University of Virginia Library

Misericordia et Veritas obviaverunt sibi.

Sothnes, hyr syster, þis pleynt herd,
Sone sche com and ansuerd:
“Fader, what may þis pleynt be
That Mersy, my syster, makys to þe?
Wold sche for hyr myld herte
Bryng þis prisoner owte of smerte?
Scho wold he wer fro peyn ibrouȝht,
Bot I, Sothnes, wyll it nouȝht.
A trew thyng, fader, I tell þe:
Ȝiff all thyng myȝht sauyd be
For whom my syster wyll praye,
Schall non of þe stand aye.
I ame Sothnes, herkens to me,
And þat name I hade of þe!
Men callys me kyng in euery kythe,
And ȝiff sothnes wones þe wyth,
Mersy of hym may þou haue none,
Bot I, Sothnes, fro þe gone.
Pyte off hym may non be wroght,
For hymselue wyll it nouȝht.
Kyng off sothnes, do than ryght
And late avenge þe of þat wyght!”
The syster Ryght þeder gan gone;
Thys wordys sche herd euerychone.
When sche þe pleynte onderstode,
Sche ansuerd wiþ myld mode:
“Fader, my name is callyd Ryght,
That name I hade of thy myght.
Seth I ame Ryght, and þou hast me,
As Soth it seys, it muste be,
For Ryght wyll in non wyse
That seruant wer in unyse.
That Soth hath seyd, I, Ryȝht, it wyll,
For it is reson and skyll.
Late þou hym in priso[n] be,
Tyll þou hym iuge befor þe!
For Ryght wyll haue all onderhond,
That he, Soth, do onderstond;
Ryght gyffes iche man be Sothe his rede,
Be it to gode, be it to quede.
Whyll þat he thyn hest held,
We wer wiþ hym wiþ spere and scheld,
Both Mersy, Soth, and Ryght,
And Pese, my syster, wiþ all oure myȝt.
Vs all iiij he hath forsake,
Right wyll þerfor vengeans take.”
Non god word was þer speke,
When þat Mersy was oute steke.
Than was þat wrech wiþ peynes schent,
Hys god benom, hys clothes rente;
In peyn was he manyfolde,
As Soth and Ryght bothe it wolde.
And also þat of hym com,
All þei had þe same dome.
Soth and Ryght wiþouten les
Went wiþout Mersy and Pes,
And be contre as þei wend,
All þat wreches kynd þei schent;
So fast þei gan þem doun dryue
That þei left neuer one of lyue.
A flode ouer all dyd go;
viij þat left of lyue and nomo:
That was Noe and his thre sones—
Ther wer no mo left in no wonys—
In Noys schype wiþ þer wyues,
Wherin þei sauyd þer lyues.
That was þan a reufull syght,
And ȝit it was bote soth and ryȝht.
The syster Pes myȝht nowher be,
Sche was sent out contre,
For sche may for no thyng
Be among wreth and werryng.
Than was Pes in mych care,
When sche saw þe werld þus fare.
To hyr fader hyr wey sche leyd,
And com to hym sone and seyd:
“Fader, I ame þi douȝter Pes,
I auȝht be at thy dese.
Thou arte kynge of pes so dere:
My fader, þan must þou here!
My two systeres, Soth and Ryght,
Wiþ Pes and Mersy þei hold fyght;
All wiþout oure asente
They don all þer iugement.
I, Pese, and my syster Mersy bothe,
We com no[t] heder consell to noþe,
And we foure aw be all at one.
Thys thyng, fader, may not þus gon:
I, Pes, wyll abyde wiþ the,
Tyll all pese among þem be.
All godnes thorow pes to end is brouȝt;
Whoso hath pes, he feylys nouȝht;
Wiþouten pes is wroȝht no thyng,
Be it neuer so grete doyng.
Whoso euer aboute wyll wend,
Pese schall folow at þe ende.
Soth and Ryght it is þer fe
For to kepe þe name of me,
For þei haue non oþer nede
Bot pes to kepe in euery lede.
Why schall I than be forsake,
When þou pes for me gan take?
Bot I haue Mersy, my syster, wiþ me:
I may not els sauyd be.
Seth þou arte kyng of pes in lond,
My word aw to be vnderstond.
Off þe foure systeres a resyn clere
Now ryȝht wyll I schew here:
Thorow vs iiij schall all be wrouȝt,
In vnyte is all my thouȝt;
All we iiij verament
Schall make one iugement.
Therfor iugement auȝht be nouȝt,
Tyll we iiij at one be brouȝt;
All we behouyth togeder take,
Ryght iugement for to make.
Thys seruant onne non wyse
May be leuyd in þat vnyse;
Wiþouten my syster Mersy and me
Iugement may non gyuen be.
Mersy, my syster, cryes euermo
Mersy for hym þat is in wo;
Therfor I, Pes, at þe endes
Schall fond to make þe frendes.”
The kyngys son both wyse and queynt
Herd þe iiij systeres pleynt.
Wiþouten hym on non wyse
Acord may not ryȝht aryse.
“Fader,” he seyd, “thyn I ame;
Off þe, fader, fyrst I com.
Wysdom, fader, my name it is,
For whom was made þis werldys blys;
Thou and I, fader, all one we be
In wytte and myȝht and dygnyte.
Off þis contake, þat I here,
Mersy hath told me reson clere,
Wherof, fader, I haue pyte
That seruant in peyn schall so be.
Thy seruant clothing take I wyll;
Both wiþ sothnes and wiþ skyll
That iugement I wyll onderfonge
And all þat euer to ryȝht wyll longe.
I schall cry Pes wiþouten mys,
And Ryȝht and Pese I schall do kys.
All contake leyd schall be,
My wyll it is I schall saue þe.”