What does the critic Henry Mackenzie mean when he says melancholy men (i.e. Hamlet) can...?

Question

What does the critic Henry Mackenzie mean when he says melancholy men (i.e. Hamlet) can... "indulge, without feeling any degradation from the indulgent"?

Answer 1

He means that the state of being melancholy allows them to indulge in excessive mood swings or bad moods without feeling badly about behaving/feeling badly.  A person who's basic character is not melancholy might tell themselves to "snap out of it" or "get over it" or feel guilty about indulging in "drama queen" type emotions.  A person with a melancholy disposition doesn't suffer from these qualms.