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Quotation from The Anatomy of Melancholy by Robert Burton
“The common sort define it to be a kind of dotage without a fever, having for his ordinary companions, fear and sadness, without any apparent occasion”
The Anatomy of Melancholy, Part. 1, Sect. 1, Memb. 3, Subs. 1 (Definition of Melancholy) (Project Gutenberg #10800 (modernized text checked against 1638))
The standard Renaissance medical definition, which Burton reports and then discusses against other authorities.
Citation: "The common sort define it to be a kind of dotage without a fever, having for his ordinary companions, fear and sadness, without any apparent occasion" — Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, Part. 1, Sect. 1, Memb. 3, Subs. 1 (Definition of Melancholy) (Project Gutenberg #10800 (modernized text checked against 1638)). (id the-anatomy-of-melancholy-q7)
Portrait: Robert Burton by Gilbert Jackson, Gilbert Jackson, Public domain.
