carneum, corpulentum exibent atque flegmaticum.
Sed et oolor ac natura. salus atque egritudo. et quicquid ex eo est ad luoe temperanti ... m
Deus enim sub prime Cfea.cionis ortu. dum ea indissoJubili nature
neeessario accedunt, , "
nexu attributo ad esse proouxit, VlI stellarum [Glossa ; id est planetarum] atque XII
signoru~ (Clossa: id es t signorum) nature ac proprietati omci similitudine relata placuit
subiugari, , , (101. 6 ) bon um porro atque ma[um, Jaudem, vituperium, fortunam utramque,
sponsalicia, sobolem filiorum. servos, itincra. que mortis s it occasio, legem, oolores, naturns,
operatiQnes, humorca llU----sanguinelll dico, melancolialll, colcyam et fleg~t quiequid
ex his procreatur, mundan e molis condibr deus VII plane tarum et signorum XII nature ua
pwvidencia naturaliter s ubdidit:

130

SATURN IN THE LITERARY TRADITION

(n .

l.

veins into every part of the body, and through it the blood coagulates and
the parts adhere to one another.-

So far as they reached the west at all, the works of these authors
and the theses of those masters against whom Abu Ma'Sar's
polemics were directed, did not have any considerable influence in
Europe. For the west, the decisive event was the translation of
Alcabitius. In his widely known Introductoritl,m maius, with its
full commentary, we find a connexion traced between the humours
and Saturn,. Jupiter, Mars and the moon respectively.lO Living
two gene:atto~s after Abu Ma'sar, A.lcabitius in general agrees
closely .wlth him, but h~ transmits the account o f the planets'
effects In a somewhat ncher and more systematically arranged
form . We give here the texts on Saturn of Abu Ma'sar and
Alcabitius from the Leidenl l and Oxfordl :! manuscripts.
ABU MA'SAR (Leiden, Cod. or. 47):
. With regard to Saturn, his nature is cold, dry, bitter, black, dark,
vI.olent and harsh. Sometimes too it is cold, moist, heavy, and of stinking
WInd. He eats much and is honest in friendShip. He presides over works
of m01st~re, h~ls~andry, and farming; over owners of land, works of
constmctlOn on estates, lakes and rivers; over measuring things, division of
estates, land and much property, and estates with their wealth; over avarice
and bitter po.verty; over domiciles, sea travel and long sojourn abroad;
over far, evli Journeys; over blindness, corruption, hatred, guile, craftiness,
fraud, disloyalty, harmfulness (or harm); over being withdrawn into one's
self; over loneliness a nd uu~ociabiJity; over ostentation, lust for power,
pride, haughtiness and boastfulness; over those who enslave men a nd rule,

. Thus in F. DIETERIC!"S version, Die A"lh~opologit der Arab Leipzig 187 1, p. 61; very
slmi!:uly in. th.e same writer's Dj~ PhiloJophie der Arllfu~ im 10. Jalt.I"...dert. n. II (}\film' .
110$1100$) . u'pzlg 1879. p. 74 Corresponding connexions e.x;st between Jupiter and the li ver
from whicb the blood Rows harmonising all the elements of the body, between Mars and the
yellow bile, the moon and the lungs, Mercury and the brain. the sun and the heart, Vcnus and
the stomach.
" In the prints of Alcabitiu$ of 148.'), '4 9 1 and I~ll "!lcgma" is misprinted as " falsa ...
Abenragel. who wrote during th e first half of thc eleVEnth century (Al.aOHAZEN HAI.Y FTI.IUS
ABENRACKI.IS, P",lari$$;mW$ tiber ",,,,pte/us ill j!Ulidis ostrOffim, Venice 1,S03, fol. 3.)
mentio~8 only <in ~es<:ribing the nature of Saturn): "assimilatur melanCOlie qu e gUbernatur
de ommbus humor,bU5 et nuUu8 de cOl:' The express inclusion of tbe phlegm, which is needed
to complete the classification, is al so found in a Byzantine treatise, based on a Persia.n or
Arabic source of unknown date; d . Cal. ,.sIr. Gr_. VOL. VII , p. 96; he ..... however, the phlegm
be~Ol1gs to the m~n as .wel~ as to Venu s. In western sources (d. below. text pp. 188 sqq.)
thIS complete ClassIficatIon ,s the rule rather than tht exception.
11 Leiden, UniveT3ity Library. Cod. or, 47. fol. 2,,S'.
II Oxford, Bod!.. lIfarsh MS 66], fol. 16'.

I]

THE NOTION OF SATURN IN ARABIC ASTROLOGY

131

as well as over every deed of wickedness, force, tyranny and rage; over
fighters (?); over bondage, imprisonment, distraint, fettering, honest speech,
caution, reflection, understanding, testing, pondering ... over much thinking,
aversion from speech and importunity, over persistence in a course. He
is scarcely ever angry, but when he becomes angry he is not master of
himself; he wishes no one well; he further presides over old men and surly
people; over fear, reverses of fortune, cares, fits of sadness, writing, confusion,
, . , affliction, hard life, straits, loss, deaths, inheritances, dirges and
orphanage; over old things, grandfathers, fathers, elder brothers, servants,
grooms, misers and people whose attention women require (?); over those
covered with shame, thieves, gravediggers, corpse robbers, tanners and
over people who count things; over magic and rebels ; over low-born people
and eunuchs; over long reflection and little speech; over secrets. while 110
one knows what is in him and neither does he show it, though he knows
of every dark occasion. He presides over self-destruction and matters of
boredom.
ALCABITIUS

(Bod!. Marsh 663):

H e is bad, masculine, in daytime cold, dry, melancholy (literally :


blackish of mixture), presides over fathers .. . over old age and dotage and
over elder brothers and ancestors, and over honesty in speech and in love,
and absence of impulses ... , and over experience of things , keeping of a
secret and its concealment, much eating and silence, deliberate dea lings.
over understanding and the faculty of distinguishing ; he presides over
lasting, pennanent things, like land, husbandry, fann ing, ti!ling the land,
and over respectable professions which have to do with wa ter like the
commanding of ships and their management, and the administration of
. work, and shrewdness and fatigu e, pride, kings' servants, t he pious among
the peoples, the weak, slaves, the worried, the low born , the heavy , the
dead, magicians, demons, devils and people of ill-fa me-aIl this whe n his
condition is good. But when he is evil he presides over hatred, obstinacy.
care, grief, lamenting, weeping, evil opinion, suspicion between men ; and
he is timid, easily confused , obdurate, fearful, given to anger, wishes no
one well; further, he presides over miserly gains, over old and Impossible
things, far travels, long absence, great poverty, avarice t owards himself
and others, employment of deceit, want, astonishment, preference for
solitude, wishes that kill by cruelty, prison, difficulties, guile, inheritances,
causes of death. He also presides over vulgar trades like those of tanners,
blood-letters, bath attendants, sailors, grave-diggers, the sale of ironware
and objects of lead and bones, as well as working in leather. All this when
he is unfortunate. To him belong hearing, comprehension, t he \'ISCOW;,
sticky, blackish (melancholy) thick humours, and of the parts of the body,
the right ear, the back, the knees ... the bladder, the spleen, the bones ...
and of diseases, gout, elephantiasis, dropsy, hypochondria, and all chronic
illnesses which come from cold and dryness. In the human form he
presides over the circumstances that a new-born child has black and curly
hair, thick hair on the breast, medium eyes inclining from black to ~'ellow
with meeting eyebrows, well-proportioned bones, thick lips; he is easily

132

SATU RN IN THE LITERARY TRADITION

(II. t.

2]

o,crcome b\ cold and dryness. It is also said of him that he is lean, timid,
th in. strict. wilh large head and small body. wide mouth, large hands, bandy
legs. but pleasant to see when he walks, bending his head, w.alking bea~ily,
shuffi lllg IllS feet, a friend to guile and deceit. He has the fa1th of JudaISm,
black clothing; of dap Saturday, and the night of Wednesday. . . . To
hun belong iron, remedies, the oak, gallnuts, latrines, sacks and old coarse
stuffs, the bark of wood, pepper, qust (a herb), the onyx, olives, med1ars,
sour pomegranates . .. lentils, myrobalans, barley, ... the terebinth and
everythi ng whatsoever that is black, and goats and bullocks, waterfowl,
black snakes and mountains.
Jupiter is auspicious, masculine, in daytime warm, moist, temperate,
temperate blood like that of the heart; of the ages of man, youth
belongs to him ...
On rt"ceiving the full fo rce of t his wealth of characteristics
and correspondences, derived mainly fTom post-<lassical sources
(especially Ptolemy and Vettius Valens)p one's immediate impression is of utter madness. Saturn is said to be dry, but
sometimes moist too. He "presides over" the utmost poverty,
but also over great wealth (admittedly always coupled with
ava rice and illwill towards others) , over treachery but also over
uprightness, over domiciles but also over long sea journeys and

ex ile.

Men born under him are members of "vulgar" trades,


slaves, felons, prisoners and eunuchs, but they are also powerful
commanders and silen t people with mySterious wisdom and deep
thoughts.
But order emerges from the chaos as soon as the origins are
traced. For Abu Ma' ~ar and Alcabitius, Saturn was one of the
seven planets endowed with demoniac powers, to which definite
classes of entities, men, beasts, plants, minerals, professions,
biological or meteorological events, constitutions, characters and
dealings in everyday life essentially "belonged", and which
exercised a decisive influence on the fate of men and the course
of all earlhly events, the effect of these planets being strengthened
or weakened according to their position in the firmament at any
given time and their relations towards one another.14 But the
nature of these planets was determined not only by the
astronom ical and physical properties which ancient natural

Foe t he technique of f5(}iol the llano. d. BOG. Sfmtllll wbe. pp . .58 sqq.

133

science had attributed to tbe slars Saturn, Jupiter, and the rest ,
but also by the t radition which ancient mythology had handed
down concerning the gods Saturn, Jupiter, and so OD. In astrology
general ly, but especially in astrological notions of planetary rulers
who had inherited the names and qualities of the great Olympic
gods, ancient piety had been preserved in an apparently profane
form ; and it was to remain so much alive in the fu ture that the
very gods who had been turned into stars-that is to say,
apparently stripped of divinity- were an object of pious veneration
and even of formal culls for hundreds of years afterwards,a while
those not turned into stars-Hephaestus, Poseidon and Athenacontinued to exist merely in learned compendiums and allegorical
moral tracts; even tbeir re-awakening in the humanism of the
Renaissance, was to a certain extent a matter of literary convention.
Even in the sources from which the Arabic astrological notion
of Saturn had arisen, the characteristics of the primeval Latin
god pf crops Saturn had been merged with those of Kronos, the
son of Uranus, whom Zeus had det hroned and castrated, as well
as \v.ith ebronos the god of time, who in turn had been equated
with the two former even in antiquity; to say nothing of ancient
oriental influences, whose significance we can only roughly estimate. When one considers further that all these mythological
definitions were in tum mixed with astronomical and scientific
definitions, and that astrological (that is, fundamentally magical)
speculation, by reasoning fro m analogy, derived a mass of further
more or less indirect associations from every given predicate, the
apparently chaotic nature of a text such a" Abu Ma'Sar's or
Alcabitius's seems perfectly intelligible,

bringing

" c r. beloit', text p. 14'i11<1. A very hutructivc and detailed tab leQ I the aUribu tetQI SatlirD
aordio, to .0eJeot "'"ten appean io G. S ..l'.......TI'I , BeiIF4t. ~ .. r K , ....I..is W LiI"..,wr ...
<I~I 1111... An-Pie .. , VOL.. H . Le.ipsi, 183). pp. ,51-60.

SATURN I N A...'JCfENT LITERATURE

2.

SATURN I N ANClENT LITERATURE

(a) Kronos-Saturn as a Mythi ca l Fi g ur e

From the beginning, the notion of the god Kronos, a eli vinity
apparently venerated before the days of classical Greece, and

"c(. e.,. H . !bTU.. "Pic:at.rlx, elD arabbehQ Handb\lCb he1leftistixber M.,ie" i .


IIOf'I'48e <In- BiblidJ.#1 Wllrbw~I, YOL o I ('9u-n), pp. 94 .qq. a.w.t A. W .... .VIle. Gu.';'",_~;
SeJ>.rijl, .., Leipri( 1932, YOL. II, pp. 4$9 .qq .

134

[II.

SATURN I N THE LITERARY TRADITION

I.

of whose original character we know virtually nothing,lS was


distinguished by a marked internal contradiction or ambivalence.
It is true that the other Greek gods, too, nearly all apJ>ea:T under
a dual aspect, in the scnse that they both chastise and bless.
destroy and aid. But in none of them is this dual aspect so real
and fundamental as in Kronos. His nature is a dual one not
only with regard to his effect on the outer world, but with regard
t o his own-as it were, personaI--destiny, and this dualism is so
sharply marked that Kronos might fairly be described as god of
opposites. The Homeric epit hets, repeated by Hesiod. described
the father of the three rulers of the world. Zeus, Poseidon and
Hades (as he appears in t he Iliad) as "great" and "of crooked
counsel".n On the one hand he was the benevolen t god of
agriculture, whoSt.: harvest festival was celebrated by free men
and slaves together,l8 the ruler of the Golden Age when men
had abundance of all things and enjoyed the innocent happiness
of Rousseau's natural ' man,19 the lord of the Islands of the
Blessed,2D and the inventor of agriculture 21 and of the buildjng
of cities.l!:l On the other hand he was the gloomy, dethroned
and solitary god conceived as "dwelling at the uttermost end of
land and sea",:t3 "exiled beneath the earth and the flood of the
seas"2A; he was "a ruler of the nether gods"25; he lived as a

"YO!" t ..... and the foUowins d. t"e article:. "Sat...... ". "K ron ... " .nd " 1'1.neten " i.. W .
ROSCH", AM$f/ilo rlidu u.rjltolll der pUd:iult'lII ....d ,iimiulo... Mylltolop, Leip~ig 1890-91,
and in PAI1Ly. WISSOWA . U. VON WIl-'.MOWITZ.M6LL.1iNOORFFS suggfl$tion that t"e ' ,.. re
of Kronos I, a IJOrt of hypostatisation of the Homeric epithet for Zeus . ..:,.....a", (" ~rOIlOS .. nd
die Titaael)" . In 5jt~""IJbn-idl. dl' P"", n'Jde>l A ....d,m'. dIT W"'""ubf/no, plli/ .Ioi".
X/lUll., IV (19"l9l. pp. 3.5 IIQq.) has met with little support.
~

DJlI18N~ It.

At/i,c'" F.Ik, Berlin 193"', pp. 152 sqq.

.. HESIOI), 1V0rltt tid Dyl, Hnell III sqq. Hence Kronos appears in tbe comedy af lord
of Utopia (CJtATINUI, nMm" aeeo:rding to ATH1I"~EUS, DeipnosopMJlu, -a61 e). Ptm.o
mentions nl~ ....,..;. _'1~"i~ d ....yfH1f./on Kpo....oco. {Uoo $Omewhat in the ~n$(! o f "bllH" (T,'ltio
4 C";,,m, 13. in Op,r", ed. L. Cohn and P. Wendland, VOL. V I, Berlin 191.5, p. 158, 3) .
.. H)!:~IOI),
VON

WOt"As 0..4 D"ys, addition to line 169.


'VI~A"'OW1TZ.MOLLJ\Nl)OR''', op. cit., p. 36.

PtN1)AR,

Olympi~f

2, 68 sqq.

Cf. U.

"According to MAcaoolUs, 5"("tn,,{i,,. I, 7. 25. th e Cyn:neans venerated Cronus as


"fructuum repertorem ."
H cr. e.g. D,OOOIIUS Sleulous. BibliOlheca. II I. 6.: JOIlAIOIO_ LY DUS, V .......,.ib'u, .d. R .
Wuensch, Leip,ig 18g8, p. 110,6 aqq.
.. 1I;oil, VIII, 419.

2]

..r

135

SATURN IN ANCIENT LITERATURE


26

27

prisoner or bondsman in, or even beneath , Tartarus, and later


he actually passed for the god of death and the dead. On the one
hand he was the father of gods and men,28 on the other hand
the devourer of children," eater of raw flesh (&ljJTlcrnlP), the consumer of all, who "swallowed up aU the gods",30 and exacted
human sacrifice from the barbariansll ; he castrated his fath er
Uranus with the very sickle which, in the hand of his son, repaid
measure for measure and made the procreator of all things for
ever infertile- a sickle which, prepared by Gaea,32 was both an
instrument of the most horrible outrage and at the same time of
harvesting.
The equation of t he Greek Kronos with Saturn, the Roman god
of fields and crops, confirmed the latent contradiction without
particularly accentuating it. The Roman Saturn was originally
not ambivalent but definitely good. Tn the general picture of the
hybrid Kronos- Saturn, the fu sion of the Greek god with the
Roman produced an increase of positive traits by adding the
attributes of guardian of wealth, overseer o{ a system of counting
by weight and measure and inventor of coin-minting,33 and of
negative traits by adding those of the hunted fugitive. M Again st
this, however, the Greek Kronos's ambivalence was increased when
the notion of the mythical god was linked, and soon merged.
with that of t he star that is still called Saturn to~day .
.. H"-' nn.

TIr~IIY.

linea 720 sqq.

E ...... ,,'411. e.,. Ii..., 641. Cf. also the wootltn bonds of the Rom an San,,.,,
(lIACIIO&l t11I, Slll ......"/ia. I. 8, .5), snd the "$a t urn iacae euenae" in Al:c~'nl"" C"~:T" 1:"",;"",
.\1111"",10., XX, 13 (MI ONE. P . L., VOL. XLII, col . 370)
"AESCH YLUS.

.. llUul, a.nd HUIOO, TIuo,o ..y. J'4Ssi ... .

.. H1:5100 . TIt.Of01l1, \ioe 461.

" lIilld IV, .59: v, 11.1; HUIOI), TIt.otlHty, line 168, etc.

I. L

.~.

.. o.-pltiumlm F'agm::,,(<<, Pan post. 80, ed. O. Kern. Berlin 1922 : d ........."r ""n"i,,,,~ hOlT
Cf. NONNUS. Dio"ysiIKG, II , li ne 331: XpO.- w"'1'""';"o; or E. ABEl. (ed.). Orf'ltica. Leip:ig
188S, Hymnu$ XIII, 3; os ",.. ~,.n. .."a.....

" SoPHOCI.ES, A .. 4,OI7Ieil", trag. 122.


.. HU101),

Here and elsewhere, Kronos

repr~enu

Moloch .

TlteolOflY, lints 161 1<J!l .

.. Cf. M... CR0 8IUS, 51.. ,...I11/ia. I, 7, 24 ("vitae melionl auctor" ). DIOl<YSTI:S OF
HAUCAHN ... SSUS, I, ]8. I (..",,",-,s . vs...,.o....", krii,. "".l ..:\'1,......-.1v). For Sa turn ILS guardmn
of the aer.ui .. m, cf. T8RTU U I...,.", Apolol,li,. 10 (MI GN ~ , P. L, VO L . I . cols. 330 sq .) . ud
TIt ...a .. ,,,s
lal;"ae, VOl.. I. pp. 10.5.5 aqq. For Saturn u P2tron of the moneta ry S)"Sleffi.
d. V"'RHO, D, Ii .., ..a 1411.. a, v, ,8] : "Per ttutinam sol vi solitum: vestigium etlam nunc m~ntt
in aede Saturni, quod e;L etr..m "uno I".opter peMuram trIIlinalll habet poai tam " IS'OOR':,
Ely .... XVI, 18,): "Po$tu. a. Satnma aeteu. nUlnmUS inventus."

Ii..,"'"

.. 1I;all, XIV. 201.

.. UCTANTIU5, D;~". '10$(., I, 13. MIGNB, P . L.,


navigio venit, .. eum errasset diu"). SIOONI US

.. Jt;lIId. XV, U.5: X IV, 274.

MtIOUClI1S F"l:LlX, quoted below. p . 160 (ted) .

VOL . VI.

eol. 188 (" fugit Igitur. et ill Il.iIham


Can",,,,,. V II. 31 t" prolugus).

"POL~ISARIS,

SATURN IN THE LITERA RY TRADITION

(b)

[II.

I.

Kr onos-Sa turn as a P lan et

How the god Kronos came to be lin~ed with the star Sat~rn has
been explained by Franz Cumont, III ~o .f~r as e.x?lanabon. has
been possible.a.:. The Greeks, whose pnmitIve religIOn contamed
hardly any elements of star-worship, at first knew only the pl.an~ts
Q)wO''lloPoc; and ' EO'1T~poS, which seemed to precede ~he s~n m .lts
rising and setting; the one seems not to have been Identified ~lth
the other until the time of t he P ythagoreans Of even of Pannemdes.
The fact t hat in addition to t his most obvious of the planets,
four others pursued their courses through ~he zodiac, was c~m
municated to the Greeks by the Babylomans, who from tune
immemorial had clearly recognised the planets as such, and
\vorshippcd them as gods of destiny- Mercury as Nebu, .the god
of writing and wisdom, Venus as Ishtar, the great goddess of l?ve
and fe rtility, Mars as Nergal, the grim god of war and hell, JU~l~er
as :.'Ilarduk, the kingly ruler, and Saturn as the strange god Nmlb,
of whom little more is known than that he was sometimes regarded
as the nightly representative of the sun and was therefore, in
spite of l\'[arduk , considered the "mightiest" of the five planets.
Thus with. the single exception of Phosphorus- Hesperus, the
planets ~ppeared to t he Greeks from the beginning in the guise
not only of stars but of divinities, with which indigenous Greek
gods were almost inevitably equated. Nebu must be He~~,
Ishtar Aphrodite, Nergal Ares, and Marduk Zeus; and Nlllib
must be Kron os, with his cruelty and his great age; (his age corresponded to the length of his revolution, in marked contrast to the
steady pace of his "son" and the swift movement of his "grandchildren") and his peculiar powers were overshadowed but by no
means lessened by his dethronement.
This original set of equations, however, which first appeared
in complete form in the late Platonic Epinomis,3& was b~ought
into confusion by the growing influx of eastern elements m the
Hellenistic period. According to the country in which the process
took place, the planets Zeus or Aphrodite were associated with
Bel and Battis, or else with t he Great Mother, or with Osiris and
.. FR,.~ t CU MONT, "Les noms des planetes et l'asttolatrie chez I...,. Crees," in L'Anliquiti
da.siqlU, VOL. IV ('93.5), pp. 6 sqq. See also the articles on t he planets quoted aoove (po 134
n. 16); SSG, Sl~rnglaube, p. 5 and passim: and A. BoUCI!t;L"SCLERCO, L'Qslrelogie t re'que,
Pa.-is 1899, esp. pp. 93 sqq.
Epan., 987b, c. The /iftb-century Pythagoreao$ (e.g. Philolaua) "e~ to hav e been the
first to cstablish the equation with the Babylonian gods (CUMONT, op. Ci t .. p.S).

2J,

SAT URN I N ANCIENT LITERATURE

I 37
Isis; the planet Ares with Heracles; the planet Kronos with the
Eg:yptian Nemesis; and so Oll. The astronomers attempted to
stein this confusion by seeking to replace the multiplicity of
mythological tenns by a uniform system of nomenclature on a
purely phenomenal basis. Mercury became IiIA~c..lV the twinkler,
Venus lc..>O''ll6pos the bringer of light, Mars ITvp6E1s the fiery one,
Jupiter Q)atswv the brilliant one, and Saturn lalvc..lv the shining
one. But owing to its non-personal character, this terminology,
which itself very probably came from Babylonian sources of a
more scientific type , was as little able to make headway against
the old mythological terms as, say, the artificially chosen nam f'!~
of the months in the French Revolution were able to supplant the
traditional ones. The Romans never attempted to translate thp.
~iiA~v-Q)aivc..lv series (Isidore of Seville still continued to use the
Greek words). and the growth of astrology as a "religion", which
characterises the later Empire, weighted the scales decisively in
favour of the " mythological" nomencla ture. Towards the end of
the Republic we find the periphrasis "the star of Kronos", replaced
by the simple "Kronos", and " star of Saturn " replaced by t he
simple "Saturn".37 Thus, the mythical identification of the
planets with what the western world had hitherto considered
only their "corresponding" divinities was completed once and for
all.
(i) Kronos-Saturn in A"cient Astrophysics
The Greeks at first developed the planetary doctrine transmitted to them in classical times in a purely scientific direction.
In this, an astrophysical viewpoint seems from the beginning to
have been adopted simultaneously with the purely astronomical.
Epigenes of Byzantium, who is thought to have lived in early
Alexandrian times and therefore to have been one of the oldest
mediators between Babylon and Hellas, classified Saturn as "cold
an~. windy" .38
The epithet "cold", according both with the
pla.nefs great distance from the sun and with the god's great
ag1, adhered to Saturn throughout the years and was never
11 Thus CICERO, De "alura deer",", 11, 119, in the case of .Mao . First Greek instance in
papyrus 01 A.D. 200, the text of whi ch is older (CUMONT , op. cit., pp. 3:; and 37).

I. SENECA, NtJJ"rafes qUfUslWPles, Vil, 4, 2 "natura veotosa et frigida." Cf. also CICE RO',
De. ntJJ"ra ~eo"!,,,,, It, I 19, according to wh~~ the cold Saturn nUs the highest spheres of the
UOlvene With ICY !rort. Both passagt$ explic.Uy emphasi~ that the doctrine is of "Olald
..

origin; .

"an

SATURN IN THE LITERARY TRADITION

[II,

I.

questioned. The property of dryness, implied by "windy", on


the other hand, came into conflict with the fact that Pythagorean
and Orphic texts described t he mythical Kronos as just the
opposite, namely, as the god of rain or of the seaS9 ; and this
accounts for the fact that in later, especially in astrological
literature, we so often encounter the singular definition "natura
frigida et sicca, sed accidentaliter humida", or something of the
sort-a contradiction which can only be explained, if at all, with
the help of laborious argumentation.4o
Whether it was really Posidonius who reduced the elemental
qUalities of the planets to an orderly system ,41 we' would not
venture to decide, but it would be safe to say that it was. within
the framework of the Stoic system that the doctrine was ertdowed
with its full meaning."! Not till the formation of a cosn:ao10gical
system in which the opposites heat and cold determined the basic
structure of the universe, did the qualities hitherto more or less
arbitrarily attributed to the stars reveal a general and universally
applicable law of nature, valid for both heavenly and ~earthly
things and therefore establishing for the first time a rationally
comprehensible connexion between the one set and the other. To
Saturn , which was cold because of its distance fro,,", the sun
(whether the Stoics thought it moist or dry we do not know),
everything cold on earth was first related and finally subordinated;
and it is clear that this embodying of planetary qualities in a
universal fram ework of natural laws must have brought the basic
tenet of astrology, namely, the dependence of all earthly things
and events upon the " influence" of the heavenly bodies, considerably nearer to Greek thought .
"PHI\.OUUS, DntLS. FYlJc .... , AI4: .:,.& ytlp KpO..,r ......."" J#""J'" n}v Vypo.~ ""'" ~pG.~
otiatw (almost word for word also SS:RV IUS, C()"'ment. in Ge!'1K ., I , 12). Cf. PHll.ODEHlIS,
Du;u, D ...:n1fY. Gyat,i, Si 6B (XpeI- ,.<" ToW ....0 ~,.aTT>t ;0.....); PuTO, C'alylU$, ionl ( Rhea
and Cronus as ~utJ.TfII .:.&,........ ): NONNus. Djonysieua , VI, line 178 (Kp&.os 0p.{Ipm> u.v...r.);
PORPHYRY (i n connexion with the etymology KpOl'OS'-Kpourdr) in S tllol. Homey., 0 u. For
the sea as Kp& ...u u",p"". among the Pythagoreans, cr. POR PHYRY, Life of PyMaC"flJs, t il ;
and the paran el passages given in the apparatus.

Cf. P U NY, Nat. Hisl ., II, 106: Saturn bri ngs rain when h" passes from one zodiacal sign
to the next. ?tOL ENV, TetTabiblo$, III (IT.pll'0P4fj<;), Basle '55), pp. '42 $<lq.: Sat urn
produces men of cold a nd moist disposition when he ill in t he east, cold a nd dry when it: tbe
west. Later ast rologens did not fi nd thi$ moist-dry contrad iction incomprehensible since it
seemed to ag ree more or less with Saturn 's two " houses", the Goat a nd the Wattr-<;arrier,
Thus K . RIlINHARDT, Kosmo$ ",,4 Symp"Mie. MuniCh
sqq.

,'y".

19~6,

pp. 34) sqq., esp. pp. 345

.. SENJlCA, D.
11. 19 ; "refert quantum quiSfJ ue humidi in 8e calidique continea t; culos in
ino elementi portio p raevalebit. ind e motes erunt."

rI
1

I
{

,I

139
Stoic philosophy, however, had prepared the ground for
rccognition of astrological belief in two further directions . In
the first place, there was the Stoic acceptance of the not ion of
"Moira", which was conceived both as a law of nature and as
Fa.te,ta and was bound, in view of this dual significance, to favour
astrological fatalism, Secondly, there was the rati onalistic disintegration of the religious myths, enabling latcr times to identify
the properties of the stars, considered as physical bodies, that is,
as natural phenomena, with those of the divinities whose na mes
they bore. The Stoics did not complete this fusion themselves,
but the effect of reducing the myths to a rationalistic and allegorical
significance was to deprive the gods of t heir status as "persons" ,"
so that their characteristics and destinies, ' separated from their
mythical context and surviving only as single traits, were no
longer contrasted with the properties which men attributed to
the stars as natural phenomena, but could be merged with t hem
as soon as the moment was ripe.
The moment was ripe when the question, prompted by an
age-old psychological urge, as to the destiny of the individu al,
could fmd as little answer in the various philosophical systems
as in the official religion which these very systems had displa ced,
and when it sought a new answer which should satisfy faith
rather than reason. With regard to the fat e of the individn:1.1 in
the next world, the answer was given in the ever more widespread mystery cults, among which Christianity was ulti matelv
to triumph. But with regard to the fate of the individual in this
world, the answer was afforded by the astrology of lat er antiqu it y,
whose development and recognition took place at the same time
as the adoption of the mystery religions. Through this astrology
the old mythological motives which Stoicism had secularisedthereby ensuring their survival-once more became "mvthlcallv
SATURN IN ANCI ENT LITERATURE

.. Note the Stoic reference to th~ lI;"d, VI, 488: ~("'pa. S' 0';'" ... 9'11" ".0" 1-"/"''''' '1'1''' 0'
doJpW. . Ct. SloicoY"m ull.rum f ragrr..,.ta. ed. J. "on Armm. \'01. . Ii. Le,!u,:; UI!3, ira~ '}lj
"The "physlea ratio" of the old m yths in Clea nthes and Chry",ppus. C!. .... ''''m ,..,1.1.
op. cit., frags. S~8 &qq. and 1008 sqq. In these Kronos was .denufied ,.;lIh Ch rono< l, y the
Stoics (hence "Saturnus quod satunretuI anni s'"). He devours hIS childr en (; ke Tim~. ",It"
brings forth the ages and swaJlows them up again, an d he is ch ain ed b~' Jupi ter so : 1>3: the
fligh~ o f time $hould not be measu reless but shou ld be "hound" by the coune of 't,e , ' :>.t,
CICERO, D. "alUM tk".. .. m, II, 64: Amim (ed.), op. cit .. fr:>.g . 10<)1
The olh er Interpreta: ton
aceepted by Varro (t-ransmitted by !I,lJGUSTI!>IE, D. C;~ilg t. D. i, \" , S ~nr: YI! . !91 U k C5 t he
word "sata" as the derivation of Saturn's name: he devouns his children as the earth (l""\'(' utS
t he suds she hcrself generates, and he was given a dnd instead of the infant Zeu. t Q eat
bocause, before the plough was discovered . dods used to be thrown on the seed co,n .

ScH UR:\' I X T HE L ITERARY TRADlTIO ~

S ATU R N I N ANC I E NT LIT E RATURE

[ II. I.

is clear that this doctrine, which showed t he complicated nature


of Saturn in a markedly sinister and baleful light,4! was of great
significance with regard to the later apportionment of melancholy
to his sphere.
Thus, in Manilius's few lines-one of the earliest extant
astrological sta tements about the nature of Saturn- we encounter
a heavenly ruler of strangely sombre character, Hurled from his
throne and expelled from the threshold of the gods, Saturn exerted
his powers on " the opposite end of the world's axis" and ruled
the "foundations" of t he universe, that is, the lowest part of the
heavens, called the " imum coeli" , with the result that he also
saw the world from the opposite perspective, from an essentially
inimical standpoint. And just as his own mythical destiny had
been determined by his fatherhood, so now as a planetary power
he h~ld the fate of all fathers and old men in his hands.4'1
The significant part of this sketchy description- apart from
the sombre colouring of Saturn's portrait- lies in the fusion of
scientific and , especially, Stoic doctrine with mythology, as well
as in the emergence of an ever more authorita tive type of speculation distinguished by t he classification of sets of relationships
wit h little rational or logical connexion between them. The
astrological view, as seen in Manilius, has something in common
with the Stoic; both are interested in t he old myths only in so
far as single elements of them can be interpreted .?O as to apply
to the defll1i tion of a nat ural phenomenon. It differs from t he
Stoic view, however, firstly in that the notion of the divinity
is no longer kept separate from that of the star known by the
same name, but is identified with it ; secondly, in that the nature
of t his stellar force now comprising both god and heavenly body
is of importance to the astrologers only in so far as it may exert

active". Combined with t he original scientific conceptions, they


pro\'ide t he background of t he picture drawn by Abu Ma'Sar
and .\ 1cabitius.
(ii) f(ronos- S olum in Atlcient A strology

The astrological elements of ancient oriental astronomy were


made known to the Greeks at t he same time as the astronomical,
but it is significant t hat it was a Chaldean rather than a Greek
who systematically developed and summarised them. This was
Berossus, born about 350-340 B.C. and originally a priest of the
Temple of Bel in Babylon, who is said to have founded a school
of astrology on Cos ; he dedicated a work to the Seleucidian
Antiochus r, entitled BabykmiacnfS ; t his summary of all Babylonian
knowledge of t he stars seems to have been the main source for
wri ters of the later Empire. For t he Greeks themselves, the
ast rological side of t his knowledge was so much overshadowed by
t he astronomical tha t we know very little about the actual content
of "older ", that is to say, pre-Augustan, astrology, and least of
all about its defin itions concerning the nature and effect of the
planets .46 One t hing, however, may be said with some certainty,
that the division of the planets into "good" and " evil" , which
was generally known at any rate by the first century B.C. and is
usually described as "Chaldean" , must have been imported
considerably earlier. According to t his system of division, which
formed t he basis of all Roman writers' statements on astrology
and also represented t he days of t he week named after the planets
as "auspicious" Dr " inauspicious" , two of the planets, Jupiter and
Venus, were consistently "good" by nature, one, namely Mercury,
was " neutral", and two, Mars and Saturn , were " evil " .41 And it
.. Cf. P . 5<:IlI<ABl!:l., B"oslfJS WOld di. bab),kmi $ClI-ulkloisliuJu Lilu/IJ.." Leipzig 1923.

Beronus. 1Tf!..t influence, and the replltation he enjoyed throughout a ntiqllity, can be _ n
fro m I't.n'y (NtJ / . Ail/" VII. 123 ) and FLAV I US jO$l! PIlUS (Co .. /~tJ Ai'iON~ "', I , 129 ) ("Testimonl a" . 5<:h nabcl. op. ci t ., p. 250). Accord ing to l'liny the Athe ni;o. ns even erected a stat ue
to Beronu. wh1<;;h bcca use of his manellou. prophecies bad a l ilded toogu e.

.. Cf. foc iusta n! the passage (rom Lucan quoted in t he previous note, wbere "frigida"
stands immediately next to "nocens". Later we fiEld Saturn', coldness (u wet. as his d ryness)
actually described aa " q uali tal morli fe.a" (~ bela ..... , text p. , 87).

II For t he astrology of the co nstellatio ns alld "dec;ms " d. F . Bou ., Spbe rtJ, l.eipEig 1903,
an d W. C.UtlOll l., Dda ote ,, >Cd DdtJ .. .$lf .-ltbildtf (Studien der B ibliothelr. Warb urg, XIX, 1936).

" M"tlILl U$,

Of C ICI!lt O, D, divi .. atione, I, 85; l'U/ TA RCH. D. l side d OJ., jde, 18.
Correspondi ng pa!l~ge!
in poet r y ate: HORACII, Od" , II . 17 ("To l ov is impio tutela/ Satl,llno refulgOfl3/ Eripuit
voluerisque lati/Tarda\';'t a las . . .. ") ; T IB UU.US, I, 3. '7 ("sacra d ie. Satu rni" a.s a bad
day for t ravel) ; OVID, I bis , Hnes 209 I<jq . ("Te fcnl. nee quicquam placldum aponden tia
Mart il/Sidera presserunt falcifer ique senil" ); J UVINAl., Sill., VI, 569 ("quid sidu. trim
minetur/Sa turn i . . .. "); PRO PS RTI US, IV, 1, 8 ) (" . Felicesqllo J ovi. stellas Ms.rtisque
rapace!/ Et grave Saturni sidu , " ) ; LUCA l'!, B d l _ "tril" I, 65 1 ("Summo . i frigld a eaeJ.oj
StC'-l1a nocen. nigros Sat urn; actendoml t ignis"). F urther, S,Aol. i .. L,,,., I, 660. In
Fll.OC" LUS'. ~enda.r o f 354, Tues.:lay a nd Satumay are d.,.,.;ribed as " die. nelu ti ", Thursday
a nd Frlda.y u lucky da ys, and the remaJ nder as neutral f 'communO$"J.

A II,ono ...

i,,,,

II , lines 92 9 sqq.:
a t qUll l ubaidit converso cardine mund ul
lunda rnent& tenenl ad versu lll et uspicit or bcm
ac media su b nod e lacet, Saturnnt. in ilia
parte , uu agitat vires. deiectus et ipse
imperio q uondam m undi solioque deoru m,
et pater in patrios exeroet Dumina casu,
fortunamque IIOIlllm; priva est tu teh. duorum ,
[n.ateel'ltn m a tque patrum, qnae tali eondlta pan est. ]
asper erit templis titul\lll, qnem Gr.loei;o. fecit
da.emonillm, aigutq ue 5\I.U pro oomine uires.

'42

SATURN I N THE LITERARY TRADITION

[n .

J.

a directly ascertainable influence on man and llis destiny ; and


thirdly, in that the method of interpreting the myths is-no longer
that of abstract allegory, but a method of concrete lanalogy.
They no longer say : "Saturn signifies Time because Time devours
temporal events as Saturn did his children": but : "Saturn, cast
out from Olympus into Hades, rules the lowest region of the
celestial globe"; or : "Saturn, himself an old man and a father,
determines the fate of old men and fathers" .
Later astrologers continued to expand these relationships
founded in "structural" analogies, so that Manilius's still very
sketchy account of the planetary gods and their powers attained
an ever richer, more definite and at the same time more complicated form, while on the other hand the original mythological
attributes of the gods which Manilius still mentioned ("dciectus
et ipse Imperio quondam mundi solioque deorum " , and so on)
seem gradually to have faded from the recollection of aut hors
and readers, and can now be recaptured only by retrospective
analysis.
A relatively early exponent of this fully developed astrological
characterisation was the second-century writer Vett ius Valens,60
whose work begins with a detailed description of the nature
and inRuence of the planets and, as far as t his description is
concerned, has very much in common with early Arabic literature.~J
In his account , Saturn, to whom in Greco-Egyptian fashion he
also refers as "the Sta.r of Nemesis". governs a vast number of
different types of men, and in fact not only governs but even
generates them : to him are subordinated also a series of substances
(like lead, wood and stone) , parts of the body, diseases (especially

.. VEnlUI V"U!<J. A"tAl cokIfi" ...", fibn. ed. w. Kroll. Derlin 1908. p . ::: (.) u,ftIi KpO.. ,.l~ ~ ,.....,;,-... ~ ,.....~III", ~""-~ .oJ...,u:p1,.-, (.,urM ...n//Ii.-.-...r.

,.-"s_.

...

2J

SATURN I :-;!

A ~C I ENT

'43

LITERATURE

those caused by cold or moisture), and manners of death (especially


drowning, hanging, chaining-up and dysentery) .
Some of these correlations, which have quite clearly been
incorporated in the Arabic texts, can be traced without difficulty
to the true mythological core of the conception. Vettius Valens
himself informs us that agriculture and husbandry belong to
Saturn, 5ux TO Ti\s yiis aVTOu KUPltV!:\V. H is association with celibacy
and childlessness, widowhood, child-exposure, orphanhood,
violence and hidden malice can be explained by the unfortunate
experiences of the Greek Kronos in his family life: his aSSOCiation
with the sad, the worried, and misused, beggars, chains, captivity,
and concealment. derives from his det hronement and imprisonment in Tartarus ; the attribution to him of "authority" ,
"guardianship", great fame and high rank is due to his original
position as ruler of the world and king of the gods. Patronage
of the earth, wood, stone, agriculture and husbandry clearly
derives from t he qualities of the Italian god of crops Saturn62 ; and
patronage of voyagers from his long, perilous flight to Latium. 53
Further, the assignment to him of tears, of those working with
moist objects, of damage and illnesses caused by cold and we l ,
of the bladder, of glands, of death by drowning, and so on, is
based on the Pythagorean and Orphic interpreta tion of Kronos
as a sea and river god.M But now something was done that
Manilius had only modestly attempted. AU these mythical trout:;
were reinterpreted as t ypes of terrestrial things and cyent~ ; Ihe
various experiences and qualities of t he god ma terial i5ed , su to
speak, into categories of earthly substances, and , abo\'e all , in to
categories of human character and destiny.
It was now possible, therefore, for the astrologers to connect
the categories of men and substances deriving from tht> myth
with others deriving from purely natural conceptions. Firstly,

.-+

~
oI....,,04,,,",,,",,s ... ~II, lI~ofr, KQ . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . .<, "'o.,,...,,,"'1~
lpo,,.~ lXO"'IU. II';X/,,/poIir, ,.<,\....... t;.o ...., ...pooG ,~'1?..... ~, ... ~ .,,,,, a.'.i MoT......<, [tHd ,

.,,,),(>0. .".Ot7Ort_,. _ ~ ....l ...n.,.n.".-4f, ~" ".f>A!lo.,. I"......, ? ....


-ptu>II'III''-. wo.i"XPO"'iOIll" UKG,. ....O.,...;r .(>0.",...-. "l"'Ir. o_xer. &'-01''; bItt, " .....~~.
u"-"",,, ~r. "'~lu. 'dllU" ~....~ 5l ....l "....pyo-o)r wowi &..i nI t1f rir II';"';"

...4...... uteoif).

""P ..,r.... ,.'0''''''&< ~* <tt'IJ~~- "",! .... ~ .......5 .,p! ~'P;"'" ..p4.t .., oi.......wi, 3O~a., '''p'.olCi 1',,,.u4f
: .. oi~." ,,,... ~~ "a!. J,m,....~!_r " ..l 0JWn~ a"""""r "..l ~,:..... ..I ....... 'O'~'f'AJ. o~

.....,...w.

,.~. l~ ..l ~ ..... 50! fOG ~fOS' ~ ...."..w, ........1.&0., """",.._ ...s,.-.
;"-i'<"". fUr,."'fOf. """""'1', ..~ '"" TC.... . ..nIt "_~. 0 ........ 50! ~ &0.. ~ ....
I .. ~V{C"'l' ....1 ,;"poIn,ror, ol<w .:.a,-.....;;~....:- oil,..,50....... woUYf'AJ, /J'I}(4,. 3~.,J.,. ~,
0"""1',;,.,06,;,., 50! 3a..J"""Of'OD. "'''''&.'''5. 0.08''1'0'''''' _6 If ,,01 oi~ ~ "..l X'/IH:"r, ~lIf.

50!

....""'". ....It U I",..,..." oI_.4i fJoJ.. ~ b o;&",~, ~ & ...~ ~ HO,""", a.......,.,lotf. - . i n
...l ......." J..; ~.. 1m U N.jJ<H_ ~ ....1 "if ~~ ...."'1' ...; ,.1. xM .........,..{_,
Ii y.oI.H. o-n+>r.

.-s

' For the ,,ide diffulion of Ve ttiul Valelli' IlStrolorr _

Kroll (ed.). op. cit., pp. \Iii ~q .

.. The fact th.at Saturn was ~ded the 6rmeat iN'rts o f the hllman body (bonel . tendon .
Imees. etc.) wu no doubt du e to hi. "earthy" natu re : the parallel bf:tween the enth Olnd the
human body (earth Il.S flesh , wOlter ... blood,eto::.), pre~n tatil I in Nichola! 01 Cuu. a nd Lfona,.d o
da Vinci. gGei back to oriental and c laslical tholl i:ht (0::1 . R. Hl!lTlE:<STI!t:< and H. H. SO:: I! A.E !> n
AWl h ,n' wfJli GriuAf..Jllfld (Stu dien der Bibliot hek WarbllrJ. VII). l.of lpl ig 1!,!6. P!' I ,I " ~'1
SAX L. VUuUlINiJ, VOl.. II .

pp.

40

"lq.;

d . 1110 C MAIIL I:I OlE T o L.'<,\Y.

P'l'"

!Ir :u~j. Lh:;l"

Brussels 1935. PI". 7 and 60, who. ho ... e~er, leaves Ollt e\'ldence from the high \\ ul'he ' get
e.g. Ho.noriul 01 Autun and Hi ldega.rd of J)ingen . For th e whole, d R. Khb~n ,I<' led I ,n
NICKOL.U 0' CUSA.. D, Ilot-t. i,r"o~o" ri., II . 13. Leipzig 1931. P I II (list of 50llrcn
.. Tha.t In Vdtius Valent

.M.........ooir tl\ollld be read Inltead 01 ..Aat-:",.':~ 'I =I u: ;~" f:l

the parallel pasg.ce in RlIarolll ul (C.l.

.. See abo ..... p .

1 )8

(telt t).

'ul~. C~.,

'01.. \'11, p . US)

S,\Tl:R;\ IS' THE LI TE RARY TRADITIO:\'

14';

(u.

I.

,l~ ill )laniliu5. the astronomical and physical properties of Saturn


as a hca ,'en h' body could be condensed into types of nature and
destll1\. Th~ slo,,:ness of his revolution conferred on those born
uncll'r' him the character of indolence, and caused him to be
regarded as the ruler of lead (we still speak of "le~~en !eet" and
"lc;\clcn dullness"), and as the cause of prolonged litlgalton. The
quality of cold, universally attributed .to him, g~nerat.ed. certain
diseases, s\lch as dropsy and rheumatIsm, especlaUy If m combination with moisture- this again was of mythological origin.
One can see how some of these statements derive from a kind of
analo"v lIot hitherto encountered; the formula underlying them
i;;. no l~nger "J ust as 1\ ronos himself Jay bound in Tartarus, so
the children of Saturn are often imprisoned"; but rather "As
Salurn j$, cold and moist, and as dropsy and rheumatism ru:e caused
b\' cold and moi sture, so dropsy and rheumatism are proper to
S~tum"
Lh' this means of indirect analogy the astrological
notion of Saturn could now inc1ud~ a third group of predicates
which in themselves were associated neither with mythical nor
with astrophysical attributes, but were, if one may say so, of
secular origin, and possessed a quite special significance in our
context. This was the whole area of knowledge gained by
physiognomy, characterology and popular ethics, themselves
quite independent of the lore of the stars.!'>$
.
.
The mythical Kronos was distinguished by a qUite defimte
ph\'siognomy-hy a sad or thoughtful old age,MI and above all
by' certain, often negative, features. These human qualities, as
we have j ~lst seen, could first be applied by direct analogy to the
nature and destiny of the sad, the old, the childless, the malevolent
and so on. S1 But since the special characteristic of a god had
become a general type of human character, those sciences were
no\\" involved which from Aristotle onwards had aimed at
exploring the physical and mental structure of man . The purely
"natural" types evolved by them had much in common with the
"planetary" types of beings and destinies evolved indirectly
from the nature of the planetary gods, just as the illnesses said
If

s.:-e abov~. pp.

S6 111'1' (text).

"C!. also representations of Saturn such u our PLAT"! !3

.. Astrologer . o f course, ~ndow childreD o f the Goat, ..hich i. th~ house o f Saturn, with the
samc qu alities as the childrcn of the planet. Thus tbey an! de:ten'bed {C.t. (Ulr . Gr., v9L ]C,
pp. 23:1 sqq.):...,.ua I'Qxf,j,,<U', Y""'1 I""p.j: Hf,PHAUT., 11,2 (e"l. ~Ir. Gr .. VOL. VII', 2, p. '91
has I'-'''~'''''f ....,... ..v,...~ar, el C. Especially clear conne:tions appear in VEn l u. VALli"!;.
A "lltologu.. NHI lilm. I. 2, ed. W . Kroll, Berlin 19.08, p. II .

2]

SATURN I N ANC IENT LITERATURE

'45

to .be caused by the stars agreed with the notions of medicine.


Tins agreement was so complete that a further "indirect" analogy
the inclusion in astrology of "related" types from the store of
physiognomy and characterology, could not fail to follow, Thus
the churlish, the petty, the selfish, misers, slanderers and the like
came to be included among "Saturnine" people, and thus Saturnine
people came to be identified with melancholics. The same
procedure, that of Hellenistic physiognomy and characterology,
was used~ as we saw, by the humoralists of the later Empire in
constructmg the " four temperaments"; and we now see it being
used by the astrology of the later Empire in constructing its
"planetary" types.
As far as concerns the melancholy character in t he doctrine
of te~peraments, we have already remarked t.hat it had acquired
the l~portant attributes of bitterness, despondency, moneyhoarding and small-mindedness.&8 These physiognomic and
chara~terological types with their essential qualities were now
used m descriptions of the equally pessimistic, lonely and coldnatured Saturnine character, and reinforced (through further
analogy) by descriptions derived from the pathological study of
melancho~y.59 A table based exclusively on Vettius Valens (see
p. 146) will show the general outlines of this connexion.
By recourse to furth er astrological sources of t he same or
only. slightly later date, the number of these analogies can be
consIderably increased. The quality of greed, for instance the
mytltiwt.1 origin of which is plain, and which was postuJated by
almost all astrologers, found its analogy as early as Aristotle in
the semeiotics of the me1ancholic60 ; t he poem Aetna described
Saturn as a "stella tenax",61 corresponding to the description of
the melancholic as steadfast and firm (tSpaiov 1(01 l3i~,ov), and also
as "s~abilis."; Julian of Laodicea credited Saturn with autocracy,62
corresponding to the "tyrannic" nature of the melancholic in
Plat~63; Rhetorius called him silent and attributed to his influence
the t~ndency to be superstitious"; and Ptolemy in his list of men
pp~ ~.the ~ges

clted above, pp. 62 sqq.; esp. R. FOasTltIl, S,ripl . ploy,. ,.,. II (..t., "

" See above, pp. 44 aqq. (text/.


to See above, pp. 34 sqq. (text).
"A d!t4l,
' II, lH (ed . S. Sudbau., Leiplig 1898, p. 18) .
" C..t. "JJ~. G~., VOL. I V, p. 10,5.
.. See above, p. 11 (Ie,;t).
.. CIl~. Il':r. Gr ., VOL. YII, p.21,.

Jp~"",*

JJl<n.

Cf. alao Cat. ~I~. G,. , VOL. VII, p.

96: _X..,01.- oxljl'" ,,l

146
SATURN I N THE J, ITERARY TRADITION
[II . J.
governed only by Saturn, such as misers, t he avaricious, and

Physiognomical and characterological postulates


Postulates
of Saturn

(after Vettius
Valcns)

I-}

fL"pO~

(el. Vettius
Valens: T'ji U
y<W-(, un.?<>f)

(b) ~Ae.,jU>S
(el. Vetnu!
Val ens :

"'m1<1'Tl')'>'<W.

..o>."JP'JlI'OJ,

It ) M",pO-

"'' '

(e l. Vettiu!
V alens:
f'.ltpoAOyo.)

"o."o".,,8.i~.

"/.,e."

sa"p.... )

(d) Miser
(Colligendae
pccu niae
aman!, cf.
VcUius
Valens;

Postulates of
Melancholy

I',,,&noj ...
""I~ ..",~
K<ll"'~_)

~~,"<>Vs ItaT1l.{>_

The'

P'~"

melancholic's
suicidal
tendencies

p.o.hpa.,,,,

Conversa_
tion em
humanam
fu.giun~,

"",...,. ""gfWfr"'

MUW~'f

~pol. ",,: "",pol

,;"o,,~<wT<T
-n)~

$ubdoJi,

&No"!,."

"..,."......."""...~,
Vrr""t><W>I""'1"

~. 0,...0'.
'XO"Uf

perM;

'ftpoa..."".
u''''I"os

TO

"lIxl'''lpol

iaxvOs

,..4""'{_r

JU~xp<ur,

.." ....

o~

T ...

"''').=1''''''i"xo-Os

,-

in quo
al~uid

inc inationi!

'"
Lean ness

,...M."fI~

""~'f,

Leanness in
spite of much
food, thin

,...,\"..0,1'<><,
,.*M..,.".XO'

m~,

......"...Is

-X"~"

.."is

.;

,...

poor figure

",~..,.

$Omniculosi

d'"lY"P<VK~

Th.

",,""'pl,-

melancholic's
bad smell"

.. Pl'OLEM Y, Tel,abib/os, III (BasIc 1553. p. 1,58). In an iatromathematical WOTk ent itled
Lilm od Ammontm (J. L. IOI!:Lr;~ (ed.), Physic; , 1 medid grae&i ",jn""s. Berlin 18,,1. VOL. I,
p. 389). patienh who fell sick under Saturn (and, it is true, Mercury) were given a prognosis
some sym ptoms of whieh were word br word like those of melancholy: 01 Ill. yp
.m~ h "al ~ ........" "h...:......., ""'xWi~ la" ...." .. ,..! 6"""""'1",,1 (,,'" d""'\y.-!~) .... ;~ T. Jp8po.s ""I "........1
TiP "W/,aT' J .... ",J{f"ll' ""I ~I".T..,,.O~ lruoI. 1A'''plJ. J~l~ ....j ..Gaoo ..... PpoU_ ~..l'.,pOJ'....'
1""p4f>",... I ........ &8.6 .. lr
+op..';l'f_ "alla.VTOIJr tldJ."Ol'7fr .... {I'IlT""S TO ~ f>f6yo1"TH
""~~ "~llTwOC""'US Kal fJpa~_ bll,'""'ol"T~S Kal I"K~"Y,.o, ....u Tv fJ0tJ8.."., 8fI'l'0.o.ea.,. l~""fs.
K'" $.", """ af>vr/loW" 8<U<vV/Iofl'0, i.8u;s ... at aT""'" """: n)~ b"+4.""," -...,:; 0.":;/1011"" "o.".IvY/Io''''''.
xpfjo8o., o~ ;"l TO ...."'~ &i "'o's fhp/lo"'"""vo, ,,0.1 ......xa-\ ......~ JCT~Y""'/Io''''''f.

.".l

,s

"'0.,

What was admittedly still lacking in all this astrology of t he


later Empire was a definite and constant distribution of the four
humours among certain planets, in particular the definite and
constant association of black bile wit h Saturn. Vettius Valens
and his successors in the late Empire did indeed mention Saturn
in connexion with black bile, with t he spleen and with the corresponding physical and mental conditions, but it was then a question
of a relationship either not yet universal or not yet specific.
E ither they said, in general terms, "The spleen is governed by
Saturn"-in which case t his was not a specific patronage, for the
spleen was ranged alongside the bones, the bladder, the right
ear and so on 87 ; or else they spoke of some specific effect of Saturn
upon black bile and conditions connected with it-in which case
t his effect was neither permanent nor exclusive to Saturn, but
conditioned by Saturn's momentary position in the firmament
or even by the joint action of Saturn and other planets.68 As an
example we may take an extract from the astrologer Dorotheus
(not later than the beginning of the second century), whose work
now survives only in fragments, or in Greek and Latin prose
paraphrases, t hough it was still known in complete form to the

aspcctu
assiduQ in
terram

lim bs

Black bair as
si~n of the

"''''''''''';TI7S

hoarders, also added deep thinkers.5li

SATURN IN ANCIENT LlTERATURE

"'0.,

.. IncideDtally the predicate Df "evil smell" (generally described u 'f~tidus', an d q\.!alificd


by Guido Bonatti---<juoted below. text p. lB9--as "goatlike smeW) "as a bas'. III my . h as
well; in Rome tbere was a particular Saturnu! Stercutius ' or ' St erculius . t he god of
maDUre (c!. M"'CItOBIUS, SII/,.".o.lill. I. 7. ~5 and W. H. ROSCHER, .~"tfiih:i(;'es Ltnk" " Ii"
,~ie"'is'hln ,."d rO'''''s&h,.,. My/hlllogi,. uipzig 1884. s .v. 'Sa.urn u, " . col. ~~8l.
.. Thu s PTOLUIY. T./rabiblos, Ilt (Basle ISH . p. I~ BJ. This cl assification was sub)e(~ to
considerable fluctuations; c!. e.g. tbe work attributed to PO RP"Y RY, /,,/.od,,<I:o tJ: Plc: ...,a"
opus d~ eJfetiWtts /1.51..""""" Basle 1559. p. 198: 'Saturnu$ ex irnerionbu. phl~gm"t!'u m
humorern, tussim et solutionem intestinorum" Among the dangerous iJlne~ies u.u."d by
Saturn were ranged diSOTders of the spleen. as well as giddiness, .10w fe'er an d o ther .<:Tl Ou S
diseases due to cold (PTOLEMY. Te,,/lbib/os. I .... nasle 1553, p . 19&).

.. For instance. according to tbe doctrine of the twelve 'Ioci. Saturn caused in to e si xth
'E iJy,..,.,., ......t 1vY~ ..al /Iof),,u..,,f XO),ijs . .,..; ","OS KT),. (R HErORlt:S. in Cal. "sir GT.,
VOL . VIU, of. p. ISS).
AcoordiDg to V BTTIUS VALENS (Alliholog'" ' ''''' lib.i. ed. \\". Kroll .
place

Berlin 1908, p. 17). th e "termini" of the Scorpion belonged t o Saturn and engendered
melancholiC!J: as well as other undesirable types o f men . According t o FIR1IICGS , when Saturn
is in a certain point of the firmament, and when the moon. r etreating from him . comes l:1to
conjunction wilh Mars. be generates "insanos. lunatico!, melancholicos. languido, \ F:~~IIClS
M ",n: RSUS. Malhe~ea$ libri VIII, edd. W . Kroll and F. Skutseh. Leipzi g 13<)-- 1<)13. "K Ill .
2,24: p. 10 l. Cf. also the passage IV. 9, 9: p. 2tl. 11. which says that u:1der cena:!:
evel> more complicated conditil>ns oS.turns influ ence helps til. generate mel ancholici. lC l ~ric, .
splenetici. thisici. hydropici, pleumatici. elc." The passage in F'''_''TC1;S. 111 ~ . I, nbdou s!v
connected with a passage in MANETHO. Apolelest>lala, 111. 593 sqq.: 'Bu t when The 1'o: n':d
Selene comes iato conju nction with Helio., aad Ares shines in thei r midst . and Kronos i ~ ,een
together with them in a co nstellation of fou r. then tbe black bile stething in th e breast co nt uses
t h e understanding of men and rouses them to madness."

qS

SATURN IN T HE LITERARY TRADITION

[11.

I.

Arabs o f the tenth century,Sg In his poem he declared that when


cold Saturn and hal Mars were in conjunction work was h ampered,
and the black bile was brought into activity.70
I t is understandable that in the later Empire no lasting
connexion was established between Saturn and melancholy as
an illness, let alone between Saturn and melancholy as a temperament. At the time when the astrology of the later Empire
deyeJopcd , the system of the four temperaments was still in the
making, and it did not reach anything like a stable form until
the fourlh century, ?l The Galenic "crases" could be embodied
in the astrological doctrine of the planets more easily than the
four humou rs, and this was in fact attempted by so strictly
scientific an ast rologer as Ptolemy.1~ Moreover, by the time the
theory o f the four humours had been firm1y established, the western
world had temporarily lost all interest in the further development
of astrology.73 The problem of how to bring the four humours
into harmony with the seven planet~ was raised again only by the
eastern scholars of t he Middle Ages . But the conditions for such
a conne.'i:ion were implicit in the astrology of the late Empire,
and this connexion was SO far prefigured in all essentials that aU
it required was explicit formulation and codification.
Even the preponderantly n egative picture of Saturn painted
b y VeUius Valens was not altogether lacking in positive traits
("great fam c and high degree"), and one can see how these posit ive
traits later ;n<:r~a.~d in number and became more sharply defined
b y being made dependent on a definite position of the planet,
and by thus becoming more clearly distinguishable from its
generally inauspicious influences.
Saturn's children were generally the unhappiest o f mortaJs,
and when it camc to the distribution of the seven ages of man
.. CI.

KuhneTt in P ... Ul.y-WlssOw ......v. "Dorotheus"; and A. ENGII.61U1C:HT, H t phalJtion

PO" TIt.be", Vienn. 1887. pp. 29 Iqq.

,. Cili . (ulr. Gr., VO l.. V. 3, p . lIS . The llen ttoee ,.~J.r,,~ ~py< ....:, xM>75 "'(""''''IS "'"""" . ".....i
b hnked by an d,ft " po<:r.t8'),,," .;~, . to Sill verses iu Dorotheus rd~lTing to the efJect 0 1
Sat ur n in conjunction wi th Mus. For this passllge d. J. HAEO in H ......ts. VOL. XLV (' 9 10),
PI" 31,5-19, and Cllt. Q$I~. Gr., YOLo II , lIP. l S9 sqq., esp. p. 16 2, 3 aqq. Also W. Kroll in
t he critical app'l'I\tll' to F'lI ldl cUS M UKIII'IUS, op. cit., VOL. II, p. 11,5. Fo r Dorotheus d .
no w V. STllGn' AlHI , in lJ,iIrlJ" .I""~ <';uthidl. d~~ A sl~ologi', I, H~iddberg 193,S
" See a bove, pp. 60 sqq. (text ).

,. Admitted ly Satu rn with his dual, mo ist-dry nature .... u thus bou nd to be CTedited not
ou ly .... ith the "cold illld dry " cruis of the me[.ncholic---which in itself .....s importan t enough
_ but aho wlth thl! "cold .nd damp " crub o j the phlegmatic. P!:OLlUIY, TlInlrillloJ. III
(aule ISS3, p. 1~3)
n See below, pp. 178 .qq. (ted ).

2]

SATURN IN ANCIENT LITERAT URE

'49
among the seven planets, Saturn was allotted the last and saddest
phase of human existence, that is to say, old age with its loneliness
its physical and mental decay, and its hopelessness. 14 And yet
this. same Saturn, according to Manetho, "in peculiaribus suis
dorrubus", might not only signify riches and luxury, but also
produce men who were happy, versatile, and sociable as long as
they lived.7<i Elsewhere we read that in certain constellations he
generated physicians, geometricians,1S and those who could
prophesy from hidden books and knew many esoteric rites of the
mysteries.7 ? Firmicus and the writer of another, closely related ,
GreeIt text credit Saturn with the power to produce "in the fifth
place, kings, rulers, and founders of cit ies", and "in the ninth

.. Cf. F. BoLL, " Die Ll:bensalter". in NtlUi J .. "~bi4;"'~ fo~ /UlS IIll1SJiuM Alln!" ..., XVI
(19 13), RP. 117 sqq. Tbere i$ li t tle to be ildded to his masterly :account which trace$ th ..
evolution of the idea tbat each of the !leven .g... of rnan ia goveTned by One of the se~n
planets,. best ellPretlled b y P'rOUMY, Tet,abwlor, IV (Basle ISS3. p . 20~), fro m ita first appear
ance do!"n to modern timn. We ro'Y. however, rema rk that this system, too, was boun d
to prepaTe the w.y for an u!IOCmtion between Saturn and melancholy, whicb also governed
the later phase of lIl.n'. life. Also, the " , ixth ut" of m:an 's life as described by the
melancholy J aques (BoLl., op . eit. p . 131) belongs beyond doubt to SatuTn, aud not, as
Boll th~ught: to Jupitn. Jupi ter i. allotted the fifth I.Ct, ",hile the ilge corresponding to
the l un IS o~t~ as too '.imHar to the "jovial ". The l lippered pa.ntaloon, "youthful helle"
can hardly In thll conne.xlOIl be interpreted .. the rodimenu of the ~ti.wI,...,.. characteristic
of ~he age .ascribed to J~piter, while the purse denot ... not the joyous ",e&lth of the" J ovial"
period of life but the ml5el'ly rich ... 01 the &.tumine period (el. below, text pp. 284 sqq.).
.. MAI'IETHO, ApotelumdtlJ, I V, I S $Qq.:
"Stella, quam f'hilenoni.a dei hominesque appdb-nt.
H ...., qu....do il> pecu liarit....~ ~u .. ap.,..-et dom';bus.
Nucentibus moltlJiblll ild iDipectorem boCile " itae,
Locuplettll oatcndit It opu lent'. plurima. patiri
Feiicel, It in vita etiam .. d finem uaque IIeDlper faales."
U, ho ....ever, Sa.tum shines "in non domesticis locb" (IV, 31 .qq.):

"Fronu. calamitotOl filcit, It CUtoS opib\ll .t , loria


Indigos vitae It quotid~1 vlctu.:
Et ODlnI!l truti ti&e exper:icutes. lugentes ill aedibus
Faclt It trbtem ernntemque vitam . ubeuntes."
Thi, splitting of the effec.tl 0 1 S.tum into good I.Dd evil abo appears in Arabie writings.
Ct. e,g. AUOHAU (AM ' Ali At-Khalyl t, who died abollt 8,,), D. i"diciis "lIlimllll" ... liber
~uremberg 1 ~-4-6, fol. ~3r:. "Qul.Ddo aule.ln &.turnua fuerit dominu f I.SCtndenfu, et lucri;
In ~~~ loco, h~ a mal.ls, IlgnHlc~t ~'11I1 p:cli h~minem, p ro fundi tatem atque singu laritatem
co ns,lu, .et pa~.c~tate m mterrogab om,. At I I luer,t ill malo loco impeditus, significat servile
ac parvi precli mgenium. ignobilitalcm animi atque verutia.m."
'

~. Thus .PALCKUS, CIIl. IISI~. G~., VOL. v, I, p . 89. It is abo uQtoworthy tha~ iu a town
laid out In accorollnC<! with utrological reqll iTelllenU which' i. described in th Pet
book DtJbi
14
.. ma...

S N,
.... emati'cl ' IIS, prophetl and u tronomert," among others, are A id to
bave
bved
rOllnd
about
Sat urn', temple. while in the temple itself " the sciences WeT
. e .",- .. tu'tted
"
m,
and taught (el. S H",U': MOHAM I D F ....u'. Dfllrisldll, translated by Francis Gladwin
a nd F. IOD Dalberg, &m bug and WDrzburg 18 17, p . S2).

.=

.. Cd:. ~!,. G~. vot.. I. p. liS.

[II. I.
place, even famous magicians and philosophers, as well as excellent
soothsayers and mathematicians (that is t o say, astrologers). who
always prophesy correctly, and whose words possess, as 1t were,
divine au thority".1Il
The positive evaluation of Saturn's influence as it appears in
these and similar passages and as it was partly adoptedt by the
Arabic astrologers (whose conception therefore appears con~
siderably less homogeneous than that of Vettius Valens) can in
tum be partly derived from certain features of Saturnian myths.
For instance, riches, the founding of cities, association with
geometry, knowledge of everything secret or hidden, can be traced
immediately to the myths of the Golden Age, of the colonisation
of Italy and of t he sojourn in " Latium", or perhaps of Saturn 's
banishment to t he hidden underworld.79 Wit h regard , however,
to the purely mental qualit ies attributed to some speciall y
fo rtun ate children of Saturn , namely the capacity for deep
philosophical reflexion, and for prophecy and priesthood , one
must reckon with the influence of one notion of Saturn which
had no connexion wit h astrology but had used the same my thical
and astrophysical raw material to form a very different picture.
This notion of Saturn, which astrology, of course, could only
ISO

SAT URN I N T HE LITERARY

TRA D1TI O~

" Th us Fllu n CU5 MATItR~US, op. ci t ., 11K III, 2, pp. 9 7 sqq. Thievcs born u ndcr Saturn.
inc identally, are those 'quos in fnrto numquam prosper !lequa tur cvcntus". A parallcl
passage from R IIIITORIUS is in CiJl. /pry. Gr . VOl,.. VIII. 4. pp. Ij2Iqq.: Salum ....hen in t he fifth
piau t~Jler... ted u," ~~. /yyfl_ I.pl(O'Wll~, ,~,.OJ_ nt....... f ~ ~ oj ...u._: in the
n inth p lace. othC1" conditions being favourable. the
dp,wuiYO"S, ~.- ?O ,.J>J.o,.
...poU~. T...!.' 5.1 .....1 h ICpaT"C"'f d"~"'f .; u~ . . p.... ~. Anotber impor ta nt pa3Sage
is in F I RMI C;Us lfAT&RH US, op. cit., 11K IV. 19, pp. 2H !!Qq.: "Si Sat urnus dominus geniturae
fueri t effectu. et ,it oportune in geniturn ~itu s et ei domini um crescent Luna decreverii.
faciet homlnu In fl atos. spiritu sublcvatos, honorato$ bonos grave., honi consil ii et quorum
fides Tecto semper iudicio comprobctu r et qui negotia omnia rec ti iudicii ration ibu$ compltan t.
sed circa u"orcs e! lilies erunt aHeno semper II.ffect u : eru nt .... ne se moti et sib; vacantes.
mod icum ,umentes eibum et multa potatione gaudcntcs. Corpore erunt modiei pallid i
lang uidi, friSido ventri et qui &dsidue .eiecbre con5Ue,erint et quos ICDlpcr malign'us h umor
h.pugnet et q uo. intrinsecus collectus <tolar adsidua ratione discruc ict. Vita vern eorum
ent malitiola laborio .... .all icita et adsiduis doloribus &lIimi implia.ta, circa aquam vt! in
aquoso loco labcnlu vitae> s ubsidium.' 111.. pas .... ge (d. a lso Cld . IISh-. G~ . VOl,.. VII, P.239.
20 sqq .) is repealed almost word for word in J ohan nes E ngel (j OHAHNIlS ANClI'l.tlS, Aslrolll~i"".
plIlNt, ,,., Augsburg 1~ 88 a nd Venice 14 9 4 , fol. U', as a sixteenthcent ury read er has noted In
his copy of the Vcnice edition , now at the Warhu rg Instit ute. London. Gmoo CoLON .' lAS
Hi~lon ll T roia,," still baSC!l t he fact that Satu rn foresaw th e evil thrca te ned him b y his son
on his being "in mathematica. arte pcritlsaimus" (eh. '"Dc ini tio Idola tric". Strashourg li94 ,
fol. es1.

"""'CU".

.. For the Latin etymology "Latium _ latere". see below. tex t pp. 160; 162. For the Gree k
expressions d"'>>tfJ'Jlo p.p>.;" (CiJl . .. ~I~. Gt ., VOl.. I. p . lI S) and "I"'ftai (Vettios Valen.) s.ee
H .SIOD, T It,oIOflY, lines 729 sqq. :
bBo. 9.ol T,n;..., Vr~ l# .j.p&wr,
ICf~n... . . ,

SAT URN I N ANCIENT LITE RATUR E

gradually assimilate. was that of the Neoplatonists, and its


unifonnity . its roundness. its essential positivity stood out in as
clear a contrast with the complex and preponderantly negative
astrological notion of Saturn as did 'Aristotle's' notion of melancholy with respect to that of the schools of medicine.
(iii) Kro1JOs- Satf,,'n itJ- Neoplatonism
\Vhen Neoplatonism made use of t he sam e mythica l and
scientific data as astrology, it did so not in order to subordinate
this world as a whole t o the determinative influence of t he stars,
b ut in order to find a metaphysical unity which could give meaning
to all physical existence. While this supreme unity gradua lly
descends and branches out into t he multiplicity of earthly things,
phenomena are ranged in vertical series (O'elpai) which by degrees
reach down to the motionless minerals. 80 The principle governing
these "chains of being" was now symbolised by t he heavenly
bodies, which occupied a position midway between this world and
"the place above t he heavens". Hence the Neoplatonic se ries
were comparable with t he astrological categories, since both
associated certain groups of earthly phenomena with certain
planets, as well as with certain signs of the zodiac. But the
Neoplatonic categories did not at first imply any causal relat ionship in the sense of astral predestination.81 The heavenl y bodies
were envisaged, on the one hand , as met aphysical symbols through
which the various degrees in t he struct ure of the :\11 became
visible, and, on the other, as cosmological principles according to
which were ordered the emanations of the All-One int o the m:llt-n al
world , and , vice versa, the ascen t from the material world into
the realm of the All-One. Thus the phenomena compo::.in{! the
vert ical series were connected wit h one anot her not because they
were determined, let alone generated, by Sat urn, J upiter or .\ lars,
but only because, in a fonn transmitted by Saturn, Jupiter or
Mars, and therefore modified to a certain extent , they had a
part in the nature of the All-One.
" ?ROCLUS.

Com .... i" T i .....

I,

p. 2 10, 19 sqq . (ed. E . Diehl, Leipzig 1903- and p.:u:m .

very chaJ'actcrUtic passage is VOl.. II, 268. 29 sqq.: ""1'):",,>1"'" A a..


".,1 d...o..-ljf .\UOVS >tCLi .I"" ..-iif ..),~ (IC. """'PClS"J &Ilu(",~ .af "p<i.s l'iXf"
. . &.0. ,... ....1

?....

'''''''''In..~

,;,..-...--?.....

3..2.r",..

""f

crt""," ~ ,r""".~ ""e~ ",.".

"'~,
.,;;~

,\

n .t.:.""

xB"","'''

.W.'" "'Jt~, . w~

01 Heavenly phenomena arc. bo,.,.~ver. admitt ed as signs o f the IUlure (PI.OTI:< t:S. E""III1 .
u. J . 7) for that whicb Is enacted only . lowly and con fu sed ly on earl h is bound :0 ~ recogniiCd
earliC1" &lid more clearly ill the sky.

,_">

SATU RN

I~

TH E LITERARY TRADITION

[II. I.

From this!!! it is clear that in Neoplatonism it was not possible

for all \' star to have an essentially evil influence. Even the
meane~t of the planets was still nearer to the divine than the
material world. Even the planet mythically or physically regar~ed
as the most evil and noxious was a transmitter of forces which
by their very nature could o~ly be good. This principle was
ex pressed most clearly by IambhchusA:

In this manner all the visible gods in heaven [i.e. the stars] are In a
certain sense incorporeal. The further question is in doubt as to how
some of these can work good, others evil. This notion, is taken ~rvm the
:l.suo!ogers, but misses completely the real state of affaus. ~or, In truth.
all the astral divinities are good and are the cause of good, sm~e they all
equally ga7.c llpon the good and complete their course:> accordmg to. the
gooJ and tbe beautiful alone. . .. Th ~ world of becommg, howev~ , smce
I t i:;. itscH multiform and composed of different parts, can because Qf its own
incol\$I" tCllC" and fragmcntation, absorb these unifonn and homogcneous
forces onl\' in a contradictory and fragmentary way.

This ' positive interpretation of astral influence benefited


Saturn relatively more than any of the other planets. Mars, too,
of course, which was also formerly "evil", now became a no less
positive principle in Neoplatonism than Saturn. But Saturn
possessed the double property of ~g the. forefat~er of all the
ot her planetary gods, and of having his seat m the highest heaven.
These t wo qualities, which must originally have been connected,"
assured him of unopposed supremacy in the Neoplatonic system,
which here as elsewhere endeavoured to reconcile Platonic with
O'lIow powerfully these co.moloslcal COllltnlttiOIlll affected Arab .pbUo.opben, m)'1t"":-

and ulr1lnately even m~,ician., I, now ,entral \mo,,ledge. A particularly ebaractedsti<:


aetount 01 the Neoplatonie doctrine of C'm&n&tion is found,
in A;ioI!lID& (ef. D. ~ ".
VAUlt. A~;u" .... Pari, 1900, p. 1141). In other. prepond~Uy m&&ieaI, ,...".kI, on the other
ban d. there i, a very .nteretting enoou nU:r betweeQ Neoplatnrusm ~d ~, ~.e fortner

e.,.,

C'nv....,ing tbe ,ifts of the planeta &I puuly be:ne6eial. the latter OOQSidenn, Satum, inlluwee
in particnlar ... preponderanUy harmful. In the essentially Neoplatonie metapbyAca. of
Pie&trill, tho planets have the tuk 01 IAIlI.mittin' ~ emanations of the. '"' to the .:.\",
and. in 10 doing. to d iff~ntiate them aeeordln' to lb~ o_n nature. (for lb.., d . H . RITT.a,
"Piea tm: , C'in arabiKhes Handbueb bC'lIe nistileher Magie," in VOl't~41' d# BiWioIIo W.,.bMrl,
VOL. I, 19 Z1 -n) . Th erefore, si nce these emana tions are by nature
the planeb un
only work good, thouSh thal doe. not preve nt Pi~tri.x, any ~rC' than th e Pure Brothe~
(who weAl al$O in!lueneed by Neoplatonism) from painting the Inftuence of Saturn or Man as
prepon tl cra.nUy baleful. One ean lee that It botlo~ ~e. ve.ry eo,nplieated &l tTologie&l
Iyatem could 1I0 t be re<:onciled with tl.e euenUaUy optimIStic v,eWI 0 1 NtoplatODlam.

,nod.

.w.

U ) "MII LlCHUl, I>. ",yd,riis, ed. G. Parthey, Berlin I &S7, I, 18, pp . .511 and .54 The
notion. which lItO re.emerged oeeuionaUy In the Middle ACes, that the Influence 01 t~
..... conditioned by the natu rC' 0 1 thC' lubstance reiving it and not merely by their o;-n
dynamiam (1ft
text pp. , 6" 169 tqq.) is dC'alt with in gnater d etall .1n the f~~won.g
.eetionl , particularly with ref.:.-eftU to Satllnl and lotan, ... t>o.& tnetapb,..ical , ublumty ..
eonuastetl with tbe ma\C'V(lienc:e attributed to them by the astroioSS'L

be"'_,

.. See above, p. l J6 (text) .

2] .

SATURN I N ANCIENT J.ITERATURE

153

Ar.is~otelian views. The hierarchy of metaphysical principles


gomg back to Plato according to which the genitor took precedence
over the generated,- was linked with Aristotle's principle of
" topological" thinking, according to which a higher position in
space signified greater metaphysical worth .
Thus, in Neoplatonism, Kronos became the most exalted
figure in the philosophi cally interpreted pantheon. According to
Plotmus he symbolised Intellect (NoVs) , as opposed to Zeus, who
represented SouL" The myth of his devouring his children
could be interpreted so as to mean that the intellect until it
brings forth the soul, retains its offspring within i~lf87 ; and
even the castration of Uranus by Kronos foUowed by the dethronement of Kronos by Zeus could on this basis acquire a metaphysical
explanation."
This glorification of Saturn as the representative not of earthly
power and riches but of the purest and highest power of thought
could invoke Plato himself, who, just as he had interpreted madness as "divine frenzy", now became the authority for the new
nobility with which Saturn was endowed: Not only had he
placed the notion of the Golden Age formed by H esiod in lhe
foreground of his political observations, but also he had prepared
~h e ground for the equation of Kronos \Yith NoGs.
The etymologies
m the Cratylus are to a certain extent ironical. But a name was
~tially a condensation of myth, and the etymology of a name
Its magical expli<:ation by means of imases. It is therefore understandable that the Neoplatonists should have taken Plato's ironical
words literally when he said:
A~ first sight it might seem an irreverence to call Zeus the son of Kronos
but it is quite apt to say that he must be the offspring or a mighty intellect:

Cf. Pu:ro', wdIknowD triparti te di vision o r the principles often intC'fpreted as a model
lor the Christian doctrine 01 the Trinity : L,U. r VI, 3lJed (genuine) and ultn 1/, Ju e
(apocryphal). On this, tee R. KLlII"'oISICY, Ein PrQIlIO$FIHld II"d I~if/' Brtklllllll&. HC'idelber@'
' 9'9, pp. 10 sqq., esp. p. II, note I.
.. PJ.OTIl<US, E"",,/Id.r, v, I , 4 : Kpd ... ~ .. 8.011 "0(10<1 "'" 1'066,,",.
.. PLnTINUS,

...

;'~ ';~'"

Ef/IUlIIh, v , I,
JtOl .A."." ...:

7 : ~,u.
oo(1r

, .... ~.7'0<' .,d 'tOIl 4.h

ynoIah& II

Y""i..o.....

it. ......

O. PLO:mous, Ennead .. v, 8, I ): cWo "'Or ,;, H ,.J..,., ......w- ...a.,J_ JtOl '"'Y~u
. . .....0.6< nM7& ~
ipx;o'" IoU ,.., ;. "*? .,Or ~""- . . I ...; y ..... O+hn ...- ' _ .'"'"

uJ

....or
"'"14' ,"N,"",
lIfO"" .....
...,Or n a-, .. ,
l-orWi 4

,.1~.m..;

...wo.) ..."" 4fdf I"",," ..... ...m.e .,.rI,.. .;~ I..,....


~ .~ [ u . ~lnl,..~' ....Yi...ruos
..al. ..... ~ 0..".
'

'AJJ,'

..n-.>r l/U_ ->.ok, ......_ -"ir

.....t

+- .,.:,-.

154

[II.

SATURN IN THE LITERARY TRA.OfnON

I.

For the word K6po~ does not mean "son" but signifies the pure and unadulterated mind itself."

Moreover, in the passages where Plato deals in mythical fonn with


the birth of the State, Kronos is mentioned as a god friendly to
mankind, under whose rule contentment, modesty. law, and
ungrudging righteousness prevailed, so that men oC the present
day are advised in every way to strive after life as it was under
Kronos, and in this sense to call the rule of Noiis their law.to One
can also discover Orphic sources, transmitted mainly by the
Neopiatonists themselves. ]0 Orphism, Kronos-his bonds sometimes interpreted as a cosmological principle of unit yilt_passed
for the architect of the world, who, as the father of aU , while still
in Tartarns, transmitted to his son the basic principles of the
universe. 92 He was also regarded as a seer, and described as a
1Tp6!.ICXVTI~ or 1Tpo~flOEVs.i3
The foundation of this lay in the
equation , expressly recognised by the Neoplatonists, of Kronos
with Chronos- that is to say, with Time, the fundamental principle
of the Orphic theology"'; and this equation, based not only on the
apparent kinship of name,lI5 led Macrobius (or rat her, Porphyry,
whom he follows) to say that KronO$-Chronos was regarded as the

.. PLATO. C ,)'I" J. ) 96b. Particula rl y interesting q the oonnexion ~ .o.r ~ l.k.s


",oJ. "'... ,~ : PItOCLVS. Sdoli4 i" C.41),I ..",. ed. G . Pasql:ali. Leipzig 1<)08. p. ,S9. ,S ; aimilarly
in l"tJwol. PI4to .... ed . A. Portus. Ha mbl.ltg 1618. v. S. p . 'J,S8 (and elsewhere); the tame, in
line III. (P/N!t", ...i_u tpuri. ed. T . Gaisfon!. Dew edn . VOL. II .
Sdol. 414 HlSiod.
Leipzig I h). p. In , 20}: a nd ElISTATHIVS. I . UiM .. p. ZO). 'Jo. Cf. abo PaocLv I. Ti.. "
I. )4. 2,5 sq . (Uiehl ): nI U ~ 7 K...... ............. <m _ ..... .....1 0.-.... I"V<
~
"Mal. For the understanding of Greek etymolOJY in genenl. and especially in the C. td),llfS.
d . lIt... x A. W ... aaultG. ZIIIri FPAKm I ..'" K.fI1),m. Berlin 192').

.,4.

"* ..

.. Pu.TO. LaWf. IV. 7130-,14a ; cI. also

St"t,,",",,,,.

'J6c}a Mjq.

The notion 01 a c:rud &tid

wicked KroIlN, o n the other hand, occlln in Plato only on. and then o nly in oonnexion

with II ~neTal polemic against the notions of the gods in the old myths (R'l'ubli,. II. 378a).

...,...

CI. E . A. .L (ed.). Or-"II~" . LeipKig 188j. XHI , 4 : &,,~ ~ h lX't, ..... T 4".........

" Cf. E. AUL (ed.).loe. cit.; a.l.a o.l'lIi'tmJMfr"P'nI!4 , ed. O. Kem.. Berlill Ion. 119.
.. CI. E . AIUIL (ed .), lot. cit.: "poW "P'>I',h'; also Lvcol'lIaoft'. AI,or. ..d,,,. line 20J: ro(;
.,."...,.._ K,O-. with IChoUon : "~",,"r oW ,; K,..Io-or. ,; .,4 ..... ~ ,..~t_ (p. 8
10, in G. Kinkel's edition, Leipzig 1880).

.. " Orpheus calls the very fi~t principle X~, I.e. a]moat homonymously with Kpd_."
sa)'1 J>~ OCL U'. S,II()li" III C.,u),luIII. ed. G. PasquIIII. Leipzig 1<)08. p. ,S9. 17: the Kpdoor-..o(;s
cannu ion il a lto described as Orphic: DA",-,S(;IU5. De pri",iJ prifltipiit. 67; O. Kerll (ed .).
O''1''''-''''.''Il'UtttA. 1)1 : 1_ II "..I 'o~ nIo> K,oOo- . ~...,;,.; and PltOCLUS ill S, lwl.
Old JI,JitJ4.
line 126 (G. isfo.-d (ed .) op. cit . p . IU, ' 7): " p.h. op#f.~ nil ~_ yl..",
/lO()WW'. +~ 7~. )(pO ....... TO~ ......... nIo> ",rJJ~ M,...~ C
.:...-as .lpyupool-r U~ .:..nul' rook " ...1 ..0.-

.,''.

~X~

.. X,..;....s.. IOC' instance. is called rI~ ~. which brinSI the ooncept of him ciON to
tha t of the old .nd wise founder of. city (ct'. CU TES, F."p . 39. and the paraUels quoted in
th is oonnu ion by T . KOC K. CCI",i,CI""" AlliUWlf'" fr"Imn.J4. VOL. I. LeiPKiS 1880. p. 142).

155

SATURN 1N ANCIENT LITERATURE

sun, whose course established the "ordo elementorum" by measure


and by number."
Into Neoplatonism too, however, an astrological trend found
its way. While Proclus, recollecting Plato's Pltaedrus, describes
all the Olympic gods as regents of those "series" connecting all
"rclated" things and beings with one another, other Neopiatonists
attribute this power only to the planetary rulers." What for
Plotinus had been essentially a mythical allegory, and for Proclus
a cosmological reJationship, becomes for Macrobius (or his source)
a genuine astrological doctrine of planetary influence. Proclus
and Macrobius are in agreement, however, in so far as they
associate the power of the stars with the physical and mental
capacity of the individual in an almost identical formula , and
maintain that the highest faculties of the hu man soul. namely
rational and speculative thought, correspond to Saturn , or enn
(according to Macrobius) originate in Saturn's sphere.
In Macrobius's account, which was ever afterwards of fundamental importance, the equation Kronos = NM became fused
with a peculiar myth, the history of which reveals plainly the
essentially optimistic trend of Neoplatonic interpretation-namely,
the doctrine of the soul's journey. The soul, strongly attracted
by the corporeal world, more and more oblivious of her pure and
divine nature, and "befuddled"-so we are told in the com ~
mentary on the Stml1I;um SciP1o"is. 8-in the constellation of

s", ..,..

.. MAClO III U$.


tdi" . I. n. I : "Sal utnul iflll!!. qUI auclot n t l~mp<l"'~nI ~, .rof-(. a
GraetD inmutau- liltera ~ qu-.i ~ v~l"r. qlll4 al.lld I\"i sol lnu!l~I~:-.d". ~J'
cum tradUut Ol'do e]emenlorllm numt1'OSi late dtst;nc:t\lS. lUGe pllelaclu. :Ie"", ""'M'n"at~
oonductIIl. vision.. d illCrelul. quae om n.a .(Ium lohl ouendun t ". F,,- :"e "c"r.~"'"
between Satum. and Sot. dating from the Babyloman . He p . I)b (lC:<1
... Gods who ,.ere not identilied with IU-rl. on the ot her hand . "eff ~L1htt Ir"'Ofe.! v i t .....
bsorbed by the plllH!lary 10.b. Ihueby los.nS thetr .denuty lei 1/ Rn!"EIt l',atlTl~ flO:
;ua\ri$tbes Handbuch hellenq tischer Magie." In I'() 'I'''~ d" H,bi">l~t' II
\01. I.
19u-'Z2. p . 101).
.. M:"'caOlll vs. I .. ,,,,,, .. i,,," ~ ipil1"i,. I. 11. 13- 14 Ip . )JJ in F Er~nhafd l 'l ed ,tLo:l .
Leipz.ig 1893): "Hoc ergo primo ponder!! de wd;:I(.o el IscleG lid lub.ect~ Ulque I!"haer:u
anima delapsa.. dum et pe-r iII as labi tur. in sinplil non IOl u ~ .. lit la m ,"!eHTLUl. lu m. ~.
cOlpOlil l mi(titll r access". sed et l il>8U1011 motus, qu t In exerclt.oett hab!luro. ptoduct!
In Saturni ratiotlnll tionem et intelligentil.m. quod My.<>r....ov CI I .... p'Iw(6. \,OCI..,t
in ioyis vim agend!. quod .,..urr.""~ dicitur :
in Martis &tIimositlt ii ardonm. q uod "'I''''';~ nUl'LCupottut .
ill Solil sentiendi opinandique nlltllram. quod ... iG"8'1~,d~ e t o..l"'''''~I~';' ap~iI:I.:\\.
desiderii yero motum. quod J"t'IIJt'1't...o~ yOCatur. in Veneris:
pronunti l.ndi et lnterpretand l quae .-e nt iat. q\tOd. Jp,.'1""''''o. d,,;itur. In or be \l ~r(~("
..,...... .. ero. ;d est natu~m plantandi et auSendl corpor'IL, In Ingr~" ~!(I~: mils""
exereet...
This Ult t .... hleh like the , imi]ar ol\e in PIIOCLtl l (IN Ti", ., I. H . ',5.q D'rhl. 'lLcnmahi\
t llmman.e. the Keopl.'onic doc trine. " '11.1 known Ihrou,h ou t the :'-hddle .'\i!e. and .H s"~,,,.1

fI '"''''

15&

SATtiR:-: I N THE LITERARY TRADITION

[no

I.

lhe \\"ine-Bowl C Crater") by a draught as of the waters of. Lethe,


sink s from the heights of the starry firmament (de zo(liaco et
lacteo) down to t he net her spheres (that is, those of the planets);
a.nd eycn while she is gliding down through the spheres she not
on l\' becomes c10 lhed in each of them, as she approaches the
lun~inous body , but also learns to produce the particular motions
which she is to exercise. In the sphere of Saturn, she develops
the faculty of reasoned thought and understanding, "which they
cal l hOYI;"LKOV and e{(.)pT)TlKOV"; in Jupiter's, she acquires the
pawN to act : " wh ich is spoken of as TrpaKTIK6v"; in that of Mars,
a fen'our of spirit , "which is well known as 6v1l1l(6v" ; in that. of
the s.un , she becomes capable of feeling and imagining, "WhlCh
arc named OiaO'lTLKOV and q>!XV'TaO'TLK6v"; the motion, however, of
desirt' (" desiderii" ), " which they call nnew'lTIK6v", she acq.uires in
the sphere of Venus; that of expressing and interpret~g her
sense-experience, which is referred to as "lPI-lI1VEVT1K6v", Ul t~e
sphere of Mercury; and finally that which is called 'P.VTu<6v,. m
other words the power of planting and nourishing orgamc bodies,
when she enters the lunar orbi t.
This view can scarcely be accounted for save by the Neoplatonic
doctrine of the "series" , which was connected with a theory more
religious than philosophic, according to which individual human
SOllIs passed through the heavens before their earthly bi:th and
in so doing received a gift from each of the astr~ powers. III turn,
which they returned in the same manner on thcu ~enslOn. ~fter
death . This not ion seems in fact to have originated m the religIous
system of Gnosticism, and as this system was governed by a
r~dically world-abnegating dualism dividing (as in ancient Persia)
a sinless other world from an impure and guilty present world,
it is not surprising that the soul' s journey from heaven to earth
should originally be conceived only as a "Fall" .'9 The ful~est
and best account of the soul's jOllmeyings is that of ServIUS,
ca n be t.-aced (admi ttedl)' along a v..ry speelalUed liM} down to the fifteenth and sixta:nth
nturies (set! below. tCJCt pp, 192 sqq" zS] e.qq.). For its ';gllilicancc in regard to NICH OU S 0 ..
Cu~ ... (De docl . ;, ... , 1, 25), d . R. Klibansky'.nst of (IOurc.-s, ed. cit., Ltip~ig 19]2, p. 5:1,
.. Cf. F . DoLL. " Die Lebensalter", in N ..., jIJhrbi4e"er fi# diU /lllJuiselY AllerlNm, XVL
(L9']). PI'. uS sqq. A pana.ge indiutive o f the spirit of radical world negation underlying
thi' doctri ne can be found , for instance. in the Corp..s ~"m, tibellu. VI , 4a, ed , W. Scott.
Oxford 1924. p . 168 : ",...y..o..~ ...I.~ .<Tn "';r ...... l.u," 3f "e-, ....,; ~rJoii. For tbe
der ivation of the Kven deadly sins in Cbristian theology from tbe fatal glib of the ..even
planets. ct, T , ZIl!l.LI ~S"-I.ln PliilolllfIU. vot.. L.:XIV (l90j), pp. 21 sqq. W . BoV5SBT (H ....p lprobJ._ tiff G""SlI. G6ttingen '907, pp. 91 sqq.) b Inclined ~ attribute to Pen~n Inftuencc
tbe metaphysica.l dualbm of Cnosticiam, t o wb.lcb ..e mIght add tbat Persian ~ut'(:"
ucscritJc t he seve n planet. as "Leaders on the . Ide of Ahriman," while the twelve I 'glll 0 1

157
though e\'en here it appears in a form already rationalised in
astronomical terms. This runs as follows :
SATUR:S- IN AN CIENT LITERATURE

The philosophers teach us what the soul loses in its descent through the
various spheres. For that reason the astrologers say that our souls and
bodies are connected by the agency of the divinities in those various spheres;
for when souls descend they drag wHh them the lethargy of Saturn, the
irascibility of Mars, the sensuality of Venus, the greed for gain of Mercury
and the lust for power of JupiterY"
Correspondingly , Poimandres says that on the soul's ascenSion
aft er death it frces itself of the bad qualities of its earthly
existence, leaving in the sphere of Saturn its "lurking lies" . 101
This account of the souJ's joumeyings largely retained its
essen~ially Gnos tic character, that is, the "endowment" of t he
soul descending through the spheres with specific properties, all
of the'm fatal gifts ; but this basic character was lost as soon as
a connexion was formed with a purely cosmological theory, that
is to say, one directed not so much to the problem of sin as to the
problem of the essential unity of man and universe. When this
essential unity began to be sought more generally in the biological
rather than in the psychological realm, the original idea of
"journeying" faded into the background, while the planetary
gifts, now not SO much acquired on a journey as received at birth,
become neutral, constructive elements, some mental, some
physical, It so happens that Servius is again the writer who
passes on this version of the old doctrine, this time appealing
not to the philosophers and astrologers, but to the "physici".
At birth, human nature receives "a Sole spiritum, a Luna corpus,
a Marte sanguinem , a Mercurio ingenium, a love bonorum
desiderium, a Venere cupiditatem, a Satumo humorem" .lln
the Zodiac. on the other hand, an eaUed "leaderl on the side. of OrLnuzd" (d. H . J Ur<KILR,
"ObeT i.-anische Quellen d es bellenistisehen Alonbqriffs". ;n V"rlr<l6' der Bibli",Jr.tk; WIJrblU',.
LIlU, pp. 14 1 &qq.). Cf. also T. ZIILLLr<$KI. " Hennes and die Hennetik", in Ardi.. fU r
Rdisi","swiunudlJfl, YILI (l 90j). pp. ]25 sqq., esp. ]30 sqq.
L.. SZ RVIUS, COllI"'. ill A eMiII., VI. 714.

..' Cf. BoLL, BoUSS,T. and ZU.UNS"-I. 10:. cit.; ZIIl1.INSKI, op. cit., pp, ]21 sqq.; F. CVIoIONT.
After-Lif, ." RomlJ" PII611."i&m , New Haven 19:1:1, pp. 106 &q q.
, .. SILRVIUS, Cu""" . i" ,A",eid.. XI . ". This physico-biological conception of the gif" of
the planets side by lide with a more NeopJatonle one was lle<:4lpted al80 by Isidore (1sInoRIL.
Elym ., v, ]0, 8. largely arreeiag with Servlu bllt put forward . aignillun Uy enOU8h....
".tuLtiti;>. g.. ntilium " ): this ServiU5 serie!: u reprod uced word tor WOld in Myflws'IJPJr.u& 111 {cr.
below. t ext pp. 17'1 sqq.}. in the chapter on Mercury (C. H . Bonll'. S#.ri/>Io>u reno ... ...,lAic.. ,.,.,.

',u.

14li"i
Celie 18]4, pp. 217. line ] 3). On tbe other band , the real notion of the _I's
jour?eyin,s .11 ....';'..ed ;n m any forms in a Larce number nf P1atoniat writing. and poenu.
e.g. ,n D."NAROU. SILVltBTaI 5. De .. "il>. _"di, 11, ] : ALAlItI$ All Ill SULLS {_ bl:low. pp. ,86
sqq., t exth and later in MATTEO PAut!IL ILL (_ below pp , ." , sqq" text); CAIUMNU!.,
ATLIAII'ASIUS KLRCLL ILR, etc.

SATURN IN THE LITERARY TRADITION

[II. t.
. When. however. the ~elationship between macr~osm and
microcosm was so conceIved that planetary influences were
supposed to be of a physical as weH as of an ethicaJ nature and
when at the same time the ideas of emanation and reasce~sion
were linked ~th the joumeyings of the soul, all this gave rise to
a transformation suc.h as w e' have encountered in the Ne6platonists
Pr~lus and Macrobms. Whet~er classified according to "series"
as 111 Proclus, or regarded as acquired in different planetary
spheres, as in Macrobius, the planetary gifts became faculties of
the soul, and these (acuities were without exception beneficial.
Neoplatonism, too, considered the soul's incarnation in the material
world as a descen t, but one in which the soul's endowments
brought with her (rom her higher home, could only be good;
and among these innate goods the noblest. as we have seen, was
Saturn's gift. 1oo
. TllU~. in this double interpretation of the myth of the soul's
]oumeymgs- and between those extremes there ex isted many
mi xed fonnsH1'- the polarity of the notion of ]{ronos led to two
opposing basic attitudes. The pregnant antithesis "dullness,
sadness. fraud vs. reasoned or even inspired thought" was to
dominate the ' future too. though the bald "either/or " was soon
softened to " both/ and". The Saturn to whom the lethargic
and ~ulgar beJonge~ was at the same time venerated as the planet
of high contemplatIon, the star of anchorets and philosophers.
Nevertheless. the nature :md destiny of the man born under
Saturn. even when, within the limits of his condition. his lot was
the most fortunate, still retained a basis of the sinister ' and it is
on t~~ !~ea of a contrast. born of darkness. between th~ greatest
POSSIbilitIes of good and evil, that the most profound analogy
between ~at~m and melancholy was founded . It was not only
the combmatlon of cold and dryness that linked black bile ,with the
apparently similar nature of the star; nor was it onJy the tendency
to depression, loneliness and visions, which the melancholic
,u SH llbove, p. 1.5.5 (text).

' .. Ct. the literature quoted on page 1.57. notes 101 "'t. In thi. t ypo o f mi xed teria (as c.g. in
1. 1I)(l RIl. D. "4lrml "rulll . cd. C. Becker, Berlin 18.'57, 1II, p . 10; BBDIl. IH. t".. ~," r,tjo.., .
ch. 8 (MIOMI!, P . ..... VOl.. XC, col. ),81q.); ANDAI.US DEN IORO. Ikil. Mil, . MS Add . ')77<1. foi l.
l6:-lry,. Saturn ,.en~?Uy ~.Ionp to the evil side; he bts"tQws 01" l ignifies u.../"'. _~"
me:rores. trlStiham. vrlrtatem et malum" and tarditatcm". Only in the K6p.J Ko..J'OU
(T. Zll.I.lrfS'U. "HUiIles und die Jlennetlk." in A ~J.fp jMr RdiliOft;mluotuAt.jt, VIII (190.'1).
p . 36 .5) doai Satu~ play a,~ part ; as d">i<" N~jd_"",......" he bestows d~ and A..,{,.....
OR the. to~l . ThIS at lint "Ibl .Inglilar ueeption can be t:rplained by the inftllence of
Plalo .... l t irtenture. Uaeeable alto el_here in the Corp," H,r_tUw ....

'Ik_.

SATURt\ I N MEDIEVAL LITERATURE


159
31
shared with the planet of tears, of solitary li fe and of soothsayers;
above all. there was an analogy of action. Like melancholy,
Saturn, that demon of the opposites. endowed the soul both with
slowness and stupidity and with the power of intelligence and
contemplation. Like melancholy. Saturn menaced those in his
power, illustrious though they might be, with depression, or
even madness. To quote Ficino, Saturn "seldom denotes ordinary
characters and destinies, but rather people set apart from the
rest. divine or bestial. blissful, or bowed down by the deepest
sorrow'.I06

3.

SATURN I N MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

(4) Sa turn in th e Controvers ies of the Church


Fath e r s

Early Christianity was bound to declare war on the ast rological


view of the universe. as weU as on the veneration of the ancient
pagan gods.lOt From the very beginning, therefore. it was the
task of the Church F athers to weaken belief in astral predestination107 and to reveal the emptiness of faith in the ancient
gods. In the case of gods who were also planetary rulers. a
battle was fought on two fronts against one and the same enemy,
during which, as always happens in the combating of heresies,
the very refutation of the heterodox views helped to presef\'e
them.
The weapons employed by an early and relatively straightforward group of apologists cou ld be taken from the arsen~! of
FICINO, DI . lFipl . lit , , (0"',4. p . .'13)): "Saturnul non ju.le o;omn;!!.r:~~ J:tn,!int
humanl genens qllaliu.tem uqlle IONem. sed hom;~m a b alus U"gTe;;:a: ;;:m. c":::.,,,, a.'"
brctum. beatum aut extrema miMria pTI!Hllm. The conDe'tton bet "~n tilt- :"e-'"It':,,';.Or.I~
notion o f Satu m and th. birth of the modern notIOn <)1 " nll" (He bf:lo ... !txt Pi' : ,I 1Il'l
ean hen: be seen already from t he choice of word l. for " dl\mus bame I :'C ~ rF:~~( ,~el~:'i"
60n of modem pbilotOphical. poetic: and (.mci Michelangelo) aNist ic mcn o f ~e n(ul
Sometimes the contrut inherent In the notion of Saturn alread~' a ppears In 01,1~ , In;,, .
..... in H gIIII IPPU5 ...t1l0",,,,; C~ ri$lifl ..i H """ppUJ d, flJlrO/Ol'" di~loI"s. x la. 86. Edd \\
Kroll and P . Viereck, LeiPli, 189.'1. p. 19 (tou rtetnth ce ntury); .<.1'1"" .. f. wf .ip'1,g, ,; ..... ,; Kpt!,"Ou,
oro~
n, J~ ....I rijWI"":". ,,~t7I '\~90,. ",,1 )'O.. ~. "..Jpl'''~o,. For AL"'(r.: ~ ~II
JMSUUS. see below, p. 186 (lolll).

;.."",,,.t.... "...j".,..,

,.. A history o f medieval astrology doel n)l yet exil!.

Fo. the moment. ~f \\ "[DEL.

M .A. A .

, TEJtTuLLlalt. IH. '''olAma. 9, however, tells ua ,n rdenin, to t he stu "!lIch It,~ thl
Three Kinp ; "at enim . de lltia istol (I.e. utnMOJY ) IIlqlle ad e," uge!;em le:t c:onc: .. u
Fot his attitude to ut.ToJosy, ct. F . W. C. L. ScKUt.TJt. H" JI"d.."Jo", t l) T"",!." ;r~",. !\,:~eri<
191). th. 7. t&IDOJl.JI., Etywa . VIII. 9, 16 foUo ...TeNulh.n .."Otd for ,,"OI"d ct. WeDll..)1 \ .\.
p. IS).

S.\TL:R~

I (Il"

1:\ T HE LITERARY

TRADIT[o~

31 ...

[ II. I.

Saturn. the prince of this race and horde, was described b~e a~e~V~~:~
in anuquit \', both Greek a nd Roman, as a ma n. . .. "~hen
.
fur fe a, " r"his son's wrath , came to Italy and \Va:> hospltabl~ rt~cel~~d by
In many t~tngs. hkake~he
1"- " ""~. he Instructed thOSCl wild and savage .men
.
.
d In the m mg
~ tlltur(:tl Greo.:k that he was, in writ ing. in mmtmg com, an
f 1 hidden
'Jf t ()l\J~. Flir that n'ason he \\'anted the asylum where he had sa e y
hilll!'{'if to il(' called Latium ({rom " Iatere") ' l~' so he was altogether a man
who lIed, altogether a man who hid himself.

;::t

i
; ,
FELIX. O~II~ius, :'1:"". 4-1: T",RTlILLIAN. 111'01"1";": x ; t.ACTAl'I~II.IS,
,. 8 . based o n fhe q ... otat ion frum V,RG,L (A,,, .. VIII, Ime'll )20 $(jq .. see . 0 ,
S
. f
ently menboned
I" sl., L I), ...... 15
t e!!t n . ( 1) later taken o,'er by A ... gustine. The panage 01\ a : ... rn IS req...
I
, 'h
,
.
. h h
l' \ d isc ...Med on n ... me ro ... s artic!:S, 0
e
..
. ' H J B VLlS
In cri tical literature in , 0nne:'l:lon Wit t e qllcs 101 .
interdcpomdenee of Min ... cills Felix and TertllUian. ~ th~ blblt.ogn..phl~
.:T ;'dlill~
\1 ,,,,1(1 ,.5 FtliJ< London 1<)28, and in G. A. JOIIANNA ScHMIDT. MI " ""UJ t....
r er
(di ssertatiQn.lIi ... nieh 1932). pp. 89 sqq. For th~ s tar of th~ Ma~, d. ~: BoUCtl::L~~~:;o~~~
L'aslrolori' ",.'ql<t.. Pa n s 1899, p. 611. and L. o s VUUI, urllJ 1"1<$ e..
(d'aMrtation, Amsterdam 193Jl, pp. 7 ' !qq.
The pas!Nl ges on Saturn in the Ch ... reh Father. ue eoovenient1~ collected in V~L:
the index to MIG"''''. P. L., VOL. CC:O<I :'I:, pp. )88 $(jq. I' or ~he elLrly h15t0':s of /~e ~i~~:I:
pagan gods wi th a detailed eommentilry on two of the earhH! C,:,,~ wor , c . . II Lo
'
Z ',i " iU!ti$l:M ApoIo&tlu, (A";stides and Athenagotal'l. Le' p~lg 1901: j09",", . an,
l ':'II.. IIi~ " Ills Ape/oed , VOL~ . I_II , 1921-28 (~Hin$ tcr . Deitr!ge ~ur TheQh).t;l" c. 1:'1:- :'1:) d,sc,, ~se~
t he problem 0 1 early Homan attacks ou pagani!lm. CI. esp. pp. 128-1 79
". }tor th e distaSte with which the myth of the birth of Zcn. and Kron(ls's d"."Q... rin g of
, ..

~h:SI.lCl uS

,'.nrxk

II.

II 0:

the stone was reguded. we nlay mention & later text. CU:GQJlY 0' NAZl ANJ;US, O~al'O , .. sa"dll
1,.",,"11 (MI CNE, P . Gr. , VOL . XXXV I, col. ))7) Ke below, text p . 199, and P U T'" ' 1,

r 6r

controversialists whom he may have known from Jewish- Hellenistic


sources. w Tertullian, too, dealt particularly thoroughly with
Saturn, because in him lay the origin of the gods: " Heaven and
E arth gave buth to him , the patriarch of the gods, and the poets
were the midwives" .ll2 Differe nt th ough Tertullian was in origin
and in t emperament and character from an average Greek such
as Athenagoras, Greeks and Romans in t hese early Christian
times fought the common enemy wit h roughly the same methods
and ideas; in some places t his resulted in such similarity of text
that even to-day philologists cannot be certain which was the
source of which .u I
5t .AuguStine, however, whose opposition to astrology was
based as much on his concern for free will as on his faith in divine
predestination,U4 was not content wit h such arguments. Not only
did be completely refut e, in De civitate Dei, all the learned interpretations of the ancient pant heon,w but he also devoted to
Saturn in particular a detailed examination . This systematically
cont rasted t he Euhemeristic humanising of originally divine
figures wit h the allegorical treatment in nat ural philosophy and
etymology, and then compared both interpretations with that o f

The notion ~ f Saturn,. with its rna; :


com radictions, was a particularly sUItable obJ,ect of a~~te~
felix, Tertullian, and Lactanhus, th~
d
T hu .<:. 11inucius
.
M'
.
t k their stan
almost word for word t he same as mU CIUS, 00
on the Euhemeristic view according to which t he gods bad been
mere men, and Saturn, said to be the chief of the gods, a man
particularly hard pressed by fate:
.
th ... ancients themsel ves.

This 1S not the place to describe in de~ail the .way in which oth~r
themes in heathen or J ewish polemICS ag~mst t~le. gods we e
t aken over by the apologists and employed Ul Christian speculat ion.109 Throughout this battle the Kronos-S~t~~ myth p!ayed
a not unimportant part , whether because its prumtlVe and vlole~t
theme shocked the sensibilities of the time,110 or because Its
Stoic and physiological interpret ation seemed ~ profound as
espcciRllv to warrant rebuttal. Whether Kronos s madness was
interpreted as the met amor phosis of th~ "Kairos", or .wbet~er
Kronos was time , darkness, frost or mOisture: he c,ertaml y ",as
not a god, for divinity is essentially unchangmg. rhus argu~d
Athenagoras, taking his argument from t he older StOIC

SATURN I N !.tE DlEVAL LITE RATURE

..

... A p olotill FO Clorntia.. i.s. 22 (J. GIPPC Xll'I , ZltIIi t"juloiuJ" Apolot'u", Le!pzi8 1907
pp. 1)9 sqq., 20$ sqq.).
". Ad ... lio~s. I I, 12 (Corp. SIt . F.ccl. Lat .. VOL xx, p. 11 8). Tert ... lIia.t:I ooDtQd;ets the
Stoic doctrine developed by CICU.O,.o. ~U .... tlcon...., II. :l4-2~, eq ... ating K...o__ with X"o.-:
" Sed elegant.er q ... idamsibi videntur physiologice per a l1 egorieam arg ... mf:ntationem d~ Saturno
In terpretarl temp ... , esse. . . . Nominis q ... oq ... e testimonium eompl!:tlant: K,o- dictum Cr:aece
u t x"o_. Aeque latin! voeabuti if. sationibus r:ationem ded ... e ... nt, q ... i f:UJD p~torem
ooniectantur, per eum seminalia caell in terram defeni." The later derivation of the name
SatU Tl\ o\ a satu ". based on VARltO, Ddin, .... k! tinll, v , 64, ed d. C . Goetz and F . SchoeU, Leipzig
' 9 ' 0, p. 20 (5ef: also the parallel pus&ges siven in the appendix) is &Iso mentioned several times
by AUGQSTI~I. D, CiviW. Dli, VI. 8; VII , :t; VII, ) ("Satu rnUI aemiDia da.tor vel lat,o,-',;
VII, I); VII , 1$. How V&n'o attempted to combine this derivation with that from the notion
of Tirne 'ca.n be seen in JR Cj~ilaU Dn, VII , 19: " Ch rODon appeU at ... m d;eit (tc. Vuroj, quod
Gr:aeeo voeabulo stgni6at tempori! spatium, sine quo seIDell, inquit, DOD potHt 'esse
feeund ... m." Ct. E . SCHW,....n:, "De M. T. V&n'onia a.pud lancto. patres vl!ltigiis" in JA~rbu,A
fUr Itilluiu/t, P llil%, i" SU PPL. VOL. XVI (1888), pp. 424 $(jq. , 439, 482 !qq.
III

E.8. ) 05&' LoKn, TertuJlu". Ills ApoIDI", I , p. 1)4.

m ct. 1.. D& VUOI, AUI,,$Iift ..s t il .u "hlu,{0ti, (d issertation, Amsterdam 19))), a od
J. A. DAv is, D. O~0.5 io tI SlIoro A .." u tino P riu illioni,lafum ad~"sarii, U/mlttenJllrilllti'lo~i~1I
" ploil"",,U:1I

(<!~tation ,

NimwegeD 19] 0), pp. 189 !qq.

Civil"" Dn, VII, 19. The remainlns pusagett on Saturu in D. Civilllu Dei &re easily
available in the index to E. Hoffm&nn', edition, VieDn& 1899-1900 (Sa.t ... r n ... ... nlueky planf:t ,
god of th~ JewI, lord of the Sabbath, etc.). For Saturu in Augustine', other worn sec
SIST EK MAay OAl'IaL MADD"'l<, Til. PIIf~'" Divi"ilj" ....d IJuj~ Wrwsllip .. i ... /I" WOI',h of
St A ~i.., uci.uin, oftlu City ofGDd (The Catholic: University of America, Patristic Studies,
VOL. XXJV, 19)0). pp. 4 6-~]. For Aug ... stiDe" transmitting &nd perfecting of early Christian,
lpologeties in general. see C"' I'I'CI(sn, op. cit .. pp. ) 18 Iqq .
\ " J).

SATURN IN THE LlTERARY TRADITION

[n.

I.

the Neoplatonists, who recognised that the earlier doctrines were


untenable. In NeopJatonism, Saturn represented the highest
intellect . But, logically, should not these philosophers alter their
faith with the alteration in their interpretation, and either not
erect any images to the gods, or else erect them only to Saturn
and not to Jupiter Capitolinus? Bnt the world ignored t hese
doctrines and continued to worship Jupiter as the highest god,
and common opinion was at one with the astrologers in regarding
Saturn not as a wise creator, b ut as a wicked old man. Thus his
polemic reaches a climax in a magnificently built-up contras t
between the Neoplatonic m etaphysical and affirmative r.otion of
Saturn and the astrological superstitious and negative notion ; and
the malicious acumen of this contrast brought out the inner ambivalence of Saturn with a clarity not attained again save by the
subtle intuition of the R enaissance.
What do they say of Saturn? What being do they worship as Satul"n?
Is it not he who first came down from Olympus"F1eeing the war of jupiter and kingdom overthrown,
He laid in peace the rugged folk amid the mount ains steep
Scattered about, .and ~ve them laws and wished them well t9 keep
The name of Latium since he lay safe hidden on that shore."11t
Does not his own portrait distinguish him, which shows 'him with
covered head like one that hides himself ? Was it not he who showed the
~ta1ian s agriculture, as is shown by his sickle? No, say they ... . For we
mterpr:t Sat urn as the "fullness of time", which his Greek name suggests:
for he IS called Kronos, which, when aspirated, is also tbe name of Time.
For this reason he is also called Saturnus in Latin, as it were, full of years
["quasi saturetur annis"). I really do not know what to do ""ith people
who, in attempting to interpret the names and portraits of their gods in a
better sense, admit that their greatest god , the father of all others, is Time.
For what else do they betray but that all their gods are temporal , s.ince
they make Time itself the father of them?
And so their later Platonic philosophers, who livw in Christian times,
blushed thereat. They therefore attempted to in terpret Saturn in another
fashi on, by saying that he was called Kronos because, as it were, of the
fullness of his intellect ["velut a satietate intellect us"] because in Greek
fullness is called KOPOS, and understanding or intellect is voVs. This
notion seems also to be reinforced by the Latin name which is, as it were,
compounded of a Latin first part and Gretk second part, so that he was
called Saturnus ~ n the sense of "abundant intellect" (satur-vo\is). They
saw how absurd It would be if Jupiter, whom they considered or wished to
be considered as an eternal divinity, were regarded as a son; of Time.

SATURN IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

According to this modern interpretation ... they call Jupiter the son of
Saturn more in the sense as it were of spirit ("spiritus"] emanating from
that highest intellect ["mens"], and considered as the soul of the world fillin g
all heavenly and earthly bodies. . .. The Romans, however, who dedicated
the Capitol not to Saturn but to jupiter, and also other peoples who believed
that they owed worship to jupiter before all other gods, were not of the same
opinion as the Platonists. The latter in their new theory, if only they had
had any power in such matters, would have preferred to dedicate t heir
chief sanctuaries to Saturn, and also, above all, to extirpate the astrologers
and horoscope-makers who had relegated Saturn (described by the Romans
as the "wise creator"},l17 to the position of an evil god among other stars.1I8
The Ncoplatonic interpretation of Saturn was here treated
with unmistakable irony, it is true, but not altogether wit hont
respect. It is therefore the more remark-abJe that August.ine,
who elsewhere frequently made use of middle and later P latonic
notions,ut should not have employed t his pagan heritage in the
service of the Christian viewpoint. His rad ical aversion applied
as much to pagan theology as to pagan astrol ogy . l~
5t Ambrose blazed another trail important for posterity when,
instead of attacking, as Tertullian, Athenagoras, Augustine and
their contemporaries had done, he associated himself with
Philonian and Pythagorean speculation . He took his point of
departure not from the planetary gods but from their number,
." According to anotber readillg; "ereator of wise men".
'" AUGus n NJI, V , WtlUIlS" '''I1Nldi$/Jl",.... , I, 34 sqq . (Corp. Ss. Eccl. Lat.. VOL. XLIll ,
ed. F. W cihrich, V1eIlD:>. ' 904. pp. ]'I .qq.). So~ of the polemics IIccord with r... t:tanl,uJs
statements mentioned above (see the Dotes to the edition cited) The concludillg pana,e.
of great pregD.&llcy, may be given in the origin~; 'Romani tamen, qui non Saturno, $ed lovi
Capirolium condidC"l"unt, vel aliu nationel, quae lovem pr.ecipue su pra eeter01l deos
colendum I!SS(I putaverun t, non boc q uod iali [IC. philosophi reeentiores Platonlei] sen5-Cr~ n t,
qui secundum istam luam novam opinionem et SUmma! arees, Ii quicqoam in hii :ebua
potest.a.tis habu inent, Satumo poth.!! dedicarent et mathematiCOI u~1 gne t::'liacDs ma",me
delerent, qui Saturnum, q uem sapientem [another reading; u.pielltu~ ; eifecto:el:1 ;111
dicerent, malelicum dellm inter alia lidera consti tu crent.
n. A striking aample 0 1 this is A~gvstine'. doctrine of ideas (e .l . )hGSF.. P. L. 'OL. XL col
a9sq.); d. alto E . P"N OFSII:Y,Id'4 (Shldien der Bibliothek Warbu lll, VOL. '". 19~~), pr ,S Ill'!.
aDd 8l sqq .
... This radically hostile Utitude q weU illustrated by a pusage fromllAlI.TI:< 0 .. BRACA~AS
.enuon to th e peasants. Martin o f Bracara reguds the gods of the da.y. 01 the week as fa.lIen
ang<lb or demoWl, wbo observe the wiekedn C$S 01 men a.nd give themselves ou! as god iess
men 01 earlier tim ... (Saturn, Jupiter, etc .). The.." demom; persuade the J>Mple to ,,outlip
them under the narnel of tbese suppoJe<l persons. Hence Martin heanily dliJapl'fOveS of
naming the days of the week a.lter the plane t.. 'Non tamen sine pcnnissione del nocent. qu,a
deum babent iratum et non ex toto corde in lide Christ i credunt. Sed sunt dubu in Illnlum.
Ilt nomina ipsa. daemoniorum in singulo$ dies nominent, et aplM'Uent diem )!~t1S tt )It:~ u"
e t lovis et VenCI";' et Satnrrn, 'In! n ullum d itm fe(:ttunT. sed lutlunt homInes pt"nllT:I t:
Kelerati i.o gente Graecornm" (D,
rusli'" ....m, 8. ed. K. P. Caspan. Chris tianIa
188), pp. II an d l.u:viii.) This work was written between A .I.l. ,,2 and 3;4. Seol Cupari
(ed.), op. cit., pp. cvii aqq., fOT its l urvival in the Middle All"'.

,on,,''-'"''

110 His quoniam Jatuisset t utus in ori.'; VIRGIL. Ae" ., vui. )20-)2 4.

SATURN IN THE LITERARY TRADITION

5e\'ell.

[II.

I.

SATURN IN M.EDI EVAL LITERATURE


165
31
This viewpoint opened the way to Christian speculation concerning
the stars: the planets, at least to begin with, were not regarded
as distributors of spiritual gifts as in the Neopiatonic doctrine
of the soul's joumeyings, but were nevertheless brought into
direct relation with Christian ethics.

In a certain sense Ambrose had a predecessor in this,

n ctorinus of Pcttau, who in a magnificent survey had distributed


the 5Cnn gifts of the Holy Spirit among the seven heavenly
spheres. The seven heavens, according to Victorinus, corresponded
to the seven days of the creation. As witness thereof he quotes
t he words of P salm XXXIII. 6: "By the word of the Lord were
the hea\'ens made: and all the host of them by the breath of his
mouth:' The heavens are seven spirits. Their names are the
names of those spirits which rested upon Christ, according to the
prophet Isaiah. The highest heaven is therefore the heaven of
wisdom, the second that of understanding, the third of counsel.
From them too the thunder roars and the lightning flashes, and
so onYll Here, therefore, we encounter cosmological speculation
about the seven gifts. But it is characteristic of Victo~us not
to take any interest in fixing more precisely the position of these
.
..,
'
spheres in the cosmos.
Ambrose rightly says that Ius treatlSe IS wntten from a vIewpoint other than that of t~e Py~liagore.ans and the r~st of the
ph ilosophers. The companson Wltl~ Philo, .used .by him, s~ows
the boldness of Ambrosian symbohsm, which did not hesltate
with the help of mystic numbers1l!2 to relate the cosmic system
to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Ambrose says: "The number
seven is good."123 Isaiah numbered seven main virtues of the
Holy Spirit. The Hebdomad, like the Trinit~, is outsi~e time or
measure; it is the au thor of numbers, not subject to their laws.
According to this sevenfold circle of spiritual virtues ... we see created a
sevenfold ministration of the planets, by which this world is ilIumined. 1"U
'" VIC;TOJUI<1JS 01' ?zTTAU. T~""I"lus d, l"bri~11. ... " .. di . ch. 7 (ed.

J. Hau sslciter,

(b) Satur n in Later Medieval SpeCUlat ion

(i) Saturn in M oral Theology


The qoctrine of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit had a particularly
profound significance in the Middle Ages. ' 1.5 After St Augustine
had interpreted the seven gifts as a ladder, the highest rung of
which ' was wisdom, this doct rine had become merged with the
Neoplatonic notion of the soul's ascension, and towards the end
of the twelfth century it was further developed along cosmological
lines>"
Alexander Neckam, living at t he time of the revival of
astrology, gave to Ambrose's doctrine a specifically astrological
tinge. While, in Ambrose, the notion of a relationship between
the planets and the seven gifts bad arisen in connexion with a
disquisition on the Hebdomad, not concerned with astrology, in
Alexander Neckam t he same notion appears in a chapter beginning
with the wordst2e : "Seven are the planets which not only adorn
the world but exert their influence on things below, an influence
transmitted to them by the highest nature. which is God." Even
with regard to the seven gifts he makes use of a purely astrological
tum of phrase when he speaks of t he seven gifts "which adorn the
microcosm with bright ornament and exert their influence on t he
natural faculties of t he soul".
It is therefore understandable t hat Neckam was not content
with general analogies but explored. them in detail, bringing in

COfl'. s,.

Ecc!. Lat.. VOL. xu x. Vienna. 1916. pp. 6 sqq.). For this passage lee W . MACH?LZ, .Spur",
bi"il". iJ&her D, .. kWlis, (di"ertation , Halle_W ittenberg 1902). p p. 16 sqq. Vlctormu s 0 1
P etlau lollows O rigen In the main. FOT Vic;torlnus'. attitude to Origen, cf. HIEIl ONVM1)fi,
Epist . 61. 2.4. a nd Vigilius. (Sud' E.lIimmy",; ,pUt".llU. ~ . J. HiI~g, ~p. 5$. Ece~ . Lat.,
VOL. LI\. Vienna 191 0- n. pp . .5.57-8) : " TateO de Ulctonno Pctob,onensl et (:f!te:ris, ~u l

Origenem in explanation" dumtaxat scrlpturaru m $eCuti &lint et expresseru nt" : al.so E.plst.
84, 7. ad P" ... ",,,,,hiU,,,,1
(Hil blerg (ed.). ibid . V?L. LV. pp. '~O. sqq .): "Nee ~5UtIOrft
lu mu, Hilario nee fideliores Vietorino, qui tnetatUI elus [seil. O!"lgcnls) non ut I.n~rpr~
led ut auctores pra pr;; operis tra.nstulerunt. Nuper ArnbrOlliu l sic Exaeme:ron IHiu! [KII.
QTigenis] conpil:>.vit. lit magis Hippolyti sententias Basiliique lCq uel'f!t ur"; al loO HU:RON VMUS,
Adt'.rJ"s libms Ru/i"i. J. 14 (MlvNE. P . L . VOL. XXIII. col. -4 6 7).
,.. F. BoLL ("'Die LebensaLter'. in N~ .., ]/iMbilthff Iilr Ii,," IIl"ni"II. Altfft" ... , XVI ( 19 I J) .
p. 126. note J ) was the flBt to point .out ~he ~ge in AmMo:" in thl.' con ne,uon. YOT
Philo. d . K . STAZ HLIl. Di. Z"JJn>"'ysl.1I lift PIIIUnf. """" Alu"..dm. , l..elpZlg 19)1.

tractamus. sed. secundum formam et divisiones gratiae spirit&.lis: septem enim vlrtutes
principales $;Ulc;ti aplritUI proph"'ta Es&iu eompleJtul est (!Jai ....... XI, ':I). Haec: hebdomu . ..
si ne tempore. sine ordi ne, auctor numen. non l ub numeri Icg~ d$vincta. Itaque . icut ad
&eterna.. Trinitath gr&tiam caelum. tern.. mula formata. "cut anl, luna et stellae: ita ctiam
ad ilium septenarium virtutum spiritalium c!rculturn atque orbern operationis divinae vigore
pr&e$ t&ntem, septen&rium quoddam mlnl$terium planetarum cl'f!at um advertimus. quo hi e
mundu l illuminatur." ACQ)rdiug to J. A. DAVIS, op. cit ., p . ,87. Ambcose was here under
OrifleD's iufluence. In HVNU .... lib . 4. f 17 (lIh G" P . L . VOL. XIV. eol. I j3) Ambrose adopted
another vie ...,

,n Cf . : ..., "'M~_ .;......-s ..... ;P dpoI,..&. in Pnll..o. D, opifido ,..u"ll;' 106 (Op"", I,
J 8, ed. L . Cohn, Berlin 1896).
, .. A)llIROSE , Epid. 04 Horollli/l ........ H . 3 (MIGl<z. P . L., VOL. XV I, coli. 11)6 Iqq.):
"Donu! septimus numerU8, quem non Pyth&gorieo et eeterorum philosophotulll man

I. Ct. , K. BoCC::1[L. Di ~ G..,.,. 4l.s


GruUJ i ll ~." 8.4""...., Jw~ di. M y";)'
....'" derTJuok, du I) . .. nd 14. j_II, A"",",I$ (Fmburg i.8. 193 1), and the article "Oonl
du SaintEsprit" in Ditti.."Mi" d~ TlIhlrJli. CllllooIilJ ..e. VOL. IV (A. Cardeil).

0"".."...

lI.ili,,..

'" De ..aluris r."u>H, ed. T . Wrigbt, London I86J. pp. 39 aqq.

r66

SATUR N I N THE LITERARY TRADITIO N

[n .

I.

astrological and astronomical elements.J27 He describes fhe mode


of operation of the seven gifts in terms corresponding to the
Neoplatonic doctrine, t ransmitted by Macrobius, of the beneficent
gifts of the planets. For us, the main interest lies in tlie effects
this had on the notion of Saturn. The series of the seven gifts
Lord .
in Isaiah begins with '\o\>1sdom and ends with the fear of the
"
Saturn, as the highest planet, could therefore be credited with
either the first or the last gift. Neckam credited him with wisdom
and gave the following reason for so doing; "As the plane't Saturn
t akes a considerable time to complete his revolution , so wisdom
generates maturity from itself. Saturn is rightly described as
an old man by the philosophers for old men are of mature judgm ent."l28
This description of Saturn, like the general notion of beneflCent
planetary gifts, is Ncoplatonic, for it was Neoplatonism which
celebrated Saturn as an old and wise god, In other words, t he
very view which St Augustine had derided l29 was now resl1scitated
by Neckam and used in the development of his Christ ian
speculative system .
A friar, a popular preacher, as he described himself, 'Berthold
of Regensburg, who lived at a time of widespread astrological
belief, couJd hardly help including the planets and their influence
in his syst em of moral exhortat ion. "There are seven stars in
t he sky. Thereby shall ye read and learn virtue, fo r if ye have
not virtue ye shall never enter into the promiseil land, and therefore God hath shown forth the seven virtues in the seve,r;. planets,
so that they shall show you the way to heaven."l30 Berthold
," Heteone m,.st bearin mind the significant laet that Neckam, when Introduci ng utrologica l
doctrines, alwaY' emphasisel strongly tbat th_ aTe not to be considered as in any way limiting
free will ; d . D, "aJ"rit ~m"" ed. Wright, op. cit.). pp. 4o-,P . See a.bo below, p. 178, note 161.

'" D, "al"ris ~'~'m' (ed. Wright). p. 41. The soul also acqui res tha followin& faculties:
fram J upiter "intell ectu" qui providentiam creat et hebetudinem expeZlit"; from Mars
"dQnum cOMllii, quod praecipibtionern renuit e.t cautclam procn:at" (lhls, no doubt, because
af diseretion being the better part o f the $Oldierly virtue of valour); from Sol Oil the other
band, "donum fortitud;,ti~, qnia ... eTtat perseverantiam el lid uciam e t msgnall;mitate.m";
from Venus "scientia ... quae In s.anguinei~ vlgcre solet." Mercu ry's gift is connected with
the "pietatis donum," a, "honl;nibu~ dulc.il conversationb spirituale augmentl.m gratlac
min;stTat"; Luoa', giit is connected with "timor qui negligentiam tl<peUit . . , et . . .
humilibtem genent." In AbAilard we find .. limilar conception, namely that the p lanets are
piritu.Uy illumined by God's grace. which I. de..::rii>ed as sevenfold. (Optra, ed. V. Cousin,
Pari. 1839, VOL . II, p. oz).
" . See above, pp. 161 sqq. {text).

I" B a aTKOLD vo:< RacERS.UIIG, So",,,,,s IV and LXI (F . Pfeiffer', edition. VOl... I, Vienna
1562, pp. 48 sqq., VOL. It, Vienna ISSo, pp. 23) tqq.) .

!
tf

SATURN I N ME DIEVAL LlTERATURE


31
was no svstematiser . H e did not compare the seven gifts or any
other Te~dy-made set of virtues with the planets, but based his
selection of virtues partly upon theological considerations, and
partly upon what seemed appropriate to him as a result of his
familiarity with cosmological and astrological doctrine. His set
of virtues bears some resemblance to a set which St Thomas
Aquinas had listed in quite another connexion.t:n The latter
attempted systematically to apportion t he influence of the planets.
Accordingly, the influence of the three highest planets was concerned with the existence of things. The four lesser planets
determined not so much the existence as the motions of things.
For this reason Saturn bestowed the highest gift, namely the
stability of existence itself ("ipsa stabilitas' esse rei" ). Jupi ter its
. completion, and Mars the power of survival and the st~ength to
keep existence from harm . Berthold adopted the atlnbutes of
Saturn , and perhaps of Mars as well, from a series related to t hat
of 5t Thomas. Saturn bestowed "continuity", Mars " combating
of sin" . The Thomist system, however, was of no import ance
for Berthold's purpose, which was to influence t he plain man's
morals. Somewhat banal in compari son with th at of St Thomas,
his attribution of continuity to Saturn is founded on the fact
(known to the least educated of his audience) t.hat t he pla?et
was so slow that it took thirty years to complete a smglc revolutIOn
-in other words, on t he same fact which. had induced N e~kam
to connect Saturn with wisdom. But while the latter attnbute
is specifically Ncoplatonic, the connexion of Saturn wit h con
tinuity was obviously established on the basis of t~ose .ast~?logic~~
sources which had described the planet by the adJecttve tellax
and had considered it primarily as the ruler of earthly heaviness,
slowness and tenacity.lll2
From the same reservoir of Saturn's good qualities comes the
text of a German sermon which passed for ~1aster E ckhart 's and
gave Ambrose's notion a strongly mystical sense. l33 T he influences
of divine grace and consolation were to be bestowed on the
spiritual heaven of the soul. When the soul becomes a blessed
... THOMAS A\luUI'.u, 1" M~UJployli~,,,.. Ari s/oId;1 C"",,,,m ta;i<l , ed. M.-R. CathalA. Tunn
1926, p . 123. Sf 2560 sqq.
,.. Cf. for Instance the sbove (p. 1~5 tex.t) mentioned cOfTelation 01 jU{J<uo. snd "trnaci:.a,".
a nd below, p. 1<)0 (text). Saturn's characteristics According to Guido Bona m .
....~5U1I ECIHAIIT, Svon"" utVlI (ed. F . Pfeiffer, Leip:ig 18'7. pp. 211 -::q ). Fo:
this tradition el A. SPA1UII in Beilr4t. IlIr G' J,Joj, Io r. dt . d~"r$""" L 'le~<lII" ""d Sp>:" i:t.
XXX IV (1009), p. 324 n .2.

[n. I.
SATURN 1:\ THE LITERARY TRADITION
I6S
spiritual hea\'cn the Lord adorns her with spiritual stars. In

contrast to Berthold of Regensburg, the preacher returns to the


Ambrosian theme, though with a variant, He compares the seven
planets with the seven Be~titudes which theo~o?y l~~d : losely
associated with the seven gIfts of the Holy Spm!.
So III the
heaven of the soul Saturn is a cleanser giving angelic purity
and brings about a vision of the godhead: as our Lord said,
'blessed arc the pure in heart, for they shall see God',"l3i The
Beatitudes begin with praise of the poor in spirit and end with
praise of those who suffer. The preacher had therefore altered
their biblical order so as to link Saturn, the first of the planets,
with the blessedness of angelic purity which occupied the sixth
place in the Gospel. In the preceding sentences he gives a brief
account of the astrological powers of the planets; for example,
"Jupiter is auspicious, Mars wrathful, Venus a lover, Mercury a
gainer, the moon a runner"- the usual characteristics of the
planets in Arabic and Latin authors. But he begins his series
with this- "the first star, Saturn, is a cleanser ('in ftirber')."
In accordance with this characteristic, the author links Saturn
with the purity of the angels in the spiritual heaven of the soul.
Where can we find a parallel to this characteristic, which, in
contrast to those of all the other planets, is quite exceptional?
We have indeed encountered it in pagan authors, in Proclus and
the Neoplatonists, for whom Saturn signified purity of intellect.l3fi
The Neopiatonic doctrine of the soul's journeyings was, in the form
given it by Ambrose, adopted by writers as essentially differen t
as Neckam, Thomas Aquinas, Berthold of Regensburg, and the
author of the sermon attributed to 'Master Eckhart; and it is quite
striking to observe the way in which the figure of the Greek father
of the gods in his Neoplatonic, idealised form , is robbed of his
divinity and yet recognised throughout as an active force.

'''L ou. til . "A1SQ wirt an d en' himel der sele Saturnus [der fUrber] der engelischen
reinekeit u[}(le bringet !.II lone anschouwunge der gotheit .. . ."
,.. Th e passages quoted ;r;oove. pp. 153 !>qq., can be adduced only as parallels, not as SOUN;C$.
The other corresponden ces are : Jupiter: "Blessed are the meek. for they shall inherit the earth"
(cf. BERTIIOLD vo"" RroItNSBURO, ed. cit. I. p. ,58: "miltekcit"; ll. p. 236, also referring to
etymolog y : "i uvans pater"); Mars (with a curious inversion of hls nature) : "BLessed a re
those who are persec uted for righteousness' sake"; Sol (with a play on " Sol Justitiae");
"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after rightcousness"; Venus (the train of thought
leadin g to \o"'e, weeping, longing and consolation): "Blessed are they that mOUln, lor they
shan be comforted "; Mercury .Cbe<:ause of "des himelriches richeit") : "Blessed U<! the poor
in spirit. for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."

3l

SATURN IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

I69

A remarkable position was taken up also by William of


Auvergne, who insisted so decidedly, it will be remembered, on
the advantages of a melancholy temperament.l36 It is hardly
surprising that he too should have known of the series of beneficial
planetary gifts enumerated by Macrobius. When William declared
that according to the doctrine of the astronomers Saturn deler~ined the "virtus intellectiva anirnae humanae", and Mercury
dircctep and favoured the "virtu5 interpretiva" , he, too, referred
to the , teaching transmitted by Macrobius.
Though William of Auvergne used the same material as the
moralists previously mentioned, his aim was a different one.
What he passionately sought to combat with all the power of his
scholarship was the idea that there could be stars which were
naturally evil, For a theologian following Ambrose such a notion
was a priori inconceivable, but by William of Auvergne's time
astrology had again been practised for several generations, and
he took a keen interest in it. He therefore disputed with the
astrologers on their own ground, If earthly things depended on
the stars, how did evil arise? Through the evil influence of Saturn
and Mars? William replied to this in the spirit of Neoplatonism,
For him, as for Iamblichus, the influence of the stars was entirely
good, and could turn to the opposite only through the incapacity
or perversion of the vessel receiving it. Besides this, however,
William discussed the influence of Saturn with an unmistakable
personal bias until, just as in the case of melancholy, he ended
with a panegyric on the allegedly evil planet. Saturn, too, as he
accomplishes the divine will, is good in himself and can have
an evil effect only through men's misusing his gifts ("ad
intent,ionem abusionis"), in the same way as even the blessed
sunlight could blind the careless. Saturn taken on his own merits
had t~~ power to supply and direct intelligence, and if he led to
fraud, deceit, and the disease of melancholy, that was due only
to the unworthiness which belonged to t he human mind "a parte
materiae", Saturn's true purpose was directed to "enlightening
and guiding the 'virtus intellectiva' and leading it to knowledge
of what was right and useful, sometimes as far as the light of
p,rophecy ..., Here the echo of Saturn's old ambivalence clearly
nngs" but m true Neoplatonic and yet true theological style, the
negative side is transferred from the realm of the active substance

II. See above, pp. 73 sqq. (tCltt),

170

[n. I.

SATURN IN THE LITERARY TRADITIO N

to that of the recipient. Saturn's true nature, as in Protlus and


Macrobius, was speculative thought.137
(ii) Saturn in Medieval Mythography
Another legitimate way in which the planetary gods could
come within the realm of medieval speculation- legitimate, that
is, in so far as it left the realm of faith quite untouched-was
broader and trodden more often than that indicated by the
Ambrosian interpretation . This was the recourse to t he collections
and glosses made by scholars which dealt with the ancient gods
and heroes purely as objects of learning; and such procedure had
the double purpose of facilitating practical understanding of
c1assical aut hors and of bringing t he ancient myths more into
line with the altered spirit of the age. The names of the, gods and
heroes were explained etymologically, while their portraits represented them with all their attributes and were interpreted just as
allegorically as their actions and destinies; and finally, an attempt
was made to interpret each feature of the pagan myths on the
lines of entirely Christian conceptions.
The history of this tradition, always conscious of its origin
in the writmgs of Varro, Cicero, Virgil, Ovid, Pliny and other
pagan authors, has recentJy been c1arified in several important
respects.l38 We can see how the quantity of traditional' material
was first collected and allegorised in Servius's commentary on
the Aeneid, the Narrationes of pseudo-Lactantius, Fulgentius's
!llythologiae, Hyginus's Fabulae, Macrobius's Saturnalia and
Martianus Capella's encyclopaedic didactic novel ; and how: during
this process the Fathers of the Church unwittingly a~ted as

,
... ,\Vn. LJAM OF AllVEII.GNE, D. ,,,,,vlrso, I, I , ch. 46, p. 619 ill the Venice edll . of 1591, VOL. 1,
p . 6:;:; in the Orleans edn. of 1674: "sed qui ponulit Saturoo vel vim vel potentiam adiDvand i
et dirigendi vim intelle<:tivam humanam, nullo modo debellt ei attribuCl'e corruptionts aut
perversitates ipsius. nequ e inclinationem .ive extorsionem clulidem ad !raudes, dolos, astutias.
simulationes atq ne mendacia, sed haec omnia fieri in vi intellectiva per ineptitudinem .. .
et haec ineptitudo est ei a parte materiae. hoc est corporis ... cum Saturnus secundum cos
(i.e . astronomos) intendat dirigere et iIluminare virtutem inteUe<:tivam h UlD<lIlam ad ea
eognosccnda, quae re<:ta. et utilia, et interdum usque ad splendoretD prophetiae: impeditur
haec intentio eius et operatio a partee corporis. quocl anirnae illi coniunclum est ." With
this passage d. K . WaRN!,:R "Die Kosmologie und Naturlebre des scholastiscben Mittelalten
mit specielJer Beziehung auf Wilhelm von Conches", in SillUtlg5btridie del' kaiu,Uthetl
Aka<lemie <Iei' Wiu,,,selraJle,,, Phil.-hisi. Kraue, LXXV (1873). pp. 334 sqq.
'" Both th e older and the reo:;ent literature has lately been admirably dealt , with by F.
CIIISALBRTI, "L' 'Ovidius morali:r.atus di Pierre Bersuire," in Sludi romatlri. VOL. XXIII (1933),
PP5- 136 .

3l

SATURN IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

17

'

intermediaries by their polemics.139 We can see, too, how t he


tradition penetrated into the medieval encyclopaedias of Isidore
and Rabanus Maurus and into the late medieval Catholica,
Repertoria, Thesauri and Specula, while at the same time it began
to form an independent species of literature of a purely
mythological cha,racter,
It appears that some idea of the nature of Saturn himself
survived in northern countries even during the first thousand
years after Christ. The author of the Old English dialogue Solomon
and Saturn was certainly no humanist. Nevertheless, his work
is at bottom not so unclassical, for Saturn is made to begin the
debate with the words:
"Lo! of all the islands
I the books
have tasted,
have thoroughly turned over the letters,
the wisdom have unlocked
of Libya and Greece,
also the history
of the Indian realm.
To me the teachers
showed the stories

in the great book."14G


There we have before us Sat urn the omniscient, just as we
have encountered him in numerous sources ; and the fact that he
appears in the dialogue as 'King of the Chaldecs is not at. ~1l
unc1assica1 either. This is clearly an echo of the E uhemen stlc
tradition , according to which Sat urn was a king who came out
of the east.
But we encounter t his popular tradition of Saturn far less often
than the learned tradition taught continuously from Carolingian
times onward . Knowledge of it was transmi tted to the :--'Ti ddle
Ages mainly by the fifth-century allegorical writers, who had
already divested the classical gods of t heir reiigio lls character.
From these authors the way obviously leads stra ight to Petrarch
... A particularly interesting example of this kind (a COlTUp t pass B g~ from St_Au gusUne,

90urCe of a pictorial motif in the Cybel'" fresco in th e Pala zzo Schlfanola. Ferrara) ha$
been brou ght to light hy F . ROVG. ><ONT (A. Warburg, G~s. Sclrrifl ..,. VOL. II , LeipZIg 193 2 .

lIS

p. 64 1
... \Ve correct J. M. KE><SL' S tnrnslation . The Dialoc ue oj Salomo" .. ",/ S"~"";" l . l.ondon
J848, p . 134. For the 90urces of the notion of Sa t um in the O . E. dIalogue d . :\. \'0 :VINCENTS' " Die alt.englischen Dialoge von Solomon und Sa t urn " . in .\; ,,,; , 1. :... ~"I"'f' .:.it
roma"i.seloe" ....Ii mg/ilclrt1l Philowgie, X;O:XI ( 1 90~ ). pp. 8i - 105

S.-\TCR:\

J~

[11.

THE LITERARY TRADITlO:-i

I.

and J3occaccio. In the ninth century the most important


philosopher of the time, J ohannes Scot us, had writte~ . a
commen tary on Martianus Capella. He was followed by RemtglUs
of Auxerre who based his work on Scotus and other predecessors,
some of whom we do not know, as unfortunately he described
them only by their initialsl 4.l.; and Remigius's commentary became
of fi rstclass im portance for the Middle Ages. I '" Together with
the usual ancient authors, Servius, Macrobius, Martianus Capella,
Fulgentius, ] uvenal , Lucan, Cicero, and others, Remigius represents
the main source for the account of Saturn which was still accepted
by the great forerunners of the Italian humanists-that is to say,
t he account of Saturn in the so-called Mythographus III.
..\ typical protagonist of that proto-humanism which is a
worthy counterpart of the early Italian and Provenlfal Renaissance
movement 143 this author collected all the available material with
great schoiarship and in a clear genealogical arrangement. He
praises the philosophers who took the view that all the various
pagan gods were only "varia vocabtila", different descriptions of
the differ.ent manifestations of God's influence on the world. l "
He relates the myths and describes the portraits with all their
et ymological and allegorical interpretations, and, in so far as
certain gods were also planetary rulers, added astrophysical and
(though with visible scepticism) astrological observations as
'" DolO! lot. C"PPUY~S. je .... Scot E.i,i ..,. Louva.in 19J3. pp. 75 IIQQ .. ~d &1. L . W . L.\ISTNltlt.
" Martiallul Capella a nd his !\inth -Ce nh'f}' O;JmmentalolS". in n ..lIdln oj 1M joltn Ry/Qndl
Libt/..y. IX (19ZS). pp. IJ0-8. Cf. R. I(Ll8"NSKY. "The Roek of Pannenidef," M.A .R.S.
1, 2 (1943). pp. 18 1- 3

"" For the com mentary by Remigius. see Dox (:ApPUYl<s. op. cit.~ also M. M.o.lflTlIJS.
Hemigiuskommentare". in Nell(l5 A~t'\i" !U~ .wen uU:sw Gudic,\ull ..
VOl.. XLIX
(1932). pp. 17J-8J . Substantil.l portion. of the commentary were even tn.l1$Iated into
German (by Notker Labeo): lite JUl.'" ScHULTIt. Das Verhallnil POfI. Notll 1 N ..pliM Pllilo/QIiu
d Me",..jj Z"III J(o ......'nlo ' del R,miti .. s Afttiu'O/lOO'e"I'I. Mllnster i.W. 1911.

"Z ... ci

,.d,.

... For Ncci<am. see H. LlIlB UC Ii OU . Fulge .. /i .. s MehJ!IWol'i (Studien der Bibliothek
Warburg. VOl.. IV. 1916). pp. 16 "lq . I.nd M ....uo EsPOSITO. in E"Ilblo flisfrwi,tIJ Revi,w.
VOL. XXX (191.5). p . ~66. l\u R. W. Hunt'. r~arches have shown that Ncckam made eJ<ten.
, ive II$<'! of Myllt 0l.aplt ..1 III for hi, wmme ntary on Martianul CapeUa. bllt for tbia very
reawn there is no qu estion o f hi. being himself the author. The troe author. as Mias .
Rat hbon e.ha s . hown. i. Magister A lbericu. Londinensi c. 117<'; Se(: M~djaeval alld R~"ajn'Jllc.
St .. din. I ( 19~3) . pp. 35 .qq . and pp. 39 sqq.

... P.o''''' u", ; G. H . BoD8. S,.iploru rerl",' ...ylll~'" /al'n' I~u. Celie 183 pp. 1,2.
16 !qq. H e takes thi, Stoic doctrIne from S.tlVIUS. CO!II"'. i .. A,neid . IV. 6)8, alld
Rl!lUG[US', Com .... in /'.10.1 ch . v; d . R. RASCHKJI.. De Alberiw Mylle%p. B~ula,.'r
pltil4logi.u1ce AbllO lldl ....glft . XLV ([9 13). p. 13. Even NICHOLAS OP Ctlli .. de voted the whole
of ch. XXV o f his D. dfKlIJ igno. .. "I'O to the idea tbat "Gentiles DeUtn vane oomillabao.t
c:alllrarll m respectu" (etid. E . Hoffmann and R. Klibansky. Leipzig 1931. pp. ,2 sqq., ,nd
the list of SQUI'I for that chapter).

3)

SATl' RN

I~

M.EDIEVAL UTERATURE

'73

well,l-&5 He states, for instance, that the rising of Saturn always


signified sadness, and that he caused harm and was called a
"malicious god"; but he does not present arguments of his own,
and merely repeats the views of the "mathematici", as well as
those of many others. He does not range the planetary gods
according to their sequence in the cosmic system but according to
a purely genealogical scheme, and he is still far (rom moralising
them along specifically Christian lines.
Both these things were done, however, in a mythographical
preface to the Latin Ovide moralist, printed under the name of
Thomas Waleys but really written by the French theologian
Petrus Berchorius (Pierre Bersuire). the M etamorpJwsis Ovidiana
moraliter a magistro Thomas Waleys ... explanata, an outstanding
example of the art of Christian ising explanation ("literaliter",
"naturaliter", "historialiter", " spiritualiter" ). Its tendency, later
sharply rebutted by the Counter-Reformation,l46 was to liberate
the pagan myths from the rcmoteness of the study, to reconcile
them with the Christian view, and even to make use of them in
sermons, a t endency shared by Robert Holcot's approximately
contemporary Moratitates and John Ridewall's more ancient
Fitlget/tim metaforalis, used by Berchorius. This new tendency
naturally did not prevent Berchorius from also taking parts of
his interprctation, often word for word, from the tradition going
back to the early medieval commentary on Martianus. transmitted
to him by Mythographus III.
Petrarch had already used some of the statements in
Mythographus III, together with various echoes of original
Roman poetry, for his descriptions of the gods in his Africa;
his borrowings were dictated by purely artistic motives and
mould ~d into classical hexametersl47 ; and if it is significant that
a great fourteenth-century Italian poet should have pictured the
gods of his Roman forefathers with the aid of a compendium
put together entirely from works of the early Eastern Empire

... 0. Ipr instance the acwunt of Servin quoted on p. t 57. note 100, intl'odllcing which the
Mythograpber 1laY" "Nell a bborreas. quod iuxta atellarom ItatUI prospera nobis vel adveru.
dicantur 'destillari ; et fides eatboliea qllod .. ne le ntit. firml~ime ampleeta.tur. Gentilium
tamen opinio habet ... " (Myllcogt'lJpltus. //1. 9. 7).

'u As i. wcU knowl1. it was not Ovid'. text. bul the moralisat.ions 01 Ovid wh ich wen~ pla.eed
o n tbe Tridentine lnde.>: (el. Metropolita .. M,,,,w* SJ .. diu. IV (1933), pp. 276 II<Iq.).
In Cf. H . LIJ';BESCHtln:. FulgntJi .. , M,IIl!oralu (Studlen der Bibliolhek Warburg. VOL. IV.
Leiprig 1926). pp. 16 and .1 ~ and . for Petn.rc:h, principles of t.n.nl formation. E . P"'COI'Slty.
H"",Jts .'" S&Juiu...
(Studien d er Bibllothdt Warblll'l. VOL. XVIII , Leipz.ig 1<}30).

w"

174

SATURN I N THE LITERARY TRADlTlON

[II . I.

and from Carolingian sources, it is no less significant that a con~


temporary French theologian who by his own admission knew
t.hese magnificent, straightforward and in no way allegorical
hnes, shou ld yet have taken over the old clements from
M~h~graphus III and garbed them in the laborious prose of a
Chnsban allegory; for Berchorius borrowed various traits from
Petrarch 's descriptions, now scarcely recognisable among the
chaos of allegory.l4.8
About 1400 the pictorial content was sifted from the rubble
~d enriched with some fresh clements, whence e~erged the
Ltbellu.s de imaginibus deor1/,m,l&9 often quoted as "Albiicus"-an
unpretentious, but for that very reason unusually popular, hand~
book for "educated laymen", and, more especially, for creative
artists. The text laid special emphasis on the astronomica1
sequence of the planetary gods introduced by Berchorius.
Boccaccio's Geneaiogia deortmt, begun about 1350, retained the
genealogical arrangement of Mythographus III ; but it is significant
that despite aU its associations with the medieval tradition and
attitude of mind, it was the first to put forward scientific claims.l50
The material was " coJlated" and deliberately evaluatoo, rather
than merely collected; later sources were com pared with one
another and, if possible, measured against a "genuin~ ancient
core"- Boccaccio, not without pride, counted five authentic
Venuses and thirty~one authentic labours of Hercules, and he at
least aimed at re~estab lishing the link with Greek sources.1M
The chapter on Saturn was based mainly on such ancierit sources
as we have already quoted (Lactantius, Virgil and the rest) and
on the medieval tradition, that is to say, on Mythographus HI.
As well as these, he quoted a statement of Hermes Trismegistus,
that Saturn belonged to the completely wise, and he put forward
the highly peculiar theory of "Theodontius" concerning the stone
which was given to Saturn instead of Jupiter to devour. These
,. , C f . F . CIUS ... t.B KRTI, L 'Ovi,Jiul moraliutus' di Pierre Bet.uite

;OC:XIiI (1933), JlI'. )0

aqq. and

6.5.

in Studi , c... ~ .... i

'

'" Cf. the literature cited on p. 17J. note '4 3.

I.. Cf. the introduct ory chapter quoted by Ln:BtscHOTZ, op. cit., p. 21. note 33 : 'Qui
pnmlU apud gentiles de us habitus . it .. :. Bocx:accio deal, with Saturn in th. 1 ~ Book
""' (pp. 191 sqq. in the BasIc: edition of 1")2). Fo~ Boccace.lo. method of interpreting t he
myth~. _ C. C . Osaooo, B,,",,",o 0" Pod..,. Princeton '930, pp. :ttvil sqq . and the excellent
monograph by CARLO L.""01, D''''OK~K'''' . Palermo 1930.

den,,, ...

(The Modern
m Cf. E. H . WILKI"" TIl, UHi,,,,,i/y oICM",co MS 01111, C,",olop a
P hil ology Monographs). Chicago '927. th. II. The Greek quotations in the Gtlttalolia';
a lso L ... NOI, op. ci t., pp. 22 8'1'1.

SATURN I N MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

' 75

pseudo-classical citations alone gave the chapter a new character.


But the decisive thing is that Boccacdo endeavoured to identify
with one another the two worlds which we have already observed
approaching one another to a certain extent. As far as we know,
Boccaccio was the first mythographer to declare th at astrological
statements were worthy to be placed -beside mythological statements concerning Saturn. "But the fact that he is sad, aged,
with covered head, slow, dirty, and armed with a sickle, all applies
to the planet as well as to the person" (Saturn is here a "person"
in the Euhemeristic sense).162 The features which, as we saw,
originally came from mythology and, with others, fonned the
astrological picture, now reverted again to mythology. Thus it
is that Boccaccio comments on the predicateS of Saturn taken from
Mythographus III (that is, from the Martianus tradition) with
sentences taken from Abu Ma'sar describing the nature of the
children of Saturn.
With t he emergence of critical scholarship, the colourful world
of the Middle Ages vanished, though not in a moment . The
excellent studies of School and Seznec have drawn attention to the
great importance of mythological handbooks such as the myt hologies by Natale Conti and Villcenzo Cartari,l53 which are In('on
ceivable without their med ieval predecessors. The old material
still survived, too, in emblems and collections of allegoriesY'oI E~lt
from the moment L. C. Gyraldus's mythological handbook
appeared (in whir.h "Alhricus" was still quoted, though stigmatised
as "auctor proletarius"), I~ a model of serious scholarship was set ,
compared with which all previous efforts seemed fantastic and
unscientific. Gyraldus was certainly conscious of his new attitude.
as is clearly shown in the polemic against Boccaccio in his preface.
... Similarly (but luding from utrololJY t o mythology, and nOl vice "erQ \ the pal!-ll@t
quoted in .,xt.,1l$O on p. 187 (t.,xt) from Bartholomacus ."nl l;clls: " plan.,ta ma br>I",
ponderoslls, d ideo in fabulis senu d.,p;ngitur:
... V.

CAII.TA~I.l.# I~";

Jt; dti d"I;

,,"'i~IIi.

V.,niec IH6. LSI" , cdlt io"s mcnllr.r<l Dr


1.,lIr dif!uslon en :\ ngl,,' c~.e '" \1i!~""tI
dAT"'lolog;~ d dJ/i$loi,e. L (19))), p. 281. Th., Latin tran,lalion of V.,mcnl1S "U un
ICrUpulolisly IIIed;n JOA CHIM S ... 100IlART. l c .... ologia d,o T..." , :-:uremberg 1680_ F<>r mrlho.
logical handbooks. ct, F . L. ScHonL, "I..es mythologiste. itallcn. de la R.. na' '' ~r.ce Ct 1&
pob:ie ElisaMthaine. in Rev", d, lill/'/lt"., ",mp"'/', I" (1\l2 4). pp. 5-1). a r.d the ume
a uthor '$ tludt$ $"~ 1"11""''''''5''''' ,,,,,li..,,,I/I/ ,II AHl lole.n d: la fi ll d. 10 R,,,,"nQ",,. P .. n~ 1,).6
(Bi blioth~ue de fa Revue de littenture compar~, VOl.. xxtx).

J. S EZI<EC,"t.es m&nuels mytholO(iqu es ita litns.,t

'04 Cf. MA~IO p~AZ. Sludi~


MANDaWS"V,

Ri,u"',

i" S"t,,/ItHIAC,"lu,y fm/lllTy. IIOL I, London 19jO, anI! E


di C,s"'e Ripa (La Bibllotllia, XLI I. F !o.c"cc 10)<;.

j,,/<mw "I/' hOllolo,j"

, .. L . G. CVRALO I1$, D, .lei. ,'Hlili..... varia tI m ..lt;plu II;Slo,;a, B;ule 1348.


from "A lbncus' in L. G. GYR.~LOtJ S, Oplra, Lrons 1690, \'OL . I, col. 15j.

Th., inu"!!"

1,0

(II .

S."-TU R:-: 1:-: TilE LITERARY TR.'\.DITIO X

I.

ThN~

Gnuldlls speaks of Boccaccio with great respect as a man


of dilige;lcc, intelligence and culture, a man of l~tters far ahe~d
of all other 1talian prose writers. But BoccaCCIO was no Latm
scholar let alone a Greek one. He, Gyraldus. could not understand I;ow some people valued Boccaccio's G~n~awgia S? higl~y
as to quote it as an authority or e\'en to write comm~tanes on It.
On sc ientific grounds he disapproved of BoccaCClO s profound
speculations O\'er the primeval god Demogorgon, wh~ name
lllUSt not be known . Widely though he had sought, this Demogorgon was nowhere to be found, "nowhere, I say. did he ap~~:"
("nusquam Demogorgon iste, nusquam, inquam , apparUlt ).
Gyrald us d iscovered the solution : 'Demogorgop" was only a
corruption of 'Demiurgos'.IH
This example is t ypical of the critical tum which Gyraldus
gave t o the history of mythography. It is true th~t his work
was fu ndamentally no more than an assembly of views from .&
great variety of ancient au thors concerning different gods, their
portraits, and their type of worsliip. Nowhere was an attempt
made to build up t hese views into a general picture or to give a
consecutive account of their development from the earliest authors
onwards. A~cording to Cicero, for instance, Saturn was the son
of Coelus, but according to Fulgentiusl~7 he was the son of Poll.ux:
and both statements appear side by side with no connCXlon.
But this very fact reveals Gyraldus as an aut hor on the threshold
of a new, phi lological and critical epoch in the history of classical
studies. Men sought to avoid the short-circuits of earlier combinations and to limit themselves to collecting only classical
material-Latin and, above all, Greek texts, or occasionally
inscriptions-ignoring .. Albricus" and the uncritical blunderings
of medieval commentators such as Berchorius.
This mythographica1 literature is particularly important f~r
the history of the notion of Saturn; in the first place because ~t
provided scholarly material for the rest of literature, and a basiC
form for pictorial ar t ; secondly, in that, being uncontroversial,
unsuperstitious, conservative and devoted to etymology, it represented Saturn without bias of any kind, handing d own to posterity
a complete and variegated portrait.

,_""U;II.

1M CI CARLO
IJu"OfO"IOU. Palermo. 1930 : also M. CUTELA If< , " Dbnogo'10n ou
Ie barbolmme d,,1i6" in B,IIIullft d, f Au"'..,;.... G.. ;u.. ....... B"" . 36. July 1931. pp. 21 tqq . :
BocCAa:IO, 0P"'" pp. 118 tqq. in the 1,6.5 edn.

I FnGltiTI U5. ""yIlIDl~IU. I, 3 ~ , ed. R. Hclm, Lc;pzi! 1898. !lP'

I,

tqq.

31

SATURN IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

I77

In Fulgentius, Saturn was already the god of fruit and seed,


and his covered head, for instance, was explained by the fact
that fruits were shadowed by their leaves: he was also the god of
time devouring his children (as "all-devouring" Time) , while the
question was left open whether the sickle, too, because of its
circular shape, was a symbol of time or only a harvesting implement; and finally he was the Neoplatonic universal spirit which
made a..q things (in accordance with the later oft-repeated
etymology, "Saturnus quasi saur-nus") . So it went on, with the
inclUsion of more and more sources. In Mythographus nil"
Satum is still the god of sowing. and of time; but as we have
seen, he was ,also represented as a planet bringing cold and
moisture, and acting, "according to the 'mathematici'," as a
"malicious god" : the attribution to him of a sickle meant that
he, like a sickle, could cause ha rm only by a backward movement.
In fourteenth-century Christian interpretations the ancient rural
god could appear as "Prudcntia" (as in Ridewall),UfI and as the
personification of a higher ecclesiastic grown grey in sin (as in
Berchonus); as well as tills, a typical example of his polarity,
he could be taken as the model of a pious and upright prelate
who busied himself on the one hand with feeding the JX>Or, on
the other with devouring his wicked children "by way of correcting
them". Furthermore, still according to Berchorius, he was an
example of the tyrant who subjugated the state by guile or force,
a personification of the sin of greed, and fmally 3. shocking example
of the inevitability of divine providence, since not even the
devouring of his children could shield him from the fate that
threatened. hirn .1I0 These were merely the " spiritual" interpretations, interpretations envisaging a strictly moral application'
...

MytJt~trlJp/lI<S

lIl . I, 3 8qq. , In C. H . Boos, ScriPkwu

~n1I '"

",ytJtiClUlt'" ltJlift, Irw.

Cdle 1834, pp. 153 .qq.

... Ct. H. UEB II$CJl OTI. F"'I",/iou M'~f~~"'"" (Studien du B;blinthek W.rb\lr,. VOL. IV,
pp. 71 sqq.: ef. also F . S AXL In F,uld rift fUr j ..u .., St.AJI" ~' Zil rich 19z6, pp. 104
tqq. Hcnu, the covcn:d bead of the a llelcnt nges l. Inkrpreted bere as a sign of the bonour
they ~y to intellect, and t he lickle il Intellect'. IoCe ptre. btling curvcd back upon itsclf to
show hOw tbe inteUigent man "nmDet ad 1M! polI!lt a tlrall ere et panem potumque sapienli ...
cunc tislarg;""imc miuistrare." etc.
t9~6) ,

M'I'ltJ_p"~,il O,,'di/l"IJ. ",~,,,,"'/4r .. MlI.fi, 'rll TAo,"" W..I.y, . . . UPltJ,,4113, lois. ii'
tqq. in the Paris cdn. 0 1 1.5 1.5. In all th_ C&t4!t. 01 coune, each individual trait h .. a
corrcsp,:mdin, interpretation, C&ltration. lor Inttance, preY;nsln thc cas.e nl the "cvil pastor"
that "tilta vol upta.. au! iD am&ritudlnem conyert!tur": i n the cas.e of the "good puto."
that ".ttlCl bani pcel.a.ti IOlent . . ambitiot.b .ubditis inft'lltarl" : In tbc cas.e of the "tyrant"
that like Ihall be rendered for like, ~ in the CUB 01 gluttony that thila generates lust ...
Satum', castrated member cencnted \'cn ..., etc.

."

,
178

SATURN IN THE LITERARY TRADITION

ElI. I.

Besides t hese, Berchorius, sUU interpreting every trait, dealt


with Saturn "literaliter" as a star, "naturaliter" as time , and
"historialiter" as the exiled Cretan king of Euhcmeristic belief.
In Gyraldus all this has vanished, with t he exception of the
contradictory but untainted tradition which could be substantiated
from the classical authors.
(iii) Saturn in Medieval Astrology: Astrological Elements adopted
by Scholastic NalHral P}u'losOPhy
If, as we have seen, it was not till about 1 2 00 tha t we again
come across Ambrose 's idea of associating the seven planets with
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, this is mainly due to the fact that not
until this time did a situation again arise comparable with that of
the Patristic epoch. Just as the Fathers had had to settle accounts
\\'ith a still virulent astrology, so the theologians of the twHfth and
thirteenth centuries had to take their stand against a revival of it ;
and Doth Alexander Neckam and Berthold of Regensburg make
t his position clear. Both protest with polemical clarity against
the view that the stars can detennine the human will and therefore
human destiny (in the ethical sense), and they restrict this' influence
to the world of natural phenomena. As Berthold of Regensburg
says:
They (the stars] have power over trees and over vineyards, over foliage
and grass, over plants and roots. over corn and all things that bear seed,
over the birds of the air and over the beasts of the field, and over the fish
of the sea and over the worms of the earth ; over all this and over everything
which is under the sun, hath our Lord given the stars dominion, save over
one thing only; thereover hath no man dominion or power, neither star
nor root nor stock nor stone nor angel nor devil nor none save God alone;
He Himself will not either, He will have no power over it. That is, the
free will of man : thereover hath none power, save thee thyself. I I I
Apart from a few exceptions,162 the warfare of the early Church
had actually succeeded in reducing astrology for hundreds of
ItO DKJl.YHOLO VON REGKN Sll URC. StNOlO'IS. ed. F. Pfeiffer, VOL . I. Vienna 1862, p. ,50.
Similarly in Nltcx.ul. V .... /w.i, ~t ....... , ed. cit., pp. 39 aqq : " Absit a utem, ut ipso. aliqullm
inevitabilis oecuaitatis legem in Inferiora !tOrtlri ceose.a mlli . Volo ntu enim diviua ceniuima
est rerum causa et prirnitiva. elli nOD 1I01um p lanetae pa=ol. sed et omnis D;Iltu... ereata.
So:.ie ndum etiam ... t qllod. Heet .uperio .... corpora effectu. quo-.larn campl .... nt in inr...-ioribu .
liberum tamen arbitrium a nimae non impelluot in uUam nece!lSitatem hoc vel iIIod
exequendi ... : ' See a bove, p. 166. note 121.

... Cf. the decree. o f Bi.tlops Burchard of Wornu and h 'o of (harteH (q uoted' in W XD.L,
M .A .A., pp. 30 aqq .) against astrologk:al praetiee$ on oceasion.li ke marriages, agriculrural
un dertaltings. etc.

SATURN IN MEDIEVAL I. ITERAT URE


31
I79
years to a state of complete unimportance in practical Church
politics, SO that it merely fanned a theme for theoretical discussions.
Between Il20 and n80 a comprehensive body of astrological
doctrine of the later Empire and of the east became available
to the west through translations from the Arabic. But even
earlier, in the tenth century, there existed a copy- now in Parisof the Li bel' AlchandN philosoplzi, which brought later Greek
doctrines back to the Latin west via the orient and was copied
continually until the fifteenth century, and later went into pri nt.163
In the tenth century at the latest, therefore, the notion of
children of Saturn came back to Europe with "Alchandrinus".
Those born under Saturn were dark, broad-shouldered, rOllndheaded and sparsely bearded . They were t hieves; t hey were
loquacious; they were persons who said one t hing with t heir
mout h but thought another in their heart; they nourished resentment, they were sons of the devil, they were miserly on th eir own
soil, rapacious abroad,l64 and so on. Admittedly there were few
people in the early Middle Ages capable of making the observations
necessary for casting a horoscope ("cumque tamen a pallcis hoc
iugiter possit observari", says our author).I6:i For th at reason
t he early medieval doctrine was based on ascertaining the star
of birth from the numerical value of a person 's name-the name
was divided by seven, and if five remained the person was a child
of Saturn.
The revival of mythological elements had taken plnce early,
then, and astrological practice had become so simplified that these
elements could be used in foretelling the future. The theologica l
compromise with astrology, however, did not take place until the
twelfth century, when Spain and Southern Italy had familiarised
the west with the works of the great masters Ptolemy and Ai)li
Ma'sar. For men such as Adelard of Bath, who were m Spain
during the full bloom of this translating activity, "those higher
and divine beings [the planets] are both 'principium' and 'causae'
of lower beings."lll This thoroughgoing adoption of ast rological
UI Cf. A. VAN DB VYVBR, " Les p!Ut andenn es tTldu ction. btlnu m~(h,h'a!~ I X' '' ~ XI '
siklet) de t:n.itb d'astrooomie ct d'u!Tologie, ,. in Onm I {19]6). pp. 689....91 . R l,hbcn5;;\
discovered Nicholas of Cuta. eop)' of t he Libn AI~lIa .. dl pJ"'OUp~ I u: Lond o:'l. Ikl: . :.!,,~
Harleian MS 5402.
I.. Paris. Bib\. Nat. MS lat. 11868 101. 10 '.
, .. Pari., Bib!. Nat. MS. lat. 11868 101. S.
,,, H . WILLHXR, "Des Adldud von & t b r .... kta.t 'De eadem et dwerw " , HI Btit .i:r :,,,
Geu/lidl4 tiP' PllilO'''i'Ili. 4ts !.!ilkblle" . IV, I . MUnst er ' 90]. p. ]2, 10 : "S"perior" qUIP?e .!!a
diviD~ue animalia inferiorum oatllraru m et prindpium et Gausae I UM "

180

(u .

SATU RN IN TH E LITERARY TRADITION

I.

bciirf \\'as criticised by Abailard ~nd Willi~ ~f Co~;hes.


,\l'ailard's criticism starts from the nahan of the accIdental, the
.~
.
IW b
"contingcns" of Boethius's commentary on Ari~to t e.
yone
wh o promised by means of astrology to acquIre knowledge of
fUlUrc contingent events, which were unknown even to Nature
herself , should be regarded not as an ast ronom?r but as a servant
of the devil. 1GS And it was not merely the logtcal conseq uen~e of
_-\ bailard's clearly-drawn distinction when Hugo of St Vl~tor
distinguished between two types of astrol~gy in his Di~asc~le,on.
One, the natural kind, was concerned with the conshtutt~n of
earthly bodies which changed according to the heavenly bodleswith (for example) health , sickness, good and bad weather,
fertilit\ and barrenness. The other kind of astrology was concerned' with fut ure contingent events and with matters of free
will and this last type was superstitious. 169
\Yilliam of Conches's treatment of astrology was similar in
lendenc\" but fundamentally different in method PO He distinguish"cd three ways of regarding the heavenly bodies: one
mythological ("fabulosa"), concerning the n~es of the stars ~d
the fables associated with them ; one astrological, concerned wIth
the motions of the heavenly bodies as they appear to the eye;
and one astronomical, which inquired not into the apparent, but
into the real motions of the heavenly bodies.l7l Without expressly
emphasising it, William of Conches made it clear in the course
of his exposition that these three methods were not mutually
exclusive, but might, properly understood, each express the samt:
truth in their several ways. Saturn, for instance, who was
discussed at greater length than the other planets, was characterised from the astronomical point of view as the planet furthest
away and with t he longest course- Hfor that re~on lle is

,,' "Contingens autem secundum Aristotdieam senteutiam e&t. quodcumque aut <;wUS
lerl aut ex libcro cu iu.libct arbiuio et propria \'oluntate venit aut ~acHitau. naturae I~
\ltTamque paTtern redire possibile e$t, ut fiat lCilicet et non fiat.: BoI:~HI~S. Ce>m"'....
;11 libr"m ...trillollSiI nfpl rPP'lOCU6, ~nd ed n . III , 9. ed. C. Metlw:r, Lelp%l g I SSo. p. 190,

ta"'

sqq.
I .. AO"'IUM D.

E~polili() '" Hu-<u",eroN. 0 p"'''. ed.

V.

Cousin, Paris 18~9-59, VOL.

I,

p . 6~9 sq.

10' ABAlLAItO. l OC o cit .

, ... The historical con text of William 01 Conclle&. natural philOllOphy will be mofe clearly
understood when his commentary on Plato', Tlm aeus will be available in the (ArptLs PIAto" ,-",,1ft
/.fldii Awi.
," P/l,ilOloplli". n , 5 (MIG"Z, P. L., VOL. CU<XlI, col. 59"'-B); Dr"g"'At~. III ("Dialogul do

t ubsta ntiis physids a VuHhelmo Aneponymo," Strubourg 1567, pp. 70-1 1).

SATURN I N MEDIEVAL LITERATURE


lSI
3J
represented in the myths as an old man ."I72 The quality of cold
attributed to him by the astrologers was based on their observations, according to which the sun lost warmth when in a certain
conjunction with Saturn. From the cold resulted the quality of
harmfulness, especially prominent when he reversed his course,
and this discovery again had found mythical expression in the
image of his carrying a sickleP3 Here, as elsewhere, William
endeavoured, in a manner reminiscent of the Stoic interpretation
of the myt hs,m to sift the core of physical truth from both the
"fa1?les" and the doctrines of the astrologers.
In connexion with the discussion on Saturn, William propoupded a series of questions whose treatment was particularly
characteristic of his attitude to astrology. In his Philosophia as
well as in the Dragmaticon written some twenty years later, he
rais~~ the objection: "If stars are of a fiery nature how is it possible
that some can engender coldness?" In the earlier work he puts
forward at this point a theory of physics by means of which men
had previously attempted to resolve this difficulty. The nature
of fire comprehended two qualities, light and heat, of which Ule
second could manifest itself only through a medium, namely
"density and moisture". As evidence of this, the sun gives
more heat in valleys thaD. on tops of mountains, where snow
does not melt- although the mountain~tops are nearer to the
sun . William does not immediately accept this explanation, but
endeavours to resolve the doubt by making a 10gica1 distinction
between different meanings of the statement. Saturn is ca1led
cold not because he is inherently cold himself but because he causes
cold. As to the second question, how it was possible that a hot,
or at any rate not-cold, star could generate cold, William leaves
that unanswered in the Phitosophia, as transcending the bounds

IT. "Unde in fa-buI ll senu: fingitw." Plliklu>plIi" II, 17 (MIGN8. P. L., VOL. CU.XII, col. 6., B
tmended aCC(lrd ing to Oxford, Bodleia.D Library. MS Bodley 679); Dragm..tkoft, IV
(Strasoourg edn. 0 1 1567, p. 99) .

on "Haec eadem ttella ex frigiditate d id tur nociva., et maxlme quando est retrograda:
IInde in fabulis dicitllr falc:cm deferro". P1I1l0$6p1li6. II. '7 (MIGN.I:, P. L., VOL. CLXX". col.
638); d. Dr"gm"l;u", IV (ed. cit., p. 102). In L. THOIlMDlkII:, A Hi&/QIy of Mop, ,,"4
E~p.ri_l..J Sdflll', VOL. II , I,.(Indon 19l3. p . 57. the lDeaning or the atntence "Didtur Jupiter
patrem Satumum expullue, quia Satumo vici niQT factus natu,.}em noc:ivitau.ID ei a ufert"
It inadvertently revened. For the special role whieh this astrological ioterpntation 0 1 tbe
Saturn-J upifer mytb played .in the R~oc:e. see below. pp. 271 sq., 326 sqq. (text).
,,. Cf: esp. SVIUI, CO,"HU1It. ;" Virgil. G_giu , I, 336 (CO"' .......' .. rii i" Yngilii ' 0'"""" ,
VOL. Ill, edd. G. Thilo a nd 1:1. Hagen, Lelpdg 18,8, p. 201), whOle doctrine Willi&m modified.
in :to ch,racteristic manner.

[II.

S .... TURN I N THE LITERARY TRADlTlON

I.

of his knowledge.175 In his later work , however, he attempts to


solve this problem with the help of the physical theory, merely
mentioned in the Philosophia, of fire's two qUalities; but even
here his critical mind will not allow him to see more than a possible
hypothesis in this explanation. He now puts forward yet another
possible solution, also derived from the logical distinction between
the meanings of this statement : Saturn is credited with cold not
because he is cold in himself or because he causes cold , but because
he signifies cold. Ii.
By this suggestion , even if so far only tentatively., another
factor was int roduced, or rather revived, in med ieval expositions
of astrology : as in Neoplatonism, the stars were not active forces
but symbols.
This view of the planets as symbols was forcibly expressed in
a recently discovered commentary on Macrobius's explanation of
Cicero's Somllin1ll SciPio1lis,177 based on William of Conches.
Quoting Plotinus, the writer states that the planets do n'ot bring
men either good or ill fortune, but indicate that good or ill fortune
will come to themP' His real intention is to distinguish between
the domain of planetary influence and that of human free will.
He parts company with Ptolemy, who had acknowledged the
dependence of some human actions on the stars, and he emphasises
strongly that though men's predispositions come under the
influence of the stars, yet their various actions do not, lor it is
Jeft to their own free will to develop these predispositions for
good or eviJ.17t The view "inc1inant astra, non necessitant" IS

' ''' PMlolO/,lria. II . '7 (MIG!'!!, P. 1_ , VOl..

It. D."""litOIl, Iv (St",bourg ed n ., pp.

CI-XX II .

eol. 6)A).

99- ' 0~) .

"Salumu l ig itu .... Ilui lIOn I ii Irl& id." ,


frigus tamen ceneral . Vel Ii Salumum nee: 1ris idum esse nee: lriaul fac:eTe con tendis ; die.
quod fn,." non facil Kd .ianifiea l. Unde propter iUud quod slanifieat. frigid ll' dlcilur"
(ed. cit., pp. 101- 1. emended aa:ocdinll to Ox lord. Bodleian Ubnlry. Diahy MS I , 101. .,., ").

,n This commentary, whkh appears in a tt.ri~ o f MSS o f the twelft h to fourteenth nlurle.
(e.g. CopenhaStn , CI. Kg!. S. 19 10 ; Bamberg J IV2 1 dass. i O; Berne '1.66) . will be tbe , "bJec:t
01 a specia.l ~per. R.K
0;0

IT'MS Ber ne 216 101. I''' : " . . . ut apparel.!. qual;s est ratio P Lotini. ponit earn; quae
tali. est , quod plnnctae non ton(erun! hom\n;bll' Jlrospcra vel a dversa, led significant prosper.
vel adversa homlnibu. eventura. Unde. qll ia utraque stella , Solis !leilicet ct Lunae, signu m
elt boni eventUI. d lel tur u. llltaris; lteILac vern Satumi et Martis terribiles dicuntur, ideo
quia Soli coniunclae in .liquo slano IU nl lign um mali eveotWl: '
n . Ibid .: "sic PtolomlelU et cl us sequ.ces volebant actul hominu m proveniR u: effectu
p'-netarn m. nQfl tamen omnes. q uia .clllum .m naturales. alii voIll ntari i. llii ~ualCf . . .
VOh.mUI tameo aetu l hominom non provenire u: .. Recto planctarum. sed aptitudiuCf aClUlion
ct huma norum olficiorum . . .. Nam minime voIum.,s quod planetu con lerant hoonlnibul
scient iam , divltiu, e l huiusmod i, sed apl itudines ipsas."

SATURN IN MEDI EVAL LlTERATURE

r,

here clearly anticipated . The stars have dominion only over the
physical realm , the actions of men are outside their power.leo
William of Conches provides the metaphysical basis for this
division of spheres of influence by adopting Plato's explanation,
according to which the formation of the body is left to the spirits
and stars "created" by God, the soul, on the contrary, being a
direct "creation" of God.l8J
This drew a new theological boundary, and though the intention
with which it was drawn was certainly hostile to astrology,le:! the
result meant a decisive victory for the new doctrine.
For all the scientific and astrological knowledge that reached
the west between Abailard and the later scholastics, theology had
altered very little in its attitude towards astTological fatalism.
Naturally the data were better differentiated than in the old ?ays ;
a whole fresh arsenal lacking to their predecessors was available
to thirteenth-century theologians for discussion pro and contra.
St Thomas Aquinas, for .instance, considers it a possible result of
stellar influence that one doctor is more gifted than another, one
peasant better at growing things than another~ or one warrior
better adapted to fightin g (though the perfection of ~ny s~ch
aptitude was due to Grace).I83 But though Thomas .-\qulnas ~ L m
self thought he could go so far as to consider that the st ar~ nl1g l~ t
exert an indirect influence on the intellect,IS-I yet he, hkc 1\15
'''I bid.: " Nlmqlle planetae in tHT11 d In aquil vi vel potC$. ate operallt:;, nc
homi num DeCIDe vi aeque potestate aliquid operantur."

,;"I

an:!'",

.11 " Uode MaiO dicit o..um creatorem Itellis et Ipintlbul a se creatls cllram lo rmand :
hominis iniecn.e. if4l1m vero anlmam lec.lMe" ; PAiloso/,AI". IV. 3l r.-hGS E. P . L.. 'OL. CLXXII.
eol. 98c, emended looording to lot S Bodley 679, and the Bule edn . o f 1 H I . "'Phll~phlcarll m
et astronomiearulU institutionum Cumelmi Hirsa ugiellsil olim Ilbbaul lib.. Ires, fol .. 3 .).

,.. This trend il particularly notic..llbl, il one compares WiIli,m ', " Titings ....,t h. the D,

...."uti UIIIJIiI .. ti0ll6. Thi, cosmoJo&y, printed among Bede's ...o.\,;s bll t reaUy "Tl tt en br
one of William'l Immediate predeeeuors (M IGN . P. L .. VOL. xc. eol s. 381 sqq., falKlr
attributed to th" nintb century by P. DUNIl)! (Le slrll"" 4" ,,"o.. dr. VO L. Ill, Pan, 191~.
p. 81. I.lld mistaken lor an as trolog ical ext....ct from Mlrtianu. Ca Pf'lla br L. TKOII.SDIt.:1!
and P. KIll"', A CII14/0,," of II1,ipil$ .. . , Cambridge, Man . 193i. col. ~z l) ad op ts uno
logical d octrinCi unreservedly .
... Tbe main RleRneCl to s tella. loR lle ncClare: Sli m."" T Alol.. 11K 1, qu 11 5. IIrt 3 and 4 '
5"""",," tOHI'4I,lIIilu, BK Ill, 8a !!qq.: " In qlubus homo pot u . hciu u. ; Wdl<:IO ~"ro:"m
(~ .. ". XV II, ed . P. Mandonllet. Pari, 19Z7, VOL. III. pp. 1~ <1 sq.). Cf.~. C " o:~ S "'ItI,
5. Tiro,."., "A,..." " 1',,,jtlU"" 4" .,h" , Puil ' 926; C . CUl lt I LU . ~.T . d A. " I ~nil~ ..,
genetliaeo delle I teU,,", in Ci"l1~ C4/10/it" , IV (19'1. 7). p. ) 03-3 16:. \\ .. Sc KOt.LGtS, Oer
ant.bropolocisehe Sinn der astrOlOSlschen Schicksalsdeuillng . . 1m \\ el t bdd d..sThoma. , on
Aqnino", In PlrilwoplriuJul lalr.b.'" tleo- C~.u GISlIlJdI4/', XLIX (1936;, pr ,n~-J' Tl:f
piLSSOlg ... qlloted here are taken from book III. !i 92 of the 5"",,,,.. ' 0":'" I'''/I.e!

... S .. "' ..... 'OIIlr. ,_til". OK III. 84'

l S4

SATURN IN THE LiTERARY TRADITION

SATUR~

[II . I.

successors. even tually comes to the conclusion that man's will is


not subject to the stars. " For t hat reason ," St Thomas remarks,
" the astrologers themselves say that the wise man commands the
st ars , in so far as he commands his passions," and be exhorts
enn ' Christian to regard it as quite certain that what depends
on n'lall'S will is not subject to t he exigencies of the stars.1M
\\'c must now return once more to the development of the
idea of nature in the t welfth century, and introduce another
group o f thinkers for the completion of our picture- namely,
admirers of astrology like Adelard of Bath. We have alr~a.dy
ment ioned his doctrine, according to which the upper and diVIDe
beings, that is, the slars, are ~th the ~rincip~e and the cause of
lesser natu res. The enthusiastic tone U\ which Adela rd speaks
of the stars shows that he and his contemporaries have alr~~dy
found a wa" back to the belief in the power of the stellar spmts.
Atlelard's English successor, Daniel of Morley, succumbs iImost
completely to fat alism. He consid~rs tho~ who deny the power
and activity of the heavenly mohons as unpudent f~ls. Man
can foretell future adversity but cannot entirely escape It ; n~ve.r
t hcless, he will bear his burden more easily if he knows o~ It ill
advance.16G Daniel of Morley and others linked the remams of
Latin tradition with the new Arabic doctrine,l81 and so we find

. " 5"""".. T~."l. , OK I. quo ".5, art , 4 : 01'0<$' ..11.... XVI! (<:ited abo ... e, not~ ~83) . The
sentence quoted e.g. in the Ro'"'''' drl" /101": "S8 pie"s homo dominatuf IIlIt.hi ." p~b&bl~
based ultimately on a passage in Pseud o-Ptolemy (d. PSI;UOOPrOI.BMY, C, nhl"'l ..lw.... 8.
"",nim:!. aa pienl 8diu ... at opu s stellaru m"), a<:(:()rdi ng to which the learned astrologer <:8n
percel ... e whether the stellar inn uencea permit human counter-action or not {SBC , S"""~,,.,
Sut for St Thomas the ""homO u piens"" was no longer the astrologer but the CbTll'ltian
p. I ",
11 ._"
' tb _ ... to maHen
endowed
with f~e will , who can the~lore oppose any ste a.r 'Dllueuce WI "'r.- ~
afleeting hi' IOUI. In Gower (see below, p. 194, note 2~7) he becomes the hnmbl.e and devout
n .....},o au.empts to 5&, 'e himsetl by prayer. aad ID R enaissance an thon, Ill... Fico de~
~ndol . he he>me5 the man who, thanks to his inherent dignity, and independently of his
rellgiou. attit ud<'!. is above the power 0 1 the I tan.

in,.ri_. .

II. O"l< IBI. OF MORl,.EY, LillI#" d" ""turil


d J"~ ,", ed. K . SudhoB (.-'rebiv
fli r d ie Gesehichte der Naturwissenschalt nnd der T echnik, VIII), Leipzig 19 17, p . 34 For
th e Ptole rn.uc backgrou nd, d . BSG. St,,,,,,I....b,, p. 166.

"' \ d 1 rd of Bath was certai nly one 01 th e lirst to be 18miliar with tho new material in
Arab;c ~:"'logy; he himself worked on two ~trolog~caJ trea wes by Arabic authors (ef.
C H . H"SKIl<S, 5! ..dw i n III, Hj~tory 0/ M , duuo.l !X'ffl<'. znd edn. Ca mbridge 19 27, ~.
z~ and )oJ . In his own works, h owcver, we ha ... e 10 !.ar found no tracll 01 the use 0 1 Arabic
t Iog 'cal doctrinC1. Abu Ma'yr was used in the lIOuth of Franco lroro about 1140 on
::"::. (~.g. R.\VMOl<O OF M...... Sf;.ILLB. D" ' ..,J" pIOMI",..,", Corpus Christi College, Oxfo~d,
, _"
1- ' ,,", . and .,,,U:nsive u ... both o f thi. author and 0 1 other ,.-cat uuologen h l<e
......... 24J ...
I'
'
D
Me.sahall is found in the main work "Tit~en by Abil Ma'iu s translator, H laMAW"Us AUtATA,
D. ,'UN';;S (lor Saturn d. Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Codex 243. fot 105").

IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE

in Daniel of Morley the familiar series of gifts: from Saturn men


receive slowness, from Jupiter moderation, from Mars anger, and
so on. l86 But he also describes, "according to the Arabs", the
nature which UlOse born under Saturn receive : corresponding to
the nature of the god, it is dark, coarse and heavy, and so we
agai~ come face to face with the familiar picture of Saturn's
children, who are melancholy and miserly, and speak one thing
with their tongue and another with their heart; they are solitary;
they. work the inheritance of their fathers and forefathers ; they
are silent and dull, and when they know something they do no t
{orgi t it easily- and so on .1611
In the main work of one of the most important writers a
generation before Daniel of Morley, Bemardus Silvestris's treatise
on Macrocosm and Microcosm, the vivid picturing of the planetary
divinities is carried still further. He goes so far in his belief in
the power of the stars that he includes not only the rule of Pope
Eugenius but even the Incarnation in the list of events announced
by the stars.1II0 Bemardus's description of Saturn is perhaps
the most vivid of all. Here Saturn ap pears as the wicked old
man, cruel and despicable, constantly watching over women in
labour so as mercilessly to devour the new-born infant. How
powerful the demoniac notion was can be seen by the fact that
the poet was able to give it a new image without in any way
departing from tradition. Saturn is here the reaper, whose sharp
sickle destroys all that is lovely and bears blossom: he lets no
roses or lilies flow er, and cannot bear fructification . 1n only
one respect is he worthy of veneration, in that he is the son of
eternity, the father o f time. 11ll
Gilson has attempted to prove in a lucid and instructive essay
that Bernardus Silvestris 's cosmology conformed essentially to
tradition.m Bemardus certainly was not an arbitrary thinker,
and the originality of his statements lay more in manner than
. .. DA"IEL OF MORI,.IY. op.

cit., p. 36,

"Ibid.

U. BBaN"P.()US

S II. ... UTII;I S,

De .... iv. ",.... di,

edd.

Baraeh and Wrobel. p . 16.

m B i;RNAIIDUS S II. ... II$T al$. D...niv. "".Ndi, ed. cit., pp. 41 tqQ

... E. ' G ILSON, Lo cos""'/0t'_ u B""""d~ 5,ltI'$t""

(Arch ive$ d 'histoir. doctrinal., et


lltthaire du moyen 19l1. VOL. III , Pu;, 1928). pp . .5-24. In h is endeavour to present Bernard',
wo rk as essentially in thll ChristilLD tradition Cibon mUlI.nder.tanWi itlll poeuliaritics just LS
milch as previous sc:holarl did when they emphasised tile unchristian character of the D"
.....""i " .. i ...... ilat'. The ptC:uliarity of thl$ work (as de tailed 1LI1&Iya;. ahows) lies rather I..
the continual use of Humetic: doctrines combined with thOle of Ptato-Ch&lcidius, and in the
attempt to incorporate them in the stn>ctore of Christla.o. o;olmology.

186

SATUR N I N THE LITERARY TRADITIO N

[ II. I .

It was a powerful religious and poetic imagination


which could regard Saturn as Death the Reaper, and transform
an antiquated demon into a medieval figure of dread.
For that reason Bcrnardus's work long retained its power of
direct suggestion. Towards the end of the century Alanus ab
Insulis painted a picture of Saturn similar to Bemardus's; and
though determined main1y by the negative characteristics given
in astrological texts (cold, dryness, age, avarice, darkness. silence,
pain, tears, injustice, horror and sorrow). it is remarkable and
impressive for the antithetical language in which it is rendered ,
such language as is not found in the description of the other
planetary spheres. Consciously or not , the old contrad ictions
im plicit in the notion of Saturn find poetic expression:
in matter.

Ulterius progressa suos Prudentia gressus


dingit ad superos, superans Io\.is atria cursu,
Saturnique domos tractu maiore iacentes
intrat et a1gores hiemis brumaeque pruinas
horret et ignavum frigus miratur in aestu.
IIIic fervet hiems, aeslas algescit et aestus
friget, delirat splendor dum fiamma tepescit.
. Hic tenebrae lucent, hic lux tenebrescit, et iIIic
nox cum luce viget, et lux cum nocte diescit.
IIIic Satumus spatium percurrit avaro
motu, progessuque gravi, longaque diacta.
Hic algore suo praedatur gaudia veris,
fu raturque decus pratis, et sidera Rorum.
algescitque calens. (rigens fen'escit, inundat
aridus, obscurus lucet, iuvenisque senescit.
Nee tamen a cantu sonus eillS degener errat.
sed comiturn voces vox praevenit huius adulto
concentu, quem non cantus obtusio reddit
insipidum, cui dat vocis dulcedo saporem.
I-fic dolor et gemitus, lacrimae, discordia, terror,
tristities, pallor, plandus, iniuria regnant. 11IS

In the course of the twelfth century, then, astrological belief


was gradu ally introduced into certain systems of scholastic natural
philosophy, and from then onwards it could develop both within
and outside the sphere of philosophy proper. Even among the
mainly encyclopaedic authors we find a growing tendency to
include what is really astrological material . For thirteenthcentury writers such as Amoldus Saxo, Vincent of Beauvais or
... AUN US ... ~ "" SV!.",

A"tiuIIUd"'''U$,

IV.

(MIONe, P .

1...

VOL. CCX, eol. ~~81.

SATUR!'I I N MEDIEVA L LITERATURE

3l

I
I

Bartholomeus Anglicus, who quoted Ptolemy and made no


further attempt a t moral or cosmological interpretation, it was
no longer risk y t o put forward the view that life, architect ure
and doctrine were proper to Saturn, or that he signified trouble ,
sorrow, lowliness and eviJ.1N Vincent of Beauvais, too, con
sidered him cold and dry, occasionally moist and earthy,
melancholy, leaden, dark, a lover of black c1oth~g, tenaci~us,
pious and a countryman. 1M Bartholomeus Anghcus descnbes
Saturn as foUows:
Satumus est a saturando didus. Cuius uxor Ops est dicta ab opulentia ,
quam tribuit mortalibus, ut dieunt lsidorus e.t l\Jar~i anu s . ~e quo dicunt
fabulae quod ideo depingitur maestissimus, qUia a fiho suo fingHur cast rOltuS
fuisse cuius virilia in mare proiecta Venercm ' creaverunt. Est autem
secundum Misael Satumus planeta malivolus, frigidus et siccus, nocturnus
et ponderosus, et ideo in fabulis senex depingitur. ISle circulus a terra. eSI
remotissimus, et tamen terrae est maxime nocivus. . .. In colore .euam
palMus aut Iividus sicut plumbum, qu ia duas habet q.ua~itates ~o.rlLfera s,
scilicet frigiditatem et siccitatem. Et .ideo foetus sU.b IpSIUS d.ommw n~ttl s
et conceptus vel moritur vel peSSlm3s consequltur quahtal.es. Nam
secundum Ptolomaeum in libro de iudiciis astrorum dat hommem esse
iuseum, turpem, iniqua operantem, pigrum, grave'!', t.ristem, raro hila re~
seu ridentem. Unde dicit idem Ptolomaeus : "Sublect! Salumo
. glallcl
sunt colons et lividi in capillis, et in toto corpore asperi et mcult t. turpm el
felida non abhorrent vestimenta , animalia diligun t fetid :! et immumi<l .. r~
diligun t acidas et stipticas. quia in corum comple:<ione humor melan("" ilclIS
dominatur."IH
T exts such as these, especiaJly that of l3arthulumeus AnSlicus .
show at a glance how a source of material strange to older \\"r i ~crs
but familiar to us has erupted into the current mythogrnpluca l
and scientific tradition and brought about a fundamental ch;'\ n~e
of attitude. Throughout, the descriptions are det ailed , a nn lh(:y
en compass man's destiny, length of life, sickness, ~ea~th , c~n
stitution and character: t hey associate Saturn on pnnclple wlth
"melancholica complexio", just as they say that Jupiter "praeest
sanguini et sanguineae complex ioni" and that Ma rs "disponil ad
irarn et animositatem et alias colericas passiones" ; and they are

,e

... The encyclopaedia (If AaNOLD U. SAX(I, I. 'De coelo e\ mllndo,,(fod .f. . Stallge. Ik.I... :um
J ahresOOk.hl de. K , .. CymDasi ulnIi ~u Erfurt. 190, -05. p. 1&): 10 !,bl o c e mQt,hu5 fll ~r. e.
tarum Ptolomeu. . .. S ub eo [IC. Satumo l <;ontinetur ,na. cd,lic ... m, doc tn na el :ncu,
Frigidus e.t et aKcu et ';cnl6cat merorcm. vilitatem. malum
." V.,.<CKWTI U.

n ..U.OVACIUU;I S,..,,<lu ....... , .. r~t.

IS. H .qq . (B.bl. 111u nOi. I I'a" 1" : 4

eol. 111 9).

... B ... aTH oLoMeu5 AWGLl CU5. D, l'H)p,itl~l;l"'J . rnlll. \'111 . 1) . S \r"'ibou r~ l~ ~~ . In! , ~ .

S AT t; RS I S Til E LITERARY

TRADITIO~

[II. I.

o\'('rwhelmingly un favourable. We find in f~ct that ".Misa~l" is


quoted as an aut hority as well as Ptolemy, ISidore, an_d Marhanus
Cap....lla-and " )lisael" is none other than Messahala. In other
words. we can see here a complete acceptance of Arabic texts, and.
ba5(..'<i on them. a western professional astrology whose robust
characteristics were bound to exert a far greater influence on the
genera l notion of the stars than could the idealis~g. interpre~at~ons
of the mystics and moral philosophers: the morahsmg descnpttons
of th e mythographers. or the speculative reflections of the natural
phi losophers
The popUlarity of this professional astrology
enabled the idea of Satu rn as a malevolent figure of menace to
gain as decisive a \'ictory over all other interpretations as had
been the case with melancholy . thanks to the medical tracts and
book5 on the four complexions.
PrC'fessional ast rology. as it developed in the west after the
d IS";,.'\cr\ of Arabic sources, had, like contemporary medicine. an
ullIlstJa liy conservati\'c, not to say stationary character.
The Arabic astrologers, whose notion of Saturn we described
at the beginning of this chapter, did little more than collect and
classify the material available from later antiquity . On ly two
facts have any real importance for our subject. Firstly, the
equation o f certain planets with the four temperaments, and. in
particu la r, of Saturn with the melancholic- p repared but not
complclcd in late antiquity-was now explicitly formulated and
heilce[orward became a firm doctrine . Secondly, Saturn's favour~
able characteristics, sporadically cited in lhe lall:r Empire , s uch
as riches, might , talent for geometry and architecture, knowledge
of hidden things, and, above all , "deep reflection" (this last perhaps
taken over from Neoplatonism), became stereotyped distinctions
constantly, though fl at always logically, incorporated in lhe
general picture, and handed down with it. Thus it is the
exhaustiveness of the data and the solidity of the system rather
than any originality of conception which gives importance to
Arabic astrology. the main works of which were available in
Latin translation by about 1200. Combined with the application
of scholastic speculation to science, and the reception of Aristotle
a nd of Galen 's medicine- also transmitted mainly by the Arabs-,
what really influenced both medieval and even modern thought
above all was the basic tenet of Arabic astrology that every
earthly event, and, in particular, human destiny, was "written
in the stars" .

3.

SATURN

l~ ~IEDIEVAL

LITERATURE

I8<)

In this respect, the Arabs of the ninth, tenth and eleventh


centuries had a significance for the M.iddle Ages similar to that
of the "Chaldeans" for the Hellenistic world. In both cases one
can see how the general inOuence of astrology increased more
and more as a variety of "mystical" trends emerged alongside
the official creeds, and, in both cases, provided a parallel to belief
in the stars. This increase of fatalism was naturally accompanied
by sharp protests from philosophical, astronomical and, especially,
religious quarters, until finally the Renaissance made the
individual's attitude to astrology a matter of conscience. Many
orthodox Catholics, especially the more active spirits among them,
could take astrology in their st ride, whereas others, especially
those in the Augustinian tradition, rejected it. Pico della MirandoJa's ethical humanism no Jess than Leonardo da Vinci's sceptical
free thinking could lead to its rejection. Marsilio Ficino's mystical
Neopl~tonis m finally reached a new solution. a somewhat precarious
compromise, which was later to degenerate into magic among his
succesSors, such as Agrippa of Nettesheim and Paracelsus. 197
Western astrology produced texts which generally adhered
closely to translations from Arabic authors, and on the whole
provi<ieo a relatively unoriginal and uniform picture as far as
our problem is concerned. If we consult Guido Bonatti and
Michael Scot, the writers whom Dante lifted to t he rank of
" fathers" of the movement, and banished to hell rather for thei r
"magic arts" than for their astrological activit yU8-we find
scarcely anything not previously known to us from Arabic sources
(or at least deducible from them by a more detailed study), save
for an ever more frequent inclusion of individual traits from
medicine and humoralism. According to Guido Bonatti,l&V for
instance, as in Alcabitius, Saturn is naturally cold and dry and
governs all that is heavy and old, especially fathers and forefathers.; Owing to his attributes of cold and dryness, Bonatti
says of him:

'" For Petrarch. oppotlt lon to utr~log)' tn which anticipation of modern ironical
IUpticism and rever.ioD to the a's ument, of the early Fatheu a re \:lIriOIl,l)' mixed. d . WXI)l'!L,
M. A. A . pp. 8z sq.; lor the polcmiu o f fourleentb-ccntur)' a.tronomcre, d. R . PallcKNzR,
S".dil n III' .un d$l~",,,,i""l" SeA .iflu. dll lJ,inri,h ~o .. LII""",ln .. (Studien det Bibliothek
\!o-"arburg VOL. XIV). Lelpdg u)J): for :J."letno ' " below. text pp. 2~4 sqq.: for Agrippa ot
~etteshei m, belo..... text pp. J~l fqq. ; 101 Pioo, R. W. R.,d. D."hU .. ", 4u l"halls dt~
" Dilp..JiUiOtlu i .. IUI.oIoplI,"" ~I P/'o /kill' Mi,.ndol. (Bud; I_Ill), disaertJttion Hambul1
'9J3
,n l"f.nw. X"'. lit1(!8 liS Iqq.
, .. Do Adr<>tIOM .... I, J . We quat. from the Basle odn. o f '''0. wi. 91 sqq. llinoc'
emeDdulons of tbe text ... e-re made OD the buis of eallie, editio....

SATURN IN T HE LITERARY TR.'\DITIO N

'<)0

(II .

I.

Ex humoribus significat melancholiam. Et ex complexionibus corporum,


significat melancholiam , et fort assis erit ilia melanchoHa cum admixtione
phleg matis et cum ponderositate atque gravedine corporis nati, ita quod
non eTit levis incessus. nee leviter saIiens, nee "ddiscet natare vel similia
quae faciunt ad ostendendum levitatem corporis, et erit foe.tidus et mali
odoris. ae si saporet de foeloTe hircino. et facit homines multae comestionis.

These are all variations on familiar Arabic texts, especially


J ohannes Hispalensis's translations of Abu Ma'Sar and Alcabitius.
The next sentenceEt SI inciperet Satuminus diligere aJiquem, quod Taro contingit. diliget cum
di lectione vera. Et si incoepent ocHre aliquem, quod pluries aeddit, odiet
cum odic ultimato. et vix aut nunquam desistel ab odio illo.

-can be deduced in the main from AJcabitius's "honesty ... in


love". but both in its special emphasis on the lasting quality of
Saturnine feelings, and in its choice of words. it corresponds so
closely with the characteristics of the melancholic that a con
nexion seems inevitable.zoo The good and bad qualiti~ of the
" children" of Saturn according to the Arabs are then linked with
the good and bad positions of the planet.
Et dixit Albumasar. quod si fuerit boni ~, significat profunditat em
scientiac, et consilium bonum et profundum. tale quod vbc aut' nunquam
sciet alius meliorare iIIud. Et ex magistcriis significat res antiquas et
laboriosas. ct graves et preciosas. et opera aquatica vel quae fiunt prope
aqu3.c;, sicut sunt molendina . . . aedificationes domorum et maxime
domorum rdigiosorum induentiulIl uigr<lS yeslt:s . . .
At the end of the chapter the unfortunate qualities are listeds
"Si au tem fu erit infortunatus et mali esse, significat res antiqua:
et viles . . . ." The description culminates in pointing out the
special talent of Saturn's "children" for leatherwork and
parchment-working, and in the following chapter this idea is
developed in entirely the same way as in Alcabitiu s. Here
Bonatti says that the conjunction of Saturn with one of the ot her
planets determines the special propriety of the finished "coria"
and "pergamenta", so that the child of Saturn and Jupiter is
gifted for the manufacture and working of parchments for religious,
astrological and juridical writings, the child of Saturn and Venus
for the manufacture of skins for drums, the child of Saturn and
Mercury for the production of parchments for business deeds,
and !OO on.
-

.. bo~, p. ", .Itd p.

1 1,

not e

11 .

31

S:\T UR~ 1:-; MEDI EVAL LITER.,\TURE

In general one may say that in practical astrologic~ litera ture


of middle and late medieval times, Saturn 's redeemmg features
were more and more buried beneath the mass of his evil qualities.
and that he became more of a purely unlucky planet than he had
.
.
been even according to Vettius VaJens or Rhet~rius.
This is plain from Michael Scot, Bonatti s companion I~
Dante's hell . The attribute " cogitatio" is still included, but It
appears as a very inorganic part of. the seri~ ."pavor, ~im~r,
guerra, captivitas. career, lamentahones, tnsh~la:, cogttaho,
pigritia, inimicitia, planctus", and so on. Saturn I~ worse t han
the others "; he is "stella d amnabilis, furiosa. odlOsa, superb".
iropia, crudelis, mali vola, hebes. tarda, m~ltis nociva. sterilis.
nutrix paupertatis, conservans malum , Vltans bonum , dur~ .
senex et sine misericordia" . He is "strong and powerful III
wickedness, always signifying evil and not good " and ~ven whe?
auspicious stars counteract him he finds a means t o Im pose hiS
wicked will.
Verurn est, quod permutatur ab eius i nflu~n ti a secu ndum potennam
alterius planetae ipsum superant is. et tame~ , 51 non palest operan !Juam
malitiam in alio quantum vellet. nocet ommbus quantum patest .
Hence children born under him are the poorest and most despicable
of men, including not only the usual gr~v~:diggcr5 .an.d deancr5
of latrines but also " men who serve wnts -a realistic tWist of
astrologer;' imagination given to the. mythical aTtnt-lIh' .,f
"imprisonment" . The Saturnine man .15. t~e worst of all. me~.
and his facial and temperamental pecuhantles reflect the \ II(,lh'~5
of his whole appearance. His skin is dark. brown. yellow.ish ()r
ahnost greenish; his eyes are small and de~p-~t. but. kcen- sl!;lllC'c\
and seldom blinking; his voice is weak; hiS rcgard IS b~nt on til{"
ground; his beard is scanty; his shoulders are bowcd: he l~ sexually
weak and inclining to impotence, but. has ~ gOO? memory : hiS
understanding is crude, his mind sluggish, hiS bram slow of comprehension; moreover, he is t imid, depresse~. tho~ghtful. seldom
laughing or even cheerful; lazy, envious, negligent III dr~5s. hormg
in speech, deceitful , rapacious, thi ev ish. ungrateful , miserly :\nd
misanthropic.wl
.
~
One can see that astrology was as hard on the notlon of . :ltl.lnl
as were medicine and the doctrine of temperament s on th{" notion
of the melancholic; so much so, indeed, that the description of

IQ2

SATt: R:-: 1:-;

THl~

l.I TER.\RY T RADITI O:"

[II . I.

the vnc corresponds with that of ~he other even ~own to t he


choicE" of words. It is as though MIchael Scot or hlS source had
incofp<'fatcd whole sections of writings on th~ ~heo:y of t~e
co mplexions in his own list of Saturn's char~ct~nsbcs, lust as hIS
list in turn mav have influenced later descnptIons of the mel~n
cholic. And a;. in the case of melancholy, the purely negallve
conception of it became the general rule, so it was the case of
Saturn and his children. Cecco d'AscoIi, who was burn.t at the
st::l.kc III 13 2 7. called Saturn "queUa trista stella, tarda d~. :rso c
di drtll ncmica, che mai suo raggio non fe cosa bella, an~
(to quole only onc more professional ~trologer) Barto!?me~ da
Parma, in a chapter based en tirely on ~hchael Scot , says omm~us
nl..lCCt. lIemini profld t; quare dicitur esse malus. Nocet emm
sui:- I.:t :'llienis" '!U3

This conception became ever mOfe widespread, despIte t he


more or less meaningless preservation of a few fav~ura?le characteristics Here and there the child of Saturn I~ sh U ?":anted
riches, wisdom, or the capacity, despite all his evil 5 ualitIes, to
make himself "loved by noble people" and to become the greatest
among his friends".2Ot A Latin poe~ on the planets, of p~rely
1iterary inspiration, which is found m many late man~npts,
contains sentences which are nothing but a paraphrase: occaSIonally
some what fr ee. of Macrobiu s's list , and of Saturn It even says,

... (k-CCO

1.> .... ~OI,I,

H""TOLO~r:O

~,, ~,,:(

"",(("mllc h,

Annis viginti currit bis quinque Saturnus,


et homo, qui nascitur, dum Saturnus dominatur,
audax, urbanus, malus, antiquus, fur, avarus,
perfi.dus, ignarus, iracundus, nequitiosus.

In the latcr Middle Ages t he notion of Saturn was detcrmined


by claptrap such as this, and by excerpts from writings of profesS;ional astrologers, such as Michael Scot, quoted in debased
fonn in popula r almanacs. To such an extent was this the case
that even didactic and narrative verse which, in accordance with
the dual nature of available sources, used to draw a very clear
dis~inction between Saturn as a mythical figure and Saturn as a
planet, based t he first of t hese notions on mythograpbical texts
but'- the second on that "astrological vulgate" , the origin of which
we have just traced. In the Roman de La Rose, as in Lydgate,
Gower and Chaucer, Saturn is on the one hand thc god of time,
the Ruler of the Golden Age (generally held up as an example
to the contemporary age), the King of Crete, t he minter of gold,
the founder of cities, the inventor of agricu1ture and so on2Oe ;
on the other hand, he is t he cold, leaden, destructive planetary
god who says of himself in the Canterbury Tales:
My cours, that hath so wyde for to t ume,
Hath more power than wot any man.
Myn is the drenching in the see so wan ;
Myn is the prison in the dt;rke cott;;
Myn is the strangling and hanging by tht; throte ;
The munnure, and the cherles rebt;lIing:
The groyning, and the pryvee empoysoning:
1 do vengeance and full correccioun,
Whyl 1 dwelle in the signe of the lcoun.
Myn is the mine of the bye halles,

L .~tt.b<o , I. ed. A. Crespi. Ato;OIi Piceno 19J7. p. 1:1.6.

bibl~I"'fi. ~ di ."fl)ri. ill./1'


{!$"hr. XV ii (l88 4). p. 178. T he aulhln" alao BIV!!I a p.ctoroal .d ner;,,'
t,on of ~"I urll. " 1'ietllrlUar ~n 'm el<'nCl< cum I"n;la. harba . mac!!r 1n earn!!, brunU5 In pc: 10.
t" r pl~ ,n IlIe'e. ulSpUelbihs ;lI ccri et iuforlunllhu multum; in manibul habe ns l,lIcem ~!!!v a um
ad tcealldum p".tum,lIp&m. badi1cm. ua nlta",' ot lerlam ad cul~"m teml: -=ut~ ad I~nil~.
Ilclm ll m in caPIte. henM'm eru gin..... m ad cmeurram. et 11a(!.um eruS1llO!lUm .~ v"u~
... hi(h I~::also bued entirely on Scot 1_ bc:].ow. p. ~08. note47) 110"' the FIOfen~DCfl(bo~
ma.k use olast rolo!llUl ftotif'M in their prollalanda can be Ren!rom ~n.!! 0.1 ~Uo;C.lO. SaIUla," .'
lelten: " $atu rn in; ct mUllales, qllalcs gebellin()l ''Olunt. malo. mahcl\)J:'. I1"3CUIKh . supe bi.
crud tl~'5 Ct irreq uieli" ("pii/oilVio di Col"CCIO S II/,,'ali. ed. r . NOIatl. Rome 1893. \'01,. II.
...

SAT UR N I N 101.E DIE VAL LITERATURE


3l
' 93
"dat animae virtutem discemcndi et ratiocinandi."
But it is
significant that the verso of t he page which is reminiscent of
Macrobius contains the following lines :

..,,, 1'''''.'.... cd. E . Sa.d..cel. in B .. I~I''' <> ,I;


t

p. 31)

... Thus the MS o f the Cafi.SC1 Land n blbHOl bek. Cod . ...,tron. I . 20, f~1. 62 ' . The. pu!-lgo
is ;nh'rnting enQullh to ",arrant reproduction In an abridged form : "D~se UT Satur~' li t ...
...,' 1 ...... _ tun danu is ', ,I';reeht. Vntl davolilSt darynn n.t gut fur
n.t gu t . wa nll ....... rna "U~

chin,,:: und fl1nU:n leen


" . . .. . ,~ es i.t da nn I" t g!!pew r;rOnthtn und anheben u ." pa ...en
die tla \;aUI ... II~n ....en:n . . .. Man vindt aoch teSChriben ....er In
U. ~tu..n' ,"cpom
,~;Tt, der ...erd ....~. VM geert. und der dann aoch an ein~?, laA v.nd , n X'I~ u r ~epo!'n
werd der werd dncr hn-tlen 5"... rtlen Comple"en die da h.'lMlt cohea und WITt I~ittl,:: .nd
_
' t frelOd e. gUh und wirll ein ..ellter [_ Geichteter] ",,<1 venltler I1nd ""uri duch [11
.... Ie.
.
,
d ..
"011 cdein I",,,tl cn lieh f:nha ht vml der mllehtlgls l Vl1ucr semen rOll n ", n .

"eo.

- ThllS, e.8., tbe G6ttingen Kyesu MS (Cod. philos. 63: c l. A. HAuBn. Plu4udiruk,..
O/"d Sltr'flbjl u r , SttasboUfl 1916, pp. 54 tqq .). ConupoDdingly Jupiler "nat
magllanimita~m animao" ; Mars, "an imo.ilat~m iuBuit animac" ; Sol. "da t Ilnimae virtllulI:1
meliorandi et n:m lullCtndl" ; Venus. "dd auimae coneupiSOClltiam e1 desidcrium"; Mercury,
" dat animae virtlltell:1 .audendi et d~ltc:tand l"; Lnna, " dat anlmae virtutem vqetandl. q uao
dieitur wtllS aatu"l;' LIlimalis."
bilde~

Cf. fin" iD$1aDaI R" ....". de t. RIIU. ed. 1::. Lau.kli$, Paria 191 4, liua 5336 sqq. r.od ~0(I3a
J. L VOGAn. R~ .d. S4oq...zJ,.t.:. ott. E. >epa, Lon.doa 1901. !iues 1889 aqq . aud
]08J -:czq.: J. LVDQua. F.U <>/ Pri-.., . ed . J. De.-seu. WuhinitoD 1913. I. Ii.,. '401 Mlq,
and vlI, linea 880 aqq . a nd 1153 sqq; J onlf Cow , CoIo/ elJ io A_IlIi, ., IV. lilies 244 .5 fqq . ;
LIlti B~. v. linu 845 aqq ed . G. C. Macaulay. VOl.. I. London 19(10.
-

Mlq. ;

'94

SATURN IN TilE LITERARY TRADmON

[n.l.

The fallyng of the toures and of the waUcs


Up-on the mynour or the carpenter.
1 slow Sampsoun in shaking the piler:
And myne be the maladyes coIde.
The derke tresons, and the castes olde ;
My loking is the fader of pestilence.I "

3l

SAT URN IN t.l.EDlEVAL LITERATURE

195

Finally:

Christine de Pisan's Epilre d'Othia claims all seven planets as


tutors for her "&n Chevalier", and can therefore attribute only
good qualities to them, but it is almost a solitary exception when
she holds up Saturn's "slowness" to her hero as a prerequisite
.
for sound judgement and reflection.208
How the common man- and not only the common manregarded the nature and influence of Saturn from the late fifteenth

The planet Saturn is the highest and the grutest and the most worthless,
and is cold and dry and the slowest in his course, The planet is hostile to
our nature in every way and stands o... er to the east, and is a planet of
wicked and worthless men who are thin, dark and dry, and is a planet of
men who have no beard, and whit e hair, and who wear unclean garments.
Children who are born under Saturn are misshapen or body and dark with
black hair. and have hair on the skin. and little hair on the chin, and with
a narrow chest, and are malicious and worthless and sad. and like unclean
things, and would rather wear dirty linen than fi ne. and are unchaste and
do not like to walk with women and pass the time, and also have all evi l
t hings by nature. The hour of Saturn is the hour of evil. In that hour
God was betrayed and delivered to dt'ath ....n l

century until relatively modern times. can be illustrated by a


small selection from the innumerable "popular" texts.
Quicquid et infaustum. quicquid flagitiosum,
est Satume tuum : nisi quam cerealia struas. 2M
The child of Saturn is a thief
And in him lieth much mischief;
Saturn is clever, cold and hard,
His child looks on with sad regard.
Faint-hearted and misunderstood
With shame he reaches c1derhood.
Thief, spoiler, murderer, untrue
Blasphemer in all manner too,
Never in favour with woman or wife.
ln drinking does he spend his life." o

"'.0.

.... CIIAUCU , Cn/nll...,. T ..lu. croup A. lines


sqq. fIbe KnightH Tale).
GOWKII. Cn/IIJio ...... "IiJ. lilt vtl . linn O)~ sqq ., ed. cit VOL. n, l.ondon 19o1 :

Cf JOM"

"The heyeate and aboven alle


Stant that planete which men ulle
Sahlrnus, ",hoi comple.xion
II eold, and hy condicion
Causeth malke and ental",
To him the wno. nativite
Is set under hi. govl!'m~.
For alle bile ..... erkes ben 8",vanee
And enemy to Mann es hele.
In what d es re that h e sehal dele.
H is elimat Is in Orient.
Wher that he i. most violent."
- Quoted here f:lm Gotha, Landeabibliotbck, Cod. I. 119. fol. 11. The "10$$" rf:Jl""'ts the
"mytt.ocraphlcal vullate." For the pictorial tradition reaultinl from tbill " nlular interpretation. _ ~Iow. wt p . 20:5 sq. (PuT!: )6).
- InlCriptloD on a. frtl(;() in tbe Fala.uo Trinei at }-oogno. dated before 11. pubti. hed
by loL Salmi. In BoIk,j"o ~"r'. Xl/I (10'0). p . 16.
;':Im A. HAUIII"-. PI."~t~""i,,d~'d~r .... 4 Stenlbildff. StrasbouII 1916, p~ 7:5 (InDIlattd f:lm the Cerman) . Similar venes appear e.g. in Brit. Mut ).IS Add. 1:5697. tol. 17'.

IU SdWIIspu,"sdin K.u..d", Aupbu '1 1"9~ It nn.la lion from the Gt1'ma nl.
FlIr tl:e
CO!TesJ>OD4in, connexion between the tra itor Ju das and melancholy , $Ce a b(we. p . 1:1 In.: .
The connuton of luch c:.alendan (ef.
Klllt"4.~,,,s l~ iilseA .U:l alu j e,..,>:u h' f, r.rJi "iEH
Angsburc 1,512. fols. Ff U- Ul') aDd related te:< u (e .l. Brit. ~Iul . MS .'\o dd. 1;9S,. from Il': e
region 01 the Lake of Constance, dated 1116. fol. ~9 ') with th e :'t.lichael !;eo t "adil lon IS
unmistakable.

e.,.

l]

CHAPTER

II

SATURN IN THE PICTORIAL TRADITION


The denlopment of the notion of Saturn as described above is
reflected not only in literature but also in figurative art. The
pictorial tradition. however, as in all similar cases, follows its
0\\ n rules.
1.

SATt:R~

1:\ A NCJE !''T ART AND THE SURVIVAL OF THE

TR.\DITIO:->AL REPRESEN TATIO N IN MEDIEVAL A.RT

The late type, developed under eastern influence, of Mithraic


;\ ion- Krollos who, with his wings and other attributes, fulfilled

a genera! cosmic fun ction, in particular as the god of Time, was


known to the pre-Renaissance period only from literature and
not from art (PLATE 9),' The "Phoenician Kronos", whose
cherubic form bore two wings on the head, and four on the
shoulders. and had two eyes open, two shut, survived on coins and
in a description by Eusebius. 2 Apart from this, ancient portraits
of Saturn, in so far as they concent us, fall into two classes, both of
which show the god as an old man and endow him with the
attributes of a sickle:' and a cloak pulled over his head- a trait that
Saturn ..hares only with Asciepius, and one that gives him a strange
and somewhat sinister aspect from the start, The first type shows
the god in a gencral hieratical style, either as a bust, usually over
his zod iacal symbols (as on Antonine coins)," or else at full length,
, F. CUMOIfT, Tu:fl.J tI ","""",~IJ fil."" ,tfll1i/, ...... ...y$liTuu Mill,., Btuf,W:q 1896/9.
VOL. I, pp. 14 &qq.: VOL II, p .51. The Mylllflp-IIp'u" III (I. 6-3), . ilnlficanUy cnou8h,

m.ke. no mention of winS' In hb description of the Mith.-aic Aioa .


EUUIIIU', P"u/nmdio EN"l'/itll, I, 10, J9 : see below. p. uJ (tcxt). For Ute Phoenician
toms from Byblos. ct. F . I MHOOF-BLUMIt " Monna.ies grecqU":' in V""",,uU"I'" d.~.
A~Ad'I'III' VAPI Wd,OIull .. pt'>I A ... st'.d...... A/Il. Ldl"hnde. ,xIV (1883) . p . .. ~~ .
I 5e$ the article "Kronot" in w. H . UOS CHER, Avs/iih r/id., L,xiAolI d,,,,ritcAisdt,, 'md
. 6... i,che>l My/lolo,i" .Leip1l8 1890-91. VOL. II, col,. 15 .. 9 &qq . by MAXIMILIMI' M AVU;
and M. PO IILllN!:" article In PAULv-WeISOWA. VOL. ,xl. 1912. cob. ~014 .qq. The !icklo was
vuinusly interpreted even by the . nci enU: .eeording to!lO:llle it !ymbolited Saturn', function
as Eutll-,oo. aceordins to other., the myth of Uranu,', mut.ilatiol1 by Kronos.

For this type and Its oriental deriV&tlvn. d . F . SAU. in. Dr<' 111..... VOL. III ( 1912). p. 16)There il an analotlous portn.it o( Vcnul .bo.... ber wdiacal sign o( the.-.....n on a t - . . froM
P.lmy.... publithro by M. I . R OSTOVTZ&n- "I tbe J o,,",," of R_,. S,,..,iIII, VOL :u.n. p . I r 1.
Plate. XXVI, 1 (.... ithout upl.nation of Ute picture).

.,.

I97
standing, but otherwise very similar in conception, The second
type shows him in the attitude of a thinker, scated, with his head
on his hand.
The first type is exemplified in an impressive mural in the
Casa dei Dioscuri at Pompeii (PUTE 10).' The god's eyes are
frightening. The cloak hides all but the face, the feet, and one
hand holding a sicklf' somewhat awkwardly at one side. This
awkwardness is certamly deliberate, for the fresco is the work
of a great artist. The implement which the god holds is no
ordinary one, but is the symbol of the power of this severe god,
and appears to menace the faithful . The unusual rigidity and
somehow frenzied quality of the fresco may therefore be regarded
as the expression of an individual view on the part of a paintcr
during the golden age of Pompeian painting. For him, Saturn
was the awe-inspiring god of the earth.
rhe second type, as we have said, is characterised by the
god's being seated, with his ann resting on some object, a characteristic which seemed so typical of the god that echoes of it survive
even in portraits where it is almost wholly out of place. For
instance, Saturn's left hand is raised to his head in a picture of
the scene where he is given the stone which he is to devour instead
of the child.' The tomb of Cornutus in the Vatican (PLATE I3)
is the most important monument of this type, together ,vith a
small bronze in the Museo Gregoriano" and a few fragments of
m0r:'-umental statuary. Saturn here appears sadly reflecting, like
Attis on other tombs. His right hand does not hold the sickle
upright, as in the Pompeian fresco, but lets it rest wearily upon
hiS knee. His head is bent and rests upon his arm. For Comutus,
who ordered this portrait to be placed on his own and his children's
tomb, Saturn was symbolic of the sad tranquillity of death.
Ancient art therefore gave expression to the two sides of Saturn's
nature, on the one hand as the aweinspiring and beneficent god
of the earth, on the other as the destructive but at the same time
peace-giving ruler of the underworld. In early medieval art in
the west the latter type disappeared; the type of the thinker
was at first reserved in Christian art for the evangelists, apostles
SATURN lN ANClENT ART

I Now ill Naples. J,(uaeoN"ulonale. P . H ..... MAf."'. D'M"'~r U. MAIn.. us AlJerllllfU


Munich 1<)O.f- 3'. platll IU. t ext p. 168.
'
Relief Oil the An. Capitolma. C . W. HJ.l.IIIG, FNJm~, I, 3rd. ro . p. ..85. Repn>dtl<:ed in
S. Ralx AOI. Rl~i.' W .dill!. p.u.' .......,. ...... VOL. nt . Pan. ' 9n. 201.

I Reproduced in W. H. ROIeK.... O?- eiL. VOL. II, coL 1,61.

SATURN IN THE P ICTORIAL TRADITI ON

[rr. u.

and prophets. Together with the busts, typical of the usual


collection of t he five planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Merc;ury and
Venus 8 in the Aratea manuscripts, there survived the solemn but
non-specific schema that we saw at Pompeii. In a CarOlingian
picture of the planets (PLATE 15)11 we find an exact reproduction
of Saturn as a full -length figure, with his sickle, and his cloak
pulled over his head . \Ve can prove how this type cam~ to be
handed down, for ancient manuscripts had already adap~ the
monumental fonn to book illustration. The portrait of Saturn
in the Calendar of A.D. 354 (PLATE II) shows the god in walking
posture, as at PompeiPo; the cloak leaves the upper part of the
body free, the right hand holds the weapon. The il1ustrjltor of
the Carolingian manuscript must have had an example from later
antiquity in front of him, bearing in some ways more resemblance
to t he classical fresco than did the picture in the Calendar.
Saturn 's outstretched arm with the weapon is a devia.tion which
the Carolingian picture shares with the Calendar, but as in the
ancient fresco he tums his head to t he side as if looking at the
opponent whom he menaces with his weapon. l l
. The illust rations to Rabanus Maurus's encyclopaedia (PLATE 12)
are also largely based on the ancient pictorial tradition. l2 Here,
Saturn appears in very unmedieval fonn, half naked and in classical
dress. and his attitude in walking also goes back to an ancient
model. What, however, is new and surprising is the fact that the
sod is hoJding not a sickle but the more modem scythe- a fact
The Greek prototype survives;n later co~ in Vat. j::raec. 1087 fol.lol-; for lhill picture
in La tin MSS. c r. GI!.ORG Tmzt.. A.. /iA. Hi ......elsbild. ,. Berlin 1898. pp. 1)0 "Iq .

SAT URN IN AN CIENT ART

199

which owes its existence only to the interpretation of the eleventhcentury copyist. IS
Except in pictures of planets such as that mentioned above,l'
portraits of Saturn appear in Byzantine art only in illustrations
to St Gregory of Nazianzus' H omilies.
The oldest portrait of Saturn occurs in a ninth-century
manuscript in Milan.ls It illustrates the fi rst homily Contra
jfrliamfm, and is conceived so exclusively in terms of the text,
which vehemently attacks the pagan gods, that the artist has fallen
into a ludicrous mistake. St Gregory says ironically that it is an
admirable way to make children love their parents, when one
reads how Kronos castrated Uranus, and how his son Zeus then
lay in wait for him and gave him tit for ta1. 16 But the illu strator
who took the word OVpavos as meaning not the god Uranus but
the sky itself, and who understood by ,.ElJ,VEIV not " to castra te"
but "to cut" or "to split", shows us Saturn ('a KPONor TON
OY(PA) NON TEMNO(N) with a mighty axe cleaving the vaults of
heaven, while Zeus ('0 6.1Al: KATA TOY KPON(OY) 'EITAN!ITAMENOr)
threatens him with a similar axe from behind (PLATE r6).
But a later group of Gregory manuscripts, dating from the
eleventh and twelfth centuries (that is, from the peak of the
humanist movement start ing in the tenth century), shows a substantially different picture. In these manuscriptsl ; the illustrations
of the pagan gods have been lifted from the homily COl/tra julimwm
and added to those of the homily In, sancta lumina . But the
cycle is now much richer and, what is more imponant , the reprc
sentations based on Jiterary tradition (such as the " Birth of
Venus" from Saturn's genitals thrown into the sea, which appears

Leiden. University Library, Cod. voss. lat. q . '/9.


J . SrUVGOWs KI. "Die C&lend erbiidu des Chronognaphen vom J ahre l5i." in }td",,"A
At.ise,I;~A deut"A, .. a,d4clot1sd ... l .. sliluls. Ergi nzungsheft I, Berlin 1888. pI. x.
More recently (t hough not eonvincing with regard to tbe exclusion 01 an intennedlull
Carolingian ltage between th e post..classical original and the l urvivin, Renaisaance eopiel),
d . C. NORI)I!.NI"At.K. D" K/J/,,,d. r ,"0,," }/J~r. 35-1 "lid die 1.. lei .. isd, B"d","',,,i d'J ,.
} ..h,f"",der/s. (GOteborgl kungl. Vetenskaps oeb VitterhetsSamhllles Handlingar, ,. FOldjen.
Ser. A VOL. V, Ko. 2 (1936). p. 'IS).
I.

des

\I For the Germ.nieul Codex. Lehlen. Voss. lat. q . 79. and the copy in Boulognc. Bibl.
Municip .. MS 188. see G. THI ELE. A.,/illl Hi ......el$b;ld~" Fp. 138 sqq. A similar modeLwu um
by the miniaturist of Vat. Reg.lat. Jl3, reproduced in SJoXL. V. uei",.,;J. VOL. I. plate 5. fig. 11 .
The pietu re in R~g. lat. 123 whieb shows Saturn in medieval dress. witll covered bead a nd a
lon, sey the. il pn>b&bly baMd primuily on deseriptionl . and not on pictorial traditlon. BUI
that docs not seem to exelude the poss ibility of vague remini!l(:cnecs of aneient modeb bei n,
p!'esoent even in thil portrait.

"Mi"i4luo, "ac,. , tr0ltJ'" dell'tJ" ..o 1013 . . . ed. A. M. Amelli. Monteeusino 1896.
plate (:VIII; d . RJo ...... ul ;\buaus. n, .... ',..,~SO'. 11K xv: "Filleem tenet (inquiunt). proptf!r
.
arieulturam lig nifica ndam" (MIG"'., P. L VOL. CXI, tol. ,18).

.. Cf. E . PJo1<oPSXY and F . SJoI(L, ill Mtlropol'I"., M ....." "


note 3.

S/"dl~', " 01. . IV. 2 {1933 . i'-

! },J.

"Cod. Vat. gnee.. 1087.


"Milan Biblioteca Ambrosiana. Cod. E. 49 / ~0 inf . in A. ~IARTINI and D. BA$S!. C,,:.
Cod. C,. iUbl. Amlw., Milan 1906, \'01.. II. pp. 108 4 aqq. We o we kno"'l~dge o f this )IS. as
well as of tlle J erusalem MS mentioned below, to Pro fessor A. M. Friend. The pho!Osraphs
reprodueed here we> kindly placed at our disposal by Dr Kurt Wellzmann. Cf. A. GRAIlAII..
us ... i"i/Jf .. rts du Grlco,,, d, NUl ..,," d6I'Amb~OJ;I ""t . Paris 1 9~3. plat e i I. K . \\ E:rzlol ... :<:<.
Gred M"~ology i., By"" .."'" Arl, Pr inceton ' 9". p. ]8.
,. M.lO"'E. P. Gr., VOL. xxxv , col. 660.

" Paris. BibJ. Nat. MS Coillin 239 (el. n. O).o",r. Ln "".,'1'1"," <in ;-!," a,,:"', 1 ,,'.11::'
se,ill ,'-5 d, la Blbli!>l.klq". Nali ...a/,. a nd cdn . Paris 1929. plat" CN'Jl!. no,. q !'l'l ..
Jerusalem Bibl. Grace. Pau. Cod. Tapbou Ii. Alhos Pan telelmon. Cod. 6 ~ Pl..>lES
al: :i
17). Of tbese the Alhos MS is lh. eadiest and bes t . ",ithllut necessaril)' ~in~ nn.aM ~o
the original typo.

I.

S,\TURN I N THE PI CTORIAL TRADITION

2 00

ot herwise only in later, western , art) are now reinforced by others


whi ch. br contrast , were foreign to western art, and presuppose a
pictorial -tradition derived from classical antiquity. Of this kind
is the "Cunning of Rhea", who gave her spouse a swaddled stone
to devour (cL PLATE 14), and the musical assistance of the Curetes
and Corybantes, whose clamour drowned the cries of the infant
Zeus and protected him from discovery (PLATE 17). Where Rhea
is shown practising her deceit on Saturn we still encounter a type
of seated Saturn, similar to the Capitoline relief which we have
mentioned above. ls One can therefore assume that the ilIustra M
tions to these later Gregory manuscripts arose only partly as
translations of the text into pictures; and that in other cases they
fo llowed a purely pictorial tradition derived from illustrated texts
of a secular nature which did not impinge on the theological cycle
till the tenth-century renaissance. This applies not only to the
scene of Saturn and Rhea and that of the Corybantes, but also to
those illustrating the birth of Athena, Cybele, and Orpheus. This
suspicion is made almost a certain ty by the fact that the miniatures
of the Corybantes in the later Gregory manuscripts obviously
derive from the samc model as was transmitted in the representations oCthis scene in the Oppian manuscripts."
2.

TEXT-ILLUSTRATION AND ORIENTAL I NFLUENCE

[ H . II.

TEXT-ILLUSTRATION AND ORIENTAL INFL UENCE

The illust rations of Rabanus Maurus's work provided a steppingM


stone bt!lw(..'CJl representations based on purely pictorial tradition,
such as those in the Vossianus manuscript, and a new group of
western medieval works destined to be of far greater significancc
for the general development, because they were not based on
any tradition formulated in classical art. In these works new
types appeared, partly because the artists started from tcxts
containing descriptions of the ancient gods, which the medieva1
illustrators could adorn from their own imagination, partly because
to For the scene o f the . tone being handed to Salum, cf. above, p. 191 (te"t).
For the ..:.ene
witll the Cor ybant e. , cf. S. RIlINACH, Rl p.rll1ir' du rl/i.fs. Pari, ' 9 t 2, VOL. II, p. 280, and VOL.
I I I. p. ~O l . Th e miDlature reproduced in O"ONT, op. cit., fig. 1'4, too, .ho.... the Iton.. being
given to Sa turn, no t the infant Zeu. being handed to a mallbervant; the figure lnterpreted
by Omont as a maid was orisiMUy bearded .
.. TheM a.e : \"eDice, Bibliote.ca !olMciana. Cod. gr. 479; Paris, Bibt Nat., MSS gr. 21]6
and "131 (ct. A. W. BYVA}{Clt. ltftdt4ttli,.,1ft NIl lid Nwr140utuu lIi$ltW. / .. $1;'-' t. R_.
v (191)), pp. , .. .qq.). It is intOfOItinl to _ tMt MS cr. "131, fat lJ, written by Aq:e
Vereb in ' ) S<4, !lIb the pbuo of the Saturn m1uins: in the CorybaDU. roiniatw"e (Paris
Bib!. Nat.. MS gr. 1736. fol. 2i) ""ith one taken from ..... est~ model.

.or

they
relied on models emanating Crom a different culture that
.
~

to say, from that of the east. For both reasons the medieval
artist 's imagination was free to create really new types, nearer
to the contemporary mind. The best example of such an early
IS

medieval Saturn is in a manuscript painted in Regensburg:to


(PLATE I 8). This has nothing in common with classical models
but is one of those independent illustrations in the learned text~

we spoke of in the previous chapter- texts which the Middle


Ages took over (rom late antiquity, where the descriptions of
the ancient gods were allegorically interpreted for philosophical

and moralistic purposes.

In this illustration Satu rn is endowed

with a multitude of attributes. His head is covered ; in his left


hand he holds the sickle and- as already encountered in Rabanus's

encyclopaedia- the scythe; in his right hand he holds the dragon


Time, which is biting its own t ail and shows that K ronos must
also be interpreted as Chronos. The artist's imagination has
given the old description a new, and typicaUy medieval, vitality.21
A portrait such as that in the Rcgensburg manuscript, however,
~emained for a long t~e .unique, for the Saturn here depicted
IS at first only a graphic mventory of traits given in the text,
made in a general way to resemble contemporary types. It still
bore no relation or possibility of relation eithcr to a real person or
to the real surroundings of medieval men, for such a purely
"trariSliterating" portrait lacked both the visual force of a
pictorial tradition and the vitality of a realistic representation.
It is und~rslaJuJabl~, therefore, that a substantial pictorial
revival of the ancient gods could only follow when the obsolete
tradition of antiquity had been replaced by a living one, which
\~ould make it possible. to proceed to a realistic new interpretaM
t1o~ of the gods hcre still represented in a purely "literary" form.
This was brought about when the west came into contact with
?riental models, w.hicb represented the pagan gods admittedly
m somewhat exotic costume but none the less in more contemporary form, or at least in a form morc capable of assimilation.
In the east, perhaps owing to a certain subterranean survival
oCthe old oriental notion of the planets, a series of pictorial types
had developed whose particular characteristics had hitherto been
foreign to the west, but which could easily be translated into
Om. li"71 .
.. Cf. E. P.",onxy aDd F. SAX1.ln Mdrvpoli"'.. Mou...... 51.uli." IV, a (19])). pp. 2)J .qq.
and fig. '9.

202

SAT URN I N T HE , PICTORI."li. TRA DITIO N

Ell. 11.

contemporary terms. Jupiter and Mercury appeared with a book ,


Venus with a lute, Mars with a sword and a head without a body,
and finally Saturn with spade and pick-a.xe (PLATES 23- 5). From
the t hirteenth cen tury, at least , these types22 began to influence
western represen lations, and in certain cases we can even follow
the process st age by stage. Here, t he most importan t manuscri pts
are t hose containing the illust rations to a text of A bu Ma'sar,

whi ch have come down to us in relatively large numbers. 23 The


earliest manuscript of this groupU cont ains portrai ts of t he planets
obviously derived from orient al sources. As in the east , Mercury
appears with a book, Venu s with a musical instrument , and Mars
with a beheaded man, while the Twins are joined to one another,
as we fi nd them also in eastern copies, Here a lso do we fmd t he
curious pictures of planets falling headlong downwards2.5 (PLATES
I g-22) ; but it is a west ern characteristic to show the planets a s
reigning sovereigns (this occurs in manuscripts derived fro m the
Paris MS laL 7330) and to supplement the two pictures of the rise
and the fall as shown in t he east (PLATE 23) by a third , representing the "decline" , This significant enrichment b y a middle
stage between the two extremes suggests that the idea of ascent
and depresSion was linked with the west ern notion of the Wheel
of F ortune, a link attested beyond doubt by t he typical Wheel of
Fortune motif of t he falling crowns, It is hardly surprising t hat
at t he end of the Paris codex ee we actually discover a picture of
the Wheel of Fortune spread over four leaves, that is to say,
dividing the usual sequence " Regnabo, Regno, R egnavi, Sum
sine regno" into separate representat ions corresponding to t he
different phases of the planets, In these manuscripts we-fmd a
curious mixture of eastern and western elements, which alone
would indicate that they were first illustrated in southern Italy ;
and this indication is reinforced, as we shall show elsewhere in
a more detailed analysis, b y considerations of style.21
U Cf. F. SAXL, in

D~, hl~m,

2]

TEXT- ILLUST RATI ON AND ORIENTA L I NF LUENCE

In the Paris codex 7 330 Sat urn appears in an 0ntirely v.:est ern
form, as a ruler with a sceptre and without any other attn butes,
His zodiacal signs, t oo, the Water-Bearer as Ganymed:, and the
Goat, are conceived in a purely western manner. But if ~e look
at later manuscripts of this group,ttI we fmd to our surprise th at
east ern influence has increased to such an extent that Saturn
is now given a spade, as in eastern ~anu~ripts, and t ha~ the ?o~
is shown in a peculiar altitude, st andmg With one foot on his chair.
H ere he ret ains not hing of the calm , regal aspect of the older
picture ; the figure seems rather to resemble those o~ eastern
manuscrip ts in which a similarly agitated attitude IS fo~nd
(P LATE 25) . After t heir journeyings in ~he east the a~Clc~ t
gods could now become far more realist ic fIgures, resembli ng 111
their outward appearance late medieval sc holars, peasant~. or
nobles, standing in direct visual relat ionship to t he mortals horn
under them, and thus for t he fi rst time, rca\\"akenin.g to powerful
vitality. Saturn , in particular, became In later medieval art more
and more the leader and representat ive of t he poo r and t.he
oppressed, which not only corresponded to the rea1i~t i c tendenCies
of late medieval art in general, bu t also, more speClfically, t ~ the
social upheaval of t he epoch. As ead y as in t he 50-called Guanento
frescoes in the Church of t he E remi t ani at Padua30 he app~a:s
as what he was to remain until modern times, despite all humamstlc
refinements-a ragged peasant , leaning on the tool of his rrade,
In a North Italian manuscript , too, he appea rs as a pe:lsant,
with a scythe and a water-bottle at his waist , about t o go to
the field s3J. (P LATE 26) . Under east ern in fl uence, the GrceJ,:
harvest god and the Italian god of husband ry has himself h t("omt'
a peasant , He remains a peasant even in a my thcloglca l ~.:ene
where he appears coupled wit h Philyra who "as t~lrncd Int o
a ma re, as the Andalus de Nigro manuscri pts show hlln (P:.HF
27) .
He is the representative of t h,e .lo\\~est rung of me~lC\'al
society, to whom all in tellectual activity IS a closed book, and

III (19n), pp. 1St sqq .

.. This e"arnple

o f the AbO Ma 'ar MSS is not a ll isolated one. In a geo mancy written
for Kine Richard II , Ox ford , MS Bodley $81, we also find the oriental Saturn with a p ickaxe.
.. P ari!, Bib!. N at" MS la t, 1330 (mid thirteenth wntury, but presupposillg an oldcr
tweUlh -century mode l),
"Cf. BSG, Sl,.,..gl~ubf, p. 148.
same group, MS 188.

The Pierpont Morgan

Library owns a

Turkish MS 01 the

.. Fols. 14 " sqq .


In F. SIlXL, II , 1Iollmlll; , a nd II . Boe R, C~'al~u4 af A strolagu:~l tH. d _M Y',"ologil:tJIJU_i_
..aled M~ ,uuuIp" of ,h L.ti .. /tfjddl . Ages, VOL. III. M." '<M:~jP,s '" E nglitlo Lib."riu, I..ondo n
19$), pp. Ixiii sqq.
IT

20 3

SIO;!.ne MS 3g.8 ) a nd Ne",' York, 1"~rf>Ont ~ Iorgan L,lmll~ , -'15 ;S~


in BrugH shortly before I ~ OO) .

.0 London, Brit . MU5 .,


(PLA'flt 1.4.

painted

U In portraits of Lu na, the oriental Intl ue nce bea.me so . tro ng that while sh" IS stili rep,re.
(fols . jS " sqq.)
as a marl. li ke
na .IU P ar.s
. 0 "
3.!1 D ,a
, , N'
a .. ]I.IS
'
.
' she apnurs
..
t he ancient oriental Sin. In Brit, MilS. Sloane MS )983 il nd Its de n ,'a. ,,es.

'at ",0

sented
If

F or th" ilttribution 0 1 this to an assistant 0 1 G\lari ento. d . L, COLETTI, Studi sn lt il i',::ua


a PadO\'.," in RilliJ'~ d' A , t., " II ( I 'no). pp. ) 76 5<l'J.

del Treecllto

01 L. CoRa z, LI1 ~~ IU"""


Bergamo r QO.l , p . 8.,

.,11,

~i,' ;' dell' ,ci. .... d, B~.,,,I,, .."c J: !'" ,.';.: .; I !I.l:.,'~

SATL' Rl\ IN TH E P ICTORIAL TRADITIO:>:

[ II. II.

\\'ho spends his life in wresting a meagre subsistence from t he


~oiL The latter days of life, when man becomes sterile and when
hi;; vit al \\'armth diminishes so t hat he seeks only to crouch
by the flrc-thesc days are proper to Saturn.
3.

THE PICTURE OF SATURN AND HI S CHILDREN

The east gave to the west entirely new notions of the planetary
rulers, notions which no longer had anything in common with
the types e\-ol\'ed by classical art. More than that, it brought
to the west a hitherto unknown system of complicated designs
pictorially represen ting the relationship of the planets with those
m en who come under their influence.
Eastem writers inform us that in pagan temples Saturn was
represented as an aged Indian, as a man riding on an elephant,
as a man meditating on ancient wisdom, as a man drawing a
bucket of water from a well, and so on. With few exceptions,32
these pictures are representations 'of the occupations attributed
to Saturn in the astrological texts dealt with in the previous
chapter, and we have therefore every reason to suppose that the
murals described by these writers were the predecessors of the
designs described by later historians of art as pictures of "planets'
children" . This belief is strengthened by the fact that such
pictures of "planets' children" really are to be found in later
eastern manuscripts. In an Arabic manuscript 33 and its later
cousins3~ we find the "trades of the planets" represented in eight
times seven pictures (PLATE 31) . The fi rst picture in each row
shows the planet itself, while each of the seven neighbouring
pict ures shows one of its children. Saturn appears as a man with
a pick-axe (as in PLATE 25), with, next to him, trades like leatherworking, farming, and so on; Mercury is a scholar with a book,
associated with more refined occupations. The west must have
met with similar arrangements in t he fourteenth century, for that
alone would account for t he fact that the Salone at Padua3:i
." The man with the water-bucket is obviously ... quariut. one of the "hou.:oes" of Saturn.
The fact that he was represen ted thu, in the east can be _ n o for ins tauce. from t he portrait
on the Islamic astronomical instrument in the possession of Prince Ottingen.Walientei n,
reprod uced in De~ Isla .... III {19 U ). plate 7. fig . 13; ib., pp. 1:;6 sq .. the texb .
.. Oxford. Bod!. .:'.IS Or. 133 .
.. Such as Paris, Sib!. Nat .. suppl. turc. 242, and New York. Pierpont Morgan ' Library.
MS 788.
.. A . B,\.RZOS. [

del; e la /0"" ittjlutlUa tttgl i a!fuJu,i dtl Salone in Padova, Padua 1924.

THE

31

PICTURE OF SATUR N AND HIS CHILDREN

20 5

contains, arranged in a very similar tabular form , a series of


images of "planets' children" which we may describe as a monumental western version of such "tables" as are found, for example,
in the Bodleian Oriental manuscript 133. Saturn himself appears
in very unclassical form, as a man laying his hand on his mouth
t o signify either silence or his sinister and ailing nature (PLATES
32- 33). The "planets' children", t oo, underwent an ever greater
process of realistic "modernisation" in t he west. Later ages
found the tabulated series of occupations (such as those which
the Salone at Padua had taken over from eastern manuscripts,
in the style of the Bodleian Oriental manuscript 133) too
monotonous in form, and too heterogeneous in content. They
soug4t a form which should group t ogether the men ruled by the
planets in a kind of lively "genre" picture which appeared socially
and psychologically more coherent. This involved, in the first
place, a reduction of the chaotic variety present in the original
"tableS" to a limited number of inherently related types; secondly,
the assembling of these types in coheren t surroundings and in the
same perspective. The picture of Jupiter must illustrate the
nature and way of life of men blessed with culture and property,
Mercury that of scholars and artists, Mars that of warriors, and
Saturn t hat of poor and oppressed peasants, beggars, cripples,
prisoners and criminals. At the same time, a wish was felt t o
m<:lke immediately visible the fatal "influence" of each planet on
those subject to it , and so it is understandable that after a number
of hesitant at tempts at modernising the schema in the Salone at
Padua, a solution was finally found in a design which had been
used in quite another sphere and in quite another sense to show
the "influence" of a heavenly power on earthly existence: the
design of Christ's Ascension into heaven (or, to be more exact, the
risen Christ addressing those left on earth), of Judgement Day,
and, above all, of Pentecost and similar mysteries (PLATE 35).36
This new design first originated in the northern art of the
fifteenth century (PLATES 38, 40) , as Kautzsch and Warburg
have shown,37 and later affected Italian art (PLATE 39); despite
modification of individual traits, and shifting of emphasis, its
COhlposition remained unaltered unt il the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries (PLATE 53) . We first meet with it as a
complete series in the illustrations to Christine de Pisan's EpUre
,. E. PA.NOFSKY and F. SAXL. in

Melr~poli/a ..

Mus." ... SI"di"-l. IV, ,. (193)), P.245 .

" A. YhR8URG. Gua"" ....U. S,hri/kn. VOL. T, Leipzig 1932, pp. 86 and 331.

,.....,

,
The planetary god sits on a cloud. a halo of st ars about

206

SATURN IN

nm

PICTORIAL TRADITION

. j

[ II . 11 .

d'Othi a:
him , like a true heaven1y ruler, and beneath, on the eart h, live
his "children"- in the case of Venus, lovers holding u'p their
hearts as sacrifices, in lhe case of Saturn , wise men asscrftblcd in

council (PLATE 36). The phenomenon of such an adaptati~n of the


Pentecostal scene to secular purposes is not unique at this time.
In a late fou rteenth-century miniature in the Vienna "Oracle
Book" (PLATE 37) we find a group of sages aud patriarchs assembled
under a hemisphere containing the seven planets,38 and the illustralions drawn about 1400 fol'" Boccaccio's De clans mulieribus show
Juno as a heavenly apparition hovering above her worshippers,
while Minerva forms with her artisan proteges something like a
mythology of the "Liberal Arts" (PLATE 34).39 A fusion of
the secularised Pentecostal design with this version of the "Liberal
Arts" picture makes further development easily comprehensible.
The use of a religious design in Christine de Pisan's ill ustrations
was made easier by the fact that the planets are here purely of
good significance. Each of them represents a particular vi rtue,
so that the assimilation of these pictures to representations such
as t hat of Pentecost seems natural enough. Moreover, once this
adaptation was completed by fusion with the " Liberal Arts"
motif, the design could also embrace the very different content
of the usual astrological texts, and so create the form of the
"planets' children" picture which remained in force for several
hundred years. Withul Ute frawework of tid.!) uevelopment there
were a number of elaborations and modifications. Thus, Saturn
was represented as an accountant and arithmetician (PLATE 43);
as the god of coffers, holding a key as well as a sick1e (PLATE 28);
as a labourer digging; and also as a rider bearing not only the
grand star but also the humble sickle on his banner (PLATES:2g, 41).
The scythe which he carries as well as, or instead of, the sickle,
may be turned into a spade or mattock, and these in turn can
become a crutch (PLATES 30, 38, 57), and finally this god of the
humble and oppressed acquires a wooden leg. Perhaps the curious
leg posture, which was occasionally copied from certain oriental
sources, and even an unconscious memory of the myth of Kronos's
.f Cf. A. STM"GIl. D,u/reAl Mal",; ""GoIill, VOL. II , Berlin 1936. fig. 33. The d ate " 'li med
by Sta nge teem. IOmewha t too u.rly.
f CI. the poc-tnt.iu of Juno in "aris. 8ibl. N:at., MS fr o 5')8, fol. I'; f'MiI. 8ib!. Nat ., MS
fr o 1' 4'0, 101. II; Dru~., Bib!. Royale. MS 9509. 101. 11": of Minerva ill Paris, Bibl. "'at.,
Af S fro !i98, to1 . 13: P.... is. Bibl. Nat., loiS fro U4 20, to1. 13'; Brusseb, Bibl. Royalel.!-IS
9!i09. 101.
For porttaiu of tho arts . ..ee \;clow. pp. )06 -w. (teI<t) .

'.5.

SATURN

I~

MV1HOGRAPH ICAl. ILLUSTRATION

20 7

castration may have played a part in this last disfiguremen t.


But on the other hand, fifteenth-century artists had already begun
to paint Saturn in somewhat more heroic colours, especially in
Italy, as one would expect. The Florentine series of "planets'
children" pictures is in some ways analogous to the pictures of
"triumphs", so popular after Petrarch : Saturn appears as King
Time with a scythe, in a chariot drawn by the " Dragons of Time"
which bite their own tails (PLATE 39). In the north, he appears
as a rider, like those in the pictures of tournaments. Finally, in
the Florentine Piau r~ Chronicle he appears in true human ist
fashion as the Latin king who taught the Romans agriculture
and founded Sutrium (PLATE 44)."
4.

SATURN I N MVTHOGRAPHICAL lLL USTRATJO KS OF


THE LATE MID OL F. AGES

Meanwhile , however, the mythographical illustrations, of which


we saw an early but isolated example in the Munich manuscript ,41
came to life again. With regard to content , t he mythographicaJ
texts of this time, that is to say, of the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, seem to have been completely " moralised": their
allegorical representation was interpreted in a Christian sense.
But their pictorial representation came under the sway of the
new " realistic" tendency which favoured a contemporary setting
- astrological illustrations, as we saw, had already been affected
in this way in relation to their oriental models. Thus the au t hor
of F tdgentiflS mdaforalisu makes Sat urn signify \\;sdom Hut
in the illustrations to this text ( PLATE 45) h e appears as a reigni n!!
monarch, his queen by his side, in fi fteenth-century costume.
while about him are depicted the various scenes of his life-
which a sensitive mind generally finds offensi'e. The med ieval
author could take even disgusting scenes as a subject for mora l
exhortation, because for him the true significance Jay no! in th e
picture itself but in its allegorical meaning.4.3
The most important series of illustrations of this kind arc the
fourteenth-century picture cycle in the French translation of
I. SIDN.! Y COLVIN .If

F lornf.U1Ir PUlwrtCIl' (ll'Ii,ll , Lond on

189!I, pla te

30.

" Om. 14271 .


.. H . L1u DCHOn , F"ltmiW$ Mtkl/oriliu (S tlld ien de.

Leipzig 1926, pp. 71

Bib"Qth~k

Warbu ,.; VOl

&qq .

.. See A . W ,UIII,;RG, GfJlIIM_flr Sd , i//t M, VOL . II . Le'pl'G 19J2 . pp. Q2i sqq.

l\.

20t-

SATU RX I X TH E PICTORI.'\L

TRADJTIO~

[ II. IT .

St .\n,t:: ust ilu's Ch.'itas Dei, and also-and these were more
fru itfll ~ the illustrations in the Ovide nlOTalisi. In both series
Saturn is endowed with attributes and brought into contexts
which had played, and could play, no part in astrology . In t~e
illustrations to t he Cite de Die" , Saturn, in remembrance of hlS
long and difficult voyage to Latium, appears as a dignified old m~
with a ship or ship's mast in his hand." On the other hand, .m
the first version of the French Ovide moralisi, where portr3.1ts
of t he great pagan gods appear as title vignettes to each book,
he is once more connected with the "Dragons of Time"u; above
all, Ihe :.cene of Saturn devouring his children, never before
represent ed even in antiquity, is here sho\\n in aU its crudity ,
just as the birth of Venus from the castrated m~mber is sho~n
in the above-ment ioned illustrations to FulgetJt~us meta/oral,s.
We see the god putting the child to his lips, sinking his teeth
in to its arm, or even having already devoured its head (PLATES
,,6, 49, 52, 144). Here we see the rut hless wickedness of the god,
Moloch devouring his own children, and the unbearable starkness
of this is softened only by the accompanying text . which
endea ....ours to interpret the picture allegorically ,
These motives are elaborated in the illustrations to Berchorius's
int roduct ion to the Latin Om'de 1IIoralist. and also in those to the
Libellus de i1lluginibll.s deorum ,411 which was taken from the same
introduction, The descriptions in this work later won a place in
cou ntless representations in both north and south ." The
.. U A 011 LAltQllllll, L.6J .... " ..U,../I " ~./ ..rfl 4# 1<1 CiU fl. Dot .. , ParU 1909, \'01.. I,
pp. 19S-<) : VOL. II, PI" 3n, 36,. 38:1, and plale ItX IV b.
.. A~ In elm. 14171.
.f

",,)tI" Se/frif/," ,

Cf. .\ . WAIIIIUIIG, Gw..

VOl.. II , PI" 453 aqq., , 62, 111 , ..8!i aqq .

.. T he fantattic poel ... lt, 01 th" pillnet. in t he Scow s &ISS are a Iy nthesis o f u trologieal
IDd m)'lhoio&ical pictorial tradition (the origin 0 1 Ihi, Saturn t ype, with . h ield a nd helmet,
.. diKuHed in E. PAt<O" KV ILDd F . SAX!.. in Mtlrop-oli/,.., .Jfwu ..... ShuJit$, IV, 1 (1 933),
p. 241 "'Iq.). The Scol ul l ype of planetary portr;t.i t becomes the predominant form o f iUut tn.
lion in astrolojj:ical MSS from the four teent h century o nwards, save that i n the fi fteenth
century they become "humanut lc" in a TIl.m ...... tHe m;r.nner by the re.introduction of the I l y le
of the Calendlr of 3:1 4, t.-.nsmi tted by Carolingia n model. (d. Dar mstadt , Cod. 166,
reprod nced in i'AtoO"KY and SAXL (Ioc. ci t ,), p. 166; SaJr.burg, Cod. V 1 G 8 , / 83 ; and Cod,
Vat . 1'1.1. la t. 1J70). Si milar ly, we have tbe copie~ of Ca.rolingl&n Rabanu s Maurul MSS
mad e in t he fi fteenth ce ntnry, U" revi v. 1 0 1 interest in Carolingian Ulu st ... tion, of Terenu
(also d ... scr i~d I,)y I'ANO" KY and SAX1., Ioc. ci t ,), the copies o f th e No/iii" di, nil/J/""', etc,
A cella;n p;r.raI1el to this proto-RenaiSN.n(e in the north can perillo", ba di.cerned in the fact
that pl .. net;r.ry god. in nort hern fi fleent h-century art ;r.PIKar U .. r uto as Da ..ed ltandinl
figurn, somewhat reminilCen t of the clusical type o f Romu TIlliefs repr_nt in, the Godl o f
the Week, though no direct inlluence can be . hown , In the high Middle ASes n .... ed pla netary
god. appear, for I(,.!dal reuons, in t he el<ce ptio" ..1 case of the J>ro,,-en<;a1 Illust rations to
) b TFlu. E IU,'J:~(;"'U D'. n ",/i", j ",'A ... "" (d, e.l, tl' e \'ichlres 01 Sat urn in Paris 13i1.ll. Nat.,
MS fro 9~19, fol. 3J. Dr Lon<lon, Drit. Mu . , H.,k ill n MS 4940 , fol. 33).

s)

SATURN IN HUMANISM

20<)

chil~:-devoUIing motif passed from mythographical art into the

pictures of the planets and their "children" (in PLATE 47. even
combined with the castration motif!) and later became a characteristic feature of such representations ( PLATES 48 and 49).48
5

SATURN IN HUMANISM

The great diversity of types which arose from the fourteenth century
onwards shows that, after the almost complete stagnation of the
previous epoch, a real revival of the ancient gods had now begun,
and that a genuinely humanistic re-creation- that is to say, a
consciously "c1assical" treatment of them- was both possible
and to some extent called for. This was especially true of Saturn.
We shall see later the significance which this most sinister of the
gods was to attain in Italian humanism, but even here we can see
how the fonner portraits of the poor peasant, the wicked devourer
of children, the cunning arithmetician, or even the triumphal god
of Time or the worthy founder of cities, could not satisfy the
requirements of a culture in which the ancient gods again became
proper deities. The Italian Renaissance desired a picture of
Saturn comprising not only the two aspects of the Saturnine
nature, the wicked and the mournful as well as the sublime and
the profoundly contemplative, but also revealing that "ideal"
form which seemed attainable only by reverting to genuinely
classical examples. This humanistic rehabilitation of Saturn was
achieveU about 1500 in one of the most remarka ble centres of
Italian culture-the city that was the home of the ageing Bellini,
of the young Giorgione, and of Titian .
Humanism took time to reach Venetian art, but after the
later years of J acopo Bellini a distinctly humanistic trend can be
obser,Ved. In the sketchbooks which J acopo left to younger
gener;a:tions we find a singular collection of archaeological drawings.
JacopO Bellini not only drew sketches of works of antiquity,
which might serve one or another artist as a model or as an
inspiration for his own work, but he also preserved inscriptiops
of no artistic or even historical significance, such as those on the
tomb of a seamstress.4t There was therefore a general archaeo.. ID the relief OD the Campanile ID FI()I"tDCe, Saturn. ua.;tly u in the o..u- ...or.li,1 W:S
(Paris, BiN. Na.t., .[5 Ir, 19IU), holds the ehlid be is about to devour upright, but inltead
of the dracoD of Time he hokb a whecl of Time, evidently a bumam.tk Innovatioa..

. .. C. Rl~, J.1/'O B dli ..i , I Joooi


h o.... ", llll........... , VOL. v, 2:142).

"'iut"i,

VOL. I, FlotenQe 1908, pla.te !il .

~ ;..u rip-

210

SATURN IN THE PICTORIAL TRADITION

'[II . II.

logical and humanist interest in antiquity, which enabled Ja,copo's


son ~in 1aw. Mantegna, at the beginning of his career, to u.se on e
of the drawings in this sketchbook when painting the fresCoes of
the Eremitani Chapel,5O and reached the peak of its development
in Mantegna's Triumph of Caesar. On the other hand, ]acopo
Bellini himself, the contemporary of Donatello, seems scarcely
to have been touched by classicism in those of bis drawings and
paintings which do not have antiquity as their subject . He

remains a true later-Gothic painter, with a marked and quite


unhumanistic interest in the landscapes, trees, rivers, bridges,
birds and mountains of his own country. Thus the elder Bellini's
work contains the two separate trends whose combination was to
give the works of lhe Venetian renaissance their special character
- works such as the young Titian's reconstructions of Philostratic
pictures, which showed Bacchic figures and children of Venus in
an antique rhythm set in his native landscape, and depictin g
statues of Venus in noblemen 's parks, combined archaeological
humanism with the contemporary Venetian manner. Titian's
paintings for Alfonso I of F errara represent the culmination of
this style.
Giulio Campagnola's engraving of Saturn (PLATE 54) is another ,
though modest, witness to this movement.'l It is an early work
of the artist, who signs it with the scholarly name of "Antenoreus",
as a successor to the Antenor who came from Troy to the province
of V~ni ce :m d was said to have founded Padua. Perhaps because
this was the work of a less strong personality, it shows the
t endencies of the time in many respects particularly clearly.
Tn the foreground Saturn is lying on the ground , and next to
the figure are some curious rocks and the trunk of a tree. ]n the
middle dist ance to the right there is a small wood with~ high
branches and undergrowth . The background consists of a fortified
city by the sea on which a ship is sailing. It is striking how litt le
inner connexion the picture of the god in the foreground has
with the "modem" centre and background. Neither the background nor the tree t r unk on the left are Campagnola 's own
invention, but are taken from two different engravings by Durer.
But Campagnola might have been able to take these details from
Durer and yet to relate them to the main figure in such a way
.. See RICCI. op. cit . p. 70.
.. C . F . H "''llTLA UII . GIO'1lone lind dt f Myt hos del' Akadt m ien. in Re/'n'I(fri",,, /"r
b jt. XLVIII ('9271. pp. 2,) .qq .

K,," IIIIIi~" .. u

2II
SATUR N IN H UM.ANISM
s)
that no disunity would be visible in the picture. It looks rather
as if he had actually intended a sort of dualism . For it was in
the historical tradition of Venetian art after ]acopo Bel1ini to
regard ancient monuments with archaeological detachment, while
placing them in a "modem" setting which underlined their
remoteness. The figure of the god is strange. so is his name, so
is the whole convention, yet he appears in the present, among
objects of everyday life. The body on the bare earth looks like a
statue, but the left hand reaches gently towards the reed like t he
hand of a living man, his regard is turned reflectively to one side,
his brows are drawn together. There is certainly nothing st atuesque about the foot or the reed , but how remote from life the completely rounded folds of the drapery appear. compared with the
stones on the ground! Perhaps the impression of this fi gure can
best be explained by saying that it looks like the apparition of a god
of an tiquity in modem life. In this respect , Campagno\a is a
typical fifteenth-century Venetian . who studied antiquity fr om
the archaeological point of view and related it to t he present without ever quite bringing it to life, as T itian was to do only a little
later on. It seems that we can even trace Campagnola 's act ual
model, for his engraving obviously deri ves from the figu re of the
river or sea god (the interpretation is not defini tely settled) on the
triumphal arch at Benevent053 (PUTE 55' . Campagnola's Sat um
shares with this god the sidelong glance and bent head, both of
which are really only explicable within the whole composition of
the arch. Even the tree stump is a visual memory of the somewhat
indistinct um; the attribute of the reed may probably be explained
by the fact that in the relief the reed s growing behind the fi gure
merge into the now unrecognisable symbol in the god 's right hand.
and, more important still, the Benevento god' s billowing drapery
together with the singular headdress makes it look e\en to-day
as if his cloak were pulled over his head in the classical mann er
of the "caput velatum" . This odd combination of seeming and
real peculiarities of the melancholic and Saturni ne n a tu~e
hand propped up, head apparently concealed by a cloak- might
very well have given the archaeologically-minded Campagnola
reason to interpret the figure on the Benevento arch as Sahlrn .
or at least to use the figure as Saturn. He cert ainly considered
.. The arch may have become lmown to h im througb an tnpVHlI .(n r a ~ra"' ,o~) hl<e the

tifteentb<entury engraving PQ bliabed by S. n _IIIAClI . La p lus an<;lenr.c I m;J.~e gn.,'e de


I'u<; de B\!n'vent" In M ~I."I" Btrl{uu. Pu il 1924 . pp. 2)1-1JS. plate XI' } . .\. ~t. i!ISD .
Early I1alia .. E "tra";.,. VOL. I. London 1938. p. z 8, .

212

SATURN IN THE PICTORIAL TRADITION

[11. II .

Sa tuOl as a di\'inity who, apart from his other attributes, stood


in some special relation to water: this is shown by the symbol
of a reed and by the seascape in the background. This conception,
moreover, may be based on those texts which describe Saturn as
"accidentaliter humid us" , call him a voyager over many seas,
and attribute to him the patronage of those who live by the sea,
and [or which the best authority is the famous north Italian
astrologer, Guido Bonatti. S3 There was also the fact that since
the ~Iidd1e Ages men had become accustomed to imagine Saturn
like this; in the Roman lVlirabilia. one of the two ancient river
gods which stand in front of the Senatorial Palace was taken for
a statue of Saturn. SoI The special significance of the engraving
whose landscape, as we have said, makes full use of motives in
earlier Durer engravings, lies not so much in its possible influence
on Durer's M elencolia 151> (whose background landscape may well
have been inspired by Campagnola) as in the fact that here for
the first time, anew, humanist and idealised Saturn has been
created-so much so, in fact, that Campagnola's immediate
successors reverted to the more usual conception, whether like
Girolamo da Santa Croce, forsaking antique motives but retaining
the general plan and dressing Saturn as an old peasant (PLATE S6).se
or like Lorenzo Costa transforming the antique Saturn, in the
mournful attitude of a river god, into a Christian St J erome deep
in meditation .57
Campagnola 's classically idealised form of Kronos, however,
could be translated into realms even more remote from reality,
in which the classically robed god was equipped with pinions;
and thus, as already on Orphic and Mithraic tombstones at the
end of classical times, he acquired the special nature of a god of
time. Out of KronOs, who possessed the character of a god of
time only incidentally, was reborn Chronos, whose main function
was the fat al destruction of all earthly things, combined with
the rescue of truth and the preservation of fame. In this last
met amorphosis he became an almost essential requisite for the
marble aUegories on tombstones and for the didactic title-pieces
..

lbov". p . IS<} (text).

.. Mi' lIl>ilill Ro.."e, ed. G. Farthey. Dulin 1869. p. 2 .

.. See belo.... p . 188 sq. (text ), p. )2 note 1),5.


.. G. Fl occo. " \ pittori da Santacroce", III LArl., XlX (19 16), p. 19<>.
.. Formerly Bulin. Kaufmann Collec tion; n:produced in A. V."'Tual. 51MU. uW"lc
iflll;""., VOl.. VII , ), Milan 1914. p. 8n, fig. 600.

59J

SATURN IN HUMANISM

2I3

of many works dealing with the ruined and yet remembered past
(PLATE 59).~
In outward appearance, too, portraits of this
resu~ected Saturn-Chronos often resemble the Chronos, Aion or
Kairos of late antiquity69; but it is doubtful whether he actually
derives from them. The figure of a winged Saturn seems rather
to have been formed at a point where a spontaneous connexion
could be established between the peasant ~deity and the allegory
of Time: that is to say, in t he illustrations to Petrarch's Trio1ifo
del T empo60 (PLATE 57). Petrarch makes Time appear in conjunction with the sun, but gives the illustrators no further
indications. The latter, therefore, in the representations of this
triumph, used Saturn, who is not mentioned in the text, as the
personification of Time and endeavoured to make his significance
clear by giving to Saturn the attribute of an hour-glass," or,
occasionally, of a zodiac. Above all, however, they idealised the
traditional, pre-Renaissance form of the peasant god by giving
him wings. In this way they equipped him as a true personification of time, completing his portrait by a new and, in medieval
opinion, quite un-Saturnine trait taken over from a purely
allegorical tradition in art- as seen, for instance, in an allegory
of Temps of about 1400 (PLATE 58).u This process is confrrmed
by some fifteenth-century Italian illustrations to Petrarch, in
which Saturn, personifying time, stands, like the figure in the
French miniature, with arms hanging down symmetrically, and
is equipped with four wings which are to represent the four
seasons.03 Once completed, this humanist reunion of Saturn and

1/,,,,

.. After th e reprint made in Amsterdam, entitled Ei,,,,UyA. AfN~ldi"l~


lIf1Md~'"
lUI' Aldtl'1l~",lIte,dsl' S laJwn<. of ANiqut-Buldnt. 51,." .. 4 bi.. tte .. R,."" ... of a work by
FRAN~OIS P ..... I ... which had appeared in Rome in 16)8 with the remarkable title 5rl"'~ ..1A
fWbili ..", ril"QI'V" d lIaJf.UlnI'" flUU k"'Ptwis d".k,... i,ulidi",... l,icl

'''IIUI'l.

.. Fdr lhd. d . A. GUIn:IfHAGIJN. J)i, ANi.. ,. vot.. XI, Bulin 19)5. pp. 61 sqq.

.. After PaINe. D'EssLING and E. Mttl'lTZ. Pit''''flU ... Paris 1902. plate faeing p . 1.8.
"Th~ later- found its way ioto Renaissanee and Ba.toquc portrayalt of De.a.th. and bcume
.. Iymbol of impeTmanen~ ud " memento morr' in seoeral.

n Cf .. E. PANOl'Sl(V. H ,,,ul,, /J'" Sclll:id.wel' (StudieD der BiblioUlek Warburg. VOL. XVIU).
p . plate $.

Leip~ig 19)0.

0>. Reproduced in PlI.uocs D'EssLiNG and E. MONTZ. P II''''lIl' ..


Pa..s '902, p . 161.
Later the motif of ehlld-devouring or child-menacing peoetrated into the iUuslrations to
Pelran:b (cf. e.g. a tapestry from Madrid. described by Pa IMC. DEssUNG and E. MOHTZ
op. eit. p. 218. a nd a n enpyillg by J Org Pcn(:.l. reproduced in tbe arne work. p. 262. ~
well ~ a woodcut to Il Pd,...u ~"'" rE'JIO'itiqtt, dAtu,.u,., VoIl ..k/lo. VeDiee 1,560, rol.
26]"). Only rarely. howeyer. use was lnade of the idea. IU8'!e.ted by the text, of identifyillg
Tim e with the lOll; d . PalMu DEssLU<G and E . MOIfn. op. cit. p. ':19. Or the woodeut to
Il Pd~I"'1toa ",II rEI/xlliliOM Iii M . G. G~", Venieoe Ij8r, rol.01-[n whic.h. howcyCT.
the wiligf!d god of time folio....' beMnd the s an'. ehanor.

214

SATURN IN THE PICTORIAL TRADJTIOX

Chronos . led naturally to a reversion. a return to the ancient


figures of Chronos, Karros and Aion. It produced the familiar
type of the naked god of Time, an idealised figure of an old man
with wings, which, though commonplace enough in later periods,
in fact owes its existence to a very complicated and varico series
of events."

PART III
"Poetic Melancholy': and
"Melancholia Generosa"

.. Sometimes even reviving tbe winged feet eharacteristie of lh e eluaieal Kair'OS (d. e.g
F. S,l.X L. "Veritu lilia T emporb", In PM/asaplly find Histtwy. EUIlY, p"s, nled to E. C.lli",.
edd. R. K1ibanlky and II. J. Paton. Odord 1936. p. 197 .fig. 4). A. CRIIJ'ENU,l.OI N. Di,
An/ill,. VOL. XI. Berli" 1935, pp. 67 .qq ., dilCUHeS other Ren.a.issane. imitatiollll of the anelcnt
KaUo. and Chrono. typa:, occ:uionally even evolved from the type of Cupid bound a.od
coo.demned to .. boIIr with. pieku;e, .. in fip. 13 and 14, wtueb, Ineldentally, are derived
from Carmi. A.....y be upeeted. W .pec:mcany middle- and late-Rt.nalMana portn}'1l.l
... based throuShout on the two-winSed typt.. The only uCf.ption ... the 6",", illu. trated III
V. CAllTARl, u l-,i.. i d,i tWde, 1i .,,'idi. Padlla . 603. p. 3', and Veoiee 1674. p. 19. which
hal four winp on the shoulders and two 011 the head-aDd which, as Cartari expreesly l tate..
was evolved from a dcsc:ription of the Phoenician Sat urn in Eusebiu. (d. above, test p. 196).

CHAPTER I

POETIC MELANCHOLY' IN POST-MEDIEVAL


POETRY
1.

MELANCHOLY AS A SUBJECTIVE MOOD IN LATE MEDIEVAL POETRY

There is a line of development in the history of the word


"melancholy" in which it has become a synonym for "sadness
without cause". It has come to mean a temporary state of mind,
a feeling of depression independent of any pathological or physiological circumstances, a feeling which Burton2 (while protesting
against this extension of the word) calls a "transitory melancholy
disposition" as against the "melancholy habit" or the "melancholy disease".
Thus one could say that someone was "melancholy to-day"something unthinkable in the Middle Ages; moreover, the predicate
"melancholy" could be transferred from the person to the object
that gave rise to his mood, so that one could speak of melancholy
spaces; melancholy light, melancholy notes or melancholy landscapes.3 Naturally this transformation was accomplished not in
medical or scientific WTitings but in the type of literature which
tended essentially to observe and to represent man's sensibility
as haying value in itself- that is in lyric, in narrative poetry. and
also in prose romances. The term "melancholy". ever more widely
used in popular late medieval writings, was, specially in France,
eagerly adopted by writers of belles-lettres in order to lend colour to
ment~ tendencies and conditions, In doing this they gradually

IJ., MIIt..nn_. June

I Thus the title of a tonnct by W. H AMILTON RKID In TJu G .uh..


1791, p. ,567

Cf. ROBBIIT BURTON, An,"","), 0/ M,l/JlJdo/y, Partition I , Section I, Member i, !ubletion


,5: "Melancholy , , , is either in disposition, or habit. In dispoeition, is th .. t transitory
Intd~choly whieb goes and comu ~pon every small ocusion of torrow, need. sickness, trouble,
fear, grid, pasaion or perturbation 01 the mind , . " In which equ.ivoea\ and improper IeRSe
we call him me1aJ::u;holy that is duJ1. pd, !lOur, lumpish, Ill-disposed. aolltary, any way moved
or displeaxd. And from these mel;weboly dUipoaiOOIli no mao living Q free . "
This
melancholy of wbich we are to treat is .. h .. bit, ... a chronic or continuate di5USe, a settled
bumO\lr, ' . , not ern.nt, b~t fixed," Fo r Burton c.!. also JONATlIAK WRJGIIT, in J\hdi'IJ I
jo ,mllJl'and RICord, CXXX (19::9J, pp. 19l IIqq. (in several insta.lmenu).

Cf. Sbakespeue'. enumeration in:H,.". IV, PT I, t, ii, 8:: IIqq.

" 7

218

POETIC MELANCHOLY I N POST-}.fEDlE VAL POETRY

[III. I.

altered and transferred the originally pathological meaning of this


notion in stich a way that it became descriptive of a more. or less
temporary " mood". Pa rallel with its proper scientific and medical
usage, therefore. the word acquired another meaning which we
may call a specifically "poetic" one. This use of the word had a
history of its own , and, once fixed, was bound to affect everyday
usage more strongly than the t erms of esot eric science could do.

Not, of course, that the two original notions of melancholyas a disease and as a temperament-disappeared entirely fro m
literature and common usage. In love lyrics, (or instance,
" melancholy" was still constantly used as a synonym for madness,
and in portraits the description "melancholy" was used entirely
in the sense of a permanent disposition. But, except in scientific
literature, the traditional usage tended more and more towards
the subj ective and transitory meaning, until at length it was so
overshadowed by the new "poetic" conception that this last
became the normal meaning in modem thought and speech.1i
Even in Boccaccio (especially in his Ninfale Fiesola1Jo) we fmd
expressions like
pella maninconia e pel dolore
ch'j' sento, che m'offende dentro il core,

or

ove que! giorno dal padre aspettato


era stato con gran manincorua,

or

malinconoso e mal contento,

or

caendo la sua amante aspra e selvaggia


e che facea lui star malincoooso'

Cf . the enamoured autb<N"'. leU-portrait in Lu kJu~, .. mollr~ ..... (ERHST SI"',._, "Let
fdle<:S alliouffllx", in L;u~..rlli$l,,"u/u F(Wu"""INl, IX (18<)8), p. 60) :

"Ain. mil veist on un. d~ure


Muer .oubdainemeot (:()u].O\JI,
Muer de froid ul"fI en chalour ..
00 sen, cn parla.itte folill,
De RailOn en melancolie ..."
Eve n Ficino reminds u. In hi. comlllllntary on the S,m/>Olillm of tbll pbplclan.' op inion
(see abovII, tex t p. at'l) that love i, " "na. specie di umOI"fl malincon k:o II dl p aula ."
That naturally doot not aitllr thll fact that in poetic d escriptions o f tbll m, la ncholy mood
th e typical traits of tbe " morb us melancholicu!" constantly reappeu-in fact , ttll' t. th,
rul e wherev,r melancholy appe&rI as a personl6ca tion, as we ~a\1 see later. A particularly
inltructiva axarnplll il K .. HI 5 .. c l1,, G prlk" tUr Plriloplli .. mit ';" . m mtltJ'''''QIiI~AI'',
IN/rlIbI ... jli ..
(Blbllothok de. litervUchen Vereins Stu ttprt, VOL. CV, r8,0), pp. '4 1
"Iq., In whlch aven the ..... dlcal term "Obe.-.chwank mhmen" oceurl.
I

,Ii..,

I BoceAC:C;:IO, Ni"/oh F;,U/lo"o, ed . B. Wiese, ill Sammlung romaniK.ber Elmllmtar_.nd


Haudbtlcher, M'ne. v, No. ), Hddtlbeq: 19 1). The enmples quoted are holD ltanU. )) 1,
Wiese (ed.) op. cit ., p . 75; .tanaa 1 ' , ibid. p . 18; atano. -,0, ibid. p. '7;'tatu.a 55, IbM!. . po '4,
AIIO (i .. m ..U.) Ibno. 244, Ibid. p . ", and rtanza 276, ibid. p. 6].

MELA NCHOLY AS A SUBJ ECTI VE MOOD

2 19

-all expressions in which melancholy is conceived neither as a


disease nor as an habitual disposition, but rather as a purely
mental, temporary mood. Only a lit tle later, French literature
too began to use the "subjective" notion of melancholy in the same
way, and here the noun " m~ancolie" signified both the trouble
someone had and the trouble he caused others, while t he verb
"merencolier" became a synonym for "at trister", and the adjective
"melancoJique" or, more commonly, "meJ.ancolieux", could already
be transferred fro m the person experiencing this feeling to the
circumstance that caused it. "Quant on s'endort en aucun
desplaisir ou merencolie" ," for instance, appears in a story by
Louis XI, and love literature carried this !'leaning so far as to
speak of "petites merencolies", in the sense of " lovers' qu~rrels".8
uSe meIancolier" meant "to become sad" or "to thmk sad
thoughts"," and the adjective "melancolieux" could describe
either the mood of someone sad or out of humour ("on l'a trouve
melancolieux et ire", or "Alexandre melancolieusement pen sant
a ses pertes"lO) or the look of a mad dog ("Ie chien enrage regard e
de travers et plus melancholiquement que de coustume"ll) as well
as the impression of nightls or the mood caused by any " sad"
object. " ] e suis entree en grant merencolie", .sings one of
Christine de Pisan's women in love, when she thmks that her
cavalier has cbanged his allegiance13 ; and the visionary drea m, a
very common device in medieval narrative poetry- ?enerall.y
inlroduced by the narrator finding himself in rural sohtude-Is

I.",IU

, Quoted from F. GOOl.noY , Didi"" ... i,. .. /' ..."",,.,


j'."f"'U. \'O~ . v , S. PUll
18118, pp. 221 sqq .
Et sach",. qu 'elle fait a IOn amy ctnt chou...., e l monsue del ,.,.;.ru d am"" r _ et f'lIl
pillsieurs petites merencoliu qua tile n'ouM'rQi t lalrt ne monuo:'r a son r.la c~
et o.I~ lan l
quil i"aul1l plus chieTe, de tan t luy fera elle. plul de me lencohn pour !u' ~onne : Kt.u u _,
(qlloted from Goo~,.o ... , op. cit.; &I early a. 1389 we mett "Ith an e><pr~.,on..5uth a~ :ar ~
plusieurs courrou:., d ... pla iuncu et mtrencolllr ...') . I n a sentence li ke .. ,'x rc'SIU ln UI
respirare ex mul tis quaerimoniil et melancolilR, qu ,bul nOn cessa mus \"ex~~' acco",I'''~ tDU Co.HGE, G loJl~,i" , .. ' n.llil" " i"Ji'".' 11I/",,/a/oJ . VOl. . v. :\iort ,SS5 p." 9 ~~.r "", d
'melanch oli...., i, a tmOllt 1)'nonymo1l1 with ' compl.in l " o r ""la mt:l!.

" Lorsquc Ie roy vyt qu e il nen ve ndroi t point ai,teeme nl a IOn ,nlen l10n . 'l.se melen con".
et se party d .. euls (bkl n from Gonx"aoy. op. cit. ; ibid .: 'et pUl. il se prenon a pen.e r su,
Ia table en se merencoliant"). In trln,ltlv.form : " eton t plus.eur. foi51"~"OIent melOlncohet
et Courouciet. ft I. Intllresting that Ger man naroque should h"ve reintroduced the ' er h
" meLancholien:n " (I'. VOH SPII:a, T.N/z" adllta" . ed. G. !bIke. Leipzig 1579. P 70 ).
II From GoDUROY, op. cit.
II From GoD ....OV. op. cit.
II F rom Goo"n.ov, op. cit .
.. en a1STIHa Da PIS,,",', C,ot' e.urul" 4'A .... ,,/ ~/ i, D....' . ~o 8,!; ,Or.,... u t'I:J'I"
vO .... III. ed. M. Roy. Socio!u! des ancitns tut ... fr.n~ai .
11190. P ' 95'

r"ris

220

POETIC lIEL:\XCHOL\' IN POSTMEDIEVAL POETR Y

[III . I.

no\\ conjured up not by the writt:r's fatigue or sorrow, but by


his 'melancholy". Fifteenthcentury poets fly to nature's bosom
pom oblicr merencolie
et pour faire plus chiere lie. U

Th us in all modern European literature the expression


"mclancbolv" (whcn not in a scientific context) lost the meaning
of a qualit~: and acquired instead the meaning of.a " mood" w.hich
could forthwith be transferred to inanimate obJects--sometunes
!II a si mple and serious sense, as when a Florentine pa trician's
widow spea ks of the melancholy of hcr loneliness,l5 or when a
place is described as " lonely and melancholy"lI; sometimes in .a
sentimental and emotional sense, as when Sannazzaro makes hlS
shepherds roam with melancholy brow and melancholy speech17 ;
sometimes gaily and frivolously, as when Boj~do ' m~kes a
disappointed lady who has passed an eventless rught with her
cavalier remain all day " malinconiosa e tacita"18 ; sometimes
coarsely and cynically, as when an invalid canon writes to his
friend , "But if anyone thinks I am at death's door, let God try
me with a young girl, and see how soon with her help I shall
drive all melancholy away."19
2.

"DAME MERENCOl YE"

Melancholy's change of meaning was connected with a I?rocess


gene rally noticeable in the late Middle Ages when esoten c and

"'n.

" ,\LAI:'> CHARTIE R. Li~.,"~ QIUll .. DIl"~$. in O" ..


ed. A. du Chesne, ~ 1611. P: ~94 ;
d . F. LAMay. R omll"is,bl Hllndsd d/te .. (Die HllndscJ,ri/ten dlr Gros~!terl~g"''''n BlIlilu~"
LllnI/,sb ib/iol/,d in !(lIrb' NAe. Beillloge IT . 18<}". pp. 26 aqq.). Very similar, In DutlC Pon BR S

By ",i!en to ginghe Ie . pasieren


Op eenre lopcnd cr rivieren.
Om t8 verdrivcn ma.lllncolye.
Ves vic! ic in een fanlasie .
(quot<'d in W . WAKnO LOT. Dils !(f(JssiuA. L n,d, Leip~ ig 1927, p. 8 ; however, tbo.ugb.'t~.
been soown t hat the pcNIt went to Rom8 in 1,,11, thff8 is no naiKIn to assume a n IlUIpuation
00 the bank ot the Tiber aJ the SOUI"08 o t this quite conventional Introduction to a "dream
,ision ").
" .\L JI.$$ ASDRA MAC HI(lI Il -SnOnl ,
oJi fig /ioU, ed. S. Papini, LaDciano 191". P 41.

L,ll,.,

" Quoted belo",. p. J S6. note ) 4

" J. SA~ HAlARO.


p.

1~4 .

A nlldill. ed . M. Sch8riUO. Turin I88S. e.g. p. I~. line ~6; p . IJ I. line ~ ;

lin es 2 sqq.

" M. M. BOJ AROO, O'/Mldo z,mt1m or(lto, I. 24, 16.

I. "Loren t Behei m an WiUibald Pirc:kheimer. ed . E . Reicke. in Fo,s,~ ..nl'" I N' Glu/lidt.


8ayn.u, XVI (1906), p. 34 ; the above passages are abo quoted by O . HAGnl , in K ..,,$ldnnt i/l.
VOL. XX \l III . Leipzi g 19 11, p . 45"

"DAME MERENCOLYE"

2]

221

scientific notions sank down to the level of popular thought and


speech. Similar tendencies transformed the seven deadly si~s
into " follies" or mere characteristics,1tO made townsfolk scnh
mentcill y aware of the peasant's toil and the trackless wilds of
nature, and led to the attempt at cat ching the reality of the
visible world in the mirage of perspective. Furthermore. melancholy , by acquiring the psychological content of notions originally
applying only to mental states, inherited also their pictorial form.
In other words, melancholy, understood in this new sense, appears
in fift.eenth-century poetry both as an expression of speech and as
an active and speaking person who was even capable of being
portrayed.
Medieval didactic poetry, elaborating the methods inherited
from late Roman authors like Prudentius or Martianus Capella,
had personified. nearly all objects of human thought and feeling.
Among these personifications were naturally to be found those
embodying mental pain- figures such as "Souci", "Deffiance" .
"Desespoir", or, above all, "Tristesse" . And as common usage
tended more and more to describe the content of t hese notions
as " melancholy",1.l it is not surprising that tills expression too
was personified . In the Espera"ce ou Con,solatio" des Trois Vertus
written in I428 by Maistre Alain Chartier, Royal Notary and
Sei::retary to Charles VI,n we find a "Dame Merencolye" taking
over many of the functions, as well as much of the outward
appearance, of the "Tristesse" described nearly two hundred
years earlier in the Roman de fa Rose.'l3 Like Guillaume de Larris's
" Tristesse", Alain Chartier's "Dame M&encolye" is of terrifying
aspect, pale, lean, wrapped in poor or ragged garments; the same
can be said of the "Melencolie" in the romance Le Cuer d' amours
espris, written b y King Rene of Anjou (who died in I 480) , for

See belo .... pp. 291 sqq. (text).

" How' srudy the notion. 01 ";l.Cedia". "tristitia" a nd " melanc;bo[~" minsled a nd inter.
penetrated d uring the b.tet Middkl Ages call be !teen. lor inatanoe. ill tbe ltalia.rl trad Fio
4i Y i.lu. in whi~h "maniDconla" is introduced as a ' ub-species of "trlst itia" (Rom8 edn ..
1140, p . 18); wh il8 on the ot her hand, in CECCO O'ASCOLi'. A,nb<a, ' Aecedi.a" a ppeart with
all the c haracteristics of the "'T,istesse 01 the Ro .." ... 4. ta R on. (F. Rougemont kindly
in formed u~ that ill Florenoc. Bi btioteca LauI8n~ia.na Cod. pl ut. XL. ~2. fot. )1'. " Accedia"
appeal1l as .a woma n ",ith torn rai m8llt and lleel<s 01 blood on her breast.)

.. Cf. P. CHAo.UtOIl', Hi5toi poilique d" XV , mcl#, Pa,1.t 192), Vot... I. p .


of the m Ole important MSS.
~aris

with a list

0 .. LoRRJS a nd JIlAN DII: Mr.UII!:, Lz RofIa " /a Rou. ed. E. Lanaloia.


1920. Hnes 293 "I.q.

.. GUll.LAUI",

VOL. II,

13~ .

222

POETIC MELANCHOLY IN POST*MEDIEVAL POETRY

(m.

J.

here she appears as "une grant viel1e escheve1ee, maigre, et ridee" .u


Admittedly this "Dame M~ rencolye" is not a mere copy of
"Tristesse", but has been radlca11y modified . "Tristesse" possessed
certain characteristic qualities which "Dame Mercncolyc" was
denied, and in the same way the latter possessed traits which had
been lacking in the former. For instance, the "Tristesse" in the
Roman de la Rose-a figure by no means dulled and apathetic.

but wild and despairing- bears a tcar*stained and raddle<) visage,


while King Rene's "morne et pensive" Melancholy wanns herself
by a fire which "was so wretched that a cat could barely have
burnt its tail at it". and is brooding so deeply that she can scarcely
tear herself away from her thoughts. Alain Chartier's "Dame
Merencolye" is distinguished by her " leaden and earthy com
plexion", "halting speech" , "drooping lip" and ~' downward
regard" . Needless to say, in bot h cases the traits which " Melancolie" does not share with "Tristesse" have been taken over from
humoral pathology. Even the "wretched fire ", which is a fam iliar
touch of calendar illustrations, is nothing but an elabora tion of the
common attribute of "frigiditas". Common usage had reduced
the ide..'l of melancholy to that of a mere mood. But from the
moment when this subjective mood became personified, we may
say that melancholy regained all its essential characteristics as a
visible image of temperament and disease, standing out from
mere " Tristesse" (which King Rene significantly allows next to
her as " parente bien prochaine" ) as something more menacing
and at the same time more active. And this corresponds with
the dramatic and psychological function henceforth attributed to
the personified Melancholy in narrative contexts.
The general character of King Rene's work (which seeks rather
to give life to a given set of allegories than to clothe a personaJ
experience in allegory) is descriptive and unemotional. When

,/>"',

.. Cf. o. S.lITA ... and E. Wl/He u . H'~1Of R~ .. I N " l"'jON. L iv,~ liN C..." " ...",o."
Vle.nnil 19J6, yo .... II , pp. ~ l ~q . and .. 9 "lq. I n liftnth-ce ntury French lyric., ioo, it ""at
cUltomary to treilt "Melll.n chotie" almost as il Hying penonilge:
' Ferme~ luy I'uis au visaige,
Mon c ueur, a Merancolye,
Cardu 'la'elle n 'en tre mye,
Poor guter nostre mesnaigt . . . . "t
C"AaLES D'Oar.tANS. PoIJu$, cd. p, Champi on, vot. II. Paris 19Z7, p. ~ ,8, C1. al.oa poem h y
the 11U118 author with the. refrain
"Ale&.vou...ent, aIle&, ales,
So"" y, Soing et 1olercneolie"Champion (ed .) op. cit., p. )fo. We o ..e both these re f~nees to Dr A, Hdma nn,

!I

223
"DAME Mt RENCOLYE"
2J
the hero, "Le Cuer", accompanied by his squire "Desir", strays
into Melancholy'S wretched hut and asks for food and drink,
"Melencolie" contents herself with giving him a beaker of water
from the "Fleuve de Lann e" and a crust of bread of "DuTe Paine"
grain , and with pressing the same nourishment on him on a .later
occasion; whereupon " Le Cuer" falls into " un pcnscment Sl t res
grief" that he would almost have died of sorrow had not the
recollection of his mistress " Esperance" fortified him a little.
Melancholy's actions and influence are therefore not particularly
dramatic or terrifying, although, within the limitations of a
romance where "Dame Tristesse" saddens the hero mainly by
the poor quality of hel wine, the peculia: nature of a strictly
melancholy depression is none the less visible,
Alain Chartier's unfinished poem, however, shows such intensity
of emotional experience, and such astounding capacity for findin g
for this experience dramatic symbols and forms of speech, th at
here, in complete contrast to King Rene's work, the poet's verbal
images far excel the illustrator's visual ones in power. On account
of their unemotional character , the static descriptions of Rene s
romance lent themselves easily to the contemporary style of
illustration, and the miniatures of the fa mous Vienna manuscript
with their enchanting lyrical atmosphere were t heir nat ural t ranslation into visual terms ( PLA TE 60) ,25 Alain Chartier , on t he
contrary, described his exper~ence of melancholy with a dramatic
force far surpassing the possibilities not only of contemporary or
near-<:ontemporary miniaturists ( PLATE 64)21 and wood en g r~l.\'e rs
{PLATE 6I),:t7 but even of the increased powers of expressIOn

.. 0 , s... ly ...... a.nd E . WlInr ....:. , H" z"f Rul "II" Atljt/ II , I.w" d" elft. da"r~" . : '
V'leIlna 19Z6, V()l.. Ill, plate vu.
H Pilril , Bibl. Nat. , )'I S fr o 12 6 , fol. 218, ilbou t IH.5 {also reprotl ue~d in I' ('I' ",':0 ..His/o;." po/liq.., tiN X V, ,;I~/. , Pa ris 19Z) , yo .... I, pl ate VII}. The thi rd_ ijct ne. Ioo :'- 'C I n~
il .. thor, OYf;1"C:Of!le b y melancholy, lyi ng on hil sic:kbe-d. has to Ili lter the HI\"~et" .i IWI,
femmes eapoUVilntablu", ' Dcffianec'. " lnd ign:lt1(ln', and ' ~ses~fan ce. _, loot!. a. : ~ e 'H
the consoling worda o f the ladi" "Nil ture', " Foy", a nd Esptra nce' IS do ... !\, conn tcltd
with typical portrait.. of "Accidia" (lte beto,,', te ~t pp. l oo $(j q .) . Vcry 51 ml l ~ " !n that the
H at of ' Acc;dia" is he ...., too, l urrou nded b)' ~rso n iti.(&tions o f mc"."liacuitLu It\tee gOf'rl
and fh," eYil- the " De.penrr.rio ploTt)' na.tufally Itilnding on the le ft of the ma l", "~Il re, : h r
"Fortitudo" party on the. right-Is a tapeltry In the collec tIon o f the Conde de \' alene,. or
Don J lla n (BolUl .. .u III Soci ed4t1 Elp" ftolo tI, EU II,&ioneJ. XI (190JI, p. 19; our I'U T~ 60).

n T iUt--page o f th e printed edition Fo iJ Moul " A/o;" CIIo,/,. " I'an~ 1 ~ ~9 \1\. t .. ~ : 'I
.... hich., unfonunate\ )' disftr; ..rod by many mIsprints, ",e ha'e used for our l :a::ll;r.. ~" rHn
in the title-page woodcut. misundeutanchn s hn cf ept in. lor the ,...~"d .. r:f\t,"'I~ -:' .. ~ !
should natuTillly occur on the blank ba nner o f the youth hol don g back : i1e o.-.!';llrta.'lt.
"'hile the reelinins man;1 of COlIne the author, Jncid em aU) it" ontl:re5ling to:;;"1 I :;'a ' ::-'~

Z.24

POETIC ;\IELA:\,CHOLY 1:\ POST-MEDIEVAL POETRY

<In.lllll'd ill the sixteenth century ( PLATE 65)28 This was bec~usc
his account is largely a psychiatric self-diagno:is .translat~d ~to
terms of poetry, so that it echoes the often terrifymg descnptlO~s
of illness gh cn in mcdical literature. The poet laments .the mlSfortunes of his country. T he best are dead, the fi<:lds 131d waste,
the cit ies ruined. and learning is destroyed; w~at is the~~ left to
li \.c for ? The fi rst chapter of this book whIch was .born .of
s.urrow" ("dont par douleur ay commence ce livre") begms Wlth
th e words :
By this sad and painful though ~ whi~h is ever present in .my he~Ht. and
accompalllcs me, be il in rising or III gomg to my bed, making my mghl~
long and my life wearisome, J have so long exerted a~d tormented my poe
brain, ;;0 oppressed and encircled it br repu~ant Images, ~hat I cannot
emplov it on any matter which might bnng me JOY or co.nsol~bon .. .. . And
in this plight 1 saw an old woman draw near to
qUIte disordered m her
clothing and yet indifferent to it, lean, dry, and Withered, of a pa1e, ~ead~n,
earthy complexion with lowered glance, halting speech, and droopmg hp.
Her head was cov~red with a soiled and dusty kerchief, her body mu~ed
in a ceremonial clo~ k . As she drew near, suddenly,. in silence, she selZ~
me in her arms and covered me from head to foot With her mantle o~ mIsfortu ne, and she held me so fast in her arms that 1 f~lt my beart III my
breast crushed as in a vice; and with her hands she bhnded my eyes a.n d
blocked my ears so that I could neither see nor h~ar. And so s~~ carned
me, unconscious and in a swoon, to the house of Slckncss and deh'iered me
into the jaws of Terror and Disease, Even my reason, that youn~ and able
attendant29 who had folluwed me, sometimes from afar off, sometlme.s fro~
close at hand, according as God pcrmitte~ me }I~s company, .even hlll.\ did
she in toxicate with such strange and nox.lous dnnk. brewe~ III frenzy and
madness. that this goOO and clever youth, who for thiS purpose had

m:,

woo<Ieu t is closely connec ted ,with a type of repre.senta.tion ~ating hom !he ~gi?ning ~f ,~~
filteenth century showing Doc thius ;n bed H10urmng and !.>eLllg contoled by P hilosoph a
e"en the curious seat on the lel t foreground is reta.i~ed-{PLo\TJI 6 ). fro"! BoIlTJIL US. D~
"'"JoIlIl'un~ PMI~phif" New York Pierpont Morpn L,br.u'y, MS 33~. 101. .. ). The style 0
this MS prob.>bl y datln~ fro m '41~- I":10, resembles that of the workshop 0 1 the --:ailed
~ I Uler o f BoucicaUI. and In Ihis circle Ibe same type of picture was u~ ~or portr.1'ts .of
rulers showing a pl'lnee ,i"lng a ud ience from bit bed (d . H. MA UllI' , L .. ,:", ",,",,,~~ f~""f"ts'
d .. I)' .... 1S' sil," Pad, ' 923. pla te 88. and C. COUt>Bac, A lb .. m d, por/r.. ,'s . . . . ParIS 19 27.
platn ~" III . ' and 'Llx, 2). I t is possible that in the Id ea of such a " le v~" as well a! of ~he
"lit de justice" (c ..... tainl y en"isaged originally as a real bed) u ,,,i,,ed .by Charl". V, the notIon
o( a "Icct ulum Salomon;'" may ha"c played a p a.rt, for In Ibe later Middle AgCII ,t. wu referr~d
to IlS a "bed of wisdom" (el. Rome. Cod. Cuanat . ' 40 '" (01. 9 ' . .. nd F . SAXl., zn Fu/sclLrifl
(,1> J,.J"'$ Sd/one" Zurieh 19:17, p. 118).
j ' !'ew York. Pierpont Morgan Library. MS .08. tots. I aoo ~ .
One ea n see that ,!e
em otional Renaissance style of tbis pen drawzng, probably dat,", from IS2S- 3, ,
mON: appropriate to poe tic " ision than does !he li f~nth-ntury minia.tufe style. (We
have to thank MIS' Belle da Cos ta Green for thif photograph .)

.. " Ba.ehelier".

2]

[Ill . I.

I
i

'I

"DAME ME RE NCO LYE"

225

accompanied me as far as my bed, now stood beside me tranced and as if


paralysed by lethargy. And I learned later that this old woman was
called Melancholy, who confuses the thought, dries up the body, poisons the
humours, weakens the perceptions and leads men to sickness and death.
Through her, according to Aristotle, the most sublime minds and understandings of profound and exceptional men were and are often confused and
darkened, when they have indulged in thoughts too deep and multIfarious . . ,.
So, straitly bound in body and soul, 1 was thrown upon the most wretched
couch, where I then lay for several days with stale mouth and without
appetite. And after great weakness, long fasting, bitter pain and blankness in my brain, which Dame Melancholy oppressed with her hard hands, 1
felt the organ located in the middle of the head, in the region of the imagination (called "phantasy" by some) open up and come into flux and movement ....30
Despite its affinities with the conventional schema of scholastic

poetry, this description rises at times almost to a Dantesque


level. No m ore expressive symbol of the darkening of the spirit
can be imagined than the mantle of misfortune within whose
stifling darkness the unconscious man is "delivered into the jaws
of Terror and Disease". This visionary parable of an overwhelming attack of grief has completely absorbed the notion of
" Tristesse" expressed in the older poems; but it is also saturated
with the power of the traditional psychiatric descriptions of
melancholy and therefore preserves the whole of their substance.
Chartier's work comprises, therefore, a compact synthesis of
all the traditional or diffused motifs of melancholy that were
available to him . The emphatic quotation from Aristotle is
particularly remarkable, although here, in accordance with the
medical view, the melancholy of "parfons et excellans hommes"
is conceived not as a condition of their talent but, on the contrary,
as a consequence of their thoughts "too deep and multifarious".
This principle of synthesis continued to be active in contem ~
porary representations of melancholy, by means of literary
personification. Wherever "Dame Merencolye" appears as a
person who speaks or is spoken to, she represents, as in the old
French romances, the contemporary modification of a n otion
..' There DOW appear "on Ibe left, dark ai de of the bed" th~ three .. wful figures "ncffiancc".
"Indignation' alId "Dbcs~rance", the lu t ad"Wo.g the unfortunata man to commit suic;ide,
and quoting the examples o f Cala, Mj\hrldate., Hannibal. Juguttha, Nero, Lucretia and Dido.
Alarmed by this thought, "Nature" wakens "RUlOn" ('Enlcndement") from his sleep,
He opc1lS Ibe "Door of MC1llOry". througb which "'0 bca.utiful women , 'Foy" and "Ea~nce",
emetgl>-the latter shown with an anc:bot of hope and with a caaket of cypress wood. from
which , when it b opc'-Dcd. there arises an exquisite perfume of contoling propbe<:iCl ; and ...ftct
.. dia logue between "Foy" and "Entend~ment". evctything seem. to be tlIrnwg out well
wben the poem stops.

226

POETIC MELANCHOLY IN POST-MEDIEVAL POETRY

[Ill.

I.

formed and transmitted by medical and scientific tradition, and it


is to this that she owes her resilient and vivid existen~e. The
beau.tiful monologue by the German baroque poet, Andreas
Tscheming. Mela1,clwly speaks herself, is an example of such a
synthesis, in which, as in Maistre Alain Chartier, the whole content
of scientific tradition- from common fear to the wild hallucinations
of a man who thinks he is a glass vessel or fears the heavens will
fall ; from misanthropy, longing for death, and the ability 0 write
poetry while mad, to the "facies nigra" and the downward gazeis combined in one coherent picture, except that now a fie"\' motif
could be added, unfamiliar to a French poet of the early fi,fteenth
century: the humanist idea of divine frenzy or, to use Tsch~rning's
words, " des himmelischen Geistes":
wann der sich in mir reget,
Entziind ich als ein Gott die Herzen schleunig an,
Da gehn sie ausser sich und suchen cine Bum,
Die mehr als weltlich ist. ...31

'Vhat applies to personifications of melancholy in poetry


proper applies n o less to those in that peculiar branch of literature
which described itself as "iconology", whose aim it was
systematically to collect human "imagini di virtu, vitii, affetti,
passioni humane" and so on, and to elaborate and classify them
so that they could be used by "speakers, preachers, poets, painters,
and draughtsmen", for poetic or illustrative purposes. The most
famous and influential iconology, that of Cesare Ripa, contains
a "Malinconia" which can easily, even without demonstrable
proof, be recognised as a "Dame Merencolye" of the s~e type
as Alain Chartier's or King Rene's. Naturally it is s uitably
modified, and is explained do\o,rn to the last detail:
Donna vccchia, mesta, & dogliosa, di brutti panni vestita, senza alcun'
ornamento, stadt a scdere sopra un sasso, con gomiti posati $Opra i
ginocchi, & ambe Ie mani $Otto il mento, & vi sara a canto un' albero scnza
fronde, & fra i sassi.:JZ

This graphic description, stressing in its interpretation the


emotional, moral and intellectual aspects rather than the
.. A . TSCJlERNtl<G. Vo,l,ab des Somme.s de ..ts,her G.lichl~, Rostock 1655; printed in W.
Ba' (K;", Berlin 1972, p. 101. Ct. the book already m entioned
des de"tsc"_ T.alU.spids, Berlin 1928, p. 143, which ;5 o f
particular interest for this section. For the revival 01 t he notion of divine frenzy. see belo,v,
pp. 249 sqq., 355 sqq. (text).
.
.. Not illustrated in th e editions, Rome 1593 and t603. For Ripa. d. E . MALl!.. L'a,1
.e1;I;~ux al"'is I. oo",iI. d6 T'N/.le. Paris 1932, pp. 383 sqq .. and E. M ANDOWSlCY, "Ricerche
intomo :U~' lconologia di Cesare Ripa," La Bib/ioft/ifJ, XLI, Florence 1939.
U>lOS, Di" Dt"Julie Ly ,ilt des
by W . BItNJ"""N, U'SP'''''1

Ij
l

,
j

"DAME MERENCOLYE"

':.27

physiological or pathological ones, made a considerable impression


on the poets and painters of the seventeenth century, and provided
an occasion for a fruitful exchange of ideas between the sister arts.
The illustration shows Melancholy as a single figure, and carre
sponds exactly to the text (below, Fig. 5, p. 405) . But for a real
"picture" , baroque taste demanded some tension either of action
or speech, so that a painter such as Abraham Janssens found it best
to hark back to the familiar idea of a "syncrisis" , and to contrast
"Malinconia" with a personification of " Joy" .33 He had only to
look up "Allegrezza" in Ripa's lconologia to find the appearance
of this protagonist described as exactly as he would wish; and in
fact the plump, garlanded maiden with the golden beaker and
jug of wine, who in 1623 appears on Janssens's picture (PLATE 6/))
representing "Allegrezza", answers to Ripa's description even
more exactly than Janssens's limping, poorlydressed old woman
with her "leafless tree" does to the description of "Malinconia".
For in the latter figure Janssens has departed from Ripa at the
one point in which Ripa's description differs from the traditional
pictorial type, Here Melancholy rests her head on one hand only,
instead of on both, as she does in the text. This is a good example
of the obstinate survival of pictorial tradition, for here it persis ts
even in direct contradiction to the very text that t he picture
purports to illustrate.
The year 1665 provides a poetic counterpart to janssens's
pictorial syncrisis- Filidor's'Debate betwem Mtlanclwly and Mirth.34.
Here too, in the introductory description of the two debating
personages, we find that their outward appearance is copied a5:
literally from Ripa as it was in Janssens's painting. " One
(Melancholy) is an old woman/dressed in filthy rags/ with covered

.. This antithesis not only co~nds to general usage (d. Michelan gelo' s poem men t io ned
below, text p. 232). but Ripa him.self alludes to it wb eu be contrasUi the "gio .. ""i a\legri"'
with the "vecchi malluconici" in designing his portrnit of "Malinco nia" , In an ilI lJ str:l.t ed
MS 0 1 about B OO {Paris, Bib!. Na.t., !>IS lat , '1077 . d , A. lc...uEN ELLES8<;1G F." , .-f! legod e. 0 j
tM Virtues lind Vic., i" Med~,,111 Art, Studies of The Warburg Institut e, VOL . X, Loodo n ' 939
PP' .I1 sqq.}, the penonifica.tions ol tbe corresponding faculties still appear ~fl{!~r t~e narr:e,s
"Gaudium" and "Tristitia" ; in the Fior. di Vi~I"'. Rome wo. tHO. we read Tns t,l HI. [whlc .
here includes "noaninconia," see above. text p . 221 note Zl ) si ~ contrario vino d ' Allegreu a :'
The same pair of opposites appears in the port>ayals of "Democri t us and Herachtu s" , fi rst
occurring about t5O, but not really popular till the time of t he Baroq ue (el. W , Wr.[SBAGH.
iu ja".b .. ," dl:l' 1"'~U$sis,1oe" K ....slsfJ ......luttgm, XLIX (' 9z8), pp . I~ I sqq. , ant! H . K" ~' FF>IA :;",
Oud Holla"d, YOL. XLVIII, Amsterdam 1931, p. 234)

.. Cl. W. BEN1A)lIN, U~~pn"'l d~s deu/s,h,,, r'fJ,.".spie/s , Berl in 1923, T'p. 150 s'lq . (th oug h
without noference to any connexion with Ripa and Milton).

228

POETIC MELA NCHOLY IN POST - MEDIEVAL POETRY

[m , I.

head I\\"ho sits on a 'stone/ under a leafless tree/ her head bowed, on
her knees," The dialogue proper, however, presupposes acqua~t
ancc with a far greater work written some thirty years earher,
"
'
i\lilt on 's poems L'Allegro and II Penseroso,
But here we arrive at a subject of such size and m t n c~cy , VI Z,
)lelanclioh in English literat ure, that a full account of It would
far exceed- the scope of t his book. A discussion of the S~h~l of
:\ight , for instance, \"ould not on1~ have .been a v~t task m Itself
but would also have involved us Ul. a history of Its antecedents.
We are therefore limiting ourselves to a few strokes lin~g t~e
English development with the tradition traced elsewhere m thiS
book.
3.

MEL ANCH OL Y AS HE IGHTENED SELF-AWARENESS

]n Milton's poems which, as the titles indicate, show the


a\lthor's complete fam iliarit y wit h the Italian tradition, and which,
on the other hand, had a far-reaching influence on later writers,1Ib
"Mirth" and "1felancholy" are apostrophised by the two speakers,
t he "Joyful" and the " Thought ful", with such intensit y of invective and praise that-although the temper~e~ts .ax:e no~ .themselves introduced as speaking characters-their mdivlduahhes are
realised with the utmost VIV
"dn
I e5S."
.. In lac t they were the !tarting point of a literary genas. Cf. Ihe excellent mOl>OgTaph
by E. M. S'CIU'-U (quoted above, p. 217) and the bibliogapby g i~en t~ere. !he mDst
important book' on the subject are: R. D. HAVIINS, Tile l ..jtwnCl of MIllo" ,,, nllls1l Po" ry.
. L Ru.o T he BIJ&II,r(lwnd of GrIJy" Elegy, 192 4. In E ngl and M,Jlton. poetical
1912 . " . .
,
companiQn
portraiu
were also represented in fine art (see R QMN EY, "Mlth
r all. d MI
e anc h II. iy "
coil. Lady Lccol\field. Petworth HDUse, Sussex) . In Gfimany where the eont;ast w~.
eh:ulIocteristi<;ally. ~ n mOfe from tbe poi nt o f view of hU ~Qral theory, ~~e dISputation
between Melancholicu'- a nd 'Sangulneul ' was evo:n set til. mUSIC, by Karl Ph lhpp Emman uel
Bach. 11'1 a trio whQ5e last movf;ment "nded with a reconciliation of the two opponenll (el. H.
MnuJ<I.u'l<. 8ruhjllltrb..u. XIV, '9 ' 7. pp. 37 sqq.).
I. FQr the .ake of compa:rison ,",'e quote the ru.. t li nes o f Fitidor, disputation ,ide by side
wilh those of lfiltons L'A/II"" (Tb P",'ic<>lW,"1I1. O.U.P., London 1938 ) :
Filidor
Milton
"Jeut kenn ich dtcb / d u Feiodin
' lIence. lOAthed :\Ielancholy.
melner F u uden/ Mela nkQley/
Of Cerberus and blackesl Midnight born,
eueug t im T a.rta.rllCh lund/
In Stygian cave forlorn,
vom dreygekOpfit en Hu nd./
... IDngSI horrid shapes. a nd shrieks. and
0 , ,oll t ich dich in meiner
sighu unholy,
~gend leid en l/Nein. wahtlieb, nein l
Find out som uncouth cell,
der Iulte Stein/ der blUterlolC Strauch
Wbere brooding Darkness spreads his
mUll a usgerDttet ~yn//und d u.
jealou. wings
UnhQldi n. auch".
And the night-raven lings;
There unde r eoon shades. and IQ ...brQ... d
~

...

AI ""Sged .., thy locks.


In dark Cimmcriall desert ever d weLL"

3]

M.ELANCH OLY A S HEIGHTE NE D SELF-AWARENESS

229

In spite of the wealth of new and magnificent connota tions


which this poetry imparts to t he descriptions (e.g. when Melancholy
is called daughter of Saturn and Vesta, or when she is compared
to the sta1'1"d Ethiope Queen, Cassiopeia), t here are a hundred
signs which connect his allegory with the tradition. As in Alain
Chartier, Melancholy is accompanied by personifications of
secondary rank and she herself recognizably shows features
familiar to us from scientific and medical literature: " fac ies nigra"
(Ore laid with black staid Wisdoms hue), rigidi ty (Fo rget thy self to
Marble .. ), the leaden eye fi.xing the ground (With a sad Leadet,
doumward cast), t he love of lonely nocturnal studies (01' let my
lamp at mid11igJu hour, / Be seen in some high londy T owr), t he
longing for a hermit's life (And may at last my weary age/Filld out
tlte peacefuU hermitage, The Hairy GOW1' and Mossy Cell). However,
all this is filled with new meaning. T he name " Penseroso"37
(not "Melancolico" or Affiitto" ) by which her advocate is introduced-indicates the positive and, as it were, spiritual value ascribed
to Melancholy and- according to the old rule governing poetic
displJ.tations that "he who has the last word wins"-Melancholy
is shown to be superior to t he jovial enjoyment of life. While
the "Dame Merencolye" of the French romances, like Ripa's
" Malinconia", had been a sort of nightmare, inspiring the reader
with .even greater fear and repulsion, if that were possible, than
her ancestress "Dame Tristesse," Milton's Melancholy is called
"divinest", and celebrated as a "goddess sage and holy" and as
a " Pensive Nun, devout and pure". While the former appeared
in poor and disordered clothing, or even in rags, the latter is clad
All in a robe of darkest grain,
Flowing with majestick train.
While formerly her court was formed of t he "grim women Deffiance,
Indignation and Desesperance", she is now surrounded by "Peace",
"Quiet", "Leisure" and " Silence", and is guided by t he " Cherub
Contemplation",38 We shaH deal in the next chapter with the
,

In sho wing that MiltQn. work belongs til. II. aepar;!.te poetic and ieonological traditiQn we can
discard Lord Conway'. h ypothesis that it had been inspired by Dllrer, "MelenCQlia I'
(Festschrift der internatlo na len Dllrer forscbu ng . Cleero", 19,8, pp. '9 sqq.), If a eon nection
with the visual arb has til. be aS5u lned, the inlluern;e Qf a p icture imitating Ripa, such all that
by A. jalillsens. PLAn 69. "'Quld be much mQre likely.
., I n choosing this tilLe. Milto n may also bavt: had in mi nd Michelangelo'. statue Qf Lorenzo
de' Medici, which {rom the time Qf Vasui had beeD known under this name.
.. It is all the roon lignificant that, in some Qf the poelNl on Melancholy frDm the second
quarter Qf the eigbtee.D.tb eentury. in _bieh the aim .. again to prodDCe ... uncanny an d
gloomy al.m()o;ph~. theae p leasant ~ are Qnsted by figures like Despair" and
"Dejection; cf. SICK1l..E, QP. ciL, pp . .43 sq.

23 0

POETIC MELAKCHOLY IN POST-MEDIEVAL POETRY

[III.

I.

consequences of this revaluation. It can also be observed to an


astonishing degree in the reinterpretation of Melancholy's symptoms
proper. Her "facies nigra" is only an illusion of our weak senses,
which cannot stand the brilliance of her true aspect:
Whose saintly visage is too bright
To hit the sense of human sight;
And therfore to our weaker view,
Ore laid with black staid Wisdoms huc.39

Her "Leaden downward cast" is only the sign of complete


absorption- nothing but the reverse side of a condition of ecstatic,
visionary trance.
And looks commcrcing with the skies,
Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes. 4G

The Melancholic in his lonely tower may


. .. oft Qut-watch the Bear,

With thrice great Hermes, or nnsphear


The spirit of Plato ...
And of those Daemons that are found
In fire, air, flood, or under ground ...
But as well as this, there are echoes of another worJd, a world of
neither prophetic ecstasy nor brooding meditation, but of
heightened sensibility where soft notes, sweet perfumes, dreams
and landscapes mingle with darkness, solitude and even: grief
itself, and by this bitter-sweet contradiction serve to heigh ten
self-awareness. The melancholic speaks o( tlte pleasure qf the
sight of the moon,
Like one that had bin led astray
Through the Heav'ns wide pnthles way,
or:
I hear the far-oft Curfeu sound,
Over sam wide-water'd shoar,
Swinging slow with sullen roar;
Or if the Ayr will not permit,
Sam still removed place will fit,
Where glowing embers through the room
Teach light to counterfeit a gloom,
Far from all resort of mirth,
Save the Cricket on the hearth,
Or the Belmans drousie chann , , ,
.. SIC""!'!..S, op, cit" p. 42, I, obviously mistaken in interpreting these lines in the sense that
Milton had described bis "Melancholy" "= veiled in black to hide her too awful countenance".
.. Cf. S ICK)!:I.!! , op, cit., pp. H sq., for paralleb showing that Milton's formu la became conventional. Later poets, however, do nnt usually combine "downward ea5t" and "Heav'n.

ward eye". bnt chOO!le the one Or the other,

)lELA~CHOI.Y

AS HEIGHTENED SELF-AWARENESS

231

Then there is Old Age, already mentioned, in "Hairy Gown and


Mossy Cell", and, above all, the nightingale
In her sweetest, saddest plight,
Smoothing the rugged brow of night.
These things are "most musical, most melancholy" ,
What emerges here is the specifically "poetic" melancholy
mood of the modem; a double-edged feeling constantly providing
its own nourishment, in which the soul en joys its own loneliness,
but by this very pleasure becomes again more conscious of its
solitude, "the joy in grief", "the mournful joy", or ,"the sad
luxury of woe", to use the words of Milton's successors. This
modem melancholy mood is essentially an, enhanced self-awareness, since the ego is the pivot round which the sphere of joy and
grief revolves; and it has also an intimate relationship with music,
which is now made subservient to subjective emotions, "1 can
suck melancholy from a song as a weasel sucks eggs", says J aques:u
For music, which used to be a specific against the melancholic
disease, was now felt to soothe and at the same time nourish this
ambiguous bitter-sweet mood ,
Naturally, the fusion of the characters "Melancholy" and
"Tristesse" during the fifteenth century brought about not only
a modification of the notion of Melancholy, in the sense of giving
it a subjective vagueness, but also, vice versa, of the notion of
grief, giving it the connotations of brooding thoughtfulness and
quasi-pa'thological reflllements, The outcome of this interpenetration could only be a singularly complex, affective condition
of the soul, in which the subjective and transitory emotion of mere
"grief" was combined with brooding withdrawal from the world
and with the gloom, verging on sickness, of melancholy in the
emphatic sense. During the same period the verbs "attrister"
and "s'attrister" tended to be replaced by "merencolier" and
"se merencolier"; and their derivatives, "merencoliser" and
"melancomoyer", acquired the sense of "reflecting", or "falling into
a brown study".42 Moreover, all the ideas originally connected
with Melancholy and Saturn- unhappy love, and sickness and
death-were added to this mixture, so it is not surprising that
the new sentiment of Grief, born of a synthesis of "Tristesse" and
"Melancholie", was destined to become a special kind of emotion ,
" As YQII Like 11, Act II, sc.,5. The "katharsis" 01 pain through mUSIc al ~o occurs, of
course, in earlier writers, d, e.g, Chaucer's unhappy lover (Can ' ..'",,), Ta!n , Th e K niS h! 05
Tale, A I361).
II See DU C..... na, 10<:. cit., p. 330.

232

POETIC :'IIELA:-l'CHOLY IN' POST-MEDIEVAL POETRY

(111 . I.

tragk through a hcightencd awareness of the Self (for this ~ware


ness is but a correlation to the awareness of Death). TillS Hew
melanchoJv could either be didacticaUy anatomized or be poured
Out in lyri~al poetry or in music; it could rise to sublime renunciation of the world, or be dissipated in mere sentimentality.
An earl\' fifteenth -century author had already revealed the link
between tl~e notions Death, Melancholy and Self-Awareness in a
curious manner. "A la mesure que la cognoissance vient", says
Jacques Legrand in his "Observations on Death and Judgement
Day", " Ie soucy croist, et l'omme se merancolie plus et plus, seIon
ce qu 'il a de sa condition plus vraie et parfaite cognoissance".t3
Some hundred years later this consciousness became SO much a
part of self-awareness that there was scarcely a man of distinction
who was not either genuinely melancholic or at least considered
as such by himself and others. Even Raphael , whom we like to
imagine as, above all , a serenely happy man, was described by
a contemporary as "inclining to Melancholy, like all men of such
exceptional gifts"44 ; while with Michelangelo this feeling is
deepened and strengt hened to a kind o f self-conscious enjoyment,
though indeed a bitter one: " La mia allegrezz' i! la malinconia. "~
The point had not yet been reached, however, where anyone
could act ually revel in the sweet self-sufficiency of th~ melancholy
mood, in the style of Milton's poem, or even say, like Lessing's
Knight Templ.r, half sad and half jesting, " What if I liked t o
feel th us melancholy ?"" Under the appalling pressure of the
religious conflicts t hat filled the second half of the sixteenth
century, the lines of melancholy were not only graven deep in the

Quoled aJtu P. C HAMPION.

Hi~i"

poItif ... d.. XV- likU, 1913, " p. 220.

.. Report of the Ferrarue c.hu/li d atl";rea P:auluul. o f 17 December 1.s19 (aut p.-inted in :
"Ooo;umenU In6dits lur nspbatl"', Gudl. d" B~"WI'-Ar', 11. 1863, p . ''1). But
these phen omena ... e Ilready the reali lt 0 1 the flll>on of t wo linea of dev.:lopment : that of
"poetic m",laneholy" and that of tbe human;"'U NC!IOplat(>a k; theory 01 melaocboly. This
latter ..... ll be the I lIbject o f the lnUnwin, d>apte.- (pp. 219 tqq.J.
CA ~ T"O R' ,

.. 01, Did'...., ... d., MieAdatf.tio/tI Ol'llll"rol/i, ed. c...1U. F It!<Y. '897, No. !.XXXI. ACQOrding
to Lomuzo, Mich eillnselo had a "proportione uturni na" Id. $cHLOSSIUI. L. ItI' ,rlJl", ,,
1J,liJ'it:", 193', p . 381) ; .. bovo:. p . U7 &.!l ....ell as p. 310, note 30~ belo .....

L<'!ssin,'.

.. USSIHO, NIJIIo"1f d" \VIm, Act t . K ene.s. The ICIf-persiflqeol


Templax b a
late ironic.a.l echo 01 the feeling CIpretsed in Mic.hela"t:IO'1 pusionate ou t burst. In the same
.... ay. the human ists' platon"lng theory of seDiliS finds .. more graceflll echo in Goethe'. lines :
Zarl Gerlicht, .... Ie Rege nbogen.
Wird nur auf dllnkeln Grund /luog",n.
Darum behaft dem Dich~We
Du Ekment de.- Melancholie:.

3]

MELANCHOLY AS HE IGHTENED SEJ.F-AWARENESS

233

face of poetry-Qne has only to mention Tasso or Samuel DanieJbut actually.det ermined the physiognomy of men Jiving then, as
we can see 10 the forbidding, reserved, imperious and yet sad
features of "mannerist" portraits.401 In this transitional period
the very strength of the emotional pressure made Melancholia a
merciless reality, before whom men t rembled as before a "cruel
plague'~ or a "melancholy demon", and whom they tried in vain
to barush by a thousand antidotes and consolatory treatises.oI3
It \~as as yet ~possi.ble for the imagination to transfigure it into
an 1~~a1 con~lhon, mheren tly pleasurable, however painful- a
condItion which by the continually renewed tension between
depression and. exaltation, unhappiness and "apartness", horror
of death and mcreased awareness of lile, could impart a new
vitality to drama, poetry and art.
. ~his dynamic liberation fmt occurred in the Baroque period.
S ignific~tly enough: it achieved its fullest and most profound
results m the countnes where the t ension which was to bear fruit
in art istic achievement was at its most acute-in Cervantes' Spain,
where Baroque d eveloped under the pressure of a particularly
harsh Catholicism, and still more in Shakespeare's and Donne's
England, ,:here it asserted itself in the tee th of a proudly stressed
Protestanhsm ....' Both count ries were and remained the true
" .E. P ANOnKY, 1<k4, Stud. d . Bib!. Wubllrg. v. 19 2 4< p. "

aq.

. .. Cf. aboye, p' . 76. Concerning Cm-many In IXl"ticular. abllndant material is to be Ioulld
,n , M . PAULVI, DU N.u.~lu.Iu i ... 16. jaArb,.,u,1 (WiIoic".,;h.tUkbe Be:ll&ge .ur "~rmani."
~nI 1 Februu 1879. No. 18). HoweveI', thb b. definite ly tendenoo .... auy. The.uthor
II out
proye that the hit;ber mc.ideJICCI 01 melancholy. both in. the IeJUoO of de~ .. e
I.endeDQe! and of &D actual llIental iUneq. abould be laid at the door of the Rdonnatioll and
that Protesta.Du were mlKh more liable to fIIffu from it than Catholics.

:0

... AI ~. Spain, d. A. F.I.'NUU. I Villi i .... ~. 19 . 6 (a typiuJ uample .....


Tina de Mo1...... play EJ Mtl."tilliu, ..ritteD In 1611, In _hlc.h the char.tcter of the hero
RoceriQ wu gener.llly held to have beeD draw .. alter Philip II). AI for England. <:1 rnone
others. G. B. HAUISON,
E"., "" EliralHIA ... M.t,.m/u,l", (" lb.
_-" ,,_
f N
B
'
..
ew ",, 10..,,11 II ' CH OI.II$
R~TOH. Mtla~dol'~' H ..".",,~s. 1929). A book lih SUlTON', ,h..:_,. "/ Mda"doly
which, as H~n nghily remArks, dGel not .tand at the ~linDin, but rather at the end
uf wbole ..-nea of other Engl.iab wrlti ngl 00 me'-nc.holy Id. e.s. the T" "liu til iIIt/"lOClloIi"
by T IMOTHV BRIGHT . London 1.s86, which influenee<t Shakeapcare) could oft! ha
~
.. rIUe~
Eng~and, and i~ is no ooiocldenee that Ule one eIteoliv~ poetical d~seri;~n o~
DU r~r ~ engrav IDg was .wntten by An E nglishmll n_ J AM'" TH OMSON', poetical imitation in
Til. Clly tlf !)"'lldluJ N,tli'"Nd OUu, Pot"", No. XXI :

f':'

.. Aoeu the centre of that northem cre.t


Stand. Ollt a level IIp1and b~ and bare,
From which the ci ty Hit a nd tollth and weat
Sinks gently In kmg .... vea; and throned there
An (~lIlu tapendola, l uperbuman,
The broolAl colossu. of .. wl.opd WOID&D,
Upon a graded granite b-..e fOIlnq~.

POETIC MELANCHOLY I N POST-~{EDIEVAL POETRY


[Ill. I,
234
domain of this specifically modem, consciously cultivated melancholy- for a lo ng time the "melancholy Spaniard" was as proverbial as the"spleneticEnglishman".M Thegreat poetry in which
it found expression was produced during the same period that saw
the emergence of the specifically modem type of consciously
cultivated humour. an attitude which stands in obvious correlation to mela ncholy. Melancholic and humorist both feed on the
metaphysical contradiction between finite and infinite, time and
eternity. or whatever one may choose to call it. Both share the
characteristic of achieving at the same time pleasure and sorrow
from the consciousness of this contradiction. The melancholic
primarily suffers from the contradiction between time and ijlfmity,
Low-seated sbe leans fonnrd massively,
With check on clenched left hand, tbe foreann's might
J.i:rect, it. elbow 00 her rouoded knee;
ActosllI. duped book in hex: lap the right
Upholdl' pair 01 compasses; she gazes
With full tet ere-, but wandering in thick nllLU,I
Of IOmlm~ thought behOlds 00 outward sigh t.
Words cannot picture her; but all men kno ....
That .atemn Iketch the pUr<! $ad artist wrought
Three ebl luTies ILnd three.core years Igo.
With phanwlea o f his peculiar thought;
Th. inltruments o f tarpe ntry and science
SeatU:f'ed abovt her feet, in $lrangs alliance
With the keen woIfbovnd sleeping llDdi5tnught;

5c:aJe:I, hoar-,lau, ben, and map:.square above;


The P"" and toIid illf=t pen:bed be:s.lde,
With open winPet. that might beat a dove .
Intent upon ita b.bIeU, huvy-eyed;
Her folded winp as of I mighty e:L(1e.
But aU too impotent to lift the regal
Robu,tneu of bet urth-bom Itrength and pride;
And with thOle WIO,I, and that liht wre:ath which .em.
To mock ber (T'and head. and the kllOtted frown
Of forebead cbured with baleflll thoughts and mumJ,
The houxb.old bnncb of keys, the hou..wif.', gowa.
Voluminous, indented and yet rigid,
A. If a Ibell of bumisbed metal frigid,

MELANCHOLY AS HEIGHTENED SELF-AWARENESS


235
3)
while at the same time giving a positive value to his own sorrow
"sub specie actemitatis", since he feels that through his very
melancholy he 11as a share in eternity. The humorist, however, is
primarily amused by the same contradiction, while at the same
time deprecating his own amusement "sub specie aeternitatis"
since he recognises that he himself is fettered once and for all to
the temporal. Hence it can be understood how in modern man
" Humour", with its sense of the limitation of the Self, developed
alongside that Melancholy which had become a feeling of an
enhanced Sell. Nay, one could be humorous about Melancholy
itself, and by so doing, bring out the tragic elements yet. more
strongly . But it is also understandable that as soon a: thiS new
form of Melancholy had become fixed, the sh'allow worldhng should
have used it as a cheap means of concealing his own emptiness, and
by so doing have exposed himself to the fundamentally equally
cheap ridicule of the mere satirist.
Thus, alongside the tragic melancholic like Hamlet, there stood
from the beginning the comic "fashionable melancholic" like
Stephen in "Every Man in his Humour", who wanted to "leam"
Melancholy as one learns a game or a dance- "Ha,'e you a stool
to be melancholy upon ? ... Cousin. is it well ? Am I melancholy
enough ?"51 But the most perfect synthesis of profou~d thought
and poetic wistfulness is achieved when true humour LS deepened
by melancholy ; or, to express it the opposite way. when true
melancholy is trnnsfignren by humour-when a man whom at a
superficial glance one would judge to be a comic, fashionable
melancholic is really a melancholic in the tragic sense, save that
he is ,vise enough to mock at his own WeJtschmerz in public and
thus to forge an armour for his sensitivity.
Compared with Jaques's melancholy, the Miltonic " Penseroso"
is at once simpler and richer. Simpler, because ;\1ilton ren~unced
the profound and ingenious plan of concealing the tragIC fa e/?
beneath a comic mask ; richer, because, as we have seen, he

n . leet thick-lhod to tTead all weakncss doWD.;


., EwI')' MG" i .. lliJ Humour, Ad III, It. I. Cf. C. A. Dll.llKII. Dtr JI.I",,{A oil.~':' I~pt"
S/tllilesp,o.r". 191), pp. 34 .qq. AllO charaClerlstic i. Er~ r)' Mo." 0"/ of ha Jf""' ~ 1'" ..\CI . 1.

The comet hanging o'cr the waste dark seas.


The mlny r.t.lnbow curved in front of it
Beyond the 'Village witb the rnasta and tret!s;
The lnaky Imp, dogheaded, from the Pit,
Belrl", upon fbi bltlike leathern pinions
lier nlme1lnfolded in tbe ,un's dominions,
Tho ")felencolia" that tranlCends ill wit .. _"

.. cr.

F1. KALldtHI.CIt,

OJ,

NGlllr

J,/trhruhm, DiM. Leipri, 19'0.

tin spru,. b#i t1~ ,..,Imlu. St:/trijld""';' tin

IC. 2, line 55 Iq .; "You must endtavour to Iud deanlr at your ordInary. slt meilnchol y: :and
pick ),01lr teeth wben you tan not IJMlk ." " 'bal a long life "fashionable me l.. nc~nl\' ~a.d
in En,l=d, and how la ilbf .. Uy it wal a u endfll by th e ",l i."ts. " . hown. t.g. by Chu ~ci,, 111
poem (q1l0ted by SICKl(:LS, 0p. cit., p. 39) of 1761 :

18

" 11, in these hallowed timea, when wbe., ud


All rent!ernen are me!anchnlically mad,
When 'Ii, not deemed 10 veat .. crime br hall
To violate a vntal., to laugh ... "

POET I C )lEL,\:\CHOLY 1:-0' POST-MEDIEVAL POETRY

[m.

I.

combined all the aspects of the melancholic: the ecstatic and the
contempla tive . the silen t a nd Saturnine no less than the musical
and ;\pollinian , the gloomy prophet and the idyllic lover of
nature, and \\'elded their manifoldness into a unified picture, mild
on the whole rather than menacing. The portrait could be
differe ntiated fur ther, and this process of differentiation was
carried ou t, more especially in eighteenth-century English literature, with great speed and consistency.52 The "Odes to Melancholy" , the " E legies" and the poetic glorification of the pleasures
of melancholy with all its minor forms and varieties like contemplat ion, solitude and darkness, increased constantly from
Gray to Keats; we can foIlow_ step by step how in this type of
literature new refmcments and distinctions of the melancholic
sentiment evolved with regard to both quality and object. Corresponding to the old contrast between natural melancholy and
melancholic disease, they distinguished "black melancholy" in
the sense of a morbid depression from "white melancholy" in the
sense of Goe the's "Selig, wcr sich vor der Welt ohlle Hass versc hli esst" . This latter form was expressed sometimes in philosophic resigna tion, somet imes in elegiac sadness, sometimes
in melodramatic passion , finally drowning in a sea of sensibility.
The conten t of the poems varied according to the greater or
smaller importance given to the theme of "Withdrawal" or of
"Deat h". or to t he "Complaint of Life", though in a work like
Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard", where the basic emotion
is so singly and expressively sustained, these three themes could
very well be compined. 53 Finally, one can see how, in accordance
.. Outside Englan d. Melancholy was no longer an important poetical subject in the eighteenth
The re ..sons for t his ' development .. re various: in the literature of Italy and France,
natio ns 01 mOre extrovert than introvert tendencies, the theme had never taken proper root s;
Spanish liter.. !ure in the first half 01 the !lCvollteen th century was more Or less ' ft abeyance,
while in t he seeo nd ha lf it was under Strollg Fr<:nch influ ence; German poetll valued mel .. n~holy n<ot for its OWn uke. but on ly, as it weTe. as a subsidiary subjee t, mOre substantial
sorrows or sen timen ts affording the dominating theme (u nhappy love in GQethe 's Wert~er.
friendship in j~pa rdy in Klopstock's famous ode A .. Ebert).
~~ntury.

.. I n d istinguisbing these three themes we follow R!:!:o, op. cit,. pp. 38 sqq. As reg ard s
Gr .. y's Eltgy , the tiUe .. Iready indica.tes a oombit:la.tion of the three themes. "Elegy" pointing
to the general sen time nt of Wells,;}, men, "connuy" to the "retirement", and "churehyard"
to the "deatJI theme". The con nection of the!IC ideas with each other aod with th e idea 01
infi nity, ,,hiell m.. kes tbem more p~ofoundly signinca nt. is beautifully expressed by Balu.<:
in hi s M ldtt;n de campagne : "PourqUOi les hommes ne reglU"dcnt-ils point sans une tlmotlon
pro fonde toutes les ruines. m~me les plus humbles? SiUlS doute elles sont pour eux une im,,-,::e
dn m .. lheur do nt Ie poids est senti par CUlt 5i divenement .. un village abandonn6 fait songer
aux pein es de la ,je: .. . les peines de la vi e SOD.t innnies. L'infini nest-il pas Ie secret des
grandes mtll .. ncolies)"

3]

MELANCH~LY AS HEIGHTEKED SELF-AWARENESS

237

with the new aesthc\ic theories of "the Sublime", Milton's " smooth
shaven Green " and "Waters munnuring" were gradually ousted
by a "wild and romantic" landscape with dark forests, caves,
abysses and deserts. Thus the Gothic Revival with its love for
the Middle Ages enriched the poetic scene with so many Gothic
ruins, churchyards, night ravens, cypresses, yew trees, charnel
houses and ghosts- mostly of sad virgins-that a certain group of
poets was actually described as the "Graveyard School".M The
"Poetic Calendar" for 1763 contained an anonymous satire entitled
"To a Gentleman who Desired Proper Materials for a Monody",
in which all these ingredients were amusingly catalogued,55
This mockery is un4erstandable, for in English literature of
the eighteenth century-a curious age, in which rationalism and
sensibility at once denied and evoked one another- poetic
expreSsion of the melancholy mood did in fact become more and
more of a convention , while the feeling itself became more and
more ,emasculated. 53 And yet, in proportion as the traditional
form and content lost their significance, either becoming conventi0nally insipid or degenerating into sentimentality, so did
new and untraditional possibilities of expression arise to rescue
the serious and real meaning of melancholy. Therefore, true
melancholy, while it fled from -the painted backcloths of ruins,
vaults and cloisters, is now fOlUld, e.g., in the bitter wit of Lessing's
later letters, or in the deliberately fragmentary style of Sterne,
which was but a symbol of the eternal tragicomic incompleteness
of existence as such, It can be perceived in those regions of the
mind explored by Watteau and Mozart in which reality and
fantasy, fulfilm ent and renunciation, love and loneliness, desire
and death bear so close a likeness that the customary expression
of sorrow and pain can scarcely be used save in parody .51

.. CI. RBI!.O. op, cit,; SICKI!.l.&. op. cit., p. 28 and Ix..~;m. Mmittedly, Miltoo already b as
"The IItudious cloister's pale", and "The high embowed roof, With antick pilillrs massy
proof, And storied windows richly digh!, CutiD.g a dim religious Iight.' See KE~HIl!.TH
CURl(. The Gothic RtoJi"al, 1929, p. 170, where a passage i. q uoted from A. WI!.I.BY PUGH',
An Apology for Ih. rev;t,..1 of C}'ri~lian A rchil~~lu"" London 18H, which is characteristic of
the conneetion between melaocholy aD.d gothic style; "It (Le. tho gothi~ style) is considered
suitable for !lOme purposes-melancllmy, and therefore fit for religious huildiogs." (Author's
italics),

.. P rinted by

SIC KELS,

.. Cf. SICKLS,

op. cit., p. 6 7.

op. cit., p.

18 2

sq.

.. We are thinking of such passages with oomic empbasis o n the minor key as those in the
suicide ana of Papageno, and in Barbarina's "needle" aria in the MlJrriage of Figl1rt1.

POETIC MELANC HOLY I N POST-M.EDlEVAL POETRY

[III.

I.

At the beginning of the ninet eenth century. however. a new


type of melancholy arose out of this strange dualism of a tradition
gone stale and the spontaneous and intensely personal utterance
of profound individual sorrow- namely, the "romantic" melancholy. This was essentially "boundless" in the sense both of
immeasurable and of indefinabl e. and for that very reason it was
not contcnt to bask in sell-contemplation, but sought once more
the solidity of direct apprehension and the exactness of a precise
language in order to " realise" itself. This harsh and alert
melanchOly, whose very yearning for the eternal brought it in a
new sense nearer to reality, might be called a masculine fonn of
romantic lVellschmeTz. in contrast to the far more common fem inine
type which had become merely pointless sensibilily. It is understandable, therefore, that Keats, in his "Ode on Melancholy" .
should destroy the whole convention at a blow, rescuing the
origin al meaning of melancholy emotion by discovering it in a
sphere where convention had never thought of looking. Just as
Shakespeare in his famous sonnet "My Mistress' eyes are nothing
like the sun . . ." routs the hyperbolic comparisons of older lovelyrics, to conclude

MELA:-ICHOLY AS HE IC HTENE D SHLF AWARENESS

No, no! go not to Lethe, neither twist


WoU's--bane. tight-rooted , for its poisonous wine;
Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss'd
By nightshade, ruby grape of Proserpine;
Make not your rosary of yew-berries,
Nor let the beetle nor the deathmoth be
Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl
A partner in your sorrow's mysteries;
For shade to shade will come too drowsily,
And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.

But when the melancholy fit shall fall


Sudden from heaven like a w~ping cloud,
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all
And hides the green hill in an April'shroud;
Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,
Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,
Or on the wealth of globed peonies;
Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows,
Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave,
And feed deep, deep, upon her peerless eyes.
She dwells with Beauty-Beauty that must die ;
And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding adieu, and aching PI ~asure nigh
Turning to poison while the beemouth sips.
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sonan sh rin ~ ,
Though seen of none $ :\Vt" him whost' strenuous tongll1"
Can burst Joy's grape against his palate fine ;
His soul shall taste the sadness of her might .
And be among her cloudy trophies hung.

And yet, by H ~aven, I think my lov~ as rare


As any she belied with false compare,
SO, with an imperious gesture, Keats too scorns the familiar
inventory . Restles..<.; ;l nd "wakeful" ,S8 he feeds his melancholy
with aU his mind and senses, making it embrace all t he bright
splendour of created things, which he can then truly "discover"
and describe in a profusion of rich and varied tenns, because the
thought of their transitoriness and the feeling of his own pain I\lonc
enable him to take possession of their living beauty. It is no
coincidence that this new melancholv which d iscovers the
sanctuary of the Goddess of Melancholy' "in the very temple of
Delight" returns once more to the antithetic precision~' and
mythological extravagancelO of the great E lizabethans.
.. Ct. also the wo nderful lale !KInnel (written into hil (;OI'Y o f Shakupeare', Poem$) in
wh.ich. tlte poet dtlirea to be Immortal ... the ,tar, bul on condi tio n that immor tality don not
mUll irqensibility : "Awake for ever in .. sweet unraot, Still. ltill to h eu her teDdertaken
bralh. And ... Ilw evu-or el_ llWOOa to dn.th". It is consille.l t with thb attitude that
Ru.ts iD his 0tU 011 /I Grni... U,.. finds P'!re happiness elI.min, only for tbe marble 'cures
whOM feelillCs annot die. just becal>" they are C8.l>gttt fin" ever In the rigid. marble.
.. One miSb l compare tbe ne .... form of melancholy .... hich toem, to reveal iuelf in the , 10,,"
movements o f Beethoven', lut Quartet, and Stmatas. where he returns to .. polyphonic I t)'le.
There is great co nt..ast between theM late ,,oro and .uch move'neDts as that entitled

239

If the Weltschmerz at the beginning of the nineteenth c(,lltu ry


contributed to the great and truly tragic poetry of tha l ti mt~
(the work of Holderlin , for instance), the end of the ('cn wry
brough t with it thc destructive WeltscJmMTz of the Decad ent s.
This was a morbid WeUschmerz, nourished by images taken more
"Malineonia" from. the Quartet op . 18. No.6 and the Largo of the Plano Sona:" op. 10. ~" . 3.
e"Plained by Beeth oven him...,11 u "descrip tion of Ihe 111.10 of mind of a melancholic'
110 ...
ever beautlful these early worlu are. they 11i11 belonS 10 Ihe e;,hleenth..::entllr> c)n'ennOIl
of meluJcboly.
.. A eh.ata<:krf'dc phrase II, e.c . " NiShtsbade. ruby C"p" o f Proocrpi"'" .... h!~!: " :I<>~ a
display o f claulcal eruditioD, bDt mall" an immed iate impact b)' Ituablm:,r.g ~1':" {'r'l~I: ,n
be",een the Ifeat, distant, and , ... it were, "black" ,odden of du.lh and thlt ",en. .~;". ru'nr
o f the "little ruby ,""po". AI tbe same t ime th .. ru.hly .. JO n.&ell a symbol. u the :ru! ' o f
tbe vine bringinglntollication sod joy is introduced in plaee of tlte poisonous letha! h<-r~' d
the n ightshada.

24"

rOtTle )II::L ,\:\CHOI.Y 1;\ POST-MEDIEVAL POETRY

or Il:-~ (on::ciuusly from the past as seen with the eye of the
hi;.turi:m
In the beautiful poem prefacing Part II of this book,6l
\erlaiIlC (:~ plicitl y cite:::; the "sages d'autTefois" and "grimoires
.uu.:iclls , and in j. P. Jacobsen we fmd afin-de-siicle , pleasure---cekin"~ sat icn- ac tually- attributed to Baroque times. "They have
a gn.' ;ncr heart and more restless blood" , he says of the "secret
~ict v ' which one might call the Fellowship of Melancholies.
"Th~;' desire and veam for more, and their longing is a wilder
and lu ore burning one than runs in common veins . . . but the
ot hers, what do they know of delight amid grief or despair?"
"But w h\" do vou call them melancholies, since joys and worldly
they think of?" "Because all earthly joy is ~
pleasures are
fleet ing and tran!=itory, SO false and incomplete . .. Do you still
ask wi1\" they arc called melancholies, when all delight, as soon
as possc~sec1 , changes its aspect and turns to disgust ... when all
beau ty is a beauty that vanishes, all luck a luck that changes?"12

CUAPTER

"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"
The Glorification of Melancholy and Saturn
in Florentine Neoplatonism
and the Birth of the Modern Notion of Genius

;11

., S"' a bove. p . u6.

.. J. P. jA(:08.l; I.!< , Fu .. M a.ic G ...~. ch. " . The action (I f t he n(lv~1 tak(!$ place in the
seven teenth ce ntury , and the au Uwf tri.., t<.I imitat .. th .. styl .. and moo.. of feeling of the
baroq ue period.

II

I.

THE INTELLECT UAL BACKGROUND OF THE NEW


DOCTRINE

The notion of "poetic melancholy" outlined in the previous


section developed independently of the notion of melancholy as a
condition of creative achievement, and encountered it at only one,
thougJ:!. very important , point.
The decisive moment in the development of this notion was
reached when the "merencolie mauvaise", which most fifteenthcentury authors and many of their successors had conceived merely
as evil, was first reckoned as a positive intellectual force. A new
viewpoint fundamentally altering the notions of the nature and
value of the melancholy state must have been arrived at, before
Raphael's "melancholy" (described in a contemporary account)
could be regarded as a natural condition of his genius ; before
Milton could represent melancholy as a tutelary goddess of poetic
and visionary ecstasy as well as of profound contemplation; and
before, lastly, the "fashionable melancholic" could arise, who
affected the mask not only of melancholy but of profundity.
The elevation of melancholy to the rank of an intellectual force
obviously meant something quite different from its interpretation
as a subjective emotional condition. Both tendencies may combine, in the sense that the emotional value of the sentimental,
pleasurable mood may be enriched by the intellectual value of
contemplative or artistically productive melancholy- but the one
could never have resulted from the other. They bear the same
relation to one another as, say, the tendencies of Italian humanism
bore , to those of the northern Refonnation-tendencies, as has

'.'

"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"

,; rm. II .

be~n rightly stressed, which were flmdamentally connectedl but


whlch stood, nevertheless, in marked contrast to one another.
Bo~h were res.ults of the desire for emancipation, which sought to
free and to stImulate not only the individual personaljty~' but also
t~e, allegedlY'paralIel, phenomenon of national personality; both
auned at m.akmg this "personality" as far as possible independent
of the Jashmgs of tradition and hierarchy by which it had been
supported as well as restrained; at enabling it to seek unaided its
~ndividual approach to God and the world; and at. allowing
its o~ cultural past instead of relying
It to find direct acces~
on the current of tradltlonal optnIon-and this was to be achieved
by the attempt to uncover the authentic sources of that past.
But .\Vhe.reas Protestantism carried out this emancipation and
reactIvation of personality with an eye on an othenvorldly goal
and b~ the employment of irrational faculties, the goal which
h~m~msm set itself- in spite of perfect willingness to remain
Wlthm the bounds of Christian dogma-was an earthly one, and
the method of attaining to it was rational. In the one case
the sources of insight and morality to be restored were biblical
revelation ' and Pauline doctrine; in the other, the intellectual
culture of classical antiquity and its conception of "virtus".2
Justification was Sought, in the one case, by faith; in the other,
by education and knowledge. And freedom was conceived of
in the one case, as a Christian achievement based on a vigorou~
but transcendent anrl irrational faith; in the other, as a human
privilege, founded on reason and w ill acting in this world.
Humanistic freedom might reveal itself in the virtues of a
philosopher, ~t might find secular expression in the impeGcability
of the courher or, finally, it might run wild in the absolute
despotism of a prince; but in every case the notion of freedom
signified the flowering of the personality into a typical example of

:0

, Cf. K. BoR[NSIU, Di~ Atll;lI~ in Pot/ill und Kutlsllheo";e, VOL. II , Leipzig [9 2.,,pp. {sqq'
.' ~f. E. PANOf'SKY, Her". /u ,,'" Scheidtwegt (Studien der Bibliothek Warbucg, VOL. XVIU).
Lelp:ug 19)0, pp. ISO sqq: . At that t~me the fact was ov",,"looked that a foutt~enth.~ntl1ry
al1~()r, Fra~~~~ B.ar~ml. had notleed the lack of a pictorial type for virtue as sucir. (as
agamst th~ indIVIdual vIrtues of the Middle Ages). and endeavoured to remedy this state of
affairs by an imaginative reronstrueti on of a portrait of virtue in general (d. F. &7101. [
d<>e<,."enli d'", ..."... di F~'... <esco d", B",tbuinQ. VOL. I. Rom~ ' 9<>.5. pp. 66 sqq and in A~u.
V (19<>~) . pp. I .sq~. and 78 sqq.). The basis of his in""ntion. however (Arl~ V (1<)02). p. 89).
was stIll the blbhcal representative of the original virtue "For~zza". namely. samson. for
whom th e RenaissanCt'l then substi tuted Hercules; it is ~igni/icant that Francesco's solution
taken up by Ripa, shOUld have been so far forgotten that Filarete (ef. PANOYSKY. op.
pp. 192 sqq.) had to formulate the whole problem aU ClVer again.

cit.:

ri
r

II
!

I
t

I
!~
i

t
I

IJ

THE INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND OF THE NEW DOCTRINE

243

a specific ideal of man, rather than the fulfilment of the individual


soul in its uniqueness.
The world of humanism was made to man's measure : that is
to say, it was discovered, explored and classified by human reason;
at the very least it could be, in theory, discovered, explored and
classified in this way. And it provided an occasion for the flower ing
of an ideal which the epoch described as the "dignity of man",
and which might perhaps also be called the sovereignty of the
human mind. Yet even long after the wave of the Italian
Renais:o;ance had swept over the Alps, the most ardent humanist s
of the north remained more individualistic and mystical tha_n the
most ardent individualists and mystics of the south.
In the north one need only mention Erasmus, Pirckheimer.
or, above all. Albrecht Durer, whose acknowledgement of the
incomprehensible God-given nature of artistic achievement
revealing itself in unique and incomparable men and works made
him constantly call in question the principles of the Italian theory
of art which he desired so passionately to make his own.:! In the
south one may mention Marsilio Ficino, among others, whose
intellectual life, despite its bias towards the eccentric and irra tion al,
was based fundamentally on classical culture and on th e reasoned
arguments of philosophical problems, and implied the ne\\ awareness of a certain human type rather than the longing of t he
individual for salvation,
Ttalian humanism, therefore. reaffirmerl :m idf'll J \\"hich h;Jr!
arisen in classical antiquity but which became blurred in t he J1idnle
Ages; more than that, it exalted it into a criterion fo r a fu nda mentally altered way of living. This was the ideal ~)f the
speculative life, in which the "sovereignty of the human mi nd "
seemed to be most nearly realised; for only t he " \'ita contemplativa" is based on the self-reliance and self-suffi ciency of a
process of thought which is its own justification. The i\[iddle
Ages, it is true, had never forgotten the joys of the life of searching
and -knowing,4 and even the expression "vita contemplativa"
continued to be held in regard ; but what men meant by it \\'as
different from the classical ideal of the "speculative life" . It \\'as
different in so far as the value of the contemplati w li fe fo r its

See below. pp. )61 sqq. (tex t).


Cf. F. BoLL, "Vita. Contemplativ.", in S;I:,mg,/Jey;ehle dtr
Wintllsth4j1ell. phil.,h;sl. l(l(1sst. VIl! ( [920), p. ' 7.

lf~idr/bt 'f,e ' .H(1d~ ,,,;t

d ..

"MELAN CHOLIA GE NEROSA"

[m. n.

OWll sake and without regard to its purpose was questioned .


The medieva l thinker d id not meditate in order to belong t o himself. but in order to draw near to God, so that his meditation
found meaning and justificat ion not in itself but in the establishment of a relationship with the Deity; and if he was not "contemplating", but lIsing his reason scientifically, he consciously
took up his position in the cont inuity of a tradition which
essent ially, by its whole method , pointed beyond the individual;
his proper funct ion was that of heir and transmitter, of critic
and mediator, of pupil and teacher, and he was not meant to be
thc crcator of an intellectual world centred in himself. He was
not \'cn' different , in fact, from the peasant or craftsman, who
also fined t he place in the universal order given him by God:
the medie\'al scholar (as distinct from the "exclusive" Renaissance
humanist. consciously withdra\\n from the "vulgar" mob) did
not claim to be a different and superior being.s In both cases,
th erefore. the medieval t hinker belonged not to himself but t o
God, whether di rectly, as in contemplation of Him, or indirectly,
as in the fulfilment of a service ordained by Him and traditionally
and hieratically regulated. If he fulfilled neither of these conditions, he belonged to the devil, for whosoever neither meditated ,
nor worked, fell a victim to the vice of "acedia" or sloth, which
led to all manner of other sins. One might say that in the Middle
Ages the idea of leisure was lacking.' The classical " otium " had
a specific value, and could even produce values though (or perhaps
because) it was outwardly the same as inactivity ; it was t herefore
contrasted as "different in kind" both with the labour of peasant
or sold ier and with the useless hedonism of the idler. In t he same
manner , the life of the classical philosopher whom the Renaissance

Hen ce a re1 .. ti"e l~k of cl.. ims to origi nality distinguishes medie"a1 from ancient or
modern philosophy : cf.. among olhera, jOHAIUUS HBssBN, A"s"jlinju;M .. "d Ilto,..j'fi$'~'
E,It~"lIlni,'d . P. derborn 1921. pp. 9 sqq. and 19 sqq.

It is apparen tly an almost i$alated pheno menon when .. man like Jl.1arbod of Rennel in
the twelfth century celebrat es the lei'''lre of his country life and ,closely followin!! H orace,
lip .. I . 14. co mpous a hymn in praise of completely self-nfficient meditation :
" ... B ulla virens. e t silva s ilens. et spi ri tus aurae
Le nis et festi"uJ. et fons in gramioe " j "UlI
Dcfcsn..m menten\ recreant. et me mihl reddunt.
Et faciunt in me consilltere ..
Haec et plul'll mih; licet atque libet meditad.
Fronde lub a!!rti d ... m Hire moml patrueli"_
MIG1<lt. P. I H' VOl.. CLXXI. col. 1666; ct. W . GANUNloltlU.U. Dt N.' ....selt.iA I i ... Mittel.II".
Leip~;g

19'4. pp.

U~

&qq .

I )

TH E I NTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND OF THE NEW DOCTRINE 245

humanist strove to imitate, Jay not between "vita activa" and


"vita voluptuaria" but beyond either of them. To a certain
extent it lay beyond good and evil, very differently from the
God-directed course of medieval theologians and mystics, and we
can understand how the Renaissance, in order to separate t he
rediscovered way of life of the classical " philosophus" from tha t
of the medieval " religiosus", abandoned the traditional expression
"vita contemplativa" (wh ich had grown with the centuries to
mean purely and simply "contemplatio Dei") and coined a new
term which, looking back across the Middle Ages, reasserted the
ancient notion of self-sufficient thought and research- "vita
specuiativa sive studiosa". in cont rast to "vita colltemplativa
sive monastica". 7
The new ideal found concrete expression in a type of man
foreign t o the Middle Ages, the "homo literatus" or "Musarum
sacerdos",8 who in public and private life was responsible only
to himself and to his own mind. A whole branch of literature was
devoted to the praises of the "vita speculativa". It received the
devotion of Politian and Lorenzo de' Medici and the homage of
Landino's Camaldule1tsian Conversatio1's, and was the mainspring
of Pico della Mirandola's famous discourse On the Dignity of }.Ilan.
In Durer's work we can see how the medieval notion of the vicious
" accidia" was later overlaid, in Meletlcolia I , by the humanist
idea of a meditation not so much fleeing from activity as leaving
it behind .t
It is no coincidence that the Gemlan Renaissance should have
chosen "melancholy", that is to say, awareness of life's menace
and sufferings, .t')r its most convincing portrait of contemplation,
or that in the Ca1Jl.aldulensian Conversations the enthusiastic
glorification of the "vita specuJativa" and the acknowledgement
of Saturn as patron of contemplation10 were coupled witll the
sorrQwful bel.ief that grief and weariness are the constant companibps of profound specuJation.ll F or in so far as the mental

, \Vim thill, ct. A. VON MAr:rtN, Mitulalltrlid, WI/t. flood Le/mu."s''' ..... ''l 1m 5pi~Stl
de.. 5d! ~iftM' Colt",jo 5.1..1"lil. M ... nieh 19 13. pp. 12~ sqq.

Thus Ficino, qnoted below. p. 259, note .53.

cr.
pp.

E. PIINOFSKV, i.n MUnds,,"


sqq.

J.~

../:Juell

u r /:JildenuIII K,,"st. new series. VIII ( 19JI),

.. Disputatw IV; C.,nOI'OIIIO i.AN I)tNO, U/:J. l Olt'<lUWr (_ C. _Idwkoui" ... disp .. ,. libfi
1.508. ro1. K Ii' . The. pueq:e lrom Macrobius is q ... oted 'OJ uu",o.

'1".""01'). Strasbo\lJl edD.

.. Pointed o ut by E . WOlF, in

}.f, ... J-.II./:Jilcl!f ' IU' du lIIa.llfub AUtrl ...... 1 {1919J.

p.

~S7 .

"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"

[III.

If .

sovereignty desired by humanism sought to fu lfil itself within


the framework of a Christian culture, it meant danger as much as
freedom . A position in the "centre of the universe", such as
Pico dena Mirandola's discourse had attributed to man, involved
the problem of a choice between innumerable directions, and
in his new dignity man appeared in an ambiguous light which was
soon to show an inherent danger. For in the measure in which
human reason insisted on its "god-like" power, it was bound also
to become aware of its natural limits. It is sign ificant that the
early Renaissance turned with real concern to the theme of ethical
choice, which the previous epoch had either ignored entirely, or
left to the province of the theological doctrine of grace; it found
visible expression in lhe picture of Hcrcu!ts at lht Crossroads.
Hercules makes an autonomous choice and thereby becomes
involved in the problems resul ting from his freedom . J\nd it is
equally significant t hat the early Renaissance began to grasp t he
problem of astrology as a vital question of t he hu man will ~ffirming
its independence even of Providence. The late Middle Ages had
slurred over it by compromises such as "indinant astra, non
necessitant" or "sapiens homo dominatur astris". Writers of the
fourteenth century had already become curiously uneasy about
these questions, and in face of the ahnost contin uous triumphal
progress of astrology had to a large extent retreated into a preThomist standpoint of marked intransigence. Even when the
burning o( Cecco d'Ascoli is left out 01 account, it must be said
that even Chaucer's and Petrarch's polemics, like Luther's later
on, were far more "patristic" than "enlightened".ll In the
fifteenth century, which now learned to proceed in a really
"enlightened" manner towards a new notion o( human dignity,
we find neighbouring and crossing currents, the discrepancy
between which is due to the very loosening of medieval bonds.
There were those who, in the full enjojoment of their freshly found
liberty, b~tterly disputed against all stellar influence.13 Next to
these there were others who, in a sort of "horror vacui moralis"
adopted an almost Islamic fatalism with regard to the stars, or
" See above, pp. 1.59Iqq., and in particular W.r.DEl.. M. A. A., esp. pp. 8. Iqq . a nd 148sqq.
.. Thu. Pica. &COOrdi", to whom th ", freedom for g'JOd.' hat its obvioul correll.tiv", In an
equally unlimited " freedom for m:' So, t oo, in Ki"" L,/I.~. I. ii. Edmund utt.,.-ly re/ullft
credence 10luch I tellar fltallsm , bllt hI! ~Ilisea Illat human nlture bind. a man, even thou,h
t he.tan do not (KI", L-~, 1. 1) .0 t~1 be penonally, despite his independence of the .un,
....$I c~ 'm'".
~evertI'teIcM he is perfectly prepued to take the responsibility (Of' thit!,
beeauJe t be force movi ng him comes from within.

~<

!t

l]

THE I XTE LLECT UAL BACKGROUND OF THE NEW DOCTRI NE

247

practised the most obscure astral magic. There were those, too,
who attempted to find a way between that conviction of freedom
which was affirmed in theory but could not quite be realised in
practice, and that fear of the stars which had not been wholly
banished from practice although it was theoretically repudiated"~
The "bondsman" of the Middle Ages (so to speak) was 0 11 the
whole immune from astrology, but the "free man" of Renaissance
times was obliged either to fight it or to fall its victim.
The birth of this new humanist awareness took place, therefore,
in an atmosphere of intellectual contradiction. As he took up
his position, the self-sufficient "homo li~eratus" sa~v him~~f torn
between t he extremes of self-affirmatIon, sometImes rlsmg to
hubris, and self-doubt, sometimes sinking to despair; and the
experience of this dualism roused him to disc~ver th: new intelle~
tual pattern, which was a reflection of thiS t ragtc and herOIC
disunity- t he intellectual pattern of "~.odem ~;nius". At .thi~
point we can see how the self-recogmbon of modern gemtls
could only take place under the sign of Saturn and melancholy;
and how, on the other hand, a new intellectual distinction now
had to be conferred on the accepted notions of Saturn and melancholy. Only t he humanism of the Italian ~ena~sance \~as C\bie to
recognise in Saturn and in the melanchohc thiS polanH-, wInch
was, indeed, implicit from the beginning, but which only 'Aristot le ~:
brilliant intuition, and St Augustine's eyes, sharpened by hatred,
had really seen. And tilt! Italian humanists not ~nly r<'Cogni:3cd
this polarity: they valued it, because they So.1.W III it tilt' m :l1U
feature of the newly discovered "genius". There was therefore
a double renaissance: firstly, of the Neoplatonic notion of Saturn.
according to which the highest of the planets embodied, and also
bestowed, the highest and noblest (acuities of the soul. reason
and speculation; and secondly, of t he 'Aristotelian ' doctrin e .of
melancholy, according to which all great men were melancholi es
{whence it followed logically that not to be melancholy was a
sign of insignificance}. But this new acknowledgemc~t of a
favourable view of Saturn and melancholy was accompamed-or,
as we saw conditioned- by an unprecedented consciousness of
their polarity, which 1ent a tragic colour to the. optim~st ic Yie\~ .
and thus gave a characteristic tension to the fechng of Ide expcnenced by the men of the Renaissance,

H Thu. F1c1Da.

He

below. pp. 11s6 sqq . (t ext).

248

"MELANCHOLIA GEN EROSA"

[III . II.

Petrarch, perhaps the first of a type of m~ who are conscious


of being men of genius, had himself expenenc~d the contrast
between exultation and despair very poignantly mdeed, ~d w~s
so conscious of it t hat he was able to describe both conditions m
literary form :
Quaedam divina poetis
vis animi est,

he says in his defence of poetry. which is also a paean on his


own coronation.
Insanirc licet, fateor, mens concita; darum ,
sequc super provecta, canet ...
... subslstere nullurn
censuit ingenium, nisi sit dementia mixta.1.t

The sa me poet who describes so joyfully his own ~tjc ecstasies


was \"t~t familiar with that state of empty depresswn and dull
grief 'which made him "see all life in bl~ck" , and with a sa~ess
which drove him from company to solitude, and fro~ 7olitu~e
to company once morc. 16 But he still is far from descnbmg this
sadness-which, to quote Lessing, gives his poems a "v~luptuous
mclancholy"17 as "melancholy" itself. Rather he calls 1~ by the
medieval name of "acedia", which, however, as he uses l~, seems
to hover half-way between sin and disease18 ; nor does It occur
" P BTIlARCH. piJ/ol4 MII"u" 10 Zoilou, ' . lin a . 61 (PMIfC4I" "';"''''', eel . D . de RO'IIill:tti.
"0'- II . Milan 18) 1. p . 2301. T he lin ...
" . . . . ... bsistere n ...U... m
Cens ... it ingenillm, ru.t ,it del1l.entia mizta'
are a q ... otat.on from S'I< ltCA, D~ tr....'1 ..i1Ii1 .." "" ....i, '1, 10, which i, qlloted above. p . 3).
nute 65.
"Cl. A . FAR IN~I.LL, La malinconia del Petnrca,' in Rivill" d'i,..Ii .. , v, OZ (1901.), ClIp.

pp. 12 ILnd ~ o .
" G. E. LesSING. B.;,/, di. ",..u l. Liltr .. lvr IHlrff!nlll, Letter

]]1. (eonclllSloD of the whole) .


" For Petrarch , a<:cd;"". ct. H . CocHlN, L. /rlr. d. P.llr"NJt4 Pui. 190), pp. 1.05 sq~ .
an d , more recen .. H . 'N ...01) and P Snlltl< ''''') Bri./. dOl F.Ilru;lUO Pdr""". Berhn
19) 1, pp. ]85 sqq. P . Stem. polemic ll8aiMt the, as he say,: generaU! bdd V Iew eq\latlng
'.acedia" witb mental disease or 'Weltschmen' (instead of WIth the I,n of s~~) aeems to
IIf to miss the plient poi nt ; the I\lIldity or indctenninateDest charactenltoc .of ever.y
aspect of Pet rarch" hil torical position, which led lOme au thors (e.g. A. VON MAII.TIN, In ~.'Jo I ~
fU r KwlJ u"n'Jo"Jo',. XYIII (19z8). pp. 51 ~q.) to interpret it as the ollteome of bls OW n
.. hara ..ter, pe1"mits of no . uch alternative. When Augustine .II&YI to Petrarc:h in ~e
S". eI ..... . ' YOII are tormented by tbat dutructive plague whkb the moder1l. (that IS
Peuu.. h:. contemporaries) ca.ll acedia but the ancients 'a.egritudo''', thq Soente~ alone
malles it impouible \0 uplain J>etrarcl>, "acedla ' m theok>gko-monJ ten"". For him, th."
lin of "::00;"" ",as eqllivalent to a sicllDest o f the fOul. althOligh be bad n~t yet Q.lL~ tb ..
t iCknes. by the n&!tle of mdan ..holy. Hen...,. vi<:/! versa, FAIlUIZLl.1 lop "'t., ~. II ) II not
altogethe r just ified in tr1Lustating "aegrit ... do" u . 'malinGOnia" In tha pus;Lge )lut quoted .
A"",,

I]

THE INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND OF THE NEW DOCTRI NE

249

to him to describe the divine force of his poetic frenzy- which


he still calls "insania" or "dementia"-by the expression "furor",
which Cicero had coined, and which he had explicitly distinguished
from the two former expressions. l9 The idea that intellectual
achie'vements are determined by the stars was completely foreign
to him . And above alI, he had not, and indeed could not have
had, any notion of conceiving the two opposite conditions,
depression and enthusiasm, which he called " acedia" and
"dementia", as different aspects of one and the same, essentially
bipolar, disposition.20
These conceptions matured in the next century during which
P etiarch's way of thinking, still half liilkcd with medieval notions,
was superseded by something new and different from the Middle
Ages; while the opposites that he had perceived without being
able to relate them together. were now grasped as an integral
unity. Not till the fifteenth century, as far as scholars are concerned, was the still half-theological notion of "acedia" replaced
by the purely humanistic "melancholy" in the emphatically
'Aristotelian' sense. Not till then did the expression "furor"
receive its solemn rehabilitation in the sense of Platonic "divine
frenzy".21 Not till then was the 'Aristotelian' doctrine of the
ambivalence of the melancholy nature summed up in the fonnula :
quantum atra bills, imo candida bilis eiusmodi quaerenda et nutrienda est,
tanquarn optima, tantum illam, quae contra se habet. ut diximus, tanquam
pessimam esse vitandam ."

- thus enabling a later writer to say of the melancholic that he


.. C IURO. Tf4uld",," dispod..lioMJ, III , 5. a, q ... oled a bove, p . 43 (tex l ) .

.. How 1&r Petr"arch "till "'as from t he nolio .. of 'ennohled" melancholy can be seen from
a letter 10 , Laeliu., in which he excuses hi. boldo/:Oill in cont radictillg Aristotle by a
re fereO<:e to Ck ero, ",ho had dared to do .. milch : "Quale est m... d, quod cu m Aristoteles
omnes ingen ........ mdancholicos esse d~luet. Cieero, cni did ... m non plaeet>.t, iocaus ait :
gratnm sibi quod tanli esset iogeoii, clare satis bis verbis quid se ntiret inlimant' (F.
Ptl, ..,t;IU EpiJ/oku, eel. I . FraCU$etti. FloreD(:a 1$6), YOlo . fU , p. 501. Petrar.. h therefO!
takes Cicero'" jest u a senous rebuttal of the Aristotelian notion 01 melancholy and appro"es
o f this criticism.

., Lto" .. ,d' B", ,,, A14/i"i EPislowM(III lib'; VllI, ed. L . Mehus, Florence 114 1, VOl.. II ,
pp.)6 sqq., ep. VI. I . Bruni a nswen tile poet Marrasio, challenge "lnd ... lgere velis nostro
Arreli ne fUfori 1" ",Ith the controversial statement: "Jdalills fonan a Uter, ego certa.sic accipJn,
q ....asi lalldis l ... ror lit, non vituperationil'; a.nd reinforces it with bil f&lllO\l. exegesis o f the
P1atoni.. nntion of ma nIa. For the problem of the modern notion 01 genius see also E. ZI t.SBL,
D" E"lsld'''''I Q ' G,,,ilbtpif!s, Tllbingen 1 9~6. Ind H. Tu tJ ... . B,i/, 4"
G~nlo'dl' du
Gnt~ffJ ill " ,141111.. Halle 1921 ..... d their biblioc:raplties. To the partic:ulu aigniJi~e
of the notion. of Saturn .... d mela..ncholJ' In thiJ c:onnexion. however. these authors bavo no\
done justice.

,,,r

to

FICi Nn. D~ II. tripl . I, 6 (01'"", p. 499).

"MELANCHOLIA GENJo:ROSA"

[III.

If .

was "aut deus aut daemon".u Finally, not till then was t he
equation of the Aristotelian melancholy with Platonic "divine
frenzy"- never clearly formulated by the ancients themsclvesexpressly made." Then- and not till then---did the modem age
conceive the modem notion of genius, reviving ancient conceptions
indeed, but filling them with a new meaning.
That Petrarch should have felt melancholy before he called
himself so, that he should have been conscious of both the "divine"
and the "frenzied" nature of his poetic achievements before there
had been any revival of the orthodox notion of divine frenzy,
and that he found both these aspects in his own experience before
he grasped their unity-aU this shows most plainly that for the
H.enaissance the connexion of melancholy with genius was no
mere cultural reminiscence, but a reality which was experienced
long before its humanistic and literary formulation, Not that the
Middle Ages had entirely forgotten the good qualities of the
melancholic and Saturn's auspicious influence; the rudiments of
such a conception survived even in astrological and medical
literature,U and scholastic writers like William of Auvergne even
made explicit attempts to rescue it, by contrasting the curren.t
view with Aristotle's doctrines, and with those of Neopiatonism. n
But there was a fundamental difference between scholastic
attcmpts to fmd a theological and moral justification for
melancholy and for Saturn's influence, and the humanists'
apotheosis of them, rooted and grounded in personal experience.
It was one thing, with the permission of supreme authority., to
try to find a place in a God-given world order for the connexion
between the melancholy disp:>sition and intellectual pre-eminence.
and for a similar link between Saturn and "intellectus"; quite
another to discover it in one's own experience and, in affirming
it, to be driven by one's own personal urge for intellectual se.lfpreservation. The argument was now, so to say, "ad hominem"27 ;
.. Cf. T . WIo1.J(HIGTQIf. Til' Opti" GI.u. eIH""'OO'J, London ' 607, p.6., 0: "The melaneholiel<
man is lII.id o f the wi$tl to be 'a ut ~u, aut Daemon.' ~ither ADgel of heaven o~ a fiend 0 1 bell :
fot in whomsoever thi, hu mou r hath dominion. t he soule i. either wrapt up into an Elyaium
and paradise 01 blessc by a heavenly con templation, or into a di re full hellish purgatory by a
cynicall meditation."' Thi, is followed, however. by an entirely unfavourable a.tCOun t both
of melancholy and of the influence of s..tu rn.
II

Thul Ficino, quoted bf:lo.., p.

2.10

(te"t) .

" See above. pIl$Ji ....


.. See above. pp. 73 ICjq., 169lCjq. (text).
n Note a )etter from Filelfo to Lodovico Gonuga. dated '4$7. o n the method of brirqin,
up hi. Ion Federi,o (EpiJIo/u Jo'rll..eiui Pltilfl/i. P!onheim 1506, XIV. I, tol. mo, kind ly

I l THE l NTE LLECTUAL BACKGROUND OF THE. :-lEW DOCTR1NE 2S1

and it flOally reached the point where the perception of the


dangerous instability of one's own condition, the dou,bIe awareness of weakness and creative power, and the conSCIOusness of
walking on the edge of a precipice, lent to t.he 'A ristotelian' and
Neoplatonic doctrines- hitherto acce~ted , If at all, merely as
theoretical propositions-a pathos which allowed them to merge
with the poetic sensation of melancholy.
The change of meaning in the notion ~f ~elan~ho~y was. by
no means confined to a mere revival of the Aristotelian doctn~e.
No more could the notion of Saturn be endowed with new m e~n11l~
merely by harking back to Plotious, ProeIus, or )lacrobms.
Saturn , too, was discovered in a new and personal sen~e by the
intellectual elite, who were indeed beginning to conSider thelr
melancholy a jealously guarded privilege, as they became aware
both of the sublimity of Saturn 's intellectual gifts and the dangers
of his ambivalence. At fi rst sight it would seem to r?fer more
to the idea of free will than to Saturn , when a ftfteentn-century
astrological poet, Matteo Palmieri, attempts to solve the prob lem
of the relationship between free will and astral depend~nce by
fusing together the two contrasting interpretations of the lourn~y
ings of the soul into a sort of "choice of Hercules", presc])tmg
the soul in its descent ,....ith a choice between the ways o.f good
and evil in each planetary sphere, so that it may acql1lre tl~e
fortunate or unfortunate characteristics of each of the pl~ nct:-: . ~.
But it is of great importance that within this sy;;tem \ Whi Ch han
to be dualistic in order to allow for freedom of choice)Mthe complex
nted out by F. Rougemont) : "Fredericu. tuu , est na tun mdanch ohcu.J

.~r melar.d,... h.:.-,

:=nes esse
ingenioso- docet Aristotelel. "t Ae id quidem m,rum.
~ 'g" ur ope':L ~Iar:rla
f nrens ingenium nimio ado defrigetCu.lu etiam .tudendum. ne tn",ore consu e. ur! tn.
L

::~:e eomnino hili fad u otmoxium." Here. as in othH" Renaissance authou '....,e follo""!"JI
) the ..ish to do jUlt ice to melancholy at all costs led 10 tht- trans formauon of ('l et-'o S
from Aristotle. "omn~ in,eniosos m~lancholicof esse' (see aoo'e. tt"!l:t P 3.3. nntt
65), into "omnes melancholiCOl IR,emo-os ate
.. The old etymOlosy Satum _ .....cer nu, (see above. p 17;) occu r~ ag'lln e.g III G

;:~~tion

BoceACCIO, Ce)lea/olill D'o ....... , VIII. II.


tt MATTEO PIol.MIllal. t.. Cilia .Ii Vii. , Plorence. BibUoteca Laure nz;;r.na: Cod ~l ut x~
bl" hed (with many mitprints) by :>.Iargaret Rooke, In s,,,,t/: CIlII' I' S,l</1t1 oJ .\I .x~ II
~l: ..':.~" vor... VII I 1,16-2 7 . (tbe iphere 01 Satu m IS deseribed in I. 12. Rooke (ed1 o r , It
................. '
' t.DA" L,.
....... Ji,..sI'elo,i~ ...elQ ..all.IK...la. ......
_-s.. "D
r wrence
I"....,..
.. -' 00 .Q'l
,
pp. ~ , ICjq..
.B. SO

r
'Cf

of the _
tiall y dUll inllu.nce of the planets (i l ocCurs lau.r e g ,n G P
LoKAUO Irlu dtllmlpio hUa pi"'*", Milan 1590. ch 26, p. 36 : he.r S;otur."! mr:LM_el : h~r
.. Thi$ Idea

"

. :.

"miteria'" occuion&lI)' found e"'press;on a leo .n Ihe nonh

Thus . )b b,

.I.

cr.t v ..... or
,,_.&
,\
. 01 m .-. :'\ <lrOl
certaiD l.,uARtlS $CHeOne. dated '497. in WoUenhti tlcl . ~. 29. q . uc ~ . ..'
_. ~
fob. 84 aqq . not only allots correspondinl liber.ll an . metals and d :, ,'s ('1 : e ,,<"(,;': to .h,

"MEL:\;:';-CHOLIA GENEROSA "

[Ill, II,

1I1a11\ ' -~i u ed n e5S of Saturn shrinks to a dear antithesis between


c.\treme intellectual disorder and extreme intellectual ability,
em phasising strongly the significance and the vulnerability of t he
latter , The two "valleys" open to the soul's choice-one bright
but hard to discover, the other dark, into which "many more
spirits can enter" , but which "changes and disturbs the mu:d "
bv its cold- meet in a wide space where the usual Satumme
p~ofessions are assembled, from anonymous peasants, sallo:s, and
rich men, to architects and astronomers, Whosoever decides on
one of these Saturnine professions and not on a Jovial or Solar
one places himself, as far as his outward life is concerned, under
t he infl uence of his chosen patron, His inner liCe, however, is
d'..! tcrmined bv the road which he has chosen, Whosoever passes
t hrough Satu~n 's sphere by the broad but evil path of .the many
is inclined to devious thinking, to anger, dullness, rage, sadness,
and envy, to a deceitful mind, and to cruelty, and at his worst
he can be overtaken by bestial raving; but whosoever chooses
the path of the few, has a mind illuminated by the "intelligenza
certa"Per darsi a quegli che sapran mostrare
Con ragion vera ben provata e sperta,

All the writers whose interest is directed to Saturn in particular


recognise more and more clearly his inherent contradictoriness, as
his distinctive quality; and the contrast between the negatIve
defini tions of current astrology and the laudatory predications
of the Neoplatonists becomes more and more acute,31 An early
commentator on Dante, ]acopo della Lana, had contented himself
with the idea, based on natural science, that Saturn, through
his quality as an earthen, heavy, cold, and dry planet, produced
people in whom matter preponderated and who were suited only
I'lan,'ts, but systematically endows each 01 them with one good mental property, and ~ne
related evil one. Mercurv, lor instance (the text on Lllna is missing), is credited w,tb
'LLLtc r ~ ci t" and "frC5~rey:', Venus with" , , . issikeit" and "U nkuseheit", Mars with "Obung"
amI " Zorn", the sun with "Gedultikeit" and " Hoffart", Jupiter with "Miltikeit" and "~id
"od HaM," and Saturn with "Oemut" and "Sittigkeit"-the last attribute, however, wh,ch
would otherwise upset the whole .,stem, l>eing obviously a misreading or misspelling, perhaps
or il)inally of "Geitigkeit" (avarice) or "HlI.ttigkcit" (malice).
" It is therefore the more significant that L!;ON DI PllltJlO DATI'S commentlLry, also
preserved in the Laurenziana MS (kindly pointed out by F. Rougemont), should bring in ,the
Ncoplatonic theory of the soul's joumeyings wben entering the sphere of Saturn (tenanma
12); "in qua secundum I,I.StrnlogOll anima ..-aciOl::inationem et intelligentiam ~lIirit. , . ' .
Fulgentius dici t Saturnum quasi Saturnumen, hOI:: est di"inum sensum"; and _gaLn tenaruna
~ I (see note ~7) he remarks tnat "Melanconico. omoes in&enioSOll se (siel) esse scribit
Aristoteles . , ' ,"

t }

THE INTELLECTUAL BACKGROUND OF THE NEW DOCTRINE 253

to hard work on the land; but through his position, as the highest
of the planets, he produced the most spiritual people, such as
"religiosi contempiativi" , withdrawn from all worldly life. 32 But
b'y the time of Cristoforo Landino the revived Neoplatonism is
already well established, In his commentary on Dante, Landino
refers ' to the authority of Macrobius in order to contrast the
many, base and evil things which astrology had attributed to the
influence of Saturn with "quella virtu della mente, la quale i
Greci (chiamon 'theoreticon',"33 Finally, a monumental formula
was evolved, expressly contrasting Saturn's bipolarity with the
influence of the other planets, and, significantly enough, within a
few decades it had become a proverb, "Saturn seldom denotes
ordinary charact ers and destinies, but rather men who are set
apart from the others, divine or animal, joyous or bowed down
by the deepest grief"M; or, as Bovillus says in his Proverbia
vulgaria, "sub Saturno nati aut optimi aut pessimi,"35
.. L!';CIASO SCARABI!I.I.I, Com~d;a di Drut,d'lli Alll!llLuii, col ,,,,"me,,,11! di jaUJpo dtlll! LI!"''''
Bologna 1866, VOL. m, p. 316: "s; come si hac per Alcabizio e per gli alui libri d 'astrologla'
Saturno uoiversalmente Iii hae a significare due generazioni di genti, I'una tutta gt'OllS3 e
materiale, s\ CODle sono viUan i, agricoli e simile gente; I'altra ~nerazione ~ tutta ..stratla
dalle mondane oecupazioni, sl come sono religiosi contemplativi; e provaaL di mostrarne
ragione in questo modo. La prima gente ,i /! di sua significaziont: scguendo sua eomple,sionc'
sl COme Saturn o freddo e S<'CCU , che .. complt:SSione material" e di terra, . . .. L'altra gente
che ~ lOtto sua impressione, 5i IIOno contcmpJanti, com'/! detto; questi seguono 10 sito d,
Saturno, the 81 come eUo I! elevato sopra tutti Ii altri pianet i, coslla contemplazinne ~ elevata
.
sopra tutti Ii alui aUi e operuioni."

.. FoL eclxvii ' in tile Yenetian cdn. of '''9 ' 01 Cristoloro Landino's commentary on Vant,,:
"el quale piancto, quando I! l>cn disposto Della nativiti dell' huomo, 10 fa investigatore delle
COlle antiche et rl'Condite; et ;nferisee acuta ratiOl::inatione et d iscocso di ragione.
fit anco".
secondo Macrobio quell,. virtu della mente, la quale i Gn:ci chiamon 'theor~tjcon: i.e
potentia di contemplare et specular<'; la qual cosa induxe el poeta che ..-appresenti in questa
spnera l'anime speculatrici."
.. F1CIN O, De ~. tripl. 111, 2 (Oper4 , p. 533); "Saturnus non facile communem sigoificat
humani geLleris qualitatem atque sortero, sed hominem ab alii! segregatum, dj"ioum aut
brutum, beatum aut utrema miseria prt:55um, Mars, I.una, Venus, affeetus et actus homini
cum caet~ri~ aLlimantibus aequl: communes."

"
.. C, P.oVII.LUS,
P'01Jerbiorum vulgarium libri Ire!, Paris 1531, fo1. 109':
"Sub ""turno nati aut optimi aut pessimi.
Qui 90ubz saturn" sont ne:>: !lnt tout bons OU tout mauluais."
Similarly' in LEos ... ano DATI 'S Sjera Iwe quote from MS 721 in the Pierpont Morgan
Library, ~ew York);
"Questo pianeta ci fa contemplanti
Et pensativi, easti e bene astuti,
Sottiglleza d'ingegno han tutti quanti,
Sono al ben fare si com" al male &etlti . , . . "
Again, LEONE E8 R!;O'S attempt to combine all the vaTidy of Saturn's traditional traits into
a unified black and white picture (DialCIIM d'AmOfe, Ve nice 1541, fol. 70'-') is particularly
interesting:. "Ia gli huomini, ne quali domina, malenconiei, mestl, graui et tardi, et di color

254

"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"

[III. tI .

For ..that very reason, however, the elite among t'he Italian
humanists turned to Saturn rather than to Jupiter, According
to Pica della Mirandola, the very possibility of becoming either a
god or a beast was what made man; and the very situation on
the narrow ridge between the two "chasms", which was recognised
more and more clearly as the main characteristic of the Saturnine
and melancholy man, seemed to these elect persons, by its very
peril, to raise them above the secure but uneventful level of the
commonplace. Thus, out of the intellectual situation of humanism
- that is to say out of the awareness of freedom experienced with
a sense of tragedy- there arose the notion of a genius which ever
more urgently claimed to be emancipated in life and works from
the standards of "normal" morality and the common rules of art.
This notion arose in close combination with the notion of a
melancholy both gracing and afflicting the "Musarum saccrdos"
(just as, in ancient belief, the lightning both destroyed and
sanctified); and with the notion of a Saturn who despite all his
menace, was a "iuvans pater" of men of intellect3$; because they
could honour in him both the ominous demon of destiny and a
type of the "insenescibilis intellectus", or even the "intellectualis
deus",87
2,

MARSILIO FICINO

The new view was soon to gain universal acceptan.ce, if by


this phrase one means the world of international il)tcllcctual
aristocracy of the "viri literati", whose notions, naturally, were
conceived on a somewhat different level from those of the almanacs
and booklets for the use of barbers.38 It had received powerful
impulse from Dante, who, himself "malinconico e pensoso"," had
thrown the whole weight of his opinion (constantly ~operative
through his "epigoni" and commentators) on the side of Macrobius,

di terra. inclinati all" agTic.ultura, edificii et officii Unen; . , . Da O]ITa. questo grand' ;ngegno.
profonda cogitatione, uera scientia, retti consegli. et conltantia d 'animo per]a mistione della
natura. del pad~ celeste con II. terrena. mad~; et finalmen te dalla parte del padre da la
diuiniti dell' anima, et dal]a parte ddl .. madre ]a bruttezza, et rui na. del corp!) , , ."; th e
purely mythological rl'asonl for this polarity are a!so remarkable.
U F ICINO, D, v. tripl., Ill ,

(Op'~I1.,

pp. 564 sqq.).

... Cf. N ICHOLAS 011 Cus ...s autograph marginal comments on the Latin transb.tion o f
P1tOCLUS'S TheoW&il1. PI...tcNi, (Cllel . Hospital, Cod. 185, fol. ~6' and 166' ; furtber passages,
fo] . 163").
.. The new doctrine did not leave even Olese entirely nntoaded, bowever;
p . 118 (text), and below, pp. 39~ Iqq. (text),
~.

Bocc.o.CCIO, Vii" di D"Nt., ch. 8,

ICC

above,

2]

}tARSILIO FICINO

255

and had thus from the outset helped the notion of Saturn as a star
of sublime contemplation to gain the day, In the twenty~first
canto of the Paradiso, it is the sphere of Saturn in which the
"anime speculatrici" , led by Peter Damian and St Benedict, appear
to the poet; and from it the shining ladder of contemplation rises
to the vision of the Deity, in which Beatrice's smile dies away,
and the nearness of the Absolute silences even the music of the
spheres- a curious reminiscence of the silence of the ancient god
Kronos.4.0 The whole conception- here only hinted at and still
concealed behind general symbols, although later. as we have
seen, it was to include the personal experience of generations of
humanists-reached both its full systematic development, and its
psychological objectification, in an author 'from \\--hose work we
have already quoted frequently when it was a matter of flOdin g
the new doctrine of Saturn and melan choly "classically"
fonnulated, This was Marsilio Ficino, the t ranslator of Plato and
Plotinus ; or, as he described himself on the title page of his
translation of Plato, the "Philosophus Platonicus, Medicus et
Theologus", Marsilio went far beyond the scattered remarks of
other authors'l and devoted a complete monograph to the new
doctrine, He it was who really gave shape to the idea of the
melancholy man of genius and revealed it to the rest of Europein particular, to the great Englishmen of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries-in the magic chiaroscuro of Christian
Neoplatonic mysticism:t2 In him the SUbjective chnra cter of the-

"Tu hai !"udir morbi, $1 .:om., II ,ilo.


rispuose a me : onde qui non 5i canta
per que] che ~atric", non ha riso . , .

Fo r this, see the commentarie$ quoted above. p . "ilP sq. (t",xt)


LI

For Gua.inerio, see above, pp. 9 S sqq. (tn:tl .

An edition of Ficl no', Libri d, ";1.. trip/iei wu hein!; prepa.:-ed before th~ ".11 by I ':,~;ennr
E. \Veil. Paris. to whom this ~on 01 Ole book o",'es severa] addi tions and ~ect,~cat;on~.
hence wt: bave limited ourselves hert! to very brief ~ferencel and quotations. Fo~ othu
aspects besides the general litera~re. see F . FIORltSTISO, II r;larg;mn.!(J {::(}Joj",o ",I
Quatt~ClUNto. NaplC11 1835 : A . "DI!.LI..\ TORRI!., Sto n" dtll" A"adt,,,ia Platoniclf d, F,' rtH;t .
Floreoce 1903: E. CUSIU.R, J.. dj~id""", Ifnd KOI"'OI (S tud!en der Bib!;oth~k \\'a rburg.
VOL. xl, Leipzig 1927: and GlltHLOW (1903-G4); G. S... ITT .... l,a filos0fta Iii .\lI1.,;1i1.' Fio;; wo,
Messina 1923 ; H. B.-I.ROI'I", "Willensfrciheit und A~trologie bel Fici no und Pico. in ,.;"!:,,,. ""d
UNilllrsA1gtsdi,hI,. W41lu G61r "" .h iNt'" 60. Glbu.lJlag,darg,b~"AI . . . . Le ' pZlg 191 ~ 1 Pt'Sl:<O
(with additions by L . THORNOIU) in ZdtJ~hrilt lilr Kj.~hf"l' $tl.. ,~rt, 1925. PI' ~o . ":;',
w. DIIESS, Di, MySlilt dn Mafsilio Ficiow, Berlin 1929 ("\li th Important remarks nn Fic,rlo'l
secret anthropoenti. m. CIp. p. 79). Fcrr Fic.ino. innuence on the E Ii,a!.>ett:a n~, d F S
5cJ!:Ol<LL, "Etllde. l ur \'bulftanisme continental en Ansleterre 1 II lin de 1a Rtn.:nancc
in Bibli<HJJf ... d, u. R", ... .u liIlJ~.. I..u tom/Jl'.J" VO l. . :eXIX (1926). PI'. 2 sqq . . ,,~ mar "dd
that BUIITOH too offen a detailed discussion 0 1 Ficino'. theory of melancholy tI'ar: I. ::lemb.
3, s ubs, 1$\.

25 6

" ~IELANC H OLIA GENEROSA"

2]

[ III . II.

~owadays, I do not know, so to say, what I want, or perhaps I do not


want what I know, and want what I do not know. The safety ensured you
by the 'benevolence of your Jupiter standing in the sign o( the Fish is denied
me by the malevolence of my Saturn ret rogressing in the sign of t he LionY

But he received an indignant reply.fa How could he, as a good


Christian Platonist, attribute an evil influence to the stars-he
who had every cause to venerate " that highest star" as a good
planet ?
Did he not regard you, when you were born in Florence, under the same
aspect he regarded the divine Plato, when he flrstsaw t he light in Athens?U

as

" Op'r/1o O17I"i.. , Basle l,n6, VOl.. f, pp. 731 (misprinted as 6)1) Iq. ; " Ego autem bit
temporibu5 q uid velim q uodammodo neseio. Forte et quod lcio nol.im, el qood nescio volo.
Veruntamen opinor tlbi Dune jovUt tui 10 Piscibul d ir ect! beDignltate COlUtare, q uao mih!
Saturni mel hill diebus in Leone retrogradi nulignltate non constant. Sed quod frequtnter
praedicare !IOlemu s in omnibus aseDdae i11i gratiae aunt, q ui inli nita oonitate sua omnia.
convertit iD bonum." T his conclusio n bring ing the whole o f astrological pagaoism into
harmony with ChrilLtian faith ill typical of Fielno and bis epoch.

U Ficino can be eoun ted among the opponents of astroiocy oDly with certain qualificatiolll
(on l lIis, s.ee below. text pp. ::63I1'1.q.). It is at least u nderstandable that tbe great a.!ItTolo~er
L.uca. Gauricus, In a l peh in praise a nti de fence of his science. should ha"e quoted. h,m,
togel ht"r "'; t h T'tolcrnr. Pleatrix. Pietro d '''lia no lind th,~ Archduke Leopold ~f "ustna: u
one of the malO represenlati"cs o f "astrolog ical magic" (LuCA$ GAURlCUS. ~r"ha d , I.. ,ull/)w$
'UCr~lc:'a.~ h<lbif<l In F"ra.ri~ "si A chndt,,,ia, pr inted In Sphere IrlJl:/<l/ .., joannu de Sn,HI BIISIo,

p'-",

.. m

al!lO below, VP, ~60 tICIq. (ted) .


.. For Fielno as a p ...ctising ph ~cian cudnS melancholy, _ A. COIlSIt<t. ' 11 ' De ,ita ell
Mafllilio Flcino", in JlilliM" di sl",;" ~ril;t.. dell, "i,,", mrdil;h , ""l.m"i. VOL. X (t91.9~,
pp. 5- 1). This ill based on johannl'c5 Cor,ius's bio&raphy of F icino edited by A. ~. Ba.ndLD I,
PiSll. ' 71). whicb k ill us, among other th ins , . how much a t tentiun Ficino pai~ to brs ~wn a~~
hi, friends beal t h, JrequentJy clldng them free of chllrge ; meianeholy IS ~enbOn.ed
particular : ' Sed quod ;neredibile Cllmprimil, n? nnullol atr:" bile vex~tos ~edend ....,Iert'a non
si no om nium .tuporo eurav it, eosque ad prilltmam redu",t valetudmem .

257

1480 he wrote to his great friend, Giovanni Cavalcanti, as follows:

neW doctr1:1c becomes especially pronounced , for he himself was. a


melancholic and a child of Saturn- the latter, indeed, m
particula rly unfavourable circumst ances, for in his h.orosc~pe the
dark star in whose influence he so unshakablr behe~ed st~d
in the ascendan t . and as it did so, moreover, It was m the Slgn
of the Aquarius, Saturn's " night abode". It is unusually
illuminating to see how Ficino's notion. of Saturn ru;d melancholy
sprang from t his personal, psychologIcal fow:daho~,. f~r th~re
is no doubt that fundamentally, despite all his familianty Wlt h
Dante and ancient Neoplatonism , he regarded Saturn as an
csscntia lh unlucky star, and melancholy as an essen tially unhappy
fateY" so that he attempted to counter it in himself and others
b\" all the means of the medical art which he had leamt from
his fa ther, perfected by his o\.\'n training, and finally ~~ based
on ;\" eopiatonic astral magic.46 We can actuall~ detennme t he
moment at which the views of Proclus and An stotle began to
prcvail in his mind against the views . of Cecco d ' Ascoli and
Constantinus Africanus. In a letter wntten between 1470 and

\"eniee 153t )
" For FIC.no. huroscope see the letten to c..valcanli quoted belo ,,", ~p. ::57 sqq: (Ioxl),
and t he passage quoted from his introduction to the comroeDtary o n Plotmua; abo .~IS leiter
10 :-<ocholas of Balbor, Bilhop of Wa illen in Hungary (Opn.., VOL. I, p : 684) : ~I e v~
pain... mm:ue sedel m itum fuef il, si ve mu tationem prohibeat Sa.tumu, 10 AquaJL~ nobis
ncc nlic n ~ . quod lor te iudicabi t Astrologus. lieU .. mens coDtemplationi semper IDlenla
qulescere iubea!.' 1\ may be usclul W e"Vlain that by '~endant astrologer~ meant tlle
point of the ecliptic rising abc'e t he horizon at a give n moment. a~d also-n ot qu,te eorr~ctl.y
-the sign of the zodiac in which this point lay. The fint tbuty sradcs of the ,:hptLC
(coun ting from tbe aKflndant point) are lhe lirst ' place" {lQ<'..s).--often abo equated w,th t~e
,
' Rl" cs " "I ,e.
.. . Tho ':'
,~
. - .' i n this
'locu.
re!e,ant zodiacal lugnw h'I( h s'g
...............
,. . first
..
, It
I.herefou the one governing the life of the man In question, and IS really blS star. When,
as in FiciDO1 case, there is the added fact that the ascendant siS~ i. also ODe ~f the " holl_:
of th e planet in question (in which tho planet in any case exerts Its greatest mIght), then th,s
act o j course inerea$el the planet'. influen ce I t ill furlhn.

MARSILIO FICINO

!
i

" Opu/J, p. 133. The translation s iven here, as elsewbere, is tee and considrrably " bridSed.
The tex t runa as follows: "N unquam erso m ihi amplius, mi Maxaili, inai mulabls malignitatem
$atllmi. Nnllnm Herelo m.alu.m Jaeere nobi. possunt utn.. ncq ueunt. inquam, noIUDt.
Velie autem et poue est Idem apud 5Uperoa. Qua ratione autem no. lummi boDi fi lio.
laederen t ? Cum aliis, qui a iummo bono solum originem suam trahuDt, ducantur. Atque
ea omnino secllndum bonl ipsius rntionem felieiQl mae illae mentes clreumaSant. SI ta.ntum
qUQlltum ,idemus et sciunt. qui experti nnt, I UOS dlligi t lilios le(;uudut lit turestris pater, qu i
comparatione coelestill Patrill, vix dicendus eat pater, quantum nos primum et verum Patrcm
putemus am.are ~ Mirom In modllm certe. Nu nq uam igitur laedemur ab iia, qui convi vlln t
In prot;pera domo Panit n<tri. ea"e igitur p<tbac t rantleras culpam tuam ad aupremum
lIIud a.!IUUtn, quod te for te innumerit alque mu imis beneticiia ac:cumulatum reddidit.
Sed ne in &i1l81l1a (rostra eD umerare eoner, noane til Uliasum ad 80~ntem urbem omandam,
lam per te fioreDtiatimao.n efl"ect;o.m, vC)lui <b OO<Iem aspicero uJ*lu, quo divum Platonem
aspexit ad Athenu iII ustraDdas eunt~? Responde mm! quaeso, unde admirandum
ingenium, q llo quid I i <t> Saturnus Intdlill., quod triginta annis suum iter pel1lgat cognosc:il .
qUOlve effect us in terris hoc in loco vel illo coliocatul producat, non is noras. Age, dic rnihi,
uode robu$tum iII ud et vaHd um corpus, quo per dev ios et indomltos saltus uui..-erMm
Graec~peragras t; , atq lle in AeBYptu m lIsque penetrasti, ad nos ... plentissim< ilI< $enes
. uper tuos hnmerOil allaturul! Audax eette lacinusl Pro quo tantum tibi posted debebunt,
quantum solvere d ifficlle erit. Haud to tuum fe feUit ineoeptum. TulilLti c:erte cos. quos
attingue est nemo. atq ue Oc:eidentaliblll rqiODilnts ostendisti. quoram taQtum prius nomin ..
aceepera"t. eaque tamen magnopere venerabUQlUl a tque ab eit omnern oblcuritatem quaa
eIrca. (:0$ ~t, amov i.ti nOiIroSqUe oculos .. b omni caligi ne abstersillti, ita ut etlam cor eorum
inspicl posslt, nisi penitu. lippl l im us. Denique per te eos inspcxit bue aetas, quos nuuquam
viderat Italla. Haec omnl.. t ibi ab eodem dOData sunt. Ad hoc etlam te respondere vrlim.
unde m~.lioria ilia tot rerllm capacissi ma, q uae adeo tenacissima est. ut quolibet momento
sibl omn i, ad$int q uae uDquam vldisti aut .. udlsti, nec tant um rea tenet, sod quibut eae sestae
. u nt, meminit temporum atque locorum. Tu ne erso Saturoum incusabls, q ui te tantum
ceteros homines . uperare voluit. quantum ipse eeterns planetu . uperat. Itaque OPUI, m ib!
erede, cit palinoo.;.., quam Ii sapit, quam primum caDes."

" Cf. the letter to Pion della htirandola (01'''''. p. 888): 'Sed non ne et ID.a3n um aliquld
lore decrevil Platonicorum documetltonJm copu1am ab initio l upern u. ilIe $aturnus in na tali
utriDII'I.Ue figura dominus ~ Dominus et in figura Platoois ... . " Fieino gives Plato'. alleged
horoscope in the long letter to Francesco llandi no (Op.r,., p. 763).

,
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA 'J

[m. lI.

. Who gave you the st rength to travel through Greece and reach
even the I~nd of the Egyptians in order to bring back t o us the wisdom
of ~hat ancu:~t people? Whence have you tbat comprehensive memory. in
wh lc~ all thmgs are present in correct time and place? All these things
ar~ gifts from ~atum. Therefore, do not complain of him, seeing that he
raised you as high above ,other men as he ,himself is abo\'e Ihe otber planets.
~ere IS urgent need, believe me, of a palinode. and if you are wise you will
sing one as soon as possible.

MarsiJio Ficino did sing a palinode. His answer was already


a recantation:
. Because of . that excessive timidity. which you occasionally charge me
":Ith. I c~mplam of my melancholy temperament, for t o me it seems a very
bltt~T thmg. and one that I can only ease and sweeten a little by much lutepJaymg[J]; , . . Satu~n methinks gave it me from the beginning, when in my
horoscope he stood In the ascendant in the sign of the Water-Bearer
but wh~re have ~ la~ded ",lyself ? I can see already t hat you wi/( ~n~~
more, wIth some Jusllce, ~b11ge me to embark on a new palinode on Saturn.
So wha.t shal~ T do? I wIll try. to find a way out, and either 1 will say that
~eJanchoJ?" If yOIl must have It so, does not come from Sat urn; or else, if
~t nccessar.lly comes from him, t hen I will agree with Arist otle, who described
It as a umque and divine gifL'"

A few years .1ater there appeared the three books De vita triplici,
on the therapy and symptoms of the Saturnine character."
~ Op~ , ... p.1J'l: " Iu~, m! t~n~,. ut ~tllmo. de .ql>O .uperioribu. diebaa valde qll~eb&r,
pal.'~Lam un.am. Et luslilaime quidem: Demo emm iullet iDltillS, quam qui IU'1a iubent
!ac,t 'pM. quae hlboet Palinodia igifllr 1Iianilio tuo luent epislo/.;a t.... In qua 'audn
dIu. III ellm tun hac eonrtilloow Jibenteo" accipit, ut partim .,,}cutiaimo amorl In Urn tliO
attn.bllant1lr, partlm vero $;atu-:n' mun\!l'1Ous. Amoris autem, atque Saturni. el c!eniqlle
om.!Uum laudn oml'\el . i!feqntur,n Denm. principiumomnium atqlle tinem. (CI. tHe eoncilldi",
~ge of the l.ettn- qll(lted above. p. :1,57. note .. 7.] . qllod \'ffO cin:& mal. nimls
'~111 IUm, quod. intenlum in rile rq>rdlend.is. cotnplelrionem quand.m aceu ...
melilncbol,alD, rem. ut m,hl quldem videtll r. ~, nisi frequent! UIII citbar.. nobU
qvod ..... modo delinila duleaoeret. Quam mihi ab initio videtur impreuiDe Sa tumu . In
media ferme Aquarlo atCendlM te meo eoltStitutus, et in Aquario eodem rec:lpi.enl Martem
et Lunam ~n Capdeorno. atque ... pieienl ex quadratunL Solem Mereurjl.lmQl.le In Scorpio:
novam coeli plag.m oocI.I{l&ntu. H llie forte DOnn/hi! ad natUr;lm melaneholia.m restill!l'unt
Venull n U br., I uplterque In Canero. Sed quonam temere proiapsul suml Cagn me video
ru"'~1 non iniuria pallnodiam .lteram eantare Sat nmol Quid igitur laciam1 Equidem
terg,v~l'Mbor, .c dleam, vel nUuram eiul modi [lie. melancbolicam], Ii Vii, al1 me) non
ProfiCI$CI, vel I I ab llIe) proficisei neussarium fuerit, Aristoteli aslent iar ha nc !psam
insulare dlvioum que don um esse dicent;'''
'
" Thi, corrrspondenee between Ficino and Ca valeanti cannot be dated ..... ilh at.olule
certainty, but as It Will printed in Book III of the Ep1s1o/al, among many lettenl dated '474
and 1 ~76 (on ly. t.he miglve to Kin, Ma Uhiu o f Hungary at the beginn ing of tbo book, .... hleh
OCCUpies f'CM~hon 01 Ita own. bean the date , .. 80). while the remai ning lctterl of 1480 dO
not appear un til ~k VI, and letters a fter 1480 not uDtH Dook Vlltl.> X II. It .. li kely 10 date
from the mlds.evenliea. The fi rlt book of the DI flit.. lripiiei, ho .... ever. was eompleted in t 4h
the ..ec:ond and third not lill , .. 89 (d. W . KAK L, N,_ JaIotbUdn fil~ dtIJ AIIUJiull, AII. , lw,"
~'1didu wfld ,"wlulu Liln-'lIr w"tI fill' P4tl"8~A, VO!... .x. t<)06, p . 4911). Even the c""Pt~
In Book II de,otn! 10 the pr"'ption 01 lif_1Id tberefore. in particulu. to dieletic:s for

2]

MARSILIO FICI NO

259

In this remarkable work, which embraces all the tendencies


which we have hitherto been able to follow only one by one,
Ficino chooses the second of the two ways open to him. Melancholy
comes from Saturn, but is in fact a "unique and divine gift", even
as Saturn is now not only t he mightiest star, but also the noblest.n
As far as we know, Fieino was the first writer to identify what
'Aristotle' had called the meianch01y of intellectually outstanding
men with Plato's "divine frenzy ...Sol It was the black bile which
obliges thought to penetrate and explore the centre of its objects. because
the black bile is itself akin to the centre of the earth. Likewise it raises
thought t o the comprehension of the highest , because it corresponds to the
highest of the planets.

Hence also those thinkers who indulge in the deepest speculation


and contemplation suffer most from mclancholy.M " Plan etarum
altissimus", Saturn " investigan tem evehit ad altissima" , and
produces t hose outstanding philosophers whose minds are so far
withdrawn from outward stimuli, and even from their own bodies,
and so much drawn toward s all that is t ranscendental, that they
old men-fit into the ,"bject of th6 D, ",'l/ll,ipii~i u a lyalem of dietetics for. and a pbrnome
DOlogy' of, the Saturnine type. For, aeeordlnC to FiclllO, old m!!n , b!!eause of the,r age, a re
as much under $;atum'. dominion as the "ltudioU" because 01 tbeir disposition and occupalion .
:lnd evCD in his macrobiotie I tatemenU he I. thinl';ng primuil)' of scholars : "Dnide-rant post
haec literati non t~nt"m bene qllan(toqlle vivere. ted eti~m bene ~-.Jentel diu v.ve: e .
u Ftc"o, lh . m,t., 111, n (0,...., p. ,6,), "Tu V('l'O f'Olestatem SIt,,,,,i "" " ~;;li,,u.
Hunc eni", feru.nt Anba omnium potentillimum . . .. Ell enim ipse mt,,: Pla"et.:li orb"
amplissimi caput". See also the letter to Arehbbbop Rain.ld o f fltl. en.:e '1::<>trd bt'!o....
p. 271, DOte 1 00.

.. FICINO. D, ... tripl.. I, , (0t-'II, p. 497) : " H.clenlll quam ob a uoam :o.hu.a ru".. 5.lc",d"le.
vel sint ab initio, vel .tudio fi.nt. rauonibus primo coelest, b::s. s~lIn do
oaturaliblls. tertio burnanit. OIl end~ lit ..til. Quod quidem confirma: ;n li l.>l' o Proble
matum Aristotdea. Omen enim. Inquit, ... ire. ill qu.vil facultate pnesta nles I:l~lancl:ohcol
extitisse. Qu~ in re Pi.tonieum illlld, quod ill libro de Scicnt,a scribirur . confirma,u .
ingenioaol< videlicet plorimum eoncitatCJI luriOtOtqlle _
solen. Democrilus qUOGue nullo. .
inq"it, virm ingenio ma,lIOIo, practer 11~, qlll fl.lrore quod.m percih sunt. esse unquam poue.
Quod qu idem Plato nOiter in Ph.edro probare videtur, die!!ns poeticas fore, frusua ablquc
furore pul$3.ri. Eui divinum furorem hie for te in telligi vult. tamen neq\l e fu ror eiusmodl
apud Phys.icOll, allil unqu.m ullil p raete.quam melancholiclS incitat\lr," See allo Ih ...
following not!!.
mel~ncboHci.

WF IClIoIO. D, o. tripi., I, 4 (01''' p. 497): "Muime ve.o literatorum ommum, hi ",Ira blle
premuntur, qui lII!du lo philo.ophlae .tudio dedi tio mentem :I corpore rebuS(j\1" CO~rofl!' lI
$CVOC'I.nt. incorpol'!!isque coniunguot, tum quia diffici1ius .dmodum opus m:lIO:, quoque
indiget mentil intentione. tum qui. qua tenlll mentem incorpore-ae " er:t:ltl COnlllr.gll:n
eatenllS a. corpore disiungere eompellllntur. Hinc corpus eorllm nonnu:lquam. qU:Ul nm.
.nimum redditur atqll't m~IaDCholicum . Quod quidem Plato I>05ter II> T , ma~ 1."n:::I.:
d icens: ..,imnl'll d ivina saeptsaimt, et intelltlSli me eontemplanlem. ahm~:ll j~ <'l1um,,.j, ad"O
adcHescece. poteoumque e\o'&dere. vt corpus IUllm supra quam na(<lr,a CO'l'<lfl ~ pa: Lat,,
e:cnJ)en!1 ... . "

"MELANCHO LI A GEN E ROSA"

260

[Ill . II.

2]

MARS I LIO FICINO

26I

finall\- become instruments of things divine. 55 It is Saturn who

from his own experience of t he bitterness of melancholy and t he

leads the mind to the contemplation of higher and more hidden

malevolence of Saturn," to rest content with these praises. The


remarks just quoted come from the very books De vita triplici
in which the extremity of the melancholy humour, and the

mattcrs.66 and he himself, as Ficino says in more than onc place,


signifies "di \"ine co ntemplation".~7
13ut I?icino was too much bound up with the established
doctrines of medicine and astrology, and had suffered t oo much
.. F1 Cl'<O. D.

, .. pl.

I. 6 (Op.: . p. 498).

See quotatio .. in followiq I)Ote,

.. F:cl~O. n. t. "'pi .. III. 9 (Op.:". , p , S46. mispriat for S4S ): " Ullde ad M!Cntlon
aiuora ~ontelnp!and.a cond"':'<I ." CI. abo III . 24 (opo p.. S68): " Sed qui ad I.letiuim.
q ...at"pr c\,; r~'u, ,leneruundll pelutU. Int t i!atur, sci.at sc lIOn Mercurialem .oI um _ , Ret
!'A:CTfm'~
\I 10 Ih .. Ill ite, . tatement. ,.'e rna)' note that Menlury bimeelf_
the "Epp'ft'
.\Q.,.~o , ,d~r:,:.n! ",til Ihe El rptian Thot and Ihe Babyloni.an god 01 scribes. Nebu_ bad
l'::.: c:ann to the ram,m age o f ,ntdl1I11l1 yrolcss>on.: VETTI US VAUN$ {Alltlwlofi<z~"'" lib. i.
cd \\. "roll. Uelli n ' 90S. II . 16, (I . HI plaen geometry a$ ,,~n iU philosopby uDdcr h is Ufe.
SeIther d",l I"oemo "ish to ,0 .g.inst the principle that the ~mmon nature. of all men ,if ted
v~ t ile I('tnet'l ,,'U ~ I erc.urial. " Q uon iam vero de literarum Itudiosi, loquor. recordAri
unulnquc'!VIUe " 0:0 hterHum IURore capt um inprimis se esse Mercurialem .. ,. Atque
haec com01\un il hi, omnl bll l en condi tio." But, within this generalauumption. the varlou )
tyve ' of " vlri Ul~ 'IlI I" CAn be differentiated: thns t h e pl ...asaot a nd witty. or dignified . nd
amiable, orator should ackno wledge, beside Mercury. Apollo a nd Venns u hi. p.tronl: ..
man engaged In la w or "nUura,U. communlsquc ' philosophia" should acknowledge J upite r
besido Mercury; while-.nd thif is the lmpo:un t point-the thinker ri5ing to thc greatclt
beigllts and plumbing the greatest de pths "sciat se non Mercllrialem 50lum ellle . .ed
5.aturmum: f lelDO', In terest and Iy mpathy. however, is TUlly lim ited to thil Saturnine
t ype of scholar, and moreover he recogn ises I pa.rticularly close relationthip between Saturn
and Mercury, I inee the. la tter too. thankl to h it dry nature, o;orrespond. to the black bile
(el. FI CINO, D,~. tripl. I, 4 and I, 6 (ap.~", pp. 496 aDd 498) : abo Ct.a.&~Tltll CLl lltll:lfTINtll.
L .."d/Jo"/ioJUJ, Bule 1'3S, p. IS: "Splenque. bilern gipit. moatis MercDn ... atram"). Mercury
too, like Saturn. ';1"'&"" phllosopby (letur to Sind:acius Recuolanus. 0/>" p . 943) 11Id.
aerordlns to PJ .. to. resem bled Sahlfl'l more thaD any other planet io light alld colouri..,
(lette r to F,lippo Carduc.c:i. Op-~ . pp. 948-949 ; d , also tbe letten to Bernardo Jkmbo. 0/>4 ~
p. ~. and 10 !"iccolb V"lo , Op..T". p . 9,:0) Tho" in the ~nd tM Mereu';'" dI ..... ctH It;"'a~' com?lctel)' to the Saturni ne In t he ,enen.l picture of the "i.ngeniosut". ~ the oooon
01 :'Ien:ury ' . as It " crc. abtofbcd by the notion o f S;r.tum: cL for iJutance the eb~terltUc
p;u5&le In FIf:I~O. n. . lripl .. I, 6 [ap.r p . 498). whiclt irst m.... tioDi Saturn and ).te:rc.lIry
together. bn. then relerl to Saturn alooe; "Congruit in!uper [K.. atra bUn) c um Mercurio
atqlle Satu rno, quor\l m a luo.r ornni\lm planeiar\lm altiaimus, iDvCltipoum evehit ad
altiuima. Hi ne phiJo.ophl ' ingulua evad unt, praesertim cum animul sic a.b uteroi.
motlbt1l. autue col"J'lO'$ proprio levoutu et q\l .. m proximusdi,-iois. divil)Orum iDluu mcnt um
effici.. tur, Unde d ivinia in ll u1\:ib\l'. orac\lJisque e:r: alto repletus nov" q u.aedam Inu.itauque.
semper e1I:cogit. t et I\ltura praedicit."
See the letter to t he K holu. Jacopo Antiquuio (Oln ..... p. 8601: "Sane Vlatonicl. cum
animam in tres (lr&ecipu e d istingulnt vi res. inunigendi videlicet et irasc.endi a lQu e o;orn;u pi sten (i;. pri mam partlun tur In dU ll!. IClllceI in menkm. vel contemplationi vel actionl praeeipu e
dedit.m. Mcntem <lui(! cm tontempla trice m nomine Sa.tur ni $ignifieant. mentcm vero
actionibul occ uplotam nom inant l ovem. " etc. Cf. also FIC INO. De v. Iripl . III . U (Oplra.
p. ,6S). " qui ad d ivi nam contempla tionem ab ipan $aturno signific..tam .. , Ie co nlerunt. "
His lIOurCCl were of wutle thc Neol)latoniMI. Piotinns. Macrobiul . and, above all, Proe.lu l.
whOle remar kable Inlluence on the views o f Ital ian huroanism is becoming ever more appuent.
The general accepta nce of thl, view . mong Florentine humanisu can be seen, lor Inl tance,
from CR,nomao L ..... OIMO. C.",,,ld..l,,ul .. ,,, diJjn4WwII,. .. libri ' ....11_ [Slrubour, edn.
l soli. 101. K 11') or Pt co DII:L.U MIRANDOI ....... Op.:" di GirolAmo Belliui... i .. . C{I/ Co",,,,,"Io
(kilo 111. S. CAM" Gio. Pko Mi ..,.~uutO, Venice l SU. ' , c.h. 7-both refCI'Tlns to the journeying. o f the lIOul in t he ~net' of MacrobiD' and Proclus.

dangerous bipolarity of Saturn," are so clearly delineated; and


the express purpose of his undertaking was to show the Saturnine
man some possibility of escaping the baneful influence of his
temperament (and its celestial patron) , and of enjoying its
benefits. so Ficino is convinced that not only are children o{
Saturn qualified {or intellectual work but that, vice versa,
intellectual work reacts on men and places them under the
dominion of Saturn, creating a sort of selective affinity'l between
them:
Always remember that already by the inclinations and desires of our
and by t he mere capacity of ou r "spiritus" we can come easily and
rapidly under t he influ ence of those stars which denote these inclinations,
desires and capacities; hence, by withdrawal from earthly t hings, by leisure,
solit~de , constancy, esoteric theology and philosophy, by superstition,
magic, agriculture, and grief. we come under the influence of Saturn,"
m i~d

Thus all "studiosi" are predest ined to melancholy and subject


to Sat urn ; if not by t heir horoscope, t hen by t heir activity .
Obviously, it is only " melancholia naturalis" which can be a
.. Beside the eonapondence with Cavalcanti, ql;l()ted above, and Mlveral p.assaces from
the D. rrit. Inplk-i (esop. III . 22). d . esp. the leiter to the. Archbishop R&in:a.Id of FIon:_
(quoted below. p . 27 ' . not"" ._) : the lettu to B.rnardo a. ... bo (o,~'" p . 771) :o,U"di", to th ..
" taI'dilzs" of Satum; the letter to Cardinal Rafl'aeI Riario (O,..".a, p . 802 : " saevitia M.arlis
.\que S;r.turn.i'1: aJld, above all . the ldta' to the CudiAal of AfaIO'I (()pcrA. p, 8 19): "Duo
potissimnm inter plaoea. hoaUnibva usi<!ue peric:cab. nw:binantllr, 101.... viddicet et S;r.t\lflllll. .,
M See .above, pp. JJ a.<Id 1,8 sq. (wt).
, ~ From this alone it it clear that C iUlLO'" (190), p. )6) ia not alkl(ether ",ht in interpn:ti"8'
F'Clno'~ main .aim as bei", to humonise the mel&Dc.bolic:, ,ood qu.a1.ities. u seen by hilDllCJf

and Aristotle, with " tbe COnsta.Dtly baneful ..... ture of Saturn": for we have seen how the
Neopla~Dic notion of Saturn bad alrndy won generalrecoa:nition among Italian bumani5lt.
.. Th~ nolioc 0 1 e1eelive affinities with t he. p lanetl, founded OD the doctrine o f the
"COncinDity" of certain activities and oertaln .ta.r1, was elsewhere CAprCS$ed by Ficino in
~!most ~actl)' the ... me terml: d . FtCtNO. D. II. I,ipl .. III , 22 (Opm l . p. S66) : "Expositos,
mqllarn 1M:. the IOUJa of men to the in Ruence uf heave nly bodiel]. non tam naturali quodam
pacto. q uam electione arbitril lIberl, v41 atrcctn ." Thil doct rine for wbich thinkers like
Matteo Pal mieri (el. above, text pp. :1, 1 "'Iq.) had prepared t he way, helped t he Renain.ance
thinkers to bring into harmony utrology and Chrlstlln-Neoplaton ic ethics. See abo F1CINO
D. v. l~iJ~I. , III. 12 (Oper~. p. ,,,8). where" Albert ... Mlg nulln Speculo" isc.aJlcd as main _i tD~
for t~e possibility of l uch a harmonllJ.tion.

.. This remukabLe se ntence, which is followed by cor responding ItatemeDb a bout the
other planet.. and _bic.h recapit\llates III Its di.parat. Lis t the. wbole confusioro 0 1 the S;o.tum
c.omplu fOll nd in !.ate classical and Anbic write..., comel from FIClIfO, D, . I';pl.. III, 2
[opa,.. p . S3").

..
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"

[m.

II.

danger for the intellectual worker, for "melancholia adusta"


can produce only the four well-known forms of weak-wittedness
or insanity&'; but even the former, owing to its instability, is
dangerous enough, and Ficino's aim was directed to the practical
need of saving the melancholic "literati" from its dangers. De
studiosomm sanitate t1,enda, nve eOT1un , qui literis opera1n navant,
bona valeludine conservanda : SO runs the title of the first of the
three books De vita triplici. But in the course of development,
his work- as so often happens with imaginative writers-goes
far beyond its original purpose and intention.&4 It is in itself a
remarkable occurrence, and strikingly typical of the spirit of
humanism, that , instead of t he usual t reatises on healthy food
and a happy old age, a special work should be written on the
health and expectation of life of "viri literati" . But what became
of tbis collection of rules of health " for the use of scholars" in
Fieino's hands was even more remarkable. In the general introduction to the De vita triplici, Ficino, son of a well-known physician,
and son by spiritual affini ty of the elder Cosimo de' Medici (which
provided an occasion for constant puns on " Medici" and
"medicus':) relates how, thanks to his "two fathers"; he was
consecrated to the two gods of his existence, to Galen, physician
of the body, through his real father, and t o Plato, physician of
the soul , through his spiritual fat her. He endeavoured to pay
homage to the latter by his commentary on Plato and the eight
books of De immorlalilate animaT1tlll, and to the former, by t he
wOTk now under consideration. But in truth even the ~ De vita
triplici burnt incense at both altars. It expanded and d.eepened
into something which might be ranked with the Theologia Platcmica
as a Medicina Platonica, or else, in the words of a somewhat
later au thor, as a " speculum medicinale platonicum".66 The statements of medical and scientific authorities were constantly compared and measured against the sacrosanct doctrines of Plato and
the Platonists-from Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen, down to
.. Even tile chapter-heading of :F ICINO. D, II. tripi., I, .. , b signilicant e nough: "Quot sint
causae, quibus liten.ti melancholia .int, vel /iant:'
.. As mentioned abo" e, p. 153, not e ,SI, then is a lap8e of !lOme seven years between the more
.... r less pract ical dieteti.cl 01 Book 1 and the more and more metaphy. leal a nd cosmologic al
viewpoint of the succeeding volumes.
.. Thus SV"Pl<O"I A~U' C!uJlPZI\IUS, in the tit le of bia 5,,,,plltmilJ P11J/;"is CUIU Arislotdt,
" GtJk,.i
HiPfHK"(Jl,: d . Wu.lo... ,. OsLZa, Tk"""u LI" ..tTt, Cambridge ' 908, p, 2l. The
amusing woodcut on the title-pago (Osler, op. cit., plate III) show. tbe four great men
playing a .tring quartet.

fI''''

,
i

),fARSILIO FICI NO
2]
Constantinus Africanus, Avicenna, Pietro d'Abano, and the
remarkable Arnaldus de Villanova, who somewhat resembled
Ficino in his . many-sidedness, and whose work De conservanda
i1~velltute was to some extent the pre-humanist forerunner of the
De vita Iriplici. 61 F urthermore, the whole o.f t he third boo~ is
based, as the author himself admits, on the Lf.ber de favore coeldu.s
haltriendo of Plotinus. '7 But, above all, the whole undertaking
turned into nothing less than an heroic attempt to reconcile the
whole of school medicine, including astrological and purely magical
remedies, with Neoplatonism; and, indeed, not only with Neo
platonic cosmology, but- what was consi~erably. h~ rdcr-with
Neopiatonic ethics, which fundamentally dented behef 10 astrology
and magic. This reconciliation was to be ~o mere ?utw~rd
harmonisation. Rather it was to be an orgamc syntheSIS WhICh
should not deny the barrier behveen the realms of freedom and
necessity, but should est ablish it at a significant. ;>ain.t,_ This was
made possible by the principle of the serie.;,88 whtch Flcmo appear.s
to have discovered mainly from a fragment of Proclus known unul
recently only by his translation. 6l1
.
'
In accordance with the Platonic and Neoplatomc doctnne,
t icino conceives the cosmos as a completely unified organism ,'o
and defends himself hotly against those who see life in the most

.. For A_N.u.DIJ5 DI VILLA NOV A (Ul4- 13 11), who, "Itanding ouuid e the university guild ,
pr"I""Tf'd I.h.. ",ay hy hi~ medical and chemica.l labours for a .renaina~,ee of mc<l,<;m~" (,~e

"'a.s also .. prophet, politician, social critic. diplomat, theolo8'an and. clerl cu, \ll<o~at u ! ),
ct. K. Bt;lllMCl<, B" i,'. diS eel.. d i R ;m~o (Ve ... lllimlalltr z~r R'/".m "/I"~ , II . I), ~',lm 19~ 3 .
p, 14 6 , with substantia.! biblioppby. His Dt ..,..St"".. "dll "'''',,,Iul,. " a rk 01 lunGamenta.
importaDce lor F >cino, derives. ac:cord ing to E . WITlU !<GTOS (ROI" 811:'" CC"' '''~''' :;' ~: :'t
EnGYs, ed. A. G. Linle, Oxford 19 ' '', p. 3n), from Roger Bacon.
"Cf the rOQemium to Book lit. The .trange LaCin title quoted hert ~~. Fi emo , de" to
e"",,.dt, IV: " (ncpt ~ d~ D, 30-4)) and E"flt ..dt. 11, 3 {O.p;. ,0" . i .,.." , ~.;
The difference between Ficino aDd PIotiou . however, lies in the fact t n .. t the lauer ..D.C.
this theory only h ypotbetica.lly. (Even if.n th.t were IIO--;. e. e\'en ~f. as t he Stoic! behe\'f.
all earthly things were d etermined by cosmic i nfluence-DIan ,:oul~ '"." bt'; free 10 turo t o the
'Ev). 1.n f.ct PlOtinul, whom Ficil10 uses to reconcile tree ",,11 wllb ... tr omathem atlcS, and,

_~_ : _ _ an _ a ................ wa.s quoted by th e most eonvinc:ed opponeDts 01 utrology


eveD, III a ,.-", ...... _ " ...., -"'''-.. r'
as the anettot philosoph ..... wbo "il!i1lS vaoiutcm fal.iutemque deprebenden. tsndem. u~
menta ilTisit" (HI .aONYMU5 S AVOlfA1tOLA , Ad~,...s ..s dim" ..lri,,'" 1IS1, ,,,.omu:u,, , 11, I, p. 56 10

7',,,1.

the Florentine edn. o f 158. ).

.. See aboYe, pp. lS I sqq. (tutl_


10 D, t ..m/uitJ tl ,"",i .. : F icino'l tnnslatioD edited by W . Kroll . A~olt<lo
Wine nscbaftlicbe Beilage ~um Vorlesun gsveneichni, der Universitat Grelfswald, Easter 11j01 ,
pp. 6 sqq.; the Greek origi nal Will d ~vered and published by J. Bidn in ~oIGI"I'" ~tJ
",""waitt P-"-', VOL. VI, M'WI Pte/lut (Brussels 19dJ, .nth an Append"" ent1l1ed P ' .'r,lu
sur 1''''' Jeil... tiqwt, n.pI rijr "",' W'1 ....r (.p"r.""'i' "XI",... pp. 14 8 sqq.

,,01<.. ,

t. FICIN O, D~ v. lripl., III. 1 (OptrQ, p . n~J: d. PL"ro, Ti"'I1~'<$, 30b

"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA'J

[Ill. II.

MARSIUO FICJNO

despised creat ure and lowest plant but refuse to recognise it in


the sky and in the cosmos, this "living being".71 Hence, again
still in accordance with . Platonism' ,hesees the earthly and heavenly
worlds linked by a constant interchange of forces, going far beyond
mere correspondences, emanating, through the " rays" or "i.nfluences". from the stars72 :

between the other two. This was the "spiritus", which was
~egarded as a highly subtle fluid generated by, or even contained
m. the blood, but working only in the brain.n Ficino also
natur;illy believed in the "spiritus", which, in accordance with
its position between "physis" and "psyche", could influence
either. pa~~; ~~d since the division of human nature into body,
soul and SplTltu s humanus" corresponded to a similar division
of t he universe into universal matter, universal mind and "spiritus
mundanus", he imagined the influence of the stars upon men
to be of the following kind.
The stars send out rays which confer astral qualities on the
"spiritus mundanus" which then passes them on to its cotmterpart ,
namely the " spiritus human us" ; the latter, thanks to its central
position, can pass them on to both body and soul. These now in
their tum- according to the principle of structural "concinnitas"
which was the central tenet not only of primitive magic but also of
any cosmology based on something other than mechanical causality
- were determined by astral qualities. For body and soul either
"corresponded" to them from the beginning or else had attuned
themselves by special measures. The soul, however- and this is
the important consideration- was not quite subordinate to these
influences. According to the doctrine held by Ficino, the soul
possessed three distinct faculties forming a hierarchically ordered
whole: the "imagmatio" or imagination, " ratio" or discursive
reason, and "mens" or intuitive reason." Only man's lower

Heaven , t he bridegroom of Earth. does not touch her, as is commonly


thought , nor does he embrace her ; he regards [or illuminates?] her by the
mere rays of his s tars, which a re. as it were, his eyes; and in regarding her he
fr uct ifies her and so begets lifc.13

Thus all li ving things and beings in the world are in a peculiar
way sa turated with t he "qualities" of the stars, in which the life
force of the universe is concentrated in the same way as that of
a man is concentrated in his eyes74.: nutmeg contains the quality
of t he sun's rays, peppermint the combined qualities of t he sun
and of J upiter .7.!> Yet not only inorganic and unconscious things,
whose properties are conditioned ~y the fact that they more or
less passively (though for that reason more directly) partake in
the "common life of all", but also beings that are alive in the
higher sense are connected with the stars, and determined by the
universal forces concentrated and differentiated in them . In the
latter case, however, t he influence of the general cosmic forces
has to deal with an individual consciousness. and in man, owing
to the special structure of his physical and psychological constitution, an exactly definable limit is set to the scope of the
determining power.
As represented by- among others-Nicholas of eusa and Pico
della Mirandola,'6 the anthropological theory held during the
Renaissance was th~t the two basic components of ma n's nature,
" corpu s" and "ani ma", were connected by a third element
describ ed as the " medium " , the "vinculum", or the "copula"

v,

.. FlCI NO.
u. lripl., m, Il (op.~tJ . p . SH ; a characteristic se ntenee is quoted below
p. 269. n~te 94) Ct . alllO the whote of ch . III. 2Z (OpertJ , pp. j6S sqq .). For the " . pirilU;
hum~u 5 cf. I, .2 (Op'YIJ. ~' . 496): "Insu~ ~entum eiusmodi Ipi ritus ipso: est, qui ap ud
med~cos vapor qU ldam $a.llgIIlms, purus. subtihs, calidu et lucidus ddi.nitllf. Atque a b iptO
cordiS c.&.Io"" . elt ~ubtiliorl sa.D8uin!!. procrutus voiat ad ee",bnlm, iblque anim us ipso ad
lC~u . tam. In ~es. quam eztulOres exerQllodos a$Sidue utitur. Quamobr~ .... ngub
spmtlll ~IV lt, 'Plfltu, sen.i but, ten.us denique ration.i."

.. This tripartit!! division . born of a fu,ion of Platonic and S toic doctrinl!ll, 13 distingubh ed

.. A pol0li ..

f~m the 1710", or less tOJlOSraphic.&.l divbion of the m ental facultie. within the brain
:: unagi.~atio'" "r.atio" and " memoria" (we above, t ext pp. 91 aqq .). m ainly by the fact tha~

(0ln' '', p. j7J)

.. Th il duetriDe is dc\'eloped io 8QC)k III of the D, ui4t lriplid.


.. APIII"litJ
" F1 Cll'lO.

(Op'~tJ,

melll ap pears In place of .. memoria ... whkb results in a rising teale of valu~ in tbe faCu lties
The earliest and most important in.tance seem. to occur
In B Ol!THII.lS. '?~
o.~ali()n' ~1Ii1I,lsOP1li"', v,<4 .(MtGNII:, P . L . VOL. LJ<III , col. 849), who includl!ll.
b owe~er ... the ~nsu. standlD8 below the "Imq inatio" (between the latter . nd tbe pllrel y
mat~~~a.1 ~y ~ ::~.ritu 5" was lata a.asumed), and c.&.Ita thl; highest facility not "mms"
b~t '~telli~ent~ . Ipsum quoq ue hom inem aliter sensu., alitu ima(inatio, a1ite~ ratio.
allte~ lD~elhgenba eont.u etur. SemlU$ enlm .6glJr.t.m in lubiecta m a teria COastitl;ltam ,
Jma~matlo v~ro salam sine. mll.ttrill. iudicat figuram. Ratio vero hanc quoque tran seendi t
1p~llmque IP .... ~. quae 'lD~u~aribus ineat, universali consideratione pa-pendit. Inl.ellJ.en~ v~ celSlOr ocuhl$ cxllht . SU pe:'8~ namque unh"t:nit&tis .mblt um, ipsun ;Uam
IImphcem formam pun. mentU ade COIltuetur." After PsBI.lDO-AUGl.ltTlIol US, D, ' pirifll

!- also,~below, teltt pp. J.5o aqq .).

p. j 74).

'1,I".

D8 V. Iripl . Ill , 11 (oper.., p. 544).

D, ... tripl., II , I) (OJu~'" p. Slg). The idea tha t earthly thins' ""ere to some
"",teD t reser voirs for Itellar forces and could therefOTe be used_ven in the form of U1Iul~
~ iDSlfumcnts of entirely pumissible "oa tural " magic, is already fou nd in RoGlllll BACON
(Opus M lti"" cd. 1. H. Bridges, 0 :0:101 18<;17. VOL. I, pp. )9jaqq., q uoted by WZDn, Jar. A. A ..
pp. 12 sqq.) , whose ide." in this re.peet come astonishingly close to Ficino' .
" FICI NO,

;' C f. I' lco DIU.LA MUtANOOt..o., H,ptajH"u. IV, I (Opera, Basle 1512, p. J O). With th ll.
Main~ 1866, pp. 71, 176 .

d . a.I50 ., . S r6ex1., Gudid t, tier PltiknopJoi, tU$ MitltfaJlffS. VOL Ill.

,,


66

[111 . n.

" MELANCHOLI A GE NEROSA"

faculties were to a certain extent subject to t he influence of the


astral qualities; the faculties of t he soul. especially the "mens",

were essentially free.


Out of t his construction, magnificent of its kind, Ficino evolved
a system in which the whole method of traditional t herapy could
be induded- all methcds of treatment from soDer die tetic
prescriptions to the superstitious practices of astral medicine or
" iatromathematics" (which had already begun to playa role in
t he writings of Pietro d'Abano, Arnaldus de Villanova and,
especially, in those of Fieino's elder contemporary. Antonio
Guainerio).7t They all were now endowed wit h a single cosmological significance. and hence with metaphysical justification.
It was a system which found room not only for the spells and
amulets of late Hellenistic and Arabic conjuring books, bu t also
for free will and freedom of t hought; hence it fulfilled t he et hical
and philosophic needs of the "Philosophus Platonicus et Theologus"
just as well as those of the hypersensitive , the introspective or t he
superstitious.
Corresponding to the t hree kinds of cause which predisposed
the highly gifted to melancholy,SO the remedies against {he disease
which Ficino put forward are of three categories. First dietetics,
mainly based on the weU-tested prescriptions of Arabian and

" ... i""1 (lllc"s, P. L.., VOL. XL, eol. 7h), " intellj~ntia" was fqu~ntly split in to"iDt~lIi
,I!DCe" in thc narrower .eNe. aOO "intdleo:t"; ct. l$.U.c DS SU LL.!. (d. 1169). Epiu.J. .u
(MJo "a, P. L... VDL. CXCIV, coIL uSo sqq.); AUlCUI .... h~SVLI$ (d. rU02), eo..l~..
111.. ~di~, 1,:3 (10111;;"1, P . L.. , VOL. ccx, col. 330); ."'-'NVS A8 II'SVLlS, Disti"t:/imtu lIi~'i"" .....
/Ji,olClliuli"", {MUlliS, P . L., VOL. ccx. cob. 9:211. 8 190; OO)l'" ICVS GVI'IOI U "UI'IVI (,.
1150), D. "'",,"$lio.., """.di (ed. G. Bulow, C. B"" ..... ,t .n B';I~61"'" C,uAuAII II" PAiltnCl."Ai,
lin Mill,l4lfer" VOL. XXIV. 3. 19:5, p . 259).

."i_

.. CI. K. SUO"o"", lII.l~lIllu.~ilt#, _ J.... l~ i ... 15. " .. 4 16. J.A'A"~ (Abbandlu ngl!n lu r c..dtlehte der Medi,uD , VOL. u). lkc:slaa 1\)02 , kx:. cit.
"FiCINO, Ih . I';""., I. 4 (Opn p. 496): "Ut a utl!m litet'atl ';nt melan.o:botid, t:rea
potiuimum eaUArum tpecies lac.hlnt, prima COI!lestD, MC:uuda naturall" tertia est
h umana . .. . " The celestial caule lies in tlIe influence o f tlIe cold a nd d ry planet M~eury,
and. especially, 0 1 Saturn. The na t ural eause lies in tbe fact th at t he teal"Ching min d concentratel, as It were, inwards ("tanquilom II. circumferentia q uadalD ad centr um
loclper.,
atque, d um lpeculatur, i n ipso . .. bomini, centro stabiilnime pertna n~e"), and I. t betdol'tl
a naloaou, to earth ("ad centrum ve ro a cireumferentia se collisere, ligiqae in centro. lIlui me
tetTU iptiu. Ht p roprium"), whiCh in its tam i5 related to tile black bile: while the black
bile, agaIn, " muMi eentro ';mili., ad centrum reram lillJtllarum CO(it invtstipndum.
evebitque ad allisaima quaeque eompr"l!hu.dendOl, quandoquidem cum Saturno tnaIlme
eonsreit alti..lmo planetarum. Contemillatio quoque ipsa vic;issim auidua !luadam
eollectioM, fit quni eompressione natDram atrae bili persimilem coatnhit." Finally, the
human caU$6 liu in the PUr"l![Y {lhYlloIogieaJ eolltiequen(.l!, 01 the life led by the tcbolat_
drying up of the bcain, thidrenins of the blood. poor d illeation, etc.

.eu.

MARS ILIO FI CfNO

.]

Salemitan physicians; they were : avoidance of all intemperrulce,'l


reasonable division of the day,'S suitable dwelling-place" and
nourishment," walking,- proper digestion ,~ massage of head
and body," and , above all. music." Next , medicamen.ts,
principally prepared from plants of all kinds, to whi~h may ~
added fragrant inhalations." Finally, the astral magtc or tal~
mans, which evoked the influence of the stars and ensured their
most concentrated effect.1O
The system just described was to be nothing short .of epochmaking for medical and scien tific t hought, especially in t he north ;
without it, for instance, t he t hought of Paracelsus could never
have emerged.l But in it, the threefold. division into dietetic,
., Fl CI NO, D . 11. tr;.",., I. 3 (O/H-"~, p. 496) and, in gmater delall. I. , (Op~ , P 490 ..q ,.
The . ay to tntth a nd wisdom il "tetra muique " betl!t with peril : "mari," the ''' "0 muc,lagmo.ul
h umours, " phlegma ,ive pi t uita" and "no1\:Ja melancholia" lurk like Scylla and C "a~ bd'. ;
" terra " there lower, like three monlten. Venu" "Baech u' and Cer~ . and finally dUl ky
Hl>Cat~". 1n [en aUegorieal terml, the intellectual worker must ~void the. pleasure. o f 10\'e,
excess in eating a od drinlLing. and . Ieeping unt;llate in tbe morumg . . It IS rema.~a~te that
with regud to "Veoe...,i coitu.' th. Platonin FiclDO dcputl from the ViewS of the chn lclaa~
to whicb, in WI ruped, even Hl!desa rd 01 Bingen lublc:ribed-and a5$OCiat6 hImself WIth
tbe ascetic advice ci'l'l/fl by authon 01 a monutic; a.nd theololeal tendency (_ abow;. tell!

p. 71 and p.ouiM).
n FICllfO, D. 11'. lripl., I, 7 (Op,,., p. sOG) and I. 8 (0/H-r4, p. 50 1). The day" mean t lor
work, t hl! nisht for repose; evenlnr or nocturnal work is barmfl,l! and .u nproduct lve .. Ther~.
10..., the .cbolu should begin bis ,"or k o f meditation at lunrise, II poSSIble-but not Imme d,
atelyon rlaing : t he lint hallbour belonp to "upurga tio"'-and continue, with .mtervall.
\Inti! noop. The ~mainin& hOUTIO' 1M day aTI! " veteribul al.ienlsque legeodls potiVS. qvam
novis propiisque ucogit..ndit acc:clmmodatn.... HI! shOuld, IKIwt"'o"ef, relu on~" ;An ho ....

n. .

.. FlCllOO.
,ripl., I, 9 10JH"~, p . SO l ): "Habitatio alta a , ra vi r. ub,loqlle aen rfmot'l'
sima, hom i,ni. tum calidi od<>ris 11111 humidital I!XpI!lIenda."
" FICllfO, n.~. ,ri.",., I, la and II (0",.,... pp. 301 sqq.1 lie .... Fie,,,o. ag-: .. rnl('nt "'t~
ICbool medicinl! app.... 1 particularl y cl.... ly: he brought h ll if of h,. OW"
t!lt ut ual
prescriptions for eatinsand dri nlLins (el. atso F"ICISO. D~ .,. , .pl .. II . 0 "nd - 0t'>1 i'1' ~ I)

,I)

sqq.) .
.. F .CII<O, IX . tri."I., lIT, I I (0.".. . p . 344).
Cf. esp. Flcllfo. D, "'. I';""., I, 7 tOp" . p 500) and I, 2Z (0,..: ... , r 30; "oth the ';><'Clal
recommendation of oily e1ystCtl..
., FlCI!oI0, D. u. ri."I. I, 8 (0""", p . 301 ): "Sed ant~u'ln e [to .urI:U. perfriea paTum~.
.uavi t~rque palm is corpus totum pri mo, deinde caput u~gu ibul"; ami " Delnde rf ",,\tU
parum per mentis Jncentionem. a tque interim eburneo peCllne dlh genler tt mod era'" {leetci
caput a frontl! cervicem venUI qUld.a!;e. pec tine duc to. Tum cen \c .. m pnnno :ur edor '
perlrica .... "
.. For quotations. see abc:Jve, p . '5 and below, p. ~68 (telllt) and note 93
to

FICHIO, D.

1'.

I';"" .. I, 9 (Opn. p . 50~) to I. 25: also II , 8 (Or,.,., p. ; 16\ to 11, 19

"Book 111 (Opu... pp. 531 .qq.) i. de voled to Ih~1f use and a pplit,mo"
.. f'lt 1&DJUCH GUI'lDOU"S fine book on Plmoub ..J (Berlin 192" pp. - 9 sq.:;.~ d ..... " " I pay
e nough attention to this backgroul\d. 11 Paracetsus ""'as &enoul m cn(ka\""u r:mr t (' f1~t...,m
this p1"6UppoHd c .... ope,.,..ion bet",.,.n the All and )Ian." and "SHO' e !,.., me,,-"s ,.: r~ I ~:urh

":'IEI...A:\ C HOLI A GEt\EROS.\."

[III . II.

MARS ILIO FICINO

pharmaceu tic and iatromathematical methods-a division. inci


dentally, which differed from the threefold classical partition of
medicine only in onc respect. the substitution of iatromathematics
for surgery9Z- was resolved in a higher unity. In the last resort,
Ficino considered that the efficacy even of those remedies which
were regarded as purely medical was based on the very same
cosmic relat ionship as that which caused the power of amulets
or spells. For him there was no cIearlydefined line between
what people commonly t hought they could distinguish as " natural"
and " magic" arts. The effects emanating from earthly t hings,
the healing power of drugs. the va ried influences of the scents
of plants. lhe psychological effect of colours. and even the power
of music-all these are not in reality to be ascribed to the things
theOlseh'cs, but come merely from the fact that the employment
of certain materials, or the practice of certain activities, "exposes"
li S (to use ficino's words) to those stars with whose qualities the
material in question is saturated, or to whose nature the relevant
.
act ivity is adjusted.
Quoniam vero coelum est harmonica ratione compositum moveturque
harmonice, . . . mcrito per harmoniam solam non solum homines, "sed
inferiora haec omnia pro viribus ad capienda coelestia praeparantur.
Hannoniam vero capacem superiorum per septem rerum gradus in
supcrioribus distribuimus. Per imagincs videlicet (ut putant) harmonice
conSti tUlas. Pcr medicina,; sua quadam consonantia temperatas. Per
q"l porcs ooorcsque. simili concinnitate confectos. Per cantus musicos, atque
sonos. Ad Quorum ordinem \"imQue referri gestus corporis, saltusque, et
tripudia volurn us, per imaginationis conceptus, motusque concinnos, per
congrU<ls rationis discursiones, per t ranquillas mentis contcmplationcs. 1Ii3

Thus, when physicians heal, they are really practising magic.


for by means of the remedies they use they are exposing t he body
ilnd collation to apply the whole breadth of beavenly and earthly lorces to the purposes of
medici ne, this maeroeosmic (as Gundoll would say) view of medicine wu by no means
reaet ionary or a reversion to the Middle Ales, but, on the eontrary, a Renaiance phenomenon
-" rlln~ni()n to Plato. l>Jolinus and Proc.lu. as againll t Galen, the Atalie; and the medieval
phy~iciil n . and it "as F iei no's MuiriNA PI"'Ofti~A a lone which made sueh a <eve!'$ion pouible
fur the nor therner- transmitted to him It.. It was. in the main. by Agri ppa of Nettesheim
(!ICe below, te"t pp. 351 S<)'l.).
.. Ac.c.ording to Ccrnus, medici ne inClud es dietetiC!!. pharmaceutics. a nd , u'1lery ; d. H .
S'GUIIT, An,ih /iti./11 .. .,.,u., :'Iunich 1 9~7, p . 3r.
FICINO, D. ~. lripl., III , 21 (O~~II , p. ~6. ) . With regud to mu sic we m.y alM! men tion
c hapt~r Ill, "2 (Open., p. ~3.); althO\lgh music in general belongs to V~n us, this , bO\l.ld strictly
speaking only be the ClUe .... ith joyoul mu sic; serious music bf:longs to lh e Sun and to Jupiter,
.ntl neutral (si8nificanlly enough) to Mercury; cl. aWn FIClNO, D. II. Iripl., Itt, I t. The general
law accounting for the he:;r.ling effect 0 1 music on the hUlnan organism-which, of coune, is
al!() a eosrnic law-is txplained in letter to Antonio Canigia.ni (Operll, pp. 6.50 Iqq.).

and soul of the patient to t he corresponding occult astral forces.


According to Ficino the real point of a walk in the fresh air, which
Constantinus Africanus considered a purely dietetic measure. and
which today we generally regard as essentially an aesthetic
experience, lies in the fact that "the rays of the sun and of the
stars reach us from all parts in free and unhindered fashion. and
fill our soul with the 'spiritus mundanus' which flows more
copiously from these rays,"t4 And when. in order to obtain a
talisman for a long life, magicians choose the hour of Saturn to
engrave a picture of an old man with covered head upon a
sa pphire .~ they a re after all only employing "natural" arts~tha t
is to say, they are only availing themselves of general cosmic
laws in order to effect appropriate results, in much the same way
as a peasant changes milk into butter by the deliberate use of
mechanical force." From this point of view , Ficino is fully
justified in clearly distinguishing between the "natural magic"
of those who "suitably submit natural substances to natural
causes", and the "unholy magic" of the godless conjurers of
demons, and in describing t he former as no less harmless and
legitimate than medicine or agriculture. "Natural magic" was a
"link between astrology and medicine"."

I
I
I

r
I

M FICINO. Dc u. lripl., III , I I (ape"" p. 544): "Inttr baec diutinime diurno tempore . ub
divo venaberis, quateDus tuto vel commode fieri poten Pl, in regionibus all is et serenis atque
tempe-rati,. Sic enim Soli, . teUarumque radii exptditiu5 pur!u'Que und ique te contingunt,
,pititumque tuu m eom plent mundi spiri m per radios uberius em!can t~." The eorrtspondi ng
prtsCription in <;ONSTANTINUS "' PJU~US (OperlJ., Da.t~ t3)o, p. ~9.5) iJ: 'Me1an<:hoUcl
llIIIuescant ad pedum exerci tia. .Hquantulum. apparente aurora, pe r Ioca. spa.tiosa, ac pla n.,
a reoQ!la, et R porosa. r

.. FICINO, D. ~. trip l., III. 18 (OperA. pp. 556 sqq.); "Sat urni vete~ imaginem ad vitae
longitudinem facieb:;r.nt i n lapide Feyriuch, id est s.,pb)'TO, hora Satu mi, Ipso a.see.nden te
atque ftJiejur constituto. Forma erat : homo sena in . Ition cathedra sedens, vel dracone ,
<:aput ta.ctU$ panno quodarn li neo fusco. manus su pra caput erigent, fak:.em manu tencM aut
pisees, fusea indut u. veste. ,. This dt!$C:ription is derived from the circle of PkatrLz..
.. Cf. H . RITTER, " Picatrix, ein arabUcbt!l Handbuch hcUenbtischer Mag ie", in Vo./r<i"t'
1I'lJ.rbw~I, vor., I (19H-1l), p/lSsi ....

i" LJiblioiftek

. , Apdllltill (OpaA, p . .573) : "Deniq ue duo su nt magiae genera. Unum quidtm l'QrU m,
qu i cert6 quodam cultu d aemonu sibi concilian t, qu orum opera Ireti fabrica nt saepe portent.
Hoc autfm penitu. explosum est, quando princeps buiu! mundi eiectu. es t fOfas. Alterum
vero eorum qui nat urale. ma terias opportu ne cau si. s ubiiclunt n.tur.libus, mira. quada m
ratione iormandu." Of the Intter, too, there a re two IOr u, "m.agl.a c ur iosa; which appli ...
tbese natural magic powerl only to unnecessary, or even harmful, ends, Ind 'mllIia
necessaria; "ith the a id of which cures are brought abou t, "cu m Astrologia copulans
:'Iedicinam. Furtber: "Q uae sane facullu tam eoncedenda videtur Ingeniis legitime
utentibus, quam medieina et .gricultura iure eonceditur, ~toque etiam m:;r.gis, qu anto
perfectior est indlQtria tenl:nis coeIestia eopulans.." Only..nth reprd to figurate talismans
("imagines'), Ficino is obviol1$ly not certain wbttber tbex do not belong to the real m of
demonology ; he never fa il. to qualify his statements concerning UiWl by a.o " ut pu an t,"

"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"

llJl, II ,

Such was the view contained in Ficino's syst em, and while it
facilitated the recognition of astrological medicine-and in fact
attributed an astrological and magical significance to all therapeutic measures-at the same time, it strictly denied astrology
the power of determining man's thoughts and actions, Astrological
prognostications were regarded as valuable only in so far as the
recognition of the constellation at birth. or of the "daemon
geniturae", showed the way to iatromathematical treatment of
each individual case," Man as an active and thinking being was
fundamentally free, and could even, thanks to this' freedom,
harness the forces of the stars by consciously and willingly
exposing himself to the influence of a certain star; he could
call such an influence down upon himself not only by employing
the manifold outward means, but also (more effectually) by a
sort of psychological autotherapy, a deliberate ordering of his
own reason and imagination:
Imaginationis conceptus motusque concinnos, congruas rationis discursiones, tranquillas mentis contemplationes,"
Thus Ficino's system- and this was perhaps its greatest,; achievement...---contrived to give Saturn's "immanent contradiction'" a
" u t opinantur", or "veteres faclebant" (cf. e.g. the pllssage quoted alxn'e, nob:! 95), a nd
formall y safeguard s himself several times against the vie ..... put forward being con. idered
hi! own dilOCOveries, o r even his own aerioUI opinion. Thul. too, in the ApoI0I I",il)C. cit. :
" , , . curiosi, lngeniis respondeto. m;agiam vel il1laiines non prowi quidem a Marailio, led
.. a ...... ri: and as";n ;n the introd uction to Book III ! " Oeni'luo ai non probas hn.Sin ....
a.rtronomicas, al ioq oio pro vaietudine monalium adinventas, quaa et ego 0011 tam probo,
q ua.m nuTO, baa utiquc me concetl enb:! ac etiam Ii vis consulente dimi ttito' (OjH''' , p, 5)0),
l>e$pite theM resen.-a.tions ,.,hieh clearly do not come entirely from the beart (and which ,
a s Dr Weil kindly llOints out, are lacking in the Florence, Bibliotec a Laurenziana, Cod, plu t,
l-XX III. 139. be ing, for obvious reMOns, only added in print), Fieino himself made considera.ble
use nf figurate amuletl.
.. F lctso . D~ 11. lripl., Ill. :) (Openl , p. 567): ' NDS autem optare praeterita I upervac:ullm
a rb itrati, mo nemus e15dem plagH, quas illi pro daernon ibu ... fw tunisque optabant, ob$ervari
pro Planeti1 et stem. ad opus effielendQm accomodandis .
.,
Cf. the panage quoted p. : 68, F ICIHO, D. ", lripl., TIl, : l . It Ia I.II\derstandable that those
..ho attempted to defend astrology In the tradition. 1 or " plebeian" (as the FlQnntine
P1atonists KornfuJly said) serue found the Platonist attitude exceed ingly vulnerable. Th ese
defenders, naturally ignoring the II.IbtL etiee 01 Ficim's doctrlne of freedom, could even, with
aome show 01 Justificatinn, maintain thl.t, in fact, the }o1orentinCi nted tbe influence of the
. taI'$ h igher than did the realastrologerl , "q ui;acontendunt omnia in coelo fieri.nedum adcorpul
sed ad animam pertinentia." The most interesting polemic of th is sort. whence the Mntence
quoted above i. ta.ken, comes from a Mi~neae, G.unusl- P UtoV"HUS, D. ClSlrono,"i... IIlril..l.
OPIoU alnolJdiu,,",,,,, (tint edo, 1507, reprinted in Dasle, 15501, tofI;ethu with ... ~milar apologia
by Lucius BeUantiuI) . According to him, when the Ptatonists ltate thal the planets inftuence
our aouls by their emanation. , and eall Sat..,rn "intelli&entiae ducem" who lead, them up to
the "jutelloctu. primus' and finally to " l p$um Bonum", they make the planets the mroiatorl
between man a nd God, and thal il a heresy such as nOl even th e most ardent profu lionlll
lutrologer wou ld have dared to propaglte.

MARSIUO FICINO

redemptive power: the highly gifted melancholic- who suffered


under Saturn, in so far as the latter tormented the body and the
lower faculties with grief, fear and depression- might save himself
by the very act of turning voluntarily towards that very same
Saturn, The melancholic should, in other words, apply himself
of his own accord to that activity which is the particular domain
of the sublime star of speculation, and which the planet promotes
just as powerfully as it hinders and harms the ordinary functions
of body and soul- that is to say, to creative contemplation,
which takes place in the "mens", and only there, As enemy
and oppressor of all life in any way subject to the present world,
Saturn generates melancholy; but as the friend and protector of
a higher and purely intellectual existence lie can also cure it.
Admittedly, the Saturnine melancholic must take every precaution to counteract the astral danger to his health , and in
particular must invoke the influence of Jupiter, who was always
reckoned as an auspicious planet, and particularly as an aid against
Saturn, (" What Saturn doth wrong" , as a popular motto said,
"Jove righteth ere 10ng", )lOO But in the last resort Ficino considers aU these as mere palliatives.1ol Ultimately the Saturnine man
can do nothing else-and certainly nothing better- than emb race
his fate, and resign himself heart and sou l to the will of his st ar :
Within the soul ("anima") h~t us assume there are "imaginatio", " rat io "
and "mens", "Imaginatio", whether by the nature or movement of the
"spiritus", or by ch oice, or both , can be so attuned to Mars or the Sun that
'M Cf. GIIHLOW (1904 ), pp. TO sqq. For the doctrine of Jup,ter ill t c mper ~ tor Saturn,
see above, pp. '40 ; 181, note 17). Be, ide the main passage in 1' 1", ); 0 (D. I / ,,;1 . II: !:
Ope.a. p. 564) we may also mentic," III. 13 (Op<'", p. H i ). a nd (w, lh :0 " a LLUSIon t) the
mythological connel<ion) a letter to Archbishop Rain;>!d of Florenc e (Op,," p ,161, ~td
deinde in menlem rediit, quod Intiqui u.pienles non absque su mm;a rallOnt de S:ltnrr.', ~ :
Jove, Marteq ue et Venere fabulantur. ~brtem ddelicct a Ventre, ~ . u r r.u m <>-b In,e
ligan. Hoc autem nihil a1iud aignlfiea t, qu;am quod Sa t urnl ~I artisque mahBnlUt em
benignit;u: Jovi. Venerisq ue OQercel . ' .. In q uo au u m omnem I n'~ , effig,em ,,m Cotes
agnoscam. pnoeter te in praesentia F10rentiae invenio neminem, In this Floren ti ne citcle .
belief in the atan "'U often trea~ with a certain l;aughing self, iron)', ,,hich , t:n ...ever, III
east IS fat' u Fieino was concerned, concealed the seriousness nf th e attitude, rat!1er th a n
questioned it, Thul, in an equally elegant. half jesting form we ~ nd a reference to anc,ent
mythology in. letter to Matteo dl Forll (Ope'A, p. 861): "Tra dunl pOl'tae lo,em 5a tur no
patri qnondam imperium abstulisse. ego vero a rbitror Martem hi, trmponbus q u;\S\ Sa tur nl
viDdicem aibi 10viJI regunm usurpa"is.se, etenim (Ul aiunt Alt.-Qnomi) religio .. v ,ri a b lo' e
. irnilicantur atque n",n tur , , ,:' Later, ct. ANTOtNII MIZ ft UL D of ~tontlu ~on PI.. ".loloti"' , Lyona 15.5 1, pp, 29 sqq., or LIIONS EBaEO, D;.uOf~i 4,4 ... 0.., "enice tj~! , f("ll "to'
"-"noon. Juppiter con Saturno guardandosi con b uono aspetto, fa C05e d,ulOe. alle el b"..,r:t
lontane dall.a tel!tualitl; aurora JUJ'Piter fortuna to corregge la dureu;a d l :;a\"flIQ
,., F!CINO, D. u. lripl. , II, .6 (Op~."" p. 523) is very instru cl he. ~nJol"' ng ea ~uon III
employing anti' Saturnine influe nces; the greates t contrast exiJts betwt tn Sa tuln alII! ' rn~1

2,2

"~IEL":\C HOLl ,\ t,,;EKEROSA"

[III. II .

MARSILIO FICINO

273

II call become in \erv trulh a \"\~ssel for solar and Martial influences. In
t he same wa\", wheth~r througb "imaginat io" and the "spiritus", or through
"deliberalio:' or both , "ratio" by way of a certain imitation can come so
to resem ble jupiter that, being more dignified and more akin, it receives
mOTe of Jupiter and his gifts than do "imaginatio" or the "spiritus" (as,
for t he same reason, ' imaginatio" and the "spiritus" receive a greater share
of celestial gift s than any lower things or material5). Finally, the contempla.
t1\.~ " mells, which withdraws itself not only from what we generally
pe rCC L\c but also from what we generally im~ne or express in our h~maJ'L
c\lstoms and which in desire, ambition and life tends towards the Ideas,
exposes ltself m a certain measure to Saturn. To t his faeult): alone is
Sat\1fn propitious. For just as the sun is hostile to nocturnal al1lmaJs but
fri.::ndh- t o those which are acti,e in daylight, so is Saturn an enemy 01
tho~e ;nell who overtly lead a commonplace life, or who, though they flee
the company of vulgar people, yet do not lay aside their vulgar thoughts.
For he resigned common life t o Jupiter, but retained the sequestered and
divine life for himself. Men whose minds are truly withdrawn from the
world are , to some extent, his kin and in him they find a friend. For
Saturn himself is (t o speak in Platonic terms) a Jupiter to those souls who
inhabit the sublime spheres, in the same way as Jupiter is a "iuvans pater"
to those who lead an ordinary life. H e is most inimical of all, however, to
those wh ose cOlltemplative life is a mere pretence and no reality. Sat~m
will 1I0t acknowledge them as bis, neither will Jupiter, tamer of Saturn,
support them, because they violate the ordinary customs and morals of
men. , .. Jupiter arms us against Saturn's influence, which is generally
foreign to. and somehow ullsuitable for, mankind: firstly, by his natural
proper ties ; theil, undoubtedly, by his nourishment and medicines, and also,
it is believed , by number.talismans ; a nd finally, by the customs, the
occupations, the studies, and all things in general which of their nature
lJtlollg to him. Dut those who escape the baneful influence of Saturn, and
enjo,< hi!'\ benevolent infiuence, arc not only those who flee to Jupiter but
also those who give themselves over with heart and soul to divine contempla
tion, which gain!'- distinction from the example of Saturn himself.IM Instead

of earthly life, from which he is himself cut off, Saturn confers heavenly and
etemallife on you.1

bu t it would be wrong to endeavour to eure a man labouri ~ g under Satu rn by Veoereal mea ",
lo r, vic;e ,er!la. a man too mueb given o, er to Venus by Saturnine means}: "Hine rulllll
effio;it ur ut 5i quem Saturn ia , "eI eonkmplilliollf! nilOium oc:cupatum, ""I euta pressum, levare
interi m e 1 aliter c.onsol ui ,'('Iimu$, per venereo. actus, ludos, locos [amone which, therelD,
IICWrdin g to III , Z, exce..i ... ely gay music must also be reckoned), tentt-ntes tanquam pciI'
remedia longe dilltan tia. frustra atque eliam cum iactura ronemur, Atque ... icissim si quem
ve nereo " el opere pcrditum. vdludo iocoque oolUlum moderari ... elimus. per Sa.turni severilatem
emend-'lre nOD facile ... alumu" Optima ,'ero diseiplina est. per quaedam Pbo<:bi l ov isque,
qui inter Saturnum Veneremque aunt medii, studia similiaque remedia bomine. ad alterutrum
declinante!! ad medium revocare ."

Letter to Pieo della Mirandola (O~,1l, p . 888 ~.) .' . .. Sed Doone et magnum aliquld
fore dea-evit Platonkorum documentoru m copulam lob initio IUperuUS ille. SaturDus in nat&li
utrillsque dominus. Dominus lit in "eur. PJatonill, horum itaque oopul&m Saturllii daemon ....
praecipue regnnt. Sod hanc iuterea dissolvere passhn M.artiales daemones maebiuotur . . .
Tant~m denique. copula haee destinata ... ad_riGS s uperabit, quanto s.turnus est Marteo
lupenor .. buc teudit (ut arhitror) La.llrentillJlDter S&turruos pra.e5t.1.DtIsslmll$, et me toe.tnr
et Pi~um ad Flore.ntem I"(!voeat UrOO1O . . . . "
'

' " FIGlso. n ... lripl . III , 2Z (Op",., pp. !i64 sqq.). KAliL BoIlU<SKI (Di~ RoiJul M~hl.
...,dos. lluokb 1908, p , 36) mention parallel passage in Pico della hli ... n60la: ""s.tumo .. ,
significati vo deUa nat ura inteLietluale . . , la Ii hoomini c.ontemplativl ; G)o~ die it I"anims
d el mondo ... d a Lor o princip;o.ti, governi . . . perch!: Ja ... ita attiva it circa Ie cose ;nleriori.'
Tbe. subtle tbought tbat Saturn did Dot harm ""bi, own"" (exemplifiod, lur ther on. by the tong
Uved Indians, wbo, ac<:ording to the Arabs, were under Saturn '. dominion, became l\ fi rm

Thus, despite his lingering fear of the sinister ancient demon,lOl


Ficino's work fmaJly culminates in a glorification of Saturn. The
aged god who had given up dominion for wisdom, and life in
Olympus for an existence divided between the highest sphere of
heaven and the innermost depths of the earth, eventually became
the chief patron of the Platonic Academy at Florence. Just as
the "Platonici" made their eponymous hero a child of Saturn, so,
within their own circle, there was a smaller circle of "Satumines",
who felt themselves bound not only to one another, but also to
the divine Plato, in a very speciaJ relationship-a circle which
called Lorenzo himself its head10Ci and which included men like
Lorenzo's physician, Pierleoni,l08 as well as Ficino. Even the
part of Fi?ino's view of s.turn', relationsblp to "intellectual workers" .fler the great cbange.
.... Web he , unde .....eut ill the ..,venties. ne,ide the passage just quotod, Bee also the lettor 10
the Cardinal .of Al'1l8on (OperIJ, p. 8l9, the opeuill8 leutence of which hall already been
quo~): 'Duo potiulmum inter Planetas hnminihus usidoe peri<;uJa machbantor, Mars
doect e.xperienti&, pleruuque parcit lUis,
videlicet et Sailimus. Uterq ue !amen. sleul _
Saturuiis inquam S.tulnus, Mus similiter Martiis, ut p iUriOlUDl nescit obeue." Cf., on the
COlltnry, J OHK OP SALlJIBuaV, 'Who "')"11: "Omnibus igitur ioimiocu., vix suit etiam ICOlastieit
P.'rcit" (p"licrIllUN', U, 19, Leyden IS9!i, p. 76; ed. C. C. 1. Webb, ~ord 1909, t, 108).
I. FLGUIO, D. u. tripl., II, IS (0/,#11., p. !i22) : "s.turnus aUle01 pro vita terrena, a qua
"'paratus ip!lf! Ie deniquc "'parat, coele,tem reddit atqu~ !empiternam."
, .. The late sixteentheeont ury 'Mascherate' and "lntermeu;"" stiU frequently omitted
Saturn from the ..,des o f planetl as aD ulllucky etar, Or replaced blm by a more barmleu
fillur... In the. Fl~ntine Stt-te Archivee. for in,ta...,.. (Cart~ Unl".,.-te, fa. 802, e. 46.
D<- Bins fOUDd a petitJon addressed to the Crand Duke Ferdinand J by a certain Baccio
Bacelli, dated 20 December, 1!i88, in wweb he ,u8Iest.. muque of tbe planet., " lascWldo
indietro s.tumo, die per lIIIIII"e di .mala. coIDteliatiooe lI<.>n con ... ;ene. in CO&II allegre. In
tbe fourth i.nterme1:zo of Cuarino, PiUl~ Fi/kJ aU the planet. lay down tbeir gift. in lUI .om,
but Saturn IS replaecd by a less menacing divinity of wisdom. namely Pallas Athena (VITTORIO
ROSSI, BaJlisla GuariNi ,4 il Pasl~ Fido, Turin, 1886, p. 3U).

I.

I
I

l
,

... Leiter til Pierleool (Oplta, p. 9z8): "Vide ie:itur Pierleone m.i alter ego, quam aimilem
10 plerisq ue sortem nactl Sumus, disciplinu Modieem (lhls should c1urly read "disciplinam
moditam."] i n coelettibu. eundem, ut ooolecto. Saturnum, duoem quoque Platonem, Patronum
rursus eundem Lau",ntium Modicem ... . " Cf. also OJ>t.l'a. n , p. l!i.)7 (Introduction to the
commentary On Plotinus): "Divioitut profecto videtur effectum, ut dllm Plato .quasi
TeDaKc:retllr, natur Piel>I heros sub S&tumo Aquarlum. possidentfl: aub quo et ego similiter
anno prius trigesimo natos fueram, ao: perv~oIC1l1 Floreoti&m, quo die Plato ooater lISt editu.,
antlquum iliud de. Plotino herois CosmJ votum mihi pro~lIS oco::uitum led sibi coe.litua
irapiratumi,' idem et mlhl mirabiliter inspinverit."
'

274

" MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"

fearless Pico della Mirandola, who often smiled at his good teacher's
astrological belief in Saturn,IO? was not displeased when. in
reference to the constellation that presided over his birth, and
with a typically humanistic play upon his name,lOS he heard
himself described as a "son of the sublime Saturn "l" ; nor was
he displeased when the elegant jest was directed at him that he
devoured " libri" as his divine father did "Jiberi" even though
he did not, like the earthly fire, turn them to ashes, but rather,
like the heavenly fire, to light.1l0
I

PART IV
Dtlrer

I.. Letur from Pieo to . ';(;;no (op,.... , p . 889): "Sa.I1'CI patH" Platonicae familiae ! l am ex tra
omllem c:ontroversiam, ot noxlum atq ue infaustum esse Satu m i ayd us, et te, m! F>cinl, 8t
at t ltO ftuM: bono, moo eerte malo Satomigm _
na tum. 1.Jt .. nim me est plurlmu m
feS ..... datiu., t ie et tu q uoque , ;mill praedituJ ingonio ia m bis ad me venien. reJTadatlu. laetu.
!>is ret.ro rdllUatl pedem . . .. Sed d ie, am&bo, qwd Illit in caliU iten.tu reuoecaion!.1
An 11011011 Salurnusl All VOtiUI a t uri 110.1 Sed qu icqllid iIl ud fuit . quod te lllibl, id at me
mihl abstullt, fae, q uaeso, In posterum, lit 11011 ..,i ulli at 11011, qui nm! olim c:o niunxlt [lor Pic:o
is aha a eh ild of Sa turn], nee te uDqllam endu ad PIe; satllrum IlQeeMUrum , qui tfl, IOla tium
ml!lfl vitae, me.., mentll deliUII, in, litutorem marum , diKiplinae maglstrum , fit el uno
R in pe:r d liUo. Vale et n lli, u t tliliS SatW'nus, ld e&t t UUI u tllrus volis" me qllOq llfl Aturum
r eddat."
' M Aecordlnl to la te elauleal my tho logy (Ovid, M d. XIV, 320), Ficus was the IOn of Sat urn,
and pndfather o f Latill\l.l.
I
1M

Letter to Pieo della Mirandola (OpnIJ, p . 90 1): ''Pic um l ublim is Saturni filium,"

". Le iter to Francesco Caddi (Op.:TIJ, p. J93) : "Pi!:us Sau.rDO natas, ceu Saiumul 1Iif1
1ib<i!1"0I, sie Ii*' (randes quotidifl Iibl"OlI iDtegrQS devont, quo. q uidem lion in cinerem redip l ,
III lIO$ur 'enil, sed ut codes!!. In luam."

I
I

II
I

CHAPTER

MELANCHOLY IN CON RAD CELTES


Dtirer!s Woodcut on the Title-page of
Celtes's "Quattuor Libri Amorum"
fThe Doctrine of Temperaments in Durer's Writings

I
t
I

i,
I

I
f
~

Fieino's correspondence, whence the facts just set out were taken.
was published in 1497 by DOrer's godfather, Koberger, barely
three; rears after the publication, in Florence, of the first edition;
and the De vita triplici also bad become known in Germany by
the end of t he fifteenth century.1 But it would be wrong to assume
that the new notion of melancholy forthwith gained unchallenged
supremacy_ It is obvious that, unlil well on in modem times, t he
popular notion of the temperaments was conditioned far more
by the medical tradition than by the new revolutionary metaphysical theories, which affected popular ideas only gradually, after
the views of the Florentine Neoplatonists had become a part of
general culture . But even the humanists themselves were held
too fast in the grip of traditional humoralism and astrology for
the new doctrine to become established without opposition.
E ven in Italy, where the rehabilitation of Saturn and melancholy
really originated, and whc~e men like Gioviano Pontano, Caelius
Rhodiginus, and Francesco Giorgio (for t he most part making use
of Ficino's own words) unreservedly acknowledged the new

'Cl. W. KAHL. N~ IU Jaltrlt;lu.er fl1, das IIll1u Ud. AIlerI....., Cu~lIi~4U liNd tkwlsd.
Litm./wr .. ,.dfiir P'dilte>&i'. VOL. IX {19Q6J. p . 4<)0, and GllI:HLOW ('903), P. ,54 (which contain.
the inform:;LtiOD tha t tho yO\l1l1 WilU bald PUckheimu had to procure a copy 01 the D~ llil"
Iripliri in Pad\la lor h;' father). and, more recently, H. RU.UICH, WiUibol4 Pirdt/u._ .." d
4u nih Reiu Dfirerl ","l IWierI, Vienna 1930, pp. 1,5 lCjq . The fint. very la\l\ty. tnnslatlon
(by AdelphUi Muelich) appeared in HUU,0IfYMU8 BRAUNSCHWXIG', Lilur 4. ",1. dilfillaoui;
lim pliti" tl comj>Q,jlll, Das NUw Buc" dt r rHIIII" K'Hut ZN dimllur.". lob. exlt.Ui Iqq"
Straaboura 150,5, and COIlWDt on ly the 6rst two boon, as do the t.teI" reprints. As for t he
third (fol. clJ::uVO): " Vnd du dritte bach aagt von deru leben von rome! herab . Is von
hy melischen Dingen III vberkommen. Das gar hoch IU vuston. 1st hie vas gelon ,"

'77

MELANCHOLY IN

CO~RAD

[IV.

CELTES

MELANCHOLY I N CON RA D CELTES

I.

gospeJ,t the idea still persisted that Saturn was a purely inauspicious planet3 and could engender great talent only if, like a
poison, correctly tempered with other planets. In the north
especia1ly, where the third book of the De 1nta triplici first seemed
"incomprehensible",f. it was only Agrippa of Nettesheim who full y
adopted Ficino's views. The other Gennan humanists of the
first generation occasionally quoted 'Aristotle's' Problem XXX, I,'
though without specia1 emphasis, or else made the usual cpncession
that Saturn in combination with Jupiter "excellenter "ingenium
auget et quarundam artium inventorem facit"' ; but even Conrad
Ceites, generally of so humanistic a turn of mind . seems not to
have been influenced at all by the Florentine conceptions. With
regard to melancholy, he identified himself completely wi th the
customary views of school medicine,' and Sat urn was for him
nothing but a mischief-maker who produced sad, labouring, and
"monkish" men , and who had to be implored to let his "morbosas
sagittas" lie idle in the quiver.s
J OVlA"'UI Po"'TA"'U5. D, ~tbtOJ 'ot/e$liblt'. IV .6. pp. ' 261 Iqq. In Opnll . Bule I'sS6. VOL.
III : CAaL'UI RIIOOIG I"'UI. in Sicwli 11"11'""" ....... kaioo. ..... _"'"' ..f.,;...
f o/i", ';.111$
(;4u/''''. it .... '" ' ow". .. ~,p. lli.t
~9. Ven ice 15 16. p. OS : F"ANCISCUI CaoItC' UI.
H.~""OIli.. """"IIi loti .. ,. Venice IS25. lob. xlvii,
and e:JI;v!.

,:c.

,,,IOci.......

xli,.

,,07.

Abo in DOrer'1 own hOrOM:O(MI, cast by the Ihmbert canon. Loren z Bebeim. in
Saturn was mentioned only bridly at a distu r bing element apinlt tbl! in"u~ce o f Venul
(E. JU;ICIUl In Fl4lulonft d" V,~tj'lJ fUr G,uloi,loJ. lin Siadt Nlinobnt n .. 4ooj4lonllM
G,d4Uoi .. i.!rin A~,dl OU.... ,,28- ' 928. Nuremberg 1928. p . J67) . J nvian u, Pont.nu.
hirnsdJ lives elMwberl a de.aiption o f Satu.rn (U, iIJ. lib. I . p . 2907 io VOL.. IV of tbe Balle
cdilioll quoted.hove) wbleb banly diller. from that. say. 01 Chaucer (lee ahove. text pp. 19]
&qq .).

See above. p. 217. "ote I .


"ThIlS eo"kAl) V.UTI"GIU.. in hillutement. discovered by GII HLOW (190] }.. PP. 29Iqq .
abou t I col" Irom na- with HeTClJlet on It. All the &arne, Peutin,eT was familiar wi th tbe
originll text 0 1 Flclno', D. vila I';pl.ei. Q can be proved. and e~n madl! ~actieal Ul!(! of
It when a Ian hid liven bim a headachl!. Cf. clm. 40 1l . foil. 8'. 2'". ]6'- ]7 ". 38-- . 39".
4',4' "

Th ", J ORA"':' U A. ' '''''loG' ''' . htrod. /'Ol'/uHOIIJ. '" C.""' ......f VI. quoted in GJaHl.OW
(19041, p. 10. Moreover, be is convinced that Saturn is tbe "pessim ul plaroet&" and
mel;l. ncholy lb. "peuim a oomplexio. and that when the mdancholie. alrudy equipped
wi tb e,ery bad quali t y, i, in additio n . ubjed to a particularly I t rong inDuence from Saturn.
tb e I.tter "omnb. hAee mAla condupHeat " ! Similarl;, JOHAf<ff TI<"ff" ,a. OP'l& "' ,d~ ,."af;tlt ""
Cologne 1,S61, p . ' 31. For Melllnchtbon, th eory 01conjunctions. lee below, p. J Jo. note "S.

~nI!I

Puu.ge. in GIIHLOW (1904), pp. 9 Iqq. The m~t bitter U lrom L i bri ."'_"", ' . I :
Sa.turnuJ, Intiens qui mmi damna tuUt". Giehlowendeavoured to interpret (he !act tbat
Celte. ooaoeeted old age witb kno .... ledge. wisdom and pbUotOphy as evidellOll o f a lairly
favourabk a ttit ude to melancholy a nd Sat urn , .. Saturn wu a "lencx" and ~Iancboly ......
the temperament JWOJII!T to old agl!. Bu t one il bardly ju.tified in deducing any l ucb fact
merely from the natura! respect for tbe wisdom of old ilge, leut of aU here, where It eolltralU
with such \Inambiguoul lIatemenu.

If in the north even the humanists either could not break


away from the medieval tradition at all , or only gradually and
half reluctantly, we must, a priori, expect as much of a German
artist like Durer, the more so as he ftrst came to grips with the
problem of the four complexions in a woodcut which served the
same Celtes as title-page to his Libri. amomm, published in 1502
(PLATE 83); and, in fact, the content of this woodcut shows no
influence whatsoever of the new doctrine. He uses a scheme of
comJX>sition which can be traced from the classical pictures of
the four winds, as in the Ta b-l,la Bianchini, via the medieval
representations of Christ surrounded by the symbols of the f?ur
evangelists, ' down to the didactic pictures of the later scholasti CS,
a scheme which others before him had used for the four temperaments.10 Enthroned in the middle. he represents Philosophy,
crowned, and (in accordance with Boethius) equipped with a
" scala artium" .11 Philosophy is surrounded by a garland composed
of sprays of Cour different types of plant, which are linked by
medallions containing busts of philosophers; while t he comers
of the page are filled by the heads of the fou r winds. Each of the
four winds is carefully differentiated both in age and in character;
and (as may be seen both from older sources and from Ce1tes's
text) each symbolises one of the four elements and one of the four
temperaments as well as one of t he four seasons. Zephyrus, the
west wind, whose youthful , idealised head emerges from the
clouds and from whose mouth flowers blossom forth . signifies
air, s~ring, and the "sanguine" man. Eurus, the east wind, a
man's head surrounded by flames, signifies fire, summer. and the
" choleric" man. Auster, the south wind, represented by a bloated
older man, floating amid waves and showers of rain. signi fies
water, autumn, and the "phlegmatic" man . Finally Boreas. the
north wind, a lean, bald-headed old man , signifies earth, winter
(hence the icicles), and the "melancholic" man.
Ct., OD thl! one hand. philotOpbical allegories like that reproduced in L. DOlllu. L .. tlJII.COl.
dell~ ~irlw' 1U1/, 'dnu' .... BergaJnO 1904.101. 6- (e1.also SU:l., V' ~""~'"'' 'OL. II. P ~41 :

by bi. pu pil LonginUi at the beginning of the !.ibn a."o.... ~ (pri nted In
GTlHL.C)W (1904). p. 7).

, See tbe

279

and, on the otber hand, cosmological represenl.1. tions in whi ch the head, of th~ four .,,"Illdl
(sometilDes already cqn&lP.d witb the leuont. elemenU. etc.) occupy the co,,,en of tbe p'~ture
See the numerous plates in E. W, cKKIIIsMaIMKIII.
VOL. XIX. ( '9Q ). pp. 1" t.qq . ar.d.
further, t he p icture of ."".., froID Zwiea lten (K. L6..,ulII. SdlC-6bu,~, 8..do",,,I,.,,. Aug'~Ur!
19211, plate 22), or Vienna, Na tionalblbllothek, Cod. la l.
lot i': d . al$O C. S':<O::IIl. f ....",
M~ t" Seinou, LoMon 1928, pp. '4' Iqq.
.. For further diKuaioD. _ below. pp. J10 Iqq. (text).
.. Accord ing to Boanuus. D. to</Jolatioft, PM/osopM,... I. I, the SCille should r ise Iro m t'
to tMta (froID prac tioc to theory): DOrer hu a P~' insteld 0 1 the Pl . Did he thonk 01 In
ascent from pbilosophy to theolO(J 1

fl..,"".

,6.4.

MELANCHOLY I N CON RAD CELTES

2 80

[IV.

1.

MELANCHOLY I N CONRAD CELTES

long been familiar with the notion of melancholy propounded by


Florentine Neoplatollism, he characterised the picture of a
Saturnine man as "unfaithful" (whereas the child 'of Venus
"should look sweet and gracious")16; and his further remarks on
the complexions differ little from what could be deduced from
any popular notion of the temperaments, namely that the
individual differences between 'men depended, if not entirely,
t hen at least for the most part, on their belonging to one of the
four complexions,ll5 and that these for their part were equivalent
to a "fiery, airy, watery or earthy" nature, and were conditioned
by the influence of t he planets. Durer's remarks go beyond the
content of the customary texts only in this, that, although he
does not omit descriptive and expressive characteristics, yet, in
this theory of proportion he subordinates them to characteristics
of proportion, and even goes so far as to say that t he whole variety
of "elementally" and planetarily conditioned differences can be
visibly distinguished by mere measurements:

The cosmological schema underlying this woodcut is as old

as the schema of its composition, and comparison with the order


given. say , by Antiochus of At hens,12 shows that it has merely
been adapted to suit time and place-Boreas and Auster have
exchanged their parts. Autumn, cold and dry in the south and
hence allocated in classical sources to Boreas, earth , and the black
bile , seemed in the north to suit the cold and damp nature of
Auster, water, and t he phlegm, far better; while winter, in northern
count ries more frost y than rainy. as in the south (the " hiems
aquosa" d . Eclogue X, I, 66). seemed to correspond to Boreas,
earth , and t he melancholicP Thus Boreas, in his new position, has
become the senior member of the cycle, and for us he is the first
evidence of DUrer's notion of the melancholy st ate:. This notion
does not differ at all from that of medieval tradition; in the hollow
eyes and wrinkled features of this bald, sharp-nosed, lean, old man,
[here is more of misanthropic peevishness and petty cunning than
of sublime sadness and brooding reflexion; and these qualities
are contrasted with the well-nourished good-humour of the
phlegmatic man, the hot-blooded strength of the choleric, and
the youthful freshness of the sanguine, in a manner familiar to
us from hundreds of popular texts on t he complexions.
Milencolique a triste face,
conuoiteux et plain davarice,
ron ne luy doit demander grace,
a nul bien faire n'est propice,
barat Ie bailla a nourrissc
a tricherie et a fallace
de bien dire nul temps n'est clllche
mais querez ailleurs qui Ie face.1t

It is not surprising that a doctrine of the four temperaments


popularised in so many texts, pictures, and verses, should have
seemed as obvious and obligatory to a man of the sixteenth
century as, say, the pre-Einstein notion of the universe to men
of more recent times; and in fact Durer never expressly repudiated
it. Even in the Four Books of Human Proportion, after he had
" See above. p . 10 (teott).
"The eq uation completed in the last " noven;uoium" gives the tex tual explanation of this
varia nt: Melancholicu s _ a~th _ Night _ North Wind _ Cold _ Blueish white ..
Capricorn ... Winter _ OLd Age (d. Gt1': HLOW (1904), pp. 6 Bqq.). Apart Irom this one variant
the schema in Diirers woodcut is stiLI identical with the ancient system such as it is preserved
in. say. Munich, ~1S graec. z81 (Cal . .utr. Gr., VII, p. 104)
,. Pari~. Bib!. Nat. , MS fro 19994,101. 13 '. C1. al$O the edraets given above, pp. 113 sqq .
Ie.x l).

28 I

So if one should come to you and want a treacherous Saturnine picture


or a Martial one or one that indicates the child of Venus that should be sweet
and gracious. so you should easily know. from the aforementioned teachings,
provided you have practised them, what measure and manner you should
use for it. For by outward proportions all conditions of men can be
described, whether of a fiery, airy, watery or earthy nature. F or the power
of art, as we have said, masters all thingsP

r
t

After Durer's second journey to Italy, he drafted the


programme for his comprehensive book on paintjng, embracing
far more than perspective and proportion ; but even here we
need , not presuppose acquaintanceship with Ficino's De vita
triplici", or with the new notion of melancholy. Fonnerly such an
influeIJ,ce was suspected,18 because Diirer stipulated that in t he
choice and education of the painters' apprentices, attention should

"LF' ."lad/au ,

p. u8, 28.

.. The d~fts of IS13-13 actually say : ''Wir haben mAncherlei Geoital t der Menachen Uruch
der vier Complexen: LF. "Nael!./au, pp. 299, 23 : 303. 9: 306, 12),
'

I
,1
j;;

<

I'

"Thos the printed version of Isz8 ; LF, Nael!./ass, pp. n S. 2S sqq. For this. see the
preliminary dra1ts, certainly alos.o dating from the 'twentie. , LF. NaellJil$S, p. z41. 1: " Hem.
11 thou shoul<bt diligently make use of the thing of which I have written above, then canst
thou very easily portray all manner 01 men, be they o1what complexion they wiU. melancholies,
pblegmatic~. cholerics or sanguinics. For one can very well malte a picture which is a true
image 01 Saturn or Venus. and especi ally in painting by means of the oolou[$. but also with
other thillS' too" ; and LF ."lad/au, p . 364. 21 (almost identical with the printed edition).
11 G1ERLOW (1904). pp. 63 sqq.

MELANCHOLY IN CONRAD CELTES

( IV, t ,

be paid to their complexion,llI and because he specified the general


~
requirements as follows :
First, one must pay attention to the youth's hirth, discovering under
what sign he was born, with some explanations, Pray God for a fortunate
hour, Next, one must observe his figure and limbs, with some explanations, . .. Fifthly, the youth must be kept eager to Jearn and not be made
tired of it. Sixthly , see that the youth does not practise too much, whereby melancholy might get the upper hand of him; see that he learn!! to
distract himself by pleasant airs on the lute, t o delight his blood.n

But we now know that the view according to which mental


exertion caused an ascendancy of black bileSl and thereby a morbid
depressive reluctance to all activity, had, since Rufus of Ephesus,
heen as universal a principle in medieval school medicine as belief
in the healing powers of "pleasant airs on the lute"" whose antimelancholic effect we first find illustrated not in the woodcuts
to Muelich's translation of Ficino, but in certain miniatures as
early as the thirteenth century (see PLATES 67 and 70),22 Even
the demand that the education of the young pupil be regulated
in accordance with his horoscope and his temperament (conditioned
by his horoscope) is not as modem as it appears. The De d-iscipli1la
scltolaritmt. attributed to Boethius but really writtep by an
otherwise unknown "Conradus", was known everywhere after the
first half of the thirteenth century and translated into French
and German; and it describes at great length how the young
scholar's lodging. his feeding, and his general way of life should
be regulated according to his constitution-sanguine. p~egmati c .
choleric, or melancholy- and his constitution should, if necessary,
be determined by experts.= And Durer had only to transfer these
principles from the sphere of the school and the university to the
,. LF. Nod/.u, p . 281. 9-12: " Item, the tint part sbaU be of how tbe boy II t o be ebOleD,
and of bow attent ion ill to be paid to tbe aptne$!l of hi, oomplulon. This c:an be done In
si,., waY'."

" LF, Noelr1<,u, pp. ~8 3, 14 ...284, "1. These six points are notblng bllt a more detailed
ela boration of "'hat "'as dCleribed .. the contents of the "lirst part" of the introd uction in
the lentence quoted in the p reyiou! noto. Tbe lentence in LF. NAd/ou, p . ~84, J "'l \1 bell rl
the same r elationship to p . ~8z. IJ"' I 7 and so do pp. 284, 2~8" 6 to p . 28z, 1 8-~0,
. , The expret. ion "lIberhandnehmcn" il a literal tranalation of the Creek .... ~~ Of
the Latin ".uperueedenl"; ju.t as " urdriltzig" conespondl to the Latin "taedium" or
" pert lt.eSu." .
.. Nu rernbe-g, Stadtbibliothek. Cod. Cent. V. ,\I. 101. "lJI' ; London, )kit. MUI . Sloane
)IS '4J'. fot 10; ParIs, Bib!. NaL. MS tat. 11 226, fol. 17' .
II }.(IGNa. P . L . VOL. LlUV, c.oI. UJo: " Omnia liquid-em I OpctiU' expedi ta de Khotariu m
informllione Mint infix.. NUrl( de COI'Um sap.ci provisione brcvitec Ci t traetandum. Co m

MELANCHOLY IN CONRAD CELTES

painter's workshop-which, it is true, would never have occurred


to his teacher Wolgemu t- and to combine the notions of the
doctrine of complexions with those of astrology in a manner
quite familiar to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, to ~ave his
"iatromathematical" programme of education ready to hand .

crxo hOmanl eorporis eomplexlo phle,",ate, "Q(lIlnt. eholera et meb.ncholia CONI.tat


.oBotta. ab aliqDO praedic:torom ntOeIM Cit qomllibct diceu ~ecmintntWn.
"l(daDchoIioo YertI pIgrItld timorique IUbiKIO. 10<;. seefetd et angulosu 5trepituqlle
carcntibus, IUQsqllc; parum reeipiCilt ibu . Itudere est opponunum Hturitatemque dedl\'~m
sen.sque eGenu prucavcre. potlbetque medioeriblll saudere ad naturae $t udUlm. prout
,tudii desil:catio uqcrit : plena ria potll~ ftK:eptione ad mensuram confovcn, ne mm" itudn
protervi tas pbtiloim teneret. _nhelam t hon.eisque stric;titudinem .
"Phlegmaticu. VeTO liect .t,epitu visen tibul aedlbu., IlIc'sque capacwun111 rrae<:eptts
Itud iis potl!:5t informari: poeulil ple~ioribus pottst lustentari, eib.arii. ommsemsq"~ c.lnl"v~!;.
yenereoque aCceIlIlI, aI lu tit diean, menlurnll. rennoUi ri deberet.
"Sanguioeul autem. eu lul complexionls favon.hil ior tst compa-go, om mbus aed,lIus 1...1
locis potest adaptall, qu em ludendo nepiul flov imu, con ro"ed ' ..... 155'ma 'luaes\lone. 'l"am
5i obl iquantibu l hirqul l parietes IOlu. occ itl.ret. Tamen in hoc ~mper non es: COn fllic nr\um .
bunc cibariil levioribul potibllsque ptlnlmil decet hilara" .
"Choiericul vero pallid_e effigiei plerumqlle I llblectus solitudim suppona(u r. ne mmn
l!repitus audita hilem Infundat in totam eohort~m, . icque mag istratul ve ... cr~bilem !atdat
maiestatem. 0 quam magl.tratu l I ....io vlta nda ell! Hunt: cue ... a grandlo" no,-,mU I
susteotari. potuque fortiori dtliniri . Cavendu m cst au telll, ne litis horror potus a dmm,
rtratione istius ""bidls mc.ntibu. elttrallatur .
"Si aUIem qualitatts usicnue isnoranl l1tlOCietn. theor icOi consula: Rqlle f:C cJ1.n nsut
, .. " F or this "''OTic. already mentioned in 1147. ~ PACL LEHloIA:<:< 110 ",tom "-e ""e lI,..
d iscoYery of the author '. name. Co:.rad). Pu..4tn",iJu LI'trll/lO r iUJ .\1,/I,:.. :!tU Sturl,.. n dO':
Bihliotbek Warburg. VOL. Xlii i ~?~iS !9l7, pp. 1; sqq and 101.

r] ,

CHAPTER

II

If. despile lhese negative conclusions, we can still assert that


Diire r's eJaborately prepared engravingl owes a debt to the notion
of melancholy propagated by Ficino, and would, in fact, have
been quite impossible but for this influence, the proof of this
asser tion can be based only on internal evidence from the engraving
itself.
THE HI STORICAL BACKGROUND OF "MELENCOLlA I"

(a) Tra d iti onal Motifs


(i) The Purse and the Keys
All that Durer tells us of his engraving is an inscription on a
sketch of the "putto" (PLATE 8) giving the meaning of the purse
and bundle of keys which hang from Melancholy's belt: "The key
signifies power. the purse riches. "'2. This phrase, brief though it
is, has some importance in that it establishes one point of what
would in any case have been a likely suspicion: namely. that
Dllrer's engraving was somehow connected with the astrological
and humoral tradition of the Middle Ages. It at once reveals
two essential traits of the traditional character, which, for Durer
as for all his contemporaries, was typical both of the melancholic
man and of the Saturnine. 3
Among the medieval descriptions of the melancholic there
was none in which he did not appear as avaricious and miserly.
and hence, implicitly, as rich; according to Nicholas of Cusa,
t he melancholic's ability to attain "great riches" even by dishonest
means was actually a symptom of "avaritiosa melancholia". If,
I The preliminary sketches have been discussed by H . Turn/< and E. TUt TlI<-CON RAT,
Verze;cl",;. de~ We.he A. Dilren, VOL. II, I. Basle 1937, NOlI. 58~-587; d . also
E. PASOfS KY. Alb~e~hl DiJre. , PI-inceton 19.3, VOL. 11, p . 26.
Krilis~h ..

LF. Nachlass. p.

39~ ,

3; d . also Gli:H1.. 0W (1904). p. 76.

This is obvious. even without the remark.! quoted above, text p .


p. 67).

GIEH LOW ( I 90~) ,

, See above. p.

110

(text).

'"

281

(with which d.

285

in t~ese d~criptions of the melancholic, "power"- naturally


assoc'iated With property, and here symbolised by the keys which
we may take to open the treasure ~c hcs t-w as a mere adjunct to
" richb", both characteristics were expressly united in the
traditional descriptions of Saturn and his children. For, just as
the mythological Kronos-Saturn , who combined with all his other
characteristics the attributes of a distributor and guardian of
wealth, was in antiquity not only the guardian of the treasury
and the inventor of coin~minting, but also the ruler of the Golden
Age, so. too, Saturn was worshipped as ruler and as king ; and
accordingly, not only did he fill the role of treasurer, and author
of prosperity, in the planetary hierarchy. but also, as in Babylon,
he was feared and honoured as the "mightiest"; and then, as
always happens in astrology, all these properties were transmitted
to those who came under his dominion. In an antithesis worthy
of Saturn himself, astrological sources inform us that together
with the poor and humble, the slaves, the grave-robbers, Saturn
g~v:rn,s not only the wealthy and the avaricious ("Satumus est
slgmfieator divitum", says Abu Ma'sar in his Flores astrologiae)
but also ~' those who rule and subdue others to their sway" ; and
we read ill the Cassel manuscript that the ehild of Saturn is a
"villain and traitor" but is also "beloved of noble people, and
counts the mightiest among his friends".11
It is not surprising, therefore, that in turning from the texts
~o the pictures we find the combination of the two symbols
mterpreted by Durer as signs of "power" and "riches" less
commonly in pictures of melancholies than in pictures of Saturn.
In one early fifteenth~century manuscript (PLATE 28), Saturn
not OI~y carries a purse at his waist, but is holding two enormous
k~ys, which obviously belong to the chests, some open, some
still ~osed, on the ground beside his feet.' But Durer's purse
appears frequently in pictures of melancholics, for as an age~long
symbqI of riches and avarice it had become <i constant feature
of th~ pictures by the fift eenth century. One of the two corner

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

I.

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF "MELE NCO LIA I"

See above, p.

I
t
I

192,

note ~oi.

'~ome, Bibl. Vat., Cod. Ur b. lat. 1398, 101. I I ' . Saturn reckoning and tounting h is
g~ld In c~. Pal. lat. 1369, fol. IH (PLA.TJ:t ~3) ~Iongl!l to this rea lm of ideas (though this tim"
WIthou t th~ ke~) , .and $ 0 does the remarkable figu re in the top left-hand corner of the portrait
of Sa turn 10 TubIDgen. MS ~[d .. 2 (PLATJ:t ~o). II. seated king counting gold pie<;es on top of a

large .tre::sure chest WIth hIS rIght hand, but raising a gobl et with his left (derived from II.
~ombinabon of the carousing King Janus with th" re<;koning Saturn, who rules January no
less than Decem~r).

286

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA 1"

[IV . II.

~gures. ~ the picture of Saturn in the Erlurt manuscript (PLATE 42)


reminiscent of the Sat urn in manuscripts at Tiibingen and the
Vatican (PLATES 40 and 43). being placed in front
a coffer
covered with large coins; and in the TGbingen manuscript (PLATE
73) the melancholic's similarity to his planetary patron goes so far
that he is leaning on his spade in an attitude characteristic of the
god of agriculture, about to bury his treasure-chest.7 But in the
second melancholic in the Erfurl manuscript, riches and avarice
are symbolised no longer by a treasure-chest, but by a purse. and
from now on this attribute becomes so typical that 6.fteenthcentury examples of it are innumerable (PLATES 77. 78, 80 and BI),'
while Cesare Ripa's l eonologja, which was still used in the periOd
of the Baroque, would never have pictured the melancholic
without his purse (PLATE 68), - This is the motif which induced
the worthy Appelius to consider the apostle Judas a mel.mcholie:
"Melancholies, whose most noticeable feature is avarice, arc well
adapted to household matters and management of money, Judas
carried the purse, "10
15

of

(ii) The Motif of the Drooping Head


A considerable proportion of the above-mentioned portraits
of melancholicsll have a further motif in common with Durer's
Mele-neolia, which, to the modem observer, seems too obvious
to require a study of its historical derivation; but Durer's own
preliminary design for the engraving, which deviates in this very
particular,l! shows that it does not simply owe its origin to the
observation of the melancholic's attitude but emerges from a
pictorial tradition, in this case dating back thousands of years,
This is the motif of the cheek resting on one hand , The primary
significance of this age-old gesture, which appeared even in the
mourners in reliefs on Egyptian sarcophagi, is grief, but it may
Th e uption explains tbe point of this eomparison: "I trust no-one", In K. W, Ib",UR'.
K"T~I'ia$d, . /lfy/h()/",i, (p . .U6 In the i tb edn., Berli" 18~0) the mela ncholic u dill equipped
witb a treuure<belt at well u a dagger, rope and bat (_ below, text p. 323).

In One cue the purK motif i$ even eombined witb the trnsure-eh est motif.

C.su. R,r ... , J~oN"I",ja

( I$t ed n., Rome "93), I.V. "Complessio1\i".

The woodcut

Ilrst appeared in tbe 1603 edition.


II

See .. bove, pp. n

~q.

(tex t) .

I I J. l...lGoul'. AII'IOl'y "/ .th an" (H . Vos, Di, Malerri .uT Sp6tT""';$JaNu ;;' R_ .",d
Flt1~'Nz, Berlin, '9 20, VOL. II, plate ] 6,) with ita: purse, treasure-cbest and band onj chin could

equally weUltand for "Melancho]y" were it not for the ,-emu"ing motifs.
" F . H ......cJ( (in Z~,'/glorii' fiJ~ bildeNd~ K""sl, VOl... LX (1916-27), supplement. p, HI) b,'U
,",ain .110""" that it ru1ly was a prelimina ry study.

I)

THE HI STORI CAL BACKGROUND OF "MELENCOLTA I"

also mean fatigue or creative thought . To mention medieval


types alone, it represents not only St John's grief at the Cross,
and the sorrow of the "anima tristis" of the psalmist (PLATE 6z),1s
but also the heavy sleep of the apostles on the Mount of Olives,
or the dreaming monk in the illustrations to the Pelerinage de La
V1'e Humaine; the concentrated thought of a statesman,a the
prophetic contemplation of poets, philosophers, evangelists, and
Church Fath ers (PuTES 61 and 63)";; or even the meditative
rest of God the Father on the seventh day,l6 No wonder, then ,
that such a gesture should spring to the artist's mind when it was
a question of representing a configuration which combined in an
almost unique fashion the triad grief, fatigue, and meditation ;
that is to say, when representing Saturn and the melancholy
under his dominion. In fact, the veiled head of the classical
Kronos1 7 (PLATE 13) rests as sadly and as thoughtfully on his
hand as does the head of the melancholy Hercules on his in some
ancient representations. 18 In medieval portraits of Saturn and
melancholy, which had almost lost any direct links with ancient
pictorial tradition,Ii this motif frequently receded into the background, but even then it was never quite forgotten 20 ; see, for
instance, the description of Saturn in King Alfonso's Book of
Chess as a sad old man , " la mano ala mexiella como omne
cuyerdadoso".21 It was therefore the easier for it to regain its
typical significance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and
,. According to EItMKST T. os WAI..D. Th, SIIlI/KIiTI Plll1u~. Princeton '930. 101 H lfor
Psalm 42, 7: "QuaTe trUtit u, arum .. mea"). Similar types occur in the pme wo rk. fal. 5S '
(for P5alm d) and 10]. 14' (for P$alm li S).
,. See tbe examples menlloned abo"e, p. "U4. note 27

,. The prototype of lbi. extremely wide. pre:ad design of the "contemplati,'c" person II,
of eourse, the ancient portrait of philosopher or poet. the adoption of wbich fot m>:<lie"al
portraits of the evangelists bu bn studied in detail by A . M . FRIESO (in A ,./ S!" d' t J. VO L
v (1927), pp. II, sqq., plate XVI being pLrtieularly instructive).
.. Paris, Bib1. Maurine. MS 19, fol. J'.
II

See above, pp. 197

.. Reproduced in
My/hoi""" Leip~ig

~q.

(text).

"t. H . RoseHsR,
I S S~,

A"J/iJh"i~Au Lu;iAon

de,

l,j" Ajh~~

""J

, o"" ,.ht >:

VOl... I, eo]. 2160.

I. For pictuf"(:S 01 Saturn, "'" above , text pp, 200 sqq.; 01 melanch olies. ~lo " . PI'
(text).

l ."lO

sqq .

"Cf. e.g. Modena, Biblioteca EsuMe, Cod. 697; I'll" tbis :'IS and tbe Guaricnlo Ire:o.:oo:s in :ht
Eremitani Chape], Padua, d . A. VtNYUR I, .n A,I6, VOL. xVII (1914), pp. 49 SIl q .. tho;,g!! the
eoonenon bet .... een tbem ;1 not ql:ite OOTre<:.tly .tated.
.. F.

SAlU..

in R6pt.rltlri" ....

11l~

X""dWlUfnJtAllil, VOL. xLIII (1912). p. 231

T ilE E~GRAYI ~G "MELENCOLIA I "

[IV . II .

I]

to undergo a r('naissance-"2 which sprang, indeed, from very different


impulses in the north and in the south . In the north, an ever.growing interest in the life-like portraying of certain psycho~ogicall y
distlllctiv(" t\'pes of men revived this gesture of the droopmg head
in pictures of melancholies, though it was omitted for the time
being from port r:lits of Saturn. In fifteenth-century Italy, where
port raits of the fou r temperaments were practically unknown (the
onh' example known to us is a copy of a northern cycle, of the
sho\m in PLATES 77 and 78, but slightly modified in
a~cordance with the classical tradition),23 it was a desire to
characterise distinctive individuals rather than types, and, in
particular, a desire t o revive the ideal world of classical mythology,
that led to the restitution of this classical gesture of Saturn.
The melancholic resting his head on his hand, as.he appears in
German manuscripts and prints, is matched in Italy on the one
hand by the figure of Heraclitus in Raphael's School oj Athens,
n.nd on the othe r by t he Saturn in the engraving 84 by Campagnola
(PUTE 54)-the majestic embodiment of a god's contemplation,
which only later influenced port raits of human contemplation in

89

(iii) Til< Clench<d Fist and til< Black Face


In one respect, it is true, DOrer's portrait differs fundamentally
irom those previously mentioned. The hand, which generally 1jes
softly and loosely against the cheek, is here a clenched fist. But
even this motif, apparently quite original, was not so much
invented by Durer as given artistic expression by him, for the
clenched fist had always been considered a sign of the typical
avarice of the melancholy temperament ,t7 as well as a specific
medical symptom of certain melancholy delusions.!8 In this
sense, .in fact , it had not been completely foreign to medieval
portralts of the melancholic (PLATE 72).2i But comparison with
such a type of medical illustration merely emphasises the fact
t~at simila~ty of motif and similarity of meaning are two very
different things ; what Diirer intended t o (and did) express by
thIS ~lenched fist has little more in common with what it meant
in the cauterisation charts than the rather elusive nuance of
renderin~ a spasmodic tension. This, however, is not the place
to descnbe what Diirer made of the tradition, but merely to list
the elements which he found in it and judged fit to incorporate
in his work. so

general.~~

Whether he was influenced by the northern portraits of


Melancholy, or by Italian models such as Campagnola's engraving.t:i

..,twi,.....

D urer was in any case obeying pictorial tradition when he replaced


the lethargically hanging hands which characterise the seated
~oman in the p'rc1iminary study-a typical symptom of melancholy
Illness, accordmg to medical authorities2l_ by the thoughtful
gesture of the hand supporting the cheek in the fmal engraving.

n'Pe

II lI ow grea Uy the propped.up head was laler w naidered a s pecifie alti tude 01 the mel.. n
cholic can be ~n , for in, tance. from the fact Ih a l Dilrer's d .... w;ns LI44 (In iUeIf a hannless
I tudy for a poru a it) apPeared in au old inventory as the "Prultpild" o f an old mela.nc~oly
_an (d . C . CI.Cclt,in jd,/)wc" da /fIlNJ//f' "orl",IIn< S ....... I.. ..,... h' alU""H~ X u ,.
11.11$1.1 , VOl. . xxv III (1909- 1910). p. 4). The paper- by UasUI-.l H opp q uoted below (po )9~.
note H ) conta ins an Interating collectltln of "melaoeholy" portnJu with th is sesture of the
head -onhand.
.. Tbe minis tU fa are Illu sn a tions to the a bove-quoted v~ (p. 116. note 1",8) by L1olf,uoo
DAT I m ROlne . Bi b!. VRI .. God. Chis. M. VI[. 148, foil. II' $<jq. (aoollt 1460-70). Only the
eholuic is nl ueh altned ; he h.. been tranlformed from. medieval warrlo. Into a Roman one.
The unguinie II earryi n, a laurelwreath inttead of hawk', hood.
" ["or ympagnola ', en' .... vin' of Sa tum . d. H ....TUUII. G.lui .....
esp. p. !i3 &Dd plata 2) ,
allll the same autho. in Repalari .... JIi.. K ..
d .jt. VO l.. lI:LVIII (1927). pp. 2)) tqq
For iu rdat>on to a n Yu ,od on the triumphaJ an:.h .t SelleVeato. u well as it:a mlueslin,
tra nsforma tions in lo ( I) a peasan t Saw.m in a plctliR by Girolamo da Santa Croc:e (PI.AT~ ,6)
anti (1) jnto a 51 J erome In a portrait by i.oren&a Costa (pllblisbed In Arl VOl.. v ( 1!~01'.
p. 196) set! a bove, tut p. 1 12. Ca mpagnola himself some yean later t .... ndonned the
p hilosophical type 01 Sa turn into a p llrely human, and, so to . peak, anonymous type
(cn,ra"jng Pu, reproduced in HAaTuUB. G,",im"is, p. 24). In the north. the type 01
Sat"rn resU!lcita ted by CampaS nola "'-U not senel"t..lly adopted "ntil the late ';xt.eenth u ntilf)'.
and ewn then . ai,nilieantly enollSh. not undet bit mythological name but as a melanchotic
(PI..I,Tt 12'6. for ... hich c:!. text. p. 379) .
Hutlaub may be riSht in statiDl that pieturea sueb u the en,ravia, B", may have beell
directly familiar to Ollrer (for a possible connexion bet,,"eeD O!irer and Campt-gnola. see alto
below. p . 3~4, no te 13' )' bUI the l uppoMd depe ndence of Ympt.ano1a '. e nsraving Pn on
Giorg ione see ms to III a~ Hilla ~u !ICeptible o f proo f at the assllmption that the t ngu.ving B I'i

TIrE HI STORICAL BACKGROUND OF "M.ELENCOUA I"

by the "muter of 1,1," repnsenb a fisure of ).(elanc.holy. Thelisure lnapirill8 the ..troloser
II mOA Il.Ir.ely to be the MUM Urania, or, moz-e probably ltill. I. petlOrlitieation of AstrolOSY_
of whom. for Insh.ace. Ripa ~prc:saly nata th at she is to hl.ve winS' "per dimostra. ehe
el" I ta. sempre con n penalero levatl. in a lto per sapere el inte.nder .. Ie t:Ie cdesti"
.. 11 is di~ull to prove that the drawin, Ln was I. study of Dllrer', wife; but tWO if It
wete. the IrtIst could have oluvtd het in .. ~auindy depreqod .tate.

i'.

or In D . . ....1"I:'. /,,1_, fnc- inatanc:e (Canto VII. ,6). we read of tho avarir:iou ma.D that
"OullIti resarget't.ltDO de.! tepulc:ro. Col pu,no dtiuao. e qllesti eol erm ~"; aec:ordiDf to
CASLIUS CALCAOK llf tJ. U_lrlnu:l tin .t""UAil/.Oriu.v.. 511 _1$1"1," II" alkrMdska K.b.,...
" .II NUI. VOL. lI:XX If (191,), p. 169). " maDIiS du tta ClI:paosa (denotlll] libc:ralitatem. ml.nu.
I1Dlstra comprellIa tenacltatem:' Tho oz-I,lnator of this eonc:elt wbJc.h . till per,itted In
Sandrarl', l rofU)/OI. IoeDll to haw beell DI ODO l U. SaCULtlS: .; a:.~ """'Iyp.J..., ~
....1~. vwnJ.7_ (III. 4. ) ed. F. Vocel. LelpuS 1888. p. 272).
.. }'or quotl.lions. _ abo"" p.
(teu).

5'

~ Edurt. W~IWUkhe
Sri/' I{'

nT

BibUotbe.k. Cod. Amploq. Q. I S,. fnI. 24Y (d . K. SUDHOn-


Ctul"." lin Cli~ i. MiIt,l4/Jn. VOl.. I. I..eip&i, l 'i 14. plate XXX) .

to For tho eban,e by DUrer in the ClI:pnlQlve val lie of these ttadllioaal motifs. see belo ....
pp. )17 &qq. (text).

290

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLJA 10>

[IV. II .

One Jast motif, perhaps of still greater importance for the


emotional meaning of the engraving, should be mentioned in
view not of its quite untraditional significance, but of its traditi~nal
origin. This is t he motif of the shadowed countenance from which
Melencolia gazes forth in an almost ghostly stare'. We may
remember that this "black face" was a far more frequently cited
trait in tradition than was the clenched fist . Both the child of
Saturn and the melancholic-whether melancholy through illness
or by temperament- were by the ancients reckoned swarthy and
black of countenanceSI ; and this notion was as common iIi medieval
~edical literature as in astrological writings on the planets and
10 popular treatises on the four complexions.
"Facies nigra
p~opter, melancholiam",32 "nigri",33 "mud-coloured",34 " corpus
mger s~~ut Iutum",35 "lutcique coloris",36 these are . all phrases
that D~rer ~ay have read in the traditional texts, as many
before hIm ought .have done; but, as also in the case of the clenched
fist, he was the first to realise that what was t here described as a
temperamental characteristic, or even as a pathological symptom,
could, by an artist, be turned to good account in expressing an
emotion or in communicating a mood.
(b) Traditiona l Imag es in the Com p os iti on of

the Engraving
Written in his own hand, Diirer's explanation of the sy~bolism
of t he purse and keys called our attention to various singl~ motifs.
We shou~d now ask ourselves whether the picture as f whole
a1so has 1ts roots in the tradition of pictorial types.

(i) Ill1tstraticms of Disease

Medical illustrations proper, that is, representations of the


melancholic as an insane person, had, as far as we know, neither
.. For quotations, see above, pp. ~9 &qq. (text).
., Thus I bn E$T"a
.. Thus Albertu! Magnus, quoted on p . 71. note 02.
Thus e.g. the t ranslation of the Salernitan verse, in the work De consel"Vanda bond;
"a/etudin . ed. J ohannes Cu rio, Frankfu rt ' ~~9, fol. 237.; '"IT far b fast so=hwarlz vnd erd farb
ist" (,the.if colour i. almoot black and earthy") . In ~jew of the contradictory nature.,1 th is
t ype of literature, and the contrast!! inherent in the notion of melancholy itself, it is not
surprising to find the melanCholic occasionall y described as "pale" in .,ther writings on the
comple:.:ions, e.g. in the verses on PL ... TE 8 1.
a Thu s Johann von Neuha us, quoted On p. II~ sq. (ted).

.. Thus the Salernitan verses. quoted On p. IJ ~ (textl.

IJ

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF "MELENCOLIA 1"

evolved nor attempted to evolve a characteristic melancholy type .


When there was an illustration at all, it was more a question of
showing certain therapeutic or even surgical measures than of
working out a general conception of the psycho-physical state.
The most common illustrations of this kind were the so-called
"cauterisation charts", of which one (P LATE 72) has already
been mentioned. They were to show how and where the various
insane persons were to be cauterised, or trepanned . In the
melancholic's case, the grisly operation was to be carried out
"in medio vertice". He is shown, therefore, with a round hole
in the top of his head, frequently as a single standing figure,
sometimes sitting on the operating chair, occasionally, even
stretched out on a kind of rack31 ; but only very seldom is some
better t han average illustrator ambitious enough to characterise
the patient psychologically, that is to say, to distinguish him by
specifically melancholy gestures.
As well as these cauterisation diagrams, there are also pictures
of cures by means of flogging or by music (PLATE S 67, 70 and 71)38:
but even these (some of them ' quite attractive miniatures) could
not be the starting point for a more general line of de,'elopment ,
since they created no new types, but endeavoured to treat thei r
theme by adopting forms of composition that were already fully
developed (Saul and David, the scourging of Christ, the flogging
of martyrs, and so on).
(ii) Picture Cycles of the Four Temperaments.

I: Descriptive
Single Figures (the Four T emperaments and the FOil /" Ages
of Man) -II: Dramatic Groups: Temperaments aJld V1'ceS
On the other hand, an attempt at precise characterisation
seems to have been made in portraits of the melancholic in the
context of the four temperaments. It is true that here, too, no
completely new t ypes were coined; nor was this to be expected,
since the problem of illustrating the complexions arose comparatively late. But, through the deliberate use of analogies at
relevant points, these pictures grew at length into solid and
striking portraits of character types .
II Cf. K. 500>10"1'. Beilr/l8_ ~"r Gu~";clll. de. C"ir" .gi. i," .Hillt1d;II~ . VOL. I, pla te X X x\" I ;
in some cases the physician operating is also shown, e.g. Rome. Cod. Casanat. 13S~ tS t;PJ1 0H .
op. cit., plate XXV) alld above. pp. 5~, 94.
I I With PL ... TES 61, 10d. e.g. thepictufe5 of Saul a.nd David; with PL ... n: i l d . ... min'''t" r~
like Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Cod. Hamilton 390, fol. 19' ; "Iste "~rb~~at u" o~em s\l am ""
(for this codex, see below, te:.:t p. 298) .

29.?

THE E:\GRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

( IV. II.

Some late representations of the temperaments simply adopt


tlu.' characteristics of the corresponding planet or children of a
planet-a striking instance of this is the picture in the Tiibingen
manuscript of a miser burying his treasure (PLATE 73).311 In
cerl am isolated cases the melancholic follows the pose- familiar
enough in a different co ntext~f a writing evange1ist or a scholar,
with the mere addition of a treasure-ch~; a case in point is a
sequence of miniatures dating from about 1480. If we leave these
two exceptions aside, the pictures representing the four temperaments in a set or sequence can be divided into two main groups:
those showing each temperament as a single figure. more or less
inactivc and distinguished mainly by age. physique , expression.
costume, and att ributes; and those in which several figures,
preferably a man and a woman, meet in order to enact a scene
typical of t heir particular temperament. Sets of the first group
ar(' "cry numerous; those of the second are fewer in number but
more momentous in view of later deve1opments,
The fi rst exa mplc of a set of single figures-linked, as it were,
with thc old schema of the four winds in DUrer's woo?cut
illu strating Celtes's work-oc.curs in a crude outline drawing
belonging to an cleventh- or twelfth-century treatise on the
Tetrad, preserved in Cambridge (PLATE 7S).~ The quadrants of
a circle contain. four seated figures which, according to the caption,
represent the "four ages of human life",f2 and are therefore all
female. In addition to the caption, however, there are marginal
notes which infonn us that these figures represent also the four
.. Also the t ...~ men wi th ..-ooden le,I, in a woodcut serio of the v~ (wbich " 'iIl be deal!
with later. le>tt pp. Joo -.qq.) from the Curio edition (quoted above. note 3 4), loJ. 3)9, ou r
PLATa 7~ . FOI tho Swl.. drawing on PLATS ' 39. and the De Cheyn e ngrav in g on PJ. .. n. 11) .
whele the aU,mildion o f the mela ncbolic to tbe Saturnine type takes place on a new ,
humaniltie balil. lOCI belo.... pp. 393. 398 (tu t).
" Bedln. Cod. lenn. fot. ' 191. lol. 6). now in Marburr; d. B,sdr,ow.ks Ynuid.i, II,.
M11O,,,lvr.H,, ..dullN/I, .. , r Pre.us.u;Iu .. St"",billliptJteJt, VOL v. ed, H. W~ener, ~Iin 1928,

1'1'. 7: J.q<t . Here the nnsuinia are playin, the lute, the cboleriQ "'T5c.ling. and the
phlesm;atie il .e;ated in I. depre:ned attitude generally characteristic of the mel.ncholic; on
this, s<:c below, p. )11). note 111.
" Cambridge, Cai u! College. J\lS 41 6, 101. 21 . c l. M. R. J "I"U, Du"'I"h" C<llai()8'" o/ IM
Pic turel
like those di!ICUIIICd Ilene ca n easily be accounted !or as a Iy nth esis o f the abstract tetradic
.yttem, occurr illl from the ninth century on.... rds. first in lsidore}.lSS and then in muSIn
tio~ to cosmoloslcal treatises (d. E. WICIUIIl$RIIIIUIR in Jafl'U. VOL. XIX (1914), pp. In tqq .,
.nd C. SIN GEII . F ro... Milt" ~ Sdnu. LoDdon 1928, pp. 211 J.qq. and plale X I V), ..nth COBnate
fi , ure rcpruentation. tro m Crueo-Roman times. like the Cbebba mosaiet, etc.
.\/t:.II"'Cf'iPI, I .. II" Library 0/ Go .. ~lI, anll C" i lls Coll,,<, Cambridge IgoS, p . 300.

"Qualuor .elates velu t hic patet atque videtur


lluman" vitae IpiHh.m conplere iubentur."

r]

THE HiSTORICAL BACKGROUND OF "MELENCOLIA I"

293

complexions: or: more precisely. that they personify the humours


prep:<md~ratmg m them. "Childhood" represents also the phlegm,
shafJ~g ill the elemental qualities cold and damp' warm and
moist "Youth" represents the blood; warm and dry' "Manhood"
repre~nts the yellow bile; and finally, cold and dry, "Decline"
represents the black bile.u In later centuries there will be sets
of pictures representing, primarily, the four temperaments, and
only ~ndari1y the [our seasons, the four ages o[ man, and the
fo~r. pomts of the comp.ass; .but these figures in the Cambridge
lUllllature .are meant prunarily as portraits of the four ages of
man, and m them the representation of the four humours is only
of secondary interest."
This is not surprising, at a time when the terms "phJegmaticus"
and so on had not yet been coined for the notion of men governed
by the phlegm and the various humours. f5 Nevertheless with
this reservation, the Cambridge cycle of four may be considered
the e.arliest. known picture of the temperaments; and so the
question arIses, from which source did the draftsman take the
types which he embodies in his design? The answer is that these
humorally characterised pictures of the fou r temperaments
evolved from classical representations of the seasons and occupations.'t6 But whil~ a conn?-xio~ made in antiquity was adopted, it
was a t the same tune reVised m the sense of its original-in this
.. The seri~ in thi . lis t is bued (.) on ~ rula applying allDOlll throulbout to all sy.tmLI
wbether they begin with 'UQJI; uu". or, .. bere. with " phJqma"-nsmiMy. that the "<:hoi '
rubnt. .. precede. the "cbolen. nigra". and fbI 011 the verbal uuee wbereby "dectepitas" dena::
Imter age than "Kneel ...". Thit, IIoweYfl'. Is contradicted by the pic:toria1
(...bile. e.g . ~ cycle of cardinal poinu abown on fo.\. 21' of the ume MS should
~kw~ s~n, . fro".' ~e top, the sequence here is irresular). and by the fact that
Decrep.tas 15 It!l] Ipm nlnfl: whUe "Seneetus" is alre.dy windin, the wool Th

tradt'
f U '
hi
'
e anCIent
.on 0 ow.ng 1 a e.. cu.to~ry 'Yltem bellinning with the "phlegm." (_ abova.
text !'. ' 1'1 ".... obvlo~lly Ia~ge]y eclipsed; fol. 22 ,.buws a CiK;UW 8Chema analogoul to t he
two Just. men t~ned, In ~bich the Mqueoce, lbouSh normal. begins from the bottom and
ru~. anticlock .._ (top, c.hoJera ntbn" _ warm a nd dry; rilbt, """, uis" _ wann
d
mOll t; ~Io"'. "~ua" - cold and moill; lefl. "terra" _ cold and dry) . It is' abo hi ~
unul ual to dC!Cn be the Wlrlll and dry "choleric" ~ as "aenectu." and to wl . L I T
" cold. d "'~."
_.. '

....e welt
. n ~~ as compa, .... WIth the "warm alld mout" east. In the examples collected
by Wlcktfnhelmer the cycle alway. runs in the ulual aeq uence : ",.nlll;." " chol
b "
"cholera ?igra", .. phlesm... .
'
era ru ra ,

S:U;::

. .. .Especially in these tetradic cycles it Is not uncommon to find a double Or even Ireblll
~f. the u.mples cited on p. 292. note 41, and the Rive.. of
ParadISe on the Rosloek baptismal font of 1291 (which, .ccordilll to the in.scriptioll, also
represent the four delllentr;),

'1Irufi~oee for each filure.

.. See above. p. 103 sq. (text).


I. Medie"'~1 portn.yal. o f the four as" of man Rem In fact to ha ve evolved indireet! from

repr~nta~o", o f the foUl' HatOnl, thue being linked with antiqu ity by a continuous "';~to":-'

tradItIOn.

y'

....

! ,

294

TIlE 'ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

!'

[IV. II.

case, abstract-form. F or at first the seasons in classical'pictures


were distinguished only by attributes; in the mosaics of r.'ambacsis
and . Chcbbau they had becom'e gi~ls and women diff~.r~ntiated
according to their ages-and thereby individualized. 1,'l1e Cambridge artist reverts once more from the differentiation by natural,
biological, signs of age to the differentiation by con~entional
attributes. . Youth (blood), who in accordance with her 'y'outhful

age is the only standing figure, is exactly like the well-known


figure of the garland-laden Spring; which, in t urn, is ~i~entica1
with Maius (May) in the cycles of the months,fa In : dontrast
with carefree youth , Decline (black bile) has to work and (in
accordance with her advanced age, and the cold se.ispn) she
is holding a distaff9; w.hile Old Age (red bile) is winding .t he spun'
wool. Orily Childhood (phlegm) has to make do without attributes:
she is chamderised mcrely by legs crossed in a typical attitude of
.est, which is probably meant to indicate the physical an.d mentt~l
indifference of both th e phlegmatic temperament and . -the age
of childhood.: E[~ -i1eo1Tol{cr~ O:xPTlITT"OS.
This attf'Jnpt ' to illustrate the noti~n of the comp.Jex.i?ns,
hitherto transmitted only in literature, by interpreting certain
forms of pictures of seaSons and occupations as pictures of the
four ages of man, and then including in these the notion of the
four humours, set a precedent for the future. By the fifteenth
century (unfortunately \ge have no example of the intcimediate
period). when what we may c..'lll the orthodox pictureS of the
complexions had been evolved, the combination of the: ageS of
man with his various occupations-a. combination unskilfuUy
drafted in 't he Cambridge miniature-had only to be further
modernised in order to produce, as it were, automatically a series
of those "single-figUre" pictures of the temperaments which form,
as we have said, the first and larger group.
.
It}t.

Bou., "O,e TAeben...,lter", ,n

N#tI.~ Jilf>rbtkf>~

fo,.

"

diU lI.IilJPuf>e AttnJ"!,,, vor~ XVI

(1913), p. 103. pllte I, 2.

I. :Fot tn., typc of repreaontation of Spring we I1~d only refer to the aoove-lDentl9fte:d Cbebba.
iUClsaic or th~ Cf>",..ico1!. ZllIilallmu mentioned above. p. 279, note 9. Tho ton:esponding
repre$Cnbi.tionf of May are il1munttablo: the earliest exampl~ i" th .. "W.. lI_kno~ S.:Jxbllrg
caleml:l.t of 818 (our }>UTlI. 97). That "MiLY" and "Spring" cou hl 100 usell .ynonymously In
literaturco u well c:a.n lie sell n from the c:a.ption to the portrait of th~ sanguioie in I>LA,.:s 78:
"d.u w1rk~t lDey und Jupi1.er".
:s

"In the fully developed aUe&OI"yof tho ages of ma.n, the distaff denotes the Ji ft)!. .t:age III
the eycle o! Ryen, :lDd the sev=th dec:od .. in the hundredye;u- cycle (YI~' ~Or..sI,lOIl",
Christ/ieh. S,...,boIiA ~,. 11I;II.talltrli"t~K. K .. out, Leiprig 1926, Nos. rip and lIil). Apart
CrOl:lI thi., IIpinnin! is the ehnaderlst>c lann of lem..al .. activity, and the Cambrid!o miniatu re
is toQCerned only with feminine oecapatioru.
~

\1]

THE mSTORTCAL BACKGROUND OF "MELENCOLlA 1"

295

Since .this further development aimed at a transfonnation /?f


the abstract scientific diagram into the picture of a concrete
char~.cter, the singularities both of the different ages and of the
corresponding temperaments were now depicted with modem
realism. Physique, dress and occupation were painted in livelier
colours.. sometimes almost in the style of a genre picture. The
sanguine man generally appears as a fashionably-dresscd youth
going falconing; the choleric as an armed warrior; the melancholic
as a sedate middle-aged gentleman; the phlegmatic as a longbearded old man, sometimes leaning 011 a crutch. The
psychological attitude is shown partly by the addition of distinguishing attributes, but mainly by mimetic means, such as the
morose expression and the head-on-hand attitude of the
melancholic, or the grimace of rage on the face of the choleric,
who draws his sword or even hurls chairs. about. 5O 1f the Cambri!3ge drawing had already represented the. four humour" in the
guise of the four ages of man, it must have been even easier in the
fifteenth century for the two sets of illustrations to be more
closely associated; for by. that time t he four ages had preceded
the temperaments in the realistic development of single types.
A French cycle of about I300 (PUTE 76).51 is content to d~fferentiate
the various ages by reference rather to physiological than to
psychological or occupational .characteristics: but in the French
miniature (PLATE 58) of the Wheel of Lile a hundred years later,
.youth is shown as a young -falconer, and the penultimate age
of man as a thinker with his head on his hand~l; and in two closely
, connected German designs, the older dated 1461 (PLATE 79), the
representatives of the middle four of the seven ages a re identical
with the cuqent types of the four temperaments- a falconer. a
knight In armour, an older man counting money or holding a
purse, and a frail old man. TIle only points in which the fifteenthcentury pictures of the four complexions-in so far as they belong
to the descriptive, single-figure type-differ from the contemporary
series of pictures representing the four ages, are the inclusion of

... Broadsheet, Zllrieh, Zultralbibliethek (Schreiber 192'1 til.) : P. HRITZ, E;.wla:ld",cA~ du


IS. Jah,Aundmt, VOL. IV, No.. i

".LeOd.OIl, Drit. .M.us., SlOlllle ),fS 24)S. lui. 31'.

"F. Bou., "Dill Lebensaltu". in ]:.Till. J"'ri1iI"'~" Iii,. dIU IIf"Sfis'}~ Allalurn, vot.. :\....... 1
(J9J3). pb.te II, 3 &ad 4. It q obviously an cm>t wben. OD. p . 1"29: "SoU say, that th .. falCOuet
i, balding "a dove,.. th4 creaturo 5aCffd to Veaa ....

2g6

THE ENGRAVING "NELENCOLlA 1"

I)

[IV. II.

the four elements (the sanguine man stands on clouds, the choleric
in flames the melancholic on the earth); and, in certain repre
sentation~ (for example, in PLATE 82), the addition of a symbolic
beast an ape for the sanguine, a lion for the choleric, a boar for the
1Ilel~choJic, and a sheep for the phlegmatic.$!
. .
Moreover, the Conn of these pictures shows little vanation
throughout the fifteenth century; the various types became so
well established that, once defined, they intruded upon. .the
illustrations of the "children" of the planets in astrologtcal
manuscriptsS' and could even. be included in illustrations to
Aristotle's Py~blems (PLATE 77), the fourteenth chapter of which
had nothing to do with tht>: late medieval doctrine o~ the tempera
ments, but which is headed 000 1tEpl 1C.p<lGeIS, or, In the French
translation, "Qui ont regart a la complexion".iS Even where the
representatives of the four temperaments appear on hOnieb~ck
(PLATE ST), by analogy with a certain planetary type ~t occurnng
in the wcllknov.n Kyeser manuscripts they remam falconers,

.. For anImal lymooll5,n as applied to the f01lr tetnpe.rammt:l . .e abo,e. text p . 101 "I..
Thoe worl<i hUll in qutll\loo (Th. S1Kph'Ii~' C.II>WI4,,1n French aDlI l!u.j;IWl. tbe latter editC!.l
by 0, H. Souuncr. 1!19:1. and theprilltcd :&>okao~ HOll by Simon V...lr4 ~ ~OOIU IOu:rvet)
fOOD a .pKial rc,ional , flIUP d.,.iycd rom & ,,0c:1o I'rototypo:, a.ud cLlltiDgu.,IIl!d by ~. fact
tbat the Ilhle;matic, who occupies the third plaI:C, ;. characterised by a pu.ne. while the
mdanchelic, reier-ted \.0 {ollrth plal:C. bu a cr1ltdl.-~rll.ap:ll ~u&e of a mi&u.ko wbieb.
ollce ",ade, bec"n1e tradition&!. Tho meI.&fICbolic: .. alJo g;ftJl foarth pace 10 ... I.,.,. other
cyc!es. thou, h lh" re!evallt tutf ezprtulr corn:lale autumn ...nh him (see abo above, text
p. 280).
.. Cf. tM Ctlr"'..... fi(u!e.l in tho p:ct.,re of Saturn In the Edurt MS, 0 1Ll' P~AT~ 1"; ill tI..
pictuu of the , uu iu!bc _me MS (A. 1-.... "8E1l. Pkatul,nJ;ioulpbilu"II""! Sf"PW~~' StrlSboulll'
19\6, plate XX IV) tbe " l&I1$uinc" falconer OO::lIples the ~'D3 po5Jtxul.
.. l"llris. Bib!. Nat . MS noll". acq.lr. ll71 . .A .pecial inltuc.e. appa.rently: without analOlY,
but of _ e i lllorut because of i~ early c!.ate, .. ppun in a:MS dated 1108 by JOIIA!UUtJ Da
" OXTON. 1.;1)., ,ol '"Of",,/,hi/l~ (Cam bridge. Trluity College. MS 9 41. JoI . n" tqq.). lIe.e
the fou~ teu' )H:alUe ntl appear M na ked men, de!oCrlbcd as "Pfima ymalt~" . etc., with the
Sakfl,:talt couplet. . . IU per.:riptim", :lnd in the odd sequ.,uca _IIJlIIIII(:, phkltnaUc,
melancioolie, ch~eri c, tbonsh tile "hl(I;ml.:ic ;1 clearl)" the: oldesl. The eb.oice of attd1.>utn.
too. is $Omc..llat 11ngula:. Tho choleric. as u.~, is gi:d~ with a sword, but thle .' taJlcb
o ,, ~ in 0<\,1 CUIIUUl 1.0 bit nakodne.. ; the ..... nguluic. 1.00, is bmodishing :iL ,word ID hw rlt ht
haud. al>d boldine II r.0blat in hI. ldt. The mal.aueboHc is holding a TayeD ~ his r1c:b.t. hand
(th is. ;u;....... rd iu ll to tin' Hgr. di Vittll. ia Iho OOml)ItO;On of "trlatlda") whIle wllh h ,. 111ft
haud_ at In IIOr tr.lt! or "I'.... n: " I>e'l"',atio"- hc plunges II d3.ggt:r into bis ~rc ..t (probably
r~ft:'l'ence to hUl l uld.la! luoil\ll); and tho phleSmatic, r,o.ther drastlully IIhoWI1 ill
'sp ,,~mine plo::ltlll", ~ luooi:'l, wltb II. boo~, his bea d on hi9 haD~ .. r.l0n:0~er, . the a.lllu-inic
b ,,,:th.,.. distlng " W' .... by a plant across hill cb...,t., and a dO"" "t'UnI Oft h15 "&Ill IlniI, ..00
the cholerIC b y It ftu,,u em.ec&in& from his mollth. 1"0 i;le6.l1itll interpretation 01 thesa dotails
h .. yet ~n arrl ... ed at-some o f them were no doubt taken o ... er (10m the pictOfial typel of
tho d ead ly Bins ; lIur are the physioslKllnieal delcriptions, in eaeh cue .. ppeuinS in t h' le: fthand maq~ln. CDlnlorelM!n~bh u tbey ,l::aDd.

I
,

1.]
I

l.

.\

., .
i<

't:
.J,;
'"

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF "lI-fELENCOLIA I"

2 97

men ~ armour and so on6l ; and even the series of single figures
rcpresenting the complcxions in the middle and latc Renaissance,
with which we shall deal later , preserves in many respects a
recollection of the fifteenthcentury types.
The second group (that in which the different temperaments
are represented by means of a scene in which several figures take
part) has a very different character. The series so far discussed
evolved from, and in combination with, illustrations of the four
ages o! man, which in their turn could be traced. back to classical
repr~tations of seasons and occupations.
It is therefore under
standable that they should emphasise differences of age and
occupation, while psychological traits such as the melancholic's
avarice and depression, or the choleric's rage, only gradually
appear, and then seem to be based as much on the respective
ages to whic.:h they are allotted as ou the respective types of
temperament.
In the dramatic representations of t he temperaments, on the
other _hand, difference in age fades as much into the background
as difference in occupation or situation. Here, from the beginning,
inter~t is centred so entirely on the humorally-given traits of
charaG:'ter that the scene is limited to actions and situations
reveati:nc these traits: everything clsc is neglected; and only the
introduction of the four elements (also lacking occasionally)
distin,gJ.tishes works of this type from morality paintings or
illusti~tions to novels.
T~ diUerence in artistl.c intention corresponds to the dillerence
in hist~rical origin. The historical study of pictorial typcswhich -is just as necessary and just as possible for the dJ"dJDatic
compositions as for the static single des<.;tiptive figures-takes us,
uot into the world of "speculum naturale", but into that of
"specq~um morale", not into the r~alm of the pictures of the
four ages but into that of tile illustrations of virtues-or rat her,
vices; for this realm was almost the only one. in which (though
Wlderthe menacing aspect of ecclesiaslica1 moral theology) the

..

H rJm. ~394. PI-ATJt 81. a{1br II. brl)(ldthoct in U, .. Goth:o. Mu.~um (Seb.relbc< J<)u 0; P.
E';':'bWtd~ du ' .5. J"""J.UHJ.,", VOl.. I,.XlV, No.8). }' or n:ptnCntatioDli 01 pl.oJneb
un boneb,aclt (~be.btf based. on .. oooYlll1tlon ill JOUItlDf and t.oUTnaments). cL SAXL,
Y,u'i~Nls, VOl. p . 11'1' A culold COOIU!Ction. ~ these r ktera and the Shepb."d-ll '
r..fendara "and 800b of Hoo.... eall ba _ In the H(If'IU B . V. M.n.u printed by Jo1ueUII
Reinhart.J<ircbbeim ab<;tut . ,,90 (Schreiber 1.57lo Pmctor 3'09). fol ' . . Here the cbol..,.ic
ILPI>eanJ as the Wild Huutsm3n, tha _ugwDicl '" a pair of loyen, .wo on horseback._the
pillea-nau~. boweve:r.... II. simple ltandina; tig1.>r<1 wilb a .beep. an<l tbl! melancholic (in the
fOll.rth plabe) as a sWldiug .6""a wi:l, a piS'

Halu,

"

298

THI!. ENGRAVING " MELE NCOLIA J"

[IV. II .

undesirable, and thcrefol"e psychologically significant; charac:.


teristics of men were shown in brief, sharply defined Iscenes.

A curiously early example of the dramatic type-which,


however, apparently remained quite isolated-may be seen in
a famous Hamilton Codex in Berlin. compiled before 1300 in
North Italy\ which includes also the sayings of Dionysius Cata,

" ,
:!

, "

"

t he m isogynistic outpourings of the "provcrbia quae , dicuntur

su(X'r naturam feminarum", a morolised bestiary, and other


writings of a similar trend, and endeavours to enliven all of these
by innumerable small border miniatures, partly moral, partly
didactic. The Salcmitan verses on the complexions- with many
mistakes in the te.xt-are illustrated in the same style a nd with
the same intention (PLATE 84).57 The miniaturist introduces
auxiliary figures for the purpose of coupling them with tile repre'sentative of each temperament in a joint action which is, designed
to reveal the main characteristics listed in each couplet, n.nd ;n
general resembles closely the other illustrations in the m~.nuscript .
The sanguine is, above all, the generous man ("largus")'. :and his
generosity is shown by his handing a purse to a m in~r figure
lrneeling before him.58 The choleric-angry (, 'irascens")--::-,Y3 glving
his partrier a blow on the head with a club, which is exactly what
the married ma.n on ~other page, exasperated by contr~iction,
is doing to his \\life. 51 The slupy ma1a ("somnolentus'" of the
phlegmatic's verses is illustrated by a sleeper being: rude1y
awakened by a second man. Finally. the m elanchoJi~"viou.s
and sad {"invidus et tristis") -is turning away with a gesture or
contempt (rom a loving couple, and this figure too has its model
(and its explanation) in an illustration at the very beginning of
the codex, entitled "He shuns love-making" (" Tste fugit
.
meretricem").GO
These little miniatures are too idiosyncratic and t he circumst ances which gave them birth too exceptional, for .them to have
had any influence. In Italy. as already mentioned, no special
interest was taken anyhow in pictures of the temperaments and,
as far as we know, this was changed only ~der the infl)lence of

r' , ~','

.r

,I

.... :1.

:. ~ .;:.,

"

"

a The fiut German Calendar, AuphvfJ:, aha .. t I.So. The same .....oocut'll ruppear . in
lab:r onl:$, ... g. AupburC. SebIInlpet(tf 1490 (published ift laalmlle by K. Pfister. M~nlCh
J9U). '495. de.

,'; ';.
l ..

I' He rlin, Sl.... t.bibllothck, Cud. Hamilton 390, Inl. 8J-.

et in furil.".

.mwar

.. Fol. .... Th_ oolllposiUo.o. of the pair of Iovon ru.ppean in a


form on fall lOot'
and 1]9. The ronod objeoc.t which """ Io..i.ng couple are boMill1 up ill difli<:ult to Interpret.
By an.alofy with 101. 11,', ono 'lDiCht thiJIk it lOme 50rt of 0C'11amCUt.

.. StrasboUll Ca1eNlu abo.. t I~OO: ROl1ock Calendar for 1~2J. Ali one .can. ate the
uoguiDC knrert are Ccnc:nJly on h orae\ll.ek a nd piDl ha....kin'; the reprQentation'$ dcn .. ed
from a. model like the ptclldo-Dlhw dn-willA' In the Berlin Print Room (1"". 7595. N!prod~ced
in H. TlETZJI and E. TUJTZa.coNItA'J, D'r i""t' Dil r,r. Aug.b\lrC 1928, p. 279. and else w hC1"el.
... hile the J:lUS"tnll of the phlegm.tieeem. hued o n a..o. eOgnloving by K s. (uhu 103: thi,
nb.<er\.. tioD wu made by M. 1. Friedll nder) . Tho KeDe of the cbolnric's <:udgelling ~ nOW
euri cbed by a hon-ificd female oo lookllr ; and II.longbe&rdcd. mon k, a. IIsu r" which the ,WCr:lge
mind would probably n iU auocl"to with the " .. ita cantcmplati ..... enters the r(}Om of till'
twO"melancholiCi.
.. Thus t he Ziirich MS. fol. ,,', Here, "'lIn a few othe r cases, " WeAkening of the original
idea has n :S1Jltcd ill tbe 'FinWeu, 10 far ;rom .lecpln,. being actua.lly cnJ:aged in work.

.. Fw thll gTn\lp, e(. e.lI. thll ilhud:n.tian an fol. 20' W Ca lo'" "P't;r1UU IVili,_ dcnu/nm ted
parcc".

1.3-: 'Wtqu repupaGdo maim

THE HISTORICAl. BACT<GROUND OF "MELENCOLIA l"

a Zurich, ZcntnlbibUotllek. Cod. C S4/719. foil. 34 "-]6'.

,~ .'

... Fol.

299
mannerism. with its northern connotations. North of the Alpsapart from the fact that the Hamilton Codex could hardly have
been known there-the conditions for the deve10pment and
diffusion of scenic and dramatic pictures of the four complexions
were not available until the birth of an artistic style which was
to be realistic in e>..-pression and psychological in intent. The
designs in the Hamilton manuscript, therefore. remained an
interesting exception. The standard type. did not arise until the
middle of the fifteenth century, and then apparently in Germany.
The original sequence, which was to become almost canonical,
arose in illustrated manuscripts,l1 imposed itself on the majority
of almanac illustrations (PLATRS 8S. 87, 89A, 89n),62 and u.nderwent
its first supcdicial modernisation as late as about 1500
(PLATES goA_O).63
It consisted of the followil1g scenes:
"sanguineus"-n. pair of lovers embracing; "colericus"-a man
beating his wife; "melencolicus"-a woman fallen asleep over
her distaff,U. and a man (in the background) also asleep, generally
at a table but occasionally in bed; and "phlegmaticus"-a couple
making music. Th.e proverbial indifference of the ph1e~atic
was made the harder to illustrate by the fact that the motif of
exhausted slumber had to be reserved for the melancholies. so
that illustrators were forced to be content with a neutral group
of musicians. 55 Hence a."1 soon as in the sixteenth century the
sleepy melancholic had been replaced by one doing intellectual
work the now unemployed siumbcr-motif naturally reverted to

I)

.. The choic:e 01 this onotif. which In itaelf ...aukl l uit 0. .. u llguint temperamcnt far benu
(d. I"u.TU 119 and 12. as ..ell IS the Ulual c:banctuisties 01 "Voiuptu" in the pidures 0/
Herml.." at I.be CrOUC'Oads). may have been bcI.'\ed on the vie.., that t he p"-legma1X d~nnC$'
might be a liItJe animated by 'cilhafaG IOno" (d. Me.IaDChthon...ccoun t. qU(lto:tl abo,~.
text p. 89 sq.).

[ IV. II .

THE ENGRAVING "r.tELENCOLIA 1"


300
the phlegmatic." Apart from the phle~ties, h~wev~, we ~ay
s,.'W that these scenes are nothing but pictures of VIces winch,
h~\'ing been taken out of their theological context, have been
applied to the profane illustration of the temperaments; and
some of these pictures of vices were directly re~ted to the noble
tradition of classical Gothic cathedral decoration. In order . to
see the connex1on we need only compare the scene of the sangwne
lovers ( PLATE 65) with the relief of "Luxuria" in ~e w~tem
porch of Amiens Cathedral (PLATE 86), or the mamed disco.rd
of the choleric with the relief of "Discordia" in the same sen es
(PLATES 87 a.nd 88), or even, beca.use of the knee-motif, ,~ith the
relief of "Dul'ett~" in the western fa'Y3-de of Notre Dame.
But where is the prototype of the melancholic, who interests
us most ? (d . PLAn 89B.) We have several ~itnes rem~rked
that the Middlc Ages equat cd melancholy with the ~m of
"acedia"'8 . but this particular sin was not represented m the
great calh~drals. This leads us to a closer exa~ination of. the
illustrated tracts dealing with the theme of the Vl[tue..'i ~nd VICes,
of which the best-known example was :the Somme Ie Rm of 12 79,
which wa..<; translated into almost every language and gained an
extraordinarily wide disscmination.'9 And we do in fact discover
.. Accide, cest a dire peresce et anm de bien faire l " illustrated

"_,.,.1<IIa

I
. , boa work 0.
bo,.. NW~ilU dis8emil1lltooi in tn:I.Dy Praa.ldurt edilion..
.c . In
The
lesion
edi lo~ stIrling. tint. Eo~Q5 Ue55C aOll t heD Curio and Cn:l!iu..
COD1~

Kqu.eoce (1.5.5 1: t ols. 1111 tqq. ; 1.5.5J : lou. 116 "lq.: ISS'I! f~ . 1.51 sqq.) Is -t.hin.& IIf ~
patcb-..wk. 11M: purtn.iu of the ..",a.inic. lUlU the c:bo\erie ue t&ken from olde!: eyelet.
the melancholic and "the pbkp.tic. however". an: DeW. a.nd very rouSh. the for~
meu-ici.n at a ..... Itin' tk:sk ,..,. text ficun= 2. el te:;l<t p. 39S 5<1.). th$latter a pot.bdlied maD
aslffp b. an armchair. A ail"ll.ilu ill3'tan<le ocelln In the :erlia Cod. Sum. fol.I I~I._1n
M a1bIlT~. -:h.,." tha o.~huN:boJie It ,hown .. a IIChuLar rcadmg (thouth abo, .. a m ....r) ~bll.
t he phlfCru;r.tlc appe.rs IU ''bomo aoodilH:u.. Ooa C1II. . . . that wheoever. the po,-Inll of
,10th DC" .Iull""". i. IIOt IUCd for tho melaDC.bolic, it f.&Us to tbe phle,ma~. all .11 the HunU\.on
Cod'"". l'LAu: 84,
_I,lIi, ,,"vl.Mi in the Cambridge F oxb:)J1 MS.
u

,eG-

.ad.

.. The AIOiens t)'I:lc ul vi.rtuu loud vicelc IlOd. tln si milu anes in Chartres (eouUH:1'iI tn.QIep~)
an d Paris (bue of lhe Welltttn lafad" aDd the rase) (01'111. o( COline, .. VOUP uf thcuUW II.
lton:o>er the complel<;Dn-seqlleuea are by 110 means the emly proface cydH derlvtd
from the t ypes of vic;es; tb .. " LuEuria" S' oup. for insunce, beu.mll a. ",?nlItal1t pt.tt o f the
astrologleal pictur .. <I I V" " UI, just a . vice vern, the origilla.lly llUur Uy ptetu~" o( the COl1plCl
hulltin on illlrH Loack ..... hlch uccaeionally repl~~'" the ~i lUpl" eoup!? 01IIbn.e1~~: can appl'l~r
In a lUuu.lising eelllleKioIl (e., . in." f"Cl,refttllbltoon of lhe devotees o f Voluptna III the 1WT11l1
Casso ne picture of Herculu at the CfO$Sr~, reproduced ~11 E . P.utonKY, H tnwfn " '"
.xllridt:M" , (Stv<lien der BibJiotbcll Warbarg. v ot.. XVIII),. Leipd, 193 0 .

.. s....

above. p. 73 (tut) eod p . u J. note 16.

5_..

.. Cf. D. C. TIMeUGI.~. Du Cote;...


Blhlialhetk va.n Mld.dtl~1aDdKha
L~ lterkv.ade. Groa inJ en I{IC'O-OJ, with bi~phy: abo H. N..\. ..TUf in Lu 'rllor, u.
billliolhi91<" d.t F,4111U. VOL. I, Paxl. 1926, l~' 41 .qq.

I)

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 0 "- "r.fELENCOLlA I"

30 1
in a manner which proves almost beyond doubt the derivation
of our picture of the melancholic from this series. Among the
many sins included in the notion of "accidie", it was a question
of ch<?Osing the one most suited to iUustration, and this was the
neglect of one's duty t o work and to pray. The illustrations to
the $ q?nfne Ie Roi, therefo["e, show a ploughman asleep with his
head on his hand, baving left his plough in the middle of the field,
or let~ing his team graze unwatched in the field; while in contrast
to hiIh'. 1here is an eager sower-the image of "work" (PUTE 91).71
And sp,ch a human being, "sleeping the sleep of the Wljust " ,
(mowfied in many ways, according to estate and occupation-or
rathe{ Jack of occupation) became the typical representative of
sinful : sloth. A pictorial sequence of virtues and vices in t he
Antwerp Museum, dating fTom 1480 or 1490 and wrongly attributed
to B~h, represents sloth by a sleeping citizen who, instead of
prayif1.g before his crucifix, bas fallen asleep on his soft piIJow
("Led~ctleyt is des duive1s oorkussen", says a Dutch. proverb),
and tl!e~efore comes under the sway of the devil (PLATE 93, closely
similar , in type to a tapestry showing "acedia" in person,
FLATE t?6). ?1 The woodcut illustrating the chapter on "Sloth and
Idleness" in the 1494 edition of Brant's Ship of Fools , retains the
diligent.sower of the SOm1tu: Ie Roi as a virtuous contrast but for
the sle~ping ploughman it substitutes the familiar s~inning
woman,?, a figure already used OD a oroadsheet (probably "from
Nurcm1i.erg) which, thanks to its full text, presents itself. as it
were, as a Somnu Ie Roi for the plain man (PLATE gz).?:1 The
figure is. here expressly called "Acedia" and can be explained
primarily by the wish for a female personification. In the Latin
edition of the Ship of Fools of 1572 we even find t he now traditional
spinstTess combined in one picture with the sleeping ploughman
of the Somme Ie Roi as a double example of the sin of sloth,
differing from our pictures of melancholies merely by the circumstance that emphasis is laid on morality rather than On
Cf. ~.R.!l!'<. op. cit., P . .5 4 fI.II d pla te X I : law- m~lIU1cr;ptl, c.g. BruMCIs. Bib!. Royale.
MS 229J <t~n den Gha),,,, , fo!. 88" (ddod 141.5'. repeat this type failhfuUy. Our reproduction
u !rom HrusBf!Is, DibL Royal~, MS :ll94 (Van den Ghe)'n'. ' oL .5J'.
.. See abi:tve. p. u,S, nute ~6.
i
.
"Ch. 91. fol . T . iii. The rather inappropfiat e wood fire -...m.id.st the oat~ra1 kDclscape ill
j llstificd by ibc t.u.t:
': ';
"Vnd ist ... trI ". du Jm. v.bccD.a.t
;':
Syo seb.yenbe)'D, ee el" t1ch Yel"WeDn t. "

n P.

Ra(~.
E i"bllfII4nu1t, du
, .!

I,.

)"',11 . V01.. Xl. Strub. 1908. !llata 17 (about 1490).

...
' 302

TRE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

' t

[IV. II .

IJ

characterisation . It bas been stated elsewhere that Durer's engraving 8]6, the so-called Doctor's Dream (PLATE 96), is nothing but an
14

allegory of sloth, original in conception but as a typ~ clearly


derivable from illustrations such as the Antwerpsequence of virtues
and vices and the woodcut to the Ship of Fools of I494.~~d to be
interpreted. if one likes, as a moraIising and satirical pred~ccssor of
.Welencolia 1 .1S
-;
If, therefore , t he sanguine pair in the dramatic series of t he
complexions appeared t o be modelled on the "typus L~xuriae"
and the choleric pair on the " typus Discordiae" or "Duritiae",
the meJancholies were nothing but the "Aced.iosi', who~o utward
appearance, as was natural , closely resembled that of certain
children of Saturn. It may well be no coincidence t hat the r hymes
attach ~d t o t he pictures of melancholies in the almanacs', in which
the type here in question was mainly represented, wen! aLc;o related
to the morality tract.'! and, above all, to t he Low German version
of t he Somme Ie Roi.

"

-<.. ~.,.
.: :';"
"

'

.,
.

>~.
";;"

-.

'.
\

.;

'...

..

.....
"

"

; ..

;.

,; :... '

:f

:r.

>.

-:; .
..~

Vnser complexion ist von erdcn reych,


DaTltmb scyn wir schwaermuetigkeyt gleich ..

",;".

or:
::i

Dat vier-de [i.e. the sin of sloth} is swaerheit. dat een m.ensce also
swacnnoedich is, dat hem gheens dinghes en lust. dan te leggllcn rusten.
of slapen .. .. 11
.:

~
.'

''-'

;..>,

This. then, was the way in which the two main types of
illustration of the four t emperaments arose. Portraits of charact ers
were created in which either the personifications of certain ages
of man, or the representatives of certain sins forbidden by the
.. SluUii"" ",uri.e. Basle (llenricpetri)

1 51~,

p . 194.

'.'

Cl. E. PANon.:y. in M{i", hn f"I1 .",.", th. bild~n4t" KMlCsI, ne'" 5ei1es. VOl,.; VIII (1931).
pp. I aqC\. See al50 ANnd: e llASn:!., "J..... Tenbtion de St Antoine. ou Ie longe do m&nebo!ique", in Cue/I. hs 1J,ISU-.of,ts, VOl.. LXXVIl (1936), pp. uS sqq: We may meotion
that On t be t itle engraving of t hc B,,.jU.J DOn tiD M,z ..n&ADlia HypocJunu1ria. by .Dr- J on,\HNU
PIIl'IYUG (Frankfurt 1644). the "hypochondriac mclam:boly" s uccudulty o:vnoorue by the
plIaut physiciaD is ltilllhowu as a s Leeping woman .... itb head propped on ht..Ddj iotn whO$f:
brain a batwlnt:M demon h hIO)Wiog dell1sloru: by rotanS of b.!lIow" t h., c,leL';~ions belng
.ymboJit ed by Iwnuaing insecb.
.

.'

',-

,
~".

,,

"II

THE HISTORICAL .BACl(CROUND 01" "MELENCOUA '1"

303

Cburch. were SO far given concrete shape and individuality that


they came to represent "real life" and, although still seen in a
speculative framework , they tended to become self-sufficient .
In t he case of the illustrations of the ages of man, this process
involved merely a transition from a schematic to a naturalistic
type of picture, and an emphasis on the humoral aspect at t he
expense of the purely biological. In the case of the illust rations
of the vices, howcver-and these of course were the illustrations
which produced the infinitely more striking types- it also involved
a transition from a moral and theological realm to a profane one.
The sculptured or painted sennon against sin became a description
of character which not only cancelled the f.?rmer moral estimate
but replaced it in part by another. almost an amoral one-for
luxury is at least as immoral as sloth , but the "sanguine" figu re
which represents the luxurious type has "the noblest com plexion" .
Out of the variety of human sins described in such detail merely
as a warning, there emerged a variety of human characteristics
worthy of interest purely as such. In this sense the development
of the dramatic series acquires an almost symptomatic significance;
many other exampl~s could be cited to show how many astonislling
achievements of modem realism can be put down to the very fact
tbat medieval moralit y became secularised, It has, for instance,
been suggested that Chaucer's penetrating and subtle characterisation, n o less than tb~ modest little illustci~ions of the
complexions, evol ved mainly from the descriptions of' virtues and
vices in sennons of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.17
If from all these pictures depicting t~mperaments we tum
,
.\
'
to M elencolia I , we receive the strong ImpressIOn- an l",presslOn
that is justified, moreover, by the fonn of wording in the legendsthat DUrer's engraving signifies a fundam entally different level
of allegory, and one, moreover, furtdamentally new to the north.
The figure of Decline in the Cambridge miniature, mainly characterised by a distaff, is a personification of the "black bile" ; the
figures Qf \Veariness and Sloth in the fifteenth-century pictures

i.

I. D. C. TtNIllIlItC:&N, DOl! C"" i.... SUm""'. Bil>Uotb&ek van b1id.de1DedeTllLlld.O~h, J.etterkunde. Croningen IgoD-O). p. 2'3. This passage coulirm.-il collfumaUon it. De.eded_ the
c..:l I.bJo.t I.D the Celondar ...... ICS the ~><p<msion Schwe ....ntiskeit.. d ocs not mc~ the purely
mental mood of depreuJoll. as It doa in llIod&ro ~e, but a ve.ry mal.erlal hea;-:ilieu of mind
...d bod, which mipt today be best described .... indolence. The cbQlee of the word, too
confirms, on tlIe li ncnistic level, the deeply-rooted CODnu;ion between th.; .cc:niq;upresenta.
t iD ol 01 the te.npe~'lb ud the port:n.ya.l.s of the vi""" (as d<>l:S the krm "bi(l"l-do mached"
applied to tlJa AIIr'4lnic).
.

" H . R. PAre" in Motkm r. .."tlUt,,_ Noles. VOL. XI. (19:15). pp. '''lq. The mod,e,"ll l
nf virto... and vices served as a buil for reprC5cn.i::I.tinn .. of the "1';,." SeOl'-C'.
$0 popular in the later sixteenth an!l. et]ltlCially, lbe ~ve~tee nth ccn~ry. as Hans Kauflmann
e,nphasl,es in b i, informative levi"tI' of W , R. Valeat.lntr , book 00 Pi.;tcr de H ooch (D~"lui:t
L ir't"lJllUsnlu"l. 1930, pp. 50. sqq.). Th'" birth ot th1s type of the " Five $(:n sc~" denn!es
as it were, a second ph25e in aeculatiutioa: the originally monl1istic repres.;ntation ... fir!'t
tran5fOn'lled into objeclive aad cOSIIIOloPeal up!"escntation, of til e temperaments. were nnw
drawn into the spbere of the sobjecti ve. KA""al perception.
repre&cmbt:ion~

30 4

Til},; ENGRAVIXG

":'I!ILE~COLlA

t"

[IV. II .

IJ .

arc examples of the "melancholic man"; but DOrer's wo~an.


whose wings alone distinguish her from all other representations,
is a symbolic realisation of "Melancholia'.' ,
. .
'
To speak more precisely : the .C~bndge mmtature ~us
an abstract and impersonal nohon m a human figure , the
pictures of the complexion-series exe.tnplify an abstract" an~
impersonal notion by means of human figures: but Dur~r s
engraving is tile image. of an abstract and imper~ no~on
symbolised in a human figure. In the first case, the b~lC nO~lon
fuJly rctains its universal validity; it cannot, howe~, ~e Identified
with the actual picture but can only be equated With It by .~e~s
of a.n intellectual process-hence only the legend, or our !amiliar,lty
with iconographic convention, infonns us that the figure In qucstif;m
is meant to represent the "black bile", In t~e second ~ase, ~be
representation is directly and visibly linked With the bastc noh~n
(tor any nne can see that the choleric is angry, or the :nelanc~o~c
idle or 5ad), but by this the noti~n .loses its universality, for 1t 15
shown in a special example which 1S only one of,many, and can
hence be recognised forthwith as the picture of, an angry
a
sad man, but not as the representation of the cholcnc or .melancholy
temperament. Here. too, a caption is
but It ~o l,~nger
says to us "imagine that this neutral flgure u black bile, but .
"in this ~Jothf111 couple you have a typicaL example of the
melancholy lempemmcnt". In the third case, on t~e ot~cr hand,
the' basic idea is translated in its entirety into plctonal terms,
without thcreby losing its univcrsality and WiUlout leavin~ any
doubt as to the allegorical significance of the figure, which 15
neverthele...s entirely concrete, Here. and here alone, can , the
visible representation completely answer to the invisible nohon;
here a'nd here alo~le, t he legend (which at tills stage of development begins to be superfluous) says to us neither "this is meant
to represent the black bile," nor "this is a typical example of the
melancholy temperament," but "melancholy is like this."7t

THE HISTORICAL JJACKGROUND OF "MELENCOLIA t"

~dmittedly it was French fifteenth-century art that created


the'book illusU-cltions in which, instead of the merely paradigmatic
melancholic of the temperament-series, or the merely personified
figu:~ of the " black bile" in the. Cambridge manuscript, the figu re
of Dame M~rencolye herself first appeared,to These French
illustrations seem therefore to have anticipated the symbolic
representation of Melancholy in Durer's engraving (PLATES 60,
61, 64). They do certainly surpass any pre-Diirer designs in so
far ?s they combine, to a certain extent, personification with
exemplification; for if they share with the Cambridge manuscript
the ;desire to represent the notion of melancholy in all its
universality, yet they also share with the temperament-series
the '1)()wer of making an invisible notion visible. The main
difference between them and Duree's work lies in the fact that
this combination did not as yet represent a. synthesis, but merely
a contact of the other two possibilities-in other words, t he
significance actually visible in these French figures does not
really coincide, as yet, with the general notion of melancholy.
What we see there, and what are really presented to us with more
or less advanced Tealism, are lean and badly dressed old women
in the context of a more or less dramatic scene, from which, at
best,: we receive the impression of a certain mournful atmosphere ;
but t.hat these figures arc meant to represent melancholy, or
indtf~ anything except mournful old women, is as little expressed
visi1:?1y, and can hence as little be suspected without knowledge
of the literary texts as, say, the fact that we are expected to
r~gnise a knight as "Burning Desire" and the page riding towards
him as a messenger of " Love" .
,
The figures in such romance illustrations, thetefore, are not
in the least degree " symbolic representations", but rather, in
the t.~nn already used, they are still merely "personifications",
In ~cordance with fifteenth-century style, these personifications
are d~picted with such a strong sense of z:eality that they function
also ~ "paradigmata"; but, as yet, the contradiction between
paradigm and personification is not resolved by any highee form
of all~gory, What is actually visible is still a single occurrence:

0:-

necessary,

"11,~ iund;"', Il l .uch hUl1IaD figuTl~' In "stand ing for" ~ notion un of CO'1r~ be assume d
by an;,:'! .1... plnull or lnan imlllc obJ"cta withm,l thc conditions ROl.'cming tho methotl 1.>1
1",l1IQuiJicatioll uflXl1na tu ~ altered. In cc:r1:lliu cir<;:llm~taneca the pomcrt,1LJI3tcr ul're~lIth' ,
noliotl 01 "concord " lulfil~ the: lam. (unetiun as il bUC03n .. COncordi ..... \,.hil" lu other.
It may .. ppc:ar Ih'll ply 41 one of bet attributes.
.. The elaMific& lion o f alle,Q/'ica1 lorro., 01 rcpusent&tiun here attemptel.i. whi<;h naturally
.
In iu litenl I'enH
lea\'" ou t ID.&D )' mix. d or bocderlincr
cun. ta k es t h
e " rro. ..a I ...........
""OY".1
"
.'
..
oI.I.M .l'''"''~ as a lfeDerle f'Otion intlbdlng tbe ",ymOOl;,," a, .....11 u tbe 'b.t-btulln,
(ell', th", "~nonifyl ",") and tll4 " PI'radi&IDIo.ti,," form of reJ1felCntation, What IS ~cllen>Jlr
ull"') all(pry (In II. R&r ro~r ",mo) ;5 mf.rely a more compliC3to:tl 10Jm of ,v.b5titll.tJoa-

tho

man ~ropUeated. in that 'tweral penohlacationl (I.e, livia, bc:inp or objecta denotWB kteN)
tDflIt m. a !ICeDO oc a tp,a.t.W fl:<b.tionthlp Uhatnllil.g the ~nllC:UOG bct_ r.uiou.s abrtnet
noti~ A typica.l CUDlpJe is Dlir..r". Tri""'pl of MLri",ilill". CoI tdu .. &llq:~ (<:ited
below, p. ;U]. note 11102) 01 the rl'b.Uonship bc:twcall "AW' ~Dd " u.ue",
.
H ~oc
spec:laI probleDl!J OO[Ul~ with the poetic perSQni/iQtion of mdancholy (aDd
It. pactopal illl1llu;a1ion) _ abova, pp. 221 act'l' (text),
.

:!be

306

TIm ENGRAVING "MELliNCOLIA 1"

[IV. 11 .

:r]

anything that lies beyond remains "in the t ext". It is; ~ fact,
quite literally in the text, as the curiously indetenninate ~harncter
of these illustrations shows. It is actually due to the fact that
the texts illustrated had already anticipated pictorial art in its
function of allegorical translation. In these romances such
general psychological notions as "mistrust". "under5t~ndin g",
"honour", ".s weet reward", "long hopc" and even "melancholy",
had already become, in the poet's 0\1,In mind, 50 individualised
and so concrete-so much progress along the road from the
abstract to the visual had already been made-that the ill"ustrator
had only to translate the concrete particular figure or ev~t
described in the text into pictorial terms; and that tHete was,
in his pictures, not the slightest reason for the spectator t? revert
in his tum from the particular to the underlying general con~ept.
Situations which in literary fonn are already well-su,stamed
aU"gories, that is to SllY, which provide dramatic co~~~xion"
between personifications, are bound to become genre or ,~ Ilts tory
pictures if the attempt i~ made to illustrate them Ji lerall'y in all
their details.
.

.'

(iii) Portraits of the Liberal Arts


It is therefore a Cact that DUrer was the first artist north of
the Alps to raise the portrayal of melancholy to the dignity oC
a symbol, in which there appears a powerfully compellin? concordance between the abstract notion and the concrete unage.
As may be readily understood from the foregoing, truly syml>Qlic

forms of representation were evolved by artists of the It~ian


Renaissance. For it was their achievement to express ~he ldeal
in terms of naturalistic art and the transcendental in terms of a
rational world order; and (as for instance in Giovanni .Bellinis
allegories) to discover~r rather, to rediscover in the art of
c1assical antiquity-the means of sublimation which D~rer also
used, wings for the chief figure, the "putti". ~d .so on.~ If \~e
looked for an earlier work of art in which the pnnople of ~ymbohc
AI On " ph.quo by nertoldo. whIch hM rurt: as yet be&a fully eJlplained, we ove n' An.d ;\ PNIIO
taJdng part .... itb a child', camcstne.. in. the adults' OCCOpatJoD (W. BoO": l[,rfoU/J)
Lo~nlO lid M,did. Frcibuq, i.D. 1915. p . 82). The puato seent' to be modclhol lm.ethlnl.
.... \';10 til. 014 m. ... on. Iho loft" not... 1:10(10 'ltatltS. busied with b:l eouIllrin" instrumonts. but
i. CArvlnl.n ~iahon t. p*- nr furnit ure ; Men:If1"Y;5 working- with p lummet .lId ,-:oro~.
tho !e1nale Iiu'. with .. tTiaullie. Whether the putty illegible 1etten ahoufd . ~_\ly bel
interpntecl .. abbnyla\lou of 'Matbematica,' _ Ars"...Lud ... and "U5b'" ~.IIU
all npm quClCioa: 'nch aD illtcrpntation would be- in ~ with CGntemVOfVY ,d~
(_.-0 below. tat pp. ,)9 !kIq.).
.~

II""

,.

TilE HISTORICAL DACI{GROUND OF "MF.I.F.NCOLTA t'~

307

representation was applied to the subject of melancholy, an analogy


would be found, not in the illustrations to French romances, but
in a lost painting by Mantegna, which Diirer may possibly have
lmown. Unfortunately we know practically nothing about it:
but we do Jmow that it bore the title "Malancolia", and that it
contained sixteen putti dancing and making music.~
All this naturally does not exclude the possibility that the
general conception of M etencolia 1-as soon as we lo:ok al i~ in
the light of the history of pictorial types mtller than In the ltght
o f a theory of allegorical fonns- ma.y also be related to the northern
tradition of pictorial allegory; indeed, we may even be led to
think that a connexion between the two.is absolutely essential
to Durer's engraving. But the first stagt'.5 are not to be found
in the pictures of Dame Merencolye. Despite their conne.::'i~n
with scientific and medical notions of melancholy, as far as arlrsllc
form was concerned, these led, as we have seCl1, their own life,
and they developed according to their o'ivn laws. Quite apart
from that , they could hardly have become known to Diirer. f13 The
first stages are to be sought rather in a group of allegorical pictures
representing the "Liberal Arts". These pic~es have nothing. in
common, as regards content, with the pIctures representing
diseases and temperaments; however, in design they readily lend
themselves to DUrer's own particular artistic intentions, the
novelty of which they in Cacl.underline. Among them, we are here
concerned particularly with those which illustrate the fifth of the
"Liberal Arts": that is to say, Geometry.
Art in classical Greece had almost completely neglected the
realm of manual labour, and Hellenistic art had dealt with it in lhe
. U Un quadro iu I'ucla di 1111.00 dd Mantegna COD 16 !anc:illlli. clu! 5UOOUO e baJls:1o,
sOP"'" scrittovi MalaDcoIia, eon c.ot1lioI don-ta, alta 011. 14. wea nil. 201" (G. c-'\'xPORJ.
Ra~ 4. Co/ldotloi ,4 Inlltw"'''U i,,"iti. Modella lII70, p . 328: d: Cn:IJL~W (190)), P: ~O).
Giehlow is no dOtlbt correct In ayill, that thClO playing aod dlLJlCtng putti should be mtercted. all humanistic ')'lDhob of the l1l<ldcal and thcattical ""tert;UnUl'mts rteOw meod.e4 ..
:;tidOtc!l to mel'lJIcl\oly. But of COU,"" it need not have been Fidno who tr.anslIIitl.e:r! the
knowledge of this (at tbo time) obvious remedy to .Maote~a: i'o~or~ver, onl! can ,;;J,.y eve n
less about Mantcgna.. plchlto, Ii neo kom ClHnpori. dClonption It 15 nnt even eel.laln. that
"Melanchnly' wu thore In perwn. fn.U C5.'lttltl:lls wo mOl t f,U b~ek nn C=n:>ch 5 p,cture
(Pu.TK 130), which IICCDUI to redcct ~fantegn.'. compositioD. (sec below, te:tt p. 384); recently
the D!l~ dn."';lIg L61] hN COTJI. to \ilht. which Dlight confirm Diirers knowled"e of the
lost pittUnl (cf. Ii. T:lzna and E . T'l an&-CoNII AT, }(rili$e"~s V.,uidniJ de .. Wer,te A . D{{r",
VOL. 1. Aupburg 1!p8. p. ul.
a The one iecmographieal tnit in which tM 'AfolaDcol~" of 1of~ll ..col;1l 1 "greu with
"D&P1o ).I6rcnoo1Y"''' (and thell ooly in Kill{ Ren. rowa.~) is in her di:;hC\dJcd Itfclon~U)
hair, "lid even tlW t.iglI. of a desolata .tat. 0' miod i. too If:lIer:a1 " motif to just,!y tm.
_mptioo. ot a COWlWon.

THE ENGItAVING "MELENCOLIA

x"

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF "MELB NCOUA I"

3"9
W? 'can see th~ scenes from Roman mocuments adopted almost
WIthout alteratlonlt ; only in the later course of development
were~ they modified and brought up to date. The personification
of t~e Seven Liberal Arts, however, had still to be created-Qf
rather, translated from Martiallus Capella's lively and vivid
desctiption 90 into pictorially impressive tenns-before they could
asswne the forms in which we so frequently !l\CC them in the
great cathedrals and in illustrated manuscript5. Tht!r'e, thry
are .often accompanied by a particular historical figure refre
s:enhn? them- just as, in th.e mosaic pavements of late antiquity:
the !llile Muses are sometunes accompanied by representa.tive
pra~~itioncrs of the nine arts-Calliope by Homer, Urania. by
Ara~us,'l and so on. Figures also of the Seven Mechanical Arts,
re.pfe;sentcd mostly by paradigm rather than by personification,
still. ~ad to be evolvcd.r- And, without borrowing from antiquity,
~,: p~ocess. of spont~eous re~creation, there arose a type of
~lC~?:~C 10 winch the skill of a. man or of an allegorical being wa.o;
m<li;.ated merely by the inclusion of a distinctive tool of his trade.
~ tu ries before t~e conscious reversion to the Roman type
of mpnument for artisans or architects f:ook place during the
Ren.~ce ,Sl the background of the archivolt reliefs showing

[IV. 11.

way of sentimental genre-painting of the pathetic poor or the h~rd


working peasants, rather than as a. factual and natural portrait of
realit y.&4 Roman antiquity evolved from it, however, an almost
inexhaustible variety of pictorial types. ~ Next to the purely
desc riptive pictures of trades, which remain firmly wedded to
reality ill a typically Roman manner and show ~s .peasants and
artis:ms at their daily work, t.here are the Hellerushc representations which playfully mythologisc this concrete reality by making
putt.i do the work: and there arc, finally, countless tombsto?es, on
which the occupation of the deceased is depicted by SI~owlDg ~ot
the gestures, but, emblemalically. the tools, of the trade m quesh~n
(PI.ATE 50 ),86 Sometimes these emblems of Jabour can be refonned into the processes of labour, as is shown by a gilt glass, on
which the f1gure of a ship-owncr is surrounded by small scenes
from the shipyard .1P Sometimes, too, though not often, we
encounter representations which really "personify" a. tra~e, such
as the Etruscan m.irror (closely related to the emblematic tombstones) which shows a winged Eros' !;urro\U1ded by joiner's tools,
as it were, " the spirit of joinery" (PLATE 5 I ).88
Only the first of these types, the descriptive pictures of real
workaday scenes, were handed down t.o the Middle Ages ~Y
direct pictorial tradition. In the almanacs and CIlcyclopacdias

.. nWit HcUcnistk r~prCltIl u.tions of the life .. I cit)' populac:e, ptuanu, en .. VClI beasts are
dislir.II'Jished ((Om 0. .. lpo:ofteall)' Roman onn b y a" e .....tloual cmph..",b' ariaiJI.G h.,.... , ..
mil #nith;ty in . ~,&,d to the unll.miliu. It
rdect a hol'tOJ' of uesradatioD, lIS In
the o;Ut of the Dnod." Oliltv_all ; 01' a IOClltimwW inten!:ll ill (dlo_Q't&tures or nalUR,
.... ill the ease o l i lle Dla<1t }joy ~I<f M.nk. or th .. D..... nu;A1i"I"n You",; CoC. 6l1ally ...
longing fQ'r lhe Idyllie u in the ea.se 0 1 tloe " peua.nt lype" prope:r. 10 e>:~t1y the .. nle
m,,,,,,el H ellen istic llOrtritqre I:ontrastt with lwmall by reMlNI of ill eJl(dlo:tDtn t and M n....
u f t r illm ph or IU!(ennl\, 1.h" "boly ..-briety" of the Latiu Mtilltie IJfIlrit. whieh, in "duel led
elrclM.....as otten wnc:,aLcd under a mul< of .Helhmi.u:.. but ro:,,~alt d IUdI the more dearly In
VOpula r ",or~s. 01' in .. I.-I ".(.an VfO"indalIVt, b,...,ked baek, deal/ite cludci$m IlIUi HeUon.i~m ,

alA,

to t he urte>' objectivity o f the Ulcient ~yplian oecu pational poruaiu.


.Ono j ... lI l<. " OlutcllQ"'I"'" del Haodwerks und HaodelsYt:rllebn .of Vasenbikkul" ,
1D H~riu.j ""Ar j.;f Vuhl<4f.. ..,~11
~lui""etI GadJuAa/I du lViu",""a/lp. fJltil llisl.
}(/IIISI. XIX \1ft(7). 1
1. 1)-11). cr. H. Co~n"!.u . " Dacstcllunseu ..... dem Hand.erk ..of
mill.
Crab. unll Vot!vlte;nen in lWien,... in JGAmMel> de.a k .. iJfflid~ iuJ"lretl anA4t.JOfi#Mt<
InJm",.. XI(VIlI (19 13). p, 63- (6).
MOr<l re<:t:IIUy P. 13I1A .. i'l T, Scl>"ff~llda A..wil tmd
Dildpd, KUJ/sJ, l~ il'l ig 1CJ1']- l gz8 (two volulI\eI ...jtb numerous 1>.I"le'),

..,

.. oupatiooaL emblelJls co'llld either be added to the fiBure of the d~ (this was the
U$ual p.,"1I.U custom... in OIlr Pt..Al" ~o), or replace it al~ther (th&! .u.tunlly bo:in& ..
~rt.i(ulady popatat foIm In the Ouistian catacombs).
.. It. C.UtCcc:l, Su.rlll"'" Ark "UN.,.., VOL. III . Z0'2, 3 ,.. C".ItOLLiJ.CLI;llC(l. Diiti,.",JI"
d'ardiolcti' dodlitfln, , 1 Wllr'; . I . 2, 001. 29iS (With Ill,,", d ..U.\I).
" E. CI!'Il""lItI. Elrl<Ski,tA~ Spitg". Derlla 18o...(i7. Plate 33 0, I.

br

Ii
<

,,
1

I1

..

"

310

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA 1"

d[IV. II.

IJ

the hist orical representatives of t he seven arts h ad been dmished


wit h a ruler on a nail and a board wit h pen, sponge ahQ. so on
(P LATE lOO); and architects' monuments show the prof~ssion of
the dead master by compasses and set-square. 94 One: typical
example of t his is t he monument of the great H ugues de r.:lhergicr,
which , incidentally, is also a wonderful wit ness to the veneration
which in Lnte Gothic times (in some ways, at least emotionally,
very much like the Renaissan ce) could be accorded to a 'brilliant
architect. But there can be no doubt that the writing implements
in the Chartres archivolts are meant t o be realistic, while the tools
on tlle tombstone of the Mast.er of St Nie.-.ise have the same
purp}y emblematic significa.n.ce 3....'> in t he Roman monuments.
These were the two roots of t he new iconograp hy. It arose
when fourteenth-century art-ch arged with cont radiction as
always-developed a highly abstract symbolism which was idp.o~
graphic rather t han representational, while at the same, time it
laid the founda tions of naturalistic perspective. Th us, there could
develop , on the one hand , tho.."c workshop-interiors of t11~ reliefs
on the Campanile in F lorence which almost look like scenes from
ordinary life; on t he other, such abstract representat iorts as the
miniature of 1376 in which the Aristotelian nxVTJ appea:rs surr ounded by the tools of t he various mechanical arts, w{th small
figures of a farmer and a shepherd a t her feet (PLATE ~or),$.'i or
t he strange pictures of the "Observance of the Sabbath ", 1n which
,

"
"
.1'

'1."

P.

"

:J"

::i

..
Arbril N"Ii Bitu"d, /(1f,ul,l.eipa.ie:

""

'1'
, ~

'

obviously later In d "t(l, di$C\lued in P. nU.MDT, Sdl"!ftl'ld~


f~1-t9lS, VOL. II, (>p. 1)1 "'1'1. Th .. type of "1'0& C:i.tptmler", too. uno.lenwnt .. ",v;voJ In
Ou. period of hu.lUOlllism, t40ugh with aO ioteliecluaJ .. nd satirical refinemcnt of mulllnG:: tI.
theo pu.lto Illtrounckd by oecupuiorutJ. . ymbots and stnring to 1\y lIe<\VOlDwaTds. but hindered
hy tel'T6trW needl. which OttM apptart ill flditioD'l by ruviu.s, but is alresdy iI!tlbented. by
DQrer'1 JIf.uIC.:o!i4 T. T bat it wu so iIItlueneod is sbowo. by II. compuison with Itt model in
Alcla.tos EmblJIMI#. which i, ,till withont lLlIy o<:cupa.tional symbols (el . L. YOI." ... .\lot<.
Bil4#"hrifte .. de'll8ftlliu....u. Leipzig 192.], I" ...). Of tbe 1>!Ie of implements t9 denote .. n
occupation. thef"O aTe, of r.ounIl, r.ounU ...... examples in elllblew-l>ool:i; tiley tall replllcc lon&
narrativC$ or bioCTi\phies. A~ n good exalllple, cf. the re~rsll oJ llie me(l::LIlioD ior Tom:uso
Ruggieri, reprod\lcr.d in G. H,UIlC, I, Di, MedaU"''' d" i/a/iAis,hen RtftQ.'ua ..,.,.. St",Uprt
19u. plate L.Xx. 4.
"Cf. E. MOII.a,o.uNill.,\,tON, LA C"IMdrllh d. Ilri.n<,

P:lri~

.:!

.:

;
..~,

''.,.

n.d . p. 31.

... Tho Hague, l-[u . )(unnan no-We:sttceni.. num, MS 10 0 I (the "small" ArilltfltJe-Ore,m(l
MS M Ch.. des V). fol. ItO ' (cf. A. DVV,\NCK, Ln prindpav:r "'''nU$~ro'hi <I p:i~lu'n de ta
nibli(1/hlq ... ROY'll. , / d .. }.flui, MII>'IIIuII(I-Wulu...
,m a 10 If"~, Paris 19~1, p. 1I4;
leplicaa in J. l\( IIIJIl(lIlY, Ltll'.i".;p~"x ",,,,"uuils Q f1ri"'Nn~ tiN Musi, Crmdi Q ClIlmfiU".
Publieatlon, d" la Soci~b! Iran~i.e de: reproductions de >nanusCl'iu a pein l ures, VOL. )1:111XlV, l'aris 1\,13<>, pIal. UI and P? 46 sqq., with bibliography). On the left. next to "Art",
w "Sciouoe". reading: on tho right w the thf'ee-liuded "Prudent"' (for tho motif of tb e
three lltadl , ct. . P"'tlOI'lll":Y, H"'f;uln Q'" Sl/IeuulNt. (Stud;e" der mbtiothelc; W"rbuf'{,
VOL. xvru), Lci}W' 19)0, pp. I II<Jq.; it is remarkable, however, t hat hCTe tb" thretl ~

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF "MELENCOLIA 1"

3Il

t he "anna Christi" of the contemporary representations of the


Man of Sorrow are replaced by implement s of various crafts.!!11
Thanks to the p rogress of naturalistic perspective in t he course
of t he fifteen th century, th e distinctions observed in por traits of the
arts between "personification", "paradigm" and "emblem" became
less and less shaTIJ. On the one hand, t here were certain historical
figures. such as Cicero. Euclid or Pythagoras. who had originally
been added to the personifica.lions of the various arts as t heir
"par adigmatic" representa.tives. These portraits now became so
independent, and were at the same time elaborated into pictures
of professional activities which seemed so completely realistic.
t hat the personified figure of t he a rt could be dropped, and the
individual portrait of a PythagorAS. a Euclid, or a Cicero, could
illustrat e at one and the same time both an actual aC livily and
the gen eral notion of the art in question. On the other hand,
ahstract personifications (on the lines of, for example. the Hague
miniature) could n ow become so realistic that they, too, bear
the appearance of gen re pictures of an occupational ac'tivity.
In either case the minor figures, and implements that in earlier
pictures had been purely emblematic, could be turned into
illustrative elements and unite themselves in the t hree-dimensional
space of the picture- both with "Pythagoras" or "Cicero" (now
raised. to the level of general significance). and with "Rhetoric"
or ":Music" (now particularised to the extent of resembling a
concrete genre scene) .
Thus, to give an exampJe of the first possibility. a German
manuscript of the third quarter of the fifteent h century97 illustrates
the notion "Geometry" by means of a figure of Euclid sitting,
accompanied by an assistant, at a table laden wi.th measuring
instruments, and holding a pair of compasses and a set-square,
while in a special st rip along the bottom another assistant is
t aldng SOWldingS (PLAtt 102). In t his subsidiary scene we have
a sort of half-way house between the purely emblematic use of
m inor figu res. as in t he H ague miniature, and their inclusion in
a conunon sp ace with the main figu re (as in PLA'JE 104).
death's-heads}: belowa.ro "Entendement" 10 .. pensive attitud ... a.nd "Sapience". illumined
by the direct vision of God th .. I:atlltr lUld hi, anG:cl~ Dr B. M.;U't~" s \cindl}' brought tll;5
mini.. turt! to our not1<:e. "An" \I..!I a smith appearl in the Brussels Aristotl e- Oresme MS
9505. fo!. 1J5", wh ich is related to this both in time lind manner.

i",..

.. CI. E. 8ltm"TENaA CB and


VOL. XJOCVC (1917). pp. 2.3 sqq.
.

"'.
"

'~.'

If

T.

Hn~""'HN'. An:",,. fii~ ""w~i"risdl, Allu:"m! f" mJ .

London, Brit. Mu,., Add_ MS 15692. (D. Upltm MfibNs libulllib.u) , foL 29'

.
I] , .

,~

n.

THE ENGR.AVh~G "MELENCOLIA r"


3 12
On the other hand, in a group of somewhat later French
manuscripts real personifications appear, representing notions such
as " Diduccion loable".,a These personifications. incidentally, are
metaphorical as well as allegorical , since actual wor1~ing tools
could only be attributed to such a sub-division of rhe~onc because
the te..-xt credited it with so strengthening the logical edifice of
thought "que dent n'y teste troll De fente. "1111 Armed. with a
set-square, "Deduccion loable" sits in a room , overlooking two
unfinished houses and filled wilh joists, beams, and carpenter's
toah; that are entirely realistic, Here we can either' interpret
the various instruments as emblems around which a room has
been built, or regard the whole as a workshop and dwelling-room
in which the emblems are distributed (PLATE 103),
After these examples we are in a position to Ullderstand a
certain portrait of "Geometry" which is of the grea,test, importan~e
for OUT subject, namely, a woodcut from Gregor RelSch s Marganta
"Geo~e tria,
'"'
philoSOphiut, Strasbourg. 1504 (1' LATE 104)10.0
,
on.ce again a real personification, sits at a table full of planunetric
and stereometric figures, her hands busied with compasses and a

[IV ,

are ~ subordinated to it as dependent notions rather than (;0ordi~ated with it as objects in a coherent space; that is to say,
the re1ation of the tools to the main fIgUre is something like that
of th~ small occupational scenes in the Hague miniature t o the
figut~ of "Art", or those on the gilt glass already mentioned to
the figure of the deceased ship-owner. Like these, lhey may be
regarded as dramatised trade enlblems. In an organisational
sense; the toil of the ship-builders sawing and planing is "governed"
by the ship-ownc.c; and in an intellectual sense Ute activities shown
here are "subordinated" to "Geometria"; for all the work that
is going on is merely a practical application of her theoreticaJ
discoveries. On the ground fl oor of the house Wlder construction
(a huge block of stone is still suspended from a crane) the CCilillg
is being vaulted; hammer, ruler and moulding plane are lying
on the ~round; a kneeling man is drawing a plan with Ute help
of a set -square; another is dividing a very naturalistic map into
"iugera"; and with the help of a sextant and astrolabe two young
astronomers are studying t he night sky, in which, despite heavy
cloud; the moon and stars arc brightly shining,lOJ
No one whose historical sense can bridge the gulf between a
clida~tic picture and a great work of art ca.n deny t hat this "typus
Geon~~triae"loa is extraordinarily akin to Mekncolia I . . We must

... Cf. Jd....TIA... U. c.. ... U-A. N.ptiu Plriloll.rfiM d Mft'COIrii, VI, 57) sqq . "9. sao-Ih
(vp ~8 sqq. i.Q A. Okk, edition. Lcip.l~ Iga.s). Geometry, Ktvw],l WOlDen ue ben: carrylll,
"me~Ia." coY~ed with a creelliab du", "depinrcndis dal&nllJld;'que <lJ'PMlunalorml.":

tI..,

'0'

Reproduod in O. u,OJ"P, D~wbw AllntU_ i", R.u_" I~..ruhn' Silt., Ltlp.o;l(

'9<11. plate 5.

313

Sph~.lOl She is surrounded by scenes of activity, of which the


sm~er scale contrasts sharply both with the perspective of the
pict~:e as a. whole, and with the size of the main figure. They

.. Munic!l., Sla:at.t;l>ibUoth ck, Cod. pll, 15. 00 this, cr. CON"JII DE RosAtuw, "~utlce .~r
U. I)ouu Da:ne, de Hh'lodquc (from :"ItS fro 111<1 of the DibliotMllue NII.Uonale), m D.dld,n
<I. '" Sodili f'<lu~tljs. <I. ''In'OrJU,,"Ol'' d~ _"usuils Ii pA1UllrtJ, YuL. XIII (1929). In U\e
bistOfY 01 types theN Llldln (and abo, lor IlLItalll;c "Dame Eloquence") come very ncae to
DU,er's :' &1clen~oJia .
A similar mcu.phorical" 01' dou.ble" .1Jetory .bo oc~un in !hI " Arta" seri8 probably
from A~ (~I<lt"IIIII !d wd, No. ,11'4, .qmJdu.ced in P . Hl:IU. r.i~' "' J~.
}tl/"Aw"u.ls, vot- UUV, No. Ii. 1.00 ill E. 1bJc.... Dc,. Gdehrl"11
.~wlulln VDf,",:,~t,
Lcip~ir. '900. fip. ~1-~V). Thfle pol'lnita. 4ap1te thelr ab.traet title. 'IKh as Arn.rMl1CI1 ,
.. t<:. 1If", rcgarded as ~ypel. fully realistic OI:eupaUooal representa.tJoaa- ,,? lDucb 110. md~td,
lhat wltll. n,;c exception !.hIlY ~hDW u S lIot tho par.digmlltlc RpHNotal.ivet of u." V;moUI
tele:lcu. but simplo p..:u.ou,ts aDd artisa.n" WhoK aclivit)' refclI to tho Uberal ~ etther by
way uf o:rw:l.phoc (u in lhe CJ.,!;<! of Did.wawn 11Nlbll:). or elw by aUudiDi to. thCIr pn.ctLca1
application. AriU.meUe alallO is r~aelilcd by run adllaUy counting; Grammar,
llhtt<.>rM: ar.d ~c.. 00 lbc other hnd ...... IfP'"UeDtcd by a .ower, uUliec .~ ... bUa" (for
AristoUc ClIIde bread out of the HIed whleh Pritcian had $Own aDd Cic:ef'o groand). and
A,l.roOOmy by a p;Ullter, a fiCUfC kfI?Wu irotn lII. pieture5 of tho children of Jol~ or of
Luke" MadoltM. e:x.upl that be be is po.illlilllj l\alSiD the sky. (;eollldry. howeveT. IS ~e
..,ole<1 not by a. eeOluottici.n but by :\n al!pl.riOlUaur" who is meuurlns " .tono 00 l ite,
Ind the aeco,mpanyhtll c:uuplet runs
"Iell loan pawen vnd ..o1 meMeJI,
D.nmb will ich Edide. (-,,,) nit vergts5'!II."
T he d.!iercnte. in cOInpuiloa ... ith Ded.w.n- loMl., is, as in otbot c;aK$, tha.t then a .lady
easil y te>tDisablo! . . . pct'tonifiaticm is lltting in a urpeole:r', thoI', wbel:__ h~ O\iDary
peaaauls L'ld workmell .ua teally s.owinl. mill"" aod baiting.

Tllli HISTORICAL BACI(GROUND OF ".MELE NCOJ.lA I"

the .ut,h or datt;bOIlbe lll4y hUlleJJ lUI "f~mlnun 1".... lenu,m, I"Ddium dex ler., I/.Iter.. spbatram
lOlid<l-r"! iCltit;tutem: '
'u Thft: ~ound":,rk fur all ttri, bad .l~ady l>eeQ laid by }.wt/aoQl Cap!!lla's dc:scdpUun.
l! w~n( a "peplnm". "in quo lidtnam ftla8nitutlh'eI d tBUw" t-ireuloc-nm
mel1S\II~ OOPU~ .... vel Iormae. nmbra etiam telJuris in caelum quoq_ pervenieas .. eI
iUDlie ~bes ac Il0l.;' au~toa ealit!::t.Dti MUJica deeolonna intu alden yk\ebaUlf"; and 1rI
un,m Jerman... Ip.lul Astro...-iaa cn:brl\l.ll commodatum. rdiqua .. ero versis illihun
diva:"';&~bn5. O\Ull.l:tonun. ~DOIlwn 'lills. illuntitiorum, polldemm memurarumque
form .. ~!VeBlUIO colorom yar'e~b reuhlebolt" (A. Dick (ed.), 'P. ~Sg). Suc1t. larm'ltt
could ~a.turally 1Jo dbpeu~ed with by onr artilt,
utal pltenumcna eould be d irL'Ctly
r~pr~~~d, thollgh the p";u:ock', lea.ther 10 Gehmetrj.a', eap is not without allegurical
II~D~Ii~~: lhe pcaeoek IIOCOrWlI.( to Rlpa, unuer the hcadiq Ngtlt, """u/.. puu (Iluotin(
PiecIO V~) , 8i.cDi6es "ia notle chiJ,ra, mo-ta.. ,-cden.1oII acllJ.
toda tanU occM,
come u.':l~ tldlo ael Cicio'.

GeolQeyY

as

,Da

- ~Y. ia ~ I,ll editio .. of GIUtGOII. It&15CIl'S MotT,lIril. ,ltilfnll,ltu. (101. 0 I') U,e
portrait IS 5IUlp1i5ed aklD( the5l\ linea: Geometra.. Is holding tbI aatant benclf alld It

~IUri.~ a bam:! with al'air o l OOlQ~UOl (. flf.(loarkable anticipAtion ot Kl'l'let". Su:.Ulmdritl


dol.Q,W'II}i, wkllo " rut. lu., Qt\ tile C'lOU"d, aDd a allip 1$ sailitlg in tlt.1I distAnce.
>

nno:.

ENGRAV[NG "MELENCOLlA

i'

[H

[[v .

II.

not forget that, as lta.... been frequently pointed out, trade tools
and trade scenes are constantly interchanged, and, in certain
instances. even combined. We are therefore justified in imagining
that the illustrator of Gregor Reisch's book might ha;ve represented the tools as emblems instead of showing their application
in the minor scenes1tlt ; and we have then only to add to'.them the
implements tha.t are in fact seen scattered a.bout on 'the table
.and on the ground in the woodcut in order to be aware of an
astonishing measure of agreement in the inventory of bo~ designs.
DOrer, too, still in accordance with Martianus Capella; shows a
figure with a sphere and a pair of compasses engage4 ' in construction ; here. as in the woodcut, there are hammer, moulding
plane and set-square on the gTound. In the woodcut, Geometria
has writing materials beside her on the table ; in Durer's eItgraving,
also, there are writing materials on the ground near the sphere10$;

....

'M Thus in the miniatuu. PLAn 10J .

Then! Is no MUOn to doubt that this object i. in reality nothmg but a po:;lible writi",
eompcmdium, eo"",tins: o( a lockabto inkwell w iill a peo-c:asc attached to il. by a lather
strap bllt ullfortulIatcly truncaud by the lelt-hand mugln of the p4<:tuu. And yet after
1 . A . EltDU$ (D;. cNiJJl;u,., X".",. VOL IX (1913). $e\'ef'al instaJmenb). had ,illtttprettd
It .. a spino;", top. a"d F. A. N... olt.L (Dcr KrUWl dwf Dflnrs Mddtw:Hlit. Nllrtmloettl: 19:1:1)
a. a plummet. W. llOza.1II. in (l>fi/kiIN"P. Ik, G~Uu;iGft /NY rfffMlflllil'rul. lflnUl. 19'5.
pp. .... 1111].) uUcd It a paint-jar..nth stiek and with a thread woand rOllnd It rn ipir.k to
!acllltata the dra..nnc of a atrait:bt line (wbercu tbcae !pira1 efit.eu an= nathi,,'i but plaited
leatbar. IUGh u occurs not only 011 other pm-cues but oven OD.knife~eatht. ef. e.~: Dle",bel'a
d ...wi!lf. Tolna; No. 77): while aocording to P. BIANDr {in Di, Um.u.A4 .. i. W~bft .,,,4
TubiA. VOL. XXXII (1928). pp, 216 Iqq.} it was Ovell munt to be a coae-sba ped. pummet.
with a _
for the lioe standin. on a sallccrl To sct aU doubt at rat
m:al .i.eot>on the
analocoua cues in Oii..... own WOC'U altu4y pointed out by Ciehlow .ndil.bo by P.
H OIIIlC. ... (in Zrit,dilrift /wr e"riplidu X'IllU i . VOL. :xltVt (1913). eol. J2J}-:the 'I1"OOdGut
B60 aDd tb. prayer book of Afu:imilian I, plato 14. botb reprasent!II' St Juhn on P_hnoI.
and tho 'ff'OOdcut BI I) of St Jerome and add _ fe .... oth.en wbieh IJIltht easily tJC 'multiplied :
(I) the Ybioa of St Jobn by tbe br(llMn Umburg in (.h;l.Dtilly (Lu ,," ridw At"",,.
tU Frs,,", ed. 1>. l>urrin, l":arit. 19<'4. 101_ l"r. pbt.. ...); (2) tho vifioJl o.f St JoIm.ita the
Cob.. rg Bit)!,,; h } Dil.,.'. _)cut B70: (4) tho Ruggiui lZIedal already meutioocd above,
p. J'o. nubl91: (5) a portrait of St A"gusUa, datiag: !rom c. 1450., in a MS at UtTecb~ ofbis
CooleasiOlUl (reproduC1ld by A. W. BYV",,,cII: aDd G. J. H~~.II1I'. La """i,,fMf, 1Il1lla"ltJiu
If I.., ", I1IJerlll f,/hulriJ I .. z,f' IlI!l z6' ri#lu " ..... P"'>,I-BtJS up/,ll/rio"" ...... YQL. II, Tbe Hague,
f9:11. (llll.le 187); (6) a utirlcal woodcu t in GlIfLER VON Ku5EIllIPflaOo'i S,llllf/!,! tin Miliids.
Stril.lbourc 'S18 (reproduced io E. RJllco. D" Gd.ht" fiS. 99); (7) Ghidalld&io. St J erome
in Ognisuntl ; (8) !iansDCri... woodcut ( .,.. below, text P.1J'~. and Pun 107! which i, an
the more important Ilnce be took tho whoto of bis instramC'lltarilim direetly Irnm Dtirer'1
engn.vioe. GI,hlow', txplauatiou (GIIltWW (1!)Cl4), p. 16} 01 u.. Ink_II Ill! .. hieros1ypb
.y.."boll-'II& the ~ ..,..;tings of the
dues lIDt seem to uS (",.able; beeavK tbe
h)eros;lyph for tbe "AQM li tterM Aefyptiorum" (eI. jllArlnJd. /Iff .... ". ijporiukls Sa",.,.
1_,lII M .JI6rllkbJ", KIlU6rllswus, VOl-lOOm (1915). p. 19S) i. IIOf. eom~ mer;ely'of 1M
pen M of thelnk.....ll a l... ne, but ...f in~lI. ~ph and. aicve. tM _patlyin, text .yme
a t le.u! as m1tt.h emph.aail on the last mmpo nent as e>u the olher two: "AecypdacaiOlkndelltes
littHas IlCruve aut 611II1II. atrameatom et cribnzm " I,UllUID quoque IffiCiapt. Litl'f:ru'

if
,
~(

.-.," .

...

TH.E HISTORICAL DACKGROU'ND OF "MELENCOLlA 'r"


3'5
l]
wbile the relatively simple stereometric objects with which
Geometria is busied find their more eomplic.."lted counterpart in
Durer's much-discussed rhomboid. lN When one adds that the
clouds, the moon and the stars that are shown in the woodcut
have their counterpart in Durer's engraving. and that the putto
scribbling on his slate was originally, in the preparatory sketch
(PLATE 8), to have been working with a sextant like the boy .(I)
on the left of Geometria, one is bound to consider the conne.xton
as more than probable, 'Ve may even consider as a possibility
that the ladder shouJd be interpreted as the implement of a
building under construction . The M a1g~ita philosop!~ica ~as one
of the most widely known encyclopaedias. of the hme; It even
appeared in an Italian translation as late as 1600: and the connexion with Durer's engraving is not invalidated by the fact that
the laUer also took over characteristics from non -allegorical
representations of occupations--the less so as th!:!.y belong to .the
iconography of portraits of scholars, who were at .the _same t Ime
the liberal arts personified. Thus, regarded hlstoncally, ~he
sleeping dog is simply a descendant of the poodle or Pomeraman
so often seen in the scholars' studicslo?; the wreath is a constant
attribute of the "homo literatus", and Durer himself (for we
think that it was he)' had crowned the young Terence with it,IOS
while it distinguishes both Jacob Locher the poct,lOSl and Marsilio
Heino the philosopher,uo
~nidem, quoniam alilid AerYPCM>s omnia $!;rlpta .cum hh !"z:t'ei;o.ntur. Cale.me> ~Icn'm ae
null.a. alia re sc:ribulU. CribnuR vero, C)1K>nialA enbram pt'IlICI~le ...~ C<lntiClendl )10..111' OJ(
calamis fieri tokat. Oriendunt itaq1lt:, qucmadmodUtll omnis. 0\1; v>ctus suppeditat. hUe,,"
disce:re potcst. qui vero iUo eat'Ot. alia. ute utatur ~e est. ~uam ob urn apud Ir-discrpun... 'Ibo' voeatur. qlOd illtcrpl'Ctari putat vietu. abundaDC1lI. ~cras V"'O hac.u.
quoni.m en1lcvm vitam ae lnOT1em diseernit." It it hi,hly improbable that. anr~ne .. he>
inteaded malti1'll a hicroa:1yphie tnn!b.tioG of ecr1ain eotion! .Muld ~ .a.:bitrat,l), h;aVl!!
modified the .ymbol. handed dOWll by Honpollo. (Fnom Vt enna. ::-<'.a.tiClflalbibl.. )'IS J 2)).

w.

" .J'''.

fol 47"}
... Appendix J. pp. 100 .qq.
10'1 Cf. D6rer'. own enCRvlnx 01 St J .mme. tho Dal'lnstsdt mini;ature 01 Peu.rch repr~'
dueed in J. Seal-MUlt, Ob"iln li,"ucl" Tr,e'~llst~", l.eipliC l'}"ll. plate Ill. ~he woodr-n t In
B. Corio', CII",";c1~ of Milll" of 1,Se>1 (reproduced In E . IUlc,,: . D~ r ~d~hrf~ ... d d~,,'s~h'."
V"gll"J,nJi,il, Leilitig 1900.
55) or the illusttatie>o e f medical . tudy In 11. B .....1JNSGII Wlr;lG ~
Libu de IIrk dulil","d', StrasOOllr, 15t:r. (rtPfOduead 10 IUICkI, op. eit.. tig. 46).

s.

ti,.

, .. Cf. E.

.emm.....

m ....... ln ]lIhtbmh "'" ptuJJI~u.,.,. Xuml.II",,,,lu",,", VOL. >=LYII t '9:6j,

pl&t~ I,

p. 131>.

J"'(:O.

LoattJt. PIIJlef)'riti s4 r'I" ... , StT.ubourg q91 (rcis$ued In H .


c:xxxI'). "produced in E. IbtCKE. IXr Gd,J, rl, '"
Ik, dt ..tsU<n< YUlIIIIIIl'l,wil, Lcrip~1 '900, plata 66..
, .. Woodellt ill

B .... mfSCHWlltG. J,hrllrlllllritU. 15"$. fe>i.

.1

U' U. B .... VJ<ICJIW.,CO V,diei" ......., . 150.5, fol. cxx>lil o.

3l

THE ENGRAVING "MEL.ENCOLIA I"

THE NEW MEANING OF "M,ELENCOf.l.-\ JI>

[IV. U .

With regard 10 composition , an astronomical picture such as


the woodcut on the title page of Johannes Angelus's Astrola.b ium
pl(llltl1n ma.y a1so have had so~~ infI.uen~e; it w~ pubbshed
just at the time of Durer's first ViSit to Vemce, and m more than
one direclion it seems generally to prepare the ground for the
spatial sC)leme of the engraving (P~A~ 94)w However that
may be. it cannot possibly be a comcld~ncc that . so m~y of
Durer's occupational symbols correspond Wlth those m the typus
Geometriae" , and that, as we shall shortly show, even those
details that are lacking in the balder woodcut can be subsumed,
almost completely, under the notion of geometry ..
Is DUrer's "Melencolia" then really a "Geometna"? Yes and
no. F or if she shares the circumstances of her occupation with
the lady with the peacock's feather in the woodcut, she sh~
the manner of her occupation, or, rather of her lack of occupation,
,,,;th the portraits of melancholies in the German almanacs.
While in the Strasbourg illustration all is energe~c and joy~us
activity-the litlle figures drawing and mcasunng, ob~rvmg
and experimenting, and the patroness eagerly encornpassmg r
sphere- the essential characteristic of Diirer's "Melencol.ia" IS
that she is doing nothing with any of these tools for m~d or
hand, and that lhe things on which her eye might res~ sunp)y.
do not exist for her. The saw lies idly at her feet; t he gnndstone
with its chipped cdgel12 1eans uselessly against the wall; the book
lies in her lap with closed clasps; the rhomboid and the astral
phenomena are ignored; the sphere has rolled "to the ground;
and t he compasses are "spoiling for want of occupation".l13 There
is no doubt that in spite of everything this failure to .employ
t hin gs that are lhere to be used, this disregard of what IS there
to be seen do link ' l'ielmcolia I with the slothful melancholy
represented by the spinstress asleep or lost .in idle depressi~n ..
The" Acedia" in the broadsheet (PLAT1~ 92) Wltlt her head restmg
on her left hand, and her spindle lying idle in her lap, is the dull

ru:

I" J OHII1IM t!.S AMGIfI. II~, A$lrll/iWium pi""""" Venice 1494 (lacki ng in the 15t editi.un of
I", S.~). Ct . ill & contn;ry $ellSl!, e.p. the relatioJlllhip of the lillure to th, P~ of tho p1ctnnl
aw! lb a (lialollal ootllpo$itkm a f the wholeueonditioncd by tbb ; e\'m the .. ttitudeo{ the bead.,
wi lli one lIy' cut iutO by the ootline o.f ~e profil~, ~ms" f..milillr.. Tb~ laroe.scheme, ~oq:h
wilh tbe {'Sure giltcn heightcn~d act'Vlty a.nd emotiol"lt.l expn';"1I1on, Ul typical Rc.nai15ln~o
fashion, appear. ill the woodcut to CECCO lJ'A.$cuI.f. A eetb .. , V~nico IS;. (reproduced In
HAllrLA1ie. Gud"... is, 1'- 381.
lI' For tl,~ .lgnifiCllnu of \.bi., :oee below, p. ':11:9 (text).
" H. Wlk""L(tI", 1)i. K#1U1 Albu<M mi~u, 5th edition , Mwtich 1916, 1' :ll:S3

witte4 sister of DUrer's "Mclenoolia": and we know how familiar


Durer was with this lower type of melancholy, from the fact
that p'.e a.ccorded it a place in Maximilian 1's prayer book. llt
Fi~m the standpo~t, therefore, of the history of types alone, .
Diire~'~ engraving is made up in its details of certain traditional
Mel<qicholy or Saturn motifs (keys and purse, head on hand,
dark .face, clenched fist) : but, taken as a whole, it can only be
unde{~ood if it is regarded as a symbolic synthesis of the "typus
Acedt". (the pupular exemplar of melancholy inactivity) with
the "typus Geometriae" (the scholastic personificat ion of one of
the "liperal arts" ).
: "

!" .

2.

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLIA I"

"

':'

(a) The new Form of

Expr ~ss ion

Tq.e id~a behind Durer's engraving, defined in terms of.the hbtory


of type.5, might be that of Geometria surrendering to melancholy,
or of ""M,elancholy with a t;LSte for geometry. But this pictorial
union 9f two figures, one embodying the allegorised ideal of a
creative mental faculty, the other a terrifying image of a
destructive state of mind, means far more than a mere fusion
of two. types; in fact, it establishes a completely new meaning,
and one that as far as the two starting points are concerned
amoUllts almost to a twofold inversion of meaning. When
Durer {used the portrait of an ': ars geometrica" with that of a
"homo .melancholicus"-an act equal to the merging of two
different worlds of thought and feeling- he endowed the oue
with a soul, the other with a mind. He was bold enough to bring
down t.he timeless knowledge and method of a liberal art into
the sphere of human striving and failure, bold enough, too, to
raise the animal heaviness of a "sad, earthy" temperament to
the h e~ht of a struggle with intellectual problems. Geometria's
workshqp has changed from a cosmos of clearly ranged and
purposfully employed tools into a chaos of unused things; their
casual ; ~tribution reflects a psychological unconcem.U6 But
Melanc~olia's inactivity has changed from the idler's lethargy
and thf sleepcr's unconsciousness t~ the compulsive preoccupation

..

111 Pn.y%r:Book, fal. 48 . . For the FHeDCt! of the litcur~ i D the Gertn:lD SAi/>
tbe ilhntra.~D' of which Dtlru probllbly contribllted. lCC abov .., p. 301 (tcxl).
III

U. WO.L1'fl.l l4. Di, Kiln," Altmdl

Diih~.,

p.

".5.s.

tJ/ F {JIIls

to

,,
318

TIlE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

_ [IV. Tl.

and

of the highly-strung_ Both are idle, Diirer's wreathed


ennobled
"MelcJlcolia", with her mCchanically-hcld compasses.?" and the
dowdy "Melancholica" of the calendar illustrations 'With her
useJess spindle; but t he latter is doing D9thing hecau~ : she has
fallen asleep out of sloth, the former because her mind is preoccupied with interior visions, so that to toil with practical tools
seems meaningless t o her. The "idleness" in one ca~t:,
below
the level of outward activity; in the other, above it. : If DUrer
Was the first to raise the allegorical figure of Melcmcholy to the

ts

plane of a symbol,UG this change appears now as the. meansor perhaps the result-<li a change in significance: the potion of
a "Melencolia" in whose nature the intellectual distinction of a
liberal art was combined with a human soul's capacity for suffering
could only take the form of a winged genius.
..
The creative power which generated this new' concep't ion
naturally informs also the traditional details. Set pieces that
seem to be entirely conventional playa curious part in producing
that impression of casualness so typical of the engraving; the
purse, for instance, instead of being attached to the belt by
ribbons, has slipped carelessly to the ground, the kbys hang
crookedly in their twisted ring-very different from the housewifely chatelaine of the Madonna at the Wall . And when even
tllese inanimate details become eloquent, when the sleeping dog
(which in the usual picture of scholars is enjoying the quiet of the
study and the warmth of the stove) has become a half-slarved
wretch, curled up, dead-tired, and shivering on the cold earth, then
how striking and how new those things appear which have always
been significant in a specifically human sense. We kO-ow now
that the motif of the clenched fist was a traditional one, already
used here and there before Durer (PLATE 72) . For a medieval
illustrator, the clenched fist was the sign of certain delusions,
and he conceived it as an inevitable adjunct of -the figure in
question, as inevit.1.ble as the knife which St Bartholomew always
carries. But in Durer's .Melencolia I the clenched hartd also
support!> the head; it thereby visibly approaches the scat of
thought, and, by ceasing to be an isolated attribute, metges with
: ;

.... TheM .tages of develop!mllt. di5eaased above from a systemat: point ." v iew, can be
5hown in the eXample of M.tm,olill/IO have been sta.ges io an actual histliriea] ,pfoccu; for
the ".ymboli<:" form of the engTavill, did. io ract evolve (rom tbe combination' oi ... pu~ly
" peTllonify;nC" represenbtion (I.e. tho "typ". Geomelri,...) ... iUl,
oue Ii e. the portnlit 01 a mdaneholie .. in tbe calenda.rs).

purely "paradigmatie"
':' . '

2]

THE NEW ME."'NING OF ":t.1ItLKNCOUA I "

31 9
the thoughtful face into one area of compressed power, containing
not only the strongest contrasts of light and shade, but also
absorbing all there is, in the otherwise motionless figure, of
physical and mental life. Moreover, the clenched left hand is
in striking contrast to the lethargically sinking right hand; it
is the hand no longer of an unfo rtunate madman who "thinks",
as one text puts it, "that he holds a great treasure, or the whole
world, in his hand"; but of a compJetely reasonable being. intent
on creative work-and sharing none the less the same fate as the
poor madman in not being able either to 'grasp or to release an
imaginary something, The gesture of the clenched nst, hitherto
a mere symptom of disease, now symbolises the fanatical con
cennation of a mind which has t ruly grasped 'a problem, but which
at the same moment feels itself incapable either of solving or of
dismissing it,
The clenched fist tells the s.-'l.me 5tory as thc gaze directed
towards an empty distance. How different it is from the downcast
eye formerly attributed to the melancholic or child of Saturn 1111
Me1encolia's eyes stare into the realm of the invisible with the
same vain intensity as that with which her hand grasps the
impalpable, Her gaze owes its uncanny expressiveness not only
t o the upward look, the unfocussed eyes typical of hard thinking,
but also, above al1, to the fact that the whites of her eyes,
. particulaIly prominent in such a gaze, shine forth from a dark
face. that "dark face" which', as we lmow, was also a constant
trait of the traditional picture of Melancholy, but in DUrer's
In cr. Rulu,' ""~;f (above, te>l:t p . so), probably to be understood ;\$ a J15~cholo;:IC.:II
term, .:Id numeroWilal.4r le:x.ts, ill wbicb certainlytbe Jl'OSej, intended u a me:ll"l$of e}(\'"e'I5iDn :
e.c. "Raimuadu, LuUul: " Et natunJitu erp. terram respkiunt"; Berlin, Cod. germ. fol. ' 9 ' .
now in Marbur&: "Sin [0.,. tb.e melaocholic'.] AnUiuQu der Erdell Ce"";"; also the I~"t on

SaturD priotcd in A. HA ua , Pf" ..d, ..M ..dabifdtr u .." SI, ... bit"u

, Str.ubo"'1> 1916. p. 1,-

"Sin [e.!:. SatuTn'lII dlild] :u!G:tsicltl aUts geneiget ~Il deo- erden." It s:ays sometbinc lor t.lle
power o( su ggestion oj ,,,ell a trad ition that a description 01 Duret's e ngravi ng (Pi,II""
MdllJldoU<u) by :/i.feJauehthon.-<lmittcdly known to UI Duly alsecond halld-Mys ill obvinus
eonna.diction to lhe visibio faet: "Vultn severo, 'lu i in u.a.Ifl\' CQAsideralione n ..:oquarn u?iei l.
sed palpebris dejeeti. humum intu.etllr: Thus B.:rUn, loiS tll col. lat. qu. 97. nOw in
TUbingen, a eolDpo:site MS whi ch a eertain SebMti"n Redlich eopied. from not~.~ 1>)" C.onrad
Cordatus, tol. "9'" (rather poorly edited by H. Wrampelmeyer, U"c,d",c.1I'e St" ..i/le" Philipp
M./rlm;lotbm, Deilat:e lura Jabresbericht des Kg!. GymnAlliums 11> Clausthal. EU leT HJII,
p . 8, No. 61) . Thi, deJlCription, an illuminating one In many .... ays ("Albutns Durenls .
a.rtificiosWimu$ pictor, melanchotici pktoram in expressit , .. ") is a mixture of Ininule
ob$erva.tion aud ' ubUe psycholO&i~ interpretation, aDd oC pure fantasy. At the end. (01
instance, the author .ay. "Ceme: etiam est .. ad fenel tlllm aranearum tela ". altho ugh
ne:ithu a Ipider'....eb nllr.ven a windowispresent. Here Melanehthon ........ pro~bly ~lI i nkin,
of aItoth<:r portrait of melancholy (et. our PLATE IJ9 and p, llll sq .) Or of ;In enp" 'ing $uch
as G. Pencz. TtuI.. s IBI(9).

THE ENGRAVIXG "MF.LENCOLIA t"

[IV. IT .

portrait denotes somet hing entirely new. H ere too, representing


the "dark facc" less as darkMskinned t ban as darkly sbadowed,lls
he transformed thc physiognomic or pathological fact into an
e:\prcssion. almost an atmosphere. Like the motif of the clenched
fist, that of the dark face was taken over from t he spherc of medical
sCl1l('iology; but the discoloration becomes, literally, an over
shadowing, which we understand not as t he result of a physical
condition , but as the expression of a state of mind. In this
picture, dusk {signified by a bat)U9 is magicaUy illwnined by the
glow of heavenly phenomena, which cause the sea in the background to glow with phosphorescence, while the foreground seems
to be lit by a moon standing high in the sky and casting deep
shadows. l20 This highly fantastic and literal "twilight" of t he
whole picture is not so much based on t he natural conditions of
a certf'lin time of day: it denotes the uncanny h\'ilight of a mind,
which can neithe; cast its thoughts away into the darkness nor
"bring them to t he light". Thus, Durer's Melencolia (it is unnecessary to add that the upright figure in t he preliminary study
has bcen deliberately changed to a drooping one) sits in front
of her 11nfinished building, surrounded by t he instruments of
creative work, but sadly brooding with a feeling t hal she is
achieving lLothing,12J With hair hanging down unkempt, and her
gaze, thoughtful and sad, fixed on a point in the distance, she
keeps watch, withdrawn from the world, under a darkening sky,
while th e bat begins Us circling flight. "A genius v.rith wings
no Thi~ f;u; ! was questioned by W, DUIII. tlt (in M;f~/" ..t:m d#J' C,ullIChafl flO~ 1I,,'vid.
/ill'&" ,,/< 1'11"$1. '9%,5 , PI'. H MJ.q .) ,.,. thO! gloue, the lid a n ll \h. putto's r;l.~O! appear lichter,
lI:o<l1( h rhe~' are in Uw ~c light. Hut these object. 01 comparison _Ill lighter only ~caul.e
;\r~ llI,,"ely "",tly In $t\"adow. wllile )tcl:ulI:holy. !ace. t urned mucb fu.rther to the !cIt
t ha n the l'ull.Q's. is fully in ~l:>.tlOW. and shou ld th"r"IOI'e be compan:d only with t1L""hadowed
portion ('/lho objel::ts r>:>'n\cd by Bllhter (or !,,,rhaps with Ihe riRhl hatf of the IXltlar rOU.Q(1 her

they

.hIMLld~rJ.

' " 1{'I'a Upt cssly d~r lbt:3 thi s u an :thrihute 01 the! .. Ct~uscu1o delta $em" . Mol1.:(u ,
know (_ . bovc, p . '1, not6 l~ IUld PILSSi,,,) th",t the tbinJ qu.artcr of llLe oay, i.e. the time!
t..et..aoo 3 p. m. and 9 p.m ., ;" proper to 1l\~la nchnly.
We

... Il :oo:ctnl hitherto to have been jpor,," that the sun eoukl DOt poMibly s laDd.. to h"b
at th ~ li.ne of day indiea.led I.>y the sky .ntl the bat.... t9 c:ast, lor in st.nce, tbe hoor-s:rass.
5hadu... The IlCene. thereforc, if iIldecd ~oc/, a realiltic if\terptetlltlon is delired, wu imagined
at- by moonlight, OOCA: mOn iII .ignifi<;ant eo.otrasl to the , un-drenched interior III Ute St
Jtfume e nSNwlnc- (see b.. low. p. 16.t. note .,6).
m lrl N ela nebll.o n', analysia, just q\lO~, the la ddar motif i n partituhl.f i, interpreted in
t h is ,ertSe, t ... as a .ymbol of an atl-embtKing tll.1 o f1cn inefteetua.l, if not absurd. m~ot:lll
SMa ld!: ""t Autem indic:an:l nibil fIOn talibu. ab lngcruis eo mp-rdien<.li tolcre. d q"'''11 t a dem
IMP'! in a Ullurda defe.fI'mtll r, alLt" itlarn &Cf.IU in nubet cduxit.. pcr <tuarulll g"d ul <t""dratu.u
Iu:um veJut i .KeoWn,,,, moliri fecit."

2] .

T HE NEW MEANING OF "MBL ENCOLIA J "

321

t~at she will not unfold, with a key that she will not use to unlock,
wlth . ~.aure1s on her brow, but with no smile of vietory."m
!?urCl' define? and enhanced t his impression of an essentially
hum.~ :ragedy ill two ways by the adQ.,ition of auxiliaIY ftgllres.
The: ~zmg of t he ,tired and hungry dog (the former owner of the
pr~ma?" dra~g-see PLATE 4- l"ightly called it "canis
dormltans , making use of the intensive form. rather t han "canis
dorrni~~") signifi<:> the dull sadness of a creature entirely given
over. ~o Its, ~nconsclO~S comfort or discomfortl2S ; While t he industry
of th~ wn ting. puUo signifies t he careless equanimity of a being
tbat]:las o:,"y Just learnt the content ment of activity, even when
unprqduchve, and does not yet know the torment of thought
even when productive; it is not yet capable of sadness because
has not yet attained human stature. The conscious ~orrow of a
hum~n ~cing wre~tling Witll problems is enhanced both by the
unco~sclOUS suffermg of t he sleeping dog and by the happy unsellM
conSCl.ousne5S of the busy child,

it

.'

(b) The' New Not iona l Conte n t

I, '

! he hew meaning. expr~ssed in D iirer's engraving communicates


ItSe1~ to eye and mmd WIth the same directness as that with which
the outward appearance of a . man approaching us reveals his
char~cter and mood; and it is in fact the distinction of a great
work- 'pf art, that. whether it represents a bunch of asparagus or
a sul!~e allegory It can, on one particular level, be understood by
~e IJ3l~e observer and the scientific analyst alike. Indeed, the
lIl1pr!(SSlon which we ~ave just attempted to describe will probably
be sh<l:red, to a certam extent, by a.lJnost everybody who looks at
t~e ~~graving, though in words t hey may express their feelings
dIfferently.
B~'t jus~ as there are works of art whose inte["pretation is
exha~~ted ill t he communication of directly experienced impressl~ru;, ? ecausc their intention is satisfied merely by the
repr~ta.;~n of a ".first--order" (in t his Case purely visual) world
of o~J)~cts, so there are others whose composition embraces a
' 9':.Ll:OWIG B"UKf:iG, WeI,-u d,,. Eriw"",,-, lUI Adolf Barl,.;N,. lM"in.bely prlll ted. Iia mbu.rg

'''T~~~. Wo. ill MclanclLtho,,. dcscriptio.a: " J ac:.et .lItem JIl'Opt! bane ad ped-as iV!liu5
contrU .' r:oq>ol"~ pa~, pam t"tiam, poueeta, ca.nJs. euiuSll10di MIlot illa. besti~ ill ~
etl:v, b..ngu.da et 10llWlJC:Olosa et port .... bari w q .. i"t.... ..
~

Ct. ~. PA,onKv, in L~os, VOL. XXI (11I32). pp. t<l3 sqq.

.' ~'. '

::~:" ~'"
~ ,~:

322

TUE ENGRAVING "?lIELENCOLIA 1"

[IV, 11,

"sccond.-order" body of elements, based on a cult~aJ inheritance


.
'
and expressmg. therefore, a notional content as well. That
Melencolia 1 belongs to the latter group is demonstrated not
only by Diirer's note, which attributes a definite a:llegorical
meaning even to the innocent appurtenances of a housewife's
wardrobe,1" but, above all, by the evidence-just adduced-that
~ilrer's engraving is the result of a synthesis of certain iuegorical
pIctures of melancholy and the arts, whose notional content, no
less than their expressive significance, did indeed change, but
could hardly be altogether lost. It is hence inherently .probable
that the characteristic motifs of the' engraving should be explained
either as symbols ot Saturn (or Melancholy), or as sYJ1lbols ot
.Geometry.
..
.7

(i) Symilols of Salim. or M ekzncholy


,
Vve have discnssed flnit Ule motifs associated with: Sat urn
(or Melancholy)-the propped-up head, the purse and k~ys, the
clenched fist. the dark . face1 2e1-because they be1ongec;l'j to the
personal characteristics of the melancholic, and becalLc;e, with
varying degrees of completeness, they had aJi been evolved in
the pre-DUrer tradition. Besides these motifs there are others
which are not so much essential properties as extran~us trappings
of the figures represented, and some of them are foreign to t he
older pictorial tradition.
The first of these auxiliary motifs is the dog, which in itself
belonged to the typical portraits of scholars. Its inclusion and
the inversion of meaning by which it becomes a fellow-sufferer
with MeJencolia can, however, be justified by several cOnsiderations. Not only is it mentioned in severaJ astrological sources as
a typical beast of Saturn,l21 but, in the HorapoUo (the introduction
to the Mysteries oj the Egyptian Alphabet which the h9manists
worshipped almost idolatrously), it is associated with . the dis~
position of melancholies in general, and of scholars ~nd ~rophcts
In particular.
In 1512, Pirckheimer had fmished a tTanslation
1U See abovc. pp. 28" sqq. (text). Am!)n, DlIrer's unaJlegociul ""orb showin", tiS" ..... with
a pune and keya, 'Nt! m .. y mention the cDtravings B"o. 8" and 90; the woodC:"1:!! :B3. 80, 8".
88. 92; "nd, ..bo_ ..II, the coslame picbl.te L163 with tbe captioa .... lin 8ett "'u 11' HCWKm
N&Ta,.,., . " A pu and keya alia cbaractertse thc old 01ll'M In the picture. ot' Df.nac by
Titian (Prada) ~n(I Rem~t (l'Icnnlt1.ge).
"
'" See above. pp. 2119 Iqq. (text).

;:

E.g. in IbI! Eara the "canu n.1(r1", aDd. in .. Greek M5. dop In (;'entnl (C.J . $I~. W .,
V. I. p. tho to; quoted by W. GUMU!U. in GKtI_. VOL. II (19~ 6l, p . 29'), and ,npG, St,~,, .
,botJu. ~. J 141.
~
.
Iff

'1-.

.:,:

"

L::.

THE NEW )IEANI~G 01'- "),tELENCOUA I"

2]

323

'

. :'
" ,

,
l

.,

....

of the Horapollo from the Greek, and Durer himself had supplied
it with illustrations; and curiously enough, of thi.. jointly produced
codex, there survives the very page (DUrer's drawing 1..83) on which
it is written that the hi.eroglyph of a dog signifies among other
things Ole spleen, prophets. and "sacras literas"-all notions
which, since the time of Aristotle, had been closely linked with the
melancbolic-, and that the dog, more gifted and sensilive than
other beasts, has a very serious nature and can fall 3. victim
to madness, and like deep thinkers is inclined to be always on the
bunt, smelling things out, and sticking to tbem.128 . "The best
dog", says a contemporary 11ieroglyphist. is therefore the one
"qui facicm magiS, ut vulgo aiunt, melancholicam prae se feral "l1li
-which could be said with all justice of the dog in DureT's
engraving.
. The bat motif is quite independent of picturcs. In fact, its
invention is due purely to a textual traditiou; and even. in Ramler's
Shorter Mythology it is still cited as the animal symbolic of
melancholics.l3o It is mentioned, too, in the HorapoUo as a
sign of "homo aegrotans et incontinens, r.l31 Further, it served
the Renaissance humanists (for better br worse) as an example
of night vigil or nightly work. According to Agrippa of Nettesheim
its outstanding characteristic i!> "vigilantia"13'; according to
Ficino it is a warning example of the ruinous and destructive
effect of night study"'; and (most remarkable of all, pexhaps)

W On this d . GIIItLOW from wbose ...orb _ have frequently quoted. and to whom the
credit bdonp for haviDf o:lisco..e:.ed the wbole system of Rell.ais.v..nce hieroglyphic. and tor
eo\leCtin, aU the mostimpCIrtaDt material; d. also 1- VOLIUIANH, Billlerw.ri/tcn II,. Nil"""
Lcipdg 1923, p.ui.... G. LBIOIf(GIIt (ill Sitll<l<Il'"""':' lIu Sayerird,,; AJIfI Il",,;,
4n Wis#t&sdlfl/Utc. ,1I1k1l.-II/4t. 1<1...,. 1929) has sboWl! tbat DOrer !me and ""en o ...'T>Cd. thc
Hyprterotl1_"i. l'oli,.;IJ.

sm.".

... Th ... Picrio ValtlriaDo. quoUd in Gla;..--c.ow (190<4). p. 71.


no K. n ... M1. XlJ.nl'//lUt,
IlQtter abaut him.. ..

MyI~oli"

"th eeln . Bulin. lhn, p . i$6: "Some make b:ats

... K . Grs-HI.OW. in 1,.1o"m,," tLt.r A"mt1li:U<ioriuJ,efl S'''''''''''''lt'' II" aJ/"h6dsl,r. K .. ;u rAa'lfu,


VOl,.. XXX II (19 1 ~), p . 167

m AC111' ..... o. NltTTKS.nlt IM. 0",,11# p~iIQJQP1oi,.. in tbe autograpb cl 151 0 discnvered by
Dr .Hans Meier. WQnburg, UoLv. Bib!.. Cod. Q. $0 (for this. ", below. ted pp. 331 sqq.l.
fo!.9r.
lJI

lienee .. bat's heart _

a tal/sraall apiDst t1etpiDtsI..

FIClNO. De II. tripl., I, 7 (OPU. VOL. I. p. sool: "Spiritus fatiguinno! diurna. pratstttiOl

subtilis:simi quique dcniquc fCIOlVTIotur. Noete iiPtur ~uci crusiquc suptfnnt . .. . ut


non alitll'T lll,adS borum fretam alii iogllaium vowe poIS;l. q ..am '\.~lionC!l "que
b"bones," Moreover Agrippa of Netteshtim mcntiotH tluI bat u a ma nt;: SaUlrn's btUlS :
"Sa.turoalia SUIlt. .. aniolalia reptilia Icgrcpta. IOlitaria, 1I0001uroa, tristiA, contcmplatha
vel peo.iw Icnt... avan. timid a. melancollca. mul ti laboris ct tudi motus. ut bu bo. t.alpl..

324

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

THE ~'"EW Ml!AN I NC OF "MBlliNCOLIA I"

2]

[IV. U.

cOm ~t

with its head towards the earth pointed to high water;


and It was the melancholic in particular who was able to foresee
such misfortunes. 137
. ):I0wever. these phenomena, partly sad, partly menacing, are
cOlUltered by two other motifsUS signifying palliatives against
Saturn and against i.\lelanc.boly. One is the wreath which t he
woman bas bound round her brow. Although, in the history of
types, this wreath is traceabJe to the adornment of the " homo
litcratus" and therefore proclaims MeJencolia's intellectual
po~ers,lH nevertheless it must also be reckoned as an antidote
to melancholy, because it is made up of the leaves of two plants
w~~ch are both of a watery nature and therefore counteract t he
ea..n:hy dryness of the melancholy temper-.unent; these plants are
w~~er parsley {Rammc.ulus aquaticu.s)-which DOrer had already
associated with the combination of "Auster", "Phlegma" and
"Aqua" in hi" wOOdcut 140 illustrating the work of Conrad Geltes
(P;4\TE 83)-and t he common watercress (Nasturtium officittau).l4J.
J1i~ other antidote is the square of the number four, apparenUy
engraved on metal: t hws to Giehlow's pioneer research work
there can no longer be any doubt that this is intended not only
as, a sign of the arithmetical side of the melancholy genius but,
a~ve all, as a " magic square" in the original sense of th!it
ex:pression .1&!! It i,s a t alisman to attract the healing influence
of, Jupiter; it is the non-pic torial; mathematical substitute for

in ancient times its membranes wcre actually used for writing,


particularly in selting down spells against sleeplessness.'"
Finally, the seascape with the little ships can also ~c fitted
into the context of Saturn and Melancholy. By classlcal and
Arabian astrologers the god who fled across the sea to ~tium
was reckoned " lord of the sea and of seafarers", SO that his children
liked to live near water and to make a living by .such. .trades.135
Nor is this all. Satum-and, more particularly. any co~et
belonging to hUn-was also held responsible for fi~ and lu~h
tides; and it can safely be said that any comet which figures m
a picture of .Melancholy must be one of th~e "Saturnine comet~" .
of which it is expressly stated that they threaten the w~rl~ With
the "dominium melallcboliae".lH It is, then, scarcely a oolD.cldence
that a rainbow shines above DUrer's sea, and that . the water
lms so Hooded the fiat beach that it is lapping round the tr~
bctween the two bright p~n.insulas; for even in BabylOnian
cuneiform te:xts it had been co~sidered a definite fact tha.t a
builitcUJ. YeSpI!r LWo" (the Wiinbvl'( MS,lol 1,-: from
i.uLed tditioa lobo Dlentio~od
by W GmU)SL in GIUI1I1OII, VOL. It (19'161. p. 290, aDd. BBG, SI,...,z..NlH, P. 11.5). AecordinC
~o th~ IoDy ir.e~ uflelcd to Sa.t;a:rn should wntLIo bat"~ blood. Itboo WGnburg ).\5, fol. '.5.:
from the p~n~ edition quoted by GU~l)aL, kle. eiL). JIl addition to tb_ direc:t mel]titH'lS
there nre indirocl onea, ettditi~ Sat1lrn wltb 1118M birds iR. ,,,ncod (... riis ~ .
"om nia, quae noctu vapntur"): CIII. IISIr. Gr., IV, 112. (quoted by.Ct/NII.L. 10(:. 1o'11.) .. nd
ltANzOV I .... $. r,,,"u/IlJ ,ulr~l",,c"s. }'rank{vrl ~609. p. 17 Tho! "xty4een nd e,u ll iem In
Ah:;lIto'J famoUi oollectloa til emblemata '" u l partienlar intcrut:

tb.ey..

(ft'''''

vnpertlUo.
Ve.pcre qua<:: bnhtlll voltt;a.t, quae Iumloc lu ..... en.
Qu'" c;.m ab::J sestet, u.o:i.o:n. murit blobet;
Ad res d i..erus tullit", : mat& DOIIliaa ptlm\1I1l
SiID,t, quae ).;atitaut, Illdidul""l>que limeDL
luda et Philosop\>OII, qui dum ~Ieslia quacrunt.
Cullf(ant oculis, faJnquc 101.. vident .... "
11leie lines. rc.".! like a ll~l 01 th e tharoc:terilltlCl of the ~turnine aod melantholy miocl .
r",lc.taItC. to a cu t.. in tyllC: 01 phiklsopber 15 . illilic;a.ot.
1:1< T. n ....t , Di, D",jroa.
Ur K14,"" Lclp&i, 1907, pp. 2.86tqq. (with rd"etl!lleQ).

51_,""',

... 0 . 800,
P. "1 ..ad below. pp. 351 .qq. (tut).
....For the objoct " 'hich has fonaet Jy becu illtcrpreted erl'OClCUl.lllyu .. elyste<', _
P. 3~9, note I) ' .
..See above, p. ) 1.5 (~xt).
Tbc

'I'

LIOK .... 1lU RIYKMAl'lC'. X e!i.atdKtdfNln of


too $ta t~ tut the childreo o( SatW"1l "clcaI with " 'alery thin,," (Jol. D. iI).
,
1)1.

(')
h&
. ~
Call1pagnola'i enp ...;ns lIJ 53,turn, menticmed abo ... e. pp. :1I1I . tex
IIV
J)Uur the " ctu al Jmpube tll adnl>l the Jell mutif. Thi, e n,",vllll!". Innlleot~ m Its turll by
""diu Dun,r engravings. can hard ly ba ..... Ucell unknown to th~ mature artlst.

.. See ...lto'II, pp. 1)0. 1)5, 143 Iqq. ttut).

war . V.

below.

':01 3 0

AccOrding to Giehlow's UDllubUlbed na l~, in the .i.xtOCIIU, CIIntllry the melancholie


expreu ly ad ... it\ to pliLCe damp (i.e. _tvn.ny da.m.p) babt On his brow. "like, pWt~ ...
The ideatilicf.tlon u waler panley, of the pI.uIt appcaritlt iD MeJenoo!ia', - t h , I.IId in tbe
~ell t 81)0. is &i- by W. DOnu. in M,I!NIU\f" du C"uUd4jJ p., WTftdllJlilfJoJ,
K ..st, 19'15, pp. 44 .qq., and:E. BUell, In DU _tliriwi.&&}v Wdl, VOL. VII (1933). No. '1, p. 69.
Mrs ~ ),I....qu ..nd. PriacetOl1, ... boA hetp we pL1eJlllly acJmow1edlle, poiats out. bo....
evee, !hal M~eucolla. wreath wnsilll DOtal one pl.. nt but uf twa. the HIC01I.d bsinll 'W.. ~
(d. e.g. G. a~NTII "'''', HrlHd.!:H>oIt "I'h n"'I/,Io FloP'll.. Loadon 186.5). ApJrt from ULe f&ct tiLllt
~t 8s4t>!ishu cornetly 100 important detail. the diecovtry hat a 111... tbudoiag:ical sigrd6aJlCe;
if Dtitu rual,le up the wreath. oC two vJ:t.ntl havi.oc IIOthing ia COIUDlOLllaVII that tbey uc boll
"watuy" plant., thi."WU not IMfIL eoludden or purely tloetic preltnllCe: tb. c.bo{ce of
th_ 'two plaot. mu..t b:oVlt beeIl bucd 011 .. eoax.iDu symbolic Inteatioa. ..htcl:l j1Millict OW"
ioterpntillr "VWJ" detail ill the UC ....vlnC from the point of vkw o f this ')'Ill_lie iDbcntioa.
....GltIlU.O .... ( 1904). pp. 16 Mjq. W. AIIa_s'. eollilter4fJ:lItoeDts iio Zrilm, jft p.,.
bilu-d, R ...,,', 1' . I . v~ ,",xV]. (19IS). W. t91Iqq.) .... e:re bued oa thc uaumption _hleb hat
5i,,,,,? l>een d ecillvety disproved, that the utro-maglcal sillnUieaa06 of thc plane~ 1Il"at"t.
carut?1 be ' uund In wcstem sources befurll t'3 1 (au beJow. tClXt p . 3~6 sq.).
1.01.

w~

I
I

I,

,50 0 . BAM'rOLO.. BO I)'" PAIlIotA. ed. E. NUdui, iu B14l1ft;"o IIi IIilllio,~tzfi" IIi SIo..w.
dl, 5,;",u Mt6I_'iU4 FuidJf. XVII (ISS41, p. 15&. CorcllldJ", iAdividu:at annet. to
IGdirid ual plaoetadatea bac.k to N"bepooo.P..:tusiris; d. BOG, SI,"",,,...I, pp . .5 1 and IS,), &lid
W CU "1)EL i.rI P ... tlLy.WIUO-WA, . ..... " KolDltc.n" , aod ia lIurld, B/IIUr fii7 Y~"e. VII
II~)' pp. 109 *N. (The pl:ouet beqllUtbes iu prnperliet to tho comel... "tanq~ fillo" ;
d . A. Mn..U.DlIII. CoMdol pAiIl.. hn. '.549. 1" 9f. the am .. autbor ...YlI iPP: 117 a.od ISo)
that SatOfn'~ millet UU$U 'wcb.nehoUCOI ,norbntl" aDd ftoocl .. Ilc .. and .5 particularly.
danlllll"OUl to ths eblld.re n of Sall,ll"ll.)

..

.}

. j

326

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I "

2]

.; J IV. IT.

those images of astral d~ities which were recom~ended by',Ficino,


Agrippa and all the othel teachers of white magic. Qf this
"mensu]a J ovis", which compri,>ed within itself aU the beneficent
powers of the "temperator Saturni" , one fourt eenth-,century
author wrote: "If a man wears it his bad luck will tum int.o good,
good into better Juck"H3; and in Paracelsus we read: "This:syrnbol
makes its bearer fortun ate in all his dealings and driV:~ away
all cares and fears."I44 Di.irer was not an arithmetician, but he was
thoroughly familiar with the significance of the magic,. square
in iatromathematics, and Olat is perhaps the only ac;pect .of this
curious combination of numbers which could have attracted his
attention and engaged his interest. This indeed is cl~r, not

" ,'

:'

~ .. " {11M~~rt 1"4III1Ia~~otr}UlI1SCt


"mIa1 dmu lr<ebzt\M Itnttt. ttOecrLltn.lmlrtd
'l-nMburiAIlj\.i.qll.(.d.$.uTt4("L."t(~.tUtfnc:'
1ItIfQftll"ll~q~.13.tmflnr~a6:_.

The magieal square of MIlN.


From a Spanish manuscript 01 about
'300 Bill!. \'u . Co.!. Reg. lat_ u83_

FICiU!!.!: I.

,. :
only because the squares had been -recognised as symbol~ ~f the
various planets at a time when the arithmetical problems il'l.'yolved
in them had not been gone into at all,l4.S but also because, as it
was recently discovered, one man with whom Durer p~:qbably
10> "'ieana, Nationalbibliotbek. Cod. 5239. fol. 147": "E1 9; Qui~ porlaueril ea~~, qui Sit
in{ortunalus fOltunabitur, de bono in meliWi efficiet [sicr quoted in A. WARBURO, H!idn;sch","like WeiSSO,I"', i .. Wo,.-t "n" B ild:u L",h,r$ Zeit,n. in Gwzm", ,zt.< 5'/'"/1"" VOL. il . Leipzig
1932, p. 528).
HI A ..m~li P"llip~ T~et>pblJdi ParlJulsi opera QtllllilJ, Geneva 1658, VOL. n, pp. ,16.
"SigiUum hoe 5i gestetur, gratiam, a moreIn et favorem apud univerlOS eon ciliat .. : ge.9torem .
que suum in omnibus negotiis feliccm facit, ct ableit euras om ncs. metumque: it was this
eOl15lant depression due to wony and tmgovetnable an"icty (el. Constantinus Africanus,
"limor de ro non timend.'", and Ficino, "quod circa m:l.b, nimis form idolosus sam") th at
.
formoo one or the .WQflIt lmd most s ignWt.aut symptoms of melanchofy.
I . . The planetary "'lu:u-e. weAl shown lIy A. \VAKliIlUI> (lhidn;sd....."Uke W ei$SIJ8Ufl8 -in
W,," ""d Bi/d.m L"Jdh.r& Zeit ... , j'l Gw"m ...l!fo &hri/ler:. VOL, II, Leip:<ig 1932, W : /j I G sqq.)
to be in evid ence as early as Cool. Reg. I:lt. 12M3 (about 1300, from which FIG. I w.~s taken).
a lso in Vienna, NatioMlbibliothelt, Cod. 5239 (fourteenth century). and Wolrcnbttttl;I, Cod. 11,
8. Aug. ~' .. In the Ea.t they could no doubt he found conAiderahly =rJje~.

"
','

'

THE NEW ME ANI NG OF "MELENCOLIA In

came into personal contact was familiar with the planetary


squares-Luca Pacioli, whom Durer may easily have met at
Bologna, even if he did not go there specially for the sake of
meeting him. In 1500, Pacioli had in fact written a sho,r t t reatise
on the symbols of the planets. In it he cites Arabic sources;
and ~ version of Jupiter's square is given which has the sameand by no means t he only possib]eHtI-disposition of numbers as
that ,i..hich appears in DUrer's MelMlcolia I .1<I1
But all these antidotes are merely a weak makeshift in the
face of the rea1 destiny of the melancholy person. Just as Ficino
had already realised that selfless and unconditional surrender to
the win of Saturn was after all not only the " ultima" but also the
"optima ratio" for the intellectual man, ;0, too, Dijrer (as we
can see from the dark face and clenched fist) creates a Mclencolia
whose sad but sublime destiny cannot, and perhaps should not,
bc averted by palliatives, whether natural or magical. If the
cosmic conflict between Saturn. and ]Upiter14.8 ever came to a
final decision, it could for Durer not end in victory for Jupiter.
(ii) Geometrical Syinbols
The motifs not yet accounted for are, as we have already
. hinted, geometrical symbols.
That applies without reservation to the t ools and objects
shown in the portrait of Geo.m etria in the Margarita philosopMca
m

Th~ ~qu8.!e

with 16 cells and. the

~um

34 can appear in U32. rliffcrcn t variitions. d.

K. H. DE HA"S, I'fillicle(s 880 Bruit M48;' S'luaru oj 4 X '" ulh ... Rotleal3m 1935

.., Luc.o. P" O;: I0Ll'" remaru au tbe seven planetary squares, writt= "boul 1500 (Bolosna.

Dibl. Univ. Cod. 250, Cols. 1I8-I22] were disr.o\en:d by AMADI!.O AGOSTlloIl, who
the likely connex ion with Durer: Boll,li"a
(d.

w.

WIRLElTloIII.R.

deWI("ioll ~

IIIl1femof;C/I Uo/jO'ln. ll.

~mpbaslsu

"9 23 ). p. 2

in M-illeilltllgl1l lit' Gu,M.hI8 Jer Medin" H"d dt " No.ltUwj5scn5c!u'jlt,:,

VOL. XX II (1923). p. 125. and VOL. xxv (J 926), p. 8). It is remarkable th:l.t PadoH deals
with U"l squares simply as a math~matieal "jeu d'espnt", and me,ely mentioM their "-~tro
oe:ical and magical sisnifi.cance withont going iDtn it: he therefore eomplctely ignorcs any
taliBmanie virtntl$ of the various squares: "I.e quali figurtl eosi numerose non st:nr.a misteri
gU rano aeomodata . . .. u quaJi Lgure in qutl$to nostro compendio 110 1Ioluto in~ererl acio
COil Ipse ale uolte possi fonnar qualche li giadro sol:uo . . .. " AgTippa of Neltesh.,iz:os
works eontain t he piatletary ~quan, only in th ~ printed edition (II. 22); Uley we.e lacking
in the original version.
10" Cf. A. WARURG, Ih idnisd.ontik, WO"i$sag""8 ill Wort und Bild : 1< L.diJers Z eilw. in
G&W".I>U:II, S,""/te". VOL. II. Leipzig 1932, p . 529. However. we eall Blisoeiate ourselves
with hi$ <'Iescriptwn only w.ith =y reservation,. ~in"'" we canDOt imagine tlu, "u~moniae
confliet between Saturn and Jupiw ending in a victory for thc latler; nor can we aecord it
that priml BigDitic.aDee for the ;nterpretatlou of Dilrcrs engravinG. wweb Warburg atbib"'t"'"
to it. The "mensuLa. Jovis", after aU. is only one of many motifs, and by no mealls the m06t
import:mt. D<!spite Giehlow's and Warllurg-s aeute arguments. thc re!C\'ince of the
engraving for Maximili3..B 1 caDnot be prov.:d; =d even if it conld, M_J.t:G4}i1l 1 would have
beeo a wuning ... th<:~ th."m a consolatiou to bim.

THE ENGRAVJNG "MELENCOLIA 1"

[IV. U.

(PLATE J04)-that is to say, the stars in heaven, the unfinished


building. the block of stone, the sphere, the compasses, the
moulding plane and set-square, the hammer, the writing materiaJs;
for the pictorial history of all these things shows them to be
symbols of an occupation which practises "the art of measuring".
either as an end in itself, or as a means to other ~ds, all more
or le!>S practical. The compasses in Melencolia's hand symbolise,
as it were, the unifying inteUectual purpose which governs the
great diversity of tools and objects by which she is surrounded;
and if we want to subdivide, we may say that, together with
the sphere and the writing materials, the compasses signify pure
geometry ; that the building under construction, the mouldingplane, the set-square, and the hammer signify geometry applied
to handicraft and building; that the astral phenomena imply
geometry ~ mployed for astronomical or meteorological purposesl " ;
and then, lastly, that the polyhedron represents descriptive
geometry: for here, as i.l1 many ot!ler contemporary representations, it is both ;t problem and a symbol of geometrically defined
optics-more particulcu:Jy, of perspective (PLATE 95}.UO
'u The UOD why DUrer p ya the n oti on of asbvlQlO' &. m eteorological tum i . cIplaine-d
beluw. text pp. "3 ~ q . (Fortbe eombinatiull of n.i.Ilbo"'alldit&n,cle.s. n ... J..."rt.'f/fIfl/fla/lt,
IWtu M.kJ:t.... /o,i. (NeudrucIL:e von Scbrilt.en und Karten tiber Mdecn"Olo&le und Erdmq:neti ....
milt. m. G. HeilmAnn. VOL. XV). IXatin 1904 . p . 261.) It. mIIy bo 10 COIllLc:Oon wi o.. thitL
du;"t'on that the ...:x tant o.i,i nally allotted to tbe pdto (PLAne 8) was not adopted In the
tu ...1 '~OI" for til;' " 'as a 'pcr::ific 'ymbul of ukollOmy; d. our h4Tas 'Ii and 104. as well
as t he por trait uf Ptolemy In lbe J.111'7:" .,t" ,1o~~"iQ<. reproduced I.n E . R&lr;xlI. Dt.
e.k!.,I. ill liu litlllJdltt! VC'I"II,,(,,~il. Ltiptig 1')00. plate H
, .. Cf. abo t he titl" " 'oodcut to PnlUS AH ANUS', /.sl....--.lhlldl . bgolstadt " ,3. and
hi5 Insu.plu,/tU ..."..,...11...1". Vtl>l.$l.dlil. Jngolstadt "34. initia.l fol. A. I ' . PJ..Atlt'1.5 !!t1O""
FIii~ne, . title ..."OOdr;ut to Vn a l.Llos n.~ ,"",,~, N"nlm~ 1.53S (UKd ~II. in RfVIUS.
ViI"......., 1, ,,full, N urem ber8"48. Col. exeviii.,. It b ...~L1 kDOWll th&t the eomb-uct>o" of
ab50lul ely r~,u l;lC or half-[... u!"r polyhed ron. formed ahnOolt the ..wn problem of praetlct.1
I:.:ometty tlu r lnlC \.100 Rt"naIManca. 11ta Melt example ned to DUre, , owo U"tlJ:.."iuWI
d ,\f~"''''1 I. probabl y \\J:lO U I. J" .... N1UZ..S P, ~,,,",i,,. ror/'Orvm ...,...I.~i ...... Nllr~mberg
'S. 8 and lj6S. wi.., . t Ilt five I'latunie bodiet are brollght into pet"$l'<ldj ve in all poniblc
permutation.. Evtlt Jail Do~d:llOr. t S G.otrUlri4. is _tm en I. polyl ....uron liko DUrer,.
whieb is the mort! Ttlmarnblo ' ''''Ct! 10' th" re. t tho IiJUr~ i. muddled n.tht:r 011 tb. woodcut of
Uoni. T M",,,,I. V~niec Tjj" (Pull !3t)oriu engraved. Tt!pLiQ (_ beluw) : tbe paintinc 1,ln
Th e Donn L ItLlOU mUfC\Lm. No. '4. out PL ...ta 132.
Th e slcteometdc fM"m of th", IlC1lyhedron. which Nieman n. d.,...,ribo:d as alrducated rbombold
(d. AppcndiI T, p. 400), ami .... hk:b II (:f!rtainly nut :.. truncated cube (tbut F . A. N/I"KL. D.,
K~j$I,JI ."J DIl"" Mel.JIdIolu. NUr.:'DOOc{ 192s) gav~ risc. some tilne aso. to bittH COllll'o~'~rsy
Dutch
tHo A. NA8"1. and. Ii. JI. nil: HAM. iu N.,..- R"""I....~
J1I. A,oa<llllad . 2.6 April . 29 AprillUlCl , J .... y 1932.). WhIle Nabar con6rma Nlcm.IlA.
reconstructi ... n and mc:nll y .. ddl! th"l Ule rhomboids ani distioguished by a remarkable "Iularity
(angles 00 and 120). d" Ha., con.ider. th" aurfa<;u of th~ polybelJron slightly luee .. tar.
""(bl, .... ~ do IlOt bcUcye... th<l perspectival phcoomel1l. on whi<:h de H .... balLu h is ",narks
contrad id 01"" aaother; but we III"Y .... 611 kave th~ quC$lion. Ylbkb !of \Ill is of seooDdary

c.......

. ,,,onc

....-.hol.n

2]

:" .

32 9

THE NEW MEANING OP "MELENCOUA J"

~~i all

the other. o~jects, too, can be easily associated with


.t.ypus Gcol~:tnae a;> sho~ in the Strasboufg woodcut.
Pl~e . and .sa~. nails and pmcers, and perhaps the almost hidden
ob]ec~, .~}llch IS generally called a c1yster,l$J. but is more likely to
~e a ~lr of bellows-all these objects serve sinlply to swell the
m~ent~ry of builders, joiners, and carpenters, who use also the
gnndstone, rounded and smoothed by the stonc-mason.l&Z Some
have e~en wished to attribute to them the crucible with the little
tongs.~ but v.:e peeler to attribute these to the more delicate a rt
o~ the goldsmith,lS4 or to alchemy, the black art connected not
With g~ometry, but with Saturnine mclancholy.155 The book
the

ilnpoJtaD~. to the math~m,.ticlan . J{. II. 01: H"/ls. ILttemp' IAlbr1It lJ .. .


..... ~ 6 ,lint
, ...""" ~...... R fllle,
Mdt",oI"
/ nottcrdllDl 19J3) 10 lnoe the compos...Ion 0 (
botb these en
b."
a
ck
.
. gn..,.",p
to .. detailed .y.tem of pla.a.11Urlric . urrac. diviAc:m i. oomplct.el

A.. ll/il

~ .. ~~ 00: s~>ere

~I':" ~.!~ stil i

to

i.o.t~est. llowever, it I.s in "y UM wrong to ..y that th" rll.omboi~


~ cbl~lted :~to rC(Ularity, .nd tbere(ore. like the fr~e-masoJL5 rough

of

. . . ~ntlo didactically the hu ..,.. n f.qk 01 m"'lOi lmprovt!lLlollt (Ulu$ HARtl.AVb


c.,lInomus,. p. 78). D[\rcr,1 polyhedro n. whatever (til rtc[ootli~tTic n.tuee is as catd U'
ch!I<:Ued as posstbJ.e, with its v~ ea;nct l urJaOH. while tbe "rouSh block",
IlicheJan ~o~
g
PU:I,,~ lIl~st'.II "11'.11, mU $t be lULAS'ned .. a s lill I.JDOrphOUJ; 1I\MII yet to be aha
I Ito
E. Puo",;"
(Stadic.o dot BiblioUtelr. W:lrbtLrc. VOr.. v), Lei~g 192.4. pp. ~.! '1 :9).

like.

III T~ intcrpt"et.lion, lI(X:ordiJig tu whie!l. the in ~lnImel"Lt i.o. queMion iii to be t:ounf.Od ..oon
tlt~ aotidote$ to meJam:holy i'putptio ILlvi" was 1.0 .ollie edc:ot the alpha :>ond ome. ~
IlLtI.melancholy .dicltetics) h";' lately i>ftll chaJJCIlsed Ily nOh.lcr. lhoo,h "i\hout v
II ~

rruoll. for th~ ~11C.o tIC bulb-lik", ~iOl.Uo.u aka appear. ill H. S. Bob,.".', ,",Cll.koow-;..~.
cut. the. FOII.t.dI ... of Y.....tfl; (Paoli 1 11 0; M. GJ:lSlIlnG, Ih~ 1f.tJJst.U E.ixb/lltl.Ho4sd..w v
XlI lI, Ii) .b....c a dystn- is eertaiolr intended. Mormvu thoft~" all the atte
or..
pretatioa made .a i
t ......
.

"&"'
mp a Intu
r 111\11 ..... ~JCCIId. for the colour apn.y .. bleb Naee! (oy. cit.) _
in it
~cs ~hcro d.., and a Bail remover l uch as BIlII.!u (op. cit.J ""8I"b 00. not OCCu r
vatil the. Qiaetoentb uahu:y. WI! too DOW think: lbat the tnY'te:riou.. object j. me Iiket to
belo~, to tbc cla... 01 occup.tional t oobL than to tbat o( antidotes to mcl&achol TO It Y
be ~~H a glassbJower's pipe (, .. c:b .. Is .illQtn.ted In G. AGaloou.'a lamo", ~k: ;;~
;~~~:' Da.sle 1$.56, new Cer'Tlao. cd.n. 19:.8. p . .507-thil s"qestiao COmes from Dr
~ Ha.ruw.-g). ~, 1DQrc. pcobably. a pair of '*laws lot thillaUer In.-e.u...
.
oouJdhringtoi b . ..........rtaoo __
. ........ _ , .
-t"'
II
.
'
-Er-
1I..,llIporvy )lte ........ Itattal","I, Jll.D)tly Haoa DUrin s WOCLde t
(of ....hlc.b;,~"tI sha~ IPf!I.k: in. more deWI later), wbicll borrows ita .....hole ilUlnt...
rr~
Md. ..t:ell:! and tndud m 10lCt. I. p.tr of bellows (el. Pl. ... 'tll 107. and OIIr t4Jtt pp. JJS &qq.) .

to ..

,..'!n....

1M On foI:mu oc:usioll$ w~ left the question opCIl . . to ....hcther it was


mot
a tnl one"," a
lulife-rnioa ' to
.,.... a I S no,
...... III viow of the Salone frelCOU (sea abo"" te.:xt p 2004) '"' incJ.J ed
: . th~ latter interpretation. We ar. slad to fjlld lba t P . Btu.N ~ r (in
Uf/fIs&/oll."n .
1J~~(l ".ruI TuA,.iA. VOl.. JOI:XlI (1 91B), pp. 216 1111'1.) and, quite independently u( .. ~,.
teelwical ~~e.rnture, W. BLUI..... I'.af.O (ia Ju.dljdis~fI;. PMlcl""" VOl .. III (19~1-28) p" .,'
Iqq.) now\ a.oc:ept thla.
. 4
u:o
' .
.
Atc:om:'11& to BUhler it 1i6r'. e,J to m elt Ule lu.d ..nth which tbo! juint. WOtc $Old ..
~
.
er .

tho..... .

.M

if;,~oFuPu",,"

CD(raVlng. 0)1.

z,;,

or Jon

AIIf.W"l'Is En, ..Uidu B lldTlib,,'V """ SUtllf,

.".11 ~! ; ra.o1durt 1J68--tt ...... cditioa MuDkh 1896-101. Ha.


'''Tho ~ :U-UlllCllt (ocigioaUy C;11lW" .....) in laVOllr of coancctJng

It with alchemical

~tloos )~ still t..sed on lb. tact tbat Jaltr mastcQ nell loa "D . . _ IP' I th
Mu~
' P ' B IPLA

.....cJ~.
.. ... . ... I1j.
"
.
r
.. .
. Ta 116) and M.. de VOl (Pt. ... T. 110) endowc:d ld.cL"lDchol with UD.
Jl\Istab.bly. alchemi$tie aUributes, and iliat '.--,.. th _ _ '''...
y

,-

............,

c ........................ 000 of "Akrmia"

.,
THE ENGRAVI NG "MELENCOLIA I" "

330

[IV. n .

expanrls the symbolism of co~npa.sses. sphere" and writing


materials, ill the sense that it empbasises t he the01i}'. rather tlmn
the application, of geometry; and it is obvious t hat , as instruments
for measuring time and weight, the scales and the J{ourgJass {with '
its a ttendant bell)'lH also belong to the genernl picture of
" Geometria". Macrobius had already defined time as a "certa
dimenslo, quae ex ca~li conversionc colligitur" ( th~s shnwing its
connexion with astronomy)157; and with rega rd t,o weighing, in
. a perjod which had not yet developed the notion ~f experimental
physics, that was so positively accounted as one -of geometry's
functions that a. famous mnemonic for the seven liberal arts
quoted "pondcrare" as Geometry's main task: '
Gram loquitur, Dia vera docet . Rhc verba cOlorit.
Mus cani t, Ar numerat, Geo pondcrat, As colit ~tta.UI

We blOW , too, from his own lips, that Durer himSelf considered
t.he purely manual activity of the minor crafls to be applied
geomet ry, in exactly the same way as did the tradition repre.c;ented

.,
necalio ,ml1y hol d

;0.

ra!r 01 coal-tongl

(e.g. the titl .. "" oodellt to Co G"~1: Il'. N~ /ndl of

n. faet that Hennes l'risl'DCgistlll in De VrieJI 'l amet o. alth~ni,t.


(.... prod""'. I" H urt.... "' . Cdn",,,". p. 46. ted pp. 41 and 81) h.as & P.iir of compas.el . '
-proof oeilhl'T for nQ r &lainlt., as he is holdi'" t he eOIl'pou_ not 10 hi"~leular eapacity u
akhomill bet i" his geoen.l e&Pf-eity u Hem>eI Trkmeptu., wbo is ~ po COIrnoIocer 1.1'14
a,trolocer, hit ICCOlld attribute being tb.cr~or .. an astrolabo,
.
HuMI. London Is76l.

I" Thill GMIII,A)'" (1001), p. 65, 1n addition r:t.. Lo.II, la lo; .. n In till! KIlN of t be hermIt',
beU .... itb whleb S t Alltboooy ill alln..,. endow-ed, miht paiot to tbe Saturnine lIIe1Ancho1k'l
le;a.nin, to ....ud. 10111111'10 : in F. P'leuun,U', ~..1ttlJt$ spHboli~t. CoItlJne ~6al. XlV, i , 23, a
bell .till denotes .olitude, aOld t.boreb'e. in remarkable co~ who lhe U I"~ cbaraeteristir.s 01 th, ~J.nebolie, "anima a .... bnl materialibus, ~ et diilboUcis remota".
On U1e otha ha,:,-d, tha belkl that the pealing of ba1l5 could avert natural t lil aater. (el. W .
GUN!)"-, In GIlQIJI"", VOt, " (1926). p. 292) im'pl iu larp ehlln:b ben...
.

... M",caonlU., S.twruli. , I, 8, 1 (for this cf. the pusa.c:e Irom Mattiall.... Capel.la CllIOted.
abov., p .)I), DOte 10-'), A dn.,..in, by Locu v:uI Leyden (Lillo:, Mu . Wicar) ~llOebancter:i_
geomlltry by an I.oartlul.

e.,.

-"I

I.. Prinled
In }o". OV.ItIl".c..:. Y,,~,.~",1I1:e..\kl ~,.., /Iq,nrl If", ""ttlfGI.u ,l!r-l"n Sdol4sti/l,
ed . C. A, Bemnulli, &sle 1017. p . 29. In the lao: of loch evi.donl aDd
the faet that
th. &e;;alel a ro not pietorially d illerentiat.ed in a.ray way !rom tho other Instturnenta (for
after all. l:Xher wall no lOGger at the sbe of U,e T Obingtn M$ brought in for eomparilnn by
SIOIUO StU.V"_KLOall", i n M Undo"., jllbbwdo tl", bild,Hd,,, K~PISI. Dew M:fiH, II (J93,5).
p. }8, whieh mixed. heavenly .nd Qrthiy Ula.tkr~ with" deliberately hull\9I'oo, intention),
It ;, difficliit to Interpt the lealcs astrooomical.ly. I.e. u the ~od~ .ip of U1e ex.ltatlon
0 1 Sa.turn (thu. alto 'V, GUNnar.. in G.", .....", VOL. U ('925). p. 293). If,ono lIcver thelcas
wistJes to mainbLin the ..troIogical interpretation. 01lC! rnay qoote not only the pua&!o from
S""ijtwll mentioned by C;und~l. but liso Mclillchthon'. view, bn,u&ht to Hghil,y A..W.ulluao,
H,id"iul--futJ'" W,m..,.,,,, ix lVo.-l .. 114 BiLl ~ .. L .. /Mrl Zrik14. ill C6uu.""ltI. SeJrrijlllJ,
VOl... II, Leipr.ig J9)2. po 529, according to which " rnul tD !tmCfosior est melanebolia, Ii
eon.hlnetr._ Saturui ot Iovis in libra. tc:rDperetur" (thlll al50 S. Strauss-Kloebe).

of

2)

THE NEW MEANlNG OF

.. M'EL'ENCOUA ('

.33

in the woodcuts just studied.'&!1 In the f0.reword to his InslntchO~


on Measuring. on which he was at that t une engaged,lSOhe wrote ,
A
dingly 1 hope no reasonable person win blame me ror my enterprise,
f r it~~one with a good intention and for the sake of alllovtIS of art; and
'to
b useful not only for painten but for goldsmiths, sculptors. stonetIll
l maye
masons and joiners nnd all who need measuremcn s.

'.

Perhaps. t oo. it was not me.re chance that in a draft of t~is ~~e
introduction Durer coupled together "planing and. t umlllg , ~
the same way as the plane and the turned sphere he t ogether m
the engraving.1U

(iii) Symbols of Satfl1n 0' of M ,la.ICholy COtt,bimd with G,ome/.Neal


Symbo'Ls: in Relat-iOtl. to Mythology and Asi,rology-11f.
Relation to Epistemology and Psychology
So far. in accorda.nce with the corrcspondiri~ dualit y in the

development of lypes, we have sought the notional co~tent of


M el-encolia I along two completely sepamte paths. But It would
be surprising, and it would make Durer's achieve~ent ~ppeaf a,,>
something accidental. or at least arbitrary. if a duality whIch seems
t o have been so completely resolved in point of form. s~lo~ld n~~
also be found to possess unity with regard to meamng, or I
the bold undertaking to characterise Melancholy as Geometry,
.
t of a Daoce of Du.lh d.ting frOID
We mllU also rClention a biCbly tftter .... tu., 1"'ge;"
..."td aoc:ordiDg to the ScveD
a~"t 1430. ..... bere the Il5l1al c roup' a;;,:t ::;,e 1!~:I.:n:'4:tdinated to gonmetTy. aDd if;
l .. be:ral .4.rtl (Om. 3941, 101. 11"),
I S
The aceomp:o.nyinll texU
aa;otDpamed by fiprCl ... itb OOI7lpa.$ll$, hamme.r, .hean. etc.
tAO

"Gewicbt vn maa Itt ieh dich


d .... U)'I'lreb il.unst die kwn iell",

say:

"RHulll

mcuuraa d Q,l1Im ..gnu 6gll.-a.s" ,

"Eve!iJ!CI der meyater an lcomelley lut


rt"
d
Det- h .nd""trek kunst, ul, .....g. bob, tyell, !eng v n pre} .
.
b 1 ~ __ilv .. ,Jra,,:illg in book h'.
UO Cf the ,amh, Ilatad 1514. for one of the Imtnlmen Of r- . ""--in the DrHdell Sketchbook. ed. .
Bruck, Strub. 100S. plate IJS

.n_

1&1

LF. N tU/Jau. pp.

181 , 311

IlJ.q,

,
d" l. '.".d des liobet! oder
"' LF, N/IdIlau. p. 268, 1-' : "Wi1l d<lmlbel'l an.~tlgenh:~:: .:e A~aiutBIlh1cr. denial
Drcb .... ern .tal ist durch cUa gercden oder rund.cn ~e~ac t t~al Craoaeb wbo looked " t the
that a .tun..e~ wooden sphere 11 mcaot, .....0 may;~:; ~: IP~ (OD n,\TRS n& a~d n9)

en~raV1?g.

'M:

the :::~f ;~~~e~;::::

~e do not wkh to inskt on tlIis pomt. bllt

qUIte dgWlt Y as
_ .
b
h ' h had been to .ome ex.tcnl the symbol 01
Biibler's It. tcmClJt tbst D urCf' Ip ere. w 'e .. th ball of .. churd! swpla or e"en the
.....

Cf

linea Martia_ Capella,

"'prest"

'"

. .

II_~.J ev
I f th Hoi Cr.il of whleb the rbombokl was the biI-Ec, 1$ slInply fanlutl~ ,
apex of tho Temp I <I
~
Y
"'~_ ' .
Id )u.~ to be shown ho .. st.'dI an objec l was to
If one;MisU! 0JI..uth Ul lntupretlu"... h 'III'OU
be fMtened.

THE ENGI{AVING "MELENCOUA~"

33 2

ltv.

H.

2] ; ,;

or Geomet ry as Melancholy. should not ultimately have revealed


an inner affinity between the two themes. And such an affinity
dots in fact seem to exist.
The earliest (and, at the same time, most complete) westem
example of the previously mentioned series of pictures representing
the "children of the planets".l6:1 was, as we may remember, the
picture"cycle in the Salone at Padua. Retaining the scientifically
tabula ted form of t he Islamic manuscripts, but essentially western
in style, it shows the occupations and characteristics of all the
people whose birth and destiny are governed by a certain planet.
Among those ruled by Saturn-who himself is represented as a
" silent" king1M- thcre arc a man plagued with sickness and
melancholy. and lame in one leg. with his head resting on his
hand; t hen a scholar. se,tted, but with his ann in the same typical
posture, its double significance-sorrow and reflexion- thus being
divided between the two; and further, a tanner, a carpenter, a
miser burying treasure, a stonemason, a peasant, a knife~grindt:r,
a gardener, and numerous hermits '(PUTES 32-33).
Thus we (:an see that most of those o'ccupational symbols
whose pre.sence in D Urer's engraving of Melencolia has hitherto
seemed explicable only in terms of the "art of measurement"
find a place also in the world of Satum; for in so far as they are'
practica l and manual, the trades repr~sented in DUrer's engraving
belong not only to that group which we have seen illustrated in
the woodcut of "G~metria" in the Margarita philosophica, but
also to that which the writings on the planets label the "arliftcia
Satumi"; namely, the trades of the "carpentarius", the " lapicida",
tlle "ceme.ntarius", the "cdificator edificiorum"-aU trades that
are cited by Abu Ma'Sar, Alcabitius, Ibn Esra and the rest' as
typically Saturnine,l!!:> since t hey more than others arc concerned
with wood and stone. Since it is t.he Salone series that shows
not only stonemasons' and woodworkers' tools in action but also
the grindstone (elsewhere very rare), it is conceivd.ble that these
fre5Co~s exercised a direct influence on the prograrrune of the
engraving, especially as we know that \Villibald Pirckheimer

over three years studying in Padua; and Durer himscU


apparently visited the town.l$e
.'
owe~er, it is not omy (so to speak) a substantial relationship
of ~at~la.ls, b~ed on a preoccupation with stone and wood,
wh~cb l.mks the Salone's Saturnine trades with t hc corresponding
tradc;s In the non~astrological pictures of different types of work,
TI:e; mtellectual principle, too, the theoretical foun dation undcr~
Iym&~ this practical activity-in other words, geometry itself- has
~ ; ,rec~oned part of Saturn's protectorate; and the Dlore
5Clen~ific ~t~uments and objects, no less than the more ordinary
too~ ~ Dure: s engraving, thercby acquire the strange ambivalence
wh lcJ~ sanctIons-as it were-the link between geometry and
a1s~

mela~choly.

. 'o/:hen. the seven liberal arts, which Martianus Capella had


:.conSldered the "ministrae" of Mercury, began to be appor~
.llOIle_d among the seven planets, Saturn was first given astronomy
beca~se: as Dante expressed it, tlus was the " highest" and "surest"
?f th~ hbe.ral arts.1tI1 This system, almost universally recognised
ill ~be MIddle Ages, was later modified, so that instead of
astronomy, Saturn .acquired geometry, which had form~ly had
other, planets for Its patrons-Mars, Jupiter, and, especially,
Merc~ry. When and where this occurred, and whether or not
cer~~ specula~ons in scholastic psychology168 had any influence
o~ It;, are questIons that cannot be definitely answered' but even
wlth~ut such influence the alteration would be under'standable
for the. ~ld earth god 'with whom the measurement of the field~
had j.~~gma.lly been associated, the god in whose Roman temple
the ~es hung,lOt the 'god who, as "auctor temporum" govcrncd
the ';ll.easurement of timel 70 no less than of space-this old earth
god ~uld the more easily be credited with the patronage of
s~ln

,"

; ,
F ' 1 .'A .~, VOl.. XVIII (1915), pp. 147 sqq. (also G. GRONAU ill P(11ll"tfltl
v " 'a
.C
. 10eell,lII
01.. 11-(1928), p . .533), who I'oinb Ollt II. p<r<tu.it of Du rer in CamJNlllola'.
pal

m':.wc.

"l'\' (text).
I.. He ap'pun for UIII sewnd time u an old maD with a pick.axe alld a mil'f'!'l', bllt thb
Ii!,,:u", gOCll ~k to a [cstoration. The IldgiDlll probably occupied th~ panclllOW filled by
... hu(:e IUIgel.
, .. Rc!er",nt:cl quott:d above, pp. 130 .qq., I'J o sqq. (text, with rclCViIollt tootDot.clJ.
10+

ted

~tWC~~511~ and 1510 in t1,~ ScIlOIa del Cannine, Pad ua. Recently, however the ~lIes
ave ,_.n gIven a. Inter date. a. H . nr:ru. T.... illll. Vienna. '936, pp. 68
', Of course
C~1I1ya.~~lll may ~so have d""''''tl VY"r in V",nice. J!urthcr, d. H. RUP:'~ Willibaid
,""",'
;

liP.

333

spen,~

~~::~:'!"'''
... Ste abov",

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLlA J"

..

>14 du ~Y$I, Nf~U ~/Jr4rl


1I~U~", Vienna 1930, ()an ...., whose c:meJu$lona,
K
' , .iU'C mu~ too l wellJ.lIflK 1II son"'.:Me. (a. the DOtp by ALIce WOI:" [n D'6 ,ra~},jscMn
. l!Ns16, nf)W series, 1 (1936), p . , ,8).
.
' r

,,,,,10

.. 11, 1'1, 230. Cf. lllso].


. VON $(:Hl. O$S>/ II, in J4hrbwcfl dM lU4tUlhil/tJri#fl8H
S ,., D~~
: TE ' CD ""''''0,
a''''''I'...g~'' 4u allerltodl/'"

KGi!Ur""~U ,

ltVU (,-6)
" , esp. pp. 4.5 Ifqq.

... ~ bt:[~., pp. 348 S~Il' (tnt} .


\It

,
.:., ~ ..

V~~lO,

lJ# ""lUG lllli,ltl, v, 183, qUilted above p . J35, I'Ioto 33,

I,. ~~ROBIU', $ti""'Uill, I, 22, 8, quoted above, p. '55. not<'! 96.

334

TUE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

.i_'

2]

[IV. II.

geometry in its wider sense, since the translations of Abu Ma<sar


availahle in the West had given to the Arabic autbbr's fairly
vague statement, "he signifies the evaluation (or deteu.nination)
of things", a much more precise meaning by translating it on
one occasion, "significat
... quantitates sive mensuras rerum " ,
.
and at another hme even "eius est . . . rerum diinensio et
pondus".
In order to arrive at the point oI equating Saturn with
Geometry it was only necessary t o apply such attriQutes consciously to the system of the seven liberal arts; and :the odd
thing is that' not long before DUrer this equation ha<t become
generally familiar in word and picture, particularly so in Germany.
Thus the picture of Saturn in the Tiibingcn manuscript (PLATE
40)- quite a normal portmit of""Saturn's children", characterising
men born linder Saturn in the usual way as poor peasan~$ , bakers,
crippJes and crimin:us-~duany attributes to the god, 9ver and
above his shovel and pick, a pair of admittedly son'iewhat illdrawn compasses,In The same manuscript, in the picflires illustrating the relationship of the seven liberal arts to the.: plal"!ets,
credits Saturn with governing geometryl1'2; a somewhat later
"Volfcnbfittel codex actually includes ~ong his followers a
begging friar who is unmistakably equipped with a gig'a ntic pair
of compasses (PLATE 4I),n3 An explanation of this figure is given
in the heading. It reads as fo11o\'vs: "the planet Saturn ;.scnds us
the spirit which teaches us geometry, humility and c~stancy"
(the begging friar represents these three gifts); and al.i "almanac
printed in Nuremberg just a year after Durer's engraving says of
Salurn: "Of the arts he signifies geometry,"l?4
'.
."

1>1 A, HAUBER, P14u.u"II'..deYbiltUrf<.tld Sl#nbild,r, Strubourg f916, plate XI~I.


Hauber's
attempt (p. 93) tQ inter'pret the Impasses as an iU-dtawJI snake scaroely needs reiuting, U
the steel,blue llOiats aTe in clear contrast to the brown wootl,
... IIAUDEI!., op. cit., pIaU: VU,

It. HAllBI:R, op, cit., plate XVJ.


'" Lao:->uAItI) RKYlHUt<,,, NaJi .. ild_1(lflu."~, Nun~mberg ISIS. fol. D ii", :'Saturnus dec
hOclllt obent planet 1st lllannis<;h, bCoI, bIt vnd tn>ek<:n. ain veind dell IcbeQS vnhd der natur.
Aiu bedeutet der miinich. ainsiedel cla,!$$ner, der ser alten leut. Melancoliei. hafnet, ,jegl.".,
h:dergl!Tber, Schwa:tzf.".ber, ;>ermen1.er, der aewleut, klayber. badreyber, Sehlotvnd
.... inekdfcger, vnd nlles schndden vol~k.:;:, die mit sUnnebnden wassericen vlllIaubem dingen
vmbgeen. Er be:>.aichet tLUS <len kiinS(.cln <lie Geamelrei; die alten IWstlichen vesten ding
vnd werek der State Vl!Sst vnd hew&er ... ," Here too the su\'Viva l of post,daslic:aJ. notions
. is remarkable, ranging from the attribution to him 01 mouks-oxW< I'n""X'lI;o-..nd the
eharacteristic of hostility to li{e-Satum, god of Death!-to the (:()ottadietion that ho is dry
by nature y.:t signities people who dul with watery things. This passage 15 also m"rl<~, in
tbe notes left by Giehlow.

,::

II

THE NEW ),lliANI NG OF ""'lELENCOLIA I"

335

Thus from an astrological standpoint, too , Diirer (or his


adviser) was justified in regarding everything included in the
notion of geometry as Saturn's domain; and when he merged the
traditional "typus Acediae" with the equally traditional "typus
Geometriae" in a new unity, all these symboTs of work could,
within this unity, be regaTded as symbols both of geometry and
of melancholy, since it was Saturn who governed them both in
their entirety.
Of course there is a vast difference between the occasional
appearance of a melancholic or a geometrician among peasants,
cripples and criminals in one of the pictures of Saturn's children,
and the fusion, by Diirer, of the triad Saturn, Melancholy, and
Geometry, in a unified symbolic figure, . But once established,
this synthesis influenced further development to an extraordinarily
high degree, and even retained its force when, .fonnally regarded,
it was once mo:r:e split up. Apart from the direct imitations and
elaborations of which we shall speak laler,1.'1J; and apart, tqo. from
the effect which an engraving, born of a fusion between portraits
of the liberal arts and portraits of the four temperaments, W <"lS in
its turn to exert on pictures of the arts,176 the fact remains that
even where we cannot prove .Durer's direct influence, we can tra.ce
the development of his thought: for instance, in the poor woodcuts to a compendium of the Salernitan rules of health- entirely
unoriginal both in its wording and in its illllstrations- which
show the melancholic at a geometrician's drawing board (Fig. 2,
p. 395),1n But Durer's fusion of the notions Melancholy, Saturn
and "Artes Geometricae H118 is endorsed and illustrated in a remarkable way by a large woodcut designed by the Hessian painter Hans
Doring and published in 1535 (PLATE T07).179 This woodcut
fann ed the title page of a book on defence works, and was therefore
,ts See al so below, pp. 374 sqq. (ted).
... Cf. Virgil Solis's SRI"' Liberal )Iris, 81'13-129, or H. s . B~hlltn'S , BU1- n7. An
etching by Christoff MUMr (d. E. PANOFSKY, H'r<u/u "'" Scfleidew.ge (Studi en dcr Bibliothek
\Va.-burg, Val.. XVIII). I.e.ip,jg 1930, plate ..6, p. tOIl ,ho",s how even the "\'i.I"~ of <J.
Hercules at the CrolSl"oads could be influenced by Diker'$ Mdanehaly.
,,., D. _."",,,,>lda bon" vaJellUii,.e (quoted above, p. 300, note 66) fol.
fal . 1'1'" in tb<: ISS3 edn.; fo1. 137' in the 155~ edn .

I~O

T.

in the 1H' ed n.;

.n For J ac:ob I de Gheyn'. 3-Ild Jr,{util1 van Heem.s\t(lrek's ~uence.s of b>.mp"r:!.m~nu. in


";hieh -this fusion is aho dearly app<lrcnt, let: below, ~t pp. J97 $qq.: Puns 1~ 7-'H .
.... Cf. E. ENU:RS. ll"ns DOrin&, ,in liessischu Mlllr:r des 16, jllhrhunduts, Dannsladl 1919,
pp. 14 5qq., with plates and a referCDoc to the cocnection with MeirncoJi" I as well as to
Dcham'B woodCDt of Saturn; for the attribution of (his work (Pauli 904) to G. P",ncl, ct. H.
ROTTINGER, Die llolzs'~niu& du Gurrg p~~, Leipzig 1914, pp. I4 sqq.

EiliGR.\vl ~G "~tELENCOLIA 1"


[IV. n.
t
Ii ." and "loea tuta
"
intended to glorify t he art 0 I cas ra rna n
circumfojere", In order to accomplish his task, however, the
artist could tllink of no better way t han to reduce t~e content oC
Diirer's M eletlcolia 1 to a universally compr~enslbl~ fo:m ula ,
which involved bo th compressing and colargmg. HiS plcture.
which is expressly described as M elankolya on page 4 oC ,the text,
collects the tools in Durer's engravi ng (omitting the gnndstone,
the. hlock. the ladder. the magic square, the sca1es18~nd the hour
glass. but adding a mallet and a soldering lamr,) on to,~. of a
moulded plinth. which probably rcpr~ts the loea. luta and
a ll a sphere placed in the centre there Sits a sma~ wmged fig~e

336

who

2] ,

rUE

0 11

I
I

closer inspection, proves to be a synthesIS of Melencolia

Rod 'her putto-the position a nd childish air from the latter, the
thoughtful gesture, the book and ,the compasses from the [o:me~,
The sphere. however, bears the sign o{ Saturn, and a~ve It al ,
copied exactly from George Pencz's, set of p\anetar~ pictures, o~
153 1 (formerly attributed to Hans Sebald ,Beh~m) , the old ch~d
devourer himself drives furiously' past III his ,dr~gon chan~t.
'Btmeath is a board with an inscription which IS mtended still
furlher to emphasise the picture's relationship to Saturn:
Grandaeuus ego sum tardus ceu primus in Orbe
omnia constcrne:ns qUILe jam mihi fata dederc
falee mea, ne nunc in me Mavortius heros
bella det : loea tuto. mcis haec artibus usus
circum{ossa iacent, sed tu qui castra moliris
valle sub Ilngusta. cir('undarc" Respic~ , quaeso,
online quo possct fieri; puer illc d~b't :
hoc'boo quos genui ingeruo. hac uututc ualebunl.

)lartin Luther once said : "Medicine makes men ill. mathe~ati~s


sad, theology wicked" .181 So far, 3:t least, as ~athematics 15
conccrned this el,igram contains a germ of senous ~d well
,
h"t
tUle
authentrcated psychology, for whereas Lut er s Jes agam~
other two sciences is limited to affirming that they attam .the
exact opposit e of what they intend, he does not say, as one ~mght
expect of the schema, that mathematics makes men. fooh~h. or
confuses them, but that it makes them sad. Tlus strikmg

337

declaration can be explained by the existence of a theory linking


ma~ematics with melancholy- not a myth clothed in astrology,
but a psychological theory founded on epistemology. The chief
upholders of this thesis were the two great scholastics Raimundus
Lupus and Henricus de Gandavo.
Raimundus Lullus, in his TracUUus novus de a.d,onomia
{I297).182 drew his infonnation from Arabic compendiums. So
that Saturn-both earthy and watcry in nature- is therefore
es~tially malevolent, and endows his children with melancholy
thi?p.gh their heavy dispositions. On thc other hand, he also gives
th~ a good memory, fum adherence to their principles, deep
knowledge, and readiness to undertake great works of construction
-in' short, everything that Abu Ma~ and the other kindred
astrologers had ascribed to Saturn, Raimundus, however, was
familiar with Aristotle, and was not content with quoting these
astrological predicates-the truth of which he did not for an
instant doubt- but undertook to prove them scientifically down
to the last det:ill. Thus. he attributed the Saturnine man's leaning
towards "species fantasticas et matematicas"-as well as his
good memory- partIy to the fact that water was an impression
able substance, and earth a solid one which long retained all
impressions reccived!U; and partly to the quite special corre
sporidence ("concordia") between melancholy and the imagination.
They [the children of Saturn] receive strong impressions from their

I
I

imag4tatioll, which is more closely related to melanCholy than to any other


complexion. And the rcason why melancholy has a closer correspondence
and relation to imagination t han has any other complexion, is that
imagination relies on measure, line, fonn and colour,lM which are better
preserved in water and earth, because those elements possess a denser
substance than fm:: and air.It'
Clln. '0544 ; the chapter on Saturn. fob. ~ I tqq. With this d . H ,'s1t)in IiItbAir. ~.
Pan. ,SSj . p . .)09: 1.. ThOalfDIU, A Hillary of M~ OM ~pm"",,W
Su...u. V()1.. U. t..oadon l \l~" p. 868. aDd DiUUneNri~, u UiIolIllM ulWiyIu. VOl.. IX. 19J~:r.1.
col, 1~07. Then! U a Catalatt lraMIation i. a fragment i. Brit. :'dut. Add.)IIS 16434. foI.
Mlq '
It.

14 ~r~.u. VOL. XXIX.

,.

'0

,. , ~~t habcnt bol\ltm. memoriam. lIvia a'1ua elt restric:liVII, aVA.a, et imprnsi~. c:t lpeelu
fal1t~~cas dillgul\t et matomalieu. l;:t tetra c.t lubieclllni .piuum. in qut> dlll"at at .. r~lo
.peCl~nIID. qllo memorate. fucrant"; " ith this cl. tbe. abov.quoted paMag6 from Alberlu!<
Mago~,,:, nd tb .. other pa.nago bum Lullut. qo.ot~d abovil. p, 69. note 6.

I.. W. b&~ no t IIIt<:eeded in detectln , tither tha bor.t.lt ju metltIontld. by Ehlen, or the
'Y"'bot klr lad in the s moke , is;"" !rom the cOICibje.
"
' _ ". n d , " ;ft Z """ri"jjr bildu,h K ..uJ. N .S .
." Quote.J. in W . A MIt!!"'. IRs ma""", ... vila ra .~. ~" ""'~'.
wn
\'OL. )(.)I VI (1 9 I S). p. ,a I, \ 'asari. tvo (tee belo ..... te~t p. llI6l $a?" that lheIUItJUmea~~
In !)lifer', e ngraving of ;'IPiam::bo!y " rldllOOllo 11I0Rl0 e (;h1Unq~ ,II adopera.
Nalintonico,"

THE }I,;'EW MEANING OF HMELENCOLlA I"

1..

the I tatemeDtl lnx" AbB Ma'''''' aDd /Ucabitiu. quoted above, p. 1)0 "I.

UI ~ Et a

100&0 1l(;c:irillnt per y ..... lli~omm. qU(; Cu.rtI wewc:olia

cocliam quam CUIll alia (;OID.plec:cione,

maion:m habet CDQo


Bt fllio quare Uldanc.olla maion::m habet plO-

PO~ ct ~ (;1Im. ymagioaclooo 'lUUJI alia COlDplecQo. est 'lW.:r. ymac\Dado


c:orWd,t:rlI. t mensmu. hoe.. e1Jisur.t.S et c:oloI:61. que IlIeli... cum aqua el tetn. iInpcimi IIOQUIlt.
quollialli b.tllotll! materb.m magit 'pl$SilOl quam ignis et ur:'

I.

"

nlE ENGRAVING "MELENCOUA J "

2]

", [ IV. II.

One of the greatest thinkers in the thirteenth .century,


Henricus de Gandavo, was inspired by very. different and far
deeper refiexions. He too sets out from the assumption:(dating
back originally to the N,:comachean Ethics) that there is, a substantial rcl3.tionship between melancholy and imagiIiation.1N
But whereas Lullus, thinking in astrological terms and interpreting mela.llclloly according to the doctrine of the complexions,
enquires as to the influence of a certain humoral dispositio{l on an
intellectual faculty, Henricus de Gandavo, arguing from' purely
philosophical premises and conceiving melancholy as a d'a rkening
of the intellect, enquires as to the influence of a cerla.in;;~tate of
the mtellectual faculties on emotional life. The former a:sks why
melancholies (in the humoral sense) are particularly imaginative
and therefore designed for mathematics. The latter aklcs why
particuJarly imaginative, and therefore mathematically inclined,
men are melancholy; and he finds the answer to this question
in lhe circumstance that a preponderantly imaginative disposition
does in fact lead to a marked capacity for mathematics, but at
the same time renders the mind incapable of metaphysical
specUlation. This intellectual limitation and the resultant feeling
of imprisonment within enclosing walls, makes people hampered
in this way melancholies. Acconling to Henricus de Gandavo,
there are two sorts of men , differing in the nature and limitations
of their intellectual faculties. There are those endowed With 'the
ability for mctaphysical reasoning; their thought5 are not dOminated hy their imagination. And there are those who can conceive
a notion only when it is such that the imagination can keep
company with it, when it can be visua1ised in spatial termS. T hey
are incapable of grasping that there is no space and t ime' beyond
the world, nor ca.n they believe that there are incorporeal beings
in the world, beings that are neither in space nor in ~time: : .

Geometry .was t he science par exceUenu for Durer, as for his


age. l 88 Just as one of his friendS, probably Pirckheimef, had said
that God himself regarded measure so highly that he created all
things according to number, weight and measure,lst so DUrer,
consciously echoing the same-platonising-words from Scripture
(Wisdom of Solomem XI . 2X) ,11O wrote of himse1 f the proud sentence:

,,l
!"

rI

... HJf.,CVI D~ GA~DAVO. Q..<HlJObolll, Pari, 1.518. fol. """",iv' (QM~. Jr, Qua~t . 9) : "Qul
u&o non poIlIun t angelUJl) ]nl.eUigen' liKundum ration ..... snlntantiae IUM, I UPt iIIi, de
quibus dicit Comro"ntat . aper secundum Mfttaphys.i<:ae.: in <']lIibt virt.,. (marinlt.iva

domill1tUT saper " lrtatelll cognitivam. Et Ideo. ut dicit. vldemuw illOS non acdcr .. demon
str.Ltionibas. nbl ImasinatiD concomib!lt elIJ. Non crulll poNlint cndl!n p"'nuIU lion _c
a ut vacuum lut umpul clCtra mnndnm. Nlllille PQII,uo t credere hi<: _
""tia nOll cporea.
Mque in Joeo nequlI In tecnpore. )'r ilDum non possunl end .....". quod imaginatlo co rum
oon stat In quantitate linita: .t ideo malMmaW e imaginati9ncs et quod at uta coelu m
"identQr eb infinlb. SecundlllD nOlI poHlint eredve. quia inlalketu l eo:vm DOn IlOtt:llt
t.r&ntcendue I~natio"em . . . tl non l tat nisi luper magnihlliiMm lut b~bens ~tu:n et
positionem in ~nitudine. Propltr quod, lieut non pouu nt ercdf!lo nee conciperc e"tra
natu!1lm univerai. hocClh:ld!1l mllndum. nillil et~e (nequc locum neqlfl! t"IIlPUS, oeque plenum
lIe'lue V...,UU ILI.) .,ie non poN\,nt e.ede . .. ""'lU'" conel1>C'r<I hie (li ne est inte r r .. at de
numeTO rerum uitlvenl, qull.C lunt io unlveTSQ) _
aliqui IncprpPrea. q!,!:.e in slIa natura ot
eS$OOtia UfI!rcnt nmnl talioo. magnitudinla et , itWl
posltloni. in magniluo ine. ~d
quioquid to(itant. qua... lum. Ht lu t lilam habens in ~1.I~oto (ut p~~ch"!, Undl! ta ln
metancbolici lunt. ct O!,tim; (IUDt mltbcrnatiel, led J""S'Ul' metaphYIICI. qma non l>05Sunt
intf:lligt ntiam lalm erlI!n6t:re ulln. altum ct ,...ae nitad;Otm. in quib!'!1 !und&nl .. r
mathematieaUa: ' The c-.-Ult..t.... ulfN~ '""'''~_ MtlIfP"yJiUI (VO L. II. A l>.:irno~. th.
,11) is, of murK. AvelTOf!S. who dQC!!l in fact litcnilly I[IUIc: (If lhasa "in quiool , 'irT".lmllgi_
nativ:l domioatur IUpc!' virtotl!ln eociu.u"am. et ideo vldcmus iltos aon c.~cre demonslTll
t:ionilous. ais; luia,iullm. oonc:olDitet eu. DOD tnim poAunt crederOil" Ilc . do.wn to " ;ncorpor,,~"
(VOL. Vtll, fol. I,. 01 lb. ,,(Iilioo of Aristotle with eommerotary. Veruee 1.5S2). Bu~ In
AVI':rTOeS thl. statement d0f!5 not r"fer to mathematicians, bot to the mon: poet ic varody
of the Imqinative type, ttamety those who "qllllf!l1l.at testiD)OD.ium VI:r$i6cator~ before tbey
believe anythlDlI:: atKI ~ is DO mmttorl o r lPel:uocholy (<=lWCp1 '00- the: ..t.at.: ......... t that_
become u4 over a "M:nPO penautatWl" because they taonot ret.aU:o a:ld di,esl it). The
eueDtial DOtioo La thi. JlGASc, then:fare. ftll.llt bo repn:led II be!ooging to Ilenricu d~

.h"

. .. It is sixuificant that now the artnt. too. 1ikcI to portray blmseU with eolDl>asseS ;11 hl$
hand; ct. A. AUDO""", 10 c..dJ~ du BMWf;frll, 1.111. 1 (19U). p. II ).

... LF. NaUJilU, p. 28S, 9


1" "OmDia in meuura. et 110=, et poodere disposui5ti." I"I:&tonie paralleh io Republ,c,
6Me, &lid .p. PJtil~. S.5e : ............. ~G.."ft~
~ If... ~..,.~ or,,]
""n.or+, ~ r- f'..do> ~.... _.....v".~_ "~ y/.yHffO In illlls~at1on 0 1 the
famOUS JIa'$llJC from the Bl'Ne. Cod tho Father is ftf!qu: ntly :Eb~ In tbc ;o.~ddle "sa :u
architect of tbe WOft.!, boldiJog: " pair of c:ompauas. Thll type II prefigured In a ')'1TI1"lh~
nml ab"N.viated fnnn Ill. tbe Eadm Gcwpclsla ADClo-Saxon "tyle ("uovcr. K($tner Mu ~. ; b~g.
of eleventh ceatary : our PLATH 10.5: d. H. GR.UVI'I. in Zri/uArijl du "'sloris~kt" y",""$
I,i~ Nietlersru:h.,.. 1901, p. :Z94, wbere. bQWf!vtlr. the compuses I re no~ i~en~~ed IS I lIch) :
it appearl only a little later. and m a veT}' Ilmilar form, ill the p.me :utislic mlheu. II a lul1
length cosmolo&ical IIpe (London. nrit. 1tul. :MS Cotta,. Tlberiu. c . VI. fol . ,. OU,
PuTE 106). Other picturcs of God tf)e Father witb COUlp&5~ and stal~ :uc, I' l an EnSI!JII
psalter of abaut I:ZOO, Paris, Bib!. Nat. , ~IS tat. 84.t6 (reprodueed as ltaliaa ~)' ! .-~. ~ID.O:<.
JumopdpltU dr/tincal: Irisloi... " Diu', PuiJ lSi). p. 600; (2) :'I~~lltr. D'b!lOlh ~~e
d" l'UDivcn:iU ).IS 298. fol . )00 (onpublished: Dr HanDS Swancnsk.i !dndly brooght th'"
miniature to OUf notice): (3) PicrtI d.l Pucr.i/)'a fr~ io tbe Campo SantD. Pi" (rcproduced
by L. B.t.n.u:T. ill. Jo'o"J...lilm El4ll,.. Plot, Mcnlllmcnl1 "M/molfes VOL. ,,'x l'9rJ). p . IU,

..,.e,.,......

"

(~J .

339

(iv) -Art and P,aaice

Their intellect cannot rref! itself from the dictates of the.ir imagiriation .. .
whatever they think o( must have extension or, as tlle. geometriCal point,
occupy a position in space. For this reason such pe.ople are melancholy,
and arc the best mathematicians, but the worst metaphysicians: .fo. they
cannot raise their minds above th ~ l'lpatial notions on which mathematics is
based.'l7
:I

... '11. H l c.: IJSO b 2.5: Ilnd e$p. P'n:Ilolnn., XI, 38; both quoted above. P l.

nlE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLJA I "

THE ENGRAVJNG "MELENCOLlA I "

[IV. II.

2]

~at~em,atic~. H e never tired of prca.c.hlng that this creative


power wh~ch he reg'd.rded as the essence of artistic genius, was
boun~ up WIth the. possession of "art" - t hat is to say, with
knowledge based ultunate1y on mathematics.

"And I will take measure, number and weight as my aim ."lIl


The "aim" here mentioned was Diirer's book on painting,
and the sum of what was to be based on measure, number and
weighl was what DUrer called "art" in its most significant sense,
the "recta ratio facicndorwn operum", as Philip Melanchthon,
paraphrasing St Thomas Aquinas, had defined the notion of art""
After he had relurned from his second visit to Italy. DUrer devoted
himself to teaching German artists this "ratio". that is. t he art
of measurement, perspective, aJld the like; for be regarded it as
that in which German artists had hitherto been lacking,lIS and
which a10ne could succeed in excluding "falseness" from a work
o( a rt. It alone could give artists mastery over nature and over
their own work_ It alone saved them from the "approximate";
it alone-nexl to God's grace- gave that uncompromising quality
to the artistic faculty which Durer called "power". " Item, the
other part shows how the youth is to be educated in the fear of
the Lord and with care, so that winning grace he may grow strong
and powerful in rational art."lll4 So say~ Durer in the first comprehcnsi ve scheme for his book on painting. written at a time
when he could still have had no notion how in the course of the
years this book was to shrink to two t reatises in the strictest sense

When you ha~e learnt to measure well ... it is not Dec~ always to
measure everytiunS, for your acq uired art will have trained your eye to
measure accurately, and your practised hand will obey you. Thus the
PO'~e.r of art will drive error From you.'" work and prevent yOu from making
a mIStake ... and thereby your work Will Stem artistic and pleasing powerful
!ree
and good, a.nd will be praised by many. for rightness is made part
l
It.

" "Iff.,".

'IIU' ....

,,'ui/, .. """'''''4$,

,,6,

'~ LF.

~4.

'"' LF. Nllell"." . p. 181 , I and up. pp. 101, 3.:1 $C}q .

'f"-,ItIus.

it
,

, J,.

p . 'IJO, 11 (el. aboo tbe

".Ite.nc:e.

qllott'd above. from


u S 2 ami
'uS, U f-lId 3.56, '10). lirom thC$6 land other plI.~.... ea
clear
.
~ c, : .~~~e!I.'O~ .. Gcw:rlt", "gew:rJtiS, aDd
..ttsam.. (tcnsraJ ly I.l'ILrulated ..
111<11 um, poleutia. and "perlW,, In J. CamelUliu'l Latill tra sl&t
oppollitioD to tbo DOtiou Ventand.', "reebler Grund.' ., K _......
0
~n) are out in
aspeeq I IlI1:irtie hi

II ..... , etc., rtrening the radoaa\


0 . ..
IC CVCD)6II t, bnt include t1 ... m. 111 U.e ttansl&tion;n LF NaeltJlUl P
11 ~c ~cna gcw:t.ltsa1l1e Kilul tlu' 11 rendet'ed III "JKlt.cntc.l intelloctu 'tt -~-u ;. 2,~1:
envative fDnZl "Sl:>O'altiglic:b (LF NIIdt
'--" .
""
dcrivati
fonn' baa
.

I.." p. ISo. s6). bo_VM. j.ut bocau$I It i$ I.


.
\"$.
,
IOIIIclblO, of thII RCOtId-baDd ebout It and bocolllt:!l ~. t tb
lIotiOM oi "Besonoeubeit" a d 'nebt K
.. H",_
- r ......... 0
e
n
e unst : ....waJt.i'lic:babn- II nbcdlcbtlich .. isrt:udcrod
10
n. as Pl'OOlpte [not "ped tlll']. sed inconskler.\tc.'.
.

~~m~.l

... Fox Itlb lIotion of art, c:1. E . PArtOn""", Du,er, K"1U1IAeon~. Bulin 1915. pp. 16(; sqq.
.n~ tht UTIle autho[ In Jd.6 ..d ttl, K,,~i.su.uM.ft, 1926, pp. 190 tqq.
... LF. Nadlfl$'. p . .,111. J3.

0;

"Power", therefore, is what Durer considered the end and


essence of artistic capacity; and thereby the apparently casual
sentence " keys signify power" acquires a new and deeper
~neaning. . If, as we have seen, t h e Melancholy of Mekncolia I
IS n~ <?rdinary Melancholy but a "geometrical" Melancholy a
"M~I~cholia artificia1is", is it perhaps the case that the "pow~r"
attn buted to her is not t he ordinary power of the Saturnine
per~~. b~t the special power of t he artist hased on the "recta
rab~ . }aclcnd?rum operwn"? Is not Melencolia herself the
presl~ geru~s of art? We would like to think so, for it is
~Vally unlikely that DUrer should have wished to endow a
bemg-:,:"clearly recognisable as a personification of geometry-with
pow~ . In. the sense of political might or personal influence. And
In thInking so we are the more justified in t hat Durer was
accus~omcd a~ to as~i~te_ rkhes-symboJised by the purse, t he
appa:e!ltl~ still. more 'mCldcntal" attribute of t he Saturnine
melan.cholic.-Wlth the notion of artistic achievement. J ust as
the, ~on "o~ ..~~~" is ~~e ideal goal of the outstanding
art:i.st~ so ~e fiches his legltimate :l.Dd God-given reward-a
rewar~. readily granted many hundreds of years ago to the great
maste~ of th~. past, and one which artists of his own time should
expect~ and, In ca.se of necessity. demand :

... ith a 100'1\.1 quotiftS WOld for word I.om tM WU"g ... of 501_. XI, :at). 141 (hare Cod
lha Fathff i, Rpj;l(;ed by a perwnificalMlII of the COSIDO$I) u'e t itle woodc;ut 10 Albertu
loIalnlls's 1''';I~Sl)pJoia na,,,,,lI1l1 in the l1retda and Venice edition, of '49l aod 14 respectively
WaltfCB UESILlII"G, 1.-. Iu;"., ,I; fip'"
vex.. 11, n I. FJ,oo-....(.C 1'}08. p . 19') , Fa.
_
often we encQUn'.tr Go4 the }-alh.e.f tneiDt the wolki ";tb a pair of comPl"IU but
wit/lout 1Cl1es. IUId thi, it typical of. ..1td probably oripn.tQ1 In. the ~Bible !IlOf'alisH': A. 11.
1..,\11011..>1:. 11,,,114 , .... /. J:libh mfW_UIi. W.. ,lt'k, Paris 1911--a1, our PLAn 103, altEr Laborde,
pbte 1; also A. o. L.o.UOIl.1ls. Lu "' ....."rils ol J>riN/t4ru u Z. Cid "PUll, l'ariIl909, plate VI;
H. M...... TIN . La ".j.. w.." JrIUff_iH 411. 13' IS' ,;kilo, Paria 1!jl23, ))late. .}4 and 74; G.
RlcnuT. Jlfillllaileriul/. ].I"lnti ill Sf"lIim. Berti n 192.5. plate 40; London, Royal MS 19
D. 111, fol. 3 (datin!! from 141I-n.). reproduced;n H. G. Mu..L.\R, S_ni, dl.l~,ilitnf d
...."lI#ritsfr.HfIri' .. p..'..
Paris 1933. pi. 43: The H&(tIc. K31. BlbI.. 1\lS 78 D. 43.
fol. 3: I'a.n. nib!. St<ll_Ccneviht, MS 10:18. fol . 14. rqxoduccd ill n"lltfi" til. iii 1111'frp.ttp.iu
4. r.pr.xiru/io", d.......
YOLo v ( 1921). plate XXXVII ; Druu eb, lrfS 900...
101. .; P.ris. AncnaI647. ful. 11; Parll. llib!.. Nat .. )1S fro ~41. 101. I (P . D'OllUav. Lu
....,Ujllitu JI.dlllfuu . .. Paru 1907. pl:l.to I I: . nd even in Rllgle oroodc:ub: lia.:. that in P .
H Jl lT'Z. illl;lalfdr",4. d" I S. Jabltll.wJnl,. VOL. XI., NO.2,.. Cod or tho Haud of God, witb
tc:,l" but .... IUlu"t comI"'~S", vu(cdy &II n ')'IIlbol ot jU&tiCll. a l' pea... t-t:. in the Stuup.rt
P ... lte~. Ed. E. 00 WaJ(\. Prlncetotl '930. 101. 9 ". 17 ", 166", also. wi t h a cosmolOSieal UluoitlS,
on an ILVPllfcntly "upubJW>cd lont ill tbe MII.Kc. lapldaiz'e ill Bordeau ...
... LF. NlldtUu,. p.

34 I

TH.E NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLIA I"

lImft'. iU

. to" ' .,

J~})I'.

"o. .

it J!.

'"" ~
THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

,, [IV,

n.

For . they [mighty kings] made the best. artists nch and hejd t hem in
honour. For they thought that the very wise bore a resemblance t.o God,lM
. IteIn, that such an excellent artist shaU be paid much mon~y for his
art, "and no money shall be too great, and it is godly and right.J,~1

DUrer therefore understood both power and rich~ in a


specifically professional sense, and in a sense insepara~ly linked
with the notion of Art, and thereIore With mathematica.l education;
~or the true artist-one whose work is based on conscious insight

into the theoretical principles of production-power is a goal,


and ric11es a rightful claim.

But art based on measure, weight. and number, as "embodied


in the fIgu re oC Durer's Melencolia. was for Durer still only one

requisite of artistic achievement, still only one condition cif artistic


power. However highly he rated "ratio", in true Renaissance
fashion, he was no less a man of the Renaissance 'in affinni.ng
that no theoretical perception was llseful without mastery of
technique, no "good reason" without " freedom of the hand",
no " rational art" without "daily practice". "These f;..('o must
go hand in hand",lill says DUrer in a preliminary outline of his
doctrine of proportion : {or although, like all Renaissance thinkers
(one has only La remember Leonardo da Vinci's phrase "lk'scientia
e il capitano e la pratica sono i soldati"},lti Durer recognised .Art .
as the highest and governing principle of creative ende~v~)Ur
so that practice without art seemed to him corruptipn and
captivity-yet he had to adm.it that "without practice"100 art,
as he understood it, "remains hidden" , and that theqry ~d
practice must go together, "so that the hand can do w.hat the
will intends."2Gl Now, if the figure of Me1encoJia signijics Art
generating power, a question arises whether her non-in#Ilectual
counterpart, Practice revealing power, has not also, perhaps,
:,
received its due in Durer's engraving?
And so in fact it seems ; for if, on the strength of o~;; purely
visual impression, we had to interpret the writing ptitto as a
figure contrasted with Melencolia, we may. now, ' So tb~ speak,
.oo LF,
m

LF,

Nach!il.u, pp_
N",~Uur.

295, 9, lind 291, 19,

p. 28], .. : d. lll'JlO p_ 185 .5.

II. LP, -",."Altus, p . 230. $ : cl.

all<>

p . 231,

~.

, .. Co Ibv,,-lSSON-MoLUlIlf, 1-# ...... NUriLr /U I...irrAn1'4 U Vi'..., l"a:ris 1881 , MS 'J. 101. 1]0'.
Ct. alto J. P. lliClirmr., Ti. Lit.nory IVcw.ll 0/ Lwwarda 4. ViMci. Lontlou 188], t 19.
00f

LP, "'uMtzSJ, p. "3D, ]].

OCI LF, NllcALus.

p. 230. 1_

j!'

nm

NEW ME.,\NI NG OF "M'LKNCOLIA I"

343

name this contrast and suggest that the child signifies "practice" .
This child sits in almost the same attitude as the woman, and yet
-almost to the point of parody- reverses her appearance in its
every detail: eyes not aimlessly gazing on high, but fastened
eagerly on the slate, hands not idle or clenched, but actively
busy. The putto (also winged, but for all that only a little
assist ant, offering mere manual act ivity in 'exc11ange for the
power of the mind) may well be an example of activity without
thought, just as Me1encolia herself is an example of thought
without activity_ He takes no share in intellectual creation, but
neit her does. he share the agony bound up with that creation.
If Art feels herself faced with impas.o;able limits, blind Practice
n~ti ces no limitations. Even when, in Satlim's most in'a uspicious
hour, "Ars" and "Usus" have become separated-such is the
hour we see in the picture, faT the main figure. is too much lost
in her own thollghts to heed the child's activity:202_an d even
when Art herself is overcome with despondency, Practice still can
indulge in pointless and unreasoning activity.2lI3
That admirable etcher and engraver, Alexander Friedrich, has
shown us t hat this is no mere arbitrary interpretation20-1; for he
... p~, RJ .. f~_ Hcndri k Golt~i\lS shows II. happy and .etivC! lUIOei.tion betwee n "A r. anti
" Usus" in his engraving nUl reproduced in E. PANO)-"sICV (in Jd.bwd< ft,', X"nJlwisunuio_/l.
19%6. plate n), ....hue "ATS" aI'I'eM"I a$ teacher and pUtc! to ""USIIS"".
001 We have now been eo,.v~rtoxl. th01'eh (or dilter.",t T"elIS""S, to H. \\'61IRi,,'s "pinion,
aCCOrding: to which thc I'utto ;a not "a thinker in miniature" but " ... child Kribbling" (Di~
KUnJt AIbn~'" DJi.,.,. ,lh eeln._ Mlln;ch ~9"6. p. ",CoJ. In t ws respect it i5 01150 important
that DUrer gavc a morC! sJMleifie:llly cb.ildislt colollri"!:" to tbe putto 's activily by replacing the
mathematical iostruments .... itll the slate. The motif originally inlen/1cd, like thl.t iu th ..
engraving by tho Muta! "A. Co" (Pun XI.) , ""'Illd have provided a parallel Toather tba ll ..
oon~t.
Indeed. there are cu.mples $hawing that a. putto busywitb mathematical instn!men"Q; may mean the very opposite of mere "USIIS"; ef. e.lJ. Hans Doring'S woo<k:llt (I" ]]'
and PLATe 1071 .......eU as an. eQgn.ving in J O'-'CIIII( S.uroult r '. r,wst.he Aillll'.mit (new
cditio1l by A. R. Peltzer, Muakh 19"25, p. 307), sho..-fn&: putto with rule .nd 00"'1'_ .
SUfTOUnded by othv ml.l.heulaticaJ in$l:nttnen"Q;, with the io.scriptiOll ".Io.rs", "Nllmerus.
" PoDdas". "Menlura"_ }b.1lIi D6ring's "pocr doccos" provides a sort of C;f&'''P'O~ for our
interpretation 01 Dilrllt', pa.~to, in that. althollgh dcveloped from Diirer's, he is hol ding lIot
a slate bot the book and compasses of the main figure, and. iosl.Ud ot eagerly Kribbling . has
adopud thIS thoUSbtful polIS of the ;ldlllt. Durer', putto eould only cbange from ;\ persoDillealion of mere "PneliclS" to a being embodyiDg "Art" by talciog over tbe attributCl an d
attitud~ of Melllllcholy. Ou U,e other ha.nd, the interC$ting Va:riati001 OD the nllmber 10ll T
by Paul Flindt (QU/I(_ "'{lfllluhi_. p,..1n ""..,4i, etc.. cd. P.,,1 Fl.indt. Nurember& l611 ,
No. l:l) show tbe OO1Itn.st bet... Cleo. "Art";!.lId "Pr""DIlft" by mean. of t ....o pulli. Due o f ...hom.
eagerly eupged witb a chisel. is described as "phl..gnuticut". the other, still reminiscent .o.f
00..,[, as "meb.ncholieua" (d. abo below. pp. 3.9. note 217, and 380. note 16).

.. Another iatecpretation of tb.eputto, kiodly mentioned to U1 by Dr G. F. Hartlallb. b ut in


our opinioo Dol alto~ther convincilll, will ba dbc~ I:..tcr on in coll.D.cxion with Lacas
Cnaaeb', portrait of melaneholy (_ below, text pp. ]82 IICJq.).

344

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA

r"

[tv.

II .

points out that the writing implement which DUrer's putto is


plying so eagerly and thoughtlessly is really the artist's own
speci fi c tool, namely, a burin, with its own distinctive handle,
and its groove for the insertion of the thin square graving point
-here applied in a most unsuitable manner. Moreover, there is

the fact that the connexion which we discern in DUrer's engraving


of theory and practice with ideal and material success, can also
be traced in other symbolic or schematic representations of artistic
achievement, as {or instance in Hendrick Hondius's engnvcd
tille-page to his well-known collection of portraits ~f Dutch
painlers, which might almost be taken as a more .positive version
0.1 DUrer's programme (PUTE Iog).W$ It shows two naked
allegorical figures, one with palette, brushes. and wand of Mercury,
signifying "Pictura". the other, with mathematical '41struments,
signifying "Optica."; though not sunk in depression like D urer:s
Melellcolia, the two wornell seem content merely to regard then
own excellence, while above them we st;:t: two putti eagerly engaged
in practical work, and representing' "assiduus labor" .20G The two
Iactors of creative achievement which Durer conceived in the
whole complicated tension of their relationship are here shown
in friendly accord ; but they are still the same two faclors, and they
still stand in t he same relationship of higher and lower: t heoretic
Art (her~ split into two forms), and active. eager Practice. The
analogy even goes a step further ; for just as Durer showed us the
goal and reward of artistic endeavour in the form of keys and
purse (;.Ul inlerpretation here reinforced) , so Hondius shows us at
the bottom of .the picture the "fructus laborum". Admittedly
there are two significant differences. What men in early baroque
times thought the artist's highest goal. next to the riches signified
by gold coins, W ,lS no longer the power given by God, but {arne
won in the world, as illustrated by the palm and laurels, and
emphasised by FaJne with her trumpet.2M And whereas, in his
optimism, Hondius considered the goal ~ unquestionably attainabl e, DUrcr, in illustrating the unhappy moment \...hen Practice
and Art havc become separated, questions- and momentarily even
- PUla""'" . 11",01 ~llln'IIWI

,jfiti". tint puhltoJietl at tbe H all"e "bout

1~ 10.

IN Tbe crane allotted to th .. righthand putto was .II Iy mbol o f wakelulneu already In late
antiqui ty; th .. 1:"1;10. on t be leIt (next to the putto). t ILe tate or Uliduity dOKly OOQ.IlCIetod wltb
vi silllnc8 (cl. e.,. CI!:SAU RIP" , }'lIl1woli". 1St edu., Rome. 1393. e..v. 'VlgiJanu." and
"Sollccl lutlioe').
-

An .allqocy g)V\;>.arable i n conte nt i, found o n lbe eugn.ved title to V.~" FiIN~'

",i~h .. ,

A....i,

...uti I.. (If" 4" PU/yo 4. jui.t, Antwecp 1639 (PLATE 110), On Ib.. left Is "Di&!"DO",

2]

i<

THE NEW MEANING OF "MliLBNCOLIA I"

345

d~~-the value of attaining success and being rewarded lor it .


Tha,t' ls the ~e significance of a pictorial feature which seems at
first :~o be designed merely to communicate a certain mood-his
giving, that is, to boUl the pursc and the bunch of keys ("riches"
and:~ : 'power", as DUrer himself said) an air of confusion and
neg1e.c t , in other woros, of being unused or unattainable.
.:.

(c) Th e Significa n ce of "Melencolia 1"

Th~ is no doubt that thc idea expressed by Henricus de Gandavo

brill~ us ' very close to the core of Melencolia's true meaning,


Sh: 15 above all an imaginative Melancholy, whose thoughts and
acb0'!5 all take . place within the realms of space and visibility,
from.pure .refiexlon upon geometry to activity in the lesser crafts;
and ~ere if anywhere we receive the impression of a being to
WhOIll her aUotted ~ seems intolerably restricted---of a being
who~ thoughts " have rcached the limit".
.~d so we come to one last vital queslion, namely, the basic
attItude towards life underlying Dilier's engraving, with its
endl~sly . complicated ancestry, its fusion of older types, its
rnodi~cation-naYI its inversion---of older fonns of expression,
and 1ts deVelopment of an allegorical schema: the question of
the fundamental significanceIM of Melencolia. 1.
T~e foundations out of which DOrer's idea arose were of course
laid ~y Ficino's doctrine. The revolution which had reinstated
the '.:pessima. complexio" and " corruptio animi" as the source of
all qeative achievement, and made the " most evil planet" into
the '~i:uvans pater" o{ intellectual men, had, as we have seen, been
brought about in the Florence of the Medici. Without it a
nortlt~ artist, granted all the astrological likenesses betw~en

hanJ~.

ill
)"outh witb mirror aud eompas$le$, on tbe richl. '"Labor""'. _ labou.reI' d41'11I8'
_bovII.;;.' ?loa ore .GrO":~ with tb. 1..llrel wreath of "Pama.". and with "Abollda.oo;a'. ':
COI"D IiCOpta, Tho lO.Scnptlon rUIIa

;
.
"Door den albert .. 0 Iloor d ~ 1.li1oo-cQlUlt
Comt mellicb leD e'" en S'prinoeQ IONt.'"
Another e~lI&I1y vivid example of the aJle,oriq of ~ IlOd Practice Is the eagraveU title
~ thll.p ....;~$~ . i/'OJOP.II/lJ, ".lIlwrllfis by A. F . I). DONH"rrLS, Padllil 1(1.81 : (l\>ove re[gD. the
vICbor~us," ~e.taa R ..1PU!.>hcae Venetae'". to tbe left .i. ~ .. mbodimellt of "Contempllot ione
e.t Iu~ In tho perMln ol an ideatiled youthful jj,gIlU with ..t:roJabe Iood Comp<LUCI. to tbo
n(ht a persotIification of "Rat>ouo et Experimento", TepreseDtcd as Merl:\lry.

.~ ~?r::'~s no tion cf. K. ltfoUlNIl Il IoI. "' BeitrlSe .. ur Theone der Welulltchal>nngsintcrpre_
tatIDO .. m Id~d liir R ..,.st,~MiUl/4 (formerly Jdlbwel d" 11.11. Z~.tJnuk_iuio ..)
1.(192 1- 22) .PP;,2J6tqq.: bou r P"~ i l _ c d neoessacy torepJaca 0.. tam " repn:leDta:
hOul JDearunC IIlI8rted IIy W"nnbeim bet_ "cq>ressional tDeaDiDg" and "'doeulDCDtary
meaaillg"; by thc turn "lIOlional mcanWs".

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

I.

[IV. II.

Saturn' and Geometry, would yet have lacked the riecessary


impulse to demolish the barriers of revulsion and fear which had
hidden"Melancholia gencrosa" from view for hundreds oJ years, to
replace the picture of the idle spinstress by that of the Saturnine
art of measurement, and to trans(onn into expressions 'of feeling
and into symbols of abstract ideas all the traditional signs of the
melancholy disellse and Ilttributes of , the melancholy"tcmperament. But beyond t his general connexion-one might almost
say the "atmospheric" connexion-the De vila lriptici can hardly
have had any influence on the composition of t he engraving,
for the very idea which is most essential to DUrer's cOlnposition,
namely the integral interpenetration of the notions of m!CI~ncholy
and geometry (in the widest sense), was not only foreign toPicino's
system, but actually contradicts it.
F icino had taken a.n enthusiastic interest in many asp~cts both
of t he wOTld of ma.n and of the universe, and had included .them in
the structure o(bis doctrine; but there was one realm into which
he did not enter and wh~ch in fac t l~e really ignored-th~ realm of
"visibility in space", which was the background both of thoo(etical
discoveries in mathematics and of practical achievements in the
manual arts. 'fros Florentine, who lived at such close: quarters
with the art of the Renaissance, and with its theory of h.rt based
on mathematics, seems to have taken no part either emotionally
or intellcctually in the rebuilding of this sphere of culture, His
Platonist doctrine of beauty completcly ignored the ~orks of
human hands, and it was not until a good century latCI' t hat the
doctrine was transformed from a philosophy of beauty Ui nature
to a philosophy 0'( art. t09 His t heory of cognition barely glances
at mathematical knowledge, and the dietetics and morphology in
his De vita triPlici are the dietetics and morphology of a 'literary
man of genius. As far as Ficino is concerned, the creative intellects
-those whose efforts, in their beginning, are protected. bY 'Mercury,
and, in their development, are guided by Saturn-ate the '
" literarum studiosi", that is to say, the humanists: the sectS and
poets, and, above all, of course, "those who devote themselves
ceaselessly to the study of philosophy, turning their minds from
the body and corporeal things towards the incorporcal"21lt.-in
- See below. pp. 360 &qq.

(t~ t).

lIol'lcllfo. De . 'ripl. , I. 4 (Ope,'" p. "91): "Maxim" veto lit ...... torum omnium hl am
bi le P'"emuutur, qui Hdulo pWlosophiae ,todio dediti, mentem. .. COl"pOfe ~ebusqo~ oofJ'CIUit
seVOClnt, illcorpQi$qlle conillllgunt."

"'::"

.., ,''.

2]

'THE NnW MEANING OF "MELENCOUA I"

347
other words, certainly not mathematicians, and sti1lless practising
artists.:2l1 Accordingly, in his hierarchy of the intellectual faculti e~.
he does not place the "vis imaginativa" (the lowest facu lty,
directly attached to the body by t he " spirituS")21Z under Saturn .
As we read in the third book of t he De vita triplici, the "imaginatio"
tends towards Mars or the sun, the "ratio" towards Jupiter, and
only the " mens contemplatrix", which knows intuitively and
transcends discursive reasoning, tends towa.rds Saturn.%13 The
sublime and sinL"ter nimbus which Ficino weaves about the head
of the Saturnine melancholic does not. t herefore, have anything
to do with "imaginative" men; the latter, whose predominant
faculty is merely a vessel to receive solar OT l\fartial influences,
do not, in his view, belong to the "melancholy" spirits, to those
capable of inspiration; into the illustrious company of the
Saturni.nc he does not admit a being whose thoughts move
merely within the sphere of visible, mensurable and ponderable
forms ; and pe would have question ed the right of such a being
to be called "Melencolia".
The cont rary is the case with Henriclls de Gandavo. He
considers only imaginative natures-in particular those mathematically gifted-as melancholies ; and to that extent his view
comes substantially closer to Durer's. It is also by no means
impossible that Durer was affected by Henricus's ideas, for no
less a person than P ico della Mirandola had revived these views
in his Apo/.()gy,nt. and thereby reminded many other humanists,
... III book I. ell. II FicillO emphuises explicltl) and with cOlI$i<;Ierablc pride the fund~
lIIedtal coo.tnst betweeD what be call. the "){UQrllm $\cemot~' "nd all other. even arti~tic
professions: ..... sollers quilibet arLilex inslrumcnta .UIL diiientissimc c llr"t, pcllkiUos pictor.
maU_ ineudeque f;iller a.erarlu., miles equos et &noa, venatm" canu et ;lV"S. ci tbaram
eitb.a.roedus. tit sua quisque tim.iliter. Soli vem Mn&:&nlm u eecdotes, soli summi boni
veritatisquc VllJIiLtores, tam ncgligentu (proh nefu) tamquc infortDnati 5111"11, lit in5trum~ntum
iIlud. quo mundum uuiVIM"SUID metirl qlloda.mmodo et Qpere possunt. negLigerc penitus
videant ur.
ltIstnlmentum ciusmodi spinl:n. ips e est. qui apud mediCOS va.]'or CJnitlam
sanguinis purus, l uutili. et lucidus de6.Di.tllr.'
0.1'

See above. I'P, 164 .qq. (text) .

QuotatiCIIU above, p. 272. (tat).


n. Ptco v!!:tJ..o\ Mn.ANDOLA, Af'Okllia (Op"IJ. Basic I n ' , vn'- I. p. '3)): "Qui ergo non
POSSUli t angclum inte.lIi,eTe &eCundum raOoliem SUbstantiac SURC. ut unit.")tem ;ob~ue
[;I.tioue pullCU, suntJlli de quibu. dicit CommC1ltator SUI""" seculldo Metaph}"sicae. in quibu5
virtus ima.gina.ti~ <lowDatllt ' Ilper virtutcm cogitati...... m. et ideo.. ul dicil. videmu s i$tos
non cre<:leno demonstcatioui bul, u.!! i lmagilla~o 1:05 comilclur; ct quicqujd cog,t.a.lIt. qUlntum
czt aut sttum habelll, ill q ll:mlo ut pu..r:l(;\Il': uude t.&lcs melVleholid sunt. et optimi nlllll
mathemi-tici. ""d sunt nat ll ....l.... Inept!. Haec Helll"icU$ ad vubum: ex quibllS s.cquitur. lIa:ad
secundum Heuricum iste magister sit male di.$positu~ ad nudium phiJosophiae r.amrnlis .
peius ad ttoJ.dhull Metapbylica.e, pcssimt ad studhlm Theologin. qUi-e eti"m .".1 d e O1UsttaC'
tioribus: relinquil:nT el"fO ei !IDIom aptitudo ad Mllthelt\:l.tica ... " Cf. also /.I. PAL.utlll.
1.1

Hill ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I "

[IV. 11.

Germans included, of them.2.15 But if Ficino's theory does not


accord with the trend in Durer's engraving because his idea of
melallcholy bears no relation to the notion of mathematics,
Henricus dc Gandavo's does not accord with it because his idea
of melancholy is related too closely to the notion of mathematics,
From Ficino's point of view, th~ description "Melencolia" would
not be justi fied, because he considered that in principle no
mathematician had access to the sphere of (inspired) melancholy.
From Henricus's point of view, the numeral "1" would seem
pointless because he considered that in principle no nonmathematician dcscended into the sphere of (non-inspired)
melancholy. Fieino, who saw in melancholy the highest rung
of inlellectual lifc, thought it began where the imaginative faculty
left ofT, so that only contemplation, no longer fettered by the
imagination, deserved the title of melancholy. Henricus de
Gandavo, who still conceived mel:m~holy as a "modus deficiens",
thought that as soon as the mjnd rises above the level of imagination; melancholy ceases to affect it, so that contemplation no
longer fettered by the imaginative faculty could lay claim to . the
title "philosophia" or "theologia", If an artist really wished
to give expression to the feeling of "having reached a limit"
which seems to form the basis of the close relationship between
Henricu5 de Gandavo's notions of melancholy and Durer's, he
might certainly have called his picture JI.!elencoiia; but not
M elencolia I .
It is assumed implicitly that. what is lacking logically to

Cil'" liz' Vii,.; I, 11., . 8 (~1. M. Rooke, in Smith ColIe8e Studies in Modero I ...anglU.ges, VOl..
VIII . Nortll;\mpton, bws., 1916-21, p. ~9), wherCl tho build iDg:S "ppem:lng in Satum's W(ltld
;nld U,eir an:hit..ct 5 a u d~bc<I .. follOWS:
"Tutto que110 ~ nel mondo ym"ginato
linea 0 lor (OdOR
00 .....;.." ch6 sia d.a. questa impressioll dato.
Fannu an:hJtetti quc:sbc creatun...
mathcm"tici IIOIJO Ii lanno In tetra
'" alb; in cicllor fonno & lor fi81lre."
inddelltaHy, the "'luau..." "Saturnus" _ " l mll8iDlltio", was also mado in olle of novillus '.
tlChc,,~..1.:l.. L;~e r d. Ii>/J iu'k, up. xi (cd. R. lGibansky, in E . CASSlREIt, Ifl4;~id .. v", .... 4 Kosm(Js
10. tltr I'h ilt>st>P;';c d.r }U"fliJlfI"U, Leip1i; 1917, pp. J'l6 &qq.) but thill is too i o.dividv.a.1 ..
coD$tTUetion to be treAted hue: it COJl$ilrts 01 &1'1 analogy betwUI'I the Kvell plaDets aDd the
mental faculties 50 tll.llt Sol C(luab " Ratio" while the six othel" plllleU con..... poo.d each to
l'lne in,truUlent of "matcTiillis eognWI'I''.
po:!" nDmen 0

'" We \t.now, for ir.staoce, tllat both Conrad. PeuUn8u of Augsbu rg lIId H a r truaDJl Scbodcl
o r }\' uremberg had II copy of Pico', APoloti'" in their libr~iu (E. K(I~IG, PIIUi"fl"ilUlie",
Freiburg i.D: [9 11, p. 6.5).
.

2]

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLIA I"

349
cOD?-plete the sequence started by ]"l~lencolia IU6 is neither a
representation of the three other temperament~ to make up a
set .of the "fOUT comple.x:i<?ns", nor yet a picture of disease contra.~ting "melancholia adusta" with "melancholia natutalis".
What is lacking is, rather, the representation of an intellectual
co~dition signifying t he next highest rung of cognition in the
sc<\Ie of melancholy; a Melencolia I I in contrast to Melencolia I
wh~<:h should reveal no~ a state of complete derangement. but:
on ;the contrary, a state of relative liberation. Herem lies the
greatness of Durer's achievement; that he overcame the medical
~t~ction~ by an image, uniting in a single whole, full of emotional
h~e~ :the phenomena which the set notions of temperament and
dise~ bad robbed of their vitality; that he conceived the
meI.~~hoJy of intellectual men as an iUdivisible destiny in which
the .differences of melancholy temperament , disease and mood
fade to nothing, and brooding sorrow no less than crcative
;?t~usiasm ~e but the ext~emes of one and the same disposition.
1 he ;depreSSlon of MelffiCQl2a I , revealing both the obscure doom
and the obscure sourc~ of creative genius, lies beyond any contrast
between health an? ~lSease; and if we would disc.over its opposite
we ~~ ~ook for It Ul a sphere where such a contrast is equally
lac~g-m a sphere, therCore, which admits of different forms
and ~egrees within "melancholia generosa".
How then are we to imagine . such a gradation ?217 The
,,". lotcrpntr.~ia ....uel..o Q "ltIckndmlia, r' ("Go away, Mel&neholyt 'J CIT '.Mclauoolia i.u;l!t,
( M"~c.holy II" 011. the p-0ulld" , thlll MiJl#il,u'I{'" us Rridub.""/u ...~ T , .,
1919N
6D cccmber) are sc.ucely worth ri!futing. More ftCent lint equally untenabla
"'U,
.
, 0. 47,
... E .; BO~'a view (ill Di ._4.;~ .. juA. Wilt, VOL VII ('9;U). No. II tLoat DOter', cnllIav.icr,
~ 1IBJIil"ed by a propbetlc vISIon of an epidemic of the plague (tlaoul!:h nothinl; b ko.owo.
01 on~ in 1 ~ 14, .. t leart Dot in Nuremberg), and tli.... t tho Dgu{e I ltood for the first 11,,001
the d'$caH.
'" .u~e Alllhu., "l'baulinl; and Gi~l.w .... we, too, fonncrly iU5WDed that Diirer's "nKl1Ilvinl;
to be Uifl fitlt o r a tel'llpel1llrnent...mes. Th .. diftic:ul ties iJ:rvolved ;u luch an
~U ru?~MlII ....ero DOt unlwowo to \II, for ...e realised that it wuuld haye bleeo. hichly WlUJUaJ
to bqiq, the llUics with MeJaDCholy. and that 11.0 tuUy =alo8\?..... D.alIIU "WOnld have beel\ avail.
a~le r~ the othu tflED.pentml\ts (d. Dri,,,,'s "MII,-'i",l", pp. 68 lIId 1.2 ; abo H. WOl."..l.Ut,
K~'~ AUwuJd DJOn1'"s, 5th e<!D., Munich 19%6, p. :I.5J): we uotice4 further tb ... t art:i!.ts UDder
DlI,rCl":I "II roflucnc., who did a complet~ temperamont_ries, retu.taed fot tlle .ake of neatne"
~ thl'l,.~~ription " mcr...ncolieus" antl ga.ve UWI "mel;uicoHcU9" tlllrd Or """II fourth pilei!
III th~ sene! (PuTaS 121 and 126). Gerard do J ode in hb tell'lpers.mcut-$Crics aftIII' lit I
~os (P~t~ ~!3J, .... h~cb is iJ:rdepelldeul of DUrer, follo-.s a De... way of bringing tlu: ~r::'
mol~(:h~lia 1010 lIne with th~ dCDotiDg th~ other tcmpernmenlt by trRtillg it. b
a?al~ Wl.~ C;r~ u,~c. as the desc:r~tion O'IUl aUal ho.lDOur, lIS an equivalent '<>r "cbol~
mgra ... clr atn bill.. , aDd thus TaI'lJlD.g It IlIorrglide "IaJlSuil", "eboJera", aud "phlegma":
but h';':"' too, mela.o.cboly OCCUpiCII third plaoe ..od DOt fint; er. ou r PLAn. 126. In tlI_
c~eu~~a.nee:!, however: the other yje ..... post"lAting a plan fo.r it. MdfnCf1lifl 11 as a picture oj
dllease,
Ot rather InuD.lty (H . WULl'l'I.IW
Di.1(wlI#
AI1w,,~ / DUrerJ , , .. In. .11111"''')92
M ._"
,,
, :.
.
'
..

"'Jo. lu~c...ded

m..'

'.,'

35 0

THE ENGRAVING "MELEl'ICOLIA I"

: l [IV. II.

NeOplatonist Fieino, as we know, held inspired melanJoly in


such great honour that in the ascending hierarchy of the ~aeulties
of the sol~l. "imaginatio", "ratio" and " mens contemplatrix", he
coupled It only with the highest, t he eontemplativ~ mind.
Henricus de Gandavo, on the other hand, rated uninspired
melancholy so 10w that it could be coupled only ".ith the lowest
rank, . the imagination. Ficino thought it impossible -for the
~magin~tive mind to rise to melancholy, Henriclls thopght it
ImpossIble for the n,:te1ancholy mind to rise above the imagination,
But what if someone were bold enough to expand the notion of
inspired melan choly so a... to include a rational and an imaginative
as well as a contemplative form? A view would thenemerge
re.cof?1ising an imaginative, a rational and a contemplative stage
wlthm melancholy itself, t hus interpreting, as it were, tl~e hjerarchy
of the three faculties of the soul as three equally inspirtid forms
of melancholy. Then Durer's Melencolia I , as portr~ying a
:'melancholia im~ginativa" , would really represent the first stage
m an ascent Vla jWelencotia II ("melancholia rationalis") to
.~elencolia III ("melancholia mentalis").
,
\Ve kn~w now that there was such a theory of gradatio~,~ and

THE NEW MEAN ING OF ".P.lELENCOLIA I"

!,
,

"
!.

,
. t

"

.-'.

p . %~3. an tI i n J"k,lrud IN' K'UH$b#i$U,ud~ft. 19%3, p. 113: al..a K D OKlNSK1, Di.~ Antjk' in
Po.lI!~ .. nd K,,~.lIbeorie, VOl... I, LeipUg J914, pp. 16, a nd 296 aqq.}, seem to us stl.lllCiis .e<:eptable and we cannot ima~ine a rcpuscnb.tion of "mclaneholia adusb." s uch as to cpQStitute a
couutelJll'rt ~ Dii..... engn.'\ng as it st&nda. For s uch iii. representation, given the;gcnally
lCIlown d.odrllle of t he "foU!" foTm,", two ponlbiliti .... wou ld haY<: lain open. ElIh"," aU four
"ub-spe~:Jes of melancholy m;\dlleBS. i.e. m",I:lI,,;holy "ex I18niluine", " ex chol~ra", "e;ll:

'$

phlegmate" and "ex melancbolia naturali". Could have been combined in one generj.l picture
-which wn~ld have r"~lilted in a gru8lKlme correction of madhouse scenes haviD'g' no pnlnt
of contact clthcr ~n conte'lt or form with Md.mo/i4 I (we shall show in appc1ldixli:, p. ",,OJ.
' bllt t~c mucb-d.seussed etehll\g H;ro (PLATE 146) may give us an idea 01 wha}: such.
col1eeuon of the "qnattuor specie! melancllolllle adust.e" would h.:ave looked likeJ-or else
the one real a n;Llogy. Le. "melancbolia ex m elallchol.l3. na.tur.U; ", wonld have 'b~d to be
eh0s:'n from ~mong t be f~ur {onn, of diseaslI:!I, and in that ca.se it would 5Catcely' ;a.ve been
po.slble to bring out the Intended p~ycbologieal contllL'Jt. Ever-yollO is at least agi"<!ed th.t
eVCD the winged woman on th e engraving, though she expTeSSes t he "melancboli~ naturalis"
of the mentally en:a.tive mall, bu at tbe moment been overcome by a. fit of depres.~ion in
.....hich the blaek bile ha.s so fa, gained the ascendancy ~hat, in FiciDo'9 words, the sou l "all
too deeply en tangle d in Saturnine broodi ng and oppressed by ear,,~" (BONO, D e 1/. IriPI., II,
16, Optfo., p. 523). "evadit tristis, omnium pertaesa." (A .P.T. Paro.,~lsj Opno. -mia, Geneva
16,8, VOL. n,I" 11); t he dcpr"",,;on di ffers 'from the pathological state ot "melancholia e;ll:
melancholia naturali adurla." only by it$ tnnsitory nature (thus,
H . W{iI..\I"t"(,lIr, Die
KUI4( AI/tr,,1Il D;;'rns. ,th cdn., Mllnich r9~6, Jlp. ~5~ eqq .).

... On hiro.. d. P. ZAlI:BlIl.t.I, A proposito del 'D~ vanitat~ !cientiarum et ar1j"m' d( Cornelio
AgrlPJKL." Rill. Crit. di SIDn.. dtlla Filas., I g6o, pp. 161- 81.

." .

a.t

Gllm LOW (190..1,

vp. n

"Adol,dimus aDte m
hlcuriosllm v:ldebatnr. "
)U

sqq.

DOIlIIUUa

capitula. inseruimns etil!.m

l,leraqu~,

"L1:1.e

p(aet~rm;ttere

an The dedication, in II slightly altered lorm. was nsed in the introduction to the printed
o:i!ition, a! was Trithem.iuss answer- of 8 April 1510. The MS of t'>e ariginal edition (quoted
above, p. 323. note 132} bears II MVtnteenth-ccotury inscriptioll Mon. S. Jacobi" on the first
page (Trithemius, of course. was the abbot of this monastery), and Trithem;us himself wrote
on Ule right-haml margin of the top cover : "Hcinricus Cornelius Colonicn.~s de ma.gia" . Sec
J. BIIILJoIAIlN, "Zu emu H ds. deI" 'Occulta philo6ophia' des Agrippa von Nettesheim:' A . ,h;!'
I KtoJl".gtJd., VOL. 21 (1931J. pp. 318-24.

too,

n, Sllch a pouibility was considered hy H.A.RTI.~ tlfl, .wknmllis, p p . 19 S<;jq. He rightly


Ole interpretation of U.e I as the beginning of II. tempe<ll..lnent-seri<:R, but' JIl es oft :Lot
a wgcnt by Introduciug the freemasonic idea. of the grades of apptentice, journeyman and
m uter (the two latte. po$$i.bty embodied in Di;rl!J"'S J<niGht, DeaJh 0111-' ,,,. neiJil and St
ill'fm" ). Bllt what Hartlaub, op. cit., p. "II: .5a)'l; is lacJi:ing. i.e. " lIlel":l.ry e...jdetlco lor a
",gnlar tripartite di vi$ion of Satu rnine development", appean aburulanUy ill 1be Ouwltll
philollOphi l/., 01. Gennan !Ontce, be it noted, wherea.a t he is na evidence "for any .(:onne.jon
with masonic id eas.
.

35'
that its inventor was none other than Agrippa of Nettesheim,
the first Gennan thinker to adopt the teachings of the Florentine
Academy in their entirety, and to familiarise his humanistic
friends with them. He was, as it were, the predestined mediator
between Ficino and Dlirer.219
Karl Giehlow, in spite of being familiar with all the relevant
parts of the printed Occulta pMtosophia,no somehow failed to notice
what was essentially new in Agrippa's theory, or fully to grasp
its special significance for the elucidation of the numeral in
Melencolia I; in the same way, later interpretations have been
equally inadequate by neglecting to follow up the line of research
suggested b y GiehlCfw. Admittedly, on Agrippa's own .a uthority,
the printed edition of Occ-uUa pltilosopltia which appeared in 1531
contai:ned considerably more than the origina l version completed
in 1510,221 so that it apI*..ared uncertain whether the relevant parts
were not later additions: in which case it would be impossible to
regard them as sources for Durer's engraving. But the original
version of Occulta philosophia, believed lost, did survive, as H ans
Meier has proved, in the very manuscript which Agrippa sent to
his friend Trithemitis in Wiirzburg in the spring of 1510.222 "Ve are
thus on firm ground; and in this original version the two chapters
on the furor melancholicllS" approach the view of life implicit
in Diirer's engraving more nearly than any other writing known
to us; it was circulated more or less secretly in many manuscript
COpiCS223; and it was ecrtaiJily available to Pirckhcimer's circle

critic~$

,i

- " Colltlgit lIutnm POltea., tit intC:ret:ptum !lPLlS, priusquam iUi summalll ml\num
imposuissem, carrupUs ucmp!arlbus truD&UIII ct impolitum ei!;Cnmferretu. &tq"" ia lul;a,
ill Gallia. in Gemia.nia. per muitorum manns volitaret.' The d~l ay in w uing a priPl ed "t1ition
wa! probably due mainly to fear of el(:ri(";l.l pl:T$ee.utj(,n; TriU,emius himself advised poli'''!y
but firmly against publishing it; " Untlm hoc tamen te mon"muS custodire PrilfC~pf"m. ut
vt\1g;l(;a "1Ilgao"bus. altiora veTO et an;;m."l aitioribu~ atque seeretis lantum communi"""
amieu.:

35 2

THE ENGRAVING "MELE~COLlA I "

[IV. II.

2] .'.

through Trithemius,Z"..A and ('an now lay claim to being the main
source of Meletlcolia I .
Agrippa's Occui.ta philosophia is. in the printed edition" a
highly comprehensive but unwieldy work. encwnbered With
countless astrological, geomantic and cabbalistic spells, figures
and tables. a real book of necromancy in the meclicval sorcerers
style. 'In its original {ann, however, it was qu~te different, ~~g
rather a neat. homogencous treatise, from whIch the cabballstic
element was entirely lacking. and in which there were not so many
prescriptions of practical magic as to blur the clear outline of a
logical, scientific and philosophical system.w This system was
presented in a threefold struclurc,u, was manifestly based entirely

presupposed complete familiarity with Fieino's writings, both as


a whole and in detail. 2 2.1 It led from earthly mattcrs to the stellar
universe, and from the stellar universe t() the realm of religious
truth illld mystic contemplation, Everywhere it reveals the
"colligantia et continuitas natura~" according to which cach
"higher Power, in imparting its rays to all lesser things in a ~ong
and unbroken chain, flows down to the lowest, while, vice versa,
the lowest rises via the higher up to the highest''228; and it makes
even the wildest manipulations-with snakes's eyes, magic brews;
and invocations of the stars-seem less like spells than the
deliberate application of natural forces.
After two introductory chapters which try, like Fieino, to
distinguish this white magic from necromancy and exoreism,~
and inIorm us that as a link between physics, mathematics, and
theology, it is the "totius nobitissimae philosophiae absoluta

"" Thus the abov"1Ilentioncd (p. 3:1) sq., note Il3) bW'nt,.o/fefina: to Saturn.
... Tho' i::orn:l&tlon, with the planct. (with -regard to thOIl(l r,forrU.l 10 Sa.tun:r see t h o _
re!er:t?ce) t.llI ,ive.. in Q.. 16-,,) (in th. 16 add from MS 101. IS":'oo1lf&n1llt S-tumaUa ad
trJ.$ti~1Il rl mdanc:oll.am, ~ovi~ ad Ieticiam et lIill.utiltem" , . The kIcalities governed by
the. diIJ~t planet. art IL.~ I.R c.h. . faL 36" hi uuolo!!1cat terms, but 'With & new,
Flclnesqllc fIIlIaDi~ wb.l.le clI . ofS. lot. 3.5", CODt&l1l5 the mlmic aad t&da.I cha.tacWistks 01
the chilllrt:rr. of the ~'-'. wbote bUQvioIlr both spriq:. hom, ud evoke., the iDIlumc:.e 01
the st&r) ~~: Sun,t J1f..t'~ ~hu Sa.tumom tU"f'mte., qui S1lnt tristM ac IJaOCIti,
plaDetus" Qpr.t,U ><;:tu" It_ .,eUpm. lilt senu.ftuio peel\! ueOl1um b:o, pectnn, !etlls
vultulPCJ.~e. tonslmil.. tt a"t"n, ct ut scribit satyrieu.:
! .
'Obttfpo eapitlll et fige1ltes lumina ler...
i .'
Mumr,uno. com teCUUllllt rabiOt:l fileDti .. rodunt
\
Atql\o clCpOrrecto trntinantur vMba p&"to' ...

Z.ilsdnjt 11M Biblio

... Th.llilfcr~nce betw,,",11 tbe t ..o edition. of ~ufUz " ...;(oro" ..... is of oour.. a vital &)'lO.ptom
or the dC\'eiOl"ment .... hich IwrU,ern humanlltll., had undersone hctw~u about 1510 and 1'30;
Dr B . Meier Intended to edit the WUnbul'J MS, which ""oulll h .. "c lar;llitated In bistoriea.l
c\'aJ uUiol:' uf bis lIiKovery.
... 11M! prin~d edil.i.on o;.o~n a lmost throe timo :os much s(lQ.ce ... tho oci(ill.. l vcni,,"
C\'en apart liolll the apocryphal Book IV.

. , See below. p. )}6. r:otc :153: pp.


0" I. '19, 101. U ..
- 5t'c aWl", p. '168 (text) .

3~ tqq.

in

b"",.

"'Ulgo.lSdm.,~.m,,:!'''''''' 4" 1IU,,.lIikJu/no KIlU"1w!uUI. VOL. XIX (t&98). plaiD VI. text p . 166)
... kc.-o Ut~ .dca.s of LUlln and beasts are vividly portrayed Unked by nt.y.. with their eartbly
cquDte.rp.Utl.

_owe

CLuI.,.. ill

A. ~ lIl",u..don 0' this doctrine of pA-'ormtotioa occurs III a miDJatnrc

.IM I, 5

V~eQ.ll.a, Nationalbibllothck, Coct . Phil. crue. of JH. J. Unx~lf, ill }altrixld d~,.

... nat Trithell,ius .... d I'il'cl<hcime r Ud tom .. cow,uIon with a&cll other duri", the years
in qUClioo.. (15to-I515). in ,,:bitb ,,"u.lt matt.enl aIM p1&}"'d a part. un be _II from a Dumber
ot I,tten. the knowledge of wbich
to th' atdUrist, DrE.. Rew:kt: P. toT., 1 J1I11 1,5c01.
and T . to P . 18 July.~ Uobao_ Tritbemi1ll. E'~/_iti4nnro Ilbri ~-, probably
1I&8~nau. L536. pp. "1')-281 alld 0 .... -4008, tol. 11). P. to T .. 13 JUIl .. 1.51.5 (~a
work by Trlthemiu...gainlt maSic), pui"lbJ out by O.

353

consummatio", the first book lists the manifest and occult powers
of ea~hly things, and then, by means of the" Platonic" doctrine
?f th~ pre-fonnation of individual Objects in the sphere of ideas.mt9Prets them as emanations of divine unity transmitted by the
stars, : As the effects of the "chain" here represented work upwards
as ~ll as downwards, metaphysical justification can be found not
onl1!':for the whole practice of magic with its potions, burnt
offer~gs,231 sympathetic amulets, healing salves, and poisons, but
also for the whole of the old astrological associations232 ; and even
t.~e PSY~?Qlogical riddles of hypnotism ("fascinatio"). suggestion
( hgatio ) ornd auto-suggestion can be explained by t he fact that
the ~uential part can become saturated with the powers of a
cert~ pl~et ~d set them in action against other individuals,
or even agamst Itse1f.tu
Th.e seconq book deals with "coe1estia", the general principles
of ast~ology,iil3C and with the manufacture of specific astrological
talismans,taIi as well as with the occult significance of numbers
(which.,. remark~bly enough, however, are regarded rather from
the ,P0mt of Vle~ of mystical correspondence than of practical
magic; somewhat m the same way as in the well~known treatises
on t~e. numbers seven or four}!3S; it treats also of the astrological
and r::~gicaJ character of the stars,D1 and of the effect of music.23S

on Neol'iatonic, Neopythagorcan. and oriental mysticism, and

1"'' ,___ ", vot.. :U;XVIII (19lrJ. pp. lui sqq.

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOUA I"

i"
t

n. Th~; . lor in~tanet. a man aD ~ Dr saddim otber. by IUHeltion, bccaUH bt is Ihe


ItrO"8C~ . 111; ordiDc 5&t-urn&li" (I, 43. 101. 33". or by auto-ft1gutioo evoke Saturn', ald
q:aiDlt I~~e. 01' Jupiter'... pinft thc f~ar of death (lo 43. 101. H1 .
"'" n. ~:-J.

"" .n.

~~~9.

"11. -4-16.

Ch. JO brlee, _~ seoJlIoetric: fi(IIIQ. axnOlo, tbelr efticac, to nlUDl!rical


re1&tioashIpt;wehavt already Itated (p. 3').1. note 1-41) that p1&oetary -J1Iaf'eI are &til! lac:JU#C.

(text).

..

.0'11.11

... 11. 3a-)).

THE .ENGRAVING "YELENCOUA 1"


354
{IV. II.
Next, it deals in great detail with incantations and in";'Q'cations,
among which those invoking the aid of Saturn are ori.i;e again
distinguisJled by series of antitheses more numerous t~an anywhere e1setJ9 ; and finally it comes to the cast~g of spells py means
of light and shadows,ztO and the different sorts of "diviriatio"from the flight of birds, astral phenomena, or prodi@.es. and
by sortilegc, geomancjr. hydromancy, pyromancy. ael"~mancy,
necromancy (much despised), and the interpretation of dreams.241
The work reaches its climax in the third book, which. as the
introduction says, leads us "to higher things", and teaches us
"how to know accurately the laws of religion; how, thanks to
divine religion, we must participate in the truth.; and: how we
must properly develop our minds and spirits, by which :alone we
can gTasp the truth".242 'W ith this third book we leave the lower
. realm of practical magic and divination by outward aids, imd come
to that of "vaticinium", direct revelation, in which the soul,
inspired by higher powers, "recognises the last fundame ntals of
things.in this world and .the next" and miraculously set$: :"everything that is, hac; been, or will be in the most distant future".~
After some .i ntroductory remarks on the intellectual andispirituaJ
virtues required to obtain such grace, and a detailed #gument
designed to prove that this form of mysticism is compatible with
Christian dogma, especially with the doctrine of the Trinity,2M
this book enquires into the transmitters of higher inspiration,
who are the "daemons", incorporeal intelligences, who "have
their light from God" and tnulsmit it to men for pu~oses of
revelation or seduction. They are divided into three : orders:
the higher or tfsuper~celestial", who cilde about the divine unity
above the cosmos; the middle or "mundane", who inhabit the
heavenly spheres; and the lower or elemental spirits: amQng
whom are also reckoned woodland and domestic gods, the
"daemons" of the fOllr quarters of the world, guardicUi
., spirits
UIII, 34-38.

The pra.yer to 5,"\tum (ch. 31, fol. 1O"-71,"} ruDS a.~ followj: "Do!i:tinlUl altus

magnus sapieTL~ intr:lligens ingeniosus UVO\utoT long; 5j",ti;, ""nex m~1! profunditatis,
arcane oontcmplatiouis auetor, in oordibus bominum eogi tationcs magnas deprimens et val
imprimem, vim et }>Ot!:stB.tem .ubuertcnB, omnIa d elltrucns et oonseruB.nB, secre.torum 8t
absoondil.Orum ostensor at inuenlor, faciens amitter8 8t inu~oirc, auctor vite ~t morti! ."
In tlll! pdnted edition (II. ~9, p. ~oS) tWs polarity. which we found affeocting even:Alanus ab
.In.nllg (d. text p. 186). "PPC"n eqUluly c\.,.....ly C'vim et potestatem ~bvertentem ct
eorutituentem, ab!lcollditorum eustod e:m et ostensorera.").

"'-1'
(
."

'.,.

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLIA 1"

355
and SO on.24S As these "daemons" fulfil the same function in the
universal soul as the different faculties of the soul fulfil in the
individual, it is understandable that the human soul, "burning
with divine.1ove, raised up by hope and led. on by faith", should
be able to associate itself directly with them and, as in a minor
of eternity, should be able to experience and achieve all that it
could never have experienccd and achieved by itself.2AG This
makes possible "vaticinium", the power of "perceiving the
principles ("causae") of t hings and foreseeing the future, in that
higher inspiration descends on us from the daemons, and spiritual
influences are transmitted to us"; this, however, can only happen
when the sout is not busied with any other matters but is free
("vacat").24.? Such a "vacatio animae" could take three forms,
namely true dreams ("somnia"),248 elevation of the soul by means
of contemplation (tf rapt us")U,9 and illllminatjon of the soul
("fuoor") by the daemons (in this case acting without meruators)!50;
and we are told, in terms unmistakably reminiscent of Plato's
Phaedrus, that this "furor" could come from the Muses, or
Dionysus, or Apollo, or Venus,2(;.l-or else from mclancholy.2(;2
As physical cause of thls frenzy [says Agrippa in effect], the philosophers
give the "humor melancholicos", not, however, that which is called thc black
bile, which is something so evil and terrible that its onset, according to the
view of scientists and physicians, results not only in madness but in
possession by evil spirits as well. By "humor melancholicus" I mean rather
that which is called "candida bills et naturalis", Now this, when it takes
fire and glows, generates the frenzy which leads us to wisdom and revelation,
especially when it is combined Witll a heavenly influence, above all with
... III, 7-(0. The "'d;u:mones medii'" inh.biting the sphnrcs COTTcspond on the one hand
to th~ nine Muses (cr. MARTIA.N"US CAPlU.U.. Nllpliae PhiloloKiae et Memlri;, I, 27-:8, ed.
A. Dick, Leipzig '925. p . 19); on the other, to certain angels; it i, typical of the sun';",,1 of
ancient mythology that the spirit of MeTCUr"y WitS identified with Michael. who bad mkcn
<;vt!r $0 In:my of the funetinn... of Hames Psyehnpompu while the ~pirit of the virginal
goddess oJ birth, LUllaArtemi" was Identified with Gabdel, augel of the Annunciatioll. We
cannot bere euter Into Agrippa's demonology-or ev::a.iuate tha cosmology and lIiglll)' inle re.~t in&"
psychology contailled in cb. In, 16-20,
.., III, 20, 01. J03' .....
..' III, 30, fol_ 104'. "III:ap~iones V<!ro e'usmodi .. _ non tr.m5eunt in animam nnstram,
quando illil in aliud quiddiltn ilttentiQS inhians est OCCQp0.ta, sed ttanseunt, quando \"aeat.'
w m, 38.

"'IU, 31 .
.... 111,

31-36.

w m, 33-36.

"" 1I, ~9.


101 11, .50~.58.

Wm, 1, fOI. 84'.

"'* III. ~O. fOl. 103'- 0,

I .. Ill.

1-6.

.., FOTtbO doc.trlncof "vaca.tio animaa" aud the possibilityo! its being caused by m~lancholy,
sn e.g. FJcu:o. TheolDgilJ PIQJQnica tl. immo.Ju.liIal. a,,'''''''''w. BK XI1I, ~ (01'''11.. VOl ..
P29 2).

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLlA I"

..
the ratio~a1 , .. and
2] 1:

[IV. II.

THE NEW MEANING OF "lIfF.LENCOUA J"

357

thc ':"lenta!. For wbu set free by the " humor


~elanc..h0hcus , the SQuJ IS fully concentrated in the imagination, and it
Imrn ediat~y becomes an habitation for the lower spirits, from whom it
ollc". t:ecetves wonderful instruction in the manual arts; thus we see a quite
u~ed man su.ddenly become a painter or an architect, or a quite outstan~g master ID another art of the same kind; but if tbe spirits of this
spccle~ reveal the .f uture to us. they show us matters related to natura.!
catastrophes and disasters-for instance, approacbing storms, earthquakes,
cloudbursts,
threats of plague. l<un.illc, devastation, and so on. Uut
when ~he SOul.l~ fully oon~trated in the reason, it becomes tbe home of
the m~ddle SPI~ts; thereby It attains knowledge and cognition of natural
an? h~man . thmgs! .thus we sc~ a man suddenly become a [natural)
philOSC!pher. a phySlClan or a [political] orator; and of futme events they
show us \~ha~ concerns tIl C overthrow of kingdoms a ud the return of epochs,
prophesyang In the same way as the Sibyl prophesjed to the Romans.
But when the.soul ~ completely to the intel1~t ("mens"). it becomes the
home ~f the higher spmts, from whom it learns the secrets of divine matters
as, for Jnstance, the law of God, Ule angelic hierarchy, and t hat which pertai~
to the knowledge of !'.'ternal things and the soul's salvation; of futurc events
they sl.~ow us. f OI' instance, approaching prodigies, wonders, a prophet to
con~c, ~r the emergence of a lIew retigioll, just as the Sibyls prophesied Jesus
Chnst long before he appeared ....Ut

that of Saturn. For, since, like the "humor melancholicus", be is cold and
dry. he infiuen<:cs it constantly, increases it and sustains it. And as moreover. be is the ICJrd of secret contemplation, foreign to aU public affairs, Ilnd
lhe highest among the planets. so he constantly recalls the soul from outward malters towards the innermost. enables it to rise from lo.....er things
to the highest, a nd sends it knowledge and perception of the future. Therefore Aristotle says in the Probkma14 that througb melancholy some men
have become divine beings, foretelling the future like tbe Sibyls and the
inspired prophets of ancient. Greece, while others have become poets like
Maracus of Syracuse: and he says further that all men who have been
distinguished in any branch of knowledge have generally been melancholies:
to which Democritus and Plato, as well as Aristotle, bear witness, for
according to their assurance !'.Orne melancholies were so outstanding by
their gcnius that they seemed gods rather than m en, We often see
uneducated. foolish, irresponsible mellUlcholics (such as Hesiod, lon,
Tynnichus of Chalcis, Homer, and T. ucretius are said to have heen) suddenly
sei7.cd by this frenz.y, when thcy change into great poets and invent
marvellous and divine sollgs which they themselves scarcely under-

or:

st and ....~

Moreover, this "humor melallcholicus" has such power that they say it
nttl"3cts ccrlain daemons into our bodies, through whose presence a.nd
activity mcn fall into ecstasies and pronounce many wonderful things. TIle
wholc of antiquity bears witness tha t this occurs in three different forms,
corresponding to the threefold capacity of our soul. namely the imaginative.

T~s l~~:ry of m~choly frenzy occupied a central position

in the onginal vernon of OccuUa Ph1Wsophia, for the Hfuror


~ Uf; ~2. toJ. 10$': ''Ta~tum pretetea elt h ... lu. humor1' Imperium ut 'craue SGO i.rnpelu
etI:un S?Done,. qU.~Arn til 'IOStra eorpora RIJi quorum prf:Olentia et iustillctu llomioe'll
ISebach.~1 ~t rnlra~la multa effari. OUlnit t.tatnf antiquita!! tit h(l(; .vb triplici difte!'Ultia
IUllta triJII.icem .anw", .ppc-~ImIIoua:D, " ilieet l~_tiuam, ~tiooal~1I1 et IIleotalern '
qtlaado ,~nl .......... mcla""""'ca b,,_c Vac&wl tota 1.0 lma-'_~ t--_I......
efficit
. ,.
..... __. . .
a'
......,..,.... ur. au ..,
...to
, ~1n . ~m ~um hahitacWum. a CJ.uibut maau&Uum artium aepe In<ru aoci t
ral~: I~ videmut fuditsimllm aJ,<tuem homill.... Kpe In pietorenl, vd t.cdritoct
Pl
aJlen"' : II'D8Que .~tiliei.i Hbtilla.ilDllm .ubito ouadere ~ft\: qua.>do vuo ~~
d~~ ~UtW1l u.OOQ poC'teodu nt, cstelldunt que lLd elc:JDMlorum torb;atioDel< ~m run ... e
VIClSSttU~JII!S
attinont,
ut vidollc:et futQ1f...ln tcm..-tatetn
u_'
'" po Item
~
f
t
..

,. _ , tel'Tetllo'''m
~
..... ..-\lmam.
u IIra~. .r,nort;"'lb.tcm. J~... ~ v,,1 .fn8e.m ut dUIlDOdi. Sic IeJimuli apud Aulam Gellium
Corneliu. m ~erdotC'fll c:uU&lUnulll eo tllQpore qao Cesar Pompe<ul in ~ja oo.oflj eo
Mnt, PalaUI fur?"e COlTep~"w f~.Iuc, ita quud et tempus et OI'di!lrrn lit u: itum pll~ Vidu'l
Q~a.ndo . \","~ aruma tala UI ratiODCm CO!lU .... til1lr. mediorulll demonum dficitur dQmiciU a ,
I~ ga('!i&lilltO rerum lallmanarl,lmqut> nalll;i$elWflclft.tiam .... 11. pnadaatiam "',. , .. 11m.
'""--"bo1I1lD_

~
hi
- . . .,.., V",elQut
........,.
-""(Gem III to in phl~WIl vel lQedlcum vel onItorem
.
e."a.d<en; u. tuwns lGtf:D1 OIlwdUI\~ ~bll qlll Ad. rqnonnll mutatlo,lell el H>ClIklru~'::.~'i~:
t,onl:l ~"IUl', qUlll1alll!lodullJ SL/)Jila HUll\a1Ul v.. ticinata {wt C"- ..,_
.
t
,
b"
.
~~ ..... 8Jmn;t. lota
anu~1 mmen em,,," lLmLum<ie mon um.oflid lbrdumieJJium af"ib-- - -.-.. .~d . .
t Id r t
~-" ~"UI.SCI . n.'1nurum
" v e Ice
egcm. 0n1111e1 i.ngcloruDl et til QI1C1ld etawllfUllLferUIU '""~u . , .,~~~
u
'
.
-II
y~~
Ilmlrlln!
ue SOlI ...,
11 ~ pi!{ ~ell'; ex !utu.ns vera OItend unt n~b~I, ut futura pcodlgia, mira(:aJa,lutunun
'pmphetam vcllCfl I,S: mulntillnem, CJ.U(lmadonochun Sibille de J el .. CtlrUtO Iollgo te.m
adoetLtulI1: eius VlLticlnate luot, quem quldtlm VClJiliut spirito coo.i ill .
I"?"II llnto
IlIteJJi~o Sibille Cllmane reoainilQell.J ceeiltit:
11\
lam proplllq lturn

'''111, J I, fo!s. 1<l.4' "Iq. (proper namell corrected in the t ranslation): "Furor at iliollrllilo
IIn!me a diis v~1 a demonibla proveniens. Unde ~a30nis hoc carmen:
'Est deu. in nobis. , unt el commen::ia ceJi;
SrdibIU et.bereb .plrlt\ll iUo ~t:
lIulln illl.qne fu,olis caut&tJt. qlHl intna humllolH.m 0IKpus est. dieuot philoaopbi __ hUllUXatI
meI:lnootieunl. non qul6em ilium. qlli atza bills YQeaI-.u. qui adeo pran. bonibililque ret ell,
ul hnpetll' eiUI II pbWch ... medi<;is ultra manlilD1 quQ1 iDdl>Cit, eeiA.m m.a1onuD deniollum
ublenlones .trerre OOQlirmatllf. Hurnotem 19itnr dioo me1ana1li.eum. qui ealldida blUl
vacalur et natur.o.li.. Hie cnim q~oaCUDdltur atquoudet, 'ura..,.,. cooeltat *<l Aoplentlam
nobi, vali<:iniumqll e cond"r;entem, m:ll(ime qualeu"," con5entit eum influJtu a liquo cell$ti.
prceipuo Saturnl. J-lk. en.im eum lpee lit irl,ldu. atque siccu.., qu ..... im eIOllaumormeI..a.Dcolicul,
It-um quotidie inlh.;I, .... ~t ef OQnten>d : fH"'tua. cum s.il arcan. OQllteCQplationi! auctor
.. ., o.nui publM:o nqocio Alienu .ac PWt"lanIlI1 .Ili.si-mll&, .. Ilim .. m ipu.m wm ab CJttcrn~
QffICii. ad inlima leIlIp"r ruoc:.t. ttllllab iululotibu. aIiOCndcrc fadt, tnabendo ad ..11."'m..
1IC:icntiasqox: . e futurmullt preAGla la lli tur. UDde iuquit Ariltoule'll In litHo psl)b1em&lulII
ex rne1anc:oli .. quida ... I.. di l unt .teut ;diuloi prediec:ntcs hlt-.u;a. nt Slbi ll .. .,( &chides. quldam
f.etl , uM poel .. III M.I.nehlu1 Sinlelllaoul; ait pretom:a. 0lllD01 viros io qua u!. telontia
prut .."tcII ut I'I ... rilO ... m UtltltiSIl me.iancolico.. quod etia... Den'<leriL"S el Plato C\lm
.... ri&\otelll te$t;o.nttlr eOllilr nta"tcl oonnullOll mcianoo\i(;os in t""tnm l,n:.~l.arfl iugenio. ul
dimn; poli ",. q,,:am h"Ilt:I.IU vldeaotur. Pleruoq"e etiam vide""ul hOllllnc,lIIe1aoooUcol rudn,
ineptOl, inunOll. ll .... h", Itaimu. cxtitbeo Hes.iodum. JOntm:l, Tym nJeulil Calcldonsem.
Homerlllll et LaeretlulU. Mpe ("r,"it' .... bite eorripi ac io poetu OOI1Oll cu.adero et miTllnda

Del,

'

....

A .
...

qum:.m tJiu;o.aqlle a.ncn etiam qu" ipaill1el vilt intelLigant. Uncle dillu Pl;o.to 10 J one.
"bi de furoce poet.ic:o tractat ; Pluique. iDquit, v;at.es, postquam flltoru rem.iftu eft impetul.
q .... Kri.-ruol ODD utia I"telli,unt, cum tame" rtcdosinaulls utJb\UI ill flltOR tnCtaUentot,
quod '; ..,ul; h.rulU IIrtlftoes legendo diJudieanl... It is evident throu,hollt that AUippa
01\""" Fieino.

.'

'II

~"

.!

'Ultima c..mei venit lam CIU'1IIlniII ew'


IolA,nut ab iotecTO seevlorum I1UCitur:.rdo,
lam redit et virKo, !'ednot Satumla r~p.;
J&t1l ooua. prOflenlee cclo dlmlttitur alto', "

'

,
~:

TK8. ENGRAVING "HELENCOLIA I"


. I [IV. II.
358
melancholicus" was the fi rst and most important form of~"vacatio
animac". and thereby a specific source of inspired creativt( achievcment. It t herefore signified the exact poi~ t at which the process
whose goal was the "vaticinium u reached its climaxt:5l; ' and this
theory of melancholy enthusiasm reveals the whole variety of
the sources merging in Agrippa's magical system.
'Aristo-.

The

telian' t heory of melancholy, which had already been given an


astrological t um by Ficino, was now also coupled with a theory of
"daemons" which a late antique mystic like Iamblichus-had considered incompatible with astrolo gy2M; and when Agrlppa con-

verted the hierarchy of the three faculties "imaginatio' , "ratio"


and " mens" into a hierarchy of melancholy illumination and of the
achievements based on it, he also went back partly to Ficino,IS7
partly to;). very ancient gradation of human careers intp m echanical,
political and philosophical.- Again, in part, he was a.lso indebted
to the thoory widely known after A vermes, in which various
effects of the "humor melancholicus" were distinguished, not
only as cliffe ring in kind, but also as affecting different' qualities
of tbe Soul. It is true that this purely psychiatric theory had
contemplated merely the destructive effect of melancholy 'and
that in place of the ascending scale "irnaginatio"-' ~ratio"
"mens" it had posited " imaginatio", "ratio", and "menioria" all
on a footing of equality.SIIV To this extent, Agrip~'s view
represents a fusion of Ficino's theory with other element~. This
-Cb. tn.l9-~6,!oIIowIfI( Ule "",mDium" .ction. set. out and~. what-i. requ ired
of the OtalliciUl 1ft re.pcct 01 plrrrty. operational r ites, "POmiIlI. .c,..", ere. who. th. last
chapl et' (III, 57) dtempb to define the dhtinctio.. bct_ "reliJio" aoJ. ul\l.l.wlu l
"aupandUo..-tht lattu. lock&Uy, heine limited to the applic:aUoo. of tho ..aamenu to
Improper objccb. e.,. the tDtCGmme ..lQI.tioD or noxiou. watIIUI or the bapttlm. qf .tatu .
ClI. 111. ~)8, thuefOrtl roaUy fotll'l' the eotO of the whale. How Ulil.tly thil what. I tfuc:tu.re
,... dbmembered In tbe printed edltJou can be ICeD Uom the fact that the two cl;l.pu" OB
mela.ucboly OW. with !'AilWI' alte..tIoDI, been compressed into aBO teetia ... . i4 p1ued in
llook I (60) . fol1owlaS ell. j9. on "~mD1um", _hleh b p receded in tu"' by-a ch.~ on eueI
of al lesed te.lurrec:tion lrom tho dead &I1d phenomena of . tigmatizatlon '" well u by tho
chapter on porMroGy formerly ill. Book II.

." Sec above. p.

1,2

"
THE NEW MEAN I NG OF "lotELE NCOLIA I"

2)

359

very fusion, however, was what was most fruitful and impressive
in Agrippa's achievement; the notion of melancholy and of
Saturnine genius was no longer restricted to the "homines literati",
but was expanded to include-in three ascending grades-the
geniuses of action and oC~tic vision, so that no less than the
great politician or religious genius, the "subtle" architect or
painter was noW reckoned among the "vat es" and "Saturnines".
Agrippa expa.nded the self-glorification of the exclusive circle of
the humanists into a universal doctrine of genius long before the
Italian t heorists of art did the same; and he varied the theme of
the gifts of melancholy by distinguishing their subjective aspects
from their objective eHects; t hat is to say, by placing side by
side the gift of prophecy and creative power, vision and achievement.
The three grades and the two ways in which, according to
Agrippa, Saturnine and melancholy inspiration works is snm marised in the following tabJe.
Ynstru-

Love'

-J

- 11

"""IS

Psychologic.al
Habitat

Lower
Spirits

"Imaginatio"

Middle

"Ratio"

Realm of Crcative
Achievement

Mechanical arts,
especially architeeture, painting,
etc.

Spirits

Knowledge of
natural and human
things, especially
natural science,

Realm of Prophecy
Natural events,
especially cloudbursts, famine, etc.
Political events, overthrow of ru..IHS,
~toration, etc.

medicine, politics,

- JII

etc.
Higher
Spirits

"Mem"

Knowledge of

divine secrets,

especially cognition
of divine law,
angelology and
theology

Religious cvwts,
especially the advent
of new prophets or
the birth of new
religions

(text)

.., See l.he paraJ1ell-.:\tlil.lO quoted above, p. 211 Iq. (text).


... Perh2p!11 tb, most strilrinc CIlam.plo is ill lb. DistiJll; ... sdolari""" see above p. 282 '"1.,
cb... V (p. L ., VOL. LX'IY. col. l ~ll): "CUII\ ad 1IlqiJtnltus exoe1leDtiam boIIae iMoUs
Ildolesceu. ve1it UOI!nder, neoeaariam est at tria S6Iler:l sbtonm. quae in .... platioll"
probe.bllitati. Innult Aristotelel, dilipnter inttUigat. Sut a ubnn quidam. ydlementtr
obtusl. alii medioCl:c.. tertii UOIIIleater acat{. Na Uam vuo veheme:otu obtuonim vidim ..
uDquam pbi1otopbK:o aedare vehcmcntllr lnebria.ri. IsUs aut-t mocban.ie;r. pedet mantari
mediocribul paUtlta."
'
... Sa: abov .., pp. 92 IJqq. (test).

Let us now imagine the task of an artist who wishes to undertake a portrait of the first or imaginative fonn of melancholy
talent and "frenzy" , in accordance with this theory of Agri~pa
of Nettesheim. Wbat would he have to represent? A bemg
under a cloud, fat' his mind is melancholy ; a being creative as
well as prophetic, for his mind has a share of inspired "furor" ;

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I "

2] ,~. "

[rv. n.

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLlA I "

an.

a being whose powers of invention are limited to the realms of


visibility in space- that is to say, to the realm of the mechanical
arts-and whose prophetic gaze can see only menacing catastrophes
of nature, for his mind is wholly conditioned by the faculty of
"imaginatio"; a being. finally. who is darkly aware of the in-

36 1

of
exact science,2el Durer, despite his passionate championship
of this very "ratio",- was aware of the fact that the deepest
sou'ice .of ~ative J'C?wer was to be :sought elsewhere, in that
P~Y lrrallonal and mdividual gift or inspiration2e3 which Italian
b~~ granted, if at all, only to the "literarum studiosi." and the
"M.,u~arum sacerdotes". Alberti's and Leonardo's speculations on
the :theory of art were totally unaffected by the Florentine
Neo~latonists.SM c.md laid thc foundations of an "exact" science,
as defined by GaliIeo_ They assigned to pictorial art that place in
cul~ure a~ a whole which we to-day are accustomed to allocate to
"so~r sciencc", and none of the classical art-theorists would ever
h~,:e . tho~ght. of consid~ the architect, painter or sculptor as
divmely msplred; that did not happen until the birth of that
m~~erlst ~hool which inclined to northern conceptions in all
~_s.; wblch s~turated. the theo~~ of art (until then wholly
obJ.~hve and rat~onal) Wlth the spmt of mystic individualism!&s;
wInch coneen-cd the adjective "dlvine" on the artist and wI ch
tried~ignificantly enough-to imitate M ektJ.Colia I, 'Which ~til
then ha d been almost ignored in Italy.2" But DUrer had known
by ~stinct. what the Italians learnt only later, and then as ~
matter of secondary importance: the tension between "ratio" d
..non-rat10' f, between general rules and individual gifts; as eady
an
as 1512 or 1513 he had written the famous words in which he

adequacy of his powers of knowledge, for h.is mind lacks the


capacity either to allow the higher faculties to take effect or to
receive other than the lower spirits. In other words, what the
artist would have to represent would be what Albrecht Durer
did in l"ldencolia [.
There is no work of art which corresponds more nearly to
Agrippa's notion of melancholy than Durer's engraving, and
there is no text with which DUrer's engraving accords more
nearly than Agrippa's chapters on melancholy.
If we now assume the Occulta philosophia to be the ultimate
source of DUrer 's inspiration, and there is nothing against such
an assumption, then we can understand why Diirer's portnLit of
Melancholy-the melancholy of ari imaginative being, as distinct
from that of the mtional or the speculative, the melandlOly of
the artist and of the artistic thinker, as distinct from that which
., political and :;cientiJic, or metaphysical and religiou&-is called
Melencolia 1280 ; we can also understand why the background
contains no sun, m OOIl or stars, but the sea flooding the beach,
a. comet and a rainbow (for what could better denote the "pluviae.
fames et strnges" which imaginative melancholy fo retells ?). and
why Melancholy is creative. and, at the same time, sunk in
depression; prophetic, and, at t~e same time, confined within
her own limits.
Durer, more than anyone, could identify himself with Agrippa's
conception; contemPorary in thought with Agrippa, and opposed
to the older Italian arl-theorists such as Alberti or Leonardo. he,
more than anyone, was convinced . that the imaginative achievements of painters and architects were derived from higher and
ultimately divine inspiration. \Vhile fifteent h- and early sixteenthcentury Italians had waged war for the recognition of pictorial
art as a ribera] art purely in the name of a "ratio" which should
enable the artist to master reality by means of his rational insight
into natural laws, and thereby to raise his activity to the rank

... f:l E. PANonxv. UH (StudieD du Bibllothu Warbu'l v~ v) Lei .


I qq. .

pmg 1\J2 pp. Ii

- So!> abow. pp. l19 fqq. (tuII.

....For oor.,...

indlviduUi$m. d . E. P.u<onxv. H,nwhs .,. ~ (Studle.D doer


.8<"bhoth<;k Warbu rr, Vu&.. XVIII). LtIp.zIS 19)0. pp. 16] ~.
... Cf: E. P4NonlCv. Ill,.. (StuWell doer Bibllothek Warbur" VOL. v) _, '
Iqq . . }.
...
L.ci{nlg 1924. pp. 2,

i~. the trao_d onnation of :FiciDo', Uo<::trin.e 01 beauty ioto a metaphyalc$ of mannerist
art, cf, E. PAI'fO:-XY. loU pp.. ,~ tqq . For tbo protesr. asainellDa~ticall1l1es ",bleb
had ~r the pnde o f tile cJusical tbeory o f Ilrt. d . ibid. pp. .. a aqq.

~ ~ below. pp. l8S ...... (ted). From th;' point 0{ view it ~ uJldentaudable that, in
IJPltII 1;" the lemar'" on Rap!Jacl quoted above. p . 232. DOte: ...., a flIndamental ODnllexion
bctweeq melancholy and figurative art, lu<;h II A&ril'''' had 'I!alllbhed at tho b. "
,
th . . t
th
t
dOd
.
gll~rung 0
" IJ~ ~om
cen ury, I DOt appeM In Italy until the ma.anerillt e ......'
........ ' th"vugh I't was tl
1 ~n
d .
USt a,t .oll<;e liS an ugtlment fur the nobility ollLrtistie activity. ROIIANU ALBllltn', Tulfale
d.lI" !'r~ilf. ~d1~ pilfu~". 'Homo IS8,. aayl (p. 111: 'Et a wD6rmadonc di eib [i.e. the I tate.
ment ~t pamtl.l1( ol~fVCd to be n.nktd .. a Ubetai. art) vedWIIO clle li Pttol d'
Ilenoolici ~I.",
__
I
IVCOgono
~
.
. ~ ..... . vo .......o ~ uwbre bi.o,u. the Ti te:o&hino li ra ubimal! fissi Del.
I lutcl1!:~to: .. db dlpoi U CSpnmllDO 10 qocl modo, ell. prima Ii ha"a.o. vitti in ~otia Et
questo 0011. solo ua.a volt.. Dl& ccmtiDllamcate, CHIIru;(o ,vette II __ --'ti~ .
" ..t.
t&J
t- t
Ia

.... ... ~ .... v . per ........


mC'l! !i' ~goDO
mente ..~tta et Mparat. datLa D:l&teria, c:he CUnqU4Ut..man.e lie viea
Ia ltLalen=lia; I.. quale pub oltce Arbtotllo. <::h. eipi5e& ill,.,_ .. PR"--,'
u
" ____ d '
__ ~ ,..
.
va> a. pllrl; ...... <:001
. 15~ Ice. qu .... II .... S ingegDOSI.t pru"enti lOn .tat; l1II.len<;(llid:.
'

A , ..

we In ;tKlf t he dOh Jlot Jleces.grily IILC;LI1 that Diiffr actually ltit.oded to draw the other
l wo fot'YN 01 melan<;holy; it it pouiblo that ;0 efl""lfing thb on. he m""ely lmactocd tho
otller t " -I). amI ,",xpedtU !.he odlleated apflCtatuf lo ima"ine them at well.

;,'

TUE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"

2]

[IV. II.

ele~ated the "species fantastica" of the imagination td' the rank


of those " interior images" which are connected witll :PJatonic
ideas, and attributed the artist's powers of imaginatiori ~to those
" influences from above" that en able a good. painter "alway~ to pour
forth something new in his work"21117 and "every day to have
fresh figures of men and other creatures to mals:e and, pour out
which no one has seen or thought of ever before".:lI8 i.;
Here, in terms of German mysti.cism, and in phr~ which
are sometimes direct echoes of Ficino and Seneca ,tell 'a view is
expressed which claims for the creative artist what the Gennan
mystics had claimed for the religiously illuminated man', Ficino
for the philosophers, and Seneca for God. For t his reason it
harrnonises with Agrippa's new doctrine. It i~ by no means
impossible that it was the OctuUa Philosophia itself which b rought
the Florentine Neoplatoni~t doctrine of genius
~ specifically
German interpreta.tion to Durer who was oot only the creator of
Melencolia I but also the au thor of the Four Book... oj Human.
Proporlion,t.70 and thereby made it possible for him to fonnulate,
in concepts and in words, the irrational and individualistic elements
of his own views on art ,
Both. in his mind and in words-for there is no dohbt that
Diirer's words just quoted represent the personal .experience ~f
"

in

.... LF, Nadltlu, p. 19S. 13 eeL I" 39\1, I ), and p. 191, 115.
... LP, N ..dla:u. fl. 118, 16, The lbeoly of t"OiUB held hy Ftclno a CId hia circlo, dOlpite
aU tilt emphaais laid on iDCt~ .elf.... _reness. is not really u iudividuali.lie one, iCl all far
&I tbe "MusarulIl ~otc." Of " vlfll[tuau" ate always ooneel"ed of u .. ebst,;and meD 01
,eniD. appear, as it
In Ilocka, R.tc.ocelitloD of:aD illdivKl"alu oricinal &lid ~epeatable
("deqleichuo lhm zu ...,inen. Selten Kclnu Gleleh .... fnnden wirdat und etwan lanK Kdller
vor ibm ",cst lind na.c.h ibm n it bald Einer kummt," U', N..uuIJII, p_ 22 ' , 16) Or' Ol:to work
u ociginal and UCll"f:pe..table ("d.' DIU YW IIit ,ueben noc:h ein Allel.,.. ~dacbt liiH") 0CCIlnII
in Dill" ea.flier tltan 10 the South. Tbit alto atx:ollDts lor Dll.ru'. deep a~D to selJrepetition Ut lUI work. "'!he ....11 " bote " lIeOaomic&1 hbiu" (W6IflliD) disposed hi~ to fe-IUO
abtehe$ or Itud"'" nwJe l'CI.UIy yllltl evUor, did DOt 0llC8 repeat htmaeU fn lUIy o.lt:be-..rtks
wbich actually left his ItlI.dk>, i.e. "'rn-Yinp. pielmea or "W'DOIkuta; tM monke" Ad the
man with the pmkt,. takuo oyfrom the enpvina: B4s ortha 'frOOdeQt B I 11lnto tJlo DI~en
am. of tbe Seven Sorrow. of the Virg;1l.. mefeJy bear wib:1es.....aln lt the autbmHdty of the
pa.lnt.i~; fOI" tbe c.onnexion betw~n the St Pa.ulat MunJcb. and the CII;n.villg 15i6: ace above. .
p. 302. note 7S, the ".,.per in the M alle1t,.., J drbudl der bUd",t1~1I KNflJI.

W""'.

M Relerences In E . l'AWO:rsl'Y. [d' il (Studien der Bihliothek Wuburg. VOL: ~), Lcipug
1{l2., p. 7<'. The kTltenee ooneemiD the "w,,411 EillliW1l1ll'II" was already ~eD.tioned in
t bilwnnexioD by GI1IfLOW (1904).
,

W. have a1l""1'Jady me.Uoned (text p. 3,,1 Ulat Acrippa ~len abo to the Platotlf,;doctrine
of I deu. We 111&1 fsrtba: GOte to C>IIIlDeldoft. with the apec:1fica.Uy oortlIem notion 01 the
i!Wpi.. ed. artist Uoat it"WU In b.te Gothic IU"tln the JOrtb tht.t "the ltfotber of God portnyod
by St L lIlre" wu tint tcpresented as a visioflal")' imace in the clouda; (1;:1. Dortonr_ ... ~,
5 1 LNhs ..I. Mill,,. dw Marl.. l~rIoI)fflfpJ.;'", Lllkll$-M.do''''If, d isttrtatioCl: },f"mburg
1933. whieh. bo.....,vef. iuve- uruootiecd IIIIvetll important e:or .. mplell).
-

",'

THE NEW MEA.""l"ING OF " MELENCOUA I"

the creative artist-Diirer himself was a melancholic:m Il is no


coincidence that, clearly understanding his own nature (and
anticipating an eighteenth-century custom in portraiture),t71 he
painted his own portrait, even in youth, in the attitude of the
melandiOly thinker and visionary.1I73 Just as he had his share
of tlie inspired gifts of imaginative melancholy, so, too, he was
familiar with the terrors of t he dreams that it could bring:: for
it was the vision of a flood. which so shattered him by its "speed,
wind, and roaring" that, as he said, "all my body trembled and
I came n ot to my right senses for a long time.""' Then , again,
an "all too stem judge of himself".27s he recognised the insuperable
n. We know tbb: thrmogh Mel&ocbthoa'. ~e.,ioo. diseov.i:n:ct by A. "":AIUJU/I;O (H';d ..~U~'
.~, Wriu.,NIII'" WOI"f ..IUI: BUd.no LNfMn Z.ilDt. ill GIatt_.It. Sdrijlnc. VOL. II . Lelpz~5
19)2. p . .529) COCloemiDC the " melancbali. geoerosu.slma Dou.ri. Independ<mUy ol .lbn
dilCOvay, M. J. F"ltJ&1)t.l.NIIIUt, ill. the course of a fine 'lid judicious ..ount 01 M.,lA&ol.a l .
had a ln,.uJy poa.,,! the qulttion wh .. thor D6.e~ Mm 1f h.d 0.01 been a mclancl>ol,e IA lht~d'
l)iiru , Lclpz.ir lOll, pp. I~6 sqq.), and tbe qu"'~tlo~ t&Q tbe mo~o.l"CI.dily ~ ~.~wered ['\ lIle
ilmrmativi as DOrer I "II/I"ercd ffom .... ill",,11 wblCb tho phYllellOl nf hili tIme reckoned
o.leJi..oitely UDOII' the "morbi meb...:bol iei" ; the !&.mOUI Bremen dn.~g .I.13~: ~ith tbe
aupencripuOQ " Do def ,db lied, ilt vnd mit dem lilJiCf draw" dewt. de.'" I5t m'~ '" , Ind.lc.al e.
an a1leetioo of the 5pIecn. This dr:t.... i.oc (PL.I.n 14.5) Is u'lIaUy .auoaated WIth DUrCf I last
n~ But ill tbiI COCI.rleDon "'" rna.,point out
this view unnot be SIIbsb.ntatcd. Tbe
style of thtt faintly eolocued d rawm.c reeallJ tbe studies in prnportion of JS11- 13 milch more
th.,. law drawl~, ..,hDO the writfo.C---&n imp!'ll1:2.n.t aid to ehronGlocy in DIrer', ~
is vcry diffCTll!nt froro the sUperb regularity_manifest e,'en io the ~igbt~ no ttl-of tbe
'tw=tiea, a nd II only a little Inor. developed tban In the lettera to Porckheomer, tbe elotest
allalogy belul once .pin the theoretical drafts of IS11-13. MOlCO'"et, the bod~ I, tbat
of .. man in hi. prilue, the hair i, ~u lair, iU'ld the wbole appun.nc:e 01 the hud II clo~t
to the self-portrait lu the pil;:ture 01 All 5.;",s. "!ben: II everything to be $lltl 1.0' u~nlll'
the Bremt.CI dn.,.,jol to the tbird I"atnlm of Ute si.rtMllth c:entury.l.e. 10 tlte yeaJ"llInmedoately
prec:edior tbe c:ompcitlon of Afdno'-lliu. I, and for rqudiOI it "" yet furtb.r e"idence of
' DOrer'1 flI1iuentl., peqonaJ interest io the lubject. There it tbe I.,..,. ~cuon t o rd er tbe
Bremeo d".winl to billa.st iUnul u b. bad frequentl., been ill urlier; i ll ISI9 Plrekhelmel
wrote "TuTe, m le .tat" (F... RaU;:,UI In }'fitldl'HIG"1 flu V~.ti"s fur Guthi'hu. d~, Sr~dl
Nfl"" , VOL. ;UCV III ('928) , p . 373). and 1.11 ISO) Dlirer himlelf WTote on the dnwin, Ll)1
that be ilad lIIade it "in his 1llDess". SiDCC notins this, we .6od Utat ~o other ",holan u"
inclined to ,Ive a 116. data to tbe J)remeD dra.winc-J;i. A. ~~!< ~I"1. i1l. >lCI usar .,.u"ci
'"1Ilelaacbolla. PQCfoaWima Duteri.. in Hi",_ TMoIofUd T'ld#""'/r, "01.. :n-II. 4 (1911).
p . 331 ; &lid E.. FLIICItAG. in Atbndtl DW..n, VOl.. U, Berlin 1931, pp. 196. $(jq ......bo for tome
nuoll _ts to dat e it as faT b&c:k u 1$09

wt

,.., For thi., d. UttlIuu. Hon. R_/t.a"dl "n4 E",I'''14, dl"ertation. HIUlbu., 1I~3 S

.oa !.-t1q
... LF, N",/Jl"-'S, p . 11,.5. It is very typiu.l of Oll~er'. lI.ture that evell in the tlistu l bsnce
aUend.ant ou thil vi,loury dream be DOtic:e.t at what dilltanc:e thl ......tas meet the In.nd a nd
even attempc. to Infer from the rapidity of tbe raiolall Ut. hei,ht ~ ....bic:h. ;1 fan . r' und
lie kamtm 10 bocb hmb. dass s)e 1m Gedllllkeu ,1ekh laqsam Jidn 1

r.. Cf. KaIIt', &eQ)V.nt of the nab.nthoUe, quoted above, p . \13 (t~d) . whicb wu &n lle ipated. to .. eolllidenble extmt, by c.metariU51 fiM de5c:rlpticWl 01 Albrecht D Urer : " E.ra l
anten!, 51 quit! omllioro Ut illo viro quod vitii .. mile vidcr.tUf. uDiea in~nila d;li,e~t la el in
SCI quoque Inqullitrix ucpo pMU m ~n:to ." Il ulrOduetion to tbe ubn tTaMlahon vi tll ~
TA<wy 0/ Pl"Of>ot'f;(/"Jf. Nvn:mbut" ' 532.)

TllE ENGR..O\VING "MELENCOLIA I"

2] ,

[IV. II.

mthi"2.80 ; and his scept.icism had now reached such a pitch that
not:even an approximation to the highest beauty seemed' possible
to :liim any longer.

limits set by destiny to the possessor of the melancholy of


M el.tl1lcolia I. the melancholy of a mind conditioned solely by the
imagination.
In mathematics, above all, to which he devoted half a life
time of work, Diirer had to learn t hat it would never give men the
satisfaction they could find in metaphysical and religiou~ revelation,276 and that not even mathematics-or rather mathematics
least of all---could lead men to the discovery of the absolute, that
absolute by which, of course, he meant in the first place absolute
beauty. At thirty, intoxicated by the sight of the "new kingdom"
oJ art theory revealed to him by j acopo de' Barbari, he t hought
be could define the one universal beauty with compasses and setsquare; at forty he had to admit that t his hope had deceived
him,!H; and it was in the years immediately preceding the engraving
of Mtle'tcolia I that he became fully aware of this new insight,
for about r5r2 he wrote "but what beauty is, I do not know,"207'
and in the same draft he said " t here is no man living on earth
who can say or prove what the most beautiful figure of man
may be. None but God can judge of beauty."21' In the f:;tee of
such an admission, even belief in the power of mathematics was
bound to falter. " \Vith regard to geometry," wrote DUrer some
ten years later, "one can prove that certain thi.ri.gs are true. But
certain things one must leave to t he opinion and judgement of

~or I believe that there is no man living who can contemplate to the
very end what is most beautiful even in a small creature, much less in
man. . .. It enters not into ma.II's soul. But God knows such things, and
if He wishes to reveal it to someone, that person too knows it. . , . But
I kn.ow not how to show any particular measure that approximates to the
grea~est

H,I~6,

pp. 1)6 , qq.

'" Lt', Jl."tlchlau, I'. ::t88. 27. Diirer', ij:oont.nCa aatu(ally tefcr. DOt to the ide;!. of bo!<auty,
to the vil;ibte eo lulitiolll, esp. proportioll. detefminlllg beauty (thut also H . "\V01."n.Uol.
1Ji. Klntu A lb"elll J)iJr,r~, Sth <:<111. , Munieh 1926, p. 368). So much iI cleat from what
'000_: "Idoch wiU ic:h bie die Schollhrit also tilr IlIleb aeblWllI : Wu tu dea mc.aschliehen
z"itllu vau delft meillllten Th.,11 doln geaebtt. wUrd. dell soU wit tum lieiu c" w m.ach.,II."
1bo stn t,,";;e "wu "b die SeMnheit lWIi. d.u w.:U ich Bit' u equlvalellt, lherefOl:II, to tho
, latemants quoted below, LF. N/Id.I.us. p. :Z:Z1, 1, or p. 3..59. 16.
LF. N =/Ouus, pp. 200. 2) &qq. Thi. i , identical alrn03t wo:r;d for word witb a dna.ft
d" tw (S12 (L F , NIIo,hll1S1, p. 300. 9)
b\J ~

IT'

beauty.w

And so [wally, when his affectionate veneration for mathematics


once more finds powerful and moving expression, he pays homage
to ~thematics as confined wiUlin, and resigned to, its limits,
and. the sentence ""Whosoever proves his case and reveals the
underlying truth of it by geometry, he is to be believed by all the
woTta; for there one is held fast" is preceded by a sentence which
might almost serve as a caption to Melencolia I: "For there is
falsehood. in our knowledge, and darkness is so firmly planted in us
that eve.n our groping fails,"28:2
Thus, having established its conncxions with astrology and
medicine, with the pictorial representations of the vices or the
arts: and with Henricus de Gandavo and Agrippa of Nettesheim,
we
none the less that those, too, are justified in their opinion
wh6., wish to consider t he engraving M elencolia I as something
oth~r thun a picture of a temperament or a disease, however
mu$ ennobled. It is a confession and an expression of Faust's
"insuperable ignorance".tlI:f It is Saturn's .face which regards us;
but( ~ it we may recognise also the features of Durer.

pold

t,. Only in this on8 fe!Jpet Is Md,t\COlitJ. J iQ fact. a countcl"JW"t to thll engn.vlng of 51
j ,I"O"'c. A. WJ:IXJ.G .l.JlT~.lSr. (iu Mjtllrilll.r~" In- GUeltsdAfl 1M' ..urvi,lliiltifendl K u"st.
19''' . " p. 47 sqq.) shows that the idlOll ot an uwoal. JormAl JmcIl4'" iI bero entirely out ot
plaCt:. Still leu caD otIC ..,.ume, &I R. WUUN"..,... doe5 (in Zribdrift jilr bild""h KtllUl.
new $IIr;II$, VOl.. !tXt! l (911). p. I(6), that the KOGrd bangi.J:Ig hum Ute eeiling io the St jt~
engraving was originally int.cuded to r~tllive the inacciption " McleDcolia II". Neverthdess,
Dij .. ~r almo~t alway. pow: away tbeao two eupviDI. togetbCi" (LF, NIUJ,I,US, pp. !:to, 16;
nl, 6 : 115. U : 117, 13. 17 :.118, 17): and they have frequently bean ill~pected and dia<:llu ed
toge ther (c!. ilia lctt.er to John Cochlaelll of ~ April I S:tO printed. with others, by E. RAtCKll
in MiII,;/""lefl de, V~~~ i" s !ur C;,uAidl. II., Siadl N .....b.'l, VOL. XXVIII (1918). p. 315)
... For th i5 tha.nge in Oil.er's view o f arl, d. e!lp. LUDwtO Jun,. KfI'I4slrtn.T/# Fi,u,~ .. .....
X op!, ""~ d, .. W",h. Albrtdol J)iire", l"'';l,~ig 190t, pp. u aqq., and the $aIIIe author ill
R~'I/Jriu,..', \O!.. XXV III (l90SJ, pp. l 6!l aqq. Also E. l'ANOnll:'f: DUrn. Kw .. ~rorif,
pp. 113. Il7 sqq., and the nme author ;n j",It,buA. Jii.r K .. >lslwl .."udajl, VOl.. III, Lci~l,

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLIA I"

"" .1.1-', NlUlt1an, p. )63,

j.

J~F, NIf,/oltul. P.M9, 3. The printed cdition of tb" lh~ary a! ProPOTlw" eoutinne!: "Oa..
gib ich 'l1&Cb. d8S!l EIn~r ein biibsclleu :Bi1d .. mach ... dann d cr Aadet. Aber nit bI, ~u dem
Eade,~aus EO; nit noeb hltb&ehcr mOCht Icill. DaDn Saleh! I t$lgt: ...it in des ltenaehcli ~1:Dllt.
Ab' Gatt "Wei", Salichs allan. ~1Il en oflellbatte. der _ t lIS aueb.. Die Wahrheit h i lt
aUein. ~aeD, weJ~ dec Memcbea scMlLSt., Gc:sb.lt und Mau klDnte -= in aDd kcia andre .
tn lOIic!hem lntulll.. den wir jctzt ~uuW bel
haben. ... tis ich nit Itatlhaft .Iu bo5cbmbCll
endli~ wu Mast sieb ~.u der rccbtcD Hllbsche lIlI.Cbneli m.lScht."
(LF. NAdla..ss. p. "UI, '0).
iIo1

WI'

-I
!

.01 I.F.

N =lIla..s,. p. U2, 1S (&010 the printed The"", Iff Proponion).

m If,..."i\S of COUf" the Romantic. who intcrpreted Duter', "Melancholy" u a di~et


portrai~ of th" l"aul t.laD character. D, Hl\ttIla1ln Dillmc.athal kind ly pointed out the source
in ~JU. GUr.T....v C..o.aus's /Jri~!, Iibe, .GOfI/tu F"ouJ, VOL. I, I..c.ipsig 183S, lett.". n, pp. <to
aqq. ~bU relnlultably fiDe &Dalysil. which &bo strikingly empb.aliles the "contrliat of the
...gcrIYl wrltWK ,c:hild with the idly meditating and sadly gufnc: wger figure", iI tha mor"
ad~blc siDee the picture. of a lliircr torn by Fault', emotions ............... s Canli himself deady
felt ",;,d scvcra.I times d::L~-i1i complete contradietion to the eonoeptJon, origina ted by
Wa.clrCnrodar ano.! at that time &:eno:nlly acotpted. of the "otherwise eo qu ... t and pl_"
..".ster: It ilespecilll ly significant that Carut, ta..scluatM by the a nalogy ..... ith :t 'ault which
Ile had...~ilCOYered, 1I1'''~k:s of the rollin figu18 In the .,.,graving as male.

THE ENGRAVING "Jr.tELENCOT..JA I"

[IV. It.

(Ii) T he "Four Apo stl es" w

"Further, " says Joachim. Sandrart of Diirer's so-called Four


Apostles (PLATE Ill), whIch he had admired in the Electoral
Gallery at .Munich, "there are the four evangelists in the fonn
of the four co~plexions, painted in oils in the very best and most
m~terly fashio~ ."W This infonnation, which earlier writers on
~urer ~ad conSIdered absolutely reliable,tli fell into an ill~founded
dlscredit among later historians. \Vith the sole excepti'on of
~arl Newnann (who, however, drew no conclusions from it,U7)
It w.as spoken of merely as an "old tradition", whic:h was sometimes
deJ?ed completely, because DUrer "took the apostles f ar too
seriOUsly to use them merely as an opportunity for representing
th e temperamcnts":SI; sometimes it was modilied so arbitra rily
that the wIlole point of the theory of tlle fou r complexidns was
lost,ZIIt and sometimes it was admitted only in so (ar
.DUrer
"in the course of his work made usc of his view of tre four

as

..
I

n . II!. CODnexiol!. with tbl.. 5eetion, _ tho CfMy already cited GO p. 30Z nobl ' ," 1- ..Mil",,
d"''''
":lu-~. y'As .........
D_ I"' rhe",
,
~ K WIW. new torIes. VOL. VIII (l 51l1), pp. ' 1 aqq,"
both
~ t. dul With tM aame aubjed: mattei', though from a ditkrMt vIewpoint, it ~q been
dd'6clllt to Jl,vokl. overlappllll: .arne phralU and _11 whole paratrapha have bad lo be
repeated almotl wort! lor WOl'd for tb c aakc of c1uit y aod cohorence.
.:,
... JOAClUIl SAND..... ", T.uLKlI, Abd,... ;" ed. A. It. Pelller', Munich
8" ,

,J, HnLu,

DIU~

15I~5. p. 6;:,

,,'" fl .. Wu"" A/budd


LclPcit: Ih1. ~L. n, "
pp. ~oS sqq . P. Rum..... GudIPlI, ., ~ Mi'Tli. 3rd tdn ., Lelpd, 1867 aK IV I
(
n. p. . g8I: A. YO"
lAb. .. .,..1 A';,..... AIWd t D,"O?s. Nlkdlln,..:,
TR:.l.1JSrlfG. Dit,." LtiPZtl 188... VOl.. 11. pp. '178 aqq.

.. CI.

Diir.",

~~.

.. "Die ,viet Apottd

VOtI

1860~ /!~/~~:

AlbrEcht D6T'Cf in Ihrer-

ursprti~1kbeD

Cat&lt ", Zril$dorifl

fiH

~~HlU" B~.H"', IX (1930). ~. 4S0 "lq.. 'fI'ith reproductWn. or UM ilHCriptiom now rE'un.ited

WIth U,e piC1 G.retl e nd .. dctalJod ~" nt of DUrer', relaUonswp with NClId6rlfer. H . A.
VAM lMKaL f Melancholia pnero._ma Durai", in NiR., TII~'II Tijutlorift 10 8)
bu abo returned to tIIo old, tr.ditional in tGrprstjltion of theM pictu rn 0' W8 ApO;tlet 2U
~y.. ll?' tbe kmporam~~I. but ~,Iy reprds St John u
IDI:ll.ncholle. whicb makn
C:OnclUlO1lI U 10 tMlp,rltual cnmpleKion of Md",,&Dli.. / .IOmewbat /lontiont.blo.

the

h,.

K.n"t AII;.t<~1 1>Mr~,. lofunieh 1<)2:6, p. l.8 (and later 1'.


}'u/dn1' lu V..."", I'" di, CuUiou.u Ikr S,,,dl N IINllurr:f1U' 00 '4/W'
C,Udh.u/ritr Au"uAl DU,.u. 1,28-19d. Nuremberg 19Z8. p. ,581. A Umilarnot. ill !oun~::'
-

Th~ H: W6I;'ULlH, Di,

liA)('E

In

..... 8ft .. mal!. of tbe clght oeMh contury Hjeclllny a ttempt to clu:IUy the I,;shn"ieal flg\lr. f
tho Apo$tlct accordilll to the compluiolUl with tbe r'8lDark U,d ho do""" nnt lilul"it " wh 0
01
wbo a..
by the 110ly Ghost, arc jlllll,,1\ so completely 'Withe:
ph,lulIOphlcal yard, tick lIke ordinary people, and wbcn not only their tempen.mentl bUl a lso
the dCilr~. IIMlulne". and God know. whnt clse o ! the smaUl<!Il parlll of them at. detatted
and prec_ly detenmned", (J. \V. A,,.LI1,JII. HWtlMIo''''f1ralutllu E,.'wu.rt! m 'T'.fun..
,",,,1&11. Pr~ to the znd odD. 1137. tot. (~

m~,n ~d,

d;~..ctly ift~pired

,.z.,.

.., II: K .. t:" .... " H. All/"d l Diirtr, .. loylA ....u ... K.n..t, Lerpd.g 15114. pp. 60 and IlS Jljq.
to K ...lona"l1 the ducriptions 'If the fou r AJICI!;t1u u tile to.... typc:I of OOlDplulon
?.,~ly t~en1N1 not to th8 differern:o in therr bumoral constitut ion but to tho d Ul8o:ente
In Ihelr attitudes and le:'tun:I.. and it WI. only from this that "tho opinion gn.c.lulllly arOK
tba~ tbcte f.our compleJtion, we re tile lour le,nperaroenls". Kallhnann apparentiy did not
nob: .that It ",at act~ the oIded source whido e"'Pressly Ilexribed them AI "_nlfUinlc"
...hoIenc:1U.
et l'IIel:uJChoIiclIl".
us.
A~ldiog

pbl~atic\l'

TIm NEW MEANINC 01; "MELENCOUA 1"


2]
temperaments as well as of his other special artistic experience, as a.
help in his representation" .290 This " old tradition", however, goes
back in fact to such a reliable witness that . had it been a. question
of authorship rather than an iconographical problem, it would
never have been treated so disdainfully. This witness is J ohann
Neudorfier, who did the lettering of the subsr.riptions to the
picture of the apostJes in DUrer's own workshop, and stated, not
without pride. that he often had the honour of confidential talks
with the master.2!ll Now NeudOrfier says quite unequivocally
t11at Diirer presented the counsel10rs of Nuremberg with four
life-size "pictures" (that is. figures) " in oils . . . wherein one
may recognise a sanguUllC. a. choleric. a phlegmatic. and a.
melancholic"t"; and we cannot simply ignore such evidence.
There can, of course, be no question at Durer'S "using the
apostles merely as an opportunity for representing the lemperaments"; but that does not exclude the possibility that he may have
regarded the temperaments as a basis for his characterisation of
the apostles. He did not. of 'course, consider the nalure of the
apostles exhaustively expressed by the fact that each of them
belonged t o one of the four humoral types, but he could, to use
Sandrarl's adrnirilble expression, have represented them "in the
fonn of the four .temperaments". They are sanguine or choleric
in precisely the same sense and to precisely t he same degree as
t hey are young or old. gentle or violent: in short, inasmu ch as
they are individual personalities.
Durer differentiated the most significant variants of religious
behaviour according to the most significant variants of human (or.
for him. temperamental) character ; and far from lowering the
apostles to mere examples of complexional types. he gave the
complexions a higher meaning. which they were altoget her fitted
to acquire. Men had always been accustomed to couple the four
temperaments with the seasons, lhe rivers of Paradise. the four
winds. t he four ages of man, the points of the compass. the
elements, and, in short, with everything determined by t he
"sacred tetrad" . In the fifteenth century arti sls ventured to
_ E. H DalC" . DU," wrsd rli.

R./_"jjero, Leip1iS

'C)09, p. S7,

on He says of D~ie1 Enselhart, th_ a"""""al scu1ptot .nd t.ulc~~tc:r. ~hat he ...::r.s to
exeell.ml "~t AIbt'tCht Darer tukl m8 hue in his . oom. as I ...... wlltlog at the foot of tbe

aloremomtiooed loW' pictures ."d cnuriol vuiou. If:lI.tel)C.d from Hol)' Writ . nat he had
not seen a. miCbti8l' nr m o... lkil1al a.rIQOrial KlIlpto.... (jOIl,\Nlf NI<UOOI!F1'Ii!II, .... (J~/"j,M'n
von K;i ..,U",. ... 1V.,.""j", ;VilnW'"'' IS47. n8wly edited by G. W. K. Loch:leT In (},,~lItn.
.drift~" I"' K ..... 'lutllWlJ VOl.. x. Vienn:l 187S. PP, 158 .qq.) .
_ ~&u o'lh." , "1"

o;.i L. (~. l..-lo_). M"

'1I' sqq,

THE ENGRAVING "~{LENCOUA II>

[iv. II.

place the Divine Face in the centre between the figures of the
four temperaments, thereby showing the four humours as the
fourfold reflexion of a single divine ray {PLATE Bo).n3 It was the
change from this schematic manner of representation to the
particularising tendency of Durer's time which made it possible
to fuse the varieties of religious characters with the four temperaments 'in the persons of the apostles, thus combining veneration
for the bearers of the " divine word"U4 with veneration for the
variety of God's creatures.29S
How then are the four temperaments to be apportioned among
the four apostles? The order suggested by earlier writers (John
melancholy, Peter phlegmatic, Mark sanguine, and Paul choleric)lI96
derives from a specifically modem psychology not based on any
historical sources, and a sixteenth-century copy which gives each
figure its complexion is of no value because it mechanically follows
the order given in Neudorffer's account.2tl7 FortWlately, however,
we have numerous texts describing the four complexions according
to their physical and mental characteristics, and positively connecting.each of them with one of the four ages of man; and these
texts enable us to put the order on an historical basis.
Anyone regarding the Munich portraits must be struck by
the fact that the four apostles are shown as the most heterogeneous
types possib1e-as compared, for instance, with Giovanni Bellini's
four apostles (whose grouping Durer may perhaps have remembered),298 or even as ~mpared with DUrer's own series of engravings
of the apostles.l:~9 Each figure is as different as possible from the
others, not only in age and in physical and mental dic;position,300
but more especially, in colouring, which play~d so important a
.., Lon don, lk-it. )1u,. , Egerwn MS 2.512. fol. ,51.
m LF, N tltJrJau. p. 38z, 2 .

. .. LF, NathlllS~. p, ~ 21, .'


... Thllll A. v..,N ICYII, Lebl' .. ,..,.l Wi~k4n AI/J,.cht DfJ~trs, N1!rdlingen 1860; M. THAUSI~(;.
LJIi .... Leipzig 18t4: F. I{UGLlIR, Gestlli,h~ /kr Mal4Y,i, 3rd edn .. UIp>:ig 1&6,.

.... According to this St J ohn ~u tbe sa.ngu!nic. St Ptter the choleric. St Mark: the
ph l.. gmatie (l) amI St Paul t he IIwlancholie. Pro!' Mayc:r-&mberg kindl~ informed U! of
the ",Jlcrci\bollts of tbe pictu.e lueutioned by J. HE1.l.J!:k. Dtu Leb," " .. ~ Ill! Wtf/lt A.lbrecht
Dii.us. Lcip.ig 1IIZ7 (Sacristy of St James in &mberg). and obtained a pbotograph for lUI,
n . Tripty<:l~ 01 1488 in the Church of the Frari; cr. lU.ItL VOLL. in SiidJeu',,/I~ M,,"alsh~/u .
III ( l gOO), pp. 74 ~''1q . and C. PAULl. in Vllrli~~ tUr Bibli(1lhtll W..,.II~~. VOL. I (19 21 -

,'OL.

2.2). p. 67.
... Tile Apo;Ille~ in the engravings n18. 49 :lnd 50 are :Ipprax.imatcly nl the d ,.me age.
... Thus al"", H. DF-IIKIIN, io Lo, w.

VOL.

nexio n with the doctrine of temperameuts.

XIX (1930). p.

2~~.

altJiough be deniM

My

con-

2]

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLIA I"

role 4t the doctrine of temperaments that the word "complexion"


is now limited to that sense. The reserved John, a fine example
of youthful sobriety, is a nobly-built young man some twentyfive years of age, in whose blooming complexion red and white are
mingl~ . Mark, who is showing his teeth and .rolling his cyes,
is a ~ of about forty, whose bloodless hue: t arries almost greenish
overt(~mes. Paul, with his earnest and menacing yet calm regard,
is fif~y-five or sixty years of age, and the colour of his clear-cut
featw;es-he is the leanest of the four-despite a few reddish
tinge~, can only be described as dark brown. Finally, the somewhat .,apathetic Peter is an old man of at least seventy, whose
weary. and relatively fleshy face is yellowish, and in general
decidedly pale.301 .
\Vltether we have recourse to post-classical or early scholastic
texts,: popular treatises on the complexions, or, above all, to the
Salemitan verses,302 we always fmd a substantially uniform
syste~ of apportioning the various characteristics and attributes,
whic~: can be summed up in the following schema:

I.: :YOUTH

= Spring; well-proportioned body, hannoniously balanced '


ruddy complexion ("rubeique colods"); sanguine.
2 ., PRIME = Summer;_gracelul body, irascible nature, yellow complexion
. J'croceiqne coloris," "citrinitas coloris")303; choleric.
3': -.: MIDDLE A.CE = Autumn; lean body, gloomy nature, dark complexion
.. ("luteique coloris", "facies nigra"); me1ancholic.
4. OLD AGE ";' Winter; plwnp body, lethargic nature, pale complexion
.nat~,

'("pinguis

f~ies" ,

"color albus"); phlegmatic.

. F~om this summary it is clear that th~ complexions can only


be apportioned as follows: John is the sanguine, Mark (whose
symbol, moreover, js the lion, the beast symbolic of the " cholera
rubra'D is the choleric, Paul the melancholic, and Peter the
phlegipatic.lHl4
.01 The I.uthon nmarks 011 the colouring have be<!.u <::Olllp:ue-d with a de$Tiption made
independenUy by Dr Erwin Rosenthal. to whom we owe our thanks
. 10' SIle.-above.

pp. 3 ;

10; 1I.f

sqq. (tex.t).

lbus CoNSTANTItnJIl A:nuc.uro5, ThniNed Panlftffi (OpfrIJ, voL. II, lI:1.l1.. '539, p. "49).

1M I~~deublly R~beD5. 50 far a:!f eompari&nn with DUrljX', :ligures Is possible (Cor only two

?f t~C3e ~re cVl.ngellsls), followed th e same sequence of age or. il one likes. -of temperaments.
hilI_rj~ture of the four evangdists at Sanssouei {Kla.uik, ,, dtr Kuml,
St~~tgr 19z1, p. 68}. St John is represented as a 'YOllth (sattg uinie), St

ed, R . Olde.nbourg.
Mark as it. youtI!!i.,n
ma,ll (~91cric), St Luke as an ,older maD (melauebolic). and St MII.ttbew WJ . an . old man
(Pltl~lI.tic). Hen! we may alBO remuk that Steinmann 'S sun'estio of oqoating Mi~heJ
....gclo!s: How:s Of. ~ Dli:Y with the temperamenf$ can oll1y be malnwn.. d, IJ a t aU, by
fol1o ...'1~ the traditional literary eorrelatiOIl of the hours of the day with the four bumou(1
(see
p. 1I, note "'I)' Thul we could Il<It say: naw:n _ mclllneholy. Day _ c:holera.
In

"'Ve.
;':';
I

~.

'. -!

" ",
.,'
" ;~\"

370

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLTA. I"

[IV. II.

If .further evidence is needed we have only to r~~all the


woodcut illustrating the book by Conrad Ccltes (PI~TE 83).
Here, it is true, since CeUes had transposed the qualities of two
seasons,see; the phlegmatic has-exceptionally-becomc th~ representative of autumn, and therefore is younger than the melahcholic;
but ap.1.rt from this modification, which is required by (}:Ie text,
the division of the dispositions and ages corresponds throughout
with that in Durer's picture of the apostles, save that in tI~ latter
the biological characteristics ha.ve acquired a human Qr. supcr~
human significance. In the woodcut, too, the usanguine' ~ person
is the handsome youth; the "cboleric" is the irascible m~ in the
prime of life; the "plJIegmatic" is the well-nourished man with
the "pinguis facies"; and the "melancholic" is the bop.y baldheaded man with the long beard. Indeed, the " melancholic" of
1502 is positively an anticipatory caricature of the St Paul of
1526 ; or, vice versa, tho St.Paul of 1:}26 is the subsequent ennobling
of the "melancholic" of 1502.30$ And if we enquire into the artistic
means which DUrer empJoyed in order to transfonn the representative of the "Jeast nob1e complexion" (for so the melanch.olic
still was i.n the Cc1tes woodcut) into one of the noblest figures in
European art, we find that they were the means used in
.Mele"colia I. Not only does the pure proportion of the features-'
which, in an artist such as DUrer, is also an expression of inner
greatness-link t he head of 5t Paul with that of Melencolia; but
the two most ...ssentia.l elements of facial expression are tb'c same
Du,k _ phle:gma and Night _ anguis, but ,. huron.' _ sang'ui:s...Gior l1O" ... cholen,
"Crepu.eolo" _ melancholy (E. lola. in hi. [_._~~, happens to S3.y ')Icln~6 ~r la tD.!lanc:ali ..
du tRpUJeatc" and "NoU,," _ pMqm.a. It is not unp<l!Wb1e tha t 'IItb notion. played a
part in thII attittic coneeptkln I!veIl of MitlIdaDCeID (particularly since ther" ",.as ",,0 ~
fr&l)hieal tndition lor t.h<J boul1l o( the day): Uld .. Giomu ... lre, which is BOt Inicl1lilble in
itlll'clf, could quit.. well b" usoc:;atod with the notion of choler. On" mut, however. r"mem.ber
that Michelangelo', world u a whol .. was fAr too much conditioned by melancholy t u IIllve
room fot a pardy phlermatie, lat a lona a pUrGly sanpiD.c lIatlire. If ona W"ilhcd to lIraw a
~lcl btt_n the tempttaOlcnl' and Mieh,..lIo.nge!o' HOUri of tha Day. one wo.uld haft
to consider tba laHcr U:II. terin of malallclKlly natures ..... perimpotod 011 Ii .lIgulrie,' cbolcrlc.
II U uml mclanc:holit and phlegomatlc buis.
..l

,,

.. ,

{j..

2J

THE NEW MEANING OF "J,rELENCOUA I"

37'

here as there: the " facies nigTa" and, standing out in strong
contrast to it, the glowing brilliance of the eyes. St Paul as u. type
is, so to speak, the me1ancholy type of the CeItes woodcut, but
shot through with the colouring of Melencolia I , 1502, 1~14
and 152~thcsc are three stages in the development of the notton
of me1ancholy, three stages in the development of Durer himse1f.
An attempt has been made elsewhere to prove that his portraits
of the four apostles, long su.c;pected of being the wings of an
lhe
uncompleted altarpiece,307 were in fact undertaken in I523.
wings of a triptych; that each of tilese panels was ongmally
intended to include only one figure; and that the pair originally
envisaged were not Paul and John, but Philip and (probably)
James. It was not until 1525, the year of his drawing of John,3CS
that Dilrer decided to make the .side-pieces independent, and
worked out the new, final scheme, in the execution of which
Philip, already complete, had to be changed into Pall I. The
lelt wing seems not to have been far enough advanced for there
to be any signs of the original idea remaining.30'J
It was therefore one and the same act of creative transformation
that gave birth to the idea of these four particular saints and of
the four complexions in Durer's mind. The ideas "Jolm, Peter,
Mark. and Paul", and "sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, and
melancholic", must have formed an inseparable union in ~ mind,
finding expression the mom~t the p1an aro~ of ch~g the
original two figures into the present lour : Ul particular, t~e
moment Philip became Paul, he became also a melancholic.
In other words-not until the former Philip had become a
melancholic could he correspond to what Durer understood by
Paul. And from now on we have an answer to the problem of
DUrer's later attitude to the problem of melancholy.
The four apostles, as we see them to-day. express a creed,
and. as Heidrich's research has established beyond doubl , the
polemical side of this creed (which is none .th~ less a. cr~cd for
having been prompted by a mere historical comctde.nc:e) ~ dir~c:~ed
against the fanatics and Anabaptists, in whose nunds Chnsban

::s

..!:

I .. Sell abovo. p. :119 (taxt).

,,'16

- The melancholic'a bud of Ijoa ;and St Paul', head o t


f~l\t. 01 eowwe, nSuely
tlla two erlnlmea of a _lea, the main intermedi..te figwes of whicll arc the Barbcrlai plcw.a.
the IId1t:r altar (etp. Lj IO). lb .. dna",in, L18, tbe woodcut BlIS and the cngraving D"jo. "Rut
when on~ camparel all thete. related In principlc as they arll, the Munich St :paul _m,
tpecialIy dOlt. at least phyttoporulcAlIy, to the head 01 tbe melAncholic in Dlll,; d~plte an
the d ifJerel109 of 'CUlo,"-dOKr, at any r.'I.t.=. thin to th" head of the encnved St Fa'61 on Bjo
with which Jo lIAAC1( ...isba 10 OOIIDett it aU tDo dottly (M iltrilvllI'" flu ~"";IIJ 1'!
C.Jdidd. in Sta4l /Ulnob"l, VOL.. XXVIII (19"lS). p. 3131.

om M. THAll'IWO, Dfl"", VOL. 11, J...eipEir; ,R8,.. p. 218, and (with the mumil1:l.ti.llg l uggestion
that the cetl.trepicec W"U to bave beel1 a "Santa. Conver$l:Eion~" in the styl~ of th e drawinl
L36 3) G. PAtlLl. ill Vorl"", tin Ribliol"," W..n.II'" VOL. I (1\111 -22). p. 67.

I. L368.
... Foz- details d. E. P..."onKT, ill Afiiml_ Jalo.lHid 4N MJdno4n< Kumt. new sui...,.
VOL. VIa {uu I I. pp. I

~q.

THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOUA I"

[IV. II.

37'
freedom" seemed to have degenerated into unlimited sectarianism.
This rebuttal of fanaticism, however, as Heidrich has clearJy
proved, is based as a mat~er of cour~ on ~ acceptance of the
Rcfonnation. Diirer explains that he IS against Hans Denck and
the "three godless painters"; and for that very reason he need
not explain that he is in favour of Luther. ,Henc~ he had ~
certain since t 525 that of the four men beanng WltnesS for him,
two must occupy a dominant position: Paul, in whose doc~e
of justification by faith the whole structure of Protestant doctnne
was based, and John, Christ's beloved disciple, who was also
Luther's "beloved evangelist" ,310 And in the same way as these
two figures, grown to majestic size, occupy the do~ant positions
in the composition of the picture (and the relegation of Peter to
the background signifies something of an illustrative protest
against the " primatus Petri" so strongly defended by the
Catholics),au so, too, they are representative both of the most
profound. religious experience and of the most excellent temp~r.I.
metlts. Compared with John's quiet but unshakable devotion,
Peter's weary resignation represents a "too little", to use an
Aristotelian term; while, compared with Paul's steely ca1m,
Mark's fanaticism represents a " too much" ; and so, compared with
the other two complexions, the phlegmatic is inferior in power,
the choleric in nobility. Thc sanguine temperament, which the
whole of the Middle Ages had considered the noblest, indeed
the only worthy one,. and which of course even in ~Urcr'~ tim~ ~as
regarded as an enviably healthy and ~~U101U0U5 dis~slbon,
had been joined since the days of FIC1n1? and Agnppa of
Nettesheim by a disposition admittedly less happy, but spiritually
more sublime, the "complexio melancholica", the rehabilitation
of which was as much a work of the new hwnanism as th~ rediswvery of Pauline Christianity was a work of the Reformation,
Hence it is understandable, from several angles, that Diir.e r
thought the best way of characterising the tut~~ genius. of
Protestantism was to represent him as a melancholic. In making
the apostle of the new faith a representative of the new ideal

THE NEW MEANING OF "MELENCOLlA I"

373
expreSsed by the notion of "melancholia gcnerosa", he not only
emphasised the asceticism so characteristic of the historical Paul,
but endowed Jilin with a noble sublimity denied to the other
tem~ents. In doing so, however, Diirer also affirmed that
for his own part melancholy still remained such as it had been
revealed to him through contact with the Neoplatonic doctrine
of genius, the mark of the true elect, the mark of those illuminated
by "higher influences". But the Durer of 152() no longer illustrated
this in.spiration by an allegorical figure of the Spirit of Art whose
power flows from the imagination, but by the holy person of a
"spiritual man"; he now painted the "furor" , not of the artist and
thinker, but of a hero of the faith, and thus expressed the fact
that his notion ot melancholy had, by this time, undergone a
profound change. Titis cbange might. to use Agrippa of Nettesheim's classification, be described as an advance from the painting
of 1."\1elencolia I to the painting of a Meknccl1a Ill, and was, in the
last resort, a change in DUrer himself. In his youth he had striven
?fter the heroic and erotic en~husiasm of classicising Italian art;
m the second decade of the sixteenth century he had found the
way to; the great symbolical fOIms of MdtnC(Jlia I and The Knight,
Deatll and the Devu : in tile last and greatest years of his life he
applied his gifts almost entirely to religious subjects. In the
years;when Cranach, Altdorier, Aldegrever, Vischer and Beham
were 4rawing strength from the classicism which DUrer had
brougJ# to Gennan art, and were never tired of "Judgements
of Pa,ris", "Labows of Hercules", and scenes of centaurs and
satyrs, in these very years the aged DUrer was employing all
. the force left to him by his theoretical work and his portrait
commi~ons, on holy subjects, and primarily on the Passion of
our I:oFd. And we can understand that for the late DUrer, who
~d l:>een deeply stirred by Luther's mission, and who, feeling
himself mortally sick, had seen himself as the suffering Christ
and had even dared to paint himself as Sucll31'-we can understand
that for the late Diirer even M elttu;olia I no longer seemed an
adequate expression of human grandeur .

,
, Lt

z]

::.

M. TIIAl:",G, DUn', VOL. 11, Lelp:P8 l1l84, p. "79

1',,,,

m :1. JOKAlu. Ecx, D. priM.'"


/ibri " " , Paris I,u,"and latu. Sl Pau1'.promlna_
(lOID.p..-ed. with Sl PdlCf ~y the moce readily be u.tu"pted as the raalt of all anUpapal
.. ltltv6e. as &II icouopaphieal ~t.ioD. tatabl.iahed in early ChrllltiLD tlmao aDd Ilel'll:t"
;1Iu.nllpkld u .. til the RefonM.t.ioCI, requited tb:at u.. l-wo apastolie ....den be placed a;o ~
uactl'l equal Jootillg-a. traditioo whietr. the D!1l'e1"of 1510 had. followed as a lJIAttol eoune
011 tM outer win.., Or the Hell'll" altar, IUM! In tho woodcIlt DJ3.
.~

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA 1"

CHAPTER

III

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOUA}"


Durer's Mele1tColia 1 belongs, like his Apocalypse, to those works
of art which seem to have exercised an almost compulsive power
over the imagination of posterity. Exceptions t o this ~nfluence
are relatively few. On the one hand, there are illustrations to
almanacs and popular treatises on health, in which the old types
of the various temperaments survive" modified only o~twardly
in accordancc with the needs of the t ime! ; on the other hand,
there are illustrations conditioned by the requirements of the
text, such as the titJe-engravings of scientific treatises-th~: richest
example of which (PLATE lIZ) is in Burton's Andfomy oj
M elancholy2_, the frontispiece to a set of pictures of planets after
Marten de Vos (PLA:CE US),' the pictures in Cesare Ripa's lconology
(PUTE 68),4 or the illustrations to a poem such as Alain C.hartier's
(PuTEs .6I, 64 and 6S}.s Apart from these, nearly all portraits
of melancholy in the strict sense, as well as man~ picHlres on

h
u 5..",""J

See above. p-p. IlS sqq. (lAIxt). /u. late U f86t, for instance, a n &1,
appeared
in Parb, translated by C. Meaux St-Mare aad containing a poor lithograpb (P.! ~3I) of the
four fempersmetlH in the .balM of fout fg.abJonably dr'CMCd genUemell n;,ulld a \",blc. Karl
Arnold I'lubli,hed. 83 lato 1!p8. in the MtJlt""nM IllU$tnwl, Prns, (p . 133). e:.l. series of
t1u:l"Fonr D"'fleing Tc:m pe;r:k.-n..nta", ultlmatl:ly derived from t ...o old Cal$:lldM sehema of the
r sydlologica.lly ditJe:rentiattd OOUp IM .
t Fint in;tbe yd edn. of 162:8.
T hi$ engraving. by La Dloll. lho"" the variOGJ:ir!:l.in fonllt
of melaoclloly: tbe melaru:huly lovor, t.be hypochondriac. the miUliac. and (np..e.eOtiDK' the
"8I1pcntitlotus") th" monk . ""iting his ro,...ry. I.e Blon's engraving also cont";... a. portrait
of the I\ulhor at Dt:m OCl'llll ~ iunior. and hi, I'ncient pte(!ece:;sor. Demoeritll' Abdctite.;. '"
well aa two allegorical ligures of the eauses Or peculiarities 01 the melancholy temperamen t in
the bac~and ("Zclotypfa" - ellvy. and "Solihldo" _ 10nelillU$); a nd JiDally two ffiUedies,
bon,gll :.nd! bellehore, which are recommended at Imgtb. U a nUdol:e5 to mclanebol.y in the
Peutlngtt codex (Clm.. "Oil, fol. 231. Another e:u.mple f, tho titlepieu, mentioaod above
(p. 30), IIOtI:~1'). to J OHAlIWU Il'lIJI;YTAG'. Bendt ""It 4w l1d"~Ml1i1l H)'1x1t:AoNlrjA which, in
addition to tbe already descrihl:d group of mdancholy being worsted. by a doctor, sb ows
Asclcpiu wil:h~eoelr; a.nd book ("Co nforlat") an~ 3. pe~ni6ea.tlon of Truth with t~ And sun
("1I1ustn/.t ").

SM abovo. p. 149, DOte 2 11, aad below, p. 396 (text).


Tbe "lIaJeDCOUico" of the ternpen.mflllt-se.-i ... ill Ccsue lUpa'. c-.ptun/lfO' i$ a man
standiDg, in darklclothiD&:. a book ill 0IIe band to IIhow ws iru::t.maUon to smdy, a miser's
p...... III illS othu, a hand38e -.eros, hi. \UouU\ to show h is silence, and a sparT01'I' on\ his bead
to show bl. predilection Jor solitade. For rnol:lDcholy as a slnglo petlIOniliatiob (Pu.TB 68),
which at.o OCCUR in Rlpt. lee above, pp. uti "lq. (text).

Seo above. pp, 221.cjq. (text).

;,

375

similar themes, right down t o the.middle of the nineteenth century,


owe a debt to the model set by DUrer, either di rect, through
conscious imitation, or by virtue of the unconscious pressure that
is called "tradition" .
To classify these portraits of melancholy, which are "after
Durer" in more than the temporal sense, one might divide them
into those which, like t heir great model, are allegories complete
in themselves, and those which are oncc more embodied in the
usual sequence of the four temPeraments, The groups resulting
from this quite mechanical method. of classification, moreover,
broadly coincide with the groups resulting from regional or
chronological classification. As far as a.ny connexion wi.th Diirer's
engrav~ng exists, portraits of melancholy as one of the four complexions are limited almost entirely to the sixteenth century,
whereas later periods favoured. the single and independent allegory;
moreover, one can sec that even during the sixteent h century,
when portraits of melancholy a fter Durer's engraving were most
frequently included in the complexion-sequences, not every
country participated in this development to the same extent.
Tn Italy, where even during the fifteenth cen tury there was a
dearth of regular temperament-sequences, they are also in the
sixteenth century less numerous than single allegories. The
reverse is the case in the Netherlands, while in Germany the two
types arc marc or less equally balanced,'
Nevertheless, it seemed better to ll S to classify the portraits
of melancholy7 deriving from D urer's engraVing not Iconographically, bllt according to their inhere~t composition. That
is to say, to divide t hem thus :
I,

Those essentially retaining the formula of their modelthat is, representing melancholy, either independently or
in connexion with a complexion-sequence, as a single, more
or less idealised female figure, sometimes even (when

Fnnee. "eneolllhr6e pu _ tradition" , to use Henri FoeiUon', words. seem. tt> have
esc.aped tho in1l.lIcace of Dllru't engraving almost onmpletel,. doring tbe sixteenth e.:ntury.
aud to bavo bean aifocted by it only ia tbe $evealeflllLh via lWiao buoque an (ef. Pr-.\.yr; 136.
and tut p. 390 sq.).
7 It would take a sepan.te sbldy .to colloet all th e represeDtationt in which thos eudless
wealth of motifs in the DQru ca!V&ving wu dnn upon for tbe (IcpictioD of otber tbcmC3,
especially the penoni1ic:atiOIUl oj "Coatellipla.tio", '''Meditatio'', "Pcniteatia", etc., tDd of
the Libcraland Mechanical Arts; Mpeeia U,. chlloractcristic of then i, Virgil Solis', ;trt.1 seiieS,
BI83-J89, and that of H . S. Beluun, Ih 2l-J27, A, the typM of both the meditating author,
etc.., and of the A..w: formed the basit of DUrer', engnV;DG:. it collid now iDJlu,ul:e the
development af both.

37 6

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA I "

[IV, IIl"

agreeing particularly closely with Diirer) accompanied by


a putto,
Those which revert to the dramatic two-figure type of late
2 , medieval calendar illustrations and betray their indebtedness to Diirer only by certain details.
3. T hose whose composition derives from the portrai~ of
Saturn or his 'Children' rather th9I1 from the complexl0nsequences, so that t heir relation to Durer is merely
conceptual
I.

PORTRAITS OF MELANCHOLY AS A SINGLE FEMALE FIGURE


IN THE 1.1ANNER OF DURER

We have to record the remarkable fact that apparen~y. the


earliest portrait of melancholy in Diller's manner did not ongmate
in his own circle, but came from an arti.st who was earlier regarded
definitely as a Netherlander and whQ, even if this was not the case,
can only have flourished in no~-west Germany, l~;rha~
Westphalia; this was the master With the. mo~o~m. A.C:.
(Pass. II2: our PLATE 114), As an engra~ similar m style
and probably also inspired by Durer's engravmg of Melancholy,
the Geometria (Pass. II3), bears the date 1526, we ~ould no
doubt place his Melancholy , too, not la~er th~ th,e thir~ decade
of the sixteenth century, and even, smce his Geofnt tna seems
somewhal more advanced in style, before rather than aft~ 1526 .
The style of this engraving of melancholy is marke~y Itall~ate.
The movement 'o f the chief figure, naked and wlthout wmgs,
reminds one of Michelangelo's slaves in the Sistine Chapelparticuhu:ly those to. the left above Joel and to the right ~bove
the Libyan Sibyl-and also of the Donatellesque roun~cls m the
court yard of the Palazzo Riccardi, which infl.~en~d Michelangelo
and are themsclves copies of works of antiqUIty. Th~ putto
reminds one not only of Diirer but also of Raphael: see for mst:mce
the Miehelangelesque pose of the genius in the fresco of the Slby~
in Santa :Maria della Pace. The master A.C:s putto, however, 1S
holding a sextant in his right hand, and this i~ remarkable not only
because mathematical attributes are otherWlSC largely neglected,
but also, above aU, because the motif of a putto holding a sextant
has only been encountered once before in this connexion, and tha t
was in Durer's original sketch, in London (PLA:rE 8) . We can
hardly ~<;ume that an engraver otherwise so different from the

I]

PORTRAITS OF NELANCBOL Y AS A SI NGLE FEMALE FIGURE

377

great master arrived at this by no means obvious motif Wlaided,


and since it would also expl:iin the relatively early date of the
engraving in question, it would perhaps not be too much to look
for the master A.C, (whose signature appears on engravings as
early as 1520) among the large number of artists fortunate enough
to make DUrer's personal acquaintance during his stay in the
Neth~lands.

Apart from the title woodcut to Egenolfi's B ook oJ Formu.lae,v


whicRis almost a mechanical copy of DUrer and therefore of no
interest to us, ' the next , and unmistakably German, imitation of
DUrei'.s engraving was Beham's engr....ving DI.44, dated 1539
(PLATE lIS). H ere, too, the chief figure has become more classical
both' :ii:t dress and attit ude, while th~ composition shows the new
"manileristic" tendency of the timel in being designed rather to
fill aJlat surface than to make usc of values of volume and space.
Putt~ '- and dog are lacking, like most of the other attributes.
while . on the other hand two bottles an:~ added, probably in
eonne~'ion with the crucible, and obviously indicating alchcmistic
studies. J ost Amman's woodcut in the annorial of IS&)
(PLATE nS) also belongs to this group. He, too, shows Melancholy
Nothlng d.~lioitc ~ yet Imown :u to tho id.entity of the a.rtiJt "A.c.." The eatlier.
generally &eeet>tcd opinion that the wtials stood for Allut CIa=: hu becD aharply attacked.
by }of . J. FllU:DLllOlDIUt (U. THlha .ad 1'. BECK~., .I W,_.;" u t.yiAMI tin /"AId,,,",,
KU.ufln . .VIf. 1'- 36) ; Friedllooef" concludes from the stylistic differcnces in the ....riou. desigru;
that the eigD.lure "A.C." m.y slgniIy o nly .. goldsmith's workshop in wwch dilfcrwl
enlfn.v~ were .t W()rk. and il inclineU to idcntify thiI goldsmith >orith .. certain "Alcart",
'\Jfl)ame'~, mentlo~ by ScoreI. RecenUy. ho .... ever. ... Dr WiIIk1er kindly lufon ...
us , eftu !-be Netherlandi$h oritm of the eD.p'l.v inp has beeo OO\lbted (fo~ their COWleJciol\
with GorlsItt, however, d. E . W KJSS, J. GoulP1. Pa.tchim 1913. p. 42). while the opinloo held
prior to the AIL"Irt Claes.z hypol.bcsis. n.mely that the mu ter .. A.c," wal idClltlcal with
Adrian CoJJaert le.n lor. IIJl Antwerp engraver and art dn ler Ictive "about 1540'" leelM no ....
to have ~n quite .bandoaell ; ac:eon'Iiq: to B. LmN IG,l.tJ PIWtU'. " . B~ftU. ADtwe'I' 1911,
p . 76, Coilaerl wu DOt born until 1510, whk:h ....""Id exdude this ide.nlificatiou, but, to OV
knowledge, there 1.1 no evidellOll for this date. We dare lIot plungc into this CODtroVera)'. hot
migbt mention iliol in Sept.cmber J 5'O Dilrer ',ave a ~ta.io " Master Adrian" print. to th e
value of two gulldl!{' (LF, Nae/W;Jn, p. 131), . nd that this AdriaD eaD tio efore hal\lly be
~eoti.lied 'wilh A. Herbouts or H orcbou ls, th Rcorudcr of ADtwcrp: for th e l.ttcr wa,. al .... ay.
retpeCtfully a4dressed by .ome title {LF. od.l&IS, pp. 1.51. 4 and
'~l . and Diorr.ovcr.
as em~ (rom the puuge just '{DOted. Dycrlater pre:sellted him wil.b a "whole impr*ioD."

I,.,

['l ...h~ 117. Tha vzrl~t!oJll eOo.sbt~crelY in the Gl'f1elt verlion of the lcgcnd Uld In the
bowilleri?,tion 01 the mag ic aqUan!. I UOI'aphically. the de$ign i p;t.~h.... ork of thc
mDilt v~ motit.. The top put linlI: Jofela.Jehuly with the AmymO.lle ill B,I. the lo .... apart ebof."s the exploit of M. Curtius. ~' the left thcre is a portQlt of Fortitudo, on the rigbt
the " MiIc:$ duilUanu ... whom the
of duk:ucas .re .UemptinC to Wndcr in h~ uccnt
to
~l-'or the artist, d. H . n OfING.... 1Ht: FI'IJ'IIlrfu,ta B .."Mlolu#llIill I'Jo-l,550,
Stn$bolirg 1933, p. M .

God.;

powrs

.. Cf. S. Snu.l1lIS-KL~BJ:, III M""~""'" J"Arbw," Ikl' trikUlld.'11

(",,).

:;"

K.."I.

lI.e.... series, VOL. II

1_ ... l'

378

TJI.E ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA I"

~ [lV. 1Il.

~n classical attire. but gives her no wings, and ~uces the S~bolic
Implements of her p~ofession still further, the only addition being
the . bellows, farmhar to us from Hans DOring's woo~cut
(PulE 107).11 The stump of a column seems to indicate that
Amman. made use of an engraving by Virgil Solis, as; well n.<I
of Durer's.
..
This engraving by Virgil Solis (BIB-I , PLAn: 122), in '~ntrast
to the pictures hitherto mentioned, is one of a set of tile four
temperaments, where it takes fourth place, with the ~ificant
alteration of the title to Melallcolicus. The same applics to a
sma11 set of drawings in Wo1fegg attributed to Jost ;Amman
(PLATES 124- 127). except that in this case the "melan'&'licus"
takes third pJace. Solis's engraving is considerably nearer in
essentials to Diirer, in SO far as he lets the chief. figure retain
the compasses, whereas the drawing in WoUegg exchanges them
for a roll of parchment, thereby generali<;.ing the specifically
mathematical idea in Diirer's engraving to a wider notion of
creative meditation. Both picture..~, however, have this much in
common with the ones previously mentioned that, although they
retain several of Dlirer's attributes, they replace the contempOrary
middle-class costume depicted in M dencolia I by one , ~hat is
idealised and classical; in the Wolfegg drawing, tbe attitude oJ.
the main figure also ~'Uggests the typical poslure of a classical
Muse. On the other hand, both pictures endeavour to compromise
with medieval tradition, not only by denying wings to the main
figure, but also, in more or less modern and humanistiC., form,
by returning to the use of beasts as symbols, such as we saw in
the 'Shepherds' Calendar and the Books of Hour~. In: Solis's
engraving, the sanguine temperament is represented by.! horse
and peacock, the choleric by lion and eagle, the phlegmatic by
owl and ass, and the melancholic by the gloomy elk (apparently
taken over from Diirer's engraving: Adam and Eve), .and by the
swan which, as the bird sacred to Apollo, may refer 'to the
"praesagium atque divinum" which is proper to the melancholic." .
In the Wolfegg drawings the monkey belongs to th~ sanguine,
the bear to the clloleric, the pig to the phlegmatic and the lamb
J
U There Ii a copy of Amman's woodcut oa the
Stein IUD RlIein.
'"ThOll. CntllLOVI'" (1904), p. 66.

thil corrclation.

fa~e of tbo 11111 "Zoam robeD. ~HII" III

Clcno. Ih 4i'J'MJi"n I. Ill, I, tl18 classical p~~ for

,!
'

" '.
.~

~,

."

I] . PORTRAITS OF MELANCHOLY AS A S[NGLE FEMALE FIGURE

379

to the mehmcholic-all of which largely agrees with the distribu13


tion in the Shepherds' Calendar and Books of Hours.
Apart from anything else, two characteri~tics of fundamental
importance distinguish all these portraits from their original.
In the first place, they fail to represent any antidote to mel::mch~ly.
and, in particular, they lose sight of the profound cosmologtcal
connexion between melancholy and Saturn; secondly. the dark,
meditative aspect of the chief figure is expressed by quite different
physiognomic means and is t herefore to some exten.t ~erently
interpreted. The heavy pose of the figure seated on lts low stone
ledge has become, in Beham, an attitude of nf'.gligencc and apathy;
in the \Volfegg drawings, one of classical ba1ance ; in Amman and
A.C., onc of anguished contortion; and ill Virgil Solis one of
mannered elegance. The clenched fist is replaced by a loosely
opened hand. So, too, the eyes no longer ga7~ jnto the distance
with that uncanny wakefulness, bu~ are lowered wearily and
sleepily to the ground. There is no doubt that t hese post-Durer
pictures still attempt to show the noble melancholy of the ~an
thinking and working; SO much can be seen from the retention
of thc occupational symbols, as well as from the distich beneath
Solis's engravingl. (clearly reminiscent of 'Aristotle's' Problem
XXX , I) and the somC\yhat homely verses explainiI:tg Amman's
engraving. Yet t he inward temper expressed in them resembles
the inactive sloth of medieval "accdia" rather lhan the intellectuality of melancholy as ennobled by the humanists.- still a.lert ~nd
wakeful despite its overc1ouding. However much these art1sts
adopt the outward features of DUrer's picture, and however
much they endeavour to surpass him in c1a.<;sicaJ idealisation, yet
) l 011 theac, tee abo ...... p. 295 sq. (led).
Thc diffeteneu are Ir!erely Ib~t thfl. WolfelllCtlel
exehan,u thela.mb with the pig-.ithtr an iDttance of the frequent ~Dfu$ion Df mtlla llcboly
with pblegm, 1M" a c.ooseqDeoce of tbe humuin ,ublimation of the ~t.'o~ of ~Iancholy. lbe
pi, be>nl uducled. 011. croouds of incoocn _ _ _ _wtWc the c;MoI.erie. lion IS rcplaud by ..
bear the tQditiooaJ syn:r.bol of wrath; also i ll Cu.Au RIP... (/"",oI01:il. JSt edn . ROll>e 159).
I .V. : lra"l. A Dlltc:h .tained-gl~ portrait o( rnd.&ncboly, dalill l ftom about I S)o. in the
Victoria and Albert Mute-om (Marray Beqaellt. No. C.l380-1 914) . ho."'" grotesq ue m lJc t" re
of aDilDRl tymbob, emblem.. o( death , and an ilY>:age o f the mOllutle r:"1~. S\I~ as eoul~. h .. yo
origi.u.ud only d u.J.ng the Itrul&lcI of tho Reformll.tion, with the,r Popl$h UltoS aud
'"monkish calves": Saturn as iI....-arrior In balf--ic.nu.l elothinc. with one leg $till yroppcd u~ ,
is dlmILniDC lb_ melaDcholic hom W doorl tlf his p"1&ee ~o ". f;um~d ; .the lIle\.ancbolu::
bu-eu, !la"O\lo1,. ahriDkiIlg baeIr. appel'n I. a mook'l habit w.tJo. a ppnt>e. TtISU)'. a " d ..
akuU lIndel" his Idt &nil, but has. bo&r"l bead imtead of. hutnall one: 01' hi. shouldeB. n..
paD" "~ to ha ve beloDged to. K>q"CIeDOlS, bOlt ....hether It WU OM rqm:sentinC tbo tUll ~llIo
menu baa !lot .. yet been dden:oiacd.
"Omnc Melanchollcl . todium .iDe fine pcrerRnt.
H
Hac reneds ulebl"el parte fuere viti."

THE ARTISTII:; LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA I"

[IV. III.

I] ,PORTRAITS
"

as far as the inner meaning of their works is concerned they relapse

into the conception of the older representations of the temperaments. The mind behind the classical drapery is at bottom
nearer lo the spirit of the fiIteenth century than to Dlirer's.16
Beham, Amman, Solis and similar 'masters present as little
difficulty to the purely factual exegesis of content, as does the
master "F.B." (now generally. identified as Franz Brun) in his
engraving, which. though reduced to a genre picture, h~ a certain
originality, and is quite impressive in its dungeonlikc gloom
(B78. PLATE II6)P Paintings are a very different ~atter. As
far as those by German mastcrs are concerned, we have so far
discovered only five, .the picture dated 1558, formerly in the Trau
collection in ViCIUla, which M. J. Friedlander has conjecturally
attributed to the painter Matthias GCTWlg from Lauingen,18 and
four paintings which emergcd in quick succ~ssion (1528, 1532,
J533. 1534) from Lucas Cranach's workshop.
Matthias Gerung's picture of 1558 (PLATE 123) shows in the
centre Melancholia winged, and seated, in a typical attitude of
"elbow on knee", but full face and without any attributes. Thc
compasses are not held by her, but by a man crouching at the
bottom 'of the picture, and apparently busy measuring a globe,
not unlike God the FaUler in the Bibles MOTaJ.ist~; we see in him
a cosmographer,tg a perfect example of the ' ~ssessor of the cast
,. !'iee a bo""" pp. 29S . qq. (ted) a nd p , 319, uote 117
" 'l'I,;~ 0.1$0 .. ppli .... W t.I.t~ 'portrait ot mebl'lchnly in the t>ernperalllent-leriu by Paul F1'nUt.
lUll, mention~d above, p . 343, tlot.. 203, which occupie9 a specia11lQllition in 50 faT as the foul'
c:olnVle..uooa are all fl!pre~nted by pntti, stylised" /1/, Sprnngu, "Saoguineus" p layiog th~ I~te,
"0I01l,:rlcu5" In armour, "PhJegmaticla" carving and "Me1a.ncIaDIi~" broodln, In the pudst
of the UI1I'&\ tool"
.. Daled IS60 and sbowing melancholy as n\lnlike ..-oman, the 11.l(TOliodinp stretching
enc.lleMIy "'''-.loy. complekly' empty. and. the (" .... attributes .arnI'l,ged ",ith .\>C1a ngularity and
!;eQlt1(' trieal order that it looks &II if they cooW never kave their places again. :~ da.rlt
s.bading o( walls and GCiling, ud the .bull contrast beh'eeo Iigbt aDd thade are partieululy
d ec lIve. wbile tbe pedantic execution of the cl~Yiew perspective a chieve. sreat power of
psyth<>IOC k al Cxprti:$$iOll.
" l\al_'''8 der Erj ",,.IN' Lfl,1t1l1.u /, I/.".,. 189], No. 173, reprodllco:d in O. DoSIlING and G.
VO!i$, M riSlen w rJu. d~r KIll'" II'., S",A,un ",I'd TJiiirillgefl, M&(debLlrK ILd., Plato 3.:1; d,
ILlIO t'. TlflS)lJ: and F. BJl:CKJ:R, ( 1). cit., lUll, p , "S8; auction cab.lotIue of the colk<:tor
J' . T ,..u, CilhQftr amI Ranscbbuq::. Vi~"ua, 26-30 April '937, No, SSI.
"C. H s ilmallll kiudly pointed out to u' tut a. ,em reproduced 10 C. PAU)(JI;ll'aG .aod
E . 5 ACLlO, Llidionlu,;y, du 1I1ItipiUs, " I, ParJa 18n, No, S8" _bow, .. vuy $imilaT fiGure.
althougb apVCariog io profile. If !.hi. typo 01 picture Is r!!$lly clUllical a quuUon on wweb VI'C
daTe not pronounce , tbe po.tr'.aito{ Cod the l' atller iD the DWlu lflQ"":iuII ~t IU$o be traced
back to this origIn; $0 that it o;la.as.ea1 typo of u twoome:r or OOIiJllO!1'&pber wu dei.ficd in the
Middle Ago , to bt:c:o.ne buman onco mote io the Renai, *anoe, 1bs ~e1 frJ! tb.o "<:n~
crapb ....... wbich Matthias GcrQOC copicu , 11IlOft cJCaetJy. has meitllwbilo ""'0 recog!llSed ID
Ct.mpaenw'. AJlroIclU' (HAlI'r1.AtIl, (Od ri"",is. plates 2r27). savo that ths latter II blU)'
meuuriIIJ the beavens and not tbe ca.rth,

or MELANCHOLY
AS A SINGLE
.

FEMALE FIGURE 381

of inind symbolised by the chief figure. About these two figures


there winds a bright garland of miniature scenes. In a richly
variegated and undulating landscape we see every possible activity
of urban, rural, and military life: but, though realiStically conceived, these representations appear to have no connexion of any
kin'd' eithcr with each other or with. the notion of melancholy.
Th~"; astral phenomena, however, po~t the way to a possible
inteipretation. Apart from the t:notifs of the rainbow and thc
comet, which have been taken over from DUrer, we sec the sun
a!ld .the two planetary deities Luna and Mars. and between them
a clierub apparently beckoning to Mars. CThat angel!s guided the
planets in their courses was a notion very familiar to Christian
astr:ology, which survived even in Raphael's mosaic in the Chigi
Chapel in Santa Maria ,del Popolo.)
It is uncertain whether the planets of this triad are to be
interpreted as the ruling planets of the year,2(/ as a conjunction,
or a~ a mere sign of the general state of affairs, but it is certain
that . their presence is not accidental. One has the impression
tlla~ there is a certain actuality inherent in the picture, and that
it i$ ~ picture of melancholy not merely painted in the year 1558
but'.~ mehow conditioned by it. (This was the year o~ the death
of Charles V.) In actual fact , the three planets are so obviously
co*~cted with the scenes in the lower half of the picture (up
to it1Jout the scroll), that one can divide the scenes almost out
9f l(and into the typical occupations of the "children" of the sun,
the ~ Jlloon and Mars. Banquets, games, baths, jugglers-note the
dantlng bear......bclong to the moon; music, wrestling, fencing and
ar~~ to the sun; warfare and metalwork-note the minebeiOIig of course to Mars. The scenes in the upper part of t he
picture, however, seem to represent the seasons, or the months"
and, 'probably signify the course of that ominous year: tilling,
ha,r;,esting, pasturing, pig-slaughtering, hunting and sleighing.
Sleighing, indeed, since it appears in a landscape not otherwise
wiu,tiy, is scarcely explicable save by an intention to characterise
the 'different parts of the year. The picture is by no means without
chaHn, but thc artistic effect of it as a whole is achieved by the
fact: ~'that neither Melancholia nor the human representative of
."

Th~ list of tbe rcipill8 pl....eta ~r the year S:rD' to vary considen.bly io the "leva nt
litcratUR. G, Ndlmann "'indly lnformed U$ o't two IRis for' th .. yt'V I SS8. giving rC5pc:ct,i~ly
Jda1'$ and Venus, and Mart:, S:l.turn and JII-piter. Man. therefore, 18 m8lltioned in both casu,
1. 1Ioa ~ Sol in N>itlwr. But in G . HeI1m.aw!', OplDic:lD a third 1IOUl"Ce qbt oquMly _II
lilt wi trio.

..

382

TIlE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "}.tELENCOLlA I"

I]

. [IV. HI.

any

this t~mperament, ~he cosmographer, appear to take


part in
all thlS ~ay or perilous round of daily life. They arc lmmoved
by tpc miSery of war, they take no pleasure in tJic games, J1anquets
or oilier. amusements, no part in the joys 'and SOITo\vs of the
co~ntr}'Sl.de . The homely verses in Amman's annodal sum up
thIs quality of the melancholy disposition:
:.
Children's prattle joys me not

Nor laying ht;ns, nor capons fat.


Let mt; alone, to think my mind,

,
,-

Small profit else in rot; you'll find.

between worldly gaiety and m~~ncbOly


eam~tness, In contJast to the splendid unity' regulating Ul.e mood
of Durer's engraving, a.pplies to Cranach 's paintings alSO. The
first, dated 1528lt and now in the possession of the Earl of Crawford
s~ow~ Melancholy in contemporary dress (though she was originaU;
wmged), ~e3.ted on. an airy terrace (PLATE 128). COfgPasses,
sphere: chisel and gunlet are lying on the ground; a plate' of fruit
M.d two glasses are standing on the table; beyond, one lObks into
a JOYO?S 1~dsc.1.pe. Four n~cd children, probably dcri"fe:d from
a .mo(hfication and elaboration of Durer's putto,n are TQmping
with each other and with a. dog who somewhat resents it, ,,,hila the
This

op~osition

., ,

.. CM,u.nA.N SeB~cnA.oT. L~IU ey"d .i. J. 1.e1x" liPId IV..,..... VOl..- n. tii~zilJ 18",
1" 103 mentIons th" copy U being in the Ca mpe CoLlection. Nuro:mbert: ct. :nPw M. J.
F1I.~VIXJ.HOVR Ilnd J. ROIIEHllltltG-, DO. c.-iM "". 1...uJ C._-A, &TUn 19J'J .. No. n3.
whu;h also mc:ntlOM R ~ "in . tbe pot.MSSion of Dc- hul w.her or Jcna". SubfeqllO:IIUy
0""lK:d. by.Connl Jd""'~ 10 1A:ll'zlg. thl, copy was sold iu New York,. at the Park. Utn. et ..Ie
01 n Apnl. 19-48; Its pre.ent location i1IlI Dkoown to us.
Mr Moalt pointed ouf to UI tllu
In the EaTJ a! c.-.wfocd, picture Mcl.Ant.holy w .. not Yrin,leu. &J atilt.:<! inD(.nri MII..,,"oll. I.
~t that trace. ""n be seen of ...;n,_ whl/:h dkappearro almost completely wben pirt of th.e
plcto.e was cut 011. A furth..,. picture. III tbe lame IIIbJect (problbly nnly a . WQ,Ubop
P~ l"ct). knowlcdie of which we owe to M. 1. Frledlinde r. ia lI.ated t , 34 bllt re"erb In the
mam, to the ',28 oonceptioQ. Dut tile oIemeJ\ts (If ~ t.n! redoced to the 6d~bl'
~dpco:Un" ~hlle .t.ho ~n with ltome-try. c:mphas;.ed by Direr'1 ItWqua... is
.mmgv ~ln lIther In the Copen"-len or even in the HilglIe compn.ltioo . where. tho .plu,",
It \ackiog as well.
.
.. Dr C. E. Ib.I111"b kiAdly il\forn:ls US; that he believes that he ~as lOUDd the expl..,atton
lor the.,roo.p of plltti In Cn.n&cb', pictures, and perhaps flVCO lor tho t:bi ld scribbliog iu DDreT.
en~vll1ll". If\ a treatlte on llchemy lIat~d 1'30 and beautifully ilhllu.ted. ",.mely. Spl.Nd4r
SDiu. (:>rurcm~rc. Glf"nllnlsch" MlllOIum). wllero .. group of ebil(l ... n playing I"Cprutntli ~
Certain ~t.,ge In ~lcll~1 tnnslonnation, i.e. "COiI!r"latio". lI;allSO tJm ....irdet ill&elricbct
dem Spll d.f:!" K,ooer. dlleo ...y1e.n. dllS lin aben ,e\"8"n, li, t y etat IlnDdt.:D.." .n l putt!
IlCCOmpAllylD& ~dencholy .hould tM ... ill.'" bor IaterprO'lUd .. .,-mbnh ot .}chemy. , We mlKt
COIl~ that thll InterpretatloG CO<Ild oat, ccmvlnoa us If the all~tin; positiorw of .bove
ud .beltJwo, on wbleb the wbole compariM>o is baled ...,re tbowo ... IIne:(J.llivocatly as they
a~ III the Nur_~r, !\IS mioiillure. Tbit. llOwever. i. not the (/lie ,,,en in :CraMcR',
plct"r~. Id. a.Ion. Dilrer', en~vjng. when: the putta. solitllry ac.d ".ery much In CVlIl:lt. is
bu.y WIth hIS ,llta.
..

.~.

..

r
;

--

PORTRAITS OF MELANCHOLY AS A SINGLE :f-'EMALE F IGURE

38 3

real "dog of Melancholy"!1 is curled up on a bench right at the back.


So far the interpretation of the picture presents little difficu lty.
Two powerful motifs, however, can only be accounted for by the
same increase in superstitious and magical beliefs as caused the
fundamental difference between the two versions of Agrippa of
Nettesheim's OccuUa philosophia. One is the chief figure'S occupation, (or she appears to be sharpening or peeling a twig with a
knife. The other is the emergence of a horde of witches under
Satan's command, who, in the midst of a dark cloud, are careering
across the clear s1..-y. Now the Saturnine melancholic is connected
with all sorts of magic and devilish arts, and his dark and sinister
cast of mind, averse from thoughts of daily life, inclines him to
hannful magicK as easily as it raises him to religious or scientifiC
contemplation. The motif of the cutting or peeling of the stick
(it cert;linly is not a real divining-rod, as it is not forked),!5 taken
together "With the witches' sabbath, could t herefore be interpreted
as the preparation of a magic wand, which according to 'ancient
belief had to be peeled so that "no spirits n est lwixt wood and
bark",te
Cranach's next picture (PrATE 129), dated 1532 and noW in
Copenhagen,S' contains little fresh matter. The occupational
symbols are lacking, save for the sphere, with which the children,
now three in number, are playing a noisy game. The only nc.w
item is the pair of partridgcs l which, however, is probably intended
to enrich the scene of happy worldly aclivity. Here, too, we see
the witches' sabbath, and the chief figure is busy cutting a stick .
.. A ela.er copy of the dOl in DUrer'1 tDgta\;Og. but in reve...e. and enriched by ,comkall)'
outstretched fOfelec, appear. in C\'lLW1Cb's picture of Par,,4'Ie. "30 : Vienn:!.. Aunlthi,t. 10111.5.
No. 1462 (cf. M. J. FlI llIDLlNDZJlull J. ROSEIfBZIlG. Di. G,n"Ud, ' ' Of L .. c"s CM"U~ . Derhn
1932. -plate 167).
.. Cf., for imltance, l bo Esra: "Et \l) ciUI pute [$C. Satunli] Ilint diabolici" : and AbC!
M"i1'w: "Omneqlle magk:e OIDDnquflll"lalefici ,tv.di11U1". nlC colOne,.ion appeanpart:clIll.ly
clea.rly 10 IU enpved .....;8 of the plauat.s by HelU"i Leroy ( IS79-C- 16S1 : C . K . NACit ....
Ki,ull,.4i)OfI. VOL.. VIII, p. 399). where witch. Ind mapcitns i1re.lII.hnost tlte sole repre~~tt.
ti"es of the "chiJdrtn of Saturn" (PLAn: 53): the inscription read, : "Sa.lurnu l ... mlB"IS ct
aa.gis. iod ini! et phnnbo pral!C3t".

.. What Ippeatt to be

III.

bifurcation 01 the f\\ig on the Copenhagen pictllrc ;5 ...0111 )' onl)"

two chipe of the pemd bark.


.. cr. c. noJl(;JIt.U'r:o, In VorlnfK' ,t... llilTlioll,4) W
"'01- III (191]-4). p. 229 .\ord;"'!>
to G. C. HollST. In ZlnCbulriblitotlo,JI, VOL. VI (1&26). p. 210. tl>e rod on ....hich tl:.e ....;rch I.
.wcariq lllqilnoe to the 6erit is "a wbite stick wbich )oaks IJI If it had tM-en Clll Iro m a

boI.,.

..... ilIow and theo peeled".


.. Cf. now hi. } . l'IIIIlDLlt:URIl. and }. ROSf;/fDZJlG. Di, G.m4ld' .. ~ ..
'9]2, fill :117

L.",u C'a""tI< . Ik llm

[IV. m.

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA I"

Even the third of these pictures (PLATE I30),28 dated I533 and
now in Dr Volz's collection in the Hague, retains these two motifs
apparently peculiar to Cranach. .For the rest, however, it departs
fund amentally from the two earlier works. The main figure is
squeezed right into a corner of the foreground, the view reduced
to a minimum, and all accessories, animate or inanimate. omitted,
save for the head of an old man (Saturn himself, or some other
spirit?) appearing in the sky, and no less than fifteen putti, most
of them dancing, some sleeping and two making music with pipe
and drwn. A new influence seems therefore to ha.ve been at
work on this latest picture, and it would be odd if it did not come
from Mantegna. There was his painting ahnost exactly similar
jn form, which had represented "Malancolia" with sixteen putti
dancing and making music, and which, as we have seen, may
have been not without significance for Durer's engraving.:9 But
whereas in the latter case the accord was only vague and general,
in the former. where the putti are present in almost as great a
number and engaged in the same aancing and musical activities,
it seems to go comparatively far; and since we know of no other
similar. picture, we are unlikely to be at fault in conriecting
Cranach's work with the now lost picture by Mantegna. Crana~
need not even have seen a copy or sketch of it, for news of it by,
word of mouth or by letter might have been enough to influence
his interpretation, original as it was in style and composition, in
Mantegua's directio9.
The fact that Cranach used only fifteen putti instead of sixteen
does not appear to be of any particular significance, and would
be very easily explicable by his not having seen his mode1.8
The exact number mattered little to the German master, whereas .
Mantegtia probably chose it for some good reason; for this master
who was 5<> interested in archaeology that he .0ccasiona'Ily even
signed his name in Greek, can certainly be credited with the
knowledge that one of the most famous works of antiquity, the
statue or t he N ile, had grouped the aUegoricai figure of .a man
with sixteen playing children.31
.. ct. 1IUW
~.

fo"aJ~DI.ANnEIl

and

ROSIINU~RO,

I]

PORTRAITS OF MELA.NCHOLY AS A SINGLE FEMALE FIGUn 385

Historically, if not artistically, the most import~t imitation


of Durer's engraving produced in Germany during the sixteenth
~en~ry has been that discovered by L. Volkmann. 32 The altar
m} he east chancel of Naumburg cathedral, dated 1.567. is adorned
w1th---aI??ng other thing~--eight reliefs, seven of which represent
th~ ' familiar cycle of the "Liberal Arts". The encyclopaedic
cy:cles of monumental art, or t he iUustrations to Boethius, would
le~.4 one. to e~pect th~ train of seven female figures to be led by
a p~sonificahon of philosophy or theology. In this case, however,
th~,tole 9f leader is taken over by a Melancholia obviously derived
from the Diirer nadition,33 It is indeed a remarkable historical
oq::urrence when, in a church, and in the framework of a tradition
go~g. back ~or. over a thousand years, the figure represcnting the
un?Ymg ~nnClplc of all intellectual achievements is no longer
t~a~ of philosophy, the discipline providing the systematic foundatl.on of them all, bu t that of a subjective psychological force,
tn.z:. :of the disposition which makes intellectual activity possiblea diS~ction of which the north had become aware through Durer's
engravmg.
: {\ more modest monument, pointed out to us by Dr Erdmann,
m~y perhaps be cited as witness of a similar intention. This is
~ c1bck (made by a Nuremberg master "F.F.L." ip. I599), shaped
1ikra turrct, which shows Astronomy on one side and Melancholy
on:thc other, and is equipped with thc wliole $ymbolism of
Dilrer's engraving, save that the magic sql,lare has been simplified
to a"board with ordinary numbers, and the putto appears to have
been reduced to a mere infant-school pupil. On this . modest
object too, therefore, Melancholy appears as a comprehensive
sym~l of intellectu~ capacities; but since on clocks, especially,
th~re 15 ?Iten a wammg reference to the transience of all earthJy
things (lIke the famous "una ex illis ultima"), it is not impossible
that' even here there may be mingled a thought of the futility of
aIr iptellectual endeavour, however noble.
~Th~ ~eri.tance left by Durer's engraving was naturally less
ex~e'nsive
In sixtecnth-eentury Italy than in the north but it was
;
, .
~ :

op. cit. , fig. 228.

See above. p. )07 (text).

.. Mureovet. as CoUIW Mo.I~ kindly point....! out. tWs picture. like that in tb.e JIIl$lIl'UitHI. 01
the Earl of Crawford. see ms to have been cut, lUlu Ills 1Iot improbable that, hete too, the
main figw-e WO\. oritli nally wUllled.

PLiny. Nat. ubf, xxxvr, 58: "Numquarn bit {$G. b:l$OU>il:ot.] malor npertus cat, quvn in
templo Paei5 a b ;"'perawre Vetpasia.no Au(Ufto dlClltu!' argumento Nil lfMeilfl 1i~~j5

d."" ;!vd.<:n.li~"'. " Yor repllcu of the grolll' (the Vatican copy, of Course, was not
d.swv;ered until Lea XlII', time),. cf. W. AIIxI.U,.G. Di. SIII<lp, ..".,. 4u V4l/i"."j,dt,.
M~~, Berlin 190). p. 130.. frit,sdrifl fir hiltlt,.4 Ku"d, VOL.

UX (192,5-6),

pp. 298 &qq.

Q):jsheimcr, on th e conl:rn.ry, in a delicate lI.Il1aU p:ture in the Fltz .....illiam !Ilulleum ,


Cambridge. ,howed the godoeu Minerva as the patroness of art and Kience in an aUltuoe
Iypi~1 of MeIanc:holy (W. DItOS1'. in Ddrn:dlfl. \'01.8. Dr.-J\: ( J9~6), pp. 96 aqq., plate 2).

:;.;
i~

i:~

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OJ.' "MELENCOLlA I"

i '

!";

.~ ~ !

[IV. III.
-' >

of more consequence there, in so fat' as a development decisive (or

posterity began soon to take place---a development ; from the


mtellectually contemplative to the emotionally pathetic. ~
. There do indeed seem to have been imitations founaed on an
mtcllectual attitude not essentially different from that which
prevailed in the north; we may mention Vasari's 'Melancholy,
surrounded by a number of mathematical instruments oIl a fresco

done in I553 in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence,'" as ' w.el.t as the


allegory of Sculpture described in Antonio FrancesCO Doni's
Dt'segno, which seems almost a double of Mekncola ~iar. The
Melancholy painted by Francesco Morandini. called Pappi, as one

of fOUT temperaments on the wall of the "studiolo" in the' Palazzo


Vecchio, F1orence-incidentally. neither particularly attractive
nor original-is distinguished from her northern sisters by her
markedly pathetic expression of sorrow, agitated almost to
weeping pointll; :mel in Manni, another work by the nbovementioned Doni, which appeared in 1552, we find a woodcut
which, though very ordinary, exercised a most powerful -infiuence,
and shows the sublime profundity of the main figure of Melencol-ia I
(Doni mentio~s that he o~ed a copy of Durer's ~gi'aving)
transformed mto the elegIac sadness of a "feminctta t utta
malinconosa, sola, abandonata, mesta et aflitta" mournmg on a
lonely rock. (.P LATE 131) _37 We can understand how It3.J.ian art
with a native inclination to pathos, and lacking a firm' pictoriai

NC!. L. VOLll:M"'~If. la W,fIk MII lYi.Am. Fnlsdrijl jfh K. tv. HluH>fUIl , Leipzir
'9 24. p- ~11. and Z'(bdrift fir biU.,.4 Kfl.rq/. VOl- LXUI (1929- JO). pp. 119 ~q . 'The
fn:xo which wu d e5troy*s darinc tbc traasrorma.tion o f Ihe "Sab. di Sawlno" Inlo Ole
"~a dl SlturDO" Ihowed the founflation of the eity "Satltrnu" , ,.bich. U (0. Vaari
My. In hb Rtlfli".""M . _
bWJt in. " lonely and mclanrJ,oly spat". Mclancboly ~lf
wu Iho,.-n "with cra fta~e " tool&, c:ompa-. qudrants &Ad meuuring roch ....

.. Ct. J. Sc,n.osna. u ldtu4tw,. fUtiJlir Ftoo-etlce l'Ill5. p. 1IJ. Jloni'" ~8ICription


('01. Sf. in U,' Ven>c. edlL, (549) runs u foUo ...~: " Nci" aspetto Ia f~ro cra\'e" "", mirar
KVel';1.. e dlu.blto intttl) vestlla: pure et honcnto. equate cosI.lb. testa eoQl~. tu l to il <;orpo.
II qu ;o.I8 habito mOlltqv. non fll,fIOO d'esaer da lemere. cI ... da CSJU hOll(lr&to. lit coal (ernlA
e ,tI\bUe, -olltlrill , l"~, sl . IIlvA a ICCiHC con Ie su" m;o.neritlc, artinti;"'! itfome nti
lclorno; Ii c()me a Warte l! eonvi8l\e,"

," Ct. L . VOt.ln'''"M. in Z,iUclrift fa. bi/u"dc KWfUt, VOL. nm (19a9-Jo). p.~ "9 MJq .
Wlth plates. Melanc:holy, u in DDrer'. orfJiIUl I, appears U L wi",ed femalc, .w'h"rut tb,
other three t emperament.. Iigni6cantly enough. !au wmp; her chin Is rutin; oA M r ril ht
haa~, aDd .MI " I$tdnl;' against a tal*!. oe foot raised, while in her rillht hand sh. it hold/III
pair of ~tes. At b feet a boy bI uouc:h inS wiOl a book. aAd on a projeetion, from Oftll of
the ....lis b . _ther book. 1.11 hour-Cl.... and an utTQI",be.
., A_ P. ))0)1 1 M ....i, v()t.. II. V8Diee ' 55'l, p. 87. The v"'- pnt In th' ~obttl. of tbl,
IDOIIrnlng woman .r, attuned to the 'legiac chuacter of th8 pictw,:
; ..l

;,

I J'

PORTRAITS OF MELANCHOLY AS A S1NGLE FEMALE FIGURE

387

tradltion in the field of complexion-sequences proper,3/! should


give preference to the subjective and poetic conception of
melancholy, as also represented some twenty years later in Ripa's
Iconolog-ia,89 rather- than to the objective and scientific conception,
even when , as in Poppi and Doni, one can assume direct know
ledge of Durer's engraving. Thus by the sixteent h century the
groundwork was laid for what was to occur in the period of the
Baroque, namely, the fusion of Lhe portrait of Melancholy with
t..'1e picture representing Vanity.
A monograph on "Vanity picturcs" has yet to be written,
though H . J anson has made a good beginning in his essay "The
Putto with the Death's Head" (Art B-uUtt-i'J. VOL XIX. 1937).
It might begin with the late medieval tomb monuments and
allegories of Death, which so often show a beholder facing u.
picture of transience or even of decay, and urge pim to repentance
with the warning " tales vos eritis. Iueram qnandoque quod
estis", or something of the sort. It would then go on to the
works of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in which the
"ClIe pelfa" pub dire
Pi ... cral'lCk che morice 1

al:a mi:a pella


E puu. OJIl' Ppf'I solte,
Cbc mal puntu ntfrena
lIa a _ OSU 'hor pill forta ;
10 vivo, et op.i dl provo b morte,
Dunqu.' mag;Ior manire
Chi viv. ill. dortia. et nW. _ pub marin."

Doni'" WCIOdev.t, with i15 titJeal~..s la all MKtI of ways (..... to Sibylll> A'~) was leiSlued
in :& wbole Kriet of Veoetiau print.nd therefore heea.~ widely kno .... and !!:XtTeme ly
. iDflnential in Italy (we abo helow, toJd IIp. 389 sqq .l. A n ri". of fotty-two ",1>1 .,..,,,.
Indition.uly atbibllt.ed t o Con.clit MutyJ:, also conwned a copy in reverse o f J)()nl's ...'ODd.
ad; th" beadill( i , .. Mc1ancbolia.... tb8 captiOIl: "Hue C&Ve&J. moDeO, s.i alaet'em vis duc ....e
vitam", The other parta of th8 &ene. dMil with themel snell as ~ac:ia... Pu mllio'.
"l)ok)r", ..te. The iucluioD at Doni'. piclll.te 10 the aenel uplsJns why tl:e Italian woodcu t
alw inADClI(.Cd b.ter Dutch art.. For inatamce, a terDperament-leriu eagr.a..Vt=d by Corneli.
BIocmaert after Abraham Bloemaert (Pu.u ' J3). cootaias JUelucboly ",rueh. tho"Sh ill
most:respeets a lillo=.al de..ceodant ot DOrcr". enpving, 0 .... ber posture. a gentle Kolt'"post.
and ber elegiae elutac:ter unmi,takably 10 Dolli. The pm" c:&.o be said ot the " Di;o.l ec:tie"
in tbe famou, Turin a llegory of Th Li""aIAI'lJ IIwtltwri"l .during /1" "''''T b)' Flan, Flori .
For J, Bo..ckhorllJ: "Coometrl." (P'U.TII. 132), MII .hove. Po 328. 1l<Ite ISO.
.. See ahove, pp, 'lBJ . qq., 21l1l

(tutl.

, . It is DO c:o{ne!denc:c tloat Ripa. MaJiou;o"i4 {Fig. 51. discI/DOd above {pp. 136 r.qq.l.
.-..emblea the SeDeoally Mtab\WIed type of Melaacholy ICOII' th ... hi. penoni6uaons of
"Aocidia" and "Medltatione". and It ill very ulld.... talldabt. that the t!!:Xt should .... ke no
ftferenc:e to Diir..s cngav:int. Hc~alt b all tbe more remarkable that the Flemish edition

corrects tb8 omiuion (Amstudam 16+4. p. 500). For. pictvre by Abnbam JallSKlIS. which ,
foUowillg Rip contruted "Mali.ocooJa with "AUegu:lU." (J>u.TII 69). su .hove. p. 'l:,
(text).

388

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA 1"

[IV. Jil

I]

presence of Death himself is replaced .by a meditati~n o~ d~th.


Finally it would have to show how the 1dea of such a MeditazlOne
della l'o{orte"'o gradually freed itself from the notion of a significant
individual personality, and developed into a personification
complete in itself; and how, in t~e course of this pro~, ~he

,PORTRAl"IS OF MELANCHOLY AS A SINGLE FEMALE FIGURE

38cJ

~OWIl

under' the names both of Melan.clwly and of Meditation


134). Before a wall revealing, to the left, a cheerful
landsqape, a woman of voluptuous figure is knccling; all the
portrait.s hitherto seen have shown Melancholy silting, or, rarely,
standing. The upper part of her body is reclining against a
ston~ block on which are lying a closed book and-in the Venetian
copy:;-a pair of compasses. Her hair is loosely plaited, her head
is resting all her left hand, while the right, unmistakably
rcm~.scent of the motif in Vanity pictures, is c1asping a skull
on which her veiled regard is fixed."- About her are the most
varied symbols of activity, in the background a celestial globe,
books and an hour glass, in the foreground an open volume, a
huge 5!phere, a sct~square, plane, palette and brushes, and. finally,
a sculptor's model which (not unintentionally) reprC5ents a satyr
and is regarded by a lgc and handsome dog. The meaning
of thj.s picture is obvious at first glanee: all human activity,
practical no less than theoretical, theoretical no less than artistic,
is vain, in view of the vanity of all earthly things,
~q.wcvcr great the difference between Domenico Feti's fine
composition and the modest woodcut in Manni, they have one
thing,)n common as compared with the northern pictures: they
conce.iYe melancholy as a state of the emotions, and refme t he
ori~ melancholy disposition down to the acute despair arising
out qt, a melancholy emotion. But Feti's work is in many ways
the rilore profound, and in fact one may say that, starting from
the very different concepts of the CounterReiormation, it met
Diircr:':s engraving on common ground. The skull 'with its
"mem~to mori" now gives the aimJess grief of Durer's Melancholy
a defPlite object, and what had been a vague and hardly explicit
douhi as to whether human thought and activity has any meaning
when' faced with eternity, is DOW condensed into a plain question,
which' h ad to be answered by a decisive and unambiguous "No".
Mela.I).choly now resembles the type of the repentant Magdalen.n
are

(PuT~

fascinating contrast between the gnsly content of the meditahon


and the youthful beauty of the meditating subject was increasingly
st ressed, so that the St Jerome was frequently replaced by a
Mary 1'.fagdalen. This Vanity picture, impressive alike by its
sensuous charm and by the chill of death lurking within it, could
clearly accord in many respects with other pictorial notions, with
subjects in the sphere of Arcadian idylls no less than in the sphere
of ascetic moral philosophy.4.1 It is therefore understandable
that even Durer's picture of contemplative melancholy, whose
dark nature had always been associated with thought of night and
Death, and which after the Counter-Refom1ation had been interpreted more than ever in a religiou:s :seuse;'2 could be combined wit~
t.he type of the Vanity picture. .
The earliest and most important example of this kind, and
perhaps the I1l0st important work of art resulting from the influence
of Durer's MeJentXJlia I , is Domenico Feti's composition,~ of which
scyeral copies have been preserved. Si.gI:ificanUy enough, ~hey
.. Ripa. maoJe a speelal J""T"'>IIi!i.calion of tbis dcscribiDg it :... "donnll. iiUpigliata. con vesti
lugubrc. appocc:iata cui bracx:in A. qualeho ae~llura, te.tlendo.ambi roeehi fi5$i. in un~ tata di
Inortu . .. : . As urlier e:a.IDpies of tb.b IOrt we mentiuu Ulcrel.y CAmpsenolas youth
meditating un a a&ull (HAJ<lUUB, G~Jt.j ... ,,; pl.&le 1.1 ad the buutUut etebi.. , of V.uit....
(BIS) by Pa.nnicialiioo.
.. c r. W. WIiIS .....eti in 1);. A.. ,iJle, VOL. VI (19.l0), pp. 1':17 "'lq.
.. Significant in tid, tupect is the tit\e..piece to Muten de Vo , . scrieI of the Pl<ulets, Ij81
(6Ce abo"", p. ]'49. note 217 .ud PuTK 113) He..~ tbe "Pbl~. .ppear' ':II Diana, &lugu!.'
as Vt""'" "ml Cbulo,I.' as r.lincfV(l. armecl, but Met.ncboha as Ii I1l1n With I. scroll, m&kiog
an admonitory 1I",~ula: the en,gnl~d title to J. GUIl.LlIIlEA U' T..bl.l IStttJlOmipU. Paris IS86.
i. lkri"cd from this, but here " Melancholia" onCCl mOre appean sealeu, with her head propptd.
un J....- l.and. tn tha ...... io:s H~f. too. the rcllglOIll element takes Il prominent place; tha
St:Vfln ~t5 and the seven ages of man arc correlated with the levell. works of mercy. and
the ae;ed Salutllil.n' ia beine; urged to rapent by "Can.ciClltia' " pointiog huven ....'afU.
MII\.OJl. and many of his 5UCCf:nonl ap"'ttophise Melancholy as "pemive lIu.o, devout and
pure.

.. Cf. Dome.nieo Feti'. own M~f/lSlm~ reprodlleed In R. OLOrlttOOUkO, Dlmlen;co Fd'.


DihliotOcia. dArla IUutnte, I. 1I. Rome 19n. plate XII. A ~;"ulat' reprCllOlltaUOU of Vanlw,
but thl5 t~e ago.in with wings, Is reproduced In Jd ~b,"4 1ct'."_$IhislfWUrMH S~Itt"'IIj"fen 118
1I11'''''~$tett K~;u,.lI~uus, VOL. XXVI (1906-07). pl&te XlI. DariP,g the IIIlvenlnth cent ury
thC8C tyPes wcr,ed too 3uch I. degree that in llWly cases (e.g. i.ll that o{ Cbaperon.lirawini.
1'1.1..'0 l)6) either title, M,Um&li.oly or y_~, WOuld he equa.lly ju. tLaed.

o Copies in the l...Quvre, ill the Aecademia. Venice, and ;n the l'erdinandeullI, Innsuruck .
Wa ~~ nu ground for douhting. vdtb w61lllin. tbe cotlD6Xion between Feli and DUrer, in view
of the wide '&;rcuJaUOJl of DUn:,,s engr.l"joe:. and of the '~ce of so uIJ.ny sitOila:r o.tbiuuu..
(dog. eoRl.paI&c,. Iph~re. seNquue. hOU.f-l:laH. piaue); but of COIltIe F cti. too. mtat have
been Wnilia:r with !.he. more SCIlti mcntal Doni type. The objects lackins in Diiret'& tngravlq
(ao::uiptor, model and 3IIuobbe) arc PlC:lcnt, fOT instance, ill a~ etchl", of 'Vaoi~' by
JKoOb r.1atham. wbM:h, like 10 many D .. tch rep<'ntlltaboos of tbia type (d. JL WICBJUJlIf,
LtonUrl B ,.....m. Laipz.!g 19aJ. pp. 'IS sqq.). db"....,..,. with hulOlUl GlUt" a1\.ogethu. and it
CQIltcnt to contrut the ay mbo1a of sceulu art. and scleoces .... ith reUliou. s till. Ufe m:&de up
of ~ku ll. biblc, crue lfix :uu.l rosary.

"

.. In point 01 fact the Pari. copy of Feti. work was eataloctled. .. I. "Magdalene in the
...... en~.th century, and not until the fliIhtccnth century (when Itl connenou with DUrer
"'U l_h~P' recognile<l) was the namll Afllll..,lrt)/il gjve.n to it. (CL M. E~DAES-SoLT"'A~l'I.
D f11tt'ttiif1; F.m, diMCrtation. :r.ruwcb 1914. pp. 28 IIC]q.).

r
,

390

THE ARTlSTlC LEGACY OF " MELENCOLIA 1"

,. [IV. III .

For 'Aristotle' , the value of the melancholy dispositiorfhad been


its capacity for great creative achievements in all possij,le fields ;
the blessing which the Middle Ages had seen in the "melancholy
disease" had been a mo~ good rather t han a practical one, in
that it shielded. one from worldly temptation. I n the Renaissance,
and with DUrer in particular, consciousness of human creative
power became merged for the first time with a longing for.religious
fulfilment. But now the period of Italian Baroque revertCd. to the
conception of the :hfiddle Ages, s.1.ve t hat it turned to the ~motional
rather than the metaphysical What Domenico Feti had ~xprcssed
only hy visible, though hardly ambiguous signs, was expressed in
words a generation later, in an etching by Benedetto Castiglione
(PLATE 135). indebted to both Feti and Durer. "Ubi inletabilitas,"
runs the legend, "ibi virtus"-"where there is grief, there is
virtuC."46
In Domenico FeU's picture, and, much more, in Castiglione's
etching, the general notion of impermanence is given a.specific
tum by the introduction of crumbling walls and broken pillars;
this corresponds with a tendency that had grown ~eadily,;Stronger
since the fifteenth century, and reached one of its recurr9~t peaks
about or just after rooo- t he romantic cult of ruins.4'1 Guercino's
famous NoUe is another cxample,48 and derives hist oribally not
from the "Day.and-Night" series bul from the . for" lula of
".Melancholy" or " Vanity" pictures. Two drawings by ~Nicholas
Chaperon (one of which is illustrated in P LATE 1 36) shbw this
"Vanity-Melancholy", sorrowful, a nd in a veritable ~ Qpen.air
museum: one represents her without wings and still bdtraying
her traditionrtl heritage by the .unu..<;ed tools of work (books, rolls
of parchment, lamps, and globe); the other one shows her with
wings, and so intent upon the perishability of ancient beauty that
of the whole inventory only a small indistinct pile of papers and
.. We would nit1!tate here OUf sincere t lul-n let to Dr Ludwig Mlln", .....ho drew OIlT a.ttcntioll
to this ekhing (Bn) by Castiglione. In thil counuion wet may abo rolllnUon another etching
of Melancholy (B26, a horizontal (Jb\c)ng) by the same artist.
. '

.. For the InterpRbtiou of nrins !lee e.g. C. Rosuy, TM PitlNruq .... S ludi i ... POI'" of
VieuI.London &Dd New York 1927; K Cl.AltK. LoUst:41>e i~ Arl, London 19"9. '
.. It was

J. H...,.

(AI~I;..o

r.u ;. Munich '935. p. n) who poi!lted nut t~ COPnedon

betWtell Guerelno's N olt' and DOn!r's cll(f&vlng.

It must. hoW6Vo:r. be empbulsed that


Cuercino. composition pn:sllppo!eS not only the. Durer ori(i.o.t..l but :llso its ~;"tlmellbl
modificatione in tbe m;J.n ncr of Doni'. WQOdcut. illdeed ;n genctai conception prl.mlU"Uy the
latter.
'

I]

PORTRAITS OF MELANCHOLY AS A SINGLE FEMAT. I! I'"lGURE

391

an hour-glass survive, the latter a symbol of death rather than an


indication of intellectual activity.49
D uring the eighteenth century. the " typus Melancholiae"
suffered a fate common to all traditional forms at this t imethat is to say, it was conventionalised to such a degree that the
true reality of the melancholy mood could only find expression
in other spheres. toO In poet ry, "Melancholy's typical attitude had
degener~ted to a mere pose with mournful glance and cheek
propped on hand :
.
Say in what dee~sequcster'd vale,
Thy h ~d upon thy hand reclin'd
Sitt"st thou to watch the last faint gle~ms of light

-as John Whitehouse, for instance, says in an ode dating from


the 1780'S , in which Ripa's familiar rocks are wTapped in the
grey mist or illumined by the blue flashes of the Gothic school. rol
In painting, too, Melancholy's typical attitude had become a
mere flourish, and so noncommittal that, for instance, t he Frenchman La.ngren~e the elder was able to take any mourning female
figure out of a " t ableau de grande histoire" and copy it as a
personification of melancholy." English art either sentimentalised
Milton's "pious nun"-witness an engraving by J. Hopwood after
J. Thurston, with Melancholy as a heavenward-gazing mm ,
cypresses in the background, and a verse by Collins underneath:
With Eyes up-rais'd. as

ODe

inspir'd,

P ale Melancholy sat retir'd$3

-or even made the melancholic's saturnine attitude into a


desirable pose for the lady of fashion, as, for instance, to take a
telling example, Angelica Kauffmann's portrai t of Lady Louisa
.. Lauv<"" In .... NOf. ~5196 aod ~519&. Ct, the eb:hil!g of V.... IAS by J. H . ScbOofddt,
,65" (nproducod Itt W. DRDSI". BlU'Odmal",,, i.e 11m ,_Iukro U~ HlUldb .. ch der
KUDstwiw'nrbaft. Wildpad..-Pobdam 19~6, plate XV) whicb rolf",.. icono~phi~y from
the Ch:l.psroD d r:a.Wl4gs ortty in that the. main tiglI rlll is male, and tha1 there i. tlIe typically
Getman iosi&tIrou 011 tbc idea. of de.,th..

N See a bove, p. 237 (text).


II John WhftehollM. qnobd in E. M. Slcn13, The Gl60my i3loill. New YOTk 193:1.
" Louvre,. Catal No . ..50. The firua iJ idelltic&! with ODe of the female mOIl~llen; ;n the
DIM1I of Dan""' "Wif' ill the Nantel Museum. Of the r~tl.tions otMelanchllly produced
by the so-aUed "c1a.ssIdsm of milieu', "Which came into b.5hioll about 1760. we may mentioll
the D ow:. MM#.~ItIJ"' by Joseph Marie Vlcn (engrave4 by :s.uvarl"t). per$Onified by a
meditati vo young WOIN-D in \\ richly dec:on.t.ed toOlII., and a Milo,""olu by his pupil Fn.n~oi..s
AlldriS VlDCent, dated 180J. which, according to Nilgler. rep~t.s "a marvellow: female
[; &ute be ..eath C)'p1UiS ~'
.. See abovc. p. :136 (U..,t).

392

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLlA I"

[IV.

m.

Macdonald, whose grieving attitude is_ rend~ed complete1y


meaningless by the addition of ail anchor of hope."
Nineteenth-century romanticism, on the contrary, endeavoured.
to endow the traditional expression of melancholy once more
with its original meaning, and in so doing it sometimes conscio~sly
reverted to Durer. But in various ways it broke up the typt~al
Renaissance compactness of Durer's creation, w~ch, .for all . 1ts
personal overtones, had been objective, and, for ail Its phil~phical
profundity, easy to grasp visually. Whereas ~e saw ho~ literary
exegesis, in marked contrast to the co~ception of . Durer t hen
current, raised the emotion expressed m Mdencolsa I to the
realIus of Faustian metaphysics, the pictorial derivations softened
it to-so to speak-a " private" feeling of loneliness. .In both
cases however sorrow tunIS to longing, grief for mankmd to .a
flight' from r~ality ; and, independently of their objective
significa.n ce, the romantic portraits. of melanchol~ move ~s,
accordingly, in an entirely new way, Thanks t.o tIus .nostalgta,
sorrow gains possession of a . fresh range of objects: Ulstead of
being, as hitherto. limited to present existence~ it em?Taces .all
time wilhin the span of imagination. Hence the 1Olpresslon which
the romantic pictures give us, that the longing, whether for a past
beyond recall or fOT a futwc without hope of attainment, now for
the first time enables t he t heme of t he melanclioly mood, so often
and so closely linked with music, to be expressed " musically" also.
Thus the modest Steinle, striving after an "old German"
effect in orthograpby, lettering and ornament , while at the same
time combining this with the attempt, common to Nazarene
painters, to emulate the sweetness of Umbrian art, ~ans~?nns the
sublime brooding of the Melancholy of Melencolsa I mto. the
humble, quiet grief 6f a forsaken maiden, in words that rea.d. like a
folksong (PLATE 137):
.
Jhe leDger j he lieber ich bin aUein,
denll treu und wahrhcit i.c;t WOrneD klein,S!
.. ~" Keynolc.l.. porttllits discIIIIII;,c] and r<lprod~(:ed (p1a~~ 79, 80 and 80S) by Eoo.ut
(" Hllmlinitll.tsl<lee und hcrQlslertol I'ortrlt ID de:r e ngllscheu Kulhlr Oel 18. Jahr
bllnlh,rt.". In VOffr~I' /Uf BibIiQl~ ,A WarbUfg, VOL. I" (1930-31). ~. 1,56 tqq.). LAdy
NaedunAJlr. potualt . to w .. lt;h 1),- Wlllc.l klnd.ly dnlw ou r atteution , II '''l'rodllced I..n V,
"',,-NlUng and G. C. WILu.o.~ION, A,.,diu X.u/!nrrnu,. LondoD 19~~, 1'. 97: ICC alJo UU UL"- .
Horr, n"..bfll"dl ~114 E",land, dinertatioD, Hambu rg 1935
.. Watu-c~o ... r in tbe Stldcllc;hllS K ll uttinatirut, Fnnld"..-t; d . P .. Wall.a, B, ih4l' '~
W I ND

~ORTRAlTS OF MELANCHOLY IN LAT.K MEDIEVAL ALMANACS

2]

393

Caspar David F riedrich" broadens, and, at the same time, dilutes


the feeling to a profound longing, without aim or direction, for
something Wlknown. The fonn of his pictwe anticipated t he
Iphigmiaafff T auris by Anselm Feucrbach, who. however, replaced
the . unknown distance towards which the romantic painter's
"loamy maiden" is looking nostalgically. by the all too literary
notion of the "land of t he Greeks" (PLATE 138),

,,
~

2.

,
"

TYPICA.L PORTRAITS OF t.mUNCBOLY IN

LATE MEDIEVAL ALMANACS

The ambiguous subjectivity of so markedly romantic a work as


Caspar David Friedrich's nat urally forbade as precise a use of
symbbls as that which we so far encountered in earlier treatment
of this theme , That does not, however, exclude the possibility
that 'certain single motifs, originally regarded as notional symbols,
may have survived as emotional symbols or, equally probably,
have been recreated independently of tradition, Thus the wilderness, whence Caspar David Friedrich's Melancholy is desolately
gazing, is characterised not only by flowerless, tangled leaves
and harsh thistles, but by the "barren tree" which had been one
constant attributes in Ripa's illustration and in German
of
barqque poetry. while her lonely captivit y is indica~ed by a
spi<kr:'s web, which, curiously enough, also appeared in a sixtecnthcentury German portrait of Melancholy (PUTE 139). Tlris latter
composition , known to us in a South German. or possibly Swiss.
pen-and-ink drawing of about 153tr40,67 seems to belong to a

her

.. Dn.wu.g ill Dn:3d... 1801: ~tut aIteI" It by th. artist', brother, c:bristUII. abolo.t
r818 ; d. W . KulUll. A_lido, B,ridaf, .... Uri j6roi&fl&Ute K ..ulUUfIUfIl..",m, VOL. X1XVl
(19' .....15). pp."21:9 "N' l'be poM of the 'rIa very much ,_mb!u thAt of the well-known
SI Tflllnl4 (Lo.ndoa), by Paolo Ver-o_ ....ho. III turn, tna4e eGa liden.bJe use of the cngraviog
J3.t60, jformez-Iy wrona1y ..ttributad to )(r.n:all tooOo ..110 pCIdIar- d erived from .. compositiaa
by ~Gia.a.lDo. nu. caqavil1l, with .aIDe modi.fieatiol!. 01 t.blI IIPpe.r put of the body,
ow..., also. used ...... ll1Odd for Batt.beI. 8eham'. M.oi'o,.,.It. B& (d. A. OIl~H KlDJI. Dt:T Ei"ft*'
l>1ur4nf()1;w R.inrOlldi, awJ Iti, "'cw4;uA, KW7I11 ria 16. J.~ .. PId#rlI. dinerta.tio.n. Hanlbllrg
1933, )?;p. 100, Ill. plato XLI ). whleh, .S.m. waa II '~ in Rlllnhl"alu.lt'. drawing H.d .G.lIn.
It is uibdonl an error ",he" J. L. A. A. M. V"-M ltJJeuvOJ""L, Re,.,~a"il m ' " Tr/ulifi.,
lwtterd~ 1932. pp. I I I sqq . unfamiliar wltb tbe Plcudo-Yareantonio IIDgravlng. treats
VerollF's $ ' HeI. ",,,, ... a lt o uiv!ng !ro m & hnIlL. A drawln!: by llai1olnmeo Passacotti in
the MQnd Collectioll, llUbUihcd by T. BOUN IUI and R . WllTKOWI\R. Cat.'ope o/ IM wflod;1/ft
0/ 4fa~;,g~ by 1M oU IlIeIlQ." /0,,,,14 '" So.- RuMrl Mond. Londo" 1937, p . .. ~ . pate 30. i.t
IISCI d;;?:ved f(olll this eIlgfavina:.
Tl},f drawiug

in the cu le deG Bu.. ,...Arlll wu publ'-hcd ... Freneh by P . L!.V,uL U. in

Oil",. IYtlIA"'U~'''''''': ,i", SI"d;, UW d'-, IP#i Stic1/., Rilla' TCHl .... 01 T,u/rl. M.dll",dol"

Lu Til$w. 4u BibliolAJqwi t4 Ff#fll#. VOL. U. P&rit 1929, p. 88, thoug b. the a1l.thor admitte<l
that "1U'jet et style ioDt plut6t a.IItmallUI I}lIe ff1lll~II.l ." The Gem1an origin oUbe draWio,.

,,"'. It.noP<y''' ..J


Gdltu, Stru1.oour, 1900. p. b. This pi<:lure aQDOt, of COllflll . be
addueed fut tht: iDtervRtatlon or 1>llru'1 CllfTaving. becaU!lO: the wruth on tM bta6 of
Mrl.",oli. , .. not mada 01 boneJ"lIcl<le (Te\ICI"ium). Sec above. p. 12,5 (~t),

of the 'male agan. ....herus tho Fn:nc.b ~Uc "On DU!IancoI..iClue ipkulaW" :rn.ust (!ate fronI.
later ~ of the o rawi.ng .

'Iff

however. is cst&bllshed by th" artinI I.nlUiption "S&JDet.tlplin", .pccif)iug the head-cov..n.n,:

.;

394

TH.E ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "M.ELENCOLIA 1"

, ' [IV, III,

set of the four temperaments,U It has obviously co~~ under


Durer's influence, even if only indirectly. for without it the
speculative content of the picture, already emphasised .by the
French owner in the caption, would be as little intelligibi~ as the
numerous symbols of mensuration, or the compasses with which
the meditative mel~cholic is vainly endeavouring to measure
his globe (for SO Durer's sphere is OCClSionally interp~~ed, as,
for instance, on the clock mentioned above) . But the it that
this embodiment of deep reflexion no longer appearS , as an
idealised female figure. but in the very realistic form of ~ ~ragged
and barefooted man accompanied by a similar old woman 'clearly
shows that the manner of illustrating the meaning inh~~ent in
Durer's ~gravin~ has reve~ed to the late medieval .tlpe of
almanac t1lustratlons- to palTS of figures rca.listicaUy P9I'.trayed
in a dramatic relationship, On the other hand, this 'realistic
pair is surrounded by a quantity of symbols, the meaning qf which
goes as far beyond the range of the medieval almanacs as it differs
from that of DUrer's engraving. The barren tree already mentioned
can still, of course, be taken merely as an indication of winter,
the season which corresponds to the me1ancholy humour and' to
the earth;' and also t he three zodiacal signs seem to point. to the
time of year69 ; in Ripa, the motif of the barren tree was explained
by saying that me1ancholy produced the same effect on men as
winter on vegetation. But the brazie( beside which the old 'woman
is warming herself is an implement of magic,'o as we11 as of ps:aetical
use, and the parchment on the ground beside her with its sQc~rayed
star and other magic characterse1 obviously shows that ~e, like
Lucas Cranach's "Melancholies", is concerned with devilment and
wizardry. The owl. too. indicates not only night. misfortune Mld
loneliness in general, but, in particular, the "studio d'una vana

2)

PORTR.... ITS OF MELA NC HOLY IN LATE M.EDIEVALALMANACS

395

sapienza" with which the pol~mics or the Fathers had reproached


the bird of the heathen Minerva.620 The same can also be said of
the spider's web. The Renaissance considered it an emblem of
"vain toil",N so that it seems t o refer to the fruitless distraction
into which the equally ill-fated companion of the melancholy
witch has fallen. We do not venture to decide why this partner
is sitting on a barrel; perhaps his bare feet and raggedness suggest
Diogencs,M or it may be merely the modiflcation o( an earlier
model showing a globe instead of a barrel. 6S The hedgehog.
however, which has made its nest in this barrel, has only one
explanation. It is an ancient symbol of hesitation, but as applied
to the special case of the toiling thinker it signifies the me1ancholic's
destiny of being subject to such strong inhibitions that he ca? only
achieve his labours, if at all, at the cost of great agony-tn the
same way as the female hedgehog delays giVing birth to ber
young for fear of its prickles, thereby making the birth yet more
painful.6s

FII:rOJl.2.
D,

From Robe.aus BCNC,

UoRU .........,.

bit...

L'IlIII...li ....

Fruldun, rsst .

Indirectly influenced by DUrer, then, this South German


drawing undertook to intellect ualisc the late medieval almanac
illustrations, as had already been more crudely attempted in

M The -'ru "fI, the a\do.emkll Iymbol of the eartb, deady pointt ttl the three corr.,espoudlllg
aymbobl (.c. -~, 'i/ - water, 6 _ air; d. G. C\IlIIONUll, SId/./o,", lJoridu d,Ua 'eMlftiell
, dell' A I,lIi.,.", i" lI/J/ill, noma 192.5, p. 2)). .AZJ IldditfOD&1 proof of iu beiog'.pUt of a
aequeDCe of iour i5 tbe preaenoe of tho three ~ lip', for whicb, however, ' 0 tllc

.. CI. CIOVANNI PiB"lO VU.IIRUHO, /,rollijui. Veniee 16lS, p. 256. with rcfl"!.n~Q to S t
Basil and Hesychlus of Jeru wem. Ripa .till lives the owl as a symbol of IUprtr~t'tlOlI.

foUowinr no\.e.

v.",," .

':

The tb.ird lod!AealqD lot' winter, Capricorn, hu"been repla.ced: by VilljO. but: iru. mlY
be due lI\t1'ely to ID aTOI', unlen, .. ill the engraved aeries after Heemsken:1c:. PLAn '''4.
which we ditcull OD p. '97 tq. i " the text, the comhiutiou of tl'Ie zodiaeal aip' fa ;cant to
Ilke into IlCCOWlt tho pAlhology 01 tllo humollr' as well.
.
.. Cf . P . D'A""1I'O" SIDoo",,. ",."u... added to ACTippa" ac-JllIl'lIihllo;lIiflo
p. S6t) "H..beat
opeq.m) VQ fictil. ftO ... om
pICl:nlm:'

r",

i,,,,

(L)'O'lt~tfoa.
;:.

a P. D'A""''''o, op. cit. p , 560: "Ot-inde lom.t hoe pentaculum [the iIIostr:atlool lS iiseD~al
with the Itti' in tlwo Paris dr.winc) aeillm . ill charta mem.bQnt boedi.~'
, .

::

Cf. GlovA~m PlZRIO VAJ.II,,'.nfO, 01" cit., VP. 3.. 2-3: the spider', web denutes "opera
.. Cf. E. PANO~. Hu, wl,.

/Jill

Sdli"IIK'~ {Sllldieu der Bibliotbek Walburg. VOL. XVlllj,

I.eip%ig 1930, pp. S l aod 110.


J .cob I de Ghcyn'. enpving, . hown In PUYE rd. seems to , u gllest this p~bility

.. Ct. GIOYAlOIl FlltJl.lO V,o,UI"'AHO, ItrflfliJki, Ymiee 16z5, p. 104. The 1""\l':e~ d.notH
"Da.n ui the Ii saotono per rindupo. bceause 'qoesto aDimaJc: <l""'Ddo.l. !~m"'. J.""te 10
.n;molo del partOrire. ~ i1 venUe I. duole, dift'erilec, et iodugl. ~ putorul!: quanto p1h .pub;
<u:lde ."riene, ehe il suo parw K'D'p". pitt crescendo, m'xrior dolor'" poi ""I
Ie

,,""CIt.ro

arrec:a.. ..

39 6

Tilt:: AIO'ISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA I"

(IV. III.

the woodcut illustrat ing E obanus Hesse's De conserllanda bona


vletlldi1Je.t7 We have here an increase in the hlcroglyphic ~d
emblematic elements, and an added interest, present also m
Cranach, in magic and the demonic. The same d~vcl~pment
occurred in later Dutch mannerist paintings, but for qUlte different
~tyle, to
reasons- na.mely, Ule tendency, characteristic of
emulate. as to form, the artistic ideals of the Italian SUCteSS?fS
of Michelangelo and Raphael, while at the same time expoundmg
the imagery in the light of contemporary manners so far as story
and scenery were concerned.
Thus for i.nstance in a set of the four temperaments engraved
by Piet: r de Jode aiter Marten de Vos, we .find the traditional
pairs of figures both idealised in Italian fashio~ and brought up
to date in Dutch style. Differentiated accordmg to. type, rank
and drf':ss, they fulfil every requirement of manneris~i~ "gra~ia."
and "grandez.za", but they are placed in su.rr:0undirigs w~ch,
though containing the clements and seasons tradit~onally assocl~te.d
with the complexions and retaining theIr characteristIc
significancc,ea yet produce the effect of pure l~d~apes. The
behaviour of the figures t hemselves is shown soelologt~ly r~~er
than psychologically, so lhat an illustration.of hum~ disp~bons
has been transformed to a certain extent mto an illust ration of
different social ways of life. The picture of the ph1egmat~cs
might have the title "The Fishmongers", that of the cholencs
"So ldier and Sutlcr", and that of the sanguine pair "Openair
Duet ". The portrait of the melancholies shows a wom~ endowe~
with all the cha.nns of mannered beauty, but so lost m deep, If
slightly apat hetic, meditation over her alchemical problems (an
echo of Durer's inspiration) that she cannot be cheered even
by tbe gold and je\velry which a prosperous merchant is offering
ber. This group, too~ corresponds to a well-known type of Dutch
moralit y picture (generally called "The. ill-~atched Co~ple"),
except that ill this case t he woman has mhented something of
the meditative depth of "melancholia generosa" (PLATES

:bis

140, 14I).'~

: cr. p. 330.

3] -'ME LANCHOLY IN PORTRAITS OF SATURN OR OF 1I1S CHILDREN 397

3.

MF.LANCHOL Y I N rORTRAlTS OF SATURN

OR OF IUS CJllLDREN

The type of portrait of the "children" of the various planets that


was:formed in t.he fifteenth century (PuTE 38), remained relatively
unaltered until well on in the eighteentq century_ In a sequence
of .~e planets engraved by Muller after Marten van Heemskerck,
for instance, the mortals ruled by Saturn arc grouped and ch[lf"Q.cteilicd in exactly the same way as the corresponding pi~tures in
the Hausbuch or the Tftbingen manuscript as peasants, woodmen,
beg~rs, cripples, prisoners and condemned criminals (PLATt! 144).70
The same master also designed 3. set of the four temperaments
distinguish~d by the fact that , as types, they keep entirely within
the framework of the portraits of the "children of t he planets".71
The representatives of the f OUI humours, too, are collected in
numerous small-scale groups in Hcemskcrck's picture, arranged in
a ~ed landscape, and OTlce more characterised according to
elements and seasons; they also appear as representatives of
ceri~in trades and sociological strata. In addition, they are
Visibly under the domination of their planetary patrons, who
hoi&- in the clouds, each accompanied by three zodiacal signs,7:l
the~ ~phlegmatic subject to the moon, the choleric to Mars, the
sariguine to Jupiter and Venus, and the melancholic, of course,
to Saturn. Were it not lor the titles and the explanatory couplets,
the~ ~bserver would scarcely t hink it anything other than a mere
sequence of the " children of the planets".
tt is, Ulerefore, the more remarkable that t he conservatism of
these-in every sense-traditional pictures should have been
breached at one point. It was t he point at which the traditional
view: of Saturn's nature came into conflict with Durer's view of
Melancholy. Whereas we see only the representatives of the usual
plan ~tary trades in the other three pictures-the dancing, hunting,
a l.ked\ ,ram.:a.n _iDKi"'! ht!: hamb, and .. maIl . .hD U. t..nell ule6p a.mid$l a varie ty o( \nukw
implcmcll.ts. He.re too the connexJou with the coaples In. the Calcodu .plctuI"CII j, ODllliltakea.ble.

T. IUJl.R1Cfl", .A C"'lIl(I, ,,, of fll~ prim, UllIich ,"WI bUll 4f1graued dftn' M. H ...rulinri.
C&m~ridS"e , 829, p . 98.
11
T. K __ IOlI. op. cit . PI" 98 ""1, Ur &11& Marienl kindly ~w Ollt a ttention to

... &:.

tf:

Fl(. " .

.. Cf . tI ... wi..Qdm.ill. in lb. piot" .. of lb .. """,I.. tile" ..... gui .. io:. the e.o"tJ. in nAm es Ja
tlat 01 the "fielY" choleric, the MUCape iD thll.t 01 the "watery" pblcematic..
., The q .... t rain benu tll It 15 .. vuia tiuu of lhfI SaJcmitan ~. th...., b eUmlJatJn& .11
the mel .. oclloUc. JOOIl qllalitieL Tho _ e appl_ to anothec ..qlle_ of umpenua>e.nta.
eugT. ved by J. Sadekr.stet- llarten tio, Vot. ilIo whiellldelancholy is tqlr-..uted. by an almost

this a~
t. The .igWl of the lodlae r.tCI t.b.ofc ia which . aecotdlO( to old Calo:nd.u Jon:. the 1Il10011.
must. 1>e if CU1IJ wilIhes to b leed IlIc_fu lly . melandtolie, .. ~uinic. etc. "Qu;wdo LuD ..
est in tba.w:o. In v trgW. et ill apric:onlo. tuae m1"lIbo valet mcla.acboUcb" . we read. for
insblH:e. in )l,UC" RuN M"Jl.T. Hor B . V. M"nu. Khchlt._m about 1490. q oaoted .. bove,
p. 297. ~te 56.

,
3gB

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF "MELENCOLIA J"

i [JV. In.

3]

fcnc~ng. and love-making worldlings in t he sanguine pict~~e. and

soldle~. armourers, and so forth, in the choleric-in the mclahcholy


portr~l.lt we find the traditional repertory of Saturn's bhildren
~uced to a hanged man (or a suicide) and two bennits stromng
m . the ba.ckgroun,d. Beggars, peasants, cripples, woodmpn, and

prIsoners have gIven place to builders, opticians, and scholars


preoccnpied wit h. problems of geometry and astrology. Here,
even more unequIvocally than in Diirer. in whose Mel.encolia I
the s~el.eton of merely suggest ed relationships lies hidden': within
the hvmg body of the visible picture, the nexus tumMelancholy-Geometry comes to light"; and the fact that this
should occur in a series of engravings which is otben"ise so

traditional, and ~hich. even when forsaking tradition, had ',yie1ded


only to the nohonal and not to the formal influence of. Durer
gives yet morc impressive proof of 11is power of intellcctuai
suggestion. '
;
. A com pl exion-sequence by Jacob I de Gheyn ("illU5t~ted"
wlth remarkably wit ty Latin couplets) seems at first sight to be
merely a parallel to the above-mentioned engravings after Marten
de Vos. ~oth are modemisations of late medieval types, i~ading
to genre 'plctures idealised in the Italian manner and placed in
lan~scapes distingui~hed in accordance with the temperament tQ
whIch they belong. But Jacob I de Gheyn follows the 'singlefigure type of the almanac illustrations instead of the dramaticalJy
associated pairs of figures." The choleric, for instance, is a Si~vage,
bewhisker~d s:oldier, surrounded by weapons of war, a guttering
torch a~ h~s sld~, a burning town at his ba~, sitting on a: ,prum
and swm~~g hIS weapon in a heroically distorted posture:. ', The
phle~at1c IS an old flSherman with bleary eyes and dripping/hair,
shaking all sorts of sea-beasts into a wooden tub on a rniny Shore.
But even t hese two figures show themselves on closer in~tion
t o .be ~mething more than idealised figures from coritempbrary
daily life, De Gheyn's exalted ambition goes one rung hjgher
than that of Marten de Vos: he reaches out to ' antiquity and
mythology. For instance, despite Il lS contemporary costume, t he
'I> 1"h" _Illtl tendtlll<'y ean alreAdy be OMened, in the woodcut by Hn,,- ~ring ",produced
In PLAn 101.

"I'b~ eoar$tly hurnorou. metamorphosis of auell .. series. ,..hkh appanmUy O(i(.utnd about
the . be"nnl", of thtl IeVellteellth c:eutury ia the Netberb.nds, Qn be n en in .. lithotBph
d"lln, from IB4S This Ih c .., the e:fTec;q cf drunkenness on the four tU)pe!'lt.f1Iln ta. The
c:haracter't aT$ aIXOII)p&II)ed by the ir tra4itlonal beastt. the ungu;l\ie by a "'mb: tbe eholuic.
by a beu. and t~ ~mlltic by II. pi" except few the melanchDlie who is &iV'C.n an apCI because

,..he" drunk he IS cred,tC'd " 'it!! tl>e a bi lity to "invent .. thotdand t .-lo:k. ...

,,

I
"

MELANC UOLY I N PORTRAITS OF SATURN

OR OF HIS CHILDREN 399

choleric does not wie1d the modem swords or fireanns- they stand
or lie uselessly about him-but an ancient short-bladed sword.
and a round shield completely unserviceable in 1600; he is designed
to remind one of the warriors oC classical antiquity or even of
Mars himself. And the "piscis homo"15 in the portrait of the
phlegmatic, both in type and pose, reveals himself as a reincarnation of a classical sca- or river-goo, wll o~ urn, while retaining its
fonn and function, has been transformed into a. gigantic strawplait ed fisherman's ' basket (PLATE 142) .
I n these two pictures, as well as in that of the sanguine man,
it is rather a question of suggesting mythological associations
than of achieving a mythological identification. But in the
melancholic's portrait, which here again ocCupies a special place,
there is a real fusion of the "black bile" with the classical divinit y
guiding and protecting it (PLA1"l~ 143) , This heroic naked figure
of a thinker. with his veiled head, is none but the ancient Satnrn
himself, such as we know him from the statuette in the Museo
Gregoriano or from the (resco in the ('. .usa dei Dioscuri, save that,
with compass in ,hand and sphere on knee , closed eyes, and weary,
lined face, he takes a share in all the problems of the human
spirit that suffers from melancholy.7' And whereas the re pr~4
sentatives of the other three temperaments were placed In
landscapes which, though allusive and symbolic in character,
yet appeared temporal and unmys~erious. this melancholy Saturn
is seated on a g10bc poised in the universe beneath a starry hea ven.
In Heemskerck's melancholic, as in Jacob I de Gheyn 's, what
could only be inferred fro m Durer's Mc/c1lcolia. 1 was made fully
explicit: that is to say, the essential unity of Melancho]y, Saturn
and Mathematics. But while Heemskerck makes his point at t he
price of showing his melancholic in a scene of prosaic everyday life,
Gbeyn pushes the allegory even farther than Durer had done.
He not only represents the natufC of the mela.ncholic symbolically
but raises him to the stature of a semi-divine being. remote from
all con tact with the world of men, who yet carries his human
sorrow with him into the spaces of the heavens,
.. S" t hO! humOTouil formliia in the ""planatc.ty couplet <:aHI him.
...
"AtJ'a. animteque anitnique. lullS a tunlDa. bili,
Saepfl premit vires inl;en.U et , enii."
In point of flet. JacDb I d. Gbeyll.'. Satllm it III cloIely related in rtl'l tif tn the. M tltlHlOUq,..
spk.u.uif i.o the: Parlt peD-dra.wlng. PLAn 139. that OM: In~ht ;dm llSt ima:ule lhl Ihey
were based COl 0.. ..me model. Tiweh "OI lIriinal did emt, the .uc cestion pu t IlIt''''''" (ICJI'~
P. 395) that the barnl in the: pea-drawill, ...at .. modi fieat ioo 01 a i p):ere wou ld )::wC' Klme
,.apport.

APPENDIX I

ApPE NDIX

THE POLYHEDRON IN "MELENCOLIA I"


NII _ _

!
.,!

- ........... ..........-...... .
~

l
i

r
F1 0UJlE 3. Rp.<:onstmc:li()Jlol the polyh~df'O"
on Dilrtr'. cn6Taving.

FIGUIUt 4

The large block in the middle ground of piirer.'s engraving being'


made of stone, it seemed to us to indicate t he trade of a " lapicida",
especially as there is also a stonecutter in the Salone at Padua,
engaged in cutting an admittedly simpler stone (P~TES 32 , 33)
Further, since the block was in the form of a polyhedron, it seemed
to represent descriptive, that is to say. optical, geometry, the
chief task of which was at that time considered to be the mathe~
1
matical and perspectival construction of such many-sided figures.
With regard to the s.t ereometric nature of this polyhe~~n,
it has generally been looked upon as a trwlcated rhomb.old, a
figure formed of six rhomboids .which, owing to the cutting oft
of two opposite points (those in which the sharp angles of the
rhomboid meet). has been transformed into an octahedron.
Other authors ha ve thought it a cube off whicll pieces have been
cut. Others again have quite wrongly described this octahedron
, S&c text p. 3,,8.

401

as an icosahedron. Diirer's engraving of Melancholy is very


carefully constructed with regard to perspective. The focal point
is 0,0. the sea horizon, approximately underneaUl the c in
"MELENCOLIA", and exactly matches the focal point given in
the .preliminary study D134 (PLATE 7); and the polyhedron's
ster~metric form is easily ascertainable. At Giehlow's request,
the J~te Professor G. Niemann, one of the foremost experts in
this 'field, undertook a reconstruction of the figure, and we here
reprOduce his opinion (cf. Figures 3 and 4)
~e figure is a polyhedron with hvo truncated comer.l, to all appearances
a rhol)1boid rather than a cube. It rests on one of tbe triangular surfaces
mallt; ~by truncating the corners, so that one diagonal of the figure is

perpendicular. FrCUltE 3 shows the figu re completed.


Theperpendicular axis is DIKG. If we draw the diagonals AC, AB
and Be in the three upper surfaces of the figure. we make a horizontal
equilateral triangle. The perspective vanishing-point of the side AB is H,
which is also the focal point of the drawing and the vanishing-point of the
side ~'Omices on the house sbown in the picture.
Th~ vanishing-point of the line A C lies about 0.39 m. from the focal
point ,~f the engraving. As the angle BAC is known (_ 60) we can
det~e the distance from the eye at 0.225 m.
Fu:x:ther research into the perspective shows that the point D lies exactly
above .>the centre (I) of the triangle ; it shows, moreover, that the triangle
EFH l~ also equilateral, and that its centre lies exactly on the axis DC,
and U*t KI - [D.
.
.
ThE} figure is correctly drawn ;n perspective except for the point G,
which should be shifted to G1 ; and lhe lines of the t op horizontal plane arc
not drawn exactly. Tbis plane lies somewbat below tbe middle of the line
D I ; a definite relationship cannot be observed between the cut off parts and
the length of the edge.
.
,
If . \~e measure the lil\~ AC and DF with the usual aids to perspective,
we see that they are of different lengths, and that ADCF is therefore not a
squaie.. Figure 4 shows the true form of the surface.
"~.:.the whole, the precision in the drawing of the fig-.J.re is astonishing,
since ,~ Durer's time the theory of perspective was not sufliciently developed
for t~e :.depicting Of. the figure in tbis position. Several other objects in the
engrav~ng are not 10 correct perspective.

'

Professor Nie'm ann, then, docs allow Ole possibility of Durer's


havmg intended to draw a truncated cube rather than a truncated
rho~Qoid, but in our opinion it would do injustice to Durer's
pow~rs of perspective, as well as to his illustrative and artistic
powerS, to attribute to him such an obvious failure to make good
.

'. '!

402
THE POLYHEDRON I N "MELENCOLlA J"
[APP. I.
his intenti~. when he had so much experienc~ in the cons~~ction
?f asymmet~cal ste.reometdc bodies. In any case, the polyhedron
In M~lcneolia I, as It now ~ppe.ars. seems both to the innocent eye
and to. ex~ct reconstructIon In perspective, to be a truncated

'. ~

..

ApPENDIX II

rhomboid. Ul whose completed surfaces the diagonals are .related


not as I : I but as, S3:y, IQ : 12, the angles being not 90 each but
say, Boo and IOO~.
.
.
'

THE MEANING OF THE ENGRAVING B70

.'

The engraving ll70 (PLATE 146), generally, for wan! of a better


title, called The Despairing Man, has hitherto withstood any
attempts at convincing interpretation. It is often stated that the
picture is connected with Michelangelo,! but this does not help
anybody except those who believe it to be. a portrait . of "the
artist with his work",! And, in any case, the London 'Cf,Pido,
from which the motif of the despairing man was supposed to be
taken, has been proved to be a much later work,4 and the likeness
to Michelangelo in the prome developed from the drawing L532
is, as we shall shortly show, pure coincidence. An attemp.t to
interpret the picture as a vision in a dreamS is ultimately as un
satisfactory as the old opinion that it was merely a "technical
experiment".' Whichever interpretation one chooses-the latler
being the more probable, since there is no signature-the artist
would have imagined something sufficiently definite to be repro
duced, and which sufficiently occupied his mind to flow into the
etching ~eedle of its own accord, so to speak, or even, altematively,
to appear to him in a dream. Now we can prove that the profile
portrait can bc excluded from the picture as a whole, and ignored
in any interpretation, for it is obvious that it was originally
considerably larger, a substantial portion of the cap and a small
piece of the nose having been later removed-and only thus did
the likeness to Michelangelo arise, '"Ve can hence conclude that

:;

,
,,

.. ..
.,.,'
,.

I C. EPBllum ..41bn1 D1l,~ II us um?U, Paris 1882. P. 119; M. Tn,IoUSING. Dil,~, LcipziS
1884, p. 67; the .trongcrt ad.VOQte is G. GlIOl'fJ.I1, io. Dtlttdnt, VOL. 10 (I92J), pp. I $<II!..

'1'. WnUIl.8Jt ({ollo"';ng A. E. Popp) in "Albre<:ht Durer". in


Bulin 1918, p. 416.

KUunk.~,(k~

Ku,ul. 4th edD.,

I F. KamollAUM. ill }IJIITbud 4,,, lUlff.f/hi$tori,u,." SammllUlKnI'II lVic", llt.<'f seriet, \01..
III (1929). pp. 241 ~q. The COMmoll..,;th MW..,l:l.Jll;elo of the Ew,u,I. r~nUy . ugcested
all a substituh!! (E. Tluza-Comut in BmJi'll11bn Magazine. LXVIII (1930), pp. 16] sqq.), is
ju.t all loose as that of the Loudoll Cupid.
'0. SeuHI'tl)). 1.11 Belvr4e", vot.. VlII (1929), pp. 334 tqq .

..,

I Rrvived, with great eonvic:tJOII. by E.


pp. ::149 sqq .

~I'IG ..4fbr"hf [}ii.",

vot.. I, Berlin 19'5,

THE MEANING OF THE ENGRAVIN~ B70

[APF,

1.1.

this profile portrait was originally alone on the plate, and was
reduced in size later when the other four figures were added.
Now these (our figures (though we advance this theory with
reserve) could be connected with notions especially preoccupying
Durer in 1514 (the year of Melencotia 1 and the drawing L532)
-notions, that is to say, of the morbid states characteristic of
the four forms of "melancholia adusta".1 Anyone can sense the
gruesome abnormality informing these somehow sub-human
beings, and when we call in the aid of any of the universally
known medical texts describing the four species of "melancholia
adusta", the agreement with them seems too close for it to be
merely a strange coincidence, The vacantly !>miliug yout,h with
the cannikin in his hand, who is making an awkward attempt
at approaching the sleeping woman, and whose animal-shaped
leg shows him t o bc' a sort of satyr (though tbe head shows no
signs of it) . corresponds to descriptions of the sanguine melancholic
who, " ridicule laetans", endeavours to enjoy the pleasures of
Bacchus and Venus. "Has Venus ,et Bacchus delectat," "Et
placet ebrietas et male sanus arnor," say the usual rhymes, and
the sanguine man in the series of illustratio.ns De conservanda bona
valttudine mentioned above (p. 300, note 66) is also handing. his
lady a goblet.' In thc same way, t he "despairing man" tcaring
the wild, thick hair that covers his whole head,9 corresponds to the
clinical picture of the choleric melancholic who, "terribilis in
aspectu" , tonneutcd by terrifying " fu rorcs et maniae", "sc ct alios
percutit", "cum agitatione et laesione" as Avicenna says; and even
today this form of illness is described as "melancholia agitata" .
Thc staring head of the old man emerging in so ghostly and isolate~
a fashion from the background, could then be the " melancholicus
ex melancholia natiu:ali". characterised by "tristitia, mocror,
, plurima cogitatio, fuga hominum, corruptae imaginationcs".
Finally, the fat sleeping woman could be the phlegmatic melancholic, with her unhealthy blaatedness and equally unhealthy
desire far sleep; "qui fere perpetuo dormiebat", says Melanchthon,
for inst~ce . of a patient of this type, .There are also t wo good
'See above, pp.
Plt.tCILriUJ. Cuainen"
U3 ~

rcasohs for the fact that this t ype, and only this t ype, of mehncholy
madriess is exem.pJified by a woman. F irst, there was DUrer's
intention to provide an object for t he sanguine melancholic's
cha:r~teristic sexual excitement. The combination of a smiling
youth with a reclining woman is unmistakably reminiscent of the
famous group of a satyr with a sleeping nymph, as DUrer may
have .recognised in a copy of Marcantonio's engraving B319, or
in' th~ woodcut to Hypnerotomachia10 ; and this seems further
indicated by the goat-like leg, Secondly, there was the doctrine
held ~y all physicians and natural philosophers that woman was
by ~ature "cold and moist" and therefore phlegmatic.
"Calidissima mulier frigidior est Irigidissimo vito," says William
of Co~ches,ll and in J ohann von Neuhaus we read: "Phlegmaticus
est filgidus et humidus, sicut sunt oomes Dlulicres naturaliter. "12
\ ',:.

"

,"

AI

..

If

LiN

CoN

.;I.

l :,

,"
.-,

FJGU~ 5. Malioconi&,
From Cuase RIl?a'!ll~o1Wloli", Padu a, 1611

'6-90; the quotatiollJ foliowiot au tai<eo mainly from Aviceoo""


~at1

MelaoChthoo.

or the 1559 edition t;O.IIb.ios the _


rqJrno:o.tatio.o of the four MUOns!
l--ol.

APPENDIX II

woodcut.., .. portrait ,of Sprillg in a

The ),aad i$ !>Qt, J...ow .....er. seen from behlod, &I Flcc.bsig think., but u t;O.B.vubively bent
forward aad ICen rgresbart8a.ed, irom tbe ~ do....-nWiU"ds.

.,,

'0 FoL E. J

p:

Dote rU.

Sec

It

Sec: t .::d p. IIJ !OIJ'

1 0"

Index of Manuscripts
\
Library of the Monutery of SI P&oteleimOIl
6: p. '99 and n .l1; Pla tes 14, 11

ATKOS

Ft..ORII"'CII An:hivlo eli Stato


Archivio Medlceo del Principato, Carteggio
UnivenaJe, fil,a 802, c. ,,6] : p. 21J 11.104
FLaUNCII Biblioteea Laurenziana
plut. XL 52 : p. U I n.21
plut. XL "J : 2.51 and IU9 ; p . 2' 2 n 3 1
pl uto LXXll 139: p . 2]0 n.91

r.

BAMlInG Suatliche Dibliotbek


Class. 40 (H J IV 11); p. Ih 11. 171
Ururg. " (Ed. V 9): Plate 3"
BULIN DcuUche Staatabibliothek (ol;",
Preu9liill(:he Staatabibliothek)
Germ . fot '9': _
in Marburg, ,.11'.
Hamiltol\ J9O: p . 391 n .38; p. 2<}8 I.Dd
on" 7-60; p. 299; 300 11.66; P late 84
Theal. lat. qu o 91: " " .. In T nbillgeft, ,.11'.
BllaNII Stadt_ und UniversilAtabibliothek
A j2: p . 04 II .H 6
226: p. I h nn ,'77-9 : p. 183 n .l 80
BIIIlNJC.\STaL-Cuu B ibliothek des St Nikolau5-Hoepitals
18.5: p. 2"4 11,)7
BoI..OGNA Bibliotec:a Universit:l.ria
2,,0: p. )21 11. 147
BoU/"ooNII-SUR-MIIR DibliotMque Munici-

GoIHA Lalldesbibliothek
I 110 : p. lOot n.208
GOtTlHCIIN Univenit.ltsbibliothek
PhilO&. 63 (Kruer, Benifonis): p. 10J 0. 20.5 :

,,.

PbiI0ll.154 (Kyner, Bellilortis): p. 296

HAGUE, THIt KOlllnklijke Bi bliot beek


18 D i3: p . ]40 n. l 90
nACUR, THII
MUleu m Meennsnno-Wes
aueenianum
10 D I : p. 310 11.905: p. 311 ; 313: Plate tOI
HANOVltJt Kestner-Museum
Eadwi Gospels: p . 330 n. IOO: Plate 10.5

"',

188 : p. 198 n. 1I
BRBSt..\U U4 WR()(:LAW
BllusslII..I Diblioth~ue Uoyale
2291: p. JO I 11.10
2294: p. ) 01 11.70; P late 9 1
90".: p. 340 n .l 9O

IlIl"'SilIl UCK

des

T iroliscbeo

JIIRV $ALE M Libra.ry of the GTl!ek Patri.


archate
Taphou 14 : p. 199 nn IS, I ;

p. 311 1195
9}09: p. "f06 n39
BI1DAPUT MI.JY&r Tudominyos Akademia
(U" lIgerian Academy 01 Scientel and
9~':

LEltHI'" Bibliothe-ek det Rijksunl\'nsiUit


Oriellt ..47 ; p. 130 sud n. 1 I
Vou. lat. Q.19: P lOS and nn 0 .11 :

Letters)

Lat. Fol. 14: Plat e 29

r>1atc

.'

Bibliotbek

Laodesmuseuml Ferdinandeum
16.0 .7 (Kyeser, Bellifortis): p. 2<)6

LoN DO"

D .....lIISTADT H essUche Laodesbibliothek


:W6: p. 208 n'41
DusoVIf Slehsische Landesbibliotbek
De. 1805 : p . 104 11.1 1.5
E RJI"t1RI An,ger-MuSO!IIm (oU... Stldtilches
MUselllll)
AstrolOf!'. (li.581: p. 28(\: 296 II.j 4: Plate 42
E R.UItT WWCIlICbaltliche Bibliothek der
Stadt Erfurt (oj; ... Stadt-ulld Hoch8chulbibliotbek)
Ampkm. Q. 18.5 : p . 289 aud n.29; Piau 12

Ij

Uriruh
Add. 15692: p .
Add. IS697 : p.
Add . ,154)4 : p .

CAWBRID(;& Collville aod Caiu.s Collese


i28; p. 293 and n il ; p. 29J-.5 : JOJ-O,, ;
Plate 15
CAMBRIDGII Trinity CoDegtl
90: p. 296 II.,, ; p. )00 11.66
CASSEl.. Mu rhardscbe Bibliotbek und I...&ndesbihliotbek
Astroo_ 120: p. 19211.20i ; p. 28.5
CHANTlLLY MIlSh Cond'
1284: JI4 11.10 05
1426: Plate 26
COPIUfHAG~ Kongeligll Bibliotek
GI. Kgl. S. 1910: p . Is" 1L.171
CtrI:s ,e6 BIIUlltASt:BL-CI1U

MU$eum
)11 and D_O;: Pl,ue 10:
194 n .2 10
331 n . 18~

Add. '1987: p. lOS II.~II


Add . 2J329: p . 11611. 148
Add. 23110 : p. 158 D. IO-4 ; Plate 2 i
Cotton Tiberiul C V I : p. JJ9 II 190: Plate

....

Egerton 20572: p. )68 and D.29): Plate 80


H arley i040 : p. 208 D.41
H arley Si02 : p. 119 11.163
Royal 19 D I ll: p . 340 11.190
SloaDe 24JS: p. 282 0 .22; p. 295 aDd n.SI:
Platel 67, 76
Sloane J<}8J: p. 203 and Dn.:8-'9
MAaBuRG Westdeu tscbe Bibliotbek
Berlin germ . fol. 1191 (formul)" 1"0 Berlin ):
p . 292 11.40: p . 300 n .66; p . JI9 "0. 117
MILAN Biblio!.eQ; Ambr-osia.na
E 49150 inf.; p. 199 snd D. IS : Plate 16
MOOIINA BibJioteca Este"Ose
691 (XI F (2): p . 287 .1.20
MONTII c...SSISO Biblioteea deU'.-\bbazi.2
IJ2 : p. 198; 309 11.89: Pla-tu 12 , 98
MONTPI.I..L1Ea Bibl ioth~ ue de n ':Di"ers,t o!
2<}8: p. )39 n . l<JO

,.,

INDEX OF MANUSCRIPTS
) It 'SICII Bayeri5l:ht Staatsbibliothek
arab . ~ 64: p . %02: Plate 2,
gall. '" p . 3'" nn. <;I8. <;19: P late 10)
ger m. 31l: Pl ate ;9
8 rac<. . ,8;: p. 180 n .l )
Ja t )9-11 : p. 331 0 .1}9
)al ~ooS: p . 35. n .22{
lat . ~o : p. 278 n .3 ; p . 37-4 D.lI
lat . -1394. p. ,. i n.150. p. 118 D.I } I ; p. 2907 and n 56
lat 1544 : p. 337 and 00.18:-3 85
lat. :427': p. :lot; :107; 208 aDd n 45'
Plate 18
lat. dl600: p. 92 n.84
!'i"" YORK Pil!rp<ln t Morgan Lib.ary
332' p. 22.\ n.2i: PJat(6)
~JS. p . 2'4 and n.28: Plate 65
7": p . 1\6 n 148; p . 253 n35
795' p . 203 and n.28; Plate 24
78S: p . 202 n .2 ~: p. 204 and 0 3 4
.
);'-RE~\II"RG 13ibliothck des Genna.lll5l:hen
~"tional :-'luseums

Splendo r Solis : p. 382 0.22

);1.ftF.>IIlERG
Sudtbiblioth~ k
C~nt \59 p . 2Sl n.ll. Pla t e

iO

OXF'-'''O Bodleian Library


..\~hmoll! 369: p . 129 n.;
,\shmcle 396: p. lI S n. 15'
Bodley 266: p . '9' n. 201
Bodley 581: p. 202 n .23
Bodl~y 679: p . 181 n. I 72; p. 1830.18 ,
Digby t : p. 1820.176
Digby l OS: p. 104 nn .II 6-18
Digby 159: p. 129 n.8
Marsh 663: p. 130 n.n; p . 1)1
Orien t . 133: p. 204 and n .n: p. 20~;
Plat es 2J. 31
0)(1'0 " 0
Corpus Christi College
243: p. 184 n. 18 7
248: p. 11.7 n.4; p . 128 n 5
OXFoRn S t Joh n's Colle80
f 7: p . ft z n.140
P ARIS Bib1ioth~ue de I'Arsenal

647: p. 3~0 n ' 9 0


PARIS Bibliot Mque Mazarme
19 : p. ~S7 and n.16
p .. RIS Bihlioth~uc Nationalc
CoisEn 2.39 : p . 1<;19 and n.I7
fran~ais 126: p. H) a nd n .26; Plate 6i
fran~ .. ;s 217: p . ) i O n .H)O
fran ~ais 373: p. 208; Plate 46
f...... n~ai$ 598: p . 206 n.39; Plate 34
fran~ais 606: p . 206; Plate 36
fran~ai s 11 74: p. 3 12 n.98
fran~ais 9~19: p. 208 n 47
fran~ais 12420 : p. 206 n. J9
fran"",is 1911!: p. 209 n48
fran~ais '9994 : p. 280 and 0. 14
gr ee 2736: p. 200 n.19
gree 27.n : p. 200 n. 19
latin 2077 : p . 227 n 33
latio 7330; p . 201 and nn .24. 26; p . 203 and
11.29 : P lates 19-2 2
latin 88 46: p. 3390. 190
latin 11:116: p. 282 D.22: Plate 71
latin IJ951 : p. U? D.4

latin 14068: p. II ? 11.150


l .. tiD 17868 : p. 179 nn.164-'
Nouv. acq. fQn~. 3371 : p . 296 and n '5:
Plato 77
Supp\. ture 242: p. 204 and 1134.
PA RIS

Index

Bibli(l~ue Sain~evihe

1028 : p. ) 40 n .l 90
ROME Bibliotec.a Casaoatense
1382: p. 2<;11 n .31
'40i: p. 21 411 .27
SAU.EURG Stud ienbiblioth~1r.
V 2 G 8,183 : p . 208 0 47
ST unG .. RT Wilrttembergisehe Laodesbibl ioth~k

B iblia fol. 2): p. 287 and D.I); p. 340 n.I90:


Plate 60
TOBlIfGEN Un;versitltsbibliothek
Berlin Theel. lat. qu o97 (formerly in Berin) :
p. 3 18 p 1I 7
Md. 2 : p. 285 n.6 : p . 286; 1I92; 330 n .158 ;
p. 334; 397; Plates 4~. 73
UT RECHT Biblioth"",1r. der Rijksuniversiteit
40: p . 3 14 D. 105
V.. TIC ..... BibHotea Apostolica Vat icana
Barb. lat. 2154 : p. 198; 208 n .4' ; Plate I I
Chill. M. V1l 148: p. 116 n.l48: p . 288 and
n.23
Pal. lat. 1066: p. 207; Plate is
Pal. lat. 1369: p . 285 n.6 : Plate i)
Pal. lat. 1370~ p. 208 D47
Reg. lat . 123: p . 198 0 .11
Reg. lat. n83: p. 326 fig. I aJ'ld n.145
Urh. lat. 1398: p. 285 and n .6: Plate 28
Vat. graec. 1087: p. 198 and n.8; p . 199n. IA
VJtNICI: Bibliote<:a Mardana
graec. 47<): p. 200n. 19
VJ.II:NNA Kunsthistorisches Museum
Losbuch : "OUl' Vicona. Oesterr. Nationalb ih!.. Ser. nov. 2652. q.v.
VIENN" OesteIT~ichiscb e Nationalbibliothelr.
364 : p. ~79 n9
387 : p . 309 n .8g; Plate 97
f 179: p. ) 4on.I<)O: Plate l oS
2597: p . 223; J05: P late 60
)~55: p . 315 n 105
"l9 : p. 3 26 nn. 14). liS
5 4 6 : p . uS 0.151
Phil. graee. 4: p . 353 n .23
Ser. nov . 2652: p . 206; Plste 37
WOLuNatlTYl!1. Herzog August Bibliothek
' 7. 8. Aug.4 : p. 326 D.li5
29. 14. Aug .i " (.,lim 27 Amon.); p . "25 1
n.30; Plate ~ I
WROCUW B ibho teka 1Jniwersyt ecka
cod. F :u: p. 1020.108
W tl RZB URG Uoiversitilsbibliothck
Q. 50: p. 323 nn.1 32- 3 : p . 351 and n.222;
p . 352 and nn. 225-6. 228; p. 353 and
Dn.232- 3; p. 35 4 and n .239 ; p. 355 and
nn.:l45-;; p. 356 and D.253 ; p. 357 and
n .254; p . 358 a nd n .255
ZtlRICH ZentTalbibliothek
C 541719: p . 2<;19 and 00.61. 64: Plate 30

Abailard. 166 n.n8. 180. , 83


Abenragel ('AI! ibn abl-l-Rijfi.l) . Pmu.rissimuJ
libe~ ccmpklus in judici" a.slrorum. 130 D. 10
Abo. 'AU al-Khai~t (A1bobati). D~ iudi~ii.
"a1i"ilal<lm libe~. 149 n .75
AM BaJu ibn a\Khasli (Albubater). Liber
g~ndAliac<lS. 128 n .6
Abo. Belr.r Mul;!amma.d. ibn Zakarlyl ai-Rbi.
se, Rhazes
AbO.lqa5im (Alsaharavhl.l). 86 n.52
Ab6 MaW. 133. 140. 175. '79. 184 n.f87.
1<)0.332. )34. 3)7 and n. 184, 383 n.24
q uote!! Apolloniu s. 121 n.4
qooted by Guido Bnnatti. 190
ilIu stratioOll to text 01. 202
on Saturn. 1)0 f . 132
works:
Fl"",. 4S1~ologill'. 285
Introduction 10 A sl. oJogy. on the Telations
of the planet:!l to th~ humours. 127.
128 ; translations of. 128 no.5. 6
A.C., Master:
Engnvings: Gtll"Utry. 376: MdlJlttMly. 343
n.20). 3'1.6. )77. 379
identity 0 , 377 11.8
Adam. 79. 80.99 11.98. 103; se, am, Eve
Adelard of Bath. 184 and 11.187
D, eodeM d diverso. 179 and 0. 166
U-stiOtl U "a1u~IlIt$. 6g 11.5. 105 and nu.
120. 122

Aeneas. ?I
Aescbylus. Eumeni<U.s. 135 and n .27
Aetius. i911.128. !ii. 91 n77. 99 11.98
Ages of Man. pictorial representations. ~92 .
29) and nO '1 3. 46. 29~ and 11.49. 295. 297.
303 ill W/ou 0/ L i/,. 295
.
Agricola. G . De ,' mettdliC4. )29 n. 151
Agrippaof Nettesheim, 95.1 89.326. 372.37)
adoptiJlg Heino 's view on Saturn and
melancholy. 278
Paracelsu s and, :167 and 0 .91
works;
De O&~.ula p"'losoploill. 32 n .6). ).50 n.218.
351-63 jHt.ssi.... 383; on the bat. 323
a nd nn. 132. 1)3 : plan~tary squares.
)27 n.I4?
A!'-riman. and the pl:mets. 156 11.99
A,OII. 196. 213; 0/. T ,me
Ajax. as mela.ncholic. 16. 17, 18. 39. i5. 89. 90
n7
Alanus ab Insulis. 157 n . 102, '5911. 105.354
D.239

Alt/iclaudianU$, 186
CtmlTlI. Juu~eticos. 265 n.78 (on page 266)

Disti"cI;oltu didi(mum IUologiGtdiu ....


265 n. 78 (OD page 266)
Alherlcus Loodiniensis. MyfllograP/!lu III. IS?
11. 102.172 and DO. I4). I H: 173 aod 0.li5:
174. 175, 177. 1<;16 n.1
Alberti. Lecm. Battista. 360. )61
Alberti. Romano. TraJllJtll delu. " oMfI.t della
pil/ura. 361 n .266
Albertus Magnus:
cited by Ficino. 261 11.61
and melancholy. 69. ?o. 72 and 11.13. 13.
2!}0 and n.33

AlbertO! Magnus----.:on'.
and Problem XXX. '. 69
works:
De oSom ltO et vigilia. 68 o . I
Elloiu. 36 and D.s... )7. ~2 0.101. 69
Libe, d, IlllimaJibU$. 69. -,0 and nll .8. 10;
71 and nn. lI . n; 88 n.6 I . 119 and
n .153
Libe, s ..pe~ p ,obkmaJll (lost) . 68
Parvll. "al<lrtdia . )7
Philosoploia naturillis. Brescia and Venice
editions 1493 and li96. title woodcut
in. 339 n.I<)O (011 p age 340)
AlbohaJi. 5e~ A bO 'AII al-Khaiy!t
"Albricus". set. ullder anonymous works.

L'bellw de ;mag'''iC<!s de""u ...

Albubater. see Abel Bakr


Atcabitius. ' i o. 3)2. )37 n . 184
Inl,od..elori ..... .....ius. '30. 1)1 f .
quoted by Jac:opo della Lana. 2.53 n.32
on Saturn. '32, 133. ISq. 1<)0
Akhandrinus. Sle anOllymous works. Libe,

AldaMr' ploiUMOP'"
Alci&tu. A . Emhlemata. 309 n .9) (on page
310). 32) D..1)3 (on page 32i)
Akmaeon of Croton. 5. 7. 8 0 .15
AldegTevcr H., 373
Ale::<ander of Trallcs. ji. 5!i. 90 n7'
AlfODIIO. King. BOOR 0/ CMs.s. Description of
Saturn in. 287
Alfonso 1 of Femr.ra. Titian's painting lo r . 210
'Ali ibn Abhli.s. 91, 93 D..85
and Galen 's doctrine of crases. 99. 101
Liln, r~giw. 86 and n.52. 87
TAeonoa . '00 nn.I02. 103: 10 1 and nn. I O...
105: 101 n. l oS (on page 102)
'AU ibn abl-l- Rijll. set. Al>enra8el
AUego1ies and personiticatiOOll:
AboDdan~. 3H D..20? (on page H5J
Ac(c)ed ia. Sloth. 221 n .21, 22J n .26 ; and
Ceometry". 3)5; in Nuremberg Broadsheet. 30'. ).6; in Rip&. lcolt ologia. 387
0 .)9: in Somme I~ Rot . )00. )01
A1cymia. 329 n . 155 (on page 330)
Allegr~ua. Gaudium. Joy, 227 and D.J3.
387 n.3<;1;
beloUl' Mirth
Ani. 3100.95. 3' J. )44 n .~07 (on page 345).
373; and DGrer 's M~kncolill 1. 342. 343
aDd n.203. 344: Hendrik Golti;us's en_
graving. 343 n.20~
Avari<:e. 286 D.II
Concordia. 304 n.?8
Contemplatio. )75 n 7
Contemplation. 229
Death. 387. 388
DefftaJlce. 221. 22) n .26. 225 n .30. 229
Dejection, 219 n.38

."

0'.

~T,:l2 3

Desperatio (Deses~raoce, Desespoir. Despair). 2U. 223D.26. 225 n.30. 229. 2<;16 n 55
Discordia. 300. 302
Disegno. )44 0.207
Dolor. ) 86 n .37 (on page )87)
DureUl (Duritia). 300. 30:1
Elltend~ment, Reason. 22J 11.27. 224. 215
D..30. ) 10 D.95 (on page )11 )

INDEX
Alle,ories and peqonl llcaUcm_....,.
Eapb'ance, 22J and .26, 225 rt.lo
Fame {Famal.] ... a.nd ft.207 (OA pap 343)
}-orti~do (FortelZa). 22) "26, 242 .II,."
311 D9

Foy, 22) D.26, ,." n.Jo


C.u dium,
IIboH Allegresza
Honore,] ... D.207 (on paffI).U)
Indign.atiOD, 22J '1..16, "'3 ).11, 229
In., 296

u,

J oy,

n."

IU ~

Commenbr]' on Macrobiu,. Commentvy


on ~ro I S-..i .... Sdpiorti" 18a f . ....d

Lu.)(urd., )00 and D..61. )Ct2, 303


Meditatio, 315 n7: in nip&. J~ ..okfi". )87
n .)9

)sa n'40

IU1HfI.

Mirth, 227. 228: " ' ..l u obou, Allell"en&


Natu!'e. 'UJ 11::16

Optic&. 344
Peaec,229
Penitentia.)7) n.7
Pertiucla, )86 11.17 (on pace )811
Pi(:tu ra, 344

Prudence, JIO n.93


Puni ti o, ) 86 n.37 (on page 381)
Quiet, 229
ReallOll, II. aboN Entendement
Sapiel>Ce, J I O n .9' (011 page J II )

Science,

)1.11

n.Il'

[n Doni, A. t .... D iupo,


]86 and n.),
Silence, :n9
Sloth, )';3): u lu.bo\Ni Ae(c)edia
5oIihldo, 314 n.2
ScnIci, 22 1
Tristeue (Tnstili.). 211 and n .2 1, 22'1, 22),

Sculpture, described

31.s. 221 n .3). 229. 2) 1

Truth, 374 n:a


U.US (Practice). 34:\ n.101 (oa. pap 34'); in
Df1nI'. M,lntuHllI I . ]41. ]4) and n . 2ft],
]44; in Hendrik Goluial'l ~agn.in .. 3d

n. 10a
Vlnitas (Va!!ity). ]87, ]88. ]89 .... d " .44 ;
Matblm. Jaeob.]88 '11.43 : Parmigianino.
etchin" 388 '\.40: SehGrlftldt. J. H ..
etch Ing. 391 n.49
Virtu es a!!d Vicel. eyeles. '97. ]01. loa. 30]
Voluplas. a99 n.6,. 300 ....67
Wearineu. ]03
Zelotypia.]14 D..1
", " Iso At:: of Man, AMus. Choleric,
Cbolerie emperament, 'E.!emub,IJbenJ
Arb, Medlanlc:al Arb. MdancbolIc.
Mclandloly. Moa.thl, Pblqm, Pblqmatie.
RiveR o f Pandile, Sanpino, Sa.rogulne
umpenm~nt. Seasonl. Tem perame nt.,
Wi nd.
All dorfer. A., 339 n.I88, '7]
Ambrose. St. 16] f . 168. 1609, 170. 178
Epislol/J lUI HWfIfI/i/lN"" on Hebdomad and
Trinity. 164 f. J.Dd n . 114
' 64 n. 1lI4 (on pace 163)
Amien,. c.thedn.l. eycle of virb u.. a.r.d vkeI,
]00 0.67
Amma!!. Ja.t:
E)'lntJlitb B,ull,Iib,,"l IIlIn SI4/Ul, 1"41
E ".. 319 " . 134: Woodeut In armorial of
1,98. M~\an(:holy. 377. ]18 n.lI. ]19.
]80. ]8a; 'I. Wolfea
Amymoa.~. 37? n9

/1,.__"",.

Anui..mes, )
ADdalus d~ Nip : on SatUlll I nd bis.ifta. ,,8
n .104: Saturn a!!d Philyra in MSS of. 103
AlIJ1us. pictorial reprelelltation of. in Zwl.
f"lteR Ma.nuseript. 179 D.9
Anonymous worb:

A d _, ' 0

Labore, 344 .207 (on pare ]43)


I.e Cad', 'U)
Lei$Gfe. 119

lot ....

]l'

Anabaptista,

Anaxaforas. 3 D.86. 7l

C.rnival Sollg (venee on tbe temperamalts). 116 0 .148

Allecreua

lIIedita1ioJle della Morte, in Ripa.

INDEX

=
Commentary on Tbeophilus. Lit- u ..,i"b:

"' ,,1IIk,

Tbeofhilu,
C"""",,...dlU SIIN.tllli. " 'II"'1'1/J '/Jl~m"/J
(Comm~ntary 0 .. R.,i..u SIII"Ni/IlN_ .. ).
12 1 a nd n . I"
D, l'OJIUI'IIOI"dll
IItIhtwdi",. 190 n.]
19~ n .]9: woodcull in editiom: o f 153 1.
1'53. I,,. : ]00 D.66. ]35 and D..177. 40.
0. m.....t' 1'O",,' illlliflfl' 8] n. lb
0. ,II1II1_ .h"ori bNI, 104 n.119
Fioridi Virl". nl n .a l . n7 n .J3.
D."
G/wiu , ..p.r }I1IwaNNiti...... u, .....t.r i;t uGai n

bo".

ibn Is t;olq. Commentarica on

K&P'/ K';"J40~. ,,8 n.lo.


L n "MU
a l 8 n .~
LibeUws th i""iJIi,.ib", tUl1""" (" Albrieu.").
' 7' and D. I55. 176,108 and n.41
tiber d A .. Ift/1.."", 1~6 n.63
L ibn- .fk)u" .dri ploi/4Jqf>lIi. 179 J.Dd 11..16]
Afi,tlbilu. ROtnIU, 111
enid,,,, de
~. 10l n. l09
n~,.. ~~ OA,..:..o.., 8 f .. n n.67; IU .1111

'''Ito'''''''''.

,1MJlI_ ...

Galen. Comme.nt&ties

n~,..

<is

ftMl

..H,"",

_roa~

( ocol

nrr)

.w l""~ ("*". n f';' .........."f..;r). ,8 t.,


60. 6a. 6.t. 99 n .98 08 n .I ] I. 111 0. 141
popular Ve<SeS OIl Saturn. 194
Rtu4'i! i ~""" 01-1111"_-11111#" 111__ 1". 99

....

II"

Rqi__ S..un.iku." ... II~.


116: commentary on. n l D..I"
Salu:nitan fracment . and HlIpca d,
Fouilloi', Mulici,,"
II] 11."44

."i_.

Salermtan VenN CIa !.he four tem~menta,


I I. and n. I43. 118 n. I,I. 190 and 1UI.. )4,
36; a96 n.5'. 3609: Ill ustrated in Cod.
Hamilton ]90: 198
SllpilOIti.IJrl's ..,dici_. 61 n. 111, 63 (table)
S~

...d S.I ........,. Dialogue. 17 1


SOtnIlUI4 Roi. ]00 t.: Low Gennan venloo.
]Ol ud D..)'6
Splnultw Soli,. ]81 . n
T,uUiu fIfI '10, TmlJd. Cambridge, Caias
CoIJege. MS ~18 : 291 and D. ~ I
venes on tho t emperaments. broadsheet ,
Gotha. Museum, 11 8 D.I,I
SU IIlso Cale.ndan
An ~or. 1' 0

AlItuoreus. Giulio Campagnola', Ilgnat ure,

'"

Anthony. St. with the humit', bell. ]JO n_I,,6


Alltigonc. 37

Antioehus 1, :sero.us 8iJb>''-i~ dedic:ated


to. 140
AlItioc:hQ$ of AtheN, 10 n.1]. ~80
An tonille Coins. Sat\lm on. 196
AlItw~rp, Museum. pietorial lequuCtI df viT*
toes and vices. f.alse:ly attri buted to Boneh.
3 0 1 .302

Aphrodite, 2.1. 1]6. 1]7: 'f. Vezou,


Apollo. 160 n.,6. ",. 378
ApoUoniu. , quoted by AbC! MIw. 117 ....
Appeliu J. W . HIJ'ori,d-l'Jlcw.JiuJon-.ff dn- T, .."no .., ,.flN. 11 1 and n. 161, 1116
Aquari us, ~" Water-Carri~r
AragOl1, Cardinal of. Ficino', lette ... to 16,
D.,8. 1;1 n. lot (on page 1131
Aratea Muil1ltrlpb. busts of the planets in,

",-

,.,

Aratus, and Urania. ]09


ArchelallS of Macedonia. 16. ]] D.68
Arehigenes of A~lDea.. 4~ 6 f., ,8, ,0 D. I]3.

"

Ares. 1]6. 137: e/. Ma ...

~6 n . 110. 47 J1fI. I1 I- 4
32. ,~ , 119n.15:. IH. l a8. ]2]. 337
Alberti and. ]6r 11.166
and Dati, Leon di Pi~tro. 1" n.] 1
F>cino and . 156. 1]8 and Q.,o. 1,59 and n .,].

Aretaeu'.
Aristot1~.

,"

Fiklfo ud, a,o D. , (on paae15 1J


aDd Logie.

311 D . 99

DOtion of gelllua, IlIO


notion. of m~laneholy. 67 ft .. 7'. I". '47.
1~9 and D.20,
2,1. ]38.390: quoted
by AI,in OIlrtie r. 1~5
Reg"'_N So lt,,. illI ~""'" cited In commen l,ry
on the. 11 1
and scltol..ties. 67 f 11]

,,0,

..

"~'

topo 'w thou,ht, principle of, 133


worb iDduwng doubtful):
D, tlitri"/IIi(7tI., " . 10M""", 3~ n.69. ]6
~80

Ih ,'MflJiw... /J"ilftllli " ... ]. n7'


0. _crill " r~",i,.ilU.'io. ] . n7]. "

D77

Ih _"a,t _itilill. ]. n12. l:I n75


Etlo," E,""..ill. ]6 and n .79. 39 n92. 44

..

D.. 107
Wk. Nu.--u.. 34 n.n.69. 7'0 : n
n.73:]1 n n .86. 17: 39 n 9t : )31 and
~,

F rtqtton" ]9 1194
MIIp/J Mtwill u. n . 73
M,,.ploysiu. 37 Uld n.8,5: ]8 n.89
p",tiu . ]9 and 119.
P alitiu, 38 n.88. 6.t n1I7
PrtJbltmlllll X I . JB. <l,uoted by Albertul
l\.lagoUI, )6 n .82: Cited by Ficino. 159
n .,,: Fr ench translation of. itlUlt ...
tiona in. 196
Prabl,... XI. JB,]4 and n.7,.)]8 0. 186
hoOt".. XXX. r. I, fI .. 4 0. 44

n. l01. 45. ~9. ,0.,1 and " .1]3.33.


,6. 67.68. 69. 70. 7 ' . 72.89. 96. )79:
quoted by Agrippa of NlttHh~im.
3,6 and n.]3]; quoted by ~nnln
bum anists. 118; referred to by A.
GUllneriu l. 9,5 Ind n.9t . 96; Ilnd
m~diev il doct rine o f the tempe ...
lD~n ts. 119 a nd n.I,5]
R lultwi,. ]9 ...93
TQ/liUJ. 39 ....~
.
pseudo.. Plo'~'DpOtn 'UJ, '] n .) 55. ,59
and J1fI.'6,t. 16,
Ama1du. de Villanova66
Ih """''''''.''''''' i ..l,JOlIll,. Ficino and. 163
and n.66
0. _bi~ aml ,.d~. 88 ....60. 92 n.8... 9'
Arnold u. Saxo, bis encyclopaedia. 1116. 187
n.194

Artemis, ]3' n.l~'


AKl~piadca of Oith)'JIia. H . 4' If.. 53 n.I.1
(on page '4). 91
AlClepladilni8
_
.
.
Aselepius. 314 n.1 : Iconograph Ical relatlon Ihip to Sa.turn . 196
Atbena. 1]3. 100. 27] n. lo~ ; c/_ Minerva
Atbenleul, D"p_plo;stlU. ~6 D. "", 1]4
D.19
Athena&o .... Apclt;fitll pro ClnJhO'''~. OD
Kronos-Satum myth. 160. 161 and n. lIl .

'"

Attis. Sa.lum in aimilu pose II, 191


Augustine. St. 60. 76 n.22 . 166.147
.
corrupt pUiaie flom, and Cybele fresco In
Nuw Sc.bifanoja at F~rrara. 11' n. I]9
Gifts o f the Holy Spirit. 165
polemic lIai",t noliom of Sahlm. 16 1 fl.
portrait of. in a Dutch MS of the Ca ../,,
SiDNS. 314 n .105

CoN".
-""

FoouI" ... M ....idr..., ..... III n.17


0. ,ivillll, ~" Fr~neb tnrulation. illustration. to, :J08; pol~mi" llainn notioll'
of Satum. I ~J a nd n. II,; and ValTO on
Seh.m. 139 n .H 61 n. 112
.
D, '0" 1$"$ 01 ~VaNld;$fa........ polemiC
19ainst nolionsol Saturn. 16;1. 16] and

n.II 8
spurious .... orn:
0. ,pi.it"., ... i ..lI. 13 ... 113.16, n78
AurelianU. Cieliu!. U ' CaeHus AUlelianus
Auster. JU .... <fir Winds. p~l5onificati O"J
Averroel;
(Allitd A ..,""",s. 90, 91 and n79
Cq., ...... ,a.,. aN Aristollt' J MtI.p~y$"J 338
... 187 (on pag~ 339)
and Galen ', doc:tri .. ~ of crase" 99 n . Inl
and m~Lancholy. 90 ii.
A\'eJToists, 7a n. l ,5
lwicuPO; U. 87. 88. 4 0 ~ and n . j
in I'''icino. 36]
and G,len', doctrine.,. n;&)~" . ....
Gu..neriu. and 96
and ~~opbtonlcdoo:trme of~:r:anauon 1~1
D.h
and tb~ temperam~:lts. "'I
...ork.:
UW ""0"". 8S. So) and n 69. ",:0 n *:.
93 Ind n.S7. 101 and n.IOb
Ba.bylon. T~mpl~ of Bel. Bet~UI priest of. 140
Ba.bylonianl . pllnetary dOC:lnn~ of the. IJi:
It&t worsh ip of th~. 136
&cchul. ~67 n.8!. ~04
B1Cb. Karl Philipp Emmanuel. di~tat,on
Detweefl ""I~lancholic"s" .nd "SangulD'
cus". set to mUllC by. 2~8 n.J,5
Bacon. Roger. a6~ n7,5
Baltil. Aphrodite equated with. 136
Baine. !of/d,d" de compo,,,,. ))6 n ..\3
I
Ba.mber,. Sacristy of 5t Ja mes. Copy o.
Dli rer . "Four Apostles" . J6S 3lId n.297
Barban. Jacopo de'. and Dllrrt's al t . J6~
Ba:rberilli, Fr&neeICO, ~-4! n. ~
Bartholomeus AnShcu s {Bartholomeus de
Glanvillal. D. prop. i,'alib" . H.-u .... SS .. 61.
173 D. , ,2. 187
DuthOIOm~UI of "'u.;in a. trantLal:nll o! .\n l
totle 's P.ot.h ...
6S and n I
&rtholomc,,. St. ) 18
Bartolomto d, P1rma :9: ... ~:I -: ! :o~ . .ia

",o.

n , ' l6

INDEX

IXDEX
Bud, ':it J9j n 6 .
(la.,le . (ounci) of (1 4)3). ;Sieho las 01 eusa',
D. t"..".,.d""I,o r. J/IIHit. prepared for, 1 19
Bal5'" clle I ILI:-.llli c f, H. I'lire Hrother tbe

ll.ath'l'. ~Icol'''" of. BlIhop, Ficono'. tetter


t o. ll6nH
Ik:t.tll udn, t he ,c"en, a nd lhe tc: ' "CR lifts 01
the Hu1r SVITI! and the pl.it.neu, . 68 and D .

' J>

J. H .,

Ikcku

Kw, I:" iIt" iloulJ"A" U ..

u.

",,11 1'0'" d, .. r"" ""I1_""" , 115 1\.147. III


and n,I39

Dfode.

100. IOJ 1\. 109

anonymous t ...:t

".,
and H.klecard of

""otIC thfo worb of, 'lUld

B~. 110
and Hu!:ueI de FO\IiUoi', 60euine 01 tem

peramelH1. 108 and n. IJ'

pulat,,'e au thor 01 W,Uiam of Coaches',


Ph':r."p~,

work,

'01 n . 11 1

D ..... "., C""J/II ~lio ..., falsely attributed


1<'>, I ~ J 1\ . 181

V, 1l,,'t Q'

'''"

. ..

1",.." 6 1. 6) (boule }, 64.

I,S n . I O~
lltho,",~n. and "'t'lanella l)'.

2)81\.'9
&:11 ... :1\. Bart hel. .\l a d a M a, 39 3 1\.,5 6

Heham. Han s Sebald. 373


Fo,.. ,I~ i .. 0/ ~'0 !<1~. woodClit. 329 n. I~1
i. ,bcral Arts (3 IZ I - i). 33' n. I16. 37S n 7
~Iel;l.ncholy. ell gr~ving B '44 , J 29 n . I".

In. J79.

J80

Planets. cyelo o f. formerly a ttributed to. '"


.. lid,. Puel . G.

Beheim. Lorml: euter of DUrer', horoecope.


278 n.) : and WiUibt.ld Pire\cheimer, 220
and n. 19
Bel. Zeu, eq uated with. 1)6
BeILantius. Luci us. 210 11.99
BeUerophoo. a. melancholic. 16. ' 7. 18. 39. 90.
and n .70

Bellilli.

CioviUlnl:

AfI,plU.

}06;

Fou.

ApoJIl". Tnptych j ", the Chun:.h of the


l'ran. )bS and n .298
Bellini Jacopo. 2 I I : sketchbooks of. 209 f.

&moo. Bcrnudo. Fieiao's leltcn to. 260 B .


,6.26, II.,S
Benedict. St . UI Dante'. PtmM'J4. 2"
BeDeveow. Triumphal Areh. ri ver god. . .
model for Ca.mpJ.Inola, Sa~!D. 2 11 and 11.
,2. lSS n.24
Ben:horiul, Petru,. ", lkrsuire. PIerre
Berbn:
:o.luK um. Cesono with Hercules at the

Croaroads. )00 n .67


Prin t ROllin. l llv. ,,9'. ' rudoll, DOradrawing. 199 n .6)
nerJin (formerly). Ka ufmann CoU,,;tio.n.
LoreJ110 Costa. St Jerom (l. 2 12 and n.n
Dernardu. Silves tri, . D, ",,,"di "H iu~14illll',
106 n .I2~. " 7 n . C02. 18S f.
f3erOS'U5 (Chald ean). Bllby l"HiIJCCl. '40
Bersuire. PlelTCl (Petru! ilcr cb!)l'iuI ). Me/Il'
"'Of'pA oJil Ovidill"lJ "'11f'1IU/'. .. "'1111$1.0
TJ",.,,,. , W"I'yI . 'ltpifm,,/o. ' 1). 174. 116.
In and n. 16o. 178. 208
Berthold 01 Regcusbu rs. S,.OII/I1III. 178; vir_
til es and the planeU. 166. 161. 168
Btnoldo. plaquc by, 306 n .8 ,
Di blc fIIoqJ ia. God lhe F.thet .. uchlte<:t
of thc wotld in. 339 n. l90 (on pele 340).)80
and n. 19

Bindacius Reca.solama. Ficlno', le tter to. 160


D.,6
Blocmaert. Abraham a.n.d Cornelia. T,,,,pn.......t-uri&S. Me1aocboly in. )M n.37 (on
page )871
Boc:caccio. 17:
Dc dArn ... Umln.,. ilIu.tratiOll! in. 206
Gr"udo(UUOf'" 174 and D. I ",. I " . 176.
lSI n .18
N i"/.J. Fu..,u,..." 218 UId D.6
VitA di Doom.2,.. Uld"-39

J., c-m., Bonn. Ptovinda l


MIlXDm. )z8 Il..l,o.)86 D.37 (on pas. 381)
BoethillS:
A rilJl-..ti<:4. quoted by WiUi&m of CoIches,
106 and. ' . 114
c-m.-ootArii iff Ilbnl'" ArisIoUliJ
.,.,..,...:"' 180 a.nd D. 161
DI WJUOl':~ PiilDwpiw. 26, n 18 ;
Boethiu! and Ptoi losophia illustrated in
Muuacripuol. 12)11.17 (00 pase124) ; &1Id
pictorial ~ 01 PbilO$Ophy, 179.nd. 11. 11
p5Cuda-. DI diJl'ipli_ K*oUr;,,"'. U t ....d"
ConradUI
Bojardo. M. N . Orlollllo btltQ_aID. 110 and
11.18
Donatti. Guido:
in Dante's hell. 191
De IISlronomi". on Saturn. 141 n.66. 167
. n.l)l, 189 f . 111
Boml, Provinc:ial Museum. JIUl Bocckhorst.
c-tri.., 328 1l.1,0
BoJmattis. A. F. de. U1Iill"" IUlroloplli ..
""/",,111,,. ellgraved title page. allelary 01
An &lid Practice. 3~4 D.201 (on .,..,11 )4')
BordCllul<. Mu~ LapKWre, lont. 3)9 n. l90
(OD page ]40)
Boreas. " ' .. ...u.- WiDds. penooilicatiolu
Boucicaut, Master of. 21) "-21 (oa ?'oge 124) '
BovilllQ:
LjlHr iU up...u. 347 11.214 (OD page )4&)
Pr~ 1>VlpritJ. OD SaturD', dulIl&ture,
2,) and 1l..)5
Bn.at. SAil' of FQO/.s illustration of Sloth. ]01
uuI Jl.12. 3en. 317 n.1I4
Ununsc:bweig. HitroGymua:
Lw- tk _
llutilUJ. i ri",pliri.. II a-p.ri/IJ. l,a,edltioa"';!b Adtl~llIM.uelich ,
tn.ns1;o.tic:on of Fieino', DI ..I.. tripliri. 111
"-I; woodcut iD 1,11 edition. )1' D. IO?
MlIlirillUPi1<&, portrait of ManiUn FidQO 111.
)1.) UId 1>.110
Brecao. ADdrea. Epitapb in Santa M.ria
sopn Minerva. )09 "-9)
Bremen, Kunsthalle. Dilrer dra_inp: L ' )0
(wM.portrait). )6) 11.27'; I. 13 ' (Man 01
Sorrows), 373 n 3It
Breton. Nichola!. Mt/<A"clIoIiA, H .....tn<u. 3)3
049
.
Breughel. drawing. Tolnai No. 77. )C~ n .los
Bright. Timothy. Tn"/i,, 01 M,/<A",~oI;,. 2)3
n49
Brun. Fran, (Master F.B.). MellUleholy, en
g,,"villg. 3'9 n.I '5. )80 and 11.17
Druni. Ltonardus. Epi5Johmlln libn V1'1.
149 n.21
Buddeu Ele1flnt11l pJail/llopflia, pr"uiuu, 121
and n .ls8
Burchard 0 1 Worms. Bishop. 118 n.. 161
BurloD. Robert, A ...to.y 0/ Mdalldooly. 88
.nd 10.68 (on ~ 89). 2'7 and n.'I. 2)J
n.49. lSS n ...,,; title etlgt;lvmS by Le Dian
in.. )14 and n.2

Boeckbont,

n.,.

Byblos, Phoenician com. of. Saturn on. 1\l'6

".,

_b"

Caelius Aurdiallus,ln
...:",0$ d d,o"j...
ril. 46 rm. I'!i. ,,6. 119 : 48 nn.II, 21: .so
10.1)1
Caesar. Julius, 3.17 n."'4
~pinll$, Caelius. 289 11.11
Calendars:

Augsburr 1480. 29\111.62


0/ SupJu:ttkl, u& 11.1,1
c-.t-l d ~ /U$
118 LI,'
KlIlnIdarillJ IrilKJI lof.Wn
XiI",.19' D.2 11
K6f<if'/'ntnuMr KalnIIl#. 118 D.I,'
PodU ~ lor 176), 2)1
rbymes attached to the picturfll 0 1 1Iltla.o.
choI.ica ill, )O~ &lid 11.76
RoI;tock IS2), 299 11.6)
Saltburg 8 18. 294 11.48, ]09 D89
Shepherd CaJcndan. French and EnJlilh,
206 ft.,]., 291 D.j6; tePlpt!rUDi:nq _Itb
..... mal.ttributo. in. 378. ]79 and 1t. 1)
StrasOOurg ISOO. 299 D.6)
temptrament-series in. 299
ue III,o Filoca!u l . ReynmatU1. Seh6nlperger.
H,
Calliope. and Homer. )09
Cambridge. FibwiUiam Muscum, E1.helmer.
Minerva. )8~ n .B
Camcrarius. J .. Latin tranalation of DU rer',
neory of ~Ii"". )4' n.19,. )6) D.'1S
CampaglloLi. CIIWO:
AsJ.olog". 380 n.19
lrescoes in the Scuo1. del wminc, Padu
portnit of DOrer ill. ))) n. l66
~

""tin'.

I"'''''"

p.:.,",.

StJJlU'li. engnviDg B 4,210

ff.: 288 &lid nn.

24.1,; 314 n. IJj


Sill.., engnving P 11. 188 n .24
yowu. ffWiiWi"l_. lit4U. )8811.40
Canigiani. Antonio. Fkinn', !etten; to. '168
~93

Cardanll$, 1,)7 n. IOI


Canl<><:ci, Vdippo. FIc:mo. kttu to, 160 .. ,6
Cartari, Vinctmo. fA I~"i U i " ' ",tli
1 7~ and. D. I,) . "'4 11.64
Catus, Kart Gustav, BN!' VIwo-GoIlltu FatUI.
aJla.!ysis of Dorer'. M'""-'oli .. I in. )6]
n.183
Cu&IIova, Me...mn, !i0 D. I)2. 112 1I_16J
Cusian, ~. 76 n.2)
Cassiodnna s. 46 n . 1l1
Cassiopeia, compared to MdaDcboIy. t29
Castiglione. Bt.Dedetto, M,J.1tdIol". EtcbLa,..
)90 and B.46
wto. DiODy$iuS. sayillgs of, 10}8 and 1'1 ."
Caw. Uticcnsil. 1ZS 11.)0
wvaleanti. Giova.nnl. torrespondCIIO& with
Ficino. 2,6 n.H: 1'1 and nn.H. 48; 2,&
Uld 1'11'1 .50. Sl: 261 D.S8
Cecco dA.scoli:
burned at the stake. 2~6
Fieino and. 2,6
L'Aurb, 192.22 1 1'1 .21
~Isus. AD lDS Cornelius. 4S I. . 268 n .92
Celtl!$. Conrad. Libri ."''''''''''. Z18 and nn.7. 8;
DOrer's woodcut aa titie-pt.ge of.... "dIr

."tidri.

D'=
CensoTinll$, DI do.. ".u.li. 46

B . II ,

Ceres. 167 n.81


Cernntes., 1J)
Chaldtes. 189; Saturn .. 1o:ing; of the. 111

Challlperi u Sym phori&1lus. SY'"pIO(m~ PlQIq.


,.i, , ..... A~isJoltl ,/ GIIl,.i ~'" HipJ>ou<ll#.
'162 D.6,
CbapcnlQ. Nieholal. .. V""'I)'-M .unuioJ,,".
[)n.winp. Paris, Louvre. )90, 391 &lid 11.49
Chatlel
(on. page 114), )81
Charlel d 'Or
Poi...... 222 11.24
Chartier, AIahI:
E,pb ..u 011 c-sol4ti_ Au T.i1U y,.,.oo.
221 fl. &lid 1IlI.. 229: illU5tratiollS in, 22)

V.'-:1.::'21

and N1.16. '7: 314


Li"", UI (ltI<Ih .o.IIIU, 220 iUld 1:1.14
Chartra. Cathtdnl: atdaivolts. JIO: eyde 01

vlrtufll &lid yiof!l. )00 n.67


Qaryw.. "1lOlcia Inebocboh" as, ill F 1CiD0.
161 ...8 ,
Chauc:er: 246. )0)
wlllRbt4..,r..lu. 231 ... 41 : QJ1 Sattun. '9) f.
Qebba. Mo.aicI, 292 D.41 . 194 aDd 11.48
Choleric:. pictorial reprtseDutioD 01. 29.5. 'l96
and on .. 297 and Il..S6. ~, 199 &lid 1'1.63,
)00 and D.66. )01. )97, 398. )99; "';th
bear. 31', )79 n. I): by Flindt, Pau l.
]80. 11. 16: wlU, lion. "96. )79 n.I); with
lion .nd cagle. by Virsil Solis. )78: by
VOll, M amll d". )96 .nd 11.68
Choleric temperament. Minerva as. )88 n. ~ 1
ChrIst:
AlCensinn nf, zo,
DU reTrainting himself as. )7)
Man 0 Sorrows. Jil
lCOurSing nf. pictorial type of the. Z91
, urTOlllldod by the Fonr Eva.oa:elists. &lid
DOrer', Celtes woodcut. 179
Cbristino de PiAII;
C,,., B./J;JU, d'A"",,,t ".u DII"", 219 atld

20,

1'1 . 1)

Epfln dOtAl illustration of.


f.: on.
Saturn, 194
Cht-. 21 J : eharacteNtia of Saturn merged
with. lJ3. 214
IN also Kronoot. Time
Chtyslppus, 43. 1)9 L 44
OiryIOttom. )GbD..
r"or

.uros ..,......,.....

w.,..lf-: ..~ ",., - .. (Dr ~


tia lhl . . S'n ... ). 75- 76 and. 1l..31. 11. 86

Chu.reh.ill. Chari_. poem. 2], 11.,1

"4,.68.
'-

'10. 1]2
and AriltoteUa.aAOtioaof mtla.ncholy. 4) f .
249 and 11..20. 1.50 11.27 (011 pace 1'1)
portrIlit 01. In Liberal Am cycles. )11
died in commentary 011 !be Rtf''''''' 5111""itA" ..... 121
....d Rhetoric, )12 D.99
on Satum .. _ of Caclus. 1;>6
works:
D, dilli"IIIw.." 41 D.\I9. 44 n .ln1. 140
D.47: )78 n.1I
D, ,,1II..rll .uon..... 1)7 nn.37. 38; IJ9
I'I.H 6. 1'1. 112
Tt4ICt4J."oI' di&pulolliOtlu. 33 and n.6.5.
42 D.\I9. 43 nn. 102, In,; 249 and 1'1.19
Qcantha!. 1391'1. 44
Oementlnu Clemeotius. LtlCflbrtJJW"cJ. 00
Mercury and black bit". 260 D.,6
CUmacn.. JohaJuIeI..
a;",..,..
CnIdu medical KhooI 0 44
Cobv.... Bible, Viriato of St J"''' in. )14 11.10,
CodIlaauI. J ohn. DO~. ton'espt.adtnce...;th
)64 11.'1]6
Cod..... Saturn _ of. 176

-1-

4'4

INDEX

Collins, W., Ulles on J. Hopwood'. engraviDg


o f MI/I...doly after J. lhurstcl\, 391
Colonn.. Franct;$W, PoIipAili I{J"IHt"~
lI'doiA, ..... oodeut m, 4 Q 5
Conrad .... Ih djmpfifl" ~14,jum (fa1s,ely
attributed to Boethius). 282 f. and n .2) . 358
n.2s8

ConslantmllS Amcanus: 91, 326 n .IH


on dual funetion of blacl< bile with regard to
sl~p, 11 8 n.IS1
Ficino on, ':56, 263. 269 alld D.94
a nd Galen's doctTine of ctaSes, 100, 1 01

and Rufus, 49 and D.U9


worke:
D~

mdlllldtOlia" 82, 8) and n.H. 8. a nd


n . 6. 85 ud D. 7. 86
Lobu tU ~I ... 85 n'49
h"r.licA P,,,.kpn. 86
T~ir;/J PIlM:pi, 86, 87 aod nn.s.., 55:
100 Dn. I~. 103: 10 1 and nn. 104. 105.

108; 105 n . I22; loCi n, 124 : 369 D.JO)


Conti, Na tale, mythological haodbook, ' 75
Copenhagen , Royal Gallery, CranlU;h, 1..,
Md...."lwly. )8) and n.25
Cordat"., Conrad, 319 n .1 ' 7. J20 n . UI, )21
n. 123
Cc:I rio, B., CIIYOfOid# of MilD .. of 150]. woodcut
in. )15 n.107
Corneliu, a Lapide, Com_I",ii;ft "ripl.m....
$<JUt"'''. 71 n.24
Cornutus, t omb of, Rome, Vatl~ Museum,
Saturn on, 197
ConiuI, J ohannes, biognphy
Fieino, 2$6
n '1 6
Coryballles, 200 and n. 19
Co., IJ(;hool. of astrolo@:y, founded by Berossu',

0'

.,.

Cos, IJ(;hool of medicine, 44. 48, $7


C(lSla. Lorenzo. SI jm,.,." inOueneed by Ca mpag nola'. SlIlu,.,. , 212. 288 n .24
Cranuh, Lucu; 373
ilfdetld()ly, paintings. 307 n .82, 33 1 n. 162,
343 n .204. 380, 382 and DD ,394, 396:
Copenhasen. Royal Callt::ry, ,6) and
n .2.s; Ea rl of Crawford Collection, 382
and nn .,38]: The H ag" "" Collectioll lAVob , 38. and nn.
Parlldis" Vienna. Kunsthistorhlchf:S l.hueum, 383 n,2]
Crater (cqtl, 'dillfio,,), in doctrine o f tha sour.
jou rney, I j6
Crau.s, Frapw:ttl, Ij4 n .9j
Cratinus, n~, 134 n.19
Crawford. Earl of, Collection, ~ach, L.,
MdlJ ..dol:y, ]82 and n.]S3
Crelliu, l acobuI, editor of De
d4I
60114 ga/t/tldi .." 300 n .66
Creon. 37 and D.81
Crete, s.turn lleeing, 160
Cupid, 214 n .64
Curet"". 200
Curio, J ohann". ed ition of D. (o.m rua.ula
"",.a ua/dudi,.,. 290 n.H, 291 n .39, 300 n.66
CUrtiIlS, M., on title woodcut in Egenolff,
B oo! of F_uJlU, 371 n.9
Cusa, Nicholas of, 264
, eop), of the Ubw Al&Jo"tul~; pltilo,opJti ot,
119 n. 163
on the m",laDcboI.ic. 281
marsinal notes on the Latin translation of
Proclll.', TIII~" Pftll""u , 2S1 n .31
parallel between earth and human body,
11} n .j1

'''''''I'lIQ ..

INDEX

Cusa_ _ t .
worb:
D,_d4I ..1i1l ullIolo"(a , 1 ' 9 f. aDd II...I~
D. doda ;pwrlJ.uitJ, I j6 n .98, 112 n. l14

Cybde, 111 n..ll9, 200


Cynneans, tbe, venera t ion of Croous amonr,
134 n.21
Danae, paintings by Rembra.tldt and Titian,
322 n. uS
Damasciu . D& primi1tmrlnpi;s, J.H n.9.
Dance 01 Death, cycle. Munich, cod. tat. 3941,
331 n.159
Daniel of MOTley, Libf, II, IIalwri, i"fuUwum
It 5"p~rior .. m, I S4 and n .I 86; 18.5
Daniel, Samuel, 'l33
Dante, 189, 191
Ficino and, 2S6
ali me!ancholic, 1S.
....orks:
COtOIIiIlio, on IUItroDomy. 3ll and n.167
Iwf""o, delCription of the avaricious
man, 2.89 D.27
Par"i,o, &pbue of s.tum, 2jj and
Commentarles on, 2S2. , 2.53 aDd D.3l
D&ti. Leon di PietTo. Commentary on Matteo
Palmieri, La Cilia di IIi/", 'lS2 .II.l l
Dati. Lionardo, Sf",a, 11 6 n .148, .2jJ n.35,
288 artd n.23
David, sr. Sau l
De Cher n, Jacob I. "'...p,.,.".,wl/series, 292
ll39, 33' n .178, 39.5 D.6.5, 398, 399
Democritus; 6
quoted by Ficino, 2$9 D.S3
and Henclitus, portrayab o f, 221 D.l3
in u Bton's engraviDS in B urton, A,.atomy

"-1

of Mw...dol:y. 374 Do1

on melancholies. cited by Agrippaof N~


heim, 3,6 and D.2j3
.
named as melancholic by Melanchtbon, 89.

90 n.'0

on poetic madness, J1 n'19


Democritu. iunior, Burton as, )74 n.2
Demogorgon, in Boceacclo, 116
Demosthenea, in OIympitJdtwum, 16 and n .46
Denck, Hans, Dilrer &gainst, 37'l
De Vries, Seri es of &lehemisia, Hennes Tris.
megistus in. 329 n.I .5.5 (on pase 3JO)
Denppus o f Cos. 9 D.20
Diana, Lllna as, 20l D.29; "phlegm" .., l S8
n42.
Dido. 22j n.)o
Diodoru. Sieu lus, BibUo#ru., 1)1 n .22, 289
D.21
D iogenes, l3 n.68. 39S
Diogenes r..ertiu., Lilli, of 1M PlrilosOP1lers,
2) n .j;, 41 n .91, 43 and n .I o3
Dionysius of Haliearnaseul, 13.5 n.)3
Dionysu!l, 21, 3jj; " . Bacchus
Dominicus Cundissalinns. D, ~oumO!/'
..... ndi, 265 n .18 lon page 266)
DonatelJo, 210
Doni, A. F.,
.
Diupoo, allegory of Sculpture desc:ribed in,
386 a.nd D.3S
.
1M.. ,.,.. wood<:."t of Mela..uoly In, 328
n. I So, 386 a nd n .37. )8" 38g. 190 n .13
Danne. J OhD , 133

Dorian mode, 46 n .111


m ring. Hans, woodcut, M .llIdolya, 314
n. I Oj, ) 29 n .I,I, 33S and n . 179. )36. )41
n .2ol, )18, 398 n .7]
I

Dorothe1.ls 1"","010,"'), on Saturn in oonjuneti= with Man, 141, 143 ..... d D.10
Dnsden., GemAldel&lerie. s.w.. ~ of /AI
Vi,.,;", attributed to Dilres-, 362 D.268
Dresden., Kupfentiebbbindt, Friedrich. eu.
par David. M.ta~lrol:y, drawing, 39) Uld

~" 94, 210, 243, 313


DUrer.
IUId Henricul de Ga.ndavo, 347
bOl"oscope of, by Lorenz Behcim, 218 n.l
a melaDcholic, )63 and n'l71
portrait of, by Campagnola in the frescoes
at Padua, Senoia deL"Canninc, 333 n .l 66
visit to Padua, 33) and n.l66
.... orks:

Drawings:
L 13, 370 11.)06
L 79, study 0 1 DtlreJ"'s wife (?), 289
.0.26
L 8l, p.,e from iUulltration to Pircl<
beimu I traa>mtion of tbe Horapollo,

3'3

L llo, Bremeu llelt-portn.it, 36l ft.271

L 131, Man of Sorrows, B:-em.en., )73


D3 12
L 231,36) .0.271
L 36l, l71 n.)01
L 532, 403. 40~
L 6~ 3, aDd Mantegna's lost '"Mala.n_
coLia", 307 .0.82
ph)'5lognomlC drawings, 14
Dresden. S ltetchbooli:, 331 n .16o

Engravings:
B 10. 322 D.125
B 42, 362 n .266
B 46. 362 .0.268
B 18, A posllu, 366 and ft.299
B 49, Afioltlu, 368 and n'l99
B 50, A/I<>J1i1s, 368 and n.299, )70
D3 06
13 -,6, tlr, 010.-" D,ea .... ) 0 2
B 34, 322 nI2S
B go, 322 1l.f1$
Ad<:r ... and I;:w, 378
51 j t ro",&. 313 n .107, 320 n .T2O. 3,0
n .218, l6.f n. 276
K ..i, Id, D,a,lr, a..d IA. Dwil , 3,0 ". 2 , 3,
313
MadMI"lJ at 1M WaJl, l l 8
M,u,",,"a 1, 228 .0.36 (on page 2.29),
241.243, 184- l 73 pas.;"" 41>1; and
C&m pa.rnoJa'. engraving of Saturn.
212: descriptiOD of. by MelanclithoD.
319 D.1I7, 320 D.T2I, 321 n T23 ;
described by James Thom.an, 233
ft.49; and posterity 314 II.
Steel engnlVl.Dg B 70. '"TItI lX.pai,i,.,
Ma .. " , JOj n .U2, 349 n.217 (on
page )So). 403 if.
paintiDP:
All Sai.. I" 363 n .21'
Barbcrinl picture, )70 n.306
costume PIcture L 46~, )22 n.U.s
Four Apestl,., MUDlcli, 361 n .268,
366-373 ","riM
Hdl", AI"" . 370 n.306, 312 D31l
!Xlf-/XWtrll iJ, L 429, )63 and D.21l
Pr.aycr book o f Ma.s..im.ili..... I , Acedia in,
3 17 and n .114; St J ohn on Patmos in.
3'4.010,
woodcu ts:
B 3, )22 .125
B l8, l70 n .l06, 372 D311

DUrer_Oftl.
B 60,
B 10,
13 80,
B 84,

SI job 01>1 P ili,...,., 3' 4 n .los


J I4 11. IOj
l 22 n . T2.s
l22 n I2S
B 88, )21 n. I2S
891, 321 n. I2S
B Il ), SI jm",", 3104 n. l oj
B 1I7' 362 n .266
Til, !.our ro",pkrions in Conrad Cel tes'.
L.bri ..>nor ..... , 279, 230, 292, 32S, 370
and n .306, 371
Tn .....p. of Maxi",ili..,., ) 01 n .79 lon
Pf-ge 30S)
writing$:
Four Boolr. of H .....a,. Proportio .. , 280,
281 and nn., 362, 365 and nn .
U ..ltrwn . ...., d,.,. MlU .. " ,. )28 n. ISo.

".

dra ft of hook on painting. 2S1 f. and nn .,


)40 f.
lettera: to CocbJaeu$, John, l~ n.1i6; t o
Pirekheimer, ]6] n.2 71
Ipurious "WOrks: Dresden, S ....e" Soo-.ow. of
,~, Vi~,.. .. , )62 n .268

",J.

Eck, J ohann. D, p~i m~ w. PetTi lib.,


37=
n .)11
Eckhart, Master, $" ...0 .. LXVII (a t t ribuled
to), 167 and n.I 33, ,68 and n.l3j
Egenolff, B oolr of Fur", .. /ae, title woodcut,
copy of DUrer ', M~lnI'olia I, 1 77 and n .9
Electra, l1
Elements. ~ four, ~ificatiolU, 'l93 n H .

'95

Elsbeimer, Minerva in the atntude of ~relan'


c.boly. painting. Can'bridge, F,tz"',lham
Museum. 38j n.n
EmpcdocleJ. S fr . 3. 9, 17 n . ~ 9. 19
E ngel, J ohanu es (JohVlnes :\ngelus \. .~sm;.
"'bi ..", pla ""m, ISO n . ,5. 31 6 a..od n.1 11
Engelba rt, Daniel, 167 :In. '''!. 21)2
Epigenes ol Uy zantiutn . e n Saturn. 13Era$i$tTatians, H
E rasmus 01 RotTerdam . ~ ~ 3
E rmengaud. )Ialfr~ L. B, .... ;~ ,: J' A n: ' : I"
n.IS~, 208 n .17
E ros, as Carpenter. J05 . Jel)'" 93"n f' ;1 0'
'f. Cupid
E .$ .. Mu te r . omgra" ing :1.eh:-1! 10) , ,r... n OJ
EIKlid. and geometry, 31l n 99. port~a ll "I
in Liberal AIU cyde. 311
Eugenius III. Pope, IS 5
Euripides. 16
Euru., ,,. ..
Wlud s. pcrson,neat,olU
Euryphon of Cnidus. 5
Eutebius, Praef>a,orio,r:arlgd"a. de!oCnpuon of
Pb~ciau A iOll 196 and n.: , 1'~ 1\ 6~
Eustathius, i .. llilJd ..~, 154 0 .89
Eve, creation 01. '05
.
'
Everhard of\V"m pen. Sp,e,er au.\ afUr , "c r~
on th e t em peraments in, 11 6 and :l . I ~ <)
Eyck, brother! 'an. 8, n .35

.we.

F&n.i. Sbelk Mohammed. Dab:sl<f". !.I" n70


Faust. and Dilrer 's J / o!,",c/ia 1, 36.5 . nd n ~Sj
F .B., Maste r, su Brun. FrVll
Ferdina.nd I, Crand Duk e. ~tlt;" n t" bv
Baccio D&celli, :73 n .I O-l
FelTara, Pal'1%o Schilanoja. C>~le fre!.(c,
' 71 D. I)9
Feli. Domenioo, .H,I~" 'kol." 01 .\1~d'I"f"'"
)88 and n.41 ; 389 and nn . 39"

I NDEX

I NDEX
Feue:l.>ach. ,>'rue!m. (phi,t~I(' awl Ta ~ ri . )9)
F.el1lO, '!~If,ho 56 11 ..10, 95. 97. ,Sq. ~ .u
l~~ iI.:ld

nfl, '-47 In<J n I~ . 250 and n. 2~ .


;an,! n ' l ~ ' ) : ;. )71

,\!!rlrpa 01 :-;ette,ht;m and. nS, )51. no


n !53. 3 j ~
;LIld astroLogr. lio and 111198. 99
,osmolol)" of , 26) ft.
~16

Diiru and , )61

hor oscope ai, 256 aDd n .H


and maG":' 16q and 1111.95. 91 : u a mela n-

thohe and a chi ld o f Satu rn. 256


not.on o f melanchol)' and Icni uS. ljj II . and
lin. . 18,. . 345. no. J62 n.168
ren,ed,~ for me lancholy ... disea.se. 256
n .46. :66 R. am.\ nn
portrai t 0 1. UI U. BraulUCb weig. MuJici>l a r "" , )1.5 n . II O
works:
Af ;lrf; It :6~ and nn.; I , ,( J; ~69 :lod n9;

Commenl;l.rlu:
on PIUo, 26:. on Pla iD" Symposi um ,

i'torem:f'---('ot:l.
:>:eoplatoni!m at 96.

~73,

177. 28 1, 3.51. 36 1.

'"
",

Palazzo Riccazdi. roupdeb in the eGurtyan:i,


Floris. Frans. "Dialectic" in Tiu l.ik.41 .A rl'
I I.. mbvi", 4..,;.., 1/14 lUll 386 n.31 (au pace
38 7)
Plotner. title woodcut in Vitellin. nf'" ........,;;s-.
328 n.1 .5 0
FoligDO. Pabuo Trind. subscription to a
fresco in. 194
ForU. Matteoda. Ficino's letters to. 21 1 a . 100
Fortune. wbeel of. 202
FoxtOl"l , $U Johannes de Fozto.a
Freytag. Dr Johannes, BITidl_ d" Mdll'"
doli.. JlytH;ldmui';lI, title engn.ving, ]02
n 7.5, 347 A.2
Friedrieb. Caspar David, Mdllou/w/y, dra ...
inc. Dresden. 393 and n ..56
Fulgeat;us. 172. 2$2 n.31. M y IMlofiIU. 170 .
176 and n. I.51. 177

:I ~ n . ~

on PlollS"'''_ 2.56 n.H. 271 11.106

l'r "~,,,o. l~hl"l ..... "",, . ...... 261


ill 11M ("phco. )1, )2. n.6 ) .)3 n . 6~ .]2-

n I, 38an<.l n66 . lj8 ff. and nn: 346


. n<.l n : 10 . 3~ 7 .ml n .l l' . 349 n.1'7
Ion pa ge 33<; on tb~ bat. 313 and
n . 133; a nd DQrer. 29 I . J46. 348; knowll
ill Germanv. 177: on melancboly. alii '
bivalen~~ Of. l 49 a nd 11.12 : and Pelutin.
ger, 178 11.05: on Saturn. 1059 and R. IOS,
25) Ilnd n .} 4, 2H and "'.36
Lelten: pubhshed by Knbergu '497, 271
t o Aragon. Cardinal o f. 261 n.,S, 2]2
n. 102 (on page 213)
to U<:mbo. Bernardo. 260 n .,56. 261
n.,58
to Bindacius Reeasolllll us. 2.60 u .,6
to Canigl.ni. Antonio. 268 n .93
to Cardued. Filippo, 2.60 n.,6
t o ea"aleA nl;, G . 156 n.41. 'IS7 a nd
n '47. 1,B and nn .,50. 'I: 261 D.,8
to Forll. Matteo da, 2.71 n . l oo
t o Gaddi. FraneeKO. 174 n .l l o
to ' acopo An t iquario. 'I60n.'7
to Nicolas of B&thOt". 2,6 R. 44
to PiC(! della Mirandola. 'IS7 n'49, 21]
n.lo" 174 n. l 09
to Pierleonl. 173 n. l06
to Ramald. Archbilhop01 Florence. 2'9
n.52. 261 n. ,8. 2; 1 n .l oo
to Raffael ruan o. c..ld inal. 261 n., 8
to Valori. NiccolI>, 160 n.~6
Lett,,1S to. from Pleo della Mlrand ol 274
n .10 7
mi$Sive t o King MaUbiil.s 01 Hungary.
2.58 n 50
Filarete. 141 n .2
FileHn, Francesco. l4lJu /0 '. odollico Gooozago,
2.50 n .27
Filidor. DtOOI, be'IW'e ll l\1dondoly olld Mir/II ,
2.27. 228 nnd n .36
Filocal us. Ca lenda r ol .... n . 3.5 4. I ~O n 47. 1<)8.
208 n .47
Firmicu l l-lateOlul. MlIl/u$40S libri YIII. 141
n .68. 149. ' .50 and n 78
Fi!.h (zotii"",ug")' 2.57 and n .41
F1rndt. Paul. Q........or ,""".. rc.t'lI.. /JlI''''
'" ....d ete.. ] 43 n.20] . ]80 . 16
F1crrenee:
Cathedral, umpa.nile. ttliels. '109 . 4B. 310

Gabriel. and LunaArtemis . 3.5.5 n.24.5


Gaddi. Francesco, Fieino's lette.. to. 214
n . II0
G&ea, 13.5
Galen:
4. 8, 10 n.22. II n .17. '4 D.)8. 47. 61, 69.
73. 7~ nn .I7. 19: 81. 84. 88. 9'. 93 nh.
11.2. 188,267 n.91 (OD p~e 268)
guated by Alber t us Ma,nus. 36 n .Sz
anatomy of the brain' , 6g n ..5
on black bile . +4, ~~
doctrine of crases. 98. 99, 100. 101 n .108
(on page I09), 148
Ficino and. 262
a.nd hnmoralism, ~8
ILIId RufuS, ~9
on temperanlen b .57. 60. 61. 62. 63 fl .; Ie,
tJIx,w, doct rine of cra3e$
wOTb:

,''so

CtmOmnoJ.ms:

I"HiPfHK.tIliup'thmill~,"

libtw . d 2.
90.70,.57 D. I ,58
on n.,oI
hB,.no... 42 ".' 01, ]1 f..
6 62 (table)
~lis f!/!""S' 1.5 n.42. 16 ".+4. $2 f.

+w.-

Ik plM.itu Hi~lIlil tt P~ .. ;, libr;


..ouem. 10 A.2)
D, Inllt-lImnclis .51 n .140; .51 n. I,58 :

10 1 D. I08

D .utl f3rti ... ,". 10, n .l2.2

n ....
n ....

ICptUIf_ .

13 n.)o .57

I,

ezcerpta.
D.43
TJX"'I ......poO:;.63 (table). 6.5 n. 17.5
S pulious worb:
Opo< u. . .p'.rol. 87 D..57
II ....
60, 61. 6l (table). 6 4 89
n69. 99 " .98
Caleni!ts. 65. 101
Gameo.3 61
Ganymede, Aquarius as. 203
GaunCU!. Lucas. Oralio d, llI ..dib .., 4$lrologilll.
2.56 n.~)
Gelliu! . Aul us. quoted by Asrip!?" 0 1 Nettes.heim. 3.57 n. 2$~; Noct~1 Athuu. 16 and
n.48. ~2 n .IOO
Geraldo d .. Solo. commentary on Rluuea. 98
and D.g6
.
Genlll8. Matthias. MtllI~/w/Y. pain~ fo~
merly V~nna. Trail CollectioD. 380 and n.
19.381 .381
,..~,

x,".....

Gesner, C., N,we i,wtll oj H'lIlIA. titll. wood


cut in. 329 D.ISS (on pag .. 330)
Ghirlandaio, 51 im",u. in Ogniasanti.
D.

3'.

lOS

....

Giorgio. Fra.neeseo (Frauciscus GIrSi ul ). H .., _ill m""di loIiou. 211, 278 0.2
GiOt"Sione, 209. 288 D. 2.5
Giovanni d ... Conoon-eggio. PFlIdiUJ _ . 88
and D.6 92 ....80. 93 and 0.8,
Giova.nni d'ArcoJe (Jobann... MculanuI),
PFut'"' 92 a8I, 90f D.89
Girolamo d& Sa.n.ta Croce. U1
GlKII5ticism. 0f"i8i.0. of doctrine of the fOUI'l
jOllllley, 1,56 and n.99. 1.57
Goat (zod';--.rip). 13B n '40, 203: ehildreD of
the. '44 a$ 7
God the Father. as arcbitectnf the world. )39
0.190, 380 and n .19
GoeI, Hugo van dCI'. "' Hu so van der Goes
Goethe. 232 0 .46.236; W".,Aer. 236 n..52
GoIt&illS, Hendrik. Engravint\: B I 11,.An and
U.ou, 304 0.79 (on page 30'). 34~ A.2.02
Gordoniul. B .. p,.ut;",. 1m..", _Il.ci,," ........
' ''fHIJlI, 88 and n. 62
Gotha, l'oI u!l(!um. broadsheet with ve.-- on
the temperaments. 1t8 D.I.5I . 297 D..56
Gowu. John. ConJ.$$'O lI111<1ntil. I g~ n. 18.5.
193 and n. 206. 194 D.207
Gray. El.ty, '136 and D.53
G regory of NllEianEus . St:
HtmOilies. 199. 200
Conlrll /u/illn .. m. 198
In SlJnd/J lumi ..... 160 D.110, ' 99 f.
Guainetio, Antonio: '1.5.5 a41. 266. 404 D.7
and rnelaneboly. 9.5 fl.
PFtUliell. 88 and .11.6.5. 92 A.BI. 92 D.84 (on
~ 93). 94 a88, 9.5 11.
Guanent o, frescoes in Padua. Eremitani, 103
and 11.30. 28, D.20
Guarino, Batlillta. PtUI", F;tk. and Satulll.
173 P . I O~
Guercino. NOlie. 390 and D.~8
GUfl:Uelmo de Corvi, su Gulllelmus Bri.x.iensi,
Gu.do !A>10Dlla. Hulorill r rf1jllllll. on Satunl,
1.50 n 78
Guillaume de DiguUevilte. Pilni/l#l' d". YU
HWl'Uliru.. 287
Guillau,me de Lorrit. IU R _ .. " III Rou
Guillelmus Bri.x.iensis (Guglielmo de CorviJ.
p,.tuliUJ .5.5 ... 1.50. 88 and ...63. 93 ...110
Guillemeao. J .. TlIblt, lIu"""ipu, title en
graving in. 388 n . ~2
Gyrald 9S. L G . lh driJ gin/iii"," lI4IM "
,"ullipleJ< lIiskJri ... 17,5 and n.I,5.5, ' 16, 178
Hades, '3<4; Satum east loto. '42 ; 'I. Tllrtarul
Haly Abbas. Me 'MI ibn Abbb
Hamlet. as tragic melaneholic. 235
Hannibal. 22S D.30
Hau.sbu,lI, children of the planets lo tbe. 397
H ecate. 267 D.81
Hector. as melancholic. 36 :0..82. 68 11.1, 7'
H eemskerck, Marten van:
&eqllen(:e of the planets. engraved by
Muller. 397
temperamentseries. 33.5 D.178. 397; melan
ebolie in, 399
Hellos. n, SIUI
Henriens de Gandavo:
92 D.83 , 337. 34$. 365
notion of melancholy of, 347. 348. 3.)0;
and DU~e1". 3~8

H enricul de Gandavo--<:ont.
quoted by Pioo della Mirandola. 347 and n .

'"

QModtib., on melancholies and mathematiciau. 338 a.nd al 87


Hephaestion (.wro/ogIT), '44 n.'7
HephaestUI, 133
Heraclitu . 39 D.94 : DemocritUI a nd. por
tn.yab of. 271 D.33; in Raphael'! SdwoI of

AIMu,288

Heccules (Hcraeles):
Ares (planet) equated 'lll'ith. 137
on ooin from TIi.asos. 378 n.,5
ehoiee nf, 2.] 1
at the Cro.roads. 246. 199 a 6.5. 300 D.6 7:
eteh.inc by Christofl Murer. 33$ D.l;06
at "Forleua". 2~2 D.'1.
Labour. 01. 11 373
melanebolic frenzy of, .6. 17, 18. 119. 90
D7
Herotannu l OaImata:
D,
184 D. I 81
tnntlation of Abu. Mabr. 128 nn . .5 a.nd 6
HermG!l. equated with Nebu (Babylonia.n).
136: Psyehopompus and Miehael, 3.5.5 n.
24.5; eJ. Mercury
H ermes Trismegii tul . '74,230.3;9 n .IS.5 (on
page 330)
H ermippu B. Anoooymi Clirillia"i Hmnippto& d,
os.l~olofj4 diowg .. s, 1.58 n. l o.5
Herodi cul of enidu 8
H eslad: 134 I.. 1.53,3.56 a.nd D.2 .53
Tluogo"y. ' 34 and n. 17. 13.5 and nn .z6. '1.8.
31 ; 1.50 D79
WOI'lI! am! D.ys. I3~ and II.tl.19. '10
H eapenu. 136
Heue. allanus:
editor o f D. UllUnoll.w.. bo_ 1I..uIw4i....
300 D.66. 33.5 and D.I77. 3')6
FIU1'~,..,. 11 8 n.I.5 I (on pafle U9)
H eayehiul 01 J eru$alem, 39.5 D.62
Hildeprd ot Bingen, St: 113, 1~3 n ..51. 267
n .8 1
c. ...... ., ~......, 79 ..,d D.3'1. 80 ....d n .33.
110 I. and 1111.133-$. 137, 138: 11 1
doctriDe 01 temperaments. 110 f .
and mela.oeboly, 78. 79. 81
Hi~teanl, l :t . 33 .5', 10 1
Ilippocn.l:es: 8~

"""';/.1.

CAwJ>tu Hipt-rtJIieN,".

13

lo Fiei.no. 262
cited by J erome. 76 D.22
and ." pb ysi.08"nomy", .5.5
works a.scnbed to:
Ap.ttwl.rtlfllhl . 1.5 D.~Z
EPi/te",Iu. 1.5 .1111.40. 41; 34 n .]4; Galen'l
oommcntary on. SN .. ..ur Galen
nfpl aI,...,.., VU..--. ~II"""', 12
n,...
a..-BptJ.tf04i. set 14M" Anony
mous wOt"u
Holoot. Robllrt. Mor41i/aUJ, 173
H Olderlin. F . 239
Holy Spi rit. giftsot the. and lhescven planets,
164. J(i5 66, 168. 178
Homer:
lo Arl, tOtlll, PFobl_ XXX. z. 19. 20
and Calliope. 309
on Krona., 13~ f .
lli#tl.. 134. 13.5, 13911.4)
all melancholic cited by Apippa. of Ncttes.
helm, ~.56 and D.2.53
quoted by Mela.nebthon. 90 a.nd D.]O

+.:.._

I NDEX
HoadillS, Hendrick, Pidoru... alifIUM uk_~f.J. enrrav.:d title page, 344
and nn.,z05. 11106
Honci.u ibn lahlq. lit I;hmain ibn bl,l.lq
Honorius of Al1tu n, 61 n.173, H'~ n .III, 14)

wi..... : . .
n 5~

Hop .... ood. J., Md,."doly. engraving a fter J.


Thurston.. 391
H CBee: Epistks, 241 0 .6; Odt$, 140 n .H
Horapollo, 314 0. 105 (on page 3IS). 312, 323
Hugb o f St Vietor. 78 JIon.27 and 28
~80U4ki<nr. on t he two types of astrology,

""i.......

Hugues de FouiUoi', D, ""iKi""


formerly attributed to, 107
Hugo de Folieto, see "ugues de Fouillol
Hugo of Siena (Ugn Senensis). 86 n.so
Hugo ,Sanctallensi. (t,.,u"LzloI-j . LilA, ArisIDldos de uiflINl","m t>d ..... ,'" w.u, 129 ..nd

Hugo van dcr

c.oe"

melancholy ilIne. o r

d escribed by Gaspar Otthuy., 80 L

Hugues de Fou illoi, D. ""di,i_ ""ilOf44l, 107


ff. and nn, ; 112, 11 3 and u..141. I 'U
Hugues de Libergicr, mODument 0 1 JIO
J;lunain ibn lS\llq (Joh&l1J1itius): '
/,a&o,. i .. ..rte",
Call" .. 99 aJld n .99
hagog. itt Tel '" GIlhPlI, 53 0 .141
Comn'entariell on . 113 n. li4; Glouu s wpn
JoII<......I;w'". 1004
William of Conches and. 10i
Jiyginu s. F4b1.1IU. 110

t""'" ...

Jamhlic.hus;

H. 169. 358

D. ,"YJUr;;s. i4 n. I 08. 152 and n .83

Ibo Esra. A . ~'.)O and n .32. 322 D.I~7, 3J2.


JS) n.24
I saac de Stella, EpislulIJ d. all i"'IJ, 265 n .78
(on page 266)
Iaaiah, 164 and n .12i, 166
l ~lq ibn Amrin: 54, 9'
and Rufus. 4Q and n. uQ
work on ~\aDcholy. 83 ff., 86 and n .52
lshtar, 1)6
Isidore of Sevi lle: 76 n .2J, 137, 171
cited by Bartholomeu. Angllew!, 187. 138
and Hildegard o f BinSeJ:l, 110
and Hugues de FouiUoi's doctru.e of temperaments, 107, 108 and D.IJ '
on the humours, 65 f ,
MSS of, tetradic -tltems in, 292 n.4 '
works:
VI .... J'm. ~nw"'. 1.s8n.104
EtyMDllltia" 12, .so n.I J2. 53 D" 11 61
n .172, 63 (tsble) , 6.s and D.118; 66 and
Dn.179, 180; 102 n .log. I J5 D.J3, 157
nal02, 101
l sis, Aphrodite (pl;met) eqaated with, 137
hmene,37
I vo o f Chartres. Bishop, 178 D.162

&cob!Ien. J . P .. Itf<lri. G..-ul>M. 240 and a61

ames, St, 371


amniaer, Wenzel, P~~s/J#di'nlf.arporv", " ' " _
/#riw"" J2811. 15O
andun. Jean de, te. Johannes de Jand uno
anssens, Ab...u..am, M ..U""",,.. and AU...
I",zw., p;o..inting, 227 and n .J3, 228 n .J6 (on
page 229). ]81 n .J9
anu .. and Saturn . 160, 285 n .6
anul Dam;L.SCenu l . '"
YuhannA ibn
Sa rlbiyton
Jean de Meung, se. RIIm .. " d./a Rllu

INDEX

Jeu. de St Paul , FIMl& du.el.. ,w",. ltiz L aDd


JlIl.; 119
Jerome. SI::
Epistlda. CXXY, 760.22
portraits of:
and Campagnola's Saturn. 238 n .24
Costa. Lort:nzo, 213
DlUer. engraving, 31.5 n.107. 3ZO 0 .120.
JSO 0.218. )6i lu76
.
by Ghirlandaio, in Opissanti, JI4 I\.IOj
and Vanity pictures, J88
Jews. as illustration o f the melancholic tetllpen.ment, I21
J ode, Gffard de, planet_ries iUld tempera_
meot series after M. de Vos. set ""du Vos,
Marten de
Jode, Pieter (Pietro) de. V""i. Fil'm
Acw...id,. engrav~d title page, 344 4.107
J oha.o.Des ab Indagine,lnt,od. apof'I~ ...al. '"
Cllp_,.t.. 218 and 4.6
9hanne5 A.o&elllll. I n Engel. J ohannes
ohanDes Anglien" $U Jobn of Gaddesdea
obannes An:ulanus, Sf' Giovanni d 'Areole
ohannes ClimacU5, 16 0 .2J .
Johannes de Fo:r;toa. Libn COStMp..pMN,
cycle of the four temperamenta. 296 n .j5
J ohannes de JloodlUlo. and Pietro d'Aba:\o,
72 n.15
oha.Dlle!l de Sancto Paulo. IU Jean de St Palll
obannes Hispalensis, traaslation of AM
1oIa'kr. 128 nn ..5, 6 ; 190
ohannel Lydus, 1), ""'uwou, 134 n.u
ohann", Monaehus (pupi l of Corutantinus
Afriea.... us). pouibly author 0 1 D, , ..0111_
...",aribv.t, 104 0. 119
Johannll$ Scorns. Commentary on MartiiUlu.

l
l

Capell.., 17''''
Johannes

Trithemiu5,

s,e

Trithcmiu s.

J """""~

ohannitiU$, l ee J;lunain ibn hb-iq


obn Chrysostom. $U ChrysostQm, J ohn
ohn Damucene. D, 1I;"l'Iib!u II lIiliis. ,8

o .d

John Evangelist, St: 28,


OD Patmos, by Durer, 3'4 n. 105
a5 AngIIine, in DUrer'. F0t4" Aposlhf, JiJ,g,
]7 ' , 312: in Rubens' Ila""lilll. 36g
n304
vision of. 3 14 n .I OS
John of Gadde$CI cn (Johannes Anglicll.$). RUA
"",I;';a, p""clic.a ""dicill<U" ",piU IJd p~du ,
92 n .8 . 92 n .84 (on page 9J) , 94 n \88
John of Neuha u$, T""/;I.I..S" """,pl, icooi6us
(attributed to), 115 a nd D"41. 1'1 6, 2'.)0
and n.)5, 40.5
J ohn of Salishury, Pa/itrtJIiC1U. 271 n . ot
(00 page 27J)
J oho RidewaU. F .. I,en(iws ntUa/Malis, ' 73,
In and n. 159. 201, 208
Jon~;5 !":o.;~ny MA" in IIi. "f1 .....01<'
Ell//")' Ma .. Ot4t o/ltis Hwnw ..", 2J.5 o .jl
Josephu!, Flaviu., COltI,.. Apiunem. on BeroeAI$, 10(0 n.45
udas. as melancholic. 121, 192 0.211, 236
ugortha. 0125 n .]o
ulian of Laodlcea. on Satum and the melan _
cholic. 145
UDO, 206 and D)9
llpiter: IJO, 162, 2j4, 353 n .233
a uspicious planet, l io. 168; to beinvoked u
ard sgainst Sa turn . 271 IUld 0.100, 212
and b lood, n8

J upiter---uttt.
Capit olinu.. 1M
Cavaleaoti', ltar, 251 and 11,41
children 01, 190
and Kronos-myth, 139 o.H, 162, 16],
18111.173, 186
dual nature of, 2.51 n.]o (011 page 252)
aDd geometry, )33
gifts of, IS6, 151, , 66 n . 128, 167, 18j. 19J
n.20s
the god aDd the planet, I JJ
connected with the liver, I JO 0.9
magic square of, )25. 326, 327 and 0 .li8
as Marduk (Bahylonian), 136
name of day of the week (in Marti.'! of Bra_
can), 16J n .n o
nature of. 128 n.5, 132, 21io(
in Neoplatonillt. "series", 151
patron of men engaged in law. 260 0.S6
portraits o f, 20, ; bUlt. In Antea MSS. 198 ;
in oriental iIIurtratioo, 202
"ratio" aDd . 272, 317
and u..nguine temperament, 137, ,87, 397
and Saturn, 218
aod serious mu! le, 268 n .93
and tb e seVeD ages of man. 149 n.74
st, iJ1SI1 Zeul
Ju venal. 1.. 0 n.41, 172

'H.

KairOl, 160, 21), 2'4 and 4.64


Kant. Obstr1I"liOlU "" III, SellU o//MBul'lilwl
.. nd 1M S"bJi"", quoted. on the tempera'
ments, 1 22. I2J aod n.I66, J63 n.11$
Kaoffmano. Angelica, PortnUtof Lady Louisa.
Maedonald.39l, 392 and n'.54
Keats:
and Melancholy, 236
Ode II"
2]8 D.58
Ode /0 M,/~ " clla/y, 2]8. 2)9
Sonnet, 238 0.S8
Keiserspetg, Geiler von, Sol""'" du /lfwltdl,
satirical woodcut in. 314 a l o.5
Kepler, SU,_1ri4 doIion4PIl, ]13 0.103
al-Kindt, 28, 129 aDd 4.7
lGn:her, Athanasiu. 00 journey of the IOU I,
Ij1 %1.102
K1op5tock.
2)6 D..52
Koberger, publisher of Ficino'scone&?Ondcnce
in 1497, 277
KroDO$:
castratioo of, 206 I.
characteristics 01, 13] ft . 255
- Chn)oo&, 1)9 D'H, 1.54, 162, 201, 212:
,-egarded .. aun ill MaerobillJl, 154 I.
deYouring the done, 160 anD
rayth, in polemics q:a.i.nst ~ godI, 160
in Neoplatoniam, 1.s]-1O
- Neraesi. (Egyptian), '37
- Ninih (Babylonian), 1)6
-.....:Is, 15), 15i. 155
in OJ:phism . 1]8, 154
PhoeDicla.o, 196
physiog:nomyof, 1 and D..56
Plato', ilIttrpretatinn of, 153, 154 a.od 0.8g
~ty of, IJ3, 13i, IS8
10 Pythagorean texU, ,]8
- Saturn. I]). 1]5. 1)6, 11); guardian of
wealth, 285
imprisoned ill Tartar1lI, 143, 10(4
and UranllJl, 196 n.], 199
as Lord of Ut opia, 1]4 0.19
with veiled head, 28,
~f. Saturn

"anti"" u,.,..

A.. E""',.

Kyeser, Konrad, Bellilrtrtis, Manuscript' o f


193 n.t os, :l96 I.
Laetantius. DiuiHIJI iHslilulio",., 13.5 n.34,
160 and n .I 08. 163 D. 1I8, ' 74
ps.LaCtantiUI, NllrTlllio"es, '10
Lambaesis, MO$aiea, 294
Lana, Jaeopo della, Commeotaryon Dante.
2.s2, 25] %1.31
Landino, Cristoforo:
(AnurJd"h.si"H eo"IIUSali""S, 2..5 and
IL TO, 260 0.S7
Commentary on Dante, 2.5) and n.J3
Laofranc, 69 n.6
t..angren~e, Ml/an clooly. Paris, Louvre. 391
aod n.S2
Last Judgment, 20j
t..atinus. Pieus grandfather of, 274 n . 08
Latium, Kronos's llight 10, IH. 150 and n 19.
160. 162
Le Blo n. title-engnvmg in Burton', .-tll al"",,.
of M,IIJ.,IIo1y. )74 n.2
Legrand. Jacquell. Oburvalilllls"" Dt ..III a"d
JIUIf ...tnl Day. 23 2
LemniU!, Levious, D, IIa!.nI" II 'lI"sl;I"I;II'"
c<>f'po"i. '1"a". (;r",d "pG.a.<, l"wi"l" '0". ,
plu-irm'm ~<><""I. IU n.lS1
Leningrsd, H ermitage, Rembrandt, Da" a"
)22 a12 .5
LeonardQ da Vinc,. 6g n. ~. '41 n.l , 189. J41.
) 60, )61
l..eoDe Ebren, Di"III,'" d'Amrtrl, on Satum.
dual nature. 251 o .lS, 271 n. roo
Leopold of Austria.. Archd uke, 2.56 n .4]
Leroy. Henri. engnved ~eries 01 t he planets,
Ja] n.24
f..e'ISing, G. E., 237
Bri'I' di, II4IUsl, UI. "al"" /)I/.,!f,,,d. 00
P etrarch', " mtlancholy". l ~ S and n .17
Natha" dn We ist. 2)1 and n.46
Lethe. in doc.tTine of ooul's journey. ,!>
Liber21 Aru:
Cycl",: 206, ]07 If.
Bellam. H. So, 3).5 0. 176. JiS II.]
B roadsheet series from .~ Isac~ . 3 1 ~ r. 99
L ucu van Le~'deu' s dra""ng . 330 n .lj7
Naumburg, ~thedr.l l. ) S5
Vilgil Soli . U . 83-9. 33~ n. 176. J7j n . ~
Arithmetic, 309 n 91, 312 n 99
Astrology. 21:18 0 .1 ~ {on page 1891
Astronomy. ) 12 n .99, 313 n .l02, OD SurCIJl'
berg Clock. J 85
Dialectie, Ur Floris, F ra..ns, T~. L,b.. " I ..... IJ
sl"",blri.., d.. ,i"l III. ,,a .. , 386 n.37 {on
page 387}
Geometry, ]07. 312 0 .99, JIO, 317, 3)0. 3-16
and Acedia. 335
A .C .. Master. ]76
Boecl,holllt, J., 328 n ' 50. 386 n '37 (on
page J 87)
Dlire:r' 'fll""o/ia 1 as. JI6 f..]12 . ]3'"
Euclid as, ) II
in Martianu! ypeUa '$ de5Cfiptl on. JI3
nD. l ol , 101 ; J I4
in Reisch ', MII.,a, ;la phil"Jop),;tII . 31 ~ fI
321 If., J)l
Satum and. )3J. ] J4 and n .IH. J35
Gr2mma r . )' 2 n .99
Logic, 312 n .99
Mathemati ca. ]06 n .S ,
Music. 3"

INDEX

INDEX
Libera l Aru---con l.

Philo50phia , ~2J 11 ,27 (on p.ago 224). HS ; 0 0


Durer ' ~

Celtes-woodcut. 279

Rhe ta,,,;, )11 , 313 and 0 99

TheoloB.a . 348
Ligonl, J Alk,O'>, 0/ AUII"'", 286 0. 11
Li lle. :'lum \Vicar, (.\I~ "an Leyden,
",el .y. d r ......;ng. 330 n.' S] .

GIO-

Limburg. brothers, US . I.ru ,:,~he$ }j,ures de

Jean d~

~-r",,~e.

3'. n . l o,5

Cha ntllly. V,s,oDofStJobn,

Lion (zodi.. ,.~ ir") . 51-tum in, in Ficioo. hore)..


sco~. 257 and n41
Locher, Jacob, Pant,y. ;,; Ad .tC, ... .. '. woodcut in, 3 1.5 and n . l 09
Lomnzo, G. P., Uta dtl l""pi~ delle pit/UTa,
~ll n . 5. ::51 n .)o
LolIdo:1, \",clon" and .... lbert :'Iuseum, 111,/4,,.-1.01-" .t.inn!. g1MS, 379 n.1)
Longullu (pup,l of Connd Cel~). 278 0.7
Louis XI. UOTy by. mca.oing o f tbe word
"m"rcncohe", 219
l.ucan . I1tl/l/.'" "dll. on ~ tum. t~ O n '47. 141
1'1.45, 'i~
Lucas van Lerden, Gwmtl.y dra ...ing. UUe,
:'lusee WicaT, no n.151

Lucreti",. :1.25 n.]o


Lucretius, ]~6 and n.:l.31
Luk e. SI:
as melancholic. in Rubens' EtltJ"'4Z~/~, ]69
n .)04
painting the Virgin .]12 n .99. ]61 n.:l.1O
Lullus, Raimundus: 9<1 n .8) , 319 n. 117
P, jou;ipifJ pMwsoplti{Je. 69 n.6
T'{J, /{J/IU >lOtrlCl de tUf'QnQmia. 337 and nn.:

33'

Luna, II. Moon


Luther. Martin. 246, 3]6: DOrer and, ]71.
Lycophron. AII.ttJ"lhtJ, 154 n .9]
Lydgate, J.. 19] and n .206
Lysand er, 18
LY $i...,. 6

]7]

Mwnshl -Sl roui, Ak-nantl u .. I~U,,, IIi fie


1i{J1', 220 a"d n " 5
MatTobius. 166. 110. ' 72,25 1,154
Ficino and. 260 n . ~?
Landino. Cris toforo, and. 2j] and n.31
and t he planetary gilts, I j~. 1 ~8, .69
on Saturn. 192, 19]
wor ks:
lifo $om" ...... S"pio";$. I~j and n.98. 1,56
anonymous commcntary 00, 181 f .
with nn.
Sa/u , ,,aUII, 134 n .n , 1).5 un.2?, 31 : '4?
n ,66, 154. 155 and 0 .96, 1?0, 330 a nd
n .157. ]]] n .170
Madrid:
Conde de Valenci .. de Don Juan. Collection
of tapestry, 11] R.:l.6
Prado. 'ritian, Da .. a,. 3'U nI2S
Maimwlides, T,actallU de R'timj0!4 SaO!ittJli$,
17 a nd n .25
Manetho, A polduma/ll.. 14 1 D.68, 149 and
D.75
ManfRd. King of Sicily. 68
lIIanil ius, A,lro_iuo, on Saturn, 141 and
n.49, 142. 143. 144
Mantegna:
fresc:oea In the fuemlta.ni Chapel. uo
M .. ZIIft,oIi... IOBt painting. 307 and D.82,

1"

Tnu ... pll ojCustJr. 210

Maracus of Syn.tute. :1.4. 9S and 11.']-4. 3S6 and


0 .1,53
Marcantonio: engraving B 3'9, 45: engraving
B 460, ....-roDC1y attribv.ted to. 39' n.56
Matbod of Renaes, h)'lllD in praise 01 meditation. 244 . 6
Marodlus Sidetee:. 1,5 0.4]
Mudull:, Babylonian Iring of the gods, r]6
Mark, St. as choleric: in Diirer',FtJU' Aposllu.
]69, 37 1, 371; in R ubens' Eua",eli,sh, 369
n30 4
Marnsio. G. , poet, in BnmiIE/tiJUu. 249 and

...,.

au

Children of, 381

and choleric temperament, la7, 187. 397


colour of. a8 .... d n .j
dllal brure of. 1,5' n.]O (011 page 2jl)
as evU pl..a.net. 140. IS2 11.82. 168. 16g. 181
n .178. 161 0 .58
in Ficino. :1.,5] n.3". 261 n. j8
and g~metry, 3))
gilts of. 156, Ij7. 166 n .a8, 167, 185, 19]
R.20j
at good planet, 152 n .83
and the cotreSpooding h"ll mOIIl'. 119 and
n .8. '30
" imaginatio" attuned to, 171. ]47
j upiter ud Venus counteracting, 271 n. loo
.magic square 01, 316 Cig. I
and the melancholic tempen.ment. u8 aDd
n.15 1
name of day of the _II: (in Martin o f Bfaca.ra). 163 0. 120
In Neopla~t "aeries", Ijt
as Nergal (Baby loniaD), 136
portraits of. 205. 381, 399
bust, in Aratea MSS. 198
in orieaW iUustr;l.tio.o, 201
Paris, Bibl. Nat. MS tat. 73]0. :1.02. and
D.2"
and red bile. 118
Sioturn in conjunelion wi t h. 141 n.68, 148
and n.70
between Su..n .... d Moon, '41 n.bII
and tJu: yellow bile. 1]0 0.9
Martianus Capella, NOlptifU PIli~fU "
M"Ctlrii, 170. 175. :1.21. 3)0 n . ln. 331
n ,162 , 3]5 n.24j
cited by Barthololl1eus Anglicu 87, 188
Commentaries on. 171
Geometry in. ]1] nn.10I . t 02; 314
Uberal Arta in, 309. 333
Martin of Bn.cara. In Ulf'ndiom nlsli&onl ....
on planets and names of the days of the
wee k, 163 n .120
Mary J,lagdalen: Feti, Domenico. ]Sg n.",,:
Mel .... choly and. J90:-and Vaniw, 388
Massy.. Comelis. Series o f EmblmuU... wood
cut ffOm Doni', I Mt",,,; in, ]86 0.)7 (on
page 387)
r.tatham. Ja.cob. V.."i,,", 388 D.4)
J,latthew, St. u phlegmatic i.o Rubeos' Eua,,I , /isll, ]69 n .]04
Matthias. King of Hu..ngary. Ficino'. JO.issivc
to, 1j8 n ,SI
Maximilian 1. ] :1.7 n .I ,,8; SI. ..ls ......tier Dilre.-.
.~

...

Meehaniea.l Arts, pel'llOJtiJicatiO';ls. ]09. ] 10.

n7

Medici. Cosimo de'. Ficino and, :1.61


Mediei, L(lIUO tie'. :1.45 ; " Satumine. " 273
and 1'1. 15

J,lelancholic, pielorial repre.entations of the:


with ill and , .... an. by Virgil Soli., 378
with head resting on one ha.nd, 187. 288 and
1'1 :1.1, 29S
with lamb. i.o WoUegg drawing, 379 and
n. r]
in medical illUItn.tionS, 189 and 1'1.29. 290,
291 and no ,]7.]8
....ith purse and key" 28.5, 186 and no.
in &Cries 01 tile four tempc .... meDts, 291,291
and nn.]9. 40: 295,:1.96 a nd nn.; :1.97 and
n s6. 198. 199 and n.6). )00 n ,66. 301,
302.. '31'13.316. ]18 and n .1I6, ]97, 399
Solis. Virgil, engnving. 378, 379 and D.14,

3"

VOl, Marten de, 396 and n .6g


Wolfegg drawing, 378. ] 79
'f. Tempuameob, the lour
Melancholy (Melancholia. M.aJ.ineonia, Melan_
cholie. Dame Mtrencolye). persooi6.catlo.g:
Alain Chartier', Oaroe Mtrencolye, :1.:1.1 ft.
in Filidor', Dlbtltt bdWltO! M , ia .. ,lIolya"d
M;,IIl,21?
F rench Romancel, Dame MUericolye in.

".

Milton, 228 ft .
Ren' of ADIou."MelencoLie." 11 I ft. andnn,
daughter 0 Saturn Illd Vesta. 119
and "Tristesse". 2]1
Portraits 01: :1.87 f . 288, 288 n .2S (on page
:8g), 3~9 n.l"
A.C., Mu ter. engraving. 376, 3770 179
Amman, j Ollt. woodcut in Armorial of
1,589. ]17. 378 0.1'. 379, ]80. ]82
!leham. engraving. 329 n .I" , ]77. 379,

380

Bloemaert. Abraham and Comelis, ]86


n .]7 (011 page 387l
Broil" FranI-. engraving B 78, 329 n.ISS,
380 and n ,17
Castigoone, Benedetto, Etchinp U 22
and B 26. 390 and 0 .16
Cranach. Lu cas, painti ngs. 380. )82. n.1 1.
]94. ]96
Copenhllljen. 333 .... d ... ~ j
Eul o . Crawfwd. ] 81 and on .]8]
The Hape, CoUection Dr Votz. ]84
and n n.
Dame M~rentofye. 305. ]07 and 0.8]
Dog and, ]83
Don i. A. F., I M ..~mi, woodcut in. )18
n . so. 386 a nd n.37. ]87. ]89, 390n48
DOring. " alll, .... oodcut. 3 14 n.IOS, ]29
n.I,5I. ]]5 and 0'79, 3)6. 34) 0.~03.
]78.398 D,7]
Dilrer'. lthu",o/ia I, SII tiNder Dllrer
Egenolll.Booli oj Frwm..uu, title woodcut.
j77 and 1'1 9
Feti.Do~, ]89,390
Flindt, PauL, in tempcrament.eeries, 34]
0.20].380 n . 16
Fr~ricb, Caspar David. drawing, Dresden. ]9] and n.j6
Geroog. Matthias, painting formerly
y'ienoa. Trau Collection, 380 and 0.19,
j81, ]81
Guinemeau. J., T~ .lUlIo""g*-,. title
o!ngraving, ]88 n.42
Jan!l!Jen$. Abraham. painting, co.otruted
with "A1legrczza", 227 and D.]]. :l.2g
n.]6 (on page 229). 387 n .]9
l.aD&renEe. Pari., LaIlYre, 391 and n'S1
in late medieval almanacs. ]<)] fl.

Melancholy, penoni6cation : portn..ita of-

,onto

London, Victoria a.nd Albert Museum,

stained gl!lolS, .}79 0. 13


Mantegna, lost p'ctu~. 307 and n.82, 384
and Mary Magdalen, ]90
Minerva in the attitude of. Ebbcimer.
paintinginCambridge, Fitr.wiUiamMllo
seum , ]8S n.]]
Mora.ndini {Peppi). Francesco. Florence,
. Palauo Vecchio. ]86 anti n .)6. 381
Naumbul'g, Cathedral, ~Iief. 385
011 NllremberJ: clock. ] 85
Ripa', " M;oIiocOllia". 116 f. and nn .31,
31; 118 n.36 (on page 229): :1.29. ]87
a nd n ,]9
South-GermaD or Swiss drawing, Paris,
teole dCl Beaux-Arts, ]9] alld n .j7,
)94. 395. ]99 n 76
Steinle, .....a ter-eolour, Fr;wldurt, SUO
delseha Kunstinstitlll. ]92 and n .5-,
Thurs ton. 1" engraved by H opwood. J.,

3"

the t raditional picture of, compared. with


DOrer'. M,zellCOli.. 1 , 317 fl.
Vasari. destroyed fresco, florenco, Palauo Vecchio, 386 and n.]4
Vlen, Joeeph Marie, ]9' n.j3
Vincent. Fn\JI.~ois Andr6. 391 R.j2
VOB, Marten de. series of planets. title.
piece to, ] 83 n.42
Mewll;hthOll: ]]. ]]0 D. IS8. 404 ;and n. 7
and art, notion of. ] 40
conjunctiOlll, theory o f. 1]8 n .6
D, .."ima, 72 n .l j. 8g and n .67, Sg, 90 and
n 7
description of DUrer'. Mele..c.olia 1, 3 19
n 1I 1. 320 o .tH. 321 n ,I:I.]. 363 n.171
ldeletiul, n .... riir "" d.4";-'" .......,.o:<.-;r, 61
n .171. 99 n.98
Men;a.nder, E..?pl"."""u, 17 n .S1
Mercury:
....d tbe brain, 1)0 n.9
children of. 190 .,.2 n .99
dual nature o f. 251 0.]0 (0.0 page 1jl)
"piner" 68
and geometry. ]]]
gifts 01, Ij6. 1j7. I 66 n.128, 169. 19) n.l0j
liberal ubi "ministrae" of, ]]3
mela.ncho.iy. cause of.:l.66 0 .80
identified with Michael by Agrippa o f
Netlclheim. ]S5 n.145
name 01 day of the week (in Marti.D of
Bracara). 16] 0.110
- Neb". Babylonian god of scribes, '36,
260 n .56
.... d Deu tral music, 268 11.93
as "neatnl" pl .... et. 140
patieats fallen sick uoder, 146 n,6,5
patron of intellectual p roftssioD5, 260 n .s6.

",

portraits of, 20S


bu st. in Aratea MSS. 198
on a J'laque by Bertoldo. 306 n ,8.
in onenta.l iUllStnltiOIi. 201, 204
Paris. Dibl. Nat. MS \at. 73]0: 201 and

a.,

"Ratione et Experimento", MUCllry as.


)44 n .207 (on page 30)
- Thot, 160 n .j6
Messahal.l (MiaaeI). 184 n. 187; . 87, 188
"Methodics".1IChoo1 o llhe. 44, 47-8

INDEX

422

Michael, St, ud Men:ury or Hermes P3yci1o'p?mpus, l !5!5 n.1H


M,cbul Soot, U. Soot, Miehael
Michel.",e1o: 1'l8 P.. ' !50 loa pallo )29). Jg6
Hou n of theda, " four tcmperamenu. )69
n . )04

73

o.D. mcla.ncboly. 231 '-lid D..D. 4,S. 46

poem, 221 n .33


Sistine Chapel, 51.vet, 376
Stalue ofLocenzo de ' Medici "II Penierl)!iO" .
and Miltoll', poem, 229 n.11
Milton : 24' , 388 n 42, 391
L'Alkpo. 215 IIJId nn.).5. 36

" Melancholy". 128ff. and nn.: 231 and n.!!4

P"u uoso. 228 and 0.35. 21!5

Minerva, 206 a nd n.39. )8S and n.)J. ]88


11'42, 39.5: 'J. Athena
MinuciuJ Felix, O,l/JliliIlJ, 135 n.J4. 160 and

n . 08
Misul, U I M_hall
Mithnlc tombstones, 212
Mithridates, 22,5 n .]o
Mi.u.ldu l (:,{i~.u ld). Antoine. of MontluftOn,
Ct>mdolf"pMil, 324 n. 136: Pltnletdopll, 27'
11.1 00

Molina, Tirso de, 1::/ Mela",oIir:o. 23 3 ,1'1..49


Moloch, }(tonos-Satul'Jl "'. 135 n .31, 208
Months, pictorial presentations of t he. ~9i
and n .i8. 309 n .8<). 381
)f00ll :

children o f, )81
in Fidno. '53 n )4
gifh of. I S6. I S7. 166 n.n8. 193 n.~05
snd corresponding humour. 129 and n.8.

."

and the lung . 130 a .9


and the phlegmatic t empen.ment. u1. u8,
130 n.TO. )91
portnits of, 381
as Diana, Paris, Bib!. Nat .. ),(S lat. 1330;
20] n .2~
as
like oriental god Sin. :t.-don.
Brit. MUI., Sloane MS ,?9): ~o3 n .29
"TUll.Du", 168
as salubrious plallet, 182 11.178
in ooroj unction ..nth the 51.>11, Til. n .68
Morandial, l' nulI:aco (Pappi). /II, ""cAoly, in
$C!ries of the Temperamen~ Florence.
Palauo Vecchio. 386 and n.,6, ,87
Mo)'Tlis. Rabbi, '" Maimonides
MoArl, 237 and
Muelich(Muliclllu!). ohlUllle.AdeJphul, trans
lation of Ficino, D, llita InpU,i, i O n .9 S, ~77
a .I,28:r
.funich, Pinakothek, Dll r~r, TIuF0f41' Af>Ostlu,
,6~ n .268, 366-73 />till ....
Mlln~. Hieron ymuI , 81 11.38
MUTer, Christoff. H~I"Nl" at til' Crourotull,
etching. 355 11.1 76
Mnsel. the: 41, 309: in Agrippa of Nett~eim.
35S and n .245: "Mu$arum $aCerdotes ,24,5.
~5", 361, 362 n .268: $" 11110 "1I#ff th iflldi.

man.

D.51

vill""l fIIamel

Mythova,Phus H T.
1.ondimensb

III

"flld,r

Nantet, Museum, D,(lJ1o of D"nus',


D S~

AlbericD!I

wi/.,

391

Naumhurg. Cathedral, altar iD the east chatI


cel with reliefs of Melaricholy and the Liberal
Arts, 38S

Nebu. Ba.bytonian god of xribe8. Mercury ....


136. ~60 n.56
Nech.epso-Petosiris. 011 comets, 3~ 4 11.1)6
Neckham. Alexander:
and Aristotelian notion of melaJtcboly. 68 f.,
and MytlooplJp/n'IIU, 11'11.143
and Neoplatonist DOtion of tho jourDOy of
tlle soul. 168

LondOJl C ..pUl.o, 403


u tnfJ1 of gmiu., 1.59 n.lo,

II

INDEX

......,

CommeJItary OIl Martianul Capell., 172


D.IO

De fIIat"riS I'n><1II l ihri dwo, 69 and D.6.


16:10 166 and nn. 117, 128: 167, 118 and
D. 161
Nemesis {Egyptiilll}. KI'OIIOI equated with.
1)7 ; Saturn as star of, 142 and 11.,0. 1,58

n.10 4

NergaJ, Babylonian god 01 war and helJ. Man


equated with, 1)0
Nero. ~25 n .30
Nend6r11ef, J ohann, N...:llridlttfll _
Kil.uJ
Ier1J ,....1 Wffkl,./I", Nil ....
on D~rer'1
Apos/l., a.s the fourTe mperamcllj:s. 367 aDd
D. 291, )68
Neumayr, Franz, S. ].. C"rlJlio mlla"dol;/U
(GtdNlt t .. T ...b$IJu,,) , 77 n.2, (~ paS' 78)
Nicholas, of Cua, .11 CUla, Nichol ... of
Nigbt, School 01, ~28
Nile. sculptural group of. )84 and .lL31
Nin ib. Babylonian
Saturn equated with.

IJer'

,od.

." DitntynlJUJ. ' 35 D.30. 138 11.)9


Nonnus.

Notili" di,,,iUJIN"'. fiftuntb-century MSS o f.


208 11.41

Notker Labeo, tnnslator into German of


R emigius. Commentary OD Martianul
Capella, '7; n. 142
Oflhtl)'S. Gaspar, on HUIO van du ~'.
melUlcholy illness. 80 f h
Old Testa ment. WUdom 0/ SoI_" XI .u:
)39 and n.l90
Oppi.a.n. manllKripb of. ~oo and 11.19
Ops, ..-ite of Saturn. 18,
Oribasios. 99 n.?9
Origoe1l, 16.4 D.114 (on paso 165)
Ormuld. and the Zodiac, 1,6 n.99 (ou Pac"
IS7l
OJpbeoll: illl1!tration, zoo; mythof. 46 ; qaoted
by J'roclus and Damuc:i.... . S4 11.94

Orphics:
on Kronos, 138, 14), T54 and nn.91;
o..pJ." llymflls, 1)5 0.30
OrpJoit:Ol'14rf11frllpfllll"tlJ, I ) , n .30
Orphic tombstones, 212
Osiris. Zeus equated with, 136
Ovid: 12.1. '10. )56 n.~S3
Ibis. 140 D.41
Met.",rwploosO$. 214 n.l08
Ovide morali~, 173 and D.146; ilhlstn.tiou of
Saturn in, 208, 209 n.48

PalchIlS, on Saturn'. effeets. 149 n.16


Palmieri, Matteo; IH 0.102. 261 D.61
LA. Citl" Iii Vi'lJ. ~' I and 11.19, 2,52,3.7 and
D.11. (on pace H8)
Palmyra. tessen. with Venul above ram from,
196n.
Paracelsus: 4, 9'. 1119
in1IueDOe<l by Fiono, ~67 alld n .91
on jupiter'. magic $quare. )~6 &lid n. I44:
Op.rIJ. 3,0 n.u7
Paris. judgment of. )73
Pari.:
~co!e des BeauxArts. M,kJrtdol,. drawinc.
39) and IIH, )94, )9,5, )99 11. ]6

Louvre:
Chaperon. Nicholu, dn.winSs, 390, 391
and 11. 49
Langren6e, M,kJ"d~I)', 391 and n.,t
N~tre Oi.me. cycle of virtuCi and viees. )00
n .61
P:umenides, alld early Creek . tlII'.worshtp,

."

Parmigianillo, V""ilal, dchinJ' )88 11.40


Passarotti. B:utolomeo, drawUlg. MODd Col
lectiou, )93 11.,6
Paul. St. in Dilrer's Fo"r AposUu. 36~ n.~68.
)69. )70 and n306. )7' , 372
Paul of Aegill3.. '4. 5S
Pauluzzi. Fenarese charg~ d alf:lires. 011
Raphael, 2J~ and 11.44
Fencz, George:
Saturn in cyele o f plAoets (formerly attri
buted to H. S. Beham). 213 11.6). 33.1
n .I79. 336
rOU"S (B 109). J I9 n. 1I7
PeotecQst. iconography, ICCnlar adaptation of.
~05, 206
pmpateties. 1I0tion of melancholy of the, If.,
.... 50. ' I. 52, 68
Perrier. Fran~is. s."".P114 ICdIili'H. n,..-",
tt stiJIN,,",'" !1"'" lm<J>m'U d","'" i ... id;N".
~t3 0.S8
Penoni6~tion$, 1" Allegories and per.

I,

eIUI.S"',

$Ot1i1ications

Peter. St. ~ phlqmatie in DIIrer's Fow. t


Afxulltl. 369. )71 , )~
Peter Damian. in Dante'. PlJr""iUJ, ~5S
Petraceh : 72 D. IS, 171 , 189 0 . 191. 207, 246 ;
"acedia", 248 a Dd b. 18, 249; DanDltadt
miniatu re of. )15 n . 101; alld notion of
melaneboly, 248. 249 and D.20. ~,o

-"".,.

AfriuJ. 1158 of MyllloplJpTt'NS IlJ in, 11),

Pacioli, Luc:a.. on the p lanetary lIIuat. )17


and n. 141
Padua:
founded by Atitenor, "0
Erelllitani. Go:I:a.riento frescoes. 20), d1

Ep<slollJ M#rCUJ to Zoilou. ~48 &lid n .15


Lei"" 10 Ltulius. 2..9 and 0.20
and aeedia, ~48 D.18
rnOfllfolitl TeMpo, illnl tn.tion to, 21) and
11.63
Petrus de ApollO. su Pietro d'Abano
Fetwortb H ouse, Collection Lady LeeooJield.
ROlllIley, Mirlh .. ,,4 MIIIJ",lIo/y, u8 D)5
P eutingft!', Conrad, ~7811." )48 n.~ 1 5. )14 D . ~
Philainis of Loueadia. 36 and n.80
Philip. St, 371
Phmstion, 7. 10
Philo (of AleJI:andrial: 163. 16.t: D, opifido
", .... di. 164 n.12) ; Ltlo/io "" ClJ i .. ",. t)i

SaloIIe, frescoes. p laJteb &lid ,lanet.' chiI.


dren. 2.04 f., )29 o.l'~, ))2 .,400
Scuola del Carmine. tre.coe. by Campa('
noI;t.. 3)) a .l66

n . 19
Philodemu$. 138 D.39
Philolau.s, S, 9 n .20, 136 D.36, 1)8 n)9
Philostratus, Titiaa's uconstr\Iction of pte.
tures of. ~ I O

u,

5,,,,u,,,,,,

PhIlyna, turned into a tllaI'e. 203


Phlegm (temperament), Diana as. )88 n. 4~
Pb1:Jrnatic, portraits of the:
Flilldt. Paul, 380 n. 16
with owl and a$S. by Virgil Solis, )18
with pig, in Wolferg drawing. "S.)79
with iheep. ~96, ~97 11.56
io t emperament-eycles. ~9', ~96 and 1lQ.,
~?9, ~99 and nn.6). 6,: )00 and n .66.
391, 398, 399
VOII, Marten de, )96 and 11.68
Phosphorus. 1)6, 1)7
Phrygian mode, 46 D. 1l7
Pieatrix, ' 52 n .82. 2,6 D.4), ~6g .11.95
Pidne1li. F., M"ndus $)'mboii',", 33011.156
Plea della Mirandola: 184 n.1 8" 189. ~54
FiciDo. lette~ to. 257 n.49. 273 0. 105, 214
11.109

o n Saturn and jupiter, 212 n. l0~


Saturnine. 214 an d nn . 101-10
writi ngs:
Apol~gUJ; J47 and D.214 : )48 lI.u3
H.p/~pl"J. 264 a nd n.16
Letters t o FiclIIO, 2]4 n.l07
o..lh, Digmly of Ma .., 245. 246 and n.IJ

01'"'

Iii Girota 'NO B.,,,~i,,, i

...

&0/

C~,~ -

",,,,to, 260 11.51


FIcus. son of Saturn, 274 n.l 08
Pierleoni. physieiaD to Loren~o de' MediCI. a
"Saturnme", Fieillo'sletten 10, ' 7) D. I06
Pietro d'Abano: 95. ~fl6
in Ficino. 26)
in Lueas Gauricu5, 256 11.4)
and the melancholic, 119
work!:
Com men tary on Aristotle's Problems. 68
and 0 3. 7 ~ and II n. IJ, 13: 9S n94
Collril'a/ol'. 9) n.87
I~sl,... ...e" tbu'h, IDgolstad r 153). title
woodcut to, )2S n. l,o
Find:U, Olyrnpiu. 134 0.. 19
PiTckheimer, \ ViUibald: ~i3. ~ 71 n.1
Agrippa of Nettesheim 's Ou"Ua pJ" tosophilJ available in eir ele of. )5 1, ) 52 alld
n.22 4
Dilrer's leuUl 10, J6J n.: ;1
utlUII 10 DUrer. )63 II 2, 1
Itudying at Pa.dua.. ))2 . )33 anI! r. I'; '"
lra.Nlatio.n of Hor.opoUo. In !
Piro~... nus. Gabnel. De .... ,"''''''' i:u " '''2:'
01' 1<1 .wsolN/In .... " .... ~,o n.99
Pi ..... Ym po SanIO. fresco by Piero d, PUe<:IO.
339.11. 19 0
Pla nets:
children o f, 20 ~ , 206. :<>9. 296. 39;
Florelltine series. ~07
Padull. Salone, fresc oes, ~0.5. 319 0. 151,
331 fo, 400
gHllo!. 15 7 and 0.1 02. 1,8. 163. 166. 1~ 8
magic sqUates of the, )~ 3 fl .
portraits o f the:
on hone back. ~97 11.56
bl Henri Leroy. 3SJ 1l~4
\ ieno 3.. "Lottery Book". 206
VOl. Mlirten de. 329 n.155, 374. ) 88 n.4}
St. ols~ .. " dt. n;> mes of indi>,dual planel$
Piateariu l, ~f.. Pr!Ulj'!l. 55 n. l ,o. S5 11'49.
87 D.j6. 90 n . 7~ . 9~ n .S2. 9 2 11.84 (on page
9)1. 404 n7
Pl;>to:

on Krollos, 134 and 11.<)0


notion of "divine frenzy" .
~50, ~59 and IIB

:~ 9

and :t . H

I NDEX
1'1"'1 0--'....11.
FiCUIO and , 260 D.)6, , 6:
oJ<xtrine 01 Ideu, ) 62 and 0.:110

Guaincno and , 96
bocos<;ope 01, lH and 0.49

u melancholic. 17. '9. H . 39... I, 356 &lid


0.153
cited by ;lilll on, 2)0
and " m usical therapy" , 46
iUld ~eoplatOJlie notion of Saturo, 1.5]
Par",cclsul'l mlicinc and. 26 ] 0.9 1 (00
pa~ e 2(8)

doctrme of rccollectioll, 8 ..
a child 01 Sa tu rn . '73 and 1lIl, 105. 106
" H" ann,,::" nature of the melancholic, 115
'Il \Vilham 01 Conches, 18) &nd n .IS.
w(trk l.
Cra',du,. 13311,J9. 'n. 'S .. lUId 0119

Ep,,,,,,.,",,

1) 6

1'",.4'''1, .6 an d n'45. ' 7 and nn.49, So;


10, 155. l S9 nS3. 3SS

P~,l,b u . 339 n .19O


R~p"blu, 5 0 .9. 17

an d n.5 1, 46 n. 1I7.
IH n .9O. 3 39 11.1')0

S,,,'u.,,an, ' H 090


II

n.2 5. '7 n .So, 52 n.t38, 259

Pl iny . 170: Nllt. Hi$I., .)8 n.4.0' '40 n.45. 384


n .)1
PLoti n u~, ~, 4~

n .II ).

1~5,

182, 251, 26 7 n.91

(on page 268) ; 90Urce lor Ficino, 260 n.57


E."",ufJ. quot ed, ' .5) and nD.86-8

Libe ~

,u I d!H)Y' ""Iiton Iodti'~'IIdll {parta oj


"'" lIdl). IIOVn:e for Ficino, 263 and D.67
Plvt areb:
De ,u1,&I", OI"IIC'"".......... n. 101
.II;d, "O"rid,. I ~O D . ..,
L if. "f LYlllwr, 33 an<i n.65, ~2 n99
n ~", I'0"""""'is. ~6 n .1i 7
Polemon. 60 D. I66
PoiDll.ndrl'!8. on t he sov\'. jovrney. 151
l'ol'pJIlIi lfyp".rOlom ll~hi", owne<i by DGrer.
:~ n .n 8: woodcut ill, 4 0.5
Po itlan {Poliziano), 24.5
Pollvx. Satu rn son 01, 116
Polybv s, 8
Pompei . Casa. dei Dioscvri, Satvrn, ' 97. 198,

'99

Pompei ..., 357 n.2.54


Pontano. Gioviano (PontanU5. Jovianus), 95;
De rebM.J ' '''lnlibon. 211, 278 n.2
Poppi,
Morandin i. Francesco
Po~hyry: 154
LV.- "I Plo/i" lLS, ~5 n. I. )
Lif, IIf PyIh(JIOt'OS. 138 "'.)9
Stlool. Hom" ., 1)8 D.)9
spuriovs: btlrod"'/io i" Ptole","i oplU d,
.!f.tlib"s "l/''' ........ 147 n.67
I'me idon, I )) , 134
Posi<iollius (Stoic):
el emental qualities of t he planeb, 1)8
and nlelaneholy. 44
and " ph ysiog nomy" , 56
Posidot1lus . physician. fourth ccntvf)' 4 .0 . 9 1
Potttr, Dirk. Dlr /11;"",.. LfHIp. 220 n .14
Priamu., as melancholic. 36 n .h, 68 n .r , 7'
Prillcian, and C .... mmar, 312 n .99
Prisdan. Theodore, "C Theodore Pri8cian
ProelUl: 170, 251 . 267 n.91 (on pago 268)
H eino and, 256, 260 n.~7

u.

Produ~ .

Olym pie gods as rq;eDuof~ "teries". 15.5


ud the planetary , ifts, 1,8
OD Sat1ll'n. 168
works:
Ih uut'kiD d "'",'d, FieiDo'. t:raa.sb.tioD

of, 26) aDd D.69


TIuoiDgi4 Pu.lMJi,. 1'4 D.89; Latin trans-

lation, Nicholas of Cu.. '. 1Nol'gin.al


notes in , 2'4 0.37
Commentaries:
ad Hencdi ~I(J, IH n.n.8g, 94
I .. Pkltcmis C~atylu .... 1' 4 nn.8g, 94
I .. Pu.l<mis T i _ m,
0 .80, 154 D.89,
155 D.gS
Prometheus. KronOl .." in Orphilm. ' 54 and
n.93
Propertius, '4on.47
Prudentia, Saturn u. ' n
PrudeDtius: 221;
illustrated
MS of the. 227 n .3)
Ptolemy: '19, 1 8~. 187, 188
Lucu Callrieus and, 2,6 11.43
portrait 01. in ReiKb. G . Mllf lll,i/Q pllihl&oploU;lI, 318 n " 49
assoulCe lor Arab deteriptloo of Saturn, 132
T.trobiblOJ, 1)8 n .40' 145. 146, and 11.6,
1470.67, 148 a.nd D. 7~
p5Cudo-, c.."ti/oq"i .. m, 184 1I.18S
Puccio. Fiero di, lreseo by, In Pisa.
Pugin, Sel Welby Pugill
Pure Brothen., the. 99 0.98. 129, 1)0 and
11,9, 152 11.82
Pytba{!;oras. portra.it of. in Liberal Arts cycle.

I"

Ps),,"""""""'.

10", l S6 n.2 H
Lllu's, 154 n90
L t ll " IS3 n ,Ss

T""uw"
DH

INDEX

'"

PythafloceaDS, 4. " 9. 10, 46, 1)6 ud 11.)6,

1)8 and 0.39, 14,}. 16)

aJQablsl, _ Aicabitiul
QuiDtilian, 121 and 11. 1,6
RabaD", Maums: 18 D.27, 8" 171
D. ""i""'$<), dexri ption of Saturn, 19B
D.I2: ilIusuation 01 Saturn , 198. 200,
20.; MS, Moot.. CousIoiuu, ::1"9 u.8g: MSS
01 the filteenth Ct:DtU f)', 208 n.47
RainaJd 01 Florence , Archbishop , Ficino's
ldte" to. 259 n .52, 261 n.,58, 27 1 D.I OO
Ramler. K. W., KII"I'/~su M)'flw~. 286
D.7. )2) a.nd n .130
Ranwvios. r , od(IJ\I.S uJ,~k1u, on Saturn
and night animals. ) 2) n .I )3 (QQ page 324)
Raphael: 396:
as melanc30lie. 232, 241, 161 n.266
mosaic in Sta Muia del Popolo, )8 1
Sd<IOl 0/ .Atlonu, Heraditvi in, 288
S)'bih in S. Maria ddla Pace. 316
Ra.ymond. 01 Marseille. De '''' $'' PUUUUlNf"',
184 D. 18,
a i-Rbi, "' Rhazea
RedliCh. Sebastian, 319 D.tl1. 320 n.12I, 321
n.12)
Reid. W . H amilton, 2 11 n.1
Reinhart, Marcus, of Kirehheim (Ptin ter).
H rJl'(u B. V. Marioe. 297 D. ~6. 397 D.72
Reisch. Gregor. M.'I.,iI. pll .lrnoplo~, "Ge0metry" in. )12 fl., 337 if. )32; poJ1::l'ait of
PtoJemy;", 328 D. 149: " typu. Arithmetica .... in, Jog n .91
Rembrandt: D ...,. Hermitag... 322 11.125;
dn. ... ing H.d.C. 8n. 393 n.,6
RemigillS o f AuxerTt!. Commentary on llartianus Ca.pe:lIa, '72 an.d n .144

Ren~

of Anion, KiDg. uCtur 4'Alltllu~. apris,


2Z1 ft. and DD., )07 11.)8
Reynmil.Illl . ~d, N.ti~ilel-Kok..u, of
15 15,324 n . 13'. 334 and D.I 74
Reynolds, portraiU, 392 D.54
Rha.zes. 49 n.128,,0 n. I )4, 82 and n.4l
Rhea, 138 n .)9, 200
Rhttorius, 14) D.'3, 145. 14] n.68, 1,50 0.78.

.,.

RhodiginU5, L. Caeliu l . Skll/i IIIIliq".,,,m


let/;" .. "", ~m"""''';''1 ""ti'llll.'ot .index
CfSeU",s, ita 'IIUIW '(Jsaem 'eP",,,~it. 277,
218 D. 2
IDario, Ra,rael. Cardin.al, Ficino'l letter to.
261 D.58
Riehar<i iI, geomancy written for. Saturn in.
2<>2 11.2)
Ricban:l of Mliavi1la, and melancholy. 72

n. li

n.,

Richardul Salernitanul, 6g
Ri<iewall, JobJl 0 1.
JobJl Ridewall
Ripa, Cesare: 2421U. 391. 393, )94, 395 11.62
Com'Pkuilnli, an the melancholic, 374 11.4
ltonolu,w., )44 D.206, 374 alld n.4; 379 n.13
"Acci<iia" in. ~81 11.39
ori "Asnology' 288 ,11.35 (an page 2Sg)
blo,t U attribute of dusk, 320 n.119
"Malinconia" i ll. 226 f. and nn.31, 32:
228 n .)6 (OQ pago 229), 229. 286 and
D.9. 314 and 0.4,387 aDd n .)9
"Mlitationc" in, 387 D.39
"Me<iituionfl della Morte", )88 and n .40
peacock. meaninl of, 3 1) D.1 02
Rivers 01 Paradise. pcnonilieatlQJU o! thfl;
Rootoek. baptismal fo nt. 293 D.H; u:d the
lour temperlrm1l u, )67
Rivius. Vih''''''JU Tn.tsdI. 309 n .J9 (011 page
3 10), 328 D. 13
R(nII(J" tk /(J RIJJI, 184 11.. 185: allelories In, 221
and nn.21, 23; 222 : Saturn, '93
Rome:
Museo CartOlino, Salone. No.)(J, bast with
relief 0 Rhea. ud Saturn, 197 alld D.6,

u.

.~

Santa Maria della Pace, $" "Ifdel' Rapbael


San ta Maria det Popalo, ,,, untk~ lU.phael
Santa Maria sopra MiotJ'Va. Andrea
BregDO" epitaph ill. 309 n .9)
Vatican Museum. tombo l ConlutU!. Saturn
QQ, 197
MUseD Gregoriano. rtatuette of Saturn.

'99

....

Vatican, Sistine Chapel.

.".

u .."""' Michel-

Romney, Mirtlo lI'IId Md(J,"Iwl)" Petworth


H ouse, CoIlectioD Lady LeconIidd, 228
1135
Rostoe.k. Baptismal 1000t. Riverw of Paradise
on, 293 0.44
Roul iltau. Jean-Jacques, 134
Rubens.. Fou, EV."IeIiJl.. SanlSOuci, 369
11.304
Rulus 01 Ephesus, 14 n .)8, 33 n .68, 42 D. IOI,
43. 44 D. l og, 48-54111""" " nD.I,56. 157;
59, 60, 82, 84, 85 and 11.49. 87. 2h. 3 19
D1I 7
Ruggieri, Tommuo. medallion for, 309 11.93
(on p3gfl3IO). ) 14 D.IO,
Rutili~ Claudiu. Namatiuu De "di/ .. 6UO.
']f> ft!22
Sabbath. Obeervance o f. pktures of the, 310 I.

.i_

~clui.

d~, Ploilwoploi_ mi'


mel.lld o/i,eAcll. bd,Mbt", 1",.,1;"1,

H ans, Gtspr6c1o

2.8 n .5

Sadelu, J" TemperameDt.4eries after Martell

de VOl. H' .. JOtit, VOl, Marlen <Ie


Saluno, medical school 0 1: 19. 82, 86. 87, 88,
gB. I I ) n. IH
dilltetia, Flcioo. based on. 267
humoral eh.a.n.cterology in, 104. 112
Btli_" ,5(Jt.,"it."UIII, IN "Mer Anonymous Worb
Salernlta.n ver$eS on the lour tempera_
ments, Jt~ ", 1Ide, Anollymous works
Salutatl, Coluccio. IAlltrs, '9" n .zo)
Samson, as "F(>I'tflzr.a" . 241 11.2
Sandrart, J oachim:
l C(Jllolop_ d_u"" 11-' IU 53, 289 n.27
r ...tulI ..fA-ll,uIlli" )43 D.20): on DDrer ',
Fou, ..fPOll.lIJ, )66, 367
Sanguine. pictorisJ repn:sentations of the:
FIiodt, Paul, 380 0. 16
... ith hone and peacock. by Virgil Solia, 378
with mookey, 197, )78
iD umpe .... ment-seric:s, 294 n.48, 29', 296
and nn., ~7 &lid 0.,6. 298. 299 an<i nn .
6).65: )00 and n.66, 3<>2, 303. 301. 396
VOl, M.arten de, 396 and n.66
Sa.nguinll temperament, personification 01,
Venus as, 388 n.42
Sannuaro. 1., .Aft/uti., 220 and D.15
Santa Croce, Girolamo da. 5"/141"11, 212. 288
n.24
Satunl:
attributes of. 117. 181. 185. 196 and n.3,
322 and n.121, 323 n. 13)
Chald-. KinJolthe, '11
Children of. lIature and professions. 1i17,
IH, 148, 1,0, 168, 175. 179, 18" 190, 191.
192, 193,19,.206, 252.261.281.28,.190.
302 . )19, 324 a nd n.I )S, ))2 f . 334 and
n ' 14. 337 and nn., 346, )16, )83 n.24, )96
discussed by:
Agrippa 01 Nettesheim, 353 nD.2) 1, 232,
2,,: ,.54 .... d 0.239

Alanus.b IDsulis. 186


Arabic writer. , 12111. 188
Augustine, 162
Bartholomeu. " nglieus, 187
Bemardus Silvestri,. 185
Bersvir'e, 178
Boec:aecio, 114 f .. 2' 1 n .28
Bonatti. G uido, 1119 I.
Chaucer. 193 I.
Church Fa thers, 160 if.
Epi,enes of ByQJItium. 131
E usebiUl. 2 14 D.64
Ficino.
if., 2" and 11.4]. 2~ and
11.,0, 2'9 ff., 266 D.80, 210 if., 321
Hermannlll Dalmata. 184 n. 187
Maniti us. 14(
Martin 0 1 B ....
163 n .I20
Michad Scot, 191, 192
Mytlwp.ploNS I II, 171 tf.
Neoplatoni.ata, 15' r . 162 I., 177. 188
"popul..... texts. 194 f.
Seneca. '47 n.38, 1)8 n .42
Tertullian, 135 n.33. 160 and n.1 08
Vetaul V.lens, 142 if., 146
Vancent 01 &auv. 187
William of CoDches. 180 if.
gilta of, to the IOU I, 1,56, I", 1,8. 167. 169.
185. 193 and 11.20,. 2,1. 2~8

1"

e.,...

I NDEX
Sa~OOIt.

and inteUectuat facuJlies. .69n.6, 1,59 n.lo,.


161. 171...... ~. "'47. "SO, ...", "69 and D.g"
'171 and " , 1 02, 333. 347 and 11.214 (on
page 31.8), 359
mythological features, In. 13', 1)9 n .of o,
14). '470.66, 162, 16). 174. 177. 178. 18.
IL17)' 186, 193. \96 n.). 191. 28S

nature:
auspicious,

I, ... I., 166, 171, 188, 250


dual, '3'. 177. 186, 217. '15'1. n .)o (on

page "'.52) ....,2, ""3 and nn.p. 34. 3':


2.54 .... 6 1, 270 f .
e vil. 140, ' 4 ' , 177. 181 , , 82 0 .178, , 87.

18B. 191, 192, 2,00.23. 2'7 and 0 ...8,


26. and n.,S, 273 n. lo,.. 278 and nD.). 6
as N en'leSis, star of, 142 and 0.50. I,!I S n. l o"
as Ninib. Babylonian god, 136
qualities of. 128 and n.s. 130 fl., 1)8, ' 42,
14) n . .5"', 144 ff.. '41 f ., '49 fl., 169. 17 1,

..,

repreaentations of:
206,287 f., )11. 38.
in ancient art, ' 96 fl.
Campagno!., Giulio, engraving, 2 10 ft.,
288 and nn.24. 25: 324 n . I~'
Carta.ri. V., ~ I",agilli d, I de; degli
,,"Iithi, ~14 n .6.!
00 Cheyn, 399 and n.76
Eastern types of, 20~
Florence, Campanile, relief, 209 n.48
Jull iength, stand mg, 1<)6 J.
as Indian, ~04
in Italian grapbk art, 201, 209
as King of Latium, 201
in MaDll$eripb:
Andalus de Ni8ro, ~o3
in A ,41tll MSS. 198
Atbos, Panteleimon. Cod. 6. 199 and
n .11
Augustine, St, D, tivilal, Del. FfeI\eh
translation of (Ci ll d, Di,OI). ,08
CallOlldar of .... 0.35 ... ' 98

Erlurt. 196 nH

Erm engaud, Matire,


208 n . 7

8'l~illri

dA ...

o,.

Flortllli". Pidu' l CJirolli,lI., ~07


Jerusalem. Bibl. Crate. Patl., Cod.
Taphou 14. 199 and n . 17
John Ridewa.ll. F ..lglllliws M.'''/orlll".

..,

l ..eiden. University U~, Cod. Voss.


lat. 79, 198

London, Briti$b Mu.seum, Sloane MS


3983, 20) and n.,8
Mieb.ael Soot. l08 n.47
Milan. Ambrosiana. Cod. E.9150 lnf..

."

MUDich, Staatsbibliothek, Cod. lat.


142 ]f.201
New York. Pierpont Morgan Library.
1'o1S 185. l03 and n.28
MS 788, lD.j n .34
Quiu "'Df'lIIisl, 208
Oxford, Bodleian. MS Or. I )J.204 aad
,ll

Biblioth~ue NatiODale. CoWin


239, 199 and D.17
MS lat. 7BO, 20]
Suppl. hire. 2.42, 204 n.J4
Rabanll$ MauTUs. 198
Rome. Vatican Libr.ty, Reg. lat. "],
198 n .1I

Pam.

I NDEX

"

$aturn--<:olli.
~ua, EremHanl, Jre8CO. 20). 287 0.20
Salone, tre.coe.. 20" ])2

~Ct, Geo!'Ie, 213 n.6]. )]5 D, I79, 3]6


Pompni, ea.a dei DiOKUri. '97. 19B, 399
upea$lUlt, 20]
with pune and
285 and n .6, 286
and Rhea, 197 an n.6.2OO
as river god, 212
Rome, Mu!ltO Capitolino, relid. r97 and
n.6.200
Vatican MU Sflum. tomb of Cornutus.

ke:r'

'"

Vatica n MUlIClum. Museo Gregoriano,


statuette, 399
Santa Croct, Girolamo de, Ul. z88 n.24
se.; leci, 197
as Time, 207, llJ, 1 14 and n.64
and Time. 162. 177, '78, 185, 193. 212,
!I] 'I. ChronOl, KronOi
Sau l and David, .toryof. 46, 8 1, 191 and 11..88
Savonarola, HieronymuJ, Aduer$OlS di"j"a!Fi.
UM oul''''''' ...i" .... 263 n .67
Schedel, Hartmann, 348 n .1 15
Seh6nfddt, J. H . Ya ..illlJ, etehing, J91 n. -4 9
Sehong~uer. Mart;n, engrav ing B 91. ]29
n . I.54

Sc.h6nspergu. H .. T, utlcMr K"k"rkr. 1I7,


118 and n .15', 195, 299 n .62
Schr{\tu, Lauru~. on dU1i1 nature of the
planets. 2S1 D.30
Scorpion (ZD<li...:s'p), and Saturn and meJa.o
cholks. r41 n .68
Scot, Michael: 95, 189, '9], 195 n.2tf
Libcri,,'rD<l..aoriws. 191 , 19 2
Libn- PJiisicnlmtilU. 101 D.l08 (on page 102)
"famueripts of, iIIustn.l:ions of the planets
in, 208 n'47
Scylla, phlegm :u. in Ficino. 167 no81
Seuons, the four, repl"etentations of. 2.9] and
n.46, 294 aDd n.48, ] 8 1
Selene, u~ Moon
Scne.,:a:
De i,lI. S6 and n .' 53. 1)8 R.42

De 1'""lJui!lilalla"i mi. 33 n .65, 248 n. IS


Dllrer and. 362
N"lul'll/'s lJulUslio..u. 137 n .38
Septaliu,. lAIdoviclU, I .. Ar;slol"i! ~obk", ..14 Comml"loria, 24 ft.58

Serapion. set YllhannA ibn Sarlbiylln'


Serviu!. Commentaries:
on the Aer<eid, 1,6, 157 &nd nn. IOO, un;
172 and D. I44 . 17] n. 145
on tbe (;6qrgiu. 1]8 11.39. 181 ft.174
SeEtu. Empirieu., IIdlJtf'Stis fWptlllicos, 39
n 94: .. D.107: n.",......._ 'Y~'r, 56
and n.r55
Shakespeare: 2]]
.
As YOM Li'" II, 231 and a .4t. 2J5 "
H , II". IY, I. I. 217 n . )
Xint I.'a" 2.46 n.l]
S"""els, 2.]8
Sibyb , 2 ~ . ]56 a nd n .2.:I3. 357 and D.2,..
Sidonius Apollinaris. C"""illa. 135 n.]4
Sin. Luna represented like. 20] n.29
Soc:rates, 17. 19.]9 &lid n.94
Sold, Virgil: Mda.u.oI~ (ill series o f fou.r
tempenments), 378. ]79 aud n .14, ]80;
.sa.... Libulll A rts. 33S n.176. ]7S D.7
Solomon. U3 n .27 (on page 224)
Sophocles: IIl1drcnooula. 1]5 n .] I; A"h',_, 37
and ft.84 ; Ehdra,]7 and n .8,

'"]0.

Scn.nus of Ephesul!
and melancholy. 44. 48, 50 D.I ]1
pseudo-Sorann.. on the Temperaments. 1I
n .24. 59 D.16], 60, 61 n .I"]O, 62 (table),
64,6, and n.176, 112 n. 142
Spee. F. von. T.OItnuuJill"t4ll. 219 n.9
StagiriUl, Chry_tom', letter to, u. u"dnChry_tom. John
Stahl, G. E., Neu-Wf'b,,,n-l, u/l" ,,<>to d~ ..
TPllp"ra"'~lIle ... 121 and 1).160
Stein am Rhein, Inn "Zum r otell OehselI",
copy of J O$4: Am man', woodcut Md.. III'looly.
378 n.1I
Steinle. Md4 ..doly. watcf-<:olour. Frank furt,
Stlldelsches KUDJtin stitut, ]92 and n.55
Sterne, L. , 2.J7
Stoic.:
Kronof...Satttrn myth. interpJ"etationof, 160
and Galen', aDatomy of the bra.iJI, 69 ft.5
aDd melancholy. 42, 4l f 49. So
"Moira" and astro1ogieal iatalism, 139 and
n ..,

mytba. interpretation o f. 18.


and planetary" doeb"ine. 1]8, 141
Sun (Sol):
and the Beatitudes. 168 n .J]5
children of the. J81
in conjunction with the Moon, 147 n .68
in oonjuDetion wiU. Saturn. 181
dUll nature of. 251 n .Jo (on page 252)
gifts of. 156. 157, .66n.u8
aDd the heart, 130 0.9
"im~atio" attuDed to, 271. 347
and the melancholic tcmperamu t, 118 and
n.15'
portrait of. in Eriurt MS. 296 n.54
qualities of, 128 D.5,'6.4
- Ratio, 347 D.214 (on page 348)
salubrious, 182 JI.178
and seriou. mus ic. 268 D.93
and the RVen ages of man. 149 n.74
- time. 21J n .6]
Su m u m. founded by Saturn. 207
Tab,.ltJ BitJIII'Ioi .... p icture o f the four winds.

."

Taisnier, J ohann ,OlnumIIlh,,,,alietml. 278 n.6

Tutarus, Kronosimprisonedin. I ]5. 143, 'H,


1 54;~f. H.d~

Tasso, 23]
Temperament the ina" pictorial representa
tions of; a79, 288 and D.23. 191-)06 p/Uri",
in almanaes. ]74 and n . I
Bloemaert, Abraham and Comelis, )86
D.]7 (on page ~87)
De Gheyn. Hendrik, 335 n .178, 398,]99
Dilrer'l Fou. A~Jtll.l, 366-73 f>dsri ...
He.e.mskerck. Marten van. )35 n .I,8.397. 399
Mon.ndini. Fra.nceseo. Florence, Paluzo
Vecehio, J86 and n.]6
in Shepherds' Calendars and Books of
H Ollnl. with animalsyrnbols.378. ]79 and
n .13
VIIS. Marten de. 398: engraved by Gerard
d e J ode. 349 n.a I7 : by Pieter de J ode,
396 &lid nn.68, 69: by J. Sadder, J96 069
su ..J,o Choleric, Melancholic, Phlegmatie,
Sangume
Terenot. MSS o f, 208 D.47
Tertullian: 16]
A d ..41w..u. 161 and n .ln
.-4pologdit;. 1)5 n .3J. 160 and n .l08
D. idololri 1 )9 n. ,07

Thales, 5, 38 n .86, 7'


~. coin from. with Hereules. 278 n.s
The Hague. Colltetion Dr Volz, Cranaeh, L.,
Md.. II' loly. ]84 and nn.
Tbem;";'n (pu&:c~~!.liclepi.ad"'l , 47
Theockmtius.
'oquotes oo Sa turn. 174
Theodore PritoeiUl (ployriri<l"j, S4. 61 n .170
Theodoros 01 Gau, translator of Aristotle.
Probl.... XXX . I. 24 n.58
Tbeodulf of Orleans, quoted on "tristitia",
78 n.27
Thea Smyma.eus.... nn.s, 8
Theophilu Libe , d. urillis, commentary on.

..,

Theophrutu,: 26 n .59, 41 and n .9 1. 46 and


n 1I 4
ClumuJerl. 56
D, " ..SII. 6 n . ll
n.p/. ....,6~, 23 n51
Thomas Aquinas, St: 168
em ltellaT ipftuence. 18) f.
..... oru:
I .. MllapAy,,",,,, Ari5lPteli.Co",,,,,,,' ..n .. ,
167 IUld n .IJ I
01'..,'.. 1..... XYI1 . ,83 n .IS3, 18~ n. 18s
S .. m", .. ,""I, .. ,."li/e'. ,S) n p . a] . 84
Su",,,,,, T'..,JiQliu. T83 n. IS3: 184 and
n. 18,
Tbo mson , Jam es. TA. Cily 0/ D"tJd/,,1 Nj,hI
.... d OIMr P ot"' . description o{ Dllr,"r',
Md.II.a/i" 1. 113 n'49
"!bot. Mercury equated witb. 260 ns6
ThUl"5ton , J., /I1dtJlI,/loIy, engraved br J.
Hopwood, J91
TibenUi (Emperor), 45
TibuUus. 140 n ' 47
Time:
Dr.t.son 01, 207, 208. 209 n48
in iUllstration to Pet n r ch, Troo ..j" d.eI
T_po. llJ
wheel of. 209 n.48
'f. Ch ronos, a nd ....de. Kronos. Saturn
Timothe u, o f Met.pontll~. 8

Titian: 209, t il
D""".. Prado.]H n 115
Paintinp for Alfonso 1 o f F ,""3.ra , ~I 0
reconstTnc lion o! Philos tral1c r'Clllru ;10

Titus (pupil of Asdepiades). ~ o


Tolosa.n i. F. ('.,o\ann, .'I!.. L .. r.,,~,tJ .it, .. I II'
n . 148
Trithemius. J ohaJules:
Agrippa . ... IS of Or~ .. I.'" pi-:'/N"f';': ~ sent I"
'"

.... d n.22 ~ . 3!il a.'1d n.n~

Alii_' HITP~'j 0;" .~ bl5;" Spll nk"",


uAi Fralsl ..

/I " ....

. ChrYSO$lo m quoled HI ,

7 ~,

76 and n.2t
El'i."'I" ...", / tJ""/'lIm", lit .. c"'''' 3P n.n~
TraJan. Emperot. ~6
Tsehemi.ng. AndrelS. Vo,I.<lb dts SlImm,rs
d~" '$c/ln- Gdif Ai. (M t lll,,,Il<'ly

.eI/). 2.26 and

.p,,'/u

~" .

n.3l

Tynnichu. of Chah::is, 3S6 and n~S3


.
Twios (ZD<li.u
i11llstnted In MS Pans.
Bib!. Nat ., lat . 7330. 202 and n.24

,i,. ),

Ugo Sel\eru.iI, 86 n.50


Ur&nia, )IU$e, 288 n . ~j Ion pas ~ J~
Md Al"lJlu s, 309
Uran u 1]3. 13'. 153. 196 n.3. 19Q. q Coo:hu
Valeriano. Cio,.. n", I'lenn ' .'\1 3 r. : ~ ;
n . 129: , ,.o,/,/In. 39! r;" "l. ~ l .x.

.\ : ,

ISDEX
\'lI.!~!oC"~ d~

Tl.un 'l., 1' /(7 ...." ... 9l II.So,

n .8~

ton pafe 9J ~. 9~ and 0 .9(1. 93 n.en


Vahm, ;\lcrolO, Fic!no'~ Itttn' 10, 260 11.,,6
\ 'aTTO; 1}9 n ~~ . 170

D~

LUI",,,. L al, u , IJj

"

."

JJ. 16 . 0. 112.333

\'Man : 119 n .n: on Ollrer', MoI~ ..U}li.l , 336


n , S, ; ."da ..doly. d U lroyed frnco.

TeDce, Palauo Vehio. )86 aDd 11.34


\'enu . : 1;7 11.160. ~ H 0 ' )4 . 1116] D. 8 1, 404

...

r\o-

,n Avirpa. of !\ettl!$beim , 3'5


bt rth 01. from Saturn '. semtab, ,87. 199.
In

iloc:acclo. I; ~

.S,

chILd ren o f. 19(1. 106, un,


colour of , 11S n .J
.1".1 nalure, J} I n 30 (on Pl.fc 'SI)
gi lts of. , ,6, 'S i . , 66 n , 128, 193 n . o}

111.1 (onnpondlnl humou r. 129 and 11.8


" ,ood ' fllne t , I ~ O
.ni!.uenc c 0, In Du rer ', h OroKOpe. 1;811.]

;u

- hhun. 1)6
""d ;0)'\1101) mllm. ~63 11.9)

"kwu ", . 66

narm o f day o f the ...eek l in Mattin of B ra-

ea. a). .6) n.no

pat ron o f intelleetual,. 160 n.56


lind th e phl el nl&tic tempera ment , 121, 130
n .IO
portraits of,
loust , in Aratea MSS, 198
In o riental illustration, 1101
Pari BIb!. Nat. totS lat. 1130. 1I0J and
n .t '4
leSSen. 'rol'll. Pall1'ly~,

196 n.4

to (ounten.et Saturn a nd Man, 271 nn. loo


and 10 1
an d Seienee, 69 n .6
.,.,d Ihe st omach. 130 n.9
VtIerlus, A., 11$

n.I,!

AnSe, ",.ibe 0 )15 l'ud. Bibl . Nat .


Gr ti'l7 {Oppian).1Ioon. IQ

\"crLlIne, P .. t40
, ' eronete, J>aok). 51 11,"'111, )93 n .l6
VealiL.., A.. 69
Vesta, mo thu of Melancholy. n9
VcHiu. Valens: 13t, 19 1
A .. ,ItoWfiIJ ....'" Lib_i, on J,lcn;ury .. patton
o f Ceoomctry a nd PhilOlOphcn. 260 n.36;
on Sa tu rn. 14J a nd n.lo. 143. 144 n.l7,
145. 146. 147 a lld n.68, 148, 150
Vicn,
A!1egoricl; .. Ad PenooificatiOllJ
Victorinus 01 Pettau. TP"lUI/It.., " jUln.IJ
.." . ...i, 16 4 and n . 11I 1
Vlen, J oteph Marie. Do .." IoII1IJ..cIuJ/i,. 391
n 5 J
Vienna:

n., .

u,

Kunsth.lstorillChl'S MU8eu m:
Crall.eh. L . Pa,lOdiu , 383 n .2)

"Lo tter y Book", 206


lormerly "1u.u Coll Detion, Gcrung , Matthlu.
M d IJndwly, )60 IU1d /1. 19, )81. 382
Vln~nt o f Scallvall, S /lfcwl .. ", .. /ltu,u, 186.

s,

" ,.
"'indicia", 1...61/" 111 P ",/4Idiou, II n.24, 48, $9
Vlnecnt,

Fran ~oil

And~.

M&,"Iwlu. 391

n . 163, 60 f., 6 2 (ta hlc), 64. 63 and

Vlodieian-<cm/.
and Hildq:.1.rd of Bi..n,en, 110
/lIId Hugues de Foullot', doctrine o f tern
pen.meats. r0 7, 108 aDd ... 1)' . fog
Uifluenor. OJ> popular doctrine Ui the Middle
Ages. 114, 118
in Jean de St Paul, Fluru .ifUl4''''.... II~ I,

Vuhallm\ ibn SariblyGn (SentpioJl.. Janus


Oama.sceztu.). 8~ IJ:Id 0' 41
Zeph)'l'U$. '" III,.W Witadi. pet"IOni6catioQ of
Zeua: 133. 134
-

Bel, 136

birth of. myth. 160 1I. II O

~d =

temperaments. doc:lrilwI 0 1. in. 104


Virwil! '70. 114

' hOfCUl. q uoted by St

A u(U$tiDe. ,62;
Lact:a.utius, pil8I&(e OJ> SaWfIl bNecl OJ>
lina from .60 "' 108; qlKKed by Mean
eh tbon, 89. <)0, ft70
Euopa. 1180. 131 n .2$.
Virtues, ue Allqories and Penooikationa
Vlacher. 373
Vitellio, n.,. ~. Rotner', title _oodeut
in, 328 ... 130
Vos, MaiUn de: 398
Planetlents. eng~ved by G . de J ode altec-.
349 n 2!1, 374, 388 n411
Tempcn.menWeries. clI(f"&ved by P. de
Jode after, 329 "" 33, 396 aDd oD.68.
69; engraved by J. Sadeler alter. J96

."

Vostre, Simon, aod Khervu. Thorn ... Book


of Houl""5. printed hy. 296 n ."
Wagi,ns, .Bernhard von. R,,,,4diarilils ""I'IJ
pwilh"oi_,11 Uf'IIIp~. 92 D.84
W ..leys. Thomu. prelu med .. u tlux" of the proface to the Latin Ovide monJia6. "73 .

\Valkin8ton. T T Ju (}pikA GltuU of Hili_I.

and the sansuine temperament, J88 n.,p ,

\eqt"~.

I NDEX

n. I ~,

1 00. 1111

tq'iesof, I I1III. 140


relatIon be t ween hu mour IUld eharaeter. 103

121 I1.J.51. 2.50 &ad D.~3

Wampcn. Evuhanl o f. IU Everhard of


\Vampcn
W .. ler..cauier (Aqu .... lu.). 1)80.40.2040.]2;
In Fieino's horoscope. 2S6. 238 and n.jO ;
.. GLllymcde. 20)
W .. tteau, 237
Welhy Pugin. A. ,h"~ fM IJu ~nriHlof
C",..-w .... ArdliluJ..u , 237 n.34
Whitehouse, John. ~ 391
Willia.m of Auv~
aAd Ma.crobius. teadUJap. 169
aDd I!lducbolY. 73. 14. ]5. 71
1h .... i","".13 I..D.d n. 16. 74 nO"7-19; 169.
170 and 11.137
William of Conches: 69 n 3. 45
on astrology. 180 ft.
the AngU ine iI.I perfect t ype, 105
on Satun. 180 ft.
temperaments, doctrine of. 60 0. 167. 102 ft .
119 D.153; and Hildepn:l of Bingen. 110
works:
D . III",aJiant . 180 and n . 11 ". tS I and
nn.lp, "73: 1 8~ and 0 . 176
PllilosopllilJ, 6J n . I73. 10~ ff.lUld nn.,I I)

n.tH. 180 and n. 111 , 18 1 and n O. 1 7~.


173; 182, ISland 0 .181
William of Hi rsa u, putativo authoT of William
on Conches's PMI080PIliIO, 102 n . r II
William of St Thierry. 01:1 the lour humou ....
107 "' 129

Wind.. penonllieationl o f. 279 IU1d n.9;


Auster-phlqlWlti(:. 279. 280. ]23: J1oTeu..
melaaeholie, 279. 280; E urul-ChQlerie. 279:

Zepb)'1'lLS-lI;I.npine. 279
Wine-llo_l (_sldWi.,.,,) . ' " Cn.1.er
Wolfrgg. T~mperameol-4eriet, dn._inp a ttributed to Jost Amman. )18. 379

,
,

ILLUSTRATIONS

,.

.., ..

."

"

."".....

"

,,

'.~.

'<-

-\ . 1
,-~ ~

. .'

.,,'

'

I.

Darer. '\lelt >tcolia. 1


2.

DUrer, study for Melencolia. 1.

Berlin, KupfefStichkabinett

,. ,

, ' ,,""~'

,.
J.

Dilrcr, II;tmlles for the pu t to's head.

LorIdon. British MUllCUnl

Copy of a l05t sketch hy DOrer

J........~ .... \
Study I<"IT the doc:

Muste Iklnnat

,fU ' . :..,

6.

Dilrer's study for the compasses and the moulding plane. Dresden,
Lan llesbibliothek

"--- '--"
5.

Diirer. preliminary ~.tur1y for the ~IC!I.

Berlin, Kupferstichkahinett

7.

DUrer, preliminary sketch of the polyhedron.

Dresden, Landesbihliothek

.
8.

DUrer,

~ ketch

fo r the t1uttO.

1.lJ:ldon, British MuscuOl

I t.

9.

)lithraic ,\ion. Rome,


"ma ,)..lhani

10.

~tum.

Saturn.

Calendar of 3.54.

Biblioteca Vaticana

Pompeii, Ca.o;a dei Di09Cun.

J\nplcs, ,\ hl,;eo :-Oa7.ionale.

n . Saturn, Jupiter, J a null and

N~tune .

Mon te Cassino LI brary

Rabanus :'<launlS.

Saturn. !.eiden,
Unilleraity Library

1,5.

16.
' 3.

Sat urn . Tomb o r Comut us.


Gardens

Kronoe and ZeU$.

'7

q .

Milan, Bibliot:eca Ambrosiana

Vatican

1,rorn't! de\'ouring the j;,\\'addlerl >! tone.


;\th<J6, I'anteleimon

Corvbantes and Curetes.


AtiiOll, Pantelcimou

'9

18.

The Pagan God, . Munich, Staatshihliothck

19-22.

"

"
Saturn's exaltation and de<:line,

Paris, Bibhnt hcqut' :\anrIrl,11,

25.

l).

Sa,turl'1'~

and Jupiter 's exaltatio n and decline.


Bodleian Library

Saturn. Munich, Staatsbibliothek

Oxford ,

26.

$atll rl\ and his 7,od iacal signs.

Chantilly,

24.

Saturn and hi!! zod iaca l !\ign~ . New


York, Pierpont ).[organ Library

:\ Iu~

Conde

r
I

.,
17

.. ;';'

Saturn And l'hilna. Loru:IOfl.


Briti, h ll uieunl

"I

19.

Saturn on horxback. Budape!it.


Hungarian Academ y or 5eienc:es

,0.
'itS .

s. tum .

Biblioteca ,'aticana

Suurn aftd hi ~ znch"c,,1 'it:M


Zentralblnhot1:ek

l unch

"

~,

\
"~

;
,

r'
)~.

~~

,o-

"'-~;' . !.

It -," '

, ,I L

J J. Clulllrtli uf the I'\;,ntu. Udurd, Hudlciltll l. ihl'"My

33
31-J]. Children of Saturn.

Pad ua, Sala Ilella Ragione

J4.

)linN.... a :'Im l her children.


Nationa le

l':uill. Bihliflthl"<llIt'

,6.

J .~ .

\on""u" it~

of t he Faithfu l.

Sta .. tlich e Bil>liolhek

Saturn and his children. Paris.


Bihliotheque Naticmale

".",hem.
of the Planeu. \"ienna,
37 Inftuenee!l
::.: ationa ll>iNi" the1:

"
. :.

3<)
38.

Satnrn ami hi!' children.

Blockbook .

copper engraving

.:;
4 1.

40,

~nturn and IIi,. ch ildren,

T Uning-en, I :m\'ersltfitllhihli othe k

~'

' ,'

5aturn and his followen.

'Volfenbilttel. H e r7.o~ Al1gu~t Ri hhml lf.'k

.14.

-f~.

The c hildren (O ( ~atllrn.

Saturn a.<; founder of Sutriu m.


British Musc um

I.ondon,

Edurt, An!::ef-l\Iu~u ,"

4'. Saturn as Wisdom. Biblioteca Vaticana

u.

Saturn co unting- money.


Uihlioteca \aticana

t
,

,.

Saturn with the Dragon of Time.

Bihliot hl:que

~ationa le

Paris,

,'.

Gerard de Jooe, Saturn devouring a child

-Ii

The castration or Saturn.


!\: 1I1'ferstic h kahinett

Ilresden.
, 9

Saturn .
,, - ,

Rimini . Tempio

'"

\{"m,111 I"mh " r a master mason.


\ \I ! I\I\ , ~ ! U~'(' I(olin

., z.

~larte n

51 .

F.ros as a carpenter.

Etnlsc:an

mirror

\'lim H<,emskerc k. Saturn and hi s children

53.

Henri Leroy, Saturn and his child ren

54.

Ciulio Campa,gnola. s,'\tum

,6.

.~S .

Rh1! r god.

Glmlamo da S&nta Croce. Saturn.


J r.cqllemart.Andri

Bene\'ento, Triumphal Arch


,57.

l:>cseUino, 11le Triumph of Time.

Boston, Jsallclla Stewart Ga rOn~ ~""5eum

"'

.- , . ......_,._'
.. ...-." ---'~-

'~ r ~

~ ~-'~"' -

:is,

The Wheel of Life dominated b\' Time,


Forrer Collection

Formerly Strasbourg,

5 ~'

Time gnawi ng at the t orso of the Apollo Belvedere.

Amsterdam, '702

60.

61 .

Le C.uer and :\Ielencolie.


N ationalhibliothek

:\I';rencolye and Entendem.ent.

\'ienna,

6:!.

Anima and the Psalmist.

Stutt~art.

63.

Boethius and PhilOWP.h;:.

:\'ew York, Pierpont :'> lo'W'n

Landesbibliothek

Paris, 1489

6...

;\I .. in l ' hartier I,In h i., IUck-hed.

l'an, . UiblinthCql1e Nationale

66.

AcecJill. Ta~. Madrid, l nstituto


"alentm de'Don Juan

,-

.-\Iain ('hartier. :lTelaneholy and Rea.<;()n .


Yurk , Pierpon t i\lufJ:;il n Library

~e\\'

67,

Consolation throuJ!"h mosic .


London. British )Iuseum

,r _

-,.

,f
'-'-

6.<1.

Hip".

"'10(' :\ltL-.nchulic.

1",,01''1[;/1.

H'"I~ 1(103

69- Ahraham ).an!l&enll.


J I'l~'.

~1elaneh<Hy

and

1l1jo n. :\hl~ :\l ~n ill

.,.-

m' mUJlLie. !'urenlheTJl:.


S tadthihliuthek

H "-lin~

,,,

72 . The ~lelarKhoik. Cauterisa!ion


E rfurt, \Vii'lSenschafthche
BibUolhek

diagram.

,..
Healinlt h\' IICUurl:lll j(. I ~ .u.
l3iblil,llho...... ' ue !'1\tin nal e

Melanc holi es.

7. The M elanch~lic ~ ~ mieu


f Ubinge n. UniversIUl.Ub,bho thek.

F ra nkfurt .

1 ' .~ 7

77 The Fo ur Temperaments. Paris,

,
-

Bibl iotheq ue Nationa le

~>ti

~~ ..:~ ~~
7!o.

Th~ ,\ J,teo;

I'f .\Ian ;\1,,1 the Tt'mpernrnents.

Cam hri! tRt',

Gun"ille Rntl Caiu" College

78.

76.

The Fo ur ,\ J,tt':' of .\Ian.


nri tish :\Iuseuffi

London,

The Four Temperaments.

Zurich . Zentt'albibliothek

if).

T he \\heel .. f Ufe.

80.

:\Iun ich. St;tabohihlinthek

The Four Temperam entll.

Lonnan. British ) i useu m

"

"

"

'"
"

m
"

"

'"

"

Itl'

"

""

8z.

The Four Temperaments.

Simon V05trc, Boolt o/ lI_s, 1501

'-1-tlJ i"- ...


',~ I

_~_

=_
r. .

yUle

,":(1:;ro!'.:Ubttib
'-10

-.
.
f
'

}. .....t

..............

.~----"

8).

DOrer, l'hibiophia.

Title-page, C. Celte5, Libri "'IfI'o.'um ,

1502

8~. The Four Tempenments. Berlin. Staatshihliothek

4[Scmguinfu0'
([,'Cnr" conpl.,ion nnb '\lOn lufl ~i(.
1Z'l\tuml> rep ",it I)od}muaa on'3pl,
85.

86.

SlI. nj::uinic.".

LI1.'<uria.

creol.cicu.'
cr'Cnr.. compl.,ion itt It.twn r.u",
~cbl.". ~ii 11Ii.grn ifC ~n(<< .~nlriia:'
87.

Cholerics.

Augsburg Calendar

88.

Di:<eordia.

Amiens Cathedral

AugsbuT)1: ('.alendar

:\m;el1~

Cathedral

,
(".f1' Rmoticu6 1
~nrtr comple, ift mil ",orr.. met
Da,uiil ",i, (.bCiliheil nil miigrn Ion

""!lin

flo)

n.

I'hlCj:matic,.

A u~shur,l:

('a len(laT

d
go. a-d.

SanguiniCII, PhlrgmatiC1l. CholeriC's. :llelan cholic..


r..'\lemlar

S tra shouT!t

I,
'llldcncolicu
C'Onf,rcompleJion ift...,n !I!n .. pcb
~.,iib fe;; ",i, fd)",annU'riskept glad)
89 b.

.\ leJancholiao.

AUglItml"g Calenclar

~ I'

Q:.'.

:\c('din,

H(\.~le.

]'i:upfer!<tichkabinett

94.

"J .

En vy anl1 Sloth .

Antwerp. :'Ilu>i-e Royal des

T he Astronomer.

Venice. '494

I ~allx- ,\rt:;

')5.

Pet er Fiolner, T he Opticians.

Xuremberg. 1535

97.
.)6.

I)lirer, The l)u.;.lCIr'" Dream

Pictures of the months.

Yien na. ~ationathibJiolh"k

. ..

--'"r'"

~""""'F i:l"r

;;I

-Pictures of the

~ason~.

Raha"\l~

:\Iaufus.

Monte .Cassino

Library

00.

l'ea.<'l!1t.~.

SarC0 i'hat: I1 ~.

10 1.
Science. Art. Prudence. Entendement.
Sapience. The Hague. Museum Meermanno\ Vestreenianum

fOZ .

Geometry. London,
Britis h Museum

Rome. :\IU5eO del Lateral\u

,,

103.

Deduccion loable.

;\Iunich, Staatshihliothek

I O~ .

Tht H a.nd o f

(~netry .

Stra...hrn.ITJ::. I;'iO~

G~'I(l

with ~ 't!l and cnmpa.'ISt!I.


!\e!llntr:\ luseum

106.

God the Father with scale! and oompasse!l.


Briti,h Muse um

London.

II I.

DOrer. Tho Four Apostles.

Munich . Alte Pinakothek

IU.

Ro bert Durton. TAe Anatomy of .Hefan(;holy.

Oxfo m , 1638

l 1J .

Gerard de J ode. Temperament., and Elements.

' 58 1

IS.

H.S. Beham. )lelancllOly

116. Master" F.B.. )Ielancholy

n4. Master A.C. Melancholy

MEL A N C H 0

L I A.

J.l1'nonf/l'tlnOIl~/mrill ~nn ~.. (",d, I ~nb m'lIt1>< f<l,om ~.II~ ttMIl<ft.

Ill,P bu mIlO rrc.nbt/l~lIl1Il~ "'~' I' rmr

'liP I1>lrjlu mlf m'ln !,lim ~m.l",n,

CIIIIl GrM". eo'PrilliltrG.

$r",d'.'IIfllltll5l1 ~1t(l'~Qjfstm'!r.:

11 8.

1'7. Copy after PiifeT's .lfdeftwlitJ, F11lnkfurt.l .H5

Melancholy.

Frankfurt,

1}8.)

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" 9

,"

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11 9- IZ!.

\'iq~i!

Solis, The Four Temperaments

123.

)!atthias Gerung . .\Ielancholy.

F ormerly \"ienna, Trau Collection"

'"

"7
124-127.

The Four l'emp<'ramcnts.

Wo!fCIU:. Filrlltliche

Salllmhmgen

128.

Lucas Cranach, :\Ielancholy.


ami

Collection of the Earl of Cra wford

Halca~

f30.

Lucas Crnnach. :'!Ielancholy.

Fonnerly The Hague, Private CoJlectmn

,
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f

,,

131.

.'.-Ielancholic )laiden.

\'enice, 155 2

' ,\~ .

Jan nllcc kh.,.."t, CC(lnlctrin.

Bonn, L..'l.n(leIlIlU!ieUm

I.

133. Ahmham lJloemaert, llela n.:;holr

13.,

Domenico Feti, )Ietancholy.

Paris,

~hl *

du Louvre

1 3~ ,

C iU\'l\nn i Bened ettu Cvti ltlinne, ~ I elanc holy

139.

llelanehnliell.

I'ari ~, I~cole de!! Ueal,lx - :\n ~

1,1 ,

:'I larte n tIe " OIl, :'>Ie lan(;hnli clt

'.1' ,

)l nrlen .1o:

\ 'f),

Phlc,.: ln:'l.tic!<

DO~r.

Self-portrait with the yello .... spot.

Bremen. Kun,.thal1e

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