FRUIT OF TREE OF KNOWLEDGE 249 



only Samuel and Saint John the Baptist, who 

 are bound by one arm only, to intimate that 

 « they were sanctified before their birth. At 

 the trunk of the tree, and with the lower part 

 turning around it, is the Old Serpent, but the 

 upper part of the form has the shape of Man, 

 and the hands are confined behind the back; 

 on his head is one foot of the glorious Virgin, 

 which is trampling down the horns of the demon, 

 while the other foot is fixed on a moon. Our 

 Lady is clothed with the sun and crowned with 

 twelve stars, being sustained in the air within 

 a splendour of numerous angels, nude, and 

 illuminated by the rays which proceed from the 

 Madonna herself. These same rays, moreover, 

 passing amidst the fohage of the tree, give fight 

 to the figures bound to the branches; nay, they 

 seem to be gradually loosening their bonds, by 

 the power and grace which they derive from 

 her out of whom they proceed. In Heaven, 

 meanwhile, that is, at the highest point of the 

 picture, are two children bearing a scroll, on 

 which are the following words: 



' " Quos Eva culpa damnavit, Maria gratia solvit." ' > 

 ' Lives of the Painters. 



