The Devil and Miss Prym

I'm reading this book right now and I was really touched by this quote. It really hit home as to how loving and how hateful all human beings can be.

'Do you know what that is? It's one of the most famous paintings in the world: The last Supper, painted by Leonardo da Vinci.''It can't be as famous as all that,' said the hotel landlady. 'It was very cheap.''That's only a reproduction: the original is in a church a long, long way from here. But there's a story about this picture you might like to hear.''When he was creating this picture, Leonardo da Vinci encountered a serious problem: he had to depict Good - in the person of Jesus - and Evil - in the figure of Judas, the friend who resolves to betray him during the meal. He stopped work on the painting until he could find his ideal models.'One day, when he was listening to a choir, he saw in one of the boys the perfect image of Christ. He invited him to his studio and made sketches and studies of his face.'Three years went by. The Last Supper was almost complete, but Leonardo had still not found the perfect model for Judas. The cardinal responsible for the church started to put pressure on him to finish the mural.'After many days spent vainly searching, the artist came across a prematurely aged youth, in rags and lying drunk in the gutter. With some difficulty, he persuaded his assistants to bring the fellow directly to the church, since there was no time left to make preliminary sketches.'The beggar was taken there, not quite understanding what was going on. He was propped up by Leonardo's assistants, while Leonardo copied the lines of impiety, sin and egotism so clearly etched on his features.'When he had finished, the beggar, who had sobered up slightly, opened his eyes and saw the picture before him. With a mixture of horror and sadness he said:"I've seen that picture before!""When?" asked an astonished Leonardo."Three years ago, before I lost everything I had, at a time when I used to sing in a choir and my life was full of dreams. The artist asked me to pose as a model for the face of Jesus."