Mucius Scaevola and The continence of Scipio

The present panels represent two scenes from Roman history. The first is of Mucius Scaevola, a Roman nobleman who infiltrated the enemy Etruscan camp during their siege of Rome with the intention of killing the king. Upon his discovery, Scaevola thrust his hand into an altar fire before the king in a demonstration of the low value he placed on his own life, shocking the monarch and earning him his freedom. The second scene is of the Roman general Scipio the Elder, who, upon conquering a Spanish city, reunited the native maiden presented to him as a prize of war with her fiancé in a demonstration of Roman morals.