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 LIBRARY; 
 
 OfMViK.siIY '^^ 
 
 SAN DIEGO 
 
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 UNIVE 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY LfBRART 
 
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 ,^sOE^i
 
 DANTE'S 
 
 DIVINA COMMEDIA. 
 
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 ^ DANTE'S 
 
 DIVINA COMMEDIA 
 
 TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH, 
 
 IN THE METRE AND TRIPLE RHYME 
 OF THE ORIGINAL. 
 
 WITH NOTES. 
 
 MRS. EAMSAY. 
 
 LONDON: 
 TINSLEY EEOTHEES, 18, CATHEEINE ST., SIEAND. 
 
 1862.
 
 ^ 
 
 0. 
 
 
 LONDON : 
 BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 
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 r4 
 
 i 
 
 2
 
 ERRATA— PURGATORIO. 
 
 Canto 6, v. 142, for " subtilly " read. " subtlely." 
 
 9, V. 56, for '• Lucia," read "Lucia." 
 
 13, at the end of v. 45, insert inverted oomraas. 
 
 'J2, V. 70, for "growth," read " youth." 
 
 ,, V. 113, for "Deipile," read "Deipyle." 
 
 24, at the begiuniug aud end of v. 51, insert 
 inverted commas.
 
 THE 
 
 DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 PURGATORIO. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 — I — 
 
 argument. 
 
 Dante, having come forth from the dark cavern, gazes with 
 wonder and delight at the starry sky, and sees for the first 
 time the constellation of the Southern Cross. — Discourse 
 with Cato of Utica, guardian of Purgatory. 
 
 Now let my fancy's ship unfurl her sail, 
 Her course o'er smoother waters to begin, 
 And leave behind her all the sea of wail ; 
 
 And of that second kingdom will I sing, 
 "Where pain each mortal spirit purifies 
 Ere it can upward soar on heavenward wing. 
 
 Here let my Lay from Death once more arise, 
 Muses, since to you do I belong, 
 
 VOL. II. B
 
 2 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And here Calliope in tuneful guise 
 
 Appear, and bring with her, to aid my song, 10 
 
 The selfsame melody which erst they knew 
 Who mourn, as chattering jays, their hopeless wrong. 
 
 The oriental sajiphire's lovely hue 
 That colour'd the pure air, serenely bright, 
 O'erspreading all the sky with deepest blue, 15 
 
 Again unto mine eyes brought back delight ; 
 Soon as the deathly air I rose above, 
 The air that grieved my heart and dimm'd my sight. 
 
 The beauteous planet, counsellor of love, 
 Arose and shed o'er all the east her smile, 20 
 
 Hiding the Fish that in her escort move. 
 
 To the right hand I turn'd, and gazed awhile 
 At the far pole, and saw four stars, unseen 
 By man since sin our parents did beguile. 
 
 Their radiance gladden'd all the sky, I ween : 25 
 
 region of the Northland, cold and gray. 
 Since parted from their brightness thou hast been ! 
 
 I turn'd from gazing at the holy ray ; 
 A little towards the north my glance was thrown, 
 There where the Wain but now had pass'd away. 30
 
 PURGATORIO. 3 
 
 I saw anear me an old man alone ; 
 To whom so much of reverence seem'd due, 
 As to a father by his son is shown. 
 
 His beard was long, and mix'd with hoary hue. 
 And like unto the flowing locks he wore, 35 
 
 That, double-falling, both his shoulders strew. 
 
 The holy radiance of the starry Four 
 Shed on his forehead such a dazzling beam, 
 It seem'd as though the sun's own light he wore. 
 
 " And who are ye that, 'gainst Hell's sluggish stream, 40 
 From the eternal prisonhouse have fled ? " 
 He spake, and shook his hair of silvery gleam ; 
 
 " Who is your guide Ì and who the light that led 
 Forth from the night of everlasting gloom. 
 That darkens aye the valley of the dead Ì 45 
 
 Or broken are the laws of final doom ? 
 And is there now new counsel in the sky, 
 That even the damn'd to my abode should come 1 " 
 
 My Master then made signs with hand and eye. 
 Exhorting me to make obeisance low, 50 
 
 And to the ancient sage bend rev'rently ; 
 
 Then answer'd : " Not at mine own will I go ; 
 
 B 2
 
 4 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 A Blessed One descended from above, 
 
 To scud mo as a gaiidc through realms of woe. 
 
 But since of our condition thou wouldst prove 55 
 
 The truth still more, I may not say thee nay, 
 Nor may my will against thy wishes move. 
 
 This man hath never seen the closing day 
 Of life ; but in his madness drew so nigh. 
 That little time remain'd to turn away. 60 
 
 As I have said, a Lady from on high 
 Conmianded me to aid him ; and no place 
 Of flight remain'd, save that we have pass'd by. 
 
 And I have show'd him all the wicked race. 
 And now would lead him through the spirit throng, 65 
 Who 'neath thy guardianship their sins efface. 
 
 To tell thee all our journey were too long ; 
 Know, from above hath heavenly virtue flow'd. 
 That for this enterprise doth make me strong. 
 
 Now deign to welcome him to thy abode ; 70 
 
 He goes to seek for liberty : — so dear 
 As he who gives his life for it hath show'd : 
 
 And thou must know it well, who hadst no fear 
 Of death in Utica ; — where thou hast shed
 
 PURGATORIO. 5 
 
 The vesture that in glory shall appear 75 
 
 At the last day. Heaven's edicts are not made 
 In vain for lis. This man hath mortal life ; 
 And I am of that region of the dead, 
 
 Where she, who was on eartli tliy loving wife, 
 Still loves thee in the land of shadowy woe : 80 
 
 For her sake, then, befriend us in om- strife. 
 
 Let us throughout thy sevenfold kingdom go ; 
 To her I will take back a good report, 
 If thou wouldst be remember'd there below," 
 
 " Marcia to me such gladness did impart 85 
 
 On earth," he said, " that, wliatsoe'er she would, 
 I did ; so dear was she unto my heart. 
 
 Now that she dwells beyond tlie evil flood. 
 She cannot move me more ; by that decree 
 Made when my soul foz'th issued with my blood. 90 
 
 If sent by heavenly messenger ye be, 
 As thou hast said, no need of flattering sjieech ; ' 
 Enough that in such name thou askest me. 
 ' Go then, descend unto the salt sea beach. 
 And gird this waud'rer with the reeds that rise 95 
 
 Beside the wave ; and wash the stains that reach
 
 6 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 O'ei- all his visage : lest that, with his eyes 
 Dimtn'd by some cloud, he should appear before 
 The angel ministrant of Paradise. 
 
 For all around this little island shore, 100 
 
 Down where the waters beat upon the strand, 
 There springs of reeds and rushes ample store. 
 
 No other plant may blossom 'mid the sand ; 
 No stem resist the dashing of the main : 
 None that unto the billows doth not bend. 105 
 
 By this same path retui-n ye not again ; 
 The sun, that now is rising, be your guide 
 More easily the summit to attain." 
 
 He vanish'd : silent I drew near the side 
 Of him who led ine through the lake of woe. HO 
 
 Thus to my mute enquiry he replied ; 
 
 " My son, do thou behind my footsteps go ; 
 Let us turn back, for this way it must be, 
 The plain descends unto the waves below." 
 
 The dawn was conquering the mists that flee 1^5 
 
 Before it, as the early shadows wane ; 
 Afar I knew the trembling of the sea. 
 
 "We pass'd along the solitary plain.
 
 PURGATORIO. 7 
 
 As one who turns again to the lost way, 
 
 And, till he finds it, seems to walk in vain. 120 
 
 When we were come to where the dewdrops lay, 
 Despite the smi (because on the long reeds 
 But little had the freshness pass'd away), 
 
 Then both his hands upon the scatter'd weeds 
 Softly my Master laid among the dew : 125 
 
 And I, who knew his meaning and my needs, 
 
 Bent unto him my cheeks of tearful hue ; 
 While the dark stains he wash'd away, that bore 
 The impress of the hell I had pass'd through. 
 
 Now we were come unto the desert shore 130 
 
 Of that great sea, upon whose waters wide 
 He who hath sail'd returns again no more. 
 
 There was I clothed by my gentle guide : 
 And then, in sooth, a wondrous thing was seen ; 
 Swift as he pluck'd it, by the flowing tide, 1 35 
 
 Again the lowly plant sprung up, in freshest gi-een.
 
 CANTO IL 
 
 — I — 
 
 glrgmncnt. 
 
 Dante perceives a bark guided by a wliite-winged angel, and 
 bearing tlie souls to Purgatory. — Among them he discovers 
 his Mend Casella ; who by his melodious song causes the 
 Shades to forget their destination. — Anger of Cato. 
 
 The siin now low on the horizon lay, 
 On the horizon of the Holy Land, 
 Shedding on Sion's mount the close of day ; 
 
 And Night, who aye opposed to him doth stand. 
 Came slowly foi'th from out the Ganges stream, 5 
 
 Bearing the balances, that from her hand 
 
 At midnight fall : and thus the rosy gleam, 
 Tinging the cheeks of the fair Nymph of Day, 
 All changed to orange hue to us did seem. 
 
 And still beside the shore did we delay, 10 
 
 As those who musing would their path discern, 
 Go with their heart and with their footsteps stay.
 
 PURGATORIO. 9 
 
 And lo ! as, near the dawning of the morn, 
 Through the thick vapour Mars, with redder light, 
 Shines in the west, above the watery boiuiie, 15 
 
 I saw (and would 'twere now within my sight,) 
 A star come swiftly tow'rds us o'er the sea ; 
 Faster it sj^ed than any arrow's flight. 
 
 One moment at my guide I glanced, that he 
 Might with his wisdom aid my weaker thought ; 20 
 
 More large and bright the vision seem'd to be. 
 
 Now on each side appear'd I knew not what 
 Of white ; and as the vessel nearer di-ew, 
 Beneath, meseem'd, another form it brought. 
 
 My guide was silent, till at last he knew 25 
 
 The bark that sped on its unearthly road. 
 Borne by those wings of white and glistening hue. 
 
 He cried : " Now lowly kneel upon the sod ; 
 Behold a heavenly angel ; fold thy hands ; 
 For thou shalt see the messenger of God. 30 
 
 Lo ! for his wondrous voyage he demands 
 Nor oar, nor sail, nor any means of flight, 
 Save his own wùngs, between such distant strands. 
 
 See how he spreads them tow'rds the fount of light,
 
 10 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Those pinions whicli unchanged do ever wear, 35 
 
 Unlike to human locks, their freshness bright. 
 
 Now, as the bird of heaven to us drew near, 
 The dazzling radiance lighteia'd more and more, 
 Till human eye the splendour might not bear. 
 
 But sank to earth. Softly he touch'd the shore, 40 
 
 With his light shallop gliding o'er the flood. 
 That gently still its charmed burden bore ; 
 
 And at the helm the angel pilot stood. 
 With blessedness inscribed upon his brow. 
 More than a hundred souls there were who would 45 
 
 Here wash away their mortal stains : and now 
 " In exitu " they sang ; as with one voice 
 Did all the psalm in sweetest music flow. 
 
 And then he made the sign of Holy Cross ; 
 Wherefore they gladly sprang upon the strand : 50 
 
 And, as he came, so swiftly did he pass. 
 
 With shy and timid aspect did the band. 
 Left on a stranger shore, look round each way. 
 As one who would some new thing understand. 
 
 The sun was shooting down the burning day, 55 
 
 The fiery darts with which his skilful bow
 
 60 
 
 PURGATORIO. 11 
 
 From half the sky had chased the Goat away : 
 
 Turning towards us with uplifted brow 
 The wand'rers newly landed from the sea 
 Of us the way to climb the mount woiild know. 
 
 And Virgil answer<?d : " It well may be, 
 Ye think we have experience of this land ; 
 But we are also pilgrims even as ye. 
 
 A little while before you, we did wend 
 Hithef our way along a path so rude 65 
 
 That now this seemeth easy to ascend." 
 
 The souls, who by my breathing understood 
 That yet I had not seen the mists of death, 
 All wonderstruck remain'd, and pale and mute : 
 
 And as to him who wears an olive wreath, 70 
 
 To hear glad tidings all the people flow. 
 Each trampling each, so fast he hasteneth : 
 
 Kow unto me those blessed souls even so 
 Drew near ; and in their eagerness forgot 
 That they to wash away their stains must go. 75 
 
 And one advanced as to embrace me, fraught 
 With such deep tenderness in all his mien, 
 It moved my heart to the like gentle thought.
 
 12 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Shades, in all but in the aspect vain ! 
 
 Three times around his form my arms I threw ; ^^ 
 
 Thrice they return' d to my own breast again. 
 
 1 think my cheek with wonder changed its hue ; 
 Wherefore the shadow smiled, and drew away ; 
 And I, who follow'd him, pass'd onward too. 
 
 Gently he said to me that I should stay ; 85 
 
 And then I knew him, and I begg'd that he 
 To speak with me a little would delay. 
 
 He said : " As was in life my love to thee, 
 It is the same in death ; therefore I stop : 
 But tell rae wherefore may thy coming be 1 " ^^ 
 
 I said : " My own Casella, for the hope 
 Here to return again ; but why so long 
 Hast thou delay'd to reach thy journey's scope ? " 
 
 And he to me : " No one hath done me wrong, 
 If he, that (when and whom he will) doth bear 95 
 
 Unto this blessed isle the spirit throng, 
 
 Hath still denied the voyage unto my prayer. 
 His will is ever just. — Three months have fled, 
 Since all who would may freely enter here ; 
 
 And I, who in that region of the dead 100
 
 PURGATORIO. 13 
 
 Was left, -where Tiber to the sea doth flow, 
 At last benignly to this shore was led. 
 
 Again toward that stream his pinions go, 
 For waiting ever on its strand are found 
 Those who descend not to the shades below." 105 
 
 " If the decrees by which thou here art bound," 
 I said, " have left remembrance of the strain 
 That used to calm my spirit with sweet sound, 
 
 Then with its melody console again 
 My heart, which, passing through such scenes of ill, 110 
 In coming here hath suffer'd many a pain." 
 
 " Love that within my soul discoui'seth still," 
 Thus he began ; so musical the lay 
 Its sweetness yet my memory doth fill. 
 
 And ever listening, both we and they 115 
 
 Who with the minstrel were, seem'd so content 
 As care for aught besides had pass'd away. 
 
 And still we stood, all silent and intent 
 Upon his notes : when lo ! the sage, who cries : 
 " Wherefore do ye delay the steep ascent, 120 
 
 indolent and slothful ? Now arise ; 
 Fly to the mount to wash away the slime
 
 14 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Which hides the Eternal Spirit from your eyes." 
 
 Even as the doves in pleasant harvest time, 
 To feed upon the golden grain unite, 125 
 
 Silent, without their wonted murmuring rhyme ; 
 
 If aught appear that causes them affright. 
 Sudden they let their food untasted stand, 
 Because on them a greater care doth light : 
 
 Thus did I see the new-come pilgrim-band 130 
 
 (As one who goes, unheeding of the way) 
 Leaving the music, fly towards the strand : 
 
 Nor were we less intent on hasty flight than they.
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 ^Irgumciit. 
 
 Dante and Virgil endeavour to find the upward path. — Meeting 
 \nth Manfred, King of SicUy. 
 
 Although the suddenuess with which we fled 
 Had scatter'd all the wanderers, who now 
 Tui-n'd to the mount again where reason led, 
 
 Still to my faithful guide I clung, for how, 
 Without his aid, could I have held my course ? 5 
 
 Who would have dragg'd me up the mountain's brow Ì 
 
 He seem'd in his own thoughts to feel remorse : 
 conscience quick and pure, that even the least, 
 The slightest fault dost bitterly rehearse ! 
 
 Now when his steps had ceased from the haste, 10 
 
 Befitting ill the form of Majesty, 
 My mind, that all within itself was placed.
 
 16 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Again look'd forth, ns eager to espy 
 The road by which we took our nigged way, 
 From out the waves ascending to the sky. ■'•^ 
 
 The sun, whose crimson flame behind us lay, 
 No light before me on the path had tlirown ; 
 Because upon my form it found a stay : 
 
 I turn'd in dread to find myself alone ; 
 For I perceived no shadow by my side, 20 
 
 And deem'd, perchance, my comforter was gone. 
 
 But he, all turn'd towards me, thus replied : 
 " Why are thy thoughts within thee thus at war 1 
 Believ'st me not still with thee as thy guide ? 
 
 In Naples now beneath the vesper star, ^^ 
 
 My body lies, that threw on earth a shade ; 
 Erst was it brought from Brindisi afar. 
 
 If here no shadow by my form is made. 
 Thou shouldst not marvel more than at the skies, 
 Because on them the sunbeams are not stay'd. 30 
 
 To bodies of like nature, the Allwise 
 Hath given to suffer torments, heat and cold : 
 How this may be is hidden from our eyes. 
 
 Yom* mortal intellect is all too bold,
 
 PURGATORIO. 17 
 
 And finite would tlie Infinite discern, 35 
 
 That in Three Persons doth one substance hold. 
 
 But ye the cause from the efi"ect must leaiii ; 
 If to the whole your human glance might soar, 
 It needed not that Jilaiy's Son be born. 
 
 Nor had ye seen, on tlie eternal shore, 40 
 
 Some, whose vain longing for the good they seek 
 Is given to them as grief for evermore. 
 
 Of Aristotle and Plato do I speak, 
 And many others." Then his head he bent, 
 In sorrow ; nor again did silence break. 45 
 
 Meanwhile unto the mountain-foot we went ; 
 And there so steep the precipice around, 
 In vain to climb it would our strength be spent. 
 
 Between Turbia and Lerici's bound. 
 Each rocky path, most difficult and high, 50 
 
 Compai-ed with this, a gentle slope were found. 
 
 " Now who can tell us where the way may lie," 
 My Master said, as he his footsteps stay'd, 
 " That he may climb who hath no wings to fly Ì " 
 
 And downward, as in thought, he bent his head, 55 
 
 Deep musing on the dangers of the place ; 
 
 VOL. II. c 
 
 Ifc
 
 18 THE DIVIxXE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 While to the rocky height my glances stray' d. 
 
 At the left hand I saw appear a race 
 Of spirits, who towards us did advance ; 
 But seemed not to move, so slow their pace. 
 
 I to my Master said : " Ujjlift thy glance ; 
 Lo ! they who will give counsel now appear, 
 If thine own thoughts have need of aid perchance." 
 
 Then he look'd up, and with an aspect clear. 
 Replied : " Come tow'rds them, for they linger long ; 65 
 And thou, my gentle son, be of good cheer." 
 
 And still so distant from us was their throng, 
 After a thousand paces we had trod, 
 As might a stone be cast by marksman strong, 
 
 When to the rocky wall that edged the road 70 
 
 They all drew near ; and motionless remain' d, 
 As one who doubts what some new thing may bode. 
 
 " spirits who this blessed isle have gain'd," 
 Virgil began, " I pray you, by that peace 
 I well believe ye all shall have attain'd 75 
 
 At last, now tell us where these ramparts cease, 
 So that we may ascend the rugged steep ; 
 For loss of time the wise doth most displease."
 
 PURGATORIO. 19 
 
 As from the pen come forth the timid sheep, 
 Some two or three ; the rest, with aspect shy, 80 
 
 Bent to the earth their eyes and noses keep ; 
 
 All that the foremost does, the others tiy, 
 And when he stops, still close behind they stand, 
 Simple and quiet, nor know the reason why : 
 
 Thus did I see the leader of that band 85 
 
 Approach to meet us on our onward way, 
 With modest air. And as on my right hand, 
 
 Even to the rock the dusky shadow lay. 
 As though my form had quench'd the solar flame. 
 Amazed at that strange sight their steps they stay. 90 
 
 Those who were nearest us, no farther came ; 
 And all the rest who in their footsteps went, 
 Although they knew not wherefore, did the same. 
 
 " He upon whom ye now are so intent 
 Is in the body death shall yet receive ; 95 
 
 Therefore the sunny light on earth is spent. 
 
 Be not so struck with wonder ; but believe, 
 Not without strength that cometh from on high 
 This rampart's outer circle would he cleave :" 
 
 The Master spake. And thus was the reply : 100 
 
 c 2
 
 20 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 " Return with us again, by the same part 
 
 Ye come from : " and they sign'd with hand and eye. 
 
 Then one of them began : "Whoe'er thou art, 
 Still ever journeying onward, turn thee now ; 
 Hast thou not seen me when on earth thou wert ?" 105 
 
 I tum'd and look'd on him with stedfast brow ; 
 Fair was his aspect and of gentle mien ; 
 But on his forehead was a deadly blow. 
 
 I humbly answer'd, never had I seen 
 His form till now ; and then he show'd the trace no 
 
 Where on his breast a mortal wound had been. 
 
 " Know, I am Manfred, of imperial race," 
 He smiling said ; " and when thou dost resume 
 Thine earthly life within its wonted place, 
 
 Unto my daughter go, to her of whom 115 
 
 Are sprung the kings of Sicily and Spain : 
 Tell her the truth of me and of my doom. 
 
 After my lifeblood had gush'd forth like rain, 
 From two deep wounds, my soul I weeping gave 
 To him who gladly cleanseth every stain. 120 
 
 In life my sins did God's great judgments brave ; 
 But yet his arms of tender love embrace
 
 PURGATORIO. 21 
 
 All who return to him before the grave. 
 
 And if Cozenza's pastoi", sent in chase 
 Of me by Clement, had but rightly known 125 
 
 How of the mind of God to read this face, 
 
 My body still were where it first was thrown, 
 Above the bridge anear to Benevent, 
 Well guarded by the heavy pile of stone. 
 
 Now it is beaten by the rain, and rent 130 
 
 By storm, afar where Verde's wave is seen, 
 Where from the realm 'twas borne with torches spent. 
 
 For cui-se of theirs one is not lost, I ween, 
 They cannot tirrn away the love of God, 
 While hope still bears its blossoms, fresh and green. 135 
 
 Who dies in the contempt that he hath show'd 
 For Holy Church, thoiagh he repent at last, 
 'Tis true he may not enter this abode. 
 
 For thirty times as long as he hath pass'd 
 In harden'd sin ; if the probation be 140 
 
 Not shorten'd by the prayers from earth addrest. 
 
 Behold what gladness thou canst give to me ! 
 Therefore, I pray thee, to my Constance tell 
 How thou hast seen me, and of this decree : 
 
 For here, by prayers of those on earth we profit well." 145
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 argument. 
 
 Dante ascends the mountain ■witli difficulty. — He recognises 
 Belacqua, wlio on earth was noted for indolence and 
 procrastination. 
 
 When in the fulness of our heart's content, 
 Or 'mid the suffering of some sharpest pain, 
 The spirit wholly is thereon intent, 
 
 Then can it to no other thought attain ; 
 And this disj)roves the error which believes 5 
 
 Soul above soul our natiu-e doth contain. 
 
 Thus when the mind some outward thing receives. 
 Which holds it fixedly by sight or sound, 
 The flight of time no longer it perceives ; 
 
 Because one faculty within is found 10 
 
 That listens, and the rest all dormant lie, 
 For they are free, the other as if bound :
 
 20 
 
 PURGATORIO. 23 
 
 And of this true experience had I 
 A proof, when hsteuing to the speaker there. 
 The sun had risen full fifty grades on high, 15 
 
 Nor of its onward course was I aware. 
 Till, with one voice, to us those spirits said : 
 " Behold ! the place for which ye seek is here." 
 
 More wide the opening that is often made 
 Among the vines, and closed with thorny bent. 
 By labouring peasant when the grape grows red, 
 
 Than was the entrance to the steep ascent, 
 Which now my guide and I essay'd alone. 
 Because another way those pilgrims went. 
 
 The foot of man to Noli may go down, 25 
 
 And climb St. Leo and Bismantua's height ; 
 But, sooth to say, here mi;st I needs have flown, 
 
 Borne on the pinions swift and strong for flight, 
 Of ardent longing, as I strove to keep 
 Still close to him who gave me hope and light. 30 
 
 Between the broken rocks we climb'd the steep ; 
 The stony ramparts press' d on either side, 
 And I was fain on hands and knees to creep. 
 
 When to the upper edge we came, and spied
 
 24 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The open plain, I said : " Now whither lies 35 
 
 Our way, my Master ? " and he thus replied : 
 
 " Come onward where the mountain doth arise 
 Before us ; follow in my footstep's place. 
 Till there appear to us some escort wise." 
 
 Too distant for the human eye to trace 40 
 
 Was that far summit ; and the coast went down 
 More steep than line unto the central space 
 
 From half the quadrant. Weary did I moan : 
 " gentle father, turn thee and behold ; 
 If thou dost stay not, I am left alone." 45 
 
 " My son," he said, " to reach this spot be bold ; " 
 And pointed upward to a ledge that round 
 The mountain did its summit all enfold. 
 
 So strong the impulse in his words I found, 
 That prone on earth I struggled, till at last 50 
 
 My feet were stay'd upon the rocky bound. 
 
 And on the ridge we sat us down to rest, 
 Turn'd to the east, the point from which we came ; 
 For pleasant is the view of dangers past. 
 
 First to the island shore I look'd ; from thence, 55 
 
 Up to the sun I gazed, and saw that earth
 
 puegatorio. 25 
 
 From the left side was stricken hj its flame. 
 
 The Poet well perceived that I look'd forth, 
 Amazed to see the chariot of the light, 
 There where it stood between us and the north. 60 
 
 Wherefore he said : " If the Twin Brethren, hight 
 Castor and Pollux, near yon mirror lay, 
 Which sheds on every side its radiance bright. 
 
 Thou then shouldst see the zodiac's golden ray 
 Yet nearer to the north its circles throw, 65 
 
 If still it mov'd within its ancient way. 
 
 How this may be, if thou art fain to know. 
 Within thy thought imagine Zion's hill. 
 To stand, respective of this mountain, so 
 
 That both should have one sole horizon, still 70 
 
 With diverse hemispheres ; and thus the road. 
 Where Phaeton his chariot drove so ill, 
 
 Is seen toward the north of this abode. 
 Toward the south of Palestine ; and how 
 This may be so to thee is clearly show'd." 75 
 
 I said : " My Master, never, until now, 
 Saw I so clearly as I here discern. 
 Even where my mind appear'd to fall too low,
 
 26 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 That the mid circle of the zone supera, 
 By skill' cl in starry lore equator hight, 80 
 
 Which ever stands 'twixt sun and wintry bourne, 
 
 Even for the cause thou sayest, in our sight 
 Lies to the north ; while yet the Jews behold 
 Southwards the radiance of the heavenly light. 
 
 But, if it please thee, I would fain be told 85 
 
 How long our journey : for the hill so much 
 Ascendeth, that the eye may not be bold 
 
 To reach the summit." " Know, this mount is such," 
 He then replied, " that still the toil doth seem 
 More easy, as a higher point we touch : 90 
 
 And when the pathway thou at length shalt deem 
 So pleasant, that thy course shall be as light 
 As sailing in a bark adown the stream, 
 
 Thou then shalt have attain'd the furthest height ; 
 There may thy weary limbs repose at last : 95 
 
 I say no more ; but this I know aright." 
 
 He ceased ; we heard a voice that us addi-est, 
 And said : " Before the steep ascent, perchance, 
 It well may be thou shalt have need of rest." 
 
 And at that voice's sound we turn'd our glance ; 100
 
 PURGATORIO. 27 
 
 A mass of rock we saw at the left hand, 
 Uimoticed when at first we did advance. 
 
 Thither we went ; and there, as they who stand 
 In idle mood, I saw, beneath the shade. 
 Some who appear'd, in sooth, a listless band. 105 
 
 And one who seem'd with weariness down-weigh'd, 
 Sat, and his aiTQs upon his knees did lean, 
 And, bending low, his face between them laid. 
 
 " Good Master, look," I said, " for he, I ween, 
 Weareth an aspect yet more negligent 110 
 
 Than if dull idlesse were his next of kin." 
 
 Then he toward us look'd with eye intent, 
 Turning his face upon his knees, and said : 
 " Thou who art able, try the steep ascent." 
 
 And then I knew him ; nor my steps were stay'd 115 
 By the quick anguish of my breathing, weak 
 With that sharp toil. Scarcely he raised his head, 
 
 As we approach' d, but on this wise he spake : 
 " Hast thou remark'd the sun, whose car of light 
 From the left shoulder doth its pathway take V 120 
 
 The lazy gestm'e of this idle wight, 
 And curtness of his speech moved me to smile ;
 
 28 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 Then I began : " Belacqua, for thy plight 
 
 I gi'ieve no more ; but tell me, why beguile 
 Vainly the time ? An escort dost thou wait Ì 125 
 
 Or lingerest as thou were wont erewhile Ì " 
 
 And he : " My brother, wherefore should my feet 
 Essay the height with such an eager haste Ì 
 God's angel ever sitteth at the gate, 
 
 And will not let me enter, till is past 130 
 
 As long a time as I have spent on earth, 
 (For I delay'd repentance to the last,) 
 
 If prayers which from a holy heart have birth, 
 Come not unto mine aid : for know that none. 
 Save from a pardon'd soul, have any worth." 135 
 
 And then the Poet rose, and pointed on 
 And said : " Arise, and let us go ; for o'er 
 Our heads is shining now the noonday sun ; 
 
 And dusky Twilight stealeth tow'rd Morocco's shore."
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 argument. 
 
 Those who have delayed repentance are seen waiting for admis- 
 sion into Purgatory. — Among them are Buonconti di Mon- 
 tefcltro and Pia Tolomei. 
 
 Departing from those shades, I strove to hold 
 Still the same path as did my trusty guide ; 
 AVhen one, with finger pointing, said : " Behold ! 
 
 What wondrous thing is this ? At his left side, 
 No ray of sunshine on the path is found : 5 
 
 Meseemeth, yet in life he doth abide." 
 
 I turn'd my eyes toward the voice's sound, 
 And saw them look with wonder and amaze 
 At me, and at the shadow on the ground. 
 
 My Master said : " Wliy dost thou backward gaze, 10 
 With anxious mind, and linger in thy walk 1 
 What matters it to thee, whate'er he says Ì
 
 30 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Follow thou me, and let the people talk : 
 Be stedfast as a tower, that doth not bend 
 Its stately summit to the tempest's shock. 15 
 
 For he is ever further from the end 
 He aims at, in whose mind thought grows on thought ; 
 For one to crush another aye doth tend." 
 
 Saving " I come," I could not answer aught : 
 And as I spake, swift to my cheek there sprang 20 
 
 The hue that shows us fit for pardon sought. 
 
 And then came tow'rd us, where the rocks o'erhang, 
 A band of spirits, moving soft and slow ; 
 And " Miserere,^' verse by verse, they sang. 
 
 They saw the darkness on the path below, 25 
 
 (Because on me was stay'd the solar flame,) 
 And changed their song to a long startled " Oh ! " 
 
 Then unto us, as messengers there came 
 Two of that band, and thus their speech began : 
 " Fain would we know, in truth, your state and name." 30 
 
 And thus my guide made answer : " Now ye can 
 Return to them who sent you here, and say, 
 ' He whom ye look on is a living man.' 
 
 If, for his shadow they their footsteps stay,
 
 PURGATORIO. 31 
 
 As I suppose, enougli be this reply ; 36 
 
 The honour given, he will to them repay." 
 
 No meteor stars did e'er so quickly fly, 
 At evening hour, across the deep serene, 
 Or August clouds upon a sunset sky, 
 
 As those swift messengers return'd again ; 40 
 
 And once again came tow'rd us with the rest, 
 Fleet, as unbridled horses they had been. 
 
 " See, they are many who come on in haste," 
 The Poet said ; " thee they will beg for grace : 
 Therefore to listen as we go is best." • 45 
 
 " sold who journeyest to the blessed place. 
 With the same limbs which on thy natal day 
 Thou hadst, a little linger in thy pace," 
 
 Thus they began, " and look on us, we pray ; 
 If thou hast known us tell of us on earth : 50 
 
 Ah ! why such haste ? Ah ! wherefore dost not stay ì 
 
 We all by violence have been cast forth 
 From life, and we were sinners till the last ; 
 And then the light of heavenly grace had birth. 
 
 And we, forgiving and repentant, pass'd 55 
 
 From life, in peace with God ; who gives us now
 
 32 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The pain of longing for our promised rest." 
 
 And I : " Although I look with stedfast brow, 
 I know you not ; but if to you doth please 
 Aught that I can, souls redeem'd from woe, 60 
 
 Tell me, and I will do it, by that peace. 
 Which, following in the footsteps of my guide, 
 I seek from world to world withouteu cease." 
 
 And one began : " In faith we do abide 
 Tliat thou wouldst aid us, though by oath unbound ; 65 
 If by no higher power thy will be tied. 
 
 And I, who speak before the rest around, 
 Beseech thee, when the land thou shalt behold 
 That lies 'twixt Naples and Romagnan ground, 
 
 Do not thy gentle courtesy withhold ; 70 
 
 But beg of those in Fano that they pray 
 To free me from the sins that me enfold. 
 
 Thence was I ; but the wounds whence gush'd away 
 The blood where I abode, to me were dealt 
 Within Antenor's land ; even where I lay, 75 
 
 Deeming myself most safe : the murd'rous guilt 
 Be unto him of Este ; for his wi'ath, 
 More fierce than righteous, hath that life-blood spilt.
 
 PURGATORIO. 33 
 
 But had I taken my fliglit by Mira's path, 
 When I my foes at Oriaco met, 80 
 
 Still were I in the hind of hving breath. 
 
 Unto the marsh I fled ; and hard beset, 
 Entangled fell, amid the reeds and mire ; 
 And earth was with my veins' dark river wet." 
 
 Then said another : " As thou dost aspire 85 
 
 To reach the summit of the lofty mount. 
 Aid me too to fulfil my just desire. 
 
 Buonconte, son of Montefeltro's Count, 
 Am I ; by wife and friends am I forgot : 
 Therefore I ever walk with bended fi-ont." 90 
 
 And I to him : " Now tell me what sad lot. 
 So far from Campaldino, hath been thine. 
 That of thy sepulchre man knoweth not." 
 
 He said : " Mid Casentino's groves of pine, 
 The streamlet Archiano flows amain, 95 
 
 Above the Convent born, in Apennine. 
 
 There where its early name becometh vain, 
 Did I arrive, deep wounded in the throat ; 
 Flying on foot, and 'sanguining the plain. 
 
 My eyes grew dim, and my last spoken thought 10 
 
 VOL. II. D
 
 34 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Was the sweet name of Mary : and I fell ; 
 My corpse alone remai n'd upon that spot. 
 
 I s^jeak the truth, which thou again must tell : 
 As I sank down, an angel came from God, 
 To take me to Himself ; and He of Hell 105 
 
 Cried out : ' Why dost thou me defraud ? 
 Thou robb'st me only for one little tear : 
 Thou hast his soul ; mine be the lifeless sod.' 
 
 Thou knowest well how gathers in the air 
 The humid vapour which descends in rain, 110 
 
 Wlien risen imto a region cold and rare. 
 
 The evil Will that ever would attain 
 To evil, roused the dusky storm-wind's might, 
 By the dread power his nature doth contain. 
 
 And thus the valley, in the fading light 115 
 
 Of eve, was folded in a darksome veil, 
 From Pratomagno to the furthest height : 
 
 So that the heavy air came down in hail, 
 And rushing water, till the burden'd ground 
 Gave back the rain in streams ; nor did they fail 120 
 
 To join the mountain torrents, which rebound 
 From rock to rock, toward the royal flood,
 
 PURGATORIO. 35 
 
 So wild, that nought to stay their course is found. 
 
 My body, lying in its frozen blood, 
 The Archiano caught, and swiftly bore 125 
 
 Into the Arno ; with its violence rude 
 
 Loosing the sign of Holy Cross I wore. 
 Made on my breast in the last closing strife : 
 Then with its prey enwrapp'd me o'er and o'er." 
 
 " Ah ! when thou shalt return again to life, 130 
 
 And from thy weary journey hast repose," 
 Thus spake a third, in tones with soitow rife, 
 
 "See that thou then forget not Pia's woes : 
 Sienna was my birthplace, and I died 
 In the Maremma : and this well he knows 135 
 
 Wlio me, already widow'd, took to be his bride." 
 
 d2
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 S^rcittmmt. 
 
 Sordello. — Invective of Dante against the divisions of Italy, and 
 the government of Florence, 
 
 When from a game of dice away they tm-n, 
 He who hath been the loser stays behind, 
 Repeats the throws, and soiTOwful doth learn : 
 
 And with the winner all the crowd ye find ; 
 Some after, some before, they strive, that he 5 
 
 Their suit wou'd still be pleased to bear in mind. 
 
 He does not stay to hear what each may be ; 
 But gives and listens as he goes along : 
 And he who hath received then leaves him free. 
 
 Even so was I, in this tumultuous throng ; lo 
 
 Turning to them, now here, now there, my face. 
 And promising to aid them with my song.
 
 PURGATORIO. 37 . 
 
 There, carne the Ai-etino with swift pace, 
 Even he who was by Ghin di Tacco slain ; 
 And he who drowu'd in running from the chase : ^5 
 
 And there, entreated me with humble mien 
 The younger Frederick ; and the Pisau knight 
 Wlio show'd the good Marzucco strong in pain. 
 
 I saw Count Orso ; there, too, met my sight 
 The soul who from its body was driven forth 20 
 
 (And for no crime) by malice and despite. 
 
 Of Peter de la Brosse I speak : on earth, 
 'Twere well the Lady of Brabant provide, 
 Lest she be in a flock of lesser worth. 
 
 And now, as I was free on every side 25 
 
 From all those shades, who begg'd, with earnest cry, 
 For prayers of those on earth, to give them aid, 
 
 I thus began : " It seems thou dost deny, 
 my Enlightener, somewhere in thy lay, 
 That prayers can bend the counsel of the sky ; 30 
 
 And yet for this alone those people pray. 
 Then tell me, shall their hope be all in vain ? 
 Or know I not aright what thou wouldst say V 
 
 And he to me ; " What I have writ is plain ;
 
 38 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 And these are led by no fallacious hope ; 35 
 
 If well thou lookest with thy reason sane. 
 
 Justice descends not from its mountain top ; 
 For in one moment love fulfilleth all 
 That stays the pilgrims from their journej^'s scope. 
 
 And where I spake the words thou dost recai, 40 
 
 The prayer was answer'd not by heavenly ruth ; 
 Because disjoin'd from God its words did fall. 
 
 But still too lofty are those thoughts in sooth 
 For thee, until a teacher shall descend, 
 To be thy light 'twixt intellect and truth. 45 
 
 It well may be thou dost not comprehend : 
 I speak of Beatrice, whom thou at last 
 Shalt see all radiant on this mountain stand." 
 
 And I : " Good Master, come with gi-eater haste ; 
 For now in truth I wish not for repose : 50 
 
 See how the shadow lengthens from the west." 
 
 " We shall go onward, while the daylight glows, 
 Far as we may," he answered ; "but yet 
 The fact is other than thou dost suppose. 
 
 He who behind yon mountain-peak doth set 55 
 
 Shall turn again, ere we the summit gain ;
 
 PURGATORIO. 39 
 
 Now by thy form no more his rays are let. 
 
 But there, behold, a spirit who doth strain 
 His eyes toward iis ; he will tell us how 
 Most quickly we the summit may attain." 60 
 
 We came to him : Oh ! what a loft}^ brow, 
 Thou Lombard soul, did thy great mind disclose, 
 And in thy gaze what grandeur grave and slow ! 
 
 And with no word did he his lips unclose ; 
 But only look'd at us with steadfast eye, 65 
 
 Even as a lion couching in repose. 
 
 Yet Virgil still drew near to him, to try. 
 If he might lead us by an easier way : 
 To his demand the Shade made no reply ; 
 
 But of our life, and where our country lay 70 
 
 He question'd us. And thus my guide began : 
 " Mantua " — the s^^irit, ere he more could say, 
 
 Sprang toward him from his place, " Mautuan, 
 I am Sordello of thy land ;" and now. 
 As brothers, each unto the other clung. ' 75 
 
 Alas ! poor Ital}^, the home of woe. 
 Ship without pilot in an ocean wild. 
 No gentle lady, but a harlot thou !
 
 40 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 So eager was that courteous spirit mild, 
 Only for the sweet sound of his own land, 80 
 
 To welcome joyfully his country's child : 
 
 And now in thee, not without warfare stand 
 Those who are yet alive ; and each gnaws each. 
 Of those whom but one wall and ditch defend. 
 
 Seek, wretched one, around thy circling beach : 85 
 
 Then turn thine eyes ; within thy bosom gaze ; 
 And see if anywhere sweet peace doth reach. 
 
 What boots it that on thee Justinian lays 
 The bridle, if the saddle be not fill'd Ì 
 Else v/ere there less of shame and sad amaze. 90 
 
 Ah ! ye whose mad dissensions should be still'd 
 In loyal obedience unto Caesar's throne. 
 If thou wouldst understand what God hath will'd, 
 
 See how this beast is fierce and savage grown, 
 Because she is not govern' d by the spur, 95 
 
 And ye would rule her with the bit alone. 
 
 German Albert, who forsakest her 
 Who all untamed and lawless has become, 
 While thou to ride this steed thy limbs shouldst stir, 
 
 On thee and on thy race may righteous doom loo
 
 PURGATORIO. 41 
 
 Fall from on high, made clearly manifest, 
 That he may fear who cometh in thy room. 
 
 Thou and thy father were in such hot haste 
 For distant conquest, that ye now permit 
 The garden of the empire to be waste. 105 
 
 Come look on Montague and Capulet, 
 Monaldi, Filippeschi, heartless power ! 
 And some do groan, some only fear as yet. 
 
 Come, cruel, come, and thou shalt see hovv^ sore 
 The pains and sorrows by thy vassals borne ; 110 
 
 And look how safe it is in Santafior ! 
 
 Come and behold thy Rome, who now doth moiu'n, 
 Lonely and widow'd ; day and night she cries, 
 " My Csesar, whei-efore leav'st thou me forlorn ■? " 
 
 Come see what love among thy people lies ; 115 
 
 And if nought else can thee to pity move, 
 At the dishonou.r of thy name arise ! 
 
 And (be it said with reverence) God of love, 
 Who upon earth for us was crucified, 
 Dost fix thine eyes but on the realms above ? 120 
 
 Or does there in thy coimsels' depths abide 
 Some purpose for om* good, by us xmknown,
 
 125 
 
 42 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And lying from onr vision all too widel 
 
 For the whole land of Italy doth groan 
 Beneath the sway of tyrants ; peasants swell 
 With pride, as though Marcellus were each one. 
 
 Rejoice, my Florence ! those who in thee dwell, 
 To them do none of my reproaches reach ; 
 Thanks to thy people, who provide so well ! 
 
 Many are just of heart, but slow of speech, 130 
 
 Because they would take counsel of their tliought ; 
 Justice with thee springs from the tongue of each. 
 
 Many refuse the cares of state ; unsought 
 Thy people eagerly reply and say : 
 " Behold, to me be all the burden brought." 135 
 
 Let them be glad, in sooth, for well they may ; 
 For thou art rich, and wise, nor art afraid 
 Of any danger : is't not so, I pray ? 
 
 Athens and Lacedsemon, they who made 
 The ancient laws, and were so deeply wise, 140 
 
 Have now their glories thrown into the shade 
 
 By thee who dost so subtilly advise. 
 That half November passes ere is done 
 That which thou in October didst devise ;
 
 PURGATORIO. 43 
 
 How often in the time which late hath run, 145 
 
 Thy laws, thy dignities, thy coinage, thou 
 Hast changed, and eke thy citizens, each one ! 
 
 Remember this ; and then bethink thee how 
 Thou dost resemble one in grievous pain, 
 Who on her couch no rest or ease may know ; 150 
 
 Therefore to seek relief in change of place is faiu.
 
 CANTO VII. 
 
 glrguimnt. 
 The Valle}' of Princes. 
 
 After the warm embrace of welcome glad 
 Had been repeated more than twice or tlu-ice, 
 Sordell drew back, and " Who are ye 1" he said. 
 
 " Ere to this mouut the spirits might arise, 
 Worthy the paradise of God to win, 5 
 
 Octavius laid my corpse where now it lies ; 
 
 For I am Virgil ; and no other sin 
 But lack of faith hath lost me heavenly bliss :" 
 Thus did my leader his reply begin. 
 
 As one who sees some wond'rous thing, I wis, 10 
 
 And knows not where he may his credence place, 
 But first he says, it is not ; then, it is ; 
 
 Sordello thus appear' d, and bow'd his face.
 
 PURGATORIO. 45 
 
 Again towai'd my guide he turn'd, the while 
 
 He spake, and humbly did his knees embrace : 25 
 
 " glory of the Latins ! thou whose toil 
 The power of our old language hath made known, 
 Eternal honour of my native soil ! 
 
 What grace or merit thee to me hath shown ? 
 But if thou deignst to speak, then tell me now, 20 
 
 If thou hast come from Hell, and through what zone." 
 
 " Through all the circles of the realm of woe 
 Have I come hither," thus he made reply ; 
 " By strength from Heaven impell'd, I come and go. 
 
 Not deeds, but lack of deeds, has caused that I 25 
 
 May never see the Sun thou dost desire ; 
 And which by me was known too tardily. 
 
 There is a place below, not plagued with fire, 
 But only sad with darkness, where they mourn 
 With sighs alone, and not with wailings dire ; 30 
 
 There dwell I with the stainless babes new born, 
 The unbaptised, who have been slain by Death 
 Ere they our human guiltiness have worn. 
 
 And there I dwell with those who hope, nor faith, 
 Nor love have known ; yet without other sin 35
 
 46 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Still stedfastly have walk'd in virtue's path : 
 
 But, couldst thou aid us, gladly would I win 
 Some knowledge how to climb the mountain-side, 
 Where Purgatory truly doth begin." 
 
 " There is no certain path," the Shade replied ; 40 
 
 " I am permitted all around to stray ; 
 Far as I can, I now will be your guide. 
 
 But see already how declines the day : 
 Ascend by night we may not ; thus 'tis well 
 To look for a fair sojourn while we may. 45 
 
 Far at our right a band of spirits dwell ; 
 There will I lead thee, if thou dost consent, 
 And who thou art, to them will gladly tell." 
 
 " But how is this Ì " was answer' d, " if intent 
 To climb this rock by night, is there some bar, 50 
 
 Or lack of strength that hinders the ascent ? " 
 
 The good Sordello bent him down, and there 
 Traced with his finger on the ground, and said : 
 " Thou canst not cross this bound'ry, while the star 
 
 Of day is hid from us ; and yet is laid 55 
 
 On thee no hindi-ance save the clouds of night : 
 Only the darkness makes thy will afraid.
 
 PURGATORIO. 47 
 
 Thus it might be, thou'dst turn thee from the height, 
 And wander downwards where the valley lies, 
 While the horizon hides the sunny light." 60 
 
 And then my Master, even as in surprise, 
 Made answer : " Lead us on, where thou hast said 
 It shall be well till day again ai'ise." 
 
 But little further onward had we sped, 
 When I perceived that in the mount there lay g^ 
 
 A vale like those of earth. Then he who led 
 
 Our footsteps spake : " Now thither is our way ; 
 Even where the coast the deepest hollow hath : 
 There may we wait the dawning of the day." 
 
 'Twixt smooth and rugged, by a winding path, 70 
 
 Did we toward that quiet valley go, 
 Where most its stony rampart 'miuisheth. 
 
 Silver, and gold, and newly fallen snow ; 
 The shining wood of India ; Tyrian dye ; 
 The fresh-cut emerald and ruby's glow ; 75 
 
 If placed anear the leaves and blooms tliat vie 
 Within that dell, and all the ground bestrew, 
 In sooth, all dull and colourless would lie. 
 
 Nor was there only every lovely hue ;
 
 48 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The sweetness of a thousand scents, I ween, 80 
 
 Was mingled, floating on the evening dew. 
 
 ' ' Salve Regina" on the flowery green, 
 The spirits sat and sang : those souls whom yet 
 Beyond the valley's bound I had not seen. 
 
 " Before the dying sun hath fully set," 8.5 
 
 Thus spake the Troubadour, our Mantuan guide, 
 " I woidd not that those spirits ye should greet. 
 
 Their looks and actions better may be spied 
 Here where the rock impendeth, than along 
 The path within the valley by their side. 90 
 
 He who is seated highest in the throng, 
 But, sad with thoughts of worthy deeds undone. 
 Moves not his lips to join the others' song, 
 
 Was erst the Emperor Rudolph ; who alone 
 Could heal the wounds that Italy have slain : ^^ 
 
 Slowly by others must the work be done. 
 
 He who to give him comfort seemeth fain, 
 Ruled in the land from whence the streams gush foi-th, 
 First Moldowa, then Elbe, towards the main : 
 
 His name was Ottocar ; of greater worth, 100 
 
 From youth, than Wenceslaus his son ; even he
 
 PURGATORIO. 49 
 
 Who dwells in idle luxuiy on earth. 
 
 And he who in close counsel seems to be 
 With one of gentle aspect, as he iied 
 He died, dishonouring the fleur-de-lis. 
 
 Look how he beats his breast. By grief downweigh'd, 
 Behold the other, as in mournful trance, 
 Upon his palm he rests his weaiy head : 
 
 Father and kinsman of the curse of France 
 Are they ; his foul and wicked life they know, .110 
 
 And therefore grief doth pierce them as a lance. 
 
 And he who such a stalwart frame doth show. 
 And him of manly featui'es joins in song, 
 Girt with the cord of valour erst did go. 
 
 If to the youth behind him in the throng 115 
 
 The sceptre of his kingdom had remain'd, 
 Virtue from sire to son had pass'd along. 
 
 It is not thus with those who since have reign'd ; 
 Frederick and Giacopo possess the land, 
 But of the better part have nought retain'd. 120 
 
 Full rarely through the branches doth ascend 
 The worth of human virtue ; thus He wills 
 Who gives it, that to Him all praise may tend. 
 
 VOL. II. E
 
 50 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And not yon Shade alone my speech fulfils ; 
 He also proves it who with him doth sing : 125 
 
 Thus Puglia and Provence have many ills. 
 
 For so much weaker do his branches spring, 
 As much as Constance boasts more joy, as wife, 
 Than Beatrice and Margaret's fate may bring. 
 
 And there behold the king of simple life, 130 
 
 Henry of England, sitting all alone : 
 His offshoots more with virtuous deeds are rife. 
 
 And in a lower place, to thee is shown 
 The Marquis William, aye with upward gaze : 
 For him and Alexandria they groan 135 
 
 Even now, in Monferrato and the Canavese.
 
 CANTO Vili. 
 
 gtrgument. 
 
 The evening hour. — Two angels chase away the serpent. — 
 Coni'ado Malaspina. 
 
 Now "was the hour that hath the softest spell, 
 To turn the sailor's heart ou homeward way, 
 When he that morn hath bade his friends farewell ; 
 
 And on the pilgrim saddest thoughts doth lay 
 Of love, whene'er he heareth from afar 5 
 
 The bell that seems to weep the dying day. 
 
 Then I began to have no further care 
 Of hearing, as I look'd with eager eye 
 At one who raised his hands as if in prayer ; 
 
 Fixing his gaze iipon the orient sky, 10 
 
 As saying unto God : " For aught but thee 
 I have no thought." And then his voice on high 
 
 £ 2
 
 52 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 He lifted up in softest melody, 
 Singing " Te lucis ante,'' in a strain 
 So sweet, it was bewilderment to me. 
 
 And all the rest, with pure and humble mien, 
 Still follow'd him throughout the holy hymn, 
 Raising their eyes unto the stany train. 
 
 Now, reader, see that well thou mark my theme, 
 Because so fine and subtle is the veil, 
 That, sooth to say, the vision is not dim. 
 
 The while this noble army did not fail 
 All silently to gaze toward the sky, 
 With look of expectation meek and pale. 
 
 From heaven I saw two holy angels fly ; 
 By each of them a flaming sword was worn, 
 But pointless were those weajjons from on high. 
 
 Green as the summer leaflets newly born 
 Their garments were, that, struck by emerald wings. 
 Waved in a track of verdure all unshorn. 
 
 The one mito the height above us springs ; 
 The other floated swiftly through the air. 
 Unto tlie rampart that the vale curings. 
 
 I saw the gleaming of their golden hair ;
 
 PURGATORIO. .53 
 
 But on their brows such glory did abide, 35 
 
 My mortal vision might not linger there. 
 
 " Know, both those angels come from Mary's side," 
 Bordello said, " and they the valley hold 
 Safe from the snake that hither soon will glide. 
 
 And I who knew not where I might behold 40 
 
 The serpent, turn'd me to my faithful friend ; 
 For terror chill'd my blood with shuddering cold. 
 
 And thus Sordello : " Now let us descend 
 Among the shadows of the royal dead ; 
 To you they will a gracious welcome lend." 45 
 
 Only three steps, methought, I downward sped, 
 And in the valley was to me reveal'd 
 One, whom desire to look on me had led. 
 
 The gloom of evening all the air had fill'd ; 
 Yet not so dark but 'twixt his eyes and mine 50 
 
 Was seen what at the first had been conceal'd. 
 
 And each toward the other did incline : 
 Gentle Judge Nino, I rejoiced for thee 
 That the accursed fate was none of thine ! 
 
 Nor were there wanting words of courtesy ; 55 
 
 And then he ask'd : *' How long a time has fled
 
 54 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Since thou hast come across the distant sea ?" 
 
 I answer' d : " Through the chambers of the dead, 
 This morn I came, yet breathing earthl)»- hfe. 
 Though seeking the unearthly am I led." 
 
 And as they listen'd to my answer brief, 
 He and Sordello started, even as one 
 Whose mind with sudden questioning is rife. 
 
 To Vh-gil then drew near the Mantuan ; 
 The other turn'd, and cried : " Up, Conrad, rise ! 
 And see what by the grace of God is done." 
 
 And then to me : " By the great debt that lies 
 On thee, of thanks to Him who thus doth hide 
 His secret springs of action from our eyes, 
 
 When thou shalt be beyond the waters wide. 
 Bid my Joanna that her prayers may soar 
 There where the guiltless ne'er in vain have cried. 
 
 I think her mother loves me now no more, 
 Since she has laid aside her mourning veil ; 
 The which perchance she would that still she wore. 
 
 In her it may be seen how soon doth fail 
 The faith of woman when the life is fled. 
 And the dead love is a forgotten tale.
 
 PURGATORIO. 55 
 
 For her, in sooth, Gallm-a's bird hath made 
 A stateHer show above her sepulchre, 80 
 
 Than Milan's snake, which shall be o'er her laid." 
 
 He spake, and on his forehead did he bear 
 The aspect and the seal of righteous wrath, 
 As in due measure gentlest hearts may wear. 
 
 My eyes still wander' d on the heavenward path, 85 
 
 Even where the starry orbs most slowly turn, 
 As near its pole the wheel least motion hath. 
 
 Then Virgil thus : "My son, what wouldst thou 
 learn ?" 
 And I to him : " At those three stars I gaze, 
 With whose resplendence all the sky doth burn." oo 
 
 He answer'd : " These have risen to fill the place 
 Of the four radiant planets thou hast seen, 
 Shedding this morn the glory of their rays." 
 
 Even as he spake, Sordell, with anxious mien. 
 Drew him unto himself and said, " Behold ! 95 
 
 There comes our wicked enemy, I ween." 
 
 And where no circling rocks the vale enfold 
 A snake was gliding, clad in glistening mail. 
 Perchance like him who tempted Eve, of old.
 
 56 THE DIVIXE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Among the flowers there came the evil trail, 100 
 
 And as it tm-u'd, its tongue it darted, even 
 As doth a beast that licks itself. To tell 
 
 How moved the pinions of the bhds of heaven, 
 I have no power : I did but see they flew, 
 Cleaving the air; to me no more w^as given. 105 
 
 The rushing of those wings of emerald hue 
 Startled the serpent, and he swiftly fled ; 
 Back to their posts the angels turn'd anew. 
 
 The Shade who at Judge Nino's call had sped, 
 Throughout the combat ever fixedly 110 
 
 Upon my form his eager gaze had stay'd. 
 
 " If for the lamp that leads thee thus on high, 
 Thou in thy will such oil wouldst find, as well 
 May guide thee to the heights of azure sky," 
 
 Thus he began ; " if thou of those who dwell 115 
 
 In ValdimagTa hear'st true words of fame. 
 To me, who there was great, thy knowledge tell. 
 
 For Conrad Malaspina was my name ; 
 I was the younger of that ancient band ; 
 And here I love my friends with purer flame." 120 
 
 T answer'd : " Never yet within your land
 
 PURGATORIO. 57 
 
 Was I ; but where, in sooth, are any found, 
 
 Who know you not, throughout all Europe's strand ? 
 
 The glory that your noble house hath crown'd, 
 Such fame doth give its lords and their domain, ;^25 
 
 He who ne'er yet was there, your praise may sound. 
 
 And as I would my journey's scope attain, 
 I swear your honour'd race still bears the prize 
 Of wealth, and power, and deeds of valorous men. 
 
 On them such grace of Art and Nature lies, 130 
 
 They, though a wicked Head the world doth twist 
 To sin, alone the evil path despise." 
 
 " Not seven times shall the sun have gone to rest," 
 Thus did he answer, " in the bed which now 
 The Ram hath wholly cover'd and possest, -^35 
 
 Till thy opinion, erst so courteous, grow 
 Fixed in thy brain, with stronger fastenings stay'd. 
 Than the report of other men may show ; 
 
 If in its onward course God's will be not dolay'd."
 
 CANTO IX. 
 
 glrgumcnt. 
 
 At da'vvn, while Dante dreams that he is borne upwards by an 
 eagle, he is carried by Lucia to the gate of Purgatory. — He 
 enters to the sound of Tc, Dcum laiidamus. 
 
 Now Tithou's mistress, famed iu ancient song, 
 On the far orient sky shed silver light. 
 As from her lover's arms she pass'd along: 
 
 Her brow with starry diamonds was bright, 
 In figure of the creature swift and cold, 5 
 
 That with its tail strikes, darting in quick flight ; 
 
 And twice the footsteps of the Night were told. 
 The steps which slowly ever onward pace ; 
 Downward the third its dusky wings did fold. 
 
 When I, who breathed the breath of Adam's race, 10 
 OjDpress'd with slumber laid me down among 
 Our band of five, in that still, floweiy place.
 
 PURGATORIO. 69 
 
 And in the hour when first her mournful song 
 The swallow sings before the sun doth shine, 
 Perhaps in memory of her ancient wrong ; 15 
 
 And when our pilgrim fancies most incline 
 To lofty thoughts, and least to earthly theme, 
 And in their vision almost are divine ; 
 
 Methought I saw above me, in my dream, 
 A golden plumaged eagle in the sky, 20 
 
 Who with spread wings intent to swoop did seem : 
 
 Above Mount Ida he appear' d to fly. 
 Where Ganymede's departing words were heard. 
 When borne to the consistory on high. 
 
 I thought within myself : " Perchance yon bird 25 
 
 Aids only those who from this hill aspire ; 
 Nor for the hving are his pinions stirr'd." 
 
 Then sweeping round in many a circling gyre, 
 Swift as the dreadful thunderbolt he came. 
 And bore me upward to the sphere of fire ; 30 
 
 And then it seem'd both he and I in flame 
 Were burning, and in such fiei'ce ai-dour glow'd, 
 That from my dream I woke. In ancient fame, 
 
 'Tis said no otherwise Achilles show'd,
 
 60 TnE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Awaking, when he strain'd his gaze to learn 35 
 
 What undiscover'd land was his abode, 
 
 What time from Cheiron unto Scyra borne, 
 (While sleeping in his mother's arms he lies,) 
 Ere from that isle the Greeks made him return ; 
 
 Thus did I rouse myself, and from mine eyes, 40 
 
 The heavy slumber and the dream were gone, 
 And I grew pale with terror and surprise : 
 
 Beside me was my comforter alone ; 
 My face was turn'd toward the island shore 
 And for two hours the morning sun had shone. 45 
 
 Then said my Master : " Fear thou not so sore ; 
 In sooth, we have attain'd a goodly height ; 
 Slack not thy efforts now, but strive the more. 
 
 The gate of Purgatory now in sight 
 Appears ; behold the ramparts round it drawn ; 50 
 
 Ye enter where they seem to disunite. 
 
 For in the twilight that precedes the dawn, 
 The while thy soul asleep within thee lay, 
 Afar beneath upon the flowery lawn, 
 
 A Lady came to iis, and thus did say : 55 
 
 * I am Lucia, who this slumb'rer would
 
 60 
 
 PURGATORIO. 61 
 
 Bear upward with me on the heavenly way.' 
 
 Sordello and the rest of gentle mood 
 Remain'd ; and through the early daylight clear 
 She bore thee hither : I her steps pursued. 
 
 At last she paused ; but ere she placed thee here, 
 Her bright eyes show'd to me the open gate : 
 Then she did with thy slumber disappear." 
 
 And like to him who still in doubt doth wait, 
 But changes into comfort all his dread, 65 
 
 Joyful in knowing truly of his state, 
 
 Thus was I ; and when he who ever led 
 My steps, perceived me calm and free of care. 
 Upward he moved and I behind him sped. 
 
 Eeader, thou seest well how I prepare 70 
 
 My strain with gi'eater art ; because the theme 
 Of which I sing is aye more bright and fair. 
 
 As we went on, before me did it seem 
 As though the wall were broken : and when we 
 Drew nearer to the gateway's dazzling beam, 75 
 
 I saw the door and the gradations three 
 Which led to it ; I saw their diverse hue. 
 And one who kept the portal silently.
 
 62 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And when my eyes the place more clearly knew, 
 I saw him seated on the highest grade ; SO 
 
 His forehead such resplendent gloiy threw 
 
 I might not look on him ; a naked blade 
 He bore, that glitter'd with the fiery glow, 
 And oft thereon in vain my glance was stay'd. 
 
 He spake : " Reveal yonr purpose ere ye go ; 85 
 
 Where is your guide ? 'tis well ye should beware 
 That this your coming do not work you woe." 
 
 My Master said : " From out the heavenly air 
 A Lady came, and bade us to this height 
 Ascend, whence may the arduous path be tried." 90 
 
 '' And may that Lady lead your steps aright," 
 The courteous guardian answer' d, " as ye pass ; 
 To climb our staircase now put forth your might." 
 
 Thither we came : the first was a bright mass 
 Of snowy marble, polish'd clear and pure, 95 
 
 So that I saw myself as in a glass. 
 
 The second was of dusky hue obscure ; 
 The stone appear'd all burnt and rougli in grain, 
 And cleft, in form of cross, did aye endure. 
 
 The last lay heavy on the former twain, 100
 
 PURGATORIO. 63 
 
 And seem'd to me of porphyiy as bright 
 As blood that gushes forth from out a veiu. 
 
 Above the highest step, withiu my sight, 
 There sat God's angel on the threshold-stone, 
 That seem'd a glittering diamond of light. 105 
 
 Up the three steps, with Virgil's help alone, 
 I gladly pass'd ; and then he spake : " Entreat 
 With meekness, that the bar may be withdrawn." 
 
 Humbly I fell before the holy feet ; 
 And begg'd for grace to open to me now ; 110 
 
 But first three times upon my breast I beat. 
 
 He, -with his sword, seven times upon my brow 
 Wrote the first letter of the Plague of Sin ; 
 And bade that I to wash those woimds should go. 
 
 His garments were of ashen hue, I ween, 115 
 
 Even like the dust before the whirlwind roU'd ; 
 Two keys of diverse sorts he wore within. 
 
 Silver the one ; the other was of gold ; 
 First with the white, then with the red he strove 
 To open ; which I gladly did behold. 120 
 
 He said : " If either of those keys should prove 
 Unyielding, nor unto ray hand give heed,
 
 64 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 One step along the path ye cannot move. 
 
 More precious one ; the other hath more need 
 Of art, and of the skill which doth excel : 125 
 
 Because by it alone the bolt is freed. 
 
 From Peter I received them : it were well 
 With e'en too ready ease to gi'ant this grace, 
 He said, if at my feet the pilgrims fell." 
 
 And then the gateway of the holy place 130 
 
 He open'd, saying : " Enter ; but beware ; 
 For he must forth who looks with backward gaze." 
 
 When on the hinges that the portal bear, 
 Slow turn'd with grating sound the sacred door, 
 Whose bolts their deep metallic voice declare, 135 
 
 Less harshly roar'd Tarpeia's gate of yore, 
 Wlien good Metellus all in vain had found 
 Resistance, and the treasure was no more. 
 
 At the first note, intent I turn'd me round, 
 And then " Te Deuìn " did it seem to me 140 
 
 I heard in music mingled with the sound. 
 
 Even such an image it appear' d to be, 
 As when ye hear sweet voices sing ; and they 
 Join with the organ's notes in melody : 
 
 And now the words are heard, and now they die away. 145
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 g.rgunient. ^ 
 
 First circle of Purgatory. — Examples of humility, sculptured in 
 the white marble rocks. — The proud, burdened with heavy 
 stones, advance towards Dante and Virgil. 
 
 After we pass d the threshold of the gate, 
 The which our souls, from love of ill, disuse, 
 The ill that makes the crooked way seem straight, 
 
 Sounding with heavy clang I heard it close : 
 Had I a backward glance toward it thrown, 5 
 
 What for my error had been fit excuse ? 
 
 Now we ascended through the fissured stone. 
 That fled and then advanced, on either part. 
 Like ocean billovrs, ever and anon. 
 
 " In tnith, we somewhat here have need of art," lo 
 
 My guide began, " as through this cleft we go, 
 And now the walls jut forth, and now dispart."
 
 66 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 And thus we in oiu- joiu'ney were no slow, 
 That, sinking once again unto its rest, 
 The darken'd border of the moon was low, 15 
 
 Ere through this needle's eye our steps had pass'd. 
 But when we, freed, throughout its toils had gone, 
 And issued to the open plain at last, 
 
 I being weary, and the way unknown 
 By either, there we rested, in a place 20 
 
 Than pathway through the wilderness more lone. 
 
 Here from its edge that borders empty space 
 Unto the rock ascending still on high. 
 The human body thrice its length might trace. 
 
 Far as my mortal sight had power to fly, 25 
 
 Xow gazing to the left, and now to right, 
 The cornice seem'd the same unto mine eye. 
 
 Not yet our footsteps had essay'd the height. 
 And, as toward the rocky wall I turn'd, 
 I saw that of the purest marble white 3q 
 
 It was : with loveliest sculptures all adorn'd ; 
 So fair, they Polyclctus put to shame. 
 And, by their side, e'en Nature's self were scom'd. 
 
 The angel who unto Judea came.
 
 PURGATORIO. 67 
 
 Bearing the message of long wept-for peace, 35 
 
 And oped the gate erst kept by swords of flame ; 
 
 Upon that rock for aye he did not cease 
 Sculptur'd to stand in attitude so fair, 
 He seem'd no silent image. To increase 
 
 The marvel, it appear'd as if he there 40 
 
 Said " Ave ; " for anear him was poin-tray'd 
 She who the key of heavenly love did bear. 
 
 And in her act it seem'd as though she said : 
 " Behold the handmaid of the Lord ! " as plain 
 As impress of a seal on wax is made. 45 
 
 " Do not thy mind entirely thus retain 
 Within one spot," then said my gentle guide, 
 Who near to me his steps did still detain. 
 
 Thereat I turn'd my glance ; and by the side 
 Of Mary's image, nigh to him who even 50 
 
 But now to rouse my 'mazed thoughts had tried, 
 
 Another hist'ry in the rock was graven : 
 Wherefore I pass'd by Virgil, and drew near, 
 That to my sight more plain it might be given. 
 
 Depicted there the cart and oxen bear 55 
 
 The Ark of God ; that we the dreadful fate 
 
 F 2
 
 co 
 
 68 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Of those who holy rites usurp should fear. 
 
 A crowd was gather'd round, in festal state : 
 Divided in seven quires, imto mine eyes 
 Thej sang ; unto my ears did silent wait. 
 
 Even in such manner did the incense rise, 
 Carved within that fair imagining, 
 In me one sense said JVo, another Yes. 
 
 Preceding those the holy vase who bring, 
 The dancers were by the meek Psalmist led, 65 
 
 Who on that day was more and less than king. 
 
 And at a palace-window sculptured 
 Sat Michal, on the pageant looking down, 
 As doth a woman scornful and sad. 
 
 I moved my steps a little further on, 70 
 
 That I another liist'ry might behold. 
 Next that of Michal, glittering in the stone. 
 
 For in the sculpture was the glory told. 
 Of him who caus'd St. Gregory to seek 
 The vict'ry that the gate of Hell unroll'd. 75 
 
 Of the good Emperor Trajan do I speak ; 
 There a poor widow seem'd, with mournful cry, 
 To grasp his steed, while tears llow'd down her cheek.
 
 PURGATORIO. 69 
 
 Around, a gallant throng doth stand for aye, 
 Of armed horsemen ; and above his head 80 
 
 The golden eagles raise themselves on high. 
 
 Among the crowd it seem'd as though she said : 
 " Avenge me, Sire, avenge me of my woe, 
 On him who smote my son that he is dead" 
 
 And he appear'd to answer : " Let me go ; 85 
 
 Wait thou till I return again." She cried, 
 (As one whose grief in hastiness doth show,) 
 
 " If thou returnest never ì " He replied : 
 " He who shall reign instead of me will see 
 Thee righted." But she said : " Thou put'st aside 90 
 
 Thy duty ; and what boots it unto thee 
 Another's virtue Ì " " Then be of good cheer," 
 He answered ; " for thy cause full speedily, 
 
 Ere I depart, shall be adjudged : I here, 
 By justice and by pity am delay'd." gg 
 
 Now He to whom there never doth appear 
 
 That which before was hidden, clearly made 
 This speech seem visible unto our sight, 
 New unto us, because not here portray'd. 
 
 While on the sculptured meekness with delight 100
 
 70 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 I gazed, because its beauty sliow'd the trace 
 Of Him whose mind imagin'd it ariglit, 
 
 " Behold where many come, with tardy pace," 
 The Poet whisper'd ; " they to us will show 
 The way to climb unto the highest place." 105 
 
 My eyes, that wand' ring all around did go, 
 (Because on each new thing they fain are stay'd,) 
 To turn again towards him were not slow. 
 
 Reader, I would not thou shouldst be afraid 
 The path of penitential grief to try, 110 
 
 For hearing how God wills the debt be paid. 
 
 Think not upon the suff'rings : let thine eye 
 Rest on the future : for when most severe, 
 They cannot pass into Eternity. 
 
 Thus I began : "My Master, that which hei'e 115 
 
 Advances, seems not human to my gaze ; 
 I know not what, so strange doth it ap})car." 
 
 And he to me : " The heavy load which weighs 
 So sore, that they are to the earth opprest, 
 At first bewilder'd me in dire amaze. 120 
 
 But if thine eyes thou stedfastly dost rest 
 On them who thus those pond'rous stones endui-e,
 
 PURGATORIO. 71 
 
 Thou see'st how each one crawls upon his breast." 
 
 haughty Christians, miserable, poor ! 
 Who in the darken d vision of your mind, 125 
 
 Deem in the path of ill ye are secure ; 
 
 Do ye not know we are the insect kind. 
 Bom the angelic butterfly to form, 
 That flies to justice where no screen ye find 1 
 
 Why does such swelling pride your souls deform Ì 1^0 
 Ye are but beings of defective race, 
 Condemn' d to crawl for ever as a worm ! 
 
 As, to sustain a cornice in its place. 
 Ye see a figure who, in crouching low, 
 Doth almost join his knees unto his face, 135 
 
 So that true soitow from the feigned woe 
 Is bom within the gazer ; thus, when seen 
 Intently, did to me their semblance show. 
 
 And more or less they were bow'd down, I ween. 
 As they a less or greater burden bore ; 140 
 
 But he who had most patience in his mien, 
 
 Weeping, appcar'd to say, " I can endure no more."
 
 CANTO XI. 
 
 girgununt. 
 
 The Lord's Prayer. — Discourse with Humbert Aldoliraudeschi, 
 and with Oderisi, the painter. — Provenzano Sal vani. 
 
 "Father, who hast thy dweUing-place on high, 
 Not circumscribed, but that thou lovest more 
 Thy first-created of the empyreal sky. 
 
 To hymn thy wondrous name let praises soar 
 From every creature ; as 'tis meet and right 5 
 
 To render thanks unto thy glorious power. 
 
 Send unto iis thy heavenly kingdom bright ; 
 For of ourselves we have no strength to gain 
 Its peace, although we strive with all our might. 
 
 Even as thy holy angels aye are fain 10 
 
 To do thy will, while they Hosanna sing. 
 The selfsame sacrifice be done by men.
 
 PURGATORIO. 73 
 
 And Tinto us our daily manna bring ; 
 Without it, as we pass this desert drear, 
 Backward we go, in all our jom-neying. 15 
 
 As we the ill that we have suffer' d here 
 Forgive, do thou forgive us ; from the ciy 
 Of our demerits turn away thine ear. 
 
 Our feeble strength do not so sorely try 
 With our dread ancient Enemy ; but free 20 
 
 Our souls from him who fain would make us die. 
 
 Not for ourselves this praj^er, Lord ; for we 
 Of aid against temptation have no need : 
 For those who yet are living let it be." 
 
 Thus, begging for themselves and us good speed, 25 
 
 They toil'd beneath their burden ; even as they 
 Who from an evil dream would fain be freed. 
 
 'Neath the unequal load that on them lay, 
 Up the first cornice wearily they went. 
 Purging the darkness of the world away. 30 
 
 If to our help their prayers are heavenward bent, 
 For them what should we do, in whom doth lie 
 The root from whence a chasten'd will is sent. 
 
 We ought to aid them, sooth, to purify
 
 74 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DAXTE. 
 
 Their souls from earth ; that, gladsome and secure, 35 
 
 They may ascend unto the starry sky. 
 
 " As from the heavy load which ye endure, 
 Ye would be early freed, and on the wings 
 Of swift desire attain joy's fountain pure, 
 
 I pray you, show to us the way that brings 40 
 
 Most quickly to the staircase which we seek, 
 And where the path least steep and dangerous springs. 
 
 For he who with me climbs this mountain-peak, 
 Because he breathes the breath of Adam's race. 
 Against his will his mortal flesh is weak." 45 
 
 Thus he who led me by those arduous ways. 
 They answer'd ; and I noted not aright 
 By whom the words were said, or from what place ; 
 
 But one thus spake : " Now turn ye to the right, 
 And journey by our side, unto the pass 50 
 
 Of possible ascent for living wight. 
 
 Were I not hinder'd by the heavy mass 
 That downward ever weighs my haughty head, 
 And nails my eyes to earth, with sad harass. 
 
 This living one, whose name thou hast not said, 55 
 
 I'd look upon, to know him, and inspire
 
 60 
 
 PURGATORIO. 73 
 
 His pity for the grief upon me laid, 
 
 I was of Latium ; and my Tuscan sire 
 Guglielmo Aldobrandeschi : liis high praise 
 Perchance ye have not heard ] The deeds of fire, 
 
 And ancient blood of my ancestral race, 
 Within me did such thoughts of pride impel 
 (Forgetful of the common stock and place 
 
 From which we spring) that my proud glances fell 
 On all men with contempt ; and thence I died, 65 
 
 And Campagnatico doth know it well. 
 
 Humbert my name : and not alone did pride 
 Do ill to me, but unto all I led. 
 Who 'gainst Sienna were with me allied. 
 
 And thus this burden on my weary head 70 
 
 I must endure, till God shall grant me grace : 
 What was undone when living, 'mong the dead 
 
 I must fulfil." Listening, I bent my face ; 
 And one (not he who spoke) then turn'd him round. 
 Beneath the heavy load that sorely weighs ; 75 
 
 And fix'd his eyes intently, till he foimd 
 llemembrance wake again : then call'd to me 
 Who journey'd with them, bending to the ground.
 
 76 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 I said : " Cau thou then Odorisi be, 
 The honour of Agubbio, and that Art 80 
 
 In Paris call'd illumining ? " Tlien he : 
 
 " Nay, Francis of Bologna did impart 
 More beauty to his pencillings, I ween : 
 To him be all the glory ; mine, in part. 
 
 While yet on earth, in truth I had not been 85 
 
 So courteous in my speech ; for the great love 
 Of praise, on which my heart too much did lean. 
 
 Here of such pride the punishment I prove ; 
 And here I had not been ; but in the hour 
 Of life, I turn'd me unto God above. 90 
 
 Oh ! the vainglory of all human power ! 
 How short a time its blossom doth endure, 
 If afterward the darkness do not lower ! 
 
 For Cimabue deem'd himself secure, \ 
 
 Within the field of painting ; Giotto now 95 
 
 Hath caused the former fame to be obscure. 
 
 Thus from one Guido doth the glory go 
 Unto another, of the gift of song ; 
 And he, perchance, is born who will bring low 
 
 The pride of both. The splendours that belong lOO
 
 PURGATORIO. 77 
 
 Unto the fame of earth are but a wind, 
 That in the same direction Lists not long. 
 
 What more thy praises, if thou be consign' d 
 Unto the grave in fullness of thy days, 
 Than if thou left'st but childhood's hours behind, 105 
 
 Ere pass a thousand years ? A shorter space, 
 To the long ages of Eternity, 
 Tlmn an eye's flash, unto the orbit's maze 
 
 That slowest moves along the starry sky. 
 All Tuscany resounded with the fame 110 
 
 Of him who doth so slow the pathway try ; 
 
 Now in Sienna scarce ye hear his name, 
 Even where he was the Master, in the hour 
 That the proud mob of Florence put to shame. 
 
 All your renown is like the summer flower, 115 
 
 That blooms and dies ; because the sunny glow, 
 Which brings it forth, soon slays with parching power." 
 
 And I to him : " The truth thy speech doth show, 
 Within my heart reproves the swelling pride ; 
 But who is he of whom thou sjiak'st but now Ì " 120 
 
 " Provenzan de' Salvani," he replied ; 
 " And he is here for his presumptuous heart,
 
 78 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 Because to sway Sienna erst he tried. 
 
 Since he did from his mortal Hfe depart, 
 Thus he has gone, unresting ; such the debt 
 They pay who act on earth too bold a part." 
 
 And I : "If it be true, that they who wait 
 Until the close of life ere they repent. 
 Must stay beneath, and here ascend not yet, 
 
 (If to their aid no holy prayers be sent) "* 
 
 As long a time as was their eai'thly life, 
 Why for his sake did justice now relent 1 " 
 
 " When his career with glory was most rife," 
 He answer'd, " freely in Sienna's street, 
 Although he felt in every vein the strife. 
 
 Begging for alms he humbly did entreat 
 For him, his friend, who in the dungeon-cell 
 Of Charles was held in durance. Now 'tis meet 
 
 I say no more : the thing which thus I tell 
 Perchance is dark ; but little time shall speed. 
 Before thy neighbours make thee know it well : 
 
 For him, free entrance here was won by that good 
 deed.
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 ^rgumnit. 
 
 Dante observes, sculptured on the pavement, histories of priile 
 an(iits2Dunishment. — An Angel meets him, and, conducting 
 him to the second circle, effaces the first of the seven 
 letters from liis brow. 
 
 Together, even as oxeu in the yoke, 
 Beside that bm-den'd spirit, bending low 
 I went, until my gentle Master spoke : 
 
 " Leave him, and on thy journey speed ; for know. 
 Here it is good the sail and oars be strain'd, 5 
 
 That swiftly on its course thy bark may go." 
 
 As one who W'Ould press onward I regain'd 
 At once my stature's fullest height, though still 
 Low in humility my thoughts remain'd. 
 
 And in my Master's steps, with ready will 10 
 
 I follow'd eagerly, as he and I 
 Sprang lightly up to climb the arduous hill.
 
 80 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 When thus he said : " Now downward turn thme eye ; 
 It shall be well for thee to cheer thy way, 
 With sight of that whereon thy footsteps lie." 15 
 
 As, lest the memory should pass away 
 Of those who in the sepulchre are laid, 
 The name they bore, when in the land of day, 
 
 Is written on their tomb ; and thence the dead 
 Remembrances awake, and once again 20 
 
 Flow forth the tears that gentle spirits shed : 
 
 Thus did I see, but lovelier, I ween, 
 The sculj)tured forms OTir rock-hewn pathway bore ; 
 For cut by loftier artist it had been. 
 
 And him I saw, who noblest aspect wore, 25 
 
 Of all created beings, from the sky 
 Like lightning downward hurl'd for evermore. 
 
 And there I saw the great Briareus die, 
 Pierced by celestial arrow ; in my sight. 
 Cold in the chill of death he seem'd to lie. 30 
 
 And Mars, and Pallas, and the Lord of light. 
 Still arm'd around their father stood, and gazed 
 On the dead giants slaughtcr'd in the fight. 
 
 Nimrod, beneath the mighty work he raised.
 
 PURGATORIO. 81 
 
 Look'd upon them who erst in Shinar's plain 35 
 
 Were with him, all bewilder' d and amazed. 
 
 Niobe, with what a mournful mien 
 Thy sculptured image on the path I knew, 
 'Twixt seven and seven of thy loved children slain ! 
 
 Saul, who seem'd as though thy weapon slew 40 
 
 Its master, even as on Gilboa's hill. 
 Which from that hour hath felt nor rain nor dew ! 
 
 mad Arachne, there T saw thee still, 
 To spider half transform'd, upon the thread 
 Which thou, in spinning, work'dst for thine own ill ! 45 
 
 Rehoboam, now thy semblance shed 
 No menacing, but through a city's gate, 
 Hotly pm-sued, thy chariot swiftly fled ! 
 
 And still the lifeless pavement did relate 
 How erst Alcmaeon paid, in vengeance dire, 50 
 
 The gems his mother won for evil fate. 
 
 It told the tale, how, in unfilial ire, 
 Sennacherib by his own sons was kill'd. 
 Who in the temple left their murdcr'd sire. 
 
 The deed of cruel fierceness was reveal'd, 
 Done when Tamyris unto Cyrus said : 
 
 VOL. II. G 
 
 55
 
 82 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 " For blood thou thirsted'st ; now with blood be fill'd." 
 
 And there the army of Assyria fled, 
 When Holofernes met his death of woe, 
 And there I saw the relics of the dead. 60 
 
 And Troy in dust and wilderness lay low ; 
 lliou, how thou wert all mean and vile, 
 Traced in the pictxn-e which thy fate did show ! 
 
 Who was the master of the pen or style, 
 That to those shadowy forms had power to give 65 
 
 The life which seem'd to move and breathe, the while ì 
 
 The dead were dead ; the living seem'd to live : 
 Nor truth itself a truer semblance hath. 
 Than what I bending trod. sons of Eve, 
 
 On earth ye walk in haughtiness and wrath, 70 
 
 Erect, with brow uplifted as jn pride, 
 Xor bend that ye may see your evil path ! 
 
 Our footsteps turn'd along the circuit wide. 
 Around the mountain ; and the day was spent, 
 More than hj unfreed thought might be descried, 75 
 
 When he who heedfully before me went 
 Began : " Now I'aise thy head ; no longer may 
 Thine eyes so wholly on the path be bent. 

 
 80 
 
 PURGATORIO. 83 
 
 Behold a heaveuly angel on his way 
 Toward us ; and again the footsteps turn, 
 Of the sixth maiden in the baud of day. 
 
 With reverence thy looks and acts adorn, 
 And thus to aid us upward he may choose ; 
 Think that this day can never more return." 
 
 My Master, sooth to say, did often use ^^ 
 
 To chide, and say : " Thy steps too ling'ring are ;" 
 And here I now his meaning might not lose. 
 
 Then came that lovely Being from afar. 
 Clothed in white robes, and beai-ing on his brow 
 The trembling glory of the morning star. 90 
 
 On outspread wings he floated ; and he now 
 His arms extended tow'rds us, as he spake : 
 " Behold the steps where ye with ease may go. 
 
 Few, few there are who will this pathway take ; 
 mortals, bom to soar unto the skies, 95 
 
 Why doth so little wind your pinions break ?" 
 
 He led us where a rugged entrance lies ; 
 And then he swept my forehead Avith his wing. 
 And bade me to ascend in fearless guise. 
 
 As when ye try the arduous heights which bring lOO 
 
 G 2
 
 84 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Your steps unto the church that looks adown, 
 Where Rubiconte o'er the flood doth fliug 
 
 His arch, amid the nobly guided town ; 
 Yet for the staircase, made in olden days, 
 When fraud in count or cask was all miknown, 105 
 
 More easy : thus by gentler-sloping ways, 
 The pilgi-im climbs unto the higher bourne; 
 Yet him on either side the stone doth graze. 
 
 And as we hither did our footsteps turn, 
 " Beati paiijyeres sjyiritii,^' we heard, 110 
 
 Melodious more than ye on earth may learn. 
 
 Ah ! how unlike these poi-tal gates appear' d, 
 To those of Hell ; ye enter hei-e with song, 
 And there with lamentations wild and weird. 
 
 And now we pass'd the sacred stair along ; 115 
 
 And more, meseem'd, than erst upon the plain, 
 To climb the summit I was light and strong. 
 
 Then I : " My Master, say, what weight hath lain 
 On me so sore, from which I now am free, 
 That scarcely do I feel fatigue or pain ? " 120 
 
 He answer'd : "When the seven timis written P ; 
 The sign of sin, imprinted on thy brow,
 
 PURGATORIO. 85 
 
 As one is blotted out, shall wholly flee, 
 
 Then from thy forward will such strength shall flow, 
 Thy limbs no longer weariness must bear, 125 
 
 But in the steep ascent delight shall know." 
 
 And then I did as one who still doth wear 
 Some strange thing on his brow, nor doth he wot 
 Thereof, until he sees the people stare ; 
 
 And as, to search it out, his hand is brought, 130 
 
 And seeks, and finds, and doth fulfil the quest. 
 Of which his eye, in sooth, perceiveth nought : 
 
 Thus, with my fingei-s wide outspread, I traced 
 But six the letters that my brow defiled, 
 Erst by the guardian of the keys imprest ; 135 
 
 And, looking at me now, my gentle Leader smiled.
 
 CANTO XIII. 
 
 argument. 
 Second circle, where Envy is punislied. 
 
 Now we had gain'd the summit of the stair, 
 
 Where for the second time recedes that hill, 
 
 Which from the pilgrim all his sius doth bear. 
 
 5 
 And here, as at the first, a cornice still 
 
 Encircles all the mountain ; but I knew 
 
 Its arc more quickly did the circuit fill. 
 
 No sign, or form of sculpture met my view ; 
 But on the bank, and on the level way, 
 The stone was of a dull and livid hue. 
 
 " If here to ask the passengers we stay," 10 
 
 The Poet rcason'd thus, " I fear, i)crchancc, 
 That all too long we may our choice delay."
 
 PURGATORIO. 87 
 
 Then turn'd he to the sun a stedfast glance ; 
 His right foot fii'in upon the ground he prest, 
 While circling round, his left he did advance, 15 
 
 And said : " fairest Light, in whom I trust, 
 Lead thou us on, throughout this path unknown ; 
 For here we have much need of guidance just. 
 
 Thy golden splendours on the world are thrown ; 
 And if by lawful cause we are not stay'd, 20 
 
 Our steps should walk within thy rays alone." 
 
 As far upon our way we now had sped, 
 As on this lower earth were call'd a mile, 
 Swiftly, because by ardent longing led ; 
 
 And spirit voices, all unseen the while, 25 
 
 Came floating tow'rd us, on the viewless air, 
 Inviting us to feast on love's own smile. 
 
 The first who (Ud the gentle message bear 
 " Vinum non hahent " said ; and aye this lay 
 Came from afar, in echoes sweet and clear. 30 
 
 Ere in the distance they had died away, 
 A voice " I am Orestes" said ; and still 
 Pass'd on, nor longer did with us delay. 
 
 " father," then I said, " what voices fill
 
 88 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Mine ears ? " and as I spake, a third drew nigh, 35 
 
 Crying : " Give love to him who does you ill." 
 
 Then my good Master : " In this zone they lie 
 Who for the gnilt of envy suffer pain : 
 Thus love, for them, the knotted scoiu-ge doth tie. 
 
 Far different is the curb that must restrain 40 
 
 The evil will ; as thou shalt hear, ere we 
 Unto the pass of pardon can attain. 
 
 But look with stedfast gaze, and thou shalt see, 
 Before us, some who seated on the ground. 
 And ranged along the bank, all seem to be. 45 
 
 And then, with woud'ring eyes I look'd around, 
 And shadowy forms I saw, in mantles weird, 
 Of the dull colour of this stony bound. 
 
 When we were somewhat neai'er, they appear'd 
 To cry : " Mary, pray for us ;" and then 50 
 
 To all the Saints their Litany we heard. 
 
 I think that none among the sons of men 
 Have hearts so hard, as, for those spirits' woe, 
 Who in this circle came within my ken. 
 
 To feel no pity. When I nearer saw gg 
 
 Their gestures, sorrowful compassion made
 
 PURGATORIO. 89 
 
 Tears from my eyes in floods to overflow. 
 
 They in vile garb of sackcloth were array'd, 
 And each upon the other's shoulder leant, 
 And on the stony bank they all were stay'd. g^ 
 
 Even so the blind, whose every store is spent, 
 Sit begging near the churches, and beseech 
 For alms, their heads upon each other bent : 
 
 And thus, not only from their mournful speech, 
 Does pity wake in him who passes by ; gg 
 
 Not less their looks have power his heart to reach. 
 
 And, as unto the blind the sunny sky 
 Brings no bright joy, those Shades I speak of now 
 Perceive no blessed radiance from on high ; 
 
 For 'neath their brows, an iron tlu-ead did sew •yo 
 
 The lids together, as a folcon's eyes 
 Ye close, when from his blaster he would go. 
 
 Meseem'd, it here were in discourteous guise 
 To pass, when seeing, yet of them unseen ; 
 Wherefore I turn'd me to my counsellor wise : 75 
 
 And well he knew what these my thoughts had been, 
 And thus he did not wait for my demand. 
 " Speak ; but thy words must here be few, I ween,"
 
 90 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 He said ; and came to me, toward that hand 
 Where romid the cornice no encirchng wall SO 
 
 Between me and the precipice did stand. 
 
 Anear me, seated by the cliff, were all 
 The Shades, from whose fast-closed lids there ran 
 The mournful drops which o'er their cheeks did fall. 
 
 Then I toward them turu'd, and thus began : 85 
 
 " ye, who have the certain hope, one day 
 To see the Light which gladly ye had won. 
 
 As ye would grace should quickly wash away 
 The guilt from out your conscience, so that clear 
 And bright may there descend the heavenly ray, 
 
 Speak, (for to me the knowledge were most dear,) 
 If ye be Shades of Latium : it were well. 
 Perchance, that I might know if such be here." 
 
 " My brother, in a laud that doth excel 
 We all have our true home ; but thou woiddst say, 95 
 
 Wlio pilgrims erst in Italy did dwell." 
 
 A little further onward in the way 
 Than where I stood, as of this voice I dcem'd, 
 And to draw near to it I did essay. 
 Among the rest, I saw a Shade who seem'd loo
 
 PURGATORIO. 91 
 
 To wait ; autl wouldst thou ask me in what guise ? 
 As one on whom the sun hath never beam'd. 
 
 " Spirit," I said, " who for the hope to rise 
 Dost sufifer pain, I pray thee not to hide 
 Thy name, or where thine earthly dwelHng lies." ,Qr 
 
 " Sienna was my home," the Shade replied ; 
 " And, with the rest, I cleanse me from my blame, 
 Weeping to Him whose love is still our guide. 
 
 No sapience had I, although my name 
 Was Sapia ; because another's tears 110 
 
 Even as a wish' d-for joy to me became : 
 
 And, lest thou think I would deceive thine ears, 
 Be all my folly unto thee reveal'd. 
 As I went down into the vale of years, 
 
 My citizens were met in Colic's field, 115 
 
 Against their enemies ; then diti I pray 
 To God for that which he indeed had will'd. 
 
 There in the battle was their proud array 
 Turn'd to the bitterness of flight : and now. 
 Within my heart surpassing gladness lay ; 120- 
 
 So great, that daringly I raised my brow 
 To Heaven, and said : ' I fear thee never more ;'
 
 92 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 As doth tlie bird when winter sunbeams glow. 
 
 Though peace I sought with God ere life was o'er, ' 
 I had not yet had entrance to this place, 125 
 
 To purge away my guilt by penance sore, 
 
 If, in his prayers before the throne of grace, 
 Pietro Pettignano had forgot 
 His pity for my sad and evil case. 
 
 But who art thou who askest of our lot, 130 
 
 Walking among us with unclosed eyes, 
 And living breath, if I deceive mo not 1 " 
 
 I said : " My lids, one day, shall on this wise 
 Be closed ; yet little time it shall be so. 
 For seldom have they look'd in envious guise. 135 
 
 Far greater is the terror which doth grow 
 In thought within me of the torment dread. 
 That weighs upon the burden'd souls below." 
 
 And she to me : " Who hath thee hither led. 
 If back thou goest to the world beneath ?" 140 
 
 " He who is with me, and no word hath said," 
 
 I answer'd ; " still unknown to me is death : 
 Then speak, if thou wouldst that for thee I bring, 
 chosen one, the prayers of living breath Ì "
 
 PURGATORIO. 93 
 
 "This is, in sooth, so new and strange a thing," 145 
 
 She said, " it needs must be our Heavenly Sire 
 Doth hold thee in his love's o'ershadowing : 
 
 Therefore, by all that thou dost most desire, 
 I beg thy prayers. If to the Tuscan land 
 Thou goest, tell that heaven^vard I aspire, 150 
 
 Thou shalt behold my friends among the band 
 Who trust in Talamone ; hope more vain 
 Than e'en in seeking Dian's fount doth stand : 
 
 But they who rule the fleet shall have most loss and 
 pain.
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 argument. 
 
 Guido del Duca inveighs against the inhabitants of the 
 Val d'Arno. 
 
 " Now who is this who wanders round oiir hill, 
 Ere yet the hand of death hath set him free, 
 And opes and shuts his eyes at his own will Ì " 
 
 " Who he may be, I know not ; but to me 
 He seemeth not alone : more near art thou ; 5 
 
 That he may answer, greet him courteously." 
 
 Two spirits, on each other bending low, 
 Discours'd of me, as sad they there reposed ; 
 Then, to accost me, raised each sightless brow ; 
 
 And one began : "0 soul who, still enclosed 10 
 
 Within thy body, journey est to the skies, 
 I pray that of thy favour be disclosed
 
 PURGATORIO. 95 
 
 Who thou mayst be, and whence. Such wonder lies 
 Within us, at the grace God doth vouchsafe, 
 As from so strange a thing may well arise." 15 
 
 And T : " There is a Tuscan stream, whose wave 
 That hath its mountain source in Falterone, 
 More than a hundred miles of course doth crave ; 
 
 Anear it was I born : but to make known 
 My name, were but to speak in idle mood; 20 
 
 Because, as yet, to fame it hath not grown." 
 
 " If I aright thy words have understood," 
 Thus he who first accosted me replied : 
 " I think that now thou speak' st of Arno's flood." 
 
 The other said : " But wherefore doth he hide 25 
 
 The river's name, even as a man afraid 
 To speak of somewhat monstrous ? " By his side, 
 
 The soul, to whom he spake, this answer made ; 
 " In sooth, I know not ; b;it, perchance, 'tis well 
 That valley's name should never more be said, 30 
 
 For, mid the Alpine heights which most excel 
 In the rich store of founts, and whence is riven 
 Pelorus, do its early sources dwell ; 
 
 Thence to the spot where to the sea is given
 
 9G THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 What first the clouds receive from the salt tide 35 
 
 Which nom-ishes each stream, is Virtue driven, 
 
 And, like a serpent, chased from every side ; 
 Perchance for the ill fortune of the place, 
 Or for the evil men who there abide. 
 
 So much is changed the nature of the race 40 
 
 Who dwell in that sad valley, that they seem 
 Like those whom Circe held in direful case. 
 
 In trvith, of them as of foul swine I deem, 
 (More fit to feed on husks than human food,) 
 'Mong whom at first doth flow its scanty stream. 45 
 
 Next, it descends mid wretched curs, who would 
 Provoke a quarrel, with no power to fight, 
 And turns away from them, in scornful mood. 
 
 The river, hurrying onward in its flight, 
 Finds that the dogs to savage wolves have grown ; 50 
 
 Thus are its waters still in mournful plight. 
 
 And then by darker gulfs it rushes down, 
 And finds the foxes, with sharp cunning fill'd, 
 Where fear of any master is unknown. 
 
 And for no listener shall my speech be still'd ; 55 
 
 'Twcrc well that this man should remember aye
 
 PURGATORIO. 97 
 
 What a true spirit hatli to me reveal' d. 
 
 One of thy lineage, at no distant day, 
 Those wolves from the wild river's bank shall drive, 
 And with his fierceness sorely them aflfray : 60 
 
 Their flesh will sell while they are yet alive, 
 And slaughter them like beasts ; and thus on earth 
 Himself of fame and them of life dej^rive. 
 
 Bloody, from the drear wood he issues forth, 
 And leaves it such, that for a thousand years 65 
 
 It shall not have again its early worth." 
 
 As, at the warning voice of future fears, 
 The listener stops in sad and thoughtful mood. 
 Musing what form the coming danger wears. 
 
 Even so, that other Shade who listening stood, 70 
 
 A mournful aspect bore upon his brow, 
 Soon as this prophecy he understood. 
 
 Their words and looks made me desire to know 
 What might, on earth, their name and dwelling be ; 
 Thus soft entreaty from my lips did flow. 75 
 
 He said, who first had spoken : " Now I see 
 Thou dost desire that unto thee I should 
 Be courteous more than thou wouldst be to me ; 
 
 VOL. II. H
 
 98 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 But, since our Heavenly Sire hath thus endued 
 Thee with His grace, T will not say thee nay. 
 Guido del Duca am I ; and my blood 
 
 Was so consumed by envy's livid ray, 
 That but to see a man with joyous face 
 Turn'd all my own to paleness dull and gray : 
 
 I reap what I have sown. human race. 
 Why do ye thus your very hearts entwine 
 With that wherein for consort is no place Ì 
 
 This is Riniero ; of the ancient line 
 Of Calboli the glory and the pride : 
 None of his heirs do with his valour shine. 
 
 And not alone his kinsmen, who abide 
 Anear the Po, 'twixt Apennines and sea, 
 From the true good to folly turn aside ; • 
 
 Because the land is full of plants which be 
 So venomous, that all too late ye would 
 Strive from their poison-roots the ground to free. 
 
 Where are Manardi, Lizio the Good, 
 And Traversaro, and Carpigna now Ì 
 Romagnuoli of ignoble bluod ! 
 
 When shall Bologna a new Fabbro show ?
 
 PURGATORIO. 99 
 
 And Bernardin di Fosco in Faenze, 
 
 Where from small seed a noble stem did grow ? 
 
 Then, Tuscan, marvel not, although I chance 
 To weep at Guido della Prata's name. 
 And Ugolino d' Azzo, with us once ; 105 
 
 Tignoso, and the band who with him came ; 
 The Anastagi, Traversara's race, 
 (Both, now alas ! unknown to virtue's fame,) 
 
 And knights, and dames, and deeds of worthy praise, 
 And toil, inspired by love and courtesy, HO 
 
 Where now all hearts are sunk in evil ways ; 
 
 Brettinoro, wherefore dost not flee. 
 Since all thy noble rulers now have gone, 
 And many more, that they unstain'd may be 1 
 
 In sooth, 'tis well that heirs there should be n(jne, 115 
 In Bagnacavallo ; and to bring forth seed 
 Conio and Castrocaro ill have done. 
 
 Though, when their demon-father hence shall speed, 
 Pagani's sons may prosper ; yet the same, 
 For aye, the witness of each guilty deed. 120 
 
 Ugolin de' Fantoli, thy name 
 Is safe, for there are none to dim its light, 
 
 H 2
 
 100 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And stain, in after years, its noble fame. 
 
 But, Tuscan, leave me ; more I now delight 
 To weep, than hold discourse : for this our speech 125 
 
 Recalls again my country's mournful plight. " 
 
 We knew the sound did to those spirits reach 
 Of our departing steps ; nor did they say 
 Aught that distrust of our new path might teach. 
 
 Now, as alone we wended on our way, 130 
 
 A voice, like crashing thunder, cleft the air : 
 " He who shall find me, surely will me slay," 
 
 It said, and pass'd, as when the stormwiuds bear 
 The heavy clouds afar ; even so, once more 
 Only the silence fell upon my ear. 135 
 
 And then there came another voice, that wore 
 The self-same likeness of the angry moan 
 Which tracks the storm ; and these the words it bore : 
 
 " I am Aglauros, who was turn'd to stone." 
 Then I drew near to him my steps who led, 140 
 
 And sought the shelter I had ever known. 
 
 Already stillness through the air was shed, 
 And thus he spake : " Behold the curb of woe. 
 By which your course should aye be governed.
 
 PURGATORIO, 101 
 
 But yet ye take the bait your ancient foe 145 
 
 Holds out, that he may give a deadly wound ; 
 Thus little strength doth rein or bridle show. 
 
 Heaven calls you to itself, and, circling round, 
 Unfolds its light and loveliness etern ; 
 But ye still fix your eyes upon the ground : 150 
 
 Thus are ye scourged by Him who doth all hearts 
 discern."
 
 CANTO XV. 
 
 ^rgnmtnt. 
 
 An Angel invites Dante and Virgil to continue the ascent. — 
 Theological questions concerning eternal beatitude. — Vision 
 of Dante. 
 
 As much as, 'twixt the third hour of the day 
 And dawn, appeareth of the heavenly sphere 
 Which ever moveth as a child at play, 
 
 There seem'd, as now the eventide drew near, 
 The same, ere yet the sun should sink to rest ; 
 The hour of vesper there, and midnight here. 
 
 Upon my brow the golden rays imprest 
 Their seal, because we journey'd round the hill 
 In such a manner that we faced the west. 
 
 When I more blinding than at first did feel lo 
 
 The sudden splendour on my forehead weigh, 
 Amazed at what that glory might reveal,
 
 PURGATORIO. 103 
 
 I raised my hand, to screen me from the ray 
 Too pure and piercing in excess of light, 
 Which did my feeble vision so affray. J5 
 
 As, when from watery sheen or mirror bright, 
 The beams, refracted from the opposing part, 
 Spring back, in equal manner to our sight, 
 
 And, as they fall, so much do they depart 
 From the straight line, in equal rule and guise, 20 
 
 As plainly show experience and art; 
 
 Even thus it seem'd this wondrous light did rise, 
 And smote my brow as if with burning fire, 
 While swiftly sank to earth my blinded eyes. 
 
 I said : " What thing is this, gentle sire, 25 
 
 From which my dazzled vision finds no shade. 
 As it draws neai-er Ì " " Let it not inspire 
 
 Much marvel in thy thought," thus Virgil said, 
 " If yet the sons of Heaven are all too bright 
 To look on. He is come to give thee aid : 3n 
 
 And soon it will not pain thy mortal sight 
 To see such beings ; but with purer thought. 
 Thou mid celestial quires shalt find delight." 
 
 When near that Blessed One our steps were brought.
 
 104 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 He thus accosted us with joyous voice : 35 
 
 " Here mount a staircase with less labour fraught." 
 
 We enter'd on the pathway of his choice ; 
 ^^ Beati Mise7'ico)'des" then he sang, 
 And " Now let him who conqueretli rejoice." 
 
 I, with my Leader, up the moimtain sprang, 40 
 
 Alone ; and, as I went, I strove to gain 
 Instruction in his words, and thus began, 
 
 With eager mind : " Good Master, I would fain 
 Know what the spirit of Romagna meant, 
 Speaking of ji:>?ace aiid consort .?" Then again 45 
 
 He answer'd : " Of his soul's most evil bent 
 He knows the risk ; thou need'st not then admire, 
 If he would warn, that here ye be not sent. 
 
 Because ye firmly fix your heart's desire 
 Where, for companionship, ye poorer seem, 50 
 
 Envy within your souls doth grief inspire. 
 
 If longing for the heavenly sphere supreme 
 Did your affections turn to things above, 
 Then would ye not of this as sorrow deem. 
 
 The more who in the choir celestial move, 55 
 
 The greater joy and gladness each doth find,
 
 PURGATORIO. 105 
 
 And more intensely glows with blessed love." 
 
 I said : "Now less contentment fills my mind, 
 Then if at first I silent had remain'd ; 
 And darker doubt is with my thought entwined. 60 
 
 How can it be that greater good is gain'd, 
 Where there are many to divide the spoil, 
 Than if its wealth by few had been retain'd 1 " 
 
 Then he to me : " Because thine eyes, the while, 
 Are only fix'd upon the things of earth, 65 
 
 Amid true light thou dost in darkness toil. 
 
 The good ye find above, of highest worth, 
 Ineffable and infinite, still flows 
 To love, as to the planet light goes forth. 
 
 The more it gives, the more with ardom* glows ; 70 
 
 And aye, the wider charity doth reach, 
 To richer, fuller excellence it grows. 
 
 And still the more who gain the eternal beach, 
 More loveliness they find, and more they love, 
 And as a mirror each gives back to each. 75 
 
 And if my words thy doubts may not disprove, 
 Thou shalt see Beati-ice, to give thee rest 
 From this and other thoughts which in thee move.
 
 106 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Seek only that the letters five, imprest, 
 As the fi;rst twain, in wounds upon thy brow, 80 
 
 By the sharp suff'ring quickly be erased." 
 
 I would have said : " Thou dost content me now ;" 
 But lo ! we had attain'd the higher zone, 
 And, all around, my wand'ring glance did go. 
 
 Then was I in ecstatic vision thrown, 85 
 
 Which me into a glorious temple bore. 
 Wherein were many persons ; and, alone, 
 
 There stood a woman at the gate, who wore 
 The sweet look of a mother. She began : 
 " Why hast thou thus dealt with us Ì for with sore 90 
 
 Distress, we sought thee sorrowing, my son." 
 And, as her gentle voice had ceased to speak, 
 That which I look'd on faded. Then came one, 
 
 With bitter drops of sorrow on her cheek, 
 The tears that are by spiteful anger worn, 95 
 
 Caused by the wrath which would dire vengeance 
 wreak. 
 
 She said : "If thou be ruler of the bourae 
 Whose name among the gods stirr'd \ip such strife, 
 And where all knowledge had its dawning morn,
 
 PURGATORIO. 107 
 
 Revenge thee, Pisistratus, on the life 100 
 
 Of him who dared our daughter to embrace." 
 Thus mildly answer'd he his haiighty wife, 
 
 With temperate look : " What may be then the 
 place 
 For them who evil do for iis desire. 
 If those that love us are in such ill case Ì " 105 
 
 Then saw I those who, in excess of ire, 
 A youth were fiercely stoning ; and their cry 
 Was " Slay him, slay him ! " Much I did admire, 
 
 Bent downward on the earth to see him lie. 
 Beneath the heavy weight of coming death ; 110 
 
 Yet still his eyes were portals of the sky. 
 
 He to his Father pray'd with his last breath 
 That even his murderers might pardon' d be, 
 And wore the aspect gentle Pity hath. 
 
 Then, when my tranced soul again was free 115 
 
 To look on what was real, with amaze 
 My unfalse eiTors did I clearly see. 
 
 And my good Master, who perceived me gaze 
 As one from whom but now his sleep hath fled, 
 Began : " Why walk'st with such uncertain pace ? 120
 
 108 - THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Know, that thou more than half a league hast 
 sped, 
 With tottering limbs, and with half-closed eyes, 
 As one with wine or slumber in his head." 
 
 " The things which in my vision did arise, 
 My gentle father, I will now declare, J25 
 
 What time I walk'd in such a devious wise /' 
 
 I said, and he replied : " If thou didst wear 
 More than a hundred masks, I could not choose 
 But read the thoughts thou in thy heart dost bear. 
 
 Thou saw'st this vision, that no vain excuse 130 
 
 Might be, to close thy heart unto the stream 
 Of peace, which the eternal founts diffuse. 
 
 I would not of my question thou shouldst deem, 
 As seeing with the eyes whose light is o'er, 
 The while the body lies in its long dream. ,05 
 
 I ask'd, that thou mightst to thy steps restore 
 Their strength : 'tis well to hasten those who are 
 New-waked, to use their vigilance once more." 
 
 We journey'd onward, 'neath the vesper-star. 
 More than the limit of our mortal eye 
 Might reach, amid the evening rays afar ;
 
 PURGATORIO. 109 
 
 And lo ! still creeping tow'rd us, there drew nigh 
 A cloud of densest smoke, as night obscure. 
 Nor from its darkness was there room to fly : 
 
 Then unto us was lost fresh air and daylight pure. 1^5
 
 CANTO XVI. 
 
 ^rgumtnt. 
 
 Third circle ; the wrathful. — Discourse with Marco Lombardo 
 • on the influence of the stars. 
 
 The darkest cave within the place of doom, 
 In the blank dimness of its starless night, 
 Howe'er surcharged with clouds of deepest gloom, 
 
 Shed never such a veil before my sight, 
 As the foul smoke wdiich o'er this bourne did lie, 
 Most harsh and biting to the sense ; nor might 
 
 The pilgrim journey with unclosed eye : 
 Wherefore my faithful escort to my side 
 Drew near, that I his strong support might try. 
 
 Even as the blind man goes behind his guide, 10 
 
 That from the rightful patii he may not stray, 
 Nor rush where pain or peril doth Ijctide,
 
 PURGATORIO. Ill 
 
 So through the filthy ah- I took my way ; 
 And still gave heed unto my ^Master's speech, 
 \ATio "See thou dost not leave me" did but say. 15 
 
 Then I heard voices in the gloom, and each, 
 That all their sins be wash'd away in peace, 
 The Lamb of God for mercy did beseech. 
 
 Thus Agnus Dei they sang, and did not cease : 
 One word resounded through the dismal air, 20 
 
 In one full unison. I said : " Ai'e these 
 
 The sounds of spirit-voices that I hear, 
 My Master?" And he thus to me replied : 
 " Yea ; and of wrath the punishment they bear." 
 
 " Now who ai-t thou who dost the smoke divide, 25 
 
 And speak' st as though thou wert of those who still 
 Coimt time by Calends ?" This, anear my side 
 
 Was spoken. Then my Master said : " Fulfil 
 The thing of which he asks thee ; and demand 
 If by this path we may ascend the hill." 30 
 
 And I : " thou, who for the Blessed Land 
 Dost cleanse thee here from every earthly stain, 
 Thou shalt hear wonders if with me thou'lt wend." 
 
 He answer'd : " Far as may be, I would fain
 
 112 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Go with thee ; though the smoke -wherein we dwell 35 
 
 Hinder our sight, yet hearing doth remain." 
 
 Then I began : " The garb, which at the knell 
 Of death shall pass away, still wraps me round, 
 And I came hither throiigh the gates of hell. 
 
 Since God in His great mei'cy me hath bound, 40 
 
 And would in such a wise His courts display 
 As, since the days of yore, no man hath found, 
 
 Then hide not who thou wert ere death ; and say 
 If by this path I may attain my aim : 
 Thus shall thy answer guide us on our way." 45 
 
 " I was a Lombard ; Marco was my name ; 
 Deep-versed in worldly wisdom, and the love 
 Of virtue, which hath now so poor a fame. 
 
 To climb the hill thy footsteps rightly move." 
 Thus he replied ; and added : " I implore 50 
 
 Thy prayers for me in Pai'adise above." 
 
 And I to him : " I swear that on its shore 
 I will fulfil thy wishes ; yet a doubt 
 From my full heart in speech must needs run o'er. 
 
 Fu'st, it was single ; then again burst out 55 
 
 Redoubled by thy words, that show the truth.
 
 PURGATORIO. 113 
 
 Here and elsewhere, of this which uow my thought 
 
 Compares with thy discourse. The world, in 
 sooth, 
 Is, as thou say'st, a waste where dwells no worth, 
 And fill'd and clothed with malice without ruth. 60 
 
 I pray, thou wouldst the cause thereof show 
 forth, 
 That I may see it and recount it plain ; 
 For one, in heaven, another on the earth 
 
 Doth place it." Then he sigh'd a sigh of pain, 
 And to my question thus did he reply : 65 
 
 " The world is blind, my brother ; in its train 
 
 Thou followest ; and wouldst to Heaven on high 
 Ascribe the causes of each earthly thing. 
 As though controll'd by fixed necessity. 
 
 If it were so, within your hcai't the spring 70 
 
 Of free-will were destroy'd ; nor were it right 
 That good should joy, and evil, sorrow bring. 
 
 The planets rule each impulse with theh* might ; 
 But yet not all : and were it so, indeed. 
 To choose 'twixt good and evil ye have light, 75 
 
 And free volition ; which, although it bleed, 
 
 VOL II. I
 
 114 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 In the first battles with the stan-y sphere, 
 Yet wins, if iindismay'd, a glorious meed. 
 
 Unto a higher nature bear ye here 
 Allegiance ; He within you doth create 80 
 
 The mind which need no star malignant fear. 
 
 Thus, if the world now lies in sad estate, 
 In your own hearts the reason must be sought ; 
 As now to thee I truly will narrate. 
 
 The soul comes forth, unskill'd, unknowing aught, 85 
 From Him who look'd on it in love, before 
 He call'd it forth to being, out of nought : 
 
 Most like a child at play upon the shore. 
 Weeping and laughing at each idle toy, 
 Simple and ignorant of any lore ; 90 
 
 Save that, descended from the fount of joy, 
 In all things he is fain to find delight. 
 Deceived, he runs to that which would destroy, 
 
 If by no bridle he be train d aright ; 
 And thus the law must curb him, that he still 95 
 
 The towers of the true city keep in sight. 
 
 Sooth, there are laws : but who doth them fulfil Ì 
 No one ; your chief the hoof doth not divide.
 
 PURGATORIO. 115 
 
 Though verily he ruminates at will. 
 
 And thus the people, who perceive their guide 100 
 
 Aim at the self-same goods for which they long, 
 Feed upon those, and seek not aught beside. 
 
 Well mayst thou see that, because guided wrong, 
 The earth is thus unto all evil hurl'd ; 
 Not from the sins which to your race belong. 105 
 
 In Rome, where erst the flag of truth unfurl' d, 
 There were two Suns ; that, in the days of old, 
 Shone on the paths of God and of the world. 
 
 Now, one to quench the other hath been bold ; 
 And the same hand the sword and crozier wears : HO 
 
 Thus, needs, it ill hath fared within the fold. 
 
 The twain, combined, have each of each no fears : 
 If thou belie v'st not, mark the blossom well ; 
 For every tree is known by what it bears. 
 
 Once truth and com-tesy were wont to dwell 115 
 
 There where the Po and Adige do flow, 
 Ere Frederick into strife and discord fell. 
 
 Now, there securely every wight may go, 
 Who, since some cause of shame on him hath 
 come, 
 
 I 2
 
 116 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The face of righteous men no more may know. 1 20 
 
 'Tis true, that in three ancient men are some 
 Remains of the old virtue ; and to them 
 The time seems long till God shall call them home : 
 
 Gherard the Good ; Conrad Palazzo ; him, 
 Best call'd, in Fi'ench, true Lombard ; but Avhom ye, 125 
 Besides, do Guido da Castello name. 
 
 I tell thee, that the Church of Rome thou'lt see 
 (Because it joins two diverse rules in one) 
 Dragg'd through the mud, and both all filthy be." 
 
 "Well hast thou said, Marco," I began ; 130 
 
 " And now I plainly see the cause for which 
 The sons of Levi heritage had none. 
 
 But who is that Gherardo whom thy speech 
 Proclaims a remnant of the glorious dead, 
 Whose virtues to this wicked age still preach?" 135 
 
 He said : " Thy words have proved me or misled, 
 If thou the good Gherardo dost not know ; 
 And yet in Tuscan tongue thy words are said. 
 
 For by no other surname doth he go, 
 If from his daughter Gaia be not drawn 140 
 
 Some appellation. Now farewell ; for lo !
 
 PURGATORIO. llT 
 
 Through the thick smoke is whitening the dawn, 
 In silver light : I must depart, before 
 Tliere comes the guardian angel of the zone." 
 
 He turn'd away, and to my words gave ear no 
 
 more. 145
 
 CANTO XVII. 
 
 Dante and Virgil come forth from the thick smoke, the symbol 
 of anger. — In a vision, Dante sees three examples of this 
 passion. — He is conducted by an Angel to the fourth 
 circle, where sloth is punished. — Virgil discoui'ses con- 
 cerning envy. 
 
 Hast thou e'er seen how, on some Alpine height, 
 Enfolded in thick mist, thou didst perceive 
 No more than doth a mole, the sunny light ? 
 
 And when the vapours moist and dense, that weave 
 A veil around thee, 'gin to melt away, 5 
 
 Weakly the pallid sunbeams they receive. 
 
 This image feebly may to thee convey 
 The manner in which now I saw at last 
 The orb that near its couch of slumber lay. 
 
 Still closely in my Master's steps I pass'd 10
 
 PURGATORIO. 119 
 
 Forth from the dimness to the Hght, which now 
 Only on the far summits had its rest. 
 
 Fancy, by whose power full oft we go 
 Wrapp'd in our thoughts from every outward thing, 
 Unheeding, did a thousand trumpets blow, 15 
 
 Whence is thy hidden and unsensual spring ? 
 I ween, thou art impell'd by purer light. 
 Or self-existent or which Heaven doth bring. 
 
 Now was reveal'd unto my inward sight, 
 She who, for guilt, was doom'd the form to wear 20 
 
 Of the sweet bird whose song doth most delight. 
 
 And thus my thoughts were so restricted here 
 In their own depths, that to my mental eye 
 Nought from without might enter nor appear. 
 
 Then in my trance I saw, uplifted high, 25 
 
 A gallows ; and thereon, in scornful mood. 
 Hung one who did without repentance die. 
 
 Around, the great Ahasuerus stood, 
 Esther his wife, and righteous Mordecai, 
 \Vho in both deeds and words alike was good. 30 
 
 And as the pictured fancy pass'd away, 
 Even like a bubble bursting, when doth fail
 
 120 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The wat'iy film beneath which erst it lay, 
 
 Before me a fair maiden seem'd to wail, 
 With many tears. And thus she sjiake : " qiiocn, 35 
 Why in thy wrath didst thou thyself assail, 
 
 From fear to lose Lavinia Ì Now, I ween, 
 For ever thou hast lost me ; more I sigh. 
 My mother, for the grief which thee hath slain. 
 
 Than for aught else." As, when in sleep we lie, ^^ 
 
 The closed lids are lit by sudden gleam, 
 And slumber trembles ere it wholly die, 
 
 Thus fled the imagery of my dream. 
 Soon as the radiance on my forehead lay, 
 More bright than ye on this dark earth may deem. -15 
 
 I turn'd to see whence came the dazzling ray, 
 And heard a voice which said : " Now here ascend ;" 
 And then all other thouglits I put away, 
 
 And did my heart and will so wholly bend, 
 That I for him who spoke to me might seek, 50 
 
 I rested not till I this knowledge gain'd. 
 
 As, when upon our sight the sunbeams break, 
 So bright, their sjilondours o'er our sense pi'evail ; 
 Even thus, to bear that vision I was weak.
 
 PURGATORIO. 121 
 
 " Behold a heavenly One, who will not fail, 55 
 
 Unask'd, to guide our steps unto the skies ; 
 Around him his own glory weaves a veil. 
 
 He acts toward us in the self-same wise 
 As we do with ourselves ; he doth despite 
 Unto the prayer, who waits till it arise. 60 
 
 Obey we now the voice that doth invite ; 
 Strive to ascend ere conies the twilight dim ; 
 For, else, we may not till the dawning light 
 
 Return." Thvis spake my guide ; and I with him 
 To the steep pathway strove my steps to bring. 65 
 
 And when I to the earliest grade had come, 
 
 Methought the floating of an angel's wing 
 A moment fann'd my forehead, as he sped, 
 And "Blessed are the peaceful" seem'd to sing; 
 
 And now above our heads the light is fled 70 
 
 Of the last sunbeam fading into night, 
 And o'er the heavens the starry hosts are led. 
 
 " Why feel I such diminish'd sti^ength and might Ì " 
 I said within myself ; because all power 
 I lost, it seem'd, to guide my footsteps right. 75 
 
 We now had come to where the stair no more
 
 122 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Ascends ; and firmly fix'd we did appear, 
 Even as a ship when it hath touch'd the shore. 
 
 I listen' d, all intent, that I might hear 
 Some word or sonnd, this new abode within; 80 
 
 And then T turn'd me to my Master dear. 
 
 And spake : " My gentle father, say, what sin 
 Is cleansed here ? Although our feet be stay'd, 
 Stay not thy words." Then thus did he begin : 
 
 " The love of virtue, which by sloth was made 85 
 
 Too weak to reach its aim, ye here renew ; 
 And here ye ply the oar too long delay'd. 
 
 But that more clearly this may greet thy view, 
 Tm-n thou thy thoughts to me ; and thou shalt find 
 Of this our sojourn some good fruit ensue. 90 
 
 Ne'er was Creator or created mind," 
 Thus he went on, " my sou, without some love, 
 Thou know'st, by Nature or the soul assign'd. 
 
 And never Natm'e may to error move j 
 But if the soul on evil object light, 95 
 
 Or if too small or great tlie force it prove, 
 
 Then doth it wander from the path of right. 
 First, love the best ; then, be in measure worn
 
 PURGATORIO. 123 
 
 l'he second : and thou'lt seek no ill delight. 
 
 But if thou stray to evil, or dost burn 100 
 
 Too much, or with too little zeal for good, 
 Against the Maker his own works ye turn. 
 
 Hence, it may well by thee be understood. 
 Love is the seed of virtue and each deed 
 That ye bewail beyond the evil flood. 105 
 
 And, because love must evermore give heed 
 To its beloved's welfare, it must be 
 That from their proper hate all things are freed. 
 
 Since no created being can ye see, 
 Or self-existent, or from God apart, HO 
 
 The finite may not hate Infinity. 
 
 Thus it remains, if well I know this art. 
 Your neighbour's hurt je love ; and, in three ways, 
 This love is born within your earthly heart. 
 
 There are who hope that they themselves may raise, 115 
 Upon their neighbour's downfall ; and they claim 
 For this, that he be sunk to lower place. 
 
 There are who glory, honour, power, and fame 
 Would fear to lose, if others upward rise ; 
 And thus, in heart, they love their neighbour's blame. 120
 
 124 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 There are who, injured, would in wrathful guise 
 Desire to gloat o'er the avenging blow, 
 And thus their neighbour's hurt do they devise. 
 
 This threefold love, wdthin the zones below. 
 Is wept ; I would the other thou shouldst learn, 1 25 
 
 Which unto good doth in ill measure go. 
 
 Each one confus'dly tow'rd some good doth turn, 
 On which his spirit rests with strong desire ; 
 And to attain it every heart doth burn. 
 
 Those who too slowly, upon earth, acquire 130 
 
 The love of virtue (if but they repent) 
 Purged in this circle, heavenward may aspire. 
 
 And there are jojs which cannot give content ; 
 True happiness they are not, nor the root 
 And essence of the true and excellent. 135 
 
 The love which too much feeds on earthly fruit, 
 Above us in a triple zone they mourn : 
 But of its threefold parting am I mute. 
 
 For thou thyself must go to seek it in that bourne.
 
 CANTO XYIII. 
 
 Virgil continues liis discourse, and defends tlie doctrine of 
 freewill. — Dante is roused from liis meditations by differ- 
 ent voices, exhorting to diligence ; after wbicli lie falls into 
 a deep sleep. 
 
 My lofty teacher now had ceased to speak, 
 Aud look'd at me hateutly, to perceive 
 If I of him woiild further knowledge seek. 
 
 And as his words a greater thirst did leave, 
 Silent withoiit, within myself I said : 5 
 
 Perchance my too much asking doth him grieve." 
 
 But this true father who my footstei^s led, 
 And saw the timid wish within my mind, 
 Speaking, of speech much boldness in me bred ; 
 
 Wlience I : " My Master, in thy light I find 10 
 
 Mine eyes so strengthen'd that I clearly see 
 The things which by thy words are said or sign'd.
 
 126 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Therefore I pray, sweet father, that to me 
 Thou wouldst explain this love, from whence it seems 
 All good works come, and those which evil be." 15 
 
 " Direct," he said, " toward me the bright beams 
 Of thought ; while unto thee the fault I prove 
 Of him, who, blind, himself a leader deems. 
 
 The soul w^hich is created apt for love. 
 Soon as by joy awaken'd to discern, 20 
 
 Toward each pleasant thing doth quickly move ; 
 
 And, rous'd within you, Fantasy doth learn 
 The pictured forms of all things to unfold. 
 So that unto themselves yom- hearts they turn. 
 
 And if, when moved to that which ye behold, 
 Your soul inclines toward it, such desire 
 Is love, which Nature doth within you hold. 
 
 Thus, as the flame still ever mounteth higher, 
 Because, as in its form is well exprest, ■ 
 
 It must ascend unto the fount of fire ; 30 
 
 Even so the soul by strong desire imprest, 
 (Which is a spiritual motion,) till it find 
 The thing which is belov'd, can take no rest. 
 
 Now mayst thou see, in sooth, how they are blind,
 
 PURGATORIO. 127 
 
 Who still aver that every loving bent 35 
 
 May be as good and laudable defined. 
 
 Perchance, the stuff whereof their love is blent 
 Is always good ; but yet not every seal 
 Is good, although the wax be excellent." 
 
 "Thy words to my attentive thought reveal," 40 
 
 I said, " the nature with which love is fraught ; 
 But now thereby a gi-eater doubt I feel. 
 
 For, if affection from without be brought, 
 And with no other feet the soul may move. 
 In good or ill of merit there is nought." 45 
 
 And he to me : " What reason may, I prove ; 
 That which belongs to faith thou then shalt leara 
 When Beatrice descendeth from above. 
 
 Each form substantial (as thou mayst discern) 
 Distinct from matter, and therewith combined, 50 
 
 Hath special strength, that in itself is worn : 
 
 Which strength, except it work, ye cannot find, 
 Nor feel, nor show, unless by the effect ; 
 As life is by a plant's green foliage sign'd. 
 
 Yet none can tell whence comes the intellect, 55 
 
 The dawn of earliest knowledge which ye see
 
 128 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And the first instincts that your hearts affect, 
 
 Dwelling in you, as in the honey-bee 
 Her studious labour ; and this first intent 
 Alike from praise or blame is ever free. 60 
 
 Now, though to this all other thoughts were bent, 
 Innate in you is virtue which controls. 
 And ought to hold the bridle of assent. 
 
 This is the principle on which your souls 
 Meet for reward or punishment are found, G5 
 
 As yom* desire on good or evil falls. 
 
 Those who have search' d into the deep profound 
 Perceived this innate liberty of will ; 
 Thus in the world their moral maxims sound. 
 
 But say that, of necessity, do fill 70 
 
 Your hearts the strong desires which in you flame ; 
 Yet power is given you to restrain them still. 
 
 And noble virtue Beatrice doth name 
 Volition ; see thou think'st thereon aright, 
 What time with her thou speak'st." The moou-light 
 came 76 
 
 More tardy, tow'rd the mid-hour of the night. 
 Most like a goblet that is all a-glow ;
 
 PURGATORIO. 129 
 
 And made the stars shine forth with rarer light : 
 
 And 'gainst the sky did by that pathway go, 
 Lit by the sun, when those of Rome behold, 80 
 
 'Tvvixt Sards and Corsicans, it lying low. 
 
 And he by whom Pietola doth hold 
 A nobler name than e'er the Mantuan town, 
 From me my heavy bm'den had unroll'd. 
 
 For now the clearest light of reason shone 85 
 
 Upon the doubts which did my heart dismay. 
 And I remain'd as one on whom is thrown 
 
 A dreamy chain of slumber. But away 
 At once my sleep was chased by a vast crowd 
 Who follow' d us. As olden legends say, 90 
 
 Asopus and Ismenus heard the loud 
 And furious midtitude rush past by night. 
 To celebrate the rites to Bacchus vow'd ; 
 
 So those who now came forward in our sight 
 Were ruiming with tlie eager steps of liaste, 95 
 
 By righteous love and will impeli' d aright. 
 
 Full soon our slower speed they oveiimst, 
 And swiftly that great multitude swept by ; 
 And two cried out with tears, still hurrying fast : 
 
 VOL. II. K
 
 130 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 " With haste did Mary to the mountain fly ; lool 
 
 And the great Ctesar first Marseilles subdues, 
 Then quickly Lerida in Spain doth try." 
 
 " Now speed we, speed, that Ave no time may lose 
 For lack of love," the others then replied : 
 " Good study the green leaves of grace renews." 105 
 
 " ye in whom such fervour doth abide. 
 Whereby, perchance, yoru" negligent delay 
 And lukewarmness in good is now supplied. 
 
 This man, who lives, (and I no falsehood say), 
 Would fain ascend when the first sunbeams break ; no 
 Then tell us where to find the upward way : " 
 
 These words to them did gentle Virgil speak. 
 " Now follow in our steps," the Shades replied ; 
 " And ye shall find the entrance which ye seek. 
 
 Within us such deep longing doth abide, -.jk 
 
 We may not stay ; then pardon, if perchance 
 Our zeal seem to discourtesy allied. 
 
 I was the Abbot of St. Zeno once. 
 In fair Verona, 'ncath the sway of him 
 Who hath made Milan weep her sore mischance, 120 
 
 The excellent Barbarossa, To the dim
 
 PURGATORIO. 131 
 
 And silent sepulchre descendeth one 
 Who soon shall mourn that e'er his hand hath 
 come 
 
 Upon om' convent, for his base-born son, 
 Deform'd in body, more deform'd in mind, 125 
 
 In the true pastor's place." As he went on, 
 
 I know not if more words were on the wind 
 Dispersed ; so fiir already had he sped : 
 But these within my memory did I bind. 
 
 And he who ever came unto mine aid, 130 
 
 Thus spake : " Now turn thee hither and behold 
 Two who do here reprove for sloth." Then said 
 
 They, behind all the rest : " In days of old, 
 Those who pass'd through the waters died, before 
 Their heirs might see the land where Jordan roll'd. 135 
 
 And those who, weary of the toil they bore, 
 Slothful did from Anchises' son depart, 
 A life without or praise or glory wore." 
 
 Now when they were from us so far apart 
 That they had wholly vanish'd from our sight, 140 
 
 New questionings arose within my heart, 
 
 New thoughts whereon my fancy did alight ; 
 
 K 2
 
 132 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The which of such strange sweetness did I deem, 
 I closed my eyehds in a vague delight, 
 
 And all my thinking pass'd into a dream. 145
 
 CANTO XIX. 
 
 ^rgnmtnt. 
 
 Vision of the Poet ; and ascent to the Fifth Circle, where 
 Avarice is punished. — Pope Adrian V. 
 
 Now when the heat of day no more hath power 
 To lend its warmth unto the moon's chill beam, 
 Conquer' d by Earth or Saturn, in the hour 
 
 When magic sees its greatest fortune gleam, 
 Before the dawn, in the far orient sky, 5 
 
 Arising in the twilight's silver stream, 
 
 I saw a woman hideous and awry, 
 The while I slept ; she seem'd of stammering speech, 
 Maim'd in her hands, and with distorted eye, 
 
 And livid hue. But as the sunbeams reach 10 
 
 The limbs all chill'd beneath the damps of night, 
 Even so my gaze to her appear'd to teach
 
 134 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Sweet language, and her features smooth'd aright, 
 Till her foul form and vision's twisted ray 
 Shone in the beauty of love's rosy light. 15 
 
 And when her tongue was loos'd, she sang a lay 
 So lovely that thereto my heart was bound, 
 Nor from her music might I turn away. 
 
 She sang : " I am the syren of sweet sound, 
 Charming the mariners amid the sea, 20 
 
 For in my voice such melody is found. 
 
 I drew Ulysses from his path to me, 
 With my sweet singing : they who with me dwell 
 Rarely depart ; therein such joys there be." 
 
 Scarce had she closed her song of magic spell, 25 
 
 When one appear' d, in holy light array' d, 
 To bring dismay to her so false and fell. 
 
 " Virgil, Virgil, who is this ? " she said ; 
 And in her mien a righteous angej' wore ; 
 While on her radiant form his eyes were stay'd. 30 
 
 She took the foul one, and her garments tore, 
 And show'd to me the loathsome form within ; 
 1 woke with the ill savour that it bore. 
 
 I oped my eyes ; thus Virgil did begin :
 
 PURGATORIO. 135 
 
 " Thrice have I said to thee, ' Arise and go ; ' 35 
 
 Seek we the spot where we may entrance win." 
 
 I rose ; the morning sunbeams shed a glow 
 On all the circles of the sacred hill, 
 And then- bright radiance fell behind us now. 
 
 Walking as one whom pensive musings fill 40 
 
 With thoughts that cause him tow'rd the earth to bend, 
 I went, in form of arch half-curved still ; 
 
 And heard : " Now come, for here ye may ascend," 
 Said in a voice so sweet and so benign. 
 As never spake in this our mortal land. 45 
 
 With swanlike wings, a lovely form divine 
 Disclosed whereby we might attain the height, 
 'Twixt the two walls which did the path confine ; 
 
 Then touch'd us with his plumes of snowy white : 
 Affirming that the mourning hearts are blest, 50 
 
 For they at last shall be consoled aright. 
 
 " Wherefore upon the earth thy glances rest 
 In such a wise ? " to me began my guide. 
 When from the angel we had somewhat pass'd. 
 
 " Such doubt is raised within me," I replied, 55 
 
 " By a new vision, whose strange memories cleave
 
 136 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 So close I cannot part them from my side." 
 
 " Saw' st thou the ancient witch, by whom they grieve 
 Solely above us iu each painful zone ? " 
 He said, " and liow her nets ye still may leave ? 60 
 
 It is enough ; with greater haste speed on : 
 Turn thou thine eyes unto the starry sky, 
 The heavenly lure that circles round the throne 
 
 Of the Eternal Sire. As, ere it fly, 
 The falcon first looks downwards at its feet, 65 
 
 Then spreads its wings unto its master's cry, 
 
 Even so did I ; and where the wall was split 
 In twain, we, climbing, toil'd, until once more 
 A level surface did our footsteps greet. 
 
 And as this fifth abode we journey'd o'er, 70 
 
 Some spirits there I saw, who seem'd to grieve, 
 Low lying on the earth with wailings sore. 
 
 They said : " My soul unto the dust doth cleave ; " 
 And mournfully they spake with groans and sighs 
 So deep, their words I hardly might perceive. 75 
 
 " ye Elect of God, on whom there lies 
 A woe by hope and justice made more light, 
 Aid us to find where we may heavenward rise."
 
 PURGATORIO. 137 
 
 ** If ye, who now advance with form upright, 
 Would find the upward path most speedily, 80 
 
 Let your left hand be still toward the height." 
 
 Thus ask'd the Poet, and thus answer' d he 
 Who grovell'd near our steps. Even so I learn'd 
 The thing which with mine eyes I might not see : 
 
 And unto Virgil then my glance I turn'd : 85 
 
 Wherefore with gesture kind he gave assent 
 To that for which my eager spirit yearn'd. 
 
 And when my longing I might thus content, 
 To him who now had spoken I drew near, 
 Because his words had fix'd my thoughts intent. 90 
 
 I said : " thou whose weeping doth repair 
 The sin with which thou canst not turn to God, 
 Defer awhile for me thy greater care. 
 
 Say who thou wert, and wherefore on the sod 
 Thou liest prone ; and if thou wouldst that they 95 
 
 Who still have life should aid thee on tliy road." 
 
 And he to me : " Why God on us doth lay 
 This grief, I will declare to thee ; but learn, 
 I was on earth the heir of Peter's sway. 
 
 Between Chiavei-i and Sestri's bourne lOO
 
 138 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Flows a fair stream, and from its name is known 
 The title by my ancient lineage worn. 
 
 A month, and little more, on me was thrown 
 The mantle which to him who keeps it clean 
 Weighs so that all besides seems light as down. 10^ 
 
 And late, alas ! my penitence hath been ; 
 But life her false delusion did disclose, 
 When I of Rome was pastor. Then, I ween, 
 
 Saw I that there I might not find repose ; 
 Yet none on earth was higher : thus my heart HO 
 
 Unto the love of heavenly life arose. 
 
 Till then, my soul was sad, and kept apart 
 From God, by evil greediness of gain ; 
 Now, as thou seest, I suffer here the smart. 
 
 The ill by avarice done is shown most plain, 115 
 
 In that endured by those within this bound ; 
 Nor hath the mountain a more bitter pain. 
 
 Even as in life our eyes were ever found 
 Intent on earthlj'^ tilings, nor look'd on high, 
 Thus justice here hath fix'd them on the gi'ound. 120 
 
 As greed of gain caused purer love to die, 
 Whence all our works were fruitless and in vain,
 
 PURGATORIO. 139 
 
 Thus justice forces us on earth to lie, 
 
 While binding cords our hands and feet detain ; 
 As long as it our Heavenly Sire shall please, 125 
 
 So long we must immovable remain." 
 
 I would have answer'd, kneeling on my knees ; 
 But as I now began, and he perceived 
 My humble attitude, as one who sees 
 
 Only by listening, nor is deceived, 130 
 
 He said : " Why bend thee unto earth so low Ì " 
 And I : " Because in conscience I were grieved, 
 
 If to thy rank I did no reverence show." 
 He answer'd : " Rise, my brother, thou hast err'd ; 
 For I am but God's servant, even as thou. 135 
 
 If e'er the holy evangelic woi-d 
 That neqiie nubent says, were understood 
 By thee, thou hadst perceived what I inferr'd. 
 
 But now depart : no longer time I would 
 Thou shouldst remain ; because, in sooth, thy stay 1 40 
 Hinders my sorrow's purifying flood. 
 
 I have a niece, Alagia, who aye 
 Was of a gentle spirit ; if our ill 
 Example have not guided her astray : 
 
 She, of my race, alone on earth remaineth still." 145
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 Examples of liberality. — Hugh the Great, father of Hugh Capet. 
 — Instances of avarice. — Earthquake ; and Hymn of the 
 Shades. 
 
 Ill fights the will when one more strong hath will'd ; 
 Against my pleasure, for my guide's content, 
 I drew the pitcher from the stream unfill'd. 
 
 Along the rock I with my leader went, 
 There where the pathway for our steps was clear, 5 
 
 As one who clings unto a battlement ; 
 
 For those who from their eyes in many a tear 
 Shed forth the sin throughout the world dispers'd, 
 Toward the precipice were placed too near. 
 
 ancient wolf, be thou for aye accurs'd, 10 
 
 Who more than any other seek'st thy prey. 
 Because of thy dark greed and ravening thirst !
 
 PURGATORIO. 141 
 
 Ye skies, within -svliose sphere, as some do say, 
 There dwells a power o'er all things here below. 
 When Cometh he who shall this creature slay? 15 
 
 Onward we went, with paces soft and slow, 
 And still my mind was fix'd npon each Shade 
 Who wept aromid me with the voice of woe. 
 
 And now by chance I heard, " Sweet Mary," said, 
 Before us, with complainings sad and wild, 20 
 
 As one who in her sorrow travailed ; 
 
 And then : *' Thou wert a maiden poor and mild, 
 As by the lowly birthplace we may know. 
 Where meekly thou didst lay thy holy child." 
 
 And afterwards I heard : " Fabricius, thou 25 
 
 Didst rather poverty with virtue seek, 
 Than riches whereunto foul crime did grow." 
 
 In these his words I did such pleasure take, 
 That I with eager footsteps quickly sped 
 To look on him who in such accents spake. 30 
 
 Now he recounted the great largess shed 
 By Nicholas upon the maidens three, 
 That their young life in honour might be led. 
 
 " thou whose words so fair and righteous be,"
 
 142 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Thus I begau, " say who thou wert, and why 35 
 
 Those worthy praises still are sung by thee. 
 
 Not without thanks shall be thy speech, if I 
 Return to fill the measure upon earth 
 Of the short life that to its goal doth fly." 
 
 And he : " It shall be told ; yet not for worth 40 
 
 Which thence I look for : but because in thee, 
 While yet in life, such heavenly grace shines forth. 
 
 I was the root of the most evil tree, 
 Whose deathly shade all Christendom doth fill. 
 So that from thence no wholesome fruit may be. 45 
 
 If there were power in Douay, Bruges, Lille, 
 Or Ghent, full soon revenge ye should behold ; 
 Which to the Heavenly Judge I pray for still. 
 
 When erst on earth, Hugh Capet was I cail'd ; 
 From me each Philip and each Louis won 50 
 
 The right that o'er the realm of France they hold. 
 
 I of a Paris butcher was the son ; 
 For when the ancient kings had pass'd away, 
 Save one in dusky raiment all alone. 
 
 Firmly within my hands the bridle lay, 55 
 
 Which govern'd the whole kingdom ; and such power
 
 PURGATORIO. 143 
 
 For what I then acquired, and full aiTay 
 
 Of fi'iends, that I uplifted in that hour 
 My son to wear the widow'd diadem : 
 Thence sprang the royal line. But till the dower 60 
 
 Of fair Provence destroy'd all modest shame, 
 Remaining still mid my fierce lawless band. 
 Its worth was small, yet thence small evil came. 
 
 Now it began with lies and with high hand 
 Its rapine ; then it seized, to make amends, 65 
 
 Ponthieu and Gascony and Normanland. 
 
 And next, in Italy, to make amends, 
 Charles slew Conradin ; to heavenly life, 
 St. Thomas then he sent, to make amends. 
 
 Not long had pass'd ere, in a time of strife, 70 
 
 I saw another Charles come forth from France, 
 To show the craft with which his race is rife. 
 
 He came unarm'd, and only with the lance 
 Of Judas ; but so sharp the point it bore, 
 Unto the heart of Florence did it glance. 75 
 
 From thence, not land but sin and hatred sore 
 He shaU obtain ; and that so much more grave. 
 As it to him a lighter aspect wore.
 
 144 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The other newly captured on the wave 
 I now behold ; he doth his daughter sell, 80 
 
 Even as a Corsair bargains for a slave. 
 
 Avarice, thou canst not be more fell, 
 Since thou unto thyself my race canst turn 
 And thence all care of their own flesh expel ! 
 
 That past and future ill we less may scorn, 85 
 
 Within Alagna comes the fleur-de-lis. 
 And in his vicar Christ is captive borne. 
 
 And Him derided once again I see ; 
 Again renew'd the vinegar and gall. 
 And 'twixt new thieves He hangeth on the tree. 90 
 
 Another Pilate in the judgment-hall 
 I see ; so cruel, that unsated still 
 His lawless hands upon the temple fall. 
 
 God ! when comes the morning that shall fill 
 My heart with gladness, and the vengeance rouse 95 
 
 That sweetens wrath within thy secret will ? 
 
 Know, what I spake of her, the Blessed Spouse 
 Of the most Holy Spirit, and which led 
 Thee tow'rds me, longing that I should disclose 
 
 Still more, continually by us is said.
 
 PURGATORIO. 145 
 
 While yet the dayhght with us doth abide ; 
 At dusk, we tell a sadder tale instead. 
 
 We sing the story of Pygmalion's pride, 
 Vv'ho wurk'd his lawless will from love of gold ; 
 A thief, a traitor, and a parricide. 1*^5 
 
 The wretchedness of Midas we unfold. 
 That erst fulfill'd his avaricious prayer ; 
 Even now ye laugh, whene'er the tale is told. 
 
 And we remember Achan's folly here, 
 Who stole the spoils ; he in our speech renews 110 
 
 The pain which Joshua's anger made him bear. 
 
 Sapphira with her husband we accuse ; 
 We praise the scom-ge which Heliodorus chased ; 
 And round the mount in infamy diffuse 
 
 His name who Polydorus slew. And last 115 
 
 We all cry out : ' Crassus, tell us now 
 (For well thou knowest it) how gold doth taste.' 
 
 And sometimes speak we loud and sometimes low ; 
 Even as the grief which on our souls doth weigh 
 More swift or slower from om- lips may flow. I Ì ) 
 
 In the good words which we discourse by day, 
 I was not all alone ; but where thou wert 
 
 VOL. II. h
 
 146 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 None other raised his voice." Upon our way, 
 
 Abeady from those Shades we did depart, 
 Still striving to o'ercome the arduous path, 125 
 
 With the great eagei-ness that fill'd my heart. 
 
 Now, as if shaken by the stoi'mwind's breath, 
 The mountain trembled ; and I shudder d, even 
 As one who is led forth \into his death. 
 
 Less wildly, sure, of old was Delos driven, 130 
 
 Before Latona there a refuge made, 
 To bring forth the twin starry eyes of heaven. 
 
 Then such a cry arose, that he who led 
 My steps came near, and said : " Be of good cheer ; 
 I ever guide thee : be not thou afraid." 135 
 
 And " Gloria in excehis " did I hear ; 
 ' All voices join'd the strain, with ready will, 
 Far as the music came unto mine ear. 
 
 Silent we stood, as once on Bethlehem's hill 
 The shepherds who first heard that angel-song, 140 
 
 Until the trembling ceased and they were still. 
 
 And now we pass'd our holy path along, 
 Gazing the while upon the Shades who wept 
 Lowly on earth ; in sooth, a mournful throng.
 
 PURGATORIO. 147 
 
 No ignorance in me hath ever kept 145 
 
 Such longing thirst for knowledge, as, I ween, 
 (If my remembrance have not err'd or slept,) 
 
 Within my anxious mind I sufFer'd then ; 
 But, in our haste, I might no answer seek, 
 Nor yet anear me might there aught be seen : 150 
 
 Thus went I on my way, in pensive thought and 
 meek. 
 
 L 2
 
 CANTO XXL 
 
 — ♦ — 
 
 glrgummt. 
 Meeting witli tlie poet Statius. 
 
 Now woke within my mind the longing thirst, 
 Unslaked, save where Samaria's daughter sought 
 The foimtain from which living waters burst. 
 
 Behind my guide, with eager mxisings fraught, 
 In haste along the cumber'd way I sped, 5 
 
 Mourning for this just penalty, in thought. 
 
 And lo ! as, in the Gospel, Luke hath said 
 That by the two disciples Christ was seen. 
 Loosed from the sepulchre where he was laid. 
 
 Even thus a Shade appear'd to us, I ween ; 10 
 
 Upon the grovelling crowd he gazed adown, 
 And then he spake to us with gentle mien :
 
 PURGATORIO. 149 
 
 " My brothers, may God's peace by you be known." 
 Quickly we tum'd, to hear that voice's sound, 
 And Virgil greeted him and thus began : 15 
 
 " By thee may everlasting peace be found, 
 Mid the redeem'd, auear the throne of Him 
 Who in eternal exile me hath bound." 
 
 He answered : " Why and wherefore would ye climb 
 This mount, if God doth hold you in disdain Ì 20 
 
 And who hath led you through the pathw^ay dim Ì " 
 
 And Virgil thus : " Behold the signs of pain, 
 On this man's brow ; writ by the sword of light. 
 As proof that with the blessed he shall reign, 
 
 At last. Since she who toileth day and night, 25 
 
 Not yet for him hath meted out the line, 
 Which Clotho spius for exery living wnght. 
 
 His soul, which is akin to thine and mine. 
 Might not attempt alone the upward way, 
 Because he sees not with immortal eyne. 30 
 
 Thus was I summon'd to the light of day, 
 From the deep mouth of Hades ; to instruct 
 His steps, as far as knowledge in me lay. 
 
 But tell us why but now the mountain rock'd,
 
 150 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And wherefore all cried out, as with one voice, 35 
 
 From hence to where the land is ocean-lock' d." 
 
 Now at this question much did I rejoice ; 
 I thought : " It may be that I here shall slake 
 The thirst which thus my longing soul annoys." 
 
 Then he began : " Here no event may break 40 
 
 The order'd rule of measured sanctity, 
 Nor for itself a lawless course can make. 
 
 From chance and change we here are wholly free ; 
 But when a soul is ready for the sky, 
 The trembling of the mountain needs must be. 45 
 
 For never rain, nor hail, nor snow, may lie 
 Upon this hill ; nor dew, nor frosty air. 
 Than the short staircase may ascend more high. 
 
 No cloud doth ever rise nor oft nor rare, 
 Nor lightning flash, nor Thaumas' daughter sweet, 50 
 
 Whose form appears on earth, now here, now there. 
 
 No higher may the stormy vapours fleet. 
 Than to the steps of which but now I spake. 
 Whereon St. Peter's Vicar rests his feet. 
 
 Beneath, the mountain more or less may shake : 55 
 
 But here for prison'd winds, I know not how.
 
 PURGATORIO. 151 
 
 The shuddering earthquake never doth awake. 
 
 Only the trembhng of the hill we know, 
 Whene'er some spirit, purified, would rise ; 
 Then chaunts of praise are sung by high and low. 60 
 
 In will alone the proof of cleanness lies ; 
 "Which Will, that may to heavenly realms aspire, 
 With its new power the spirit doth surprise. 
 And it had earlier soar'd ; but the desire 
 Implanted by God's justice, here is bent, «5 
 
 As erst on sin, now on the penal fire. 
 
 And I who to this punishment was sent, 
 Till full five hundred years their course should I'oll, 
 But now have known free will for the ascent. 
 
 Thus thou hast felt the earthquake ; and each soul, 70 
 On all the mountain, renders holy j^raise : 
 For which I would they soon may reach their goal." 
 
 He spake : as when the cooling stream allays 
 Tormenting thirst, I have no power to tell 
 What joy within my heart his words did raise. 75 
 
 Then my wise Leader said : " Now see I well 
 The net that holds you, and the way to flee ; 
 And why the mountain trembles where ye dwell.
 
 152 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And ye rejoice. I pray thee, tell to me 
 Thy name, and wherefore centuries have roU'd, 80 
 
 While this hath been a prison-house for thee ?" 
 
 " When the good Titus, in the days of old, 
 By aid from God took vengeance of the wounds 
 Whence issued forth the blood by Judas sold," 
 
 The Shade replied, " the name that most resounds 85 
 And longest, wore I when in life ; but faith 
 I had not yet, though to earth's furthest bounds 
 
 My fame went forth. So sweet my vocal breath, 
 I, of Toulouse, my lays to Rome did bring ; 
 And there my forehead wore the myrtle wreath. go 
 
 Statins my earthly name ; erst did I sing 
 Of Thebes, then of Achilles great in fight ; 
 But sank ere I my second goal might win. 
 
 My ardour sprang from out the sparks of light, 
 The burning radiance of the flame divine, 95 
 
 From whence a thousand minds have learn'd aright ; 
 
 The yEneid I would say ; dear mother mine ; 
 And gentle nurse of each poetic strain : 
 Else had I never writ one worthy line. 
 
 Might I to look on Virgil once attain, 100
 
 PURGATORIO. 153 
 
 Another year full gladly had I borne, 
 More than is due, within this place of pain." 
 
 Then, at these woi-ds, to me did Virgil turn. 
 Commanding silence with a silent glance ; 
 But not at will may strength be ever worn : 105 
 
 For smiles and tears so quickly oft advance, 
 Behind the thoughts from whence they each arise, 
 That will more slowly moves. Thus did it chance, 
 
 I smiled as one in whom some secret lies ; 
 And then the spirit stay'd his speech, the while 110 
 
 He gazed to read the meaning in my eyes. 
 
 " As thou wouldst win the guerdon of thy toil," 
 He said, " now tell me wherefore on thy brow 
 There shone the sudden lightning of a smile." 
 
 On either side was I perplexed now : 115 
 
 One bade me hush ; the other fain would make 
 Me speak. And the debate my looks did show 
 
 Was understood. " Fear not," thus Virgil spake, 
 " To tell the truth ; for now mayst thou declare 
 The thing which he so eagerly doth seek." 120 
 
 Then I began : " Thou in thy thought dost bear 
 Much wonder at the smile which thou hast seen :
 
 151 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 But for a greater marvel now prepare, 
 
 ancient Shade. This man, on whom I lean, 
 Is that same Virgil who hath taught so well 125 
 
 To sing of Gods and men. If there have been 
 
 In thee some doubt, let it no longer dwell 
 Within thy mind, but now receive as true 
 The words which unto thee of him I tell." 
 
 Then to embrace my Leader's knees he drew 130 
 
 Anear ; but Virgil said : " My brother, stay ; 
 For thou, a Shade, dost here a Shade pursue." 
 
 He rose and spake : " Now mayst thou justly weigh 
 The love for thee wherewith my heart is rife ; 
 When thoughts of our vain semblance pass'd away, 135 
 
 And I of shadows deem'd as havino: mortal life."
 
 CANTO XXII. 
 
 ^rgnntcnt. 
 
 Sixth Circle ; the gluttonous. — Statins relates how he was con- 
 verted to Christianity. — Mystical tree. — Examples of tem- 
 perance. 
 
 The angel-guide was left behind xis now, 
 Who to the sixth abode our steps had led, 
 While he erased a letter from my brow, 
 
 And, " They whose hearts on righteousness are 
 stay'd," 
 He sang, "are crown'd with joy ; and ever blest 5 
 
 Are those who thirst :" no more the words he said. 
 
 More lightly than at first I onward press'd ; 
 For without labour I miglit there aspire. 
 And swift as airy spirits now I pass'd. 
 
 When Virgil thus began : " Tlie love whose fire 10 
 
 Is lit by virtue, if its outward flame
 
 156 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DAisTE. 
 
 Appear, responsive ardour doth inspire. 
 
 Therefore since Juvenal among us came 
 Unto the land of Hades, and to me 
 Reveal'd tlie love thou hadst unto my name, 15 
 
 Such loving kindness bore I unto thee, 
 As never yet was felt for one unknown ; 
 Thus, brief this steep ascent now seems to be. 
 
 But say, and pardon me if I have shown 
 Too daring freedom in the question bold, '20 
 
 And speak with me as with a friend alone, 
 
 How coiild thy breast so much of avarice hold, 
 Amid the studious lore thou didst approve, 
 And which to thee did highest truths unfold ?" 
 
 My Master's words the spirit seem'd to move 25 
 
 Unto a shadowy smile ; and then he said : 
 " Thy eveiy speech to me is sign of love. 
 
 Full often does the truth appear, array'd 
 In such a wise that it may well deceive. 
 For the true reasons which therein are stay'd. 30 
 
 Thy question shows me that thou dost believe 
 The love of hoarding was my eartldy vice. 
 Perchance from the abode which now we leave.
 
 35 
 
 PURGATORIO. 157 
 
 But know, that from my heart was avarice 
 Too far apart ; thus have I felt the pain, 
 For many thousand moons, of that excess. 
 
 And had I not endeavour'd to attain 
 To virtue, when I heard thy voice, which call'd, 
 (Wrathful against our human nature's stain,) 
 
 ' Why dost not rule, accursed love of gold, 40 
 
 The appetite of man for earthly things V 
 In the sad tournament my fate were told. 
 
 Then I perceived that all too wide the wings 
 Of largesse might be sj^read ; and thus my eyes 
 Shed tears for this and other sin it brings. ^^ 
 
 And many a soul at the last day shall rise 
 With close cut locks, because he hath not known 
 That man must aye repent him ere he dies. 
 
 The faidt that from another sin hath gone 
 To the extreme of difference, here, I ween, 50 
 
 Join'd with its opposite must make its moan. 
 
 And therefore I among the band have been. 
 Who here bewail their avaricious ways. 
 Because the contrary in me was seen." 
 
 " But when thou erst didst sing the rude affrays 55
 
 158 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Of them, Jocasta's double cause of woe," 
 Thus spake the Singer of the pastoral lays, 
 
 " By that which Clio there with thee doth show, 
 It seems thou didst not yet possess aright 
 The faith without which heaven we may not know. 60 
 
 If it be thus, what sun or radiant light 
 Flooded the darkness, when thy sails behind 
 The Galilean Fisher took their flight 1 " 
 
 He answer'd him : " At first by thee inclined, 
 I drank the rills that from Parnassus flow ; (55 
 
 Thereafter God illumined all my mind. 
 
 Thou didst as they who in the darkness go, 
 Holding a light which yet they cannot use ; 
 But unto those behind, the way doth show, 
 
 There where thou saidst : ' The world its growth 
 renews ; 70 
 
 Again its early spring-time it shall see, 
 And Heaven once more new progeny diffuse.' 
 
 By thee a poet ; Christian, too, by thee 
 Was I : but that thou well mayst comprehend, 
 Portray'd in brighter hues my sjieech shall be. 75 
 
 Already, earth was fill'd on every hand
 
 PURGATORIO. 159 
 
 With the true faith, dispersed by those who brought 
 The joyful tidiugs of the eternal land ; 
 
 And these thy words with the same tones were 
 fraught 
 As the discourse of those new preachers bore ; SO 
 
 Therefore unto their teaching oft I sought. 
 
 And then to me so holy seem'd their lore, 
 That, when Domitian chased them unto death, 
 For their sad sufferings I bewailed sore. 
 
 Even while I lived the life of earthly breath, 85 
 
 The thought of their pure ways made me contemn 
 The rites and creed of every other faith. 
 
 And ere I led the Greeks unto the stream 
 Of Thebes in poesy, the holy rite 
 Baptismal did I seek ; but yet did seem 90 
 
 Long time a heathen to all outward sight : 
 And for this sloth I dwelt in the fourth zone, 
 Four times a hundred years, in doleful plight. 
 
 Thou who hast raised the dusky curtain drawn 
 Before mine eyes, while yet I might ascend, 95 
 
 Ere time of penitence and prayer was gone. 
 
 Say, where is Terence now, our ancient friend Ì
 
 160 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Ca3cilius, Plautus, Varrò Ì Ou what shore 
 
 Have they their dweUing, in the mournful land Ì " 
 
 " Perseus and they, and I, and many more," 100 
 
 My Leader tlius rephed, " now dwell with him, 
 The Greek the Muses loved in days of yore, 
 
 In the first circle of the prison dim ; 
 And oft discourse we of the mount whence flow 
 The rills that nurture the poetic stream. 105 
 
 Euripides, Anacreon, with us go ; 
 And Agatho, and many a Grecian wise, 
 Who round their foreheads twined the laurel bough. 
 
 There dwells Simonides, in mournful guise : 
 And those of whom thou erst didst sing are there ; 110 
 Antigone, Ismene with sad eyes ; 
 
 And there ye see Tiresias' daughter fair ; 
 Deipile, Argia with us dwell, 
 And Thetis, with the sea-flowers in her hair ; 
 
 And she who show'd where Langia's fountains well; 115 
 And mid her sisters, Deidamia." Now, 
 Emerging from the pathway's rocky cell, 
 
 Silent the poet gazed around ; for lo ! 
 Four of the Maidens of the Day h^.d fled,
 
 PURGATORIO. 161 
 
 And by Lis chariot. wheel the fifth did go. ^20 
 
 " Methinks it now were well," my Leader said, 
 " Our right hand tow'rd the mountain's verge to turn, 
 Circling around the hill as erst we sped." 
 
 Thus from accustom'd use we here did leani ; 
 And with less doubtful mind we jouniey'd on, ^^^ 
 
 For in that other Shade we might discern 
 
 Consent. Together did they pass ; alone 
 I foUow'd, listening to the words which there 
 They spake, from whom I poesy had known. 
 
 But soon was broken this discoursing fair ; 1^0 
 
 For midway in the path a tree did grow, 
 Whose fruit shed forth an odour sweet and rare. 
 
 And as the fir-tree's still ascending: bough 
 Grows less and less, so this as it descends : 
 I think, that none may to the summit go. 135 
 
 And from the rampart which oiu' path defends, 
 There fell a stream of water cool and clear. 
 And with the foliage green its soft shower blends. 
 
 Now the two Poets to the tree drew near, 
 And then a voice among the leaves we heard, 140 
 
 Crying : " This fruit ye may not eat of hero ;" 
 
 VOL. II. M
 
 162 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Then said : " The impulse which in Maiy stirr'd 
 Was for the honour of the nuptials, more 
 Than to refresh the lips whose gentle word 
 
 Doth plead for you. The Eoman dames, of yore, 145 
 Drank only water : less did Daniel deem 
 Of food, than of acquiring heavenly lore. 
 
 The world's first ages shone with golden gleam, 
 When hunger made the acorn sweet and good ; 
 And nectar flow'd, with thirst, in every stream. 150 
 
 Locusts and honey were the simple food 
 That fed the Baptist in the desert drear : 
 Thus is his name with glorious praise endued, 
 
 For evermore ; as in the Gospel ye may hear."
 
 CANTO XXIIL 
 
 g.r9umcnt. 
 
 Dante finds, among the gluttonous, his friend Forese, who 
 praises the virtues of his wife, and reproves the vices of the 
 Florentine ladies. 
 
 The while I fix'cl my eyes on the green leaves, 
 Intently looking with the gaze of one 
 Who the small song-birds of their life bereaves, 
 
 My more than father said to me : " My son, 
 Now let us hasten on ; for it is meet 5 
 
 To profit by the day, ere it is done." 
 
 I quickly turn'd me then ; and not less fleet 
 My footsteps were, that I might draw anear 
 The wise, whose words made the long journey sweet. 
 
 In mingled wail and singing did I hear : 10 
 
 " My lips shall praise thee, Lord ; " the holy strain 
 Delight and sorrow to my soul did bear. 
 
 M 2
 
 164 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 " What sound is this, arising from the plain," 
 I said, " my gentle father Ì " He replied : 
 " Those Shades fulfil their duty mid their pain." 15 
 
 As when the thoughtful pilgrim hath espied 
 One "wlio is all unknown, he doth not stay. 
 But looks toward him and then turns aside ; 
 
 Thus, following us more quickly on the way. 
 Joining and passing us, that, band devout 20 
 
 Gazed upon us, but yet no word did say. 
 
 Their hollow eyes with dusky gloom were fraught : 
 Their cheeks were pallid ; and their frames so lean, 
 Moulding the skin the bones might well be sought. 
 
 Less meagi-e Erisicthon's frame, I ween, 25 
 
 When, to the last extreme of hunger led, 
 Most fierce his famish'd sufferings had been. 
 
 I thought within myself, and thus I said : 
 " Behold Jerusalem's citizens, when one, 
 A Jewish mother, on her infant fed." 30 
 
 Their eyes seem'd rings from whence the gems were 
 gone ; 
 And those who Omo on man's brow" descry, 
 In theirs, in sooth, the M might well have known.
 
 PURGATORIO. 165 
 
 Who would believe that in this fruit could lie 
 Such strong dominion by its sweet perfume, 35 
 
 Or in the crystal stream, unknowing why ? 
 
 I marvell'd much concerning this their doom ; 
 Because the reason yet I did not learn 
 Of their sad leanness and their meagre gloom. 
 
 When lo ! the sunken eyes toward me turn 40 
 
 Of one among those shadowy forms, who said, 
 With a loud voice : " What grace to me is borne ?" 
 
 Kemembrance of that Shade from me had fled ; 
 But yet his voice brought back unto mine ear 
 The thought which from my doubting eye was hid. 45 
 
 This spark lit up, in vivid hues and clear, 
 The memory of the sorely changed brow ; 
 Then did Forese to my gaze appear. 
 
 " Ah ! look not in such wonder on me now, 
 All dimm'd and pallid as with fell disease," 50 
 
 He said, " nor at the leanness of my woe ; 
 
 But truly tell me of thyself, and these 
 Who go with thee ; nor let thy speech be stay'd. 
 The ardent longing of my soul to ease." 
 
 " Thy face, o'er which in death such tears I shed 55
 
 60 
 
 166 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Of old, now makes me grieve with no less woe, 
 Because I see it here so marr'd," I said. 
 
 First tell, I pray thee, why thy bones thus grow 
 Unto their covering ; hardly may he speak, 
 Whose eager mind some wish'd-for thing w^ould know." 
 
 He said : " In God's own counsel ye must seek 
 The virtue to the tree and fountain given. 
 From whence ye see me now so lean and weak. 
 
 Each one who, weeping, sings, is punish'd even 
 For gluttony ; and therefore thus he grieves, 65 
 
 In thirst and hunger purified for heaven. 
 
 To every soul impatient longing cleaves, 
 From the sweet odour of the fruit, and from 
 The dash of waters, showering on the leaves. 
 
 Not once alone our footsteps hither come, 70 
 
 Our pains renewing : yet it is not pain, 
 But a sweet comfort sent us from our home. 
 
 The tree by that same hill we would attain, 
 Which erst led Christ with joyful lips to say, 
 ' Elo'ii when there flow'd from every vein, 75 
 
 His saving blood." " Forese, from the day," 
 I said, " when thou hast gone to better hfe,
 
 PURGATORIO. 167 
 
 Five years not yet have wholly pass'd away. 
 
 If near the ending of thine earthly strife 
 The strength for sin hath fail'd thee, ere the hour 80 
 
 Which led thee back to God with holy grief, 
 
 How to ascend on high hadst thou the power ? 
 Low on the island shore I thee had sought, 
 Where lapse of time doth time mis-spent restore." 
 
 And he to me : " So soon I here was brought, 85 
 
 To drink the cup wherein sweet wormwood lies, 
 By my own Nella's love, with weeping fraught. 
 
 I by her prayers devout, and mournful sighs, 
 From out the land that is with longing rife 
 Was drawn ; and through each zone had strength to rise. 90 
 
 So much more dear to God is my sweet wife, 
 Whom erst, while yet I lived, I loved so well, 
 As there are few like her in her true life. 
 
 For the Sai'dinian land, of which they tell 
 Such tales, hath citizens more chaste than they 95 
 
 Of the Barbagia where she still doth dwell. 
 
 My gentle brother, what then can I say ? 
 Before my inward vision doth appear 
 A futui-e time, not distant from this day.
 
 168 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Which shall the Church's fulmination bear, 100 
 
 Against the dames of Florence, who go forth, 
 And on their swelling breasts no covering wear. 
 
 Upon what heathen race, on all the earth. 
 Was it e'er needful, edicts to impose, 
 That from or Man or Heaven have had their birth, 105 
 
 To clothe them ? When each shameless woman 
 knows 
 What Heaven's swift circling orbit bears along, 
 For loudest wail her lips she may unclose. 
 
 And if my foresight do not lead me wrong, 
 This sorrow cometh, ere the beard shall grow 110 
 
 Of him who now is soothed by nursery song. 
 
 But hide not from me what I fain would know ; 
 Not only I, thou seest, bat all our band 
 Gaze where upon the ground no sunbeams glow." 
 
 Then I to him : " If thou wouldst caU to mind 115 
 
 What thou hast seen with me, and I with thee. 
 Sad were the memory of thy native land, 
 
 I from this life, by him who goes with me, 
 Was led, the evening before yesternight. 
 When she, the sister of this orb we see, 520
 
 PURGATORIO. 169 
 
 Shone in the fullest circle of her light ; " 
 
 (And to the Sun I pointed :) " through the land 
 
 125 
 Of everlasting death he led aright 
 
 My mortal footsteps. Thence did I ascend, 
 Guided by him, and circling round the hill 
 Which makes you once again to duty bend. 
 
 To lead me he hath promised, ujitil 
 I rise where Beatrice doth dwell on high ; 
 "Without him must I there my quest fulfil. 
 
 And this is Virgil, who thus spake," (and I 130 
 
 Towards him pointed) " and this other Shade 
 Is he for whose ascent unto the sky 
 
 Yom- kingdom, to its base, the earthquake's might 
 obey'd."
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 glrgumcttt. 
 
 Buonagiimta of Lucca. — Another mystical tree. — Sorrowful 
 effects of Gluttony. 
 
 Our speed clieck'd not our words, nor they more 
 slow 
 Our footsteps made ; but on we swiftly sped, 
 As ships that driven before fresh breezes go : 
 
 And stiU those Shades, who seem'd as things twice 
 dead. 
 Gazed through the hollow caverns of their eyes, 5 
 
 In wonder that I yet had life. I said. 
 
 Continuing my speech : " This soul may rise 
 More slowly unto Heaven, it well may be. 
 Even for the cause which in another lies. 
 
 But where Piccarda is, now tell to me ; 10
 
 PURGATORIO. 
 
 171 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 And say if some a name of note do bear, 
 Among the Shades who gaze so fixedly." 
 
 " My sister, who was erst so good and fair, 
 I know not which the most, in the bright ray 
 Of Paradise her golden crown doth wear." 
 
 This first was said ; then : " In this zone we may 
 Each name his brother ; since, as by disease. 
 Fell hunger hath our semblance worn away. 
 
 This Shade is Buonagiunta, the Lucchese ; " 
 (And, with his hand, towards him made a sign), 
 " And he whose meagreness doth most displease. 
 
 Once Holy Chm-ch embraced ; he and his line 
 Erst were of Tours : here is his penance done. 
 E'en for Bolsena's eels, and dainty wine, 
 
 Vernaccia hight." And others, one by one, 25 
 
 He show'd, and to be named was each content. 
 And sombre looks among them there were none. 
 
 There Ubaldin di Pila seem'd intent 
 Vainly to gnaw with hungry teeth ; and there 
 Was Boniface, to whom on earth was lent 
 
 Of many souls the pastoral rule and care. 
 And him I saw, who erst within Forli, 
 
 80
 
 172 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DAXTB. 
 
 Drank the good wine with lesser thirst than here, 
 
 And yet therewith ne'er knew satiety. 
 Mine eyes on the Lucchese I now did strain, 35 
 
 More eagerly than on the rest ; and he 
 
 Seem'd that of me like knowledge he would gain. 
 Geutucca then he murmur' d ; to mine ear 
 Came the low sound, as dull'd by hunger's pain ; 
 
 And then I said : " soul, who dost appear 40 
 
 Thus to desire to tell me all thy tale. 
 Uplift thy voice, that I may rightly hear," 
 
 " A woman now is born who yet no veil 
 Doth wear," he said, " and she will make thee prize 
 My city, although men against it rail. 45 
 
 Go, with this prophecy before thine eyes ; 
 For if my whisper thee to doubt doth move. 
 Within the future the fulfilment lies. 
 
 But say, if I the wondrous fortune prove 
 Of seeing him who in new rhyme hath sung, 50 
 
 Fair ladies who have hearts attuned to love." 
 
 I answer'd : " I in veiy truth am one 
 Who when my soul is with love's breathings fraught, 
 Sing as the thoughts within my heart have sprung."
 
 PURGATORIO. 1/3 
 
 " brother, now I see," he said, " the knot 55 
 
 That erst Guittoue and the notary kept, 
 And me, from the sweet music of thy thought. 
 
 Well do I see how thy bold pinions swept, 
 Fast-following the dictator of thy strain, 
 While ours, in sooth, all tame and powerless slept. ^'^ 
 
 And he who to more knowledge would attain, 
 Sees how apart the new from ancient style. 
 And to be silent, in content, is fain." 
 
 Even as the birds who winter by the Nile, 
 In flocks oft linger on their onward way, 65 
 
 Then fly, with sudden haste, in a long file ; 
 
 Thus all those spirits quickly turn'd away. 
 With footsteps lighter for their frames so lean, 
 And for the longing that within them lay. 
 
 And as the man who hath aweary been 70 
 
 With running, stays his steps, until the haste 
 And flutterings of his breath be calm'd ; I ween. 
 
 Thus did Forese, till the rest were past, 
 While by my side he journey'd ; then he said : 
 " \Mien shall I see thee once again at last ? " 75 
 
 I spake : " Now know I not how long my thread
 
 174 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Of life ; yet may I not so soon return, 
 As to this shore my longing shall be led. 
 Because the city of my earthly bourne 
 More barren is of good, from hour to hour, 80 
 
 Seeming as if it, ruiu'd, soon should mourn." 
 
 He said : " The man whose guilt hath been most sore, 
 Dragg'd by his horse I see upon the ground, 
 Anear the vale whence ye return no more. 
 
 His steed more swiftly at each step doth bound ; 85 
 
 On, on, until it strikes the fatal blow. 
 And vilely mangled, there his corpse is found. 
 
 Not many circuits those bright wheels shall know," 
 (And heavenward then he glanced) " till that be clear 
 Wliich my discourse hath now no power to show. 90 
 
 But I must leave thee : for the time is dear. 
 Within this kingdom ; and too much I lose 
 In ling'ring for thy slower footsteps here." 
 
 As, from the calvacade, a knight doth use 
 To spur his steed, all eager for the fray, 95 
 
 First to win honour where the red blood flows. 
 With bounding step from us he pass'd aw^ay ; 
 And I with those two spirits was alone,
 
 100 
 
 105 
 
 PURGATORIO. 175 
 
 Who upon earth were heroes. When there lay- 
 Such space between us that my eyes were gone 
 
 In search of him, as erst my thoughts, mtent 
 
 To know the things his speech to me had shown, 
 I saw another tree, which seemed bent 
 
 With the rich fruit that every branch down weigh'd, 
 
 Anear ; and tow'rds it now our footsteps went. 
 
 And some were there, •who, 'neath its heavy shade, 
 
 With hands uphfted, spake unto the leaves, 
 
 I know not what ; but like a child they pray'd. 
 As vmto one who yet no answer gives ; 
 
 But, to increase the strong desire they bear, ^ " 
 
 Holds that on high for which each spirit grieves. 
 Then they depart, with wish ungranted there ; 
 
 And onwards to the mighty tree we pass'd, 
 
 Which still refuses every tear and prayer. 
 
 " Pass on ; anear this shade ye may not rest : 
 
 There is a ti'ee above, whence Eve erst took 
 
 The fatal apple ; this hath the same taste." 
 
 Thus mid the boughs some unknown voices spoke ; 
 
 And I with Virgil and with Statius sought 
 
 To cling more closely to the circling rock. 120
 
 178 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 " Remember the accursed creatures brought 
 From out a shadowy cloud, and drunk with wine, 
 When Theseus 'gainst their double forces fought. 
 
 Think of the Hebrews too, who gave that sign. 
 The self-indulgent draught, when Gideon's band 125 
 
 Came down to battle against Midian's line." 
 
 Those airy spirit-voices, on each hand. 
 Discoursing thus of gluttony we heai'd, 
 The sin whereon sad wages aye attend. 
 
 We pass'd along the path, which now appear'd 130 
 
 Uucumber'd, for a thousand steps and more. 
 And each in moving utter'd not a word. 
 
 " What thought on you who journey weighs so sore? " 
 Was said ; whereat I started with affright. 
 As doth a beast whom sudden fear comes o'er. 135 
 
 I look'd to see what now should meet my sight : 
 And never, in the furnace' crimson glow, 
 Shone glass or metal with such fiery light. 
 
 As did the radiant form I look'd on now. 
 He said : " Now tm-n ye, and the mount ascend, 140 
 
 If ye to everlasting peace would go." 
 
 His aspect did my mortal eyesight blind ;
 
 PURGATORIO. 177 
 
 Backward I turn'd, to those my steps who bore 
 Along, that at their bidding I might wend. 
 
 And as, sweet heralds of the dawning hour, 145 
 
 Come the May breezes from the fields of bloom, 
 All laden with the scent of herb and flower, 
 
 Even thus, the floating of the angel-plume 
 I felt, that for a moment touch'd my face, 
 Wafting ambrosial breath of rich perfume. 150 
 
 And then I heard : " Blessed is he whom grace 
 Illumines, so that love of dainty food 
 Within his heart should hold a measured place ; 
 
 Nor dim the light of reason with its vapours rude."
 
 CANTO XXV. 
 
 ^rgumtnt. 
 Ascent to the Seventh Circle. — Discourse of Statius. 
 
 Now was the hour that hath no time of rest : 
 For noon had shone, and the fierce solar ray 
 Had Taurus left ; and night the Scorpion pass'd. 
 
 And therefore, as the man who doth not stay, 
 But journeys on, whate'er he chance to see, 5 
 
 Such needful haste impels him on his way ; 
 
 Not with less ardent longing then did we, 
 Each following each, the upward path begin, 
 Parted, because so near its ramparts be. 
 
 As the young bird that in the air would spring, 10 
 
 Eager for flight, and yet is not content 
 To leave the nest, but folds again its wing ;
 
 PUBGATORIO. 179 
 
 Even so was I, with wish ht up and spent, 
 Ere I could frame the question ; and, at last, 
 I seem'd as one who on discourse is bent. •^*' 
 
 My gentle father, though in eager haste, 
 Stay'd not his words, but said : " Now mayst thou speed 
 The dart which thou upon the cord dost rest." 
 
 Then gladly was ray prisou'd longing freed ; 
 I spake : " How may they be so wan and lean, -0 
 
 Here, where of nourishment they have no need 1 " 
 
 If Meleager thou of old hadst seen, 
 Consiuning with the burning of a brand," 
 He said, " this unto thee more plain had been. 
 
 And if within thee thou couldst understand 25 
 
 How in the mirror thine own form doth glide, 
 Less hard should be the manner of this land. 
 
 But, that by thee this may be well descried. 
 Lo ! here is Statins ; I to him will pray 
 That he be thy physician and tliy guide." ^^ 
 
 " If I eternal truth before him lay," 
 Thus Statins spake, " may my request be heard 
 For pardon that I cannot say thee nay." 
 
 Then he continued : " If my every word, 
 
 N 2
 
 180 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 My son, within thy memory thou wilt keep, 36 
 
 That shall be light which dai^kness erst appear' d. 
 
 Know, the most perfect life, which doth not creep 
 Along each artery, but still remains 
 As food uneaten, in the heart doth reap 
 
 Virtue informative, as through the veins, 40 1 
 
 Still flowing in its destined stream, the rest 
 Its pristine strength and purity regains. 
 
 Then of its onward course perchance 'twere best 
 That I were silent ; yet I surely deem 
 The breath of God on earthly life hath pass'd. 
 
 A spirit sheds forth its creative beam 
 On leaves and flowers of every diverse hue, 
 This by the wayside, that along the stream : 
 
 Even so, it doth each living thing imbue, 
 First with the duller life that on the shore 
 Through the sea-fungus creeps ; and then anew. 
 
 Organic force developes. Here once more, 
 My son, the hidden strength thou weU mayst know, 
 Whence nature doth produce her ample store. 
 
 But whence the spring of nobler life may flow 
 Thou dost not yet behold : this is the point
 
 PURGATORIO. 181 
 
 Which hath bewilder'd wiser men than thou. 
 
 And in their doctrine they have oft disjoin'd 
 The soul from possible intellect, because 
 It seems no outward organ to appoint. ^^ 
 
 Now ope thy mind unto the eternal laws 
 Of truth ; and know, that, when the infant brain 
 Unto its full articulation grows, 
 
 Then the great Mover turns to it, and fain, 
 Breathes over Nature's work the living mind, ^^ 
 
 The spirit which such vu-tue doth contain, 
 
 Whereby, when it in substance is combined, 
 It forms a conscious, individual soul, 
 A sentient life, of that which it doth find. 
 
 And lest too marvellous to thee be all 70 
 
 My words, behold the sun, which turns to wine 
 The juice that from the ripen'd grape doth fall. 
 
 When Lachesis hath wholly spun her line, 
 The spirit then is freed from fleshly root, 
 And with it bears the human and divine. 75 
 
 Each sensual power remains inert and mute ; 
 But memory, intellect, and will are now 
 In act, much more than at the first, acute.
 
 182 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 It tarrieth not, but of itself doth go 
 To one or other of the streams of death ; 80 
 
 Then knows if it shall rise or sink below. 
 
 Soon as the soul its destined dwelling hath, 
 Again shines forth the strength from which it drew 
 Its life, when in the land of mortal breath. 
 
 And as ye see, when watery mists imbue 85 
 
 Our atmosphere, the sunny rays appear 
 Therein reflected, in each diverse hue ; 
 
 Thus doth the soul an airy semblance wear, 
 Which is in outward limbs and shape the same 
 Impression, which the inward seal doth bear. go 
 
 And as the fire is followed by the flame, 
 So its new form the spirit must pursue. 
 And this aerial body hath its name 
 
 Of Shade, because its movements ever show 
 The soul within ; and thus may we, the while, 9& 
 
 Each feeling prove which on the earth we knew. 
 
 Therefore we speak, and therefore do we smile ; 
 And from this source the tears and plaints arise. 
 Which thou hast heard along thy path of toil. 
 
 By that whereon the strong affection lies, loi
 
 PURGATORIO. 183 
 
 The outward shape is fashion'd ; thus ye see 
 The cause of what ye look'd on with surprise." 
 
 Now to the last abode of torture, we 
 Had come ; and to the right liand then we tiu'u'd, 
 And bent on other cares our thoughts must be : 105 
 
 For here, with fiercest flames the rampart bm-n'd, 
 And from the ledge a whistling wind is sent, 
 That blows them back ; whence I a path discern' d. 
 
 Thus, one by one, along the verge we went ; 
 And there the fire did sorely me affray, 110 
 
 And here I dreaded the unveil' d descent. 
 
 My Leader said to me : " Upon this way, 
 Needs must ye keep the bridle on your eyes ; 
 Because, in sooth, ye easily may stray." 
 
 " God, in whom all grace and mercy lies," 115 
 
 From out the bosom of the fiery glow 
 Was sung ; whereat I turn'd me, in sm-prise. 
 
 For Shades amid the flame pass'd to and fro ; 
 Then on my steps and theirs I fis'd my gaze, 
 Now here, now there, alternating. And lo ! 12o 
 
 When they had sung what there the Psalmist says. 
 They, " Virum non cognosco" cried aloud ;
 
 184 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Then, in low voice, repeat the hymn of praise. 
 
 And, ending, they went on : " Within the wood 
 Diana dwelt, and chased the nymph away, 125 
 
 Of old, who Venus' power had not withstood." 
 
 Then they again resumed the sacred lay ; 
 And told of those who during life were pure, 
 In nuptial bonds. And, in this manner, they 
 
 Discourse and sing, the while their pains endure ; ] 30 
 Till they this zone of burning flame have past : 
 For with such discipHne they needs must cure 
 
 The wound of sin, that shall be fully heal'd at last.
 
 CANTO XXYI. 
 
 ^rgumtnt. 
 
 The Seventh Circle. — Dante speaks with Guido Guinicelli, the 
 Fiorentine, and Amautz, the Provencal Troubadour. 
 
 While, one by one, we pass'd along this bourne. 
 Full oft to me my gentle guide did say : 
 " Beware ; for it is well I thee should warn." 
 
 On my right shoulder now the sunbeams lay, 
 And shed their splendour over all the west, 
 Changing the azure to a golden ray. 
 
 And, for the darkness by my form imprest 
 Upon the path, still brighter was the gleam ; 
 Thus many look'd toward me, as they pass'd. 
 
 This was the cause for which, I surely deem. 
 They now began to speak of me, and said : 
 " In sooth, no form aerial doth he seem." 
 
 10
 
 186 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 And then as near me, in their course, tliey sped, 
 As well might be while heedful still to go 
 Where the red flames their burning ardour shed. ^^ 
 
 " thou, who go'st with footsteps not more slow, . 
 But rev'rently still following thy guide, 
 Eeply to me, here parching in fierce glow. 
 
 Nor I alone thine answer do abide : 
 All these have greater thirst for thy reply 20 
 
 Than hath the Indian for the cooling tide. 
 
 Then tell us why on thee the sunbeams lie, 
 Nor do they pass beyond thy form ; as though 
 Thou wert of those whose lot is still to die." 
 
 Thus one among them spake to me ; and now ^^ 
 
 Would I have answer'd him, but swiftly came 
 Before me somewhat new and strange : for lo ! 
 
 Even in the middle of the path of flame, 
 A band who, coming tow'rd us, onward press'd : 
 That sight my silent thought did wholly claim. 
 
 And as the spirits drew anear, with haste 
 Each folded each within a brief embrace ; 
 And then pass'd on, content with scanty feast : 
 
 Even so the ants' small, dusky insect race 
 
 30
 
 PURGATORIO. 187 
 
 A moment meet in their industrious art, 35 
 
 Perchance their fortune and their ways to trace. 
 
 When from the friendly greeting they depart, 
 Ere yet one step had each from each pass'd by, 
 Some, with loud, emulous voices, from the heart 
 
 Bewail, and " Sodom and Gomorrah ! " ciy ; 40 
 
 And, " Bear ye still in mind the sins which are 
 Told in Pasiphae's tale," the rest reply. 
 
 Even as the cranes, that tow'rd the Northern Star 
 In part do fly, part to the desert-sand ; 
 And these from frost, and those from sun are far ; 45 
 
 So do they come and go, on either hand, 
 And, weeping, tm'n again to their first song, 
 And to the cry most suited to their band. 
 
 Then, they who first address'd me in the throng 
 Again toward me turn'd, with eager mien, 50 
 
 As they to list to my discourse did long. 
 
 And I, who, twice, their strong desire had seen, 
 My speech began : " Ye sou.ls, who are secure, 
 One day, to dwell 'mid heavenly pastures green, 
 
 Know, that my limbs, nor youthful nor mature, 55 
 
 In earth not yet are buried, but I still
 
 188 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 With living flesh and blood my toil endure. 
 
 To cure my blinded eyes I climb this hill : 
 There is a lady in the realms above j 
 And I, a mortal, by her aid fulfil 60 
 
 My quest in this your world. As ye would prove 
 The gladness soon of the empyrial heaven, 
 Whose ample spaces are all fill'd with love, 
 
 Say, (for perchance to me it shall be given 
 To tell the tale,) who ye may be, and those 65 
 
 Who speed, and to another goal are driven ]" 
 
 Not more amaze the mountain-peasant shows, 
 In silent wonder, all uncouth and rude, 
 When first he to the polish'd city goes. 
 
 Than did these Shades who now, astonish' d, stood ; 70 
 But quickly did that stupor pass away, 
 Which lasts not long in hearts of lofty mood. 
 
 Then he who first address' d me 'gan to say : 
 " Blessed be thou, who journeyest to win 
 Experience which on earth may guide thy way. 75 
 
 Know, that the sin of these the same hath been 
 As Caesar's, whence in his triumphal hour 
 The soldiers, in contempt, proclaim'd him Queen.
 
 PURGATORIO. 189 
 
 Therefore they name the city which, of yore, 
 Was with this crime defiled ; and with their shame 80 
 
 They lend the scorching furnace fiercer power. 
 
 Our sin was of another stamp and name : 
 But, since the laws of reason we pass'd by, 
 And even degraded as brute beasts became, 
 
 Thus, in our own reproof, we loudly cry ; 85 
 
 And tell of her who, in the Cretan clime, 
 Was erst most beastly in vile luxury. 
 
 Our actions now thou knowest, and our crime : 
 If of our earthly names thou wovildst enquh-e, 
 To tell of all thou seest, there lacketh time. 90 
 
 Yet, of myself I answer thy desh-e : 
 I Guido Guinicelli was ; ere death, 
 Repentance caused me heavenward to aspire." 
 
 As, 'mid the fury of Lycurgus' wrath. 
 The sons toward their mournful mother sprang, 95 
 
 Even so did I, soon as I heard the breath. 
 
 Revealing him whose voice melodious rang 
 So sweet, that I and wiser poets leam'd 
 Of him the lovely strain which erst he sang. 
 
 And, lost in silent thought, full oft I turn'd, 100
 
 190 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Looking on him, whom yet I might not reach, 
 
 For the fierce flame which from the rampart burn'd. 
 
 Then fill'd with gazing, did I him beseech 
 That he his heart's desire to me would tell, 
 And with a sacred promise seal'd my speech. 105 
 
 And he to me : " Such memories aye shall dwell 
 "Within me of thy words, that Lethe's stream 
 Their clearness may not darken or dispel. 
 
 But, if thou speak' st as truly as I deem, 
 Now tell me wherefore, in discourse and gaze, 110 
 
 So loving unto me thou still dost seem Ì " 
 
 And I to him : "Because of thy sweet lays. 
 Which long as modern use its power doth hold, 
 Shall win from men the meed of lofty praise." 
 
 He said : " My brother, he whom ye behold" 115 
 
 (And tow'rds another then he turn'd his glance) 
 " More nobly did his native language mould ; 
 
 For, in love-poesy and prose-romance. 
 He bore the palm ; despite the fools who say 
 The Limousin before him did advance. 120 
 
 By fame, much more than fact, do men alway 
 Guide their belief ; and thus decide, before ;
 
 PURGATORIO. 191 
 
 Or reason or experience lead the way. 
 
 Thus they exalted, in the days of yore, 
 Only Guittoue, with applauding cry, 125 
 
 Till truth, with their false praise, they downward bore. 
 
 Now, if such grace is given, that thou mayst try 
 The journey to the heavenly cloister, where 
 Christ rules the brotherhood who dwell on high, 
 
 I beg, that thou for me wouldst say the prayer 1 30 
 
 He taught, as far as we have need who dwell 
 Where we can sin no more." He said ; and there 
 
 Gave place to him of whom he erst did tell, 
 And disappear' d amid the bm-ning flame, 
 As doth a fish within its wateiy cell. 135 
 
 To him whom he had shown me, then I came 
 A httle nearer ; and I begg'd that he 
 Unto my longing would make known his name. 
 
 He thus began, with gracious mien and free : 
 " So sweet to me thy courteous questioning, 140 
 
 Nor can nor will I hide thy wish from thee. 
 
 I am Amautz, who mourn the while I sing : 
 Sadly I look upon my folly past, 
 And joyful, on the bliss that Heaven shall bring.
 
 192 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 I pray thee, by the virtue which at last 14£ 
 
 Shall guide thee where there is nor heat nor cold, 
 There on my pain a thought of pity cast." 
 
 He ceased ; and once again the fire did him enfold.
 
 CANTO XXYII. 
 
 glrgumcnt. 
 
 At the name of Beatrice, Dante passes through the flames of 
 the seventh and last circle of Purgatory. — In a vision, he 
 sees Leah, the synrbol of active life. 
 
 As when the earliest radiance of the sun 
 Dawns where its Maker shed his sacred blood, 
 And 'neath the midnight Ebro flows adown, 
 
 And noonday burns above the Ganges' flood, 
 Thus was it now ; and daylight sank, before 5 
 
 God's holy angel in our presence stood. 
 
 And joyful sang beside the fiery shore 
 *' Beati mundo corde," in a strain 
 Far sweeter than ye find in mortal lore. 
 
 " Ye blessed ones, until the fiery pain 10 
 
 Have touch'd you, ye may seek no onward way : 
 Enter ; nor turn ye from the heavenly plain, 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 194 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Whence cometh to your ears that lovely lay." 
 These words he spake, as we to him drew near j 
 And I became like one whose burial-day 
 
 Is come, though yet in life. My hands, in fear, 
 I stretch' d, and gazed upon the flame, and thought 
 Of those whom I had seen on fiery bier. 
 
 Then both my friends came tow'rds me, as I sought 
 Their glance, and Virgil said to me : " My son, 
 This flame with torment, not with death, is fraught. 
 
 Remember thee, remember — and if none 
 Might hurt, when I on Geryon was thy guide. 
 Why fearest now, when nearer to God's throne ? 
 
 Be sure, that if within yon fiery tide 
 Thou for a thousand years and more shouldst dwell, 
 Thou couldst not lose a hair from ofi" thy head. 
 
 If thou dost doubt the thing whereof I tell, 
 And by experience certainty would gain, 
 Thou with thy ganxient mayst thy fears dispeL 
 
 No more let cowardice thy steps detain ; 
 But turn and cross the path which yonder lies." 
 Yet, 'gainst my conscience, still I did remain. 
 
 This when he saw, a cloud pass'd o'er his eyes,
 
 PURGATORIO. 195 
 
 And anxiously, " Behold, my son," he said, 35 
 
 •' Twixt thee and Beatrice this wall doth rise." 
 
 As Pyramus, when death toward him sped, 
 Yet oped once more his eyes at Thisbe's name. 
 What time the mulberry was stain'd with red. 
 
 All pliant then my stubborn mood became ; 40 
 
 And to my Leader, when I heard the sound 
 Which told of her so dearly loved, I came. 
 
 And then he shook his head, and spake : " This 
 bound 
 Thou fain wouldst pass Ì " And gently did he smile, 
 As to a child who all subdued is found, 45 
 
 By promised toy. He led me on the while, 
 Within the flame, and begg'd that Statins now 
 Would follow, who for many a bygone mile 
 
 Had parted us. So fierce the fiery glow, 
 That seething, molten glass, compared with this, 50 
 
 Were as a grot where crystal waters flow. 
 
 And then, to cheer my failing heart, I wis. 
 My gentle father, mid that raging heat, 
 Spake but of Beatrice, and said : " In bliss 
 
 I see her shining eyes," And now a sweet 55 
 
 2
 
 196 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 Clear voice of singing floated to mine ear, 
 And led us where the shore our steps did greet. 
 
 " Come, blessed of my Father," did I hear, 
 In melody, within a stan-y ray 
 Of light too pure for mortal eyes to bear. 
 
 " Now swiftly comes the closing hour of day : 
 Ye may not linger here, but onward press, 
 Ere from the west the sunset fades away." 
 
 Between the stony ramparts did we pass. 
 So that on me the dying light was thrown ; 
 Which slowly sank, as though in weariness. 
 
 And but a little way our steps had gone ; 
 When, by the shadowy form effaced, we knew 
 That darkness fell where erst the sunbeams shone. 
 
 Ere the horizon changed its varied hue, 70 
 
 Unto the dimness of the twilight gray, 
 And night, o'er all, her dusky mantle threw, 
 
 Each on a grade of the steep staircase lay. 
 And there we made our couch ; because all power 
 For the ascent dcparteth with the day. 75 
 
 Even as the flock, at the fierce noontide hour. 
 Quietly repose within the stilly shade,
 
 PURGATORIO. 197 
 
 Though whei'e the peaks of the high mouutams soar 
 
 Erst with bold leap they sprang ; they now are laid 
 To rest, and slowly ruminate, and still 80 
 
 Their pastor leaning on his staff is stay'd, 
 
 And aye his faithful task he doth fulfil, 
 And ever the lone midnight watch doth keep. 
 Lest wolves may cause his charge or fear or ill ; 
 
 Thus were we now : I, as the timid sheep ; S5 
 
 And they, as shepherds guarding me by night, 
 Enfolded in the ramparts strait and steep. 
 
 Small was the space beyond, which met my sight ; 
 But, in that little, I the stars beheld 
 Shining Avith larger orbs and purer light. 90 
 
 And still I gazed upon the glittering field, 
 And mused, tiU slumber came, and seal'd mine eye. 
 Slumber, wherein the tnith is oft reveal' d. 
 
 Now, in the hour when in the orient sky 
 The star of Venus dawns with silver beam, 95 
 
 Where love's soft radiance ever glows on high, 
 
 A young and beauteous lady, in a dream 
 To me appear' d ; as through a flowery plain 
 She went, and cull'd the blossoms, whose bright gleam
 
 198 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Bedeck'd the grass ; and thus she sang her strain : loo 
 " Know, I am Leah ; and throughout this bourne 
 I go, and weave a blooming garhmd fain, 
 
 And at this mirror I myself adorn. 
 But never doth my sister Rachel gaze 
 Within that glass ; she sitteth, night and morn, 105 
 
 With eye intent upon the holy rays 
 That shine around the glories of God's throne : 
 To her, of thought ; to me, of work the praise." 
 
 Now, from the splendours that precede the dawn, 
 Moi'e grateful to the wand'ring pilgrim's eye 110 
 
 Than home, when he a weary way hath gone. 
 
 On every side the clouds of darkness fly, 
 And with them fled my slumber ; then I rose. 
 And saw my Master prompt the path to try, 
 
 " That sweetest fruit, which on such diverse boughs, 115 
 The anxious care of mortals aye doth seek, 
 To-day shall lull in peace thy many woes." 
 
 Thus did I hear my gentle Leader speak. 
 And never such deep joy to me was given. 
 As in those welcome woi-ds I here did take ; 120 
 
 And thus my will by siich strong will was driven,
 
 PURGATORIO. 199 
 
 I seem'd more ligbtly at each step to go, 
 And with fleet pinions might ascend to heaven. 
 
 As the whole staircase we sm-mounted now, 
 And stood at last upon the grade supern, 125 
 
 Then Virgil fix'd his gaze upon my brow, 
 
 And said : " The temporal fire and the etern 
 Thou hast beheld, my son ; and, from this day. 
 The truth by me no more thou shalt discern. 
 
 I led thee when thou wert gone far astray ; 130 
 
 Now, thine own pleasure thou mayst take as guide : 
 Thou art beyond the steep and narrow way. 
 
 Behold the sun, that on thy brow doth glide ; 
 Behold each flower which on thy pathway lies, 
 Sprung fi'om the bounteous earth, on every side : 135 
 
 Until there come to thee the lovely eyes 
 That, weeping, bade me aid thee, it is thine 
 Freely to rest, and freely to arise. 
 
 No longer tarry for my speech or sign ; 
 For now thy heai't is righteous, pure, and just, 140 
 
 Nor vmto evil things canst thou incline : 
 
 Thus, to thy will, both crown and mitre I entrust."
 
 CANTO XXVIII. 
 
 The terrestrial Paradise. — Matilda. 
 
 Eager to roam the forest-depths divine 
 Of thick and living foliage, whose rich gloom 
 Temper'd the dawn unto my mortal eyne, 
 
 I linger'd not, but through the flowery bloom, 
 Leaving the shore, I went with paces slow 5 
 
 Amid the herbage fraught with sweet perfume. 
 
 A pleasant air that seem'd no change to know, 
 Smote on my forehead with soft motion, still 
 As gentle as when summer breezes blow. 
 
 And then the leaves which, ever trembling, thrill, lo 
 With one accord all bent toward the part 
 When fell the shadow of the holy hill.
 
 PURGATORIO. 201 
 
 Yet not thereby so far did they depart 
 From the sweet calmness of this sunny clime, 
 That the small birds should cease them from their art ; 15 
 
 But the fresh breathings of the hour of prime, 
 Singing, they gladly welcomed 'mong the leaves. 
 Which kept low murmuring tune unto their rhyme : 
 
 Even as from bough to bough the ear perceives. 
 In the pine-forest near to Chiassi's shore, 20 
 
 A melody when the east wind receives 
 
 Behest from Eolus. My footsteps bore 
 Me slowly onward through the ancient wood, 
 Until the entrance I beheld no more ; 
 
 And lo ! my path was ended, where a flood 25 
 
 Towards the left did with soft ripple glide, 
 Bending the grass that on its margin stood. 
 
 Here, even the piu'est and most crystal tide 
 Yet somewhat dull'd with earthly taint would seem, 
 Near this, which nought within its depths might hide ; 30 
 
 Though in the dusky twilight doth its stream 
 Pass 'neath perpetual shadow, where there lies 
 Nor golden sun nor moonlight's silver beam. 
 
 My footsteps here were stay'd ; but with mine eyes
 
 202 THE DIVINE COMEDT OF DANTE. 
 
 I pass'd beyond the river, to admire 35 
 
 The fresh May-garlands' green diversities : 
 
 And then appear' d, as that which doth inspire 
 Most sudden marvel, and within thy thought 
 Doth leave no other fancy nor desire, 
 
 A lady singing all alone, who sought 40 
 
 Amid the field of flowers each fairest flower, 
 Wherewith on every side her path was fraught. 
 
 " Ah ! beauteous lady, who in this sweet hour 
 Dost seem to bask within love's radiance clear, 
 If semblance to reveal the heart have power," 45 
 
 I said, "now of thy courtesy draw near, 
 That the melodious song which thou dost sing 
 May come more plainly to my list'niug ear. 
 
 Thou dost unto my thought the memory bring 
 Of Proserpine, when her sad mother lost 50 
 
 Her smile, and she the gladness of the spring." 
 
 At these my words she turn'd towards me fast, 
 As one who dances with swift footsteps light ; 
 Scarcely I saw her moving, while she pass'd 
 
 Above the blooms of gold and crimson bright ; 55 
 
 And low unto the earth her eyeg she bent,
 
 60 
 
 PURGATORIO. 203 
 
 As maiden who woiild. shrink from human sight. 
 
 But jet did she my eager prayers content, 
 And di-ew so near, that her sweet melodies 
 With clearest meaning to my ear were sent ; 
 
 And when she came to where the herbage lies 
 Bathed in the waters of the lovely stream, 
 Full coiu'teously to me she raised her eyes : 
 
 I well believe that with suoli radiant beam 
 The orbs of Venus shone not, when of yore 65 
 
 Pierced by her son. Then smiled with sunny gleam 
 
 The maiden, as she stood upon the shore, 
 Wreathing the flowers that in this lofty land 
 The soil without or seed or culture bore. 
 
 But little space was 'twixt each river-strand : 70 
 
 Yet Hellespont, where Xerxes cross'd the strait, 
 (Which still as curb to human pride doth stand,) 
 
 Ne'er from Leander suffer'd such deep hate, 
 Where Sestos and Abydos by the wild 
 Sea waves are parted, as from me this gate. 75 
 
 Thus she began : " Perchance because I smiled, 
 Ye who are strangers in this place, elect 
 For man, as is the cradle for the child,
 
 204 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 May somewhat, in your wond'ring thought, suspect ; 
 But where the Psalmist Delectasti said 80 
 
 Shall clearly shine upon thine intellect. 
 
 And thou, who go'st before, and me hast pray'd 
 To speak, what wouldst thou know 1 for I am bound 
 To answer thee, till thy desire be stay'd." 
 
 I spake : "■ The river and the woodland sound 85 
 
 Impugn within me, by a newer faith, 
 The first reply which to my quest I foimd." 
 
 And she : " Now tell I thee the thing which hath 
 So strange a semblance ; and thereby shall cease 
 The darkness of the clouds which hide thy path. 90 
 
 God, who is glad in his own blessedness, 
 Created man unsinning ; and this land 
 Gave him as earnest of eternal peace. 
 
 By his own fault full soon did he descend ; 
 By his own fault, in mourning and in woe 95 
 
 He did his sinless smiles and joy ance end. 
 
 But know, that lest the stormy winds which blow, 
 Eaised by the mists that come from earth and sea. 
 The mists which in the sun's warm footsteps go, 
 
 Should here some cause of hurt or hindrance be, joo
 
 PURGATORIO. 205 
 
 This inountaiu-top ascends so near to heaven, 
 And of such strife is, from its portal, free. 
 
 And, as in circuit all the air is driven, 
 Eevolving with the first ethereal sphere, 
 If by no jutting point some stay be given ; ]q- 
 
 Thus, on this height, that floateth in the clear 
 And living air, its motion strikes, and thence 
 Arise the woodland whispers which ye hear. 
 
 Such virtue dwelleth in this forest dense ; 
 Therewith it penetrates the air around, ^q 
 
 Which, ever circling, sheds its burden hence. 
 
 For even upon the lower world is found 
 A different climate beneath varying skies, 
 And diverse plants jDroceed fi'om diverse ground : 
 
 And, hearing this, it causeth not surprise, Ho 
 
 When some wild plant or herb, at its own will, 
 Without or seed or culture, doth arise. 
 
 And thou shouldst know, that all this holy hill. 
 Where now thou art, is full of every seed 
 And fruit that springeth not on earth. The rill, 120 
 
 Which here thou lookest on, doth not proceed 
 From source replenished by rain or snows,
 
 206 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 As rivers which of fresh suppHes have need ; 
 
 But from a full and certain fount it flows, 
 Which by God's will is with so much imbued, 125 
 
 Wherewith it in diverging courses goes. 
 
 Toward us, on this side, descends a flood. 
 That bears away the memory of thy sin ; 
 The other gives thee back again each good. 
 
 This stream is Lethe ; where the waves begin 130 
 
 Thence to depart, flows down Eunoe's rill : 
 By tasting both, their virtue thou shalt win. 
 
 Their wave all other savours doth excel ; 
 And though thy thirst might well be sated even 
 Did I no more discoui'se with thee, yet still 135 
 
 A corollary shall, of grace, be given ; 
 Nor shall it less be prized, I surely deem, 
 If more than promised be my words of heaven. 
 
 Those who, of ancient times, in the bright gleam 
 Of Poesy beheld the age of gold, 140 
 
 Perchance in high Parnassus had this dream. 
 
 Here man was innocent, in days of old ; 
 Here, aye is autumn and eternal spring ; 
 This is the nectar of which erst they told,"
 
 PURGATORIO. 207 
 
 Towards the Poets now, with eager wing, 145 
 
 My glances sped, and saw the smile which came. 
 Soon as they heard this last imagining ; 
 
 Then once again I turn'd unto that fairest dame.
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 argument. 
 
 The three i^oets pursue their way aloug the bank of the stream. 
 — Apocalyptic vision. 
 
 As one enamoiu-'d, singing a sweet lay, 
 She ended thus her fair discourse, and said : 
 " Blessed is he whose sins are purged away." 
 
 Like nymphs who stray amid the sylvan shade, 
 Alone, and now they seek the sunny beam, | 
 
 Now of its burning light are they afraid, 
 
 Thus did she bend her course, against the stream, 
 Still wand'ring on the flowery bank : and I, 
 As her slow steps, went slowly. And, I deem, 
 
 Not yet a hundred paces did we try, 10 
 
 'Twixt hers and mine, when lo ! the streamlet roU'd 
 Toward the shining of the eastern sky.
 
 PURGATORIO. 209 
 
 Nor long -we thus our onward way did hold, 
 When the fair maiden turn'd to me, and said : 
 " My brother, look and listen." And behold ! 15 
 
 A sudden splendoiu' o'er the forest shed 
 Brightness amid the glooms from every part ; 
 I deem'd, perchance the lightning's flash had sped. 
 
 But not as lightning did the gleam depart ; 
 It brighten'd more unto the perfect morn : 20 
 
 " What thing is this ? " I said within my heart. 
 
 And a sweet voice of melody was borne 
 Upon the luminous air ; and then mine ire 
 Rose against Eve, because with daring scorn, 
 
 When earth obey'd, and the bright heavenly quire, 25 
 A woman, new-created, all alone 
 Lifted the veil that hid our knowledge dire : 
 
 Else had I never made so sad a moan ; 
 And those delights ineffable, I wis. 
 Long years ago for aye I should have known. 30 
 
 While 'mid such earnests of eternal bliss 
 I went, and still moro eagerly did long 
 For fuller glimpses of the land of peace, 
 
 I saw amid the green and tangled throng 
 
 VOL. II. p
 
 210 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Of forest leaves, it seem'd, a burning fire, 35 
 
 And then I knew that the sweet sound was song. 
 
 holy, holiest maidens of the lyi'e, 
 If ever, for your sakes, on me hath lain 
 Hunger, or cold, or vigils, I require 
 
 My guerdon. Let Urania's starry train 40 
 
 Give of the fount of Helicon, that I 
 Strong thoughts may render into measured strain. 
 
 A little further on did I descry 
 Somewhat ; it seem'd, seven trees of gold, methought ; 
 Because much space 'twixt them and me did lie. 45 
 
 But when I near this wond'rous sight was brought, 
 No more did faint resemblance do me wrong, 
 Nor distance longer with deceit was fraught. 
 
 And I perceived, in truthful reason strong, 
 What seem'd as trees were lamps of golden light, 50 
 
 And heard Rosanna in the voice of song. 
 
 On high, resplendent shone the radiance bright, 
 More clear than moon in the blue depths serene. 
 In her mid month at middle hour of night. 
 
 Admiring much at this strange thing, I ween, 55 
 
 To Virgil then I turn'd, and he replied
 
 PURGATORIO. 211 
 
 To me, with no less wonder in his mien. 
 
 I look'd once more tow'rds that which I descried, 
 The vision which advanced with paces slow, 
 More tardy than of newly-wedded bride, ^^ 
 
 The lady spake : " Now wherefore dost thou glow 
 Thus in the aspect of yon living flame, 
 Nor seek'st the thing which follows it to know 1" . 
 
 Then saw I those who in white garments came, 
 Following their leader's steps ; no living wight 65 
 
 Hath seen such snowy gleam. And with the same 
 
 Full splendour did the stream give back the light. 
 And thei"e as plainly did my form appear. 
 As though a spotless mirror met my sight. 
 
 When to the river's brink I drew so near, 70 
 
 That but the stream before me I might find, 
 I stopp'd to look upon the radiance clear. 
 
 And now the flames advance, and leave behind 
 A trail of glory, painting all the air. 
 Like bright-hued banners borne upon the wind. 75 
 
 Seven diverse bands within the splendour were ; 
 Of the same hues from which the Sun his bow 
 Doth form, the Moon her silver girdle fair. 
 
 p 2
 
 212 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 More distant thau my mortal sight might know 
 They stream'd beyond the far horizon's bound; SO 
 
 In breadth, I think, ten paces ye might go. 
 
 And, 'neath the hght their splendours shed around, 
 Lo ! twice twelve elders, twain by twain, drew nigh ; 
 Each with a lily diadem was crown'd. 
 
 And they their voices lifted up on high, 85 
 
 And sang : " Among Eve's daughters thou art blest, 
 And blessed be thy loveliness for aye." 
 
 After this band of souls elect had pass'd, 
 Nor longer were the flowers and herbage green, 
 Beyond the streamlet, by their footsteps prest, 90 
 
 As light succeeding light on high is seen, 
 Four living creatures in their traces came. 
 Their brows enwreathed with freshest leaves, I ween. 
 
 And each six pinions bore : in hue the same, 
 Gemm'd with such eyes as Argus had of yore, 95 
 
 But shining with a yet more living flame. 
 
 It needs not now that I should linger more, 
 And spend my rhymes in telling of their form ; 
 Because I now must turn to other lore. 
 
 But if therewith thou wouldst thy mind inform, 100
 
 PURGATORIO. 213 
 
 Read in Ezekiel, from the laud of cold 
 
 How they came forth in lightning and in storm. 
 
 The vision on his page thou dost behold, 
 Thus here ; save that St. Jolm saw not the same, 
 Touching their pinions, but with me doth hold. 105 
 
 Within the space those creatures did enframe, 
 A chariot borne upon triumphal wheels, 
 And hamess'd to a ilying griffin, came. 
 
 In such a wise this wond'rous steed reveals 
 His wings between the bands of rainbow light, 110 
 
 That none of their bright beauty he conceals. 
 
 Those pinions rose beyond my mortal sight : 
 And glittering gold the plumage that they wore ; 
 All else, vermilion, tinging snowy white. 
 
 Never did Rome such chariot, of yore, 115 
 
 On Scipio or on Caesar's self bestow : 
 Yea, by its side the Car of Light were poor, 
 
 The Sun's own car, that burn'd with fiery glow. 
 When Jove, in hidden j astice, heard the cry 
 Which to his throne from trembling Earth did go. 120 
 
 At the right wheel, three damsels seem'd to fly. 
 With dancing ste])S : the first so rosy red,
 
 214 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Scarcely in flame ye might her form descry ; 
 
 The next, who with hght motion swiftly sped, 
 Seem'd wholly radiant with the emerald's glance ; 125 
 
 The third ajipear'd as snow but newly shed. 
 
 And now the white-robed maiden led the dance, 
 Now she of rosy hue ; and at her song, 
 More swift or slow their paces did advance. 
 
 And by the left wheel then four pass'd along, 130 
 
 In purple robes; and she their steps who led 
 Saw with three visual orbs. Anear this throng, 
 
 I saw two ancient men, in garb array'd 
 Which all unlike in form and hue did seem ; 
 Yet were they like in their demeanour staid. 135 
 
 One seem'd to be a follower of him, 
 The great Hippocrates, whom nature gave 
 To those of whom she did most fondly deem. 
 
 With contrary intent, a burnish'd glaive 
 Of sharp and glittering light the other held ; 140 
 
 Wherefore I trembled, e'en beyond the wave. 
 
 Then four, in humble garments, I beheld; 
 And following them, came an old man alone. 
 In slumber, yet with wakeful brow unquell'd.
 
 PURGATORIO. 215 
 
 And all the seven, as those who first had gone, 145 
 
 Were in like raiment cloth'd ; save that, in room 
 Of lily -blossoms, round their foreheads shone 
 
 Garlands of roses and each crimson bloom : 
 Well might ye deem, when gazing from afar. 
 Their burning brows lit up the forest-gloom. 150 
 
 And when anear me came that wond'rous car, 
 The thunder spake ; and all the goodly band, 
 (As though some high behest their way did bar) 
 
 With the seven golden lamps, stood on the river 
 strand.
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 glrquijunt. 
 
 Descent of Beatrice. — The Shade of Yirgil disappears. — 
 Statius remains. 
 
 When the seven stars of Paradise on high, 
 That ever with unwaning splendour burn, 
 Where never cloud, save that of sin, doth lie, 
 
 The stars which here make each his duty leiArn, 
 (As lower constellations guide aright 5 
 
 The sailor who his bark would homeward turn,) 
 
 Stay'd in their course, the band in garments white, 
 Who 'twixt the winged steed and them pass'd by, 
 Tum'd to the chariot, as to their delight. 
 
 One sang, who seem'd an angel from on high, jq 
 
 " Come, spouse, from Lebanon ;" these words did spring 
 Thrice from his lips, and thiicc the rest reply.
 
 PURGATORIO. 217 
 
 As, when the sound of the hist trump shall ring, 
 The blessed, rising from their shadowy boiu-ne. 
 With voice regaiu'd shall Hallelujah sing ; 15 
 
 Thus, on the car divine did I discei'n 
 A hundred forms : and but one voice was found 
 'Mong those bright messengers of life etern. 
 
 They " Benedictus " sang ; and all around 
 They flung sweet flowers upon the blooming lawn, 20 
 
 And " Give rich wealth of lilies " did resound. 
 
 Thus have I seen, at hour of dewy dawn, 
 A rosy flush upon the orient sky, 
 And o'er the rest serenest azure drawn. 
 
 When on the sun's bright face a veil doth lie, 25 
 
 So that upon its soft and temper'd light, 
 Long ye may gaze with an unwearied eye ; 
 
 Even thus, within a cloud of blossoms bright, 
 That, rising from those hands angelic, came, 
 And fell around the chariot, in my sight, 30 
 
 With snow-white veil and olive diadem, 
 A Lady I beheld, 'neath mantle green, 
 Cloth'd in the colour of the living flame. 
 
 And then my spirit, which so long had been
 
 218 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Without the trembling thrill her presence bore 35 
 
 Afar into its inmost depths, I ween, 
 
 Although mine eyes reveal' d to me no more, 
 Yet, moved as by some hidden virtue's sway, 
 Of ancient love felt once again the power. 
 
 And now, when on my brow once more there lay 40 
 
 The subtle light which o'er my soul was shed, 
 Ere yet I had come forth from boyhood's day, 
 
 Unto my Comforter I would have sped. 
 As doth the child unto his mother turn. 
 When he is grieved, or when he is afraid ; 45 
 
 Thus had I spoken : " Every vein doth burn, 
 With drops which flow not in a measured tide ; 
 The signs of that old passion I discern." 
 
 But Virgil was no longer by my side, 
 Virgil, my gentlest friend and father dear, 50 
 
 Virgil, to whom I yielded as my guide ; 
 
 Nor all the joys of Paradise, that here 
 Were shower' d, erst by our earliest mother lost. 
 Might yet avail to check the flowing tear. 
 
 " Dante, that Virgil from thy side hath past, 55 
 
 Yet weep not ; this thou mayst not weep for yet ;
 
 60 
 
 PURGATORIO. 219 
 
 Another wound should make thy tears flow fast." 
 
 As admiral, who on the prow is set, 
 That he, beholding, may give heart to them 
 Who toil in other ships, even so there met 
 
 My glance (as at the sound of my own name, 
 Which here must of necessity be told, 
 I turn'd) upon the chariot's outer frame. 
 
 The Lady whom at first I did behold 
 Veil'd by the angelic feast ; on me did rest 65 
 
 Her gaze beyond where the fair streamlet roll'd. 
 
 Although the veil which bound her forehead, prest 
 By the dim leaves of Pallas, to mine eye 
 Caused that her form not yet was manifest, 
 
 Thus did she speak, in regal majesty, 70 
 
 As one who holdeth his discourse, I wis, 
 "Wliile yet a sharper word doth hidden lie : 
 
 " Look on me well ; for I am Beatrice : 
 How wert thou worthy to attain this mount ? 
 Dost thou not know that here man dwells in bliss V 75 
 
 Mine eyes sank downwards to the crystal fount ; 
 Bat, there beholding me, the herbage gi-een 
 I sought : such heavy shame downweigh'd my front.
 
 220 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Even thus, the mother wears a haughty mien 
 Unto her child ; because of bitter taste 80 
 
 Is aye that virtue high and harsh, I ween. 
 
 She ceased ; and suddenly the angel-host 
 Thus sang : ^^ Speravi, Domine, in ^e;" 
 And stopp'd, nor beyond '' jyedes mios" pass'd. 
 
 As, on the living rafters which there be 85 
 
 In Apennine, the jflakes of frozen snow 
 Are heap'd by winds from the Slavonian sea ; 
 
 Then melt, and slowly drop from bough to bough, 
 (When breath'd on by the land whereon there lies 
 No shadow,) even as wax in fiery glow : 
 
 Thus did I stay, without or tears or sighs. 
 Until they sang the strain whose notes ye find 
 In music of the ever-moving skies ; 
 
 And in the song I heard their courteous mind 
 Of pity for my woe, as though they said : 95 
 
 " Lady, why unto him art so unkind 1" 
 
 And then the frost, which on my heart w^as laid, 
 Melted in vapour and a briny flood. 
 And from my lips and from my eyes was shed. 
 
 She on the chariot-front yet stedfast stood, loo 
 
 90
 
 rUEGATORIO. ' 221 
 
 Nor from her rigid piu-pose tiu'ii'd away, 
 
 But answer'd thus those souls of gentle mood : 
 
 " Ye aye keep watch in the eternal day ; 
 Nor night nor sleep from you doth ever hide 
 One footstep made by Time upon his way : 105 
 
 Thus in my answer doth more care abide, 
 To reach the heart of him who there doth mourn, 
 That guilt and grief may move in measured tide. 
 
 Not only gifted by the circling bourne, 
 That leadeth each upon his destined line, 110 
 
 Even with the light his natal star hath worn ; 
 
 But, by the fulness of the grace divine, 
 (A rain that falls from such high clouds, in sooth, 
 We may not soar to them with mortal eyne). 
 
 This man was such, in time of early youth, 115 
 
 That all high thoughts and habitudes of good 
 In him full well might have shown forth their truth. 
 
 But aye so much more savage and more rude 
 Is land uncultured, or with seeds of ill, 
 As it the more with vigour is imbued. 120 
 
 Awhile my presence all his heart did fill, 
 Wliat time I look'd on him with youthful eye.
 
 222 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And in the true path led him with me still. 
 
 Soon as I touch'd the threshold which doth lie 
 Between our first existence and our prime, 125 
 
 He turn'd from me to others : when on high 
 
 I rose, a spirit, from the garb of time. 
 And unto purer, lovelier life I grew, 
 To him I was less dear. And in the slime 
 
 Of sin he walk'd through darksome ways untrue, ^^^ 
 And sought the lying images of good, 
 That render not again the promise due. 
 
 Nor did there aught avail with which I would. 
 By inspiration that in dreams doth lie. 
 Have call'd him back ; so careless was his mood. ^^^ 
 
 And he unto his ruin drew so nigh, 
 All argument was weak to give him aid, 
 Saving to show to him the lost for aye. 
 
 Thus came I to the portals of the dead ; 
 And to the Shade who here his steps hath brought, ^^^ 
 My prayers, with weeping intermingled, sped. 
 
 The high decrees of God were brought to nought, 
 If Lethe might be pass'd, and its sweet rill 
 Be tasted of, without one bitter thought 
 
 Of that repentance which sad tears so well fulfil." 145
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 girguntcnt. 
 
 Dante, having confessed his errors, is bathed by Matilda in 
 Lethe. — Beatrice unveils. 
 
 " THOU who art beyond the sacred stream ;" 
 (And now towards me the sharp point she bent 
 Of that discourse whose edge so keen did seem, 
 
 And thus she spoke, with voice unhesitant,) 
 " Say, if this thing be true ; for, when accused, 5 
 
 Herewith thine own confession must be blent." 
 
 But all too sorely was my mind confused : 
 I would have answer'd ; but the accents died, 
 Because my voice to form the sound refused. 
 
 She paused ; then said : "What thought? in thee abide ? lo 
 Answer ; for all thy heart's sad memory 
 Not yet is wash'd away in Lethe's tide."
 
 224 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Fear and confusion mingled caused that I 
 Shaped with my lips a " Yes," whose silent speech 
 More plain to sight than hearing made reply. ] 5 
 
 Even as a bow, that ye too tightly stretch, 
 Until it shatters, and, with weaken'd power, 
 The arrow doth the distant target reach ; 
 
 So, 'neath the heavy burden that I bore, 
 I broke forth in a flood of tears and sighs, 20 
 
 And all my words were lost in sadness sore. 
 
 Whence she to me : " What turn'd away thine eyes 
 From love of the true good, whei-ein I fain 
 Had led thee where thou couldst no higher rise ] 
 
 What gulf impassable, or what strong chain 25 
 
 Didst find, of power to hinder thus thy feet, 
 That of the onward path thy hope should wane ? 
 
 And what allurement, or what promise sweet. 
 Upon the brow of others didst descry, 
 That thou to follow them shouldst be so fleet?" 30 
 
 And then I drew a long and bitter sigh, 
 So sad, in sooth, my voice had well nigh fail'd. 
 And scarce my lips might utter the reply. 
 
 Weeping I said : " The things of earth prevail'd,
 
 PURGATORIO. 225 
 
 Deluding me with joys wherein doth dwell 35 
 
 No truth, whene'er from me thy face was veil'd." 
 
 " If thou hadst hidden what thou now dost tell," 
 She said, " yet still were manifest no less 
 Thy guilt ; there is a Judge who knows it well. 
 
 But when with thine own mouth thou dost confess 40 
 Thine every sinful deed and grievous wrong, 
 Backwards the wheel against the blade doth press. 
 
 Yet, that a deeper sorrow may belong 
 Unto thine en"ors, and thy virtue be 
 Henceforth against the Syren-voice more strong, 45 
 
 Lay down the cause of tears, and list to me ; 
 And thou shalt hear how in far different guise 
 Thou shouldst have walk'd when I was hid from thee. 
 
 For never Art or Nature to thine eyes 
 Show'd aught so lovely as the form, wherein 50 
 
 I dwelt, and which in dust and ashes lies. 
 
 If of the highest gladness thou hast been 
 Deprived by Death, what thing of mortal birth 
 Should then have had the power thy heart to win. 
 
 Wlien thou hadst felt how fleeting is the worth 55 
 
 Of things of time, thou shouldst have striven to rise, 
 
 VOL. II. Q
 
 226 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 And follow me, no longer of the earth ; 
 
 Nor turn away thy pinion from the skies, 
 And wait more wounds, or from a maiden's love, 
 Or other trifle that so quickly dies. 60 
 
 The fledgeling twice or thrice deceit may prove ; 
 But all in vain the fowler's art is spent 
 Against the bird that with strong wings doth move." 
 
 As children stand, when chid, with eyelids bent 
 To earth, and, silent and ashamed, receive 65 
 
 Reproof for that whereof they do repent, 
 
 Thus was I now. She said : " If thou dost grieve 
 So sore for what thou hearest, raise thou now 
 Thy beard, and what thou seest more woe shall leave." 
 
 With less resistance is the oak laid low, 70 
 
 Uprooted by the storms from our own land. 
 Or those which from larbas' kingdom blow. 
 Than I obey'd, unwilling, her command ; 
 For, in her speech when beard my face she hight, 
 The venom' d sting I well might understand. 75 
 
 And when I upwards look'd, there met my sight, 
 As first they had appear' d, those creatures pure, 
 Who stay'd them from their shower of blossoms bright.
 
 PURGATORIO. 227 
 
 And then my eyes, although not yet secure, 
 Saw Beatrice on that strange form, wherein 80 
 
 Two natures in one person aye endure. 
 
 Though veiled, and beyond the margin green, 
 Yet did she now her ancient self excel, 
 As, then, all other loveliness, I ween. 
 
 Thus the sharp thorn of penitence so well 85 
 
 Pierced to my heart, that in each earthly thing 
 Which most I loved, most bitterness did dwell ; 
 
 And in my thought it touch'd so deep a spring 
 Of sorrow, that I fell, as one half dead : 
 She knows the rest, who did my sadness bring. 90 
 
 When life once more around my heart was shed, 
 The Lady I at first beheld alone, 
 Near me I saw, and " Hold by me," she said. 
 
 Into the flowing stream she me had drawn. 
 And bearing me along with her, pass'd o'er 95 
 
 The waves, as light as shuttle swiftly thrown. 
 
 When I was nigh unto the blessed shoi'e, 
 " Asperges me" so sweetly to mine ear 
 Came, that my memory writes it now no more. 
 
 Then she her ai-ms toward me stretch' d, and here 100 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Plunged me beneath the waves, till o'er my head 
 The waters flow'd in current swift and clear. 
 
 Thence I, all bathed and purified was led 
 Unto the dance of the four maidens bright, 
 Who, with extended arms, to meet me sped. 105 
 
 "Here, we are nymphs; in heaven, four stars of 
 light : 
 Ere Beatrice went down to earth, were we 
 Ordain'd to serve as handmaids in her sight. 
 
 We to her eyes will lead thee ; but the three, 
 Whom yonder thou beholdest, will give aid, 110 
 
 That in their depths of splendour thou mayst see." 
 
 Thus they began their song ; and then they led 
 My steps unto the winged steed : and there, 
 Turn'd unto us, was Beatrice. They said ; 
 
 " To look upon her now thou ncedst not spare ; 115 
 
 Thee have we placed before those emeralds bright, 
 Whence Love his arrows did, of old, prepare." 
 
 A thousand longings, of more burning might 
 Than flames of glowing fire, now drew mine eyes 
 Unto her eyes, whose soft and shining light 120 
 
 Upon her steed was fix'd. As sunlight lies
 
 PURGATORIO. 229 
 
 In a clear mirror, so there met my gaze 
 That creature's doubly strange diversities. 
 
 Reader, thou well mayst think what deep amaze 
 FiU'd aU my mind, when thus the thing I saw, 12^ 
 
 Unchanged itself, yet changed within the rays 
 
 Reflecting it. In gladness and in awe. 
 My spirit tasted of the heavenly stream. 
 Which sating, to fresh thirst doth surely draw. 
 
 And then those three, who in their acts did seem 130 
 As of the highest hierarchy of Heaven, 
 Advanced, in measm-e to the angel hymn. 
 
 They sang : " Now turn thee, Beatrice, and even 
 Thy holy gaze on this thy servant place ; 
 For he, to see thee, thi-ough sore toil hath striven, 1 35 
 
 Of grace, we pray thee, show to us such grace, 
 Thy brow unveiling, that he may discern 
 The more than former beauty of thy face." 
 
 splendour of the living light etern, 
 Who that hath paled his cheek beneath the shade 140 
 
 Of high Parnassus, or from its full urn 
 
 Hath deeply quafF'd, yet would not be afraid, 
 Striving to render what thou didst appear,
 
 230 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 When, o'er thy cheek, in harmony there play'd 
 
 The sunbeams, as, reveal' d, thou stoodst in daylight 145 
 clear ?
 
 CANTO XXXII. 
 
 glrgumcnt. 
 Mystical visions. 
 
 My eyes were fix'd, so eager and intent 
 The thirst of ten long weary years to sate, 
 That all my other senses seem'd as spent ; 
 
 And those, on this side and on that, were met 
 By walls which made them care for nought beside, 5 
 
 Her smile so drew them in its ancient net : 
 
 When I, perforce, was tm-n'd unto the side 
 Where erst I saw those holy maidens three, 
 Because they said : " Too fix'd thine eyes abide." 
 
 As, after gazing at the sun, ye see 10 
 
 But dimly, dazzled by the radiance bright ; 
 So, in like manner was it now with me.
 
 232 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 But wheu my eyes were in the lesser light 
 More skill'd, (a lesser light, I did but say, 
 Beside the greater splendour,) to the right, 
 
 I saw the glorious army turn away. 
 Until a radiance beam'd upon each brow, 
 From the seven lamps and from the solar ray. 
 
 As soldiers 'neath their shields for safety draw, 
 And, 'mid the battle, with their banner turn. 
 Ere yet they wholly can be moved, I saw 
 
 Even thus the legions of the heavenly bourne, 
 Who form'd the vanguard, all pass on, before 
 The bending of the car I could discern. 
 
 Beside the wheels the maidens sped once more, 
 And the wing'd courser drew the holy ark, 
 The while his plumes he all unruffled bore. 
 
 She who had led me through the water dark, 
 And I and Statins, by that wheel pass'd on, 
 Which, turning, did a smaller orbit mark. 
 
 And, as we wended through the forest, (lone. 
 For sin of her who to the serpent's speech 
 Gave ear,) they sang, in sweet, melodious tone 
 
 An angel hymn. The arrow's flight might reach
 
 PURGATORIO. 233 
 
 Three times as far as we had onward sped, 35 
 
 When Beatrice her chariot stay'd. From each 
 
 I heard a whispering voice, which " Adam ! " said ; 
 And then they circled round a tree, whose pride 
 Of verdant leaves and blossoms all had fled ; 
 
 Yet spread it forth its crown so high and wide, 40 
 
 That even amid the Indian forests vast, 
 Its stately stature well had been descried. 
 
 " But thou, winged steed, art surely blest, 
 Abstaining from this tree whose fruit is sweet 
 At first, but after, of most bitter taste." 45 
 
 Thus round the leafless trunk, with circling feet 
 \ They pass'd, and spake ; then he of natures twain : 
 " Here lives the seed of justice, as is meet." 
 
 Now to his chai'iot-pole he turn'd amain, 
 And dragg'd it to the stem all bai-e and x'iven ; 50 
 
 And tied thereto he left it. As, full fain, 
 
 The plants of earth, when unto them is given 
 The sunny splendour, mingled with the rays 
 Still following the silvery fish of heaven. 
 
 Bud, in the shining of the soft spring days, 55 
 
 And, as of old, each colour o'er them glows.
 
 234 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Ere yet the sun has gone in other ways ; 
 
 More bright than violet, more pale than rose, 
 Were the new blossoms which the plant did gain, 
 Where erst had been but dry and wither'd boughs. 60 
 
 Sooth, to the knowledge of that sweetest strain 
 Which now they sang, a hymn unheard below. 
 My weak and weary sense might not attain : 
 
 But, could I track the steps of sleep, and show 
 How, at the tale of Syrinx, slumber fell 65 
 
 Upon those eyes whose watching work'd their woe. 
 
 As painter doth on his ensample dwell, 
 I should depict how closed my drowsy eyes ; 
 But then I needs were skill' d to picture well. 
 
 Thus I pass on, to tell thee in what guise 70 
 
 A splendour rent the veil of sleep from me. 
 And a voice said : " What dost thou here ? Arise ! " 
 
 As, to behold the blossoms of that tree. 
 Whose fruit the holy angels aye hath fed. 
 In heavenly feast which evermore shall be, 75 
 
 Peter, and James, and John, of yore were led, 
 And from their trance were waken'd by the caU 
 At which more heavy slumber once had fled.
 
 PURGATORIO. 235 
 
 And saw their company diminish 'd all ; 
 For Moses and Elias both were gone, 80 
 
 And even their Lord was clad in changed stole : 
 
 Thus turn'd I ; and beheld the dame alone, 
 Standing anear me, who my steps did aid, 
 When through the flowing river I was drawn. 
 
 And " Where is Beatrice 1 " in doubt I said ; 85 
 
 And she to me : " Behold her where along 
 The turf there lies yon tree's new leafy shade. 
 
 Behold the company who round her throng ; 
 Following the winged steed the others soar. 
 With yet a deeper, sweeter voice of song." 90 
 
 I heard not rightly if her words were more ; 
 Because before my longing eyes was that 
 Which from my mind shut out all other lore. 
 
 Alone upon the holy gi-ound she sat, 
 As guardian of the car which there was tied 95 
 
 By him in whom two natm-es are innate. 
 
 The seven fair nymphs all hand in hand allied, 
 Encircled her, and those bright lamps they held, 
 Which safe from Aquila and Auster 'bide. 
 
 " When thou, a stranger here, shalt have fulfill'd 100
 
 236 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE, 
 
 Thy time, thou ever in that Rome with me, 
 
 Shalt dwell, where Christ the Roman power doth wield. 
 
 Yet (for the sake of those who evilly 
 Do walk on earth) when thou hast there return' d, 
 Look that thou write the things thou here dost see :" 105 
 
 Thus Beatrice to me. And I, who burn'd 
 Her bidding to fulfil, with mind devout, 
 My eyes and thoughts even as she bade me turn'd. 
 Never from out thick clouds the fire is brought 
 So swiftly, when the summer tempests rove, 110 
 
 Bursting in rain from regions most remote. 
 
 As here I now beheld the bird of Jove 
 Swoop on the tree ; and branch and stem he broke. 
 And scatter'd leaves and blossoms through the grove. 
 
 And struck the chariot with so rude a stroke, 115 
 
 It bent, as doth a ship in stormy flood, 
 Now here, now there, sway'd by the billows' shock. 
 
 And then, in the triumphal car there stood 
 A fox, whose gaunt and meagre form did show 
 How fierce his appetite for every food. 120 
 
 But, smiting him with many an angry blow, 
 My fairest Lady turn'd him soon to flight
 
 PURGATORIO. 237 
 
 As swift as bones ■withouten flesh may go : 
 
 And then return'd once more within my sight 
 The eagle, and full swiftly cleft the air, 125 
 
 And fiird the chariot with his plumage bright. 
 
 As from a heart that doth some sorrow wear, 
 A voice came forth from heaven, and tlivis it spake : 
 " Mj ship, thou dost an evil bxu-den bear ! " 
 
 And now it seem'd as from the earth there brake 130 
 A dragon, which between the wheels did spring, 
 And with shai'p-pointed tail the chariot strake ; 
 
 Then, as a wasp that pulls away her sting. 
 Unto himself he drew the dart malign, 
 And of the car therewith a part did bring, 135 
 
 And joyful fled in windings serpentine. — 
 As seed in fertile soil, the plumage, shed 
 Perchance with meaning holy and benign, 
 
 Now thickly over all the chariot spread, 
 And hid the whole, within so short a space, 140 
 
 That longer were it ere a sigh had sped 
 
 From open lips. The holy edifice, 
 Transformed thus, now divers heads put forth. 
 One at each side, three at the foremost place.
 
 238 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 The first were like to oxen of this earth ; 145 
 
 The rest had but one horn upon their front : 
 Such creatures strange were ne'er of mortal birth. 
 
 Securely, as a rock on lofty mount, 
 Seated thereon a harlot I descried. 
 Who look'd around with gaze of shameless wont. ^^^ 
 
 And, as in fear to lose her, by her side 
 A fierce and giant lover did I see ; 
 And kisses they exchanged. But she, with wide 
 
 And roving eye, oft turn'd her glance on me ; 
 Thus I her wrathful paramour beheld 155 
 
 Scourge her full sore, in savage jealousy. 
 
 Then he, with anger and suspicion fill'd. 
 Loosed from the tree that monstrous form, and fled 
 Far mid the wood, which o'er me, as a shield 
 
 From those dark Forms of Evil, its bright verdure 16 
 spread.
 
 CANTO XXXIII. 
 
 §lrguntcnt. 
 
 Allegorical predictions. Dante drinks the water of the river 
 Eunoè, and feels himself worthy to ascend to Heaven. 
 
 " Deus venerimi gentesj" in sweet hymn, 
 Of voice alternating, now three, now four. 
 The damsels 'gan to chaunt, with weeping dim ; 
 
 And Beatrice gave ear unto their lore, 
 With mien that bore well nigh as sad a trace 5 
 
 As Mary's at the cross. And when no more 
 
 The maidens sang, but unto her gave place, 
 Rising to her full height of majesty 
 She spake, a burning flush upon her face : 
 
 " A little while, and me ye shall not see, 10 
 
 And, sisters dear, a little while again. 
 And ye shall see me." Now the seven did she
 
 240 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 Lead on ; and only by a sign she then 
 Bade me to follow her, with the fair dame, 
 And with the ancient Sage who did remain. 1 5 
 
 Thus pass'd we on ; nor do I think we came 
 More than ten paces further, when her eyes 
 Mine eyes transpierced. Then spake she with the same 
 
 Calm aspect : " Come more quickly, in such wise 
 That when it chance I hold discourse with thee, 20 
 
 Thou mayst, unlet by space that 'twixt us lies. 
 
 Give ear." Then pass'd I on full speedily. 
 She spake : " My brother, wherefore dost not dare 
 To ask me somewhat, as thou go'st with me ? " 
 
 And, as with those who too much reverence wear, 25 
 Speaking before the great ones of the earth, 
 And thence their accents die upon the air, 
 
 Even thus with me the words but half came forth, 
 As I began : " Lady, full well, meseems. 
 Thou know'st my needs, and that of greatest worth 30 
 
 To aid them." Then she said : " By the false gleams 
 Of fear and shame no longer walk ; nor speak 
 In accents like unto a man who dreams. 
 
 Know, that the vessel which the serpent brake
 
 PURGATORIO. 241 
 
 Was, and is not ; but be the guilty sure 2 ^ 
 
 That God's revenge doth tarry not, for sake 
 
 Of funeral sop. Nor without heir shall 'dure, 
 For aye, the bird whose plumage made the car 
 A monster first and afterwards a lure. 
 
 For well I see, in each propitious star, 40 
 
 That swift and surely shall the time arrive, 
 Secure from every let and every bar. 
 
 When one, who is five hundred, ten, and five. 
 Shall, sent by God, the harlot slay, and him 
 Whose guilt doth from the selfsame source derive. 45 
 
 It well may be that my narration, dim 
 As Themis or the Sphinx, persuade thee less, 
 Since it, hke them, is shadowy as a di'eam ; 
 
 But soon events shall be the Naiades, 
 To strip this riddle of its vale of gloom ; 50 
 
 Nor hurt the herbs, nor cause the flocks distress. 
 
 This note thou well ; and as these words do come 
 From me, so teach them unto those who live 
 A life which is a race unto the tomb. 
 
 And when thou dost on earth this histoiy give, 55 
 
 See that thou hide not how thou saw'st the tree, 
 
 VOL. n. K
 
 242 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 The which two several times despoil' d did grieve. 
 
 Know, he who robs its fruit and flowers, and he 
 Who shatters it, do blaspheme God, who made 
 It only for his use, in sanctity. 60 
 
 For this, the first-born soul of man was stay'd 
 Five thousand years and more, in weary pain, 
 Awaiting him on whom the guilt was laid. 
 
 Deep slumber surely must have lull'd thy brain. 
 If thou dost see not that its changed boughs, 65 
 
 And height, from some strange thing their cause have 
 ta'en. 
 But thy vain thoughts, like Elsa's stream, which flows 
 In petrifying waves, have dull'd thy mind, 
 And earthly joys have been as Pyramus 
 
 To the white mulberry : else shouldst thou find 70 
 
 Only God's jvistice in the interdict, 
 When thou each circumstance hast here combined 
 
 But, since I see that in thine intellect 
 Is the hard substance and the hue of stone, 
 I bid thee in some feeble sort depict 75 
 
 (Though dazzled by the light that o'er thee shone) 
 This my discourse : as pilgrims do retain
 
 PURGATORIO, 243 
 
 The palin that in the Holy Land hath grown." 
 And I : "As wax whereon the seal hath lain, 
 And from the impress given doth change no more, 80 
 
 Thy words have left their print upon my brain. 
 
 But why above my mortal sight dost soar 
 To such high regions, in thy much-loved speech, 
 That most I lose when most I seek thy lore ? " 
 
 She answer'd me : " Because I thee would teach 85 
 
 To know the school wherein thou erst didst leara. 
 And if its doctrine to my words can reach : 
 
 And thence thine ancient way thou mayst discern, 
 How far it lieth from the path divine ; 
 As far as Earth from highest heavenly bourne." 90 
 
 Wherefore I said : " No memory is mine, 
 That I did e'er depart from love of thee, 
 Nor doth my conscience bear an evil sign." 
 
 "If in thy heart no memory there be," 
 She smiling answer'd, " yet bethink thee now, 95 
 
 That thou hast drunk of Lethe. When ye see 
 The smoke, then deem ye of the fiery glow ; 
 Thus, thou in thy forgetfulness mayst seek 
 And find the proof of all thy guilt and woe. 
 
 R 2
 
 244 THE DIVINE COMEDY OF DANTE. 
 
 But henceforth clearly unto thee I speak, 100 
 
 In words whose plainness shall be of more worth 
 To show the truth unto thy vision weak." 
 
 More slow and with more splendour now went forth, 
 The sim, in crossing the meridian-way. 
 Which changes in each region of the earth, 105 
 
 When, at the ending of the forest gi'ay, 
 (Like those whose pale green leaves and mourning 
 
 boughs, 
 'Neath the dim shining of the northern ray. 
 
 Clothe the cold Alpine slopes anear the snows,) 
 The seven fair maidens stopp'd, as those whose art 110 
 
 Is to lead on a troop, and somewhat shows 
 
 Danger at hand. Here, from a fountain's heart, 
 Meseem'd both Tigris and Euphrates burst ; 
 And then, as friends, reluctantly they part. 
 
 " Thou, of the human race the brightness, first 115 
 
 In glory, say, what stream its wave doth shed 
 Thus from one source, so widely then dispersed ? " 
 
 And in response unto this prayer was said : 
 " Of this ask thou Matilda." She replied, 
 As one on whom some causeless blame is laid : 120
 
 PURGATORIO. 245 
 
 " This, and all other things thereto allied, 
 Already have I told him ; and, I -ween. 
 My words have not been hid in Lethe's tide." 
 
 And Beatrice : " "Within his mind hath been. 
 Perchance, some greater care ; which oft hath power ^-"' 
 To cause the lesser to be dimly seen. 
 
 But now thou standest on Eunoe s shore ; 
 Lead thou him there, as is thy wonted use, 
 And wake his ancient memory once more." 
 
 As gentle spirits make no vain excuse, 1^® 
 
 But all their will xmto another's bend, 
 Soon as a sign that bidding doth disclose, 
 
 Thus she, delaying not, now took my hand. 
 And unto Statins said, in accents low : 
 " Thou too come with him to the river-strand." 135 
 
 Reader, had I more space, my song should show. 
 In part, the sweetness of the ciystal stream, 
 "Wlierein ye ne'er satiety may know. 
 
 But every page is fill'd, which here I deem 
 Ordain'd unto this second canticle ; 140 
 
 Thus more, in sooth, my art would ill beseem- 
 Now I came forth from the most holy rill,
 
 246 THE DIVINE COMEDY OP DANTE. 
 
 Anew created, (as the plants which are 
 
 Clothed with fresh leaves in early spring-time still,) 
 
 Pure and disposed aright to rise unto each star, 145
 
 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 V. 7. — " Here let my Lay from Death once more arise," 
 
 Different meanings have been ascribed to this passage ; some 
 commentators supposing that "la morta poesia" means the 
 whole poem concerning the three kingdoms of the Dead, and 
 taking *'risM?'gra" in the sense of rise higher. Were it so, the 
 translation ought to stand thus : 
 
 "But higher let the Lay of Death arise." 
 
 Risurgerc, however, does not mean to rise higlier, but to rise 
 again. I have therefore preferred the interpretation of those 
 who suppose " la morta poesia " to mean the strain which sings 
 of the second Death and the abode of everlasting woe. Thus it 
 has here a twofold signification, viz. : the poetry which sings of 
 Death, and the poetry which is deathlike and mournful. The 
 revival of poetry in the fourteenth century may also be 
 alluded to. 
 
 V. 11, 12. — " Tlie selfsame melody which erst tkey kneio 
 
 Who iiiourn, as chattering jays, their hopeless wrong. " 
 
 The daughters of Pierus ; they challenged the Muses to a
 
 248 NOTES. 
 
 trial of skill in music, and, for this presumption, were changed 
 into chattering, songless birds. 
 
 V. 19. — ^' The beauteous planet, counsellor of love " 
 The star of Venus. 
 
 V. 21. — " Hiding the Fish, that in her escort move." 
 
 The sun being in Aries, Pisces must necessarily rise before 
 dawn ; and consequently be dimmed by the brighter rays of the 
 morning star. 
 
 V. 21-24. — " To tlie right hand I turned, and gazed aiohile 
 At the far pole, and saw four stars, unseen 
 By man, since sin our Parents did beguile." 
 
 The four stars are supposed to symbolise the four Cardinal 
 Virtues ; i. e. prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance : but 
 there is also an evident allusion to the Southern Cross, Dante's 
 accurate knowledge of the position of wliich has excited some 
 surprise. But though it was not till nearly a century later that 
 Amerigo Vespucci first observed the starry cross in the southern 
 sky, yet this constellation must have been well known to the 
 ancient world. The Southern Cross is, I believe, visible in 
 Egypt, Arabia, and Palestine, as well as in more distant lands ; 
 and Dante may have acquired his information either from the 
 writings of the ancient astronomers, or from the narratives of 
 more recent travellers. It is possible that he was acquainted 
 with Marco Polo, who, having visited Java and Madagascar, 
 returned to Venice in 1295. Another circumstance may have 
 originally suggested this idea to Dante. In our northern hemi- 
 sphere, there are four beautiful stars, which form a Greek Cross. 
 One is Alpheratz, on tlie forehead of Andromeda ; the others are 
 Sheat Alperas, Markab, and Algenib, all in Pegasus. In
 
 NOTES. 249 
 
 England, either from the difference of latitude, or the haziness 
 of tlie atmosphere, these stars might easily remain unnoticed, 
 save by the astronomical student. But, at Sorrento or Capri, 
 the most careless observer cannot fail to be struck with the 
 splendour of that glittering cross : there, one's eye always turns 
 to it, and it seems to dim every other constellation. It is 
 probable that Dante, when ambassadar at Naples, studied astro- 
 nomy, as he did all other sciences to which he had access ; and, 
 indeed, throughout the Purgatorio, we find many traces of his 
 sojom-n by the Tyrrhene sea. 
 
 V. 30. — "There where the Wain hut noiu had pass' d aioay : " 
 
 The Antipodes of Jerusalem is the .spot where Dante has 
 placed Purgatory ; consequently, Charles's Wain cannot be seen 
 from the latter place. He says : 
 
 "<Ae Wain but now had pass d aunij,''^ 
 
 because he and Virgil had but newly arrived in the Antipodes. 
 
 V. 31. — "I saiv anear vie an old man alone ; " 
 
 Cato, siu'uamed Uticensis, from his death at Utica. It may 
 seem strange that Dante should have placed a heathen and a 
 suicide as guardian of Purgatory ; but Cato is here the symbol 
 of the soul set free from the body. 
 
 V. 61. — " As I have said, a Lady from on high" 
 
 Beatrice, who descended into Hades, in order to send Virgil 
 to Dante's assistance. {See Inferno, c. xi., v. 70.) 
 
 V. 73, 74. — "And thou must know it well, ivho hadst no fear 
 Of death, in Utica,'''' 
 
 Cato stabbed himself at Utica, in Africa, rather than submit
 
 250 NOTES. 
 
 to Csesar. Virgil therefore appeals to liim, in behalf of Dante, 
 journeying to seek freedom from the tyranny of sin. 
 
 V. 79. — " Wierc she who vms on earth thy loving luife" 
 
 Marcia, whom Dante has already seen in Hades, among the 
 Shades of the great and good Heathen. 
 
 V. 82. — " Let us throughout thy sevenfold kingdom go ;" 
 The seven circles of Purgatory. 
 
 V. 95. — '^ And gird this ivandWer with the reeds that rise" 
 The reeds are supposed to be the emblems of simplicit}', low- 
 liness, and docility ; the dew probably signifies penitence. 
 
 V. 99. — " The avgel-ministrant of Paradise." 
 The angelic guardian of the gate of Purgatory. 
 
 V. 113, 114. — "Let us turn back ; for this ivay, it must he, 
 The plain descends unto the waves below." 
 
 Showing that the penitent must abase himself ere he can 
 ascend. 
 
 V. 130-132. — "]Vow we were come unto the desert shore 
 
 Of that great sea, iqyon wlwse xvaters wide 
 He ivho hath saiVd returns again no more." 
 
 In the original, 
 
 " Venimmo lioi in sul lito diserto, 
 Che mai non vide navicar sue acque 
 Uom, che di ritornar sia poscia esperio." 
 
 Shakspere's, 
 
 ''undisco'oer'd country, from whose bourne 
 No traveller returns," 
 is a curious coincidence of thought : it can scarcely be imitation.
 
 NOTES. 251 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 V. 1, 2. — " The sun now loio mi the Iwrizon lay, 
 On the horizon of the Holy Land,''^ 
 
 As Dante supposes the mountain of Purgatory to be the 
 Antipodes of Jerusalem, the sun was, of coui'se, setting on 
 Mount Zion, when rising in Purgatory. 
 
 V. 4, 5. — " And night, who aye opposed to him doth stand, 
 Caine slotchj forth from out the Ganges stream," 
 
 Night seems to come from the east, as the sun sinks in the 
 west. 
 
 V. 6. — ^^ Bearing tlie Balances." 
 The sign of Libra. 
 
 V. 27. — " Borne by those wings of white and glistening hue." 
 
 Here again we find traces of Dante's residence in Naples. 
 No one can see the Neapolitan boats, with their lateen .sails, 
 without perceiving the resemblance to a white-winged bird. 
 
 V. 55-57. — "r/(.c sun was slwoting down the burning day. 
 The fiery darts vrith which his skilful bow 
 From half the sky had chased the Goat away." 
 
 Capricorn is ninety degi-ees, or a quarter of the sphere, 
 distant from Aries, in which the sun was, at the date of Dante's 
 visit to Purgatory. Thus, as far as Capricorn had passed the 
 meridian, so far must the sun have risen above the horizon.
 
 252 NOTES. 
 
 V. 70. — "And, as to him who wears an olive wreath," 
 Heralds of peace wore wreaths of olive in tlie days of Dante. 
 
 V. 91. — " / said : * My own Casella,^ " 
 
 Casella was a Florentine musician of gi'eat talent, and a 
 friend of Dante. Crescembini, in bis Storia della Volgar 
 Poesia, says that he found in the Vatican a song or madrigal, 
 set to music by Casella, and written by Lemmo of Pistoia, who 
 flourished towards the end of the thirteenth century. The 
 title-page of this composition is thus : Lemmo da Pistoja, e 
 Casella diede il suono. He seems also to have set Dante's 
 songs to music. 
 
 V. 92, 93. " hut why so long 
 
 Ilast thou delay' d to reach thy journey's scope f " 
 
 There are different opinions regarding this passage. The 
 simple explanation seems to be, that Dante supposes the souls 
 of the dead to roam among the dreary marshes at the mouth 
 of the Tiber, before they are admitted to purge away their sin in 
 Purgatory. This idea is partly borrowed from the ancients, 
 who believed that the Shades wandered on the banks of the 
 Styx, stretching out their hands longingly to the further shore, 
 before the bark of Charon received them. Certainly no spot 
 could be chosen, more fit for a restless, homeless spirit than 
 that most desolate land at the mouth of the Tiber. Some 
 commentators, however (the great name of Lombardi among 
 the number), instead of supposing that Casella had been dead 
 for some time, imagine that he liad died on board a vessel 
 sailing down the Tiber, on his return from the Jubilee ; and 
 thus they sweep away the wliole myth regarding the wanderings 
 of the dead in the Latian Maremnia. But, although in most
 
 NOTES. 253 
 
 cases it is safe to trust to Lombardi, yet here there are diffi- 
 culties in the way. Casella, being an intimate friend of Dante, 
 was probably about the same age, namely, thirty-five, at the 
 time of the Jubilee. Why, then, should Dante express surprise 
 at his delay ? He more naturally would have asked him how 
 he had been cut off so early. Lombardi, on the other hand, 
 argues that the appointed place for those who had delayed 
 repentance was the anti-purgatorio ; and, to get over some 
 difficulties, reads terra for ora ; which former is indeed the 
 reading of no fewer than ninety manuscripts, including many 
 of the highest authority, and, among others, that attributed to 
 Boccaccio, in the Vatican. The Accademia della Crusca, how- 
 ever, has decided that the word should be ora, not terra ; and 
 its reading has the incontestable advantage of making sense, 
 which the other does not. But, in the absence of any precise 
 information respecting the death of Casella, the point must 
 remain uncertain. 
 
 V. 98, 91. " Three months have fled 
 
 Since all iviw would may freely enter here." 
 
 That is, during the Jubilee of 1300. 
 
 V. 112. — ^^ Love, tliat within my heart discourseth still," 
 " Ainor, che nella mente mi ragiona." 
 
 This is the first line of a song ^mtten by Dante, and set to 
 music by Casella.
 
 254. NOTES. 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 V. 20. — ^' For I perceived no shadow by my side." 
 
 In hell, as there was no sun, there was no shadow ; thus 
 Dante is here, for the first time, made aware of the difiference 
 between his own mortal body and the airy, unsubstantial shades. 
 
 V. 25, 26. — "/?i Naples now, beneath the vesper-star. 
 My body lies. " 
 
 Virgil died B.c. 19, at Brundusium, now Brindisi, whither 
 he had gone to meet Augustus, then returning from the East. 
 By his own desire his body was conveyed to Naples, and buried 
 beside the highroad leading to Puteoli and Cumce ; and there 
 his tomb remains to this day. During the Lliddle Ages this 
 sepulchre was venerated almost as a shrine. Silius Italicus 
 made a pilgrimage to Naples, for the sole purpose of visiting 
 this spot : here Petrarch planted a laurel ; and here Boccaccio 
 resolved to be no longer a merchant, but a man of letters. 
 
 V. 29, 30. — " TJiou shouldst not marvel more than at the skies, 
 Because on them the sunbeams are not stay'd. " 
 
 In Dante's time it was believed that the heavens were 
 translucent hollow spheres, one within the other. 
 
 V. 41, 42. — '^ Some, whose vain longing for the good they seek 
 Is given to tlicm as grief, for evennore." 
 
 The unbaptised in Hades. {See Inferno, Canto IV.)
 
 NOTES. 255 
 
 V. 49. — " Between Turbià and LericCs bound.'" 
 Lerici, near Spezia, and Turbia, above Monaco. The space 
 between them includes the whole Riviera, or Comiche road ; 
 which, till within the last fifty years, was precipitous and full 
 of dangers. 
 
 V. 112. — "Know, I am Manfred, of imperial race," 
 Manfred, first Regent, then King of Naples, natural son of 
 the emperor Frederick II., and champion of the Ghibelline cause. 
 He was defeated by Charles of Anjou, brother of St. Louis, at 
 the battle of Benevento, Feb. 26th, 1266, and there he lost 
 both crown and life ; thus Dante, who was born in 1265, 
 could not have seen him on earth. 
 
 When Charles first entered the kingdom, Manfred en- 
 deavoured to enter into negotiations with him, but received the 
 following message in quaint old French : " Allcs et dit moi 
 à le Sultan de Lacere, o je Dutrai lui en enfcrs, o il metra 
 moi en paradis." 
 
 Manfred was one of the most gifted and chivalrous princes 
 of the Middle Ages. He seems to have been the idol of his 
 people, and even his Saracen subjects were devoted to him. 
 He appears, indeed, to have po.ssessed a peculiar power of 
 winning affection, if we may judge by the passionate grief 
 his followers showed at his death. Even grave historians 
 linger lovingly over the details of his person and character ; 
 such as his love of wearing the colour green, his fair and 
 noble a.spect, aud his delight in the society of poets and 
 troubadours. 
 
 V. 115, 116. — " Unto 7ny daughter go : to her of whom, 
 
 A re S2}rung tlie kings of Sicily and Spain. " 
 Manfred's daughter Constance married Peter, King of
 
 256 NOTES. 
 
 Arragon, who occupied Sicily after the famous Sicilian 
 Vespers, in 1282. She was mother of Frederick, King of 
 Sicily, and James, King of Arragon. 
 
 V. 124, 125. — "And if Cosenza' s pastor, sent in chase 
 Of me by Clement." 
 
 Bartolommeo Pignatelli, Archbishop of Cosenza, sent by 
 Clement IV., to incite Charles against Manfred. 
 
 V. 126. — " How of the mind of God to read this face.'''' 
 In the original, 
 
 '■'■ Avesse in Dio ben letto questa faccia." 
 Faccia here meaning either the facet of a precious stone, or 
 the side of an engraved gem ; and thus signifying the many- 
 sidedness, the manifold wisdom and goodness of God. 
 
 V. 129. — " Well guarded by the heavy pile of stone." 
 
 ]\Ianfred was buried, in the first instance, at the bridge 
 of Benevento, and the soldiers each threw a stone on his 
 grave, to serve as a monument. The body was afterwards 
 disinterred, by order of the Archbishop of Cosenza, and 
 carried beyond the kingdom of Naples, to the banks of the 
 river Verde. This was done because the Archbishop had 
 sworn to chase Manfred from the realm. Dante here calls 
 the kingdom of Naples simply " il Hcgno," as ihe inhabitants 
 of the border countries of the Neapolitan and Roman states do 
 to this day. 
 
 V. 132. — " Where froin the realm 'twas borne with toixhes spent." 
 The extinguished lights are a sign of excommunication.
 
 NOTES. 257 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 V. 5, 6.—" And this disproves the error that believes 
 Sold above soul our nature doth contain." 
 
 Alluding to the Platonists, who believed that man had three 
 souls : the vegetative, in the liver ; the sensitive, in the 
 heart ; and the intellectual in the brain. 
 
 V. 25, 26. — " Tliefoot of man to Noli may go doion, 
 
 And climb St. Leo, and Hisniaìitua's height." 
 
 St. Leo, a town in the duchy of Urbino, curiously perched 
 on a high and apparently inaccessible rock. Noli, a city and 
 castle, backed by higli mountains on the Riviera of Genoa. 
 Bismantua, said to be a high mountain in Modena ; but it 
 is not marked on the maps," and none of the commentators 
 seem able to describe exactly its position. 
 
 V. 56, 57. — " Up to the sun I gazed, and saw that earth 
 
 From the left side ivas stricken by its flame." 
 
 As Dante sat with his face to the east, the sun of coui-se 
 struck his left side. Purgatory being in the southern hemi- 
 sphere. 
 
 y. 61, 62. " If the Twin Brethren, hight 
 
 Castor and Pollux, near yon mirror lay." 
 
 That is, if the Sun were in Gemini, instead of in Aries.
 
 258 NOTES. 
 
 V. 70, 71. " the road 
 
 Where Phaeton his chariot drove so ill." 
 
 That is, the path of the Sun. Phaeton, son of Apollo and 
 Clymene, begged of his father to allow him to drive the chariot 
 of the Sun for one day. Apollo, having previously sworn hy 
 the Styx to grant whatever he asked, could not draw back, 
 and accordingly instructed him how to drive so as to do as little 
 mischief as possible. These directions not being attended to, 
 the heavens were soon on fire. Jupiter, to save the world from 
 destruction, smote Phaeton with a tliunderbolt, and he fell 
 dead into the river Po, where he still seems to be mourned by 
 his sisters, the Heliades, transformed, according to the legend, 
 into the tall poplars, which to this day stand sadly on the 
 banks of the stream. 
 
 V. 105. — "Some, who aju^car'd, in sooth, a listless band." 
 
 Those who, from indolence, have delayed repentance till near ' 
 their death. 
 
 V. 106. — " And o?ie who secrn'd with weariness down-iceigh'd." 
 
 Belacipia, an excellent maker of musical instruments, but 
 remarkable for his indolence. 
 
 V. 123, 124. " Belacqu'i, for thy 2}light 
 
 J grieve 710 more." 
 
 Dante seems to have feared that Belacqua had died impe- 
 nitent.
 
 NOTES. 259 
 
 V. 137-139. "for o'er 
 
 Our Jieacls is shining noiv the noonday sun, 
 And dusky twilight stcaleth toioard Morocco's 
 slwre.^' 
 
 According to Dante's system, it was evening on the coast of 
 Morocco, at noon in Purgatory. 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 V. 27. — "And changed their song to a long, startled '■Oh!'' " 
 In the original, 
 
 * ' Mutar lo canto in un lungo e roco. " 
 
 V. 64. — "And oìic began," <t:c. 
 
 The speaker is Jacopo del Cassero, a noble of Fano, who, 
 being at enmity with Azzolino III. of Este, was assassinated by 
 his orders at Oriaco, near Padua, among the lagunes. 
 
 V. 68, 69. "wheti the land thou dost behold 
 
 That lies 'twixt Naples and Romagnan ground." 
 
 The March of Ancona. 
 
 V. 74. — " The blood tchere I abode." 
 
 Alluding to the doctrine of Empedocles, who believed that 
 the soul dwelt in the blood. 
 
 s 2
 
 260 NOTES. 
 
 V. 75. — " Within Antenor's land." 
 Antenor, a Trojan prince, related to Priam. It is said that, 
 during the siege of Troy, he corresponded secretly with the 
 Greeks, and especially with Meuelaus and Ulysses. In the 
 council of Priam, Homer represents him advising the Trojans to 
 restore Helen, and thereby conclude the war. He encouraged 
 the Greeks to make the wooden horse, which, at his persuasion, 
 was brought into the city by a breach made in the walls. 
 After the destruction of Troy, Antenor went to Italy, and 
 founded Padua, which was therefore called the city of Antenor. 
 
 V. 79. — *^ But had I taken my flight by Mira' s path." 
 La Mira, a small place on a canal near Padua. 
 
 V. 85. — '^ Then said another." 
 
 This other is Buonconte, son of Count Guido di Montefeltro. 
 He was killed June 11th, 1289, at Certomondo, in the plain of 
 Campaldino, in the Casentino. Buonconte, on this occasion, 
 commanded the Ghibelline foi'ces, and Dante fought among the 
 Guelphs. The Florentines dedicated a church to St. Barnabas, 
 in commemoration of the victory won by the Guelphs on the 
 day dedicated to that saint. 
 
 V. 9.3. — " Timt of thy scindchre man knowcth not." 
 The body of Buonconte was never found, so this narrative is 
 purely imaginary. 
 
 V. 96. — ^' Above the convelli horn, in Apennine." 
 The Convent of the Canialdoli, founded about A.D. 1000 by 
 St, Romualdo. Some of the pines felled there lately, for the
 
 NOTES. 261 
 
 building of St. Paul's at Rome, were believed to be four 
 centuries old. 
 
 V. 97. — " There ivTiere its early iiame lecomcth vain." 
 "Wliere the Archiauo loses itself in the Ai-no. 
 
 V. 117. — '■^ From Pratom.agna to the furthest height." 
 
 Pratomagna divides the Val d'Arno, properly so called, from 
 the Casentino, or upper valley. 
 
 V. 132. — "Thus spaTcc a third.'" 
 
 This third speaker is Pia Toloinei, ■\vliom Dante here places 
 among those who have met with a violent death. But the 
 common opinion is, that she was not actually murdered by her 
 jealous husband, but sent to his castle iu the Maremma, and 
 there allowed to die of marsh-fever. 
 
 V. 136. — " Who me, alrcculy widovfcl, took to he his bride." 
 
 The maiden name of Pia Tolomei was Guastelloui. She first 
 married one of the Tolomei famil}^, of Sienna ; and, being left 
 a widow, she then married Paganello Pannocchieschi, lord of 
 Castel della Pietra, who, either from unfounded jealousy, or 
 from a wish to get rid of her-, imprisoned her in his castle in 
 the pestilential Maremma, where, if he did not actually cause 
 her to be mui-dered, the climate soon did its deadly work.
 
 262 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 V. 13. — " There did the Aretino omoard press." 
 The Aretino was a certain Messer Benincasa of Arezzo, wlio, 
 when lie was deputy of the Podestà, or governor of Sienna, pnt 
 to death Tacco, brother of Ghino di Tacco, of Asiualunga, for 
 the crime of brigandage. Ghino, to revenge the death of his 
 brother, came to Eome, where Benincasa was auditor of the 
 Rota ; and entering suddenly the room where the tribunal was 
 sitting, killed him, and cutting ofl' his head, carried it with him, 
 and made his escape from the city. This Ghino, after being 
 long the terror of the Siennese Maremma, and of the Court of 
 Eome itself, made peace with Boniface VIII., who presented 
 him with a rich benefice, and created him a cavaliere I His 
 stronghold was at Eadicofani, where he established a system of 
 brigandage not wholly eradicated at this day. 
 
 V. 15. — "And he toho drowned, in running from the chase." 
 
 This was a youth named Guccio de' Tarlati, of Arezzo, who, 
 being hotly pursued after the defeat of Bibiena, fell into the 
 Arno, and was drowned. 
 
 V. 17, 18. — " The younger Frederick, and the Pisan knight 
 Who shoivd the good Marzucco strong in pain." 
 
 Frederick, son of Count Guido di Battifolle, was killed by 
 one of the Bostoli family. The Pisan knight. Farinata degli 
 Scoringiani, of Pisa, being killed by Messer Beccio of Caprona, 
 gave occasion to his father, Marzucco, to show both fortitude in 
 bearing sorrow, and meekness in forgiving his enemies. It is
 
 NOTES. 263 
 
 related of Marzucco (who had become a Minor Friar) that he 
 exhorted his relations to make peace with him who had killed 
 his son, and not to seek revenge. 
 
 V. 19. — " I saw Count Orso." 
 
 Some commentators believe Count Orso to have been of the 
 Alberti family, and to have been treacherously murdered by 
 some of his own relations. Others say that he was the sou of 
 Count Napoleone da Cerbaia, and that he was killed bj'' his 
 uncle. Count Albert da Maugona. The latter seems the more 
 authentic account. 
 
 V. 22.—" Of Peter de la Brossc I speaJc" 
 
 Pien-e de la Brosse was born of an obscure family in Touraine. 
 He was ph3'^sician to St. Louis ; and, under Philip the Hardy, 
 attained such powei*, that everything was done according to his 
 counsels. This stirred up envy against him ; and his affection 
 for the king's children by his first wife, Isabella of ^h'ragon, 
 excited the hatred of Mary of Brabant, second wife of Philip. 
 But the pretext upon which his ruin was effected is not cer- 
 tainly known. Some say that he had accused the queen of poison- 
 ing Louis, her eldest stepson ; whereupon the courtiers, filled 
 with env'y of the powerful minister, maintained her innocence ; 
 and, liesides finding him guilty of calumny, further accused 
 him of selling his master's secrets to the Castilians. Others 
 say that the queen accused him of attempts against her virtue. 
 But, whatever may have been the accusation, it is certain that 
 Pierre de la Brosse was tried by a secret tribunal, condemned, 
 and hanged in 1276.
 
 264 NOTES 
 
 V. 28-30. "/< seems thou dost deny, 
 
 my Enlightener, somewhere in thy lay, 
 TJiat prayers can hend the counsels of the sJcy." 
 
 In the sixth Book of the Eneid, where the Sibyl replies to 
 Palinunis, 
 
 " Desine fata DeHmflecti sperare precando.'" 
 
 V. 74. — " I am Bordello," &c. 
 
 SordeUo of Mantua, a man of great learning and wisdom, 
 and a celebrated troubadour, who, though Italian by birth, 
 wrote in the Proven9al language. Raymond Berenger, Count 
 of Provence, took him into his service. 
 
 V. 88, 89. — " What hoots it that on thee Justinian lays 
 The bridle, if the saddle be 7iot filled ? " 
 
 That is, what is the use of good laws, if there is no rvder to 
 put them in execution. 
 
 V. 93.— " If thou, tvouldsl understand wlmt God hath loiWd." 
 
 Dante's theory seems to have been, that there ought to be 
 two nilers on earth ; one solely for temporal, the other solely 
 for spiritual matters. 
 
 V. 97.— " Oernmn Albert:'' 
 
 Albert of Austria, Emperor of Germany, son of Rudolph of 
 Hapsburg, always refused to enter Italy. 
 
 V. 107. — " Mo7ialdi, Filip2'>eschi" 
 Noble Ghibelline families of Orvieto.
 
 NOTES. 265 
 
 v. 111. — ^' And look Iwiv safe it is in Santafior I" 
 
 Santafiore, an Imperial fief in the Siennese Maremma. In 
 Dante's time, owing to the negligence of the Emperor, it was 
 full of tumults and robberies. 
 
 V. 126. — " With pride, as though Marcellus were each one." 
 
 It is uncertain to whicli of the illustrious Romans of this 
 name Dante here refers. But it seems probable that he alludes 
 to that MarceUus who opposed Julius Cresar. 
 
 V. 127. — " liejoice, my Florence," éc. 
 This passage is bitterly ironical. 
 
 CANTO VII. 
 
 V. 66. — ^' A vale like those of earth." 
 
 Here those spirits who have delayed repentance in conse- 
 quence of a too exclusive occupation with the affairs of earth 
 are obliged to wait for admittance into Purgatory. 
 
 V. 82, 83. — " Salve regina, on the flowery green 
 The si)irits sat and. sang." 
 
 Salve Rcgiiia is the beginning of an antiplion in praise of the 
 Virgin : it is commonly sung in tlie Roman Catholic churches, 
 at the service of Compline. Poggiali says : "In this antiplion, 
 introduced into the Divine Offices about the time of Dante, the
 
 268 NOTES. 
 
 world is called ' a vale of tears ; ' thus, perhaps for this reason, 
 he imagines it to be sung in this vale of Purgatory." 
 
 V. 91. — " He who is seated highest in the throng." 
 
 Rudolph of Hapsburg, founder of the house of Austi'ia. He 
 was born in 1218, elected Emperor of Germany iu 1273, and 
 died at Spires in 1290. 
 
 y. 97. — " He who to give him comfort see7)ieth fain." 
 
 Ottocar, king of Bohemia, to whom Rudolph of Hapsbxu'g 
 was at one time Grand Marshal. It is difficult to imagine 
 why Dante has represented Ottocar as here_trying to comfort 
 Rudolph, for at the close of their lives they were bitter enemies. 
 It may be that a lesson on peace and forgiveness is here 
 intended. The facts are as follows : After Rudolph was elected 
 Emperor, he assembled a Diet at Mentz, where the deliberations 
 turned ujion the conduct of certain princes who had protested 
 against the election of the Count of Hapsburg. Among these 
 was Rudolph's former master, the King of Bohemia, against 
 whom the Diet had other causes of dissatisfaction. He had 
 seized the Duchy of Austria after the death of Frederick, the 
 last Duke ; and the States complained of the oppressions they 
 suffered under this usurper, from whom they begged to be 
 delivered. A second Diet was summoned on this subject at 
 Augsburg, where Ottocar, not appearing, nor doing homage by 
 his ambassadors, was declared a rebel against the empire. His 
 possession of Austria, Styria, Carniola, and Carinthia was 
 adjudged illegal, and the Emperor was desired to divest him of 
 those territories. When this sentence was notified to the king, 
 he exclaimed: "To whom should I do homage? I owe 
 Rudolph nothing ; he was formerly my servant, and I paid him
 
 NOTES. 267 
 
 his wages. My possessions I will luaintain with the point of my 
 sword," Having formed this resolution, he associated himself 
 with sevei'al other German princes, and endeavoured to oppose 
 the Emperor by force. But he was at last obliged to submit, 
 and not only gave up the contested territories, but did homage 
 for Bohemia and Mora^ia. 
 
 This homage was performed in an island of the Danube, 
 under a closed canojiy, in order to save the proud Ottocar from 
 a public humiliation. Glittering with gold and jewels, he 
 repaired to the place. Eudoli^h, prouder stUl, received him in 
 the most coarse and simple dress ; and in the middle of the 
 ceremony, either by accident or design (probably the latter), 
 the curtains fell back, and revealed the haughty king on his 
 knees, with his hands jomed between those of his conqueror, 
 who had been his Grand Marshal, and whom he had so often 
 called his servant. 
 
 The wife of Ottocar, a Russian princess, no less haughty than 
 her husband, was so enraged at this, that she persuaded him to 
 break the treaty he had made with Rudoljih, and again have 
 recom-se to arms for the recovery of Austria. The Emperor 
 immediately marched against him, and near Vienna a battle 
 ensued, in which Ottocar was killed (1277). 
 
 V. 100, 101. . " of (jrcater worth 
 
 Prom, youth, than Weticcslaus his son." 
 
 "VYenceslaus IV., celebrated for cruelty and tyranny, although 
 he is said to have heard mass twenty times a day. 
 
 V. 103. — " Aiid he icho in close couiisel seems to he." 
 
 Philip III., of France, sm-named the Hardy, father of Philip 
 le Bel.
 
 268 NOTES. 
 
 V. 104. — " With one of gentle aspect. 
 
 'With Henry III., King of Navarre, and Count of Cham- 
 pagne. He was fatlier-in-law of Philip le Bel. 
 
 V. 105. — '' He died, dishonotiring the fleur-de-lis." 
 
 Philip the Hardy, heing at war with Peter III., of Arragon, 
 was defeated in a naval battle by Ruggieri Doria, Admiral 
 of the Arragonese fleet. In consequence, being no longer 
 able to convey provisions to his troops in Catalonia, Philip 
 was obliged to abandon his enterprise and take refuge in 
 Perpignan, where he shortly afterwards died of grief. 
 
 V. 109. " the curse of France." 
 
 Philip le Bel. 
 
 Y. 112. — "And he who such a stalwart frame doth show.'" 
 
 Peter III., of Arragon, crowned in 1276. He married 
 Constance, daughter of Manfred, and occupied Sicily after 
 the famous Sicilian Yespers. 
 
 Y. IIZ.—" And him of manly features joins in song." 
 
 This latter is Charles I. of Sicily, commonly called Charles 
 of Anjou. Here also two bitter enemies are joined in peace 
 and forgiveness. 
 
 V. 115. — " If to the youth behind Mm in the throng." 
 
 Alfonso, eldest son of Peter III. He succeeded his father, 
 in 1285, and died without children, in 1291, at the early 
 age of twenty-nine.
 
 NOTES. 269 
 
 y. 119, 120. — '^Frederick and Giacopo possess the land, 
 
 But of the better part Jiave nought retain' d." 
 
 Giacopo, or James, succeeded his father on the throne of 
 Arragon, Frederick, on that of Sicily ; but neither of them 
 inherited his virtues and talents. 
 
 V. 121-123. — ^^ Full rarely through the branches doth ascend 
 TJic worth of human virtue : thus He inlls 
 Who gives it, that to him all piraise may tend." 
 Because, if talents and virtues were hereditary, men would 
 
 claim them as their own by right, and not give praise to 
 
 God. 
 
 V. 126. — " Thus Puglia and Provence have many ills." 
 
 Evils caused by the misgovernment of the son of Charles 
 of Anjou. 
 
 V, 128, 129. — " Js much as Constance boasts more joy as wife, 
 Than Beatrice and Margaret's fate doth bring." 
 
 Constance was wife of Peter of Arragon ; Beatrice of 
 Provence was the first, Margaret of Burgundy the second wife 
 of Charles of Anjou. Thus the meaning is, that Charles II. 
 of Naples was as much inferior to his fathei-, Charles of Anjou, 
 as this latter was to Peter of Arragon. 
 
 V. 130-132. — "And there, behold the king of simple life, 
 Henry of England, sitting all celane : 
 His offshoots more tvith virtuous deeds are rife." 
 
 Henry III. of England, seated all alone, to signify how rare 
 simplicity of life is among kings. Dante calls him more
 
 270 NOTES, 
 
 fortunate in his posterity, because of tlie talents and prosperous 
 reign of his son, Edward I. 
 
 V. 134. — '' The Marquis William" d-c. 
 
 "William, Marquis of Montferrat, here in a lower place, 
 because not of royal rank. He was taken prisoner by the 
 citizens of Alessandria della Paglia, and shut up in a cage, 
 •where he" died of misery in 1-292. A bloody war ensued 
 between the meu of Alessandria and the sons of the Marqiiis 
 "Wmiam, in which the inhabitants of Monferrato and the 
 Canavese suffered many evUs. 
 
 CANTO VIII. 
 
 V. 1. — " Now was the hour that hath the softest spell," <fcc. 
 Byron has closely imitated this passage from Dante. 
 
 V. 14. — '^ Singinrj Te lucis ante." 
 The first words of a Compline hymn. 
 
 V. 39. — " Safe from the siiake that hither soon ivill glide." 
 The snake is supposed to be an emblem of the dangers 
 lurking in earthly power and greatness. 
 
 V. 53. — " Gentle Judge Nino, 1 rejoiced for thee." 
 
 Nino, or Giovannino Visconti, of Pisa, Judge of the Giudi- 
 cature of Gallura, in the island of Sardinia, and chief of the 
 Guelph party. He was driven from Pisa in 1288, and died
 
 NOTES. 271 
 
 soon afterwards figliting against his fellow-citizens. Dante 
 had known him at the siege of Caprona, in 1270, and seems 
 to have feared that he had died imjjeuitent. 
 
 V. 71. — " Bid my Joanna that liar prayers arise." 
 
 Joanna, daughter of iSTino Visconti, and wife of Eiccardo da 
 Camino, of Treviso. 
 
 Y. 73. — "/ thinJc her mother loves me now no viore." 
 
 Beatrice Marchesotta, wife of Nino, and afterwards of 
 Galeazzo Visconti of Milan. This second marriage took 
 place in 1300. Beatrice was then thirty-two, and Galeazzo 
 only twenty-nine. 
 
 V. 79-81. — "■' For her, in sooth, Gallura'' s bird had made 
 A statelier show above her sepulchre, 
 Than Milan's snake which shall be o'er her laid. " 
 The cock was the coat of arms of Gallura ; that of the 
 Viscontis of Milan was the well-known snake, still sculj^tured 
 on the ruins of the old castle of the Viscontis at Monza. 
 
 V. 89. — '^ At those three stars I gaze." 
 Many conjectures have been hazarded respecting the three 
 stars here mentioned : but it seems most probable that the 
 constellation of the Triangle is meant. The only difficulty is, 
 that, being near the Southern Cross, the Triangle could not bo 
 seen at sunset in the same position as the Cross at dawn. But 
 Dante may either have received imperfect information, or, as he 
 was not Avi-iting a treatise on astronomy, may have altered the 
 actual position to suit his narrative. Symbolically, those three 
 stars here signify Faith, Hope, and Charity. These, being the
 
 272 NOTES. 
 
 contemplative virtues, are seen in tlie evening ; whereas the 
 four active virtues, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude, and Pru- 
 dence, are seen in the morning. 
 
 V. 116. — " ^0 Valdimacira or its boundary came." 
 
 The valley of the Magra, in the principality of Massa di 
 Carrara, governed, in Dante's time, by the Malaspinas. 
 
 V. 118. — " JPor Conrad Malasinna was my name."'' 
 
 There are some doubts as to which of the Malaspinas here 
 speaks. But the most common opinion is, that this Conrad 
 was the father of Moroello Malaspina, who afterwards received 
 Dante so hospitably in his territory of the Lunigiana. 
 
 It was when residing with the Malaspinas that Dante first 
 began in earnest to write the Divine Comedy. Many years 
 before, in his first sorrow at the death of Beatrice, he had re- 
 solved to write of her "that which had never yet been written 
 of any woman : " and well did he keep his vow. But, in liis 
 daj^, the Vulgar Poesy, as it was termed, was considered to be 
 a trivial thing, only fit for love sonnets and songs. So he 
 began his great work in Latin, and finished seven cantos. 
 Then came the toils of active life, aff"airs of state, embassies to 
 Kome and Naples ; during which, however, he stored up many 
 a curious fact, many a lovely image, all to re-appear in his 
 poem. Next came the troubles of Florence, and at last, exile. 
 And the seven cantos were left, forgotten, in an old chest of 
 drawers. Some years after, his wife. Gemma Donati, found the 
 manuscript, and sent it to the Lunigiana, where Dante had 
 taken refuge. Being counselled by Moroello Malaspina to go 
 on with the poem, he attempted to do so in Latin, but was soon 
 convinced, to use his own words, "that many things which he
 
 NOTES. 273 
 
 wlslied to say, could not be said save in rhyme. " He accord- 
 ingly began it once more, in vulgar rhyme, as it was then 
 called. 
 
 Probably the happiest time of the poet's long exile was 
 passed under the hospitable roof of the Malaspinas. 
 
 CANTO IX. 
 
 V. 1. — " Noxo TitJwn's tnistress, farncd in aiwient song." 
 
 Aurora, of whom Tithon begged immortality. This was 
 granted, but as he had forgotten to ask also for perpetual youth, 
 he soon grew old, infirm, and decrepit ; and life being insup- 
 portable, he entreated Aurora to withdraw her fatal gift. 
 Accordingly, as he could not die, she changed him into a grass- 
 hopper. 
 
 V. 5. — ^^ In figure of the creature sioift and cold.'''' 
 
 Some ancient commentators believe this to be the sign of the 
 Scorpion, in which case the " silver light" must have been the 
 lunar aurora. Others say that "the creature swift and cold" 
 was the sign of Pisces, and the whitening of the eastern sky 
 the morning dawn. The former, though less commonly re- 
 ceived, appears to me the more probable opinion. Dante does 
 not give us any reason to believe that he passed the whole night 
 in conversation with the Shades in the Valley of Princes, and 
 it seems natural that he should go to sleep at moonrise, and 
 awake at sunrise. Besides, the description altogether agrees 
 better with moonlight than with the dawn of day ; and the 
 VOL. II. T
 
 274 NOTES. 
 
 creatui'e that strikes with its tail is more like a scoi"pion than a 
 fish. Lastly, Dante says, a little further on, that the third 
 hour of night was just past ; and according to the astronomical 
 tables cited hj Lombardi, the moon must have risen, preceded 
 by Scorpio, three hom-s after sunset, on the 7th April, 1300, 
 this being the date of Dante's ^dsit to the Valley of Princes. 
 
 V. 18. — "And in their vision almost are divine.^' 
 Alluding to the old belief in the truth of morning dreams. 
 
 V. 56. — " I am Lucia.'''' 
 
 Lucia, symbolically, Divine Light. (See Inferno, Canto IL 
 V. 97.) 
 
 V. 94, 95. " the first was a bright mass 
 
 Of snowy marble, polish' d clear and pure'"' 
 
 The symbol of sincerity. 
 
 V. 97. — " Tlie second was of dusky hue obscure," (tc 
 The symbol of contrition. 
 
 V. 100-102. — " The last lay heavy on the former twain. 
 And seem'd to me of porphyry as bright 
 As blood that gushes forth from out a vein.^' 
 
 The symbol of the love of God. 
 
 V. 112, 113. — "lie, ivith his sword, seven times upon my bi'ow 
 Wrote the first letter of tlie plague of sin." 
 
 The angel wrote seven times, on Dante's forehead, the letter 
 P, being the initial of the Italian word peccato, or sin.
 
 NOTES. 275 
 
 V. 115. — " His garments were of ashen hue, I ween." 
 Indicating humility and penitence. 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 V. 15. — "The darkened border of the moon was low." 
 
 This being the fifth day after the moon was full, it must have 
 set nearly foiir hours after sunrise. Thus, as the sun had heen 
 up two hours when Dante awoke, he must have been two hours 
 climbing the steep ascent. 
 
 v. 32. — " So fair, they Polycletus put to shame." 
 
 Polycletus, a celebrated sciilptor of Sicyon, about 232 years 
 before the Christian era. He was universally considered the 
 most skilful artist among the ancients, while only the second 
 place was given to Phidias. 
 
 V. 74, 75. — " Of him, who caused St. Gregory to seek 
 
 Tlie victory that the gate of Hell unroll d."" 
 
 According to the legend, Pope Gregory the Great, when 
 reading the history of Trajan, was so moved by the consider- 
 ation of his good and great qualities, that he prayed to God for 
 his salvation. But an angel replied to St. Gregory : " The 
 j ustice of God must be satisfied. Who will bear his penance in 
 the world?" Then St. Gregory took itali upon himself, and 
 from that day was troubled with many grievous pains and 
 infirmities, which he bore to the end of his life, in order to free 
 
 T 2
 
 276 NOTES. 
 
 tlie soul of Trajcin from hell. St. Thomas Aquinas has recorded 
 his literal belief in this le<rend. 
 
 CANTO XI. 
 
 V. 58, 59. — ' ^ I was of Latiiim ; and my Tuscan sire, 
 Guglidnw A Idobr-andeschi.'^ 
 
 He who now speaks is Humbert, son of Guglielmo Aldo- 
 brandeschi, of the family of the Counts of Santafiore. He was 
 killed at Campagnatico, in the Maremma, by the Siennese, who 
 detested him for his pride. Dante frequently uses Latin and 
 Latium for Italy in general, and especially for the provinces of 
 the Maremma. 
 
 V. 74. — -^^ And one [not he who spoke) then calVd to me." 
 
 This is Oderisi of Gubbio, an excellent missal-painter, 
 of the school of Cimabue. He died a little before 1300. 
 Boniface VIII. employed him in Eome to illuminate books 
 along with Giotto. 
 
 V. 80, 81. — " The honour of Agubhio, and that art 
 In Paris called illumining ? " 
 
 The art of illuminating manuscripts, though not invented in 
 France, first received its name there. 
 
 V. 82. — "Naif, Francis of Bologna did impart," éc. 
 
 Franco Bolognese, a stiU more excellent artist than Oderisi. 
 Malvasia, in his Felsina pittrice, says that fi'om tliis Franco, 
 Bologna received the first seeds of the art of painting.
 
 NOTES. 277 
 
 V. 95, 96. " Giotto now 
 
 Both cause the former fame io be obscure." 
 
 When Giotto was painting the Scrovigni Chapel at Padua, 
 Dante lodged with him, and frequently accompanied him to his 
 work, assisting him with his advice in the composition of those 
 exquisite frescoes. Among his other talents, Dante was an 
 excellent draughtsman. 
 
 V. 97, 98. — " Thus from, one Guido doth the glory go 
 Unto another, of the gift of song." 
 
 Guido Cavalcanti, Dante's greatest friend, eclipsed the fame 
 of Guido Guinicelli of Bologna, whose poems are of an earlier 
 date. Cavalcanti died in 1301, Guinicelli in 1276. 
 
 V. 99, 100. — "And he percJiaiice is born, who will bring low 
 The pride of both. " 
 
 It is believed that Dante here predicts his own surpassing 
 greatness. Whether intentional or not, the prophecy has been 
 fulfilled. 
 
 V. 111. — " Of him wlio painfully the path doth try." 
 
 Provenzano Salvani, in his day a noted leader of the Ghibel- 
 line party ; valiant in war, and skilful in peace, but proud and 
 presumptuous. He defeated the Florentines at the battle of 
 the Arbia, but was afterwards defeated and killed by Giam- 
 bertolo, leader of the Guelphs, near Colle, in Valdelsa (1269). 
 
 V. 136. — " Begging for alms, he humbly did entreat." 
 
 One of Provenzano Salvani's friends being taken prisoner by 
 Charles of Anjou, and 1000 golden florins being demanded in
 
 278 NOTES. 
 
 ransom, Provenzano, subduing his natural haughtiness, stood 
 in the Piazza of Sienna, and begged aid from the passers-by to 
 raise this sum. 
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 V. 25. — "And him I saw who noblest aspect wore." 
 Lucifer, Son of the Morning. 
 
 V. 28. — "And there I saw the great Briareus die." 
 The hundred-handed giant. {See Inferno, Canto XXXI. v. 98.) 
 
 V. 43. — " mad Arachne, there I saw thee still.'" 
 
 Arachne excelled so much in making tapestry, that she chal- 
 lenged Minerva to a trial of skill, and being defeated, was 
 changed into a spider. From her name both the French 
 araignée and the Italian ragno are derived. 
 
 V. 50, 51. — " How erst Alcniceon paid, in vengeance dire. 
 The gems his mother won for evil fate." 
 
 Alcmseon was son of the soothsayer Amphiaraus (see Inferno, 
 Canto XX. v. 34) and Eriphyle. Amphiaraus knowing, by his 
 powers of divination, that he must die before Thebes, hid 
 himself ; but Eriphyle, bribed by Polynices with a necklace 
 which had been formerly given to Hermione by Venus, 
 betrayed her husband's place of concealment. Amphiaraus 
 therefore charged Alcmaion to revenge his death; and in obe- 
 dience to his father, he murdered his mother.
 
 NOTES. 279 
 
 V. 55-57. — " Tlie deed of cruel fierceness I beheld, 
 
 Done when Tamyris unto Cyrus said : 
 For blood thou thirstedst ; now with blood be 
 fill'dr 
 
 Tamyris, or Thomyris, Queen of the Massagete. After her 
 hvisband's death slie marched against Cyrus, vanquished his 
 army with gi'eat slaughter, and killed him on the spot. She 
 then caused his head to be cut off, and thrown into a vessel full 
 of human blood, saying, '^ Satia te sanguine quern sitiste." 
 
 V. 80, 81, " again the footsteps turn 
 
 Of the sixth maiden in tJie band of Day." 
 
 That is, it was the sixth hour ; or about uoon, counting the 
 hours of day from sunrise. In all ages poets and jDainters have 
 represented the God of Day preceded by Aui'ora, and attended 
 by the blooming band of Hours. 
 
 V. 101-104. — "As, ichen ye try the arduous Jieights that bring 
 Your steps unto the church that looks adovm, 
 Wliere Rubacovte o'er the flood doth fling 
 His arch, amid the nobly guided toum," 
 
 The Ponte di Rubaconte (now Ponte alle Grazie), on the 
 Amo, at Florence, received its earliest name because built 
 under the direction of Messer Rubaconte di Mandella, a 
 Milanese, when he was Podestà or Magistrate of the city, 
 in 1237. It is the most easterly of all the bridges, and, of 
 course, the furthest up the stream ; immediately behind it 
 rises the steep hUl on which the church of San Miniato is 
 built, commanding a lovely view of Florence and the Val 
 d'Arno. Dante calls Florence "nobly guided," in bitter 
 irony.
 
 280 NOTES. 
 
 V. 106. — " When fraud in count or cask was yet tmknown." 
 
 An allusion to frauds committed in Dante's time. One 
 Messer Niccola Acciainoli, in 1299, in leagi;e with Messer 
 Baldo d'Aguglione, falsified the public books, tearing away 
 a leaf which would have proved their dishonesty. Also 
 Messer Durante de' Chiaramontesi, who held office in the 
 custom-house, falsified the standard measure, substituting a 
 cask of different size, and appropriating the profits to his 
 own use. 
 
 CANTO XIII. 
 
 V. 2. — " Where for the second time recedes that hilV 
 
 Dante had now attained the second zone, where the envious 
 are punished. As he supposes the mountain of Purgatory 
 to be of a conical form, the circles, as they ascend, recede like 
 terraces, one above another. 
 
 V. 9. — " The stone ivas of a dull and livid hue." 
 To show the joylessness of envy. 
 
 V. 29. — " ' Vinum non habent, ' said." 
 
 Biondi observes that Dante here distinguishes three degrees 
 of charity. First, to help those who need it ; and of this 
 he gives the example of Mary, who, at the marriage in 
 Cana of Galilee, said: "They have no wine." Secondly, 
 to put oneself in peril, even of death, for the sake of others ;
 
 NOTES. 281 
 
 of which the devotion of Pylades to Orestes is here given 
 as an example. Tliirclly, to return good for evil. 
 
 V. 32. — "A voice ' I am Orestes^ cried.'" 
 
 These are the words of Pylades, who, when Orestes was 
 condemned to death by the tyi"ant iEgisthus, cried, " I am 
 Orestes," in order to save his friend. 
 
 V. 70, 71. — "For, ^neath their hroivs, an iron thread did sew 
 The lids together. " 
 
 As the envious, in life, could not endure to look on the 
 happiness of others, so here they may not look on the light 
 of day. 
 
 V. 97. — " Ammig the rest, I saw a Shade," <tc. 
 
 This Shade was a lady of Sienna, but authorities are divided 
 as to her family name. Some say that she was wife of Cino 
 da Pigezzo. Pietro di Dante calls her Sapia de' Provenzani, 
 and Boccaccio, Sapia de' Salvani. She may possibly have 
 been related to Provenzano Salvani {see Canto II. v. Ill), and 
 her joy at his defeat and death does not at all prove any- 
 thing against this supposition ; for in those days, relationship 
 by no means implied peace and harmony. It seems certain, 
 however, that she was banished from Sienna, to Colle, a 
 small town near Volterra : but the cause of her exile is not 
 known. Be that as it may, she bore in consequence such 
 bitter hatred towards her fellow-citizens, that she rejoiced 
 greatly at the defeat they met with in Juno, 1269, near 
 the town to which she had been exiled.
 
 282 NOTES. 
 
 V, 124-126, "7/, in his j^rayers before the throne of grace," 
 Pietro Pettignano had forgot 
 Sis pity for my sad and evil case." 
 
 Pietro Pettignano, a hermit of tlie order of St. Francis, 
 and nearly contemporary with Dante. 
 
 V. 148-150. — " Thoit shalt behold my friends among the band 
 Who trust in Talamone ; hope more vain 
 Than e'en in seeking Dian's fount doth stand." 
 
 That is, her relations and friends were among those who 
 rejoiced on accoimt of having acqiiired the castle and port 
 of Talamone, on the Tuscan coast, hy means of which they 
 expected to become powerful at sea ; a hope more vain than 
 that of those who spent large sums of money in searching for 
 a well which the Siennese believed to exist below their city. 
 It appears, however, that in after times this well was actually 
 foimd ; for in the church of St. Nicholas, in the highest 
 part of the town, there is said to be a well of extraordinary 
 depth, called the well of Diana. 
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 V. 7. — " Two spirits, on each other bending low." 
 
 One of those spirits is Guido del Duca, of Bertiuoro ; the 
 other liiuieri de' Calboll, of Forlì.
 
 NOTES. 283 
 
 V. 16, 17. — " There is a Tuscan stream, whose wave 
 
 That hath its mountain-source in Falterone." 
 
 The Arno, which rises in a mountain called Falterona, 
 among the Apennines, near the borders of the Romagna. 
 
 V. 28. — " The soul to whom he spalce, this answer made." 
 Guido del Duca answers Einieri de' Calboll. 
 
 V. 31-33. — " For, mid tlie Alpine heights lohich inost excel 
 In the rich store of founts, and whence is riven 
 Pelorus,''^ (he. 
 
 "The Alpine heights" here mean the Apennines; which 
 but for the straits of Messina, would be joined to Cape 
 Pelorus (now Cape Faro) in Sicily. 
 
 V. 43. — " In truth, of them as of foul staine I deem."" 
 
 By the swine, Dante here means the inhabitants of the 
 Casentino. 
 
 V. 46. — '■^ Next it descends ^viong wretched curs." 
 The citizens of Arezzo. 
 
 V. 50. — '^ Finds that the dogs to savage wolves have grown." 
 
 The wolves are the Florentine Guelphs. The word Guelph, 
 in old German, means a wolf. 
 
 V. 52. — '^ And then by darker gulfs it rushes down," 
 
 Through the narrow gorge of the Gonfaliua, between Florence 
 and Pisa.
 
 284 NOTES. 
 
 V. 53. — ^^ And finds the foxes, with sharp cunning fill' d.^^ 
 
 The Pisans, whom the Florentines always accused of cunning, 
 and by whom, indeed, they had been more than once over- 
 reached. 
 
 V. 5%, 59. — " One of thy lineage, at no distant day, 
 
 TJiose wolves from the proud river^s bank shall 
 drive." 
 
 Fulcieri de Calbolì, when Podestà, of Florence, in 1302, was 
 induced, by the bribes of the Neri, to persecute the Bianchi. 
 
 V. 6i. — "Bloody, from the drear wood he issvAs forth." 
 The wood, or selva, is generally the symbol of Florence. 
 
 V. 97, 98. — " Where are Manardi, Lizio the Good, 
 
 And Traversava and Carpigna now? " 
 
 Arrigo Manardi, of Faenza, or, according to others, of Ber- 
 tinoro ; he was noted for prudence, liberality, and magna- 
 nimity. Lizio the Good was Messer Lizio da Valbona, a brave 
 and virtuous knight. Pier Traversare, a good and great noble 
 of Kavenna, one of whose daughters married Stephen, king of 
 Hungary. Guido di Carpigna, a noble of Montefeltro, noted 
 for his gi'eat liberality. 
 
 V. 100-102. — " When shall Bologna a new Fabbro showì 
 Alla Bernardin di Fosco in Faenze, 
 Where from small seed a noble stem did groio ? " 
 
 This Fabbro was one Dominico Fabbro de Lambertazzi, of 
 Bologna, a citizen of low birth, but great virtue and talent. 
 Fabbro, in Itahan, means smith ; and some are of opinion that
 
 NOTES. 285 
 
 it does not stand here as a proper name, but that the individual 
 in question really was a smith, called Lambertaccio, who, from 
 low degree, had nearly risen to be lord of Bologna. Bernardin 
 di Fosco, of Faènza, also a man of the people, but distinguished 
 for his good and noble qualities. 
 
 V. 104. — "To ivecp at Guido della Prato' s 7iame." 
 
 Guido of Prata, a place between Ravenna and Faenza, was 
 noted for his liberality and valour. 
 
 V. 105. — "And Ugolino d'Azzo, with us once." 
 
 Commentators are divided as to wlio Ugolino d'Azzo really 
 was. Some say that he was of the illustrious family of the 
 Ubaldini of Florence, others that he was of Faènza, and 
 plebeian in origin. 
 
 V. 106. — "Tignoso, and tJie band who with him came." 
 
 Federigo Tignoso, a virtuous noble of Rimini, who lived, for 
 the most part, in Bertiuoro. Some commentators suppose 
 "the band who with him came" to be his family and relations ; 
 others, a band of friends, chosen by him on account of their 
 virtues and congenial dispositions. 
 
 V. 107.— " TJie Anastagi ; Traversara' s race." 
 
 The Anastagi were of Ravenna, related to the Polenta family. 
 Traversara's race, a distinguished family, also of Ravenna (see 
 note to v. 98). 
 
 V. 113. — " Brettinoro, wherefore didst not flee ?" 
 
 Now Bertinoro, a small town of the Romagna, between 
 Cesena and Forli.
 
 286 NOTES. 
 
 V. 116-118. — " /« sooth His well that heirs there should he none 
 In Bagnacavallo ; and to bring forth seed, 
 Conio and Castrocaro ill have done." 
 
 Bagnacavallo, a village and castle of the Eomagna, not far 
 from Ravenna. In Dante's time it was governed by its own 
 Counts, who d o not appear to have heen particularly estimable. 
 It was anciently called Tiberiacum, in honour of Tiberius. 
 Conio, now destroyed, was also a castle of the Romagna, and 
 governed in the same manner as Bagnacavallo. Castrocaro, a 
 small town in the Romagna, near the Tuscan frontier, governed 
 like those above mentioned. It is now celebrated for its 
 mineral waters, which contain iodine. Its ancient name was 
 Salsubrium. 
 
 V. 119, 120.—" Hiough, wlien their demon-fatlier hence shall 
 siKcd, 
 Pagani' s sons may 2}Tosper." 
 
 Mainardi Pagani, lord of Imola and Faenza, was, on account 
 of his extreme wickedness, surnamed II Diavolo. His evil fame 
 always hung like a dark cloud over his sons, although they 
 governed comparatively well, and prospered to a certain extent. 
 
 V. 122.—" Ugolin de' Fantoli," d-c. 
 
 Ugolin de Fantoli, celebrated for his virtues and noble 
 character. He had no children, and therefore the Poet con- 
 gratulates him that his name could never be disgraced by the 
 crimes of his descendants. 
 
 Y. 140. — " / am Aglauros, who was turn'd to stone." 
 
 Aglauros, daughter of Cecrops ; she was jealous of Mercury's 
 love for her sister, and was therefore turned into a stone.
 
 NOTES. 287 
 
 CANTO XV. 
 
 V. 1-5. — " As much as, Hwixt the third hour of the day 
 
 And dawn, appeareth of the heavenly sphere. 
 Which ever moveth as a child at play. 
 
 There seem'd, as now the eventide drew near. 
 The same, ere yet the sun should sink to rest^ 
 
 That is, it was three hours hefore sunset. 
 
 V. 6. — " The hour of vesper there, and midnight here." 
 
 That is, in Purgatory it was the hour of vespers ; not what is 
 commonly, in poetry, called the vesper hour, by which is 
 usually meant the rising of the evening-star, but the hour at 
 which vespers are sung in the Roman Catholic churches, i. e. , 
 three in the afternoon. Dante thus supposes it to be midnight 
 in Italy at three p.m. in Purgatory. 
 
 V. 43-45. " / muld fain 
 
 Know what the spirit of Romagna meant, 
 SpeaTcing o/ place and consort ? " 
 
 Guido del Duca {see Canto XIV. v. &Q). 
 
 V. 83. — " But lo! we had attained the higher zone." 
 Where the wrathful are pm-ified. 
 
 V. 97, 98. " If thou he ruler of tlve hournc 
 
 Whose name among the Gods stirr'd up such strife," 
 
 Athens, concerning the name of which disputes arose between 
 Neptune and Pallas.
 
 288 NOTES. 
 
 V. 100, 101. — '^Revenge thee, Pisistratus, on the life 
 
 Of him who dared our daughter to einbrace." 
 
 These are the words of the wife of Pisistratus, tyrant of 
 Athens. She demanded vengeance against a youth who had 
 kissed her daughter in public. 
 
 CANTO XVI. 
 
 V. 46. — " / tvas a Lombard ; Marco was my name." 
 
 Commentators are divided on this subject, and few adopt 
 what would at first sight seem the simplest reading, viz. , that 
 this Marco was a native of Lombardy. Boccaccio says that he 
 was of the Lombardi family, of Venice, "uomo di Corte e 
 savio," which may be translated, a skilful diplomatist. Some 
 say that he was called the Lombard, because of the high favour 
 he held with the lords of Lombardy ; others suppose that 
 Lombard is here used as synonymous with Italian. But all 
 agree in stating him to have been a man of great talents and 
 irritable to excess. Portirelli conjectures that he may have 
 been no other than the far-famed Marco Polo. Here, however, 
 two insuperable difficulties arise. Firstly, that celebrated tra- 
 veller is stated by his biographer, the Abbate Zurla, to have 
 been a man of a singularly sweet and gentle disposition ; there- 
 fore Dante certainly would not have placed him among the 
 wrathful. Secondly, Marco Polo was still alive in 1323, as 
 appears by the date of his will ; therefore, in 1300 he could not 
 have been in Purgatory at all.
 
 NOTES. 289 
 
 V. 64, 65. — "For one in heaven, another on the earth 
 Would 2)lace it." 
 
 That is, one imputes the evils of this world to the influence of 
 the stars, another to the natural wickedness of man. 
 
 V. 86. — " TJtc sotd comes forth, unslcilVd, unknowing aught." 
 
 Without intentional imitation, it is possible that this passage 
 of Dante may have suggested to Wordsworth some of the 
 thoughts in his magnificent Ode on Immortality, especially the 
 lines beginning — 
 
 " Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting." 
 
 V. 99, 100. "your chief the hoof doth not divide," 
 
 Though verily he ruminates at will." 
 
 In allusion to the command to the Jews to abstain from 
 eating the flesh of any animal that did not both divide the hoof 
 and chew the cud. The latter is here supposed to symbolise 
 the contemplative virtues, the former the active duties of life. 
 Dante thus accuses the Head of the Church of neglecting good 
 works. 
 
 V. 117. — " There v:liere the Po and Adige do flow." 
 Tliat is, Lombardy, the Eomagna, and the March of Tre\'iso. 
 
 V. 118. — " Ere Frederick into strife and discord fell." 
 Before the wars of the Emperor Frederick II.
 
 290 NOTES. 
 
 V. 125-127. — ^' Gherard the Good ; Conrad Palazzo ; Mm 
 
 Best calVd, in French, true Lombard; hut 
 
 whom ye, 
 Besides, do Guido da Castello name." 
 
 Guido da Castello, a poet of Reggio, in North Italy. He 
 was of the noble family of the Eoberti, who, according to 
 Benvenuto da Imola, hospitably received and lodged Dante 
 during liis exile. It seems the French were at that time in the 
 habit of calling all the Italians Lombards. Conrad da Palazzo 
 was a Brescian noble ; Gherard was a native of Treviso, and 
 was surnamed, for his virtues, the Good. 
 
 V. 141, 142. — " If from Ids daughter Gaia be not drawn 
 Some appellation." 
 
 Gaia, daughter of Gherardo, appears not to have inherited 
 her father's good qualities ; thus, any appellation derived from 
 her must have been a disgraceful one. 
 
 CANTO XVII. 
 
 V. 20, 21. — " SJie who, for guilt, toas doomed tlieform to wear 
 Of the siocet bird whose song doth most delight." 
 Philomela, daughter of Pandion, King of Athens, and sister 
 of Progne, who married Tereus, King of Thrace.. Philomela, as 
 is well known, was transformed into a nightingale, and Progne 
 into a swallow.
 
 NOTES. 291 
 
 V. 34. — '^Before me a fair viaiden seenCd to wail." 
 
 Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus. Her mother, Amata, 
 promised her in marriage to Turnus, King of the Rutuli. The 
 gods, however, ojiposed this union, and the oracles declared 
 that she must become the wife of a foreign prince. Latinus, 
 accordingly, offered her to ^neas ; but Turnus, enraged at this, 
 flew to arms, and Latium was the seat of the war. After much 
 slaughter, it was agreed that the quarrel should be decided by 
 single combat ; and ^neas, being the victor, married Lavinia ; 
 while Amata, in despair at being separated from her daughter, 
 lianged herself. 
 
 v. 62-64. — ^^ Strive to ascend, ere comes the twilight dim 
 For else we may not, till the dawning light, 
 Return." 
 
 None might continue the ascent after the sun had set ; thus 
 shomng that, without Divine Light, none can climb the path 
 of penitence. "The night cometh, when no man can work." 
 
 V. 98, 99. — ^' First, love the best; then, be in mcas^ire worn 
 The second." 
 
 That is, love first the things of heaven ; then, tliose of earth. 
 
 CANTO XVIII. 
 
 V. 49. — " Each form substantial." 
 
 In the original, "Ogni forma sustanzial." This is an ex- 
 pression of the Schoolmen, and signifies that which, united to 
 
 u 2
 
 292 NOTES. 
 
 simple matter, forms the different species of bodies. The 
 Atomists believed that tliere was a power or essence, or, in the 
 old phraseolog}--, a virtue, which acted on the inert mass of 
 matter, and thereby jn'oduced the forms of everything that 
 exists in the world. 
 
 V. 73, 74. — "Ano, nolle virtue Beatrice doth name 
 Volition. " 
 
 In the fifth Canto of the Paradiso, where she speaks of free- 
 will as the greatest gift of God. 
 
 V. 79-81. — "And, 'gainst fhe sky, did hy that pathway go. 
 Lit hy the sun, when those of Rome behold 
 'Tivixt Sards and Corsicans it lying loiv." 
 
 Against the apparent course of the sky the moon passed along 
 the Zodiac, through the sign of Scorpio ; in wliicli the snn is 
 when it appears to the Romans to set in the direction of Corsica 
 and Sardinia. 
 
 V. 82, 8S.—"And he hy whom Pietola doth hold 
 
 A nobler name than e'er tJic Mantuan town.'' 
 
 "Virgil was l)orn at La Pietola, a little village, generally 
 called A ndcs ; it is about two miles from Mantua. One of the 
 Gonzagas built a palace there, to which he gave the name of 
 Virgiliana. 
 
 V. 91, 92. — " Asopus and Ismenus heard the loud 
 
 AndfurÌQUs multitude rush past hy night." 
 The Asopus and the Ismenus, two rivers of Bceotia, on the 
 banks of which were celebrated the feasts of Bacchus by night,
 
 NOTES. 293 
 
 when the multitude rushed wildly along, bearing torches, and 
 shrieking Io Bacche. 
 
 v. 100. — " with haste did Mary to tlie mountain fly." 
 
 "And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill- 
 country with haste."— i^^vj i. v. 39. 
 
 V. 118. — " Iivas the Abbot of St. Zeno once," <L-c. 
 
 Commentators are divided as to the name of this Abbot of 
 St. Zeno : all, however, are agreed that he was a good man, but 
 deficient in energy ; molto rimesso, Landini says. 
 
 The church of St. Zeno is one of the most interesting in 
 Verona. 
 
 V. 120, 121. — " TTVi'j hath made Milan loeep her sore inischance, 
 The excellent Barbarossa." 
 
 Milan did indeed suffer terribly at the hands of Frederick 
 Barbarossa, here ironically called good. He razed it to the 
 ground ; and on Palm Sunday, 1162, the site of the once gi-eat 
 city was to be recognised only by the Basilica of St. Ambrose, 
 some few other churches, and three or four old Roman columns, 
 left standing in the midst of the ruins ; while, the inhabitants 
 being dispersed in four adjoining villages, the name of Milan 
 was effaced from the Lombard community. 
 
 V. 122-124. "one 
 
 Who soon shall mourn that e'er his hand liath coinè 
 Upon our convent," cC-c. 
 Tlie Abbot of St. Zeno here speaks of Alberto della Scala, 
 lord of Verona, who died in 1301, and was, in 1300, akeady old
 
 294 NOTES. 
 
 and infirm. In 1292 lie had expelled the lawful abbot, and 
 forcibly introduced his own son in his place. This son, 
 Giuseppe by name, was deformed and illegitimate. 
 
 V. 136, 137. — ^' And those ivho, weary of the toil they bore, 
 Slothful, did from Anchises' son depart." 
 
 Those Trojans who, weary of the long voyage, remained in 
 Sicily, instead of going on with iEneas to Latium. 
 
 CANTO XIX. 
 
 V. 1. — "Now ivhen the heat of day no more hath power." 
 It is always coldest just before da'mi. 
 
 V. 4. — " When magic sees its greatest fortune gleaìn." 
 
 Magicians sometimes read the future in this manner : blind- 
 folded, they marked the earth with the point of a rod, and then 
 observed which of the constellations those random strokes 
 resembled. If they boi'e the form of the stars which compose 
 the end of Aquarius and the beginning of Pisces, they called it 
 "the sign of greatest fortune." At the time of Dante's journey 
 through Purgatorj' the sun was in Aries ; consequently, a little 
 before dawn, Aquarius and part of Pisces must have been above 
 the horizon. 
 
 V. 19. — "She sang : ' I am the Syren of siveet sound.'' " 
 
 The isles where the SjTens sang to Ulysses are still pointed 
 out, off the coast of Amalfi. They are small, barren rocks, but
 
 NOTES. 295 
 
 the wondrous beauty of the scene around might well have 
 detained the weary mariners, even without the Syren song. 
 
 V. 26. — " When Otic appeared in holy light array d." 
 
 Some have supposed this to be Holy Truth ; others, Lucia, or 
 Divine Light. 
 
 V. 32. — '■^ And slwiv'd to mc the loathsome fonn within." 
 Spenser has here borrowed from Dante. 
 
 V. 99. — " / was, on earth, the heir of Peters sway." 
 Pope Adi'ian V. , by biith Ottobuoni de' Fieschi. 
 
 V. 100-102. — " Between Cldavcri's and Sestri's bourne 
 
 Floics a fair stream, and from its name is known 
 The title by tny ancient liiicac/e worn." 
 
 The river Lavagna, which flows between Chiaveri and Sestri, 
 and from which the Fieschi family take their title of Counts of 
 Lavagna. 
 
 V. 136, 137. — "//"e'er the holy evangelic tvord, 
 
 TJiat ' Neque nubunt' said, were understood." 
 
 The words ncque nubent are taken from Matt. xxii. v. 30, and 
 are here used to signify- that not only marriage, but all other 
 earthly relations ai'e at an end in the world of spirits. 
 
 V. 142. — " I have a niece, Alagia." 
 Alagia Fieschi, of Genoa, wife of Moroello Malaspina, the 
 friend and patron of Dante.
 
 296 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 V. 10. — " ancient wolf, he thou for aye accurst" 
 The wolf is liere, and in many other passages, the symbol of 
 avarice. 
 
 V. 25-27. "Fabricius, thou 
 
 Didst rather iiovcrUj xoith virtue seek, 
 Than riches whereunto foul crime did grow." 
 Fabricius, the celebrated Roman, who refused the bribes of 
 Pyrrhus. Although immense wealth had been won in his 
 victories over the Samnites and Lucanians, and the treasiiry, 
 and even the private soldiers, were enriched thereby, he took 
 nothing for his own share, and always remained poor. He 
 never used plate at his table, and the only silver vessel which 
 he possessed was a small salt-cellar, whose feet were of horn. 
 He always preserved the greatest simplicity in his way of life, 
 saying that he wished rather to command those who had money 
 than to ac(|uire it himself. 
 
 V. 31, 32. — "Now he recounted the great largess sJied 
 By Nicholas, upon the maidens three. " 
 St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, who presented a father with 
 dowries for his three daughters, in order that they might marry 
 honourably. 
 
 V. 46, 47. — " If there were poivrr in Douay, Bruges, Lille, 
 Or Glient, full soon revenge ye should behold." 
 These Flemish cities were taken possession of by Philip le 
 Bel, partly by force and partly by treachery, in 1299.
 
 NOTES. 297 
 
 v. 49. — " WJien erst on earth, Hugh Cajjci was I calVd." 
 The speaker is Hugh the Great, father of Hugh Capet. 
 
 V. 52. — " I of a Paris hutclier ivas the son." 
 
 This is by no means literally true, for Hugh, Duke of France 
 and Burgundy, Count of Paris, Anjou, and Orleans, was, in 
 rank and birth, second only to the sovereign. His family had, 
 however, the privilege of providing the city of Paris with 
 bullocks, or, as it would now be called, the monopoly of beef. 
 Hence this epithet applied by Dante. 
 
 V. 53, 54. — "For when the ancient kings Imd pass'd awaij. 
 Save one, in dusky raiment, all alone.''' 
 
 It is uncertain what is here meant by " in dusky raiment, all 
 alone," but it is probably used metaphorically to express the 
 misfortunes and imprisonment of Charles the Simple. By "the 
 ancient kings, " the Carloviagian dynasty is meant. 
 
 V. 60, 61. "But ivhen the dower 
 
 Of fair Provence destro fd all modest shame," 
 
 The dower here alluded to was, first, the wealth and lands 
 of the Count of Toulouse, which France acquired by the 
 maniage of the heiress of Toulouse with Alphonso, brother 
 of St. Louis, in 1228 ; and, secondly, those of Piayniond 
 Berenger, Coimt of Provence, left by him to liis youngest 
 daughter Beatrice, married in 1245 to Charles of Anjou, also 
 brother of St. Louis. But the whole of Provence, properly 
 speaking, was not finally annexed to the croM'n of France 
 tdl more than two centuries later, in the reign of Louis 
 the Eleventh.
 
 298 NOTES. 
 
 V. 65, 66. "it seized, to make amends, 
 
 Ponthieu and Gascony and Normanland." 
 
 It is not easy to reconcile the chronology of some parts 
 of this passage with the known history of France. For 
 instance, Philip Aiignstus conquered Normandy twenty-four 
 years before any Proven9al lands were acquired : yet Dante 
 here gives the impression of the former being seized sub- 
 sequently. It may be observed, that Dante does not say 
 that France retained all the possessions here mentioned ; on 
 the contrary, she made use of them to increase her power 
 and influence in Em'ope, by bestowing them as dowries on 
 the daughters of the royal house. 
 
 V. 67-69. — " And next, in Italy, to make amends. 
 
 Charles sleio Conradin ; to heavenly life, 
 St. Tliomas then lie sent, to make amends.'" 
 
 Charles of Anjou put the young Conradin to death, in 1268. 
 Conradin's mother, Margaret of Austria, who brought a ransom 
 too late to save him, employed the money in building the 
 church of Santa Maria del Carmine, in the Piazza del Mercato 
 in Naples. In this church is an exquisite statue of Conradin, 
 modelled by Thorwaldsen. As to the other crime here imputed 
 to Charles, it was said that he caused St. Thomas Aquiaas to 
 be poisoned, for fear lest, at the Council of Lyons, he might 
 give an opinion contrary to his royal wishes ; but the truth of 
 this accusation is by no means proved. 
 
 This whole passage is eminently Dantesque, with its triple 
 repetition of the phrase "to make amends." In the original it 
 stands thus : — 
 
 "Li cominciò con forza e con menzogna 
 La sua rapina ; e poscia, per ammenda,
 
 NOTES. 299 
 
 Poìitl e Normandia prese, e Gascogna. 
 
 Carlo venne in Italia, e per ammenda, 
 Vittima fé di Curradiiio ; e pìoi 
 Ripiv^e al elei Tommaso, per ammenda." 
 
 V. 71. — " I saw another Charles come forth from France." 
 
 Charles of Yalois, known by the name of Charles Sans 
 Terre, -who, by invitation of Boniface VIII., came into Italy 
 in 1301, and was sent to Florence, on the pretext of pacifjing 
 the city. In this undertaking he was wholly unsuccessful. 
 
 V. 77, 78. ^^ and that so much more grave, 
 
 As it to him a lighter asjjcct ivore." 
 
 That is, the evil which shall befall him will be all the 
 more serious, since he thought it a light matter to do evil 
 to others. 
 
 V. 79, 80. — " The other, nciohj captured on the wave, 
 
 I noio behold: lie doth his daughter sell." 
 
 Charles II. of Sicily and Apulia, who was taken prisoner 
 in a naval battle by Ruggieri Doria, Admiral of the Arra- 
 gonese fleet. Charles had a daughter called Beatrice, whom 
 he gave in marriage, for the sum of 50,000 florins, to the 
 Marquis A2zo VIII. of Este, already old and infirm. 
 
 Y. 86. — " Within Alagni comes tlic fleur-de-lis." 
 
 Alagni, now Anagni, a town to the south of Rome, between 
 Valmontone aud Ferentino. It was anciently the capital 
 of the Hernici, aud is described by Cicero, in his defence
 
 300 NOTES. 
 
 of Milo, as a "municipium ornatissimum ;" also by Virgil 
 as a wealthy city. In tlie Middle Ages it was the favourite 
 residence of several Popes and Anti-popes ; and was the 
 scene of the conclave which, after receiving the furious letter 
 of Frederick II. calling the cardinals sons of Belial, elected 
 Innocent IV. It was the birthplace of Stephen VII., Inno- 
 cent III., Alexander IV., and Boniface VIII. (Benedetto 
 Caetani). The latter, after his quarrel with the Colonnas, 
 against whom he had laiuiched the fiercest anathemas, was 
 involved in that memorable strife with Philip le Bel, in which 
 the French clergy obtained their peculiar privileges. Philip 
 was not inclined to submit to the pretensions of the Church, 
 and Guillaume de Nogaret (whom some commentators believe 
 to be represented by Dante as Geryon, in the seventeenth 
 canto of the Inferno) invaded the Papal States, and allied 
 himself with the Colonnas. The gate of Anagni was opened 
 to them by treachery, and the French entered the city, 
 September 7, 1303, crying : " Vive le roi de France, ct Tneure 
 Boniface ! " The Pope, however, sustained no personal injury, 
 ani after three days the people recovered from their fir.st 
 surprise, drove out the French, and set Boniface at liberty. 
 He hastened to Rome, and put himself under the protection 
 of the Orsini, the hereditary enemies of the Colonnas, but 
 was soon afterwards found dead in his bed. 
 
 V. 93. — "His lavless hands tqoon the temple fall." 
 Alluding to Philip le Bel's cruel persecution of the Templars. 
 
 V. 97. — " Know, what I spake of her, the Blessed Spoiosc." 
 Sec V. 22-24.
 
 301 
 
 V. 103. — " We sinrj the story of Pygmalion'' s X)riclc." 
 
 Pygmalion, not the celebrated sculptor of that name, but 
 a king of Tyre, son of Belus, and brother of Dido. At 
 the death of his father he ascended the vacant throne, and 
 soon became odious by his cruelty, pride, and avarice. He 
 sacrificed ever)'thing to his ambition, and even killed Sichceus, 
 Dido's husband, only because he was the most powerful and 
 opulent of all the Phoenicians. This murder he committed 
 in a temple of which Sichasus was the priest ; but Pygmalion 
 did not thereby obtain the riches which he desired ; for Dido, 
 to avoid further acts of cruelty, fled with her husband's 
 treasure to the coast of Africa, where she founded Carthage. 
 Pygmalion died in the fifty-sixth year of his age, and the 
 forty-seventh of his reign. 
 
 V. 106. — '■'The wrctdicdncss of Midas %oc unfold." 
 
 Midas, as is well known, asked of the gods that all he touched 
 might become gold : his prayer was grunted, and in conse- 
 quence he would have died of starvation if the fatal gift had 
 not been rescinded. 
 
 V. 113. — " We praise (lie scourge which Heliodorus cheesed.^'' 
 
 It may be that this passage suggested to Raphael his 
 wonderful fresco in one of the stanze of the Vatican. 
 
 V. 115. — " His name who Polidorus sleio." 
 
 The name of Polymnestor, king of Thrace, who threw 
 Polydorus, son of Priam, into the sea.
 
 NOTES. 
 
 V. 116, 117. " Crassìis, tell us now 
 
 {Por well thou knoivcst it) liow gold doth taste." 
 
 Marcus Licinius Crassus, famed for his riclies and avarice. 
 He perished in his unfortunate expedition against the Parthians. 
 His head was cut oflF, and sent to Orodes, king of Parthia, 
 who poured molten gold into his mouth, saying : *' For gold 
 thou thirstedst, now diink thereof." 
 
 V. 130. — *^Lcst wildly, sure, of old, was Dclos driven." 
 
 Delos, one of the Cyclades. Latona here brought forth 
 Apollo or the Sun, and Diana or the Moon, tlierefore called 
 the eyes of heaven ; and the island, which had till then 
 floated hither and thither on the waves, became immoveable. 
 The sanctity ascribed by the ancients to the altar of Apollo 
 at Delos is well known. 
 
 CANTO XXI. 
 
 V. 10. — " Even thus, a Shade appeared to its." 
 
 The Shade of the poet Statius. He was born about half a 
 century after Virgil's death, and was one of his warmest 
 admirers. In one of his poems ho describes his visits to 
 Virgil's tomb, and mentions that lie composed his verses 
 within its precincts. It would appear that he became a 
 Christian, but secretly, for fear of persecution. 
 
 V. 50. ^' nor TJiaumas' daur/hter sweet." 
 
 Iris, or the Rainbow, daughter of Thaumas. She was the
 
 NOTES. 303 
 
 emblem of Hope, and her office was to cut the last thread 
 ■which unites the soul to the body. This most beautiful m3^th, 
 like that other lovely tale of Psyche, shows that the old Greeks 
 had a vision, though dim perhaps and distant, of the Immor- 
 tality of the Soul. 
 
 V. 89.—"/, of Toulouse:' 
 
 Dante erroneously supposes Statius to be a native of 
 Toulouse ; he was born at Najjles. 
 
 V. 91, 92. ''erst did I sing 
 
 Of Thebes, then of Achilles, great in fight." 
 
 Statius is known by two epic poems, the Thebais, in twelve 
 books, and the Achilleis, in two, which latter remained un- 
 finished at the time of his death. 
 
 CANTO XXII. 
 
 V, 42. — "/« the sad tournament my fate %cere told:'' 
 
 In that place of Hell where the prodigal and the avaricious are 
 punished, by rolling great weights against each other. It is 
 described in the seventh canto of the Inferno. 
 
 V. 46, 47. — ''Full many a soul at the last day shall rise 
 With close-cut locks" 
 
 Alluding to the Italian proverb, which says of a spendthrift, 
 that "he wastes all, even to his hair." (See Inferno, Canto VII. 
 v. 57.)
 
 304 NOTES. 
 
 V. 55, 56. — "But when thou erst did sing the rude affrays 
 Of them, Jocasta's double caicse of woe." 
 
 The strife of the two sons of Jocasta, Eteocles and Polynices. 
 (See note to Inferno, Canto XXVI. v. 54.) 
 
 V. 57. — "TIius spaJcc the Singer of the pastoral lays." 
 The author of the Bucolics. 
 
 V. 58. — "By that ivhich Clio there with thee doth show." 
 
 In the beginning of the Thebais, Statins invokes the aid of 
 Clio, the Muse of History. 
 
 V. 70. — "There wliere thou saidst: '■Tiie world its youth renews.^" 
 
 This prophecy, taken from the Sibylline books, is applied by 
 Virgil to the birth of the son of Pollio ; but some writers have 
 found there a foreshadowing of the Advent, then near at hand, 
 of the Redeemer. 
 
 V. 102. — " The Greek the Muses loved in days of yore." 
 Homer. 
 
 V. 107.— "And A gatho." 
 A Greek tragic poet of the time of Euripides. 
 
 V. 109. — " TJiere dwells Simonides," 
 
 A celebrated poet of Cos, who flourished B.c. 538. He was 
 universally courted by the princes of Greece and Sicily, and, 
 according to one of the fables of Phredrus, he was such a 
 favourite of the Gods, that his life was miraculously preserved 
 when the roof of the house fell, during an entertamment, upon
 
 NOTES. 305 
 
 all those who were feasting. He gained a poetical prize in the 
 eightieth year of his age, and lived to be ninety. The people of 
 SjTacuse, who had hospitably received and honoured him whUe 
 ahve, erected a magniliceut monument to his memory. It is 
 said that he added four letters to the Greek alphabet. Some 
 fragments of his poetry are still extant. 
 
 V. 111. " Ismene with sad eyes." 
 
 Ismene, a daughter of CEdipus and Jocasta. When her sister 
 Antigone was condemned to be buried alive, by the tyrant 
 Creon, Ismene insisted on sharing her fate. 
 
 A'. 113. — " Deipylc, Argia vjith us dwell." 
 
 Deipj'le, daughter of Adrastus, king of Argos. She married 
 Tydeus {See Inferno, Canto XXXII. v. 130), by whom she had 
 Diomed. — Argia, another daughter of Adrastus, married Poly- 
 nices, brother of Eteocles, and, like Ismene and Antigone, was 
 put to death by the tyrant Creon. 
 
 V. 115. — ^' And she who shoio'd where Langia's fountai'iis well." 
 
 Hysipyle, who showed the Argives the fountain of Langia to 
 quench their thh'st, 
 
 V. 118. — " And ndd her sisters, Beidamia." 
 
 The daughter of Lycomedes, king of Scyra, at whose court 
 Achilles was concealed, in order to avoid joining the Trojan 
 war. 
 
 V. 121, 122.— ''Four of the Maidens of the Day had fled, 
 And by his chariot-wlieel the fifth did go." 
 
 This passage may have suggested to Guido his exquisite repre- 
 sentation of the Hours, in the Rospigliosi Palace, in Rome. 
 
 VOL. II. X
 
 306 NOTES. 
 
 V. 144. — " Tlic impulse which in Mary stiri' d." 
 
 At tlie marriage in Cana of Galilee, when she said : "They 
 have no wine. " 
 
 CANTO XXIII. 
 
 V. 25. — ^^ Less meagre Erisicthon's frame, I ween." 
 
 Erisicthon, a Thessaliau, who derided Ceres, and cut down 
 her groves. Tliis impiety irritated the goddess, who afflicted 
 him with continual hunger. He spent all his possessions, in 
 order to obtain food, and at last devoured his own limbs. His 
 daughter had the power of transforming herself into whatever 
 animal she chose ; and she made use of tliis artifice to maintain 
 her father, who sold her, after which, she assumed another 
 shape, and became again his property. 
 
 V. 30. — "A Jewish mother on her infantfed.''^ 
 
 This fact is mentioned by Josephus as taking place during 
 tho siege of Jerusalem by Titus. 
 
 V. 32, 33. — '^^ And those icho Omo an mail's brow descry, 
 
 In theirs, in sooth, ih^ M might well have known.''' 
 
 In the human face may be traced the letter M, with two 0"s 
 between the lines, thus forming the word Omo, or Man. The 
 two O'a arc the eyes ; the M is formed by the ej^ebrows and the 
 nose. Tlie thinner the face, the more plainly may these letters 
 be seen.
 
 NOTES. 307 
 
 V. 48. — " Tlien did Forese to my gaze appear." 
 Forese, brother of Corso Donati, and of Piccarda. 
 
 V. 87. — " By my oion Nella s love, wifh weeping fraught,^^ 
 By the tears and prayers of his wife. 
 
 V. 96. — " Of the Barbagia where slic still doth dwell.'''' 
 
 Barbagia, a mountainous part of the island of Sardinia, 
 where, it would appear, the inhabitants were noted for immo- 
 rality. On this account. Forese compares it to Florence. 
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 V. 10. — "But where Piccarda is, now tell to vie." 
 
 Piccarda, sister of Corso Donati. She became a nun of the 
 order of St. Clara of Assisi ; but her brother Corso, wishing to 
 give her in marriage to one of the Tosa famil}', scaled the walls 
 of the convent, carried her off, and obliged her to marry accord- 
 ing to his ■wishes. Dante afterwards meets her in Paratlise. 
 
 V. 19. — '^ This Shade is Buonagiunta the Lucchese." 
 
 A poet, or rimatore (literally, rhymer), of the family of Orbe- 
 sani, or Urbicciaui, of Lucca. 
 
 V. 21, 22. — '•^ And he tvhose meagrencss doth most displease. 
 Once Holy Church embraced.'^ 
 
 Martin IV., a native of Tours. He Avas a great epicure, and 
 his favourite dish was composed of the eels of the lake of 
 
 X 2
 
 308 NOTES. 
 
 Bolsena, stewed, with different spices, in the much-esteemed 
 white wine called Vernaccia. He was Pope from 1281 to 1284. 
 
 V. 28. — '^ Tliere Ulaldin di Pila seemed intent." 
 
 Ubaldino degli Ubaldini, of Pila, a castle in the Miigelloj or 
 upper part of the valley of the Sieve, north of Florence. He 
 was brother of the celebrated Cardinal Ubaldini, mentioned in 
 the Tenth Canto of the Inferno, simply as "the Cardinal." 
 
 V. 30, 31. *' Boniface, to whom on earth was lent 
 
 Of many souls the pastoral rule and care." 
 
 Bonifazio Fieschi, of Lavagna, was Archbishop of Ravenna at 
 the end of the thirteenth century. 
 
 V. 32, 33. — " And Mm I saiv, who erst within Forlì 
 
 Dranlc the good loine ivith lesser thirst than here." 
 
 Marchese de' Piigogliosi, of Forlì, who was much addicted to 
 drinking. One day his servant told him that everybody said he 
 was always drinking. " Why not," replied he, " if I am always 
 thirsty ? " Marchese is not here a title, but a Christian name. 
 
 V. 38. — " ' Gcittucca' then he murmur'd." 
 
 Commentators have disputed much as to the meaning of this 
 passage. The best authenticated opinion, however, is that 
 Gontucca was a young, beautiful, and noble damsel of Lucca, 
 whom Dante afterwards loved dming his- exile. 
 
 V. 43, 44. — " A woman nov> is horn who yet no veil 
 Doth toear," tCr. 
 
 At that tiuie unmarried women in Italy did not wear the veil, 
 which was peculiar to matrons. The natural explanation of this
 
 NOTES. 309 
 
 passage is that Buonagiunta goes on speaking of Gentucca. 
 Some commentators, however, wishing to close their eyes to the 
 well-attested fact of Dante's subsequent unfaithfulness, not only 
 to the memory of Beatrice, but to the more obvious claims of his 
 wife, Gemma Donati, have supposed this maiden to be Alagia, 
 niece of Pope Adrian V., and afterwards wife of Moroello 
 JIalaspina. But Alagia was a Genoese, not a Lucchese. Others 
 have supposed the whole passage to be metaphorical, and to 
 refer to the Bianchi faction. 
 
 V. 51. — ^'' Fair ladies, lolio have hearts atlunccl to love." 
 
 This is the first line of one of Dante's canzoni in praise of 
 Beatrice. It is preserved in the Vita Nuova, where he speaks 
 of it thus : — " Forasmuch as many persons had gathered from 
 my appearance the secret of my heart, certain ladies who had 
 met together, drawn bj^ delight in each other's societj', knew my 
 heart well, because they had all witnessed my manifold discom- 
 fitures. Happening to pass where these noble ladies Avere 
 assembled, one of them called to me to approach. She who so 
 called me was most gay and pleasant of discourse, so that when 
 I joined their circle, and saw that my most gentle lady was 
 not among them, I recovered my courage, and, saluting them, 
 inqmred what might be theii- pleasure. There were many 
 ladies there, some of whom were laughing among themselves, 
 whilst others regarded me as if in expectation of what I should 
 say. Others there were engaged in conversation, of whom one, 
 turnhig her eyes upon me, and calling me by name, addressed 
 me thtis : — ' Unto what end lovest thou this lady, seeing her 
 mere presence overwhelms thee ? Tell tis, for of a surety the 
 end and aim of such a love must be of the strangest.' And 
 when she had thus spoken, not only she, but all the others,
 
 310 NOTES. 
 
 fixed their eyes upon me, awaiting my reply. Thereupon I 
 answered : ' The end and aim of my love hath until now been 
 the salutation of this lady, of whom belike you speak ; and in 
 that salutation I found the bliss which was the aim of all my 
 desires. But since it pleaseth her to deny it to me. Love, my 
 liege lord, in guerdon of my fealty, has placed all my happiness 
 in something which can in no wise fail me.' Thereupon these 
 ladies fell to conversing among themselves, and as upon occasion 
 we see rain falling mingled with fair flakes of snow, so did 
 their words seem to me intermingled with sighs. And when 
 they had talked together for a time, the lady who had previously 
 spoken, once more addressed me thus : — 'Tell us, we beseech 
 thee, wherein rests this happiness of thine ? ' And I made answer 
 thus : — 'In the words which speak the praises of my lady.' 
 And she replied : — ' Speakst thou the truth, then those words 
 which thou hast spoken, as expressive of thy state, must have been 
 put forth by thee with some other purpose.' Whereupon, reflect- 
 ing on these words, a sense of shame came over me, and I took 
 my leave ; and as I went, I said within myself : — ' Since there is 
 happiness so great in those words which speak the praises of my 
 lady, wherefore did I bethink me of speaking aught else ? ' 
 And I determined for the future to take the praises of that most 
 gentle being as the theme of my discom'se ; and after meditating 
 long thereon, meseemed I had chosen a theme so much too 
 lofty for my powers that I had not the courage to begin ; and 
 thus for some days I wavered between the desire to write and 
 the fear to make a beginning. Then it chanced that, walking 
 one day along a road, by the side of which ran a clear and 
 sparkling stream, I was seized with a desire to sing of her, so 
 strong that straightway I began to consider in what terms I 
 should couch my strain ; and I thought it would be unmeet to sing 
 of her, save to ladies and in the second person ; and not to every
 
 NOTES. 311 
 
 lady either, but only to such as were pure and noble. Thus, as 
 it were spontaneously, the following words mounted to my lips : 
 
 ^ Fair ladies, iviio have hearts attuned to love' " 
 
 In the original the words are : 
 
 '^ Donne, cli avete intelletto tf amore." 
 
 Dante then goes on to state that he treasured this line in his 
 memory, and, a few days after, wrote the whole canzone, of 
 whicli these words are the beginning. 
 
 This appears to have occurred at a time when Beatrice, for 
 some reason, had passed him udthout her usual courteous 
 salutation. 
 
 V. 50. — " Of seeing him who in nevj rhyme hath sicng.'" 
 
 Poetry written in any of the modern languages was, in Dante's 
 day, called new rhyme, to distinguish it from the old, classic, 
 uni'hjTiied Greek and Latin verse. 
 
 V. 56. — " That erst Guitione and the notary kept." 
 
 Giuttone of Arezzo, one of the earliest Italian poets, but 
 apparently not highly esteemed by Dante. The notary was 
 Jacopo da Lentiuo, another rhymer, who lived towards the end 
 of the tliirteenth centmy. 
 
 V. 82, 83. " The man ivhosc guilt hath been most sore. 
 
 Dragged by his horse, I see upon the ground." 
 
 Corso Donati, chief of the Neri, and one of the most violent 
 men of that stormy time. Dante here supposes that he was 
 thrown from Ms horse, and killed by being dragged in the 
 stirrup. But, in fact, he was killed by some Catalan soldiers, 
 at St. Salvi, a mile from Florence, September ] 5, 1308.
 
 312 NOTES. 
 
 V. 121. — '^Remember the accursed creatures" <tc. 
 Tlie Centaurs. 
 
 CANTO XXV. 
 
 V. 2, 3. — ^^ For noon had shone, and the fierce solar ray 
 
 Gave lilace to Taurus ; Night the Scorpion pass'd. " 
 
 At the time of the vision of Dante, the sun was in Aries ; 
 therefore the Poet, instead of saying that the sign of Aries had 
 akeady passed the meridian, says that the sign next to Aries, 
 namely, Taurus, had reached it. Night, in the opposite hemi- 
 sphere from Purgatoiy, was in Libra ; and that sign had, in like 
 manner, passed the meridian, and given place to Scorpio. 
 
 V. 22, 23. — '^ If Meleager thou of old hadst seeii. 
 
 Consuming with the burning of a brand." 
 
 Meleager, a celebrated hero of antiquity, son of (Eneus, king 
 of ^tolia, by his wife Althsea, daughter of Thestius. The 
 Parose were present at his birth, and predicted his future gi'eat- 
 ness. Clotho foretold his courage, Lachesis his strength, and 
 Atropos declared that he should live as long as the brand, then 
 on the fire, was unconsumed. Althaea instantly snatched the 
 log from the fire, and kept it carefully. Meleager, accordingly, 
 grew ia stature and in strength, and his fame spread over the 
 whole land. He went with Jasou to Colchis, in search of the 
 Golden Fleece, and there and elsewhere won glory. At last, in 
 some disputes arising from the famous hunt of the Calydonian
 
 NOTES. 313 
 
 boar, Meleager had the misfortune to kill two of his mother's 
 brothers. This enraged Althaea, who, in a moment of anger, 
 threw the brand into the fire, and as it burned away, the life of 
 Meleager was consumed with it, and he died. This legend bears 
 a curious resemblance to the superstitious accusation brought 
 against witches in the Middle Ages ; when it was believed, that 
 they made wax images, and melted them at the fire ; thereby 
 melting away the life of their victims. 
 
 CANTO XXVI. 
 
 V. 92. — "/ Guido Guinicclli was.'" 
 
 An early Bolognese poet : Dante highly esteemed Mm, and 
 here calls liim his father in the art of poetry. 
 
 V. 94, 95. — " Js, mid the fury of Lycurgus' v-rath, 
 
 Tlic sons toivard their mournful mother sjyranr/." 
 
 Hypsipyle, when she fled from Lemnos, was seized by pirates 
 and sold to Lycurgus, king of Xemaea. She was entnisted with 
 the care of the infant son of Lycurgus ; and, when the Ai'gives 
 marched against Thebes, they met Hj'psipyle, and obliged her 
 to show them the foimtain of Langia {see Canto XXIL v. 115), 
 To do this more expeditiously, she laid down the child on the 
 grass, and, in her absence, he was killed by a serpent. Lycurgus, 
 enraged, was about to put Hypsipyle to death, when he was 
 prevented by the an-ival of her two sons, who saved her.
 
 314 NOTES. 
 
 V. 120. — " T7w Limousin before Mm did advance." 
 
 Gerault de Berneil, of Limoges, a famous Provengal poet, who 
 seems to have been more popular than Arnautz Daniello whom 
 Guido Guiuicelli here praises. 
 
 V. 140. — " So sioeet to me thy courteous questioning." 
 
 The si^eaker is Arnautz, or Arnaldo Daniello, one of the most 
 celebrated of the troubadours, and praised by Petrarch as well as 
 by Dante. This whole passage, from the verse here quoted to 
 the end of the canto, except the last line, is in Proven§al, of 
 which language Dante seems to have been a perfect master. 
 
 CANTO XXVII. 
 
 V. 1-5. — ^^ As when tlic earliest radiance of tlie sun 
 Dawns where Us Maker shed his sacred blood, 
 And 'neath tlic midnight Ebro flows adown, 
 
 And noonday Mtrns above the Ganges' flood, 
 Thus was it iww," dx. 
 
 According to Dante's system, at sunset in Purgatory, it was 
 sunrise at Jerusalem, noon on the Ganges, and midnight in 
 Spain. 
 
 V. 8. — " Beati mimdo corde." 
 " Blessed are the pure in heart."
 
 NOTES. 315 
 
 V. 39. — " niiat time the mulhcrrìj loas stain\l roith red." 
 According to the legend, the fruit of the mulbeny was 
 originally always wliite, until stained by the blood of Pyramus 
 and Thisbe, 
 
 V. 104. — " Jinotv, J am Leah." 
 
 The sjTnbol of the active Christian life, under the Old Testa- 
 ment dispensation, as Eachel of the contemplative life. 
 
 CANTO XXVIII. 
 
 V. 7. — "A pleasant air, that seemed no change to know." 
 
 This whole description is taken from St. Basil's Discoiu'se on 
 Paradise. 
 
 V. 20. — "/;i the 2nne forest near to Cliiassi's shore." 
 
 Chiassi, anciently Classis, about two miles from Ravenna, on 
 the road to Eimini. The pine forest extends along the shores 
 of the Adriatic for a distance of twenty-five mUes. One part is 
 still called the Vicolo de' Poeti, from a tradition that it was 
 Dante's favom'ite walk. Those Italian pine forests are indeed 
 delicious, with their soft, dry, sandy paths, sweet odours, and 
 endless variety of light and shade. 
 
 V. 40. — "A lady, singing all alone." 
 
 Matilda, the symbol of active Chi-istian life under the New 
 Testament dispensation.
 
 316 NOTES. 
 
 V. 49-51. — " Tlioio dost imto my thought the memory bring 
 Of Proserpine, when her sad mother lost 
 Her smile, and she the gladness of the spring.'^ 
 
 This passage of Dante may have suggested to Milton his 
 celebrated description of Proserpine gatliering flowers in the 
 field of Enna. In the original it stands thus : — 
 
 *' Tu mi fai rimembrar dove e qual era 
 Proserpina nel tempo che perdette 
 Za madide lei, ed ella primavera." 
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 V. 40. — "Let Urania' s starry train.'" 
 The Mnse of Astronomy. 
 
 V. 76. — ^^ Seven diverse hands within the splendour were." 
 The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 V. 81. — " In breadth, I think ten paces ye might go." 
 The "ten paces " are supposed to signify the Ten Command- 
 ments. 
 
 V, 84. — " Eccch inth a lily diadem was crowii'd." 
 The iny, ever the emblem of puiity.
 
 NOTES. Bìl 
 
 V. 92, 93. — "Four living creatures in their treses came. 
 
 Their hroivs enwreath'd with freslicst leaves, I 
 iveen." 
 
 The four Evangelists ; the green wreaths signifying the 
 freshness and living energy of their inspired words. 
 
 V. 101.— "Read in JEzeJciel," éc. 
 
 The living creatures described by Ezekiel had four wings ; 
 those seen by St. John in Patmos had six. 
 
 V. 107, 108. — "A chariot borne upon triumphal wheels. 
 And harness' d to a flying griflin, came." 
 
 Dante uses the chariot as the emblem of the Church ; the two 
 wheels are the Old and Xew Testaments : the flying griffin, half 
 lion, half eagle, is here the symbol of Jesus Christ, in whom are 
 united two natm'es ; the lion signifying the human, the eagle 
 the divine. 
 
 V. 121. — "At tlie right ivheel three damsels seemed to fly." 
 
 Faith, Hope, and Charity. Faith in snowy white, Hope with 
 robes of emerald hue, and Charity all rosy red. 
 
 V. 127, 128. — " And now the ivhite-rohed maiden led the dance, 
 Now she of rosy hue." 
 
 Sometimes Faith takes the lead, and sometimes Love ; but 
 never Hope, which must follow, not precede, the others. 
 
 V. 130-132. — "And, by the left tchccl, then four pass' d along. 
 In purple robes ; and she their steps who led 
 Look'dfrom three visual orbs." 
 
 The foiir cardinal ràtiies, Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and
 
 318 NOTES. 
 
 Temperance ; Prudence, having three eyes, to denote her great 
 circumspection, guides all other virtues in their path. 
 
 V. 133. — " / saw two ancient men" &c. 
 
 St. Luke and St. Paul ; the former as the writer of the Acts 
 of the Apostles, the latter of the Epistles. 
 
 V. 136, 137. — " One seetrCd to he a follower of Mm, 
 Tiie great Hippocrates.''^ 
 
 Dante has already seen Hippocrates in Hades ; and now calls 
 that old Greek master of the healing art the instructor of Luke 
 the beloved physician. 
 
 V. 139, 140. — " With contrary intent, a lurnish'd glaive 
 
 Of sharp and glittering light tlie other Jield." 
 
 St. Paul is always represented with a sword, the sword of the 
 
 Spirit. 
 
 V. 142. — "■Tlicnfmr, in humhlc garments, I beheld. " 
 
 Some commentators suppose these four to be St. Gregory the 
 Great, St. Jerome, St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine : others, the 
 Apostles James, Peter, John, and Jude. If the latter explana- 
 tion be correct, this whole description must be taken as a 
 personification of the hooks of the New Testament, rather than 
 of their writers. The next verse renders this interpretation 
 probable. 
 
 V. 143. — " And following them, came an old man alone." 
 St. John, as writer of the Apocalypse.
 
 NOTES. 319 
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 V. 1. — " J]lien fJic seven stars of Paradise on higJi.''^ 
 
 The seven Lamps of the Spirit. Dante here compares them 
 to the stars of Ursa Major, Avhich point up to the pole, and 
 therefore may always guide the mariner. 
 
 V. 121. — ^' And * Give rich loealth of lilies,'' did resound." 
 
 Literally, Jiaiulfuls of lUies. Dante here quotes a line of the 
 ^Eueid : — 
 
 " Manibus o date lilia lilenis.'" 
 
 V. 31-33. — " ^Vith snow-wliile veil and olive diadem, 
 A Lady I beheld, 'neath mantle rjrcen, 
 ClotKd ill tlie colour of the living flame." 
 
 Beatrice, who, the first time Dante saw her, wore, as he 
 himself teUs us, an apparel of a "most noble" crimson colour. 
 The glowing crimson rohe also signifies love, the white veil 
 purity, the gi-een mantle eternity, and the olive garland wisdom . 
 
 V. 34, 35. — "And tJicn my spirit, ivhich so long had been 
 
 Without ilie trembling thrill Ii^r 2)resence bore.'" 
 
 Ten years had elapsed from the death of Beatrice to Dante's 
 
 supposed joui'ney among the dead. 
 
 V. 49. — " But Virgil ivas no longer by my side." 
 
 Human reason disappears in the presence of Di'vine Know- 
 ledge,
 
 320 NOTES. 
 
 V. 55. — " Dante, that Virgil from thy side hath goiw." 
 
 This is the only occasion on which Dante ever mentions his 
 own name in the whole course of the poem. 
 
 V. 68. — " By the dim leaves of Pallas." 
 The olive was sacred to Pallas. 
 
 V. 83, 84. — '^ And sang : 'Speravi, Domini, iute;' 
 
 And stopped, nor beyond 'pedes mios' pass'd." 
 
 The 31st Psalm begins, in the Latin version, thus : "/«. te. 
 Domine, speravi;" in our Prayer-Book version, "In thee, 
 Lord, have I put my trust. " In the ninth verse the words 
 pedes mios occur. In the tenth verse the Psalmist passes from 
 praise to lamentation, which latter would have been unsuited 
 to the terrestrial Paradise. 
 
 V. 85, 86. — " Js, on the living rafters which there be 
 
 In Apennine." 
 
 This expression exactly describes the roof-like form of the 
 crests of Italian pines. 
 
 V. 87. — "Are lieap'd by winds from the Slavonian sea." 
 That is, from the north-east. 
 
 V. 89, 90. — " Whcii breathed on by the land whereon there lies 
 No sJmdoiv." 
 
 By the sirocco, the wind of the African desert.
 
 NOTES. 321 
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 V. 72. — " Or those which from larbas' kingdom ilowy 
 
 larbas, King of Gsetnlia, from whom Dido bought land on 
 which to build Carthage. Thus, the storms from larbas' 
 kingdom are the wild tempests from the south-west, which blow 
 with fearful violence on the coast of Italy. 
 
 CANTO XXXII. 
 
 V. 38, 39. — " And tJien they circled round a tree, wJiose pride 
 Of verdant leaves and blossoms all hadjled." 
 
 This tree is supposed to mean the Roman Empire, in its 
 corrupt state of heathenism ; and its sudden blossoming, when 
 the chariot is tied to the withered stem, represents the fresh 
 life infused into the decaying empire after the introduction of 
 Christianity. 
 
 V. 65, 66. — ^^ How, at the tale of Syrinx, slumber fell 
 
 Upon those eyes whose watching work'd their woe." 
 
 Syrinx, a nymph of Arcadia, who was changed into a reed. 
 Mercury sang this legend so sweetly to Argus, that he lulled 
 him to sleep, and kdled him. Juno then took his himdred 
 eyes and put them on the tail of the peacock. 
 
 VOL. II. T
 
 322 NOTES, 
 
 V. 99. — " Which safe from Aquila and Auster ^bide.'" 
 Aquilo, the north wind ; Auster, the south. 
 
 V. 112, 113. — "As here I now beheld the bird of Jove 
 Sivoop on the tree." 
 
 The eagle is here an emblem of the Eoman emperors who 
 persecuted the Christians. 
 
 V. 118, 119. — "And then, in the triumphal car there stood 
 A fox. " 
 
 The fox is supposed here to signiiy the heretics of the first 
 ages of the Church, and is thus put to flight by Divine Know- 
 ledge, personified by Beatrice., 
 
 V. 124-126. — "And then return! d once more within my sight 
 Tlie eagle, and full sioiftly cleft the air. 
 And filVd the chariot with its plumage bright." 
 
 Here Dante seems to allude to the Chuixh's acquisition of 
 temporal power and wealth. 
 
 V. 130, 131. — "And now it seeni'd as from the earth tJiere brake 
 A dragon," <tc. 
 
 The dragon is generally supposed to be Satan, bearing away 
 the humility of the Church. 
 
 V. 142-144. " TJis holy edifice. 
 
 Transformed thus, now divers heads put forth; 
 One at each side, three at the foremost place" 
 
 The divers heads are usually explained as being the different 
 vices incident to a state of eartlily prosperity. But this 
 passage Is extremely obscure ; indeed, the whole Canto is
 
 NOTES. 323 
 
 (lifficiilt, and the explanations given should rather be called 
 conjectures. From v. 148 to the end, Dante apparently alludes 
 to the dealings of Boniface VIII. with Philip le Bel ; but the 
 metaphors are singulai'ly inappropriate, beyond the waters of 
 Lethe, in the pure and sinless terrestrial Paradise. 
 
 CANTO XXXIII. 
 
 T. 1. — "Deiw, vcncrunt genks." 
 These words are the beginning of Psalm Ixxix. : 
 
 "0 God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance." 
 
 V. 36, 37. — " Tliat GocTs revenge doth tarry not, for sake 
 Of funeral sop." 
 
 Alluding to an ancient superstition, which taught that, if the 
 slayer could eat a sop at the grave of the slain within nine days 
 after the murder, he need not fear the vengeance of the re- 
 lations. Here then Dante says, that though man may escape 
 punishment from his fellows, he cannot, by any device, escape 
 the vengeance of God. 
 
 V. 43.—" WJien one wJio is five hundred, ten, and five." 
 
 This passage has greatly exercised the ingenui tj»^ of commen- 
 tators. Some have written the above-mentioned numerals in 
 Arabic characters, some in Roman, endeavoiiring to support 
 their different theories thereby. The most general opinion is 
 that the letters D U X are intended, forming the word Dux, 
 or Leader.
 
 324 NOTES. 
 
 V. 46, 47. ' ^ My narration dim 
 
 As Th&mis, or the Sphynx." 
 
 Themis, daugliter of Heaven and Earth. Her oracle was 
 famous in Attica, in the age of Deucalion. 
 
 V. 49. — " But soon events shall be the Naiades." 
 
 It would appear tliat we ought here to read Laiades for 
 Naiades ; and that the passage refers to the enigma proposed 
 by the Sphinx to (Edipus, the son of Laius. The riddle was 
 this : — ^Vliat animal walks on four feet in the morning, on two 
 at noon, and on three at night ? ffidipus replied that man 
 goes on all-fours in childhood, on two legs in the prime of life, 
 and with the help of a staff in old age. (Edipus accordingly 
 received the prize, viz. the crown of Thebes ; but having pre- 
 viously killed Laius, in ignorance that he was his father, the 
 country was, on his account, visited by famine, murrain, and 
 pestilence. Thus Beatrice here says that events \vill explain 
 her predictions without the misfortunes which attended the 
 reign of (Edipus. 
 
 V. 67, 68. — "But thy vain thoughts, like Elsa^s stream which 
 floivs 
 In petrifying waves. " 
 
 Elsa, a small river of Tuscany, which flows near San Gemig- 
 nano, and finally falls into the Arno. It possesses the property 
 of petrifying whatever is steeped in its waters. 
 
 V. 91, 92. " No memory is mine 
 
 TJmt I did e'er depart from love of thee. " 
 
 Dante, having bathed in Lethe, has forgotten aU sin and 
 evil.
 
 NOTES. 325 
 
 V. 98, 99. — " ThiLS, thou in thy forgetfulness mayst seek, 
 And find the proof of all thy guilt and woe." 
 
 If there had been no evil in Dante's unfaithfulness to 
 Beatrice, he would not have forgotten it. 
 
 V. 113. — " Me seemed, both Tigris and Euphrates hurst.'''' 
 
 Glanville (usually called Bartolomeus Anglicus) cites an 
 assertion as made by St. Basil and St. Ambrose, that the water 
 of the fountain which proceeds from the Garden of Eden falls 
 into a great lake, and that from this lake proceed the four chief 
 rivers mentioned in Genesis. This passage is not to be found 
 in the known works of either of the above-named authors, but 
 it seems to have been currently received as theirs during the 
 Middle Ages. "Washington Irving mentions that Columbus 
 derived thence his idea that the vast body of fresh water which 
 filled the Gulf of La Ballena, or Paria, flowed from the fountain 
 of Paradise, though from a remote distance ; and that in this 
 gulf, which he supposed in the extreme part of Asia, originated 
 the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Ganges ;• which 
 might be conducted under the land or sea, by subterraneous 
 channels, to the places where they spring forth on the earth, 
 and assume their proper names. 
 
 END OF VOL. 11. 
 
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