LIBRARY UN iv rr oe CALi SAN ' /' -v/ t . o THE PARADISE OF DANTE THE PARADISE OF DANTE ALIGHIERI EDITED WITH TRANSLATION AND NOTES BY ARTHUR JOHN BUTLER LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE Bonbon MACMILLAN AND CO. 1885 CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS. PREFACE. THE transition from the " Purgatory " to the " Paradise " will produce, it may be feared, on the minds of many readers the deterrent effect which Dante himself seems to have foreseen. Several of the reasons which, in the preface to the second Cantica, I urged as justifying the claims of that part of the Commedia to special attention, no longer apply. The mere fact that the doctrine of the Church respecting the future state would preclude Dante from intro- ducing many of his own contemporaries as already glorified spirits,* is sufficient, in some measure, to account for a falling-off in the human interest of the poem. Most of the personages who are introduced are, as it were, the common property of all mankind. They do not owe their very iden- tity to their place in the great poem as do Francesca, Farinata, the two Counts of Montefeltro, Forese, and a score * Of his actual acquaintances, Carlo Martello and Piccarda are the only two who appear ; Albert the Great, Aquinas, Bonaventura, and possibly Cunizza, the only others whose lifetime coincided at all with his. In placing Aquinas and Bonaventura among the saints he only antici- pated the Church, but even in their cases he must have stretched a point, so to speak, in order to include them. Quinet's notion of " the old Ghibeline from the height of heaven letting fall his sentence of pro- scription on all the world " is as ludicrous as his statement that no one. whom Dante had known appears in Paradise is incorrect. vi PREFACE. of others whom we meet in its first two divisions. Then again it must be remembered, that while physical pain offers an endless choice of possibilities, the only pleasure which is admitted by the dignity of the Christian heaven is in its nature incapable of much variation. From the lowest sphere to the highest, it is in the contemplation of God, and the conforming of the will to His will, that the souls of the righteous find their perfect consummation and bliss. The bodily senses, which were all available as vehicles of torment, whether for punishment or for chasten- ing, are now reduced to sight and hearing only. From the objects of these alone can images be drawn ; and though Dante's genius is nowhere more conspicuous than in the way he has made use of the means at his disposal, till the reader himself seems almost to hear the changing melodies of Heaven and see around him its "primal, essential, all- pervading light," we must admit that even that genius is at times overweighted, and, in seeking to avoid monotony, is apt now and again to fall into what verges on the grotesque. Let no one, however, suppose that the "Paradise" shows any failure in the author's powers. It rather affords a splendid testimony to the richness of their maturity. Where, for example, has he equalled that noble summary of Roman history put into the mouth of Justinian, in which the reader almost hears the rush of the eagle down his triumphant course ? Where has he drawn any picture with clearer and yet with more delicate strokes than in Caccia- guida's description of the old Florentine life, before pride, envy, avarice, and the lusts of the flesh had marred its tranquil purity ? Where, in Dante, or indeed in any other poet, shall we find dignity pathetic as in the lines perhaps the most often quoted of the whole poem in which his PREFACE. vii exile is foretold ? or stern as in St. Peter's invective, whereat all heaven grew red, against his unworthy succes- sors ? For pure beauty of devotion what shall we compare with St. Bernard's address to the Blessed Virgin ? Nor are these and the like merely " purple patches," as some may deem, inserted in a dull tissue of metaphysics and theology. For the philosophical student, to be sure, those parts will possess the deepest interest, over which one who reads solely for literary enjoyment will be inclined to pass most quickly ; though even he, if he does not leave them wholly unread, will appreciate the skill which has caused a spring of tender emotion to flow in a desert of metaphysics, and with a word here or an image there, drawn the music of Apollo's lute out of harsh and crabbed philosophy. But those who care for such things will know that, dry and futile as the disquisitions of the schoolmen may sometimes appear, and erroneous as we now, with our improved means of observation, can see that their conclusions often were, they represent a learning, an acuteness, and an industry combined in a measure of which the world has rarely seen the like. Between Aristotle and Bacon it would be hard to name any thinker who, for knowledge of all that was know- able in his day, and for force and clearness of reasoning upon the premises that he had, has left such a mark upon human thought as Aquinas had done, when he was cut off at the age of forty-nine. Doubtless he and the rest of the great band of philosophers whom the twelfth and thirteenth centuries brought forth, spent their time in efforts to solve the insoluble ; but are we so very much nearer to success ? Will Mr. Herbert Spencer's cast seem to the twenty-fifth century very far beyond the mark of St. Thomas ? This is not the place to consider how that may be; and I only wish viii PREFACE. here to justify myself for having been at some pains in my notes to consult the interests of those who care to trace the history of metaphysical speculation. It has seemed best ta give Greek and Latin quotations in the original. Those for whom they are intended will probably prefer them in this form, while others would equally skip them if they were translated. It must, of course, be understood that both Dante and St. Thomas read their Aristotle only through the medium of a Latin rendering ; but this appears to have been sufficiently accurate to make it quite possible for us to follow them in the original Greek. The remarks made in the preface to the " Purgatory " in regard to the commentators from whom I have derived most assistance, will apply equally to the present instalment. I ought however to have spoken with more gratitude of Dr. Scartazzini, though I still think that his work would have been more useful if it were less copious. It is hardly necessary, except perhaps where one is going to differ from the best authorities, to review all the opinions of prede- cessors upon disputed passages, still less to record interpre- tations which are obviously erroneous. The only edition of importance that has been added to those which we then possessed is Professor Lubin's ; * another comprehensive work, consisting of nearly one thousand closely printed pages. It contains elaborate studies and analyses of the poem, discussions on allegorical points, plans, and tables ; also along with the text, an " Ordo," or rearrangement in a prose form. I cannot profess to have mastered it ; but it is evident that it contains much that will be of service to students, more especially in regard to such matters as the symbolism of certain passages, or the connexion of the * Padova: Stabilimento della Ditta L. Penada. 1881. PREFACE. ix orders of the angelic hierarchy respectively with the various spheres of which the heaven is composed, and so with the influences which they exercise upon earthly affairs. He also gives synoptical tables of the three Cantiche, showing in a convenient form the general structure * of the poem. Those who wish to study the " Paradise " with full comprehension, will find it expedient not only to consult such commentators as those to whom I have referred, but to make themselves familiar with the authorities on whom Dante chiefly relied. I have given in notes such extracts as seemed more directly to illustrate passages under con- sideration ; but extracts alone are not enough. The student should read, either in the original or in Grote, Aristotle de Caelo, Books i. and ii. ; Metaphysica A. Ch. 6 to the end of the book; and Plato Timaeus, 27 -42 D. I pretermit any reference to Aquinas, both because it is difficult to select any particular parts where the whole system is important, and because so far as selection is pos- sible, the notes of Philalethe* and Scartazzini will be found excellent guides. Of Dante's own works, Conv. ii. 2-6, 14, 15, iii. 5; De Mon. i. 11-13, n - 2 J an( ^ perhaps most of all, the Epistle to Can Grande, form a useful intro- duction. We still await the edition of Benvenuto's Commentary, which has been promised from two quarters ; but, as I said before, an unknown hand has copied a great deal of it in a MS. belonging to the University of Cambridge, and of this I have occasionally availed myself. He appears to have * This will perhaps be the best point for drawing attention to the most notable instance of symmetry in the " Paradise." The three great invectives against the Popes will be found to occur in the 9th, 1 8th, and 27th Cantos. x PREFACE. been the most intelligent of the early commentators. Pietro di Dante, as edited by Lord Vernon, is now and then helpful ; but, on the whole, one regrets that he did not see more of his father in more senses than one. I must express my thanks to Dr. Moore for information as to MS. readings, and my hope that his labours in this line may soon bear fruit for Dante students at large. To thank Mr. Henry Jackson for help is becoming a " common form " among Cambridge men in all works where references to Greek philosophy have to be made. In the present case his assist- ance in tracing various passages to their Aristotelian source has been of great service to me. In editing the text, I have had constantly before me the Codex Cassinensis, the MS. I call " Gg.," Lord Vernon's reprint of the four first editions, the two Aldines, and Witte's large edition. I do not think that there is any variant of importance which is not to be found in one or other of these. The various readings given at the foot of the pages are of course only a selection ; though I have, as a rule, recorded any which materially affect the sense, or are in some way typical. It must not therefore be assumed that where no variant is specified, the authorities all agree ; indeed, it may be taken for granted that wherever, for example, chiaro occurs, somebody reads caro, and vice versa ; so with affetto and effetto. Wherever it is a question of the omission or insertion of the letter n, MSS. are practically indeterminate, this letter being usually denoted only by a line over the preceding vowel. To say more on this point would be trespassing on Dr. Moore's province ; but I should like here to express my belief that in many cases the dif- ference of reading is due to the author himself, and that as the work proceeded, he distributed copies among his friends, PREFACE. xi admitting modifications here and there as they suggested themselves to him. If this be so, it is clear not only that all search for an " archetype " will be fruitless, but that even if we found an undoubted copy in Dante's own hand, it would not necessarily embody the readings on which he finally decided. A few words may perhaps be added in reference to certain forms peculiar to the last part of the Commedia. First among them comes that remarkable series of reflexive verbs compounded with in, which are usually quite untrans- latable except by a periphrasis. Of these I have counted twenty-six which occur only in this Cantica. That chiarezza, chiarita, chiarire, should be found here and not elsewhere, is perhaps due to the special need of terms implying bright- ness ; but this is not enough to account for parvente and parvenza, which occur pretty frequently, though entirely absent from the former parts of the poem, nor for a large proportion of the words given in the Glossary. I am strongly inclined to suspect that an* investigation of these forms might give a clue to Dante's most frequent place of resi- dence during the time that he was engaged upon the concluding portion of his work. November I, 1885. CONTENTS. CANTO I i CANTO II 15 CANTO III 28 CANTO IV 38 CANTO V 51 CANTO VI 64 CANTO VII. 79 CANTO VIII 94 CANTO IX 109 CANTO X 125 CANTO XI 139 CANTO XII 152 CANTO XIII 167 CANTO XIV 180 CANTO XV 193 CANTO XVI 206 CANTO XVII 223 CANTO XVIII 236 CANTO XIX 248 CANTO XX. . 261 CONTENTS, xiii PAGE CANTO XXI 273 CANTO XXII 284 CANTO XXIII 296 CANTO XXIV. 307 CANTO XXV 319 CANTO XXVI 330 CANTO XXVII 343 CANTO XXVIII 35 6 CANTO XXIX 368 CANTO XXX ' 384 CANTO XXXI 395 CANTO XXXII 407 CANTO XXXIII 418 GLOSSARY 429 PRELIMINARY NOTE. To understand Dante's conception of Paradise, we must imagine the universe as consisting of nine spheres con- centric with the earth, which is fixed at the centre, and surrounded by the spheres of air and fire. The sphere of fire is immediately in contact with that of the Moon, beyond which come in order those of Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the fixed stars. The last of all is the sphere of the First Movement, or Primum Mobile, which governs the general motion of the heavens from east to west, and by which all place and time is ultimately measured. Each of these is under the direction of one of the angelic orders,* and exercises its special in- fluence on earthly affairs. The three lowest spheres are allotted to the souls of those whose life on earth was marred by yielding to the temptations of the world; the next four to those whose actions were wholly directed by virtuous motives. The last two have no special tenants assigned to them, but appear to serve as common places of meeting, the one to saints, the other to angels. Finally, outside of all, comes the Empyrean heaven, where is neither time nor place, but light only ; the special abode of Deity and resting-place of the saints. The time occupied in the journey through the different heavens is twenty-four hours. * The medieval doctrine on this subject appears to have been largely drawn from Jewish Cabalistic philosophy. See Ueberweg, Hist, of Phil. vol. i. 97, especially as to the book called Zohar, com- posed in the thirteenth century. ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. P. 32,1. i for "which below appears so great" read "which seems so far down." P. 56, 1. 6 after " shoulder" insert " of his own will." P. 89, note to canto vii. 109 for " Cf. i. 69 " read " Cf. 1. 69." P. 115, note to canto ix. 54, last line for "thirteenth" read " fourteenth." P. 156, note to canto xii. 50 add : "fogamay mean only 'course/ but I am inclined to think that the idea of heat comes in. See Gloss. Purg. s. v." P. 164, note to canto xii. 134 add : "The number twelve appears to be made up by reckoning the six books of which the seventh is com- posed, as separate treatises." P. 168, note to canto xiii. TO add : "It is called in Spanish bocina, 'the horn.'" P. 172, note to canto xiii. 61 add : "Cf. S. T. i. Q. 54. A. 3: Accidens vero quod est individui non consequens totam speciem, con- sequitur materiam, quae est individuationis principium." P. 228, canto xvii. 52 add note : " offensa : see note to Purg. xxxi. 12. The meaning here seems to be 'stumbled.' " P. 250, 1. 5 for " any " read "another " ; and for note to canto xix. 28, substitute: "The allusion seems to be to the fact that another sphere, viz. that of Saturn, which was moved by the order of ' Thrones,' was more specially connected with God's justice. See ix. 6l." P. 303, 1. 12 for "divine" read "bright." P. 398, canto xxxi. 41 add note : "tra esso e il gaudio. For this curious use of tra-e, cf. Purg. vii. 70, xxiv. 13. It is found even with a second preposition, as ' tra con parole e con atti,' ' tra per 1' una cosa e per 1' altra.' Corticelli." PARADISO. CANTO I. ARGUMENT. Dante, following the direction of Beatrice's eyes, gazes fixedly at the sun, and presently finds that he is rising on high. He is astonished thereat, and Beatrice expounds to him the cause of it. THE glory of Him who moves all things penetrates through the universe, and shines forth in one quarter more, and less in another. In the heaven which receives most of His light was I, and I beheld things which whoso descends thence has neither knowledge nor power to tell again, seeing LA gloria di Colui che tutto muove, Per 1' universo penetra, e risplende In una parte piu, e meno altrove. Nel ciel che piu della sua luce prende Fu' io, e vidi cose che ridire Ne sa ne puo qual di lassu discende ; 1 che tutto muove. S. T. ii. 2. Q. 104. A. 4 : Deus est primus motor omnium qui naturaliter moventur. It will be seen throughout that God is identified with the KIVOVV ou Kivov/jifvov of Aristotle, Metaph. X. 7. See note to 1. 76, post. , s. 6 Cf. 2 Cor. xii. 4. B PARADISO. CANTO i. that as it draws near to its desire our understanding plunges so deep, that back the memory cannot go. Howbeit, so much of the holy realm as I could treasure up within my mind shall now be matter for my lay. O good Apollo, at my latest labour make me a vessel of thy power so fashioned as thou requirest for the gift of the beloved laurel. Up to this point the one peak of Parnassus has sufficed me, but now with both it is meet that I enter on the remaining lists. Enter thou into my breast and Perche appressando se al suo disire, Nostro intelletto si profonda tanto, Che retro la memoria non pub ire. Veramente quant' io del regno santo 10 Nella mia mente potei far tesoro, Sara ora materia del mio canto. O buono Apollo, all' ultimo lavoro Fammi del tuo valor si fatto vaso, Come dimandi a dar 1' amato alloro. Insino a qui 1' un giogo di Parnaso Assai mi fu, ma or con ambedue M' e uopo entrar nell' aringo rimaso. Entra nel petto mio, e splra tue, 7 al SUO disire : that is to God, TO optKrov, KIVOVV u>s tpd>fj.evov. S. T. i. Q. 44. A. 3 : Omnia appetunt Deum ut finem. Cf. Conv. iii. 2. 16-18 There is some difficulty as to the two peaks of Parnassus. The mountain was " Bromio Phoeboque sacer," but it is plain that Dante is referring to his invocations of the Muses, Inf. ii. 7 and Pg. i. 8, and an allusion to Bacchus, though some commentators have been satisfied with it, would be out of place here. Probably, like Landino after him, he confused the " biceps Parnassus " with Helicon and Cithaeron. Giogo, as Philalethes notes, probably suggested the other sense of the Lat. jugum, and so the metaphor of the race-course. CANTO i. PARADISO. inspire, in such wise as when thou drewest forth Marsyas from the sheath of his limbs. O power divine, if thou impart thyself to me until I make manifest the image of the blessed realm which is stamped within my head, thou wilt see me come to the tree beloved by thee, and crown myself then with those leaves whereof my matter and thou will make me worthy. So seldom, Father, is aught plucked thereof for the triumphing of either Caesar or poet (a fault Si come quando Marsia traesti 20 Delia vagina delle membra sue. O divina virtu, se mi ti presti Tanto che 1' ombra del beato regno Segnata nel mio capo io manifesti, 3 Venir vedra' mi al tuo diletto legno, b E coronarmi allor di quelle foglie, Che la materia e tu mi farai degno. Si rade volte, Padre, se ne coglie, Per trionfare o Gesare o poeta a capo m. Gg. Aid. b Vedrami al pie del t. d. I. Gg. c Venir, e coronarmi delle f. Gg. - The reason for the introduction of Marsyas is not clear ; but it may be meant as an indirect warning to those who would sing without inspiration. Cf. the allusion to the Picae in Purg. i. n. The story of Marsyas is told in Ov. Met. vi. 381 sqq. and Fasti vi. 703 sqq. 24 Some omit io, regarding manifest! as the second person, which gives perhaps even a better sense: "grant thyself to me until thou bring to light what is now shadowed in my brain." 27 Che is a kind of general relative, standing for " who," " whose," " where," "when," etc., as the sense requires. See note to Purg. i. 3, and Diez iii. 348 ; also Corticelli, s. v. French que is used even more freely in a similar way. Diez considers that in this use both represent the Lat. quam. B 2 PARADISO. CANTO I. and a reproach of the wills of men) that the leaf of Peneus ought to bring forth joy upon the joyous godhead of Delphi whenever any is athirst for it. A mighty flame follows a little spark; haply after me will men pray with better words, for Cirrha to make answer. Through divers passages arises to mortals the lamp of the world ; but from that one which joins four circles with three crosses, it issues with a better course and in conjunc- (Colpa e vergogna dell' umane voglie), 30 Che partorir letizia in su la lieta Delfica Deita dovria la fronda Peneia, quando alcun di se asseta. d Poca favilla gran fiamma seconda : Forse diretro a me con miglior voci e Si preghera, perche Cirra risponda. Surge a' mortali per diverse foci La lucerna del mondo ; ma da quella, Che quattro cerchi giugne con tre croci, d altrtii Gg. e Dietro da seforse Cass. 14 ; da me 23. Forse retro d. m. W, 3 6 Cirrha, on the coast a few miles distant from Delphi, seems to have been by the Latin poets confused with Crissa, the town more immediately connected with the oracle. Pliny (iv. 4), however, dis- tinguishes them. See on the whole subject, Grote, Hist. Gr. Part II. ch. xxviii. Here, of course, Cirra is practically synonymous with Delphi. 37 "Dividitur ista pars, sen tertia cantica, quae Paradisus dicitur, principaliter in duas partes, scilicet in prologum et partem executivam . Pars secunda incipit ibi : Surgit mortalibus per diver sas fauces" Epistle to Can Grande. 38. 39 The equator, the ecliptic, and the equinoctial colure, or great circle through the pole of the equator and the equinoxes, intersect on the first point of Aries. At sunrise about the spring equinox this CANTO i. PARADISO. 5 tion with a better constellation, and more to its own fashion moulds and seals the wax of the world. The morning on that side and the evening on this had made that passage nearly, and there all that hemisphere was white, and the other part dark, when I saw Beatrice turned round upon the left flank, and gazing at the Sun : never did eagle so fix himself on it. And as a second ray is wont to issue from the first and mount upwards again, Con miglior corso e con migliore stella 40 Esce congiunta, e la - mondana cera Piu a suo modo tempera e suggella. Fatto avea di la mane e di qua sera Tal foce quasi, e tutto era la bianco f Quello emisperio, e 1' altra parte nera, Quando Beatrice in sul sinistro fianco Vidi rivolta, e riguardar nel sole : Aquila si non gli s' affisse unquanco. E si come secondt) raggio suole Uscir del primo e risalire insuso, 50 f Tal foce e quasi Gg. Bi, point is therefore on the horizon, which makes the fourth circle : the three crosses being made by the others with it. Aristotle (De Gen. et Corr. ii. 9) holds that the cause of creation and dissolution is the sun's movement in the ecliptic : oi^ V Trpwrr; (popa alria eVri yeveaecos Kal (pdopas, dXX' T) Kara TOV \obv KI>K\OV . . . 6p>pfv -yap on irpocriovros p.fv TOV 77X1011 ytvttris ecmv' diriovros 8e cpdi 6. 43-45 The time, as we know from Purg. xxxiii. 104, was just mid-day (not, as Philalethes takes it, " the moment of sunrise "), and accordingly the hemisphere in which Dante was, was all illuminated, mane must be understood as the space from sunrise to noon. For fatto, cf. Purg. ix. 8. On this side of the earth the "evening," i.e., the time from sunset to midnight, had " made " the like " passage " on the other side. PARADISO. CANTO i. even like a pilgrim who wills to return ; so of her action, poured through the eyes into my imagination, did mine frame itself, and I fixed my eyes on the Sun beyond our wont. Much is lawful there which here is not lawful to our power, thanks to the place made for a property of the human kind. I endured it not much, but not so little that I did not see it sparkle all about, like iron which comes forth seething from the fire. And of a sudden day seemed to be added to day, as though He that has the power had adorned the heaven with a second sun. Beatrice was Pur come peregrin che tornar vuole, Cosl dell' atto suo, per gli occhi infuso NelF immagine mia, il mio si fece, E fissi gli occhi al sole oltre a nostr' uso. g Molto e licito la, che qui non lece Alle nostre virtu, merce del loco Fatto per proprio dell' umana spece. lo nol soffersi molto, ne si poco Ch' io nol vedessi sfavillar dintorno, Qual ferro che bollente esce del fuoco. 60 |)i E di subito parve giorno a giorno Essere aggiunto, come Quei che puote Avesse il ciel d' un altro sole adorno. s volsi il viso al s. Gg. quasi, because the time was a few days after the equinox, and there- fore the sun's path did not pass exactly through the point named. It seems better to take it thus than to read with Bianchi, " e quasi tutto." 57 Cf. Pg. xxviii. 92, 3. So Aquinas, S. T. i. Q. 104. 2 : Para- disus est locus conveniens humanae habitation! secundum primum primae immortalitatis statum. 61 Cf. Isaiah xxx. 26. CANTO i. PARADISO. standing all fixed with her eyes upon the eternal wheels ; and I, my eyes fixed on her, removed from on high, in her aspect became such inwardly as Glaucus became in the tasting of the herb, which made him a consort in the sea with the other Gods. To signify in words transhumanation were impossible : wherefore let the example suffice him to whom grace is reserving an experience. If I was only that part of me which thou last createdst, O Love who orderest Beatrice tutta nelP eterne ruote Fissa con gli occhi stava ; ed io in lei Le luci fisse, di lassii remote, Nel suo aspetto tal dentro mi fei, Qual si fe Glauco nel gustar dell' erba, Che il fe cpnsorto in mar degli altri Dei. Trasumanar significar per verba 70 Non si poria : pero 1' esempio basti A cui esperienza grazia serba. //' S' io era sol di me*quel che creasti Novellamente, Amor, che il ciel governi, Tu il sai, che col tuo lume mi levasti. 68 Glaucus tells his own story inOv. Met. xiii. 918 sqq. The lines to which reference is here made are 944-7 : " Vix bene combiberant ignotos guttura sucos Quum subito trepidare intus praecordia sensi, Alteriusque rapi naturae pectus amore. Nee potui restare loco." And 956-9 : " Hactenus acta tibi possum memoranda referre ; Hactenus et memini ; nee mens mea cetera sensit. Quae postquam rediit alium me corpore toto, Ac fueram nuper, nee eundem mente, recepi. " 73 I.e. " I was in my body" : that being the part of man which is last to be created. Cf. 2 Cor. xii. 2, 3. 8 PAR AD ISO. CANTO I. the heaven, thou knowest, for with thy light thou liftedst me. When the revolution that thou makest everlasting through desire, brought itself to my attention, with the harmony which thou temperest and distributest, so much of the heaven then appeared to me kindled by the flame of the'Tsun, that rain nor river ever made so wide-spread a Quando la rota, che tu sempiterni Desiderate, a se mi fece atteso Con 1' armonia che temperi e discerni, h Parvemi tanto allor del cielo acceso Dalla fiamma del Sol, che pioggia o fiume 80 Lago non fece mai tanto disteso.' i 11 Con la rota 145 ; isterni Ald.(i) Land. Dan. ' L. non fece alcun Gg. 134; loco . . . alcun Cass. > 6 '" Literally, "which thou, being desired, makest everlasting. 1 ' We are reminded of the language of the Platonic Timaeus : Ofiav upxrjv fjpl-aTO anavcrrov KOI efj,(ppovos filov Ttpbs rbv vfjuravra xpovov (chap. 36) ; but the germ of the doctrine that the movement of the heavens proceeds from the desire which all created things have for God is rather to be sought in Ar. Met. A. 7 (1072 a) : etrrt'rt o ov K.ivovfj.fvov Kivel, diSiov Kal ovcria KOI evepytia ovcra. Ktvei Se S)8e'ro opficrbv KOI TO vor]Tov Kivti ov Kivovfj-fvov. Cf. also de An. iii. 10. In de Caelo ii. 2, the various movements of the heavens are explained as depending on their nearness to the divine origin. Aquinas (S. T. i. Q. 105. A. 2) translates Aristotle: " Deus movet sicut desideratum et intellectum." See also Q. 70. So again Conv. ii. 4 : per lo ferventissimo appetito che ha ciascuna sua pane d' esser congiunta con ciascuna parte di quello divinissimo cielo quieto in quello si rivolve [sc. il primo mobile] con tanto desiderio che la sua velocita e quasi incomprensibile. ? 8 armonia. It is curious that Dante should have adopted, as he appears here to do, the Pythagorean and Platonic doctrine of a harmony caused by the revolution of the heavenly bodies. Aristotle (de Caelo ii. 9) discusses it, and decides against it. Aquinas, on Job xxxviii. 37 ("concentum caeli quis dormire faciet "), follows Aristotle, and holds CANTO i. PARADISO. pool. The strangeness of the sound and the great light kindled in me a desire for their cause never before felt with such keenness. Wherefore she who saw me as I see myself, to set at rest my disturbed mind, before I could do it to ask, opened her mouth, and began : " Thou thyself makest thyself gross with false imagining, so that thou seest not that which thou wouldest have seen, if thou hadst shaken it off. Thou art not on the earth as thou deemest : but a thunderbolt flying from its proper abode never sped as thou dost who art returning to the same." If I was stripped of the first doubt by the few short words which were smiled La novitk del suono e il grande lume Di lor cagion m' accesero un disio Mai non sentito di cotanto acume. Ond' ella, che vedea me si com' io, A quietarmi 1' animo commosso, k Pria ch' io a dimandar, la bocca aprio : E comincib : Tu stesso ti fai grosso Col falso immaginar, si che non vedi Cib che vedresti, se 1' avessi scosso. 90 Tu non se' in terra si come tu credi ; Ma folgore, fuggendo il proprio sito, Non corse come tu ch' ad esso riedi. 1 S' io fui del primo dubbio disvestito Per le sorrise parolette brevi, k acquetarmi Cass. ' corria Gg. that the " concentus " must be taken metaphorically " pro sola con- venientia caelestium motuum qui nunquam dormiunt. " 92 il proprio sito, i.e., the sphere of fire, in which it is generated and to which it belongs. v 93 corse, in aorist sense. See note to Purg. xxxii. 34. io PARADISO. CANTO I. on me, inwardly I was more enmeshed in a new; and I said : "Already I have rested content from a great wonder- ing; but now I wonder how I may rise past these light bodies." Wherefore she, after a kindly sigh, directed her eyes toward me with that countenance which a mother makes over a son whose reason wanders, and began : " All things whatsoever have an order among themselves; and this is form, which makes the universe in the likeness of God. Here the created beings on high see the traces of the eternal goodness, which is the end whereunto the rule aforesaid has been made. In that order which I say have Dentro ad un nuovo piu fui irretito : E dissi : Gia contento requievi Di grande ammirazion : ma ora ammiro Com' io trascenda questi corpj lievi. Ond' ella, appresso d' un pio sospTro, 100 Gli occhi drizzo ver me con quel sembiante, Che madre fa sopra figliuol deliro : E comincib : le cose tutte quante Hann' ordine tra loro ; e questo e forma, 1 " Che 1' universe a Dio fa simigliante. Qui veggion 1' alte creature 1' orma Dell' eterno valore, il quale e fine, Al quale e fatta la toccata norma. NelP ordine ch' io dico sono accline m questo in forma 5. 97 Bianchi notes the Lat. form reqitievi, and compares the audivi of Inf. xxvi. 78. 99 corpi lievi, i.e. air and fire, through the spheres of which he is now passing. 103.111 g ee no t e at the en( j o f this Canto. 106 1' alte creature. Cf. Pg. xi. 3, "i primi effetti di lassu." CANTO r. PARADISO. ii all natures their propension, through divers lots, [as they are] more or less near to their origin : whereby they move to divers ports through the great sea of being, and each with instinct given to it to bear it. This bears away fire towards the moon ; this is the motive power in the hearts of men; this binds the earth together and makes it one. Nor only the creatures which are outside of understanding does this bow shoot forth, but those that have intellect and love. The Providence that settles so much, gives ever that Tutte nature per diverse sorti, no Piu al principio loro e men vicine ; Onde si muovono a diversi porti Per lo gran mar dell' essere, e ciascuna Con istinto a lei dato che la porti. Questi ne porta il fuoco inver la Luna ; Questi nei cuor mortali e permotore ; Questi la terra in se stringe ed aduna. Ne pur le creature* che son fuore D ; intelligenzia, quest' arco Ma quelle ch' hanno intelletto ed amore. 120 La prowidenza, che cotanto assetta, Del suo lume fa il ciel sempre quieto, "5 Cf. Pg. xviii. 28. 118-20 f g T. i. Q. 2. A. 3 : Ea quae non habent cognitionem non tendunt in finem, nisi directa ab aliquo cognoscente et intelligente, sicut sagitta a sagittante ; ergo est aliquid intelligens, a quo omnes res ordinantur ad finem : et hoc dicimus Deum. 121,122 j e t h e Empyrean, or fixed heaven, "luogo di quella somma Delta che se sola compiutamente vede," and therefore at rest ; while that next within it, or "primo mobile," "per lo ferventissimo appetite che ha ciascuna sua parte d' essere congiunta con ciascuna parte di quello decimo Cielo divinissimo e quieto, in quello si rivolve con tanto desiderio, che la sua velocita e quasi incomprensibile," Conv. ii. 4. See also note to 1. 76. 12 PARADISO. CANTO I. heaven rest in His light, within the which turns that one which has greatest speed. And now thither, as to a site appointed, the virtue of that string is bearing us away, which directs to a happy mark whatsoever it shoots forth. True is it that as form many times accords not with the intention of the art, because the matter is deaf to respond, so from this course the creature departs at whiles ; for it has the power, when thus urged, to swerve in another Nel qual si volge quel ch' ha maggior fretta. Ed ora li, com' a sito decreto, Qea porta la virtu di quella corda, Che cio che scocca drizza in segno lieto. Vero e che come forma non s' accorda Molte fiate alia intenzion dell' arte, Perch' a risponder la materia e sorda ; Cosi da questo corso si diparte 130 Talor la creatura, ch' ha podere Di piegar, cosi pinta, in altra parte, (E si come veder si pub cadere 125. 126 Aquinas uses the simile again, S. T. i. Q. 23. Art. I : Ad ..lucl ad quod non potest aliquid virtute suae naturae pervenire, oportet quod ab alio transmittatur ; sicut sagitta a sagittante mittitur ad signum : unde, proprie loquendo, rationalis creatura, quae est capax vitae aeternae, perducitur in ipsam, quasi a Deo transmissa ; and again, S. T. ii. I. Q. 4. A. 5 : Voluntas tendit in finalem actum intellectus, qui est beatitudo ; et ideo recta inclinatio voluntatis praeexigitur ad bead- tudinem : sicut rectus motus sagittae ad percussionem signi. I2 7 Cf. De Mon. ii. 2 : Perfecto existente artifice, atque optime organo se habente, si contingat peccatum in forma artis, materiae tantum imputandum est ; and S. T. ii. I. Q. 4. Art. 4 : Finis com- paratur ad id quod ordinatur ad finem, sicut forma ad materiam, etc. 133 I.e. as fire, under certain conditions, may behave in a way contrary to its nature, so may the natural impulses of the soul. Cf. Purg. xviii. 28-33. CANTO I. PARADISO. 13 direction (even as fire may be seen to fall from a cloud), if the first impulse brings it to earth, being turned aside by a false pleasure. Thou oughtest no more to wonder, if I rightly judge, at thy ascent, otherwise than at a river if it falls from a high mountain down to the bottom. It would be a marvel in thee, if being rid of impediment thou hadst sate below, as would be living fire quiet on the ground." Herewith she turned again towards the heaven her gaze. Fuoco di nube), se 1' impeto primo L' atterra torto da falso piacere. " Non dei piu ammirar, se bene stimo, Lo tuo salir, se non come d' un rivo, Se d' alto monte scende giuso ad imo. Maraviglia sarebbe in te, se privo D' impedimento giu ti fossi assiso, 140 Com' a terra quieto fuoco vivo. p Quinci rivolse inver lo cielo il viso. n Laterra torta del f. p. Gg.; dal 5; da 124 ; latcrra a torto da Cass.; A terra e torto Aid. Land. salire, non Gg.; per lotuo salir se non Cass. P aterra quieta ilf. v. Gg.; a terra quiete in Cass.; in terra quiete in 3 W.; commatera quiete in 145 ; come matera quieta in 2. 137 se non come, lit. "if not as," sc. thou wouldst wonder at. So iii. 44, where the use is still more curious. NOTE TO LINES 103 SQQ. This passage, though it is introduced merely as an explanation of the process by which Dante is enabled to rise through a medium lighter than his body, contains in a few lines so perfect a specimen of the method by which the Aristotelian philosophy was fitted to Christian 1 4. FARAD ISO. CANTO i. doctrine as to deserve comment and illustration. The general drift of it is as follows : The Final Cause (TO ov evfica) of created things is eternal happiness, which consists in the sight of God. (S. T. i. Q. 23. Art. I : Finis ad quern res creatae ordinantur a Deo est duplex ; unus ... est vita aeterna, quae in divina visione consistit. With line 106 we may compare the famous passage in Plato, Phaedrus, 247 c : Kadopq fj.ev avTrjv SiKaioo-vvr)v, Kadopq e o~a>(ppoo-vvr)v, K.r.X.) But to this end it is necessary that the creature should become like God. (S. T. i. Q. 86. Art. I : Requiritur ad cognoscendum ut simili- tude rei cognitae sit in cognoscente quasi quaedam forma ipsius. So Ar. Met. /3. 4 (1000 b) : 'H yva>o~is TOV 6/j.oi'ou T KO.\ dpid/j. s il veder Gg. 60 "J'l. Conv. ii. 14 : Se la Luna si guarda bene, due cose si veggono in essa proprie, che non si veggono nell' altre stelle ; 1'una si e 1' ombra ch' e in essa, la quale non e altro che rarita del suo corpo, alia quale non possono terminare i raggi del Sole e ripercuotersi cosl come nell' altre parti. He now repeats this theory as to the markings on the moon's disk; but Beatrice shows that it is untenable, on the following grounds: (i) the fixed stars are of various degrees of bright- ness, but we know that this is due to the variety of formal principles (see below), and not to density or rarity; (2) if the moon's body consist of rare and dense strata, the former must either extend all through, in which case they would allow the sun's light to pass in an eclipse, or must be arranged with the denser parts in layers, lying over them in some places, so that the light in the darker parts is reflected from a surface at some distance below the general level of the planet. (She seems to assume that the "rare" must be absolutely transparent.) But an OANTO II. PARADISO. I shall make in opposition to it. The eighth sphere shows you many lights, the which in quality and magnitude may be remarked to be of different aspects. If rare and dense alone had caused this, there would be in all one sole virtue, more and less distributed, and in proportion. Divers virtues must needs be the fruits of formal principles, and these, all save one, would be as a consequence of thy La spera ottava vi dimostra molti Lumi, li quali e nel quale e nel quanto Notar si posson di diversi volti. Se raro e denso cib facesser tanto, Una sola virtu sarebbe in tutti Piu e men distributa, ed altrettanto. Virtu diverse esser convegnon frutti 70 Di principi formali, e quei, fuor ch' uno, Seguiteriano a tua ragion distrutti. experiment with mirrors will show that the intrinsic brightness of light is not affected by distance. The real cause is to be sought in the virtue which, having its origin in the ninth heaven, or friinum mobile, is distributed by the next, or heaven of the fixed stars, in various influence throughout the universe. It is to be noticed that the heaven of the Moon is occupied by the souls of those who have failed to keep their vows unbroken, which may be typified by the flaws in the moon's lustre, as their inconstancy is by her changes. 7, 71 That is to say, the various influences of the heavenly bodies are the result of a variety in the original formal causes. See note to Purg. xvi. 63. Ueberweg quotes Aquinas, Contra Gentiles iii. 24 : Formae quae sunt in materia venerunt a formis quae sunt sine materia, et quantum ad hoc verificatur dictum Platonis, quod formae separatae sunt principia formarum quae sunt in materia, licet posuerit eas per se subsistentes et causantes immediate formas sensibilium, nos vero ponimus eas in intellectu existentes et causantes formas inferiores per motum caeli. convegnon. It is rare to find con-venire used per- sonally in this sense. Corticelli gives an instance from Boccaccio, Day 7, Nov. 7 : Per certo io il convengo vedere. PARADISO. CANTO II. reasoning destroyed. Further, if rarity were the cause that thou seekest of that dark part, either this planet would be to that extent lacking of its matter, or, just as a body arranges the fat and the lean, so would it change leaves in its volume. If it were the first, it would be manifest in the eclipses of the sun, by the light showing through, as when it is borne into any other rare thing. This is not the case ; and therefore we have to see about the other : and if it befall that I quash the other, thy notion will be proved false. If it be the case that this rare does not pass through, there must needs be a limit, from whence its contrary does not allow it to pass further ; and thence the ray from another body is poured back in such wise as colour returns through Ancor se raro fosse di quel bruno Cagion, che tu dimandi, od oltre in parte, Fora di sua materia si digiuno Esto pianeta, o s\ come comparte Lo grasso e il magro un corpo, cosi questo, Nel suo volume cangerebbe carte. Se il primo fosse, fora manifesto Nell' eclissi del Sol, per trasparere 80 Lo lume, come in altro raro ingesto. Questo non e ; perb e da vedere Dell' altro, e s' egli avvien, ch' io 1' altro cassi, Falsificato fia lo tuo parere. S' egli e che questo raro non trapassi, Esser conviene un termine, da onde Lo suo contrario piu passar non lassi : E indi 1' altrui raggio si rifonde Cosl, come color torna per vetro, 82 da. For this use see Diez iii. 221. CANTO ii. PARADISO. 23 glass, which has lead hidden behind it. Now thou wilt say that the ray shows itself more discoloured there than in other parts, through being there reflected from a point further back. From this objection experiment may set thee free, if thou ever make trial of it ; which is wont to be the fountain to the streams of your arts. Thou shalt take three mirrors, and remove two of them from thee in the same measure, and let the other, further removed, meet thy eyes between the first two. Turn towards them, and cause a light to be placed behind thy back so as to illuminate Lo qual diretro a se piombo nasconde. 90 Or dirai tu, che si dimostra tetro Quivi lo raggio piii che in altre parti, Per esser li rifratto piu a retro. Da questa instanzia pub diliberarti Esperienza, se giammai la pruovi, Ch' esser suol fonte ai rivi di vostre arti. Tre specchi prenderai, e due rimuovi Da te d' un modo, e 1' altro piu rimosso Tr' ambo li primi gli occhi tuoi ritruovi : Rivolto ad essi fa che dopo il dosso h 100 Ti stea un lume, che i tre specchi accenda, h Rivolti Gg. 14. The mirror of glass backed with lead is mentioned, Conv. iii. 9. 9 3 rifratto, as in Purg. xv. 22. ' 4 instanzia is the scholastic rendering of Gr. evorao-is, "an objection," as in Ar. Rhet. ii. 25. See Grote, Aristotle, chap. vi. 96 arte = rather our " science," as in Purg. iv. 80, etc. It represents Gr. Texyr). Cf. Metaph. a. i : airoftaivti 8' fjrurnmr) KOI Tex^n 8'a njy ffvrrfipias rots dvdpatTTois. 97 sqq. xhe point is that the intrinsic quality of light is not affected by distance. The light from the further mirror will only be less in proportion to the apparent size of the reflecting surface. 24 PARADISO. .CANTO n. the three mirrors, and return to thee struck back by all. Although in point of magnitude the furthest image is not so much extended, thou wilt there see how it is of equal brightness. Now, as at the strokes of the hot rays, that which lies under the snow remains bare both of the colour and the cold which it had before, thee, thus remaining, I wish to inform in thy intellect with light so living, that it shall glimmer upon thee in its aspect. Within the heaven of the eternal peace revolves a body in whose virtue lies the E torni a te da tutti ripercosso : Benche nel quanto tanto non si stenda La vista piii lontana, li vedrai Come convien ch' egualmente risplenda. Or come ai colpi degli caldi rai Delia neve riman nudo il suggetto, E dal colore e dal freddo primai, Cos! rimaso te nello intelletto' Voglio informar di luce si vivace, no Che ti tremolera nel suo aspetto. Dentro dal ciel della divina pace Si gira un corpo, nella cui virtute ' rimosso Gg. I0 ? Bianchi is clearly wrong in taking suggetto = " sostanza. " It is absurd to say that when the snow is gone, its substance or matter remains, stripped of its accidents. I have followed Blane and Philalethes. " E ogni cosa in che si posa la neve." Danielle. 111 tremolerk. So Purg. i. 117, xii. 90. n sqq- inside o f the fixed heaven, or Empyrean, revolves the/n'#/w mobile (i. 122, 123) in which originate the influences which are distributed by the next heaven, that of the fixed stars (see note to 1. 70), to the various spheres which make up the universe, much as the various orga ns make up the human frame. CANTO ii. PARADISO. 25 being of all that is contained in it. The heaven that follows, which has so many objects of sight, apportions that being through divers essences, distinct from it and contained by it. The other whorls through various differences dispose to their ends the distinctions which they have within them- selves, and the germs thereof. These organs of the world go thus, as thou now seest, from step to step, for they receive from above and act below. Regard me well, how I am going L' esser di tutto suo contento giace. Lo ciel seguente, ch' ha tante vedute, Quell' esser parte per diverse essenze Da lui distinte e da lui contenute. Gli altri giron per varie differenze Le distinzion, che dentro da se hanno, Dispongono a lor fini, e lor semenze. 120 Questi organi del mondo cosi vanno, Come tu vedi omai, di grado in grado, Che di su prenclono e di sotto fanno. k Riguarda bene a me si com' io vado 1 k procedono Gg. l Rig. omai a me si Cass. 120 Looking to Purg. xxx. i io, it is, I think, clear that lor semenze is not coupled with lor fini, but with distinzion, and is governed by dispongono, as Bianchi takes it. Daniello's note, "lor fine, che sono gli effetti, e lor semenze, che sono le cause effettive," does not seem to the purpose, because if that be the meaning here, semenze ought to come first. He reads fine, it will be observed. 121 De Mundo, ch. 6 : KivrjOfv yap erepov v(f)' erepov, KOI avro Trd\iv fKivrjcrfv oXXo trvv KoayiO). Met. d. 2 (1013 a. b. ): Sera 8rj KiVT]? ovra. TO. fifv opyava TU 8' fpya. S. T. i. Q. 106. A. 4 : Dionysius dicit 15 cap. cael. hierarch. quod unaquaeque caelestis essentia intelligentiam sibi a superiore datam inferiori communicat. 26 PARADISO. CANTO II. through this topic to the truth which thou desirest, so that hereafter thou mayest have knowledge to hold the passage by thyself. The movement and virtue of the holy circles, as from the smith the craft of the hammer, must needs from the blessed movers have their breath. And the heaven which so many lights make fair, from the deep mind of Him who revolves it takes the image, and makes thereof a seal. And as the soul within your dust is diffused through members different and conformed to divers faculties, so the Intelligence unfolds its goodness multiplied through the stars, revolving itself upon its unity. Divers virtue makes Per questo loco al ver che tu disiri, . ^* - Si che poi sappi sol tener lo guado. Lo moto e la virtu dei santi giri, Come dal fabbro 1' arte del martello, Da beati motor convien che spiri. E il ciel, cui tanti lumi fanno bello, 130 Dalla mente profonda che lui volve, Prende F image, e fassene suggello. E come 1' alma dentro a vostra polve, Per differenti membra, e conformate A diverse potenzie, si risolve ; Cosi 1' intelligenzia sua bontate Moltiplicata per le stelle spiega, Girando se sovra sua unitateT~ 130 That is, the heaven of the fixed stars. 134, 135' Bianchi quotes Boethius iii. Metr. 9 : In triplicis mediam naturae cuncta moventem Connectens animam per consona membra resolvis. potenzie. Cf. Purg. iv. 10, and note at end of that Canto. 136 bontate here and in 1. 148 appears to be nearly equiv. to dperij. See note to Purg. iv. CANTO II. PARADISO. 27 divers alloy with the precious body which it quickens, in which it is bound as life in you. Through the happy nature whence it has its source, the virtue mingled beams through the body, as joy through a living pupil. From this comes that which appears different between light and light, not from dense and rare; this is the formal principle, which produces in conformity with its goodness, the dull and the bright." Virtu diversa fa diversa lega Col prezioso corpo ch' ell' avviva, 140 Nel qual, si come vita in voi, si lega. Per la natura lieta, onde deriva, La virtu mista per lo corpo luce, Come letizia per pupilla viva. Da essa vien cio che da luce a luce Par differente, non da denso e raro : Essa e formal principle che produce, Conforme a sua bonta, lo turbo e il chiaro. 139 Cf. S. T. i. Q. 115. Art. 3: Actiones corporum caelestium diversimode recipiuntur in inferioribus corporibus, secundum diversam materiae dispositionem. 142 lieta. Cf. Purg. xvi. 89. *& P. di Dante ends his Commentary on this Canto with the following remark, which deserves quoting for its almost touching naivete: "Alia per te vide, imo omnia, quia nil vidi, nee intellexi." // It is fair to say that the last seven words are not found in all Codices. ' CANTO III. ARGUMENT. Certain souls appear, of those who on earth have taken holy vows, and failed to keep them. Dante speaks with Piccarda, who shows him how in Paradise all are content with their lot ; and he sees Constance the Empress. THAT sun, which once scalded my breast with love, had, in proving and refuting, discovered to me the sweet counte- nance of fair truth; and I, to confess myself corrected, and certain in such measure as was meet, raised my head more erect to utter. But a vision appeared, which held me so straitly to itself by the sight of it, that I did not remember my confession. QUEL Sol, che pria d' amor mi scaldb il petto, Di bella verita m' avea scoverto, Provando e riprovando, il dolce aspetto : Ed io, per confessar corretto e certo Me stesso, tanto quanto si convenne Levai il capo a profferer piu erto. Ma visione apparve, che ritenne A se me tanto stretto, per vedersi, Che di mia confession non mi sovenne. 3 provando e riprovando, by showing me wherein I was wrong, and pointing out the true theory. CANTO in. PARADISO. 29 As through glasses transparent and polished, or through waters clear and calm, not so deep as to make the bottom dark, the outlines of our visages return so weak that a pearl on a white forehead comes not with less force to our eyes, like this saw I many faces, ready to speak : so that I ran into the contrary error to that which kindled love between the man and the fountain. Soon as I took notice of them, judging them to be mirrored features, I turned aside my eyes, to see whose they were ; and saw nothing and turned Quali per vetri trasparenti e tersi, 10 O ver per acque nitide e tranquille Non si profonde che i fondi sien persi, Tornan de' nostri visi le postille Debili si, che perla in bianca fronte Non vien men tosto alle nostre pupille : a Tali vid' io piu facce a parlar pronte : Per ch' io dentro all' error contrario corsi A quel ch' accese amor tra 1' uomo e il fonte. Subito, si com' io di lor m' accorsi, Quelle estimando specchiati sembianti, b 20 Per veder di cui fosser, gli occhi torsi, E nulla vidi, e ritorsili avanti * venne forte Gg.; vien men forte 124. b spiegati Gg. " persi. Many, perhaps most comm. take this as here = per- duti. There is, however, no other instance in D. C. of this form, so that it seems better on the whole to take it in the usual sense. See note to Purg. ix. 97. The image is one of Dante's best. 13 postille. Lit. short marginal or interlinear notes, giving the sense of a word or passage. J 7 Narcissus supposed a reflection to be a real face ; I supposed these faces to be reflections of persons behind me. 30 PARADISO. CANTO in. them back straight forward in the light of my sweet guide, who was glowing with a smile in her holy eyes. " Marvel not though I smile," she said to me, " after thy childish thought, since thou dost not yet trust thy foot upon the truth, but turnest round, as the wont is, on vacancy. These that thou seest are true substances, rele- gated here for failure of a vow. Wherefore talk with them, and hear and believe ; for the light of truth which satisfies them, suffers them not to turn aside their feet from it." And I directed myself toward the shade that seemed most fain to converse, and began, like a man from whom excess of willing takes power : " O spirit created to good Dritti nel lume della dolce guida, Che sorridendo ardea negli occhi santi. Non ti maravigliar perch' io sorrida, Mi disse, appresso il tuo pueril cotp, Poi sopra il vero ancor lo pie non fida, Ma te rivolve, come suole, a voto ; Vere sustanzie son cio che tu vedi, Qui rilegate per manco di voto. 30 Pero parla con esse, ed odi e credi, c Che la verace luce che le appaga, Da se non lascia lor torcer li piedi. Ed io all' ombra che parea piu vaga Di ragionar, drizza' mi, e cominciai, Quasi com' uom cui troppa voglia smaga : O ben create spirito, ch' ai rai c parla con lor Gi>.; cortese 2. 3,33 Perhaps a reference to Psalm cxix. (Vulg. cxviii.) 105 : Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum, et lumen semitis meis. 37 ben create, so ben nati, Purg. v. 60. CANTO III. PAR AD I SO. 31 who in the rays of eternal life perceivest the sweetness which if not tasted is never understood, it will be gracious to me, if thou content me with thy name and your lot." Wherefore she, readily and with laughing eyes : " Our charity locks not doors upon a just wish, any more than that which would have all its court like to itself. I was in the world a virgin Sister ; and if thy mind regards me well, my being more fair will not hide me from thee, but thou wilt recognise that I am Piccarda, who posted here with these other blessed ones, am blessed in the sphere that moves most slowly. Our affections which are inflamed only in the pleasure of the Holy Spirit rejoice, being formed in Di vita eterna la dolcezza senti, Che non gustata non s' intende mai ; Grazioso mi fia, se mi contenti 40 Del nome tuo e della vostra sorte. Ond' ella pronta e con occhi ridenti : La nostra carita non serra porte A giusta voglia, se non come quella, Che vuol simile a se tutta sua corte. lo fui nel mondo vergine sorella : E se la mente tua ben si riguarda, Non mi ti celera 1' esser piu bella, Ma riconoscerai ch' io son Piccarda, Che posta qui con questi altri bead, 50 Beata son nella spera piu tarda. Li nostri affetti, che solo infiammati Son nel piacer dello Spirito Santo, 41 vostra, i.e. of thyself and those with thee. 44 se non come. Cf. i. 137. quella = the love of God. 49 Piccarda. See Purg. xxiv. 10-16. She was sister to Corso ancf Forese Donati. 32 PARADISO. CANTO ill. His order. And this lot, which below appears so great, is for this reason given to us, because our vows were neglected, and void in some part." Wherefore I to her : " In your marvellous aspects shines forth something divine, which transmutes you from the former conception. Wherefore I was not quick to remember; but now that which thou sayest aids me, so that to recall thy figure is easier to me. But tell me, ye who are happy here, do ye feel the want of a higher place, for the sake of fuller vision, or to make to you more friends?" With those other shades she first Letizian del suo ordine formati : E questa sorte, che par giu cotanto, Perb n' e data, perche fur negletti Li nostri voti, e voti in alcun canto. Ond' io a lei : Ne' mirabili aspetti Vostri risplende non so che divino, Che vi trasmuta dai primi concetti : 60 Perb non fui a rimembrar festino ; Ma or m' aiuta cib che tu mi dici, Si che il raffigurar m j e piu latino. _ Ma dimmi : voi, che siete qui felici, Desiderate voi piu alto loco, Per piu vedere, o per piu farvi amici ? Con quell' altr' ombre pria sorrise un poco : s4 Remember that ordine is forma : i. 104. 57 Observe the play on voti. See Purg. xxv. 42. 58-60 f t jjjg difficulty at first in recognising her brother Forese, Purg. xxiii. 43. Dante seems to take a certain pleasure in such parallels between members of the same family, as in the case of Guido da Montefeltro and his son Buonconte, Inf. xxvii. and Purg. v. 63 latino. So Conv. ii. 3 : A piu latinamente vedere la sentenzia litterale. See Glossary. CANTO in. PARAD1SO. 33 smiled a little ; after that she answered me with such joy that she appeared to be burning in the prime fire of love : " Brother, a virtue of charity sets at rest our will, which makes us wish that only which we have, and lets us not thirst for aught else. If we desired to be more on high, our desires would be out of harmony with the will of Him who distributes us here, for which thou wilt see there is no capacity in these circles, if to be in charity is necessary here, and thou regardest well its nature. Rather is it Da indi mi rispose tanto lieta, Ch' arder parea d' amor nel primo foco : Frate, la nostra volonta quieta 70 Virtu di carita, che fa volerne Sol quel ch' avemo, e d' altro non ci asseta. Se disiassimo esser piu superne, Foran discordi gli nostri disiri Dal voler di colui, che qui ne cerne : Che vedrai non capere in questi giri ; S' essere in cantate e qui necesse, E se la sua natura ben rimiri : Anzi e formale ad esso beato esse, 68 Da indi = precisely Lat. deinde. *9 Land, and others understand primo foco as the Moon, and take d' amor directly with arder; but Vellutello's interpretation seems best : " cioe nel piu vehemente fuoco d' amore." . 73 " Nulli beato deest aliquod bonum desiderandum, cum habet ipsum bonum infinitum." S. T. ii. I. Q. 5. Art. 2. 79 S. T. ii. I. Q. 19. Art. 10 : Conformatur quantum ad hoc voluntas hominis voluntati divinae quia vult hoc quod Deus vult eum velle. Est et alius modus conformitatis secundum rationem causae formalis, ut scilicet homo velit aliquid ex charitate sicut Deus vult ; et ista etiam conformitas reducitur ad conformitatem formalem, quae attenditur ex ordine ad ultimum finem: quod est proprikm objectum charitatis. . . . Sed in particulari nescimus quod Deus velit ... in statu 34 PARADISO. CANTO ill. formal to this blessed existence to hold oneself within the divine will, wherefore our wills themselves become one. So that as we are from threshold to threshold throughout this realm it pleases all the realm as well as the King who makes us will within His will. In His will is our peace ; it is that sea whereunto all moves, that which it creates and which nature makes." It was clear to me then how every- where in heaven is paradise, even if the grace of the highest Good falls not there in one fashion. But as it befalls, if one food satiates, and the appetite for another still remains, Tenersi dentro alia divina voglia, 80 Per ch' una fansi nostre voglie stesse. SI che come noi siam di soglia in soglia Per questo regno, a tutto il regno piace, Com' allo re ch' in suo voler ne invoglia. d In la sua volontade e nostra pace; 6 Ella e quel mare, al qual tutto si muove Cib ch' ella crea e che natura face. Chiaro mi fu allor, com' ogni ^oye In cielo e Paradiso, e si la grazia Del sommo ben d' un modo non vi piove. 90 Ma si com' egli avvien, se un cibo sazia/ E d' un altro rimane ancor la gola, d a suo v. Aid. W. Et la sua v. 124 Aid. W. f che un cibo Gg. 24. tamen gloriae omnes videbunt in singulis quae volent ordinem eorum ad id quod Deus circa hoc vult : et ideo non solum formaliter, sed mate- rialiter in omnibus suam voluntatem Deo conformabunt. 84 invoglia. The use is a little different from that in Purg. xiv. 1 10. There ne (=n0i) is the remote, here the immediate object. 8 ? God creates the matter, nature ma>kes the form. See S. T. i. Q. 45, passim. ' CANTO ill. PAR ADI SO. 35 that one is asked for and the other refused with thanks, in such wise did I with act and word, to learn from her what was the web whereof she did not draw the shuttle to the end. " A perfect life and high desert place in a higher heaven," said she to me, "a dame after whose rule down in your world they wear the robe and veil, so that all through till death, waking and sleeping, they may be with that spouse who accepts every vow which charity conforms to his pleasure. To follow her I fled a young girl from the world, and in her habit I enclosed myself and undertook the way Che quel si chiede, e di quel si ringrazia, Cosl fee' io con atto e con parola, Per apprender da lei qual fu la tela, Onde non trasse insino al_cola spola. Perfetta vita ed alto merto inciela Donna piu su, mi disse, alia cui norma Nel vostro mortdo giu si veste e vela ; Perche in fino al morir si vegghi e dorma 100 Con quello sposo, ch' ogni voto accetta, Che caritate a suo piacer conforma. Dal mondo, per seguirla, giovinetta Fuggimmi, e nel suo abito mi chiusi, E promisi la via della sua setta. 95 Danielle's explanation seems the best: "cioe qual si fosse stato il voto ch' ella non havea adempiato." The objection that Dante must have known it already, would apply to most of the questions that he asks concerning the former life of the persons whom he introduces. 98 Donna. St. Clara was born of a noble family at Assisi, 1194. She attached herself to her fellow-citizen St. Francis, and under his direction founded the order which goes by her name. She died 1253. D 2 36 PARADISO. CANTO in. of her order. Afterwards men more used to ill than to good carried me away forth of the sweet cloister; God knows of what sort was my life thereafter ! "And this other glory, which is displaying itself to thee on my right side, and which is kindled with all the light of our sphere, that which I say of me understands of herself. She was a Sister, and in this wise from her head was taken the shade of the sacred coif. But after that she was turned back even to the world, against her own will and against good custom, she was in her heart never Uomini poi a mal piu ch' a bene usi, Fuor mi rapiron della dolce chiostra : Dio lo si sa, qual poi mia vita fusi. E quest' altro splendor, che ti si mostra - _ <- Dalla mia destra parte, e che s' accende no Di tutto il lume della spera nostra, Cib ch' io dico di me, di se intende : Sorella fu, e cosi le fu tolta Di capo 1' ombra delle sacre bende. Ma poi che pur al mondo fu rivolta Contra suo grado e contra buona usanza, 106 Uomini. I.e. her brother Corso, and a band of his satellites, who dragged her from the convent, and compelled her to resume the secular life. 109 S qq. Constance, daughter of Roger, King of Sicily, Apulia, and Calabria, son of Roger, "the Great Count," the brother of Robert Guiscard. Her brother William, " the Bad," put her into a convent, whence she was taken by his son William, " the Good," to be married to the Emperor Henry VI., son of Frederick Barbarossa. By him she became the mother of Frederick II., who from her, William having died without children, inherited the kingdoms of Sicily and Apulia. (See Villani iv. 20 and v. 16. He rather mixes up the genealogy of the family.) CANTO ill. PARADISO. 37 loosed from the veil. This is the light of the great Constance, who by the second whirlwind of Suabia gave birth to the third, and the last power." Thus she talked with me, and then began singing Ave Maria, and singing she vanished as does a heavy body through deep water. My sight which followed her so long as was possible after it lost her turned to the mark of greatest desire, and converged wholly upon Beatrice ; but she flashed so in my gaze that at first the sight endured it not ; and that made me more slow at asking. Non fu dal vel del cuor giammai disciolta. Quest' e la luce della gran Gostanza, Che del secondo vento di Soave Genero il terzo, e 1' ultima possanza. 120 Cosi parlommi : e poi comincio Ave Maria, cantando ; e cantando vanio, Come per acqua cupa cosa grave. La vista mia, che. tahto la seguio Quanto possibil fu, poi che la perse, Volsesi al segno di maggior disio, Ed a Beatrice tutta si converse : Ma quella folgoro nello mio sguardo Si che da prima il viso nol sofferse : E cio mi fece a dimandar piu tardo. 130 "7 This is the converse of Villani's view: "la quale non volon- tariamente, ma per temenza di morte, quasi come monaca si nutricava in alcuno munistero di monache ; " and " era del corpo non della mente monaca." 120 ultima. Cf. the often-quoted passage Conv. iv. 3 : Federigo di Soave, ultimo imperadore e re de' Romani (ultimo, dico, per rispetto al tempo presente, non ostante che Ridolfo e Adolfo e Alberto poi eletti sieno . . . ) I2 3 Observe the return to the image of 1. n. CANTO IV. ARGUMENT. Dante falls into doubt concerning two matters : first, hgw merit can be diminished by acts done under compulsion ; secondly in regard to a certain doctrine of Plato, touching the abode of souls in the stars. Beatrice resolves both questions. BETWEEN two foods, distant and moving in like measure, a man being free would die of hunger, before he should bring one to his teeth. So would a lamb stand between two ravening fierce wolves, fearing equally ; so would a hound stand between two does. Wherefore, if I held my INTRA due cibi, distanti e moventi D' un modo, prima si morria di fame, Che libero uomo 1' un recasse at denti. a Si si starebbe un agno intra due brame Di fieri lupi, igualmente temendo : Si si starebbe un cane intra due dame. a huon? f un si rec. Aid. Land. 1-6 The dilemma which Dante here states, and which a little later became known as " the ass of Buridan " (whence doubtless our familiar phrase is derived), seems to have been a favourite subject of logic in the Middle Ages. It is at least as old as Aristotle, who in De Caelo ii. 13 speaks of 6 Trepi TTJS rpixos \6yos rrjs CANTO iv. PARADISO. 39 peace, I do not blame myself, being urged in one and the same measure by my doubts, since it was necessary, nor do I praise. I held my peace, but my desire was depicted on my face, and my demand with it in far warmer colours than by distinct speech. So did Beatrice as did Daniel, in easing Nebuchadnezzar of wrath which had made him unjustly cruel ; and said : " I see well how one and another desire draws thee, so that thy care binds its own self in such Per che s' io mi tacea, me non riprendo, Dalli miei dubbj d' un modo sospinto, Poich' era necessario, ne commendo. Io mi tacea : ma il mio disir dipinto io M' era nel viso, e il dimandar con ello Piu caldo assai, che per parlar distinto. Fe si Beatrice, qual fe Daniello, b Nabucodonosor levando d' ira, Che 1' avea fatto ingiustamente fello. E disse : Io veggio ben come ti lira Uno ed altro disio, si che tua cura Se stessa lega si che fuor non spira. b Fes si 134 Aid.; Fe se 2. 6p.oia>s Se Trdvrrj TtlVOfUVTlS, on. ov diappayrjcrerai' Kal TOV 8f\^S>VTOS Kal ireivtoifos cr(p68pa p,V, opolcas 8e Kal rfov eScoSt/iwi/ Kai Troratv tcrov aTre^ovros' KOI yap TOIITOV r)pefj.eiv avayKaiov- Aquinas S. T. ii. I. Q. 13. Art. 6 makes the opponent of the orthodox doctrine employ it as an argument against the freedom of the will, so that it may be intentionally introduced here at the beginning of a Canto in which questions concerning the will are discussed. moventi, because "voluntas movetur ab appetitu sensitive." brame di lupi, like "sapientia Laeli." 13 I.e. she divined his thought without being told. The allusion is to Dan. ii. 24. 40 PARADISO. CANTO IV. wise, that it sends not forth breath. Thou debatest ; if the good will endures, by what reason does another's violence diminish the measure of desert in me ? Further it gives thee occasion for doubting, that the souls appear to return to the stars, according to the opinion of Plato. These are the questions which are thrusting with equal force in thy will ; and therefore I will first treat of that which has most of gall. " Of the Seraphim not that one who has most part in Tu argomenti : Se il buon voler dura, La violenza altrui per qual ragione 20 Di meritar mi scema la misura ? Ancor di dubitar ti da cagione, Q Parer tornarsi 1' anime alle stelle, Secondo la sentenza di Platone. Queste son le quistion, che nel tuo velle Pontano igualmente ; e perb pria Trattero quella che piu ha di felle. Dei Serafin colui che piu s' india, 22 - 2 * See the account of the creation of souls in Timaeus 41, 42 : ucrr7j(ra? 8e TO irav SieiXe v^i^ay lcrapt.dfj.ovs TOIS acrrpot? fvei^if ff (Kaa-Trjv Trpos fKaarov, not eppipdo-as ois es o^/xa TTJV TOV Trairbs Tr) p.ev fcroiro Tfray/jLtvr) pta Tra6flOV 7ropev6els O'IKT)O~IV ao-Tpov ftiov evdaifjiova KO.\ crvvrj^r/ foi. Dante's doubt arises, as P. di Dante rightly sees, from the fact that Piccarda having implied that a place in the sphere of the Moon was assigned to her, "vide- batur sequi quod dicit Plato, in quo libro asserit animas ad astra redire, quod est erroneum et reprobatum." 2 ? She deals first with the question which, as affecting the indi- vidual creation of souls and the freedom of the will, involves a theological error rather than one of ethics only. CANTO IV. PAR AD I SO. 41 God, Moses, Samuel, nor that John, whichever thou wilt take, I say, not Mary, have their stalls in another heaven than those spirits who but now appeared to thee, nor have to their being more years or fewer. But all make the first circle beautiful, and have a life diversely sweet, through feeling more and less the eternal breath. They show themselves here, not because this sphere is allotted to them, but to give a sign of their heavenliness, that it has a Moise, Samuello, e qnel Giovanni Qual prender vuogli, io dico, non Maria, 30 Non hanno in altro cielo i loro scanni, Che quegli spirti che mo t' appariro, Ne hanno all' esser lor piu o meno anni. Ma tutti fanno bello il primo giro, E differentemente han dolce vita, Per sentir piu e men 1' eterno spiro. Qui si mostraro, non perche sortita J r~r / Sia questa spera*lor, ma per far segno Delia celestial ch' han men salita. 6 c Che pr. Gg. Cass. 124. d d app. Gg. e della spiritual Gg. 23. 30 I.e. the Evangelist or the Baptist. Corticelli notes vuogli as an old form. 31 sqq. AH the Blessed have, as will be seen later, their own places in the Empyrean, or highest heaven, and are not fixed in particular spheres, as the Platonic doctrine would make them. Nevertheless, the degree of their blessedness differs (1. 36). This has been from early times the interpretation of such expressions in N. T. as "many mansions" ("Per quas," says Aquinas, S. T. ii. I. Q. 5. A. 2, "ut Augustinus dicit, diversae meritorum dignitates intelliguntur in vita aeterna "), "one star differeth from another star in glory," the end of the " Parable of the Talents," etc. 42 PARADISO. CANTO IV. less ascent. Thus it behoves to speak to your wit, seeing that only from an object of sense does it apprehend that which it afterwards makes meet for intelligence. For this cause the Scripture condescends to your faculty, and attributes feet and hands to God, and understands something else ; and holy Church represents to you with human likeness Gabriel and Michael, and the other who made Tobias whole again. That which Timaeus reasons about the souls is not like to what is seen here, for it seems that as he says he thinks. He says that the Cos! parlar conviensi al vostro ingegno, 40 Perocche solo da sensato apprende Cib che fa poscia d' intelletto degno. Per questo la Scrittura condiscende A vostra facultate, e piedi e mano Attribuisce a Dio, ed altro intende : E santa Chiesa con aspetto umano Gabbriel e Michel vi rappresenta, E 1' altro, che Tobbia rifece sano. Quel che Timeo dell' anime argomenta, Non e simile a cib, che qui si vede, 50 Perb che come dice par che senta. Dice, che 1' alma alia sua Stella riede, 41 A very explicit statement of the doctrine, " Nihil esse in intellectu quod non prius fuerit in sensu." See Purg. xviii. 55. St. Thomas modifies it slightly: "intellectus operatic oritur a sensu." S. T. i. Q. 78. A. 4. 48 1' altro. Raphael. Observe that Dante confuses Tobit with Tobias. s* Because he appears to be giving what he intends for a real and not merely a metaphorical account of the origin and destination of the soul. CANTO iv. PARADISO. 43 soul returns to its own star, believing that it was cut thence when nature gave it for form. And haply his own opinion is otherwise than his words sound, and it may be that it is with intent not to be mocked. If he means that to these wheels returns the honour of their influence and the blame, haply his bow strikes upon some truth. This principle ill-understood has already turned aside the whole world almost, so that it has gone astray to give the names of Jove Mercury and Mars. Credendo quella quindi esser decisa, Quando natura per forma la diede. E forse sua sentenzia e d' altra guisa, Che la voce non suona, ed esser puote X - - > r Con intenzion da non esser derisa. S' egli intende tornare a queste ruote L' onor dell' influenza e il biasmo, forse In alcun vero suo arco percuote. 60 Questo principio male inteso torse Gia tutto il mondo quasi, si che Giove Mercuric e Marte a nominar trascorse. 54 De An. ii. I : dvayKoiov apa TTJV ^v^rfv ovcriav elvai a>s r]i> e^oiros 1 . S. T. i. Q. j6. A. 4 : Anima est forma substantialis hominis, etc. Longf. quotes Spenser, Hymne in Honour of Beauty, 1. 133 : " For soule is forme, and doth the bodie make." 55-57 This suggestion is rather curious, considering that in an imme- diately preceding passage of the Timaeus (40 D. ) Plato very distinctly is speaking otherwise than as he thinks. See Grote ad loc. and Dr. Thompson's note to Archer Butler, vol. ii. p. 23. Eusebius, it appears, has noticed the irony in this latter passage. 56 che non suona. For the use of non in comparative sentences see Diez iii. 394. 63 nominar, "adoravan," Landino. Scartazzini says "to call upon," referring to Genesis iv. 26. There is clearly an allusion to St. 44 PARADISO. CANTO iv. " The other doubt which disturbs thee has less venom, inasmuch as its mischief would not be able to lead thee from me elsewhere. That our justice should appear unjust in the eyes of mortals is argument of faith and pertains not to heretic pravity. But seeing that your understanding well can L' altra dubitazion che ti commuove, Ha men velen, pero che sua malizia Non ti poria menar da me altrove. Parere ingiusta la nostra giustizia Negli occhi dei mortali, e argomento f Di fede, e non d' eretica nequizia. Ma perch b puote vostro accorgimento 70 f Nel senso Gg. Augustine, De Civ. Dei vii. 15 : "De stellis quibusdam, quas pagani deorum suorum nominibus nuncupaverunt." Philalethes, without much authority, reads "numinar," and renders " vergottern." 67-69 These lines present a good deal of difficulty. Taking them in connection with those that precede and follow, we see clearly their general drift, viz., that no heresy is involved in the question under discussion ; since " nee fides nee opinio potest esse de ipsis visis aut secundum sensum aut secundum intellectum " (S. T. ii. Q. I. A. 4), while "haeresis consistit circa ea quae fidei sunt" (ib. id. Q. u) ; and human reason is able of itself to see that "God's ways are not as man's ways." (See, for instance, Ar. Eth. v. 7. 3 : TOVTO 8" [ra 8t*caia Kivcla-dai] OVK ecrriv OVTCOS ex ov > ^-' tcrriv &s. KaiYoi Trapa ye rois deals icrcos ov8ap.S>f Trap' TJ/JUV 8' eort p.ev ri Kal .) This is of course the reason why this second doubt "ha men velen," no theological error being involved in it (1. 66). But how can any doubt on this matter be an " argomento" of faith ? The word has been variously taken as = " evidence of " (cf. Heb. xi. I , where faith itself is the argitmentum, in the rendering of the Vulg. ); " argument in favour of"; "motive, ground for"; or " subject-matter." The last is excluded by the consideration that the subject-matter of faith is also that of heresy; while in regard to the others there is the difficulty that if the doubt was an evidence of Dante's own faith, or an argument or motive CANTO iv. PARADISO. 45 penetrate to this truth, I will as thou desirest make thee content. If violence is when he who suffers contributes nothing to him who compels, these souls were not on its account excused ; for will, if it wills not, is not brought to nought, but acts as Nature does in fire, if violence wrench it Ben penetrare a questa veritate, Come disiri, ti faro contento. Se violenza e quando quel che pate Niente conferisce a quel che sforza, Non fur quest' alme per essa scusate ; Che volonta, se non vuol, non s' ammorza, Ma fa come natura face in foco, for faith generally, there was no reason why it should be said to have any "gall" or "venom" at all. The solution is, I think, to be sought in a phrase of Aquinas, S. T. ii. I. Q. 14. A. 4: "ratio inquisitiva, quae dicitur argumentum, est rei dubiae faciens fidem." The question is one which may be fairly discussed, with the result of strengthening faith, and with no fear of lapsing into heresy. It seems best then to join d' eretica nequizia directly with e, 4 and interpret 11. 65-72 thus : " There f is no offence to theological truth in your doubt as to the justice of the I inferior lot assigned to Piccarda and the rest. To find apparent injustice / in certain of God's dealings is not a matter of heresy, its discussion is / even a possible aid to faith. But as it is a matter which reason can | deal with, I will explain the case before us." 73 sqq. j n or d e r that an action may be blameless it is not sufficient that it should be involuntary, or done under constraint of violence, i.e. that the person undergoing compulsion should refrain from any co-operation with the person compelling : as soon as the pressure is removed, he must return to his original position, or course of action. 73, 74 Word for word from Aristotle, Eth. iii. i (translated by Aquinas, S. T. ii. 2. Q. 175. A. I, but incidentally to a different subject) : Bi'aioi/ Se o\i f/ dp^fj t^asdfv, roiavrr] ovcra ev >J firjdev crujLi/3aXAerai 6 irpdrrav rj ("or rather") 6 Trao"xcav. ? 6 S. T. ii. I. Q. 6. Art. 4 : Duplex est actus voluntatis : unus quidem, qui est ejus immediate, velut ab ipsa elicitus, scilicet velle. Alius autem est actus voluntatis a voluntate imperatus et mediante alia potentia exercitus. . . . Quantum igitur ad actus a voluntate imperatos. 46 PARAD1SO. CANTO iv. a thousand times. Wherefore, if it bends little or much, it follows the force ; and so did these when they might have returned to the sacred place. If their will had remained whole, as it held Laurence on the gridiron and made Mutius stern to his own hand, so it would have hurried them back by the way whence they were dragged, as soon as they were loosed ; but so stout a will is too rare. And by these words, if thou hast gathered them up as thou oughtest, is the argument quashed, which would have annoyed thee many times yet. Se mille volte violenza il torza. Per che s' ella si piega assai o poco, Segue la forza ; e cosi queste fero, 80 Possendo ritornare al santo loco. g Se fosse stato il lor volere intero, Come tenne Lorenzo in su la grada, E fece Muzio alia sua man severe, Cosi P avria ripinte per la strada, Ond' eran tratte, come furo sciolte : Ma cosi salda voglia e troppo rada. E per queste parole, se ricolte L' hai come dei, e 1' argomento casso, Che t' avria fatto noia ancor piii volte. 90 s rifuggir Gg. voluntas violentiam pati potest, inquantum per violentiam exteriora [? -orem] membra impediri possunt ne imperium voluntatis exequantur ; sed quantum ad ipsum proprium actum voluntatis, non potest ei violentia inferri. Aquinas takes the example of a stone thrown upwards, its nature being to descend ; Dante, as elsewhere, takes fire forced down- wards. See also Ar. Eth. iii. i, passim, ammorza, lit. "put to death," but always metaph. Inf. xiv. 63 and (in foxmammorta) 90, etc. 84 Dante is fond of referring to the story of Mutius Scaevola : see Conv. iv. 5, De Mon. ii. 5, CANTO iv. PAR AD I SO. 47 " But now another strait is in the way, before thy eyes such that by thyself thou wouldest not issue from it, before thou shouldst be weary. I have put it for certain into thy mind that a soul in bliss could not lie, inasmuch as it is ever near to the primal truth. And then it was possible for thee to hear from Piccarda that Constance retained her love for the veil ; so that she appears in this to be at variance with me. Many times already, brother, has it befallen that in order to shun danger, against his will a man has done Ma or ti s' attraversa un altro passo Dinanzi agli occhi tal. che per te stesso Non n' usciresti pria saresti lasso. lo t' ho per certo nella mente messo, Ch' alma beata non poria inentire, Pero che sempre al primo vero e presso : h E poi potesti da Piccarda udire, Che 1' affezion del vel Gostanza tenne, SI ch' ella par qm meco contraddire. Molte.fiate gia, frate, addivenne 100 Che per fuggir periglio, contro a grato h Perb ch' 2 . . . appresso Gg. Cass. 124 W. 90 piti volte. I.e. you will see other instances of the same apparent inequality. See especially xix. 67 sqq. where the question of God's justice is again discussed. 91 sqq. Beatrice meets a possible objection : if, as Piccarda has said (iii. 117), Constance was never in heart separated from the religious life, why did she not act in the way above suggested ? 94.95 See iii. 31 sqq. 100.105 Ar. Eth. I.e.: Evia 8' lews OVK fV \onr>v airavrfs ol vavv f^ovres. Mi/crai ^.tv ovv elcrlv al Toiavrai CANTO iv. PARADISO. 49 it of the will absolute, and I of the other, so that we both say true together." , Such was the rippling of the sacred stream, which issued from the fount whence all truth flows down ; such set at rest one and the other desire. " O love of the primal Lover, O goddess," said I thereafter, " whose speak- ing bathes and warms me so that more and more it quickens me, my affection has no such depth that it may suffice to render to you grace for grace ; but may He who sees and can, reply to this. I see well that our intellect is never sated, if the True illuminate it not, out- side of whom no truth has space. In that it reposes, as a creature in a den, so soon as it has reached it; and it can reach it if not each desire would be in vain. For Delia voglia assoluta intende, ed io Dell' altra, si che ver diciamo insieme. // Cotal fu 1' ondeggiar del santo rio, x - Ch' usci del fonte, ond' ogni ver deriva : Tal pose in pace uno ed altro disio. O amanza del primo amante, o diva, Diss' io appresso, il cui parlar m' innonda E scalda si che piii e piu m' avviva : 1 20 Non e 1' affezion mia tanto profonda, Che basti a render voi grazia per grazia : Ma quei che vede e puote, a cio risponda. Io veggio ben, che giammai non si sazia <*, Nostro intelletto, se il ver non Io illustra, Di fuor dal qual nessun vero si spazia. Posasi in e^sp_come fera in lustra, Tosto che giunto 1' ha : e giunger puollo, Se non ciascun disio sarebbefrustra. 122 grazia has, of course, the two meanings of "thanks" and " favour." Cf. Purg. xxxi. 136. 12 9 Cf. Purg. iii. 38 sqq. E 50 PARADISO. CANTO IV. that reason is born, in fashion of a scion, the doubt at the foot of the truth ; and it is nature which urges us to the summit from ridge to ridge. This invites me, this makes me bold, with reverence, Lady, to ask you of another truth which is obscure to me. I would know if one can so make satisfaction for broken vows with other good deeds, that they shall not be wanting in your balance." Beatrice regarded me with her eyes full of love's sparks, so divine that my powers overcome I turned my back, and as it were lost myself with downcast eyes. Nasce per quello a guisa di rampollo 130 Appie del vero il dubbio : ed e natura, Ch' al sommo pinge noi di collo in collo. k Questo m' invita, questo m' assicura Con riverenza, Donna, a dimandarvi D' un' altra verita, che m' e oscura. lo vo' saper se 1' uom pub satisfarvi Ai voti manchi si con altri beni, Ch' alia vostra stadera non sien parvi. Beatrice mi guardo con gli occhi pieni Di faville d' amor, cosi divini, 1 140 Che, vinta mia virtu, diedi le reni, m E quasi mi perdei con gli occhi chini. 145- ' ton si div. Gg. 3 Aid. Land. m virtute die Cass. 134 Aid.; virtu diede 2 W. 136 The question as to the commutation of a vow is treated of S. T. ii. 2. Q. 88. A. 10, but only as a subordinate case of the mor general one of dispensation. 141 diedi le reni. The commentators contend as to the literal or figurative application of these words, chiefly, it would appear, on the ground that Dante would not be guilty of the bad manners of turning his back on a lady. Those who take the latter view for the most part read diede, making virtu the subject of it. :' CANTO V. ARGUMENT. Beatrice shows how no other service can compensate for the breach of religious vows, because the freedom of the will is the greatest of God's gifts. Afterwards they rise to the second heaven, of Mercury. " IF I blaze upon thee in the heat of love beyond the fashion which is seen upon earth, so that I surpass the strength of thy eyes, marvel thou not, for this proceeds from perfect vision, which as it apprehends so moves its * S' 10 ti fiammeggio nel caldo d' amore Di la dal modo che in terra si vede, Si che degli occhi tuoi vinco il valore, Non ti maravigliar : che cib precede Da perfetto veder, che come apprende, 1-6 As we have seen already (Purg. xvii. 91 sqq., xviii. 19 sqq., etc. ), apprehension or conception gives rise to love, or desire, and this is followed by action in the direction of the desired good. " Bonum est causa amoris per modum objecti ; bonum autem non est objectum appetitus, nisi prout est apprehensum, et ideo amor requirit aliquam apprehensionem boni quod amatur. Et propter hoc Philosophus dicit 9. Ethic, quod visio corporalis est principium amoris sensitivi ; et simi- liter contemplatio spiritualis pulchritudinis vel bonitatis est principium amoris spiritualis. Sic igitur cognitio est causa amoris ea ratione qua et bonum, quod non pot est amari nisi cognitum." S. T. ii. I. Q. 27. E 2 52 PARADISO. CANTO v. foot towards the apprehended good. I see well how already shines in thy intellect the eternal light, which when seen, alone ever kindles love ; and if aught else leads your love astray, it is nought but some vestige of that, ill- recognised, which there shines through. Thou wouldst know if with other service one may repay so much for a Cos! nel bene appreso muove il piede. 3 lo veggio ben si come gik risplende Nello intelletto tuo 1' eterna luce, Che vista sola sempre amore accende : b E s' altra cosa vostro amor seduce, 10 Non e se non di quella alcun vestigio Mai conosciuto, che quivi traluce. Tu vuoi saper se con altro servigio, Per manco voto si pub render tanto, a appresso 124 IV. b vista (? vi sta) sola e sempre Gg. Cass. 14. A. 2. (The reference would seem to be to Eth. ix. 12: rots epSxn TO opav ayaTrrjroraTov e'trri.) Thus Beatrice meets Dante's desire for more knowledge with an assurance of her own perfect knowledge, which again gives rise to perfect love. 6 That appreso and not appresso is the right reading, seems clear from Mon. i. 14 : primo res apprehenditur, deinde apprehensa bona aut mala judicatur. ^s Obviously intended to recall his words in 11. 124-126 of the last Canto. 9 Some take vista sola as = "only by being seen"; but besides the doubt whether the words can bear that meaning, there is the further objection that it will apply equally to all objects of desire. The emphasis is on sempre ; God alone is the one object which is always desired when seen. There is something to be said for the reading, "vi sta sola, e sempre." Note in Gg. says: "i.e. quae lux stat in intellectu tuo sola, sine alia affectione impediente ; quia intellectus auc- toris erat totus depuratus, et contemplativus circa amorem divinorum." 10 -" Cf. Purg. xvi. 91, xvii. 127. CANTO v. PARADISO. 53 broken vow as may secure the soul from controversy." So Beatrice began this chant ; and just as one who breaks not up his speech, she thus continued her sacred argument : " The greatest gift which God of His bounty made in creating, and the most conformed to His goodness, and that which He most values, was the freedom of the will, wherewith the creatures that have intelligence all, and they only, were and are endowed. Now will Che 1' anima sicuri di litigio. Si comincio Beatrice questo canto : E si com' uom che suo parlar non spezza, Continue cosi il processo santo. Lo maggior don, che Dio per sua larghezza Fesse creando, e alia sua bontate 20 Piu conformato, e quel ch' ei piu apprezza, Fu della volonta la libertate, Di che le creature intelligent}, E tutte e sole furo e son dotate. 15 litigio, i.e. with God. The idea is the same as in Micah vi. 2. 18 processo. Cf. the "sic proceditur" of Aquinas passim, '9 sqq. j n almost identical words, De Mon. i. 14, he says : Haec libertas (sc. arbitrii) . . . est maximum donum humanae naturae a Deo collatum ; where, according to Giuliani, some too zealous scribes have added, in certain MSS., "sicut in Paradise comediae jam dixi." See also Purg. xviii. 73. The argument in the following passage, that free- will being the greatest of human possessions, and the monastic vows being the sacrifice of this, no other sacrifice can compensate for the breach of those vows, appears to be Dante's own. No trace of it is to be found in S. T. ii. 2. Q. 88, where the subject of vows is fully dis- cussed, and the orthodox doctrine stated ; though it may have been suggested by some of the expressions in Art. 6, e.g. "suam voluntatem obligavit." 231 ** " Solum id quod habet intellectum potest agere judicio liber o . . . unde ubicunque est intellectus, ibi est liberum arbitrium.'' S. T. i. Q. 59. A. 3, and cf. De Mon. I.e. 54 PARADISO. CANTO v. appear to thee, if thou argue from this, the high worth of the vow, if it is so made that God consent when thou consentest ; because, in the confirming of the pact between God and the man, a sacrifice is made of this treasure, being such as I say, and it is made by its own operation. Therefore what can be rendered for recom- pense ? If thou thinkest to make a good use of that which has been offered, thou art desiring to make a good work of a bad gain. Now thou art informed of the chief point ; but seeing that holy Church dispenses in this matter which appears contrary to the truth that I have revealed Or ti parra, se tu quinci argomenti, L' alto valor del voto, s' b si fatto, Che Dio consenta, quando tu consent! : Che nel fermar tra Dio e 1' uomo il patto, Vittima fassi di questo tesoro, Tal qual io dico, e fassi col suo atto. 30 Dunque che render puossi per ristoro ? Se credi bene usar quel ch' hai offerto, Di mal toilette vuoi far buon lavoro. Tu sei omai del maggior punto certo ; Ma perche santa Chiesa in cio dispensa, Che par contra lo ver ch' io t' ho scoverto, c del primo p. Gg. 124. 30 SUO. I.e. of the free-will itself. 33 tolletto. More usually tolto. In Inf. xi. 36 we find the form tolletta (according to the best reading). The male tolte of the Middle Ages is well known. 34 maggior punto. I.e. that nothing can wholly atone for the breach of a vow. 35 sv TOVTCOV i8tov av fir] TO del ddrepov avrStv d\r)6(s rj vJ/'eCSo? flvat, ocra las Kardtydcris KOI aTTotyacris dvTiKfirai. 22 As a matter of fact the work was begun in the first year of his reign. CANTO vi. PARADISO. 67 grace to inspire in me the lofty task, and I put myself wholly into it. And to my Belisarius I entrusted the wars, to whom the right hand of Heaven was so conjoined as to be a sign that my duty was to stay quiet. Here then my reply to the first question reaches its point ; but its circumstances con- strain me to pursue some addition to it. In order that thou mayest perceive by how clear a proof he moves against the most holy ensign, both who claims it for his own, and who opposes himself to it, see how great virtue hath made it worthy of reverence ; and I begin from the hour when L' alto lavoro, e tutto in lui mi diedi. E al mio Bellisar commendai 1' armi, Cui la destra del Ciel fu si congiunta, Che segno fu ch' io dovessi posarmi. Or qui alia quistion prima s' appunta La mia risposta, ma sua condizione Mi stringe a seguitare alcuna giunta. 30 Perche tu veggi con quanta ragione Si muove contra il sacrosanto segno E chi '1 s' appropria, e chi a lui s' oppone, Vedi quanta virtu 1' ha fatto degno Di reverenza ; e comincio dalP ora, ' - 8 quistion prima, i.e., " chi tu sei," v. 127. 31 con quanta ragione. Th ; s is usually taken to mean, "with how much reason" or "right," as in iv. 20. I have preferred to take it as (e.g.) in Inf. xi. 33, because the other rendering assumes what has to be proved, viz. that chi '1 s' appropria (the Ghibeline) is acting against I the sanctity of the empire quite as much as chi s' oppone (the j Guelf). I have also ventured slightly to alter the usual punctuation, by I putting a full stop at giunta, and a comma at oppone. Observe that 1 this passage alone upsets the ordinary notion of Dante as a Ghibeline / partisan. F 2 68 PAR ADI SO. CANTO vi. Pallas died to give it a kingdom. Thou knowest that it made in Alba its dwelling-place for three hundred years and more, until the end when the three fought the three, for its sake still. Thou knowest what it did from the wrong of the Sabine women up to the woe of Lucretia, in seven kings, conquering the neighbour folk around. Thou knowest what it did, borne by the illustrious Romans to meet Brennus, to meet Pyrrhus, to meet the other kings and commonwealths ; whence Torquatus and Quinctius Che Pallante mori per darli regno. Tu sai ch' ei fece in Alba sua dimora d Per trecent' anni ed oltre, infino al fine, Che i tre ai tre pugnar per lui ancora. 6 Sai quel che fe dal mal delle Sabine 40 Al dolor di Lucrezia in sette regi, Vincendo intorno le genti vicine. Sai quel che fe, portato dagli egregi Romani incontro a Brenno, incontro a Pirro, E contro agli altri principi e collegi : Onde Torquato, e Quintio, che dal cirro d sua gran d. Gg. e tre a tre Cass. Aid.; tre e tre Gg. 2. & Because the death of Pallas led to that of Turnus (Aen. xii. 948), and so to the possession by Aeneas of Lavinia and the Latin kingdom. See De Mon. ii. 10. 37 ei, i.e. the eagle, "il sacrosanto segno." 38 The Horatii and Curiatii, Livy i. 25, where the last Horatius is made to say to the last Curiatius, " duos fratrum manibus dedi, tertium causae belli hujusce, tit Romanus Albano imperet, dabo." Until this event, Alba represented so to speak the elder branch of the line founded by Aeneas. See again De Mon. ii. 10, the whole of which chapter, together with Conv. iv. 5, forms the best commentary on this Canto. The instances given in the following lines are mostly too well known to require reference or explanation. CANTO vi. PARADISO. 69 who was named from his neglected locks, and Decii and Fabii had the fame which I with good will embalm. It brought to earth the pride of the Arabs, who in Hannibal's train passed the Alpine cliffs, whence thou, Po, glidest Under it in their youth triumphed Scipio and Pompey, and to that hill beneath which thou wast born, it appeared harsh. Afterwards, hard upon the time when the heaven wholly willed to bring back the world to its tranquil order, Caesar by the will of Rome bare it ; and what it Negletto fu nomato, e Deci, e Fabi Ebber la fama, che volentier mirro. Esso atterrb 1' orgoglio degli Arabi, Che diretro ad Annibale passaro 50 L' alpestre rocce, P6, di che tu labi. Sott' esso giovanetti trionfaro Scipione e Pompeo, ed a quel colle, Sotto il qual tu^ nascesti, parve amaro. Poi presso al tempo, che tutto il Ciel voile Ridur lo mondo a suo modo sereno, Cesare per voler di Roma il tolle : 53 colle, i.e. Fiesole, "quae civitas est prope florentiam ad quam confugit Catilina pulsus ex urbe propter conjurationem quam fecerat per invadendam rempublicam, qui in agro pistoriensi postea prostratus est cum suis et civitas fesularum destructa. " Comm. Gg. The de- struction of Faesulae is mentioned by Brunette, Tresor i. 37, and by Villani i. 37; but Cicero and Sallust do not appear to know anything of it. 55, 56 "Poiche esso cielo comincio a girare, in migliore disposizione non fu, che allora quando discese Colui che 1' ha fatto e che '1 governa . . . e pero pace universale era per tutto." Conv. I.e. 57 tolle must be formed directly from tulit (not, as Scart. suggests, " da toilers per togliere") because a perfect is clearly wanted. 70 PARADISO. CANTO vi. did from Var even unto Rhine, Isere saw and Saone, and Seine saw, and every dale from which the Rhone is filled. That which it did after he issued from Ravenna and leapt the Rubicon, was of such a flight that neither tongue nor pen would follow it. Toward Spain it turned back its array, then to Dyrrhachium, and smote Pharsalia so that to the hot Nile they were aware of the smart. It saw again Antandros and Simois whence it started, and the place where Hector lies ; and to the hurt of Ptolemy E quel che fe da Varo insino al Reno, Isara vide ed Era, e vide Senna, Ed ogni valle onde il Rodano e pieno. 60 Quel che fe poi ch' egli usci di Ravenna, E salto il Rubicon, fu di tal volo, Che nol seguiteria lingua ne penna. In ver la Spagna rivolse lo stuolo : Poi ver Durazzo e Farsaglia percosse Si ch' al Nil caldo sentissi del duolo. f Antandro e Simoenta onde si mosse, Rivide, e la dove Ettore si cuba, E mal per Tolommeo poi si riscosse. f che il Nil Gg. 59 Era, i.e. Araris. These three lines allude, of course, to Caesar's campaigns in Gaul. 64 Cf. Purg. xviii. 102. ^ That is, the Troad, whence Dante has already said that the Roman eagle took its origin. He is probably thinking of Lucan ix. 961 sqq. " Sigeasque petit famae mirator arenas, Et Simoentis aquas, et Graio nobile busto Rhoetion, et multum debentes vatibus umbras. Circuit exustae nomen venerabile Trojae. Phryx incola manes Hectoreos calcare vetat." CANTO vi. PARADISO. 71 thereafter it aroused itself; whence it came in lightning to Juba; then it turned back into your west, where it heard the Pompeian trumpet. Of what it did in the company of its next bearer, Brutus with Cassius howls in Hell, and Modena and Perugia were brought to woe. Still weeps for its cause the sad Cleopatra, who flying before it received from the viper her death sudden and dark. With this one it sped even to the Red shore ; with this one it laid the earth in such a peace that Janus Da onde venne folgorando a Giuba ; 70 Poi si rivolse nel vostro occidente,* Dove sentia la Pompeiana tuba. Di quel che fe col baiulo seguente, Bruto con Cassio nello inferno latra, E Modona e Perugia fu dolente. Piangene ancor la trista Cleopatra, Che, fuggendogli innanzi, dal colubro La morte prese subitana ed atra. Con costui corse insino al lito rubro ; Con costui pose il mondo in tanta pace, 80 Che fu serrato a Giano il suo delubro. s Onde si volse Gg. 124 ; peseta si v. W. 71 vostro. Because Justinian, an Eastern emperor, is speaking to the Italian Dante. He alludes to the battle of Munda. 73 bajulo seguente. Augustus. 74 Inf. xxxiv. 64 sqq. Some object to this rendering of latra, that Brutus is expressly stated "non far motto." The older commentators do not appear to have noticed the difficulty, though P. di Dante says "latrant, idest attestantur." But it seems simpler to suppose that here, as in Purg. xxii. 113, Dant,e has forgotten an earlier detail. 79 lito rubro, i.e. the uttermost parts of Egypt. Probably sug- gested, as Scartazzini notes, by Aeneid viii. 686 ; though the reference there is to Antony. 72 PARADISO. CANTO vi. had his shrine locked up. But that which the ensign which makes me speak had done before and after was about to do through the mortal realm which is subject to it, becomes in appearance little and obscure, if it be looked at in the third Caesar's hand with clear eye and pure affection; for the living justice which inspires me granted to it, in the hand of him whom I say, the glory of working vengeance for his wrath. Here then wonder Ma cib che il segno che parlar mi face, Fatto avea prima, e poi era fatturo Per lo regno mortal ch' a lui soggiace, Diventa in apparenza poco e scuro, Se in mano al terzo Cesare si mira, Con occhio chiaro e con affetto puro : Che la viva giustizia che mi spira, Gli concedette, in mano a quel ch' io dico, Gloria di far vendetta alia sua ira. 90 Or qui t' ammira in cio ch' io ti replico : 86 terzo Cesare. Tiberius, under whom Christ was crucified. The argument is that of De Mon. ii. n : Si romanum imperium de jure non fuit, peccatum Adae in Christo non fuit punitum. ... Si ergo sub ordinario judice Christus passus non fuisset, ilia poena punitio non fuisset ; et judex ordinarius esse non poterat, nisi supra totum humanum genus jurisdictionem habens. . . . Et supra totum humanum genus Tiberius Caesar, cujus vicarius erat Pilatus, jurisdictionem non habuisset, nisi romanum imperium de jure fuisset. 9 1 replico. I have followed the usual rendering, which however is not quite satisfactory, for Justinian is not repeating anything that he has said. ' ' Unfold " might do ; but I am inclined to think that there is a special allusion, appropriate to the speaker, marked by the use of the word here, and here only in the whole poem. In the terms of Roman law the statement of the plaintiff's case as sent by the magistrate to the judge, was intentio. If the defendant pleaded special circumstances which made the general rule of law under which the case would naturally fall CANTO vi. PARADISO. 73 thou in that which I repeat to thee : afterwards with Titus it sped to work vengeance for the vengeance of the ancient sin. " And when the Lombard tooth bit the Holy Church, under its wings great Charles conquering succoured her. " Now then thou canst judge of the men of that sort whom I accused above, and of their faults, which are the Poscia con Tito a far vendetta corse Delia vendetta del peccato antico. E quando il dente Longobardo morse La santa Chiesa, sotto alle sue ali Carlo Magno, vincendo, la soccorse. h Omai puoi giudicar di quei cotali, Ch' io accusai di sopra, e dei lor falli, h Karlo niano 2. inapplicable, his plea was called exceptio. If the plaintiff answered, this was replicatio^ "quia per earn replicatur et resolvitur jus excep- tionis." (See Justinian Institutes, ed. Sandars, 1874, pp. Ixvii., 477.) Here we have a pretty close parallel, which is set out more fully in the next Canto, 11. 40-51. God has a controversy with the Jews for the death of Christ. The plea in answer is that this was the appointed atonement for man's fall. The replicatio, enforced by the punishment of the Jews at the hands of Titus, would be that this in no way affected their guilt in crucifying an innocent person. 9=. 93 The destruction of Jerusalem by Titus was the vengeance upon the Jews for the crucifixion of Christ, whereby Adam's sin was avenged. ' 4 " Morto Telofre, Desiderio suo figliuolo succedette a lui, il quale maggiormente che il padre fu nemico e persecutore di Santa Chiesa. . . . Per la qual cosa Adriano papa che allora governava Santa Chiesa, mando in Francia per Carlo Magno figliuolo di Pipino che venisse in Italia a difendere la Chiesa dal detto Desiderio e da' suoi segnaci." Villani ii. 13. It is referred to in De Mon. iii. io. 9 s I have rendered Carlo Magno by " Charles the Great" in deference to established usage. At the same time I have little doubt that originally 74 PARADISO. CANTO vi. occasion of all your ills. The one to the public ensign opposes the yellow lilies, and the other appropriates it to a party, so that it is hard to see which errs the most. Let the Ghibelines work, let them work their arts under another ensign, for he ever follows that amiss, who separates justice Che son cagion di tutti i vostri mali. L' uno al pubblico segno i gigli gialli 100 Oppone, e 1' altro appropria quello a parte, Si ch' e forte a veder chi piu si falli.' Faccian gli Ghibellin, faccian lor arte Sott' altro segno ; che mal segue quello Sempre chi la giustizia e lui diparte : * forte I veder Gg. ; f. av. chi piu f. W. it was no more than an Italian corruption of " Carloman," probably from a confusion with his brother of that name, if indeed the names were " differentiated " thus early. It is to be observed that Villani calls Carloman, son of Louis the Stammerer, equally Carlo Magno. At the same time the notion of "magnus" must have come in very early, for King Magnus the Good, from whom the name has become popular in Scandinavia, was named after the emperor, and he was born in 1024. (See St. Olafs Saga, ch. 131, where the king is puzzled by the name : " that is no name in our family." Sighvat the priest says: " I called him after King Karlamagnus ; him I knew for the best man in the world.'') 100 i gigH gialli. I.e. the golden fleurs de lys of France, or as the note in Gg. has it, "insignia regis francie et Karoli veteris, quae sunt lilia citrina cum rastello desuper." "The elder Charles" of this note is of course Charles of Anjou, who, after his coming into Italy, was the mainstay of the Guelf party, so that they are said to oppose the fleurs de lys to the eagle. Their regular ensign, however, as Villani tells us (vii. 2), was ' ' il campo bianco con una aguglia vermiglia in su uno serpente verde," being the arms of Clement IV. To this they added " uno giglietto vermiglio sopra il capo dell' aquila." 101 I 1 altro, the Ghibelines, who turned the imperial eagle into the standard of a party. CANTO vi. PARADISO. 75 and it. Nor let this new Charles beat it down with his Guelfs, but let him have a fear of the talons that have dragged the hide from a more exalted lion. Many times ere now have the sons wept for the father's sin, and let him not deem that God is changing His arms for his lilies. "This little star is furnished with the good spirits who E non 1' abbatta esto Carlo novello Coi Guelfi suoi, ma tema degli artigli, Ch' a piu alto leon trasser lo vello. Molte fiate gia pianser li figli Per la colpa del padre : e non si creda, 1 10 Che Dio trasmuti 1' armi per suoi gigli- Questa picciola Stella si correda Dei buoni spirti, che son stati attivi, 106 esto Carlo. Charles II. of Apulia, son of Charles of Anjou, who was reigning in 1300. See Purg. xx. 79, and Par. xix. 127. With all deference to Herr Witte th^re can be no allusion to Charles of Valois, who had not come at the time when Justinian is supposed to be speaking. The word esto alone precludes this idea. 108 piu alto leon. Possibly the allusion is only to the various exploits of the eagle mentioned above ; but Dante may have more specially intended to refer to the defeats which Charles of Anjou suffered in his later years, e.g. at the hands of Roger di Loria before Messina in 1282. It is clear that Dante had a great respect for the elder Charles personally. 110 si creda. Witte treats this as impersonal, "let it not be thought"; but in that case "suoi" becomes intolerably harsh, lax as are the modem languages in their use of the reflexive pronoun. There is no difficulty in taking si as pleonastic. I have followed Bianchi and Philalethes. 111 armi is the reading of nearly all MSS., and all the early edd. Land, and Dan. read arme, and Witte and Giuliani follow them. The meaning is obviously "armorial bearings," though Buti and Veil, seem to take it as "weapons." Probably the two forms were not dis- tinguished in Dante's time. 76 PARADISO. CANTO vi. have been active in order that honour and fame might fall to them. And when the desires rest here, thus going astray, it is meet that the rays of the true love should rest there- upon with less of life. But in the proportioning of our wages with our desert, is a portion of our joy, because we see them to be not too small nor too great. Hence the living justice makes our affection sweet within us, so that it can never be wrested to any unrighteousness. Divers voices make sweet notes : thus divers tiers in our life render a sweet harmony among these spheres. "And within this present pearl shines the light of Romeo, Perche onore e fama gli succeda : E quando li desiri poggian quivi, Si disviando, pur convien che i raggi Del vero amore in su poggin men vivi. Ma nel commensurar dei nostri gaggi Col merto, e parte di nostra letizia, Perche non li vedem minor ne maggi. 1 20 Quinci addolcisce la viva giustizia In noi 1' affetto si, che non si puote Torcer giammai ad alcuna nequizia. Diverse voci fanno dolci note : k Cosi diversi scanni in nostra vita Rendon dolce armonia tra queste ruote. 1 E dentro alia presente margherita Luce la luce di Romeo, di cui k Jan diverse n. Gg. ' in queste Gg. 3. "5 As elsewhere, the active life is regarded as inferior to the con- templative. See for instance Conv. ii. 5. I2 ? margherita. So ii. 34. 128 Romeo is not strictly a proper name, but merely signifies one who has been on a pilgrimage to Rome, as explained in V. N. 41. CANTO vi. PARADISO. 77 whose work, great and fair, was ill-received. But they of Provence who wrought against him have no laughter ; and so he goes an ill road who makes his own hurt from the prospering of another. Four daughters, and each one a queen, had Raymond Berenger; and this did Romeo for him, a humble person and a stranger. And afterward slanderous words moved him to demand an account from this just man, who assigned to him seven and five for ten. Thence he departed poor and old ; and if the world knew Fu 1' opra grande e bella mal gradita. Ma i Provenzali, che fer contra lui, 130 Non hanno riso : e perb mal cammina, Qual si fa danno del ben far d' altrui. Quattro figlie ebbe, e ciascuna reina Ramondo Berlinghieri, e cib gli fece Romeo persona umile e peregrina : E poi il mosser le parole biece A dimandar ragione a questo giusto, / Che gli assegno sette e cinque per diece. Indi partissi povero e vetusto : Thence it seems to have acquired a wider signification, as Villani tells- us (vi. 90) that this, particular Romeo fell in with Count Raymond on his way from Galicia, i.e. Compostella. It seems very uncertain whether his real name has been preserved, though one account speaks of him as named Romee. '33 The four daughters of Raymond Berenger IV., Count of Provence, were married to Lewis IX., Henry III. of England, his brother Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans, and Charles of Anjou, brother of Lewis, and afterwards King of Apulia. See Purg. xx. 6l. Villani, I.e., tells the story of Romeo's share in bringing about these marriages, and his subsequent disgrace through the jealousy of the lords of Provence, in words very similar to Dante's. 78 PARADISO. CANTO VI. the heart which he had as he begged his living morsel by morsel much it praises him and it would praise him more." E se il mondo sapesse il cuor, ch'egli ebbe, 140 Mendicando sua vita a frusto a frusto, Assai lo loda, e piii lo loderebbe. CANTO VII. ARGUMENT. Dante, moved by certain words of Justinian, is in doubt concerning God's justice, as displayed in the Redemption of mankind through the Passion of our Lord Christ. Beatrice resolves this doubt ; and another concerning the dissolution of the elements. " Ho s ANN A, sanctus Deus Sabaoth, superillustrans claritate tua felices ign&s horum malahoth ! " So, returning to its song, this substance was seen' by me to chant, upon OSANNA Sanctus Deus Sabaoth, Superillustrans tlaritate tua Felices ignes horum malahoth .- a Cosi volgendosi alia nota sua Fu yiso a me cantare essa sustanza, a malaoth Cass. Gg. 14 ; makaoth 2 ; malachoth 3 ; -coth W. 1-3 ' ' Hosanna, holy God of hosts, beaming in Thy brightness over the blessed fires of these realms." Hosanna and Sabaoth are familiar words ; malahoth appears to have been taken by Dante from St. Jerome's preface to the Vulgate, where he says that the "books of Kings " are better called " Melachim, id est Regum, quam Malachoth (al. Mamlachoth) id est Regnorum." See Witte, Dante- Forschungen, vol. ii. p. 43. This makes other interpretations, such as that Dante meant "works" or "hosts" (Philal.) or "angels," superfluous. 5 Literally "it was seen by me that this substance was chanting." For this impersonal use of viso see Diez iii. 182. sustanza, i.e. the soul of Justinian. See note to Purg. xviii. 49. / 80 PARADISO. CANTO vn. which a twofold glory is paired ; and it and the others moved to their dance, and like swiftest sparks veiled them- selves from me by sudden retreat. I was in doubt, and began to say "Tell her, tell her," within myself: "Tell her " I was saying namely to my Lady who slakes me with her gentle dews ; but that reverence which has the mastery of me wholly, even for B E and for ICE, was swaying me like a man who is going to sleep. A short while Beatrice endured me in that guise ; and began, Sopra la qual doppio lume s' addua : Ed essa e 1' altre mossero a sua danza, b E quasi velocissime faville, Mi si velar di subita distanza. lo dubitava, e dicea : Dille dille, 10 Fra me, dille, diceva, alia mia donna, Che mi disseta con le dolci stille : Ma quella reverenza, che s' indonna Di tutto me, pur per BE e per ICE, Mi richinava come 1' uom ch' assonna. Poco sofferse me cotal Beatrice, b mesero Gg. c richiamava Gg. 134. 6 s' addua. Danielle takes this as merely a reference to v. 132 ; but in that case an imperfect would seem to be required, and it is better to understand it, with most commentators, as an allusion to Justinian's twofold glory of emperor and lawgiver. Scartazzini quotes his own words, from the preface to the Institutes, " imperatoriam majestatem non solum armis decoratam, sed etiam legibus oportet esse armatam." 8 The allusion seems to be to Wisd. iii. 7, where the Vulgate has "fulgebunt justi et tanquam scintillae in arundineto discurrent." 13 Is. xlv. 8: "Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justum . . . et justitia oriatur simul." ' I.e. for every part of the name of Beatrice. s assonnare intrans. Cf. Purg. xxxii. 64, 69. 16 Poco sofferse. Cf. Purg. xxxi. io. CANTO vii. PARADISO. 81 beaming on me with such a smile that in the fire it would make a man happy : "According to my unerring judgment! how a just vengeance should have been justly punished has set thee on thought. But I will quickly set loose thy mind ; and do thou listen, for my words shall make thee a gift of a great doctrine. For not enduring to the faculty that wills E comincio, raggiandomi d' un riso, Tal che nel fuoco faria 1' uom felice : Secondo mio infallibile avviso, Come giusta vendetta giustamente 20 Punita fosse, t' ha in pensier miso ; d Ma io ti solverb tosto la mente, E tu ascolta, che le mie parole Di gran sentenzia ti faran presente. Per non soffrire alia virtu che vuole d Vengiata W. (and some MSS.) ; /' hat Aid. A 18 Cf. Purg. xxvii. 52. 20 s'w. Dante's doubt, arising from Justinian's words in vi. 92, 93, is how both the crucifixion of Christ, and the punishment of the Jews for their share in it, could be equally just. Beatrice replies that qu& man, Christ suffered justly; quA God, unjustly. So Aquinas, S. T. iii. Q. 47. A. 4. 2 : Passio Christi fuit sacrificii oblatio, inquantum Christus propria voluntate mortem sustinuit ex charitate. Inquantum autem a per- secutoribus est passus, non fuit sacrificium, sed peccatum gravissimum. 2S Cf. Purg. xxix. 27. Adam's sin arose from pride (S. T. ii. 2. Q. 163. A. I : Prima inordinatio appetitus humani fuit ex hoc quod aliquod bonum spirituale inordinate appetiit. Non autem inordinate appetiisset, appetendo id secundum suam mensuram ex divina regula praestitutam. Unde relinquitur quod primum peccatum hominis fuit in hoc quod appetiit aliquod spirituale bonum supra suam ; id quod pertinet ad superbiam); and it concerned the will, la virtu che vuole (S. T. ii. I. Q. 83. A. 3 : peccatum originate per prius respicit voluntatem . . . quia voluntas est propinquior essentiae animae tanquam superior potentia, primo pervenit ad ipsam infectio originalis peccati). G 82 PARADISO. CANTO vn. any bridle, for its own advantage, that man who was never born, in damning himself, damned all his progeny ; wherefore the human kind lay sick below for many ages, in great error, until it pleased the Word of God to descend where He united to Himself, in person, the nature which had drawn away from its Maker, with the sole act of His eternal love. Now direct thy gaze to the subject of our Freno a suo prode, quell' uom che non nacque Dannando se, danno tutta sua prole : Onde 1' umana spezie inferma giacque Giii per secoli molti in grande errore, Fin ch' al Verbo di Dio di scender piacque, 30 U' la natura, che dal suo Fattore 6 S' era allungata, unio a se in persona, Con F atto sol del suo eterno amore. Or drizza il viso a quel che si ragiona ; e Ella n. Gg. 30-33 s. T. iii. Q. 2. AA. I & 2 contain the doctrine of the union of the Word incarnate ; and whoever wishes thoroughly to understand the doctrine, must be referred to those Articles. For the present purpose it will be sufficient to quote from A. 2 (i): Quia natura humana sic unitur Verbo, ut Verbum in ea subsistat, non autem ut aliquid addatur ei ad rationem suae naturae, vel ut ejus natura in aliud transmutetur ; ideo unio humanae naturae ad Verbum Dei facta est in persona, non in natura. (It may not be out of place to notice here how "Verbum," " Word," is a very inadequate rendering of the Adyos of St. John. The term is clearly derived from the Aristotelian metaphysic. Thus we find the "formal cause" is 6 \6yosTrjs ovaias, which is practically the same as the "final cause," TO ov evfKa a>s TeXoy, while the state- ment dp^f) 6 Xdyos suggests the apx*] Ttjs Kivf)s, or "efficient cause," the "Motor primo" of Purg. xxv. 70, and seems to explain the ovros rjv (v dpxfj . iravra 6Y ai/rov ryei/ero in the opening passage of the fourth Gospel.) CANTO vii. PARADISO. 83 reasoning. This nature, united to its Maker, as it was at its creation was untainted and good. But through itself alone was it banished from Paradise, inasmuch as it turned itself aside from the way of truth and from its life. The penalty then which the cross offered, if it be measured according to the nature assumed, none ever bit so justly ; and likewise none was of so great injustice, looking to the Person who suffered, in whom such nature was bound up. Wherefore from one act divers things issued ; for to God Questa natura al suo Fattore unita, Qual fu creata, fu sincera e buona : f Ma per se stessa pur fu ella sbandita g Di Paradise, perocche si torse Da via di verita e da sua vita. h La pena dunque che la croce porse, 40 S' alia natura assunta si misura, Nulla giammai si giustamente morse : E cosl nulla fu di tanta ingiura, Guardando alia persona, che sofferse, In che era contratta tal natura. Pero d' un atto uscir cose diverse ; Ch' a Dio ed ai Giudei. piacque una morte ; f perfetta e buona Gg. s stessa fu 3 W.; fu isbandita al. h di via . . . di sua 145. 39 There is something to be said for the reading suggested by Lombardi, da verita, or that found in some MSS. di di e di, as pointing more directly to "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." 41 S. T. iii. Q. 47. A. I : Filius Dei humanam naturam integram assumpsit. And see QQ. 5, 6, passim. Observe the distinction between natura and (1. 44) persona. Boethius, de Pers. et Nat. iii. : Persona est naturae rationalis individua substantia. 4 ? S. T. iii. Q. 47. A. 3 : Pater tradidit Christum ex charitate . . . Judaei autem ex invidia. G 2 84 PARADISO. CANTO vn. and to the Jews one death was pleasing ; on its account the earth shook and heaven was opened. Henceforward it should no more seem a great thing to thee, when it is said that a just vengeance was afterward avenged by a just tribunal. " But I see now thy mind restrained, by sequence of thoughts, within a knot of which with great desire a solu- tion is awaited. Thou sayest : I well perceive that which I hear ; but why God willed for our redemption just this Per lei tremb la terra, e il Ciel s' aperse. Non ti dee oramai parer piu forte, Quando si dice, che giusta vendetta 50 Poscia vengiata fu da giusta corte. Ma io veggi' or la tua mente ristretta Di pensier in pensier dentro ad un nodo, Del qual con gran disio solver s' aspetta. Tu dici, Ben discerno cib ch' io odo : Ma perche Dio volesse, m' e occulto, s 6 s