Not long after embarking upon the subject of God and melancholy, for example, Mr. Burton veers into "A Digression of the Nature of Spirits, Bad Angels, or Devils, " which leads into an elaborate taxonomy of evil creatures, including the question of whether some devils "have excrements" or "feel pain if they are hurt, " and whether there can be both good and bad devils.

WSJ: Robert Burton | The Anatomy of Melancholy | Digressions on a Diagnosis | Masterpiece by Danny Heitman