Les Accidens de l'Homme, Illness

Illness

Illness
Malladie souuent combat · les poures mondains : et assomme · nature contre elle debat · par quoy peult reschapper maint homme ·
Illness often fights the poor worldly men and kills them. Nature argues against her. Thereby many a man can survive.

Les loups rauissans, lovely women.

Vie de l'Homme, lovely women

The scene with Illness takes place outdoors because Simon Vostre has mixed up the two scenes with three women.

The picture on the left is about the lovely women: (»Ces mignotes femmes tant presieuses«) "these sweet women, so precious", namely Delilah og Myrrha, and their downfall. Hardouyn's image (to the right) is also about beautiful women: »Ces corps bien fais, ces féminins visaiges« ("these shapely bodies, these feminine faces"), who with a single cruel blow will rot and become food for the worms.

In contrast, the text about Illness belongs to this image in Loups Ravissans, which shows a woman watching over two bedridden women. Malladie / Illness creeps in behind the night nurse and attacks one patient.

Hardouyn copies this image and the verse is about Death's loyal servant, Maladie: »Jay maladie ma loyalle servante«.

In fact Hardouyn has produced two verses for this image. The other is about the good chambermaid Mortality i.e. the plague: »Mortalité, ma bonne chambrière«. Incidentally, both verses are inspired by the same verse in "Danse aux Aveugles". See verses 8 and 9½ in the right column in this table.

Vostre's images combines the outdoor scene with the text about illness. See the corresponding scene her: Women.