1505/32. The two halves of the picture tell the story of the gambler monk from the 'Golden Legend' not found in the 'Vita Prima'; on the left his departure from Clairvaux, and on the right his return. The scrolls say it all: Bernard: 'Unde victurus est?' (How will you keep yourself). Monk: 'Ego taxillos ludere, scio, et inde vivere potero' (I am good at throwing dice, and will be able to support myself). Bernard: 'Non capitale commisero, vis singulis annis ad me redire et lucrum meum dividere?' (Now then, if I give you some capital, will you come back every year and hand over my share of the profit?). Monk: 'Libenter hoc agam' (I do so with pleasure). Bernard: 'Dividamus lucrum!' (Then we will share the profit!). On the right Bernard holds out his cowl to receive his winnings from the kneeling monk who has returned and says: 'Nihil super lucratus sum, sed etiam capitali vestro nudatus sum' (I have won nothing and even lost your contribution). Bernard: 'Si ita est: melius est, ut te benigne recipiam, quam utrumque perdam' (If that is how things are, it would be better for me to have you back than to lose you as well as the money). One of only two Altenberg scenes only found in the 'Golden Legend' (see also GL55).
|