'Yet hear me, Daughters. Said I, the decree
Must be reversed? Not else reversed may be
The doom of all my countless progeny.
Nor may it be reversed, 'till Life shall be
The Vanquisher of Death, eternally.
'Ah, hear me, Daughters. Know what 'tis to me
To suffer loss, and justly. Verily,
A satisfaction all condign must be
Offered to God's offended Majesty
Ere Life can triumph, Death can vanquished be.
'O Daughters, God is Just. Yea, verily,
Is Justice Self. But Truth is also He.
And He hath sworn, in all solemnity,
To find the Ransom, that in Justice He
May Mercy meet - and so appeased be.
'Yet hearken, Daughters. Not alone may I
The punishment endure. Ah, hear me, why
Your words bring little consolation. I
Of Death alone am cause: so, verily,
She whom we look for, Cause of Life must be.
'Who will believe of all this company,
Still less of that our masters, e'er shall be
A Woman found to change the destiny
Of such a race as ours? Oh, who can be
Born as I was, when life was given to me?
'Born of a Father without Mother. See,
Your Ancestress - in such integrity,
Faultless and pure. Oh, full of grace was she
When first she sprang to life and beauty. See,
Virgin of virgin-born. Yea, such was she.
'And such, my Daughters, must the Woman be
By God ordained our Queen of Life to be:
Untouched by sin's deflection, verily,
In Grace and in Obedience perfect - she
The Man must bear in her Virginity.'
- text taken from Mary: The Perfect Woman, by Emily Mary Shapcote