De Mens moet zijn begeerten doden

The central figure, representing the human soul or 'The Old Man,' is bound to a rough-hewn tree and pierced in the side by a lance, mirroring the Passion of Christ. In the background, the biblical Brazen Serpent stands on a pole as a symbol of divine healing, while God the Father looks down from a break in the clouds. The landscape and inscriptions emphasize the spiritual necessity of 'dying' to one's worldly desires to achieve eternal life.

This work is a primary example of the Neostoic and spiritualist philosophy of Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, who designed the image for Goltzius. It visualizes the esoteric concept of 'mortificatio'—the systematic killing of the ego and lower appetites as a prerequisite for spiritual rebirth, a theme central to both Christian mysticism and alchemical psychology.