Public domain
The Commander Grants Mercy to Defeated Soldiers
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Two defeated warriors receive mercy from a Roman general. Bending, they kiss his hand in which he holds a scepter. This print illustrates the first part of the fundamental principle of Roman politics taken up by Vergil: "Parcere subiectis, sed debellare superbos" (Vergil, Aeneid 6.853). According to this principle, the subjugated would be spared, but those who stubbornly continued to resist would be destroyed. Pendant of a print about the second part of this maxim.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineVeldheer schenkt verslagen krijgslieden genade. 1670. Gerard de Lairesse. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
