Around the time Jesus was born, those mothers who had given BIRTH
to boys of a similar age, saw their precious darlings SLAIN
by Herod, the supposed Great, a man jealous of power, but not hot
on ETHICs;
when it comes to power, corruption seeps in, and makes all vile men ALIKE.
Kings Closet, Windsor Castle
[So graphic was the original painting that many of the slaughtered children were painted over in the early 17th century so that they appear as bundles, or food on the ground, or even animals. The alterations have been left in subsequent cleanings since they are now regarded as ‘historically significant,’ though they reduce the impact of the original considerably. Notes from the Royal Collection Trust.]