| This
work depicts an infamous incident that occurred in Zaandam, North Holland,
in 1647 when a bull became enraged at seeing a boy flying a kite. The
boy's father, Jacob Egh, tried to calm the bull, but it charged and
killed him. It then tossed his pregnant wife into the air with its horns,
tearing open her abdomen and, and causing her unborn baby son to be
flung out. The events after the attack are depicted on the right, including
the moment the bull was shot dead. The baby survived for nine months.
A Dutch verse in rhyming couplets, divided into four columns, appears
beneath the image, narrating the tragedy through the voices of the victims
and condemning the bull. |
The
bull’s cruelty inflicted upon MASTER and WIFE and wondrous
love shown for the salvation of their child, as happened in Zaandam.
1697 |
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I
THE FATHER
Oh, silent upon the earth is the body of the wretched.
As God wills, we are like chaff driven by the winds.
Whether we are or are not, who knows in life?
Only he who lives righteously shall never vanish.
So, dear ones, come and hear how I was carried away
By a beast I had taken for the household.
My call, guiding the cow home by hand,
Became grief and ruin, as I was brought low.
The murderous beast drove its horns into my guts
And through my side, where my soul departed.
The blood flowed like a stream, no help could reach me,
We found no salvation, no man could stop the harm.
We lay dead in the field, bereft of all friends,
Alas, how cruel and bold it struck without remorse.
Its mother and my love lay in pain and torment,
It remained near the children, yet with frightened mind
From afar speaking to him: 'Child, offer confession'. |
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II
THE MOTHER
The great grief that struck my woman’s heart
Cannot be spoken: when I saw him, fallen.
My dear husband, so fair, lay in blood attacked
That I collapsed, as though death had claimed me in sorrow.
The beast, savage and cruel, my hope and household mate,
Having taken life, turned upon me.
I turned, I screamed, I pushed away with all my might,
But it, cruel, did not leave me—I was already dead.
My body fell, it struck with horns again,
And pierced my breast, blood poured from all limbs,
And with violence, drove my spirit from life.
My child, my apple of the eye, where are you now?
Oh, if only you were in your mother’s arms,
That I might save you from these cruel blows,
But alas, no counsel helped, no plea, no questions.
We died, and the child was preserved with much care.' |
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III
THE CHILD
My dear parents both, why must I live here
Bereft of you, who brought me into the world?
My innocent body is now tenderly carried
To witness your loss and pour out my tears.
What path shall I find in life’s barren course?
My protectors, flown in blood and pain,
Are no longer here, I see the murder in your eyes,
And I, child of sorrow, who shall give me life?
I am filled with fear, my limbs tremble greatly,
When I see the wounds you have endured.
Oh sorrowful fate, who shall gladden my soul?
You parents, who in blood revealed your love,
Are gone from me, I wait in fear and dread
That I may end my sorrowful lot
And in the grave beside you, lay my body
To eternal peace and end of bitter pain. |
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IV
TO THE BULL
You, with cruel horns, so fierce and unafraid,
Struck loving hearts into blood and death.
You abandoned God, and saw not your lord and master,
But with force and strength, turned to murder.
It frightened the land and the people by the shore.
You came from afar, untameable,
People ran to the field to oppose your slaughter,
But you struck fiercely, and reached our waters.
The land stood aghast, fear and terror howled,
You struck, and the people screamed, the children fled.
Hooks and cries, you were bound in a rope
As punishment for the blood you spilled,
The beast lost life, and the people found peace.
Your heart, full of murder, stilled, your strength no more,
But God made you tremble, your soul was taken,
Let this be a lesson: know God, and fear His law. |
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