ners, dogs, and hunting nags, their wealth,
saith [1871]Salmutze, "runs away with hounds, and their fortunes fly away
with hawks." They persecute beasts so long, till in the end they themselves
degenerate into beasts, as [1872]Agrippa taxeth them, [1873]Actaeon like,
for as he was eaten to death by his own dogs, so do they devour themselves
and their patrimonies, in such idle and unnecessary disports, neglecting in
the mean time their more necessary business, and to follow their vocations.
Over-mad too sometimes are our great men in delighting, and doting too much
on it. [1874]"When they drive poor husbandmen from their tillage," as
[1875]Sarisburiensis objects, _Polycrat. l. 1. c. 4_, "fling down country
farms, and whole towns, to make parks, and forests, starving men to feed
beasts, and [1876]punishing in the mean time such a man that shall molest
their game, more severely than him that is otherwise a common hacker, or a
notorious thief." But great men are some ways to be excused, the meaner
sort have no evasion why they should not be counted mad. Poggius the
Florentine tells a merry story to this purpose, condemning the folly and
impertinent business of such kind of persons. A physician of Milan, saith
he, that cured mad men, had a pit of water in his house, in which he kept
his patients, some up to the knees, some to the girdle, some to the chin,
_pro modo insaniae_, as they were more or less affected. One of them by
chance, that was well recovered, stood in the door, and seeing a gallant
ride by with a hawk on his fist, well mounted, with his spaniels after him,
would needs know to what use all this preparation served; he made answer to
kill certain fowls; the patient demanded again, what his fowl might be
worth which he killed in a year; he replied 5 or 10 crowns; and when he
urged him farther what his dogs, horse, and hawks stood him in, he told him
400 crowns; with that the patient bad be gone, as he loved his life and
welfare, for if our master come and find thee here, he will put thee in the
pit amongst mad men up to the chin: taxing the madness and folly of such
vain men that spend themselves in those idle sports, neglecting their
business and necessary affairs. Leo Decimus, that hunting pope, is much
discommended by [1877]Jovius in his life, for his immoderate desire of
hawking and hunting, in so much that (as he saith) he would sometimes live
about Ostia weeks and months together, leave suitors [1878]unrespecte