never married, and that's his hell, another
is, and that's his plague. Some are troubled in that they are obscure;
others by being traduced, slandered, abused, disgraced, vilified, or any
way injured: _minime miror eos_ (as he said) _qui insanire occipiunt ex
injuria_, I marvel not at all if offences make men mad. Seventeen
particular causes of anger and offence Aristotle reckons them up, which for
brevity's sake I must omit. No tidings troubles one; ill reports, rumours,
bad tidings or news, hard hap, ill success, cast in a suit, vain hopes, or
hope deferred, another: expectation, _adeo omnibus in rebus molesta semper
est expectatio_, as [2390]Polybius observes; one is too eminent, another
too base born, and that alone tortures him as much as the rest: one is out
of action, company, employment; another overcome and tormented with worldly
cares, and onerous business. But what [2391]tongue can suffice to speak of
all?

Many men catch this malady by eating certain meats, herbs, roots, at
unawares; as henbane, nightshade, cicuta, mandrakes, &c. [2392]A company of
young men at Agrigentum in Sicily, came into a tavern; where after they had
freely taken their liquor, whether it were the wine itself, or something
mixed with it 'tis not yet known, [2393]but upon a sudden they began to be
so troubled in their brains, and their phantasy so crazed, that they
thought they were in a ship at sea, and now ready to be cast away by reason
of a tempest. Wherefore to avoid shipwreck and present drowning, they flung
all the goods in the house out at the windows into the street, or into the
sea, as they supposed; thus they continued mad a pretty season, and being
brought before the magistrate to give an account of this their fact, they
told him (not yet recovered of their madness) that what was done they did
for fear of death, and to avoid imminent danger: the spectators were all
amazed at this their stupidity, and gazed on them still, whilst one of the
ancientest of the company, in a grave tone, excused himself to the
magistrate upon his knees, _O viri Tritones, ego in imo jacui_, I beseech
your deities, &c. for I was in the bottom of the ship all the while:
another besought them as so many sea gods to be good unto them, and if ever
he and his fellows came to land again, [2394]he would build an altar to
their service. The magistrate could not sufficiently laugh at this their
madness, bid them sleep it out, and so went his ways. Many such acc