From 'A treatise of dreams & visions... to which is added, a discourse of the causes, natures, and cure of phrensie, madness or distraction', by Thomas Tryon, 1689.
"Madness seems to be a Watching or Waking Dream."
"Madness and Phrensie do generally, and for the most part... arise and proceed from various passions and extream Inclinations, as Love, Hate, Grief, Covetousness, Dispair, and the like, which do too violently awaken, or stir up the Central Fires which consume the five inward senses, and then the Imaginative property and Soul's Power become rampant, unbounded, or as it were without Guide, and consequently such a Soul is unchained, or set at liberty from the dark confinements of the grosser Senses and Reason, even as men in Dreams; for whatsoever in this state, is represented unto the Soul by the uncontrolable and unbounded Imagination, is essential unto them... ."
"[T]he Soul is unclothed, and all its Fantasies and Imaginations become as it were substantial unto them, as material things are to those that are in their perfect Senses, and under the Government, of Reason."
"Pride may justly be said to be the chief Procatarick, or remote original cause of Madness; for an abusive Self flattery... do at first Seduce a person into Presumption, and a dispising of others, or into an Indignation of Self-Love, Anger, Hatred, or Wrathfulness, towards his Neighbour... ."
"[...]Thoughts, Imaginations or Conceptions... are all formed into words as fast as they are generated, there being no control or room for Judgement to censure what are fit, and what are unfit to be coined into Expression: For this cause Mad People, and innocent children, do speak, forth whatever ariseth in their Phantasies; but on the contrary, all those that attain to Maturity of years, and the knowledge of good and evil, their inward Senses of the Soul being unviolated, especially such as adhere to the counsel of the Voice of Wisdom, they let no conception or imagination be formed into words before it be presented by the five Counsellors of the Soul, before the Judge, which keeps its Court, and Seat of Justice, in the Centre of Life; for if this were not more or less observed, would not every man in the world seem to be Mad or Distracted?"
"[W]hen men are so divested of their Rational Faculties, then they appear naked, having no Covering, Vail, or Figg-leaves before them, to hid themselves in, and therefore they no longer remain under a Mask or Disguise, but appear even as they are, which is very rare to be known in any that retain their Senses and Reason; for these two serve to cover and hide the Conceptions, Thoughts and Imaginations, which continually are generated from the various Properties and Centres in man, which in innocent Children, as soon as they have the use of their Tongues, and in mad people, is not done, but all Conceptions are promiscuously formed into words, as they are generated, there being no Judge nor Councellors to advice or determine whether they are fit to divulge, and coined into Language, or to be stifled and suppressed."
"As to the Cure of Madness in general, the Schools commonly prescribe Blood-letting, and Sleep procuring Medicines, but with how much success daily experience witnesseth, they mistake the Cause, and therefore blindly combat with the Effect; and for the latter, let such as intend to cure Distraction by sleepyfing things, take notice that stupifacative Medicines... increase the Madness; for Madness is nothing but an Erring Sleepifying Power, because every Madman dreameth waking... ."
