"There did not cease a spirit of strife and contention. Slander and reproach. 'Tis certain they died by heaps, and were buried by heaps. But nobody can account for the possession of fear when it takes a hold of the mind. The famous Solomon Eagle, the naked Quaker, I have mentioned, prophesied evil tidings everyday. But nobody can account for the possession of fear when it takes a hold of the mind."
excerpts from "A Journal of the Plague Year"
by Daniel Defoe