
This fifteenth-century panel illustrates an aspect of the life of Thomas Aquinas. His
brothers, angered by his entrance into the Dominican order, imprisoned him and
sent a prostitute to tempt him. He slapped her face and resisted. As she retreats (on
left) two angels bind him with a girdle of chastity. After this episode, Aquinas
professed never again to have felt any stirrings of the flesh.