It Doth Even Take My Wits

This remark appears in The World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake (1628), an account of Drake's 1577–1580 circumnavigation compiled from journals and published by his nephew Francis Drake the Younger. Sir Francis Drake made the remark during a moment of acute command crisis — probably in the context of managing the rebellious behavior of Thomas Doughty, whom he subsequently tried and executed for mutiny and sorcery in 1578. The phrase captures the exasperation of a commander dealing with insubordination on a voyage from which there was no easy retreat.