the dance of death.
yes, he dances off with all of them.
i thought it would serve to remind people that they must die.
why should one always make people happy? it might not be a bad idea to scare them a little once in a while.
oh, they'll look. a skull is almost more interesting than a naked woman.
they'll think.
they'll become still more scared.
that's not my business.
i'm only painting things as they are. everyone else can do as he likes.
maybe. but then i'll paint something amusing for them to look at. i have to make a living -- at least until the plague takes me.
you should see the boils on a diseased man's throat. you should see how his body shrivels up so that his legs look like knotted strings -- like the man i've painted over there.
it certainly does. he tries to rip out the boil, he bites his hands, tears his veins open with his fingernails and his screams can be heard everywhere. does that scare you?
the remarkable thing is that the poor creatures think the pestilence is the lord's punishment. mobs of people who call themselves slaves of sin are swarming over the country, flagellating themselves and others, all for the glory of god.
yes, it's a terrible sight. i crawl into a ditch and hide when they pass by.
i think i frightened you after all.
the crusade.
it's worse than that.
the rump behind you, the rump behind you there's a profound truth.