In a modern [[context]], "melancholy" applies only to the mental or emotional symptoms of depression or despondency; historically, "melancholia" could be [[physical]] as well as [[mental]], and melancholic conditions were classified as such by their common cause rather than by their properties.[1] | In a modern [[context]], "melancholy" applies only to the mental or emotional symptoms of depression or despondency; historically, "melancholia" could be [[physical]] as well as [[mental]], and melancholic conditions were classified as such by their common cause rather than by their properties.[1] |