La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolie

This paper discusses the curious work of a rather unknown French physician, published in 1615, only a few years prior to the first edition of Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy. Gabriel Droyn’s Le Royal syrop de pommes, antidote des passions melancholiques (1615) allegedly focuses on a reputedly...

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Main Author: Radu Suciu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institut du Monde Anglophone 2008-06-01
Series:Etudes Epistémè
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/898
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author Radu Suciu
author_facet Radu Suciu
author_sort Radu Suciu
collection DOAJ
description This paper discusses the curious work of a rather unknown French physician, published in 1615, only a few years prior to the first edition of Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy. Gabriel Droyn’s Le Royal syrop de pommes, antidote des passions melancholiques (1615) allegedly focuses on a reputedly efficient therapy against melancholy: an apple syrup… While this legendary royal cure was mentioned in other medical books on melancholy (and was to be quoted by Robert Burton himself) it only serves in this book as a pleasant opportunity to produce a witty and playful description of the contemporary society. Melancholy thus serves as a mere purpose to a text which departs from the scientific canon. This paper aims at showing that ultimately this very rhetorical departure from the usual medical jargon is therapeutical in itself, and might even be more effective than syrups or pills.
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spelling doaj.art-68838b426aad47eb84905b3d7f5985c42022-12-22T02:59:25ZengInstitut du Monde AnglophoneEtudes Epistémè1634-04502008-06-011310.4000/episteme.898La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolieRadu SuciuThis paper discusses the curious work of a rather unknown French physician, published in 1615, only a few years prior to the first edition of Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy. Gabriel Droyn’s Le Royal syrop de pommes, antidote des passions melancholiques (1615) allegedly focuses on a reputedly efficient therapy against melancholy: an apple syrup… While this legendary royal cure was mentioned in other medical books on melancholy (and was to be quoted by Robert Burton himself) it only serves in this book as a pleasant opportunity to produce a witty and playful description of the contemporary society. Melancholy thus serves as a mere purpose to a text which departs from the scientific canon. This paper aims at showing that ultimately this very rhetorical departure from the usual medical jargon is therapeutical in itself, and might even be more effective than syrups or pills.http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/898
spellingShingle Radu Suciu
La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolie
Etudes Epistémè
title La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolie
title_full La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolie
title_fullStr La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolie
title_full_unstemmed La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolie
title_short La morale du sirop. Thérapies médico-morales pour la guérison de la mélancolie
title_sort la morale du sirop therapies medico morales pour la guerison de la melancolie
url http://journals.openedition.org/episteme/898
work_keys_str_mv AT radusuciu lamoraledusiroptherapiesmedicomoralespourlaguerisondelamelancolie