Triumph of Truth

A street in a city. People stand or kneel before the female apparition of Truth, which hovers above their heads. She carries a palm branch in her right hand and a book in her left hand. A choir of angels kneels around her. In the middle of the print lie a cup with grapes (wine), a king's crown (the monarchy), a skull (death and original sin) and a mirror (vanity) on the ground. The print depicts a scene from the apocryphal book of Esdras (chapters 3 and 4). Three servants of King Darius of Persia argue whether respectively wine, the king and the woman is the strongest in the world. Zerubbabel, the last servant (probably the man to the right of the middle in the print), wins the discussion with the answer that women are the strongest in the world, but that truth conquers all. As a reward Zerubbabel may begin with the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. The print has a Latin inscription with a quote from the apocryphal book of Esdras (3-4).