The Anatomy of Melancholy

For what slave, what hangman (as Bodine well expresseth this passion, l. 2. c. 5. de rep.) can so cruelly torture a condemned person, as this fear and suspition? Fear of death, infamy, torments, are those furies and vultures that vex and disquiet tyrants, and torture them day and night, with perpetual terrors and affrights, envy, suspition, fear, desire of revenge, and a thousand such disagreeing perturbations, turn and affright the soul out of the hinges of health, and more grievously wound and pierce, than those cruel masters can exasperate and vex their Prentises or servants, with clubbes, whippes, chaines and tortures.

Many terrible examples we have in this kinde, amongst the Turks especially, many jealous outrages; Selimus killed Cornutus his youngest brother, five of his Nephews, Mustapha Bassa, and divers others. Bajazet the second Turk, jealous of the valour and greatness of Acmet Bassa, caused him to be slain. Solyman the magnificent, murdered his own Son Mustapha;

and ’tis an ordinary thing amongst them, to make away their brothers, or any competitors, at the first comming to the Crown: ’tis all the solemnity they use at their fathers funerals.

What mad pranks in his jealous fury did Herod of old commit in Jury, when he massacred all the children of a year old? Valens the Emperour in Constantinople, when as he left no man alive of quality in his kingdome that had his name begun with Theo. Theodoti, Theognosti, Theodosii, Theoduli, &c. They went all to their long home, because a wizard told him that name should succeed in his Empire.

And what furious designs hath Io. Basilius, that Muscovian tyrant, practised of late? It is a wonder to read that strange suspicion, which Suetonius reports of Claudius Cæsar, and of Domitian, they were afraid of every man they saw:

And which Herodian of Antoninus and Geta, those two jealous brothers, the one could not endure so much as the others servants, but made away him, his chiefest followers, and all that belonged to him, or were his well-wishers.

Maximinus perceiving himself to be odious to most men, because he was come to that height of honour out of base beginnings, and suspecting his mean parentage would be objected to him, caused all the Senators that were nobly descended, to be slain in a jealous humour, turned all the servants of Alexander his predecessor out of doores, and slew many of them, because they lamented their masters death, suspecting them to be traitors, for the love they bare to him.

When Alexander in his fury had made Clitus his dear friend to be put to death, and saw now (saith Curtius) an alienation in his subjects hearts, none durst talk with him, he began to be Jealous of himself, lest they should attempt as much on him, and said they lived like so many wild beasts in a wilderness, one afraid of another.