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man be stille in helle and forsake nougt me." And thanne seyde Mercy: "O pater misericordiarum et deus tocius consolacionis, qui consolaris nos in omni tribulacione nostra. A, thou fader of mercy," scho seyde, "and God of al comforte, thou that confortes all thing in anger and wo, haue mercy of mannus soul."'

81-83. Char. 350: ""Quoniam dixisti in eternum seruabo illi misericordiam. for why," scho seyde, "thou seydest thou schuldest kepe to hym thi mercy withouten ende, and gif therefore thou be trewe thou schalt haue mercy of mannus soule."'

89-96. Char. 350: ' And thanne seyde Riztfulnesse: "Nay, nay," scho seith, "it may not be so. Quia iustus dominus et iusticias dilexit. for whi, lord," scho seith, "thou art rigtful and thou louest riztfulnesse, and therefore thou ne mayest not rihtfulliche sauen mannus soule. it is rigt that it haue as it hath disserued. Dominum qui se genuit dereliquit et oblitus est dei creatoris sui. he forsoke God that hath forthe-Ibrought him, and he forgat the that madest hym of nougt, and therfore it is resoun that he that hath forsaken the lord of all pitee and mercy that he neuer haue of the neither pitee nor mercy."'

101-112. Char. 350: ""Therfore lat mannus soule be stille as it is, for that is resoun, and ellis me thinketh thou hast forsaken me."... And thanne seyd Mercy to Rigtfulness: “A, leve suster, lat ben and seye not so,... Quia misericordia eius super omnia opera eius. for whi only goddis mercy is abouen all his werkis. Et misericordia eius ab eterno et usque in eternum. and Gods mercy was withouten begynnyng and schall ben withouten endyng."'

108-110. This idea appears in Gr., 11. 2498-2505:

Franche volonté en saisine

Avoit l'omme lors, point n'en doubte;

Mes sensualité voisine

Lui estoit et contraire toute.
L'ennemy, la char qui domine
Le monde tost croit et escoute,
Comme la branche qui s'encline
Au vent qui le plus fort la boute.

113-170. These lines seem to be taken directly from Bonaventura, Med. 2; see notes following.

113-114. Med. 2: 'Dixit pax, "Parcite vobis a verbis istis, virtutum non est honesta contentio."

115-144. Char. 351: 'And thanne seide Pees to here thre sistren, "Pax domini exsuperat omnem sensum. Goddis pees ouergoth eueriche manes witt. Thoug it be so," scho seiyth, "that Truthe seith a grete skile why mannus soule schulde not be saued and Rigtfulnesse seith also, neuertheles me thenketh that Mercy seith altherbest that man schulde be saued, for why ellys," scho seith, "schulde God forsaken zow al thre, bothe Rigtfulnesse and Mercy & Trewthe, and that were grete reuthe; and not only schulde he thus forsaken al zou thre, but he schulde also forsaken me. forwhy as longe as man's soule is in helle ther shall ben discord... bytwene God and man, bytwene aungel and man, bytwene man and man, bytwene man and himself, so that I, that am pes, schulde a-ben forsaken ouer-al, and that were no resoun, and therfore doth after my conseil, and praye we alle togeders to God that is prince of pees, that he wole maken pees and acord by-twixen gow thre, bytwyne hymself and man, by-twyne man and aungel, and bytwyne man and man, and ordeyne sich a weye that he migt kepe us stille alle foure, bothe Mercy and Truthe, Rigtfulnesse and Pees." and hem thougte that scho seyde best and prayden alle to the fadur of heuene that he schulde so don. And he seyde, "Ego cogito cogitationes pacis et non afflictionis. I thenke," he sayde, "the thougtis of pes and nougt of wickednesse. I schal kepe zou stille alle foure, and I schal sauen mannus soule and brynge hym to blisse."'

137-144. Med. 2: 'Scripsit autem Rex sententiam quam paci, quæ propinquius ei stabat, dedit legendam, sic continentem. Hæc dicit, "Perii si Adam non moriatur." Et hæc dicit, "Perii si non misericordiam consequatur. Fiat mors bona, et habeant utræque quod petunt."'

145-152. Med. 2: 'Inveniatur qui ex charitate moriatur, non obnoxius morti, et sic mors non poterit tenere innoxium, sed faciat in ea foramen, per quod transeant liberati. Placuit sermo.'

153-160. Med. 2: 'Rediit ergo Veritas ad terram et misericordia remansit in cælo. . . . Sed a misericordia perlustratur cœlum et neminem invenit, qui sufficientem ad hoc habeat charitatem ..... Et cum nullus inveniretur, . . . . redeunt ad constitutam diem . . 66 non invento quod desiderabant,” dixit pax.'

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161-162. Med. 2: 'Omnes enim servi sumus, et qui cum bene fecerimus dicere debemus illud Lucæ " Quia inutiles servi sumus." This is not said by Justice, however, in Med.

167-170. Med. 2: Dixit Pax, "Qui dedit consilium feret auxilium." Intellexit hoc Rex et ait, "Pœnitet me fecisse hominem; pœnitentiam me agere oportet, pro homine quem creavi."

171. The Council of the Trinity (see following notes) in the Char. precedes the strife between the sisters.

171-180. Char. 348: 'He ordeyned a counseil of the holy trinite in the blisse of heuene, of the fadur and of the sone and of the holy gost, and seyde, "ge weten wel we maden mannus soule to oure likenesse, ... and by his folye he [fell], ... and therfore he was taken out and put in to prisoun of the pit of helle, and there he hath bene nowe foure thousand ger sexe hundred and more, and that is grete pitee; me thynkith it were a good dede... to delyuere mannus soule out of that sorye prisoun, . . . haue we pity on hym.". And alle the holy trinite graunted that it schulde so be. "But," he seyde, "who that schulde don swyche a dede, hym behoued for to be swyche on that were beholden for to don it, and also that he migt don it." But there was no thing that was byholden to delyueren mannus soule but onliche man, ne ther was no thing that migte delyuere hym but gif it were god; and therfore who so schulde do that dede he most be bothe god and man... . almigty goddis

sone schulde come doun into this world and ben Iborn of a mayden and becomen man.'

179. Bonaventura differs here. The Son is chosen for the mission by the Virtues, because the Father is too terrible and mighty to please Mercy and Peace, and the Holy Spirit is too gentle and benign to please Truth and Justice.

185. Med. 2: Tunc ergo impletum est illud propheticum: "Misericordia et Veritas obviaverunt sibi, Justitia et Pax osculatæ sunt.""

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190. St. Ephrem, Serm. de laud. Dei Gen. Mar. I, on Zechariah 4. 2-3: Behold a candlestick all of gold etc.,' writes: Who then is the candlestick? The holy Mary, because she bore the immaterial light, the God Incarnate, and as the candlestick is not of itself the cause of light, but is that which bears the light, so too the Virgin is not of herself God, but the temple of God.' See Livius, The Blessed Virgin in the Fathers, Index, under Mary as the golden candlestick.

215-216. Directly from Luke 1. 28; cf. Ch. I, 1-4, note. 217. The second verse of the hymn Ave Maris Stella, sung at the Feast of the Annunciation, is as follows:

Sumens illud Ave
Gabrielis ore,
Funda nos in pace,

Mutans Evæ nomen.

See Guéranger, L'Annee Liturgique: Le Carême, p. 562. Mist. d. 1. Nat. p. 48, Gabriel says:

Per toi est joie recouvrée

Qui par Evain estoit perdue.

The idea of Mary as a second Eve was a popular one even in the first centuries of the Church. St. Justin (120-165 A. D.) writes (Migne, Patr. Gr. 6. 710): 'Whereas Eve, yet a virgin and undefiled, through conceiving the word that came from the serpent, brought forth death; the virgin Mary, taking faith and joy, when the angel told her the good tidings, answered "Be it unto me according to thy word.""

Irenæus (Migne, Patr. Gr. 7. 958) and Tertullian (Migne, Patr. Lat. 2. 782) have similar comparisons. For many other references, and for a full discussion of the subject, see Livius, The Blessed Virgin in the Fathers, chap. 1.

Cf. T. I. 32-34, and note.

218-226. The general idea in these lines seems to come from Bonaventura's long treatise on the Ave Maria, called Speculum B. Mariæ Virginis. The titles of the various

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chapters will best show the connection: Chap. 2. Quod B. V. Maria libera fuit a triplici væ culpæ actualis, miseræ originalis, pœnæ gehennalis'; cf. 1. 218. There is also some punning on the words Væ and Ave in this chapter, which may have suggested 1. 217. Chap. 5. Quod gratia Mariæ sit vera, immensa, multiplex et utile valde'; cf. ll. 221-222. Chaps. 8-10 explain why God was peculiarly with Mary, for she was 'filia nobilissima, mater dignissima, sponsa venustissima, et ancilla devotissima'; cf. 11. 223-225. Bonaventura in Med. 6, introduces the triple commendation: Commendabatur quod esset gratia plena, quod Dominus esset secum, et quod esset benedicta super omnes mulieres.'

St. Augustine, in Sermo CXXIII: In Natali Domini (Migne, Patr. Lat. 39), gives a similar interpretation.

230 ff. De Nat. Mar. 9: Virgo autem quæ iam angelicos bene noverat vultus et lumen cæleste insuetum non habebat, neque angelica visione territa neque luminis magnitudine stupefacta, sed in solo eius sermone turbata est.' Quoted by Bonaventura in Med. 4, who adds: 'Cum videret se tribus commendari non poterat humilis Domina non turbari.'

235-242. The author now returns to the account in Luke 1. 30-33, which is followed and preceded by the account from De. Nat. Mar. See notes, and cf. Ch. I, 9-20; Y. I, 153–168; T. I, 92–105.

247-248. De Nat. Mar. 9: His angeli verbis virgo, non incredula sed modum scire volens, respondit: "Quomodo istud fieri potest?""

249-257. Again a close paraphrase of Luke 1. 35-37. Cf. Ch. I, 27-40; Y. I, 177-184.

261-262. Med. 4: Tota Trinitas est ibi expectans responsionem et consensum huius filiæ singularis.'

267-282. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, chap. 19, the promise of a redeemer to the souls in hell is made by God to Seth, the son of Adam, who relates it to the patriarchs and prophets.

285-286. Luke 1. 38. Mary's humility is more strongly emphasised in De Nat. Mar. 9, where she adds to this reply: 'neque enim dominæ nomine digna sum.'

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