258 THE KING'S MIRROR 



severe and merciless. Moreover, a king does justice to 

 all men when he does justice to any man or woman; but 

 all decisions which imply punishment he must always 

 consider in the presence of these four sisters; and it must 

 be such as will bring them into agreement, so that they 

 can kiss and embrace each other, in which case the 

 judgment will be neither too lenient nor too severe. A 

 king ought to consider very carefully how to bring the 

 minds of the sisters into agreement; for in all trials 

 they are arranged and seated apart in groups; Truth 

 and Justice on one side of the court and Mercy and 

 Peace on the other. They should be agreed and unani- 

 mous in every case; but it frequently occurs that Peace 

 and Mercy give the whole suit over to Truth and Jus- 

 tice, though all unite in the verdict none the less. Some- 

 times it happens that each of the sisters has a full voice 

 in the decision according to right reckoning; but at 

 other times it may be that the larger share falls to Peace 

 and Mercy; but the sisters are unanimous in the verdict 

 none the less. It has also happened at times that, after 

 a verdict has been reached and confirmed, Mercy and 

 Peace have exercised leniency because of the prayers 

 and repentance of him who was in need of it. 



XLVI 



AN EXAMPLE OF RIGHTEOUS SEVERITY IN JUDGMENT 



DRAWN FROM THE STORY OF GOD's 



CONDEMNATION OF LUCIFER 



Son. It looks to me now as if this is a more intricate 

 matter than I thought earlier; for it must require great 

 understanding and insight to harmonize the opinions 



