This ix monthis thou seyst me nowth;
Kepe the clene, my jentyl spowse,
& all thi maydenys in thi howse,
That evyl langage I her not rowse,
For hese love that all hath wrought.

MARY prays God to speed him, and concludes,

with

Gracyous God my mayden hed saue

Euyr clene, in chastyte.

MYSTERY IV.

IN COTTON MS. PAGEANT XI.

A COUNCIL OF THE TRINITY
AND THE INCARNATION.

CONTEMPLATION begins the PLAY with a

Prologue.

Fowr thowsand, sex vndryd, four yer, I telle,
Man for his offens, & fowle foly,

Hath leyn yers, in the peynes of helle,

And wer' wurthy to ly', there in, endlesly,
But thanne shuld perysche thi grete mercye.

*

Wolde God thou woldyst (leave) thi hefne myghty,

& com down her' in to erth,

& levyn yers thre & threttye,

thyn famy't folke, with thi fode, to fede, To staunche thi thryste, lete thi syde blede, ffor erste, wole not be made redemp'c'on.

Virtutes. The Aungel, lord, thou made so gloryous,
Whos synne hath mad hy' a devyl in helle,

He mevyd man to be so contraryous,

Man repentyd, & he, in his obstynacye, doth dwelle.

VIRTUE prays God to repel the malice of the devil, and take man into grace.

God comes forward, saying, that the supplications of all have reached him.

TRUTH tells God he will not leave him-reminds God that he promised, when Adam sinned, "that he shulde deye & go to helle "-that to restore him is impossible, and prays that he be tormented for ever.

MERCY intercedes to God for compassion, says, that all heaven and earth cry for mercy, and calls the devil "a helle hownde."

JUSTICE marvels what moves MERCY so much; and assigns as a good reason for man's eternal punishment,

That man having offended God, who is endless,
Therfore, his endles punchement may nevyr sees;
Also, he forsoke his maker, that made hym of clay,
And the devyl to his mayst' he ches,

Shulde he be savyd? nay! nay! nay!

MERCY says, that there is too much vengeance in Justice-that the "frelnesse" of mankind should be considered-and that the mercy of God is without

end.

PEACE exhorts them not to quarrel, and says that she approves Mercy's supplication

For, yff mannys sowle shulde abyde in helle,
Be twen god & man euyr shulde be dyvysyon,
And than myght not I, pes, dwelle.

She proposes to refer the whole to God, to which

the others assent, and Filíus (GOD THE SON) entering, PEACE says,

Her is God! now her' is vnyte;

Hefne & erth is plesyd with pes.

GOD THE SON is inclined to PEACE. He says, that

If Adam had not deyd, peryschyd had ryghtwysnes;
And also, trewth had be' lost ther by:

Giff another deth come not, mercy shulde perysch,
Than pes wer' exyled ffynyaly;

So tweyn dethis must be, yow fowr to cherysch.
But he that shal deye, ye must knawe,
That, in hym, may be non iniquyte,
That helle may holde hym be no lawe,

But, that he may pas, at hese lyberte.

Ower swyche, on his p'vyde, & se;

And hese deth, for mannys deth, schal be redemp❜con.
All hefne, & erthe, seke now ye :

Plesyth it yow this con'clusyon?

Veritas.-I trowth, hane sowte the erthe, with out & with inne, &, in sothe, there kan non be fownde, That is of o day byrth, with owt synne;

Nor, to that deth, wole be bownde.

M'a.-I, mercy, have ronne the hevynly regyon rownde,

And ther is non of that charyte,

That, ffor man, wole suffre a deadly wounde;
So I can nott wete how, this schal be.

Justicia.-Sur'; I can fynde non sufficyent;
ffor servauntys vn profytable we be, ech on ;
He love nedyth to be ful ardent,

That, for man, to helle wolde gon.

Pax.—That God may is non but on ;
Therfor, this, is be hys a vyse;

He that gaff this co'nsell, lete hy' geve the comforte a lon,
For the conclusyon, in hym, of all these lyse.

Filius.—It peyneth me that man I mad,

That is to seyn, peyne I must suffre for.
A counsel of the trinite, must be had,
Whiche of us shal man restor'.

Pater.-In your wysdam, son, man was mad thor,
And in wysdam was his temptac❜on,
Therfor, sone, sapyens ye must ordeyn her' for',
& se how, of man, may be salvac'on.

Filius.—ffadyr; he, that schal do this, must be both god & man;
Lete me se how I may wer' that wede;
Any syth, in my wysdam, he began,

I am redy to do this dede.

Sp'us g'c'us.—I, the holy gost, of yow tweyn, do p'cede ;

This charge I wole take on me :

I, love, to your lover, schal yow lede;

This is the assent of our unyte.

M'ia.-Now is the loveday mad, of us fowr, fynia❜ly:

Now may we leve in pes, as we wer wonte,

Misericordia & veritas obvianeruat sibi

Justicia & pax osculate sunt

[& hic osculabunt pariter omnes.]

GOD THE FATHER directs the Angel GABRIEL to go to MARY at Joseph's, in Galilee; and GOD THE SON instructs Gabriel to

Say that she is with owte wo, & ful of grace,

And that I, the son of the gcdhed, of her schal be bor❜.

Hyge the, thou wer' ther' a pace,

ellys we schal be ther, the be for',

I haue so gret hast, to be man thor',
In that mekest & purest virgyne,
Sey her, she shal restor,

Of yow Aungellys, the grett knyne.