“Priam, disposed to run, had gout;
Achilles was too lame to get about;
Bellerophon’s saddle toes complained;
Ædipus had big joints that pained;
Plisthenes on his feet, all swollen stood,
Cursing the gout that coursed with his blood.”
How many other of the great have wept with the gout?
Then calling his faithful servitors, Pain, Insomnia, and Indigestion, the Demon Gout bids them plunge his fiery darts into his enemies, to burn them with an unquenchable flame:
“Toy, brule ici par des douleurs nouvelles
Le chef premier, les cuisses et tendons,