This volume serves as the final scholarly apparatus for Robert Burton's seminal 17th-century treatise, providing critical commentary on the Third Partition and comprehensive indexing for the entire work. The editors of the Oxford English Texts edition synthesize centuries of academic research to clarify Burton's complex discourse on Love and Religious Melancholy. By cataloging the vast array of classical and contemporary sources utilized by Burton, the text establishes a rigorous framework for understanding the intellectual landscape of the early modern period.

Scholars and historians regard this Oxford English Texts edition as the definitive reference for studying Burton's work due to its meticulous annotation and exhaustive indexing. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for researchers and specialists in early modern literature and the history of medicine.