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A furious cuckold rushes at his rival with a sword; representing vice as its own punishment. Engraving after O. van Veen (Vaenius), 1612. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain Mark. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Horace, Satires II.7, vv. 58-63: "quid refert, uri virgis ferroque necari / auctoratus eas, an turpi clausus in arca, / quo te demisit peccati conscia erilis, / contractum genibus tangas caput? estne marito matronae peccantis in ambo iusta potestas, / in corruptorem vel iustior?", translated by Christopher Smart as "What is the difference whether you go condemned [like a gladiator], to be galled with scourges, or slain with the sword; or be closed up in a filthy chest, where the maid, concious of her mistress' crime, has stowed you? Has not the husband of the offending dame a just power over both; against the seducer even a juster?" (C. Smart, The works of Horace translated literally into English prose, New York 1855, p. 221)
An impression in the Wellcome collection is inscribed by an earlier owner "Salomon. prov. 6.34", referring to Bible. O.T. Proverbs 6.34: "Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding; he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get" (6.32-33)
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