Caligula, Tiberius, yet most take them to be symptoms.
For [6000]"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 suspicion? 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, suspicion,
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
apprentices or servants, with clubs, whips, chains,
and tortures.” Many terrible examples we
have in this kind, amongst the Turks especially, many
jealous outrages; [6001]Selimus killed Kornutus his
youngest brother, five of his nephews, Mustapha Bassa,
and divers others. [6002]Bajazet the second Turk,
jealous of the valour and greatness of Achmet Bassa,
caused him to be slain. [6003]Suleiman 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 coming 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 Jewry, when he massacred
all the children of a year old? [6004]Valens the emperor
in Constantinople, when as he left no man alive of
quality in his kingdom 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 [6005]Jo. Basilius,
that Muscovian tyrant, practised of late? It is
a wonder to read that strange suspicion, which Suetonius
reports of Claudius Caesar, 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 other’s
servants, but made away him, his chiefest followers,
and all that belonged to him, or were his well-wishers.
[6006]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 doors, and slew many of them,
because they lamented their master’s 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 [6007]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.” Our modern stories afford
us many notable examples. [6008]Henry the Third of