新刊研究書 A List of New Books
Melancholy and Mosaic Style: Robert Burton's Therapeutic Writing Seen through Seneca
- 著者
- 榊原知樹 （Tomoki Sakakibara) 著
Robert Burton (1577–1640)—English author, scholar, and clergyman—offers in The Anatomy of Melancholy (first published in 1621) a remarkable and intricate exploration of the human condition through the lens of melancholia. At once a philosophical inquiry, a satirical performance, and a therapeutic text, Burton’s work defies categorization. It meticulously examines the causes, symptoms, and potential cures of melancholy and related mental afflictions, but does so in a form that resists the conventions of either a medical or philosophical treatise. The Anatomy of Melancholy has long been celebrated as a performative text—not only a diagnosis of melancholy, but a therapeutic exercise for its author and, potentially, for his readers.1 Through its sprawling prose and digressive energy, rich in quotation, erudition, and personal reflection, Burton crafts a textual experience that invites the reader to participate in a kind of intellectual and emotional catharsis. By weaving together fragments from ancient and contemporary sources, he constructs a cento-like tapestry, where readers are invited to uncover the complexities of melancholy while meditating on the broader conditions of human life. This book proposes a new perspective on Burton’s therapeutic vision by exploring his engagement with the Roman Stoic philosopher Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 BCE–65 CE), leading figure of the Silver Age of Latin literature. Seneca’s presence in the Anatomy is unmistakable, permeating the work through frequent quotation and a shared preoccupation with the emotional life of the soul. Burton reverently refers to him as “wise Seneca” (1.239.30 [1.2.2.6]),2 a gesture that signals not only admiration but a strong affinity for his moral teachings. By examining how Burton adapts, amplifies, and at times departs from Seneca’s therapeutic project, this study sheds light on both the distinctive nature of Burton’s thought and the original literary form through which he sought to heal the melancholic mind.
ロバート・バートン（1577–1640）——英国の作家、学者、聖職者——は『憂鬱の解剖』（初版1621年）において、憂鬱というレンズを通して人間の条件を驚くほど複雑に探求している。哲学的探究であり、風刺的フォーマンスであり、治療的テキストでもあるバートンの著作は、分類を拒む。憂鬱および関連する精神的苦悩の原因、症状、潜在的な治療法を綿密に検証するが、その形式は医学的・哲学的論考の慣例に抗うものである。『憂鬱の解剖学』は長らく「実践的テキスト」として称賛されてきた——憂鬱の診断書であると同時に、著者自身、そしておそらく読者にとっても治療的実践であったのだ。引用、博識、個人的省察に富んだ、奔放な散文と脱線的なエネルギーを通じて、バートンは読者を一種の知的・感情的カタルシスへ誘うテクスト体験を構築する。古代と現代の典拠からの断片を織り交ぜることで、彼はセントゥ風のタペストリーを構築し、読者は人間生活のより広範な条件について思索しながら憂鬱の複雑さを解き明かすよう招かれる。バートンは敬意を込めて彼を「賢明なるセネカ」（1.239.30［1.2.2.6］）と敬意を込めて呼んでいる。この表現は単なる称賛だけでなく、彼の道徳的教えに対する強い親和性を示している。 本研究は、バートンがセネカの治療的構想をいかに適応させ、拡大し、時に逸脱したかを検証することで、バートンの思想の特異性と、憂鬱な精神を癒そうとした彼の独創的な文学形式の両方に光を当てるものである。
書籍内容 Contents
Contents:
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Melancholy as an ailment of the soul: toward a therapeutic approach
(a) The problem of melancholy
(b) Burton's diagnosis of melancholy
(c) Burton's therapeutic framework
(d) Seneca's philosophy as therapy
2. Objective and methodology
3. Burton and Seneca: points of convergence and divergence.
4. Christianity, Stoicism, and their points of contact
5. Burton's moral debt to Seneca
6. Structure of the present study
Part I Robert Burton and the Moral Teachings of Seneca
Chapter 1 Burton's Wise Man: Tranquility, Nature, and the Cure for Melancholy
1.1 Tranquility and the well-ordered sou
1.1.1 Seneca on tranquility: freedom from perturbation
1.1.2 Burton on tranquility: Stoic peace as a remedy for melancholy
1.2 Living in accord with nature
1.2.1 Seneca's ideal of nature: living in harmony with the divine order
1.2.2 Burton on nature: diagnosing melancholy through misalignment with the natural order
1.3 The wise man and the resistance to melancholy
1.4 Melancholy and the wise man: conclusion
Chapter 2 Suicide at the Limits of Melancholy
2.1 Seneca's ethics of suicide: learning to die well
2.2 Burton's use of Seneca: a subtle challenge to the Christian taboo on suicide
2.3 Burton's divergence from Seneca on suicide
2.4 Comparison with John Donne's Biathanatos
2.5 Burton's selective borrowing: negotiating suicide, melancholy, and Christian ethics
Chapter 3 Withdrawal: Cure or Cause of Melancholy?
3.1 Seneca on withdrawal: the path to a balanced soul
3.2 Burton on withdrawal: between remedy and risk
3.3 Burton as a "spiritual physician": healing from the study
3.4 Withdrawal and solitude: remedy or risk for melancholy?
Chapter 4 Constancy and Melancholy
4.1 Seneca's conception of constancy: the ideal of stability
4.2 Defining constancy
4.3 Lipsius's conception of constancy: neo-Stoicism and endurance
4.4 Burton's conception of constancy: between stability and stagnation
4.5 The tension between constancy and idleness
4.6 Conclusion: constancy, idleness, and the melancholic condition
Part II Robert Burton and Seneca's Notions on Writing Style
Chapter 5 Digressing in a Senecan Voice to Mitigate Melancholy
5.1 Seneca's writing style in practice and theory
5.1.1 Seneca's writing style in practice
5.1.2 Seneca's theory on philosophical writing
5.2 Burton's therapeutic view of writing style
5.3 The therapeutic role of digression
5.4 Conclusion: writing style as therapeutic strategy
Chapter 6 Cutting and Reassembling: Burton's Therapeutic Use of the Cento Form
6.1 Seneca and the practice of quotation
6.2 Burton's therapeutic use of the cento form
6.2.1 From anatomy to cento: Burton's method of dissection
6.2.2 The cento as a form of therapy
6.2.3 Fragments for healing: Burton's therapeutic cento
6.2.4 Switching tongues: the multilingual texture of the cento
6.2.5 Voices in contrast: Donne, Lipsius, and Montaigne
6.3 The cento and the challenge of constancy
6.4 When the cento disappears: shifts in style and tone
6.5 Conclusion: the cento form as therapeutic style
Conclusion
Afterword
Works Cited
Index
