“Vice, when successful, is called virtue.”
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Anatomy of Melancholy, 266-269 — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 8 — Emulation, Hatred, Faction, Desire of Revenge, Causes
But being that we are so peevish and perverse, insolent and proud, so factious and seditious, so malicious and envious; we do invicem angariare, maul and vex one another, torture, disquiet, and precipitate ourselves into that gulf of woes and cares, aggravate our misery and melancholy, heap upon us hell and eternal damnation.
Anatomy of Melancholy, 264-266 — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 7 — Envy, Malice, Hatred, Causes
“‘Other sins last but for a while; the gut may be satisfied, anger remits, hatred hath an end, envy never ceaseth.'” (Cardan, lib. 2 de sap.)
Anatomy of Melancholy, 262-264 — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 6 — Shame and Disgrace, Causes
Today we are reading about/dwelling on shame: “as forcible a batterer as any of the rest.” Once again, suspiciously apropos to the world out there.
Anatomy of Melancholy, 261-262 — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 5 — Fear a Cause
This drawing is just a little too much, isn’t it? Well, you know what else is too much? Just absolutely everything right now. So how fitting that today’s section is on fear!
Anatomy of Melancholy, 259-261 — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 4 — Sorrow a Cause of Melancholy
Note to self: You skipped Subsection 3, a “Division of Perturbations” because it seemed to make more sense to draw individual perturbations before drawing the catalogue. I guess? Subsection 3 didn’t make much sense, really. Sometimes Burton says there are four perturbations but goes on to name three, and then sometimes there are seven or […]
Anatomy of Melancholy, 253-258 (again) — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 2 — Of the Force of Imagination
Oops I just realized that I did two drawings for Part I, Section 2, Member III Subsection 2, but none for Part I, Section 2, Member III Subsection 1. I guess I should backtrack a bit. I just really wanted to draw a bugbear: “What will not a fearful man conceive in the dark? […]
Anatomy of Melancholy, 252-253 — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 1 — Passions and Perturbations of the Mind, how they cause Melancholy
I almost missed a subsection! God forbid. It was short (relatively speaking) so I forgot it until today: Thus in brief, to our imagination cometh by the outward sense or memory, some object to be known (residing in the foremost part of the brain), which he misconceiving or amplifying presently communicates to the heart, the […]
Anatomy of Melancholy, 253-258 — Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. III, Subsect. 2 — Of the Force of Imagination
Work in progress… Well no progress really. I started this one before Covid-19 hit the US, and for a month now I haven’t managed to force myself to return to it. I finally realized that the poor thing reminded me so viscerally of normalcy that I just couldn’t handle working on it for now. […]
Do I like this? No I do not.
Obligatory coronavirus art. My two small gremlins are home, probably for months, so I will not be able to work so much for quite some time. Well, maybe just as much but definitely not nearly as well.
Pictures of Theories: The Abject
You think that drawing is gross? It could have been so much worse. The Abject, Literary Studies: Well, this one is notoriously difficult to explain, because Kristeva is a notoriously challenging writer. I would argue that she’s a tremendously good one though. When I am beset by abjection, the twisted braid of affects and […]
Anatomy of Melancholy, 249-250 – Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. II, Subs. 7 – Sleeping and Waking, Causes
Well, this section is brief and straightforward: “Nothing is better than moderate sleep, nothing worse than it if it be in extremes or unseasonably used.” Be particularly careful not to sleep “overmuch” because too much sleep will induce a “great store of excrements in the brain.” Also, do not sleep after “hard meats” […]
Anatomy of Melancholy, 245-249 – Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. II, Subs. 6 – Immoderate Exercise a Cause, and how. Solitariness, Idleness (cont.)
We have covered idleness, so now on to solitude. In brief, unless you are freaking Socrates – and let’s be honest about this, because it is important, we are none of us Socrates – excessive solitude is bad for you and bad for everyone around you. This section had me thinking about those pro-introvert comics […]
People Practice
Just practicing my people. Or cyborgs. I dunno. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference.