It was said of him that he had once been for a short time in Bedlam; they had done him the honour to take him for a madman, but had set him free on discovering that he was only a poet.

[On contait de lui qu’il avait été jadis un peu enfermé à Bedlam ; on lui avait fait l’honneur de le prendre pour un insensé, mais on l’avait relâché, s’apercevant qu’il n’était qu’un poëte.]

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French writer

The Man Who Laughs [L’Homme qui rit; The Laughing Man; By Order of the King], Part 1, Book 0, ch. 1 (1.0.1) (1869) [tr. Unknown. (1869)]
    (Source)

(Source (French)). Other translations:

It was said of him that he had once been for a short time in Bedlam; they had done him the honour to take him for a madman, but had set him free on discovering that he was only a poet.
[tr. Unknown, Authorized (1871)]

It was related of him that he had, in former days, been shut up for a while in Bedlam; they had done him the honor to take him for a madman, but had released him on perceiving that he was only a poet.
[tr. Hapgood (1888)]

The saying went that he had at one time been shut up for a while in Bedlam; they had done him the honor to take him for a madman, but they had released him when they perceived that he was nothing but a poet.
[tr. Phillips (1894)]

It was said of him that he had once been locked up for a while in Bedlam; he had been taken for a fool, but had been released when they realized that he was only a poet.
[tr. Lavelle (2003)]