Down in Cieldauro; 25 and from martyrdomAnd exile came it here. Lo! further on,Where flames the arduous spirit of Isidore;"Of Bede; 27 and Richard," more than man, erewhile.In deep discernment. Lasdy this, from whomThy look on me reverteth, was the beamOf one, whose spirit, on high musings bent,Rebuked the lingering tardiness of death.It is the eternal light of Sigebert 2'Who 'scaped not envy, when of truth he argued,Reading in the straw-litter'd street." 30 Forthwith,As clock, that calleth up the spouse of God 3 1To win her Bridegroom's love at matin's hour,Each part of other fidy drawn and urged,Sends out a tinkling sound, of note so sweet,Affection springs in well-disposed breast;Thus saw I move the glorious wheel; thus heardVoice answering voice, so musical and soft,It can be known but where day endless shines.Canto XI
¶ARGUMENT . — Thomas Aquinas enters at large into the life and character of St. Francis; and then solves one of two difficulties, which he perceived to have risen in Dante's mind from what he had heard in the last Canto.
OFOND anxiety of mortal menl
¶How vain and inconclusive argumentsAre those, which make thee beat thy wings below.
For statutes one, and one for aphorisms'
¶5 5 "Cieldauro." Boctius was buried at prior of the monastery of that name at Pavia, in the monastery of St. Pietro in Paris; and died in 1 1 7 3 . "He was at the Cicl d'Oro. head of the Mystics in this century; and
¶1 6 He was Archbishop of Seville during his treatise, entitled the "Mystical Ark , " forty years, and died in 635. which contains as it were the marrow of
¶" " Bed e . " Bede, whose virtues ob this kind of theology, was received with tained him the appellation of the Vener the greatest avidity." Maclaine's Mosheim. able, was born in 672, at Wearmouth and 1 9 A monk of the Abbey of Gemblours, Jarrow in the bishopric of Durham, and in high repute at the end of the eleventh, died at Jarrow in 735. Invited to Rome and beginning of the twelfth century.
¶by Pope Sergius I, he preferred passing 3 0 The name of a street in Paris; the almost the whole of his life in the seclu "Rue de Fouarre."
p. 330¶Was hunting; this the priesthood follow'd; that,By force or sophistry, aspired to rule;To rob, another; and another sought,By civil business, wealth; one, moiling, layTangled in net of sensual delight;And one to wistless indolence resign'd;What time from all these empty things escaped,With Beatrice, I thus gloriouslyWas raised aloft, and made the guest of Heaven.They of the circle to that point, each one,Where erst it was, had turn'd; and steady glow'd,As candle in his socket. Then withinThe lustre, 2 that ercwhile bespake me, smilingWith merer gladness, heard I thus begin:"E'en as His beam illumes me, so I lookInto the Eternal Light, and clearly markThy thoughts, from whence they rise. Thou art in doubt,And wouldst, that I should bolt my words afreshIn such plain open phrase, as may be smoothTo thy perception, where I told thee lateThat 'well they thrive'; 3 and that 'no second such 4Hath risen,' which no small distinction needs."The Providence, that governeth the world,In depth of counsel by created kenUnfathomable, to the end that she, 4Who with loud cries was 'spoused in precious blood,Might keep her footing toward her well-beloved,*Safe in herself and constant unto Him,Hath two ordain'd, who should on either handIn chief escort her: one, 7 seraphic allIn fervency; for wisdom upon earth,The other, 8 splendour of cherubic light.I but of one will tell: he tells of both,Who one commendeth, which of them soe'erBe taken: for their deeds were to one end."Between Tupino, 9 and the wave that falls
¶The spirit of Thomas Aquinas. 'One." St. Francis.
¶See the last Canto, v. 93. 'The other." St. Dominic
¶See the last Canto, v. III . ' Thomas Aquinas describes the birth"She." The Church. place of St. Francis, between Tupino, a Jesus Christ. rivulet near Assisi, or Ascesi, where the
p. 331¶From blest Ubaldo's chosen hill, there hangsRich slope of mountain high, whence heat and cold 10Are wafted through Perugia's eastern gate:And Nocera with Gualdo, in its rear,Mourn for their heavy yoke." Upon that side,Where it doth break its steepness most, aroseA sun upon the world, as duly thisFrom Ganges doth: therefore let none, who speakOf that place, say Ascesi; for its nameWere lamely so deliver'd; but the East,To call things rightly, be it henceforth styled.He was not yet much distant from his rising,When his good influence 'gan to bless the earth.A dame," to whom none openeth pleasure's gateMore than to death, was, 'gainst his father's will,"His stripling choice: and he did make her his,Before the spiritual court, 14 by nuptial bonds,And in his father's sight: from day to day,Then loved her more devoutly. She, bereavedOf her first Husband, 15 slighted and obscure,Thousand and hundred years and more, remain'dWithout a single suitor, till he came.Nor aught avail'd, that, with Amyclas, 18 sheWas found unmoved at rumour of his voice,Who shook the world: nor aught her constant boldness,Whereby with Christ she mounted on the Cross,When Mary stay'd beneath. But not to deal
¶saint was born in 1182, and Chiascio, a 1 3 In opposition to the wishes of his stream that rises in a mountain near natural father.
¶Agobbio, chosen by St. Ubaldo for his re 1 4 He made a vow of poverty in the tirement. presence of the bishop and of his natural
p. 332¶Thus closely with thee longer, take at largeThe lovers' titles—Poverty and Francis.Their concord and glad looks, wonder and love,And sweet regard gave birth to holy thoughts,So much, that venerable Bernard 17 firstDid bare his feet, and, in pursuit of peaceSo heavenly, ran, yet deem'd his footing slow.O hidden riches! O prolific good!Egidius" bares him next, and next Sylvester,"And follow, both, the bridegroom: so the brideCan please them. Thenceforth goes he on his way,The father and the master, with his spouse,And with that family, whom now the cord 20Girt humbly: nor did abjectness of heartWeigh down his eyelids, for that he was sonOf Pietro Bernardone, 21 and by menIn wondrous sort despised. But royallyHis hard intention he to Innocent 22Set forth; and, from him, first received the sealOn his religion. Then, when numerous flock'dThe tribe of lowly ones, that traced his steps,Whose marvellous life deservedly were sungIn heights empyreal; through Honorius' 2' handA second crown, to deck their Guardian's virtues,Was by the eternal Spirit inwreathed: and whenHe had, through thirst of martyrdom, stood upIn the proud Soldan's presence, 2* and there preach'dChrist and His followers, but found the raceUnripen'd for conversion; back once moreHe hasted (not to intermit his toil)And reap'd Ausonian lands. On the hard rock,1 1[333]Twixt Arno and the Tiber, he from ChristTook the last signet, 1' which his limbs two yearsDid carry. Then, the season come that He,Who to such good had destined him, was pleasedTo advance him to the meed, which he had earn'dBy his self-humbling; to his brotherhood,As their just heritage, he gave in chargeHis dearest lady:" and enjoin'd their loveAnd faith to her; and, from her bosom, will'dHis goodly spirit should move forth, returningTo its appointed kingdom; nor would haveHis body 28 laid upon another bier."Think now of one, who were a fit colleagueTo keep the bark of Peter, in deep sea,Helm'd to right point; and such our Patriarch 1* was.Therefore who follow him as he enjoins,Thou mayst be certain, take good lading in.But hunger of new viands tempts his flock; 30So that they needs into strange pastures wideMust spread them: and the more remote from himThe stragglers wander, so much more they comeHome, to the sheep-fold, destitute of milk.There are of them, in truth, who fear their harm,And to the shepherd cleave; but these so few,A little stuff may furnish out their cloaks."Now, if my words be clear; if thou have ta'enGood heed; if that, which I have told, recallTo mind; thy wish may be in part fulfill'd:For thou wilt see the plant from whence they split; 31And he shall see, who girds him, what that means,'That well they thrive, not swoln with vanity.'"
¶ARGUMENT . — A second circle of glorified souls encompasses the first. Buonaventura, who is one of them, celebrates the praises of St. Dominic, and informs Dante who the other eleven are, that are in this second circle or garland.
SOON as its final word the blessed flame'
¶Had raised for utterance, straight the holy mill 1Began to wheel; nor yet had once revolved,
Or e'er another, circling, compass'd it,Motion to motion, song to song, conjoining;Song, that as much our muses doth excel,Our Syrens with their tuneful pipes, as rayOf primal splendour doth its faint reflex.As when, if Juno bid her handmaid forth,Two arches parallel, and trick'd alike,Span the thin cloud, the outer taking birthFrom that within (in manner of that voice'Whom love did melt away, as sun the mist),And they who gaze, presageful call to mindThe compact, made with Noah, of the worldNo more to be o'erflow'd; about us thus,Of sempiternal roses, bending, wreathedThose garlands twain; and to the innermostE'en thus the external answer'd. When the footing,And other great festivity, of song,And radiance, light with light accordant, eachJocund and blythe, had at their pleasure still'd,(E'en as the eyes, by quick volition moved,Are shut and raised together), from the heartOf one 4 amongst the new lights 5 moved a voice,
¶1 Thomas Aquinas. and Dante were encompassed, are by a 2 The circle of spirits. bold figure termed two garlands of never-
¶3 One rainbow giving back the image fading roses.
¶of the other, as sound is reflected by 4 "One." St. Buonaventura, general Echo, that nymph, who was melted away of the Franciscan order, in which he by her fondness for Narcissus, as vapor effected some reformation; and one of the is melted by the sun. The reader will most profound divines of his age. "He observe in the text not only a second and refused the archbishopric of York, which third simile within the first, but two was offered him by Clement IV, but afmythological and one sacred allusion terward was prevailed on to accept the bound up together with the whole. Even bishopric of Albano and a cardinal's hat. after this accumulation of imagery, the He was born at Bagnoregio or Bagnorea, two circles of spirits, by whom Beatrice in Tuscany, A . D. 1221, and died in
That made me seem* like needle to the star,In turning to its whereabout; and thusBegan: "The love, 7 that makes me beautiful,Prompts me to tell of the other guide, for whomSuch good of mine is spoken. Where one is,The other worthily should also be;That as their warfare was alike, alikeShould be their glory. Slow, and full of doubt,And with thin ranks, after its banner movedThe army of Christ, (which it so dearly costTo reappoint), when its imperial HeadWho reigneth ever, for the drooping hostDid make provision, through grace alone,And not through its deserving. As thou heard'st,*Two champions to the succour of His spouseHe sent, who by their deeds and words might joinAgain His scatter'd people. In that clime*Where springs the pleasant west-wind to unfoldThe fresh leaves, with which Europe sees herselfNew-garmented; nor from those billows 10 far,Beyond whose chiding, after weary course,The sun doth sometimes 11 hide him; safe abidesThe happy Callaroga, 12 under guardOf the great shield, wherein the lion liesSubjected and supreme. And there was bornThe loving minion of the Christian faith, 1'The hallow'd wrestler, gentle to his own,
¶1274." Diet. Histor. par Chaudon ct • See the last Canto, v. 33.
¶Delandine, Ed. Lyon. 1804. 9 "In that clime." Spain.
And to his enemies terrible. So repleteHis soul with lively virtue, that when firstCreated, even in the mother's womb, 14It prophesied. When, at the sacred font,The spousals were complete 'twixt faith and him,Where pledge of mutual safety was exchanged,The dame, 15 who was his surety, in her sleepBeheld the wondrous fruit, that was from himAnd from his heirs to issue. And that suchHe might be construed, as indeed he was,She was inspired to name him of his owner,Whose he was wholly; and so call'd him Dominic.And I speak of him, as the labourer,Whom Christ in His own garden chose to beHis help-mate. Messenger he seem'd, and friendFast-knit to Christ; and the first love he show'd,Was after the first counsel 16 that Christ gave.Many a time 17 his nurse, at entering, foundThat he had risen in silence, and was prostrate,As who should say, 'My errand was for this.'O happy father! Felix 18 rightly named.O favour'd mother! rightly named Joanna;If that do mean, as men interpret it."Not for the world's sake, for which now they toilUpon Ostiense 20 and Taddeo's 11 lore;But for the real manna, soon he grewMighty in learning; and did set himself
¶1 4 His mother, when pregnant with 1 7 His nurse, when she returned to him, him, is said to have dreamt that she often found that he had left his bed, and should bring forth a white and black dog was prostrate, and in prayer.
¶with a lighted torch in his mouth, which 1 8 "Felix." Felix Gusman.
¶were signs of the habit to be worn by " Grace or gift of the Lord.
¶his order, and of his fervent zeal. 2 0 Arrigo (about 1250 A. D . ) , a native
¶1 5 His godmother's dream was, that he of Susa, and cardinal of Ostia and Vclletri, had one star in his forehead and another hence his name of Ostiense, was celein the nape of his neck, from which he brated for his lectures on the Decretals. communicated light to the east and the 2 1 "Taddeo." Either the physician or west. the lawyer of that name. The former,
¶" "Jesus said unto him. If thou wilt be T . d' Aldcrotto, a Florentine, called the perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and Hippocratean, translated the Ethics of give to the poor, and thou shalt have Aristotle into Latin; and died toward the treasure in heaven; and come and follow end of the thirteenth century. The other, me."—Matt. xix. a i . Dominic is said of Bologna, left no writings behind him. to have followed this advice.
p. 337¶To go about the vineyard, that soon turnsTo wan and wither'd, if not tended well:And from the see 22 (whose bounty to the justAnd needy is gone by, not through its fault,But his who fills it basely), he besought,No dispensation 2' for commuted wrong,Nor the first vacant fortune, 24 nor the tenthsThat to God's paupers rightly appertain,But, 'gainst an erring and degenerate world,License to fight, in favour of that seed 25From which the twice twelve cions gird thee round.Then, with sage doctrine and good will to help,Forth on his great apostleship he fared,Like torrent bursting from a lofty vein;And, dashing 'gainst the stocks of heresy,Smote fiercest, where resistance was most stout.Thence many rivulets have since been turn'd,Over the garden catholic to leadTheir living waters, and have fed its plants."If such, one wheel 2* of that two-yoked car,Wherein the holy Church defended her,And rode triumphant through the civil broil;Thou canst not doubt its fellow's excellence,Which Thomas, 17 ere my coming, hath declaredSo courteously unto thee. But the track, 2*Which its smooth fellies made, is now deserted:That, mouldy mother is, where late were lees.His family, that wont to trace his path,Turn backward, and invert their steps; erelongTo rue the gathering in of their ill crop,When the rejected tares 29 in vain shall ask
¶' • " The apostolic sec, which no longer from which have sprung up these four-continues its wonted liberality toward the and-twcnty plants, these holy spirits that indigent and deserving; not indeed now environ thee."
¶through its own fault, as its doctrines are1 6 Dominic; as the other wheel is still the same, but through the fault of Francis.
¶the pontiff, who is seated in it."2 7 "Thomas." Thomas Aquinas.
Admittance to the barn. I question not 10But he, who search'd our volume, leaf by leaf,Might still find page with this inscription on't,'I am as I was wont.' Yet such were notFrom Acquasparta nor Casale, whence,Of those who come to meddle with the text,One stretches and another cramps its rule.
From Bagnoregio; one, who, in dischargeOf my great offices, still laid asideAll sinister aim. Illuminato here,And Agostino" join me: two they were,Among the first of those barefooted meek ones,Who sought God's friendship in the cord: with
Hugues of Saint Victor;* 1 Pietro Mangiadore; 33And he of Spain" in his twelve volumes shining;Nathan the prophet; MetropolitanChrysostom;* 5 and Anselmo;** and, who deign'dTo put his hand to the first art, Donatus.
¶** "I question not." "Some indeed '* To Pope Adrian V succeeded John might be found, who still observe the rule XXI , a native of Lisbon; a man of great of the order; but such would come neither genius and extraordinary acquirements, from Casale nor Acquasparta." At Ca especially in logic and in medicine, as sale, in Monferr.it, the discipline had been his books, written in the name of Peter of enforced by Uberto with unnecessary Spain, (by which he was known before rigor; and at Acquasparta, in the territory he became Pope), may testify. He was of Todi, it had been equally relaxed by killed at Viterbo, by the falling in of the the Cardinal Matteo, general of the order. roof of his chamber, after he had been
¶3 1 Two among the earliest followers of pontiff only eight months and as many St. Francis. days, A. D . 1277.
¶* 2 "Hugues of Saint Victor." He was " "Chrysostom." The eloquent Paof the monastery of St. Victor at Paris, triarch of Constantinople.
¶and died in 1142, at the age of forty-four. 3 6 Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, His ten books, illustrative of the celestial was born at Aosta, about 1034, and hierarchy of Dionysius the Areopagite, ac studied under Lanfranc, at the monastery cording to the translation of Joannes of Bee in Normandy, where he afterward Scotus, are inscribed to King Louis, son devoted himself to a religious life, in his of Louis le Gros, by whom the monas twenty-seventh year. In three years he tery had been founded. was made prior, and then abbot of that
¶3 3 "Pietro Mangiadore." Petrus Comes- monastery; from whence he was taken, tor, or the Eater, born at Troyes, was in 1093, to succeed to the archbishopric, canon and dean of that church, and vacant by the death of Lanfranc. He afterward chancellor of the church of enjoyed this dignity till his death in 1109, Paris. He relinquished these benefices though it was disturbed by many disto become a regular canon of St. Victor sensions with William II and Henry 1 at Paris, where he died in 1198. respecting immunities and investitures.
p. 339¶Raban 37 is here; and at my side there shinesCalabria's abbot, Joachim, 3* endow'dWith soul prophetic. The bright courtesyOf friar Thomas and his goodly lore,Have moved me to the blazon of a peer 39So worthy; and with me have moved this throng."
Canto XIII
¶ARGUMENT . — Thomas Aquinas resumes his speech. He solves the other of those doubts which he discerned in the mind of Dante, and warns him earnestly against assenting to any proposition without having duly examined it.
¶IET him, 1 who would conceive what now I saw,Imagine, (and retain the image firm^ As mountain rock, the whilst he hears me speak,)Of stars, fifteen, from midst the ethereal hostSelected that, with lively ray serene,O'ercome the massiest air: thereto imagineThe wain, that, in the bosom of our sky,Spins ever on its axle night and day,With the bright summit of that horn, which swellsDue from the pole, round which the first wheel rolls,To have ranged themselves in fashion of two signsIn Heaven, such as Ariadne made,When death's chill seized her; and that one of themDid compass in the other's beam; and bothIn such sort whirl around, that each should tendWith opposite motion; and, conceiving thus,Of that true constellation, and the danceTwofold, that circled me, he shall attainAs 'twere the shadow; for things there as muchSurpass our usage, as the swiftest HeavenIs swifter than the Chiana. 1 There was sung
¶r Rab an us Maurus, Archbishop of ceive the sight that now presented itself Mentz, 847, is placed at the head of the to me, must imagine to himself fifteen of Latin writers of this age. the brightest stars in heaven, together
p. 340¶No Bacchus, and no Io Paean, butThree Persons in the Godhead, and in onePerson that nature and the human join'd.The song and round were measured: and to USThose saindy lights attended, happier madeAt each new ministering. Then silence brakeAmid the accordant sons of Deity,That luminary,* in which the wondrous lifeOf the meek man of God* was told to me;And thus it spake: "One ear 5 o' the harvest thresh'd,And its grain safely stored, sweet charityInvites me with the other to like toil."Thou know'st, that in the bosom,* whence the ribWas ta'en to fashion that fair cheek, whose tasteAll the world pays for; and in that, which piercedBy the keen lance, both after and beforeSuch satisfaction offer'd as outweighsEach evil in the scale; whate'er of lightTo human nature is allow'd, must allHave by His virtue been infused, who form'dBoth one and other: and thou thence admirestIn that I told thee, of beatitudes,A second there is none to him enclosedIn the fifth radiance. Open now thine eyesTo what I answer thee; and thou shalt seeThy deeming and my saying meet in truth,As centre in the round. That 7 which dies not,And that which can die, are but each the beamOf that idea, which our Sovereign SireEngendered! loving; for that lively light,*
¶• Thomas Aquinas. and also in the breast of Christ, which,
p. 341¶Which passeth from His splendour, not disjoin'dFrom Him, nor from His love triune with them,*Doth, through His bounty, congregate itself,Mirror'd, as 'twere, in new existences; 10Itself unalterable, and ever one."Descending hence unto the lowest powers, 11Its energy so sinks, at last it makesBut brief contingencies; for so I nameThings generated, which the heavenly orbsMoving, with seed or without seed, produce.Their wax, and that which moulds it, 12 differ much:And thence with lustre, more or less, it showsThe ideal stamp imprest: so that one tree,According to his kind, hath better fruit,And worse: and, at your birth, ye, mortal men,Are in your talents various. Were the waxMoulded with nice exactness, and the heaven 18In its disposing influence supreme,The brightness of the seal 14 should be complete:But nature renders it imperfect ever;Resembling thus the artist, in his work,Whose faltering hand is faithless to his skill.Therefore, 15 if fervent Love dispose, and markThe lustrous Image of the primal Virtue,There all perfection is vouchsafed; and suchThe clay 18 was made, accomplish'd with each gift,That life can teem with; such the burden fill'dThe Virgin's bosom: so that I commendThy judgment, that the human nature ne'erWas, or can be, such as in them it was."Did I advance no further than this point;'How then had he no peer?' thou might'st reply.But, that what now appears not, may appear
¶*"His love triune with them." 1 4 The brightness of the Divine idea The Holy Ghost. before spoken of.
p. 342¶Right plainly, ponder, who he was, and what(When he was bidden 'Ask') the motive, sway'dTo his requesting. I have spoken thus,That thou mayst see, he was a king, who ask'd"For wisdom, to the end he might be kingSufficient: not, the number to search outOf the celestial movers; or to know,If necessary with contingent e'erHave made necessity; or whether thatBe granted, that first motion" is; or if,Of the mid-circle," can by art be madeTriangle, with its corner blunt or sharp."Whence, noting that, which I have said, and this,Thou kingly prudence and that ken mayst learn,At which the dart of my intention aims.And, marking clearly, that I told thee, 'Risen,'Thou shalt discern it only hath respectTo kings, of whom are many, and the goodAre rare. With this distinction take my words;And they may well consist with that which thouOf the first human father dost believe,And of our well-beloved. And let thisHenceforth be lead unto thy feet, to makeThee slow in motion, as a weary man,Both to the 'yea' and to the 'nay' thou seest not.For he among the fools is down full low,Whose affirmation, or denial, isWithout distinction, in each case alike.Since it befalls, that in most instancesCurrent opinion leans to false: and thenAffection bends the judgment to her ply."Much more than vainly doth he loose from shore,
¶" " Who ask'd." "He did not desire cording to that principle, repugnant in to know the number of the celestial in causis processus in infinitum." Lombardi. telligences, or to pry into the subtleties " "Of the mid-circle." "If in the half of logical, metaphysical, or mathematical of the circle a rectilinear triangle can be science: but asked for that wisdom which described, one side of which shall be the might fit him for his kingly office." diameter of the same circle, without its
p. 343¶Since he returns not such as he set forth,Who fishes for the truth and wanteth skill.And open proofs of this unto the worldHave been afforded in Parmenides,Melissus, Bryso, 20 and the crowd beside,Who journey'd on, and knew not whither: so didSabellius, Arius, 21 and the other fools,Who, like to scimitars, 22 reflected backThe scripture-image by distortion marr'd."Let not the people be too swift to judge;As one who reckons on the blades in held,Or e'er the crop be ripe. For I have seenThe thorn frown rudely all the winter long,And after bear the rose upon its top;And bark, that all her way across the seaRan straight and speedy, perish at the lastE'en in the haven's mouth. Seeing one steal,Another bring his offering to the priest,Let not 2* Dame Birtha and Sir Martin 24 thenceInto Heaven's counsels deem that they can pry;For one of these may rise, the other fall."
¶** " Parmenides,1 5 "Let not." "Let not shortsighted
¶Melissus, Bryso." mortals presume to decide on the future For the singular opinions entertained by doom of any man, from a consideration the two former of these heathen philos of his present character and actions." This ophers, see Diogenes Lacrlius, lib. ix. is meant as an answer to the doubts
¶" "Sabellius, Arius." Well-known entertained respecting the salvation of heretics. Solomon. See Canto x. 107.
¶ARGUMENT . — Solomon , who is one of the spirits in the inner circle, declares what the appearance of the blest will be after the resurrection of the body. Beatrice and Dante arc translated into the fifth heaven, which is that of Mars; and here behold the souls of those, who had died fighting for the true faith, ranged in the sign of the cross, athwart which the spirits move to the sound of a melodious hymn.
¶ROM centre to the circle, and so backFrom circle to the centre, water movesIn the round chalice, even as the blowImpels it, inwardly, or from without.Such was the image 1 glanced into my mind,As the great spirit of Aquinum ceased;And Beatrice, after him, her wordsResumed alternate: "Need there is (though yetHe tells it to you not in words, nor e'enIn thought) that he should fathom to its depthAnother mystery. Tell him, if the light,Wherewith your substance blooms, shall stay with youEternally, as now; and, if it doth,How, when 2 ye shall regain your visible forms,The sight may without harm endure the change,That also tell." As those, who in a ringTread the light measure, in their fitful mirthRaise loud the voice, and spring with gladder bound;Thus, at the hearing of that pious suit,The saindy circles, in their tourneyingAnd wondrous note, attested new delight.Whoso laments, that we must doff this garbOf frail mortality, thenceforth to liveImmortally above; he hath not seenThe sweet refreshing of that heavenly shower.'Him, who lives ever, and forever reignsIn mystic union of the three in one,Unbounded, bounding all, each spirit thriceSang, with such melody, as, but to hear,For highest merit were an ample meed.[345]And from the lesser orb the goodliest light,1With gentle voice and mild, such as perhapsThe Angel's once to Mary, thus replied:"Long as the joy of Paradise shall last,Our love shall shine around that raiment, brightAs fervent; fervent as, in vision, blest;And that as far, in blessedness, exceeding,As it hath grace, beyond its virtue, great.Our shape, regarmented with glorious weedsOf saintly flesh, must, being thus entire,Show yet more gracious. Therefore shall increaseWhate'er, of light, gratuitous impartsThe Supreme Good; light, ministering aid,The better to disclose His glory: whence,The vision needs increasing, must increaseThe fervour, which it kindles; and that tooThe ray, that comes from it. But as the gleedWhich gives out flame, yet in its whiteness shinesMore livelily than that, and so preservesIts proper semblance; thus this circling sphereOf splendour shall to view less radiant seem,Than shall our fleshly robe, which yonder earthNow covers. Nor will such excess of lightO'erpower us, in corporeal organs madeFirm, and susceptible of all delight."So ready and so cordial an "Amen"Follow'd from either choir, as plainly spokeDesire of their dead bodies; yet perchanceNot for themselves, but for their kindred dear,Mothers and sires, and those whom best they loved,Ere they were made imperishable flame.And lo! forthwith there rose up round aboutA lustre, over that already there;Of equal clearness, like the brightening upOf the horizon. As at evening hourOf twilight, new appearances through HeavenPeer with faint glimmer, doubtfully descried;So, there, new substances, methought, beganTo rise in view beyond the other twain,[346]And wheeling, sweep their ampler circuit wide.O genuine glitter of eternal Beam!With what a sudden whiteness did it flow,O'erpowering vision in me. But so fair,So passing lovely, Beatrice show'd,Mind cannot follow it, nor words expressHer infinite sweetness. Thence mine eyes regain'dPower to look up; and I beheld myself,Sole with my lady, to more lofty bliss 5Translated: for the star, with warmer smileImpurpled, well denoted our ascent.With all the heart, and with that tongue which speaksThe same in all, an holocaust I madeTo God, befitting the new grace vouchsafed.And from my bosom had not yet upsteam'dThe fuming of that incense, when I knewThe rite accepted. With such mighty sheenAnd mantling crimson, in two listed raysThe splendours shot before me, that I cried,"God of Sabaoth! that dost prank them thus!"As leads the galaxy from pole to pole,Distinguish'd into greater lights and less,Its pathway, which the wisest fail to spell;So thickly studded, in the depth of Mars,Those rays described the venerable sign,That quadrants in the round conjoining frame.Here memory mocks the toil of genius. ChristBeam'd on that cross; and pattern fails me now.But whoso takes his cross, and follows Christ,Will pardon me for that I leave untold,When in the flecker'd dawning he shall spyThe glitterance of Christ. From horn to horn,And 'tween the summit and the base, did moveLights, scintillating, as they met and pass'd.Thus oft are seen with ever-changeful glance,Straight or athwart, now rapid and now slow,The atomies of bodies, long or short,To move along the sunbeam, whose slant lineCheckers the shadow interposed by art* "To more lofty bliss." To the planet Mars.[347]Against the noontide heat. And as the chimeOf minstrel music, dulcimer, and harpWith many strings, a pleasant dinning makesTo him, who heareth not distinct the note;So from the lights, which there appear'd to me,Gather'd along the cross a melody,That, indistinctly heard, with ravishmentPossess'd me. Yet I mark'd it was a hymnOf lofty praises; for there came to me"Arise," and "Conquer," as to one who hearsAnd comprehends not. Me such ecstasyO'ercame, that never, till that hour, was thingThat held me in so sweet imprisonment.Perhaps my saying overbold appears,Accounting less the pleasure of those eyes,Whereon to look fulfilleth all desire.But he, who is aware those living sealsOf every beauty work with quicker force,The higher they are risen; and that thereI had not turn'd me to them; he may wellExcuse me that, whereof in my excuseI do accuse me, and may own my truth;That holy pleasure here not yet reveal'd,Which grows in transport as we mount aloof.
¶ARGUMENT . — The spirit of Cacciaguida, our Poet's ancestor, glides rapidly to the foot of the cross; tells who he is; and speaks of the simplicity of the Florentines in his days, since then much corrupted.
¶TRUE love, that ever shows itself as clearIn kindness, as loose appetite in wrong,Silenced that lyre harmonious, and still'dThe sacred cords, that are by Heaven's right handUnwound and tighten'd. How to righteous prayersShould they not hearken, who, to give me willFor praying, in accordance thus were mute?He hath in sooth good cause for endless grief,Who, for the love of thing that lasteth not,Despoils himself forever of that love.[348]As oft along the still and pure serene,At nightfall, glides a sudden trail of fire,Attracting with involuntary heedThe eye to follow it, erewhile at rest;And seems some star that shifted place in Heaven,Only that, whence it kindles, none is lost,And it is soon extinct: thus from the horn,That on the dexter of the cross extends,Down to its foot, one luminary ranFrom mid the cluster shone there; yet no gemDropp'd from its foil: and through the beamy list,Like flame in alabaster, glow'd its course.So forward stretch'd him (if of credence aughtOur greater muse may claim) the pious ghostOf old Anchises, in the Elysian bower,When he perceived his son. "O thou, my blood!0 most exceeding grace divine! to whom,As now to thee, hath twice the heavenly gateBeen e'er unclosed?" So spake the light: whence ITurn'd me toward him; then unto my dameMy sight directed: and on either sideAmazement waited me; for in her eyesWas lighted such a smile, I thought that mineHad dived unto the bottom of my graceAnd of my bliss in Paradise. Forthwith,To hearing and to sight grateful alike,The spirit to his proem added thingsI understood not, so profound he spake:Yet not of choice, but through necessity,Mysterious; for his high conception soar'dBeyond the mark of mortals. When the flightOf holy transport had so spent it's rage,That nearer to the level of our thoughtThe speech descended; the first sounds I heardWere, "Blest be thou, Triunal Deity!That hast such favour in my seed vouchsafed."Then follow'd. "No unpleasant thirst, though long,Which took me reading in the sacred book,Whose leaves or white or dusky never change,Thou hast allay'd, my son! within this light,[349]From whence my voice thou hear'st: more thanks to her,Who, for such lofty mounting, has with plumesBegirt thee. Thou dost deem thy thoughts to meFrom Him transmitted, who is first of all,E'en as all numbers ray from unity;And therefore dost not ask me who I am,Or why to thee more joyous I appear,Than any other in this gladsome throng.The truth is as thou deem'st; for in this lifeBoth less and greater in that Mirror look,In which thy thoughts, or e'er thou think'st, are shown.But, that the love, which keeps me wakeful ever,Urging with sacred thirst of sweet desire,May be contented fully; let thy voice,Fearless, and frank, and jocund, utter forthThy will distinctly, utter forth the wish,Whereto my ready answer stands decreed."I turn'd me to Beatrice; and she heardEre I had spoken, smiling an assent,That to my will gave wings; and I began:"To each among your tribe, what time ye kenn'dThe nature, in whom naught unequal dwells,Wisdom and love were in one measure dealt;For that they are so equal in the Sun,From whence ye drew your radiance and your heat,As makes all likeness scant. But will and means,In mortals, for the cause ye well discern,With unlike wings are fledged. A mortal, IExperience inequality like this;And therefore give no thanks, but in the heart,For thy paternal greeting. This howe'erI pray thee, living topaz! that ingemm'stThis precious jewel; let me hear thy name.""I am thy root, 1 O leaf! whom to expectEven, hath pleased me." Thus the prompt replyPrefacing, next it added: "He, of whom 2
¶I ' l am thy root." Cacciaguida, father round of Purgatory more than a hundred to Alighieri, of whom our Poet was the years; and it is fit that thou by thy good great-grandson. deserts shouldst endeavor to shorten the
Thy kindred appellation comes, and who,These hundred years and more, on its first ledgeHath circuited the mountain, was my son,And thy great-grandsire. Well befits, his longEndurance should he shorten'd by thy deeds."Florence, within her ancient limit-mark,Which calls her still 3 to matin prayers and noon,Was chaste and sober, and abode in peace.She had no armlets and no head-tires then;No purfled dames; no zone, that caught the eyeMore than the person did. Time was not yet,When 4 at his daughter's birth the sire grew pale,For fear the age and dowry should exceed,On each side, just proportion. House was noneVoid 1 of its family: nor yet had come
Of chamber prowess. Montemalo 7 yetO'er our suburban turret 8 rose; as muchTo be surpast in fall, as in its rising.I saw Bellincion Berti 9 walk abroadIn leathern girdle, and a clasp of bone;And, with no artful colouring on her cheeks,
¶him was born the father of our Poet, 38, and notes. " And observe that in the whom Benvenuto da Imola calls a lawyer time of the said people (A. D. 1259), by profession. and before and for a long time after, the
¶8 The public clock being still within citizens of Florence lived soberly, on the circuit of the ancient walls. coarse viands, and at little cost, and in
¶4 When the women were not married many customs and courtesies of life were at too early an age, and did not expect rude and unpolished; and dressed themtoo large a portion. selves and their women in coarse cloths:
¶' Through the civil wars and banish many wore plain leather, without cloth ments. Or he may mean that houses over it; bonnets on their heads; and all, were not formerly built merely for show, boots on the feet; and the Florentine wonor of greater size than was necessary for men were without ornament: the better containing the families that inhabited sort content with a close gown of scarlet them. cloth of Yprcs or of camlet, bound with a 8 The luxurious monarch of Assyria. girdle in the ancient mode, and a mantle
¶" Either an elevated spot between Rome lined with fur, and a hood to it, which and Vitcrbo; or Monte Mario, the site of was worn on the head; the common sort the villa Mellini, commanding a view of of women were clad in a coarse gown of Rome. Cambrai in like manner . . . and with
p. 351¶His lady leave the glass. The sons I sawOf Nerli, and of Vecchio, 10 well contentWith unrobed jerkin; and their good dames handlingThe spindle and the flax: O happy they!Each" sure of burial in her native land,And none left desolate a-bed for France.One waked to tend the cradle, hushing itWith sounds that lull'd the parent's infancy:Another, with her maidens, drawing offThe tresses from the distaff, lectured themOld tales of Troy, and Fesole, and Rome.A Salterello and Cianghella 12 weHad held as strange a marvel, as ye wouldA Cincinnatus or Cornelia now."In such composed and seemly fellowship,Such faithful and such fair equality,In so sweet household, Mary 13 at my birthBestow'd me, call'd on with loud cries; and there,In your old baptistery, I was madeChristian at once and Cacciaguida; as wereMy brethren, Eliseo and Moronto."From Valdipado 1* came to me my spouse;And hence thy surname grew. I follow'd thenThe Emperor Conrad: 15 and his knighthood heDid gird on me; in such good part he tookMy valiant service. After him I wentTo testify against that evil law,Whose people, 16 by the Shepherd's fault, possessYour right usurp'd. There I by that foul crewWas disentangled from the treacherous world
¶" Two opulent families in Florence. in the pains of child-birth. Purgatory,
p. 352¶Whose base affection many a spirit soils;And from the martyrdom came to this peace."
Canto XVI
¶ARGUMENT . — Cacciaguida relates the time of his birth; and, describing the extent of Florence when he lived there, recounts the names of the chief families who then inhabited it. Its degeneracy, and subsequent disgrace, he attributes lo the introduction of families from the neighboring country and villages, and to their mixture with the primitive citizens.
¶OSLIGHT respect of man's nobility!I never shall account it marvellous,That our infirm affection here belowThou movest to boasting; when I could not chuse,E'en in that region of unwarp'd desire,In Heaven itself, but make my vaunt in thee.Yet cloak thou art soon shorten'd; for that Time,Unless thou be eked out from day to day,Goes round thee with his shears. Resuming then,With greeting 1 such as Rome was first to bear,But since hath disaccustom'd, I began:And Beatrice, that a little spaceWas sever'd, smiled; reminding me of her,Whose cough embolden'd (as the story holds)To first offence the doubting Guenever. 3"You are my sire," said I: "you give me heartFreely to speak my thought: above myselfYou raise me. Through so many streams with joyMy soul is fill'd, that gladness wells from it;So that it bears the mighty tide, and bursts not.Say then, my honour'd stem! what ancestorsWere those you sprang from, and what years were mark'dIn your first childhood? Tell me of the fold, 3That hath Saint John for guardian, what was thenIts state, and who in it were highest seated!"[353]As embers, at the breathing of the wind,Their flame enliven; so that light I sawShine at my blandishments; and, as it grewMore fair to look on, so with voice more sweet,Yet not in this our modern phrase, forthwithIt answer'd: "From the day, 4 when it was said'Hail Virgin!' to the throes by which my mother,Who now is sainted, lightcn'd her of meWhom she was heavy with, this fire had comeFive hundred times and fourscore, to relumeIts radiance underneath the burning footOf its own lion. They, of whom I sprang,And I, had there our birth-place, where the last?Partition of our city first is reach'dBy him that runs her annual game. Thus muchSuffice of my forefathers: who they were,And whence they hither came, more honourableIt is to pass in silence than to tell.All those, who at that time were there, betwixtMars and the Baptist, fit to carry arms,Were but the fifth of them this day alive.But then the citizen's blood, that now is mix'dFrom Campi and Certaldo and Fighine,'Ran purely through the last mechanic's veins.O how much better were it, that these people 7Were neighbours to you; and that at GalluzzoAnd at Trespiano ye should have your boundary;Than to have them within, and bear the stenchOf Aguglione's hind, and Signa's," him,That hath his eye already keen for bartering.Had not the people, 9 which of all the world[354]Degenerates most, been stepdame unto Cxsar,But, as a mother to her son, been kind,Such one, as hath become a Florentine,And trades and traffics, hath been turn'd adriftTo Simifonte, 10 where his grandsire pliedThe beggar's craft: the Conti were possestOf Montemurlo" still: the Cerchi stillWere in Acone's parish: nor had haplyFrom Valdigreve passed the Buondelmonti.The city's malady hath ever sourceIn the confusion of its persons, asThe body's, in variety of food:And the blind bull falls with a steeper plunge,Than the blind lamb: and oftentimes one swordDoth more and better execution,Than five. Mark Luni; Urbisaglia" mark;How they are gone; and after them how goChiusi and Sinigaglia! 13 and't will seemNo longer new, or strange to thee, to hearThat families fail, when cities have their end.All things that appertain to ye, like yourselves,Are mortal: but mortality in someYe mark not; they endure so long, and youPass by so suddenly. And as the moonDoth, by the rolling of her heavenly sphere,Hide and reveal the strand unceasingly;So fortune deals with Florence. Hence admire notAt what of them I tell thee, whose renownTime covers, the first Florentines. I sawThe Ughi, Catilini, and Filippi,The Alberichi, Greci, and Ormanni,Now in their wane, illustrious citizens;And great as ancient, of Sannella him,With him of Area saw, and Soldanieri,
p. 354¶Ghibelline factions had thus been pre " The Conti Guidi, unable to defend vented, Florence would not have been their castle from the Pistoians, sold it to polluted by a race of upstarts, nor lost the state of Florence.
¶her best element.1 1 Cities formerly of importance, but
p. 355¶And Ardinghi, and Bostichi. At the poop 14That now is laden with new felonySo cumbrous it may speedily sink the bark,The Ravignani sat, of whom is sprungThe County Guido, and whoso hath sinceHis title from the famed Bellincion ta'en.Fair governance was yet an art well prizedBy him of Pressa: Galigaio show'dThe gilded hilt and pommel, 15 in his house;The column, clothed with verrey, 16 still was seenUnshaken; the Sacchetti still were great,Giuochi, Fifanti, Galli, and Barucci,With them 17 who blush to hear the bushel named.Of the Calfucci still the branchy trunkWas in its strength: and, to the curule chairs,Sizii and Arrigucci 1' yet were drawn.How mighty them 19 I saw, whom, since, their prideHath undone! And in all their goodly deedsFlorence was, by the bullets of bright gold,"O'erflourish'd. Such the sires of those, 21 who now,As surely as your church is vacant, flockInto her consistory, and at leisureThere stall them and grow fat. The o'erweening broad, 1*That plays the dragon after him that flees,But unto such as turn and show the tooth,Ay or the purse, is gende as a lamb,Was on its rise, but yet so slight esteem'd.That Uberti no of Donati grudgedHis father-in-law should yoke him to its tribe.
¶M The Cerchi, Dante's enemies, had1 0 The arms of the Abbati, or of the succeeded to the houses over the gate of Lambcrti.
¶St. Peter.2 1 Of the Visdomini, the Tosinghi, and u The symbols of knighthood. the Cortigiani, who, being sprung from
¶" The arms of the Pigli, or as some the founders of the bishopric of Florence, wrote it, the Billi. are the curators of its revenues, which
Already Caponsacco 28 had descendedInto the mart from Fesole: and GiudaAnd Infangato" were good citizens.A thing incredible I tell, though true:The gateway, named from those of Pera, ledInto the narrow circuit of your wells.Each one, who bears the sightly quarteringsOf the great Baron," (he whose name and worthThe festival of Thomas still revives,)His knighthood and his privilege retain'd;Albeit one, 26 who borders them with gold,This day is mingled with the common herd.In Borgo yet the Gualterotti dwelt,And Importuni; 27 well for its repose,Had it still lack'd of newer neighbourhood. 2*
¶The house, 29 from whence your tears have had their spring,
Through the just anger, that hath murder'd yeAnd put a period to your gladsome days,Was honour'd; it, and those consorted with it.O Buondelmonte! what ill counsellingPrevail'd on thee to break the plighted bond?Many, who now are weeping, would rejoice,Had God to Ema" given thee, the first timeThou near our city earnest. But so was doom'd:
¶" The Caponsacchi, who had removed chcse U go was doomed to suffer the same, from Fiesole. if he did not repent. Struck with horror,
¶2 4 Guida Guidi and the family of In- he commended himself to the Virgin fangati. Mary; and soon after founded the seven
¶" The Marchcse U go , who resided at religious houses."
¶Florence as lieutenant of the Emperor 2 > Gian o delta Delia, of one of the Otho III, gave many of the chief families families thus distinguished, who no longer license to bear his arms. A vision is re retained his place among the nobility, lated, in consequence of which he sold and had yet added to his arms a bordure all his possessions in Germany, and or.
¶founded seven abbeys, in one whereof his 1 7 Two families in the compartment of memory was celebrated at Florence on the city called Borgo.
¶St. Thomas's day. " The marquis, when 2 8 Some understand this of the Bardi; hunting, strayed away from his people, and others, of the Buondelmonti.
¶and, wandering through a forest, came to 2 8 "The house." Of Amidei.
¶a smithy, where he saw black and de 8 0 " To Ema." "It had been well for formed men tormenting others with fire the city if thy ancestor had been drowned and hammers; and, asking the meaning in the Ema when he crossed that stream of this, he was told that they were con on his way from Montcbuono to Flodemned souls, who suffered this pun rence."
p. 357¶Florence! on that maim'd stone 81 which guards the bridgeThe victim, when thy peace departed, fell."With these and others like to them, I sawFlorence in such assured tranquillity,She had no cause at which to grieve: with theseSaw her so glorious and so just, that ne'erThe lily 32 from the lance had hung reverse,Or through division been with vermeil dyed."
Canto XVII
¶ARGUMENT.—Cacciaguida predicts to our Poet his exile and the calamities he had to infer; and, lastly, exhorts him to write the present poem.
¶JUCH as the youth, S1 who came to Clymene,To certify himself of that reproachWhich had been fasten'd on him, (he whose end,Still makes the fathers chary to their sons),E'en such was I; nor unobserved was suchOf Beatrice, and that saintly lamp, 2Who had erewhile for me his station moved;When thus my lady: "Give thy wish free vent,That it may issue, bearing true reportOf the mind's impress: not that aught thy wordsMay to our knowledge add, but to the endThat thou mayst use thyself to own thy thirst,'And men may mingle for thee when they hear.""O plant, from whence I spring! revered and loved!Who soar'st so high a pitch, that thou as dear, 4As earthly thought determines two obtuseIn one triangle not contain'd, so clearDost see contingencies, ere in themselvesExistent, looking at the point 5 whereto
¶Near the remains of the statue of Clymene, to inquire if he were indeed the Mars, Buondelmonti was slain, as if he son of Apollo,
¶Florence had not since known the blessing 3 "That thou mayst obtain from others of peace. a solution of any doubt that may occur
p. 358¶All times are present; I, the whilst I scaledWith Virgil the soul-purifying mountAnd visited the nether world of woe,Touching my future destiny have heardWords grievous, though I feel me on all sidesWell squared to fortune's blows. Therefore my willWere satisfied to know the lot awaits me;The arrow, seen beforehand, slacks his flight."So said I to the brightness, which erewhileTo me had spoken; and my will declared,As Beatrice will'd, explicitly.Nor with oracular response obscure,Such as, or e'er the Lamb of God was slain,Beguiled the credulous nations: but, in termsPrecise, and unambiguous lore, repliedThe spirit of paternal love, enshrined,Yet in his smile apparent; and thus spake:"Contingency, 1 whose verge extendeth notBeyond the tablet of your mortal mold,Is all depictured in the eternal sight;But hence deriveth not necessity, 7More than the tall ship, hurried down the flood,Is driven by the eye that looks on it.From thence, 8 as to the ear sweet harmonyFrom organ comes, so comes before mine eyeThe time prepared for thee. Such as driven outFrom Athens, by his cruel stepdame's 9 wiles,Hippolytus departed; such must thouDepart from Florence. This they wish, and thisContrive, and will ere long effectuate, there, 10Where gainful merchandize is made of ChristThroughout the live-long day. The common cry, 11Will, as 'tis ever wont, affix the blame
¶' "Contingency." Contingency, which • From the view of the Deity Himself. has no place beyond the limits of the »Phxdra.
¶material world. 1 0 "There." At Rome, where the ex
p. 359¶Unto the party injured: but the truthShall, in the vengeance it dispenseth, findA faithful witness. Thou shalt leave each thingBeloved most dearly: this is the first shaftShot from the bow of exile. Thou shalt proveHow salt the savour is of other's bread;How hard the passage, to descend and climbBy other's stairs. But that shall gall thee most,Will be the worthless and vile company,With whom thou must be thrown into these straits.For all ungrateful, impious all, and mad,Shall turn 'gainst thee: but in a little while,Theirs, 12 and not thine, shall be the crimson'd brow.Their course shall so evince their brutishness,To have ta'en thy stand apart shall well become thee."First refuge thou must find, first place of rest,In the great Lombard's" courtesy, who bears,Upon the ladder perch'd, the sacred bird.He shall behold thee with such kind regard,That 'twixt ye two, the contrary to thatWhich 'falls 'twixt other men, the granting shallForerun the asking. With him shalt thou seeThat mortal," who was at his birth imprestSo strongly from this star, that of his deedsThe nations shall take note. His unripe ageYet holds him from observance; for these wheelsOnly nine years have compasst him about.But, ere the Gascon" practise on great Harry,"Sparkles of virtue shall shoot forth in him,In equal scorn of labours and of goldHis bounty shall be spread abroad so widely,As not to let the tongues, e'en of his foes,Be idle in its praise. Look thou to him,And his beneficence: for he shall causeReversal of their lot to many people;
¶" "They shall be ashamed of the part Scala, born under the influence of Mars, they have taken against thee." but at this time only nine years old. He
¶" Either Bartolommeo della Scala or was a son of Alberto della Scala.
¶Alboino his brother. Their coat-of-arms 1 5 " The Gascon." Pope Clement V. was a ladder and an eagle. 1 8 The Emperor Henry VII.
p. 360¶Rich men and beggars interchanging fortunes.And thou shalt bear this written in thy soul,Of him, but tell it not:" and things he toldIncredible to those who witness them;Then added: "So interpret thou, my son,What hath been told thee.—Lo! the ambushmentThat a few circling seasons hide for thee.Yet envy not thy neighbours: time extendsThy span beyond their treason's chastisement."Soon as the saintly spirit, by silence, mark'dCompletion of that web, which I had stretch'dBefore it, warp'd for weaving; I began,As one, who in perplexity desiresCounsel of other, wise, benign and friendly:"My father! well I mark how time spurs onToward me, ready to inflict the blow,Which falls most heavily on him who mostAbandoneth himself. Therefore 'tis goodI should forecast, that, driven from the place 17Most dear to me, I may not lose myself "All other by my song. Down through the worldOf infinite mourning; and along the mount,From whose fair height my lady's eyes did lift me;And, after, through this Heaven, from light tolight;Have I learnt that, which if I tell again,It may with many wofully disrelish:And, if I am a timid friend to truth,I fear my life may perish among those,To whom these days shall be of ancient date."The brightness, where enclosed the treasure 1* smiled,Which I had found there, first shone glisteringly,Like to a golden mirror in the sun;Next answer'd: "Conscience, dimm'd or by its ownOr other's shame, will feel thy saying sharp.Thou, notwithstanding, all deceit removed,[361]See the whole vision be made manifest;And let them wince, who have their withers wrung.What though, when tasted first, thy voice shall proveUnwelcome: on digestion, it will turnTo vital nourishment. The cry thou raisest,Shall, as the wind doth, smite the proudest summits;Which is of honour no light argument.For this, there only have been shown to thee,Throughout these orbs, the mountain, and the deep,Spirits, whom fame hath note of. For the mindOf him, who hears, is loth to acquiesceAnd fix its faith, unless the instance broughtBe palpable, and proof apparent urge."
¶ARGUMENT . — Dante sees the souls of many renowned warriors and crusaders in the planet Mars; and then ascends with Beatrice to Jupiter, the sixth heaven, in which he finds the souls of those who had administered justice rightly in the world, so disposed, as to form the figure of an eagle. The Canto concludes with an invective against the avarice of the clergy, and especially of the pope.
¶NOW in his word, sole, ruminating, joy'dThat blessed spirit: and I fed on mine,Tempering the sweet with bitter. She meanwhile,Who led me unto God, admonish'd: "MuseOn other thoughts: bethink thee, that near HimI dwell, who recompenseth every wrong."At the sweet sounds of comfort straight I turn'd;And, in the saintly eyes what love was seen,I leave in silence here, nor through distrustOf my words only, but that to such blissThe mind remounts not without aid. Thus muchYet may I speak; that, as I gazed on her,Affection found no room for other wish.While the everlasting pleasure, that did fullOn Beatrice shine, with second viewFrom her fair countenance my gladden'd soulContented; vanquishing me with a beamOf her soft smile, she spake: "Turn thee, and list.These eyes are not thy only Paradise."As here, we sometimes in the looks may see[362]The affection mark'd, when that its sway hath ta'enThe spirit wholly; thus the hallow'd light, 1To whom I turn'd, flashing, bewray'd its willTo talk yet further with me, and began:"On this fifth lodgment of the tree, 2 whose lifeIs from its top, whose fruit is ever fairAnd leaf unwithering, blessed spirits abide,That were below, ere they arrived in Heaven,So mighty in renown, as every museMight grace her triumph with them. On the hornsLook, therefore, of the cross: he whom I name,Shall there enact, as doth in summer cloudIts nimble fire." Along the cross I saw,At the repeated name of Joshua,A splendour gliding; nor, the word was said,Ere it was done: then, at the naming, saw,Of the great Maccabee,' another moveWith whirling speed; and gladness was the scourgeUnto that top. The next for CharlemainAnd for the peer Orlando, two my gazePursued, intently, as the eye pursuesA falcon flying. Last, along the cross,William, and Renard,* and Duke Godfrey 5 drewMy ken, and Robert Guiscard. 6 And the soulWho spake with me, among the other lightsDid move away, and mix; and with the quireOf heavenly songsters proved his tuneful skill.To Beatrice on my right I bent,Looking for intimation, or by wordOr act, what next behoved; and did descrySuch mere effulgence in her eyes, such joy,It pass'd all former wont. And, as by senseOf new delight, the man, who perseveresIn good deeds, doth perceive, from day to day,[363]His virtue growing; I e'en thus perceived,Of my ascent, together with the Heaven,The circuit widen'd; noting the increaseOf beauty in that wonder. Like the changeIn a brief moment on some maiden's cheek,Which, from its fairness, doth discharge the weightOf pudency, that stain'd it; such in her,And to mine eyes so sudden was the change,Through silvery whiteness of that temperate star,Whose sixth orb now enfolded us. I saw,Within that Jovial cresset, the clear sparksOf love, that reign'd there, fashion to my viewOur language. And as birds, from river banksArisen, now in round, now lengthen'd troop,Array them in their flight, greeting, as seems,Their new-found pastures; so, within the lights,The saindy creatures flying, sang; and madeNow D, now I, now L, figured i' the air.First singing to their notes they moved; then, oneBecoming of these signs, a little whileDid rest them, and were mute. O nymph divineOf Pegasean race! who souls, which thouInspirest, makcst glorious and long-lived, as theyCities and realms by thee; thou with thyselfInform me; that I may set forth the shapes,As fancy doth present them: be thy powerDisplay'd in this brief song. The characters,Vocal and consonant, were five-fold seven.In order, each, as they appear'd, I mark'd.Diligite Justitiam, the first,Both verb and noun all blazon'd; and the extreme,
¶Of the fifth word they held their station;Making the star seem silver streak'd with gold.And on the summit of the M, I sawDescending other lights, that rested there,Singing, methinks, their bliss and primal good.Then, as at shaking of a lighted brand,Sparkles innumerable on all sidesRise scatter'd, source of augury to the unwise;[364]Thus more than thousand twinkling lustres henceSeem'd reascending; and a higher pitchSome mounting, and some less, e'en as the sun,Which kindleth them, decreed. And when each oneHad settled in his place; the head and neckThen saw I of an eagle, livelilyGraved in that streaky fire. Who painteth there,'Hath none to guide Him: of Himself He guides:And every line and texture of the nestDoth own from Him the virtue fashions it.The other bright beatitude," that seem'dErewhile, with lilied crowning, well contentTo over-canopy the M, moved forth,Following gendy the impress of the bird.Sweet star; what glorious and thick-studded gemsDeclared to me our justice on the earthTo be the effluence of that Heaven, which thou,Thyself a costly jewel, dost inlay.Therefore I pray the Sovran Mind, from whomThy motion and thy virtue are begun,That He would look from whence the fog doth rise,To vitiate thy beam; so that once more'He may put forth his hand 'gainst such, as driveTheir traffic in that sanctuary, whose wallsWith miracles and martyrdoms were built.Ye host of Heaven, whose glory I survey!O beg ye grace for those, that are, on earth,All after ill example gone astray.War once had for his instrument the sword:But now 'tis made, taking the bread away, 10Which the good Father locks from none.—And thou,That writest but to cancel, 11 think, that they,Who for the vineyard, which thou wastest, died,Peter and Paul, live yet, and mark thy doings.[365]Thou hast good cause to cry, "My heart so cleavesTo him, 12 that lived in solitude remote,And for a dance was dragg'd to martyrdom,I wist not of the Fisherman nor Paul."
¶ARGUMENT . — The eagle speaks as with one voice proceeding from a multitude of spirits, that compose it; and declares the cause for which it is exalted to that state of glory. It then solves a doubt, which our Poet had entertained, respecting the possibility of salvation without belief in Christ; exposes the inefficacy of a mere profession of such belief; and prophesies the evil appearance that many Christian potentates will make at the day of judgment.
¶EFORE my sight appear'd, with open wings,BThe beauteous image; in fruition sweet,Gladdening the thronged spirits. Each did seemA little ruby, whereon so intenseThe sun-beam glow'd, that to mine eyes it cameIn clear refraction. And that, which nextBefalls me to portray, voice hath not utter'd,Nor hath ink written, nor in fantasyWas e'er conceived. For I beheld and heardThe beak discourse; and, what intention form'dOf many, singly as of one express,Beginning: "For that I was just and piteous,I am exalted to this height of glory,The which no wish exceeds: and there on earthHave I my memory left, e'en by the badCommended, while they leave its course untrod."Thus is one heat from many embers felt;As in that image many were the loves,And one the voice, that issued from them all:Whence I address'd them: "O perennial flowersOf gladness everlasting! that exhaleIn single breath your odours manifold;Breathe now: and let the hunger be appeased,That with great craving long hath held my soul,Finding no food on earth. This well I know;[366]That if there be in Heaven a rer.lm, that showsIn faithful mirror the celestial Justice,Yours without veil reflects it. Ye discernThe heed, wherewith I do prepare myselfTo hearken; ye, the doubt, that urges meWith such inveterate craving." Straight I saw,Like to a falcon issuing from the hood,That rears his head, and claps him with his wings,His beauty and his eagerness bewraying;So saw I move that stately sign, with praiseOf grace divine inwoven, and high songOf inexpressive joy. "He," it began,"Who turn'd His compass on the world's extreme,And in that space so variously hath wrought,Both openly and in secret; in such wiseCould not, through all the universe, displayImpression of His glory, that the WordOf His omniscience should not still remainIn infinite excess. In proof whereof,He first through pride supplanted, who was sumOf each created being, waited notFor light celestial; and abortive fell.Whence needs each lesser nature is but scantReceptacle unto that Good, which knowsNo limit, measured by itself alone.Therefore your sight, of the omnipresent MindA single beam, its origin must ownSurpassing far its utmost potency.The ken, your world is gifted with, descendsIn the everlasting Justice as low down,As eye doth in the sea; which, though it markThe bottom from the shore, in the wide mainDiscerns it not; and ne'ertheless it is;But hidden through its deepness. Light is none,Save that which cometh from the pure sereneOf ne'er disturbed ether: for the rest,Tis darkness all; or shadow of the flesh,Or else its poison. Here confess reveal'dThat covert, which hath hidden from thy searchThe living justice, of the which thou madcst[367]Such frequent question; for thou said'st—'A manIs born on Indus' banks, and none is thereWho speaks of Christ, nor who doth read nor write;And all his inclinations and his acts,As far as human reason sees, are good;And he offendeth not in word or deed:But unbaptized he dies, and void of faith.Where is the justice that condemns him? whereHis blame, if he believeth not?'—What then,And who art thou, that on the stool wouldst sitTo judge at distance of a thousand milesWith the short-sighted vision of a span?To him, who subtilizes thus with me,There would assuredly be room for doubtEven to wonder, did not the safe wordOf Scripture hold supreme authority."O animals of clay! O spirits gross!The Primal Will,' that in itself is good,Hath from itself, the chief Good, ne'er been moved.Justice consists in consonance with it,Derivable by no created good,Whose very cause depends upon its beam."As on her nest the stork, that turns aboutUnto her young, whom lately she hath fed,Whiles they with upward eyes do look on her;So lifted I my gaze; and, bending so,The ever-blessed image waved its wings,Labouring with such deep counsel. Wheeling roundIt warbled, and did say: "As are my notesTo thee, who understand'st them not; such isThe eternal judgment unto mortal ken."Then still abiding in that ensign ranged,Wherewith the Romans overawed the world,Those burning splendours of the Holy SpiritTook up the strain; and thus it spake again:"None ever hath ascended to this realm,Who hath not a believer been in Christ,Either before or after the blest limbsWere nail'd upon the wood. But lo! of those1 The divine will.
Who call 'Christ, Christ,' 2 there shall be many found,In judgment, further off from Him by far,Than such to whom His name was never known.Christians like these the /Ethiop 3 shall condemn:When that the two assemblages shall part;One rich eternally, the other poor."What may the Persians say unto your kings,When they shall see that volume, 4 in the whichAll their dispraise is written, spread to view?There amidst Albert's 5 works shall that be read,Which will give speedy motion to the pen,When Prague 6 shall mourn her desolated realm.There shall be read the woe, that he 7 doth workWith his adulterate money on the Seine,Who by the tusk will perish; there be readThe thirsting pride, that maketh fool alikeThe English and Scot, 8 impatient of their bound.There shall be seen the Spaniard's luxury; 9The delicate living there of the Bohemian, 10Who still to worth has been a willing stranger.The halter of Jerusalem 11 shall seeA unit for his virtue; for his vices,No less a mark than million. He, 12 who guards
¶* "Not every one that saith unto me. raised the nominal value of the coin. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom This King died in consequence of his of heaven."—Matt. vii. 2 1 . horse being thrown to the ground by a
¶3 " The /Ethiop." " The men of Nineveh wild boar, in 1314.
¶shall rise in judgment with this genera 8 "The English and Scot." He adverts tion, and shall condemn it."—Matt. xii. to the disputes between John Baliol and 41- Edward I, the latter of whom is corn
¶* ' That volume." " And I saw the dead, mended in the Purgatory, Canto vii. 130. small and great, stand before God; and * "The Spaniard's luxury." It seems the books were opened: and another book probable that the allusion is to Ferdinand was opened, which is the book of life; IV, who came to the crown in 1295, and and the dead were judged out of those died in 1312, at the age of twenty-four, in things which were written in the books, consequence, as it was supposed, of his according to their works."—Rev. xx. 12. extreme intemperance.
¶5 "Albert." Purgatory, Canto vi. 98. 1 0 "The Bohemian." Wcnccslaus II.
¶* "Prague." The eagle predicts the dev Purgatory, Canto vii. 99.
¶astation of Bohemia by Albert, which 1 1 " The halter of Jerusalem." Charles happened soon after this time, when that II of Naples and Jerusalem, who was Emperor obtained the kingdom for his lame.
¶eldest son Rodolph. 1 2 " He . " Frederick of Sicily, son of
¶7 "He." Philip IV of France, after the Peter III of Arragon. Purgatory, Canto battle of Courtrai, 1302, in which the vii. 1 1 7 . The isle of fire is Sicily, where French were defeated by the Flemings, was the tomb of Anchiscs.
The writing must be letters maim'd, that speakMuch in a narrow space. All there shall knowHis uncle" and his brother's 1 4 filthy doings,Who so renown'd a nation and two crownsHave bastardized. And they, of Portugal"And Norway," there shall be exposed, with himOf Ratza, 17 who hath counterfeited illThe coin of Venice. O blest Hungary!"If thou no longer patiently abidestThy ill-entreating: and, O blest Navarre!"If with thy mountainous girdle 20 thou wouldst arm thee.In earnest of that day, e'en now are heardWaitings and groans in Famagosta's streetsAnd Nicosia's, 21 grudging at their beast,Who keepeth even footing with the rest."
¶" "His uncle." James, King of Majorca to 1371, and whose history may be found and Minorca, brother to Peter III. in Mauro Orbino. Uladislaus appears to
¶" "His brother." James II of Arragon, have been the sovereign in Dante's time; who died in 1327. See Purgatory, Canto but the disgraceful forgery, adverted to vii. 117. in the text, is not recorded by the his
¶Dionysius was King of Portugal. He w "Hungary." The kingdom of Hundied in 1325, after a reign of nearly gary was about this time disputed by forty-six years, and does not seem to Carobcrt, son of Charles Martel, and have deserved the stigma here fastened Wenceslaus, prince of Bohemia, son of on him. Perhaps the rebellious son of Wenceslaus II.
¶Dionysius may be alluded to. " " Navarre . " Navarre was now under
¶" " Norway . " Haquin, King of Nor the yoke of France. It soon after (in way, is probably meant; who having 1328) followed the advice of Dante, and given refuge to the murderers of Eric had a monarch of its own.
¶VII, King of Denmark, A. D . 1288, corn 2 0 "Mountainous girdle." The Pyrenees. menced a war against his successor, Eric 2 1 " Famagosta's streets
¶VIII, "which continued for nine years, And Nicosia's."
¶almost to the utter ruin and destruction Cities in the Kingdom of Cyprus, at that of both kingdoms." time ruled by Henry VII, a pusillanimous » " him prince. The meaning appears to be, that
¶Of Ratza." the complaints made by those cities of One of the dynasty of the house of Ne- their weak and worthless governor may magna, which ruled the Kingdom of be regarded as an earnest of his condemRassia or Ratza, in Sclavonia, from 1161 nation at the last doom.