The hospitall of incurable fooles: erected in English, as neer the first Italian modell and platforme, as the vnskilfull hand of an ignorant architect could deuise

Of outragious, fel, and Bedlem Fooles: the fower and twentith discourse.

AMongst the whole race of Fooles, there are not any more insuppor∣table, then those whom wee call Fell, and outragious Fooles, for the qualitie of their humour is so wilde and vntamed, as it is requi∣site to auoide them, no otherwise then wee would shun the furie of cruell and rauenous beasts. Neither are they mad and furious onely towards others, endammaging them with the furie they are pos∣sessed withall, but this rage turneth also vpon them∣selues, transporting away their minds to all kind of euill, that may bee imagined. Ancient Hercules is painted with this kinde of furie set foorth, who after he had put on Nessus the Centaures coate, through impatience of griefe, threw himselfe into the flames of Mount Oeta: whereupon Claudian sayeth:

Thou fliest the top of Oetes, flaming all on fire:

And Ouid in the thirteenth of his Metamorphosis brin∣geth in Aiax the sonne of Telamon, rauished with this furie, for the sentence the Graecians gaue, that the armes of Achilles should rather be giuen to Vlysses then him. Euen so doth Ariosto describe very rarely the foo∣lish fury of Orlando, in two particular stanzas, in the first of which he saith:

Writings I cut, and stone making to flie There shiuers: vp vnto the azurd skie:

And in the other he saith:

I cast into the water, shrubs, bowes, stones, clods, & trees: Making it (cleere before) as fowle as any lees:

And this is the cause why in an other place hee descri∣beth, that when Astolphus woulde haue healed him: he bound him with many ropes, like a Bedlem Foole, as nowe he was become. Athamas the sonne of Aeolus is described for so bestiall and furious by the Poet Ouid, as in his outragious humour hee killed his owne sonne named Learcus, and these be Ouids verses in the sixt de fastis:

From hence it grew that Athamas, so cruel did remaine: And that by fathers hand, Learcus was so slaine.

Herodotus reporteth this of Cambyses, that hauing viola∣ted the god of the Egyptians called Apis, hee was after this fact cōuerted into so great furie & madnes, that tho∣rough the very hellish furies stirred vp, he first slew al his whole familie, conuerting afterwards foolishly his fury, and killing himselfe. Propertius also in his thirde booke placeth Alcmeon the sonne of Amphiareus & Euriphile, amongst madde and outragious fooles, who for killing of his mother, was by a strong imagination ledde and induced into this kinde of follie, wherefore hee saith of him,

Alcmeons furie or the fastes of Phineus:

Lucanus in his first booke, mentioneth one Pentheus among the Fooles of this kinde, who for hauing con∣temned Bacchus his diuinitie, was by that god chastised, in making him become foolishly furious like a beast, whereupon he saith:

In minde no greater rage, or furie euer had, Agaue or Pentheus, when they were wood and mad.

Of Orestes the sonne of Agamemnon, and Clytemnestra, Caelius writeth, that after he grewe madde for the killing of his mother, hee rent all the garments off his owne backe, and bitte off one of his fingers; so that in Paulus Manutius a prouerbe did arise, Oresti pallium texere: to weaue Orestes his cloake, speaking of one who maketh present vse of a thing, that in the end is by him spoiled and abused. A certaine soldier of Brisi∣ghella, was in these our daies a notable outragious fool, who growing into furie for loue of a Fauentine curte∣zane, deuoured a whole gauntlet and brest-plate at a time, so mightily did this caprichious humour fume vp into his braine, as that he coulde not discerne his owne defensiue armes from bread to eate. And like to him was Camble king of Lydians, who (if Caelius say truth) prouoked by a rauenous fury, eate vp his wife one night as she lay by him, and finding in the morning one of her handes in his mouth, hee became foolishly madde, euen as a beast that must be fast tied and bound. I thinke not the example of Santin of Villa Franca to bee the coldest, and most threadbare one of all the rest, who fal∣ling into furie, about a cowe and an oxe hee had which died, went to a stable of one of his neighbours, where there was an asse, and a sowe with many pigges, where, by this madnes prouoked, hee killed them all, and eate halfe the asse, before hee so much as once drunke. An other called Marchion, of Buffaloura in the territorie of Millaine, being sacristan to a certaine vicar about Va∣rese, he also through misfortune entred into these bru∣tish humours, by reason of a fewe fetches that were stol∣len

from him by a coosening knaue, wherefore gro∣wing by and by cocke a whoope in his braine, he ranne presently into the steeple, and eate an whole clapper of a bell, to the great solace, though losse of that commu∣naltie, when they knew of it. But yet Peter Antonio of the valley of Taro, a gardner by profession, performed somewhat a more solemne beastialitie; for hauing had certaine fruite of his spoiled in the night (as so it chan∣ced) hee fell heerewith into so woonderfull an amaze∣ment and furious extasie with all, that with his teeth hee tore and deuoured aspade, shouell, and dung-cart, not being able to mitigate this violent humour, which be∣sides all reason did driue him to madnes. Like vnto this man was Dominicon of Guastalla, who by a mischance in a morning had a bedde of yoong beanes killed and spoiled, and for so small a matter he grew into that furie and spleene, as disposed vpon this no more to plough, he eate vp his fodder stacke, plough, and oxen, in lesse then fiue daies. Let it therefore suffice, that such like men bee called outragious, brutish, and Bedlem fooles, and within the Hospitall they haue god Mars hanging out for a signe, bicause by him they are vpheld in those fantasticall humours that possesse their heades: Therefore let vs haue recourse vnto him, as to that god which kindleth the fire of theirfurie, to the ende that blowing it as little as may be, they may of such follie be healed, and recouer their former estate.

A supplication to god Mars for outragious, brutish, and bedlem Fooles.

TO thee eldest sonne of Iupiter and Iuno, called sometimes Mars, som∣times Mamers, and otherwhiles Mauors, bicause thou reuoluest and turnest topsie turuey great matters, now Mars the reuenger, Grandeuan god, deere brother in lawe to Bellona, I nowe come to offer vnto thee the re∣commendation of these outragious and brutish fooles, who daily growe in foolish humours, to the ende that withdrawing from them thy terrible influence, they may gently like lambes suffer themselues to bee tied, euen as thou thy selfe wert sweetely bounde fast with Venus in Vulcanes net. If therefore beside the songs and hymnes of the priests Salij, thou desirest to heare a still pipe sounding in thy Temple: and ouer and aboue the carpe and pike fishes, that were anciently consecrated to thee, thou beest willing farther to see offred the pawe of a great beast, yeeld some hope of recouerie to these poore miserable wretches, who will not faile to offer vnto thee fully as much, as hath hitherto beene vowed and promised.

Notes

• Claudianus.
• Ouid.
• Ariosto.
• Herodotus.
• Propertius.
• Lucanus.
• Caelius
• Paulus Ma∣nutius.