Mélancolie et méthodisme: traduction originale et commentaire d’un texte de Prosper Alpin (1553–1617)

Summary This article provides an original translation of the chapter on melancholy in De medicina methodica (Padua, 1611) by Prosperus Alpinus (1553-1617), whose concise style contrasts with the prolixity of Burton's work on melan- choly. Ignoring the particular status accorded to melancholy among the diseases affecting both body and soul, Alpinus wanted to reduce the com- plexity and diversity of its symptoms, causes and remedies by reconciling Galenic knowledge with that of the so-called methodical sect. This radical questioning of the whole classical heritage opened up new therapeutic per- spectives by claiming to fit melancholy into one vast single body of physical affections.