UC-N II $C 534 5fl1 BEING SELECTIONS F^pj*\ THE DIVINE COAEDY OF DANTE V ITU ILLVSflMTlONS BY -IM^VJ^ET «,HELtN ."Ml TL\NI> GIFT or A. F. Morrison Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/adastrabeingseleOOdantrich GIFT OP R f , n-T o .2 ,2 . To ^ FROM INFERNO The Forest of Life The Gate of Hell The Noble Castle of Philosophy Francesca and Paolo Fortune The Oty of Unbelief The Angel at the Gate of Dis The Harpies' Wood Crete In the Arsenal The Phcenix The Fate of Ulysses The Return to Earth PURGATORIO The Shores of Purgatory The Celestial Pilot Manfredi sordello The Happy Valley Evening The Guardians of the Valley The Ihree Steps of Contrition, Penance, and Absolution The Sculptures on the Wall Pater Noster Vana Gloria The Angel of Peace The Smoky Land The New-made Soul Statius The Night's Rest Action and Contemplation Virgil's Farewell The River of Regeneration The Lady of the Flowers The Procession of the Church Triumphant Beatrice MlO??5Ji PARADISO The Ascent to Paradise PiCARDA Self-Confidence Ancient Florence The Prophecy of Dante's Exile Vera Fides The Planets The Golden Stairway Rosa Rosarum The Holy City The White Rose of Paradise Beatrice's Farewell Gabriel Ave Maria The Beatific Vision THE^FORESTiOr-LIlFE MIDWAY upon the journey of our life 1 found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me ! how hard a thing it is to say What was this forest savage, rough, and stem, Which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is little more. T' THROUGH me the way is to the city dolent ; Through me the way is to eternal dole ; Through me the way among the people lost. Justice incited my sublime Creator ; Created me divine Omnipotence, The highest Wisdom and the primal Love. Before me there were no created things, Only eteme, and 1 eternal last. All hope abandon, ye who enter in ! " These words in sombre colour 1 beheld Written upon the summit of a gate. WE came unto a noble castle's foot, Seven times encompassed with lofty walls, Defended round by a fair rivulet ; This we passed over even as firm ground ; Through portals seven I entered with these Sages ; We came into a meadow of fresh verdure. People were there with solemn eyes and slow, Of great authority in their countenance ; They spake but seldom, and with gentle voices. Thus we withdrew ourselves upon one side Into an opening luminous and lofty, So that they all of them were visible. There opposite, upon the green enamel. Were pointed out to me the mighty spirits, Whom to have seen 1 felt myself exalted. I saw Electra with companions many, 'Mongst whom I saw both Hector and /F.neas, Oesar in armour with gerfalcon eyes ; I saw that Brutus who drove Tarquin forth, Lucrctia, Julia, Marcia and Cornelia, And saw alone, apart, the Saladin. When 1 had lifted up my brows a little, The Master I beheld of those who know. Sit with his philosophic family. All ga« upon him, and all do him honour. There I beheld both Socrates and Plato, Who nearer him before the others stand ; I cannot all of them portray in full, Because so drives me onward the long theme, That many times the word comes short of fact. The sixfold company in two divides ; Another way my sapient Guide conducts me Forth from the quiet to the air that trembles ; And to a place 1 come where nothing shines. And as the cranes go chanting forth their lays, Making in air a long line of themselves, So saw 1 coming, uttering lamentations, Shadows borne onward by the aforesaid stress. Helen I saw, for whom so many ruthless Seasons revolved ; and saw the great Achilles, Who at the last hour combated with Love. Paris 1 saw, Tristan ; and more than a thousand Shades did he name and point out with his finger Whom Love had separated from our life. After that 1 had listened to my Teacher, Naming the dames of eld and cavaliers. Pity prevailed, and 1 was nigh bewildered. And I began : " O Poet, willingly Speak would 1 to those two, who go together. And seem upon the wind to be so light." And he to me : " Thou 'It mark, when they shall be Nearer to us ; and then do thou implore them By love which leadeth them, and they will come." Soon as the wind in our direction sways them. My voice uplift 1 : " O ye weary souls ! Come speak to us, if no one interdicts it." As turtle-doves, called onward by desire. With open and steady wings to the sweet nest Fly through the air by their volition borne. So came they from the band where Dido is. Approaching us athwart the air malign. So strong was the affectionate appeal. " O living creature gracious and benignant. Who visiting goest through the purple air, Us, who have stained the world incarnadine, If were the King of the Universe our friend, We would pray unto Him to give thee peace. Since thou hast pity on our woe perverse. Of what it pleases thee to hear or speak, That will we hear, and we will speak to you. While silent is the wind, as it is now. Sitteth the city, wherein 1 was bom, Upon the sea-shore where the Po descends To rest in peace with all his retinue. Love, that on gentle heart doth swiftly seize, Seized this man for the person beautiful That was ta'en from me, and still the mode offends me. Love, that exempts no one beloved from loving. Seized me with pleasure of this man so strongly. That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me ; Love has conducted us unto one death ; Calna waiteth him who quenched our life ! " These words were borne along from them to us. As soon as 1 had heard those souls tormented, I bowed my face, and so long held it down Until the Poet said to me : " What thinkest ? " When 1 made answer, I began : " Alas ! How many pleasant thoughts, how much desire. Conducted these unto the dolorous pass." Then unto them 1 turned me, and 1 spake. And 1 began : " Thine agonies, Francesca, Sad and compassionate to weeping make me. But tell me, at the time of those sweet sighs. By what and in what manner Love conceded, That you should know your dubious desires .' " And she to me : " There is no greater sorrow Than to be mindful of the happy time In misery, and that thy Teacher knows. But, if to recognise the earliest root Of love in us thou hast so great desire, I will do even as he who weeps and speaks. One day we reading were for our delight Of Launcelot, how Love did him enthrall. Alone we were and without any fear. Full many a time our eyes together drew That reading, and drove the colour from our faces ; But one point only was it that o'ercame us. Whcnas we read of the much-longed-for smile Being by such a noble lover kissed. This one, who ne'er from me shall be divided, Kissed me upon the mouth all palpitatmg. Galeotto was the book and he who wrote it. That day no farther did we read therein." And all the while one spirit uttered this. The other one did weep so, that, for pity, I swooned away as if I had been dying. And fell, even as a dead body falls. Now will I have thee learn my judgment of her. He whose omniscience everything transcends The heavens created, and gave who should guide them, That every part to every part may shine, Distributing the light in equal measure ; He in like manner to the mundane splendours Ordained a general ministress and guide, That she might change at times the empty treasures From race to race, from one blood to another, Beyond resistance of all human wisdom. Therefore one people triumphs, and another Languishes, in pursuance of her judgment, Which hidden is, as in the grass a serpent. Your knowledge has no counterstand against her ; She makes provision, judges, and pursues Her governance, as theirs the other gods. Her permutations have not any truce ; Necessity makes her precipitate. So often Cometh who his turn obtains. And this is she who is so crucified Even by those who ought to give her praise. Giving her blame amiss, and bad repute. But she is blissful, and she hears it not ; Among the other primal creatures gladsome She turns her sphere, and blissful she rejoices.' AND now there came across the tur- bid waves The clangour of a sound with terror fraught, Because of which both of the mar- gins trembled ; Not otherwise it was than of a wind Impetuous on account of adverse heats, That smites the forest, and, without restraint, lie branches rends, beats down, and l>ear5 away ; Right onward, laden with dust, it goes superb. And puts to flight the wild beasts and the shepherds. More than a thousand ruined souls I saw. Thus fleeing from before one who on foot ^a^^-^ Was passing o'er the Styx with soles unwet. From ofif his face he fanned that unctuous air, Waving his left hand oft in front of him, And only with that anguish seemed he weary. Well I perceived one sent from Heaven was he, And to the Master turned ; and he made sign That 1 should quiet stand, and bow before him Ah I how disdainful he appeared to me ! He reached the gate, and with a little rod He opened it, for there was no resistance. Then he returned along the miry road. And spake no word to us, but had the look Of one whom other care constrains and goads. Broad wings have they, and necks and faces human, And feet with claws, and their great beUies fledged ; They malce lament upon the wondrous trees. I heard on all sides lamentations uttered, And person none beheld I who might make tiiem. Whence, utterly bewildered, 1 stood still. I think he thought that I perhaps might think \ So many voices issued through those trunks : From people who concealed themselves for us ; ; Therefore the Master said : " If thou break off ! Some little spray from any of these trees, ; The thoughts thou hast will wholly be made vain." ; Then stretched I forth my hand a little forward, « And plucked a branchlet off from a great thorn ; -j And the trunk cried : " Why dost thou mangle me ? " i After it had become embrowned with blood. It recommenced its cry : " Why dost thou rend me .' ■ Hast thou no spirit of pity whatsoever ? ; Men once we were, and now are changed to trees." ' FROM bridge to bridge thus, speaking other things Of which my comedy cares not to sing, We came along, and held the summit, when We halted to behold another fissure Of Malebolge and vain laments ; And I beheld it marvellously dark. As in the Arsenal of the Venetians Boils in the winter the tenacious pitch To smear their unsound vessels o'er again, For sail they cannot ; and instead thereof One makes his vessel new, and one recaulks The ribs of that which many a voyage has made , One hammers at the prow, one at the stem ; This one makes oars, and that one cordage twists ; Another mends the mainsail and the mizzen. ss525:s333S5::s:s:s5sss:::>s: sssss IN'THE-A^ENAL' J P VEN thus by the gjeat sages 't is con- o Cf fessed ^ The phoenix dies, and then is born o again, J When it approaches its five-hundredth o year ; i On herb and grain it feeds not in its life, a But only on tears of incense and i amomum, o And nard and myrrh are its lastwind- i ing-sheet. JUL* rATE*W*0r*m*VLY5SE5 THEN of the antique flame the greater horn, Murmuring, began to wave itself about Even as a flame doth which the wind fatigues. Thereafterward, the summit to and fro Moving as if it were the tongue that spake. It uttered forth a voice, and said : " When 1 From Circe had departed, who concealed me More than a year there near unto Gagta, Or ever yet JEnezs named it so. Nor fondness for my son, nor reverence For my old father, nor the due affection Which joyous should have made Penelope, Could overcome within me the desire 1 had to be experienced of the world, And of the vice and virtue of mankind ; But I put forth on the high open sea With one sole ship, and that small company By which I never had deserted been. Both of the shores I saw as far as Spain, Far as Morocco, and the isle of Sardes, And the others which that sea bathes round about. I and my company were old and slow When at that narrow passage we arrived Where Hercules his landmarks set as signals. That man no farther onward should adventure. On the rijjht hand Ivhind me left I Seville, And on the other already had left Ceuta. ' O brothers, who amid a hundred thousand Perils,' 1 said, ' have come unto the West, To this so inconsiderable vigil Which is remaining of your senses still. Be ye unwilling to deny the knowledge, Following the sun, of the unpeopled world. Consider ye the seed from which ye sprang ; Ye were not made to live like unto brutes. But for pursuit of virtue and of knowledge.' So eager did I render my companions, With this brief exhortation, for the voyage. That then 1 hardly could have held them back. And having turned our stem unto the morning. We of the oars made wings for our mad flight, Evermore gaining on tlie larboard side. Already all the stars of the other pole The night beheld, and ours so very low It did not rise above the ocean floor. Five times rekindled and as many quenched Had been the splendour underneath the moon, Since we had entered into the deep pass. When there appeared to us a mountain, dim From distance, and it seemed to me so high As I had never any one beheld. Joyful were we, and soon it turned to weeping ; For out of the new land a whirlwind rose, And smote upon the fore part of the ship. Three times it made her whirl with all the waters. At the fourth time it made the stern uplift. And the prow downward go, as pleased Another, Until the sea above us closed again." PVl^A THE ^ ^. x4'i'4/ SHORES^ '\X, '- OF PV^ATO^ TO run o'er better waters hoists its sail Tiie little vessel of my genius now, That leaves behind itself a sea so cruel ; And of that second kingdom will 1 sing Wherein the human spirit doth purge itself, And to ascend to heaven becometh worthy. Sweet colour of the oriental sapphire That was upgathered in the cloud- less aspect Of the pure air, as far as the first circle, Unto mine eyes did recommence delight Soon as 1 issued forth from the dead Which had with sadness filled mine eyes and breast. 4' .=^ fi^'u The beauteous planet that to love incites Was making all the orient to laugh, Veiling the Fishes that were in her escort. To the right hand 1 turned and fixed my mind Upon the other pole, and saw four stars Ne'er seen before save by the primal people. The dawn was vanquishing the matin hour Which fled before it, so that from afar I recognised the trembling of the sea. of morning, Ihrough the gross vapours Mars grows tiery red Down in the West upon the ocean tloor Appeared to me — may I again behold it! — A light along the sea so swiftly coming, Its motion by no flight of wing is equalled ; From which when 1 a little had with- drawn Mine eyes, that I might question my Conductor, Again I saw it brighter grown and larger. Then on each side of it appeared to me I knew not what of white, and underneath it THE^ CnLESTI AL' PlEST •WirfWo.^V^rV/: jjgj^^^ f-ib^.tl^'f^r-u/"'-* '■«.OWt'»;tlEgypto I " They chanted all together in one voice, With whatso in that psalm is after written. Then made he sign of holy rood upon them, Whereat all cast themselves upon the shore, And he departed swiftly as he came. AND one of them began: " Whoe'er thou art, Thus going turn thine e3es, consider well If e'er thou saw me in the other world." I turned me tow'rds him, and looked at him closely ; Blond was he, beautiful, and of noMe aspect. But one of his eyebrows had a blow divided. When with humility I had disclaimed E'er having seen him, "Now behold!" he said, And showed me high upon his breast a wound. Then said he with a smile : " I am Manfredi." The Indian wood resplendent and serene, Fresh emerald tiie moment it is broken By herbage and by tlowers within that hollow Planted, each one in colour would be vanquished, As by its greater vanquished is the less. Nor in that place had nature painted only, But of the sweetness of a thousand odours Made there a mingled fragrance and unknown. "Salve Regina," on the green and flowers There seated, singing, spirits 1 beheld. Which were not visible outside the valley. ^H) ^MiMO TWAS now the hour that tumeth back desire hi those who sail the sea, and melts the heart, The day they 've said to their sweet friends farewell. And the new pilgrim penetrates with love, If he doth hear from far away a bell That seemeth to deplore the dying day. I SAW that army of the gentle-born Thereafterward in silence upward gaze, As if in expectation, pale and humble ; And from on high come forth and down descend, 1 saw two Angels with two flaming swords. Truncated and deprived of their points. Green as the little leaflets just now bom Their garments were, which, by their verdant pinions Beaten and blown abroad, they trailed behind. One just above us came to take his station, And one descended to the opposite bank. So that the people were contained be- tween them. Clearly in them discerned 1 the blond head ; But in their faces was the eye bewil- dered. As faculty confounded by excess. " From Mary's bosom both of them have come," Bordello said, " as guardians of the valley." W^*^ 1 / -^"^ Along the three stairs upward with good will Did my Conductor draw me saying : " Ask Humbly that he the fastening may undo." Devoutly at the holy feet 1 cast me, For mercy's sake besought that he would open, But first upon my breast three times I smote. And when upon their hinges were turned round The swivels of that consecrated gate. Which are of metal, massive and sonorous. At the first thunder-peal I turned attentive, And " Te Deum laudamus " seemed to hear In voices mingled with sweet melody. Exactly such an image rendered me That which 1 heard, as we are wont to catch, When people singing with the organ stand ; For now we hear, and now hear not, the words. TyEj&sjg HEN I perceived the embankment round about To be of marble white, and so adorned With sculptures, that not only Poly- cletus. But Nature's self, had there been put to shame. The Angel, who came down to earth with tidings Of peace, that had been wept for many a year And opened Heaven from its long interdict. In front of us appeared so truthfully There sculptured in a gracious attitude. He did not seem an image that is silent. One would have sworn that he was saying " Ave ; ' For she was there in effigy portrayed Who turned the key to ope the exalted love, And in her mien this language had impressed, " Ecce ancilla Dei," as distinctly As any figure stamps itself in wax. I moved my feet from where I had been standing, To examine near at hand another story. Which after Michal glimmered white upon me. There the high glory of the Roman Prince Was chronicled, whose great Iteneficence Moved Gregory to his great victory ; 'T is of the Emperor Trajan 1 am speaking ; And a poor widow at his bridle stood. In attitude of weeping and of grief. Around about him seemed it thronged and full Of cavaliers, and the eagles in the gold Above them visibly in the wind were moving. The wretched woman in the midst of these Seemed to be saying : " Give me vengeance, Lord, For my dead son, for whom my heart is breaking." And he to answer her : " Now wait until I shall return." And she : " My Lord," like one In whom grief is impatient, " shouldst thou not Return." And he : " Who shall be where 1 am Will give it thee." And she ; " Good deed of others What boots it thee, if thou neglect thine own ? " Whence he : " Now comfort thee, for it behoves me That I discharge my duty ere 1 move ; Justice so wills and pity doth retain me." «#•***♦*#*•«♦# Whoe'er of pencil master was or stile, That could portray the shades and traits which there Would cause each subtile genius to admire ? Dead seemed the dead ; the living seemed alive I y(^$i<^r Withouten which in this rough wilderness Backward goes he who toils most to advance. And even as we the trespass we have suffered Pardon in one another, pardon thou Benignly, and regard not our desert. Our virtue, which is easily o'ercome, Put not to proof with the old Adversary, But thou from him who spurs it so, deliver. This last petition verily, dear Lord, Not for ourselves is made, who need it not. But for their sake who have remained behind us.' m O," ASKED I him, " art thou not Oderisi, Agobbio's honour, and honour of that art Which is in Paris called illuminating ? " " Brother," said he, " more laughing are the leaves Touched by the brush of Franco Bolognese ; All his the honour now, and mine in part. in sooth 1 had not been so courteous While 1 was living, for the great desire Of excellence, on which my heart was bent. Here of such pride b paid the forfeiture ; And yet 1 should not be here were it not That, having power to sin, 1 turned to GOD. O thou vain glory of the human powers, How little green upon thy summit lingers. If 't be not followed by an age of grossness ! In painting Cimabue thought that he Should hold the field, now Giotto has the cry, So that the other's fame is growing dim. So has one Guido from the other taken The glory of our tongue, and he perchance Is born, who from the nest shall chase them both. Naught is this mundane rumour but a breath Of wind, that comes now this way and now that And changes name, because it changes side." THE ANGEL or PEACE ■HOWARDS us came the being beautiful Vested in white, and in his countenance Such as appears the tremulous morning star. His arms he opened, and opened then his wings ; " Come," said he, " near at hand here are the steps, This way goes he who goeth after peace." His aspect had bereft me of my sight, So that I turned me back unto my Teacher, Like one who goeth as his hearing guides liim. And as the harbinger of early dawn The air of May doth move and breathe out fragrance, Impregnate all with herbage and with llowers, So did 1 feel a breeze strike in the midst My front, and felt the moving of the plumes That breathed around an odour of ambrosia. WE passed along, athwart the twilight peering Forward as far as ever eye could stretch Against the sunbeams serotine and lucent ; And, lo ! by slow degrees a smoke approached In our direction, sombre as the night. Nor was there place to hide one's self therefrom. This of our eyes and the pure air bereft us. Darkness of hell, and of a night deprived Of every planet under a poor sky, As much as may be tenebrous with cloud, Ne'er made unto my sight so thick a veil. As did that smoke which there enveloped us, Nor to the feeling of so rough a texture. Voices I heard, and every one appeared To supplicate for peace and misericord The Lamb of God who takes away our sins. Still " Agnus Dei " their exordium was ; One word there was in all and metre one, So that all harmony appeared among them. Remember, Reader, if e'er in the Alps A mist o'ertook thee, through which thou couldst see Not otherwise than through its membrane mole, How, when the vapours humid and condensed Begin to dissipate themselves, the sphere Of the sun feebly enters in among them, And thy imagination will be swift In coming to perceive how I re-saw The sun at first, that was already setting. Thus, to the faithful footsteps of my Master Mating mine own, I issued from that cloud To rays already dead on the low shores. "IN days when the good Titus, with the aid 1 Of the supremest King, avenged the wounds Whence issued forth the blood by Judas sold, Under the name that most endures and honours, Was 1 on earth," that spirit made reply, " Greatly renowned, but not with faith as yet. My vocal spirit was so sweet that Rome Me, a Thoulousian, drew unto herself. Where 1 deserved to deck my brows with myrtle. Statius the people name me still on earth ; 1 sang of Thebes, and then of great Achilles ; But on the way fell with my second burden. The seeds unto my ardour were the sparks Of that celestial tlame which heated me, Whereby more than a tiiousand have been tired ; Of the /Eneid speak 1, which to me A mother was, and was my nurse in song ; Without this weighed 1 not a drachma's weight. And to have lived upon the earth what time Virgilius lived, I would accept one sun More than ! must ere issuing from my ban." Ere by the vanquished shadow the sun's setting Behind us we perceived, I and my Sages. And ere in all its parts immeasurable The horizon of one aspect had become, And Night her boundless dispensation held, Each of us of a stair had made his bed ; Because the nature of the mount took from us The power of climbing, more than the delight. Even as in ruminating passive grow The goats who have been swift and venturesome Upon the mountain-tops ere they were fed, Hushed in the shadow, while the sun is hot. Watched by the herdsman, who upon his staff Is leaning, and in leaning tendeth them ; And as the shepherd, lodging out of doors, Passes the night beside his quiet flock. Watching that no wild beast may scatter it, Such at that hour were we, all three of us, I like the goat, and like the herdsman they, Begirt on this side and on that by rocks. Little could there be seen of things without ; But through that little 1 beheld the stars. ^f^ ■m ^''AcT)ION (ONTE/\PL/^ T was the hour, 1 think, when from the East First on the mountain Cytherea beamed, Who with the fire of love seems always burning ; Youthful and beautiful in dreams, methought I saw a lady walking in a meadow, Gathering flowers ; and singing she was saying : " Know whosoever may my name demand That 1 am Leah, and go moving round My beauteous hands to make myself a garland. To please me at the mirror here 1 deck me. But never does my sister Rachel leave Her looking-glass, and sitteth all day long. To see her beauteous eyes as eager is she, As I am to adorn me with my hands ; Her, seeing, and me, doing, satisfies." Which of itself alone this land produces. Until rejoicing come the beauteous eyes Which weeping caused me to come unto thee, Thou canst sit down and thou canst walk among them. Expect no more or word or sign from me ; Free and upright and sound is thy free-will, And error were it not to do its bidding ; Thee o'er thyself I therefore crown and mitre ! " EAGER already to search in and round The heavenly forest, dense and living green, Which tempered to the eyes the new-bom day, Withouten more delay I left the bank. Taking the level country slowly, slowly Over the soil that everywhere breathes fragrance. A softly-breathing air, that no mutation Had in itself, upon the forehead smote me No heavier blow than of a gentle wind, Whereat the branches, lightly tremulous, Did all of them lx)w downward toward that side Where its first shadow casts the Holy Mountain ; TWJrm 'i^^-^'m Yet not from their upright direction swayed, So that the little birds upon their tops Should leave the practice of each art of theirs ; But with full ravishment the hour of prime, Singing, received they in the midst of leaves ; That ever bore a burden to their rhymes, Such as from branch to branch goes gathering on Through the pine forest on the shores of Chiassi, When Eolus unlooses the Sirocco. Already my slow steps had carried me Into the ancient wood so far, that I Could not perceive where 1 had entered it. And, lo ! my further course a stream cut otT, Which tow'rd the left hand with its little waves Bent down the grass that on its margin sprang. All waters that on earth most limpid are Would seem to have within themselves some mixture Compared with that which nothing doth conceal. Although it moves on with a brown, brown current. Under the shade perpetual, that never Ray of the sun lets in, nor of the moon. *«**♦♦**•***♦•* From the most holy water I returned Regenerate, in the manner of new trees That are renewed with a new foliage, Pure and disposed to moinit unto the stars. AND there apj->eared to me (even as appears Suddenly something that doth turn aside Through very wonder every otlier tiiought) A lady all alone, who went along Singing and culling floweret after floweret, With which her pathway was all painted over. " Ah, beauteous lady, who in rays of love Dost warm thyself, if 1 may trust to looks. Which the heart's witnesses are wont to be. May the desire come unto thee to draw Near to this river's bank," I said to her, " So much that 1 may hear what thou art singing. Thou makest me remember where and what Proserpina that moment was when lost Her mother her, and she herself the Spring." As turns herself, with feet together pressed And to the ground a lady who is dancing. And hardly puts one foot Ivfore the other. ow^er^ On the vermilion and the yellow flowerets, She turned towards me, not in other wise Than maiden who her modest eyes casts down ; And my entreaties made to be content. So near approaching, that the dulcet sound , Came unto me together with its meaning. , As soon as she was where the grasses are j Bathed by the waters of the beauteous river I To lift her eyes she granted me the boon. ; 1 do not think there shone so great a light ! Under the lids of Venus, when transfixed i By her own son, beyond his usual custom ! j Erect upon the other bank she smiled, ; Bearing full many colours in her hands, j Which that high land produces without seed. «♦«♦«» *•«• •• «•*« And even as Nymphs, that wandered all alone Among the sylvan shadows, sedulous One to avoid and one to see the sun, She then against the stream moved onward, going Along the bank and I abreast of her. Her little steps with little steps attending Between her steps and mine were not a hundred. When equally the margins gave a turn In such a way, that to the East 1 faced. Nor even thus our way continued far Before the lady wholly turned herself Unto me, saying, " Brother, look and listen ! " And, lo ! a sudden lustre ran across On every side athwart the spacious forest, Such that it made me doubt if it were lightning. But since the lightning ceases as it comes, And that continuing brightened more and more, Within my thoughts 1 said, " What thing is this? " And a delicious melody there ran Along the luminous air. THE ' PRO; CHV^RCH CElfSS . lO' •or ' THE 'TR IVAVP/ N' [ OW Helicon must needs pour forth for me, And with her choir Urania must assist me, To put in verse things difficult to think. A little farther on, seven trees of gold In semblance the long space still intervening Between ourselves and them did counterfeit ; But when ! had approached so near to them The common object, which the sense deceives. Lost not by distance any of its marks, The faculty that lends discourse to reason Did apprehend that they were candle-sticks, KT IQNIS 'INVOJLVE,NS,= _ :T aPLENDOR IN CIRCVITV E JVS ^^ And in the voices of the song " Hosanna ! " Above them flamed the harness beautiful, Far brighter than the moon in the serene Of midnight, at the middle of her month. I turned me round, with admiration filled, To good Virgilius, and he answered me With visage no less full of wonderment. Then back I turned my face to those high things, Which moved themselves towards us so sedately, They had been distanced by new-wedded brides. Then saw 1 people, as behind their leaders, Coming behind them, garmented in white. And such a whiteness never was on earth. And 1 beheld the flamelets onward go, Leaving behind themselves the air depicted. And they of trailing pennons had the semblance, So that it overhead remained distinct With sevenfold lists, all of them of the colours Whence the sun's bow is made, and Delia's girdle. These standards to the rearward longer were Than was my sight ; and, as it seemed to me, Ten paces were the outermost apart. Under so fair a heaven as I describe The four and twenty Elders, two by two. Came on incoronate with flower-de-luce. They all of them were singing : " Blessed thou Among the daughters of Adam art, and blessed Forevermore shall be thy loveliness." After the flowers and other tender grasses In front of me upon the other margin Were disencumbered of that race elect. Even as in heaven star followeth after star, There came close after them four animals, Incoronate each one with verdant leaf. Plumed with six wings was every one of them, The plumage full of eyes ; the eyes of Argus If they were living would be such as these. Reader! to trace their forms no more 1 waste My rhymes ; for other spendings press me so. That I in this cannot be prodigal. ERE now have 1 beheld, as day began, The eastern hemisphere all tinged with rose. And the other heaven with fair serene adorned ; And the sun's face uprising, overshadowed So that by tempering influence of vapours For a long interval the eye sustained it ; Thus in the bosom of a cloud of flowers Which from these hands angelical ascended, And downward fell again inside and out. Over her snow-white veil with olive cinct Appeared a lady under a green mantle, Vested in colour of the living flame. And my own spirit, that already now So long a time had been, that in her presence Trembling with awe it had not stood abashed, Without more knowledge having by mine eyes. Through occult virtue that from her proceeded Of ancient love the mighty influence felt. Although the veil that from her head descended. Encircled with the foliage of Minerva, Did not permit her to appear distinctly, In attitude still royally majestic Continued she, like unto one who speaks, And keeps his warmest utterance in reserve : " Look at me well ; in sooth, 1 'm Beatrice ! " THE A5CENT TO PARADISE THE glory of Him who moveth everything Doth penetrate the universe and shine In one part more and in another less. Within that heaven which most his light receives Was I, and things beheld which to repeat Nor knows, nor can, who from above descends ; Because in drawing near to its desire Our intellect ingulphs itself so far, That after it the memory cannot go. Truly whatever of the holy realm I had the power to treasure in my mind Shall now become the subject of my song. O good Apollo, for this last emprise Make of me such a vessel of thy power As giving the beloved laurel asks ! O power divine, lend'st thou thyself to me So that the shadow of the blessed realm Stamped in my brain I can make manifest, , Thou 'It see me come unto thy darling tree, j| And crown myself thereafter with those leaves ' Of which the theme and thou shalt make me worthy. O ye, who in some pretty little boat, ', Eager to listen, have been following . Behind my ship, that singing sails along, \ Turn back to look again upon your shores ; ^ Do not put out to sea, lest peradventure ■ » In losing me, you might yourselves be lost. t The sea I sail has never yet been passed ; ' Minerva breathes, and pilots me Apollo, And Muses nine point out to me the Bears. Ye other few who have the neck uplifted * Betimes to th' bread of Angels upon which i One liveth here and grows not sated by it, \ Well may you launch upon the deep salt-sea | Your vessel, keeping still my wake before you ' Upon the water that grows smooth again. i i It seemed to me a cloud encompassed us, | Luminous, dense, consolidate and bright j As adamant on which the sun is striking. ! Into itself did the eternal pearl Receive us, even as water doth receive A ray of light, remaining still unbroken. SUCH as through polished and transparent glass, Or waters crystalline and undisturbed, But not so deep as that their bed be lost. Come back again the outline of our faces So feeble, that a pearl on forehead white Comes not less speedily unto our eyes : Such saw 1 many faces prompt to speak So that 1 ran in error opposite To that which kindled love 'twixt man and fountain. As soon as I became aware of them, Bteeming them as mirrored semblances To see of whom they were mine eyes 1 turned. Then I unto the shade that seemed most wishful To speak directed me, and I began. As one whom too great eagerness bewilders ; " O well-created spirit, who in the rays Of life eternal dost the sweetness taste Which being untasted ne'er is comprehended, Grateful 't will be to me, if thou content me Both with thy name and with thy destiny." Whereat she promptly and with laughing eyes : " Our charity doth never shut the doors Against a just desire, except as one Who wills that all her court be like herself. I was a virgin sister in the world ; And if thy mind doth contemplate me well, The being more fair will not conceal me from thee. But thou Shalt recognise I am Piccarda, Who, stationed here among these other blessed. Myself am blessed in the slowest sphere. Of perfect life and merit high in heaven There is a lady o'er us, by whose rule Down in your world they vest and veil themselves, That until death they may both watch and sleep Beside that Spouse who every vow accepts Which charity conformeth to his pleasure. To follow her, in girlhood from the world 1 fled and in her habit shut myself. And pledged me to the pathway of her sect. Then men accustomed to the evil more Than unto good, from the sweet cloister tore me ; God knows what afterward my life became." Thus unto me she spake, and then began " Ave Maria " singing, and in singing Vanished, as through deep water something heavy. S E Lr-dONriDE N CE FOR very low among the fools is he Who affirms without distinction, or denies, As well in one as in the other case ; Because it happens that full often bends Current opinion in the false direction, And then the feelings bind the intellect. Far more than uselessly he leaves the shore (Since he returneth not the same he went) Who fishes for the truth and has no skill. Nor yet shall people be too confident In judging, even as he is who doth count The com in field or ever it be ripe. For I have seen all winter long the thorn First show itself intractable and fierce, And after bear the rose upon its top ; And I have seen a ship direct and swift • Run o'er the sea throughout its course entire, • ;,...;: To perish at the harbour's mouth at last. And in her lullaby the language used That first delights the fathers and the mothers ; Another, drawing tresses from her distaff, Told o'er among her family the tales Of Trojans and of Fesole and Rome. With all these families, and others with them, Florence beheld I in so great repose That no occasion had she whence to weep ; With all these families beheld so just And glorious her people, that the lily Never upon the spear was placed reversed, Nor by division was vermilion made. '"T^HOU Shalt abandon everything beloved 1 Most tenderly, and this the arrow is Which first the bow of banishment shoots forth. Thou Shalt have proof how savoureth of salt The bread of others, and how hard a road The going down and up another's stairs. And that which most shall weigh upon thy shoulders Will be the bad and foolish company With which into this valley thou shall fall ; For all ingrate, all mad and impious Will they become against thee ; but soon after They, and not thou, shall have the foiehead scarlet." FOR saidst thou : " Bom a man is on the shore Of Indus, and is none there who can speak Of Christ, nor who can read, nor who can write ; And all his inclinations and his actions Are good, so far as human reason sees, Without a sin in life or in discourse: He dieth unbaptized and without faith ; Where is this justice that condemneth him ? Where is his fault, if he do not believe ? " Now who art thou that on the Ivnch wouidst sit In judgment at a thousand miles away. With the short vision of a single span ? • • • • • Unto this kingdom never Ascended one who had not faith in Christ, Before or since he to the tree was nailed. But look thou, many crying are, " Christ, Christ ! " Who at the judgment shall Iv far less near To Him than some shall be who knew not Christ. Such Christians shall the Ethiop condemn, When the two companies shall be divided, The one forever rich, the other poor. What to your kings may not the Persians say. When they that volume opened shall lx;hold In which are written down all their dispraises ? " A ND therefore, ere thou enter farther in, ii Look down once more, and see how vast a world Thou hast already put beneath thy feet ; " I with my sight returned through one and all The sevenfold spheres, and I beheld this globe Such that I smiled at its ignoble semblance ; I saw the daughter of Latona shining Without that shadow, which to me was cause That once I had believed her rare and dense. The aspect of thy son, Hyperion, Here I sustained, and saw how move themselves Around and near him Maia and Dione. Thence there appeared the temperateness of Jove 'Twixt son and father, and to me was clear The change that of their whereabout they make ; And all the seven made manifest to me How great they are, and eke how swift they are, And how they are in distant habitations. The threshing-floor that maketh us so proud, To me revolving with the eternal Twins, Was all apparent made from hill to harbour ! WITHIN the crystal which, around the world Revolving, bears the name of its dear leader. Under whom every wickedness lay dead, Coloured like gold, on which the sunshine gleams, A stairway 1 beheld to such a height Uplifted, that my eye pursued it not. Likewise beheld I down the steps descending So many splendours, that 1 thought each light That in the heaven appears was there diffused. And as accordant with their natural custom The rooks together at the break of day Bestir themselves to warm their feathers cold; Then some of them fly off without return. Others come back to where they started from. And others, wheeling round, still keep at home; Such fashion it appeared to me was there Within the sparkling that together came. Compared unto the sounding of that lyre Wherewith was crowned the Sapphire beautiful, Which gives the clearest heaven its sapphire hue. " I am Angelic Love, that circle round The joy sublime which breathes from out the womb That was the hostelry of our Desire ; And I shall circle, Lady of Heaven, while Thou followest thy Son, and mak'st diviner The sphere supreme, because thou enterest there." Thus did the circulated melody Seal itself up ; and all the other lights Were making to resound the name of Mary. THEN light I saw in fashion of a river Fulvid with its effulgence, 'twixt two banks Depicted with an admirable spring. Out of this river issued living sparks, And on all sides sank down into the flowers, Like unto rubies that are set in gold. O splendour of GOD ! by means of which 1 saw The lofty triumph of the realm vera- cious. Give me the power to say how it 1 saw! There is a light above which visible Makes the Creator unto every creature, Who only in beholding Him has peace, And it expands itself in circular form To such extent that its circumference Would be too large a girdle for the sun. V#3 ^Mgi The semblance of it is all made of rays Reflected from the top of Primal Motion, Which takes therefrom vitality and power. And as a hill in water at its base Mirrors itself, as if to see its beauty When affluent most in verdure and in flowers, So ranged aloft all round about the light Mirrored 1 saw in more ranks than a thousand All who above there have from us returned. And if the lowest row collect within it So great a light, how vast the amplitude Is of this Rose in its extremest leaves ! My vision in the vastness and the height Lost not itself, but comprehended all The quantity and quality of that gladness. There near and far nor add nor take away ; For there where God immediately doth govern, The natural law in naught is relevant. Into the yellow of the Rose Eternal That spreads and multiplies and breathes an odour Of praise unto the ever-vernal Sun, As one who silent is and fain would speak, Me Beatrice drew on, and said, " Behold Of the white stoles how vast the convent is ! Behold how vast the circuit of our City ! Behold our seats so filled to overflowing. That here henceforward are few people wanting ! " 1 Ae Vviiif e K^se N fashion then as of a snow-white rose Displayed itself to nie the saintly host, Whom Christ in his own blood had made his bride, But the other host, that flying sees and sings The glory of Him who doth enamour it, And the goodness that created it so noble, Even as a swarm of bees, that sinks in flowers One moment, and the next returns again To where its labour is to sweetness turned, Sank into the great flower, that is adorned With leaves so many, and thence reascended To where its love abideth evermore. Their faces had they all of living flame. And wings of gold, and all the rest so white No snow unto that limit doth attain. ND " She, where is she ? " instantly I said ; Whence he : " To put an end to my desire, Me Beatrice hath sent from mine own place. And if thou lookest up to the third round Of the first rank, again shalt thou behold her Upon the throne her merits have assigned her. Without reply I lifted up mine eyes, And saw her, as she made herself a crown Reflecting from herself the eternal rays. Not from that region which the highest thunders Is any mortal eye so far removed, in whatsoever sea it deepest sinks, As there from Beatrice my sight ; but this Was nothing unto me ; because her image Descended not to me by medium blurred. " O Lady, thou in whom my hope is strong, And who for my salvation didst endure In Hell to leave the imprint of thy feet. Of whatsoever things 1 have beheld. As coming from thy power and from thy goodness, I recognise the virtue and the grace. Thou from a slave hast brought me unto freedom. By all those ways, by all the expedients, Whereby thou hadst the power of doing it. Preserve towards me thy magnificence, So that this soul of mine, which thou hast healed. Pleasing to thee be loosened from the Ixniy." Thus I implored : and she, so far away, Smiled, as it seemed, and looked once more at me ; Then unto the Eternal Fountain turned. ■ V AVEv^AR4A' THOU Virgin Mother, daughter of thy Son, Humble and high beyond all other creature. The limit fixed of the eternal counsel. Thou art the one who such nobility To human nature gave, that its Creator Did not disdain to make Himself its creature. Within thy womb rekindled was the love. By heat of which in the eternal peace After such wise this flower has germinated. Here unto us thou art a noonday torch Of charity, and below there among mortals Thou art the living fountain-head of hope. Lady, thou art so great and so prevailing. That he who wishes grace, nor runs to thee. His aspirations without wings would fly. Not only thy benignity gives succour To him who asketh it, but oftentimes Forerunneth of its own accord the asking. In thee compassion is, in thee is pity, in thee magnificence ; in thee unites Whate'er of goodness is in any creature. Now doth this man, who from the lowest depth Of the universe as far as this has seen One after other the spiritual lives. Supplicate thee through grace for so much power That with his eyes he may uplift himself Higher towards the uttermost salvation." WILL BE ASSESSED FOR FA.UUR ^^^^^^ THIS BOOK ON T^E DAJE „ ^^^ ^^^^^^ rv'rNo''To *'00 Or^HE SEVENTH O.V OVERDUE. LD21-100™-7,'39(*02») LO^^i dE^' U. C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES CDS7aS1SSfl Ml tD775^ 7^^ \U> THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY