… seventeenth century. The absence of company was widely recognised to adversely affect spiritual, mental, and physical health. The frontispiece to Robert Burton’s seminal work, The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621), explicitly linked solitude …
… parties, card-playing, the central role of the tea-table, and a conversation where books 5 – they could be exchanged – health matters and politics featured prominently. More enjoyed these social occasions and wrote: ‘ I dined at the Adelphi …
… gentle Society. As we are at present all of us Gown-men, instead of duelling when we are Rivals, we drink together the Health of our Mistress.’ 8 In another essay, he attacks the false honour involved in duels: ‘The placing the Point of …