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 THE 
 
 VISION; 
 
 OB, 
 
 HELL, PURGATORY, AND PARADISE, 
 
 OP 
 
 DANTE ALIGHIEPd. 
 
 TKANSLATRD BY 
 
 THE REV. H. F. GARY, A.M. 
 
 T. Y. CROWBLL & CO.. BOSTON. 
 
 1881.
 
 J. Campbell, 
 
 pkinteh, 
 
 15 Vandewater St., N. Y.
 
 P KEF ACE. 
 
 In the years 1805 and 1806, I j)ul)lished the first part of 
 
 I the following translation, with the text of the original. 
 
 ' Since that period, two impressions of the whole of the 
 
 j Divina Commedia, in Italian, have made their appear 
 
 i ance in this country. It is not necessary that I should 
 
 1 add a third : and I am induced to hoj^e that the Poem, 
 
 j even in the present version of it, may not be without 
 
 j interest for the mere EnoHsh reader. 
 
 The translation of the second and third parts, " The 
 Purgatory" and "The Paradise," was begun long before 
 the first, and as early as the year 1797 ; but, owing to 
 many interruptions, not concluded till the summer before 
 last. On a retrospect of the time and exertions that 
 have been thus employed, I do not regard those hours as 
 the least happy of my life, during which (to use the 
 eloquent language of Mr. Coleridge) "my individual 
 recollections have been suspended, and lulled to sleep 
 amid the music of nobler thoughts ; " nor that study as 
 misapplied, which has familiarized me with one of the 
 sublimest efforts of the human invention. 
 
 To those, who shall be at the trouble of examimug 
 into the degree of accuracy Avith which the task has been
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 executed, I may be allowed to suggest, that tlioir judg- 
 ment should not be formed on a comparison with any 
 single text of my Author ; since, in more instances than 
 I liave noticed, I have had to make my choice out of a 
 variety of readings and interpretations, presented by 
 different editions and commentators. 
 
 In one or two of those editions is to be found the 
 title of " The Vision," which I have adopted, as more 
 conformable to the genius of our language than that 
 of "The Divine Comedy." Dante himself, I believe, 
 termed it sim2:)ly " The Comedy ; " in the first place, 
 because the style was of the middle kind: and in the 
 next, because the story (if story it may be called) ends 
 happily. 
 
 Instead of a Life of my Author, I have subjoined, in 
 chronological order, a view not only of the princij)al 
 events which befell him, but of the chief public occur- 
 rences that happened in his time : concerning both of 
 which the reader may obtain further information, by 
 turning to the passages referred to in the Poem and 
 Notes. 
 
 January^ 1814.
 
 A CHEONOLOGICAL VIEW 
 
 TiHE .A^a-E o:r iDj^isrrcjB. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 12G5 Dante, son of Alighieri degli Alishieri and Bella, is born at 
 Florence. Of his own ancestry he speaks in the Paradise, Canto 
 XV. and XVI. 
 
 In the same year, Manfredi, king of Naples and Sicily, is defeated 
 and slain by Charles of Aujoix. Hell, C. XXVIII. 13. and I'lirga- 
 tor>% C. III. 110. 
 
 Guido Novello of Polenta obtains the sovereignty of Ravenna. II. 
 C. XXVII. 38. 
 
 1266 Two of the Frati Godenti chosen arbitrators of the differences at 
 Florence. H. C. XXIII. 104. 
 
 Gianni de' Soldanieri heads the populace in tliat city. H. C. 
 XXXII. 118. 
 
 1268 Cliarles of Anjou puts Conradine to death, and becomes King of 
 Naples. H. C. XXVIII. 16. and Purg. C. XX. 66. 
 
 1272 Henry III. of England is succeeded by Edward I. Purg. C. VII. 
 129. 
 
 1274 Our Poet first sees Beatrice, daughter of Folco Portinari. I'ra. 
 Guittone d'Arezzo, the poet, dies. Purg. C. XXIV. 56. 
 
 Thomas Aquinas dies. Purg. C. XX. 67. and Par. C. X. 96. 
 Buonaveutura dies. Par. C. XII. 25. 
 
 1275 Pierre de la Brosse, secretary to Philip III. of France, executed. 
 Purg. C. VI. 23. 
 
 1276 Giotto, the painter, is born. Purg. C. XI. 95. Pope Adrian V. 
 dies. Purg. C. XIX. 97. 
 
 Guido Guiuicelli, the poet, dies. Purg. C. XL 96. and C. XXVI. 8S. 
 
 1277 Pope John XXI. dies. Par, C. XII. 126. 
 
 
 'l278 pttocar, 
 
 king of Bohemia, dies. 
 
 Purg. C. VU. 97. 
 
 (vii) 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 via A CIIIIONOLOGICAL VIKW OF 
 
 1279 Diuiiysiiis hucccccIh to tlie throne of Portugal. Par. C. XIX. 135 
 
 1280 Albcrtiis Maxims dies. Par. C. X. 95. 
 
 1281 Pope Nicholas III. dies. H. C. XIX. 71. 
 
 Dante studies at the universities of Bologna and Padua. 
 
 1282 The Sicilian vespers. Par. C. VIII. 80. 
 
 The Frciicli defeated by the people of Forli. II. C. XXVII. 41. 
 Tribaldello dc' Maufredi betrays the city of Facnza. II. C. XXXII. 
 119. 
 
 1284 Prince Charles of Aujou is defeated and made prisoner by Rngier 
 de Lauria, admiral to Peter III. of Arraj^on. Pnrg. C. XX. 78. 
 Charles I. king of Naples, dies. Purg. C. VII 111. 
 
 1285 Pope Martin IV. dies. Purg. C. XXIV. 2.3. 
 Philip III. of France, and Peter III. of Arragon, die. 
 Purg. C. VII. 101, and 110. 
 
 Henry 11. king of Cyprus, comes to the throne. Par. C. XIX. 144. 
 
 1287 Guldo dalle Colonne (mentioned by Dante in his De Vulgari Elo- 
 quio) writes " The War of Troy." 
 
 1288 Haquin, king of Norway, makes war on Denmark. Par. C. XIX 
 l.SS. 
 
 Count Ugolino de' Gherardeschi dies of famine. H. C. XXXII I. 14. 
 
 1289 Dante is in the battle of Campaldino, where the Florentines defeat 
 the people of Arezzo, June 11. Purg. C. V. 90. 
 
 1290 Beatrice dies. Purg. C. XXXII. 2. 
 
 He serves in the war waged by the Florentines upon the Pisans, 
 and is present at the surrender of Caproua in the autumn. H. C 
 XXI. 92. 
 
 1291 He marries Gemma de' Donati, with whom he lives unhappily. By 
 this marriage he had five sons and a daughter. 
 
 Can Grande della Scala is born. March 9. H. C. I. 08. Purg. C. 
 
 XX. 16. Par. C. XVII. 75. and XXVII. 135. 
 
 The renegade Cliristians assist the Saracens to recover St. John 
 
 D'Acre. H. C. XXVII. 84. 
 
 The Emperor Rodolph dies. Pnrg. C. VI. lOt. and VII. 91. 
 
 Alonzo III. of Arragon dies, and is succeeded by James II. Purg. 
 
 C. VII. 113. and Par. C. XIX. 133, 
 
 1294 Clement V. abdicates the papal chair. H. C. III. 56. 
 Dante writes his Vita Nuova. 
 
 1295 His preceptor, Brunetto Latini, dies. H. C. XV. 28. 
 
 Charles Martel, king of Hungary, visits Florence, Par. C. VIII. 57. 
 and dies in the same year. 
 
 Frederick, son of Peter III. of Arragon, becomes king of Sicily. 
 Purg. C. VII. 117. and Par. C. XIX. 127. 
 
 1296 Forese, tlie coiupaniou of Dante, dies. Purg. C. XXXIII. 44.
 
 THE AGE OP DANTE. IX 
 
 1300 The Bianca and Ncra parties take their rise in Pistoia. II. C. 
 XXXII. GO. 
 
 This is the year in which he supposes liimself to see his Vision. II. 
 
 C. 1. 1. and XXI. 109. 
 
 Ho is chosen cliief magistrate, or first of the Priors of Florence ; 
 
 and continues in office from June 15 to August 15. 
 
 Cimabue, tlie painter, dies. Purg. C XI. 93. 
 
 Guido Cavalcanti, the most beloved of our Poet's friends, dies. II. 
 
 C. X. 59. and Purg. C. XI. 9G. 
 
 1301 The Bianca party expels the Nera from Pistoia. H. C. XXIV. 142. 
 
 1302 January 27. During his absence at Rome, Dante is mulcted by his 
 fellow-citizens in the sum of 8000 lire, and condemned to two years' 
 banishment. 
 
 March 10. He is sentenced, if taken, to be burned. 
 
 Fulcieri de' Calboli commits great atrocities on certain of the Glii- 
 
 belline party. Purg. C XIV. 01. 
 
 Carlino de' Pazzi betrays the castle di Piano Travigne, in Valdarno, 
 
 to the Florentines. H. C. XXXII. 67. 
 
 The French vanquished in the battle of Courtrai. Purg. C. XX. 47. 
 
 James, king of Majorca and Minorca, dies. Par. C XIX. 133. 
 
 1303 Pope Boniface VIII. dies. H. C. XIX. 55. Purg. G. XX. 86. 
 XXXII. 14G. and Par. C. XXVII. 20. 
 
 The other exiles appoint Dante one of a council of twelve, under 
 Alessandro da Romena. 
 
 Ho appears to have been much dissatisfied with his colleagues. 
 Par. C. XVII. 61. 
 
 1304 He joins with the exiles in an unsuccessful attack on the city of 
 Florence. 
 
 May. The bridge over the Arno breaks down during a representa- 
 tion of the infernal torments exhibited on that river. II. C. 
 XXVI. 9. 
 
 July 20. Petrarch, whose father had been banished two years be- 
 fore from Florence, is born at Arezzo. 
 
 1305 Winceslaus II. king of Bohemia, dies. Purg. G. VII. 99. and Par. 
 G. XIX. 123. 
 
 A conflagration happens at Florence. H. G. XXVI. 9. 
 
 1306 Dante visits Padua. 
 
 1307 He is in Lunigiana with the Marchese Marcello Malaspina. Purg. 
 G. VIII. 133. and G. XIX. 140. 
 
 Dolcino, tlie fanatic, is burned. H. G. XXVIII. 53. 
 
 1308 The Emperor Albert I. murdered. Purg. G. VI. 98. and Par. G. 
 XIX. 114. 
 
 Gorso Donati, Dante's political enemy, slain. Purg. G. XXIV. 81. 
 He seeks an asylum at Verona, under the roof of the Signori della 
 Scala. Par, G. XVII. 69. He wanders, about this time, over va- 
 rious parts of Italy. See his Gonvito. He is at Paris twice ; and, 
 as one of the early commentators reports, at Oxford. 
 
 1309 Gharles II. king of N.aplcs, dies. Par. G. XIX. 125. 
 
 T
 
 X CHRONOLOGTOAI. VIEAV OF DANTE. 
 
 1310 The Order of the Templars abolished. Purg. C. XX. 94. 
 
 1313 The Emperor Henry of Liixembiirg, by whom he lind hoped to be 
 restored to Florence, dies. I'lir. C. XVII. <S0. and XXX. l.'!5. 
 
 He takes refuge at Ravenna with Giiido Novello da I'olcnta. 
 
 1314 Pope Clement V. dies. II. C XIX. 86. and Par. C. XXVII. 53. and 
 XXX. 141. 
 
 Philip IV. of France dies. Purg. C VII. 108. and Par. C. XIX. 117 
 
 Ferdinand IV. of Spain, dies. Par. C XIX. 122. 
 
 Giacopo da Carrara defeated by Can Grande. Par. C. IX. 45. 
 
 131G John XXII. elected Pope. Par. C. XXVII. 53. 
 
 1321 Jnly. Dante dies at Ravenna, of a complaint brought on by disap- 
 pointment at his failure in a negotiation which he had been con- 
 ducting with the Venetians, for his patron Guido Novello da 
 Polenta. 
 
 His obsequies are sumptuously performed at Ravenna by Guido, 
 who himself died in the ensuing year.
 
 HELL. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 In the midway of this our mortal life, 
 
 I found me in a gloomy wood, astray 
 
 Gone from the i)ath direct : and e'en to tell 
 
 It were no easy task, how savage wild 
 
 That forest, how robust and rough its growth, 5 
 
 Which to remember only, my dismay 
 
 Renews, in bitterness not far from death. 
 
 Yet to discourse of Avhat there good befell. 
 
 All else will I relate discover'd there. 
 
 How first I entcr'd it I scarce can say, 10 
 
 Such sleepy dulness in that instant weigh'd 
 My senses down, when the true path I left, 
 But when a mountain's foot I reach'd, where clos'd 
 The valley, tliat had pierc'd my heart with dread, 
 I look'd aloft, and saw his shoulders broad 15 
 
 Already vested with that planet's beam, 
 Who leads all wanderers safe through every way. 
 
 Then was a little respite to the fear. 
 That in my heart's recesses deep had lain, 
 All of that night, so jntifuUy ])ass'd : 20 
 
 And as a man, with difficult short breath, 
 Forespent with toiling, 'scap'd from sea to shore, 
 Turns to the perilous wide waste, and stands 
 At gaze ; e'en so my spirit, that yet fail'd 
 Struggling with terror, turu'd to view the straits, 25
 
 2 HELL. 
 
 That none liath pass'd and liv'd. My weary frame 
 
 After slioi't i)aiise reeoinfurted, again 
 
 I journey'd on over that lonely steep, 
 
 The hinder foot still firmer. Scarce the ascent 
 
 Began, when, lo ! a panther, nimble, light, 30 
 
 And cover'd with a speckled skin, ajipear'd, 
 
 Nor, when it saw me, yanish'd, rather strove 
 
 To check my onward going ; that ofttimes 
 
 With purpose to retrace my steps I turn'd. 
 
 The hour was morning's prime, and on his way 35 
 
 Aloft the sun ascended with those stars. 
 That with him rose, when Love divine first mov'd 
 Those its fair works : so that with joyous hope 
 All things conspir'd to fill me, the gay skin 
 Of that swift animal, the matin dawn 40 
 
 And the sweet season. Soon that joy was chas'd, 
 And by new dread succeeded, when in view 
 A lion came, 'gainst me, as it api^ear'd, 
 With his head held aloft and hunger-mad, 
 That e'en the air was fear-struck. A she-wolf 45 
 
 Was at his heels, who in her leanness seem'd 
 Full of all wants, and many a land hath made 
 Disconsolate ere now. She with such fear 
 O'erwhelmed me, at the sight of her appall'd, 
 That of the height all hope I lost. As one, 50 
 
 Who with his gain elated, sees the time 
 When all unwares is gone, he inwardly 
 Mourns with heart-griping anguish ; such was I, 
 Haunted by that fell beast, never at jieace. 
 Who coming o'er against me, by degrees 65 
 
 ImpelI'd me where the sun in silence rests. 
 
 While to the lower space with backward step 
 I fell, my ken discern'd the form of one. 
 Whose voice seem'd faint through long disuse of speech. 
 When him in that great desert I espied, 60 
 
 " Have mercy on me ! " cried I out aloud, 
 " Spirit ! or living man ! whate'er thou be ! " 
 
 He answer'd : " Now not man, man once I was, 
 And born of Lombard parents, Mantuans both 
 By country, wlien the power of Julius yet 65
 
 Was scarcely firm. At Rome my life was past 
 
 Beneath the mild Augustus, in the time 
 
 Of fabled deities and false. A bard 
 
 "Was I, and made Anehises' u]»right son 
 
 The subject of my song, who came from Troy, 7C 
 
 When the flames prey'd on Ilium's haughty towers. 
 
 Hut thou, say wherefore to such perils i)ast 
 
 Keturn'st thou ? wherefore not this pleasant mount 
 
 Ascendest, cause and source of all delight ? " 
 
 "And art thou then that Virgil, that well-spring, 75 
 
 From which such cojnous floods of eloquence 
 
 Have issued ? " I with front abash'd rei)lied. 
 
 "Glory and light of all the tuneful train ! 
 
 May it avail me, that I long with zeal 
 
 Have sought thy volume, and Avith love immense 80 
 
 Have conn'd it o'er. My master thou and guide ! 
 
 Thou he from whom alone I have deriv'd 
 
 That style, which for its beauty into fame 
 
 Exalts me. See the beast, from whom I fled. 
 
 O save me from her, thou illustrious sage! 85 
 
 For every vein and pulse throughout my frame 
 
 She hath made tremble." He, soon as he saw 
 
 That I was weeping, answer'd, " Thou must needs 
 
 Another way pursue, if thou Avouldst 'scape 
 
 From out that savage wilderness. This beast, 90 
 
 At whom thou criest, her way will suffer none 
 
 To pass, and no less hindrance makes than death: 
 
 So bad and so accursed in her kind. 
 
 That never sated is her ravenous will. 
 
 Still after food more craving than before. 95 
 
 To many an animal in wedlock vile 
 
 She fastens, and shall yet to many more, 
 
 Until that greyhound come, who shall destroy 
 
 Her with sharp jtain. He Avill not life support 
 
 By earth nor its base metals, but by \ove, 100 
 
 Wisdom, and virtue, and his land shall be 
 
 The land 'twixt either Feltro. In his might 
 
 Shall safety to Italia's plains arise. 
 
 For whose fair realm, Camilla, virgin pure, 
 
 Nisus, Euryalus, and Turnus fell. 105
 
 4 HKLL. 
 
 lie witli incessant chase througli every town 
 Sliall worry, until he to hell at length 
 Kestore her, thence hy envy first let loose. 
 I for thy profit })on(rring' now devise, 
 Tliat thou inayst follow nie, and I thy guide 110 
 
 Will lead thee hence through an eternal space, 
 Where thou shalt hear despairing slirieks, and see 
 Spirits of old tormented, who invoke 
 A second death ; and those next view, who dwell 
 Content in fire, for that tliey hope to come, 115 
 
 Whene'er the time may he, among the blest, 
 Into whose regions if thou then desire 
 T' ascend, a spirit worthier than I 
 Must lead thee, in whose charge, when I dej^art, 
 Thou shalt be left : for that Almighty King, 120 
 
 Who reigns above, a rebel to his law. 
 Adjudges me, and therefore hath decreed, 
 That to his city none through me shoiild come. 
 He in all parts hath sway ; there rules, there holds 
 His citadel and throne, O happy those, 125 
 
 Whom there he chooses ! " I to liim in few : 
 " Bard ! by that God, whom thou didst not adore, 
 I do beseech thee (that this ill and worse 
 I may escape) to lead me, where thou saidst. 
 That I Saint Peter's gate may view, and tliose 130 
 
 Who, as thou tell'st, are in such dismal jjlight." 
 Onward he mov'd, I close his stej^s pursu'd. 
 
 CANTO n. 
 
 Now was the day departing, and the air, 
 Imbrown'd with shadows, from their toils releas'd 
 All animals on earth ; and' I alone 
 Prepar'd myself the conflict to sustain. 
 Both of sad ]uty, and that perilous road, 
 Wliicli my unerring memory shall retrace. 
 
 O Muses ! O high genius ! now vouchsafe 
 Your aid ! O mind ! that all I saw hast kept 
 Safe in a written record, here thy worth
 
 ITELL. 
 
 And eminent endowments come to proof. 10 
 
 I tluis bei^an : " Hard ! tliou wlio art my gMiide, 
 Consider Avell, if virtue be in me 
 Sufficient, ere to this liij^'li enterprise 
 Thou trust me. Tliou hast tohl tliat Silvius' sire, 
 Yet clotird in corruptible flesh, among 15 
 
 Th' immortal tribes had entrance, and was there 
 Sensibly present. Yet if heaven's great Lord, 
 Almighty foe to ill, such favour shew'd. 
 In contemplation of the high effect, 
 
 Both what and who from liim should issue forth, 20 
 
 It seems in reason's judgment well deserv'd : 
 Sith he of Rome, and of Rome's empire wide, 
 In heaven's empyreal height was chosen sire : 
 Both which, if truth be s])oken, were ordain'd 
 And 'stablish'd for the holy ])lace, where sits 25 
 
 Who to great Peter's sacred chair succeeds. 
 He from this journey, in thy song renown'd, 
 Learn'd things, that to his victory gave rise 
 And to the papal robe. In after-times 
 Tlie chosen A'essel also travel'd there, 30 
 
 To bring us back assurance in that faith, 
 Which is the entrance to salvation's way. 
 But I, why should I there presume ? or who 
 Permits it? not iEneas I nor Paul. 
 
 Myself I deem not worthy, and none else 35 
 
 Will deem me. I, if on this voyage then 
 I I venture, fear it will in folly end. 
 I Thou, who art wise, better my meaning knoAv'st, 
 I 'J'han I can speak." As one, who unresolves 
 I What he hath late resolv'd, and with new thoughts 40 
 I Changes his purpose, from his first intent 
 J Remov'd ; e'en such was I on that dun coast, 
 I Wasting in thought my ejiterprise, at first 
 I So eagerly embrac'd. " If right tliy words 
 I I scan," replied that shade magnanimous, 45 
 
 I " Thy soul is by vile fear assail'd, which oft 
 i So overcasts a man, that he recoils 
 \ From noblest resolution, like a beast 
 i At some false semblance in the twilight gloom.
 
 HELL. 
 
 Tliat from tliis tovror llion niayst free thyself, 50 
 
 I will insrnu't tlico why I came, and what 
 I lieard in that sanio histant, when for thee 
 Grief tonch'd me first. I was among the tribe, 
 Who rest suspended, when a dame, so blest 
 And lovely, I besoiight her to command, 55 
 
 Call'd me ; her eyes were brighter than the star 
 Of day ; and she wuth gentle voice and soft 
 Angelically tun'd her speech address'd : 
 ' courteous shade of Mantua ! thou whose fame 
 Yet lives, and shall live long as nature lasts ! 60 
 
 ' A friend, not of my fortune but myself, 
 ' On the wide desert in his road has met 
 ' Hindrance so great, that he through fear has turn'd. 
 'Now much I dread lest he past help have stray'd, 
 ' And I be ris'n too late for his relief, 65 
 
 ' From Avhat in heaven of him I heard. Speed now, 
 ' And by thy eloquent ])ersuasive tongue, 
 ' And by all means for his deliverance meet, 
 'Assist him. So to me will comfort spring. 
 ' I Avho now bid thee on this eri-and forth 70 
 
 ' Am Beatrice ; * from a place I come 
 ' Revisited wath joy. Love brought me thence, 
 ' Who prompts my speech. When in my Master's sight 
 ' I stand, thy praisti to him I oft will tell.' 
 ' " She then was silent, and I thus began : 75 
 
 'O Lady! by whose influence alone, 
 ' ]\Iankind excels Aviiatever is contain'd 
 ' Within that heavi.'u which hath the smallest orb, 
 ' So thy command delights me, that to obey, 
 ' If it w^ere done already, would seem late. 80 
 
 ' No need hast thou farther to speak thy will ; 
 ' Yet tell the reason, why thou art not loth 
 ' To leave that ample space, where to return 
 * Thou burnest, for this centre here beneath.' 
 
 " She then : 'Since thou so deeply -svoiddst inquire, 85 
 ' I will instruct thee briefly, Avhy no dread 
 ' Hinders my entrance here. Those things alone 
 
 * Ixise thia word, as it is pronounced in tlie Italian, as consisting of four 
 syllables, of which tlie third is a long one.
 
 IIETJ,. i 
 
 'Arc to bo fear'd, wlienoe ovil may j^roceed, 
 
 'None else, for none are terrible beside. 
 
 'I am so franiM ])y God, tlianks to bis grace! 90 
 
 ' Tbat any suff'rance of your misery 
 
 ' Toiiclies me not, nor flame of tbat fierce fire 
 
 'Assails me. In bigb beaven a blessed dame 
 
 ' Besides, wbo mourns witb sucb eifectual grief 
 
 ' Tbat liindranc^, wbicb I send tbee to remove, 95 
 
 'Tbat God's stern judgment to ber will inclines. 
 
 ' To Lucia calling, ber sbe tbus bespake : 
 
 " Now dotb tby faitbful servant need tby aid, 
 
 " And I commend bim to tbee." At ber word 
 
 ' Sj)ed Lucia, of all cruelty tbe foe, 100 
 
 ' And coming to tbe place, wbere I abode 
 
 ' Seated witb Racbel, ber of ancient days, 
 
 ' Sbe tbus address'd me : " Tbou true praise of God ! 
 
 "Beatrice ! Avby is not tby succour lent 
 
 "To bim, wbo so mucb lov'd tbee, as to leave 105 
 
 " For tby sake all tbe multitude admires ? 
 
 " Dost tbou not bear bow pitiful bis wail, 
 
 " Nor mark tbe deatb, Avbicb in tbe torrent flood, 
 
 "Swoln migbtier tban a sea, bim struggling holds?" 
 
 'Ne'er among men did any witb sucb speed 110 
 
 ' Haste to tbeir profit, flee from tbeir annoy, 
 
 ' As when tbese words were sj^oken, I came bere, 
 
 ' Down from my blessed seat, trusting tbe force 
 
 ' Of tby pure eloquence, wbicb tbee, and all 
 
 ' Wbo well bavc mark'd it, into bonour brings.' 115 
 
 "Wben sbe bad ended, ber brigbt beaming eyes 
 Tearful sbe turn'd aside ; wbereat I felt 
 Redoubled zeal to serve tbee. As sbe will'd, 
 Tbus am I come : I sav'd tbee from tbe beast, 
 Wbo tby near way across tbe goodly mount 120 
 
 Prevented. Wbat is tbis comes o'er tbee tben ? 
 Wby, wby dost tbou bang back ? wby in tby breast 
 Harbour vile fear? wby bast not courage tbere 
 And noble daring ? Since tbree maids so blest 
 •Tby safety plan, e'en in tbe court of heaven; 125 
 
 And so mucb certain good my words forebode." 
 
 As florets, by tbe frosty air of night 
 
 ~\-
 
 IIKT-L. 
 
 Bont (lo-\v7i and closM, wlioii day lias blancli'd tlicir leaves, 
 
 Kise all unfolded on their s])ii'y stems ; 
 
 So was my fainting vigour new restoi'M, 130 
 
 And to my heart sueh kin<lly eoui'age ran, 
 
 That I as one undaunted soon replied : 
 
 "O full of ])ity she, who undertook 
 
 My succour ! and thou kind who didst perform 
 
 So soon her true behest ! With such desire 135 
 
 Thou hast dispos'd me to renew my voyage, 
 
 That my first purpose fully is resum'd. 
 
 Lead on : one only will is in us Loth. 
 
 Thou art my guide, my master thou, and lord," 
 
 So spake I ; and when he had onward raov'd, 140 
 
 I enter'd on the deep and woody way. 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 " Through me you pass into the city of woe : 
 
 Through me you j^ass into eternal pain : 
 
 Through me among the people lost for aye. 
 
 Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd : 
 
 To rear me was the task of power divine, 5 
 
 Su])reniest wusdom, and primeval love. 
 
 Before me things create were none, save things 
 
 Eternal, and eternal I endure. 
 
 All hojte abandon ye who enter here." 
 
 Sueh characters in colour dim I mark'd 10 
 
 Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd : 
 Vv^hereat I thus : " Mastei", these words import 
 Hard meaning." He as one prejjar'd replied : 
 " Here thou must all distrust behind thee leave ; 
 Here be vile fear extinguish'd. We are come 15 
 
 Where I have told thee we shall see the souls 
 To misery doom'd, who intellectual good 
 Have lost." And wlien his hand lie had stretch'd forth 
 To mine, with ])leasant looks, whence I was cheer'd, 
 Into that secret ])lace he led me on. -0 
 
 Here sighs with lamentations and loud moans 
 Besounded through the air pierc'd by no star, 

 
 HELL, y 
 
 That e'en I wept at entering. Various tongues, 
 
 Horrible languages, outcries of woe. 
 
 Accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse, 25 
 
 With hands togetlier smote that swell'd the sounds, 
 
 Made uj) a tuniult, that for eA'er whirls 
 
 Kound through that air with solid darkness staiu'd, 
 
 Like to the sand that in the whirlwind Hies. 
 
 I then, with error yet encompass'd, cried : 30 
 
 " O master ! what is this I hear V what race 
 Are these, who seem so overcome with woe?" 
 
 He thus to me : " This miserable fate 
 Suffer the wretched souls of those, who liv'd 
 Without or praise or blame, with that ill band 35 
 
 Of angels mix'd, who nor rebellious prov'd 
 Nor yet were true to God, but for themselves 
 Were only. From his bounds Heaven drove them forth, 
 Not to impair his lustre, nor tlie depth 
 Of Hell receives them, lest th' accursed -tribe 40 
 
 Should glory thence with exultation vain." 
 
 I then : " Master ! what doth aggrieve them thus, 
 That they lament so loud ? " He straight replied : 
 " That will I tell thee biiefly. These of deathr 
 No hope may entertain : and their blind life 45 
 
 So meanly passes, that all other lots 
 They envy. Fame of them the world hath none, 
 Nor suffers ; mercy and justice scorn them both. 
 Speak not of them, but look, and pass them by." 
 
 And I, wlio straightway look'd, beheld a flag, 50 
 
 Whicli whirling ran around so rapidly, 
 'Tlu'.t it no pause obtain'd : and followiaig came 
 Such a long train of spirits, I should ne'er 
 Have thought, that death so many had despoil'd. 
 
 When some of these I recogniz'd, I saw 55 
 
 And knew the shade of him, who to base fear 
 Yielding, abjur'd his high estate. Forthwith 
 I understood for certnni this the tribe 
 Of those ill spirits both to God displeasing 
 And to his foes. These wretches, who ne'er lived, 60 
 Went on in nakedness, and s6rely stung 
 J^y was])S and hoi'uets, which bedew'd their cliceks
 
 10 HELL. 
 
 With l)loo(l, thai, mix'd witli tears dropp'd to their feet, 
 And by disgustful worms wns gather'd there. 
 
 Tlieu looking farther onwards I beheld 65 
 
 A throng vipon the shore of a great stream : 
 Whereat I thus: " Sir ! grant me now to know 
 Whom here we view, and whence im^^ell'd tliey seem 
 So eager to pass o'er, as I discern 
 
 Through the blear light? " He thus to me in few : 70 
 " This shalt thou know, soon as our steps arrive 
 Beside the woeful tide of Acheron." 
 
 Then with eyes downward cast and fill'd with shame, 
 Fearing my words offensive to his ear. 
 Till we had reach'd the river, I from speech 75 
 
 Abstain'd. And lo ! toward us in a bark 
 Comes on an old man hoary white with eld, 
 Crying, " Woe to you wicked si^irits ! hope not 
 Ever to see the sky again. I come 
 
 To take you to the other shore across, 80 
 
 Into eternal darkness, there to dwell 
 In fierce heat and in ice. And thou, who there 
 Standest, live spirit ! get thee hence, and leave 
 These who are dead." But soon as he beheld 
 I left them not, " By other way," said he, 85 
 
 " By other haven shalt thou come to shore, 
 Not by this passage ; thee a nimbler boat 
 Must carry." Then to him thus spake my guide: 
 " Charon ! thyself torment not : so 't is will'd. 
 Where will and power are one : ask thou no more." 90 
 
 Straiijclitway in silence fell the shaggy cheeks 
 Of him the boatman o'er the livid lake. 
 Around whose eyes glar'd wheeling flames. Meanwhile 
 Those spirits, faint and naked, color chang'd. 
 And gnash'd their teeth, soon as the cruel words 95 
 
 They heard. God and their pai-ents they blasphem'd, 
 The human kind, the place, tlie time, and seed 
 That did engender them and give them birth. 
 
 Then all together sorely wailing drew 
 To the curs'd strand, that every man must pass 100 
 
 Who fears not God. Charon, demoniac form, 
 With eyes (Jf burning coal, collects them all.
 
 HRLL. 11 
 
 Bcck'iiing, and eacli, that lingers, witli liis oar 
 
 Strikes. As fall off the light aiitumnal leaves, 
 
 One still another following, till tlie l)Ough 105 
 
 Strews all its honours on the earth beneath ; 
 
 E'en in like manner Adam's evil brood 
 
 Cast themselves one by one down from the shore, 
 
 Each at a beck, as falcon at his caU. 
 
 Thus go they over through the umber'd. wave, 110 
 
 And ever they on the opposing bank 
 Be landed, on this side another throng 
 Still gathers. " Son," thus spake the courteous guide, 
 " Those, who die subject to the wrath of God, 
 All here together come from every clime, 115 
 
 And to o'erpass the river are not loth : 
 For so heaven's justice goads them on, that fear 
 Is turn'd into desire. Hence ne'er hath past 
 Good spirit. If of thee Charon complain. 
 Now mayst thou know the import of his words." 120 
 
 This said, the gloomy region trembling shook 
 So terribly, that yet with clammy dews 
 Fear chills my brow. The sad earth gave a blast. 
 That, lightening, shot forth a vermilion flame. 
 Which all my senses conquer'd quite, and I 125 
 
 Down dropp'd, as one with sudden slumber seiz'd. 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 Broke the deep slumber in my brain a crash 
 Of heavy thunder, that I shook myself. 
 As one by main force rous'd. Riseit upright, 
 My rested eyes I mov'd around, and search'd 
 With fixed ken to know what place it was, 5 
 
 Wherein I stood. For certain on the brink 
 I found me of the lamentable vale, 
 The dread abyss, that joins a thund'rous sound 
 Of plaints innumerable. Dark and deep. 
 And thick Avdth clouds o'erspread, mine eye in vain 10 
 Explor'd its bottom, nor could aught discern. 
 " Now let us to the blind world there beneath
 
 12 iii:r,i,. 
 
 Descend ; " the bard began all ])ale of look : 
 "I go the first, and thou slialt follow next." 
 
 Then I liis alterM hue ]»ercei\ing, thus : 15 
 
 " How may I sj)eed, it' thou yieldest to di'cad, 
 Who still art wont to comfort mc in doubt ? " 
 
 He then : " The anguish of that race below 
 With pity stains my cheek, which thou f(n- feai 
 jMistakest. Let us on. Our length of way 20 
 
 Urges to haste." Onward, this said, he mov'd ; 
 And ent'ring led me with him on the bounds 
 Of the first circle, that surrounds th' abyss. 
 Here, as mine ear could note, no plaint was heard 
 Except of sighs, that made th' eternal air 25 
 
 Tremble, not caus'd by tortures, but from grief 
 Felt by those multitudes, many and vast. 
 Of men, women, and infants. Then to me 
 The gentle guide : " Inquir'st thou not what spirits 
 Are these, which thou beholdest ? Ere thou pass 80 
 
 Farther, I would thou know, that these of sin 
 Were blameless; and if aught they merited, 
 It profits not, since baptism was not theirs, 
 The portal to thy faith. If they before 
 The Gospel liv'd, they serv'd not God aright ; 35 
 
 And among such am I. For these defects, 
 And for no other evil, we are lost ; 
 Only so far afflicted, that we live 
 Desiring without hope." So grief assail'd. 
 My heart at hearing this, for well I knew 40 
 
 Suspended in that Limbo many a soul 
 Of mighty Avorth. " O tell me, sire rever'd ! 
 Tell me, my master ! " I began through wish 
 Of full assurance in that holy faith. 
 
 Which vanquishes all error ; " say, did e'er 45 
 
 Any, or through his own or other's merit. 
 Come forth from thence, who afterward was blest?" 
 
 Piercing the secret purport of ray speech, 
 lie answer'd : " I was new to that estate, 
 When I beheld a puissant one arrive 50 
 
 Amongst us, with victorious trophy crown'd. 
 Hl' forth the f^hade of our first parent drew.
 
 ITELL. 13 
 
 Abt'l his C'liild, and Noah righteous man, 
 
 Of Moses hiwgiver for faith approv'd, 
 
 Of patriarch Abraham, and David king, 55 
 
 Israel with liis sire and with liis sons, 
 
 Nor witliout Racliel whom so hard lie won, 
 
 And others many more, M'hom he to bliss 
 
 Exalted. Before these, be thou assur'd, 
 
 No spirit of human kind was ever sav'd." 60 
 
 We, while he spake, ceas'd not our onward road, 
 Still ])assing through the wood ; for so I name 
 Tliose spirits thick beset. We were not far 
 On this side from the summit, when I kenn'd 
 A flame, that o'er the darken'd hemisphere 65 
 
 Prevailing sliin'd. Yet we a little S])ace 
 Were distant, not so far but I in ])art 
 Discover'd, that n tribe in honour high 
 That place posscss'd. " O thou, who every art 
 And science valu'st ! who are these, that boast 70 
 
 Such honour, separate from all the rest ? " 
 
 He answer'd : " The renown of their great nanxes 
 That echoes tlirough your world above, acquires 
 Favour in heaven, which holds them thus advanc'd." 
 Meantime a voice I heard : " Honour the bard 75 
 
 Sublime ! his shade returns that left us late ! " 
 No sooner ceas'd the sound, than I beheld 
 Four mighty spirits tOAvard us bend their steps. 
 Of semblance neither sorrowful nor glad. 
 
 When thus my master kind began : " Mark him, 80 
 Who in his right hand bears that falchion keen, 
 The other three preceding, as their lord. 
 This is that Homer, of all bards supreme : 
 Fhiccus the next in satire's vein excelling; 
 The tliird is Naso ; Lucan is the last. 85 
 
 Because they all that appellation own, 
 With which the voice singly accosted me, 
 Honouring they greet me thus, and well they judge." 
 
 So I belield united the bright school 
 Of him the monarch of sublimest song, 90 
 
 That o'er the others like an eagle soars. 
 
 When they together short discourse had held,
 
 14 HELL. 
 
 They turn'd to me, witli Siilulation kind 
 
 Beck'ning me ; at tlie Avliieh my master smil'd : 
 
 Nor was this all ; but greater honour still 95 
 
 They gave me, for they made me of their tribe ; 
 
 And I was sixth amid so learn'd a band. 
 
 Far as the lummous beacon on we pass'd 
 Speaking of matters, then befitting well 
 To speak, now fitter left untold. At foot 100 
 
 Of a magnificent castle we arriv'd, 
 Seven times with lofty walls begirt, and round 
 Defended by a pleasant stream. O'er this 
 As o'er dry land we pass'd. Next through seven gates 
 I with those sages enter'd, and we came 105 
 
 Into a mead with lively verdure fresh. 
 
 There dwelt a race, who slow their eyes around 
 Majestically mov'd, and in their port 
 Bore eminent authority ; they spake 
 Seldom, but all their words were tuneful sweet. 110 
 
 We to one side retir'd, into a place 
 Open and bright and lofty, Avhence each one 
 Stood manifest to view. Incontinent 
 There on the green enamel of the plain 
 Were shown me the great spirits, by whose sight 115 
 I am exalted in my own esteem. 
 
 Electra tliere I saw accompanied 
 By many, among whom Hector I knew, 
 Anchises' pious son, and with hawk's eye 
 Caesar all arm'd, and by Camilla there 120 
 
 Penthesilea. On the other side 
 Old King Latinus, seated by his child 
 Lavinia, and that Brutus I beheld. 
 Who Tarquin chas'd, Lucretia, Cato's wife 
 Marcia, with Julia and Cornelia there; 125 
 
 And sole ai)art retir'd, the Soldan fierce. 
 
 Then when a little more I rais'd my brow, 
 I spied the master of tlie sapient throng, 
 Seated amid the philosophic train. 
 
 Him all admire, all pay him rev'rence due. 130 
 
 There Socrates and Plato both I mark'd, 
 Nearest to him in rank ; Democritus,
 
 HELL, 15 
 
 Wlio sets the world at chance, Diogenes, 
 
 With Heraclitus, and Empedocles, 
 
 And Anaxa^-oras, and Thales sage, 135 
 
 Zeno, and Dioscorides Avell read 
 
 In natnre's secret lore. Orj)heus I mark'd 
 
 And Linus, Tully and moral Seneca, 
 
 Euclid and Ptolemy, Hippocrates, 
 
 Galcnus, Avicen, and him who made 140 
 
 That commentary vast, Averroes. 
 
 Of all to speak at full were vain attempt ; 
 For my wide theme so urges, tliat ofttimes 
 My words fall short of what bechanc'd. In two 
 The six associates part. Another way 145 
 
 My sage guide leads me, from that air serene, 
 Into a climate ever vex'd with storms : 
 And to a part I come Avhere no light shines. 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 From the first circle I descended thus 
 
 Down to the second, which a lesser space 
 
 Embracing, so much more of grief contains 
 
 Provoking bitter moans. There Minos stands 
 
 Grinning with ghastly feature : he, of all 5 
 
 Who enter, strict examining the crimes, 
 
 Gives sentence, and dismisses them beneath. 
 
 According as he foldeth him around : 
 
 For when before him comes th' ill-fated soul. 
 
 It all confesses ; and that judge severe 10 
 
 Of sins, considering what place in hell 
 
 Siiits the transgression, with his tail so oft 
 
 Himself encircles, as degrees beneath 
 
 He dooms it t(i>. descend. Before him stand 
 
 Alway a num'rous throng; and in his turn 15 
 
 Each one to judgment passing, speaks, and. hears 
 
 His fate, thence downward to his dwelling hurl'd. 
 
 " O thou ! who to this residence of woe 
 Approachest ? " when he saw me coming, cried 
 Minos, relinquishing his dread employ, 20
 
 16 II1CI.T>. 
 
 " Look liow thou outer here ; beware in wlioin 
 
 'J^hou place tliy trust ; let not the entrance broad 
 
 Deceive thee to thy harm." To him my g-tiide : 
 
 "• Wherefore exelaimest? Iliiulor not his way 
 
 IJy destiny ajijiointed ; so 'tis will'd 25 
 
 Where will and power are one. Ask thou no more." 
 
 Now 'giu the rueful wailings to be heard. 
 Now am I come Avhere many a plaining voice 
 Smites on mine ear. Into a place I came 
 Where light w^as silent all. Bellowing there groan'd 30 
 A noise as of a sea in tempest torn 
 By warring winds. The stormy blast of hell 
 With restless fury drives the spirits on 
 ^Vhirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy. 
 When they arrive before the ruinous sweep, 35 
 
 There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans. 
 And blasphemies 'gainst the good Power in heaven. 
 
 I understood that to this torment sad 
 The carnal sinners are condcmn'd, in whoni 
 Reason by lust is sway'd. As in large troops 40 
 
 And multitudinous, when winter reigns, 
 The starlings on their wings are borne abroad ; 
 So bears the tyrannous gust those evil souls. 
 On this side and on that, above, below. 
 It drives them : hope of rest to solace them 45 
 
 Is none, nor e'en of milder pang. As cranes, 
 'Chanting their dol'rous notes, traverse the sky, 
 Stretch'd out in long array : so I beheld 
 Spirits, who came loud wailing, hurried on 
 By their dire doom. Then I: "Instructor! who 50 
 
 Are these, by the black air so scourg'd ? " — " The first 
 'Mong those, of whom thou question'st," he replied, 
 " O'er many tongues was emj)ress. She in vice 
 Of luxury was so shameless, that she matte 
 Liking be lawful by ])romu]g''d decree, 55 
 
 To clear the blame slie had herself incurr'd. 
 This is Semiramis, of whom 'tis writ. 
 That she succeeded Ninus her espous'd ; 
 And held the land, which now the Soldan rules. 
 The next in amoi'ous furv slew herself, 60
 
 HELL. 17 
 
 And to SiclK'us' nshos broke her faith: 
 'I'heii follows Cleopatra, lustful queen." 
 
 There markVl I Helen, for whose sake so long 
 The time was fraught with evil ; there the great 
 Achilles, who with love fought to the end. 05 
 
 Paris I saw, and Tristan ; and beside 
 A thousand niore he show'd me, and by name 
 Pointed them ont, whom love bereav'd of life. 
 
 When I had heard my sage instructor name 
 Those dames and knights of antique days, o'erpower'd 70 
 By i)ity, well-nigh in amaze my mind 
 Was lost ; and I began : "Bard! willingly 
 I would address those two together coming. 
 Which seem so light before the wind." He thus : 
 " Note thou, Avhen nearer they to us ap]»roach. 75 
 
 Then by that love which carries them along. 
 Entreat ; and they will come." Soon as the Avind 
 Sway'd them toward us, I thus fram'd my speech : 
 " O wearied spii-its ! come, and hold discourse 
 With us, if by none else restrain'd." As doves 80 
 
 By fond desire invited, on wide wings 
 And firm, to their sweet nest returning home. 
 Cleave the air, wafted by their will along ; 
 Thus issu'd from that troop, where Dido ranks, 
 They through the ill air speeding; with such force 85 
 My cry jjrevail'd by strong affection urg'd. 
 
 " O gracious creature and benign ! who go'st 
 Visiting, through this element obscure. 
 Us, who the world with bloody stain imbru'd ; 
 If for a friend the King of all we own'd, 90 
 
 Our pray'r to him should for thy peace arise, 
 Since thou hast pity on our evil plight. 
 Of whatsoe'er to hear or to discourse 
 It pleases thee, that Avill we hear, of that 
 Freely with thee discourse, while e'er the wind, 35 
 
 As now, is mute. The land, that gave me birth, 
 Is situate on the coast, where Po descends 
 To rest in ocean with his sequent streams. 
 
 "Love, that in gentle heart is quickly learnt, 
 Entangled him by that fair form, from me 100 
 
 2
 
 18 IlKLL. 
 
 Ta'en in siicli ci-uel sort, as gi'ievcs me slill: 
 
 Love, tliat dciiial takes from none belov'd, 
 
 Cauglit me with jdeasiiig Jiini so passing well, 
 
 Tliat, as tliou scc'st, he yet deserts me not. 
 
 Love brought us to one death : Caina Avaits 105 
 
 Tlie soul, Avho sj)ilt our life." Such were their words ; 
 
 At hearing which downward I bent my looks. 
 
 And held them there so long, that the bard cried : 
 
 " What art thou pond'j-ingV " I in answer thus : 
 
 "Alas! by what sweet thoughts, what fond desire 110 
 
 Must they at length to that ill i)ass have reach'd!" 
 
 Then turning, I to them my speech address'd. 
 And thus began : " Francesca ! your sad fate 
 Evejr to tears my grief and |)ity moves. 
 But tell me ; in the time of your sweet sighs, 115 
 
 By what, and how love granted, that ye knew 
 Your yet uncertain wishes?" She rejdied: 
 "No greater grief than to remember days 
 Of joy, when mis'ry is at hand ! That kens 
 Thy learn'd instructor. Yet so eagerly 120 
 
 If thou art bent to know the primal root. 
 From whence our love gat being, I will do. 
 As one. Mho weeps and tells his tale. One day 
 For our delight we read of Lancelot, 
 How him love thrall'd. Alone we Averc, and no 125 
 
 Suspicion near us. Ofttimes by that reading 
 Our eyes were drawn together, and the hue 
 Fled from our alter'd cheek. But at one point 
 Alone Ave fell. When of that smile Ave read, 
 The Avished smile, rapturously kiss'd 130 
 
 By one so deep in love, then he, Avho ne'er 
 . From me shall separate, at once my lips 
 All trembling kiss'd. The book and Avriter both 
 Were love's purveyors. Li its leaves that day 
 We read no more." While thus one spirit spake, 135 
 The other Avail'd so sorely, that heart-struck 
 I through compassion fainting, seem'd not far 
 From death, and like a corpse fell to the ground.
 
 HELL. 19 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 My sense reviviiifj^, tliat erewhilc li;ul droopM 
 
 Witli pity for the kindred shades, wlienee grief 
 
 Overcame me wholly, straight around I see 
 
 New torments, new tormented souls, which way 
 
 Soe'er I move, or turn, or bend my sight. 5 
 
 In the third circle I aii'ive, of sliow'rs 
 
 Ceaseless, accursed, l^eavy, and cold, unchang'd 
 
 For ever, both in kind and in degree. 
 
 Large hail, discolour'd water, sleety flaw 
 
 Through the dun midnight air stream'd down amain : 10 
 
 Stank all the land whereon that tempest fell. 
 
 Cerberus, cruel monster, fierce and strange, 
 Thi'ough his wide threefold throat barks as a dog 
 Over the multitude immers'd beneath. 
 His eyes glare crinison, black his unctuous beard, 15 
 
 His belly large, and claw'd the hands, with which 
 He tears the spirits, flays them, and their limbs 
 Piecemeal disparts. ITowling there spread, as curs, 
 Under the rainy deluge, with one side 
 The other screening, oft they roll them round, 20 
 
 A wretched, godless crew. When that great worm 
 Descried us, savage Cerberus, he op'd 
 His jaws, and the fangs show'd us; not a limb 
 Of him but trembled. Then my guide, his palms 
 Expanding on the ground, thence filled with earth 25 
 Rais'd them, and cast it in his ravenous maw. 
 E'en as a dog, that yelling bays for food 
 His keeper, when the morsel comes, lets fall 
 His fury, bent alone with eager haste 
 To swallow it ; so dropp'd tlie loathsome cheeks 30 
 
 Of demon Cerberus, who thund'ring stuns 
 The spirits, that they for deafness wish in vain. 
 
 We, o'er the shades thrown prostrate by the brunt 
 Of the heavy tempest passing, set our feet 
 Upon their emptiness, that substance seem'd. 35 
 
 They all along the earth extended lay 
 Save one, that sudden rais'd himself to sit, 
 Soon as that way he saw us pass. " O thou ! "
 
 20 IIKLL. 
 
 IIo cried, "wlio tlirougli tlic infernal sliadcs art led, 
 
 Own, if again thou know'st ine. Thou wast frani'd 40 
 
 Or ere my frame was broken." I replied : 
 
 "The anguish thou endur'st })erchance so takes 
 
 Thy form from my remembrance, that it seems 
 
 As if I saw thee never. But inform 
 
 Me who thou art, that in a place so sad 45 ' 
 
 Art set, and in such torment, that although 
 
 Other be greater, more disgustful none 
 
 Can be imagin'd." He in answer thus : 
 
 " Thy city heap'd with envy to the brim, 
 
 Ay that the measure overflows its bounds, 60 
 
 Held me in brighter days. Ye citizens 
 
 "Were wont to name me Ciacco. For the sin 
 
 Of glutt'ny, damned vice, beneath this rain, 
 
 E'en as thou see'st, I Avith fatigue am worn ; 
 
 Nor I sole spirit in this woe : all these 55 
 
 Have by like crime incurr'd like })unisliment." 
 
 No more he said, and I my speech resum'd : 
 " Ciacco ! thy dire affliction grieves me much. 
 Even to tears. But tell me, if thou knoAv'st, 
 What shall at length befall the citizens 60 
 
 Of the divided city; whether any just one 
 Inhabit there : and tell me of the cause. 
 Whence jarring discord hath assail'd it thus ? " 
 
 He then : " After long striving they Avill come 
 To blood ; and the wild party from the woods 65 
 
 Will chase the other with much injury forth. 
 Then it behoves, that this must fall, within 
 Three solar circles ; and the other rise 
 By borrow'd force of one, who under shore 
 Now rests. It shall a long space hold aloof 70 
 
 Its forehead, keeping under heavy Aveiglit 
 The other oppress'd, indignant at the load, 
 And grieving sore. The just are two in number, 
 But they neglected. Av'rice, envy, pride. 
 Three fatal, sparks, have set the hearts of all 75 
 
 On fire." Here ceas'd the lamentable sound ; 
 And I continu'd thus : " Still would I learn 
 More from thee, farther parley still entreat.
 
 HELL. iii 
 
 Of Ffivinata fiiifl Togghinio say, 
 
 Tliey who so well dcserv'd, of Giacopo, 80 
 
 Arrigo, Mosca, and tlio rest, wlio bent 
 
 Their minds on Av^orkiiig good. Oh ! tell me Avherc 
 
 They bide, and to their knowledge let me come. 
 
 For I am press'd with keen desire to hear, 
 
 If heaven's sweet cup or poisonous drug of hell 85 
 
 Be to their lip assign'd." He answer'd straight : 
 
 " These are yet blacker spirits. Various crimes 
 
 Have sunk them deeper in the dark abyss. 
 
 If thou so far descendest, thou mayst see tliem. 
 
 But to the pleasant world when thou return'st, 90 
 
 Of me make mention, I entreat thee, there. 
 
 No more I tell thee, answer thee no more." 
 
 This said, his fixed eyes he turn'd askance, 
 A little ey'd me, then bent down his head. 
 And 'midst his blind conipaiiions with it fell. 95 
 
 When thus my guide : "No more his bed he leaves, 
 Ere the last angel-trumpet blow. The Power 
 Adverse to these shall then in glory come, 
 Each one forthwith to his sad tomb repair, 
 Resume his fie^hly vesture and his form, 100 
 
 And liear the eternal doom re-echoing rend 
 The vault." So pass'd we through tliat mixture foul 
 Of spirits and rain, with tardy steps; meanwhile 
 Touching, though slightly, on the life to come. 
 For thus^I quostion'd : "Shall these tortures. Sir ! 105 
 When the great sentence passes, be increas'd, 
 Or mitigated, or as uow severe?" 
 
 lie then : " Consult thy knowledge ; that decides 
 That as each thing to more perfection grows. 
 It feels more sensibly both good and i)ain. 110 
 
 Though ne'er to true ])erfection may arrive 
 TJiis race accurs'd, yet neai-er tlien than now 
 They shall appi'oach it." Coini)assing that path 
 Circuitous we journeyed, and discourse 
 JNlucli more than I i-elate between us j)ass'd : 115 
 
 Till at the ))oint, whence the ste])S led below, 
 Arriv'd, there iMutus, the great foe, we found.
 
 i»? HELL. 
 
 CANTO VIT. 
 
 " An me ! O Satan ! Satan ! " loud exclaim'd 
 
 Pliitus, in accent hoarse of wild alarm : 
 
 And the kind sage, Avliom no event sur])ris'd, 
 
 To comfort me thus spake : "Let not thy fear 
 
 Harm thee, for power in him, be sure, is none 5 
 
 To hinder down this rock thy safe descent." 
 
 Then to that swoln lip turning, " Peace! " he cried, 
 
 " Curs'd wolf ! thy fury inward on thyself 
 
 Prey, and consume thee ! Through the dark profound 
 
 Not without cause he passes. So 't is will'd 10 
 
 On high, there where the great Archangel }iour'd 
 
 Heav'n's vengeance on the first adulterer proud." 
 
 As sails full spread and bellying with the wind 
 Drop suddenly collapsVl, if the mast split; 
 So to the ground down dropp'd the cruel fiend. 15 
 
 Thus we, descending to the fourth steep ledge, 
 Gain'd on the dismal shore, that all the woe 
 Hems in of all the universe. Ah me ! 
 Almighty Justice ! in what store thou heap'st 
 New pains, new troubles, as I here beheld ! 20 
 
 Wherefore doth fault of ours bring us to this ? 
 
 E'en as a billow, on Charybdis rising. 
 Against encounter'd billow dashing breaks ; 
 Such is the dance this wretched race must lead, 
 Whom more than elsewhere numerous here I found, 25 
 From one side and the other, with loud voice, 
 Both roll'd on weights by main force of their breasts, 
 Then smote togetlier, and each one forthwith 
 Roll'd them back A'oluble, turning again. 
 Exclaiming these, "Why boldest thou so fast?" 30 
 
 Those answering, " And why castest thou away ? " 
 So still repeating their despiteful song, 
 They to the opposite point on either hand 
 Travers'd the horrid circle : then arriv'd. 
 Both turn'd them round, and through the middle space 
 Conflicting met again. At sight whereof 36 
 
 I, stung with grief, thus spake : " O say, my guide ! 
 What race is this ? Were these, whose heads are shorn,
 
 iiEr,T,. 23 
 
 On our left Imnd, all sep'rute to the clmrch ? " 
 
 He str:iii,^lit rejilied : "In their first life tlieso all 40 
 In mind were so distorted, that they made, 
 According to due measure, of their wealth, 
 No use. This clearly from their words collect, 
 Which they howl foi-th, at each extremity 
 Arriving of the circle, where their crime 45 
 
 Contrary' in kind disparts them. To the church 
 Were separate those, that with no hairy cowls 
 Are crown'd, both Popes and Cardinals, o'er whom 
 Av'rice dominion absolute maintains." 
 
 I then : " 'Mid such as these some needs must be, 50 
 Whom I shall recognize, that with the blot 
 Of tliese foul sins were stain'd." He answering thus : 
 " Vain thought conceiv'st thou. That ignoble life. 
 Which made them vile befo)-e, now makes them dark, 
 And to all knowledge indiscernible. 55 
 
 For ever they shall meet in this rude shock : 
 These from the tomb with clenched grasp shall rise. 
 Those with close-shaven locks. That ill they gave. 
 And ill they kept, hath of the beauteous world 
 Depriv'd, and set them at this strife, which needs 60 
 
 No labour'd phrase of mine to set if off. 
 Now may'st thou see, my son ! how brief, how vain, 
 The goods committed into fortune's hands, 
 For which the human race keep such a coil ! 
 Not all the gold, that is beneath the moon, 65 
 
 Or ever hath been, of these toil-worn souls 
 Might purchase rest for one." I thus rcjoin'd : 
 " My guide ! of thee this also "\vould I learn ; 
 This fortune, that thou speak'st of, wdiat it is. 
 Whose talons grasp the blessings of the world?" 70 
 
 He thus : " O beings blind! what ignorance 
 Besets you '? Now my judgment hear and mark. 
 He, whose transcendent wisdom passes all, 
 The hea^'ens creating, gave them ruling powers 
 To guide them ; so that each part shines to each, 75 
 
 Their light in equal distribution pour'd. 
 By siinilar appointment he ordain'd 
 Over the world's briu'ht ima<ji;es to rule
 
 •24 /IKLT,, 
 
 SupcriDtondoiico of a miidiiit^ linnd 
 
 And !j,'ejH'i'a! miiiistor, wliicli at due time 80 
 
 ]\lay flianye tlic ejiipty vanlagcs of life 
 
 From race to race, from one to otlier's blood, 
 
 Beyond prevention of man's wisest care: 
 
 Wherefore one nation I'ises into sway, 
 
 Another languishes, e'en as her will 85 
 
 Decrees, from us eonceal'd, as in tlie grass 
 
 The serpent train. Against her nought avails 
 
 Your utmost wisdom. She Avitli foresight plans. 
 
 Judges, and carries on her reign, as theirs 
 
 The othtr poAvcrs divine. Her changes know 90 
 
 Nore intermission : by necessity 
 
 She is made swift, so frequent come Avho claim 
 
 Succession in her favours. This is she. 
 
 So execrated e'en by those, whose debt 
 
 To her is rather praise ; they wrongfully 95 
 
 With blame requite her, and with evil word ; 
 
 But she is blessed, and for that recks not : 
 
 Amidst the other primal beings glad 
 
 Rolls on her sphere, and in her bliss exults. 
 
 Now on our way pass we, to heavier woe 100 
 
 Descending : for each star is falling now. 
 
 That mounted at our entrance, and forbids 
 
 Too long our tarrying." We the circle cross'd 
 
 To the next steep, arriving at a well, 
 
 That boiling poixrs itself down to a foss 105 
 
 Sluic'd from its source. Far murkier was the wave 
 
 Than sablest grain : and we in company 
 
 Of the' inky waters, journeying by their side, 
 
 Enter'd, though l)y a different track, beneath. 
 
 Into a lake, the Stygian nam'd, expands 110 
 
 The dismal stream, when it hath reach'd the foot 
 
 Of the grey wither'd cliffs. Intent I stood 
 
 To gaze, and in the marish sunk descried 
 
 A miry tribe, all naked, and with looks 
 
 Betok'ning rage. They with their liands alone 115 
 
 Struck not, but with the head, the breast, the feet. 
 
 Cutting each other ])iecemeal Avith their fangs. 
 
 The good instructor si)ake : " Now seest thou, son !
 
 The souls of tliosc, wlioin an^ev overcaTiic. 
 
 This too for certain know, tlmt underneath 120 
 
 TJic water dwells a multitude, whose siti'hs 
 
 Into these bubbles make the surface heave, 
 
 As thine eye tells thee wheresoe'er it turn. 
 
 Fix'd in the slime they say : ' Sad once were we 
 
 'In the sweet air made gladsome by the sun, 125 
 
 ' Carrying- a foul and lazy mist within : 
 
 ' Now in these mui'ky settlings are we sad.' 
 
 Such dolorous strain they gurgle in their throats. 
 
 But word distinct can utter none." Our route 
 
 Thus compass'd we, a segment widely stretch'd 130 
 
 Between the dry embankment, and the core 
 
 Of the loath'd pool, turning meanwhile our eyes 
 
 Downward on those who gul|)'d its muddy \e6s ; 
 
 Nor stop})'d, till to a tower's low base we came. 
 
 CANTO VIII. 
 
 My theme pursuing, I relate that ere 
 
 AVe reach'd the lofty turret's base, our eyes 
 
 Its height ascended, where two cressets hung 
 
 We mark'd, and from afar another light 
 
 Return the signal, so remote, that scarce 5 
 
 The eye could catch its beam. I turning round 
 
 To the deep source of knowledge, thus inquir'd : 
 
 " Say v/hat this n:ieans ? and what that other light 
 
 In answer set ? what agency doth this '? " 
 
 " There on the filthy waters," he replied, 10 
 
 " E'en now what next awaits us mayst thou see, 
 If the marsh-gender'd fog conceal it not." 
 
 Never was arrow from the cord dismiss'd, 
 That ran its way so nimbly through the air, 
 As a small bark, that through the waves I spied 15 
 
 Toward us coming, under the sole sway 
 Of one that ferried it, Avho cried aloud : 
 "Art thou arriv'd, fell sjiirit ? "— " Phlegyas, Phlegyas, 
 This time tliou criest in vain," my lord re])lied ; 
 " No longer shalt thou have us, but while o'er 20
 
 26 IIKLL. 
 
 The slimy pool we pass." As one wlio lienrs 
 
 Of some yreat wroiiL;; lie liath siistainM, ■\vliereat 
 
 Inly lie jtiiies; so ]*lil('y;yas inly pinM 
 
 In his liercc ire. My ujuide descending stepp'd 
 
 Into the skiff, and bade me enter next 25 
 
 Close at his side; nor till my entrance seem'd 
 
 The vessel freighted. Soon as l)oth emhai'k'd, 
 
 Cutting the waves, goes on the ancient jirow. 
 
 More deeply than with others it is wont. 
 
 While we our course o'er the'dead channel held. 30 
 One drcnch'd in mire before me came, and said ; 
 " Who art thou, that thou comest ere thine hour ? " 
 
 I answer'd : "Though I come, I tarry not ; 
 But Avho art thou, that art become so foul ? " 
 
 "One, as thou seest, who mourn :" he straight rejilied. 
 
 To Avhich I thus : " In mourning and in w^oe, 36 
 
 Curs'd spirit ! tarry thou. I know thee well. 
 E'en thus in filth disguis'd." Then stretch'd he forth 
 Hands to the bark ; Avhereof my teacher sage 
 Aware, thrusting him back : "Away ! down there 40 
 To the' other dogs ! " then, with his arms my neck 
 Encircling, kiss'd my cheek, and spake : " O soul 
 Justly disdainful ! blest was she in whom 
 Thou was conceiv'd ! He in the world was one 
 For arrogance noted ; to his memory 45 
 
 No virtue lends its lustre ; even so 
 Here is his shadow furious. There above 
 How many now hold themselves mighty kings 
 Who here like swine shall wallow in the mire, 
 Leaving behind them horrible dispraise ! " 50 
 
 I then : " Master ! him fain would I behold 
 Whelm'd in these dregs, before we quit the lake." 
 
 He thus : " Or ever to thy view the shore 
 Be offer'd, satisfied shall be that wish, 
 Which well deserves completion." Scarce his words 55 
 Were ended, when I saw the miry tribes 
 Set on him with such violence, that yet 
 For that render I thanks to God and praise. 
 " To Filippo Argenti : " cried they all : 
 And on himself the moody Florentine 60
 
 iiKij,. 27 
 
 TnriiM liis avenfjing fmii^s. Iliin liove Aye left, 
 Nor speak I of liiiu nioiv. But on mine ear 
 Sudden a sound of lamentation smote, 
 Whereat mine eye unbarr'd I sent abroad. 
 
 And thus the good instructor : " Now, my son ! 65 
 
 Draws near the city, that of Dis is nam'd, 
 With its grave denizens, a mighty throng." 
 
 I thus : " The minarets already, Sir ! 
 There certes in the valley I descry, 
 
 Gleaming vermilion, as if they from fire 70 
 
 Had issu'd." He replied : " Eternal fire. 
 That inward burns, shows them Avith ruddy flame 
 Illum'd; as in this nether hell thou seest." 
 
 We came within the fosses deep, that moat 
 This region comfortless. The walls appear'd 75 
 
 As they Avere fram'd of iron. We had made 
 Wide circuit, ere a ])lace Ave rcach'd, Avhcre loud 
 The mariner cried vehement : " Go forth ! 
 The' entrance is here ! " Upon the gates I spied 
 More than a tliousand, Avho of old from heaven 80 
 
 Were hurl'd. With ireful gestures, " Who is this," 
 They cried, " that Avithout death first felt, goes through 
 The regions of the dead '? " My sapient guide 
 Made sign that he for secret parley wish'd ; 
 Whereat their angry scorn abating, thus 85 
 
 They spake : " Come thou alone ; and let him go 
 Who hath so hardily enter'd this realm. 
 Alone return he by his Avitless Avay ; 
 If Avell he know it, let him prove. For thee, 
 Here shalt thou tarry, Avho through clime so dark 90 
 
 Hast been his escort," Now bethink thee, reader ! 
 What cheer Avas mine at sound of those curs'd Avords. 
 I did believe I never should return. 
 
 " O my loA^'d guide ! who more than scA^en times 
 Security hast render'd me, and draAvn 95 
 
 From peril deep, Avhereto I stood expos'd, 
 Desert me not," I cried, " in this extreme. 
 And if our onward going be denied. 
 Together trace we back our steps Avith speed." 
 
 My liege, who thither had conducted me, 100
 
 28 HELL. 
 
 Replied : " Fear not : for of our passage none 
 
 Hath ]wwer to disappoint us, by such high 
 
 Authority ])ennitted. But do thou 
 
 Expect uie here ; uieanwliile thy wearied spirit 
 
 Comfort, and feed with Icindly hope, assur'd 105 
 
 I will not leave thee in this lower world." 
 
 This said, departs the sire benevolent, 
 And quits nie. Hesitating I remain 
 At war 'twixt Avill and will not in my thoughts. 
 
 I could not hear what terms he offer'd them, 110 
 
 But they conferr'd not long, for all at once 
 To trial fled within. Clos'd were the gates 
 By those our adversaries on the breast 
 Of my liege lord : excluded he return'd 
 To me with tardy stejis. Upon the ground 115 
 
 His eyes were bent, and from his brow eras'd 
 All confidence, while thus with sighs he spake : 
 "Who hath denied me these abodes of woe?" 
 Then thus to me : " That I am anger'd, think 
 No ground of terror : in this trial I 120 
 
 Shall vanquish, use what arts they may within 
 For hindrance. This their insolence, not new, 
 Erewhile at gate less secret they display'd, 
 Which still is without bolt ; upon its arch 
 Thou saw'st the deadly scroll : and even now 125 
 
 On this side of its entrance, down the steep, 
 Passing the circles, unescorted, comes 
 One whose strong might can open us this land." 
 
 CANTO IX. 
 
 The hue, which coward dread on my pale cheeks 
 Imprinted, when I saw my guide tui'n back, 
 Chas'd that from his which newly they had worn, 
 And inwardly restraiu'd it. He, as one 
 Who listens, stood attentive: for his eye 
 Not far could lead him through the sable air, 
 And tlie thick-gath'ring cloud. " It yet behoves 
 We win this fight" — thus he began — " if not —
 
 HELL. 29 
 
 Such aid to us is offer'd. — Oh, liow long 
 
 Me seonis it, ere the promisM liclp arrive ! " 10 
 
 I noted, how tlie sequel of his Avords 
 Clok'd their bc2;inning; for the last he spake 
 Agreed not with the h'rst. But not the less 
 ]My fear was at his saying; sith I drew 
 To im])ort worse perchance, than that he held, 15 
 
 His mutilated speech. " Doth ever any 
 Into this rueful concave's extreme depth 
 Descend, out of the first degree, whose pain 
 Is depri^-ation merely of sweet hope ? " 
 
 Thus I inquiring. " Rarely," he replied, 20 
 
 " It chances, that among us any makes 
 This journey, which I wend. Erewhile 't is true 
 Once came I here beneath, conjur'd by fell 
 Erictho, sorceress, who comj^.ell'd the shades 
 Back to their bodies. No long space my flesh 25 
 
 Was naked of me, when within these walls 
 She made me enter, to draw forth a spirit 
 From out of Judas' circle. Lowest place 
 Is that of all, obscurest, and remov'd 
 P\artliest from heav'n's all-circling orb. The road 30 
 Full well I know : thou therefore rest secure. 
 That lake, the noisome stench exhaling, round 
 The city' of grief encompasses, which now 
 We may not enter without rage." Yet more 
 He added : but I hold it not in mind, 35 
 
 For that mine eye toward the lofty tower 
 Had drawn me wholly, to its burning toj). 
 Where in an instant I beheld uprisen 
 At once three hellish furies stain'd with blood : 
 In limb and motion feminine they seem'd ; 40 
 
 Around them greenest hydras twisting roll'd 
 Their volumes; adders and cerastes crept 
 Instead of hair, and their fierce tem2)les bound. 
 
 He knowing well the miserable hags 
 Who tejid the queen of endless woe, thus spake : 45 
 
 "Mark thou each dire Erinnys. To the left 
 This is MegaM-a ; on the riglit liand she, 
 Who wails, Alecto : and Tisiphone
 
 30 HK1,L. 
 
 r th' midst." Tliis said, in silciict.' lie rcinaiii'd 
 
 Their breast tliey eacli one elawing tore ; tlieniselves 50 
 
 STUOtc ■svith tlieir ])alnis, and sucli shrill clamour ruis'd, 
 
 That to the bard I clung, suspicion-bound. 
 
 " Hasten Medusa : so to adamant 
 
 Him shall Ave change ; " all looking down exclaim'd. 
 
 " E'en ■\vhen by Theseus' might assail'd, we took 55 
 
 No ill revenge." "Turn thyself round, and keep 
 
 Thy count'nance liid ; for if the Gorgon dire 
 
 Be shown, and thou shouldst view it, thy return 
 
 Upwards would be for ever lost." This said, 
 
 Himself my gentle master turn'd me round, 60 
 
 Nor trusted he my hands, but with his own 
 
 He also hid me. Ye of intellect 
 
 Sound and entire, mark well the lore conceal'd 
 
 Under close texture of the mystic strain ! 
 
 And now there came o'er the jierturbed waves 65 
 
 Loud-crashing, terrible, a sound that made 
 Either shore tremble, as if of a wind 
 Impetuous, from conflicting vapours sprung, 
 That 'gainst some forest driving all its might, 
 Plucks off the branches, beats them down and hurls 70 
 Afar ; then onward passing proudly sweeps 
 Its whirlwind rage, while beasts and shepherds fly. 
 
 Mine eyes he loos'd, and spake : "And now direct 
 Thy visual nerve along that ancient foam, 
 Tliere, thickest where the smoke ascends." As frogs 75 
 Before their foe the serpent, through the wave 
 Ply swiftly all, till at the ground each one 
 Lies on a heap ; more than a thousand spirits 
 Destroy'd, so saw I fleeing before one 
 Who pass'd with unwet feet the Stygian sound. 80 
 
 He, from his face removing the gross air, 
 Oft his left hand forth stretch'd, and secm'd alone 
 By that annoyance wearied. I perceiv'd 
 That he was sent from heav'n, and to my guide 
 Turn'd me, who signal made that I should stand 85 
 
 Quiet, and bend to him. Ah me ! how full 
 Of noble anger seem'd he ! To the gate 
 He came, and with his wand touch'd it, whereat
 
 HELL. 31 
 
 Open Avitliout impediment it flew. 
 
 " Outcasts of lieav'n ! O abject race and scorn'd ! " 90 
 Beo'an he on the liorrid grunsel standino-, 
 "Whence doth this wikl excess of insolence 
 Lodge in }-ou ? wherefore kick you 'gainst that will 
 Ne'er frustrate of its end, and -wliich so oft 
 Hath laid on you enforcement of j^our ])angs? 95 
 
 AVhat ])rofits at the fays to but the horn ? 
 Your Cerberus, if ye remember, hence 
 Bears still, peel'd of their hair, his tliroat and maw." 
 
 This said, he turn'd back o'er the filthy way, 
 And syllable to us spake none, but wore 100 
 
 The semblance of a man by other care 
 Beset, and keenly press'd, than thought of him 
 Who in his presence stands. Then we our steps 
 Toward tliat teriitory mov'd, secure 
 
 After the hallow'd words. We unoppos'd 105 
 
 There enter'd ; and my mind eager to learn 
 What state a fortress like to that might hold, 
 I soon as enter'd throw mine eye around, 
 And see on every part wide-stretching space 
 Keplete with bitter pain and torment ill. 110 
 
 As where Rhone stagnates on the plains of Aries, 
 Or as at Pola, near Quarnaro's gulf. 
 That closes Italy and laves her bounds, 
 The place is all thick spread with sepulchres ; 
 So was it here, save what in horror here 115 
 
 Excell'd : for 'midst the graves were scattered flames, 
 Wherewith intensely all throughout they burn'd. 
 That iron for no craft there hotter needs. 
 
 Their lids all hung suspended, and beneath 
 From them forth issuM lamentable moans, 120 
 
 Such as the sad and tortur'd well might raise. 
 
 I thus : " Master ! say who are these, interr'd 
 Within these vaults, of whom distinct we hear 
 The dolorous sighs?" He answer thus return'd : 
 " The arch-heretics are here, accomi^anied 12? 
 
 By every sect their followers ; and much more, 
 Than thou believest, tonibs are fi-eighted : like 
 ^Vith like is buried ; and the monuments
 
 nr:r,L. 
 
 Are (lilTcrc'iil in (li'y;i'{'es of licit." This said, 
 
 He U) tlu; riglit hand tiiniing, (Jii we )»assM 130 
 
 Betwixt the alllicted uud the rivm2)aits high. 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 Now by a secret pathway -vve proceed, 
 
 Between the Avails, that.heni the region round, 
 
 And the tormented souls : my master first, 
 
 I close behind his steps. "Virtue su])reme !" 
 
 I thus began ; " Avho through these am])le orbs 5 
 
 In circuit lead'st me, even as thou will'st, 
 
 S]ieak thou, and satisfy my wish. May those, 
 
 Who lie Avithin these sepulchres, be seen ? 
 
 Already all the lids are rais'd, and none 
 
 O'er them keeps watch." He thus in answer s])ake 10 
 
 " They shall be closed all, Avhat-time they hci-e 
 
 From Josaphat return'd shall come, and bring 
 
 Their bodies, which above they now have left. 
 
 The cemetery on this part obtain 
 
 With Jlpicurus all his followers, 15 
 
 Who Avith the body make the spirit die. 
 
 Here therefore satisfaction shall be soon 
 
 Both to the question ask'd, and to the wish. 
 
 Which thou conceal'st in silence." I replied : 
 
 *' I keep not, guide belov'd ! from thee my heart 20 
 
 Secreted, but to shun vain length of AA^ords, 
 
 A lesson erew^hile taught me by thyself." 
 
 " O Tuscan ! thou Avho through the city of fire 
 Alive art jjassing, so discreet of speech ! 
 Here please thee stav awhile. Thy utterance 25 
 
 Declares the place ol thy nativity 
 To be that noble land, Avitli Avhich perchance 
 I too severely dealt." Sudden that sound 
 Forth issu'd from a vault, Avhereat in fear 
 I somcAvhat closer to my leader's side 30 
 
 Ap})roaching, he thus spake : " What dost thou V Turn. 
 Lo, Farinata, there ! Avho hath himself 
 Ujtlifted: from his girdle upwards all 
 
 iJL.=^
 
 iiKix. 33 \ 
 
 Expos'd beliokl liiin." On liis face was mine ! 
 
 Already fix'd ; his breast and forehead there 35 ; 
 
 Erecting, seeni'd as in liigli scorn he held | 
 
 E'en hell. Between the sepulchres to liim \ 
 
 My guide thrust me with fearless hands and prompt, 1 
 
 This warning added : " See thy words be clear! " ; 
 
 lie, soon as there I stood at the tomb's foot, 40 ! 
 
 Ey'd me a space, then in disdainful mood | 
 
 Address'd me: "Say, what ancestors were thine?" 1 
 
 I, willing to obey him, straight reveal'd | 
 
 The whole, nor kept back aught: whence he, his brow I 
 
 Somewhat uplifting, cried : "Fiercely Avere they 45 5 
 
 Adverse to me, my party, and the blood ; 
 
 From whence I sprang : twice therefore I abroad 
 Scatter'd them." " Though driv'n out, yet they each time \ 
 From all i)arts," answer'd I, " return'd ; an art \ 
 
 Which yours have shown, tliey are not skill'd to learn." '; 
 
 Then, peering forth from the unclosed jaw, 51 
 
 Rose from his side a shade, high as the chin. 
 Leaning, methought, upon its knees uj^rais'tl. 
 It look'd around, as eager to explore 
 
 If there were other with me ; but perceiving 55 
 
 That fond imagination quench'd, with tears 
 Thus spake : " If thou through this blind }irison go'st. 
 Led by thy lofty genius and profound, I 
 
 Where is my son? and wherefore not with tliee?" ? 
 
 I straight rejilied : "Not of myself I come, (50 
 
 By him, who there expects me, through this clime 
 Conducted, whom perchance Guide thy son \ 
 
 Had in contempt." Already had. liis words 
 And mode of punishment read me his name, 
 Whence I so fully answer'd. He at once 65 ; 
 
 Exclaim'd, up starting, " How ! said'st thou he had.^ ] 
 
 No longer lives he ? Strikes not on his eye I 
 
 The blessed daylight?" Then of some delay ^ 
 
 1 made ere my reply aware, dov/n fell 
 Supine, not after forth a])i)ear'd he more. 70 
 
 Meanwhile the other, great of soul, near whom 
 1 yet was station'd, chang'd not count'nance stern, 
 Nor mov'd the neck, nor bent his ribbed side.
 
 BA HELL. 
 
 "And if," continuing the first discourse, 
 
 " They in this art," lie cried, " small skill have shoAvn, 75 
 
 Tiiat doth torment me more e'en than this bed. 
 
 But not yet fifty times shall he relum'd 
 
 Her aspect, who reigns here Queen of this realm, 
 
 Ere thou shalt know the full weight of that art. 
 
 So to the pleasant world mayst thou return, 80 
 
 As thou shalt tell me, why in all their laws, 
 
 Against my kin this people is so fell?" 
 
 " The slaughtei- and great havoc," I replied, 
 " That colour'd Arbia's flood with crimson stain — 
 To these impute, that in our hallow'd dome Sft 
 
 Such orisons ascend." Sighing he shook 
 The head, then thus resum'd : " In that affray 
 I stood not singly, nor without just cause 
 Assuredly should with the rest have stirr'd ; 
 But singly there I stood, when by consent 90 
 
 Of all, Florence had to the ground been raz'd, 
 The one Avho openly forbad the deed." 
 
 " So may thy lineage find at last repose," 
 I thus adjur'd him, " as thou solve this knot, 
 Which now involves my mind. If right I hear, 95 
 
 Ye seem to view beforehand, that which time 
 Leads with him, of the present uninforni'd." 
 
 " We view, as one who hath an evil sight," 
 He ansAver'd, " plainly, objects far remote : 
 So much of his large spendour yet imparts 100 
 
 The' Almighty Ruler ; but when they approach 
 Or actually exist, our intellect 
 Then wholly fails, nor of your human state 
 Except what others bring us know wa aught. 
 Hence therefore mayst thou understand, that all 105 
 
 Our knowledge in that instant shall expire, 
 When on futurity the portals close." 
 
 Then conscious of my fault, and by remorse 
 Smitten, I added thus : " Now shalt thou say 
 To him there fallen, that his offspring still 110 
 
 Is to the living join'd ; and bid him know, 
 That if from answ^er silent I abstain'd, 
 'Twas that my thought was occupied intent
 
 HELL. 35 
 
 Upon that error, which thy hel{) hatli solv'd." 
 
 But now niy master summoning me back 115 
 
 I heard, and witli more eager haste besought 
 The spirit to inform nie, who with him 
 Partook liis lot. He answer thus return'd : 
 " More than a thousand M'ith me here are laid. 
 Within is Frederick, second of that name, 120 
 
 And the Lord Cardinal, and of the rest 
 I speak not." He, this said, from sight withdrew. 
 But I my steps towards the ancient bard 
 Keverting, ruminated on the words 
 
 Betokening rae such ill. Onward he mov'd, 125 
 
 And thus in going question'd : " Whence the' amaze 
 That holds thy senses wrapt?" I satisfied 
 The' inquiry, and the sage enjoin'd me straight : 
 " Let thy safe memory store what thou hast heard 
 To thee importing harm ; and note thou this," 130 
 
 With his rais'd finger bidding me take heed, 
 " When thou shalt stand before her gracious beam, 
 Whose bright eye all sur^-eys, she of thy life 
 The future tenour will to thee unfold." 
 
 Forthwith he to the left hand turn'd his feet : 135 
 
 We left the wall, and tow'rds the middle space 
 Went by a path, that to a valley strikes ; 
 Which e'en thus high exhal'd its noisome steam. 
 
 CANTO XL 
 
 Upon the utmost verge of a high bank, 
 
 By craggy rocks environ'd round, we came. 
 
 Where woes beneath more cruel yet were stow'd : 
 
 And here to shun the horrible excess 
 
 Of fetid exhalation, npward cast 5 
 
 From the profound abyss, behind the lid 
 
 Of a great monument we stood retir'd. 
 
 Whereon this scroll I mark'd : " I have in charge 
 
 Pope Anastasius, whom Photinus drew 
 
 From the right jiath." — Ere our descent behoves 10 
 
 We make delay, that somewhat first the sense.
 
 36 Hicij,. 
 
 To tlie dire brcntli accustom'd, afterwai'd 
 Regnvd it not." My master thus ; to whom 
 Answering I spake: "Some eoniiiensation find 
 That tlie time |)ast not wholly lost." lie then : 15 
 
 " Lo ! how my thoughts s'en to thy wishes tend ! 
 My son ! within these ]-o(!l<s," he thus began, 
 " Are three close circles in gradation plac'd, 
 As these Avhich now thou Ica^'st. Each one is full 
 Of sj)irits accurs'd ; but that the sight alone 20 
 
 Hereafter may suffice thee, listen how 
 And for Avhat cause in durance they abide. 
 " Of all malicious act abhorr'd in lieaven, 
 The end is injury ; and all such end 
 
 Either by force or fraud works other's woe 25 
 
 But fraud, because of man peculiar evil, 
 To God is more displeasing ; and beneath 
 The fraudulent are therefore doom'd to' endure 
 Severer pang. The violent occupy 
 
 All the first circle ; and because to force 30 
 
 Three persons are obnoxious, in three rounds 
 Hach within other sep'rate is it fram'd. 
 To God, his neighbour, and himself, by man 
 Force may be oifer'd ; to himself I say 
 And his possessions, as thou soon shaft hear 35 
 
 At full. Death, violent death, and painful wounds 
 Upon liis neighbour he inflicts ; and wastes 
 By devastation, ])illage, and the flames, 
 His substance. Slayers, and each one that smites 
 In malice, plund'rei's, and all robbers, hence 40 
 
 The torment undei'go of the first round 
 In different herds. Man can do violence 
 To' himself and his own blessings : and for this 
 He in the second round must aye deplore 
 With unavailing penitence his crime, 45 
 
 Whoe'er deprives himself of life and light, 
 In reckless lavishment his talent wastes. 
 And sori'ows there whei'c he sliou.'d dwell in joy. 
 To God may force be offer'd, in the heart 
 Denying and blaspheming his high power, 50 
 
 And nature with her kindly law contemning.
 
 IIKLL. 37 
 
 And tlience tlie inmost round marks witli its seal 
 Sodoju and Caliors, and all such as speak 
 Contemptuously' of the Godhead in their hearts. 
 
 " Fraud, that in every conscience leaves a sting, 55 
 May be by man cm])loy'd on one, whose trust 
 He wins, or on another who withholds 
 Strict confidence. Seems as the latter way 
 Broke but the bond of love which Nature makes. 
 ^^ hence in the second circle have their nest 60 
 
 Dissimulation, witchcraft, flatteries, 
 Theft, falsehood, simony, all who seduce 
 To lust, or set their honesty at jiawn, 
 With such vile scum as these. The other Avay 
 Forgets both Nature's general love, and that 65 
 
 Wliich thereto added afterwards gives birth 
 To special faith. Whence in the lesser circle, 
 Point of the universe, dread seat of Dis, 
 The traitor is eternally consum'd." 
 
 I tlms : "Instructor, clearly thy discourse 70 
 
 Proceeds, distinguishing the hideous chasm 
 And its inhabitants with skill exact. 
 But tell me this : they of the dull, fat pool, 
 Whom the rain beats, or whom the tempest drives. 
 Or who witli tongues so fierce conflicting meet, 75 
 
 Wherefore within the city fire-illum'd 
 Are not tliese punish'd, if God's wrath be on them? 
 And if it be not, wherefore in such guise 
 Are they condemned '?" He answer thus return'd : 
 " Wherefore in dotage wanders thus tliy mind, 80 
 
 Not so aecustom'd ? or what other thoughts 
 Possess it ? Dwell not in thy memory 
 Tlie words, wherein thy ethic ymge describes 
 Three dispositions adverse to Ileav'n's will, 
 Incont'nence, malice, and mad brutishness, 85 
 
 And how incontinence the least offends 
 God, and least guilt incurs ? If well thou note 
 This judgment, and remember who they are, 
 Without these walls to vain repentance doom'd, 
 Thou shalt discern wliy tliey apai-t are ))lac'd 90 
 
 From these fell spirits, and less wi-er.kfid pours
 
 38 HETX. 
 
 Justice divine on tliein its vengeance down." 
 
 " O Sun ! wlio lieiilcst all imjtei-fect sight, 
 Thou so content'st me, wluui th(ju solv'st my douht. 
 That ignorance not less than knowledge charms. 95 
 
 Yet somewhat turn thee back," I in t'liese words 
 Continu'd, " where thou saidst, that usury- 
 Offends celestial Goodness ; and this knot 
 Perplex'd unravel." He thus made reply: 
 " Philosophy, to an attentive ear, lOC 
 
 Clearly points out, not in one part alone, 
 How imitative nature takes her course 
 From the celestial mind and from its art : 
 And Avhere her laws the Stagyrite unfolds. 
 Not many leaves scanned o'er, observing well 105 
 
 Thou shalt discover, that your art on her 
 Obsequious follows, as the learner treads 
 In his instructor's step, so that your art 
 Deserves the name of second in descent 
 From God. These two, if thou recall to mind 110 
 
 Creation's holy book, from the beginning 
 Were the riglit source of life and excellence 
 To human kind. But in another path 
 The usurer walks ; and Nature in herself 
 And in her follovv'er thus he sets at nought, 115 
 
 Placing elsewhere his hope. But follow now 
 My steps on forward journey bent ; for now 
 The Pisces play with undulating glance 
 Along the' horizon, and the Wain lies all 
 O'er the north-west ; and onward there a space 120 
 
 Is our steep passage down the rocky height." 
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 The place where to descend the precipice 
 We came, was rough as Alp, and on its verge 
 Such object lay, as every eye would shun. 
 
 As is that ruin, which Adice's stream 
 On this side Trento struck, shoidd'ring the wave, 
 'Or looa'd by earthquake or for lack of prop ;
 
 IIKT.T,. 39 
 
 For from the mountain's summit, wlicnco it mov'd 
 
 To the low level, so the headlong rock 
 
 Is shiver'd, that some passage it might give 
 
 To him who from above would pass ; e'en such 10 
 
 Into the chasm was that descent : and there 
 
 At point of the disparted ridge lay stretch'd 
 
 The infamy of Crete, detested brood 
 
 Of the feign'd heifer : and at sight of us 
 
 It gnaw'd itself, as one with rage distract. 15 
 
 To him my guide exclaim'd : " Perchance thou deem'st 
 
 The King of Athens here, Avho, in the world 
 
 Above, thy death contriv'd. Monster ! avaunt ! 
 
 He comes not tutor'd by thy sister's art. 
 
 But to behold your torments is he come." 20 
 
 Like to a bull, that with impetuous spring 
 Darts, at the moment when the fatal blow 
 Hath struck him, but unable to proceed 
 Plunges on either side ; so saw I plunge 
 The Minotaur ; whereat the sage exclaim'd : 2.5 
 
 " Run to the passage ! while he storms, 't is well 
 That thou descend." Thus down our road we took 
 Through those dila]»idated crags, that oft 
 Mov'd underneath my feet, to weight like theirs 
 Unus'd. I pond'ring went, and thus he spake : 30 
 
 " Perhaps thy thoughts are of this ruin'd steep, 
 Guarded by the brute violence, which I 
 Have vanquish'd now. Know then, that when I erst 
 Hither descended to the nether hell, 
 
 This rock was not yet fallen. But past doubt 35 
 
 (If well I mark) not long ere He arrived, 
 Who carried off from Dis the mighty spoil 
 Of the highest circle, then through all its bounds 
 Such trembling seiz'd the deep concave and foul, 
 I thought the universe was thrill'd with love, 40 
 
 Whereby, there are who deem, the world hath oft 
 Been into chaos turn'd : and in that point, 
 Here, and elsewhere, that old rock toppled down. 
 But fix thine eyes beneath : the river of blood 
 Ai>proaches, hi the which all those are steep'd, 45 
 
 Who have by violence injur'd." O blind lust !
 
 -t- 
 
 40 IIKI.L, 
 
 i 
 
 \ O foolisli wr.'itli ! who so dost goad us on 
 
 I In the brief life, and in tlie eternal then 
 
 I Thus miserably o'crwlielm us. I beheld 
 
 I An ample fuss, (hat in a bow was bent, 50 
 
 ( As cireling all the plain ; for so my guide 
 
 I Had told, lietween it and the rampart's base 
 On trail ran Centaurs, with keen arrows arm'd, 
 As to the ehase they on the earth were wont. 
 
 At seeing us descend they each one stood ; 55 
 
 And issuing from the troop, three sj)ed with bows 
 And missile weapons chosen first ; of whom 
 One cried from far : " Say to what pain ye come 
 Condemn'd, who down this steep have journied ? Speak 
 From whence ye stand, or else the bow I draw." 6'J 
 
 To whom my guide : " Our answer shall be made 
 To Chiron, there, when nearer him we come. 
 Ill was thy mind, thus ever quick and rash." 
 
 Then me he touch'd, and spake : " Nessus is tliis, 
 Who for the fair Deianira died, 65 
 
 And wrought himself revenge for his own fate. 
 He in the midst, that on his breast looks down. 
 Is the great Chiron who Achilles nurs'd ; 
 That other Pholus, prone to wrath." Around 
 The foss these go by thousands, aiming shafts 70 
 
 At whatsoever spirit dares emerge 
 From out the blood, more than his guilt allows. 
 
 We to those beasts, that rapid strode along, 
 Drew near, when Chiron took an arrow forth. 
 And with the notch push'd back his shaggy beard 75 
 
 To the cheek-bone, then his great mouth to view 
 Exposing, to his fellows thus exclaini'd : 
 " Are ye aware, that he who comes behind 
 Moves what he touches? The feet of the dead 
 Are not so wont." My trusty guide, who now 80 
 
 Stood near liis breast, where the two natures join, 
 Thus made reply : " He is indeed alive, 
 And solitary so must needs by me 
 Be sliown the gloomy vale, thereto induc'd 
 By strict necessity, not by delight. 85 
 
 She left her joyful harpings in the sky,
 
 5 HELL. 41 
 
 \ 
 
 I Who this iicw office to my care consigii'd. 
 I lie is no robber, no dark spirit I. 
 
 But by that virtue, which ein])o\vers my step 
 ! To treat so wikl a ])ath, grant us, I ])ray, 90 
 
 I One of thy band, whom we may trust secure, 
 Wlio to the ford may lead us, and convey 
 Across, him mounted on liis back ; for he 
 Is not a spirit tliat may walk the air." 
 
 Then on his right breast turning, Chiron thus 95 
 
 To Nessus spake : "Return, and be their guide. 
 And if ye chance to cross anotlier troop. 
 Command them keep aloof." Otiward we mov'd, 
 The faithful escort by our side, along 
 The border of the crhnson-seething flood, 100 
 
 Wlience from tliose steep'd within loud shrieks arose. 
 
 Some there I mark'd, as high as to their brow 
 Immers'd, of whom tlie miglity Centaur thus : 
 " These are the souls of tyrants, who were given 
 To blood and rapine. Here they wail aloud 105 
 
 Their merciless wrongs. Here Alexander dwells, 
 And Dionysius fell, Avho many a year 
 ' Of woe wrought for fair Sicily. That brow 
 I Whereon the hair so jetty clust'ring hangs, 
 [ Is Azzolino ; that with flaxen locks 110 
 
 Obizzo' of Este, in the world destroy'd 
 By his foul step-son." To the bard rever'd 
 I turned me round, and thus he spake; "Let him 
 Be to thee now first leader, me but next 
 To him in rank." Then farther on a space 115 
 
 The Centaur ]»aus'd, near some, who at the tliroat 
 Were extant from the wave ; and showing us 
 A s])irit by itself apart retir'd, 
 Exclaim'd : "He in God's bosom smote the heart, 
 AVhich yet is honour'd on the bank of Tliames." 120 
 
 A race I next espied, who held the head. 
 And even all the bust above the stream. 
 ']\Jidst these I many a face remember'd well. 
 Tims shallow more and more the blood became, 
 So that at last it but imbru'd the feet ; 125 
 
 And there our ])assage lay athwart the foss.
 
 42 HELL. 
 
 " As ever on tliis side the boiling wave 
 Thou seest diniinisliing," the Centaur said, 
 " So on the other, be thou well assur'd, 
 It lower still and lower sinks its bed, 130 
 
 Till in that part it reuniting join, 
 Where 't is the lot of tyranny to mourn. 
 There ITeav'n's stern justice lays chastising hand 
 On Attila, who was the scourge of earth, 
 On Sextus, and on Pyrrhus, and extracts 135 
 
 Tears ever by the seething flood unlock'd 
 From the Rinieri, of Corneto this, 
 Pazzo the other nam'd, who fill'd the ways 
 With violence and war." This said, he turn'd, 
 And quitting us, alone repass'd the ford. 140 
 
 CANTO XIII 
 
 Eee Nessus yet had reach'd the other bank, 
 
 We enter'd on a forest, where no track 
 
 Of steps had worn a way. Not verdant there 
 
 The foliage, but of dusky hue ; not light 
 
 The boughs and tapering, but with knares deform'd 5 
 
 And matted thick: fruits there were none, but thorns 
 
 Instead, with venom fill'd. Less sharp than these. 
 
 Less intricate the brakes, wherein abide 
 
 Those animals, that hate the cultur'd fields. 
 
 Betwixt Corneto and Cecina's stream. 10 
 
 Here the brute Hai'pies make their nest, the same 
 Who from the Strophades the Trojan band 
 Drove with dire boding of their future woe. 
 Broad are their pennons, of the human form 
 Their neck and count'nance, arm'd with talons keen 15 
 The feet, and the huge belly fledge with wings. 
 These sit and wail on the drear mystic wood. 
 
 The kind instructor in these words began : 
 " Ere farther thou proceed, know thou art now 
 I' til' second round, and shalt be, till thou come 20 
 
 Upon the horrid sand : look therefore well 
 Around thee, and such things thou shalt behold,
 
 As would my speech discredit." On all sides 
 
 I heard sad plainings breathe, and none could see 
 
 From whom they might have issu'd. In amaze 25 
 
 Fast bound I stood. He, as it seem'd, believ'd, 
 
 That I had thought so many voices came 
 
 From some amid those thickets close conceal'd, 
 
 And thus his s])eech resum'd : " If thou lop off 
 
 A single twig from one of those ill plants, 30 
 
 The thought thou hast conceiv'd shall vanish quite." 
 
 Tliereat a little stretching forth my hand, 
 From a great wilding gather'd I a branch, 
 And straight the trunk exclaim'd : " Why j^luck'st thou 
 
 me?" 
 Then as the dark blood trickled down its side, 35 
 
 These words it added : "Wherefore tear'st me thus? 
 Is there no touch of mercy in thy breast ? 
 Men once were we, that now are rooted here. 
 Thy hand might well have spar'd us, had we been 
 The souls of serpents." As a brand yet green, 40 
 
 That burning at one end from the' other sends 
 A groaning soiind, and hisses with the wind 
 That forces out its way, so burst at once. 
 Forth from the broken splinter words and blood. 
 
 I, letting fall the bough, remain'd as one 45 
 
 Assail'd hy terror, and the sage replied : 
 " If he, O injur'd spirit! could have believ'd 
 What he hath seen but in my verse describ'd, 
 He never against thee had stretch'd his hand. 
 But I, because the thing surpass'd belief, 50 
 
 Prompted him to this deed, which even now 
 Myself I rue. But tell me, who thou wast ; 
 That, for this wrong to do thee some amends, 
 In the' ujiper world (for thither to return 
 Is granted him) thy fame he may revive." 55 
 
 " That pleasant word of thine," the trunk replied 
 " Hath so inveigled me, that I from speech 
 Cannot refrain, wherein if I indulge 
 A little longer, in the snare detain'd. 
 
 Count it not grievous. I it was, who held 60 
 
 Both keys to Frederick's heart, and turn'd the wards,
 
 44 IIKT.T,. 
 
 Opening and sliuUiiiir, witli :i skill so swcot, 
 
 Tluvt besides me, into liis inmost In-enst 
 
 Searee any other could admittance find. 
 
 Tlie faith I bore to my hitfh charge was siicli, G5 
 
 It cost me the life-blood that wai-m'd my veins. 
 
 Tlie harlot, Avlio ne'er turn'd lier gloating eyes 
 
 From Ciesar's liousehold, common vice and j)est 
 
 Of courts, 'gainst mc intlam'd the minds of all ; 
 
 And to Augustus they so s])read the flame, 70 
 
 Tliat my glad lionours chang'd to bitter woes. 
 
 My soul, disdainful and disgusted, sought 
 
 Refuge in death from scorn, and I became, 
 
 Just as I was, unjust toward myself. 
 
 By the new roots, which fix tliis stem, I swear, 75 
 
 That never faith I broke to my liege lord, 
 
 "Who merited such honour ; and of you, 
 
 If any to the world indeed return. 
 
 Clear he from wrong my memory, that lies 
 
 Yet prostrate under envy's cruel blow." 80 
 
 First somewhat pausing, till the mournful words 
 Were ended, then to me the bard began : 
 "Lose not the time; but sjjcak and of him ask, 
 If more tliou wish to learn." Whence I replied : 
 " Question thou him again of Avhatsoe'er 85 
 
 Will, as thou think'st, content me ; for no power 
 Have I to ask, such j^ity' is at my heart." 
 
 He thus resum'd ; "So may he do for thee 
 Freely what thou entreatest, as thou yet 
 Be pleas'd, imprison'd s])irit ! to declare, 90 
 
 How in these gnarled joints the soul is tied ; 
 And whether any ever from sucli frame 
 Be loosen'd, if thou canst, that also tell." 
 
 Thereat the trunk breatli'd hard, and the wind soon 
 Chang'd into sounds articulate like these ; 95 
 
 Briefly ye shall be answer'd. When departs 
 The fierce soul from the body, by itself 
 Thence torn asunder, to the seventh gulf 
 By Minos doom'd, into the wood it falls. 
 No place assign'd, but wheresoever chance 100 
 
 Hurls it, there s]>routing, as a gi-ain of spelt.
 
 HKLL. 45 
 
 Xt rises to a sapling, grov/ini;' thciico 
 
 A savage plant. The Harpies, on its leaves 
 
 Then feeding, cause both pain and for the pain 
 
 A vent to grief. We, as the rest, shall come 105 
 
 For our own sj^oils, yet not so that with them 
 
 We may again he clad; for what a man 
 
 Takes from himself it is not just he have. 
 
 Hei-e we perforce shall drag them ; and throughout 
 
 The dismal glade our bodies shall be hung, 110 
 
 Each on the wild thorn of his wretched shade." 
 
 Attentive yet to listen to the trunk 
 We stood, expecting farther speech, when us 
 A noise surpris'd, as when a man perceives | 
 
 The Avild boar and the hunt approach his place 115 ? 
 
 Of station'd watch, who of the beasts and boughs 
 Loud rustling round him hears. And lo ! there came 
 Two naked, torn with briei's, in headlong tiiglit, 
 Tliat they before them broke each fan o' th' wood. \ 
 
 "Haste now," the foremost cried, "now haste thee, 1 
 death!" 120 > 
 
 Tlie' other, as seem'd, impatient of delay 
 Exclaiming, " Lano ! not so bent for speed 
 Thy sinews, in the lists of To])po's field." ' 
 
 And then, for that perchance no longer bi'cath \ 
 
 Suffic'd him, of himself and of abui-h 125 
 
 One group he made. Behind them was the Avood 
 Full of black female mastiffs, gaunt and lleet, ■ 
 
 As greyhounds that have newly slipp'd the leash. 
 On him, who squatted down, they stuck their fangs, = 
 
 And having rent him piecemeal bore away 130 t 
 
 The tortur'd limbs. My guide then seiz'd my hand, \ 
 
 And led me to the thicket, which in vain \ 
 
 Mourn'd through its bleeding wounds : " O Giacomo 
 Of Sant' Andrea ! what avails it thee," 
 
 It cried, " that of me thou hast made thy screen ? 135 \ 
 For thy ill life what blame on me recoils ? " [ 
 
 When o'er it he had paus'd, my master spake: 1 
 
 " Say who wast thou, that at so many points | 
 
 Breath'st out with blood thy lamentable sj)eech ?" 
 
 ITeanswer'd: "Oh, ye s])irits I arriv'd in time 140
 
 46 HELL. 
 
 To spy the shamofiil havoc, that from me 
 
 My leaves hath sevcr'd thus, gather them up, 
 
 And at the foot of their sad parent-tree 
 
 Carefully lay them. In that city' 1 dwelt. 
 
 Who for the Baptist her first patron chang'd, 145 
 
 Whence he for this shall cease not with his art 
 
 To work her woe : and if there still remain'd not 
 
 On Arno's passage some faint glimpse of him, 
 
 Those citizens, who rear'd once more her walls 
 
 Ul)on the ashes left by Attila, 150 
 
 Had labour'd without profit of their toil. 
 
 I sluMg the fatal noose from my own roof." 
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 Soon as the charity of native land 
 
 Wrought in my bosom, I the scatter'd leaves 
 
 Collected, and to him restor'd, who now 
 
 Was hoarse with utt'rance. To the limit thence 
 
 We came, which from the third the second round 5 
 
 Divides, and where of justice is display'd 
 
 Contrivance horrible. Things then first seen 
 
 Clearlier to manifest, I tell how next 
 
 A plain we reach'd, that from its sterile bed 
 
 Each plant repell'd. The mournful wood waves round 10 
 
 Its garland on all sides, as round the wood 
 
 Spreads the sad foss. There, on the very edge, 
 
 Our steps we stay'd. It was an area wide 
 
 Of arid sand and thick, resembling most 
 
 The soil that erst by Gate's foot was trod. 15 
 
 Vengeance of Heav'n ! Oh ! how shouldst thou be 
 fear'd 
 By all, who read what here my eyes belield ! 
 
 Of naked spirits many a flock I saw. 
 All weeping piteously, to different laws 
 Subjected : for on the' earth some lay supine, 20 
 
 Some crouching close were seated, others pac'd 
 Incessantly ai'ound ; the latter tribe, 
 More numerous, those fewer wlio beneath
 
 HEEL. 47 
 
 The torment lay, but louder in their grief. 
 
 O'er all the sand fell slowly wafting down 25 
 
 Dilated flakes of fire, as flakes of snow 
 On Alpine summit, when the wind is hush'd. 
 As in the torrid Indian clime, the son 
 Of Amnion saw ujion his warrior band 
 Descending, solid flames, that to the ground 30 
 
 Came down : whence he bethought liim with his troop 
 To trample on tlie soil ; for easier thus 
 The vapour was extinguish'd, while alone ; 
 So fell the eternal fiery flood, wherewith 
 The marble glow'd underneath, as \mder stove 35 
 
 Tlie viands, doubly to augment the ])ain. 
 Unceasing was the play of wretched hands. 
 Now this, now that way glancing, to shake off 
 The heat, still falling fresh. I thus began : 
 " Instructor ! thou who all things overcom'st, 40 
 
 Except the hardy demons, that rush'd forth 
 To stop our entrance at the gate, say who 
 Is yon huge spirit, that, as seems, heeds not 
 The burning, but lies writlien in proud scorn, 
 As by the sultry tempest iramatur'd '?" 45 
 
 Straight he himself, who was aware I ask'd 
 My guide of him, exclaim'd : " Such as I was 
 When living, dead such now I am. If Jove 
 Weary his workman out, from whom in ire 
 He snatch'd the lightnings, that at my last day 50 
 
 Transfix'd me, if the rest be weary out 
 At their black smithy labouring by turns 
 In Mongibello, while he cries aloud ; 
 ' Help, help, good Mulciber ! ' as erst he cried 
 In the Phlegraean warfare, and the bolts 55 
 
 Launch he full aim'd at me with all his might, 
 He never should enjoy a sweet revenge." 
 
 Then thus my guide, in accent higlier rais'd 
 Than I before had heard liim : " Capaneus ! 
 Thou art more punisli'd, in that this thy pride 60 
 
 Lives yet unquench'd : no torrent, save thy rage, 
 Were to thy fury pain proportion'd full." 
 
 Next turning round to me witli milder lip
 
 48 IIEI.L. 
 
 Ho sj)!ikc : " This of tlie seven kiiiL^s was oiu', 
 
 Who girt tlio Theban walls with sicuje, mid iield, 65 
 
 As still he seems to hold, God in (lis<lain. 
 
 And sets his hii!;h onini])otence at nought. 
 
 But, as I told him, his desj>itet"ul mood 
 
 Is ornament well suits the breast that wears it. 
 
 Follow me now ; and look thou set not yet 70 
 
 Thy foot in the hot sand, Init to the wood. 
 
 Keep ever close." Silently on we pass'd 
 
 To whei-e there gushes from the forest's bound. 
 
 A little brook, whose crimson'd wave yet lifts 
 
 My hair with horror. As the rill, that runs 75 
 
 From Bulicame, to be portion'd out 
 
 Among the sinful \vomen ; so ran this 
 
 Down through the sand, its bottom and each bank 
 
 Stone-built, and either margin at its side, 
 
 Whereon I straight pcrceiv'd our passage lay. 80 
 
 "Of all that I have shown thee, since that gate 
 We enter'd first, whose threshold is to none 
 Denied, nouglit else so worthy of regard, 
 As is this river, has tliine eye discern'd. 
 O'er which the flaming volley all is quench'd." 85 
 
 So spake my guide ; and I him thence besought, 
 That having giv'n me appetite to know, 
 The food he too would give, that hunger crav'd. 
 
 " In midst of ocean," forthwith he began, 
 "A desolate country lies, wliich Crete is nam'd, 90 
 
 Under whose monarch in old times the world 
 Liv'd pure and chaste. A mountain rises there, 
 Call'd Ida, joyous once with leaves and streams, 
 Deserted now like a forbidden thing. 
 It was the spot which Rhea, Saturn's spoiise, 95 
 
 Chose for the secret cradle of her son ; 
 And better to conceal him, drown'd in shouts 
 His infant cries. Within the mount, upright 
 An ancient form there stands and huge, that turns 
 His shoulders towards Damiata, and at Home 100 
 
 As in his mirror looks. Of finest gold 
 His head is sha|)'d, ])ure silver are the breast 
 And arms ; thence to tlie middle is of brass.
 
 HELL. 49 
 
 And downward all beneath well-tcmper'd steel, 
 
 Save the right foot of })otter's clay, on which 105 
 
 Than on the other more erect he stands, 
 
 Each pai't except the gold, is rent thronghout ; 
 
 And from the fissure tears distil, Avhich join'd 
 
 Penetrate to that cave. They in their course 
 
 Thus far precipitated down the rock 110 
 
 Form Acheron, and Styx, and Phlegethon ; 
 
 Then by this straiten'd channel passing hence 
 
 Beneath, e'en to the lowest depth of all. 
 
 Form there Cocytus, of whose lake (thyself 
 
 Shall see it) I here give thee no account." 115 ] 
 
 Then I to him : " If from our world this sluice | 
 
 Be thus deriv'd ; wherefore to us but now ] 
 
 Appears it at this edge ? " He straight replied : J 
 
 "The place, thou know'st, is round; and though great \ 
 part i 
 
 Thou have already pass'd, still to the left liiO 
 
 Descending to the nethermost, not yet 
 Hast thou the circuit made of the Avholc orb. 
 Wherefore if aught of new to us a]tpear. 
 It needs not bring up wonder in thy looks." 
 
 Then I again inquir'd : "Where flow the streams 125 
 Of Phlegethon and Lethe? for of one 
 Thou tell'st not, and the other of that shower, 
 Thou say'st, is form'd." He answer thus return'd : 
 "Doubtless thy questions all well pleas'd I hear. 
 Yet the red seething wave might have resolv'd 130 
 
 One thou proposest. Lethe thou shalt see, 
 But not within this hollow, in the place. 
 Whither to lave themselves the spirits go. 
 Whose blame hath been by penitence remov'd." 
 He added : " Time is now we quit the wood. 135 
 
 Look thou my steps pursue : the margins give 
 Safe passage, unimpeded by the flames ; 
 For over them all vapour is extinct."
 
 50 HELL. 
 
 CANTO XV. 
 
 One of tlie solid margins bears us now 
 
 Eiivelop'cl in the mist, tliat from tlie stream 
 
 Arising, hovers o'er, and saves from fire 
 
 Botli piers and Avater. As the Flemings rear 
 
 Their mound, 'twixt Ghent and Bruges, to ehase back • 5 
 
 The ocean, fearing his tumultuous tide 
 
 That drives toward them, or the Paduans theirs 
 
 Along the Brenta, to defend their towns 
 
 And castles, ere the genial warmth be felt 
 
 On Chiarentana's top ; such were the mounds, 10 
 
 So fram'd, though not in height or bulk to these 
 
 Made equal, by the master, whosoe'er 
 
 He was, that rais'd them here. We from the wood 
 
 Were not so far remov'd, that turning round 
 
 I might not have discern'd it, wlien we met 15 
 
 A troop of spirits, who came beside the jjier. 
 
 They each one ey'd us, as at eventide 
 One eyes another under a new moon. 
 And toward iis sharpen'd their sight as keen, 
 As an old tailor at his needle's eye. 20 
 
 Thus narrowly explor'd by all the tribe, 
 I was agniz'd of one, who by the skirt 
 Caught me, and cried, " What wonder have we here ! " 
 
 And I, when he to me outstretch'd his arm, 
 Intently fix'd my ken on his parch'd looks, 25 
 
 That although smirch'd with fire, they hinder'd not 
 But I remember'd him ; and towards his face 
 My hand inclining, answer'd : "Sir! Brunetto! 
 And art thou here ? " He thus to me : " My son ! 
 Oh let it not displease thee, if Brunetto 30 
 
 Latini but a little space with thee 
 Turn back, and leave his fellows to proceed." 
 
 I thus to liini replied : " Much as I can, 
 I thereto pray thee; and if thou be willing. 
 That I here seat me with thee, I consent ; 35 
 
 His leave, with whom I journey, first obtain'd." 
 
 " O son ! " said he, " whoever of tins throng 
 One instant stops, lies llien a hundred years,
 
 IIEIJ.. 51 
 
 No fan to ventilate liim, wlieii tlio tire 
 
 Smites sorest. l*ass tlion tlierefore on. I close 40 
 
 Will at thy ijannents walk, and then rejoin 
 
 My troo]i, Avho go mourning their endless doom." 
 
 I darM not from the jiath descend to tread 
 On equal ground with him, but held my head 
 Bent down, as one who walks in reverent guise. 45 
 
 " What chance or destiny," thus be began, 
 " Ere the last day conducts thee here below ? 
 And who is this, that shows to thee the way ? " 
 
 " There up aloft," I answer'd, " in the life 
 Serene, I wander'd in a valley lost, 50 
 
 Before mine age had to its fulness reach'd. 
 But yester-morn I left it : then once more 
 Into that vale returning, him I met ; 
 And by this path homeward he leads me back." 
 
 "If thou," he answer'd, "follow' but thy star, 55 
 
 Thou canst not miss at last a glorious haven : 
 Unless in fairer days my judgment err'd. 
 And if my fate so early had not chanc'd, 
 Seeing the heav'ns thus bounteous to thee, I 
 Had gladly giv'n thee comfort in thy work. 60 
 
 But tliat ungrateful and malignant race, 
 Who in old times came down from Fesole, 
 Ay and still smack of their rough mountain-flint, 
 Will for thy good deeds shew thee enmity. 
 Nor wonder ; for amongst ill-savour'd crabs 65 
 
 It suits not the sweet fig-tree lay her fruit. 
 Old fame reports them in the Avorld for blind, 
 Covetous, envious, proud. Look to it Avell : 
 Take heed thou cleanse thee of their ways. For thee 
 Thy fortune hath such honour in reserve, 70 
 
 That thou by either party shalt be crav'd 
 With hunger keen : but be the fresh herb far 
 Fi"om the goat's tooth. The herd of Fesole 
 May of themselves make litter, not touch the plant, 
 If any such yet spring on their rank bed, 75 
 
 In which the holy seed revives, transmitted 
 From those true Uomans, who still there -rcmain'd, 
 When it was made the nest of so much ill."
 
 62 HELL. 
 
 "Were all my wish fulfill'd," I straight re))lied, 
 " Thou from the oonfhies of man's nature yet 80 
 
 ITadst not been driven forth ; for in my mind 
 Is fix'd, and now strikes full upon my lieart 
 The dear, benign, paternal image, such 
 As thine was, when so lately thou didst teach me 
 The way for man to win eternity ; 85 
 
 And how I priz'd the lesson, it behoves, 
 That, long as life endures, my tongue should speak, 
 What of my fate thou tell'st, that write I down : 
 And with another text to comment on 
 For her I keep it, the celestial dame, 90 
 
 Who will know all, if I to her arrive. 
 This only Avould I have thee clearly note : 
 That so my conscience have no plea against me; 
 Do fortune as she list, I stand prepar'd. 
 Not new or strange such earnest to mine ear. 95 
 
 Speed fortune then her wheel, as likes her best. 
 The clown his mattock; all things have their course." 
 
 Thereat my sapient guide upon his right 
 Turn'd himself back, then look'd at me and spake : 
 "He listens to good purpose who takes note." 100 
 
 I not the less still on my way proceed, 
 Discoursing with Brunette, and inquire 
 Who are most known and chief among his tribe. 
 
 " To know of some is well ; " thus he replied, 
 " But of the rest silence may best beseem. 105 
 
 Time would not serve us for report so long. 
 In brief I tell thee, that all these were clerks, 
 Men of great learning and no less renown, 
 By one same sin polluted in the world. 
 With them is Priscian, and Accorso's son 110 
 
 Francesco herds among that wretched throng : 
 And, if the wish of so impure a blotch 
 Possess'd thee, him thou also might'st have seen, 
 Who by the servants' servant was transferr'd 
 From Arno's seat to Bacchiglione, where 115 
 
 His ill-strain'd nerves he left. I more would add, 
 But must from farther speech and onward way 
 Alike desist, for yonder I behold
 
 HELL. 16 
 
 A mist new-risen on the sandy plain. 
 
 A company, with wliom I may not sort, 120 
 
 Ap])roaches. I commend my Treasure to thee, 
 Wherein I yet survive ; my sole request." 
 
 This said he turn'd, and seem'd as one of those, 
 Who o'er Verona's champain try their speed 
 For the green mantle, and of them he seem'd, 120 
 
 Not he who loses but who gains the prize. 
 
 CANTO XVI. 
 
 Now came I where the water's din was heard. 
 
 As down it fell into the other round. 
 
 Resounding like the hum of swarming bees : 
 
 When forth together issu'd from a troop, 
 
 That pass'd beneath the fierce tormenting storm, 5 
 
 Three spirits, running SMift. They towards us came. 
 
 And each one cried aloud, " Oh do thou stay ! 
 
 Whom by the fashion of thy garb we deem 
 
 To be some inmate of our evil land." 
 
 Ah me ! what wounds I mark'd upon their limbs, 10 
 Recent and old, inflicted by the flames ! 
 E'en the remembrance of them grieves me yet. 
 
 Attentive to their cry my teacher paus'd. 
 And turn'd to me his visage, and then spake ; 
 " Wait noM' ! our courtesy these merit M'ell : 15 
 
 And were 't not for the nature of the place. 
 Whence glide the fiery darts, I should have said. 
 That haste had better suited thee than them." 
 
 They, when we stopp'd, resum'd their ancient wail, 
 And soon as they had reach'd us, all the three 20 
 
 Whirl'd round together in one restless wheel. 
 As naked chamjiions, smear'd with slippery oil, 
 Are wont intent to watch their place of hold 
 And vantage, ere in closer strife they meet ; 
 Thus each one, as he wheel'd, his countenance 25 
 
 At me directed, so that opposite 
 The neck mov'd ever to the twinkling feet. 
 
 " If misery of this drear wilderness,"
 
 f4 
 
 HEFX. 
 
 Tims one bcc^an, " added to our sad cheer 
 
 .And destitute, do call foilh scoru on us 30 
 
 And our entreaties, let our great renown 
 
 Incline thee to inform us who thou art, 
 
 That dost imprint Avith living feet unharm'd 
 
 The soil of Hell. lie, in whose track thou see'&t 
 
 My ste])s pursuing, naked though he be 35 
 
 And reft of all, was of more high estate 
 
 Than thou believest ; grandchild of the chaste 
 
 Gualdrada, him they Guidoguerracall'd, 
 
 "Who in his lifetime many a noble act 
 
 Achiev'd, both by his "wisdom and his sword. 40 
 
 The other, next to me that beats the sand, 
 
 Is Aldobrandi, name deserving well, 
 
 In the' upper world, of honour ; and myself 
 
 Who in this torment do partake wdth them, 
 
 Am Rusticucci, whom, past doubt, my Avife 45 
 
 Of savage temper, more than aught beside 
 
 Hath to this e^il brought." If from the fire 
 
 I had been shelter'd, down amidst them straight 
 
 I then had cast me, nor my guide, I deem. 
 
 Would have restrain'd my going ; but that fear 50 
 
 Of the dire burning vanquish'd the desire. 
 
 Which made me eager of their wish'd embrace. 
 
 I then began : " Not scorn, but grief much more, 
 Such as long time alone can cure, your doom 
 Fix'd. deep within me, soon as this my lord 55 
 
 Spake words, whose tenour taught me to exjDCct 
 That such a race, as ye are, was at hand, 
 I am a countryman of yours, who still 
 Affectionate have utter'd, and have heard 
 Your deeds and names renown'd. Leaving the gall 60 
 For the sweet fruit I go, that a sure guide 
 Hath promis'd to me. But behoves, that far 
 As to the centre first I downward tend." 
 
 " So may long space thy spirit guide thy limbs," 
 He answer straight return'd ; " and so thy fame 65 
 
 Shine bright, when thou art gone ; as thou shalt tell, 
 If courtesy and valour, as they Avont, 
 Dwell in our city, or have vanish'd clean?
 
 HKLT,. 55 
 
 Foe one amidst us lato condciiiuM to wail, 
 
 Borsiere, yonder walkiii<r witli liis ])ecM-s, 70 
 
 Grieves us no little l)y tlie news he brings." 
 
 "An upstart multitude and sudden gains, 
 Pride and excess, O Florence ! have in thee 
 Engender'd, so that now in tears tliou mourn'st ! " 
 Thus cried I with my face uprais'd, and they 75 
 
 All three, who for an answer took my Avords, 
 Look'd at each other, as men look when truth 
 Comes to their ear. " If thou at other times," 
 They all at once rejoin'd, " so easily 
 
 Satisfy those, who question, happy thou, 80 
 
 Gifted with words, so apt to s})eak thy thought ! 
 Wherefore if thou escape this darksome clime, 
 Returning to behold the radiant stars. 
 When thou with pleasure shalt retrace the past, 
 Sec that of us thou speak among mankind." 85 
 
 Tliis said, they broke the circle, and so swift 
 Fled, that as pinions seem'd their nimble feet. 
 
 Not in so short a time might one have said 
 "Amen," as they had vanish'd. Straight my guide 
 Pursu'd his track. I follow'd ; and small space 90 
 
 Had we j^ass'd onward, when the water's sound 
 Was now so near at hand, that we had scarce 
 Heard one another's speech for the loud din. 
 
 E'en as the river, that holds on its course 
 Unmingled, from the mount of Vesulo, 95 
 
 On the left side of Apennine, toward 
 The east, which Acquacheta higher up 
 They call, ere it descend into the vale, 
 At Forli by that name no longer known. 
 Rebellows o'er Saint Benedict, roll'd on 100 
 
 From the' Al])ine summit down a precipice. 
 Where space enough to lodge a thousand spreads ; 
 Thus downward from a craggy steep we found. 
 That this dark wave resounded, roaring loud. 
 So that the ear its clamour soon had stunn'd. 105 
 
 I hud a cord that brac'd my girdle round. 
 Wherewith I erst had thought fast bound to take 
 The painted leopard. This when I had all
 
 56 nmj.. 
 
 Uiiloosen'd from me (so my master bade) 
 
 I oatlier'd up, and strctcli'd it forth to l>im. 110 
 
 Then to tlie right he turn'd, nud from tlie brink 
 
 Standing few ])aces distant, cast it down 
 
 Into the deep abyss. "And somewliat strange," 
 
 Thus to myself I spake, " signal so strange 
 
 Betokens, which my guide with earnest eye 115 
 
 Tlius follows." Ah ! what caution must men use 
 
 With those who look not at the deed alone, 
 
 But spy into the thoughts with subtle skill ! 
 
 " Quickly shall come," he said, " what I expeet, 
 Thine eye discover quickly, that whereof 120 
 
 Thy thought is dreaming." Ever to that truth, 
 Which but the semblance of a falsehood wears, 
 A man, if possible, should bar his lip ; 
 Since, although blameless, he incurs reproach. 
 Biit silence here were vain ; and by these notes 125 
 
 Which now I sing, reader ! I swear to thee, 
 So may they favour find to latest times ! 
 That through the gross and murky air I spied 
 A shape come swimming up, that might have quell'd 
 The stoutest heart Avith wonder, in such guise 130 
 
 As one returns, who hath been down to loose 
 An anchor grappled fast against some rock, 
 Or to aught else that in the salt wave lies. 
 Who upward springing close draws in his feet. 
 
 CANTO XVII. 
 
 " Lo ! the fell monster with the deadly sting ! 
 
 Who ]>asses mountains, breaks through fenced walls 
 
 And firm embattled spears, and with his filth 
 
 Taints all the world ! " Thus me my guide address'd, 
 
 And beckon'd him, that he should come to shore, 5 
 
 Near to the stony causeway's utmost edge. 
 
 Forthwith that image vile of fraud appear'd, 
 His head and np])er ])art expos'd on land, 
 But laid not on the sliore his bestial train. 
 His face the semblance of a just man's wore, 10
 
 iiErx. 57 
 
 So kind and gracious was its outward clieer ; 
 
 The rest was serpent all: two shaggy claws 
 
 Keach'd to the armpits, and the back and breast, 
 
 And eitlier side, were painted o'er with nodes 
 
 And orbits. Colours variegated more 15 
 
 Nor Turks nor Tartars e'er on cloth of state 
 
 With interchangeable embroidery wove, 
 
 Nor spread Arachne o'er her curious loom. 
 
 As ofttimes a light skiff, moor'd to the shore. 
 
 Stands part in water, part iipon the land ; 20 
 
 Or, as where dwells the greedy German boor, 
 
 The beaver settles watching for his prey ; 
 
 So on the rim, that fenc'd the sand with rock, 
 
 Sat perch'd the fiend of evil. In the void 
 
 Glancing, his tail upturn'd its venomous fork, 25 
 
 With sting like scorpion's arm'd. Then thus my guide : 
 
 " Now need our way must turn few steps apart. 
 
 Far as to that ill beast, who couches tliere." 
 
 Thereat toward the right our downward course 
 We shap'd, and, better to escape the flame 30 
 
 And burning marie, ten paces on the verge I 
 
 Proceeded. Soon as we to him arrive, 
 A little further on mine eye beholds 
 A tribe of spirits, seated on the sand 
 Near the wide chasm. Forthwith my master spake : 35 
 " That to the full thy knowledge may extend 
 Of all this round contains, go now, and mark 
 The mien these wear : but hold not long discourse. 
 Till thou returnest, I M'ith him meantime 
 Will parley, that to us he may vouchsafe 40 
 
 The aid of his strong shoulders." Thus alone 
 Yet forward on the' extremity I pac'd 
 Of that seventh circle, where the mournful tribe 
 Were seated. At the eyes forth gush'd their pangs. 
 Against the vapours and the torrid soil 45 
 
 Alternately their shifting hands they plied. 
 Thus use the dogs in sunmier still to ply 
 Their jaws and feet by turns, when bitten sore 
 By gnats, or flies, or gadflies swarming round. 
 
 Noting the visages of some, who lay 50
 
 58 HKLL. 
 
 Beneatli tlio polling of that dolorous fire, 
 
 One of tliom all I knew not ; but perceiv'd, 
 
 That pendent from his neck each bore a pouch 
 
 Witli colours and with emblems A^arious mark'd, 
 
 On which it seem'd as if their eye did feed. 55 
 
 And when amongst them looking round I came, 
 A yellow purse I saw with azure wrought. 
 That wore a lion's countenance and port. 
 Then still my sight pursuing its career. 
 Another I beheld, than blood more red. 60 
 
 A goose display of whiter wing than curd. 
 And one, wlio bore a fat and azure swine 
 Pictur'd on his white scrip, addressed me thus: 
 " What dost thou in this deep ? Go now and know. 
 Since yet thou livest, that my neighbour here 65 
 
 Vitaliano on my left shall sit. 
 A Paduan with these Florentines am I. 
 Ofttimes they thunder in mine ears, exclaiming 
 'O haste that noble knight ! he who the pouch 
 ' With the three beaks will bring ! ' " This said, he 
 writh'd 70 
 
 The mouth, and loU'd the tongue out, like an ox 
 That licks his nostrils. I, lest longer stay 
 He ill might brook, who bade me stay not long. 
 Backward my steps from those sad spirits turn'd. 
 
 My guide already seated on the haunch 75 
 
 Of the tierce animal I found ; and thus 
 Pie me encourag'd, " Be thou stout ; be bold. 
 Down such a steep flight must we now descend ! 
 Mount thou before : for that no power the tail 
 May have to harm thee, I will be i' th' midst." 80 
 
 As one, who hath an ague fit so near, 
 His nails already are turn'd blue, and he 
 Quivers all o'er, if he but eye the shade ; 
 Such was my cheer at hearing of his words. 
 But shame soon interpos'd her threat, who makes 85 
 
 The servant bold in presence of his lord. 
 
 I settled me upon those shoulders huge. 
 And would have said, but that the words to aid 
 My purpose came not, " Look thou clasp me firm ! "
 
 HKLL. 59 
 
 But ho whose succonv then not first I prov'd, 90 
 
 Soon as I mounted, in liis arms aloft, 
 Embracing, lield me u]), and thus lie spake : 
 " Geryon ! now move thee ! be thy wheeling gyres 
 Of am])le circuit, easy thy descent. 
 Think on th' unusual burden thou sustain'st." 95 
 
 As a small vessel, back'ning out from land, 
 Her station quits ; so thence the monster loos'd, 
 And when he felt himself at large, turn'd round 
 There where the breast had been, his forked tail. 
 Thus, like an eel, outstretch'd at length he steer'd, 100 
 Gath'ring the air up with retractile claws. 
 
 Not greater was the dread when Phaeton 
 The reins let drop at random, whence high heaven, 
 Whereof signs y(;t aj'tpear, was wrapt in flames ; 
 Nor when ill-fated Icarus perceiv'd, 105 
 
 By liquefaction of the scalded wax. 
 The trusted ])ennons loosen'd from his loins, 
 Plis sire exclaiming loud, " 111 way thou kee])'st ! " 
 Than was my dread, when round me on each part 
 The air I view'd, and other object none 110 
 
 Save the fell beast. He slowly sailing, wheels 
 His downward motion, unobserv'd of me, 
 But that the wind, arising to my face, 
 Breathes on me from below. Now on our right 
 I heard the cataract beneath us leap 115 
 
 With hideous crash ; whence bending down to' explore. 
 New terror I conceiv'd at the steep plunge : 
 For flames I saw, and wailings smote mine ear : 
 So that all trembling close I crouch'd my limbs, 
 And then distinguish'd, unperceiv'd before, 120 
 
 By the dread torments that on every side 
 Drew nearer, how our downward course we wound. 
 
 As falcon, that hath long been on the wing. 
 But lure nor bird hath seen, while in despair 
 The falconer cries, " Ah me ! thou stoop'st to earth ! " 
 Wearied descends, and swiftly down the sky 126 
 
 In many an orbit wheels, then lighting sits 
 At distance from his lord in angry mood ; 
 So Geryon lighting places us on foot
 
 fiO ITKLT,. 
 
 l«ow down at base of tlio dcep-l'urrow'd rock, 130 
 
 And, of liis bui'dcn llic^re discliai'g'd, fortliwith 
 Sprang forward, like an arrow from the string. 
 
 CANTO XVIII. 
 
 There is a place within the depths of hell 
 
 Call'd Malebolge, all of rock dark-stain'd 
 
 Witli hue ferruginous, e'en as the steep 
 
 Tliat round it circling Mands. Kight in the midst 
 
 Of that abominable region, yaAvns 5 
 
 A spacious gulf profound, whereof the frame 
 
 Due time shall tell. The circle, that remains. 
 
 Throughout its round, between the gulf and base 
 
 Of the high craggy banks, successive forms 
 
 Ten trenches, in its hollow bottom sunk. 10 
 
 As where to guard the walls, full many a foss 
 Begirds some stately castle, sure defence 
 Affording to the space within, so here 
 Were model'd these ; and as like fortresses 
 E'en from their threshold to the brink without, 15 
 
 Are flank'd M'ith bridges; from the rock's low base 
 Thns flinty paths advanc'd, that 'cross the moles 
 And dikes, struck onward far as to the gulf. 
 That in one bound collected cuts them off. 
 Such was the place, wherein we fonnd ourselves 20 
 
 From Geryon's back dislodg'd. The bard to left 
 Held on his way, and I behind him mov'd. 
 
 On our right hand new misery I saw, 
 New pains, new executioners of wrath, 
 Tiiat swarming peopled the first chasm. Below 25 
 
 Were naked sinners. Hitherward they came, 
 Meeting our faces from the middle point. 
 With ns beyond but with a larger stride. 
 E'en thus the Romans, when the year returns 
 Of Jubilee, with better speed to rid 30 
 
 The thronging multitudes, their means devise 
 For such as pass the bridge ; that on one side 
 I All front toward the castle, and approach
 
 HELL. 61 
 
 Saint Peter's fane, on th' otlier towards the mount. 
 
 Eacli divers way alonof the grisly rock, 35 
 
 Horn'd demons I belield, witli laslies huge, 
 Tl;at on tlieir back unmercifully smote. 
 Ah ! liow they made them bound at the first stri|)e ! 
 None for tlie second waited nor the third. 
 
 Meantime as on I pass'd, one met my sight 40 
 
 Whom soon as view'd ; " Of him," cried I, " not yet 
 Mine eye hath had his fill." With fixed gaze 
 I therefore scann'd him. Straight the teacher kind 
 Paus'd with me, and consented I should walk 
 Backward a space, and the tormented spirit, 45 
 
 Who thought to hide him, bent his visage down. 
 But it avail'd him nought ; for I exclaim'd : 
 " Thou Avho dost cast thy eye upon the ground, 
 Unless thy features do belie thee much, 
 Venedico art thou. But what brings thee 50 
 
 Into this bitter seas'ning?" He replied : 
 "Unwillingly I answer to thy Avords. 
 But thy clear speech, that to my mind recalls 
 The world I once inhabited, constrains me. 
 Know then 'twas I who led fair Ghisola 55 
 
 To do the Marquis' will, however fame 
 The shameful tale have bruited. Nor alone 
 Bologna hither sendeth me to mourn. 
 Rather with us the place is so o'erthrong'd 
 That not so many tongues this day are taught, CO 
 
 Betwixt the Reno and Savena's stream, 
 To answer Sij)ci in their country's phrase. 
 And if of that securer proof thou need, 
 Remember but our craving thirst for gold." 
 
 Him speaking thus, a demon with his thong C5 
 
 Struck, and exclaim'd, " Away ! corrupter ! here 
 Women are none for sale." Forthwith I join'd 
 My escort, and few paces thence we came 
 To where a rock forth issued from the bank. 
 That easily ascended, to the right 70 
 
 Upon its splinter turning, we depart 
 From those eternal barriers. When arriv'd, 
 Where underneath the gaping arch lets pass
 
 62 iiKi.r-. 
 
 The scourgecl souls : " Pause liorc," tlic teacher said, 
 "And let these others miserable, now 75 
 
 Strike on thy ken, faces not yet beheld, 
 For that together they with us have walk'd." 
 
 From tlie old bridge we ey'd the pack, who came 
 From th' other side towards us, like the rest, 
 Excoriate from the lash. My gentle guide, 80 
 
 By me unquestion'd, thus Ins si)eech resum'd : 
 " Behold that lofty shade, who this way tends, 
 And seems too woe-begone to drop a tear. 
 How yet the regal asjiect he retains ! 
 
 Jason is he, whose skill and ])rowess won 85 
 
 The ram from Colclios. To the Lemnian isle 
 His passage thither led him, when those bold 
 And pitiless women had slain all their males. 
 There he with tokens and fair witching words 
 Hypsipyle bf^guil'd, a virgin young, 90 
 
 Who first had all the rest herself beguil'd. 
 Impregnated he left her there forlorn. 
 Such is the guilt condemns him to this j^ain. 
 Here too Medea's inj'ries are avenged. 
 All bear him company, who like deceit 95 
 
 To his have practis'd. And thus much to know 
 Of the first vale suflice thee, and of those 
 Whom its keen torments urge." Now had ■we come 
 Where, crossing the next pier, the straighten'd path 
 Bestrides its shoulders to another arch. 100 
 
 Hence in the second chasm we heard the ghosts, 
 Who jibber in low melancholy sounds, 
 With wide-stretch'd nostrils snort, and on themselves 
 Smite M'ith their palms. Upon the banks a scurf 
 From the foiil steam condens'd, encrusting hung, 105 
 That held sharp combat with the sight and smell. 
 
 So hollow is the depth, that from no part, 
 Save on the summit of the rocky span, 
 Could I distinguish aught. Tims far we came ; 
 And thence I saw, within the foss below, 110 
 
 A crowd immers'd in ordure, that appear'd 
 Draff of the human body. There beneath 
 Searching with eye inquisitive, I mark VI
 
 HELL. fi;j 
 
 One with his head so grim'd, 't were hard to deem, 
 
 If he were clerk or layman. Loud he cried : 115 
 
 "Why greedily thus bendest more on nie, 
 
 Than on these other filthy ones, tliy ken ? " 
 
 "Because if true my mem'ry," I replied, 
 " I heretofore have seen thee with dry locks, 
 And thou Alcssio art of Lucca sprung-. 120 
 
 Therefore than all the rest I scan thee more." 
 
 Then beating on his brain these words he spake : 
 " Me thus low down my flatteries haA^e sunk. 
 Wherewith I ne'er enough could glut my tongue." 
 
 My leader thus : " A tittle further stretch 125 
 
 Thy face, that thou the visage well mayst note 
 Of that besotted, sluttish courtezan, 
 Who there doth rend her with defiled nails, 
 Now crouching down, now risen on her feet. 
 Thais is this, the harlot, whose false lip 130 
 
 Answer'd her doting ])aramour that ask'd, 
 ' Thankest me much ! ' — ' Say rather wondrously,' 
 And seeing this here satiate be our view." 
 
 CANTO XIX. 
 
 Woe to thee, Simon Magus ! woe to you. 
 
 His wretched followers ! who the things of God, 
 
 Which should be wedded iinto goodness, them, 
 
 Raj)acious as ye are, do prostitute 
 
 For gold and silver in adultery ! 5 
 
 Now must the trumpet sound for you, since yours 
 
 Is the third chasm. Upon the following vault 
 
 We now had mounted, where the rock impends 
 
 Directly o'er the centre of the foss. 
 
 Wisdom Supreme ! how Avonderful the art, 10 
 
 Which thou dost manifest in heaven, in earth, 
 And in th^i' evil world, how just a meed 
 Allotting by thy virtue unto all ! 
 
 I saw the livid stone, throughout the sides 
 And in its bottom full of ajiertures, 15 
 
 Ail equal in their width, and circular each,
 
 64 BELL. 
 
 Nor ample less nor larger tlicy appear'd, 
 
 Tliun in Saint Jolui's fair dome of me belov'd 
 
 Those fram'd to hold tlie j)ure baptismal streams, 
 
 One of the which I brake, some few years past, 20 
 
 To save a wlielming infant ; and be this 
 
 A seal to undeceive whoever doubts 
 
 The motive of my deed. From out the mouth 
 
 Of every one, emerged a sinner's feet 
 
 And of the legs high u|)ward as the calf 25 
 
 The rest beneath was hid. On either foot 
 
 The soles were burning, whence the flexile joints 
 
 Glanc'd with such violent motion, as had suapt 
 
 Asunder cords or twisted withs. As flame, 
 
 Feeding on inictuous matter, glides along 30 
 
 The surface, scarcely touching where it moves ; 
 
 So here, from heel to point, glided the flames. 
 
 " Master ! say who is he, than all the rest 
 Glancing in fiercer agony, on whom 
 A ruddier flame doth prey?" I thus inquir'd. 35 
 
 "If thou be willing," he replied, " that I 
 Carry thee down, where least the slope bank falls. 
 He of himself shall tell thee and his wrongs." 
 
 I then : " As pleases thee to me is best. 
 Thou art my lord ; and know'st that ne'er I quit 40 
 
 Thy will : what silence hides that knowest thou." 
 Thereat on the fourth pier we came, we turn'd, 
 And on our left descended to the depth, 
 A narrow strait and jDerforated close. 
 Nor from his side my leader set me down, 45 
 
 Till to his orifice he brought, whose limb 
 Quiv'ring express'd his pang. " Whoe'er thou art. 
 Sad spirit ! thus revers'd, and as a stake 
 Driv'n in the soil ! " I in these Avords began, 
 " If thou be able, utter forth thy A^oice." 50 
 
 There stood I like the friar, that doth shrive 
 A wretch for murder doom'd, who e'en when fix'd, 
 Calleth him back, whence death awhile delays. 
 
 He shouted : " Ha ! already standest there? 
 Already standest there, O Boniface ! 55 
 
 By many a year the writing play'd me false. 
 
 ITil •nrfwi'Mlfliillill ■■ MiiN - -
 
 HELL. 65 
 
 80 early <lost tliou surfeit with the wealth, 
 For whicli thou fearetlst not in o-uile to take 
 The lovely lady, and then mangle her ? " 
 
 I felt as those who, piercing not the drift 60 
 
 Of answer made them, stand as if expos'd 
 In mockery, nor know what to re]»ly. 
 When Yirgil thus admonish'd : " Tell him quick, 
 I am not he, not he, whom thou believ'st." 
 
 And I, as Avas enjoinVl me, straight replied. 65 
 
 That heard, the spirit all did wrench liis feet, 
 And sighing next in woeful accent spake : 
 " What then of me requirest ? If to know 
 So much imports thee, who I am, that thou 
 Hast therefore down the bank descended, learn 70 
 
 That in the mighty mantle I Avas rob'd, 
 And of a she-bear was indeed the son. 
 So eager to advance my Avhelps, that there 
 My having in my purse above I stow'd, 
 And here myself. Under my head are dragg'd 75 
 
 The rest, my predecessors in the guilt 
 Of simony. Stretch'd at their length they lie 
 Along an opening in the rock. 'Midst them 
 I also low shall fall, soon as he comes. 
 For whom I took thee, Avhen so hastily 80 
 
 I question'd. But already longer time 
 Hath pass'd, since my souls kindled, and I thus 
 Upturn'd have stood, than is his doom to stand 
 Planted with fiery feet. For after him, 
 One yet of deeds more ugly shall arrive, 85 
 
 From forth the Avest, a shej)herd Avdthout law. 
 Fated to cover both his form and mine. 
 He a ncAV Jason shall be call'd, of Avhom 
 In Maccabees Ave read ; and favour such- 
 As to that priest his king indulgent shoAv'd, 90 
 
 Shall be of France's monarch shoAvn to him." 
 
 I knoAv not if I here too far jn-esum'd, I 
 
 But in this strain I ansAver'd : " Tell me now, | 
 
 What treasures from St. Peter at the first i 
 
 Our Lord demanded, when he put the keys 95 ^ 
 
 Into his charge ? Surely he ask'd no more
 
 66 HELL. 
 
 But, Follow \ne ! ' Nor Peter nor the rest 
 
 Or gold or silver of JMatlliias took, 
 
 When lots were east ii]»on the forfeit ]»lace 
 
 Of the condemned soul. A1)i(]e thou then ; 100 
 
 Thy punishment of right is merited : 
 
 And look thou well to that ill-gotten coin, 
 
 Wliich against Charles thy hardihood inspir'd. 
 
 If reverence of the keys restrain'd nie not, 
 
 Which thou in ha])])ier time didst hold, I yet 105 
 
 Severer speech might use. Your avarice 
 
 Overcasts the world with mourning, under foot 
 
 Treading the good, and raising bad men up. 
 
 Of shepherds, like to you, th' Evangelist 
 
 Was ware, when her, who sits i;j)on tlie waves, 110 
 
 With kings in filthy whoredom he beheld. 
 
 She who with seven heads tower'd at her birth, 
 
 And from ten horns her proof of gloiy drew, 
 
 Long as her spouse in virtue took delight. 
 
 Of gold and silver ye have made your god, 115 
 
 Diff'ring wherein from the idolater. 
 
 But he that worships one, a hundred ye ? 
 
 Ah, Constantine ! to how^ much ill gave birth, 
 
 Not thy conversion, but that plenteous dower. 
 
 Which the first wealthy Father gain'd from thee ! " 120 
 
 Meanwhile, as thus I sung, he, whether wrath 
 Or conscience smote him, violent upsprang 
 Spinning on either sole. I do believe 
 My teacher well was pleas'd, with so comi:»os'd 
 A lip, he iisten'd ever to the sound 125 
 
 Of the true words I iitter'd. In both arms 
 He caught, and to his bosom lifting me 
 Upward retrac'd the Avay of his descent. 
 
 Nor weary of his weight he press'd me close, 
 Till to the summit of the rock we came, 130 
 
 Our passage from the fourth to the fifth pier. 
 His cherish'd burden there gently he plac'd 
 Upon the rugged rock and steep, a })ath 
 Not easy for the clamb'ring goat to mount. 
 
 Thence to my view another vale appear'd. 135
 
 HELL. 67 
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 And now the verse proceeds to toi-nients new, 
 
 Fit argument of this the twentietli strain 
 
 Of the fii'st song, whose awful tlienie records 
 
 The spirits whehn'd in woe. Earnest I look'd 
 
 Into the depth, that oi)en'd to my view, 5 
 
 Moisten'd with tears of anguish, and beliekl 
 
 A tribe, that came along the hollow vale, 
 
 In silence weeping : such their step as walk 
 
 Quires chanting solemn litanies on earth. 
 
 As on them more direct mine eye descends, 10 
 
 Each wonderously seem'd to be revers'd 
 At the neck-bone, so that the countenance 
 Was from the reins averted : and because 
 None might before him look, they were compell'd 
 To' advance with backward gait. Thus one perhaps 15 
 Ilath been by force of palsy clean transpos'd. 
 But I ne'er saw it nor believe it so. 
 
 Now, reader ! think within thyself, so God 
 Fruit of thy reading give thee ! how I long 
 Could keep my visage dry, when I beheld 20 
 
 Near me our form distorted in such guise. 
 That on the hinder parts fall'n from the face 
 The tears down-streaming roll'd. Against ii rock 
 I leant and wept, so that my guide exclaim'd : 
 " What, and art thou too witless as the rest ? 25 
 
 Here pity most doth show herself alive. 
 When she is dead. What guilt exceedeth his. 
 Who with Heaven's judgment in his passion strives? 
 Raise up thy head, raise up, and see the man. 
 Before whose eyes earth gap'd in Thebes, when all 30 
 Cried out, ' Amphiaraus, whither rushest ? 
 ' Why leavest thou the war ? ' He not the less 
 Fell ruining far as to Minos down. 
 Whose gra])ple none eludes. Lo ! how he makes 
 The breast his shoulders, and who once too far 35 
 
 Before him wish'd to see, now backward looks, 
 And treads reverse his patli. Tiresias note, 
 Who semblance chang'd, when woman he became
 
 68 HELL. 
 
 Of male, througli every liinl) transfonuM, and then 
 Once more behovM liiiii willi liis rod to strike 40 
 
 The two entwining serpents, ere the plumes, 
 That mark'd tlie better sex, mii^Iit slioot again. 
 
 " Ai-iuis, with i-ere liis belly I'aein;^, comes. 
 On Liiiii's mountains 'midst the marl)les white, 
 AVliere delves Can-ara's hind, who wons beneatli, 45 
 
 A cavern was his dwelling, wlience the stars 
 And main-sea wide in boundless view he held. 
 
 " The next, Avhose loosen'd tresses overspread 
 Her bosom, which thou seest not (for each liair 
 On that side grows) was Manto, she who search'd 50 
 
 Through many i-egions, and at length her seat 
 Fix'd in my native land, whence a short space 
 My words detain thy audience. When her sire 
 From life departed, and in servitude 
 
 The city dedicate to Bacchus mourn'd, 55 
 
 Long time she went a wand'rer through the Avorld. 
 Aloft in Italy's delightful land 
 A lake there lies, at foot of that proud Alp, 
 That o'er tlie Tyrol locks Germania in, 
 Its name Benacus, which a thousand rills, 60 
 
 Methinks, and more, water between the vale 
 Camonica and Garda and the height 
 Of Apennine remote. There is a spot 
 At midway of that lake, where he who bears 
 Of Trento's flock the past'ral staff, with him 65 
 
 Of Brescia, and the Veronese, might each 
 Passing that Avay his benediction give. 
 A garrison of goodly site and strong 
 Peschiera stands, to awe with front oppos'd 
 The Bergamese and Brescian, whence the shore 70 
 
 More slope each way descends. There, whatsoev'er 
 Benacus' bosom holds not, tumbling o'er 
 Down falls, and winds a river flood beneath 
 Through the green pastures. Soon as in his course 
 The steam makes head, Benacus then no more 75 
 
 They call the name, but Mincius, till at last 
 Reaching Governo into Po he falls. 
 Not far his course hath run, when a wide flat
 
 HELL. 69 
 
 It finds, which overstretching as a marsli 
 
 It covers, pestilent in suniiner oft. 80 
 
 Ilencc' journeying, tlie savage maiden saw 
 
 'Midst of tlie fen a territory waste 
 
 And naked of inliabitants. To shun 
 
 All human converse, here she with lier slaves 
 
 Plying her arts remain'd, and liv'd, and left 85 
 
 Her body tenantless. Thenceforth the ti'ihes. 
 
 Who round were scatter'd, gatli'ring to tliat ])lace 
 
 Assembled ; for its strength was great, enclos'd 
 
 On all ])arts l)y the fen. On those dead bones 
 
 They rear'd themselves a city, for her sake, 90 
 
 Calling it Mantua, who first chose the spot, 
 
 Nor ask'd another omen for the name. 
 
 Wherein more numerous the people dwelt, 
 
 Ere Casalodi's madness by deceit 
 
 Was wrong'd of Pinamonte. If thou hear 95 
 
 Henceforth another origin assign'd 
 
 Of that my country, I forewarn thee now, 
 
 That falsehood none beguile thee of the truth." 
 
 I answer'd : " Teacher, I conclude thy words 
 So certain, that all else shall be to me 100 
 
 As embers lacking life. But no%v of these, 
 Who here proceed, instruct me, if thou see 
 Any that merit more especial note. 
 For thereon is my mind alone intent." 104 
 
 He straight replied: " That spirit, from whose cheek 
 The beard sweeps o'er his shoulders brown, what time 
 Gv;rcia was emptied of her males, that scarce 
 Tiie cradles were su])plied, the seer was he 
 In Aulis, who with Calchas gave the sign 
 When first to cut the cable. Him they nam'd 110 
 
 Euryj)ilus : so sings my tragic strain. 
 In which majestic measure well thou know'st, 
 Who know'st it all. That other, round the loins 
 So slender of his shape, was Michael Scot, 
 Practis'd in ev'ry slight of magic wile. 115 
 
 " Guido Bonatti see : Asdente mark, 
 Who now were willing, he had tended still 
 The thread and cordwain ; and too late repents.
 
 70 IIETJ., 
 
 " See next tlic wretches, who tlie neeclle left, 
 The shuttle and the spindle, and became 120 
 
 Diviners : baneful witcheries they wrought 
 With images and herbs. ]>ut onward now : 
 For now doth Cain with fork of thorns confine 
 On either heniisjihere, touching the wave 
 ]5eneath the towers of Seville. Yesternight 125 
 
 The moon was round. Thou mayst remember well : 
 For she good service did thee in the gloom 
 Of the deep wood." This said, both onward mov'd. 
 
 CANTO XXI. 
 
 Thus we from bridge to bridge, with other talk, 
 
 The which my drama cares not to rehearse, 
 
 Pass'd on; and to the summit reaching, stood 
 
 To view another gap, within the round 
 
 Of Malcbolge, other bootless pangs. 5 
 
 Marvellous darkness shadow'd o'er the place. 
 
 In the Venetians' arsenal as boils 
 Through wintry months tenacious pitch, to smear 
 Their unsound vessels ; for th' inclement time 
 Sea-faring men restrains, and in that while 10 
 
 His bark one builds anew, another stops 
 The ribs of his, that hath made many a voyage ; 
 One hammers at the prow, one at the poop ; 
 This shapeth oars, that other cables twirls, 
 The mizen one repairs and main-sail rent 15 
 
 So not by force of fire but art divine 
 Boil'd here a glutinous thick mass, that round 
 Lim'd all the shore beneath. I that beheld. 
 But therein nought distinguish'd, save the surge, 
 Rais'd by the boiling, in one mighty swell 20 
 
 Heave, and by turns subsiding and fall. While there 
 I tix'd my ken below, " Mark ! mark ! " my guide 
 Exclaiming, drew me towards him from the jjlace, 
 Wherein I stood. I turn'd myself as one. 
 Impatient to behold that whicla beheld 25 
 
 He needs must shun, whom sudden fear unmans,
 
 HELL, 71 
 
 That lie his flight delays not for the view. 
 Behind me I diseeni'd a devil black, 
 That running up advanc'd along the rock. 
 'Ah! what fierce cruelty his look bespake ! 30 
 
 In act how bitter did he seem, with wings 
 Buoyant outstretch'd and feet of nimblest tread ! 
 His shoulder proudly eminent and sharp 
 Was with a sinner charg'd ; by either hannch 
 He held him, the foot's sinew griping fast. 35 
 
 " Ye of our bridge ! " he cried, " keen-talon'd fiends ! 
 Lo ! one of Santa Zita's elders ! Ilim 
 Whelm ye beneath, while I retnrn for more. 
 That land hath store of such. All men are there, 
 Except Bonturo, barterers : of 'no' 40 
 
 For lucre there an ' aye ' is quickly made." 
 
 Him dashing down, o'er the rough rock he turn'd, 
 Nor ever after thief a mastiff loos'd 
 Sped with like eager haste. That other sank 
 And forthwith writing to the surface rose. 45 
 
 But those dark demons, shrouded by the bridge, 
 Cried " Here the hallow'd visage saves not : here 
 Is other swimming than in Serchio's wave. 
 Wherefore if thou desire we rend thee not, 
 Take heed thou mount not o'er the pitch." This said, 
 They grapi»led him with more than hundi'ed hooks, 51 
 And shouted : " Cover'd thou must sport thee here ; 
 So, if thou canst, in secret mayst thou filch." 
 E'en thus the cook bestirs him, with his grooms, 
 To thrust the flesh into the caldron down 55 
 
 With flesh-hooks, that it float not on the top. 
 
 Me then my guide bespake : " Lest they descry, 
 That thou art here, behind a craggy rock 
 Bend low and screen thee ; and whate'er of force 
 Be offer'd me, or insult, fear thou not : 60 
 
 For I am well advis'd, who have been erst 
 In the like fra}'." Beyond the bridge's head 
 Therewith he jjass'd, and reaching the sixth pier, 
 Behov'd him then a forehead terror-jDroof. 
 
 With storm and fury, as when dogs rush forth 65 
 
 Upon the poor man's back, who suddenly
 
 72 HELL. 
 
 From Avlionco lie standctli iiiiikcs liis suit ; so riishVl 
 
 Those from l)eTiontli tlie arcli, and npiiiist liim 
 
 Their weapons all tliey ])ointod. He aloud : 
 
 "Be none of you ouli-a<;eous : ere your time 70 
 
 Dare seize me, come forth from amongst you one, 
 
 Who liaving lieard my words, decide he then 
 
 If he shall tear these limbs." They shouted loud, 
 
 " Go, MaLacoda ! " Whereat one advanc'd. 
 
 The others standing firm, and as lie came, 75 
 
 " AYhat may this turn avail him ?" ho exclaim'd. 
 
 "Believ'st thou, Malaeoda! I had come 
 Thus far from all your skirmishing secure," 
 My teacher answered, " without Avill divine 
 And destiny ]iro]iitious? Pass we then 80 
 
 For so Heaven's ]»leasure is, that I should lead 
 Another through this savage wilderness." 
 
 Forthwith so fell liis ])ride, that he let drop 
 The instrument of torture at his feet. 
 And to the rest exclaim'd : " We have no power 85 
 
 To strike him." Then to mc my guide : " O thou ! 
 Who on the bridge among the crags dost sit 
 Low crouching, safely noAv to me return." 
 
 I rose, and towards him moved Avith speed : the fiends 
 Meantime all forward drew : me terror seiz'd 90 
 
 Lest they should break the compact they had made. 
 Thus issuing from C'aprona, once I saw 
 Th' infantry dreading, lest his covenant 
 The foe should break ; so close he henim'd them round. 
 
 I to my leader's side adher'd, mine eyes 95 
 
 With fixt and niotionless observance bent 
 On their imkindly visage. They their hooks 
 Protruding, one the other thus bespake : 
 " Wilt thou I touch him on the hip ? " To whom 
 Was answer'd : " Even so ; nor miss thy aim." 100 
 
 But he, who Avas in conf'rence with my guide, 
 Turn'd rapid round, and thus the demon spake : 
 " Stay, stay thee, Scarmiglione ! " Then to us 
 He added : " Further footing to your step 
 This rock affords not, shiver'd to the base 105 
 
 Of the sixth arch. But would you still proceed,
 
 HELL. 73 
 
 Up by tliis cavern go : not distant far, 
 
 Another rock will yield you passage safe. 
 
 Yesterday, later by five hours than now, 
 
 Twelve hundred threescore years and six l>ad fill'd 110 
 
 The circuit of their course, since here the way 
 
 Was broken. Thitherward I straight dispatch 
 
 Certain of these my scouts, Avho shall espy 
 
 If any on the surface bask. With them 
 
 Go ye : for ye shall find them nothing fell. 115 
 
 Come Alichino forth," witli that he cried, j 
 
 " And Calcabrina, and Cagnazzo thou ! | 
 
 The troop of ten let Barbariccia lead. | 
 
 With Libicocco Di-aghinazzo haste, ■ 
 
 Fang'd Ciriatto, Grattiacane fierce, 120 j 
 
 And Farfarello, and mad Rubicant. 
 
 Search ye around the bubbling tar. For these, 1 
 
 In safety lead them, where the other crag i 
 
 Uninterrupted traverses the dens." ; 
 
 I then : " O master ! what a sight is there ! 125 \ 
 
 Ah ! without escort, journey we alone. 
 Which, if thou know the way, I covet not. 
 Unless thy prudence fail thee, dost not mark 
 How they do gnarl ui)on us, and their scowl 
 Threatens us present tortures ? " He replied : 130 
 
 " I charge tliee fear not : let them, as they will, 
 Gnarl on : 't is but in token of their spite 
 Against the souls, who mourn in torment steep'd." 
 
 To leftward o'er the pier they turn'd ; but each 
 Had fii'st between his teeth prest close the tongue, 135 
 Toward their leader for a signal looking, 
 Wliich he with sound obscene trhmiphant gave. 
 
 CANTO XXII. 
 
 It hath been heretofore my chance to see 
 Horsemen with martial order shifting camp, 
 To onset sallying, or in muster rang'd. 
 Or in retreat sometimes outstretch'd for fiight 
 Light-armed scjuadrons and lleet foragers
 
 74 IIRI,L, 
 
 Scoiirino; tliy jiluins, Arezzo ! liavo I soon, 
 
 And clasliing tounianionts, and lilting jousts, 
 
 Now with the sound of trumpets, now of bells, 
 
 Tabors, or signals made fi-om castled heights, 
 
 And M'itli inventions multifoi'm, our own, 10 
 
 Or introduc'd from foreign land ; but ne'er 
 
 To such a strange rccoi'der I beheld, 
 
 In evolution moving, horse nor foot, 
 
 Nor shi]), that tack'd by sign from land or star. 
 
 With the ten demons on our way we went ; 15 
 
 Ah fearful company! but in the church 
 With saints, with gluttons at the tavern's mess. 
 
 Still earnest on the pitch I gaz'd, to mark 
 All things whate'er the chasm contain'd, and those 
 Who bnrn'd within. As dolphins, that, in sign 20 
 
 To mariners, heave high their arched backs. 
 That thence forewarn'd they may advise to save 
 Their threaten'd vessel ; so, at intervals. 
 To ease the pain his back some sinner show'd. 
 Then hid more nimbly than the lightning glance. 25 
 
 E'en as the frogs, that of a wat'ry moat 
 Stand at the brink, with the jaws only out, 
 Their feet and of the trunk all else concealed, 
 Thus on each part the sinners stood, but soon 
 As Barbariccia was at hand, so they 30 
 
 Drew back under the wave. I saw, and yet 
 My heart doth stagger, one, that waited thus, 
 As it befalls that oft one frog remains. 
 While the next springs away : and Graffiacan, 
 Who of the fiends was nearest, grappling seiz'd 35 
 
 His clotted locks, and dragg'd him sprawling ujx 
 That he appear'd to me an otter. Each 
 Already by their names I knew, so well 
 When they were chosen, I observ'd, and mark'd 
 How one the other call'd. "ORubicant! 40 
 
 See that his hide thou with thy talons flay," 
 Shouted together all the cursed crew. 
 
 Then I : " Inform thee, master ! if thou may. 
 What wretched soul is this, on whom their hands 
 His foes have laid." My leader to his side 45
 
 Appronoli'd, nnrl whence lie cnnic inquirVl, to whom 
 
 Was answer'd tiius : "Born in Navarre's domain 
 
 My motlier plac'd me in a lord's retinue, 
 
 For she had borne me to a losel vile, 
 
 A spendthrift of his substance and himself. f)0 
 
 The good king- Thibault after that I serv'd. 
 
 To peculating here my thoughts were turn'd. 
 
 Whereof I give account in tliis dire heat." 
 
 Straight Ciriatto. from whose mouth a tusk 
 Issued on either side, as from a boar, 55 
 
 Kipt him with one of these. 'Twixt evil claws 
 The mouse had fall'n : but Barbariccia cried, 
 Seizing him with both arms : " Stand thou apart, 
 While I do fix him on my prong trans])ierc'd." 
 Then added, turning to my guide his face, 60 
 
 "Inquire of him, if more thou wish to learn, 
 Ere he again be rent." My leader thus : 
 " Then tell us of the partners in thy guilt ; 
 Knowest thou any sprung of Latian land 
 Under the tar ? "— " I pa'rted," he replied, 65 
 
 "But now from one, who sojourn'd not far thence; 
 So were I under shelter now Avith him ! 
 Nor hook nor talon then should scare me more." — 
 
 " Too long we suffer," Libicocco cried, 
 Then, darting forth a prong, seiz'd on his arm, 70 
 
 And mangled bore away the sinewy part. 
 Ilim Draghinazzo by his thighs beneath 
 Would next have caught, whence angrily their chief. 
 Turning on all sides round, with threat'ning brow 
 Restrain'd them. When their strife a little ceas'd, 75 
 Of him, who yet was gazing on his wound, 
 My teacher thus without delay inquir'd : 
 "Who was the spirit, from whom by evil hap 
 Parting, as thou has told, thou cam'st to shore?" — 
 
 " It was the friar Gomita," he rejoin'd, 80 
 
 " He of Gallura, vessel of all guile. 
 Who had his master's enemies in hand. 
 And us'd them so that they commend liim well. 
 Money he took, and them at large dismiss'd. 
 So he reports : and in each other charge 85
 
 76 IIEI.L. 
 
 Committed to liis kcejiinc;, pl.iyM tlic part 
 
 Of barterer to the heiglit : with liiiu cldtli liord 
 
 The chief of Logodoro, Miclicl Zaiiclic. 
 
 Sardinia is a theme, whereof their tongue 
 
 Is never weary. Out ! abis ! l)ehold 90 
 
 That other, how lie grins ! More would I say, 
 
 But tremble lest he mean to maul me sore." 
 
 Their cai)tain then to Farfarello turning, 
 Who roU'd his moony eyes in act to strike, 
 Rebuk'd him thus : » Oi'f ! cursed bird ! avaunt ! "— 95 
 
 "If ye desire to see or hear," he thus 
 Quaking with dread resum'd, " or Tuscan spirits 
 Or Lombard, I will cause them to appear. 
 Meantime let these ill talons bate their fury, 
 So that no vengeance they may fear from them, 100 
 
 And I, remaining in this self-same place, 
 Will for myself but one, make sev'n appear, 
 When my shrill whistle shall be heard ; for so 
 Our custom is to call each other up." 
 
 Cagnazzo at that word deriding grinn'd, 105 
 
 Then wagg'd the head and spake : " Hear his device, 
 Mischievous as he is, to plunge him down." 
 
 Whereto he thus, who fail'd not in rich store 
 Of nice-wove toils ; " Mischief forsooth extreme, 
 Meant only to ])rocure myself more woe ! " 110 
 
 No longer Alichino then refrain'd. 
 But thus, the rest gainsaying, him bespake : 
 *' If thou do cast thee dow^n, I not on foot 
 Will chase thee, but above the pitch will beat 
 My plumes. Quit we the vantage ground, and let 115 
 The bank be as a shield, that we may see 
 If singly thou prevail against us all." 
 
 Now, reader, of new s])ort expect to hear ! 
 
 They each one turn'd liis eyes to tlie' other shore, 
 He first, who was the hardest to persuade. 120 
 
 The spirit of Navarre chose well his time, 
 Planted his feet on land, and at one leap 
 Escaping disappointed their resolve. 
 
 Them quick resentment stung, but him the most, 
 Who was the cause of failure ; in pursuit 125
 
 HELL. 77 
 
 He tlierefore sped, exclaiming; " Tliou art cauglit." 
 
 But little it avatlVl : terror outstrippM 
 His following flight: the other ])lung\l beneath, 
 And he 'with upward pinion rais'd his breast : 
 E'en thus the water-fowl, when she ])erceives 130 
 
 The falcon near, dives instant down, while he 
 Enrag'd and spent retires. That nicjckery 
 In Calcabrina fury stirr'd, who flew 
 After him, with desire of strife inflam'd ; 
 And, for the barterer had 'scap'd, so turn'd 135 
 
 His talons on his comrade. O'er the dyke 
 In grapple close they join'd ; but the' other prov'd s 
 
 A goshawk able to rend well'liis foe; '. 
 
 And in the boiling lake both fell. The heat ? 
 
 Was um|)ire soon between them, but in vain 140 
 
 To lift themselves tliey strove, so fast were glued 
 Their pennons. Barbariccia, as the rest, 
 That chance lamenting, four in flight disjiatch'd 
 From the' other coast, with all their weapons ai'm'd. 
 They, to their post on each side s])eedily 1-45 
 
 Descending, stretch'd their hooks toward the fiends, 
 Who flounder'd, inly burning from their scars : 
 And we departing left them to that broil. 
 
 CANTO XXIII. 
 
 In silence and in solitude Ave went. 
 One first, the other following his steps. 
 As minor friars journeying on tlieir road. 
 
 The present fray had turn'd my thoughts to muse 
 Upon old ^Esop's fable, where he told 5 
 
 What fate unto the mouse and frog befell. 
 For language hath not sounds more like in sense, 
 Than are these chances, if the origin 
 And end of each be heedfully com])ar'd. 
 And as one thought bursts from another forth, 10 
 
 So afterward from that another sprang. 
 Which added doubly to my former fear. 
 For thus I reason'd : " These throuu'h us have been
 
 78 HKLL. 
 
 So foil'd, with loss ;m(l Jiiock'ry so complete, 
 
 As needs iiitist stini^ llieiu sore. If aii^vr then 15 
 
 ]>e to their evil will eoiijuiiiM, more fell 
 
 They shall ])iirsue us, than the savau;e hound 
 
 Snatehes the leveret, ])antinL!; 'twixt liis jaws." 
 
 Already I ])erceiv'd my hair stand all 
 On end with terror, and look'd eager hack. 20 
 
 " 'J'eacher," I thus began, " if sjieedily 
 Tliyself and me thou hide not, much I dread 
 Those evil talons. Even now hehind 
 They urge us : quick imagination works 
 So forcibly, that I already feel them." 25 
 
 He answer'd : " Were I form'd of leaded glass, 
 I should not sooner draw unto myself 
 Thy outward image, than I now imprint 
 That from M'ithin. This moment came thy thoughts 
 Presented before mine, with similar act 30 
 
 And count'nance similar, so that from both 
 I one design have fram'd. If the right coast 
 Incline so much, that we may thence descend 
 Into the other chasm, we shall escape 
 Secure from this imagined pursuit." 35 
 
 He had not spoke his purjiose to the end, 
 When I from far beheld them with spread wings 
 Approach to take us. Suddenly my guide 
 Caught me, ev'n as a mother that from sleep 
 Is by the noise arous'd, and near her sees 40 
 
 The climbing fires, who snatches up her babe 
 And flies ne'er pausing, careful more of him 
 Than of herself, that but a single vest 
 Clings round her limbs. Down from the jutting beach 
 Supine he cast him, to tliat pendent rock, 45 
 
 Which closes on one part the other chasm. 
 
 Never ran water with such hurrying ])ace 
 Adown the tube to turn a land-miirs wheel. 
 When nearest it ap}>roaches to the spokes, 
 As then along that edge my master ran, 50 
 
 Carrying me in his bosom, as a child, 
 Not a companion. Scarcely had his feet 
 Reach'd to the lowest of the bed beneath,
 
 HELL. 79 
 
 Wlion over us the steep they renchM ; but fear 
 
 In him Avas none ; for tliat hi<j;li Providence, 55 
 
 Which ])hic'd tliem ministers of tlie fiftli foss, 
 
 Power of departing- tlience took from them all. 
 
 There in tlie depth we saw a painted trii)e, 
 Who pac'd with tardy ste])S around, and wept, 
 Faint in appearance and o'ercome witli toil. 60 
 
 Caps had they on, with hoods, that fell low down 
 Before their eyes, in fashion like to those 
 Worn by the monks in Cologne. Their outside 
 Was overlaid with gold, dazzling to view. 
 But leaden all within, and of such weight, 65 
 
 That Frederick's compar'd to these were straw. 
 Oh, everlasting wearisome attire ! 
 
 We yet once more with them together turn'd 
 To leftward, on their dismal moan intent. 
 But by the weight oj>]»ress'd, so slowly came 70 
 
 The fainting people, that our company 
 Was chang'd at every movement of the step. 
 
 Whence I my guide address'd : " See that thou find 
 Some spirit, whose name may by his deeds be known. 
 And to that end look round thee as thou go'st." 75 
 
 Then one, wiio understood the Tuscan voice, 
 Cried after us aloud : " Hold in your feet, 
 Ye who so swiftly speed through the dusk air. 
 Perchance from me thou shalt obtain thy wish." 
 
 Whereat my leader, turning, me bespake : 80 
 
 " Pause, and then onward at their pace proceed." 
 
 I staid, and saw two s])irits in whose look 
 Impatient eagerness of mind was mark'd 
 To overtake me ; but the load they bare 
 And narrow path retarded their a])proach. 85 
 
 Soon as arriv'd, they with an eye askance 
 Perus'd me, but spake not: then turning each 
 To other thus conferring said : " This one 
 Seems, by the action of his throat, alive. 
 And, be they dead, wliat privilege allows 90 
 
 They walk unmantled by the cumbrous stole ? " 
 
 Then thus to mo : " Tuscan, Avho visitest 
 The college of the mourning hypocrites,
 
 80 II KM.. 
 
 Disdnin not 1o instruct us who tliou art." 
 
 "By Anio's pleasant stre.aiii," I thus i-cplicfl, Oft 
 
 " In tlie great city I was bred aiul grew, 
 And wear the body 1 have ever worn. 
 But who are ye, from wliom sucli mighty grief, 
 As now I witness, coursetli down your cheeks? 
 What torment breaks foitli in tliis bitter woe?" 100 
 
 "Our bonnets gleaming briglit with orange hue," 
 One of tliem answer'd, "are so leatlen gi-oss, 
 That witli tlieir weight they make the balances 
 To crack beneath them. Joyous friars we were, 
 Bologna's natives, Catalano I, 105 
 
 He Loderingo nam'd, and by thy land 
 Together taken, as men used to take 
 A single and indifferent arbiter. 
 To reconcile their strifes. IIow there we sped, 
 Gardingo's vicinage can best declare." 110 
 
 " O friars ! " I began, " your miseries — " 
 But there brake off, for one had caught my eye, 
 Fix'd to a cross with three stakes on the ground : 
 He, when he saw me, Avrith'd himself, throughout 
 Distorted, rufHing with deep sighs his beard. 115 
 
 And Catalano, wlio thereof was 'ware. 
 Thus spake : " That ])ierced sj^irit, whom intent 
 Thou view'st, was he who gave the Pharisees 
 Counsel, that it were fitting for one man 
 To suffer for the peo})le. He doth lie 120 
 
 Transverse ; nor any passes, but him first 
 Behoves make feeling trial how each weighs. 
 In straits like this along the foss are plac'd 
 The father of his consort, and the rest 
 Partakers in that council, seed of ill 125 
 
 And sorrow to the Jews." 1 noted then. 
 How Virgil gaz'd with wonder upon him. 
 Thus abjectly extended on the cross 
 In banishment eternal. To tlie friar 
 Pie next his words address'd : " We pray ye tell, ISO 
 
 If so be lawful, whether on our right 
 Lies any opening in the rock, Avliereby 
 We both may issue hence, without constraint
 
 HELL. 81 
 
 Oil tlic dark aiigvls, tlial conipcll'd tliey come 
 
 To load us from tliis de|»tli." He tlius rcidied : 135 
 
 "Nearer than tlioii dost lioi)e, tliere is a rock 
 
 From the next circle movina', whicli o'erstej)s> 
 
 Each vale of horror, save that here his co})C 
 
 Is sliatter'd. By tlie ruiu ye may mount : 
 
 For on the side it slants, and most the height 14C 
 
 Iiises below." With head bent down awliile 
 
 My leader stood, then s])ake : " He warn'd us ill, 
 
 Who yonder hangs the sinners on his hook," 
 
 To whom the friar : At Bologna erst 
 I many vices of the devil heard, 145 
 
 Among tlie rest was said, ' He is a liai*. 
 And the father of lies ! ' " When he had spoke, 
 My leader with large strides ])roceeded on, 
 Somewhat disturb'd with anger in liis look. 
 
 I therefore left the s])irits heavy laden, 150 
 
 And following, his beloved footste]»s mark'd. 
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 In" the year's early nonage, ^\■hen the sun 
 
 Tempers his tresses in Aquarius' urn, 
 
 And now towards equal day the nights recede, 
 
 When as tlie rime u])on the earth jnits on 
 
 Her dazzling sister's image, but not long 5 
 
 Her milder sway endures, then risetli up 
 
 The village hind, whom fails his wintry store, 
 
 And looking out beholds the plain around 
 
 All whiten'd, whence impatiently he smites 
 
 His thighs, and to his hut returning in, 10 
 
 There paces to and fro, wailing his lot, 
 
 As a discomfited and heljiless man ; 
 
 Then comes he forth again, and feels new hojDe 
 
 Spring in his bosom, finding e'en thus soon 
 
 The world hath chang'd its count'nance, grasps his crook, 
 
 And forth to ])asture dl•i^•es his little flock : Ifc 
 
 So me my guide dishearten'd when I saw 
 
 His troubled forehead, and so speedily 
 
 I I II - ■. :■■— ^-- ---v-^ I I, mil nr I "T-i 'I ,.-,,.-.
 
 82 HELL. 
 
 That ill was ciirM ; for at the fallen hridge 
 
 Arriviiiti:, towards ine with a look as sweet, 20 
 
 lie turiiM him back, as that I first beheld 
 
 At the steep mountain's foot. Kegardinii; well 
 
 The ruin, and some counsel first maintain'd 
 
 With his own thought, heopen'd wide his arm 
 
 And took me up. As one, who, Avhile he works, 25 
 
 Computes his labour's issue, that he seems 
 
 Still to foresee the' effect, so lifting me 
 
 Up to the summit of one peak, he fix'd 
 
 His eye upon another. " Graj^ple that," 
 
 Said he, " but first make proof, if it be such 30 
 
 As will sustain thee." For one capp'd with lead 
 
 This Avere no journey. Scarcely he, though light, 
 
 And I, though onwar<l push'd from crag to crag. 
 
 Could mount. And if the precinct of this coast 
 
 Were not less am})le than the last, for him 35 
 
 I know not, but my strength had surely fail'd. 
 
 But Malebolge all toward the mouth 
 
 Inclining of the nethermost abyss, 
 
 The site of every valley hence requires. 
 
 That one side upward slope, the other fall. 40 
 
 At length the point of our descent we reach'd 
 From the last flag: soon as to that arriv'd. 
 So was the breath exhausted from my lungs, 
 I could no further, but did seat me there. 
 
 " Now needs thy best of man ; " so spake my guide : 45 
 "For not on downy plumes, nor nnder shade 
 Of canopy re])osing, fame is won. 
 Without which whosoe'er consumes his days 
 Leaveth such vestige of himself on earth. 
 As smoke in air or foam upon the wave. 50 
 
 Thou therefore rise : vanish thy Aveariness 
 By the mind's effort, in each struggle forin'd 
 ^To vanquish, if she suffer not the weight 
 Of her corporeal frame to crush her down. 
 A longer ladder yet remains to scale. 55 
 
 PVom these to have escap'd sufficeth not. 
 If well thou note mo, profit by my words." 
 
 I straightway rose, and show'd myself less spent
 
 HELL. 83 
 
 Than I in truth did feel me. " On," I cried, 
 
 " For I am stout and fearless." Up the rock GO 
 
 Our way we lield, more rugged than before, 
 
 Narrower and steeper far to climb. From talk 
 
 I ceas'd not, as we journey'd, so to seem 
 
 Least faint ; Avhereat a voice from the other foss 
 
 Did issue forth, for ntt'rance suited ill. 65 
 
 Though on the arch tliat crosses there I stood, 
 
 What were the words I knew not, but who spake 
 
 Seem'd mov'd in anger. Down I stoo])'d to look, 
 
 But my quick eye might reach not to the depth 
 
 For shrouding darkness; wherefore thus I spake: 70 
 
 " To the next circle, Teacher, bend thy steps. 
 
 And from the wall dismount we ; for as hence 
 
 I hear and understand not, so I see 
 
 Beneath, and naught discern." — "I answer not," 
 
 Said he, " but by tlie deed. To fair request 75 
 
 Silent performance maketh best return." 
 
 We from the bridge's head descended, where 
 To the eighth mound it joins, and then the chasm 
 Opening to A'iew, I saw a crowd within 
 Of ser])ents terrible, so strange of shape yO 
 
 And liideous, that remembrance in my veins 
 Yet shrinks the vital current. Of her sands 
 Let Lybia vaunt no more : if Jaculus, 
 Pareas and Chelyder be her brood, 
 
 Cenchris and Amphisba?na, plagues so dire 85 
 
 Or in such numbers swarming ne'er she shew'd, 
 Not Avith all Ethiopia, and whate'er 
 Above the Erythrrean sea is spawn'd. 
 
 Amid this dread exuberance of woe 
 Ran naked spirits Aving'd Avith horrid fear, 90 
 
 Nor hope had they of crevice Avhere to hide, 
 Or heliotrope to charm them out of view. 
 With serpents were their hands behind thera bound, 
 Which through their reins infix'd the tail and head 
 Twisted in folds before. And lo ! on one 95 
 
 Near to our side, darted an adder up. 
 And, Avhere the neck is on the shoulders tied, 
 Transpierc'd liim. Far more quickly tlian e'er pen
 
 84 IIKLL. 
 
 Wrote O or I, he kindled, buni'd, and chang'd 
 
 To aslies, all ])()ur'<l out upon the eailli. 100 
 
 When tliere dissolv'd he lay, the dust again 
 
 Uproll'd spontaneous, and the self-.sanie form 
 
 Instant resumed. So mighty sages tell, 
 
 The' Arabian Pliamix, wlien five hundred years 
 
 Have well nigh circled, dies, and springs forthwith 105 
 
 Kenascent. Blade nor lierb throughout his life 
 
 He tastes, but tears of frankincense alone 
 
 And odorous amomum : swaths of nard 
 
 And myrrh his funeral shroud. As one that falls, 
 
 He knows not how, by force demoniac dragg'd 110 
 
 To earth, or through obstruction fettering up 
 
 In chains invisible the powers of man, 
 
 Who, risen from his trance, gazeth around, 
 
 Bewilder'd with the monstrous agony 
 
 He hath endur'd, and wildly staring sighs ; 115 
 
 So stood aghast the sinner when he rose. 
 
 Oh! how severe God's judgment, that deals out 
 Such blows in stormy vengeance ! Who he was 
 My teacher next inquir'd, and thus in few 
 He answer'd : " Vanni Fucci am I call'd, 120 
 
 Not long since rained down from Tuscany 
 To this dire gullet. Me the beastial life 
 And not the human pleas'd, mule that I was, 
 Who in Pistoia found my worthy den." 
 
 I then to Virgil : " Bid him stir not hence, 125 
 
 And ask what crime did thrust him hither : once 
 A man I knew him choleric and bloody." 
 
 The sinner heard and feign'd not, but towards me 
 His mind directing and his face, wherein 
 Was dismal shame depictur'd, thus he spake : 130 
 
 " It grieves me more to have been caught by thee 
 In this sad plight, which thou beholdest, than 
 When I was taken from the other life. 
 I have no power permitted to deny 
 
 What thou inquirest. I am doom'd. thus low 135 
 
 To dwell, for that the sacristy by me 
 Was rifled of its goodly ornaments. 
 And with the guilt another falsely charged.
 
 HELL. 
 
 85 
 
 Bat that tliou may'st not joy to see me thus, 
 
 So as thou e'er shalt 'scape this darksome realm 140 
 
 Open thine ears and hear what I forebode. 
 
 Reft of the Neri first Pistoia pines, 
 
 Then Florence changeth citizens and laws. 
 
 From Valdimagra, drawn by wrathful Mars, 
 
 A vapour rises, w]'aj)t in turbid mists, 145 
 
 And sliarp and eager driveth on the storm 
 
 With arrowy hurtling o'er Piceno's field, 
 
 Whence suddenly the cloud shall burst, and strike 
 
 Each helpless Bianco prostrate to the ground. 
 
 This have I told, that grief may rend thy heart." 150 
 
 CANTO XXV. 
 
 Whei^ he had spoke, the sinner rais'd his hands 
 
 Pointed in mockery, and cried : " Take them, God ! 
 
 I level them at thee ! " From that day forth 
 
 The serpents were my friends ; for round his neck 
 
 One of tlien rolling twisted, as it said, 5 
 
 " Be silent, tongue ! " Another to his arms 
 
 TJpgliding, tied tliem, riveting itself 
 
 So close, it took from them the power to move. 
 
 Pistoia ! ah Pistoia ! why dost dovibt 
 To turn thee into ashes, curab'ring earth 10 
 
 No longer, since in evil act so far 
 Thou hast outdone thy seed ? I did not mark, 
 Tlirough all the gloomy circles of the' abyss, 
 Spirit, that swell'd so proudly 'gainst his God, 
 Not him, who headlong fell from Thebes. He fled, 15 
 Nor utter'd more ; and after liim there came 
 A centaur full of fury, shouting, " Where 
 Where is the caitiff?" On Maremma's marsh 
 Swarm not the serpent tribe, as on his haunch 
 They swarm'd, to where the human face begins. 20 
 
 Behind his head upon the shoulders lay. 
 With open wings, a dragon breathing fire 
 On whomsoe'er he met. To me my guide : 
 " Cacus is this, who underneath the rock
 
 86 HKI.L. 
 
 Of Aventine spre-id oft a, lake of blood. 25 
 
 He, from his brethren parted, here must tread 
 A different journey, for his fraudful tlieft 
 Of the great herd, tJiat near liim stall'd; whence found 
 Ilis felon deeds their end, beneatli the mace 
 Of stout Alcides, that ])erchance laid on . 30 
 
 A hundred blows, and not the tenth was felt." 
 While yet he spake, the centaur sped away: 
 And under us three spirits came, of whom 
 Nor I nor he was ware, till they exclaim'd ; 
 " Say who are ye?" We then brake off discourse, 35 
 Intent on these alone. I knew them not ; 
 But, as it chanceth oft, befell, that one 
 Had need to name another. " Where," said he, 
 " Doth Cianfa lurk ? " I, for a sign my guide 
 Should stand attentive, plac'd against my lips 40 
 
 The finger lifted. If, O reader ! now 
 Thou be not apt to credit what I tell, 
 No marvel ; for myself do scarce allow 
 The witness of mine eyes. But as I looked 
 Toward them, lo ! a serpent with six feet 45 
 
 Springs forth on one, and fastens full upon him : 
 His midmost grasp'd the belly, a forefoot 
 Seiz'd on each arm (while deep in either cheek 
 He flesh'd his fangs) ; the hinder on the thighs 
 Were spread, 'twixt which the tail inserted curl'd 50 
 
 Upon the reins behind. Ivy ne'er clasp'd 
 A dodder'd oak, as round the other's limbs 
 The liideous monster intertwin'd his own. 
 Then, as they both had been of burning wax, 
 Each melted into other, mingling hues, 55 
 
 That which was either now was seen no more. 
 Thus up the shrinking paper, ere it burns, 
 A brown tint glides, not turning yet to black, 
 And the clean white expires. The other two 
 Look'd on exclaiming: "Ah, how dost thou change, 60 
 Agnello ! See! Thou art nor double now, 
 Nor only one." The two heads now became 
 One, and two figures blended in one form 
 Appear'd, where both were lost. Of the four lengths
 
 Two arms were made : the belly and the chest 65 
 
 The thighs and legs into such nionibers ehang'd, 
 
 As never eye hath seen. Of former shape 
 
 All trace was vanish'd. Two yet neither seem'd 
 
 That image miscreate, and so pass'd on 
 
 With tardy steps. As underneath the scourge 70 
 
 Of the fierce dog-star, that lays bare the fields, 
 
 Shifting from bi-ake to brake, the lizard seems 
 
 A flash of lightning, if he thwart the road, 
 
 So toward th' entrails of the other two 
 
 Approaching seem'd, an adder all on fire, 75 
 
 As the dark pepper-grain, livid and swart. 
 
 In that part, whence our life is noui-ish'd first, 
 
 One he transpierc'd ; then down before him fell 
 
 Stretch'd out. The pierced spirit look'd on him 
 
 But spake not ; yea stood motionless and yawn'd, 80 
 
 As if by sleep or fev'rous fit assail'd. 
 
 He ey'd the serpent, and the serjient him. 
 
 One from the wound, the other from the month 
 
 Breath'd a thick smoke, whose vap'ry columns join'd. 
 
 Lncan in mute attention now may hear, 85 
 
 Nor thy disastrous fate, Sabellus ! tell. 
 Nor thine, Nasidius ! Ovid now be mute. 
 What if in warbling fiction he record 
 Cadmus and Arethusa, to a snake 
 
 Him ehang'd, and her into a fountain clear, 90 
 
 I envy not ; for never face to face 
 Two natures thus transmuted did he sing. 
 Wherein both shapes were ready to assume 
 The other's substance. They in mutual guise 
 So answer'd, that the serpent split his train 95 
 
 Divided to a fork, and the ])ierc'd spirit 
 DrcAV close his steps together, legs and thighs 
 Compacted, that no sign of juncture soon 
 Was visible : the tail disparted took 
 The figure Avhich the spirit lost, its skin 100 
 
 Soft'ning, his indurated to a rind. 
 The shoulders next I mark'd, that ent'ring join'd 
 The monster's arm-])it8, whose two shorter feet 
 So lengthen'd, as the other's dwindling shrunk.
 
 88 nETX. 
 
 The feet bcliind then twisting up bocnine \'t'j 
 
 Tli.-it part tliat man conceals, whicli in tlic wrct(^l) 
 
 Was clciLt in twain. While both the shadowy smoke 
 
 With a new colour veils, and generates 
 
 Th' excrescent ])ile on one, peeling it off 
 
 From th' other body, lo ! upon his feet 110 
 
 One upright rose, and pi-one the other fell. 
 
 Not yet their glaring and malignant lamps 
 
 Were shifted, though each feature chang'd beneath. 
 
 Of him who stood erect, the mounting face 
 
 Retreated towards the temples, and Avhat there 115 
 
 Superfluous matter came, shot out in ears 
 
 From the smooth cheeks ; the rest, not backward dragg'd, 
 
 Of its excess did sha]>e the nose; and swell'd 
 
 Into due size protuberant the lips. 
 
 lie, on the earth who lay, meanwhile extends 120 
 
 Ilis sharpen'd visage, and draws down the cars 
 
 Into the head, as doth the slug his horns. I 
 
 His tongue continuous before and apt ! 
 
 For utt'rance, severs ; and the other's fork 
 
 Closing unites. That done the smoke was laid. 125 
 
 The soul, transform'd into the brute, glides off, 
 
 Hissing along the vale, and after him 
 
 The other talking sputters ; but soon turn'd 
 
 His new-grown shoulders on hira, and in few ' 
 
 Thus to another si)ake : "Along this path 130 
 
 Crawling, as I have done, speed Buoso now ! " 
 
 So saw I fluctuate in successive change 
 Th' unsteady ballast of the seventh hold : 
 And here if aught my tongue have swerv'd, events 
 So strange may be its warrant. O'er niine eyes 135 
 
 Confusion hung, and on my thoughts amaze. 
 
 Yet 'scap'd they not so covertly, but well 
 I mark'd Sciancato : he alone it was 
 
 Of the three first that came, who chang'd not : thou, | 
 
 The other's fate, Gaville, still dost rue. 140
 
 HELL. 89 
 
 CANTO XXVI. 
 
 Florence exult ! for thou so mightily 
 
 llast thriven, that o'er laud and sea thy wings 
 
 Thou beatest, and thy name spreads over hell ! 
 
 Among the phmd'rers such the three I found 
 
 Thy citizens, whence shame to me thy son, 5 
 
 And no proud honour to thyself redounds. 
 
 But if our minds, when dreaming near the dawn, 
 Are of the truth presageful, thou ere long 
 Shalt feel what Prato, (not to say the rest) 
 Would fain might come upon thee; and that chance 10 
 Were in good time, if it befell thee now. 
 Would so it Avere, since it must needs befall ! 
 For as time wears nie, I shall grieve the more. 
 
 We from the depth departed ; and my guide 
 Kemounting scal'd the flinty steps, Avhich late 15 
 
 We downward trac'd, and drew me up the steep. 
 Pursuing thus our solitary way 
 Among the crags and splinters of the rock, 
 Sped not our feet without the help of hands. 
 
 Then sorrow seiz'd me, which e'en now revives, 20 
 
 As my thought turns again to what I saw, 
 And, more than I am wont, I rein and curb 
 The powers of nature in me, lest they run 
 Where Virtue guides not ; that if aught of good 
 My gentle star, or something better gave me, 25 
 
 I envy not myself the precious boon. 
 
 As in that season, when the sun least veils 
 His face that lightens all, what time the fly 
 Gives way to the shrill gnat, the peasant then 
 Upon some cliff reclin'd, beneath him sees 30 
 
 Fire-flies innumerous spangling o'er the vale, 
 Vineyard or tilth, where his day-labour lies : 
 With flames so numberless throughout its space 
 Shone the eighth cliasm, apparent, when the depth 
 Was to my view expos'd. As he, Avhose wrongs 35 
 
 The bears aveng'd, at its dei)arture saw 
 Elijah's chariot, when the steeds erect 
 Rais'd their steep flight for heav'n ; his eyes meanwhile,
 
 90 HELL. 
 
 StrnininGj parsii'd them, till tlie flame alone 
 
 Upsoariug like a misty s|)(;ck he keiiii'd ; 40 
 
 E'en thus along the gulf moves every flame, 
 
 A sinner so enfolded close in each, 
 
 That none exhibits token of the theft. 
 
 U])on the bridge I forward Lent to look. 
 And grasp'd a flinty mass, or else had fall'n, 45 
 
 Though push'd not from the height. The guide, M'ho 
 
 mark'd 
 HoAV I did gaze attentive, thus began : 
 " Within these ardours are the spirits, each 
 Swath'd in confining fire," — " Master, thy word," 
 I answer'd, " hath assur'd me ; yet I deem'd 50 
 
 Already of the truth, already wish'd 
 To ask thee, Avho is in yon fire, that comes 
 So parted at the summit, as it seem'd 
 Ascending from that funeral pile, where lay 
 The Theban brothers ? " He replied : " Within 55 
 
 Ulysses there and Diomede endure 
 Their penal tortures, thus to vengeance now 
 Together hasting, as erewhile to wrath. 
 These in the flame with ceaseless groans deplore 
 The ambush of the horse, tliat open'd wide 60 
 
 A portal for that goodly seed to pass, 
 Which sow'd imperial Rome ; nor less the guile 
 Lament they, whence of her Achilles 'reft 
 Deidamia yet in death complains. 
 
 And there is rued the stratagem, that Troy 65 
 
 Of her Palladium s]>oil'd." — " If they have power 
 0£ utt'rance from within these sparks," said I, 
 " O master ! think my prayer a thousand fold 
 In repetition urg'd, that tliou vouchsafe 
 To pause, till here the horned flame arrive. 70 
 
 See, how toward it with desire I bend." 
 
 He thus: " Thy prayer is worthy of much praise, 
 And I accept it therefore : but do thou 
 Thy tongue refrain : to question them be mine, 
 Por I divine thy wish : and they perchance, 75 
 
 For they were Greeks, might shun discourse with thee." 
 
 Wlien there the flame had come, where time and place
 
 IIELT,. 91 
 
 SeeTu'd fitting to my guide, he thus began : 
 
 " O ye, who dwell two sj)ints in one fire ! 
 
 If living I of you did merit auglit, 80 
 
 Whate'er the measm-e were of that desert, 
 
 Wlien in the world my lofty strain I pour'd, 
 
 Move ye not on, till one of you unfold 
 
 In what clime death o'ertook him self-destroy'd." 
 
 Of the old flame forthwith the greater horn 85 
 
 Began to roll, murmuring, as a fire 
 That labours with the wind, then to and fro 
 Wagging the top, as a tongue uttering sounds, 
 Threw out its voice, and spake : " Wlien I escap'd 
 From Circe, who beyond a circling year 90 
 
 Had held me near Caieta, by her charms, 
 Ere thus ^neas yet had nam'd the shore, 
 Nor fondness for my son, nor reverence 
 Of my old father, nor return of love. 
 
 That should have crown'd Penelope witli joy, 95 
 
 Could overcome in me the zeal I liad 
 T' explore tlie world, and search the ways of life, 
 Man's evil and his virtue. Forth I sail'd 
 Into the deep illimitable main, 
 
 With but one bark, and the small faithful band 100 
 
 That yet cleav'd to me. As Iberia far, 
 Far as Morocco either shore I saw, 
 And the Sardinian and each isle beside 
 Which round that ocean bathes. Tardy with age 
 Were I and my companions, when we came 105 
 
 To the strait pass, where Hercules ordain'd 
 The bound'ries not to be o'erstepp'd by man. 
 The walls of Seville to my right I left. 
 On the' other hand already Ceuta past. 
 ' O brothers ! ' I began, who to the west 110 
 
 ' Through ])erils without number now have reach' d, 
 ' To this the short remaining -watch, that yet 
 ' Our senses have to wake, refuse not proof 
 ' Of the unpco]iled world, following the track 
 ' Of Phoebus. Call to mind from wlience we sprang: 115 
 *Ye were not form'd to live the life of brutes, 
 ' But virtue to pursue and knowledge liigh.'
 
 92 IIKTiT-. 
 
 Witli tliosc few words I s]iav])eir(l for tlio voyage 
 
 The mind of my assoc.inlcs, tliat T then 
 
 Cotdd scarcely liave withhold Ihcni. "^fo the dawn 120 
 
 Our ])oo]> wc turiiM, and for the witless Hioht 
 
 IMade our oars wings, still gaining on the left. 
 
 Each star of the' other pole night now helield,- 
 
 And ours so low, that from the ocean-floor 
 
 It rose not. Five times re-illum'd, as oft 125 
 
 Vanish'd the light from underneath the moon 
 
 Since the deep way we enter'd, when from far 
 
 Appear'd a mountain dim, loftiest metliought 
 
 Of all I e'er beheld. Joy seiz'd us straight, 
 
 But soon to mourning changed. From the new land 130 
 
 A wliirlwind sprung, and at her foremost side 
 
 Did strike the vessel. Thrice it whiri'd her round 
 
 With all the M^aves, the fourth time lifted up 
 
 The poop, and sank the prow : so fate decreed : 
 
 And over us the boomin<r billow clos'd." 135 
 
 CANTO XXVII. 
 
 Now upward rose the flame, and still'd its light 
 
 To speak no more, and now pass'd on with leave 
 
 From the mild poet gain'd, when following came 
 
 Another, from whose top a sound confus'd. 
 
 Forth issuing, drew our eyes that way to look. 5 
 
 As the Sicilian bull, that rightfully 
 ITis cries first echoed, who had shap'd its mould, 
 Did so rebellow, with the voice of him 
 Tormented, that the brazen monster seem'd 
 Pierc'd thi-ough with pain ; thus while no way they 
 found ' lb 
 
 Nor avenue immediate through the flame, 
 Into its language turn'd the dismal words : 
 But soon as they had Avon their passage forth, 
 Up from the point, which vibrating obey'd 
 Their motion at the tongue, these sounds we lieard : 15 
 " O thou ! to whom I now direct my voice ! 
 That lately didst exclaim in Lombard phrase,
 
 HELL. 93 
 
 De])art tliou, I solicit thee no more,' 
 Though somcwliat tardy I perchance arrive, 
 Let it not irk thee here to pause awhile, 20 
 
 And with me parley: lo ! it irks not me 
 And yet I burn. If but e'en now thou fall 
 Into this blind world, from that pleasant land 
 Of Latium, whence I draw my sum of guilt, 
 Tell me if those, who in liomagna dwell, 25 
 
 Have peace or war. For of the mountains there 
 Was I, betwixt Urbino and the height. 
 Whence Tyber first unlocks his miglity flood." 
 
 Leaning I listen'd yet with heedful ear, 
 When, as he touch'd my side, the leader thus : 30 
 
 " Speak thou : he is a Latian." My reply 
 Was ready, and I spake without delay : 
 
 " O spirit ! who art hidden here below ! 
 Never was thy Romagna without war 
 In her proud tyrants' bosoms, nor is now : 35 
 
 But open war there left I none. The state, 
 Ravenna hath maintain'd this many a year, 
 Is steadfast. There Polenta's eagle broods. 
 And in his broad circumference of plume 
 O'ershadows Cervia. The green talons grasp 40 
 
 The land, that stood erewhile the proof so long. 
 And ])il'd in bloody lieap the host of France. 
 
 " The' old mastiff of Verruchio and the young, 
 That tore Montagna in their wrath, still make, 
 Where they are wont, an augre of their fangs. 45 
 
 " Lamone's city and Santerno's range 
 Under the lion of the snowy lair. 
 Inconstant partisan ! that changeth sides. 
 Or ever summer yields to winter's frost. 
 And she, whose flank is wash'd of Savio's wave, 50 
 
 As 'twixt the level and the steep she lies, 
 Lives so 'twixt tyrant power and liberty. 
 
 " Now tell us, I entreat thee, who art thou? 
 Be not more hard than others. In the world. 
 So may thy name still rear its forehead high." 55 
 
 Then roar'd awhile the fire, its sharpcn'd point 
 On either side wav'd, and tlius breath'd at last :
 
 94 HELL. 
 
 " If I flifl tliink my answer were to one, 
 
 Wlio ever could return unto tlie world, 
 
 This flame should rest unshaken. But since ne'er, 60 
 
 If true be told me, any from this dej)th 
 
 Has found his ujnvard way, I answer thee, 
 
 Nor fear lest infamy record the words. 
 
 " A man of arms at first, I cloth'd me then 
 In o-ood Saint Francis' girdle, hoping so 65 
 
 T' have made amends. And certainly my hope 
 Had fail'd not, but that he, whom curses light on, 
 The' high priest again seduc'd me into sin. 
 And how and wlierefore listen while I tell. 
 Long as this s])irit mov'd the bones and pulp 70 
 
 My mother gave me, less my deeds bespake 
 The nature of the lion than the fox. 
 All ways of winding subtlety I knew. 
 And with such art conducted, that the sound 
 Reach'd the world's limit. Soon as to that part 75 
 
 Of life I found me come, when each behoves 
 To lower sails and gather in the lines ; 
 That which before had pleased me then I rued, 
 And to repentance and confession turn'd; 
 Wretch tliat I was! and well it had bested me! 80 
 
 The chief of the new Pharisees meantime, 
 Waging his Avarfare near the Lateran, 
 Not with the Saracens or Jews (his foes 
 All Christians were, nor against Acre one 
 Had fought, nor traffic'd in the Soldan's land), 85 
 
 He his great charge nor sacred ministry 
 In himself, rev'ren(;'d, nor in me that cord. 
 Which us'd to mark with leanness whom it girded. 
 As in Socrate, Constantino besoughi 
 
 To cure his leprosy Sylvester's aid, 90 
 
 So me to cure the fever of his pride 
 This man besought : my counsel to that end 
 He ask'd : and I was silent : for his words 
 Seem'd drunken : but forthwith he thus resura'd : 
 'From thy heart banish fear: of all offence 95 
 
 • I hithei"to absolve thee. In return, 
 ' Teach me my jmrpose so to execute,
 
 HELL, 95 
 
 ' That Penostrino cumber earth no more. 
 
 'Hcav'n, as tliou knoAvest, I Imve power to shut 
 
 'And o]>en : and the keys are therefore twain, 100 
 
 'Tlie which my predecessor meanly priz'd.' 
 
 " Then, yielding to tlie forceful arguments, 
 Of silence as more perilous I deem'd. 
 And answer'd : ' Father ! since thoii washest me 
 ' Clear of that guilt wherein I now must fall, 105 
 
 'Large promise Avith performance scant, be sure, 
 ' Shall make thee triumph in thy lofty seat.' 
 
 " When I was number'd with the dead, then came 
 Saint Francis for me; but a cherub dark 
 He met, who cried : ' Wrong me not; he is mine, 
 'And must below to join the wretched crew, 110 
 
 ' For the deceitful counsel which he gave. 
 ' E'er since I watch'd him, hov'ring at his hair, 
 ' No power can the im])enitent absolve ; 
 'Nor to repent and will at once consist, 
 ' By contradiction absolute forbid.' 115 
 
 Oh mis'ry ! how I shook myself, when he 
 Seiz'd me, and cried, ' Thou haply thought'st me not 
 'A disputant in logic so exact.' 
 To Minos down he bore me, and the judge 
 Twin'd eight times round his callous back the tail, 120 
 Which biting with excess of rage, he spake : 
 ' This is a guilty soul, that in the fire 
 ' Must vanish,' Hence perdition-doom'd I rove 
 A prey to rankling sorrow in this garb." 
 
 When he had thus fulfill'd his words, the flame 125 
 In dolour parted, beating to and fro. 
 And writhing its sharp horn. We onward went, 
 I and my leader, np along the rock, 
 Far as another arch, that overhangs 
 
 The foss, wherein the penalty is paid 130 
 
 Of those, who load them with committed sin. 
 
 CANTO XXYIII. 
 
 Who, e'en in words unfetter'd, might at full 
 Tell of the wounds and blood that now I saw,
 
 96 HELL. 
 
 Tliougli he repeated oft the tale? No toMgue 
 
 So vast a theine could equal, speech and tliought 
 
 Both iui])otcnt alike. If in one band 6 
 
 Collected, stood the people all, who e'er 
 
 Pour'd on Apulia's haj)])y soil their blood, 
 
 Slain by the Trojans, and in that long war 
 
 Wlien of the rings the nieasur'd booty made 
 
 A pile so high, as Rome's historian Avrites 10 
 
 Who errs not, with the multitude, that felt 
 
 The grinding force of Guiscard's Norman steel, 
 
 And those the rest, whose bones are gather'd yet 
 
 At Ceperano, there where treachery 
 
 Branded th' Apulian name, or where beyond 15 
 
 Thy walls, O Tagliacozzo, without arms 
 
 Tlie old Alardo conquer'd ; and his limbs 
 
 One were to show transpierc'd, another his 
 
 Clean lopt away ; a s])ectaclc like this 
 
 Were but a thing of nought, to the' hideous sight 20 
 
 Of the ninth chasm. A rundlet, that hath lost 
 
 Its middle or side stave, gapes not so wide. 
 
 As one I mark'd, torn from the cliin throughout 
 
 Down to the hinder passage : 'twixt the legs 
 
 Dangling his entrails hung, the midriff lay 25 
 
 Open to view, and wretched ventricle. 
 
 That turns th' cnglutted aliment to dross. 
 
 Whilst eagerly I fix on him my gaze. 
 He ey'd me, with his hands laid his breast bare, 
 And cried ; " Now mark how I do rip me ! lo ! 30 
 
 How is Mohammed mangled ! before me 
 Walks AH weeping, from the chin his face 
 Cleft to the forelock ; and the others all 
 Whom here thou seest, while they liv'd, did sow 
 Scandal and schism, and therefore thus are rent. 35 
 
 A fiend is here behind, who with his sword 
 Hacks us thus cruelly, slivering again 
 Each of this ream, when Ave have compast round 
 The dismal way, for first our gashes close 
 Ere Ave re])ass before him. But say Avho 40 
 
 Art thou, that standest musing on the rock, 
 Haply so lingering to delay the pain 
 
 i i 1 1 i > rii iftfiili'-" ''i' ■'•^'^•---■°^^-
 
 IIKLL. 97 
 
 Sontenc'd upon thy crimes?" — "Him death not yet," ] 
 
 My miide rejoin'd, " liath overt.'i'en, nor sin 
 
 Conducts to torment; hut, tliat lie may make 45 
 
 Full trial of your state, I who am dead 
 
 ]\[ust tlu-ough the depths of hell, from orb to orb. 
 
 Conduct him. Trust my words, for they are true." 
 
 More than a hundred spirits, when tliat they heard, 
 Stood in the foss to mark me, through amaze 50 
 
 Forgetful of their pangs. " Thou, who perchance 
 Shalt shortly view the sun, this warning thou 
 Bear to Dolcino : bid him, if he wish not 
 Here soon to follow me, that with good store 
 Of food he arm him, lest impris'ning snows 55 
 
 Yield hira a victim to Novara's power, 
 No easy conquest else." With foot uprais'd 
 For stepping, spake Mohammed, on the ground 
 Then fix'd it to depart. Another shade, 
 Pierc'd in the throat, his nostrils miitilate 60 
 
 E'en from beneath the eyebrows, and one ear 
 Lopt off, who Avith the rest through wonder stood . 
 Gazing, before the rest advanc'd, and bar'd 
 His Avind-pipe, that without was all o'ersmear'd 
 With crimson stain. " O thou ! " said he, " whom sin 65 
 Condemns not, and whom erst (unless too near 
 Resemblance do deceive me) I aloft 
 Have seen on Latian ground, call thou to mind 
 Piero of Medicina, if again 
 
 Returning, thou behold'st the pleasant land 70 
 
 That from Vercelli slopes to Mercabo ; 
 And there instruct the twain, whom Fano boasts 
 Her Avorthiest sons, Guido and Angelo, 
 That if 't is giv'n us here to scftn aright 
 The future, they out of life's tenement 75 
 
 Shall be cast forth, and whelm'd under the waves 
 Near to Cattolica, through perfidy 
 Of a fell tyrant. 'T^vixt the Cy])rian isle 
 And Balearic, ne'er liath Neptune seen 
 An injury so foul, by pirates done 80 
 
 Or Argive crew of old. That one-eyM traitor 
 (Whose realm there is a spirit here were fain 
 
 7
 
 98 UKLL. 
 
 His eye liad still lackM sioht of) them sliall bring 
 
 To conf vence Avith liim, then so sh:ii)e liis end, 
 
 That they sliall need not 'gainst Focara's wind 85 
 
 Offer up vow nor pray'r." I answering thus: 
 
 " Declare, as thou dost wish that I above 
 
 May carry tidings of thee, who is he. 
 
 In whom that sight doth wake such sad remembrance?" 
 
 Forthwith he laid liis hand on the cheek-bone 90 
 
 Of one, his fellow-spirit, and his jaws 
 Expanding, cried : " Lo ! this is he I wot of; 
 He speaks not for himself : tlie outcast this 
 Who overwhebn'd the doubt in Cicsar's mind, 
 Affirming that delay to men prepar'd 95 
 
 Was ever harmful. Oh ! how terrified 
 Methought was Curio, from whose throat was cut 
 The tongue, which spake that hardy word. Then one 
 Maim'd of each hand, uplifted in the gloom 
 The bleeding stumps, that they with gory spots 100 
 
 Sullied his face, and cried : " Remember thee 
 Of Mosca, too, I who, alas ! exclaim'd, 
 ' The cleed once done thei-e is an end,' that prov'd 
 A seed of sorrow to the Tuscan race." 
 
 I added: "Ay, and death to thine own tribe." 105 
 
 Whence heaping woe on woe he hurried off. 
 As one grief stung to madness. But I there 
 Still linger'd to behold the troop, and saw 
 Things, such as I may fear without more proof 
 To tell of, but that conscience makes me firm, 110 
 
 The boon companion, avIio her strong breast-plate 
 Buckles on him, that feels no guilt within 
 And bids him on and fear not. Without doubt 
 I saw, and yet it seems to^pass before me, 
 A headless trunk, that even as the rest 115 
 
 Of the sad flock pac'd onward. By the hair 
 It boi-e the sever'd member, lantern-wise 
 Pendent in hand, which look'd at us and said, 
 " Woe's me ! " The spirit lighted thus himself, 
 And two there Avere in one, and one in two. 120 
 
 Hov/ that may be he knows who ordereth so. 
 
 When at the bridge's foot direct he stood,
 
 HELL. 99 
 
 His arm aloft lie rearVl, tlnustinir tlio head 
 
 Full in our view, that nearer we niiixht hear 
 
 The words, whicli thus it utter'd : "Now behold 125 
 
 This grievous torment, thou, who breathing go'st 
 
 To spy the dead ; behold if any else 
 
 Be terrible as this. And that on earth 
 
 Thou mayst bear tidings of me, know that I 
 
 Am Bertrand, he of Born, who gave King John 130 
 
 The counsel mischievous. Father and son 
 
 I set at mutual war. For Absalom 
 
 And David more did not Ahitophel, 
 
 S]iurring them on maliciously to strife. 
 
 For parting those so closely knit, my brain 135 
 
 Parted, alas ! I carry from its source, 
 
 That in this trunk inhabits. Thus the law 
 
 Of retribution fiercely works in me." 
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 So were mine eyes inebriate with view 
 
 Of the vast multitude, whom various wounds 
 
 Disfigui-'d, that they long'd to stay and weep. 
 
 But Virgil rous'd me: "What yet gazest on ? 
 Wherefore doth fasten yet thy sight below 5 
 
 Among the maim'd and miserable sliades? 
 Thou hast not shewn in any chasm beside 
 This weakness. Know, if thou Avouldst number them 
 That two and twenty miles the valley winds 
 Its circuit, and already is the moon 10 
 
 Beneath our feet : the time permitted now 
 Is short, and more not seen remains to see." 
 
 "If thou," I straight replied, "hadst weigh'd the cause 
 For Avhich I look'd, thou hadst perchance excus'd 
 The tarrying still." ]My leader part pursu'd 15 
 
 His Avay, the while I follow'd, answering him, 
 And adding thus : " Within that cave I deem, 
 Wliereon so fixedly I held my ken, 
 There is a spirit dwells, one of my blood. 
 Wailing the crime that costs liim now so dear." 20
 
 IGO HELL. 
 
 Tlicu spake my master : " Let thy soul no more 
 Afflict itself for liim. Direct elsewhere 
 Its thouo'ht, and leave him. At the briflg-e's foot 
 I mark'd how he did point with menacin<2f look 
 At thee, and heard him by the others nam'd 25 
 
 Geri of Bello. Thou so wholly then 
 Wert busied with his spirit, who once rnl'd 
 The towers of Hautefort, that thou iookedst not 
 That way, ere he was gone." — " O guide belov'd ! 
 His violent death yet unaveng'd," said I, 30 
 
 " By any, who are partners in his shame, 
 Made him contemptuous : therefore, as I think, 
 He pass'd me speechless by ; and doing so 
 Hath made me more compassionate his fate." 
 
 So Ave discours'd to where the rock first show'd 35 
 
 The other valley, had more light been there, 
 E'en to the lowest depth. Soon as we came 
 O'er the last cloister in the dismal rounds 
 Of Malebolge, and the brotherhood 
 
 Were to our view expos'd, then many a dart 40 
 
 Of sore lament assail'd me, headed all 
 With points of thrilling ]')ity, that I clos'd 
 Both ears against the volley Avith mine hands. 
 
 As were the torment, if each lazar-house 
 Of Valdichiana, in the sultry time 45 
 
 'Twixt July and September, with the isle 
 Sardinia and Marennna's pestilent fen. 
 Had heap'd their maladies all in one foss 
 Together ; such was here the torment : dire 
 The stench, as issuing steams from fester'd limbs. 50 
 
 We on the utmost shore of the long rock 
 Descended still to leftward. Tiien my sight 
 Was livelier to explore the depth, wherein 
 The minister of the most mighty Lord, 
 All-searching .Justice, dooms to punishment 55 
 
 The forgers noted on her dread record. 
 
 More rueful was it not methinks to see 
 The nation in ^gina droop, what time 
 Each living thing, e'en to the little worm, 
 All fell, so full of malice was the air 60
 
 HELL. 1"! 
 
 (And aftorwarrl, ns ]inr(ls of yore have told, 
 
 The ancient ])eo]>le were restor'd anew 
 
 From seed of emmets) than was here to see 
 
 Tlie s])irits, tliat Languisli'd tlirough the mnrky vale 
 
 ITp-pil'd on many a stack. Confus'd they lay, G5 
 
 One o'er the belly, o'er the shoulders one 
 
 Roll'd of another ; sideling crawl'd a third 
 
 Along the dismal ]iathway. Step by step 
 
 We journey'd on, in silence looking round 
 
 And list'ning those discas'd, who strove in vain 70 
 
 To lift their forms. Then two I mark'd, that sat 
 
 Propp'd 'gainst each other, as two brazen pans 
 
 Set to retain the heat. From head to foot, 
 
 A tetter bark'd them round. N"or saw I e'er 
 
 Groom currj-ing so fast, for whom his lord 75 
 
 Impatient waited, or himself perchance 
 
 Tir'd with long watching, as of these each one 
 
 Plied quickly his keen nails, through furiousness 
 
 Of ne'er abated pruriency. The crust 
 
 Came drawn from underneath in flakes, like scales 80 
 
 Scra])'d from the bream or fish of broader mail, 
 
 " O thou, who with thy fingers rendest off 
 Thy coat of proof," thus spake my guide to one, 
 " And sometimes makest tearing pincers of them, 
 Tell me if any born of Latian land 85 
 
 Be among these within : so may thy nails 
 Serve thee for everlasting to this toil." 
 
 "Both are of Latium," weeping he replied, 
 " Whom tortur'd thus thou seest : but who art thou 
 That hast inquir'd of us?" To whom my guide : 90 
 
 "One that descend with this man, who yet lives, 
 Fi'om rock to rock, and show him hell's abyss." 
 
 Then started they asunder, and each turn'd 
 Trembling toward us, with the rest, whose ear 
 Those words redounding struck. To me my liege 95 
 
 Address'd him: " Speak to them whate'er thou list." 
 
 And I therewith began : " So may no time 
 Filch your remembrance from the thoughts of men 
 In th' upper world, but after many suns 
 Survive it, as ye tell ine, who ye are, 100 
 
 J
 
 l02 TIKT,L. 
 
 And of what rnce yo como. Your jdinisliincnt, 
 
 Unseemly and disgustful in its kind, 
 
 Deter you not from o])eninjj thus much to me." 
 
 " Arezzo was my dwelliua'," answer'd one, 
 "And me Albero of Sienna broutrht 105 
 
 To die hy fire ; hut that, for Avhicli I died. 
 Leads me not liere. True is in sjiort I told him, 
 That I had learn'd to wing my flight in air. 
 And he admiring mucli, as he was void 
 Of wisdom, will'd me to declare to liim 110 
 
 The secret of mine art : and only hence. 
 Because I made him not a ])a3dalus, 
 Prevail'd on one sujipos'd liis sire to burn me. 
 But Minos to this chasm last of the ten, 
 For that I ]iractis'd alchemy on earth, 115 
 
 Has doom'd me. Him no subterfuge eludes." 
 
 Then to the bard I spake : " Was ever race 
 Light as Sienna's? Sure not France herself 
 Can show a tribe so frivolous and vain." 
 
 The other leprous spirit heard my words, 120 
 
 And thus rcturn'd : " Be Stvicca from this charge 
 Exempted, he who knew so tcm])'rately 
 To lay out fortune's gifts ; and Niccolo 
 Who first the spice's costly luxury 
 
 Discover'd in that garden, whei'e such seed 125 
 
 Roots deepest in the soil : and be that troop 
 Exempted, with whom Cacciaof Asciano 
 Lavish'd his vineyards and wide-spreading woods, 
 And his rare wisdom Abbagliato sliow'd 
 A spectacle for all. That thou inayst know 130 
 
 Who seconds thee against the Siennese 
 'l"'hus gladly, bend this Avay thy sharpen'd sight, 
 That well my face may answer to thy ken ; 
 So shalt thou see I am Capocchio's ghost. 
 Who forg'd transmuted metals by the power 135 
 
 Of alchemy ; and if I scan thee right. 
 Thus needs must "svell remendei' liow I aped 
 Creative nature by my subtle art."
 
 103 
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 What time resentment burn'd in Juno's breast 
 
 For Semele against the Theban blood, 
 
 As more than once in dire mischance Avas rued, 
 
 Such fatal frenzy seiz'd on Athamas, 
 
 That he his spouse beholding with a babe 5 
 
 Laden on either arm, " Spread out," he cried, 
 
 *' The meshes, that I take the lioness 
 
 And the young lions at the pass : " then forth 
 
 Stretch'd he his merciless talons, grasping one, 
 
 One helpless innocent, Learchus nam'd, 10 
 
 Whom swinging down he dasli'd upon a rock. 
 
 And wdth her other burden self-destroy'd 
 
 The hapless mother plung'd : and Avhen the pride 
 
 Of all-presuming Troy fell from its height. 
 
 By fortune overwhelm'd, and the old king 15 
 
 With his realm perish'd, then did Hecuba, 
 
 A wretch forlorn and ca])tive, when she saw 
 
 Polyxena first slaughter'd, and her son, 
 
 Her Polydorus, on the wild sea-beach 
 
 Next met the mourner's view, then reft of sense 20 
 
 Did she run barking even as a dog ; 
 
 Such mighty power had grief to wrench her soul. 
 
 Bet ne'er the Furies or of Thebes or Troy 
 
 With such fell cruelty were seen, their goads 
 
 Infixing in the limbs of man or beast, 25 
 
 As now two pale and naked ghost I saw 
 
 Thatgnarling wildly scam])er'd, like the swine 
 
 Excluded from his stye. One reach'd Capocchio, 
 
 And in the neck-joint sticking dee]) his fangs, 
 
 Dragg'd him, that o'er the solid i>avement rubb'd 150 
 
 His belly stretch'd out prone. The other shape. 
 
 He of Arezzo, there left trembling, s])ake ; 
 
 " That sprite of air is Schicchi ; in like mood 
 
 Of random mischief vent he still his spite." 
 
 To wdiom I answ'ring : " Oh ! as thou dost hope, 35 
 The other may not flesh its jaws on thee. 
 Be patient to inform us, who it is. 
 Ere it speed hence." — " That is the ancient soul
 
 104 IIKLL. 
 
 Of wrctcliod iMyn-lia," lie ro]ilio<l, " wlio l>iini\l 
 
 AVitli most uiilioly ilaiiie for lioi' own sii-e, 40 
 
 And a false slmpe assuming, so performVl 
 
 The deed of sin ; e'en as tlie otlier tliere, 
 
 Tiiat onward passes, dar'd to counterfeit 
 
 Donati's features, to feign'd testament 
 
 The seal affixing, that himself might gain, 45 
 
 For his own share, the lady of the herd." 
 
 When vanish'd the two furious shades, on whom 
 Mine eye was held, I turn'd it back to view 
 The other cursed sjtirits. One I saw 
 
 In fashion like a lute, had but the groin 50 
 
 Been sevcr'd, where it meets the forked part. 
 Swoln dro])sy, disi)roportioning the limbs 
 With ill-converted moisture, tliat the ])aunch 
 Suits not the visage, opeu'd wide his lips 
 Gasping as in the hectic man for drought, 55 
 
 One towards the chin, the other upward curl'd. 
 
 " O ye, who in this world of misery. 
 Wherefore I know not, are exempt from pain," 
 Thus he began, " attentively regard 
 
 Adamo's woe. When living, full supply GO 
 
 Ne'er lack'd me of what most I coveted ; 
 One drop of water now, alas ! I crave. 
 The rills, that glitter down the grassy slopes 
 Of Casentino, making fresh and soft 
 
 The banks whereby they glide to Arno's stream, (;5 
 
 Stand ever in my view; and not in vain ; 
 For more the pictur'd semblance dries me xip, 
 ]\[uch more than the disease, which makes the flesh 
 Desert these shrivel'd cheeks. So from tlie ])lace. 
 Where I transgress'd, stern justice urging me, 7^ 
 
 Takes means to qiiicken more my lab'ring sighs. 
 There is Romena, where I falsified 
 The metal with the Baptist's form imprest, 
 For which on earth I left my body burnt. 
 But if I here might see the sorrowing soul '55 
 
 Of Guido, Alessandro, or their brother. 
 For Branda's limpid s]iring I would not change 
 The welcome sight. One is e'en now within,
 
 • HELL. 105 
 
 If truly tlio mad s])irits tell, that round 
 
 Are waiul'rhig. [Jut wherein besteads mc tliat i* 80 
 
 My limbs are fetter'd. Were I but so light, 
 
 That I each hundred years might move one inch, 
 
 I had set forth already on this path, 
 
 Seeking him out amidst the shapeless crew, 
 
 Altiiough eleven miles it wind, not more 85 
 
 Than half of one across. They brouglit me down 
 
 Among this tribe ; induc'd by them I stamji'd 
 
 The florens with three carats of alloy." 
 
 " Who are that abject pair," I next inquir'd, 
 *' That closely bounding thee ui)on thy right 90 
 
 Lie smoking, like a band in winter steei)'d 
 In the chiirstream?" — "When to this gulf I dropt," 
 He answer'd, "here I found them ; since that hour 
 They have not turn'd, nor ever shall, I ween. 
 Till time hath run his course. One is that dame 95 
 
 The false accuser of the Hebrew youth ; 
 Sinon the other, tliat false Greek from Troy. 
 Sharj:) fever drains the reeky moistness out, 
 In such a cloud ujistcam'd." When that he heard, 
 One, gall'd ]-)erchance to be so darkly nam'd, 100 
 
 With clench'd hand smote him on the braced i)aunch. 
 That like a drum resounded : but forthwith 
 Adamo smote him on the face, the blow 
 Iieturning M'ith his arm, that seeni'd as hard. 
 
 "Though my o'erweighty limbs have ta'en from me 
 The ])Ower to move," said he, " I iiave an arm 106 
 
 At libei'ty for such em]>loy." To \\hom 
 Was a.iswer'd : " Wlien thou wentest to the fire. 
 Thou hadst it not so ready at command, 
 Tlien readier Avhen it coin'd th' impostor gold." 110 
 
 And thus the dropsied : "Ay, now speak'st thou true. 
 But there thou gav'st not such true testimony, 
 AVIien thou wast questional of the truth, at Troy." 
 
 " If I s])ake false, thou falsely stamp'dst the coin," 
 Said Sinon ; "I am here but for one fault, 115 
 
 And th'j.i for more than any imp beside." 
 
 "Remember," he replied, " O ])erjur'd one, 
 Tlie horse rememljer, that di<l teem with death,
 
 106 HKLL. 
 
 And all the world be witnesB to thy guilt." 119 
 
 " To thine," rcturn'd the Greek, " witness the thirst 
 Whence thy tonone cracks, witness the fluid mound, 
 Rear'd by thy belly up before tliine eyes, 
 A mass corrupt." To whom the coiner thus : 
 " Thy mouth gapes wide as ever to let pass 
 Its evil saying. Me if thirst assails, 12:') 
 
 Yet I am stuff'd with moisture. Thou art pai'ch'd, 
 Pains rack thy head, no urging would'st thou need 
 To make thee lap Narcissus' mirror uj)." 
 
 I was all fix'd to listen, when my guide 
 Admonish'd : " Now beware : a little more. 130 
 
 And I do quarrel with thee." I perceiv'd 
 IToAv angrily he spake, and towards him turn'd 
 With shame so j^oignant, as remember'd yet 
 Confounds me. As a man that dreams of harm 
 Befall'n him, dreaming wishes it a dream, 135 
 
 And that which is, desires as if it were not, 
 Such then was I, who wanting ])0'^^'er to speak 
 W^ish'd to excuse myself, and all the while 
 Excus'd me, though unweeting that I did. 
 
 " MorQ grievous fault than thine has been, less shame," 
 My master cried, " might expiate. Therefore cast 141 
 All sorrow from thy soul ; and if again 
 Chance bring thee, where like conference is held, 
 Think I am ever at thy side. To hear 
 Such wrangling is a joy for vulgar minds," 145 
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 The very tongue, whose keen reproof before 
 ITad Avounded me, that either cheek was stain'd, 
 Now minister'd my cure. So have I heard, 
 Achilles and his father's javelin caus'd 
 Pain first, and then the boon of health restor'd. 
 
 Turning our back upon the vale of woe. 
 We cross'd th' encircled mound in silence. There 
 Was twilight dim, that far long the gloom 
 Mine eye advanc'd not : but I heard a liorn
 
 HELL. 107 
 
 Souiulod aloud. The peal it blew had made 10 
 
 The thunder feeble. Following its course 
 
 The adverse way, my strained eyes were bent 
 
 On that one spot. So terrible a blast 
 
 Orlando blew not, wlien that dismal rout 
 
 Overthrew the host of Charlemain, and quench'd 15 
 
 His saintly warfare. Thitherward not long 
 
 My head was rais'd, when many lofty towers 
 
 Methought I spied. " Master," said" I, " what land 
 
 Is this ? " He answered straight : " Too long a space 
 
 Of intervening darkness has thine eye 20 
 
 To traverse : thou hast therefore widely err'd 
 
 In thy imagining. Thither arriv'd 
 
 Thou well shalt see, how distance can delude 
 
 The sense. A little therefore urge thee on." 
 
 Then tenderly he caught me by the hand ; 25 
 
 "Yet know," said he, " ere farther we advance, 
 That it less strange may seem, these are not towers, 
 But giants. In the pit they stand immers'd, 
 Each from his navel doAvnward, round the bank." 
 
 As when a fog disperseth gradually, 30 
 
 Our vision traces Avhat the mist involves 
 Condens'd in air ; so piercing through the gross 
 And gloomy atmosphere, as more and more 
 AVe near'd toward the brink, mine error fled. 
 And fear came o'er me. As with circling round 35 
 
 Of turrets, Montercggion croAvns his walls. 
 E'en thus the shore, encompassing th' abyss, 
 Was turreted with giants, half their length 
 Ul)rearing, horrible, whom Jove from heav'n 
 Yet threatens, when his mutt'ring thunder rolls. 4U 
 
 Of one already I descried the face, 
 Slioulders, and breast, and of the belly huge 
 Great part, and both arms down along his ribs. 
 
 All-teeming nature, when her jilastic hand 
 Left framing of these monsters, did disi)lay 45 
 
 Past doubt her wisdom, taking from mad War 
 Such slaves to do his bidding; and if she 
 Repent her not of th' elephant and whale, 
 Who ponders \vell confesses her therein
 
 108 iiKix. 
 
 Wiser and more discreet ; for when brute force 50 
 
 And evil will are b.ack'd witli subtlety, 
 
 Resistance none avails. His visage seem'd 
 
 In length and bulk, as doth the i)ine, that tops 
 
 Saints Peter's IJouian fane; and tli' other bones 
 
 Of like proportion, so that from above 55 
 
 The bank, which girdled hiin b(>low, such height 
 
 Arose his stature, that three Friezelandei-s 
 
 Had striv'n in vain to reach but to his hair. 
 
 Full thirty ample ]>almswas he expos'd 
 
 Downward from M'hence a man his garnients loops. GO 
 
 "Raphel l)ai ameth sabi almi," 
 
 So shouted his fierce lips, which sweeter hymns 
 
 Became not ; and my guide address'd him thus : 
 
 "O senseless spirit ! let thy horn for thee 
 
 Interpret : therewith ^ent thy rage, if rage 65 
 
 Or other passion wring thee. Search thy neck, 
 
 There slialt thou find the belt that binds it on. 
 
 Wild s])irit ! lo, upon thy mighty breast 
 
 Where hangs the baldrick ! " Then t(i me lie spake: 
 
 " He doth accuse himself. Nimrod is this, 70 
 
 Through whose ill counsel in the world no more 
 
 One tongue prevails. But pass we on, nor waste 
 
 Our words; for so each language is to him, 
 
 As his to others, understood by none." 
 
 Then to the leftward turning sped we forth, 75 
 
 And at a sling's throAV found another shade 
 Far fiercer and more huge. I cannot say 
 What master hand had girt him ; but he held 
 Behind the right arm fetter'd, and before 
 The other with a chain, that fasten'd him 80 
 
 From the neck down, and five times round his form 
 Apparent met the wreathed links. "This proud one 
 Would of his strength against almighty Jove 
 Make trial," said my guide ; " whence he is thus 
 Requited : Ephialtes him they call. 85 
 
 Great was his prowess, when the giants brought 
 Fear on the gods : those arms, which then he piled, 
 Now moves he never." Forthwith I return'd : 
 "Fain would T, if 't were ])ossil)le, mine eyes
 
 HELL. 109 
 
 Of Briareus immeasurable gain'd 90 
 
 Experience next." He answer'd : " Tliou shalt see 
 
 Not far from hence Antaeus, who both speal^s 
 
 And is unfetter'd, who sliall place us tliere 
 
 Where guilt is at its de])th. Far onward stands 
 
 Whoni thou wouldst fain behold, in chains, and made 95 
 
 Like to this spirit, save that in his looks 
 
 More fell he seems." By violent earthquake rock'd 
 
 Ne'er shook a tow'r, so reeling to its base, 
 
 As Ephialtes. More than ever then 
 
 I dreaded death, nor than the terror more 100 
 
 Had needed, if I had not seen the cords 
 
 That held him fast. We, straightway journeying on, 
 
 Came to Anta3us, who five ells complete 
 
 Without the head, forth issued from the cave. 
 
 " O thou, who in the fortunate vale, that made 105 
 Great Scipio heir of glory, when his sword 
 Drove back the troop of Hannibal in flight. 
 Who thence of old didst carry for thy spoil 
 An hundred lions ; and if thou hadst fought 
 In the high conflict on thy brethren's side, 110 
 
 Seems as men yet believ'd, that through thine arm 
 The sons of earth had conquer'd, now vouchsafe 
 To place us down beneath, where numbing cold 
 Locks up Cocytus. Force not that Ave crave 
 Or Tityus' help or Typhon's. Here is one 115 
 
 Can give what in this realm ye covet. Stoop 
 Therefore, nor scornfully distort thy lij). 
 He in the iipper world can yet bestow 
 Renown on thee, for he doth live, and looks 
 For life yet longer, if before the time 120 
 
 Grace call him not unto herself." Thus spake 
 The teacher. He in haste forth stretch d his hands, 
 And caught my guide. Alcides whilom felt 
 That grap})le straighten'd score. Soon as my guide 
 Had felt it, he bespuke me thus : " This way 125 
 
 That I may clasp thee ; " then so caught me up, 
 That we were both one burden. As appears 
 The tower of Carisenda, from beneath 
 Where it doth lean, if chance a DassiuLj cloud
 
 110 HELL. 
 
 So sail aorosp, tlmt opposite it hanif^s, 130 
 
 Such tlicMi AiitjLMis scein'd, as at mine ease 
 
 I inark'd him stoo|)iii<^. I were fain at times 
 
 T' have pass'd another way. Yet in th' al)ys8, 
 
 That Lucifer witli Judas low ingulfs, 
 
 Lightly he ])lac'd us ; nor there leaning stuy'd, 135 
 
 But rose as in a bark the stately mast. 
 
 CANTO XXXIL 
 
 Could I command rough rhimes and hoarse, to suit 
 
 That hole of sorrow, o'er which ev'ry rock 
 
 His firm abutment rears, then might the vein 
 
 Of fancy rise full springing : but not mine 
 
 Such measures, and with falt'ring awe I touch 5 
 
 The mighty theme ; for to describe the depth 
 
 Of all the universe, is no emprize 
 
 To jest with, and demands a tongue not us'd 
 
 To infant babbling. But let them assist 
 
 My song, the tuneful maidens, by whose aid 10 
 
 Amphion wall'd in Thebes, so with the truth 
 
 My speech shall best accord. Oh ill-starr'd folk, 
 
 Beyond all others wretched ! who abide 
 
 In such a mansion, as scarce thought finds words 
 
 To speak of, better had ye here on earth 15 
 
 Been flocks or mountain goats. As down we stood 
 
 In the dark pit beneath the giants' feet. 
 
 But lower far than they, and I did gaze 
 
 Still on the lofty battlement, a voice 
 
 Bespoke me thus : "Look how thou walkest. Take 20 
 
 Good heed, thy soles do tread not on the heads 
 
 Of thy poor brethren." Thereupon I turn'd, 
 
 And saw before and undei'noath my feet 
 
 A lake, Avhose frozen surface liker seem'd 
 
 To glass than water. Not so tliick a \eil 25 
 
 In winter e'er hath Austrian Danube spread 
 
 O'er his still course, nor Tanaifs far remote 
 
 Under the chilling sky. Kull'd o'er that mass 
 
 Had Tabernich or Pi^etrapana fall'n,
 
 IIKLL. Ill 
 
 Not e'en its rim liad creak'd. As peeps the frog 30 
 
 Croaking above the wave, what time in dreams 
 The viUage gleaner oft pursues her toil, 
 So, to where modest shame appears, thus low 
 Blue pinch'd and shrin'd in ice the spirits stood, 
 Moving their teeth in shrill note like the stork. 35 
 
 His face each dowuAvard held ; their moutli the cold, 
 Their eyes express'd the dolour of their heart. 
 
 A space I look'd around, then at my feet 
 Saw two so strictly join'd, that of their head 
 The very hairs were mingled. " Tell me ye, 40 
 
 Whose bosoms thus together press," said I, 
 " Who are ye '? " At that sound their necks they bent. 
 And when their looks were lifted up to me, 
 Straightway their eyes, before all moist within, 
 Distill'd upon their lips, and the frost bound 45 
 
 The tears betwixt those orbs and held them there. 
 Plank unto plank hath never cramp clos'd up 
 So stoutly. Whence like two enraged goais 
 They clash'd together; them such fuiy seiz'd. 
 
 And one, from whom the cold both ears had reft, 50 
 Exclaim'd, still looking downward : " Why on us 
 Dost s]>eculate so long? If thou wouldst know 
 Who are these two, the valley, whence his wave 
 Bisenzio slopes, did for its master own 
 Their sire Alberto, and next him themselves. 55 
 
 They from one body issued ; and throughout 
 Caina thou mayst search, nor find a shade 
 More worthy in congealment to be fix'd. 
 Not him, whose breast and shadow Arthur's hand 
 At that one blow dissever'd, not Focaccia, 60 
 
 No not this spirit, whose o'erjutting head 
 Obstructs my onward view : he bore the name 
 Of Mascheroni : Tuscan if thou be, 
 Well knowest who he was: and to cut short 
 All further question, in my form behold 65 
 
 What once was Camiccione. I await 
 Ca7'lino here my kinsman, whose deep guilt 
 Shall wash out mine." A thousand vis.-iges 
 Then mark'd I, which the keen and eager cold
 
 11 'J IIKIJ.. 
 
 Had sliapM into n (1oo;gish grin ; wIkmico ci'co])s 70 
 
 A sliiy'rinL!^ liorror o'er iiic, at tlu; tlioiii^Iit 
 
 Of tliose i'rori' sliallows. Wliile wo jounicy'd on 
 
 Toward the middle, at wliose point nnites 
 
 All heavy substance, and I trembling went 
 
 Through that eternal chillness, I know not 76 
 
 If will it were or destiny, or chance, 
 
 But, passing 'midst the heads, my foot did strike 
 
 Witli violent blow against the face of one. 
 
 " Wherefore dost bruise me?" weeping, he exclaini'd, 
 " Unless thy errand be some fresli revenge SO 
 
 For Monta])erto, Avherefore troublest me?" 
 
 I thus : " Instructor, now await me here. 
 That I through him may rid me of my doubt. 
 Thenceforth what haste thou wilt." The teacher 2)aus'd, 
 And to that shade I s])ake, who bitterly 85 
 
 Still curs'd me in his wrath. "What art thou, speak, 
 That railest thus on others? " He replied : 
 " Now who art thou, that smiting others' cheeks 
 Through Antenora roamest, with such force 
 As were past suff'rance, wert thou living still ? " 90 
 
 " And I am living, to thy joy perchance," 
 Was my reply, " if fame be dear to thee, 
 That with the rest I may thy name enrol." 
 
 " The contrary of what I covet most," 
 Said he, " thou tender'st : hence ; nor vex me more. 95 
 111 knowest thou to flatter in this vale." 
 
 Then seizing on his hinder scalp, I cried : 
 " Name thee, or not a hair shall tarry here." 
 
 " Rend all away," he answer'd, " yet for that 
 I will not tell nor show thee wlio I am, 100 
 
 Though at my head thou pluck a thousand times." 
 
 Now 1 had grasp'd his tresses, and stript off 
 More than one tuft, he barking, with his eyes 
 Drawn in and downward, when another cried, 
 " What ails thee, Bocca? Sound not loud enough 105 
 Thy chatt'ring teetli, but thou must bark outright? 
 What devil wrings thee ? "— " Now," said I, "^be dumb, 
 Accursed traitor ! to thy shame of thee 
 True tidings will I bear.'"—" Off," he rei)lied,
 
 HELL. 113 
 
 " Tell what thou list; l)ut ns thou escape from hence 110 
 
 To speak of him whose tongue hath been so glib, 
 
 Forget not : here he wails the Frenchman's gold. 
 
 ' Him of Duera,' thou canst say, ' I mark'd. 
 
 Where the starv'd sinners ])ine.' If thou be ask'd 
 
 What other shade was with them, at thy side 115 
 
 Is Beccaria, whose red gorge distain'd 
 
 The biting axe of B^lorence. Farther on, 
 
 If I misdeem not, Soldanieri bides, 
 
 With Ganellon, and Tribaldello, him 
 
 Who op'd Faenza when the peo])le slept." 120 
 
 We now had left him, ])assing on our way, 
 When I beheld two spirits by the ice 
 Pent in one hollow, that the head of one 
 Was cowl unto the other; and as bread 
 Is raven'd up through hunger, th' uppermost 125 
 
 Did so ap})ly his fangs to th' other's brain. 
 Where the spine joins it. Not more furiously 
 On Menalip]nis' tem])les Tydeus guaw'd, 
 Than on that skull and on its garbnge he. 
 
 " O thou who show'st so beastly sign of liate 130 
 
 'Gainst him thou prey'st on, let me hear," said I, 
 "The cause, on such condition, that if right 
 Warrant thy grievance, knowing who ye are, 
 And what the colour of his sinning was, 
 I may repay thee in the world above, 135 
 
 If that, wherewith I speak be moist so long." 
 
 CANTO XXXIII. 
 
 His jaws uplifting from their fell repast. 
 That sinner wip'd them on the hairs o' th' head, 
 Which he behind had mangled, then began: 
 " Thy will obeying, I call up afresh 
 Sorrow ])ast cure, which but to think of wrings 
 My heart, or ere I tell on't. But if words. 
 That I may utter, shall prove seed to bear 
 Fruit of eternal infamy to him, 
 The traitoi' whom I gnaw at, thou at once 
 
 8
 
 114 HELL. 
 
 Slinlt see me speak and wc(^)>. Who tlioii majst be 10 
 
 I know not, nor liow ■iiere below ai-t come : 
 
 But Florentine thou seemest of a truth. 
 
 When I do hear thee. Know I was on earth 
 
 Count Ugolino, and th' Archbishop he 
 
 Kuggieri. AVhy I neighbour him so close, 15 
 
 Now list. That through effect of his ill thoughts 
 
 In him my trust reposing, I was ta'en 
 
 And after murder'd, need is not I tell. 
 
 What therefore thou canst not have heard, that is, 
 
 How cruel was the murder, shalt thou hear, 20 
 
 And know if he have wrong'd me. A small grate 
 
 AVithin that mew, which for my sake the name 
 
 Of famine bears, where others yet must ^^ine, 
 
 jMready through its opening sev'ral moons 
 
 Had shown me, when I sle])t the evil sleep, 25 
 
 That from the future tore the curtain off. 
 
 This one, methought, as master of the sport, 
 
 Rode forth to chase the gaunt wolf and his whelps 
 
 Unto the mountain, which forbids the sight 
 
 Of Lucca to the Pisan. With lean brachs 30 
 
 Inquisitive and keen, before him rang'd 
 
 Lanfranchi with Sismondi and Gualandi. 
 
 After short course the father and the sons 
 
 Seem'd tir'd and lagging, and methought I saw 
 
 The sharp tusks gore their sides. When I awoke 85 
 
 Before the dawn, amid tlieir sleep I heard 
 
 My sons (for they were v.'ith me) weep and ask 
 
 For bread. Right cruel art thou, if no pang 
 
 Thou feel at thinking what my heart foretold ; 
 
 And if not now, why use thy tears to flow ? 40 
 
 Now had tliey waken'd ; and the hour drew near 
 
 When they were wont to bring us food ; the mind 
 
 Of each misgave him through his dream, and I 
 
 Heard, at its outlet underneath lock'd up 
 
 The' horrible tower : whence uttering not a word 45 
 
 I look'd upon the visage of my sons. 
 
 I wejDt not: so all stone I felt within. 
 
 They wept : and one, my little Anslem, cried : 
 
 •Thou lookest so! Father, what ails thee?' Yet
 
 HELL. 1115 
 
 I shed no tear, nor answcr'd all tliat day 50 
 
 Nor the next niglit, until anotlier sun 
 
 Came out upon the world. When a faint beam 
 
 Had to our doleful prison made its way, 
 
 And in four countenances I descry'd 
 
 The image of my own, on either hand 55 
 
 Through agony I bit, and they who thought 
 
 I did it through desire of feeding, rose 
 
 O' th' sudden, and cried, ' Father, we should grieve 
 
 ' Far less, if thou wouldst eat of us : thou gav'st 
 
 ' These weeds of miserable flesh we wear, 60 
 
 * And do thou strip them off from us again.' 
 
 Then, not to make them sadder, I kept down 
 
 J\Iy spirit in stillness. That day and the next 
 
 We all were silent. Ah, obdurate earth ! 
 
 Why open'dst not upon us? When we came 65 
 
 To the fourth day, then Geddo at my feet 
 
 Outstretch'd did fling him, crying, ' Hast no help 
 
 ' For me, my father ! ' There he died, and e'en 
 
 ]'lainly as thou seest me, saw I the three 
 
 Fall one by one 'twixt the fifth day and sixth : 70 
 
 Whence I betook me now grown blind to grope 
 
 Over them all, and for three days aloud 
 
 Call'd on them who were dead. Then fastinix jrot 
 
 The mastery of grief." Thus having spoke, 
 
 Once more upon the wretched skull his teeth 75 
 
 He fasten'd, like a mastiff's 'gainst the bone 
 
 P^irm and unyielding. Oh thou Pisa ! shame 
 
 Of all the people, who their dwelling make 
 
 In that fair region, where th' Italian voice 
 
 Is heard, since that thy neighbours are so slack 80 
 
 To punish, from their deep foundations rise 
 
 Capraia and Gorgona, and dam up 
 
 Tlie mouth of Arno, that each soul in thee 
 
 May perish in the waters ! What if fame 
 
 Reported that thy castles were betray'd 85 
 
 By XJgolino, yet no right hadst thou 
 
 To stretch his children on the rack. For them, 
 
 Brigata, XJguccione, and the pair 
 
 Of gentle ones, of whom my song hath told,
 
 116 HELL, 
 
 Tlieii" (eiidtT years, llioii modern Thebes ! did make 90 
 UncapaLle of guilt. Omvaixl we jiass'd, 
 Where others skavfd in rugged folds of ice 
 Not on their feet were turn'd, but eacli revers'd. 
 
 There very Aveeping suffers not to wee]) ; 
 For at their eyes grief seeking i)assage finds 95 
 
 Impediment, and rolling inward turns 
 For increase of sharp anguish : the first tears 
 Hang cluster'd, and like crystal vizors show, 
 Under the socket brimming all the cup. 
 
 Now though the cold had from my face dislodg'd 100 
 Each feeling, as 't were callous, yet me seem'd 
 Some breath of wind I felt. " Whence cometh this," 
 Said I, " my master ? Is not here below 
 All vapour quench'd ? " — " Thou shalt be speedily," 
 He answer'd, " where thine eye shall tell thee whence 105 
 The cause descrying of this airy shower." 
 
 Then cried out one in the chill crust who mourn'd : 
 " O souls so cruel ! that the farthest post 
 Hath been assign'd you, from this face remove 
 The harden'd veil, that I may vent the grief 110 
 
 Impregnate at my heart, some little space 
 Ere it congeal again ! " I thus replied : 
 " Say who thou wast, if thou wouldst have mine aid ; 
 And if I extricate thee not, far down 
 As to the lowest ice may I descend ! " 115 
 
 " The friar Alberigo," answered he, 
 " Am I, wdio from the evil garden pluck'd 
 Its fruitage, and am here repaid, the date 
 More luscious for my fig." — " Hah ! " I exclaim'd, 
 " Art thou too dead ! "— " How in the world aloft 120 
 It fareth wdth my body," answer'd he, 
 " I am right ignorant. Such privilege 
 Plath Ptolomea, that ofttimes the soul 
 Drops hither, ere by Atropos divorc'd. 
 And that thou mayst wipe out moi'e willingly 125 
 
 The glazed tear-drops that o'erlay mine eyes. 
 Know that the soul, that moment she betrays, 
 As I did, yields her body to a fiend 
 Who after moves and governs it at will.
 
 HELL. 117 
 
 Till nil its time be rounded ; lieadlong she 130 
 
 Falls to this cistern. And jierchance above 
 
 Doth yet ap])ear the body of a ghost, 
 
 Who here behind me winters. Him tliou know'si, 
 
 If thou but newly art arriv'd below. 
 
 The years are many that have pass'd away, 135 
 
 Since to this fastness Branca Doria came." 
 
 " Now," answer'd I, " methinks thou mockest me, 
 For Branca Doria never yet hath died. 
 But doth all natural functions of a man. 
 Eats, drinks, and sleeps, and putteth raiment on." 140 
 
 He thus : " Not yet unto that upper foss 
 By th' evil talons guarded, where the pitch 
 Tenacious boils, liad Micliael Zanche reach'd, 
 When this one left a demon in his stead 
 In his own body, and of one his kin, 145 
 
 Who with him treachery wrought. But now put forth 
 Thy hand, and ope mine eyes." I op'd them not. 
 Ill manners were best courtesy to him. 
 
 Ah Genoese ! men j^erverse in every way, 
 With every foulness stain'd, why from the earth 150 
 
 Are ye not cancel'd ? Such an one of yours 
 I with Romagna's darkest spirit found, 
 As for his doings even now in soul 
 Is in Cocytus ))lung'd, and yet doth seem 
 In body still alive ujjon the earth. 155 
 
 CANTO XXXIV. 
 
 " The banners of Hell's Monarch do come forth 
 
 Towards us ; therefore look," so spake my guide, 
 
 "If thou discern him." As, when breathes a cloud 
 
 Heavy and dense, or when the shades of night 
 
 Fall on our heniisjdiere, seems view'd from far 5 
 
 A windmill, which the blast stirs bi'iskly round, 
 
 Such Avas the fabric then methought I saw. 
 
 To shield me from the wind, forthwith I drew 
 Behind my guide: no covert else was there. 
 
 Now came I (and with fear I bid my strain 10 
 
 Record the marvel) where the souls were all
 
 1 1 8 IIKTX. 
 
 Wliolm'd undorneatli, traiispni'ent, as through glass 
 
 I Pelhu-id the frail stem. Some ])rone were laid, 
 
 I Others stood upright, this upon the soles, 
 Tliat on his head, a tliird with face to feet 15 
 
 Arch'd like a bow. When to the point we came, 
 
 [ Wliereat my guide was i)lcas'd that I should see 
 
 t; Tlie creature eminent in l)eauty once, 
 
 i^ lie from before me stepp'd and made me pause. 
 = " Lo ! " he exclaim'd, " lo Dis ! and lo the i)lace, 20 
 
 j Where thou hast need to arm thy heart with strength." 
 
 How frozen and how faint I then became, 
 
 i Ask me not, reader ! for I write it not, 
 
 S Since words would fail to tell tliee of my state. 
 
 I I was not dead nor living. Tliink thyself 25 
 
 I If quick conception work in thee at all. 
 How I did feel. That emjieror, who sways 
 
 H The realm of sorrow, at mid breast from th' ice 
 
 1; Stood forth ; and I in stature am more like 
 
 I A giant, than the giants are in his arms. 30 
 
 I Mark now how great that whole must be, which suits 
 
 \ With such a part. If he were beautiful 
 
 I As he is hideous now, and yet did dare 
 
 i To scowl upon his Maker, well from him 
 
 I May all our mis'ry flov/. Oh what a sight ! 35 
 
 I How passing strange it seem'd, Avhen I did spy 
 
 !: Upon his head three faces : one in front 
 
 [ Of hue vermilion, th' other two with this 
 
 I Midway each shoulder join'd and at the crest; 
 
 [ The right 'twixt Avau and yellow seem'd : the left 40 
 
 I To look on, such as come from whence old Nile 
 
 ;' Stoops to the lowlands. Under each shot forth 
 
 I Two mighty wings, enormous as became 
 
 I A bird so vast. Sails never such I saw 
 
 Outstretch'd on the wide sea. No plumes had they, 45 
 
 ■ But were in textui'e like a bat, and these 
 
 I He flapp'd i' th' air, that from him issued still 
 
 3 Three winds, wherewith Cocytus to its depth 
 
 I Was frozen. At six eyes he wept : the tears 
 
 J, Adown tliree chins distill'd with bloody foam. 50 
 
 ; At every mouth his teeth a sinner champ'd 
 
 j, Bruis'd as with jiond'rous engine, so that three
 
 HELL. 119 
 
 Were in this guise tormented. But fur more 
 
 Than from that gnawing, was the foremost 2)ang'd 
 
 By the fierce rending, whence ofttimes the back 55 
 
 Was stript of all its skin. " That upper spirit, 
 
 Wlio hath worse punishment," so spake my guide, 
 
 " Is Judas, ho tliat hath his head within 
 
 And plies the feet without. Of th' other two, 
 
 Whose heads are under, from the murky jaw 60 
 
 Wlio hangs, is Brutus : lo ! how he doth writhe 
 
 And speaks not ! Tli' other Cassius, that a]')pear8 
 
 So large of limb. But night now re-ascends. 
 
 And it is time for parting. All is seen." 
 
 I clipp'd him round the neck, for so he bade ; 65 
 
 And noting time and place, he, when the wings 
 Enough were oi)'d, cauglit fast the shaggy sides, 
 And down from ])ile to pile descending stepp'd 
 Between the thick fell and the jagged ice. 
 
 Soon as he reach'd the point, whereat the thigh 70 
 Upon the swelling of the haunches turns, 
 My leader there with pain and struggling hard 
 Turn'd round his head, where his feet stood before. 
 And grappled at the fell, as one who mounts, 
 Tliat into hell methought we turn'd again. 75 
 
 " Expect that by such stairs as these," thus sj^ake 
 
 !The teacher, ])anting like a man forespent, 
 " We must depart from evil so extreme." 
 Then at a rocky opening issued forth, 
 I And plac'd me on a brink to sit, next join'd 80 
 
 With wary step my side. I rais'd mine eyes, 
 ; Believing that I Lucifer shoiild see 
 
 Where he Avas lately left, but saw him now 
 I With legs held upward. Let the grosser sort, 
 I Who see not what the point was I had pass'd, 85 
 
 I Bethink them if sore toil oppress'd me then. 
 " Arise," my master cried, " upon thy feet. 
 The way is long, and much ^lncouth the road ; 
 And now within one hour and half of noon 
 The sun returns." It was no palace-hall 90 
 
 Lofty and luminous wherein we stood,- 
 But natural dungeon where ill footing was 
 And scant supply of light. " Ere from th' abyss
 
 120 HELL. 
 
 1 scp'rate," tlius when risen I began, 
 
 "My guide! vouchsafe few words to set nie free 95 
 
 From error's tliraldom, Wliere is now the iceV 
 
 IIow standeth lie in posture thus revers'd ? 
 
 And liow from eve to morn in space so brief 
 
 Ifatli tlie sun made his transit?" lie in few 
 
 Thus answering s])a]<e : "Tliou deemest thou art still 100 
 
 On til' other side the centre, where I grasp'd 
 
 Th' abhorred worm, that boreth through the worhl. 
 
 Thou wast on tli' other side, so long as I 
 
 Descended ; when I turn'd, thou didst o'erpass 
 
 That point, to which from ev'ry part is dragg'd 105 
 
 All heavy substance. Thou art now arriv'd 
 
 Under the hemisphere opposed to that, 
 
 Which the great continent doth overspread, 
 
 And underneath whose canopy expir'd 
 
 Tlie Man, that was born sinless, and so liv'd. 110 
 
 Thy feet are planted on the smallest sphere. 
 
 Whose other aspect is Judecca. Morn 
 
 Here rises, when there evening sets : and he. 
 
 Whose shaggy pile was scal'd, yet standeth fix'd. 
 
 As at the first. On this part he fell down 115 
 
 From heav'n ; and th' earth, here prominent before. 
 
 Through fear of him did veil her with the sea, 
 
 And to our hemis])here retir'd. Perchance 
 
 To shun him Avas the vacant s])ace left here 
 
 By what of firm land on this side appears, 120 
 
 Tiiat sprang aloof." There is a place beneath. 
 
 From Belzebub as distant, as extends 
 
 Tlie vaulted tomb, discover'd not by sight, 
 
 But by the sound of brooklet, that descends 
 
 This way along the hollow of a rock, 125 
 
 Which, as it winds with no preci])itous course, 
 
 The Avave hath eaten. By that hidden way 
 
 My g;uide and I did enter, to return 
 
 To the fair Avorld : and heedless of repose 
 
 We climb'd, he first, I following his steps, 130 
 
 Till on our view the beautiful lights of heav'n 
 
 Dnwn'd through a circular o]HMiing in the cave : 
 
 'i'hcnce issuiuir we ai-'aiu l)eheld the stars
 
 PURGATORY. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 O'er better waves to speed her rajiid coiirse 
 
 The liglit bark of my genius lifts tlie sail, 
 
 Well pleas'd to leave so cruel sea behind ; 
 
 And of that second region will I sing, 
 
 In }vhicli the human s])irit from sinful blot 5 
 
 Is ])urg'd, and for ascent to Heaven prepares. 
 
 Here, O ye hallow'd Nine ! for in your train 
 I follow, here the dcaden'd strain revive ; 
 Nor let Callio])e refuse to sound 
 
 A somewhat higher song, of that loud tone, 10 
 
 Which when the wi-etched birds of chattering note 
 
 I Had heard, they of forgiveness lost all hope. 
 
 { Sweet hue of eastern sapphire, that was spread 
 
 * O'er the serene aspect of the pure air, 
 
 High up as the first circle, to mine eyes 15 
 
 Unwonted joy renew'd, soon as I 'scap'd 
 Forth from the atmosphere of deadly gloom, 
 That had mine eyes and bosom fill'd with grief. 
 The radiant ]»lanet, that to love invites, 
 
 !Made all the orient laugh, and veil'd beneath 20 
 
 Tlie Pisces' light, that in his escort came. 
 To the right hand I turn'd, and fix'd my mind 
 \ On the' other pole attentive, where I saw 
 I Four stars ne'er seen before save by the ken 
 I Of our first parents. Heaven of their rays 25 
 
 I Seem'd joyous. O thou northern site, bereft 
 Indeed, and widow'd, since of these depriv'd ! 
 
 (121)
 
 122 PUKHATORY. 
 
 As from tliis view I liad desisted, straight 
 Turning a little tow'rds the other ]H)]e, 
 There from whence now tlie wain liad disap2)ear'd, 30 
 I saw an old man standing by my side 
 Alone, so worthy of rev'rence in his look, 
 That ne'er from 8on to father more was ow'd. 
 Low doM'ii liis beard and mix'd with lioary white 
 Descended, like liis locks, which parting fell 35 
 
 Ui^on his breast in double fold. The beams 
 Of those four luminaries on his face 
 So brightly shone, and with such radiance clear 
 Deck'd it, that I beheld him as the sun. 
 
 "Say who are ye, that stemming the blind stream, 40 
 Forth from th' eternal prison-house have fled ? " 
 He spoke and moved those venerable plumes. 
 " Who hath conducted, or with lantern sure 
 Lights you emerging from the depth of night, 
 That makes the infernal valley ever black ? 45 
 
 Are the firm statutes of the dread abyss 
 Broken, or in high heaven new laws ordain'd, 
 That thus, condemn'd, ye to my caves approach?" 
 
 My guide, then laying hold on me, by words 
 And intimations given with hand and head, 60 
 
 Made my bent knees and eye siibmissive pay 
 Due reverence ; then thus to him replied. 
 
 " Not of myself I come ; a Dame from heaven 
 Descending, him besought me in my charge 
 To bring. But since thy will implies, that more 55 
 
 Our true condition I unfold at large, 
 Mine is not to deny thee thy request. 
 This mortal ne'er hatli seen the farthest gloom. 
 But erring by his folly had approach'd 
 So near, that little space was left to turn. 60 
 
 Then, as before I told, I was dispatch'd 
 To work his rescue ; and no way remain'd 
 Save this which I have ta'en. I have display'd 
 Before him all the regions of the bad ; 
 And pur])Ose now those spirits to display, 65 
 
 That under tliy command are purg'd from sin. 
 How I have brought him would be long to say.
 
 PUKOATORY. 123 
 
 From higli descends the virtue, by whose aid 
 
 I to tliy siglit and lieariug liiin liave h.:'d. 
 
 Now may our coming })le:vse thee. In the search 70 
 
 Of liberty he journeys : that how dear 
 
 They know, who for her sake liave life refus'd. 
 
 Thou knowest, to whom death for her was sweet 
 
 In Utica, where thou didst leave those weeds, 
 
 That in the last great day will shine so bright. 75 
 
 For us the' eternal edicts are unmov'd: 
 
 He breathes, and I am free of Minos' power, 
 
 Abiding in that circle where the eyea 
 
 Of thy chaste Marcia beam, who still in look 
 
 Prays thee, O hallow'd spirit! to own her thine. 80 
 
 Then by her love we' implore thee, let us pass 
 
 Through thy sev'n regions ; for which best thanks 
 
 I for thy favour will to her return, 
 
 If mention there below thou not disdain." 
 
 " Marcia so pleasing in my sight was found," 85 
 
 He then to him rejoin'd, " while I was there, 
 That all she ask'd mc I was fain to grant. 
 Now that beyond the' accursed stream she dwells, 
 She may no longer move me, by that law, 
 Which was ordain'd me, when I issued thence. 90 
 
 Not so, if Dame from heaven, as thou sayst. 
 Moves and directs thee ; then no flattery needs. 
 Enough for me that in her name thou ask. 
 Go therefore now : and with a slender reed 
 See that thou duly gird him, and his face 95 
 
 Lave, till all sordid stain thou wipe from thence. 
 For not with eye, by any cloud obscur'd, 
 Would it be seemly before him to come. 
 Who stands the foremost minister in heaven. 
 This islet all around, there far beneath, 100 
 
 Where the wave beats it, on the o.)zy bed 
 Produces store of reeds. No other plant, 
 Cover'd with leaves, or harden'd in its stalk, 
 There lives, not bending to the water's sway. 
 After, this way return not ; but the sun 105 
 
 Will show you, that now rises, where to take 
 The mountain in its easiest ascent."
 
 124 puiJOATonY. 
 
 He disapponrM ; and I niysolf u])rais'd 
 Speecliless, and to my guide retiring close, 
 Toward liim tiirii'd mine eyes. lie thus began ; 110 
 
 " My son ! observant thou my ste])S pursue. 
 We must retreat to rearward, for tliat way 
 Tlie cliampain to its low extreme declines." 
 
 The dawn had chas'd the matin hour of prime, 
 Which fled before it, so that from afar 115 
 
 I S])y'd the trembling of the ocean stream. 
 
 We travers'd the deserted plain, as one 
 Who, wander'd from his track, thinks every step 
 Trodden in vain till he regain the ])ath. 
 
 When we had come, where yet the tender dew 120 
 Strove with the sun, and in a j)lace, where fresh 
 The wind breath'd o'er it, while it slowly dried ; 
 Both hands extended on the watery grass 
 My master plac'd, in graceful act and kmd. 
 Whence I of his intent before appriz'd, 125 
 
 Stretch'd out to him my cheeks suffus'd wiih tears. 
 There to my visage he anew restor'd 
 That hue, which the dun shades of hell conceal'd. 
 
 Then on the solitary shore arriv'd, 
 That never sailing on its waters saw 130 
 
 ]\Ian, that could after measure back his course, 
 lie girt me in such manner as had pleas'd 
 Ilim wlio instructed, and O, strange to tell ! 
 As he selected every humble plant. 
 
 Wherever one was pluck'd, another there 135 
 
 Kesembling, straightway in its place arose. 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 Now had the sun to that horizon reach'd, 
 
 That covers, with the most exalted point 
 
 Of its meridian circle, Salem's walls, 
 
 And night, that opposite to him her orb 
 
 Rounds, from the stream of Ganges issued forth, 
 
 Holding the scales, that from her hands are dropp'd 
 
 When she reiefns hio;hest : so that where I was,
 
 PURGATORY. 125 
 
 Aurora's white and vernieil-tinctur'd cheek 
 To orange turn'd as she in age incrcas'd. 
 
 Meanwhile we linger'd by the water's brink, 10 
 
 Like men, wlio, musing on their road, in thought 
 Journey, wliile motionless the body rests. 
 When lo ! as near upon the hour of dawn. 
 Through the thick vapours Mars with fiery beam 
 Glares down in west, over the ocean floor ; 15 
 
 So seem'd, what once again I hope to view, 
 A light so swiftly coming through the sea, 
 No winged course might equal its career. 
 From which when for a space I had withdrawn 
 Mine eyes, to make inquiry of my guide, 20 
 
 Again I look'd and saw it grown in size 
 And brightness : then on either side aj^pear'd 
 Something, but what I knew. not of bright hue, 
 And by degrees from underneath it came 
 Another. JVIy preceptor silent yet 25 
 
 Stood, while the brightness, that we first discerned, 
 Open'd the form of wings : then when he knew 
 The pilot, cried aloud, " Down, down ; bend low 
 Thy knees ; behold God's angel : fold thy hands : 
 Now shalt thou see true Ministers indeed. 30 
 
 Lo how all human means he sets at nought ! 
 So that nor oar he needs, nor other sail 
 Except his wings, between such distant shores. 
 Lo how straight up to heav'n he holds them rear'd, 
 Winnowing the air with those eternal plumes, 35 
 
 That not like mortal hairs fall off or change ! " 
 
 As more and more toward us came, more bright 
 Appear'd the bird of God, nor could the eye 
 Endure his splendour near : I mine bent down. 
 He drove ashore in a small bark so swift 40 
 
 And light, that in its course no wave it drank. 
 The heav'nly steersman at the prow Avas seen. 
 Visibly written blessed in his looks. 
 Within a hundred spirits and more there sat. 
 " In Exitu Israel de ^^gyjito." 45 
 
 All with one voice together sang, with what 
 In the remainder of that hymn is writ.
 
 126 PUKGATORY. 
 
 Then soon as with the sign of holy cross 
 
 He bless'd them, they at once leaj)Vl out on land, 
 
 He swiftty as he came return'd. The crew, 50 
 
 There left, ajjpear'd astounded with the place, 
 
 Gazing around as one who sees new sights. 
 
 From every side the sun darted his beams, 
 And with his arrowy radiance from mid heav'n 
 Had chas'd the Capricorn, when that strange tribe 55 
 Lifting their eyes towards us ; " If ye know. 
 Declare what path will lead us to the mount." 
 
 Them Virgil answer'd. " Ye suppose perchance 
 Us well acquainted with this place : but here. 
 We, as yourselves, are strangers. Not long erst 60 
 
 We came, before you but a little space, 
 By other road so rough and hard, that now 
 The' ascent will seem to us as play." The spirits, 
 Who from my breathing had perceiv'd I liv'd, 
 Grew pale with wonder. As the multitude 65 
 
 Flock round a herald, sent with olive branch, 
 To hear what news he brings, and in their haste 
 Tread one another down, e'en so at siglit 
 Of me those happy spirits were fix'd, each one 
 Forgetful of its errand, to depart, 70 
 
 Where cleans'd from sin, it might be made all fair. 
 
 Then one I saw darting before the rest 
 With such fond ardour to embrace me, I 
 To do the like was mov'd. O shadows vain 
 Exce})t in outward semblance ! thrice my hands 75 
 
 I clasp'd behind it, they as oft return'd 
 Em])ty into my breast again. Surprise 
 I needs must think was painted in my looks. 
 For that the shadow smil'd and backward drew. 
 To follow it I hasten'd, but with voice 80 
 
 Of sweetness it enjoin'd me to desist. 
 Then who it was I knew, and pray'd of it, 
 To talk with me, it Avould a little pause. 
 It answer'd : " Thee as in my mortal frame 
 I lov'd, so loos'd from it I love thee still, 85 
 
 And therefore pause; but why Avalkest thou here?" 
 " Not without ])urpose once more to return,
 
 PUKFATORY. 121 
 
 Thou find'st me, my Casella, where I am 
 
 Journeying tliis way ; " I said, " but how of tlioe 
 
 Hath so much time been lost?" He answer'd straight : 
 
 " No outrage hath been done to me, if he 91 
 
 Who Avhen and whom he chooses takes, me oft 
 
 This passage hath denied, since of just will 
 
 His will he makes. These three months past indeed, 
 
 He, whoso chose to enter, with free leave 95 
 
 Hath taken ; whence I wand'ring by the shore 
 
 Where Tyber's wave grows salt, of him gain'd kind 
 
 Admittance, at that rivei-'s mouth, tow'rd which 
 
 His wings are pointed, for there always thi'ong 
 
 All such as not to Archeron descend." 100 
 
 Then I : "If new laws have not quite destroy'd 
 Memory and use of that sweet song of love. 
 That whilom all my cares had power to 'swage; 
 Please thee with it a little to console 
 
 My spirit, that incumber'd with its frame, 105 
 
 Travelling so far, of pain is overcome." 
 
 " Love that discourses in my thoughts." He then 
 Began in such soft accents, that within 
 The sweetness thrills me yet. My gentle guide 
 And all who came with him, so well were pleas'd, 110 
 That seem'd nought else might in their thoughts have 
 room. 
 
 Fast fix'd in mute attention to his notes 
 We stood, when lo ! that old man venerable 
 Exclaiming, " How is this, ye tardy spirits ? 
 What negligence detains you loit'ring here ? 115 
 
 Run to tlie mountain to cast off those scales, 
 That from your eyes the sight of God conceal." 
 
 As a v/ild flock of pigeons, to their food 
 Collected, blade or tares, without their pride 
 Accustom'd, and in still and quiet sort, 120 
 
 If aught alarm them, suddenly desert 
 Their meal, assail'd by more im])ortant care ; 
 So I that new-come troop beheld, the song 
 Deserting, hasten to the mountain's side, 
 As one who goes yet where he tends knows not. 125 
 
 Nor with less hurried step did we depart.
 
 i 
 
 128 PUKGATORY. 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 Them sudden lliglit had scatter'd o'er the pL'iin, 
 
 Turu'd tow'rds the mountain, wliitlier reason's voice 
 
 Drives us ; I to my faithful company 
 
 Adliering, left it not. For how of him 
 
 Depriv'd, mio;ht I have sped, or wlio beside 5 
 
 Would o'er Uic mountainous tract have led my steps ? 
 
 He with the bitter pang of self-remorse 
 
 Secm'd smitten. O clear conscience and upright 
 
 How doth a little failing wound tliee sore ! 
 
 Soon as his feet desisted (slack'ning pace), 10 
 
 From haste, that mars all decency of act. 
 
 My mind, that in itself before was wrapt. 
 
 Its thoughts expanded, as with joy restor'd : 
 
 And full against the steep ascent I set 
 
 My face, where highest to heav'n its top o'erflows. 15 
 
 The sun, that flar'd behind, witli ruddy beana 
 
 Before my form Avas broken ; for in me 
 
 His rays resistance met. I turn'd aside 
 
 With fear of being left, when I beheld 
 
 Only before myself the ground obscur'd. 20 
 
 When thus my solace, turning him around, 
 
 Bespake me kindly : " Why distrustest thou ? 
 
 Believ'st not I am with thee, thy sure guide ? 
 
 It now is evening there, where buried lies 
 
 Tlie body, in which I cast a shade, remov'd 25 
 
 To Naples from Brundusium's wall. Nor thou 
 
 IMarvel, if before me no shadow fall. 
 
 More than that in the skiey element 
 
 One ray obstructs not other. To endure 
 
 Torments of heat and cold extreme, like frames 30 
 
 That virtue hath dispos'd, which how it works 
 
 Wills not to us should be reveal'd. Insane 
 
 Who hopes, our reason may that space ex])lore, 
 
 Which holds three persons in one substance knit. 
 
 Seek not the wherefore, race of human kind ; 35 
 
 Could ye have seen the whole, no need had been 
 
 For Mary to bring forth. Moreover ye 
 
 Have seen such men desiring fruitlessly ;
 
 PURGATORY. 129 
 
 To whose (Icsirrs repose v/ould have been giv'n, 
 
 Tlint now but serve them for eternnl grief. 40 
 
 I speak of Plato, and tlie Stagyrite, 
 
 And others many more." And then he bent 
 
 Downwards liis forehead, and in troubled mood 
 
 Broke off his sjiecch. Meanwhile we liad arriv'd 
 
 Far as the mountain's foot, and there the rock 45 
 
 Found of so steep ascent, that nimblest steps 
 
 To climb it had been vain. The most remote 
 
 Most wild untrodden path, in all the tract 
 
 'TAvixt Lcrice and Turbia were to this 
 
 A ladder easy' and open of access. 50 
 
 " Who knows on which hand now the steej) declines?" 
 My master said and paus'd, "so that he may 
 Ascend, who journeys without aid of wing? " 
 And while with looks directed to the ground 
 The meaning of the pathway he explor'd, 55 
 
 And I gaz'd ujnvard round the stony lieight, 
 On the left hand apjtearVl to us a troop 
 Of spirits, that toward i;s mov'd their steps. 
 Yet moving seem'd not, they so slow aj)proach'd. j 
 
 I thus my guide address'd : " Upraise thine eyes, 60 I 
 Lo that way some, of whom thou niay'st obtain > 
 
 Counsel, if of thyself thou find'st it not ! " \ 
 
 Straightway he look'd, and with free speech replied : I 
 " Let us tend thitlier : they but softly oome. ; 
 
 And thou be firm in hope, my son belov'd." 65 
 
 Now was that peo])le distant far in space } 
 
 A thousand paces behind ours, as much | 
 
 As at a throw the nervous arm could fling, j 
 
 When all drew l»ackward on the massy crags | 
 
 Of the steep bank, and fn-ndy stood unmov'd 70 | 
 
 As one who walks in doubt might stand to look. I 
 
 " O spirits perfect ! O already chosen ! " | 
 
 Virgil to them began, "by tliat Idlest peace, \ 
 
 W^hich, as I deem, is for you all prepar'd, | 
 
 Instruct us where the mountain lov/ declines, 75 ' 
 
 So that attempt to mount it be not vain. 
 For wdio knows most, liim h<ss of time most grieves." j 
 
 As sheep, that step from forth their fold, by one, j
 
 130 PUKGATORY. 
 
 Or pairs, or tlirec at once; incanwliile the rest 
 
 Stand fearfully, bendinj^ the eye and nose 80 
 
 To ground, and what the foremost does, that do 
 
 The others, gath'ring round her, if she stops, 
 
 Simple and quiet, nor the cause discern ; 
 
 So saw I moving to advance the first. 
 
 Who of that fortunate crew were at the head, 85 
 
 Of modest mien and graceful in their gait. 
 
 When they before me had beheld the light 
 
 From my right side fall broken on the ground. 
 
 So that the shadow reach'd the cave, they stopp'd 
 
 And somewhat back retir'd : the same did all, 90 
 
 Who follow'd, though unweeting of the cause. 
 
 " Unask'd of you, yet freely I confess, 
 This is a human body which ye sec. 
 That the sun's light is broken on the ground, 
 Marvel not : but believe, that not without 95 
 
 Virtue deriv'd from Heaven, we to climb 
 Over this wall asjnre." So them bespake 
 My master; and that virtuous tribe rejoin'd; 
 " Turn, and before you there the entrance lies," 
 Making a signal to us wdth bent hands. 100 
 
 Then of them one began. " Whoe'er thou art. 
 Who journey'st thus this way, thy visage tui-n. 
 Think if me elsewhere thou hast ever seen." 
 
 I tow'rds him turn'd, and with fix'd eye beheld. 
 Comely, and fair, and gentle of aspect, 105 
 
 He seem'd, but on one brow a gash was mark'd. 
 
 When humbly I disclaim'd to have beheld 
 Him ever : " Now behold I " he said, and show'd 
 High on his breast a wound : then smiling spake. 
 
 " I am Manfredi, grandson to the Queen 110 
 
 Costanza : whence I pray thee, when return'd, 
 To my fair daughter go, the parent glad 
 Of Aragonia and Sicilia's pride ; 
 And of the trutli inform her, if of me 
 Auglit else be told. When by two mortal blows 115 
 My frame was shatter'd, I betook myself 
 Weeping to him, who of free will forgives. 
 My sins were horrible ; but so wide arms
 
 PUIUiATORY. 131 
 
 Hath goodness infinite, that it receives 
 
 All who turn to it. Had this text divine V20 
 
 Been of Cosenza's shepherd better scann'd, 
 
 Who then by Clement cm my hunt was set, 
 
 Yet at the bridge's head my bones had lain, 
 
 Near Benevento, by the heavy mole 
 
 Protected ; but the rain now drenches them, 125 
 
 And the wind drives, out of the kingdom's bounds, 
 
 Far as the stream of Verde, where, ^\'ith lights 
 
 Extinguish'd, he remov'd them from theii- bed. 
 
 Yet by their curse we are not so destroy'd, 
 
 But that the eternal love may turn, while hope 130 
 
 Retains her verdant blossoms. True it is, 
 
 That such one as in contumacy dies 
 
 Against the holy church, though he repent, 
 
 Must wander thirty-fold for all the time 
 
 In his presumption past ; if such decree 135 
 
 Be not by prayers of good men shorter made. 
 
 Look therefore if thou canst advance my bliss ; 
 
 Kevealing to my good Costanza, hoAV 
 
 Thou hast beheld me, and beside the terms 
 
 Laid on me of that interdict ; for here 140 
 
 By means of those below much profit comes." 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 When by sensations of delight or pain, 
 That any of our faculties hath seiz'd, 
 Entire the soul collects herself, it seems 
 She is intent upon that power alone. 
 
 And thus the erroui* is disprov'd which holds 5 
 
 The soul not singly lighted in the breast. 
 And therefore when as aught is heard or seen, 
 That firmly keeps the soul toward it turn'd, 
 Time passes, and a man perceives it not. 
 Fo]- that, Avhereby we heai-ken, is one power, 10 
 
 Another that, which the whole sjdrit liath ; 
 This is as it were bound, while tliat is free. 
 This found I true by ])roof, hearing that spirit
 
 132 I'UUOATOIIY. 
 
 Ami woiurriiio- ; for full fifty steps aloft 
 
 'JMie Klin had iiicasui-'d uiiobKervM of me, 15 
 
 When we arriv'd where all with one accord 
 
 The spirits shouted, " Here is what ye ask." 
 
 A larger aperture ofttinies is stojip'd 
 AVith forked stake of thorn by villager, 
 When the ripe grape indjrowns, than was tlie [)ath, 20 
 JJy which iny guide, and I behind him close, 
 Ascended solitaiy, when that troop 
 De])arting left us. On Saideo's road 
 Who journeys, or to Noli low descends. 
 Or mounts Bismantua's height, must use his feet; 25 
 
 But here a man had need to fly, I mean 
 With the swift wing and plumes of high desire, 
 Conducted by liis aid, who gave me hope, 
 And with light furnish'd to direct my way. 
 
 We through the broken rock ascended, close 30 
 
 Pent on each side, while underneath the ground 
 AskVl help of hands and feet. When we arriv'd 
 Near on the highest I'idge of the stce]i bank, 
 Where the plain level open'd I exclaim'd, 
 "O master ! say which way can we ])roceed?" o5 
 
 He answer'd, " Let no stej) of thine recede. 
 Behind me gain the mountain, till to us 
 Some ])ractis'd guide appear." That eminence 
 Was lofty that no eye might reach its point, 
 And the side proudly rising, more than line 40 
 
 From the mid quadrant to the centre drawn. 
 I wearied thus began : " Parent belov'd ! 
 Turn, and behold how I remain alone, 
 If thou stay not." — " My son ! " he straight reply'd, 
 " Thus far put forth thy strength ; " and to a track 45 
 Pointed, that, on this side projecting, round 
 C-irclcs the liill. His words so spurr'd me on, 
 That I behind him clamb'ring, forc'd myself, 
 Till my feet pressed the circuit plain beneath. 
 There both together seated, turn'd we round 50 
 
 To eastward, whence was our ascent : and oft 
 Many beside have with delight look'd back. 
 
 First on the nether shores I turn'd my eyes,
 
 punoATORY. inn 
 
 Then vaisM them to tlic sun, and woiKl'i-ing inarkM 
 
 That from tlie left it smote us. Soon perceivM 55 
 
 That Poet sage how at tlie car of liu'Iit 
 
 Amaz'd I stood, where 'twixt us aiul tlie nortli 
 
 Its course it enter'd. Wlience he tlius to nie : 
 
 " Were Leda's offsprino" now in company 
 
 Of that hroad mirror, that high up and h)W GO 
 
 Im|)arts his liglit bcneatli, thou niiglit'st behold 
 
 The ruddy zodiac nearer to the bears 
 
 Wheel, if its ancient course it not forsook. 
 
 How that may be if thou would'st tliink ; within 
 
 Pond'ring, imagine Sion Avith this mount 65 
 
 Plac'd on the earth, so that to both be one 
 
 Horizon, and two hemispheres apart, 
 
 Where lies the path that Phaeton ill knew 
 
 To guide his erring chariot : thou wilt see 
 
 TIow of necessity by this on one 70 
 
 He passes, while by that on the' other side, 
 
 If with clear view thine intellect attend." 
 
 " Of truth, kind teacher ! " I exclaiui'd, " so clear 
 Aught saw I never, as I now discern 
 Where seem'd my ken to fail, that the mid orb 75 
 
 Of the supernal motion (which in terms 
 Of art is called the Equator, and remains 
 Ever between the sun and winter) for the cause 
 Thou hast assign'd, from hence toward the north 
 Departs, when those who in the Hebrew land 80 
 
 Inhabit, see it tow'rds the warmer part. 
 But if it please thee, I would gladly knov,-, 
 How far we liave to journey: for the hill 
 Mounts higher, than tliis sight of mine can mount." 
 
 He thus to me: "Such is this steep ascent, 85 
 
 That it is ever difficult at first, 
 But, more a man proceeds, less evil grows. 
 When pleasant it shall seem to thee, so much 
 That uj)ward going shall be easy to thee. 
 As in a vessel to go down tlie tide, 90 
 
 TJien of this path tliou wilt have reach'd the end. 
 Tliere hope to rest thee from thy toil. No more 
 I ans\\ er, and thus far for certain kiu^w." 
 
 -r~
 
 134 PUIMATORY. 
 
 As lie liis words had spoken, near to us 
 
 A voice there sounded : " Yet ye first percliaucc 95 
 
 May to repose yon by constraint be led." 
 
 At sound thereof each turn'd, and on the left 
 
 A huge stone we beheld, of which nor I 
 
 Nor he before was ware. Thither we drew, 
 
 And there were some, who in the shady place 100 
 
 Behind the rock were standing, as a man 
 
 TIn-o' idleness might stand. Among them one, 
 
 "Who seem'd to me much wearied, sat him down, 
 
 And with his arms did fold his knees about, 
 
 Holding his face between them downward bent. 105 
 
 " Sweet Sir !" I cry'd, "behold that man, who shows 
 Himself more idle, than if laziness 
 Were sister to him." Straight he turn'd to us, 
 And, o'er the thigh lifting his face, observ'd, 
 Then in these accents spake : " Up tlien, proceed 110 
 Thou valiant one." Straight who it was I knew; 
 Nor could the pain I felt (for want of breath 
 Still somewhat urg'd me) hinder my approach. 
 And when I came to him, he scarce his head 
 Uplifted, saying " Well hast thou discern'd, 115 
 
 How from the left the sun his chariot leads." 
 
 His lazy acts and broken words my lips 
 To laughter somewhat mov'd ; when I began : 
 " Belacqua, now for thee I grieve no more. 
 But tell, why thou art seated upright there ? 120 
 
 Waitest thou escort to conduct thee hence? 
 Or blame I only thine accustom'd ways ? " 
 Then he : " My brother, of what use to mount. 
 When to my suffering woidd not let me pass 
 The bird of God, who at the ])ortal sits ? 125 
 
 Belioves so long that lieav'n first bear me round 
 Without its limits, as in life it bore. 
 Because I to the end repentant sighs 
 Delay'd, if prayer do not aid me first, 
 That risetli up from heart which lives in grace. 130 
 
 Wliat other kind avails, not heard in heaven ?" 
 
 Before me now the Poet up the mount 
 Ascending, cried : " Haste thee, for see the sun
 
 punr.ATOKY. 135 
 
 Has toucli'd tlic point movidinn, and the niglit 
 
 Now covers with her foot Marocco's shore." 135 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 Now had I left those spirits, and pursued 
 
 The steps of my Conductor, when beliind 
 
 Pointing the finger at nie one exchxini'd : 
 
 " See liow it seems as if tlie light not shone 
 
 Frem the left hand of him beneath, and he, 5 
 
 As living, seems to be led on." Mine eyes 
 
 I at that sound reverting, saw them gaze 
 
 Through wonder first at me, and then at me 
 
 And the light broken underneath, by turns. 
 
 "Why arc thy thoughts thus riveted," my guide 10 
 
 Exclaim'd, "that thou liust slaek'd thy pace '? or how 
 
 Imports it thee, what thing is whispcr'd here? 
 
 Come after me, and to their babblings leave 
 
 The crowd. Be as a tower, that, firmly set. 
 
 Shakes not its top for any blast that bloM'S ! 15 
 
 He, in whose bosom thought on thought shoots out. 
 
 Still of his aim is wide, in that the one 
 
 Sicklies and wastes to nought the other's strength." 
 
 What other could I ans^^'er save "I come?" 
 I said it, somewhat with that colour ting'd 20 
 
 Which ofttimes pardon meriteth for man. 
 
 Mean-\vhilc traverse along the hill there came, 
 A little way before us, some Avho sang 
 Tbe " Miserere" in res])onsive strains. 
 When they jierceiv'd that through uiy body I '_15 
 
 Gave way not for the rays to pass, tlieir song 
 Straight to a long and hoarse exclaim they chang'd ; 
 And two of them, in guise of messengers. 
 Ran on to meet us, and inquiring ask'd : 
 " Of your condition we would gladly learn." 30 
 
 To them my guide. " Ye may return, and bear 
 Tidings to them who sent you, that his frame 
 Is real flesh. If, as I deem, to view 
 His shade they paus'd, enough is answer'd them.
 
 186 PtriJCATOIIY. 
 
 j Iliin lot tlieni lionour, tlx^y may pri/X' liiin well," .% 
 
 i Ne'er saw I lieiy v:i])Ours will) sucli speed 
 
 Cut througli the seivue air at fall of night, 
 [ Nor Augu.st's cloiuls athwart the sotting sun, 
 ' That upward these did not in shorter space 
 I Tietui'n ; and, there arriving, with the rest 40 
 
 I Wheel back on us, as with loose rein a troop. 
 I " Many," exclaini'd the bard, " arc these, who throng 
 I Around us : to ifetition thee they come. 
 I Go therefore on, and listen as thou go'st." 
 [ " O spirit ! who go'st on to blessedness 45 
 
 \ With the same limbs, that clad thee at thy birth." 
 I Shouting they came, " a little rest thy step. 
 I Look if thou any one amongst our tribe 
 I Ilast e'er beheld, that tidings of him there 
 I Thou mayst re}>oi't. Ah, wherefore go'st thou on ? 50 
 i Ah wherefore tanuest thou not ? We all 
 I By violence died, and to our latest hour 
 I Were sinners, but then warn'd by light from heav'n, 
 I So that, repenting and forgiving, we 
 I Did issue out of life at jieace with God, 55 
 
 -- Who wnth desire to see him fills our heart." 
 
 Then I: " T!ie visages of all I scan 
 ■ Yet none of ye remember. But if aught, 
 • That I can do, may please you, gentle spirits ! 
 Speak ; and I will })oi-fortn it, by that ])eace, 60 
 
 Whicli on the ste])s of guide so excellent 
 Following from world to world intent I seek." 
 
 In answer he began : "None here distrusts 
 Thy kindness, though not promis'd with an oath ; 
 So as the will fail not for want of ])Ower. 65 
 
 Whence I, who sole before the others speak, 
 Entreat thee, if thou ever see that land. 
 Which lies between Romagna and the realm 
 Of Charles, that of thy courtesy thou pray 
 Those who inhnbit Fano, that for me 70 
 
 Their adorations duly be put up, 
 By which I may purge oft" my grievous sins. 
 From thence I came. But the deep passages. 
 Whence issued out the blood wherein I dwelt, 
 
 — j-
 
 rU fKiATORY. 137 
 
 ir|)on my bosom in Autenor's l;in<l 75 
 
 Were made, wliere to be more secure I thoug'lit. 
 
 The author of the deed was Este's ])riiice, 
 
 Who, more than ri_t;-lit couhl warrant, wiih his wi'atli 
 
 Pursued me. Had I towards Mira tied, 
 
 AV^hen overta'en at Oriaco, still 80 
 
 Miglit I liave breath'd. But to the marsh I sped, 
 
 And in tlie mire and rushes tangled there 
 
 Fell, and beheld my life-blood lloat the ])lain." 
 
 Then said another: "Ah! so may the wish, 
 That takes thee o'er tlie mountain, be fulfiU'd, 85 
 
 As tliou shalt graciously give aid to mine. 
 Of Montefeltro I ; Buonconte I: 
 Giovanna nor none else liave care for me, 
 Sorrowing with these I therefore go." I thus: 
 " From Campaldlno's field what force or chance 90 
 
 Drew thee, tliat ne'er thy sepulture was known ?" 
 
 " Oh ! " ans\vei-'d he, " at Casentino's foot 
 A stream there courscth, nam'd Archiano, sprung 
 In Apennine above the Hermit's seat. 
 E'en where its name is cancel'd, there came I, 95 
 
 Pierc'd in the heart, fleeing away on foot. 
 And bloodying the plain. Here sight and speech 
 Fail'd me, and finishing with Mary's name 
 I fell, and tenantless my flesh remain'd. 
 I will report the trutli ; which thou again 100 
 
 Tell to the li\-ing. Me God's angel took. 
 Whilst he of hell exclaini'd : 'O thou fi-om heav'n ! 
 ' Say wherefore hast thou robb'd me ? Thou of him 
 ' Th' eternal poilion bear'st vrith thee away 
 ' For one poor tear tliat he deprives me of. 105 
 
 ' But of the other, other rule I make.' 
 
 " Thou knowest how in the atmosphere collects 
 That vapour dank, returning into water. 
 Soon as it mounts where cold condenses it. 
 That evil will, which in his intellect 110 
 
 Still follows evil, cime, and rais'd the wind 
 And smoky mist, by virtue of the power 
 Griv'u by his nature. Thence the valley, soon 
 As day was spent, he covered o'er with cloud
 
 138 PUKGATOKY. 
 
 From Pratoirino'iio to llie niouiitain range, 115 
 
 And stretcli'd tho sky above, so lliat tlie air 
 
 Iin])rt'giiale cliaiig'd to water. Fell the rain. 
 
 And to the fosses eanie all that the land 
 
 Contain'd not; and, as mightiest streams are wont, 
 
 To the great river with such headlong sweep I'JO 
 
 Kusli'd, that nought stay'd its course. My stift'euM 
 
 frame 
 Laid at liis mouth the fell Archiano found. 
 And dash'd it into Arno, from my breast 
 Loos'ning the cross, that of myself I made 
 When overcome witli j^ain. He luirl'd me on, 125 
 
 Along the banks and bottom of his course ; 
 Then in his muddy spoils encircling wraj)t." 
 
 " Ah ! when thou to the world shalt be return'd, 
 And rested after thy long road," so spake 
 Next the third spirit ; " then remember me. 130 
 
 I once was Pia. Sienna gave me life, 
 Maremma took it from me. That he knows. 
 Who me with jewell'd ring had first espous'd." 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 When from their game of dice men separate, 
 
 He, who hath lost, remains in sadness fix'd, 
 
 devolving in his mind, what luckless throws 
 
 He cast: but meanwhile all the comjiany 
 
 Go with the other; one before him runs, 5 
 
 And one behind his mantle twitches, one 
 
 Fast by his side bids him remember him. 
 
 He stops not; and each one, to whom his hand 
 
 Is stretcli'd, well knows he bids him stand aside*, 
 
 And thus he from the press defends himself, 10 
 
 E'en such was I in that close-crowding throng; 
 
 And turning so my face around to all. 
 
 And promising, I 'scap'd from it with jjains. 
 
 Here of Arezzo him I saw, who fell 
 By Ghino's cruel arm ; and him beside, 15 
 
 Who in his chase was swallow'd by the stream.
 
 PURr.ATOllY. 130 
 
 llei-c Frederic Novc'llo, with liis liand 
 
 Stretcli'd forth, entreated ; and of Pisa ho, 
 
 Who put tlie good Mar/.uco to such proof 
 
 Of constancy. Count Orso I helield ; 20 
 
 And from its frame a soul dismiss'd for spite 
 
 And envy, as it said, but for no crime : 
 
 I speak of Peter de h^ Brosse ; and here. 
 
 While she yet lives, that Lady of ]>ral)ant 
 
 Let her beware ; lest for so false a deed 25 
 
 She herd with worse than these. When I was freed 
 
 From all those spirits, who pray'd for others' prayers 
 
 To hasten on their state of blessedness ; 
 
 Straight I began : " O thou, my luminary ! 
 
 It seems expressly in thy text denied, 30 
 
 That heaven's supreme decree can never bend 
 
 To supplication ; yet with this design 
 
 Do these entreat. Can then tlieir hope be vain, 
 
 Or is thy saying not to me reveal'd ? " 
 
 lie thus to me : " Both what I write is plain, 35 
 
 And these deceiv'd not in their hope, if well 
 Thy mind consider, that the sacred height 
 Of judgment doth not stoop, because love's flame 
 In a short moment all fulfils, which he 
 Who sojourns Jiere, in right should satisfy. 40 
 
 Besides, when I this point concluded thus. 
 By praying no defect could be supplied ; 
 Because the pray'r had none access to God. 
 Yet in this deep suspicion rest thou not 
 Contented unless she assure thee so, 45 
 
 Who betwixt truth and mind infuses light. 
 I know not if thou take me right ; I mean 
 Beatrice. Her thou shalt behold above. 
 Upon this mountain's crown, fair seat of joy." 
 
 Then I : " Sir ! let us mend our speed ; for now 50 
 
 I tire not as before ; and lo ! the hill 
 Stretches its shadow far." He answer'd thus : 
 " Our progress with this day shall be as much 
 As we may now dispatch ; but otherwise 
 Than thou supposest is the truth. For there 55 
 
 Thou canst not be, ere tliou <mce more beliold
 
 140 TURGATORV. 
 
 Him back rotuniini?, wlio beliiiid tlie steep 
 
 Is now so hidden, tliat as erst liis benm 
 
 Tliou dost not break. But lo ! a s]»irit there 
 
 Stands solitary, and toward us looks : CO 
 
 It will instruct us in the s})cediest way." 
 
 We soon approach'd it. O thou Lombard s])irit ! 
 How didst thou stand, in high abstracted mood, 
 Scarce moving with slow dignity thine eyes ! 
 It spoke not aught, but let us onM'ard pass, 65 | 
 
 Eyeing us as a lion on his watch. 
 
 But Virgil with entreaty mild advanc'd, | 
 
 Requesting it to show the best ascent. 
 
 It answer to his question none return'd, j 
 
 But of our country and our kind of life 70 
 
 Demanded. When my courteous guide began, 
 " Mantua," the solitary shadow quick 1 
 
 Rose tow'rds us from the place in which it stood, } 
 
 And cry'd, " Mantuan ! I am thy countryman I 
 
 Sordello." Each the other then embrac'd. 75 
 
 I'^^Ali slavish Italy ! thou inn of grief, 
 
 I Vessel without a pilot in loud storm, 
 
 I Lady no longer of fair provinces, 
 
 I But brothel-house impure ! this gentle spirit, 
 
 I Ev'n from tlie jJeasant sound of his dear l»nd 80 
 
 I Was prompt to greet a felloAV citizen 
 
 I With such glad cheer ; while now thy living ones 
 
 I In thee abide not without war; and one 
 Malicious gnaws another, ay of those 
 Whom the same wall and the same moat contains. 85 
 I Seek, wretched one ! around thy sea-coasts wide ; 
 Then homeward to thy bosom turn, and mark 
 If any part of the sweet peace enjoy. 
 i What boots it, that thy reins Justinian's hand 
 Refitted, if thy saddle be unpress'd ? 90 
 
 Nought doth he now but aggravate thy shame. 
 Ah people ! thou obedient still shoiddst live, 
 And in the saddle let thy Coesar sit. 
 If well thou marked'st that which God commands. 
 
 Look how that beast to felness hath relaps'd 95 
 
 From having lost coi-rection of the spur, 
 
 -|_.
 
 ruui;ATORY. 141 
 
 Since to tlio bridle thou liast set th'ino hand, 
 
 O German Albert ! wlio abandon'st her, 
 
 That is grown savage and unnianaoe;il)le, 
 
 When thou should'st clasji her ilanks with forked Jieels. 
 
 Just judgment from the stars fall on thy blood ! 101 
 
 And be it strange and manifest to all ! 
 
 Such as may strike tliy successor with dread ! 
 
 For tliat thy sire and thou have suffered tluis, 
 
 Throirgh greediness of yonder realms detain'd, 105 
 
 The garden of the empire to run waste. 
 
 Come see the Capulets and Montagues, 
 
 The Philippeschi and Monaldi ! man 
 
 Who car'st for nought ! those sunk in grief, and these 
 
 With dire suspicion rack'd. Come, cruel one ! 110 \ 
 
 Come and beliold the' oppression of the nobles, \ 
 
 And mark their injuries : and thou mayst see, | 
 
 What safet}' Santahore cm sujiply. j 
 
 Come and behold thy Tiome, who calls on thee, I 
 
 Desolate widow ! day and night with moans : 115 ? 
 
 "My Cresar, why dost thou desert my side?" 5 
 
 Come and behold what love among thy people: ] 
 
 And if no pity touclics thee for us. 
 
 Come and blush for thine own report. For me, 
 
 If it be lawful, Almighty Power, 120 i 
 
 Who wast in earth for our sakes crucified ! I 
 
 Are thy just eyes turn'd elsewdiere ? or is this | 
 
 A preparation in the wond'rous depth i 
 
 Of thy sage counsel made, for some good end, 
 
 Entirely from our reach of tliought cut off? 125 
 
 So are the' Italian cities all o'erthrong'd 
 
 With tyrants, and a great Marcellus made 
 
 Of every petty factious villager. ; 
 
 My Florence! thou mayst well remain unmov'd 
 At this digression, which affects not thee : loO 
 
 Thanks to thy peojile, who so wisely speed. \ 
 
 Many have justice in their lieart, that long | 
 
 Waiteth for counsel to direct the bow, | 
 
 Or ere it dart unto its aim : but thine j 
 
 Have it on their lip's edge. Many refuse 135 
 
 To bear the common burdens : readier thine
 
 142 PURGATORY. 
 
 Answer uncall'd, and cry. " Behold I stoop ! " 
 Make thyself glad, for thou hast reason now, 
 Thou wealthy! fhou at peace! thou wisdom-fraught! 
 Facts best witness if I speak the truth. 140 
 
 Athens and Lacedicmon, who of old 
 Enacted laws, for civil arts renown'd. 
 Made little progress in improving life 
 Tow'rds thee, who usest such nice subtlety, 
 That to the middle of November scarce 145 
 
 Reaches the thread thou in October weav'st. 
 Plow many times, within thy memory, 
 Customs, and laws, and coins, and offices 
 Have been by thee renew'd, and people chang'd ! 
 
 If thou remember'st well and can'st see clear, 150 
 
 Thou wilt perceive thyself like a sick wretch. 
 Who finds no rest upon her down, but oft 
 Shifting her side, short respite seeks from pain. 
 
 CANTO YII. 
 
 After their courteous greetings joyfully 
 
 Sev'n times exchang'd, Sordello backward drew 
 
 Exclaiming, " Who are ye?" " Before this mount 
 
 By spirits worthy of ascent to God 
 
 Was sought, ray bones had by Octavius' care 5 
 
 Been buried. I am Virgil, for no sin 
 
 Depriv'd of heav'n, excei>t for lack of faith." 
 
 So answer'd him in few my gentle guide. 
 
 As one, who aught before him suddenly 
 Beholding, whence his wonder riseth, cries 10 
 
 " It is yet is not," wav'ring in belief; 
 Such he appear'd ; then downward bent his eyes. 
 And drawing near witli revei'ential step, 
 Cauglit him, where of mean estate might clasp 
 His "lord. " Glory of Latium ! " he exelaim'd, 15 
 
 " In whom our tcnigue its utmost jiower display'd! 
 Boast of my honor'd birth-place ! what desert 
 Of mine, what favour rather undeservVl, 
 Shows thee to me V If I to hear that voice
 
 PUKGATOKY. 143 
 
 Am worthy, say if from below tliou com'st "20 
 
 And from what cloister's pale? " — " Tiirough every orb 
 
 Of that sad region," he rejdy'd, " thus far 
 
 Am I arriv'd, by heav'uly iiiilueuce led 
 
 And witli such aid I come. There is a jilace 
 
 There underneath, not made by torments sad, 25 
 
 But by dun shades alone; where mourning's voice 
 
 Sounds not of anguish sharp, but breathes in sighs 
 
 There I -with little innocents abide, 
 
 Who by death's fangs were bitten, ere exempt 
 
 From liuman taint. There I with those abide, 30 
 
 Who the three holy virtues put not on, 
 
 But understood the rest, and without blame 
 
 Follow'd them all. But if thcu know'st and canst, 
 
 Direct us, how we soonest may arrive. 
 
 Where Purgatory' its true beginning takes." 35 
 
 He answer'd thus : " We have no certain place 
 Assign'd us : upwards I may go or round, 
 Far as I can, I join thee for thy guide. 
 But thou beholdest now how day declines : 
 And upwards to proceed by night, our power 40 
 
 Excels : therefore it may be well to choose 
 A place of pleasant sojourn. To the right 
 Some spirits sit apart i-etir'd. If thou 
 Consentest, I to these will lead thy steps : 
 And thou wilt know them, not without delight." 45 
 
 " How chances this?" was answer'd ; " whoso wish'd 
 To' ascend by night, would he be thence debarr'd 
 By other, or through his own weakness fail ? " 
 
 The good Sordello then, along the ground 
 Trailing his finger, spoke : " Only this line 50 
 
 Thou shalt not overpass, soon as the sun 
 Hath disa2:)pear'd ; not that aught else imj»edes 
 Thy going upwards, save the shades of night. 
 These with the wont of power perplex the will. 
 With them thou haply mightst return beneath, 55 
 
 Or to and fro around the mountain's side 
 Wander, while day is in the horizon shut." 
 
 My master straight, as wond'ring at his speech, 
 Exclaim'd : " Then lead us quickly, where thou sayst.
 
 141: puui;atouv. | 
 
 That, wliile wc stay, we may criioy dcHixlit." 60 t 
 
 A little space we were removM from thence, ? 
 
 When I percoivM the mountain hoIlouM out. I 
 
 Ev'n as largo ^-alleys hollow'd out on eavth, j 
 
 " That way," the' escorting s|)irit cried, " we go, 
 Whore in a bosom the high hank recedes : 05 i 
 
 And thou await renewal of the day." | 
 
 Betwixt the steep and ])lain a crooked path 
 Led us traverse into the ridge's side, 8 
 
 Where more than half tlie sloping edge expires. ': 
 
 Refulgent gold, and silver thrice refin'd, 70 = 
 
 And scarlet grain and ceruse, Indian wood •; 
 
 Of lucid dye serene, fresh emeralds j 
 
 But newly broken, by the herbs and flowers I 
 
 Plac'd in that fair recess, in color all 
 
 Had been surpass'd, as great surpasses less. 75 
 
 Nor nature only there lavish'd her hues. 
 But of the sweetness of a thousand smells 
 A rare and undistinguish'd fragrance made. 
 
 " Salve Kegina," on the grass and flowers 
 Here chanting I beheld those spirits sit 80 J 
 
 Who not beyond the valley could be seen. | 
 
 "Before the west'ring sun sink to his bed," ] 
 
 Began the Mantuan, M'ho our steps had turn'd, t 
 
 " 'Mid those desires not that I lead ye on, ; 
 
 For from this eminence ye shall discern 85 ! 
 
 Better the acts and visages of all, i 
 
 Than in the nether vale among them mix'd. \ 
 
 He, who sits high above the rest, and seems j 
 
 To have neglected that he should have done, ' 
 
 And to the others' song moves not his liji, 90 
 
 The Emperor Ivodol|)h call, who might have heal'd i 
 
 The wounds whei'eof fair Italy haJi died, j 
 
 So that by others she revives but slowly. 
 Pie, who with kindly visage comforts him, | 
 
 Sway'd in that country, where the water s])rings, 95 \ 
 
 That Moldaw's river to the Elbe, and Elbe 
 Rolls to the ocean : Ottocar his name : 
 Who in .his swaddling clothes was of more worth 
 Than Winccslaus his son, a bearded man,
 
 PURGATORY. Hf) 
 
 P;iin))('rM with runk luxuriousncss and case. 100 
 
 And liiat one with the nose deprest, who close 
 In counsel scoins with him of LCcntle look, 
 Flying expir'd, with'riiig tlie lily's rlower. 
 Look there how he doth knock against his breast ! 
 The other ye behold, Avho for his cheek 1(*5 
 
 Makes of one hand a couch, with frequent sighs. 
 They are the father and the fsither-in-law 
 Of Gallia's bane: his vicious life they know 
 And foul ; thence conies the grief that rends them 
 thus, 
 
 " He, so robust of limb, who measure keeps 110 
 
 In song, with him of feature prominent, 
 With ev'ry virtue bore his girdle brac'd. 
 And if that strijiling who behinds him sits, 
 King after him had liv'd, his virtue then 
 From vessel to like vessel had been jiuur'd ; 115 
 
 Which may not of the other heirs be said. 
 V>y James and Frederick his realms are held ; 
 Neither the better heritage obtains, 
 llarely into the l)ran<'hes of the tree 
 
 Doth human worth mount up ; and so ordains 120 
 
 He who bestows it, that as his free gift 
 It may be call'd. To Charles my words apply 
 No less than to his brother in the song ; 
 Which Pouille and Provence now witli grief confess. 
 So much that plant degenerates from its seed, 125 
 
 As more than Beatrice and Margaret 
 Costanza still boasts of her valorous s]iouse. 
 
 " Behold the king of sim]/ie life and plain, 
 Harry of England, sitting there alone : 
 He through his branches better issue spreads. 130 
 
 " That one, who on the ground beneath the rest 
 Sits lowest, yet his gaze directs aloft. 
 Is William, that brave IMarcpiis, for whose cause 
 The deed of Alexandria and his war 
 Makes Conferrat and Canavese weep." 135 
 
 10
 
 146 rcr:fiAT<)RV, 
 
 CANTO VIII. 
 
 Now was the lioiir tliat wakens fond dosire 
 
 In men at sea, and melts their thouijlitful lieart, 
 
 Who in the morn have bid sweet friends farewell, 
 
 And ])ilu'rim newly on his road with love 
 
 Thrills, if he hear the vesjK'r bell from far, 5 
 
 That seems to mourn for the expiring day : 
 
 When I, no longer taking heed to hear. 
 
 Began, with wonder, from those spirits to mark 
 
 One risen from its seat, Avhich with its hand 
 
 Audience implor'd. Both ])alins it join'd and rais'd, 10 
 
 Fixing its steadfast gaze towards the east, 
 
 As telling God, " I care for naught beside." 
 
 " Te Lucis Ante," so devoutly then 
 Came from its lip, and in so soft a strain, 
 That all my sense in ravishment was lost. 15 
 
 And the rest after, softly and devout, 
 Follow'd through all the hymn, with upward gaze 
 Directed to the bright supernal wheels. 
 
 Here, reader! for the truth makes thine eyes keen : 
 For of so subtle texture is this veil, 20 
 
 That thou with ease mayst pass it through unmark'd, 
 
 I saw that gentle band silently next 
 Look up, as if in expectation held. 
 Pale and in lowly guise ; and from on high 
 I saw forth issuing descend beneath 25 
 
 Two angels with two flame-illumin'd swords, 
 Broken and mutilated at their points. 
 Green as the tender leaves but newly born. 
 Their vesture was, the which by wings as green 
 Beaten, they drew behind them, fann'd iu air. 30 
 
 A little over iis one took his stand. 
 The other lighted on the' opposing hill. 
 So that the troop were in the midst contain'd. 
 
 Well I descried the whiteness on their heads ; 
 But in their visages the dazzled eye 35 
 
 Was lost, as faculty that by too much 
 Is overpower'd. " Fi-om INfary's bosom both 
 Are come," exclaim'd Sordello, "as a guard
 
 PURGATORY. 
 
 147 
 
 Ovei' the vnlo, gniiist liiin, wlio liithcr tends, 
 
 Tlie seriient." Wlicnce, not knowinu; by wliich [lutli 40 
 
 lie cnme, I tuvn'd nie round, and closely 2)ress'd, 
 
 All frozen, to my leader's trusted side. 
 
 Sordello paus'd not: "To the valley now 
 (For it is time) let us descend ; and hold 
 Converse with those great shadows : hajily mneh 45 
 
 Their sight may please ye." Only three steps down 
 ]Methinks I measur'd, ere I was beneath. 
 And noted one who look'd as Avith desire 
 To know me. Time was now that air grew dim ; 
 Yet not so dim, that 'twixt his eyes and mine 50 
 
 It clear'd not up what was conceal'd before. 
 Mutually tow'rds each other we advanc'd. 
 Nino, thou courteous judge ! what joy I felt, 
 When I perceiv'd thou wert not with the bad! 
 
 No salutation kind on either part 55 
 
 Was left unsaid. Tie then inqnir'd : " How long 
 Since thou arrived'st at the mountain's foot, 
 Over the distant waves ?" — " O ! " answer'd I, 
 " Through the sad seats of woe this morn I came, 
 And still in my first life, thus journeying on, GO 
 
 The other strive to gain." Soon as they heard 
 ]My words, he and Sordello backward drew, 
 As suddenly amaz'd. To Virgil one, 
 The other to a spirit turn'd, who near 
 Was seated, crying : " Conrad ! up with sjieed : 65 
 
 Come, see what of his grace high God hath will'd." 
 Then turning round to me : " By that rare mark 
 Of honour whicli thou ow'st to him, who hides 
 So deeply his first cause, it hath no ford. 
 When thou shalt be beyond the vast of waves. 70 
 
 Tell my Giovanna, that for me she call 
 There, where reply to innocence is made. 
 Her mother, I believe, loves me no more ; 
 Since she has chang'd the white and whimpled folds, 
 Which she is doom'd once more with grief to wish. 75 
 By her it easily may be j^erceiv'd. 
 How long in woman lasts the flame of love, 
 If sight and touch do not rehime it oft.
 
 148 PURGATORY. 
 
 For her so fair n biii-ial will not make 
 
 The viper Avhich calls Mibui to the liehl, 80 
 
 As liad been made by shrill Gallura's bird." 
 
 T[e spoke, and in his visa2;e took the stamp 
 Of that right seal, which with due temperature 
 Glows in the bosom. My insatiate eyes 
 Meanwhile to heav'n had travel'd, even there 85 
 
 Where tlie brit^'ht stars are slowest, as a Avheel 
 Nearest the axle ; when my guide inquir'd : 
 "What there ah_)ft, my son, has caught thy gaze ? " 
 
 I answer'd: "The three torches, with which here 
 The pole is all on fire." He then to me : 90 
 
 " The four resplendent stars, thou saw'st this morn 
 Are there beneath, and these ris'n in their stead." 
 
 While yet he spoke, Sordello to himself 
 Drew him, and cry'd : " Lo there our enemy ! " 
 And with his hand ])ointed that way to look. 95 
 
 Along the side, where barrier none arose 
 Around the little vale, a serpent lay. 
 Such haply as gave Eve the bitter food. 
 Between the grass and flowers, the evil snake 
 Came on, reverting oft his lifted head ; 100 
 
 And, as a beast that smooths its polish'd coat, 
 Licking his back. I saw not, nor can tell, 
 How those celestial falcons from their seat 
 Mov'd, but in motion each one vv'ell descried, 
 Hearing the air cut by their verdant plumes. 105 
 
 The serpent fled ; and to their stations back 
 The angels up return'd with equal flight. 
 
 The spirit (who to Nino, when he call'd. 
 Had come), from viewing me with fixed ken, 
 Through all that conflict, loosen'd not his sight. 110 
 
 " So may the lamp, which leads thee up on high, j 
 
 Find, in thy destin'd lot, of wax so much. 
 As may suffice thee to the enamel's height." 
 It thus began : " If any certain news 
 Of Valdimagra and the neighbour part 115 
 
 Tliou know'st, tell me, who once was mighty there. 
 They call'd me Conrad Malasinna, not 
 That old one, but from him I si)rang. The love
 
 PURGATORY. 149 
 
 I l)oro my people is now lierc rofiiiM." 
 
 " In your dominions," I answer'd, " ne'er was I. 120 
 But througli aH Europe wliere do those men dwell, 
 To whom their glory is not manifest ? 
 The fame, that honours your illustrious house, 
 Proclaims the nobles and proclaims the land ; 
 So tliat he knows it who was never there. 125 
 
 I swear to you, so may my upward route 
 Prosper ! your honour'd nation not impairs 
 The value of her coffer and her sword. 
 Nature and use giA^e her such privilege, 
 That while the world is twisted from his course 130 
 
 By a had head, slie only walks aright, 
 And has the evil way in scorn." lie then : 
 "Now pass thee on : sev'n times the tired sun 
 Revisits not the couch, which with four feet 
 The forked Aries covers, ere that kind 135 
 
 0])iniou shall he nail'd into thy brain 
 With stronger nails tlian other's speech can drive, 
 If the sure course of judgment be not stay'd." 
 
 CANTO IX 
 
 Now the fair consort of Tithonus old, 
 
 Arisen from her mate's beloved arms, 
 
 Look'd ])alely o'er the eastern cliff : her brow, 
 
 Lucent with jewels, glitter'd, set in sign 
 
 Of that chill animal, who Avith his train 5 
 
 Smites fearful nations : and where then we Avero, 
 
 Two steps of her ascent the night had past. 
 
 And now the third Avas closing up its wing. 
 
 When I, Avho had so much of Adam Avith me,- 
 
 Sank down upon the grass, o'ercome with sleep, 10 
 
 There Avhere all five were seated. In that hour, 
 
 When near the dawn the swallow her sad lay, 
 
 Kememb'iing haply ancient grief, renews. 
 
 And with our minds more wand'rers from the flesh, 
 
 And less by tliought restrain'd, are, as 't Avere, full 15 ^ 
 
 Of holy divination in their dreams, i 
 
 Then in a vision did I seem to view
 
 150 PURr.ATORY. 
 
 A sxolden-feritlierM oaijlo in tlie sky, 
 
 AVitli ()])cn winsi's, nii<l liov'rincf for descent, 
 
 And 1 was in tlmt place, metlionglit, from whence 20 
 
 Young Ganymede, from Ids associates 'reft, 
 
 Was snatcli'd aloft to the higli consistory, 
 
 " Perhaps," thought I within me, "here alone 
 
 He strikes his quarry, and elsewhere disdains 
 
 To ])Ounce npon the prey." Therewitli, it seem'd, 25 
 
 A little -wheeling in Ids airy tour 
 
 Terrible as the lightning rush'd he down. 
 
 And snatcli'd me upward even to the fire. 
 
 There both, I thought, the eagle and myself 
 
 Di<l burn ; and so intense th' imagin'd flames, 30 
 
 That needs my sleep was broken off. As erst 
 
 Achilles shook himself, and round him roll'd 
 
 Plis waken'd eyeballs wond'ring where he was, 
 
 Whenas his mother had from Chiron fled 
 
 To Scyros, with him sleeping in her arms ; 35 
 
 E'en thus I shook me, soon as from my face 
 
 The slumber parted, turning deadly pale, 
 
 Like one ice-struck with dread. Sole at my side 
 
 My comfort stood : and the bright sun was now 
 
 More than two hours aloft : and to the sea 40 
 
 My looks -were turn'd. " Fear not," my master cried, 
 
 " Assur'd we are at happy point. Thy strength 
 
 Shriidv not, but rise dilated. Thou art come 
 
 To Purgatory now. Lo ! there the cliff 
 
 That circling bounds it ! Lo ! the entrance there, 45 
 
 Where it doth seem disparted ! Ere the dawn 
 
 Usher'd the daylight, when thy wearied soul 
 
 Sle]it in thee, o'er the flowery vale beneath 
 
 A lady came, and thus bespake me : 'I 
 
 Am Lucia. Suffer me to take this man, 50 
 
 Who slumbers. Easier so his way shall speed.' 
 
 Sordello and the other gentle shapes 
 
 Tarrying, she bare thee up : and, as day shone, 
 
 This summit reach'd ; and I pursued her steps. 
 
 Here did she place thee. First her lovely eyes 55 
 
 That open entrance show'd me ; tlien at once 
 
 She vanisli'd with thy sleep." Like one, whose doubts
 
 PURGATORY, 151 
 
 Arc chas'd by certainty, and terror tiirn'd 
 
 To comfort on discovery of tlie trutli, 
 
 Such was the change in me : and as my guide 60 
 
 Beheld me fearless, up along the cliff 
 
 He mov'd, and I behind him, towards the height. 
 
 Reader ! thou markest how my tlieme doth rise, 
 Nor wonder therefore, if more artfully 
 I prop the structure ! Nearer now we drew, 65 
 
 Arriv'd, whence in that part, where first a breach 
 As of a wall a]>])ear'd, I could descry 
 A portal, and three steps beneath, that led 
 For inlet there, of different colour each, 
 And one who watch'd, but spake not yet a word. 70 
 
 As more and more mine eye did stretch its view, 
 I mark'd him seated on the highest step. 
 In visage such, as past my power to bear. 
 GrasjVd in his hand a naked sword, glanc'd back 
 The rays so toward me, that I oft in vain 75 
 
 My sight directed. " Speak from whence ye stand : " 
 He cried : " What would ye? Where is your escort? 
 Take heed your coming upward harm ye not." 
 
 " A heavenly dame, not skilless of these things," 
 Replied the' instructor, " iMcl us, even now, 80 
 
 ' Pass that way : here the gate is.'" — "And may she 
 Befriending prosper your ascent," resum'd 
 The courteous keeper of the gate : " Come then 
 Before our steps." We straightway thither came. 
 
 The lowest stair Avas marble white, so smooth 85 
 
 And polish'd, that therein my mirror'd form 
 Distinct I saw. Tlie next of hue more dark 
 Tlian sablest grain, a rough and singed block, 
 Crack'd lengthwise and across. The third, that lay 
 Massy above, seem'd porphyry, that flam'd 90 
 
 Red as the life-blood sjiouting from a vein. 
 On this God's angel either foot sustain'd, 
 Upon the threshold seated, which appear'd 
 A rock of diamond. Up the trinal steps 
 My leader chcerly drew me. " Ask," said he, 95 
 
 " With humble heart, that he unbar the bolt." 
 
 Piously at his holy feet devolv'd
 
 lo2 PURiiATOUV. 
 
 I cast mo, pniyinG^ liim for pity's sake 
 
 Tliut lie would open to me : Imt tii'st fell 
 
 Thrice o)i my Losom i)rosti-:ite. Sevoi limes 100 
 
 'J^iie letter, that denotes the inward staiii, 
 
 lie on my forehead Mith the ])lunted jioint 
 
 Of his drawn sword inscrib'd. And " Look," he cried, 
 
 "When enterVl, tliat thou Mash tliese seai\s away." 
 
 Ashes, or earth ta'en dry out of the ground, 105 
 
 Were of one colour with the rohe he Avoi-e. 
 From underneath that vestment forth he drew 
 Two keys of metal t^-ain : the one was gold, 
 Its fellow silver. With the ])allid first. 
 And next the burnish'd, he so ply'd the gate, 110 
 
 As to content me Avell. "Whenever one 
 Faileth of these, that in the keyhole straight 
 It turn not, to this alley then expect 
 Access in vain." Such Avere the words he s])ake. 
 "One is more precious : but the other needs 115 
 
 Skill and sagacity, large share of each, 
 Ere its good task to disengage the knot 
 lie worthily ])erform'd. From Peter these 
 I hold, of him instructed, that I err 
 
 llather in opening than in keeflng fast ; 120 
 
 So but the suppliant at my feet im])lore." 
 
 Then of that halloAv'd gate he thi-ust the door, 
 I]xclaiming, " Enter, but this warning hear : 
 IFe forth again de])arts who looks behind." 
 
 As in the hinges of that sacred ward 125 
 
 The swivels turn'd, sonorous metal strong, 
 TIarsh was the grating ; nor so surlily 
 IJoai-'d the Tarpeian, Avhen by force bereft 
 Of good Metellus, thenceforth from his loss 
 To leanness doom'd. Attentively I turn'd, 130 
 
 List'ning the thunder, that first issued forth ; 
 And " We praise thee, O God," methouglit I heard 
 In accents blended with sweet melody. 
 ""J'lie strains came o'er mine ear, e'en as the sound 
 Of choral voices, that in solemn chant 135 
 
 With organ mingle, and, now high and clear, 
 Come swelling, now lloat indistinct away.
 
 PURGATORY. 153 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 WiTEX we had passed the (hreslioM of the gate 
 
 (Which tlie soiil's ill affection doth disuse, 
 
 Making the crooked seem the straighter path), 
 
 I lieard its closing sound. ITad mine eyes turn'd, 
 
 For that offence what plea )night have avail'd ? 5 
 
 We mounted up the riven rock, that wound 
 On either side alternate, as the wave 
 Flies and advances. " Here some little art 
 Behoves us," said my leader, " that our steps 
 Observe the varying flexure of the path." 10 
 
 Thus Ave so slowly sped, that with cleft orb 
 The moon once more o'erhangs her wat'ry couch, 
 Ere we that strait have threaded. But when free 
 We came and open, where the mount above 
 One solid mass retires, I spent, with toil, 15 
 
 And both, uncertain of the Avay, we stood. 
 Upon a plain more lonesome, than the roads 
 That traverse desert wilds. From whence the brink 
 Borders upon vacuity, to foot 
 
 Of the steep bank, that rises still, the space 20 
 
 Had measur'd thrice the stature of a man : 
 And, distant as mine eye could wing its flight, 
 To leftward now and now to right dispatch'd. 
 That cornice equal in extent aj)pear'd. 
 
 Not yet our feet had on that summit mov'd, 25 
 
 When I diseover'd that the bank around, 
 Whose proud uprising all ascent denied, 
 Was marble white, and so exactly wrought 
 With quaintest sculpture, that not there alone 
 Had Polycletus, but e'en nature's self 30 
 
 Bt-'cn sham'd. The angel (who came down to earth 
 With tidings of the peace so many years 
 Wept for in vain, that oped the lieavenly gates 
 From their long interdict) before us seera'd, 
 In a sweet act, so scul])tur'd to the life, 35 
 
 He look'd no silent image. One had sworn 
 He had said " Hail ! " for she was imag'd there, 
 By whom the key did open to God's love,
 
 154 PURr.ATORY. 
 
 And in her net as Rcnsibly imprest 
 
 That word, "P.eliold the"handinaid of the Lord,' 40 
 
 As fig-ure seal'd on wax. " Fix not thy mind 
 
 On one ])lace only," said tlie guide beh)v'd, 
 
 Who liad me near liim on tliat })art where lies 
 
 The heart of man. My siglit forthwith I turn'd 
 
 And mark'd, behind the virgin mother's form, 45 
 
 U]>on that side, where he, tliat mov'd me, stood, 
 
 Another story graven on the rock. 
 
 I past athwart the bard, and drew me near, 
 That it might stand more aptly for my view. 
 There in the self-same marble were engrav'd 60 
 
 The cart and kine, drawing the sacred ark, 
 That from unbidden office awes mankind. 
 Before it came much people ; and the whole 
 Parted in seven quires. One sense cried " Nay," 
 Another, " Yes, they sing." Like doubt arose 55 
 
 Betwixt the eye and smell, from the curl'd fume 
 Of incense breathing up the well-wrought toil, 
 Pi-eceding the blest vessel, onward came 
 With light dance leaping, girt in humble guise, 
 Sweet Israel's harper: in that bap he seem'd 60 
 
 Less and yet more than kingly. Opposite, 
 At a great ])alace, from the lattice forth 
 Look'd Michol, like a lady full of scorn 
 And sorrow. To behold the tablet next, 
 Which at the back of JMichol whitely shone, 65 
 
 I mov'd me. There was storied on the rock 
 The' exalted glory of the Roman prince, 
 Whose mighty worth mov'd Gregory to earn 
 His mighty conquest, Trajan th' Emperor. 
 A widow at his bridle stood, attir'd 70 
 
 In tears and mourning. Round about them troop'd 
 Full throng of knights, and overhead in gold 
 The eagles floated, struggling with the wind. 
 The wretch appear'd amid all these to say : 
 " Grant vengeance, sire ! for, woe beshrew this heart ! 
 My son is murder'd." Lie replying seem'd ; 75 
 
 " Wait now till I return." And she, as one 
 Made hasty by her grief: "O sire, if thou 
 
 i
 
 PUKr.ATOKY. 156 
 
 Dost not roturn?" — " Wliorc I nm, wlio then is, 
 
 May rio-lit thee." — " Wliat to tliee is otlier's good, 80 
 
 If thou neolect thy own?" — "Now comfort thee," 
 
 At lengtli he answers. "It beseenieth well 
 
 My duty he pcrforni'd, ere I move hence : 
 
 So justice wills; and ]>ity Lids me stay." 
 
 lie, whose ken nothing new surveys, produc'd 85 
 
 That visible speaking, new to us and strange. 
 The like not found on earth. Fondly I gaz'cl 
 Upon those patterns of meek humbleness. 
 Shapes yet more precious for their artist's sake, 
 When "Lo," the jioet Avhisper'd, " wliere this way 90 
 (But slack their jiace), a multitude advance. 
 These to the lofty steps shall guide us on." 
 
 Mine eyes, though bent on view of novel sights 
 Their lov'd allurement, were not slow to turn. 
 
 Reader! I would not that amaz'd thou miss 95 I 
 
 Of thy good pui-pose, hearing how just God 
 Decrees our debts be eancel'd. Ponder not | 
 
 The form of suff'ring. Think on Avhat succeeds, | 
 
 Think that at worst beyond the mighty doom I 
 
 It cannot pass. " Instructor," I began, 100 I 
 
 "What I see hither tending, bears no trace s 
 
 Of Imman semblance, nor of aught beside I 
 
 That my foil'd sight can guess." He answering thus : | 
 
 " So courb'd to earth, beneath their heavy teems I 
 
 Of torment stoop they, that mine eye at first 105 \ 
 
 Struggled as thine. But look intently thither, 
 And disentangle with thy lab'ring view. 
 What underneath those stones approacheth : now. 
 E'en now, may'st thou discern the pangs of each." 
 
 Christians and j^roud ! O poor and wretched ones ! 110 
 That feeble in the mind's eye, lean your trust 
 Upon unstaid perverseness ! Know ye not 
 That we are worms, yet made at last to form. 
 The winged insect, imp'd with angel plumes 
 That to heaven's justice unobsti-ucted soars ? 115 
 
 Why buoy ye up aloft your unfledg'd souls ? 
 Abortive then and shapeless ye remain, 
 Like the untimely embryou of a worm !
 
 156 runoATORv. 
 
 As, to support iiicmnbeiit floor or roof, 
 For corl)el is n lio-m-e sometimes seen, 120 
 
 That crum])les up its knees unto its breast, 
 Willi tlie feiti-nM ])oslure stirrinjj; ruth unfeign'd 
 In the beholder's fancy ; so I saw 
 These fashion'd, when I noted well their guise. 
 
 Each, as his back was laden, came indeed 125 
 
 Or more or less contract ; Ijut it appear'd 
 As he, who show'd most ])atience in his look, 
 Wailincf exclaini'd : " I can endure no more." 
 
 CANTO XI. 
 
 " O THOU Almighty Father, who dost make 
 
 The heavens thy dwelling, not in bounds confin'd, 
 
 But that with love intenser there thou vicw'st 
 
 Thy primal effluence, hallow'd be thy name : 
 
 Join each created being to extol 5 
 
 Thy might, for worthy humblest thanks and praise 
 
 Is thy blest Spirit. May thy kingdom's peace 
 
 Come unto us ; for we, unless it come. 
 
 With all our striving thither tend in vain. 
 
 As of their will the angels unto thee 10 
 
 Tender meet sacrifice, circling thy throne 
 
 With loud liosannas, so of theirs be done 
 
 By saintly men on earth. Grant us this day 
 
 Our daily manna, without which he roams 
 
 Through this rough desert retrograde, who most '15 
 
 Toils to advance his steps. As we to each 
 
 Pardon the evil done us, pardon thou 
 
 Benign, and of our merit take no count. 
 
 'Gainst the old adversary prove thou not 
 
 Our virtue easily subdu'd ; but free 20 
 
 From his incitements and defeat his wiles. 
 
 This last jietition, dearest Lord ! is made 
 
 Not for ourselves, since that were needless now, 
 
 But for their sakes who after us remain." 
 
 Thus for themselves and us good s))eed imploi-ing, 25 
 Those spirits went beneath a weight like that
 
 rUKGATORY. 157 
 
 VVe somctimps feel in d reams, all, sovc beset, 
 
 But witli uuoqual aiio'uisli, wearied all, 
 
 Round til*? first circuit, ])urging, as they go, 
 
 The wovl'i's gross darkness off. In our behoof 30 
 
 If thej-o vows still be offer'd, what can liere 
 
 For tVi'im be vow'd and done by such, whose wills 
 
 Hav. root of goodness in them '? Well beseems 
 
 Thi^t wQ should heljD them wash away tlie stains 
 
 They carried hence, that so, made ])urc and light, 35 
 
 TSiey may spring upward to the starry S])heres. 
 
 *■' Ah ! so may mercy-temper'd justice rid 
 Your burdens speedily, that ye have power 
 To stretch your wing, wliich e'en to your desire 
 Shall lift you, as ye show us on which hand 40 
 
 Toward the ladder leads the shortest way. 
 And if there be more ])assages than one, 
 Instruct us of that easiest to ascend ; 
 For this man who comes with me, and l)ears yet 
 TUe charge of fleshly raiment Adam left him, 45 
 
 Despite his better will but slowly mounts." 
 From whom the answer came unto these words, 
 Which ray guide spake, appear'd not ; but 'twas said 
 " Along the bank to rightward come Avith us. 
 And ye shall find a pass that mocks not toil 50 
 
 Of living man to climb : and were it not 
 That I am hinder'd by the rock, wherewith 
 This arrogant neck is tam'd, whence needs I stoop 
 My visage to the ground, hira, who yet lives. 
 Whose name thou speak'st not him I fain would 
 
 view, 55 
 
 To mark if e'er I knew hira, and to crave 
 His pity for the fardel that I bear. 
 I was of Latiuni, of a Tuscan born 
 A mighty one : Aldobrandesco's name 
 My sire's, I know not if ye e'er have heard. 60 
 
 My old blood and forefathers' gallant deeds 
 Made me so haughty, that I clean forgot 
 Tiie common mother, and to such excess, 
 Wax'd in ray scorn of all men, that I fell, 
 Fell therefore ; by what fate Sienna's sons, 65
 
 158 PUUGATOUY. 
 
 Eucli cliild ill Canipnc^natico, can tell. 
 
 I am Oinl)orto; not mo only pride 
 
 Ilatli injur'd, but my kindred all involv'd 
 
 In mischief with her. Here my lot ordains 
 
 Under this weight to groan, till I appease 70 
 
 God's angry justice, since 1 did it not 
 
 Amongst the living, here amongst the dead." 
 
 List'ning I bent my visage down : and one 
 (Not he who spake) twisted beneath the weight 
 That urg'd him, saw me, knew me straight, and callM, 75 
 Holding his eyes with difficulty lix'd 
 Intent upon me, stooping as I went 
 Companion of their way. " O ! " I exclaim'd, 
 *' Art thou not Oderigi, art not thou 
 
 Agobbio's ijlory, glory of that art 80 
 
 Which they of Paris call the limner's skill ? " 
 
 "Brother! " said he, " with tints that gayer smile, 
 Bolognian Franco's pencil lines the leaves. 
 His all the honour now ; mine borrow'd light. 
 In truth I had not been thus courteous to him, 85 
 
 The whilst I liv'd, through eagerness of zeal 
 For that pre-eminence my heart was bent on. 
 Here of such pride the forfeiture is paid. 
 Nor Avere I even here ; if, able still 
 
 To sin, I had not turn'd me unto God. 90 
 
 O powers of man ! how vain your glory, nipp'd 
 E'en in its height of verdure, if an age 
 Less bright succeed not ! Cimabue thought 
 To lord it over painting's field ; and now 
 The cry is Giotto's, and his name eclips'd. 95 
 
 Thus hath one Guido from the other snatch'd 
 The letter'd prize : and he perhaps is born. 
 Who shall dri\e either from their nest. The noise 
 Of worldly fame is but a blast of wind, 
 That blows from divers jjoints, and shifts its name 100 
 Shifting the point it blows from. Shalt thou more 
 Live in the mouths of mankind, if thy flesh 
 Part shrivel'd from thee, than if thou hadst died, 
 Before the coral and the pap were left. 
 Or ere some thousand years have past ? and that 105
 
 purctAtory 159 
 
 Is, to (iternity comparVl, a space, 
 
 Briefer tlian is the twinklinj^ of an eye 
 
 To tlie lieaven's slowest orb. lie tliore wlio treads 
 
 So leisurely before me, far and wide 
 
 Throiioh Tuscany resounded once ; and now 110 
 
 Is in Sienna scarce with whis])ers nani'd : 
 
 There Avas he sov'reign, when destruction caught 
 
 The madd'ning rage of Florence, in that day 
 
 Proud as she now is loathsome. Your renown 
 
 Is as the herb, Avhose hue doth come and go, 115 
 
 And his might 'withers it, by whom it sprang 
 
 Crude from the lap of earth." I thus to him : 
 
 " True are thy sayings : to my heart they breathe 
 
 The kindly spirit of meekness, and allay 
 
 What tumours rankle there. But who is he 120 
 
 Of whom thou spak'st but now ? " — " This," he replied, 
 
 " Is Provenzano. He is here, because 
 
 He reach'd, with grasp presumjituous, at the sway 
 
 Of all Sienna. Thus he still hath gone. 
 
 Thus goeth ncA^er-resting, since lie died. 125 
 
 Such is th' acquittance ronder'd back of him, 
 
 Who, beyond measure, dar'd on earth." I then : 
 
 " If soul that to the verge of life delays 
 
 Repentance, linger in that lower space, 
 
 Nor hither mount, unless good prayers befriend, 130 
 
 How chanc'd admittance was vouchsaf'd to him ? " 
 
 " When at his glory's to])most height," said he, 
 " Respect of dignity all cast aside. 
 Freely he fix'd him on Sienna's plain, 
 A suitor to redeem his suff'ring tViend, 135 
 
 Who languisli'd in the prison-house of Charles, 
 Nor for his sake refus'd through every vein 
 To tremble. More I will not say ; and dark, 
 I know, my words are, but thy neighbours soon 
 Shall help thee to a comment on the text. 140 
 
 This is the work, that from these limits freed him."
 
 160 PUKGATORY. 
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 With equal pace as oxen in the yoke, 
 
 I witli that laden spirit journey'd on 
 
 Long as the mihl instructor sufferM me; 
 
 But wlien lie bade me quit him, and proceed 
 
 (For " here," said he, " behoves witli sail and oars 5 
 
 Each man, as best he may, pusli on liis bark"), 
 
 Ul)rio;ht, as one dispos'd for speed, 1 rais'd 
 
 My body, still in thought submissive bow'd. 
 
 I now my leader's track not loth ])ursued; 
 And each had sliown how light we far'd along 10 
 
 When thus he warn'd me : " Bend thine eyesight 
 
 down : 
 For thou to ease the way shall find it good 
 To ruminate the bed beneath thy feet." 
 
 As in memorial of the buried, drawn 
 Upon earth-level tombs, the sculptur'd form 15 
 
 Of what was once, appears (at sight Avhereof 
 Tears often stream forth by remembrance wak'd, 
 Whose sacred stings the piteous OTily feel). 
 So saw I there, but with more curious skill 
 Of portraiture o'erwrought, whate'er of space 20 
 
 From forth the mountain stretches. On one i^art 
 Him I beheld, above all creatures erst 
 Created noblest, light'ning fall from heaven : 
 On th' other side with bolt celestial pierc'd 
 Briareus : cumb'ring earth he lay through dint 25 
 
 Of mortal ice-stroke. The Thymbrrean god 
 With Mars, I saw, and Pallas, round their sire, 
 Arm'd still, and gazing on the giant's Umbs 
 Strewn o'er th' ethereal field. Nimrod I saw : 
 At foot of the stupendous work he stood, 30 
 
 As if bewilder'd, looking on the crowd 
 Leagued in his proud attempt on Sennaar's plain. 
 
 O Niobe ! in what a trance of woe 
 Thee I beheld, upon that highway drawn, 
 Sev'n sons on either side thee slain ! O Saul ! 36 
 
 How ghastly did-^t thou look ! on thine own sword 
 Expiring in Gilboa, from that hour 

 
 l*UR<iATORY. IGl 
 
 Ne'er visited witli v:iin from lieav'u or dew ! 
 
 O fond Aracline ! thee I also saw 
 ITulf s])ider now in anguisli eniwliiicf uj) 40 
 
 Th' unfiuish'd wel) tliou weaved'st to thy bane ! 
 
 Kehoboani ! here thy shai)e doth seeni 
 Louring no more defiance ! but fear-smote 
 With none to cliase him in his chariot whirl'd. 
 
 Was shown beside upon t!ie solid floor 45 
 
 How dear Alcmteon forc'd his mother rate 
 That ornament in evil hour receiv'd : 
 How in the temple on Sennacherib fell 
 His sons, and how a corpse they left him there. 
 Was shown the scatli and cruel mangling made 50 
 
 Bv Tomvris on Cyi'us, when she cried : 
 " Blood thou didsit thirst for, take thy fill of blood! " 
 Was shown how routed in the battle fled 
 Th' Assyrians, Holofernes slain, and e'en 
 The relics of the carnage. Troy I mark'd 65 
 
 In ashes and in caverns. Oh ! how fall'n, 
 How abject, Ilion, -wns thy semblance there ! 
 
 What master of the pencil or the style 
 Had trac'd the shades and lines, that might have 
 
 made 
 The subtlest workman wonder ? Dead the dead, 60 
 
 The living seeni'd alive ; with clearer view 
 His eye beheld not Avho beheld the truth, 
 Than mine what I did tread on, while I went 
 Low bending. Now swell out ; and with stiff necks ' 
 
 Pass on, ye sons of Eve 1 vale not your looks, 65 
 
 Lest they descry the evil of your path ! : 
 
 1 noted not (so busied was my thought) | 
 How much we now had circled of the mount, 5 
 And of his course yet more the sun had spent, j. 
 When he, who with still wakeful caution went, 70 ;i 
 Admonish'd : " Baise thou up thy head : for know .. 
 Time is not now for slow sus])ense. Behold | 
 That Avay an angel hasting towards us ! Lo ; 
 Where duly the sixth handmaid doth return 
 
 From service on the day. Wear thou in look 75 
 
 And gesture seemly grace of reverent awe, | 
 
 11 g
 
 162 PUIiGATORT. 
 
 That gladly he may forward us aloft. 
 Consider that this day ne'er dawns again." 
 
 Time's loss he liad so often warn'd me 'g.'iinst, 
 I could not miss the scope at which he aini'd. 80 
 
 The goodly shape approach'd us, snowy white 
 In vesture, and with visage casting streams 
 Of tremulous lustre like tlie matin star. 
 Ilis arms he open'd, then his wings ; and spake : 
 " Onward : the steps, behold ! are near ; and noAV 85 
 
 Th' ascent is without difficulty gain'd." 
 
 A scanty few are they, who when they liear 
 Such tidings, hasten. O ye race of men 
 Though born to soar, Avhy suffer ye a wind 
 So slight to baffle ye ? Pie led us on " 90 
 
 Where the rock parted ; here against my front 
 Did beat his wings, then promis'd I should fare 
 In safety on my way. As to ascend 
 That steep, upon whose brow the chapel stands 
 (O'er Rubaconte, looking lordly down 96 
 
 On the well-guided city,) up the right 
 Th' impetuous rise is broken by the steps 
 Carv'd in that old and simple age, when still 
 The registry and label rested safe ; 
 
 Thus is th' acclivity reliev'd, which here 100 
 
 Precipitous from the other circuit falls : 
 But on each hand the tall cliff presses close. 
 
 As ent'ring there we turn'd, voices, in strain 
 Ineffable, sang : " Blessed are the poor 
 In spirit." Ah how far unlike to these 105 
 
 The straits of hell ; here songs to usher us, 
 There shrieks of woe ! We climb the holy stairs : 
 And lighter to myself by far I seem'd 
 Than on the plain before, whence thus I spake : 
 " Say, master, of what heavy thing have I 110 
 
 Been lighten'd, that scarce aught the sense of toil 
 Affects me journeying ? " He in few replied : 
 " When sin's broad characters, that yet remain 
 U])on thy temples, though well nigh effac'd, 
 Shall be, as one is, all clean razed out, 116 
 
 Then shall thy feet by heartiness of will
 
 PUKGATOKY. 103 
 
 Be so o'erconie, tliey not alone shall feel 
 No sense of labour, but delight much more 
 Shall wait them urg'd along their upward Avay." 
 
 Then like to one, upon whose head is ])lacVl 120 
 
 Somewhat he deems not of but from the becks 
 Of others as the}' pass him by ; his hand 
 Lends therefore helji to' assure him, searches, finds. 
 And well performs such office as the eye 
 Wants power to execute : so stretching forth 125 
 
 The fingers of my right hand, did I find 
 Six only of the letters, which his sword 
 Who bare the keys had trac'd upon my brow. 
 The leader, as he mark'd mine action, smil'd. 
 
 CANTO XIII. 
 
 We reach'd the summit of the scale, and stood 
 
 Upon the second buttress of that mount 
 
 Which healeth him who climbs. A cornice there, 
 
 Like to the former, girdles round the hill ; 
 
 Save that its arch with sweep less ample bends. 5 
 
 Shadow nor image there is seen ; all smooth 
 The rampart and the path, reflecting nought 
 But the rock's sullen hue. " If here wo wait 
 For some to question," said the bard, " I fear 
 Our choice may haply meet too long delay." 10 
 
 Then fixedly upon the sun his eyes 
 He fasten'd, made his right the central point 
 From whence to move, and turn'd the left aside. 
 "O pleasant light, my confidence and hoi:)e, 
 Conduct us thou," he cried, "on this new Avay, 15 
 
 Where now I venture, leading to the bourn 
 We seek. The universal worki to thee 
 Owes warmth and lustre. If no other cause 
 Forbid, thy beams should ever be our guide." 
 
 Far, as is measur'd for a mile on earth, 20 
 
 In brief space had we journey'd ; such ]>rompt will 
 Impeird ; and towards us flying, now were heard 
 Spirits invisible^, who courteously
 
 164 ^PUUGATOKY. 
 
 Unto love's table bade the welcome guest. 
 
 Tlie voice, that first flew by, callM fortli aloud, 25 
 
 "They have no wine ; " so on behind us past, 
 
 Those sounds reiterating, nor yet lost 
 
 In the faint distance, when another came 
 
 Crying, " I am Orestes," and alike 
 
 Wing'd its fleet way. " Oh father ! " I cxclaim'd, 30 
 
 "What tongues are these?" and as I question'd, lo ! 
 
 A third exclaiming, "Love ye those have wrong'd you." 
 
 " This circuit," said my teacher, " knots the scourge 
 For envy, and the cords are therefore drawn 
 By charity's correcting hand. The curb 35 
 
 Is of a harsher sound, as thou shalt hear 
 (If I deem rightly), ere thou reach the pass. 
 Where pardon sets them free. But fix thine eyes 
 Intently through the air, and thou shalt see 
 A multitude before thee seated, each 40 
 
 Along the shelving grot." Then more than erst 
 I op'd my eyes, before me view'd, and saw 
 Shadows with garments dark as was the rock; 
 And when we pass'd a little forth, I heard 
 A crying, " Blessed Mary ! pray for us, 45 
 
 Michael and Peter ! all ye saintly host ! " 
 
 I do not think there walks on earth this day 
 Man so remorseless, that he had not yearn'd 
 With pity at the sight that next I saw. 
 Mine eyes a load of sorrow teem'd, when now 50 
 
 I stood so near them, that their semblances 
 Came clearly to my view. Of sackcloth vile 
 Their cov'ring seem'd ; and on his shoulder one 
 Did stay another, leaning, and all lean'd 
 Against the cliff. E'en thus the blind and poor, 55 
 
 Near the confessionals, to crave an alms, 
 Stand, each his head upon his fellow's sunk. 
 So most to stir compassion, not by sound 
 Of words alone, but that, which moves not less, 
 The sight of mis'ry. And as never beam 60 
 
 Of noonday visiteth the eyeless man, 
 E'en so was heav'n a niggard unto these 
 Of his fair light ; for, through the orbs of all,
 
 riTUGATonv. 1G5 
 
 A thread of wire, ini])ier(;iiig, knits tliem up, 
 
 As for tlic taming of a haggard hawk. 65 
 
 It were a wrong, niethonght, to {)ass and look 
 On others, yet myself tlie wliile unseen. 
 To my sage counsel thei-efore did I turn. 
 He knew the meaning of the mute apjieal, 
 Nor waited for my questioning, but said: 70 
 
 " Speak ; and be brief, be subtile in thy words." 
 
 On that part of the cornice, wlience no rim 
 Engarlands its steep fall, did Virgil come; 
 On the' other side me were tlio sjiirits, their cheeks 
 Bathing devout with penitential tears, 75 
 
 That through the dread impalement fore'd a Avay. 
 
 I turn'd me to them, and " O shades ! " said I, 
 " Assur'd that to your eyes unveil'd shall shine 
 The lofty light, sole object of your wish. 
 So may heaven's grace clear whatsoe'er of foam 80 
 
 Floats turbid on the conscience, that thenceforth 
 The stream of mind roll limpid from its source, 
 As ye declare (for so shall ye impart 
 A boon I dearly prize) if any soul 
 
 Of Latium dwell among ye ; and perchance 85 
 
 That soul may profit, if I learn so much." 
 
 " My brother, we are each one citizens 
 Of one true city. Any thou wouldst say, 
 Who lived a stranger in Italia's land." 
 
 So heard I answering, as ap])ear'd, a voice 90 
 
 That onward came some space from Avhence I stood. 
 
 A spirit I noted, in whose look was mark'd 
 Ex])ectance. Ask ye how ? The chin was rais'd 
 As in one reft of siglit. " Spirit," said I, 
 " Who for thy rise are tutoring (if thou be 95 
 
 That which didst answer to me,) or by place 
 Or name, disclose thj-self, that I may know thee." 
 
 "I was," it answer'd, " of Sienna : here 
 1 cleanse away with these the evil life, 
 Soliciting with tears that He, who is, 100 
 
 Vouchsafe him to us. Though Sapia nam'd 
 In sapience I excell'd not, gladdei' far 
 Of others' hurt, than of the good befell me. 
 
 r
 
 IGG PURGATORY. 
 
 Tliat thou niayst own I now deceive thee not, 
 
 Hear, if my folly were not as I speak it. 105 
 
 When now my years slo])'d waning down the arch, 
 
 It so beclianc'd, my fellow citizens 
 
 Near Colle met their enemies in the field, 
 
 And I pray'd God to grant what He had will'd. 
 
 There were they vanquish'd, and betook themselves 110 
 
 Unto the bitter passnges of flight. 
 
 I mark'd the hunt, and waxing out of bounds 
 
 In gladness, lifted up my shameless brow. 
 
 And like the merlin cheated by a gleam, 
 
 Cried, 'It is over. Heav'n ! I fear thee not.' 115 
 
 Upon my verge of life I wish'd for peace 
 
 With God ; nor yet repentance had supplied 
 
 What I did lack of duty, were it not 
 
 The hermit Piero, touch'd with charity, 
 
 In his devout oraisons thought on me. 120 
 
 But who art thou that question'st of our state, 
 
 Who go'st to my belief, with lids unclos'd. 
 
 And breathest in thy talk?" — "Mine e^^es," said I, 
 
 " May yet be here ta'en from me ; but not long ; 
 
 For they have not offended grievously 125 
 
 With envious glances. But the woe beneath 
 
 Urges my soul with more exceeding dread. 
 
 That nether load already weighs me down," 
 
 She thus : " Who then amongst us here aloft 
 Hath brought thee, if thou weenest to return?" 130 
 
 " He," answer'd I, " M'ho standeth mute beside me. 
 I live : of me ask therefore, chosen spirit. 
 If thoii desire I yonder yet should move 
 For thee my mortal feet." — " Oh ! " she replied, 
 "This is so strange a thing, it is great sign 135 
 
 That God doth love thee. Therefore with tliy prayer 
 Sometime assist me : and by that I crave. 
 Which most thou covetest, tliat if thy feet 
 E'er tread on Tuscan soil, thou save my fame 
 Amongst my kindred. Them shalt thou behold 140 
 
 With that vain multitude, who set their hope 
 On Telamone's haven, there to fail 
 Confounded, more than when the fancied stream
 
 iM'uoATt^nv. 167 
 
 Tliey sougjit of Diaii oallM : hut tlicy wlio lead 
 
 Their navies, more tliaii niiuM liojies sliall mourn." 145 
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 " Sat who is he around our mountain winds, 
 Or ever deatli has prun'd his wing for flight, 
 That opes his eyes and covers them at will ? " 
 
 " I know not who he is, but know thus much • 
 lie comes not singly. Do thou ask of him, 5 
 
 For thou art nearer to him, and take heed 
 Accost him gently, so that he may speak." 
 
 Thus on the right two spirits bending each 
 Toward the other, talk'd of me, then both 
 Addressing me, their faces backward lean'd, 10 
 
 And thus the one began : " O soul, who yet 
 Pent in the body, tendest towards the sky ! 
 For cliarity, we pray tliee, comfort us. 
 Recounting whence thou com'st, and who thou art : 
 For thou dost make us at the favour shown thee 15 
 
 Marvel, as at a thing that ne'er hath been." 
 
 " There stretches through the midst of Tuscany, 
 I straight began : " a brooklet, Avhose well-head 
 Springs up in Falterona, with his race 
 Not satisfied, when he some hundred miles 20 
 
 Hath measur'd. From his banks bring I this frame. 
 To tell you who I am were words misspent : 
 For yet my name scarce sounds on rumour's lip." 
 
 " If well I do incorp'rate with my thought 
 The meaning of thy speech," said he, who first li5 
 
 Addrest me, " thoii dost speak of Arno's wave." 
 
 To whom the otlier : " Why hath he conceal'd 
 The title of that river, as a man 
 Doth of some horrible thing '? " The spirit, wlio 
 Thereof was question'd, did acquit him thus : 30 
 
 " I know not : but 'tis fitting Avell the name 
 Should perish of that A^ale ; for from the source 
 AVhere teems so j)leiiteously the Aljnne steep 
 Maim'd of Pelorus, (that doth scarcely 2)ass
 
 168 PURGATORY. 
 
 Beyond tliat limit,) even to tlic point 35 
 
 Whereunto ocean is restor'tl, wliat heaven 
 Drains from th' exliaustless store for all earth's streams, 
 Thronghout the s|)ace is virtue worried down, 
 As 'twere a snake, by all, for mortal foe. 
 Or through disastrous influence on the j3lace, 40 
 
 Or else distortion of misguided wills. 
 That custom goads to evil : whence in those, 
 The dwellers in that miserable vale. 
 Nature is so transform'd, it seems as they 
 Had shar'd of Circe's feeding. 'Midst brute swine, 45 
 Worthier of acorns than of other food 
 Created for man's use, he shapeth first 
 His obscure Avay ; then, sloj)ing onward, finds 
 Curs, snarlers more in spite than power, from whom 
 He turns Avith scorn aside : still journeying down, 50 
 
 By how much more the curst and luckless foss 
 Swells out to largeness, e'en so much it finds 
 Dogs turning into wolves. Descending still 
 Through yet more hollow eddies, next he meets 
 A race of foxes, so reijlete Avith craft, 55 
 
 They do not fear that skill can master it. 
 Nor will I cease because my Avords are heard 
 ! By other ears than thine. It shall be Avell 
 For this man, if he keep in memory 
 
 What from no erring spirit I reveal. 60 
 
 Lo ! I behold thy grandson, that becomes 
 A hunter of those wolves, upon the shore 
 Of the fierce stream, and cows them all Avith dread : 
 Their flesh yet living sets he up to sale. 
 Then like an aged beast to slaughter dooms. 65 
 
 Many of life he reaA'^es, himself of Avorth 
 And goodly estimation. Smear'd with gore 
 Mark how he issues from the rueful wood. 
 Leaving such havoc, that in thousand years 
 It spreads not to i)rime lustihood again." 70 
 
 As one, Avho tidings hears of woe to come. 
 Changes his looks jterturb'd, from Avhate'er part 
 The peril grasp him, so behcTd I cliange 
 That spirit, who liad turn'd to listen, struck
 
 rURGATOIlY. 101) 
 
 With sadness, soon as lie had caught tlie word. 75 
 
 His visage and the other's speecli did raise 
 
 Desire in me to know the names of l)otli, 
 
 Wliereof with meek entreaty I iuquir'd. 
 
 Tlie shade, who kite addrest me, thus resum'd: 
 
 " Thy wish imports, tliat I vouclisafe to do 80 
 
 For thy sake wliat thou wilt not do for mine. 
 
 But since God's will is that so largely shine 
 
 His <'Tace in thee, I will be liberal too. 
 
 Guido of Duca know then that I am. 
 
 Envy so parch'd my blood, that liad I seen 85 
 
 A fellow man made joyous, tliou hadst mark'd 
 
 A livid paleness overspread my cheek. 
 
 Such harvest reap I of the seed I sow'd. 
 
 O man, why place thy heart where there doth need 
 
 Exclusion of partici])ants in good ? 90 
 
 This is Rinieri's s])irit, this the boast 
 
 And honour of the house of Calboli, 
 
 Wliere of his worth no heritage remains. 
 
 Nor his the only blood, that hath been stript 
 
 ('Twixt Po, the mount, the Reno and the shore,) 95 
 
 Of all that truth or fancy asks for bliss ; 
 
 But in those limits such a growth has sprung 
 
 Of rank and venom'd roots, as long would mock 
 
 Slow culture's toil. Where is good Lizio? where 
 
 IManardi, Traversaro, and Carpigna? 100 
 
 O bastard slips of old Romagna's line! 
 
 When in Bologna the low artisan, 
 
 And in Facnza yon Bernardin sprouts, 
 
 A gentle cyon from ignoble stem. 
 
 Wonder not, Tuscan, if thou see me Aveep, 105 
 
 When I recall to mind those once lov'd names, 
 
 Guido of Pi-ata, and of Azzo him 
 
 Tliat dwelt with you ; Tignoso and his troop, 
 
 With Traversaro's house and Anastngio's, 
 
 (Each race disherited) and beside these, 110 
 
 The ladies and the knights, the toils and ease, 
 
 That wntch'd us into love and courtesy ; 
 
 Where now sucli malice reigns in recreant hearts. 
 
 O Brettinoro ! wherefoi-e tarriest still,
 
 170 PUUGATOIiV, 
 
 Since forth of tlioe tliy fmnily liulli gone, 115 
 
 And many, lialing evil, join'd tlieir stej)S? 
 
 Well doeth he, tliat bids his lineage cease, 
 
 JBagnacavallo ; Casti'acaro ill. 
 
 And Conio worse, Avho care to propagate 
 
 A race of Counties fi-oni such blood as theirs. 120 
 
 Well shall ye also do, Pagani, then 
 
 When from amongst you hies your demon child. 
 
 Not so, howe'er, that henceforth there remain 
 
 True j)roof of Avhat ye were. O Hugolin ! 
 
 Thou sprung of Fantolini's line ! thy name 125 
 
 Is safe, since none is look'd for after thee 
 
 To cloud its lustre, warping from thy stock. 
 
 But, Tuscan, go thy ways ; for now I take 
 
 Far more delight in wee]>ing than in words. 
 
 Such pity for your sakes hath wrung my heart." 130 
 
 We knew those gentle spirits at parting heard 
 Our steps. Their silence therefore of our way 
 Assur'd us. Soon as we had quitted them. 
 Advancing onward, lo ! a voice that seem'd 
 Like vollied light'ning, when it rives the air, 135 
 
 Met us, and shouted, " Whosoever finds 
 Will slay me," then fled from us, as the bolt 
 Lanc'd sudden from a downward-rushing cloud. 
 When it had giv'n short truce unto our hearing, 
 Behold the other with a crash as loud 140 
 
 As the quick-following thunder : " Mark in me 
 Aglauros turn'd to rock." I at the sound 
 Retreating drcAV more closely to my guide. 
 
 Now in mute stillness rested all the air : 
 And thus he spake : "There was the galling bit. 145 
 
 But your old enemy so baits his hook. 
 He drags you eager to him. Hence nor curb 
 Avails you, nor reclaiming call. Heav'n calls 
 And round about you wheeling courts your gaze 
 With everlasting beauties. Yet your eye 150 
 
 Turns with fond doting still upon the earth. 
 Therefore He smites you who discerneth all." 
 
 4
 
 rURGATORT. 171 
 
 CANTO XV. 
 
 As much as 'twixt the third liour's close and dawn, 
 
 Appearcth of lieav'n's sphere, that ever whirls 
 
 As restless as an infant in his play, 
 
 So much appear'd reniainino; to tlie sun 
 
 Of his slope journey towards the western goal. 5 
 
 Evening was there, and here the noon of night ; 
 And fidl upon our forehead smote the beams. 
 For round the mountain, circling, so our path 
 Had led us, that toward the sun-set now 
 Direct we journey'd : when I felt a weight 10 
 
 Of more exceeding splendour, than before, 
 Press on my front. The cause unknown, amaze 
 Possess'd me, and both hands against my brows 
 Lifting, I interpos'd them, as a screen, 
 That of its gorgeous superflux of light 16 
 
 Clipp'd the diminish'd orb. As when the ray, 
 Striking on water or the surface clear 
 Of mirror, leaps unto the opposite ])art, 
 Ascending at a glance, e'en as it fell, 
 
 (And so much differs from the stone, that falls 20 
 
 Through equal space, as ]u-actice skill hath shown ;) 
 Thus with refracted lioht before me seemed 
 The ground there smitten ; whence in sudden haste 
 My sight recoil'd. " What is this, sire belov'd ! 
 'Gainst which I strive to shield the sight in vain ? " 25 
 Cried I, " and which toAvards us moving seems? " 
 
 " Marvel not, if the family of heav'n," 
 He answer'd, " yet with dazzling radiance dim 
 Thy sense. It is a messenger who comes. 
 Inviting man's ascent. Such sights ere long, 3U 
 
 Not grievous, shall impart to thee delight, 
 As thy perception is by nature wrought 
 Up to their pitch." The blessed angel, soon 
 As Ave had reach'd him, hail'd us with glad voice : 
 " Here enter on a ladder far less steep 35 
 
 Than ye haA-e yet encounter'd." We forthwith 
 Ascending, heard beliind us chanted sweet, 
 "Blessed the merciful," and " Happy thou !
 
 172 PURGATORY. 
 
 Tliat conqucr'st." Lonely oacli, my guide and I 
 Pursued our upward way; and as we went, 40 
 
 Some proiit from liis words I hoj)'d to win, 
 And tlius of liini incjuirini;-, fram'd my speecli: 
 "What meant IJomaona's sjjirit, wlien lie spake 
 Of bliss exelusive with no partner shar'd ?" 
 
 lie straight replied : "No wonder, since lie knows, 45 
 What sorrow waits on his own worst defect, 
 If he chide others, that they less may mourn. 
 Because ye point your Avishes at a mark. 
 Where, by communion of possessors, part 
 Is lessen'd, envy bloweth up the sighs of men. 50 
 
 No fear of that might touch ye, if the love 
 Of higher si>here exalted your desire. 
 For there, by how much more they call it ovrs^ 
 So much propriety of each in good 
 
 Encreases more, and heighten'd charity 55 
 
 Wraps that fair cloister in a brighter flame." 
 
 "Now lack I satisfaction more," said I, 
 " Than if thou hadst been silent at the first. 
 And doubt more gathers on my lab'ring thought. 
 How can it chance, tliat good distributed, 60 
 
 The man}', that possess it, makes more rich, 
 Than if't were shar'd by few ? " He answering thus : 
 " Thy mind, reverting still to things of earth, 
 Strikes darkness from true light. The highest good 
 Unlimited, ineffable, doth so speed 65 
 
 To love, as beam to lucid body darts, 
 Giving as much of ardour as it finds. 
 The sem])iternal effluence streams abroad 
 Spreading, wherever charity extends. 
 So that the more aspirants to that bliss 70 
 
 Are multi])lied, more good is there to love, 
 And more is lov'd ; as mirrors, that reflect, 
 Each unto other, propagated light. 
 If these my words avail not to allay 
 
 Thy thirsting, Beatrice thou shalt see, 75 
 
 Who of this want, and of all else thou hast, 
 Shall lid thee to the full. Provide but thou, 
 'J'hat fi'om thy temples may be soon eras'd,
 
 rUUGATOllY. 173 
 
 E'en as the two already, tliose five scars, 
 
 That when they pain thee worst, tlien kindliest lieal," 80 
 
 "Thou," I had said, "eontent'st me," when 1 saw 
 The other round was 2:ainM, aiul woiid'ring eyes 
 Did keep me mute. There suddenly I sceni'd 
 By an ecsatic vision wrapt away ; 
 
 And in a temple saw, niethought, a crowd 85 
 
 Of many persons ; and at th' entrance stood 
 A dame, whose sweet demeanour did ex])ress 
 A mother's love, Avho said, " Child ! why hast thou 
 Dealt with us thus ? Behold thy sire and I 
 Sorrowing have sought thee ; " and so held her peace, 90 
 And straight the vision fled, A female next 
 A])pear'd before me, down wliose visage cours'd 
 Those waters, that grief forces out from one 
 By deep resentment stung, who seem'd to say : 
 " If thou, Pisistratus, he lord indeed 95 
 
 Over this city, nam'd with such debate 
 Of adverse gods, and whence each science sparkles, 
 Avenge thee of those arms, whose bold embrace 
 Hath clasp'd our daughter ; " and to hei-, meseem'd, 
 Benign and meek, with visage undisturb'd, 100 
 
 Her sovran spake : " How shall we those requite, 
 Who Avish us evil, if we thus condemn 
 The man that loves us ? " After that I saw 
 A multitude, in fury burning, slay 
 With stones a stripling youth, and shout amain 105 
 
 I " Destroy, destroy : " and him I saw, Avho bow'd 
 
 I Heavy with death unto the ground, yet made ! 
 
 f His eyes, unfolded upward, gates to heav'n, 
 Praying forgiveness of th' Almighty Sire, 
 Amidst that cruel conflict, on his foes, 110 
 
 With looks, that win compassion to their aim. 
 
 Soon as my s])irit, from her airy flight 
 Returning, sought again the things, whose truth 
 Depends not on her shaping, I observ'd 
 How she had rov'd to no unreal scenes. 115 
 
 Meanwhile the leader, who might see Imov'd, 
 As one, who struggles to shake off his sleep, 
 
 , Exclahn'd : " What ails thee, that thou canst not hold
 
 174 rUUGATORY. 
 
 Thy footin<T firm, but more than lialf a lonpic 
 
 Hast travoi'd witli clos'd eyes and tott'i-ini^ uait, 120 
 
 Like to a man by wine or sleep o'erclinr<f'd ?" 
 
 " Beloved father ! so thou deiu^n," said I, 
 "To listen, I Avill tell thee Avhat ai)])ear'<l 
 Befoi-e me, when so fail'd my sinkinir steps." 
 
 He thus : "Not if thy countenanee were inask'd 125 
 With iiundred vizards, could a thoui^ht of thine 
 How small soe'er, elude me. What thou saw'st 
 Was shown, that freely thou mightst o])e thy heart 
 To tl)e waters of ])eace, that flow diffus'd 
 Fi-om their eternal fountain. I not ask'd, 130 
 
 What ails thee? for such cause as he doth, who 
 Looks only with that eye which sees no more, 
 When spiritless the body lies ; but ask'd, 
 To give fresh vigour to thy foot. Such goads 
 The slow and loit'ring need ; that they be found 135 
 
 Not wanting, when their hour of watch returns." 
 
 So on "\ve journey'd through the evening sky 
 Gazing intent, far onward, as our eyes 
 With level view could stretch against the bright 
 Ves])ertine ray : and lo ! by slow degrees 140 
 
 Gath'ring, a fog made tow'rds us, dark as night. 
 There was no room for 'scaping ; and that mist 
 Bereft us, both of sight and the pure air. 
 
 CANTO XVI. 
 
 Hell's dunnest gloom, or night unlustrous, dark, 
 
 Of every planet 'reft, and pall'd in clouds, 
 
 Did never spread before the sight a veil 
 
 Li thickness like that fog, nor to the sense 
 
 So paljDable and gross. Ent'ring its shade, 5 
 
 Mine eye endured not with unclosed lids ; 
 
 Which marking, near me drew the faitiiful guide, 
 
 Offering me his shoulder for a stay. 
 
 As the blind man behind his leader walks. 
 Lest he should err, or stumble iTnawares 10 
 
 On what might harm liim, or ])erhaps destroy,
 
 PURGATORY. 175 
 
 I journej'd tlirough tliat bitter air and foul, 
 
 Still list'niiigj to my escort's warnino' voice, 
 
 "Look that from me thou part not." Straight I heard 
 
 Voices, and each one seem'd to pray for peace, 15 
 
 And for com]iassion, to the Lamb of God 
 
 That taketh sins away. Their prelude still 
 
 Was " Agnus Dei," and through all tlie choir. 
 
 One voice, one measure ran, that perfect seem'd 
 
 The concord of their song. " Are these I hear 20 
 
 Spirits, O master ? " I exclaini'd ; and he : 
 
 " Thou aim'st aright : these loose the bonds of wrath." 
 
 "Now Avho art thou, that through our smoke dost 
 cleave ? 
 And speak'st of us, as thou thyself e'en yet 
 Dividest time by calends'?" So one voice 25 
 
 Bespake me ; whence my master said : " Reply ; 
 And ask, if upward hence the passage lead." 
 
 " O being ! who dost make thee pure, to stand 
 Beautiful once more in thy Maker's sight ! 
 Along with me : and thou shalt hear and wonder." 30 
 Thus I, whereto the spirit answering spake : 
 " Long as 't is lawful for me, shall my steps 
 Follow on thine ; and since the cloudy smoke 
 Forbids the seeing, hearing in its stead 
 Shall keep us join'd." I then forthwith began : 35 
 
 " Yet in my mortal swathing, I ascend 
 To higher regions, and am hither come 
 Through the fearful agony of hell. 
 And, if so largely God hath doled his grace, 
 That, clean beside all modern ])recedent, 40 
 
 He wills me to behold his kingly state, 
 From me conceal not who thou wast, ere death 
 Had loos'd thee ; but instruct me: and instruct 
 If rightly to the pass I tend ; thy words 
 The way directing as a safe escort." 45 
 
 " I Avas of Lorabardy, and Marco call'd : 
 Not inexperienc'd of the world, that worth 
 I still affected, from which all have turn'd 
 The nerveless bow aside. Thy course tends right 
 Unto the summit : " and, rcjtlying thus, 50
 
 176 PUIKJATUJiY 
 
 ITo added, " I boscecli tliee pray for mo, 
 
 When thou slialt come aloft." And I to lilm : 
 
 " Acce])t my faith for jtlcclge I will perform 
 
 What thou requirest. Yet one doubt remains, 
 
 That wrinu:s me sorely, if I solve it not, 55 
 
 Sini>"ly before it ui'ijf'd me, doubled now 
 
 By thine oj)iiiion, when I couple that 
 
 With one elsewhere declar'd, each strength'ning olliei-. 
 
 The world indeed is even so forlorn 
 
 Of all good as thou s])eak'st it, and so swarms 60 
 
 With every evil. Yet, beseech thee, point 
 
 The cause out to me, that myself may see. 
 
 And unto others show it : for in heaven 
 
 One places it, and one on earth below." 
 
 Then heaving forth a deep and audible sigli, 65 
 
 " Brother ! " he thus began, " the world is blind ; 
 And thou in truth com'st from it. Yc, who live, 
 Do so eacli cause refer to heav'n above, 
 E'en as its motion of necessity 
 
 Drew with it all that moves. If this were so, 70 
 
 Free choice in you were none ; nor justice Avould I 
 
 There should be joy for virtue, woe for ill. 
 Your movements have their primal bent from heaven ; 
 Not all ; yet said I all ; what tlien ensues? 
 Light have ye still to follow evil or good, 75 
 
 And of the will free power, which, if it stand 
 Firm and unwearied in Heav'n's first assay. 
 Conquers at last, so it be clierish'd well, 
 Triumphant over all. To mightier force, 
 To better nature subject, yo abide 80 
 
 Free, not conscrain'd by that, wliicli forms in you 
 The reasoning mind uninfluenc'd of the stars. 
 If then the present race of mankind err, 
 Seek in yourselves the cause, and find it there. 
 Herein thou shalt confess me no false spy. 85 
 
 " Forth from his ])lastic hand, who charni'd beholds 
 Her image ere she yet exist, the soul 
 Comes like a babe, that wantons sportively 
 Weeping and laughing in its wayward moods, 
 As artless and as ignorant of aught, 90
 
 PURGATORY. 177 
 
 Save tliat licr Maker beiiio; one who dwells 
 
 Willi gladness ever, williiioiy she turns 
 
 To whatc'er yields her joy. Of some slight, good 
 
 Tlie Havour soon slie tastes ; and, snar'd by that, 
 
 With fondness she })ursues it, if no guide 95 
 
 Kecall, no rein direct her wand'ring course. 
 
 Hence it behov'd, the law should be a curb ; 
 
 A sovereign hence behov'd, whose piercing view 
 
 • Might mark at least the fortress and main tower 
 
 I Of the true city. Laws indeed there are : 100 
 
 But who is he observes them ? None ; not he, 
 j Who goes before, the shepherd of the flock, 
 1 Who chews the cud but doth not cleave the hoof. 
 I Therefore the multitude, who see their guide 
 
 i Strike at the very good they covet most, 105 
 
 Feed there and look no further. Thus the cause 
 , Is not corrupted nature in yourselves, 
 'i But ill-couducting, that hath turn'd the world 
 , To evil. Home, that turn'd ii unto good, 
 i Was wont to boast two suns, whose several beams IK' 
 j Cast light on either way, the w^orld's and God's. 
 I One since hath quench'd the other ; and the sword 
 j Is grafted on the crook; and so conjoin'd 
 
 • Each must perforce decline to worse, unaw'd 
 By fear of other. If thou doubt me, mark 115 
 The blade : each herb is judg'd of by its seed. 
 That land, through which Adice and the Po 
 Their waters roll, was once the residence 
 Of courtesy and valour, ere the day. 
 
 That fro^^n'd on Frederick ; now secure may pass 120 
 Those limits, whosoe'er hath left, for shame. 
 To talk with good men, or come near their haunts. 
 Three aged ones are still found there, in whom 
 The old time chides the new : these deem it long 
 Ere God restore thein to a better world : 125 
 
 The good Gherardo, of Palazzo he 
 Conrad, and Guido of Castello, nam'd 
 In Gallic ])hrase more fitly the plain Lombard. 
 On this at last conclude. The church of Rome, 
 Mixing two governments that ill assort, 130 
 
 12
 
 178 PUKC.ATORY. 
 
 TIath iiiiss'd licr footing, fall'n into the mire, 
 And tlicre liersclf and burden nmcli detil'd." 
 
 " {) JMarco !" I replied, thine arguments 
 Convince me: and the cause I now discern 
 Wliy of the heritage no portion came 135 
 
 To Levi's offs])ring. But resolve me tliis: 
 AVho that Gherardo is, that as thou sayst 
 Is left a sample of the perisli'd race. 
 And for I'ebuke to this untoward age ?" 
 
 "Either thy words," said he, " deceive ; or else 140 
 Are meant to try me ; that tliou, speaking Tuscan, 
 Appear'st not to have heard of good Gherardo ; 
 The sole addition that, by which I know him ; 
 Unless I borrow'd from his daughter Gaia 
 Another name to grace him. God be with you. 145 
 
 I bear you corap)any no more. Behold 
 The dawn with white ray glimm'ring through the mist. 
 I must away — the angel comes — ere he 
 I Appear." He said, and would not hear me more. 
 
 CANTO XVII. 
 
 I Oall to remembrance, reader, if thon e'er 
 I Hast, on a mountain top, been ta'en by cloud, 
 I Through which thou saw'st no better, than the mole 
 I Doth through opacous membrane ; then, whene'er 
 1 The watry vaj^ours dense began to melt 5 
 
 Into thin air, how faintly the sun's sjihere 
 Seem'd wading through them ; so thy nimble thought 
 May image, how at iii'st I rebcheld 
 The. sun, that bedward now his couch o'erhung. 
 
 I Thus Avith my leader's feet still equaling j^ace 10 
 
 From forth that cloud I came, when now expir'd 
 Tlie parting beams from off the nether shores. 
 
 O quick and forgetive power ! that sometimes dost 
 So rob us of ourselves, Ave take no mark 
 Though round about us thousand trumpets clang ! 15 
 
 What moves thee, if the senses stir not ? Light 
 Kindled in heav'n, spontaneous, self-inform'd.
 
 PURGATOEY. 179 
 
 Or likelier gliding down with swift illapse 
 
 By will divine. Porti-ay'd before nie came 
 
 The traces of her dire impiety, 20 
 
 Whose form was chang'd into the bird, that must 
 
 Delights itself in song: and here my mind 
 
 Was inwardly so wrapt, it gave no place 
 
 To anght that ask'd admittance from without. 
 
 Next shower'd into my fantasy a shai')e 25 
 
 As of one crucified, whose visage spake 
 Fell rancour, malice deep, wherein he died ; 
 And roTTud him Ahasuerus the great king, 
 Esther his bride, and Mordecai the just, 
 Blameless in word and deed. As of itself 30 
 
 That unsubstantial coinage of the brain 
 Burst, like a bubble, when the water fails 
 That fed it ; in my vision straight uprose 
 A damsel weeping loud, and cried, "O queeu ! 
 
 mother ! wherefore has intemperate ire o5 
 Driv'n thee to loath thy being ? Not to lose 
 
 Lavinia, dcsp'rate thoi; hast shiin thyself. 
 Now hast thou lost me. I am she, whose tears 
 Mourn, ere I fall, a mother's timeless end." 
 
 E'en as a sleep breaks off, if suddenly 40 
 
 New radiance strike upon the closed lids, 
 The broken slumber quivering ere it dies; 
 Thus from before me sunk that imagery 
 Vanishing, soon as on my face there struck 
 The light, outshining far our earthly beam. 45 
 
 A-! round I turn'd me to survey what place 
 
 1 had arriv'd at, " Here ye mount," exclaim'd 
 A voice, that other pur])ose left me none, 
 Save will so eager to behold who spake, 
 
 I could not choose but gaze. As 'fore the sun, 50 
 
 That weighs our vision down, and veils his form 
 
 In light transcendent, thus my virtue fail'd 
 
 Unequal. " This is Spirit from above. 
 
 Who marshals us our upward way, unsought ; 
 
 And in his own light shrouds him. As a man 55 
 
 Doth for himself, so now is done for tis. 
 
 For whoso waits im])loring, yet sees need
 
 180 rUKGATOUY. 
 
 Of liis prompt aidance, sets himself ])repar'd 
 
 For blunt denial, ere the suit be made. 
 
 liefuse we not to lend a ready foot 60 
 
 At such inviting : haste we to ascend, 
 
 Before it darken : for we may not then. 
 
 Till morn again return," So spake my guide ; 
 
 And to one ladder both address'd our steps ; \ 
 
 And the first stair a])proaching, I })erceiv'd C5 | 
 
 Near me as 'twere the waving of a wing, 
 
 That fann'd my face and whisper'd : " Blessed they 
 
 The i^eacemakers : they know not evil wrath." 
 
 Now to such height above our heads were rais'd 
 The last beams, follow'd close by hooded night, 70 
 
 That many a star on all sides through the gloom 
 Shone out. " Why partest from me, O my strength ?" 
 So with myself I commun'd ; for I felt 
 My o'ertoil'd sinewB slacken. We had reach'd 
 The summit, and Avere fix'd like to a bark 75 
 
 Arriv'd at land. And waiting a short space. 
 If aught should meet mine ear in that new round, 
 Then to my guide I turn'd, and said : " Lov'd sire ! 
 Declare Avhat guilt is on this circle purg'd. 
 If our feet rest, no need thy speech should pause." 80 
 
 lie thus to me : " The love of good, whate'er 
 Wanted of just proportion, here fulfils. 
 Here plies afresh the oar, that loiter'd ill. 
 But that thou mayst yet clearlier understand, 
 Give ear unto my words, and thou shalt cull oO 
 
 Some fruit may please thee well, from this delay. 
 
 " Creator, nor created being, ne'er. 
 My son," he thus began, " was ^vithout love, 
 Or natural, or the free spirit's gi-owth. 
 Thou hast not that to learn. The natural still 90 
 
 Is without error ; but the other swerves, 
 If on ill object bent, or through excess 
 Of vigour, or defect. While e'er it seeks 
 The primal blessings, or with measure due 
 Th' inferior, no deliglit, that flows from it, 95 
 
 Partakes of ill. But let it warp to evil. 
 Or with more ardour than behoves, or less,
 
 rUROATORY. 181 
 
 Pursue the good, tlie tiling created llien 
 \ Works 'gainst its Maker. Hence tliou must infer 
 I That love is gerniin of each virtue in ye, 100 
 
 \ And of each act no less, that merits j)ain. 
 : !N"ow since it may not be, but love intend 
 i The welfare mainly of the thing it loves, 
 I All from self-hatred are secure ; and since 
 I No being can be thought t' exist apart 105 
 
 I And independent of the first, a bar 
 f Of equal force restrains from hating that. 
 \ "Grant the distinction just ; and it remains 
 
 i The' evil must be another's, which is lov'd. 
 
 Three ways such love is gender'd in your clay. J 10 
 
 I There is who hopes (his neighbour's worth deprest,) 
 j Preeminence himself, and coverts hence 
 I For his OAvn greatness that another fall. 
 [ There is who so much fears the loss of power, 
 I Fame, favour, glory (should his fellow mount 115 
 
 f Above him), and so sickens at the thought, 
 I He loves their op]iosite : and there is he, 
 [ Whom wrong or insult seems to gall and shame 
 I That he doth thirst for A-engeance, and such needs 
 1^ Must doat on other's evil. Here beneath 120 
 
 ^ This threefold love is mourn'd. Of th' other sort 
 ( Be now instructed, that which follows good 
 [ But with disorder'd and irregular course. 
 \ "All indistinctly apprehend a bliss 
 
 I On which the soul may rest, the hearts of all 125 
 
 1 Yearn after it, and to that wished bourn 
 
 All therefore strive to tend. If ye behold 
 I Or seek it Avith a love remiss and lax. 
 
 This cornice after just reiDcnting lays 
 [ Its penal torment on ye. Other good 130 
 
 [ There is, Avhere man finds not his happiness: 
 \ It is not true fruition, not that blest 
 
 Essence, of every good the branch and root. 
 
 The love too lavishly bestow'd on this, 
 
 Along three circles over us, is mourn'd. . 135 
 
 Account of that division tripartite 
 
 Expect not, fitter for thine own research." 
 
 "T
 
 1S2 PURGATOKV. 
 
 CANTO XVIII. 
 
 TiiK tc'iK'licr cii(k'(l,:ni(l his lii^li discourse 
 
 CoiKjluding, earnest in my looks inqiiir'd 
 
 If I n])i)ear'd content; and I, wlioni still 
 
 Unsated thirst to hear him nrg'd, was mute, 
 
 Mute outwardly, yet inwardly I said : 6 
 
 " Perchance my too much questioning offends, 
 
 Ijut he, true father, mark'd the seci'et wish 
 
 By dilhdence restrain'd, and si)eaking gave 
 
 Me boldness thus to S])eak : " Master, my sight 
 
 Gathers so lively virtue from thy beams, 10 
 
 That all, tliy words convey, distinct is seen. 
 
 Wherefore I jiray thee, father, Avhom this lieart 
 
 Holds dearest ! thou wouldst deign by proof t' unfold 
 
 That love, from which as from their source thou bring'st 
 
 All good deeds and their opposite." He then : 15 
 
 " To what I now disclose be thy clear ken 
 
 Directed, and thou plainly shalt behold 
 
 I How much those blind have err'd, who make themselves 
 The guides of men. The soul, created apt 
 To love, moves versatile which way soe'er 20 
 
 I Aught pleasing prompts her, soon as she is wak'd 
 
 I By pleasure into act. Of substance true 
 
 \ Your appi'ehension forms its counterfeit, 
 
 I And in you the ideal shape presenting 
 
 I Attracts the soul's regard. If she, thus drawn, 25 
 
 \ Incline toward it, love is that inclining, 
 
 I And a new nature knit by pleasure in ye. 
 
 j Then as the fire points up, and mounting seeks 
 
 I His birth-place and his lasting seat, e'en thus 
 
 Enters the captive soul into desire, 30 
 
 Which is a spiritual motion, that ne'er rests 
 
 Before enjoyment of the thing it loves. 
 
 Enough to show thee, how the truth from those 
 
 Is hidden, who aver all love a thing 
 
 Praise-worthy in itself : although perhaps 35 
 
 Its substance seem still good. Yet if the wax 
 
 Be good, it follows not th' impression must." 
 
 "What love is," I return'd, "thy words, O guide!
 
 ruRGATOur. 183 
 
 And my own clocilc mind, reveal. Yet tlicncc 
 
 N(nv doubts have sprung. For from without if love 
 
 Be offer'd to us, and the spirit knows 40 
 
 No other footing, tend she right or wrong, 
 
 Is no desert of hers." He answering thus : 
 
 " What reason here discovers I havG power 
 
 To show thee : that whicli lies beyond, expect 45 
 
 From Beatrice, faith not reason's task. 
 
 Spirit, substantial form, with matter join'd 
 
 Not in confusion mix'd, hath in itself 
 
 Specific virtue of that union born. 
 
 Which is not felt except it work, nor jjrov'd 50 
 
 But through effect, as vegetable life 
 
 By the green leaf. From whence his intellect 
 
 Deduced its primal notices of things, 
 
 Man therefore knows not, or his ap]ietites 
 
 Tlieir first affections ; such in you, as zeal 55 
 
 In bees to gather honey ; at the first. 
 
 Volition, meriting nor blame nor praise. 
 
 But o'er each lower faculty supreme, 
 
 That as she list are summon'd to her bar. 
 
 Ye have that virtue in you, whose just voice 60 
 
 Uttereth counsel, and whose word should keep 
 
 The threshold of assent. Here is the source, 
 
 Whence cause of merit in you is deriv'd, 
 
 E'en as the affections good or ill she takes. 
 
 Or severs, winnow'd as the chaff. Those men 65 
 
 Who reas'ning went to depth profoundest, mark'd 
 
 That innate freedom, and were thence induc'd 
 
 To leave their moral teaching to the world. 
 
 Grant then, that from necessity arise 
 
 All love that glows within you ; to dismiss 70 
 
 Or harbour it, tlie jiow'r is in yourselves. 
 
 Remember, Beatrice, in her style, 
 
 Denominates free choice by eminence 
 
 The noble virtue, if in talk with thee 
 
 She touch upon that theme." The moon, well nigh 75 
 
 To midnight hour belated, made the stars 
 
 A))pear to wink and fade; and her broad disk 
 
 Seem'd like a crag on fire, as up the vault
 
 IS4 I'LTUGATOUY. 
 
 Tliiit coui-sc slio jouriicyM, wIi'r-]! Hk^ sim then u'nrms, 
 
 Wlicii tlicy oi' IkOine beliold liiin :it his set. 80 
 
 Ik'lwixt Sardinia and the Corsic isle. 
 
 And now the weiglit, tluit liung upon my tliouglit, 
 
 Was lighten'd by the aid of tl)at clear s]>irit, 
 
 Who raiseth Andes above Mantua's name. 
 
 I therefore, when my questions had obtain'd 85 
 
 Solution plain and amjile, stood ag one 
 
 Musing in dreamy slumber; but not long 
 
 Slumber'd ; for suddenly a multitude, 
 
 The steep already turning from behind, 
 
 JIush'd on. With fui-y and like random rout, 90 
 
 As echoing on tlieiv sliores at midnight heard 
 
 Ismenus and Asojmis, for his Thebes 
 
 It" Bacchus' hel}) were needed; so came these 
 
 Tumultuous, curving each his rapid step, 
 
 By eagerness impell'd of holy love. 05 
 
 Soon they o'ertook us ; with such swiftness mov'd 
 The mighty crowd. Two spirits at their head 
 Cried weeping ; " Blessed Mary sought with haste 
 The hilly region. C»sar to subdue 
 
 Ilerda, darted in Marseilles his sting, 100 
 
 And flew to Spain." — " Oh tarry not : away ; " 
 The others shouted ; " let not time be lost 
 Through slackness of affection. Hearty zeal 
 To serve reanimates celestial grace." 
 
 " O ye, in whom intenser fervency 105 
 
 Haply supplies, where lukewarm erst ye fail'd, 
 Slow or neglectful, to absolve your part 
 
 (Of good and virtuous, this man, who yet lives, 
 (Credit my tale, though strange) desires t' ascend, 
 So morning rise to light us. Therefore say 110 
 
 Which hand leads nearest to the rifted rock?" 
 
 I So spake my guide, to whom a shade return'd : 
 
 " Come after us, and thou shalt find the cleft. 
 We may not linger : such resistless will 
 I Si)eeds our unwearied course. Vouchsafe us then 115 
 [ Tliy jiardon, if our duty seem to thee 
 [, Discourteous I'udeness. In Verona I 
 I \Vi;s abbot of San Zeno, when the hand
 
 ruTirrATORT. 185 
 
 Of Baibarossa grasp'd In)|)Ci'inl sway, 
 
 That name, ne'er utter'd witliout tears in Milan. lUO 
 
 And tliere is he, hath one foot in liis grave, 
 
 Who for that monastery ere long sliall weep, 
 
 lining liis power niisus'd : for that his son, 
 
 Of body ill comjiact, and Avorsc in mind. 
 
 And born in evil, he hath set in ]>lace 125 
 
 Of its trne pastor." Whether more he spake, 
 
 Or liere was mute, I know not : he had sped 
 
 E'en now so far beyond us. Yet thus much 
 
 I heard, and in rememb'rance treasur'd it. 
 
 He then, who never fail'd me at my need, 130 
 
 Cried, " Hither turn. Lo ! two with sharp remorse 
 Chiding their sin ! " In rear of all the troop 
 These shouted : " First they died, to Avhom the sea 
 Open'd, or ever Jordan saw his heirs : 
 And they, who with iEneas to the end 135 
 
 Endur'd not suffering, for their portion chose 
 Life without glory." Soon as they liad fled 
 Past reach of sight, new thought within me rose 
 By others follow'd fast, and each unlike 
 Its fellow : till led on from thought to thought, 140 
 
 And pleasnr'd with the fleeting train, mine eye 
 Was clos'd, and meditation chang'd to dream. 
 
 CANTO XIX. 
 
 It was the hour, when of diurnal heat 
 
 No reliques chafe the cold beams of the moon, 
 
 O'erpower'd by earth, or ])lanetary sway 
 
 Of Saturn ; and the geomancer sees 
 
 His Greater Fortune up the east ascend, 5 
 
 Where grey dawn checkers first the shadowy cone ; 
 
 When 'fore me in my dream a woman's shape 
 
 Thei-e came, with lips that stammer'd, eyes aslant, 
 
 Distorted feet, hands maim'd, and colour pale. 
 
 I look'd upon her ; and as sunshine cheers If 
 
 I Limbs numb'd by nightly cold, e'en thus my look 
 I Unloos'd her tongue, next in brief space her form
 
 l^i> rirnoATOTiY, 
 
 I)ocvoj>it raisM croct, niul faded face 
 
 Willi love's own line illuiii'd. Recov'i'iiig speech 
 
 She forthwith warhliiig such n strain betian, 15 
 
 That I, how loth soe'er, could scarce have held 
 
 Attention from the song. '"I," thus she sang, 
 
 " I am the Syren, she, whom mariners 
 
 On the wide sea are wilder'd when they hear : 
 
 Such fulness of delight the list'ner feels. 20 
 
 I from his course Ulysses by my lay 
 
 Enchanted drew. Whoe'er frequents me once 
 
 Parts seldom ; so I charm him, and liis heart 
 
 Contented knows no void." Or ere lier mouth 
 
 Was clos'd, to shame her at her side appear'd 25 
 
 A dame of semblance holy. With stern voice 
 
 She utter'd ; " Say, O Virgil, Avho is this ? " 
 
 Which hearing, he approach'd, with eyes still bent 
 
 Toward that goodly ])resence : th' other seiz'd her, 
 
 And, her robes tearing, open'd her before, 30 
 
 And show'd the belly to me, whence a smell. 
 
 Exhaling loathsome, wak'd me. Round I turn'd 
 
 Mine eyes, and thus the teacher : " At the least 
 
 Three times my voice hatli call'd thee. Rise, begone. 
 
 Let us the opening find where thou mayst pass." 35 
 
 I straightway rose. Now day, pour'd down from high, 
 Fill'd all the circuits of the sacred mount ; 
 And, as we journey'd, on our shoulder smote 
 The early ray. I follow'd, stooping low 
 My forehead, as a man, o'ercharg'd with thought, 40 
 
 Who bends Isim to the likeness of an arch. 
 That midway spans the flood; when thus I heard, 
 " Come, enter here," in tone so soft and mild. 
 As never met the ear on mortal strand. 
 
 With sw^an-like wings dispread and pointing up, 45 
 Who thus had spoken marshal'd us along. 
 Where each side of the solid masonry 
 The sloping walls retir'd ; then mov'd his plumes, 
 And fanning us, affirm'd that those, who mourn. 
 Are blessed, for that comfort shall be theirs. 50 
 
 " What aileth thee, that still thou look'st to earth?" 
 Began my leader ; while th' angelic shape
 
 puu<;AT(~)iiY. 187 
 
 A little over us his station took, 
 
 "New vision," I replied, "hath raisM in me 
 Surniisings strange and anxious doubts, whereon 55 
 
 My soul intent allows no other thought 
 Or room or entrance. — " ITast thou seen," said lie, 
 "That old enchantress, her, whose wiles alone 
 Tlie spirits o'er us weep for ? Hast thou seen 
 How man may free him of her bonds? Enough. GO 
 
 Let thy heels spurn the earth, and thy rais'd ken 
 Fix on the lure, Avhich heav'n's eternal King 
 Whirls in the rolling sjdieres." As on his feet 
 The falcon first looks down, then to the sky 
 Turns, and forth stretches eager for the food, i5 
 
 That wooes him thither ; so the call I heard, 
 So onward, far as the dividing rock 
 Gave Avay, I journey'd, till the plain was reach'd. 
 
 On the fifth circle when I stood at large, 
 A race api)ear'd before-me, on the ground 70 
 
 All downward lying prone and wee])ing sore, 
 "My soul liatli cleaved to the dust," I heard 
 With sighs so deep, they Avell nigh choak'd the words, 
 " ye elect of God, whose penal woes 
 Both hope and justice mitigate, direct 75 
 
 Tow'rds the steep rising our uncertain way." 
 
 " If ye approach secure from this our doom. 
 Prostration — and would urge your course with speeo. 
 See that ye still to rightward keep the brink." 
 
 So them the bard besought ; and such the words, 80 
 Beyond us some short space, in answer came. 
 
 I noted what remain'd yet hidden from them : 
 Thence to my liege's eyes mine eyes I bent, 
 Aiul he, forthwith interpreting their suit, 
 Beckon'd his glad assent.. Free then to act, 85 
 
 As pleas'd me, I drew near, and took my stand 
 Over that shade, whose words I late had mark'd. 
 And, " Sp.irit ! " I said, " in whom repentant tears 
 Mature that blessed hour, when thou with God 
 Shalt find acceptance, for a while suspend 90 
 
 For me that mightier care. Say who thou wast, 
 Why thus ye grovel on your bellies prone,
 
 188 rURfJATORY. 
 
 And it" in fiuii'lit. yc wish my sci'vicc tlu'i'c, 
 
 Whence liviiii!; I niii coine." lie answering sj^nkc : 
 
 "The cause why lleav'n our back toward his co])e 95 
 
 Reverses, slmlt tliou know : hut mc know iirst 
 
 The successor of Peter, and the name 
 
 And title of my lineage from that stream, 
 
 That 'twixt Chiaveri and Siestri draws 
 
 His lim])id waters through the lowly glen. 100 
 
 A month and little more by ])roof I learnt, 
 
 With what a weight that robe of sov'reignty 
 
 Upon his shoulder rests, who from the mire 
 
 Would guard it : that each other fardel seems 
 
 But feathers hi the balance. Late, alas ! 105 
 
 Was my conversion : but when I became 
 
 Rome's pastor, I discern'd at once the dream 
 
 And cozenage of life, saw that the heart 
 
 Rested not there, and yet no prouder height 
 
 Lur'd on the climber : wherefore, of that life 110 
 
 No more enamoured, in my bosom love 
 
 Of purer being kindled. For till then 
 
 I was a soul in misery, alienate 
 
 From God, and covetous of all earthly things ; 
 
 Now, as thou seest, here punish'd for my doting. 115 
 
 Such cleansing from the taint of avarice 
 
 Do spii'its converted need. This mount inflicts 
 
 No direr penalty. E'en as our eyes 
 
 Fasten 'd below, nor e'er to loftier clime 
 
 Were lifted, thus hath justice level'd us 120 
 
 Here on the earth. As avarice quench'd our love 
 
 Of good, without which is no working, thus 
 
 Here justice holds us prison'd, hand and foot 
 
 Chain'd down and bound, while heaven's just Lord shall 
 
 please. 
 So long to tarry motionless outstretch'd." 125 
 
 My knees I stoop'd, and would have spoke ; but he, 
 Ere my beginning, by his ear perceiv'd 
 I did him reverence; and "What cause," said he, 
 "Hath bow'd thee thus ! " — " Compunction," I rejoin'd. 
 " And inward awe of your high dignity." I'iO 
 
 " Up," he exclaim'd, " brother ! upon thy feet
 
 PURGATORY. 189 
 
 Arise : orr not : thy fellow servant I, 
 
 (Tliiue and all others') of one Sovran Power. 
 
 If thou hast ever niark'd those holy sounds 
 
 Of gospel truth, ' nor shall be giv'n in marriage,' 135 
 
 Thou niayst discern the reasons of my si)eech. 
 
 Go thy ways now ; and linger here no more. 
 
 Thy tarrying is a let unto the tears, 
 
 With which I hasten that whereof thou spak'st. 
 
 I have on earth a kinswoman ; her name i-iO 
 
 Alagia, worthy in herself, so ill 
 
 Example of our house corrupt her not : 
 
 And she is all remaineth of me there." 
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 Ill strives the will, 'gainst will more wise that strives : 
 His pleasure therefore to mine own preferr'd, 
 I drew the sponge yet thirsty from the wave. 
 
 Onward I mov'd : he also onward mov'd, 
 Who led me, coasting still, wherever place 5 
 
 Along the rock Avas vacant, as a man 
 Walks near the battlements on narrow wall. 
 For those on tli' other part, who drop by drop 
 Wring out their all-infecting malady. 
 Too closely j)ress the verge. Accurst be thou ! 10 
 
 Inveterate wolf ! whose gorge ingluts more prey, 
 Than every beast beside, yet is not fill'd ! 
 So bottomless thy maw ! — Ye spheres of heaven ! 
 To whom there are, as seems, Avho attribute 
 All change in mortal state, when is the day 1.5 
 
 Of his appearing, for whom fate reserves 
 To chase her hence ? — With wary steps and slow 
 We pass'd ; and I attentive to the shades, 
 Whom piteously I heard lament and wail ; 
 And, 'midst the wailing, one before us heard 20 
 
 Cry out " O blessed Virgin ! " as a dame 
 In the sharp pangs of childbed ; and " How poor 
 Thou wast," it added, " witness that low roof 
 Where thou didst lay thy sacred burden down. 
 O good Fabricius ! thou didst virtue choose 25
 
 I'jO I'UUGATOnV. 
 
 With poverty, before ,<>'reat Avealth with vice." 
 
 Tlie words so pleas'd me, that desire to know 
 The spirit, from whose lip tliey seem'd to come, 
 Did draw me onward. Yet it spake the gift 
 Of Nicholas, which on the maidens he 30 
 
 Bounteous hestow'd, to save their youthful prime 
 TJnblemish'd. " Spirit ! who dost speak of deeds 
 So worthy, tell me who thou wast," I said, 
 " And why thou dost with single voice renew 
 Memorial of such praise. That boon vouchsaf'd 35 
 
 Ha]ily shall meet reward ; if I return 
 To finish the short pilgrimage of life, 
 Still S])eeding to its close on restless Aving." 
 
 " I," answer'd he, " will tell thee, not for help, 
 Which thence I look for ; but that in thyself 40 
 
 Grace so exceeding shines, before thy time 
 Of mortal dissolution. I was root 
 Of that ill plant, whose shade such poison sheds 
 O'er all the Christian land, that seldom thence 
 Good fruit is gather'd. Vengeance soon should come, 45 
 Had Ghent and Douay, Lille and Bruges power ; 
 And vengeance I of heav'n's great Judge implore. 
 Hugh Capet was I hight : from me descend 
 The Philips and the Louis, of whom France 
 Newly is govern'd ; born of one, who ply'd 50 
 
 The slaughterer's trade at Paris. When the race 
 Of ancient kings had vanish'd (all save one 
 Wrapt up in sable weeds) within my gripe 
 I found the reins of em])ire, and such powers 
 Of new acquirement, with full store of friends, 55 
 
 That soon the widow'd circlet of the crown 
 Was girt ujion the temples of my son. 
 He, from Avhose bones th' anointed race begins. 
 Till the great dower of Provence had remov'd 
 The stains, that yet obscur'd our lowly blood, 60 
 
 Its sway indeed Avas narrow, but howe'er 
 It wrought no evil : there, with force and lies. 
 Began its rapine ; after, for amends, 
 Poitou it seiz'd, Navarre and Gascony. 
 To Italy came Charles, and for amends 65
 
 PUKGATORV. 191 
 
 Young Conradinc an innocent victim slew, 
 
 And sent th' angelic teacher back to heav'n, 
 
 Still for amends. I see the time at hand, 
 
 That forth from France invites another Charles 
 
 To make himself and kindred better known. 70 
 
 ITnarm'd he issues, saving Avith that lance. 
 
 Which the arch-traitor tilted with ; and that 
 
 lie carries with so home a thrust, as rives 
 
 The bowels of poor Florence. No increase 
 
 Of territory hence, but sin and shame 75 
 
 Shall be his guerdon, and so much the more 
 
 As he more lightly deems of such foul wrong. 
 
 I see the other, who a prisoner late 
 
 Plad stept on shore, exposing to the mart 
 
 His daughter, whom he bargains for, as do 80 
 
 The Corsairs for their slaves. O avarice ! 
 
 What canst thou more, Avho hast subdued our blood 
 
 So wholly to thyself, they feel no care 
 
 Of their own flesh ? To h.ide with direr guilt 
 
 Past ill and future, lo ! the flower-de-luce 85 
 
 Enters Alagna ! in his Vicar Christ 
 
 Himself a ca]>tive, and his mockery 
 
 Acted again ! Lo ! to his holy lip 
 
 The vinegar and gall once more applied ! 
 
 And he 'twixt living robbers doom'd to bleed ! 90 
 
 Lo ! the ncAV Pilate, of whose cruelty 
 
 Such violence cannot fill the measure up, 
 
 With no degree to sanction, pushes on 
 
 Into the temple his yet eager sails ! 
 
 " O sovran Master ! when shall I rejoice 95 
 
 To see the vengeance, Avhich thy wrath well-plcas'd 
 In secret silehce broods? — While daylight lasts, 
 So long what thou didst hear of her, sole spouse 
 Of the Great Spirit, and on which thou turn'dst 
 To me for comment, is the general theme 100 
 
 Of all our prayers : but when it darkens, then 
 A different strain we utter, then record 
 Pygmalion, ndioni his gluttonous thirst of gold 
 Made traitor, robber, parricide : the woes 
 Of Midas, which his greedy wish ensued, 105 
 
 ;1
 
 192 PURGATORY. 
 
 IMark'd for derision to :ill future times: 
 
 And the fond Aehan, how ho stole tlie prey, 
 
 That yet lie seems by Joshua's ire pursued. 
 
 tSa]»])hira with her husband next we blame ; 
 
 And praise the forefeet, that with furious ramp 110 
 
 Spurn'd Ileliodorus. All the mountain round 
 
 Rings with the infamy of Thracia's king, 
 
 Who slew his Phrygian charge : and last a shout 
 
 Ascends : ' Declare, O Crassus ! for thou know'st, 
 
 The flavour of thy gold.' The voice of each 115 
 
 Now high now low, as each his impulse ])rompts, 
 
 Is led through many a jiitch, acute or grave. 
 
 Therefore, not singly, I erewhile rehears'd 
 
 That blessedness we tell of in the day : 
 
 But near me none beside liis accent rais'd." 120 
 
 From him we now had parted, and essay'd 
 With utmost efforts to surmount the way, 
 Wlien I did feel, as nodding to its fall, 
 The mountain tremble ; whence an icy chill 
 Seiz'd on mo, as on one to death convey'd, 125 
 
 So shook not Delos, when Latona there 
 Couch'd to bring forth the twin-born eyes of heaven. 
 
 Forthwith from every side a shout arose 
 So vehement, that suddenly my guide 
 Drew near, and cried: "Doubt not, while I conduct 
 
 thee." ^ 130 
 
 " Glory ! " all shouted (such the sounds mine ear 
 Gather'd from those, who near me swell'd the sounds) 
 " Glory in the highest bo to God." We stood 
 Immovably suspended, like to those. 
 
 The shepherds, who first heard in Bethlehem's field 135 
 That song: till ceas'd the trembling, and the song 
 Was ended : then our hallow'd ]mtli resum'd, 
 Eying the prostrate shadows, who renew'd 1 
 
 Their custoni'd mourning. Never in my breast 
 Did ignorance so struggle with desire 140 ,. 
 
 Of knowledge, if my memory do not err. 
 As in that moment ; nor through haste dar'd I 
 To question, nor myself could aught discern, 
 So on I far'd in thoughtfulness and dread. 
 
 -.^-^^^-.r^i^^i^i::^^^.^ —-' .l i,. ■.ii-W- rifff i 'lil -V
 
 rumiAToRV. 193 
 
 CANTO XXI. 
 
 T;iK natural thirst, ne'er quencli'd but from the well, 
 
 Whereof the woman of Samaria crav'd, 
 
 Excited : liastc along the cumbcr'd path, 
 
 After my guide, impellVl ; and jiity mov'd 
 
 jNfy bosom for the 'vengeful deed, tliough just. 8 
 
 When lo ! even as Luke relates, that Christ 
 
 A])pear'd unto the two upon their way, 
 
 New-risen from his vaulted grave ; to us 
 
 A sJiade appear'd, and after us ajiproach'd, 
 
 Contemplating the crowd beneath its feet. 10 
 
 We were not ware of it ; so first it spake. 
 
 Saying, " God give you peace, my brethren ! " then. 
 
 Sudden we turn'd : and Virgil such salute, 
 
 As fitted that kind greeting, gave, and cried : 
 
 " Peace in the blessed council be thy lot 15 
 
 Awarded by that righteous court, which me 
 
 To everlasting banishment exiles ! " 
 
 " How ! " he exclaim'd, nor from his speed meanwhile 
 Desisting, " If that ye be spirits, whom God 
 Vouchsafes not room above, who n]i the height 20 
 
 Has been thus far your guide ? " To whom the bard : 
 " If thou observe the tokens, which this man 
 Trac'd by the finger of the angel bears, 
 'Tis plain that in the kingdom of the just 
 He needs must share. But sithence she, whose Avheel 25 
 S]nns day and night, for him not yet had drawn 
 That yarn, which, on the fatal distaff pil'd, 
 Clotho ap])ortions to each wught that breathes, 
 His soul, that sister is to mine and tljine. 
 Not of herself could mount, for not like ours 30 
 
 Her ken : whence I, from forth the ample gulf 
 Of hell was ta'en, to lead him, and will lead - 
 Far as my lore avails. But, if thou know. 
 Instruct us for what cause, the mount erewhile 
 Thus shook and trembled : wherefore all at once 35 
 
 Seem'd shouting, even from his "w ave-wash'd foot." 
 
 That questioning so tallied with my wish, 
 The thirst did feel abatement of its edge
 
 194 I'UKtiATOJlV. 
 
 E'en from expectance. lie forlliwitli i-eplied : 
 
 " In its devotion nought irregular 40 
 
 This mount can witness, or by punctual rule 
 
 UnsanctionVl ; here from every change exempt. 
 
 Other than that, M'hich heaven in itself 
 
 Doth of itself receiA'e, no influence 
 
 Can reach us. Tempest none, shower, hail or snow, 45 
 
 Hoar frost or dewy moistness, liigher falls 
 
 Than that brief scale of threefold ste])s : thick clouds 
 
 Nor scudding rack are ever seen : swift glance 
 
 Ne'er lightens, nor Thaumantian Iris gleams, 
 
 That yonder often shift on each side heav'n, 50 
 
 Vapour adust doth never mount above 
 
 The highest of the trinal stairs, whereon 
 
 Peter's vicegerent stands. Lower perchance, 
 
 With various motion rock'd, trembles the soil : 
 
 But here, through wind in earth's deep hollow pent, 55 
 
 I know not how, yet never trembled : then 
 
 Trembles, when any spirit feels itself 
 
 So purified, that it may rise, or move 
 
 For rising, and such loud acclaim ensues. 
 
 Purification by the will alone 60 
 
 Is prov'd, that free to change society 
 
 Seizes the soul rejoicing in her will. 
 
 Desire of bliss is present from the first ; 
 
 But strong joropension hinders, to that wish 
 
 By the just ordinance of heav'n opj^os'd ; 65 
 
 Propension now as eager to fulfil 
 
 Th' allotted torment, as erewhile to sin. 
 
 And I who in this punishment had lain 
 
 Five hundred years and more, but now have felt 
 
 Free wnsh for happier clime. Therefore thou felt'st 70 
 
 The mountain tremble, and the sjnrits devout 
 
 Heard'st, over all his limits, utter praise 
 
 To that liege Lord, whom I entreat their joy 
 
 To hasten." Thus he spake : and since the draught 
 
 Is grateful ever as the thirst is keen, 75 
 
 No words may speak my fulness of content. 
 
 "Now," said the instructor sage, " I see the net 
 That takes ye here, and how the toils are loos'd,
 
 rUUGATORY. 195 
 
 Why rocks tlie mountain and -why ye rejoice. 
 
 Vouchsafe, tliat from tliy lips I next may learn, 80 
 
 AVlio on tlie eartli tliou wast, and wlierei'ore here 
 
 So many an age wert jirostrate." — "In tliat time, 
 
 Wlien the good Titus, witli Heav'n's King to lielp, 
 
 Aveng'd tliose piteous gashes, wlience tlie blood 
 
 By Judas sold did issue, with the name 85 
 
 Most lasting and most honour'd there was I 
 
 Abundantly renown'd," the shade re])ly'd, 
 
 "Not yet with faitli endued. So passing sweet 
 
 My vocal spirit, from Tolosa, Eome 
 
 To herself drew me, where I merited 90 
 
 A myrtle garland to inwreathe my brow. 
 
 Statins they name me still. Of Thebes I sang, 
 
 And next of great Achilles : but i' th' way 
 
 Fell with the second burthen. Of my flame 
 
 Those sparkles were the seeds, which I deriv'd 95 
 
 From the bright fountain of celestial fire 
 
 That feeds unnumber'd lamps, the song I mean 
 
 Which sounds ^Eneas' wand'rings : that the breast 
 
 I hung at, that the nurse, from wJiom my veins 
 
 Drank inspiration : whose authority 100 
 
 Was ever sacred with me. To have liv'd 
 
 Coeval Avith the Mantuan, I would bide 
 
 The revolution of another sun 
 
 Beyond my stated years in banishment." 
 
 The Mantuan, when he heard him, turn'd to me, 105 
 And holding silence : by his countenance 
 Enjoin'd me silence but the powei- Avhich wills, 
 Bears not supreme control : laughter and tears 
 Follow so closely on the passion prompits them, 
 They wait not for the motions of the will 110 
 
 In natures most sincere. I did but smile. 
 As one who winks; and thereupon the sliade 
 Ijroke off, and peer'cl into mine eyes, where best 
 Our looks inter])ret. " So to good event 
 Mayst thou conduct such great em])rize," he cried, 115 
 " Say, why across thy visage beam'd, but now, 
 The lightning of a smile ! " On either part 
 Now am I straitenM ; one conjures me speak,
 
 11'6 PURGATORY. 
 
 Tir oLlier to silence binds me : whence a sigh 
 
 I utter, and the sigh is lieard. " Speak on ; " 120 
 
 The teacher cried ; " and do not fear to speak, 
 
 ]>ut tell him what so earnestly he asks." 
 
 Whereon I thus : "Perchance, O ancient spirit! 
 
 Thou marvel'st at my smiling. There is i-oom 
 
 For yet more wonder. He who guides my ken liiu 
 
 On high, he is that Mantuan, led by whom 
 
 Thou didst presume of men and gods to sing. 
 
 If other cause thou deem'dst for which I smil'd, 
 
 Leave it as not the true one ; and believe 
 
 Those words, thou spak'st of him, indeed the cause." 180 
 
 Now down he bent t' embrace my teacher's feet ; 
 But he forbade him : " Brother! do it not : 
 Thou art a shadow, and behold'st a shade." 
 He rising answer'd thus : " Now hast thou prov'd 
 The force and ardour of the love I bear thee, 135 
 
 When I forget we are but things of air. 
 And as a substance treat an emj^ty shade." 
 
 CANTO XXII. 
 
 Now we had left the angel, who had turn'd 
 
 To the sixth circle our ascending step. 
 
 One gash from off my forehead raz'd : while they, 
 
 Whose wishes tend to justice, shouted forth : 
 
 " Blessed ! " and ended with, " I thirst : " and I, 6 
 
 More nimble than along the other straits. 
 
 So journey'd, that, without the sense of toil, 
 
 I follow'd upward the swift-footed shades ; 
 
 When Yii'gil thus began : " Let its pure flame 
 
 From virtue flow, and love can never fail 10 
 
 To warm another's bosom, so the light 
 
 Shine manifestly forth. Hence, from that hour, 
 
 When 'mongst us in the purlieus of the deep, 
 
 Came down the spirit of Aquinum's bard. 
 
 Who told of thine affection, my good will 15 
 
 Hath been for thee of quality as strong 
 
 As ever link'd itself to one not seen. 
 
 Therefore these stall's will now seem short to me.
 
 rUKOATORY, 197 
 
 But tell mo : mid if too secure I loose 
 
 The rein with a friend's license, as a friend 20 
 
 Forgive me, and sjteak now as with a frieiid: 
 
 How chanc'd it covetous desire could find 
 
 Place in that bosom, 'midst such ample store 
 
 Of wisdom, as thy zeal had treasur'd there?" 
 
 First somewhat mov'd to laughter by his words, 25 
 Statins rej)lied : "Each syllable of thine 
 Is a dear ])ledge of love. Things oft a])pear 
 That uiinister false matters to our doubts, 
 When their true causes are remov'd from sight. 
 Thy question doth assure me, thou believ'st 30 
 
 I was on earth a covetous man, perhaps 
 Because thou found'st me in that circle ])lac'd. 
 Know then I was too wide of avarice : 
 And e'en for that excess, thousands of moons 
 Have Avax'd and wan'd upon my sufferings. 35 
 
 And Avere it not that I with heedful care 
 Noted where thou exclaim'st as if in ire 
 With Inunan nature, ' Why, thou cursed thirst 
 Of gold ! dost not with juster measure gi;ide 
 The appetite of mortals ? ' I had met 40 
 
 The fierce encounter of the voluble rock. 
 Then was I Avare that with too ample wing 
 The hands may haste to lavishment, and turn'd, 
 As from my other evil, so from this 
 
 In penitence. How many from their grave 45 
 
 Shall with shorn locks arise, Avho living, aye 
 And at life's last extreme, of this offence, 
 Tlu'ough ignorance, did not repent. And know, 
 The fault which lies direct from any sin 
 In level o])position, here with that 50 
 
 Wastes its green rankness on one common heap. 
 Therefore if I have been with those, who wail 
 Their avarice, to cleanse me, through reverse 
 Of their transgression, such hath been my lot." 
 
 To whom tiie sovran of the pastoral song : 55 
 
 "While thou didst sing that cruel warfare wa^'d 
 By the twin sori'ow of .Jocasta's womb, 
 From thy discourse with Clio thei'c, it seeius
 
 198 rUKGATOKV. 
 
 As faitli liad not bccMi lliiiic : without the which 
 
 Good deeds suffice not. And if so, what sun CO 
 
 Rose on thee, or what candle pierc'd tlie dark 
 
 That thou didst after see to hoist the sail. 
 
 And follow, where tlie fisherman had led?" 
 
 He answerini:; thus : "By thee conducted first, 
 I enter'd the Parnassian grots, and quaff'd 65 
 
 Of tlie clear spring; illumin'd first by thee 
 Open'd mine eyes to God. Thou didst, as one, 
 Who, journeying through the darkness, bears a light 
 Behind, that profits not himself, but makes 
 His followers wise, when thou exclaimedst, ' Lo ! 70 
 
 A renovated world ! Justice return'd ! 
 Times of primeval innocence restor'd ! 
 And a new race descended from above!' 
 Poet and Christian both to thee I owed. 
 That thou mayst mark more clearly what I trace, 75 
 
 My hand shall stretch forth to inform the lines 
 With livelier colouring. Soon o'er all the world, 
 By messengers from heav'n, the true belief 
 Teem'd now prolific, and that word of thine 
 Ac(;ordant, to the new instructors chim'd. 80 
 
 Induc'd by which agreement, I was wont 
 Resort to them ; and soon their sanctity 
 So won u]ion me, that, Domitian's rage 
 Pursuing them, I mix'd my tears with theirs. 
 And, while on earth I stay'd, still succour'd them ; 85 
 And their most righteous customs made me scorn 
 All sects besides. Before I led the Greeks, 
 In tuneful fiction, to the streams of Thebes, 
 I was baptiz'd ; but secretly, through fear, 
 Remain'd a Christian, and conform'd long time 90 
 
 To Pagan rites. Five centuries and more, 
 I for that lukewarmness was fain to pace 
 Round the fourth circle. Thou then, who hast rais'd 
 The covering, which did hide such blessing from me. 
 Whilst much of this ascent is yet to climb, 95 
 
 Say, if thou know, where our old Terence bides, 
 Caecilius, Plautus, Varro : if condemn'd 
 They dwell, and in what province of the deep."
 
 PURCxATORY, 199 
 
 " Tliose," said my guide, "witli Persius and myself, 
 
 And others many more, are witli tliiit Greek, 100 
 
 Of mortals, the most chei-ish'd by the Nine, 
 
 In the first ward of darkness. There ofttimes 
 
 We of tliat mount hold converse, on whose top 
 
 For aye our nurses live. We have the bard 
 
 Of Pella, and the Teian, Agatho, 105 
 
 Simonides, and many a Grecian else 
 
 Ingarlanded with laurel. Of thy train 
 
 Antigone is there, Deiphile, 
 
 Argia, and as sorrowful as erst 
 
 Ismene, and who show'd Langia's wave : 110 
 
 Deidamia with her sisters there. 
 
 And blind Tiresias' daughter, and the bride 
 
 Sea-born of Peleus." Either poet now 
 
 Was silent, and. no longer by th' ascent 
 
 Or the steep walls obstructed, round them cast 115 
 
 Inquiring eyes. Four handmaids of the day 
 
 Had finish'd now their office, and the fifth 
 
 Was at the chariot-beam, directing still 
 
 Its balmy point aloof, when thus my guide : 
 
 "Methinks, it well behoves us to the brink 120 
 
 Bend the right shoulder, circuiting the mount, 
 
 As we have ever us'd." So custom there 
 
 Was usher to the road, the which we chose 
 
 Less doubtful, as that worthy shade complied. 
 
 They on before me went ; I sole pursued, 125 
 
 List'ning their speech, that to my thoughts convey'd 
 Mysterious lessons of sweet poesy. 
 But soon they ceas'd ; for midway of the road 
 A tree we found, with goodly fi-uitage hung, 
 And pleasant to the smell: and as a fir l.'JO 
 
 UpAvard from bough to bough less am])le S];reads, 
 So downward this less ample sjiread, that none, 
 Methinks, aloft may climb. Upon the side, 
 That clos'd our path, a liquid crystal fell 
 From the steep rock, and through the sprays above 1.35 
 Stream'd showering. With associate step the bards 
 DrcAV near the plant ; and from amidst the leaves 
 A voice was heard : " Ye shall be chary of me ; "
 
 200 PURGATORY. 
 
 And after .1(1(10(1 : " Mary took more thought 
 
 For joy and liononr of tlie nuptial feast, 140 
 
 Than for herself who answers now for you. 
 
 The women of old Koine were satisiied 
 
 With water for their beverage. Daniel fed 
 
 On pulse, and wisdom gain'd. The primal age 
 
 Was beautiful as gold ; and hunger then 145 
 
 Made aeorns tasteful, thirst eaeh rivulet 
 
 Kun nectar. Honey and locusts M'ere the food, 
 
 Whereon the Baptist in the wilderness 
 
 Fed, and that eminence of glory reach'd 
 
 And greatness, which the' Evangelist records." 150 
 
 CANTO XXIII. 
 
 On the green leaf mine eyes were fix'd, like his 
 
 Who throws away his days in idle chase 
 
 Of the diminutive, when thus I heard 
 
 The more than father warn me : "Son ! our time 
 
 Asks thriftier using. Linger not : away." 5 
 
 Thereat my face and steps at once I turn'd 
 Toward the sages, by whose converse cheer'd 
 I journey'd on, and felt no toil : and lo ! 
 A sound of weeping and a song : " My lips, 
 O Lord ! " and these so mingled, it gave birth IC 
 
 To pleasure and to pain. "O Sire, belov'd ! 
 Say Avhat is this I hear ? " Thus I inquir'd. 
 
 " Spirits," said he, " who as they go, perchance, 
 Their debt of duty pay." As on their road 
 The thoughtful pilgrims, overtaking some 15 
 
 Not known unto them, turn to them, and look, 
 But stay not ; thus, approaching from behind 
 With speedier motion, eyed us, as they pass'd, 
 A crowd of spirits, silent and devout. 
 The eyes of each were dark and hollow : pale 20 
 
 Their visage, and so lean withal, the bones 
 Stood staring thro' the skin. I do not think 
 "^I'lius dry and meagre Erisicthon show'd. 
 When })inc'hd by sharp-set famine to the quick.
 
 PUROATORY. 201 
 
 " Lo ! " to myself I mus'd, " the race, who lost 25 
 
 Jenisalem, when Mary with dire beak 
 Prey'd on her cliild." The sockets seeni'd as rings, 
 From Avhich the gems were dropt. Who reads tlie 
 
 name 
 Of man n])on his forehead, there tlie M 
 Had trac'd most plainly. Who would deem, that scent 
 Of water and an ap])le, could have prov'd 31 
 
 Powerful to generate such pining want, 
 Not knowing how it Avrought ? While now I stood 
 Wond'ring what thus could waste them (for the cause 
 Of their gaunt hollowness and scaly rind 35 
 
 Appear'd not) lo ! a spirit turn'd his eyes 
 In their dee})-sunken cell, and fasten'd them 
 On me, then cried with vehemence aloud : 
 "What grace is this vouchsaf'd me?" By his looks 
 I ne'er had recogniz'd him : but tlie voice 4G 
 
 Brought to my knowledge Avhat his cheer conceal'd. 
 Remembrance of his alter'd lineaments 
 Was kindled from that spark ; and I agniz'd 
 The visage of Forese. " Ah ! respect 
 This wan and leprous wither'd skin," thus he 45 
 
 Suppliant implor'd, " this macerated flesh. 
 Speak to me truly of thyself. And who 
 Are those twain spirits, that escort thee there? 
 Be it not said thou scorn'st to talk with me." 
 
 " That face of tliino," I answer'd him, " which dead 50 
 I once bewail'd, disposes me not less 
 For weeping, when I see it thus transform'd. 
 Say then, by Heav'n, what blasts ye thus? The whilst 
 I wonder, ask not speech from me : unapt 
 Is lie to speak, whom other will employs." 55 
 
 He thus: "The water and tlie jtlant we pass'd, 
 Virtue possesses, by th' eternal will 
 Infus'd, the which so pines me. Every spirit, 
 Whose song bewails his gluttony indulgVl 
 Too grossly, here in hunger and in thirst 60 
 
 Is purified. The odour, which the fruit. 
 And spray, that showers upon the verdure, breathe, 
 Inflames us with desire to feed and drink.
 
 202 PUKGATORY, 
 
 Nor once nlono enconi])nssing our route 
 We come to add fresh fuel to the ])ain : 65 
 
 Pain, said I ? solace rather : for that will 
 To the tree leads us, by which Christ was led 
 To call Elias, joyful when he paid 
 Our ransom from his vein." I answering thus : 
 " Forese ! from that day, in which the world 70 
 
 For Letter life thou changedst, not five years 
 Have circled. If the power of sinning more 
 Were first concluded in thee, ere thou knew'st 
 That kindly grief, which re-espouses us 
 To God, how hither art thon come so soon ? 75 
 
 I thought to find thee lower, there, where time 
 Is recompense for time." He straight replied : 
 " To drink up the sweet wormwood of affliction 
 I have been brought thus early by the tears 
 Stream'd down my Nella's cheeks. Her prayers de- 
 vout, bO 
 Her sighs have drawn me from the coast, where oft 
 Expectance lingers, and have set me free 
 From th' other circles. In the sight of God 
 So much the dearer is my widow priz'd, 
 She whom I lov'd so fondlj^, as she ranks 85 
 More singly eminent for virtuous deeds. 
 The tract most barb'rous of Sardinia's isle, 
 Hath dames more chaste and modester by far 
 Than that wherein I left her. O sweet brother ! 
 What wouldst thou have me say?. A time to come 90 
 Stands full within my view, to which this hour 
 Shall not be counted of an ancient date, 
 When from the pulpit shall be loudly warn'd 
 Th' unblushing dames of Florence, lest they bare 
 Unkerchief'd bosoms to the common gaze. 95 
 What savage women hath the world e'er seen, 
 What Saracens, for whom there needed scourge 
 Of spiritual or other discipline. 
 To force them walk with cov'ring on their limbs ! 
 But did they see, the shameless ones, that Heav'n 100 
 Wafts on swift wing toward them, while I speak, 
 Their mouths were ojD'd for howling: they shall taste
 
 PURGATOKV. 203 
 
 Of sorrow (unless foresiglit cheat mc liere) 
 Or ere the cheek of him be cloth'd with down 
 Who is now rock'd witli InUaby asleep. 105 
 
 Ah ! now, my brother, hide thyself no more, 
 Tliou seest how not I alone but all 
 Gaze, where thou veil'st the intercepted sun." 
 Whence I replied : " If thou recall to mind 
 What we were once togetlier, even yet 110 
 
 Ivemenibrance of those days may grieve thee sore. 
 That I forsook that life, was due to him 
 AYho there precedes me, some few evenings past, 
 When she was round, who shines with sister lamp 
 To his, that glisters yonder," and I show'd 115 
 
 The sun. "Tis he, who through profoundest niglit 
 Of the true dead has brought me, with this flesh 
 As true, that follows. Fi-om that gloom the aid 
 Of his sure comfort drew me on to climb, 
 And climbing wind along this mountain-steep, 120 
 
 Which rectifies in you wliate'er the world 
 Made crooked and deprav'd. I have his word, 
 That he will bear me company as far 
 As till I come where Beatrice dwells : 
 But there must leave me. Virgil is that spirit, 125 
 
 Wlio thus hath promis'd," and I pointed to him ; 
 " The otlier is that shade, for whom so late 
 Your realm, as he arose, exulting shook 
 Through every pendent cliff and rocky bound." 
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 Our journey was not slacken'd by our talk. 
 Nor yet our talk by journeying. Still we spake, 
 And urg'd our travel stoutly, like a ship 
 When the wind sits astern. The shadowy forms, 
 That seem'd things dead and dead again, drew in 
 At their deep-delved orbs j-are wonder of me, 
 Perceiving I had life ; and I my words 
 Continued, and thus spake; " He journeys uj) 
 Perliaps more tardily then else lie would,
 
 204 PURGATOHY. 
 
 For othei's' sako. But tell me, if thou know'st, 1(J 
 
 Wliere is Piccarda? Tell mc, if I see 
 
 Any of mark, among tliis multitude, 
 
 Who eye me tlius." — "My .sister (she for wliom, 
 
 'Twixt beautiful and good ; I cannot say 
 
 Which name was fitter) wears e'en now lier crown, 15 
 
 And triumphs in Olympus." Saying this, 
 
 He added : " Since s])are diet hath so worn 
 
 Our semblance out, 't is lawful liere to name 
 
 Each one. This," and his finger then he rais'd, 
 
 "Is Buonaggiunta, — Buonaggiunta, he 20 
 
 Of Lucca : and that face beyond him, pierc'd 
 
 Unto a leaner fineness than the rest, 
 
 Had keeping of the church : he was of Tours, 
 
 And purges by wan abstinence away 
 
 Bolsena's eels and cups of muscadel." 25 
 
 He show'd me many others, one by one. 
 And all, as they were nam'd, seem'd well content ; 
 For no dark gesture I discern'd in any. 
 I saw through hunger Ubaldino grind 
 His teeth on emptiness ; and Boniface, 30 
 
 That wav'd the crozier o'er a num'rous flock. 
 I saw the Marquis, who had time erewhile 
 To swill at Forli with less drought, yet so 
 Was one ne'er sated. I howe'er, like him. 
 That gazing 'midst a crowd, singles out one, 35 
 
 So singled him of Lucca ; for methought 
 Was none amongst them took such note of me. 
 Somewhat I heard him whisper of Gentucca : 
 The sound was indistinct, and mnrmur'd there. 
 Where justice, that so strips them, fix'd her sting. 40 
 
 " Spirit ! " said I, " it seems as thou wouldst fain 
 Speak with me. Let me hear thee. JVIutual wish 
 To converse prompts, which let us both indulge." 
 
 He, answ'ring, straight began : " Woman is born, 
 Whose brow no wim])le shades yet, that shall make 45 
 My city please thee, bUme it as they may. 
 Go then with this forewarning. If aught false 
 My whis])er too implied, th' event shall tell. 
 But say, if of a truth 1 see the man
 
 I'UllGATOUY. 205 
 
 Of tliat new lay tli' inventor, which bcyins 50 
 
 Witli 'Ladies, ye that eon the lore of love'." 
 
 To whom I thus : " Count of me hut as one 
 Who am the scribe of love ; that, when he breathes, 
 Take up my pen, and, as he dictates, write." 
 
 "Brother! " said he, "the hind'rance which once hehl 
 The notary with Guittone and myself, 56 
 
 Short of that new and sweeter style I hear, 
 Is now disclos'd. I see how ye your ])luines 
 Stretch, as th' inditer guides them ; which, no question, 
 Ours did not. He that seeks a gi-ace beyond, 60 
 
 Sees not the distance ])arts one style from other." 
 And, as contented, here he held his peace. 
 
 Like as the bird, that winter near the Nile, 
 In squared regiment direct tlieir course. 
 Then stretch themselves in file for speedier flight; 65 
 Thus all the tribe of s])irits, as they turn'd 
 Their visage, faster Hed, nimble alike 
 Through leanness and desire. And. as a man, 
 Tir'd with the motion of a trotting steed, 
 Slacks pace, and stays behind, his company, 70 
 
 Till his o'erbreathed lungs keej) temperate time ; 
 E'en so Forese let that holy crew 
 Proceed, behind them lingering at my side. 
 And saying : " When shall I again behold thee ? " 
 
 " How long my life may last," said I, " I know not ; 75 
 This know, how soon soever I return. 
 My wishes will before me have arriA''cT. 
 Sithence the place, where I am set to live, 
 Is, day by day, more scoop'd. of all its good, 
 And. elismal ruin seems to threaten it." 80 
 
 " Go now," he cried : " lo ! he, whose guilt is most, 
 Passes before my vision, dragg'd at heels 
 Of an infuriate beast. Toward the vale. 
 Where guilt hath no redemption, on it speeds, 
 Each step increasing swiftness on the last ; 85 
 
 Until a blow it strikes, that leaveth him 
 A corse most vilely shatter'd. No long space 
 Those wheels have yet to roll" (thei'ewith liis eyes 
 Look'd up to heav'n) " ere thou shall plainly see
 
 206 PURGATOKY. 
 
 That wliich my words may not more plainly tell. 90 
 
 I quit thee : time is precious here : I lose 
 
 Too much, thus measuring my pace with thine." 
 
 As from a troop of well-rankM chi\alry 
 One knig-ht, more enter])rising than the rest, 
 Pricks forth at galloj), eager to (lis])lay 95 
 
 His prowess in the first encounter jn'ov'd ; 
 So parted he from us ■with lengtlien'd strides, 
 And left me on the way with those twain s])irits, 
 Who were such mighty marshals of the world. 
 
 When he beyond us had so fled, mine eyes 100 
 
 No nearer reach'd him, than my thought his words, 
 The branches of another fruit, thick hung. 
 And blooming fresh, appear'd. E'en as our steps 
 Turn'd thither, not far off it rose to view. 
 Beneath it were a multitude, that rais'd 105 
 
 Their hands, and shouted forth I know not what 
 Unto the boughs ; like greedy and fond brats, 
 That beg, and answer none obtain from liim. 
 Of whom they beg ; but more to draw them on. 
 He at arm's length the object of their wish 110 
 
 Above them holds aloft, and hides it not. 
 
 At length, as undeceiv'd they went their way : 
 And we approach the tree, who vows and tears 
 Sue to in vain, the mighty tree. " Pass on. 
 And come not near. Stands higher up the wood, 115 
 Whereof Eve tasted, and from it was ta'en 
 This plant." Such sounds from midst the thickets 
 
 came. 
 Whence I, with either bard, close to the side 
 That rose, pass'd forth beyond. " Remember," next 
 We heard, " those unblest creatures of the clouds, 120 
 How they their twofold bosoms overgorg'd 
 Oppos'd in fight to Theseus : call to mind 
 The Hebrews, how effeminate they stoo})'d 
 To ease their thii'st ; whence Gideon's ranks Avere 
 
 thinn'd. 
 As he to Midian march'd adown the hills." 125 
 
 Thus near one border coasting, still we heard 
 The sins of gluttony, with woe ere while
 
 PUKGATOUY. 207 
 
 Regiierdon'd. Then along the lonely path, 
 
 Once mofe at large, full thousand ])aces on 
 
 We travel'd, each conteni])lativc and mute. loO 
 
 "Why pensive journey tlnis ye three alone?" 
 Thus suddenly a voice exclainiM : wliereat 
 I shook, as doth a scar'd and paltry beast ; 
 Then rais'd my head to look from whence it came. 
 
 Was ne'er, in furnace, glass, or metal seen 135 
 
 So bright and glowing red, as was the shape 
 I now beheld. " If ye desire to mount," 
 He cried, " liere must ye turn. This Avay he goes, 
 Wlio goes in quest of peace." His countenance 
 Had dazzled me ; and to ray guides I fac'd 140 
 
 Backward, like one who walks, as sound directs. 
 
 As when, to harbinger the dawn, springs up 
 On freshen'd wing the air of Ma}', and breathes 
 Of fragrance, all impregn'd with herb and llowers, 
 E'en such a wind I felt upon my front 145 
 
 Blow gently, and the moving of a wing 
 Perceiv'd, that moving shed ambrosial smell ; 
 And then a voice : " Blc-scd are they, whom grace 
 Doth so illume, that appetite in them 
 Exhaleth no inordinate desire, 150 
 
 Still hung'ring as the rule of temperance wills." 
 
 CANTO XXV. 
 
 It was an hour, when he wlio climbs, had need 
 
 To walk uncrippled : for the sun had now 
 
 To Taurus the meridian circle left. 
 
 And to the Scorpion left the night. As one 
 
 That makes no pause, but presses on his road, 5 
 
 Whate'er betide him, if some urgent need 
 
 Impel : so enter'd we upon our way, 
 
 One before other ; for, but singly, none 
 
 That steep and narrow scale admits to climb. 
 
 E'en as the young stork lifteth up his wing 10 
 
 Through wish to fly, yet ventures not to quit 
 The nest, and drops it ; so in me desire 
 Of questioning my guide arose, and fell.
 
 20S ruu(;ATouv. 
 
 Arriving even to the aet, that inai-ks 
 
 A man ])re))ar'd for speeeli. llini all our haste 15 
 
 Ilestrain'd not, hut tliun s))ake the sire Ijclov'd : 
 
 Fear not to speed the shaft, that on tliy lip 
 
 Stands tremhling for its flight." Encourag'd tlius 
 
 I straight began : " How there can leanness come, 
 
 Wliere is no want of nourishment to feed?" 20 
 
 " If thou," he answer'd, " hadst remember'd tliee, 
 How Melenger witli the Avasting brand 
 , Wasted alike, by equal fires consum'd. 
 This would not trouble thee : and hadst thou tliought, 
 ITow in the mirror your reflected form 2t 
 
 With mimic motion vibrates, wliat now seems 
 Hard, had appear'd no harder than the ]^ulp 
 Of summer fruit mature. But that thy will 
 In certainty may find its full repose, 
 
 Lo Statins here ! on him I call, and pray 30 
 
 That he would now be healer of thy wound." . 
 
 " If in thy presence I unfold to him 
 The secrets of heaven's vengeance, let me plead 
 Tliine own injunction, to exculjiate me." 
 So Statins answer'd, and forthwith began : 85 
 
 " Attend my words, O son, and in thy mind 
 Receive them : so shall they be light to clear 
 The doubt thou offer'st. Blood, concocted well, 
 Which by the thirsty veins is ne'er im]>ib'd, 
 And rests as food suiterfluous, to be ta'en 40 
 
 From the rcplenish'd tabic, in the heart 
 Derives effectual virtue, that informs 
 The several human limbs, as being that, 
 Which passes through the veins itself to make them. 
 Yet more concocted it descends, where shame 45 
 
 Forbids to mention : and from thence distils 
 In natural vessel on another's blood. 
 There each unite together, one dispos'd . 
 T' endure, to act the other, through meet frame 
 Of its recipient mould : that being reach'd, 5fl 
 
 It 'gins to work, coagulating first ; 
 Then vivifies what its own substance caus'd 
 To bear. With animation now indued,
 
 PURGATORY. 209 
 
 The active virtue (diffeiiiig from a ]>lant 
 
 No further, llian that this is on tlie way 65 
 
 And at its limit that) continues yet 
 
 To operate, that now it moves, and feels, 
 
 As sea sponge clinging to the rock : and there 
 
 Assumes tli' organic powers its seed convey'd. 
 
 This is the })eriod, son ! at which the virtue, 60 
 
 That from the generating heait proceeds, 
 
 Is ])liant and expansive ; for each limb 
 
 Is in the heart by forgeful nature plann'd. 
 
 IIow babe of animal becomes, remains 
 
 For thy consid'ring. At this point, more w'ise, 65 
 
 Than thou hast err'd, making tlie soul disjoin'd 
 
 From ])assive intellect, because he saw 
 
 No organ for the hitter's use assign'd. 
 
 " Open thy bosom to the truth that comes. 
 Know soon as in the embryo, to the brain, 70 
 
 Articulation is comjilete, then turns 
 The primal Mover with a smile of joy 
 On such great work of nature, and imbrcathes 
 New s])irit re])lete with virtue, that M'hat here 
 Active it finds, to its own substance draws, 75 
 
 And forms an individual soul, that lives, 
 And feels, and bends reflective on itself. 
 And that thou less mayst marvel at the word, 
 JMark the sun's heat, how that to wine doth change, 
 Mix'd with the moisture filter'd through the vine, 80 
 
 " When Lachesis hath spun the thread, the soul 
 Takes wath her both the human and divine, 
 Memory, intelligence, and will, in act 
 Far keener than before, the other })Owers 
 Inactive all and mute. No pause allow'd, 85 
 
 In wond'rous sort self-moving, to one strand 
 Of those, where the de])arted roam, she falls. 
 Here learns her destin'd path. Soon as the place 
 Receives her, round the plastic virtue beams, 
 Distinct as in the living limbs before : 90 
 
 And as the air, when saturate with showers, 
 The casual beam refracting, decks itself 
 With many a hue ; so here the ambient air 
 
 14
 
 210 PUKGATOUV. 
 
 Woaretli tliat form, wliicli influence of the soul 
 
 Iin])rints on it; and iike tlie flame, tliat where 95 
 
 T]m Are moves, tliither follows, so henceforth 
 
 The new form on the spirit follows still : 
 
 Ilence hath it semblance, and is shadow call'd, 
 
 "With each sense even to the sight endued : 
 
 Hence speech is ours, lience laughter, tears, and sighs. 
 
 AVliich thou mayst oft have witness'd on the mount 101 
 
 Th' obedient shadow fails not to present 
 
 Whatever varying 2)assion moves within us. 
 
 And this the cause of what thou marvel'st at." 
 
 Now the last flexure of our way we reach'd, 105 
 
 And to the right hand turning, other care 
 Awaits us. Here the rooky precipice 
 Hurls forth redundant flames, and from the rim 
 A blast upblown, with forcible rebuff 
 Driveth them back, sequester'd from its bound. 110 
 
 Behov'd us, one by one, along the side. 
 That border'd on the void, to pass ; and I 
 Fear'd on one hand the fire, on th' other fear'd 
 Headlong to fall : when thus th' instructor warn'd : 
 " Strict rein must in this place direct the eyes. 115 
 
 A little swerving and the way is lost." 
 
 Then from the bosom of the burning mass, 
 " O God of mercy ! " heard I sung ; and felt 
 No less desire to turn. And when I saw 
 Spirits along the flame proceeding, I 1'20 
 
 Between their footsteps and mine own was fain 
 To share by turns my view. At the hymn's close 
 They shouted loud, " I do not know a man ; " 
 Then in low voice again took up the strain, 
 Whicli once more ended, " To the wood," they cried, 125 
 '■• Kan Dian, and drave forth Callisto, stung 
 With Cytherea's poison : " then return'd 
 Unto their song; then many a paiv extoll'd, 
 Who liv'd in virtue chastely, and the bands 
 Of wedded love. Nor from that task, I ween, 130 
 
 Surcease they ; whilesoe'er the scorching fire 
 Enclasps them. Of such skill appliance needs 
 To medicine the wound, that healeth last.
 
 PUROATOIiY. ' 211 
 
 CANTO XXVI. 
 
 While singly thus along the rim we walk'd, 
 
 Oft the good master warn'd me : " Look thou well. 
 
 Avail it that I caution thee." The sun 
 
 Now all the western clime irradiate chang'd 
 
 From azure tinct to white ; and, as I pass'd, 5 
 
 My passing shadow made the umber'd flame 
 
 Burn ruddier. At so strange a sight I mark'd 
 
 That many a spirit marvel'cl on his way. 
 
 This bred occasion first to speak of me, 
 " He seems," said they, " no insubstantial frame : " 10 
 Then to obtain what certainty they might, 
 Stretch'd towards me, careful not to overpass 
 The burning pale. " O thou, who followest 
 The others, haply not more slow than they. 
 But mov'd by rey'reuce, answer me, who burn 15 
 
 In thirst and fire : nor I alone, but these 
 All for thine answer do more thirst, than doth 
 Indian or ^thiop for the cooling stream. 
 Tell us, how is it that thou luak'st thyself 
 A wall against the sun, as thou not yet . 20 
 
 Into th' inextricable toils of death 
 Hadst enter'd? " Thus spake one, and I had straight 
 Declar'd me, if attention had not turn'd 
 To new appearance. Meeting these, there came, 
 Midway the burning path, a crowd, on whom 25 
 
 Earnestly gazing, from each part I view 
 The shadows all press forward, sev'rally 
 Each snatcli a hasty kiss, and then away. 
 E'en so the emmets, 'mid their dusky troops, 
 Peer closely one at other, to spy out 30 
 
 Their mutual road perchance, and how they thrive. 
 
 That friendly greeting parted, ere dispatch 
 Of the first onward step, from either tribe 
 Loud clamour rises : those, wlio newly come. 
 Shout " Sodom and Gomorrah ! " these, " The cow 35 
 Pasiphae enter'd, that the beast she woo'd 
 Might rush unto her luxury," Then as cranes, 
 That part towards the liipluean mountains fly.
 
 212 rURGATORY. 
 
 Part towards the Lybic sands, these to avoid 
 
 The iee, and those tlie sun ; so liastetli off 40 
 
 One crowd, advances th' other ; and resume 
 
 Their first song wee})ing, and their several sliout. 
 
 Again drew near my side tlie very same. 
 Who liad erewliile besought me, and tlieir looks 
 Murk'd eagerness to listen. I, who twice 45 
 
 Their will had noted, spake : "0 spirits secure, 
 Whene'er the time may be, of jieaceful end ! 
 My limbs, nor crude, nor in mature old age, 
 Have I left yonder : here they bear me, fed 
 With blood, and sinew-strung. That I no more 50 
 
 May live in blindness, hence I tend aloft. 
 Tliere is a dame on high, who wins for us 
 This grace, by which my mortal through your realm 
 I bear. But may your utmost wish soon meet 
 Such full fruition, that the orb of heaven, 55 
 
 Fullest of love, and of most ample space, 
 Receive you, as ye tell (upon my page 
 Henceforth to stand recorded) who ye are. 
 And what this multitude, that at your backs 
 Have past behyid us." As one, mountain-bred, 60 
 
 Rugged and clownish, if some city's walls 
 He chance to enter, round him stares agape, 
 Confounded and struck dumb ; e'en such appear'd 
 Each spirit. But when rid of that amaze, 
 (Not long the inmate of a noble heart) 65 
 
 He, who before had question'd, thus resum'd. : 
 " O blessed, who, for death preparing, tak'st 
 Experience of our limits, in thy bark ! 
 Their crime, who not with us proceed, was that. 
 For w^jich, as he did triumph, Caesar heard 70 
 
 The shout of ' queen,' to taunt him. Hence their cry 
 Of ' Sodom,' as they parted, to rebuke 
 Themselves, and aid the burning by their sliam.e. 
 Our sinning was Hermaphrodite : but we, 
 Because the law of human kind we broke, 75 
 
 Following like beasts our vile concupiscence, 
 Hence parting from them, to our own disgrace 
 Record the name of lier, by whom the beast
 
 PURGATORY. 21. '5 
 
 [ In bestial tire was acted. Now our deerls 
 
 Thou kuow'nt, and liow we sinn'd. Tf tliou Ijy name 80 
 
 Wouldst haply know us, time ))ermits not now 
 
 To tell so much, nor can I. Of myself 
 
 Learn what thou wishest. Guinicelli I, 
 
 "Who having truly sorrow'd ere my last, 
 
 Already cleanse me." With such pious joy, 85 
 
 As the two sons upon their mother gaz'd 
 
 From sad Lycurgus rescu'd, such my joy 
 
 (Save that I more represt it) when I heard 
 
 From his own lips the name of him pronounc'd, 
 
 Who was a father to nie, and to those 90 
 
 My betters, who have ever us'd the sweet 
 
 And pleasant rhymes of love. So nought I heard 
 
 Nor spake, but long time thoughtfully I went, 
 
 Gazing on him ; and, only for the fire, 
 
 Approach'd not nearer. When my eyes were fed 95 
 
 By looking on him, with such solemn pledge. 
 
 As forces credence, I devoted me 
 
 Unto his service Avholly. In reply 
 
 He thus besjjake me : " What from thee I hear 
 
 Is gi-av'd so deeply on my mind, the waves 100 
 
 Of Lethe shall not wash it off, nor make 
 
 A whit less lively. But as now thy oath 
 
 Has seal'd the truth, declare what cause impels 
 
 That love, which both thy looks and speech bewray." 
 
 "Those dulcet lays," I answer'd, " which, as long 105 
 As of our tongue the beauty does not fade, 
 Shall make us love the very ink that trac'd them." 
 
 " Brother ! " he cried, and pointed at a shade 
 Before him, " there is one, whose mother speech 
 Doth owe to him a fairer ornament. 110 
 
 He in love ditties and the tales of prose 
 Without a rival stands, and lets the fools 
 Talk on, who think the songstei* of LiuK^ges 
 O'ertops him. Rumour and the popular voice 
 I'hey look to more than truth, and so confirm 115 
 
 Opinion, ere by art or reason taught. 
 Thus many of the elder time cried up 
 Guittone, giving him the prize, till truth
 
 1:14 PURrrATORY. 
 
 By strength of nniiiLers vanqnisli'd. If thou OAvn 
 
 So .'unple privilege, as to have gain'd 120 
 
 Free entrance to tlie cloister, whereof Christ 
 
 Is Abbot of the college, say to him 
 
 One paternoster for me, far as needs 
 
 For dwellers in tliis world, where ])Ower to sin 
 
 No longer tempts us." Haply to make way 125 
 
 For one, that follow'd next, when that was said, 
 
 IKr vanish'd through tl)e fire, as through the wave 
 
 A fish, that glances diving to the deep. 
 
 I, to the spirit he had shown me, drew 
 A little onward, and besought his name, 130 
 
 For which my heart, I said, kept gracious room. 
 He frankly thus began : " Thy courtesy 
 So wins on me, I have nor power nor will 
 To hide me. I am Arnault ; and with songs, 
 Sorely waymenting for ray folly past, 135 
 
 Thorough this ford of fire I wade, and see 
 The day, I liope for, smiling in my view. 
 I pray ye by the Avorth that guides ye up 
 Unto the summit of the scale, in time 
 Kemember ye my suff'rings." With such words 140 
 
 He disappear'd in the refining flame. 
 
 CANTO XXVII. 
 
 Now was the sun so station'd, as when first 
 
 His early radiance quivers on the heights. 
 
 Where stream'd his Maker's blood, while Libra hangs 
 
 Above Hesperian Ebro, and new fires 
 
 Meridian flash on Ganges' yellow tide. 5 
 
 So day was sinking, Avhen the' angel of God 
 Appear'd before us. Joy was in his mien. 
 Forth of the flame he stood upon the brink, 
 And with a voice, whose lively clearness far 
 Surpass'd our human, " Blessed are the pure 10 
 
 In heart," lie sang : then near him as we came, 
 " Go ye not further, holy spirits ! " he cried, 
 "Ere the fire pierce you : enter in; and list
 
 I'URGATOUY. 215 
 
 Attentive to the song ye lienr from tlience." 
 
 I, when I lieard liis saying, was as one 15 
 
 Laid in tlie grave. My huiids together clasp'd, 
 And n])\vard stretcliing, on tlie fire I h)ok'd, 
 And busy fancy eonjur'd up tlie forms 
 Erewhile belield alive consum'd in flames. 
 
 Til' escorting spirits turn'd with gentle looks 20 
 
 Toward me, and the Mantuan spake : " My son, 
 Here torment thou mayst feel, but canst not death. 
 Kemember thee, remember thee, if I 
 Safe e'en on Geryon brought thee : now I come 
 More near to God, w^lt thou not trust me now ? 25 
 
 Of this be sure: though in its womb that flame 
 A thousand years contain'd thee, from thy head 
 No hair should perish. If thou doubt my truth, 1 
 
 A]j]»roach, and Avith thy hands thy vesture's hem 
 Stretch forth, and for thyself confirm belief. 30 
 
 Lay now all fear, O lay all fear aside. 
 Turn hither, and come onward undismay'd." 
 1 still, though conscience urg'd, no step advanc'd. 
 
 When still he saw me fix'd and obstinate, 
 Somewhat disturb'd he cried : " Mark now, my son, 35 
 From Beatrice thou art by this wall 
 Divided." As at Thisbe's name the eye 
 Of Pyramus was open'd (when life ebb'd 
 Fast from his veins), and took one parting glance. 
 While vermeil dyed the mulberry ; thus I turn'd 40 
 
 To my sage guide, relenting, when I heard 
 The name, that springs for ever in my breast. 
 
 He shook his forehead ; and, " How long," he said, 
 "Linger we now?" then smil'd, as one would smile 
 Upon a child, that eyes the fruit and yields. 45 
 
 Into the fire before me then he walk'd ; 
 And Statins, who erewhile no little space 
 Had parted us, he pray'd to come behind. 
 
 I w^ould have cast me into molten glass 
 To cool me, when I enter'd ; so intense 50 
 
 Rag'd the conflagrant mass. The sire belov'd. 
 To comfort me, as he ])roceeded, still 
 Of Beatrice talk'd. " Her eyes," saith he. 

 
 216 PITKGATORY. 
 
 " E'en now I seem to view." From the otlicr side 
 
 A voice, thiit sang, did guide iis, and the \oice 55 
 
 Following, with lieedful ear, we issued forth. 
 
 There wdiere tl)e path led upward. "Come," we lieard, 
 
 " Come, blessed of my Father." Such the so\uuls, 
 
 Tliat liail'd us from within a light, wliich shone 
 
 So radiant, I could not endure the view. GO 
 
 "The sun," it added, "hastes: and evening comes. 
 
 Delay not : ere the western sky is hung 
 
 With blackness, strive ye for the pass." Our way 
 
 Upright within the rock arose, and fac'd 
 
 Such part of heav'n, tliat from before my steps 65 
 
 The beams were sl\rouded of the sinking sun. 
 
 Nor many staii-s were overpast, when now 
 By fading of the shadow we perceiv'd 
 The sun behind us couch'd : and ere one face 
 Of darkness o'er its measureless expanse 70 
 
 Involv'd th' horizon, and the night her lot 
 Held individual, each of us had made 
 A stair his pallet : not that will, but 2>ower, 
 Had fail'd us, by the nature of that mount 
 Forlndden further travel. As the goats, 75 
 
 That late have skipp'd and wanton'd rapidly 
 Upon the craggy cliffs, ere they had ta'en 
 Their supper on the herb, now silent lie 
 And ruminate beneath the umbrage brown, 
 AVhile noon-day rages; and the goatherd leans 80 
 
 Ui>on his staff, and leaning watches them : 
 And as the swain, that lodges out all night 
 In quiet by his flock, lest beast of prey 
 Disperse them ; even so all three abode, 
 I as a goat and as the shepherds they, 85 
 
 Close pent on either side by shelving rock. 
 
 A little glimpse of sky was seen above ; 
 Yet by that little I beheld the stars 
 In magnitude and lustre shining forth 
 Witli more than wonted glory. As I lay, 90 
 
 G;'.zing on them, and in that fit of musing, 
 Sleep overcame me, sleep, that bringeth oft 
 Tidings of future haj). About the hour,
 
 rUllGATORY. 217 
 
 As I believe, when Venus front the east 
 
 First ligliten'd on the mountain, she wliosc orb 95 
 
 Seems alway glowing with the lire of love, 
 
 A lady young and beautiful, I dream'd, 
 
 \Vas i)assing o'er a lea ; and, as she came, 
 
 Methought I saw her ever and anon 
 
 Bending to cull the flowers ; and thus she sang : 100 
 
 " Know ye, whoever of my name would ask. 
 
 That I am Leah : for my brow to weave 
 
 A gaidand, these fair hands unwearied ply. 
 
 To please me at the crystal mirror, here 
 
 I deck me. But my sister Rachel, she 105 
 
 Before iier glass abides the livelong day, 
 
 Iler radiant eyes beholding, charm'd no less, 
 
 Than I with this delightful task. Her joy 
 
 In contemplation, as in labour mine." 
 
 And now as glimm'ring dawn appear'd, that breaks 110 
 More welcome to the pilgrim still, as he 
 Sojourns less distant on his homeward way, 
 Darkness from all sides fled, and vrith it fled 
 JMy slumber ; whence I rose and saw my guide 
 Already risen. " That delicious fruit, 115 
 
 Which through so many a branch the zealous care 
 Of mortals roams in quest of, shall this day 
 Appease thy hunger." Such the words I heard 
 From Virgil's lip ; and never greeting lieard 
 So pleasant as the sounds. Within me straight 120 
 
 Desire so grew upon desire to mount, 
 Thenceforward at each step I felt the Avings 
 Increasing for my flight. When we had run 
 O'er all the ladder to its topmost round, 
 As there we stood, on me the Mantuan fix'd 125 
 
 His eyes, and thus he spake : " Both fires, my son, 
 The temporal and eternal, thou hast seen, 
 And art arriv'd, where of itself my ken 
 No further reaches. I with skill and art 
 Thus fur have drawn thee. Now thy pleasure take 130 
 For guide. Tliou hast o'ercome the steeper way, 
 O'ercome the straighter. Lo ! the sun, that darts 
 His beam upon thy forehead ! lo ! the herb,
 
 lilS PUhT.ATOllY. 
 
 Tlie arborcts and flowers, wliicli of itself 134 
 
 This land pours forth i)rofnsc ! Till those bright eyes 
 
 Witli ghidncss come, which, wee])ing, made me haste 
 
 'J'o succour tliee, thou niayst or seat thee down, 
 
 Or wander where thou wilt. Expect no more 
 
 Sanction of warning voice or sign from me, 
 
 Free of thy own arbitrement to choose, 140 
 
 ])iscreet, judicious. To distrust thy sense 
 
 Were henceforth error. I invest thee then 
 
 With crown and mitre, sovereign o'er thyself." 
 
 CANTO XXVIII. 
 
 Through that celestial forest, whose thick shade 
 
 With lively greenness the new-springing day 
 
 Attemper'd, eager now to roam, and search 
 
 Its limits round, forthwith I left the bank, 
 
 Along the champain leisurely my way 6 
 
 Pursuing, o'er the grovmd, that on all sides 
 
 Delicious odour breath'd. A pleasant air, 
 
 That intermitted never, never veer'd. 
 
 Smote on my temples, gently, as a wind 
 
 Of softest influence : at wliich the sprays, 10 
 
 Obedient all, leau'd trembling to that part 
 
 Where first the holy mountain casts his shade, 
 
 Yet were not so disordcr'd, but that still 
 
 Upon their top the feather'd quiristers 
 
 A]iplied their wonted art, and with full joy 15 
 
 Welcom'd those hours of prime, and warbled shrill 
 
 Amid the leaves, that to their jocund lays 
 
 Kept tenor ; even as from branch to branch. 
 
 Along the piny forests on tlie shore 
 
 01 Cliiassi, rolls the gath'i-ing melody, 20 
 
 When Eolus hath from his cavern loos'd 
 
 The dripping south. Already had my steps, 
 
 Tliough slow, so far into that ancient wood 
 
 Transported me, I could not ken the place 
 
 Where I had enter'd, when behold ! my path 25 
 
 Was bounded by a rill, which to the left
 
 PURfiATORY. 219 
 
 With little rippling waters bent the grass, 
 
 Tliat issued from its brink. On eartli no wave 
 
 How clean soe'er, that would not seem to have 
 
 Some mixture in itself, compar'd with this, 30 
 
 Transpicuous, clear ; yet darkly on it roll'd. 
 
 Darkly beneath perpetual gloom, which ne^er 
 
 Admits or sun or moon light thei'e to shine. 
 
 My feet advanc'd not ; out my wond'ring eyes 
 Passed onward, o'er the streamlet, to survey 35 
 
 The tender May-bloom, flush'd through many a hue, 
 In prodigal variety : and there, 
 As object, rising suddenly to view. 
 That from our bosom every thought beside 
 With the rare marvel chases, I beheld 40 
 
 A lady all alone, who, singing, went. 
 And culling flower from flower, wherewith her way 
 Was all o'er painted. " Lady beautiful ! 
 Thou, who (if looks, that use to speak the heart, 
 Are Avorthy of our trust), with love's own beam 45 
 
 Dost warm thee," thus to her my speech I frani'd : 
 " Ah ! please thee hither towards the streamlet bend 
 Thy steps so near, that I iiiay list thy song. 
 Beholding thee and this fair place, metliinks, 
 I call to mind where wander'd and how look'd 50 
 
 Proserpine, in that season, when her child 
 The mother lost, and she the bloomy spring." 
 
 As when a lady, turning in the dance, 
 Doth foot it featly, and advances scarce 
 One step before the other to the ground ; -65 
 
 0\-er the yellow and vermilion floAvers 
 Tiuis turn'd she at my suit, most maiden-like, 
 Valing her sober eyes, and came so near. 
 That I distinctly cauglit the dulcet sound. 
 Arriving where the limped waters now 60 
 
 La^'d the green SAvard, her eyes she deign'd to raise; 
 That shot such splendour on me, as I Aveen 
 Ne'er glanced from Cytherea's, when her son 
 Had sped his keenest Aveapon to her heart. 
 Upon the opposite bank she stood and smil'd ; 65 
 
 As through her graceful fingers shifted still
 
 220 ruijOATORv, 
 
 The intermingling flyes, Avliicli witliout seed 
 
 That lofty l:ind unbosoms. By tlie stream 
 
 Three paces only were we sundcr'd : yet, 
 
 The Hellespont, where Xerxes pass'd it o'er, 70 
 
 (A curb for ever to the pride of man) 
 
 Was by Leander not more hateful held 
 
 For floating, with iidios])itable wave 
 
 'Twixt Sestus and Abydos, than by me 
 
 That flood, because it gave no passage thence. 75 
 
 " Strangers ye come, and haply in this place, 
 That cradled human nature in its birth, 
 Won ..'ring, ye not without suspicion view 
 My smiles : but that sweet strain of psahnody, 
 ' Thou, Lord ! hast made me glad,' will give ye light, 80 
 Which may uncloud your minds. And thou, who stand'st 
 The foremost, and didst make thy suit to me, 
 Say if aught else thou wish to hear : for I 
 Came promjjt to answer every doubt of thine." 
 
 She spake ; and I replied : " I know not how 85 
 
 To reconcile this wave and rustling sound 
 Of forest leaves, with what I late have heard 
 Of opposite report." She answering thus : 
 "I will unfold the cause, whence that ])roceeds, 
 Which makes thee wonder ; and so purge the cloud 90 
 That hath enwrapt thee. The First Good, whose joy 
 Is only in himself, created man 
 For happiness, and gave this goodly j^lace. 
 His ])ledge and earnest of eternal peace. 
 Favour'd thus highly, through his own defect 95 
 
 He fell, and here made short sojourn ; he fell. 
 And, for the bitterness of sorrow, chang'd 
 L;iughter unblam'd and ever-new delight. 
 That vapours none, exhal'd from earth beneath. 
 Or from the waters (which, Avherever heat 100 
 
 Attracts them, follow), might ascend thus far 
 To vex man's peaceful state, this mountain rose 
 So high toward the heav'n, nor fears the rage 
 Of elements contending, from that part 
 Exempted, where the gate his limit bars. 105 
 
 Because the circumambient air throughout
 
 rtJRGATORY. 221 
 
 Willi its first iin])ulse circles still, unless 
 
 Auglit iiiter])ose to check or thwart its course; 
 
 Ul>oii the summit, which on every side 
 
 To visitation of tl)' imjuissive air 110 
 
 Is open, cloth that motion strike, and makes 
 
 Beneath its sway th' umbrageous wood resound: 
 
 And in the sliakcn plant such power resides, 
 
 That it im])reguates with its eiiicacy 
 
 The voyaging breeze, upon whose subtle plume 115 
 
 That Avafted flies abi'oad ; and th' other land 
 
 Receiving (as 't is worthy in itself, 
 
 Or in the clime, that warms it), doth conceive,* 
 
 And from its womb produces many a tree 
 
 Of various virtue. This when thou hast heard, 120 
 
 The marvel ceases, if in yonder earth 
 
 Some plant without ai)parent seed be found 
 
 To fix its fibrous stem. And further learn, 
 
 That Avith prolific foison of all seeds. 
 
 This holy plain is fill'd, and in itself 125 
 
 Bears fruit that ne' er was pluck'd on other soil. 
 
 " The water, thou behold'st, springs not from vein, 
 As stream, that intermittently repairs 
 And spends his j^ulse of life, but issues forth 
 From fountain, solid, undecaying, sure ; 130 
 
 And by the will omnific, full supply 
 Feeds whatsoe'er on either side it pours ; 
 On this devolv'd with power to take away 
 Remembrance of offence, on that to bring 
 Remembrance back of every good deed done. 135 
 
 From whence its name of Lethe on this part ; 
 On th' other Eunoe : both of which must first 
 Be tasted ere it work.; the last exceeding 
 All flavours else. Albeit thy thirst may now 
 Be Avell contented, if I here break off, 140 
 
 No more revealing : yet a corollary 
 I freely give beside : nor deem my w^ords 
 Less grateful to thee, if they somewhat pass 
 The stretch of promise. TJiey, whose verse of yore 
 The golden age recorded and its bliss, 1-45 
 
 On the Pai'iiassian mountain, of this place
 
 222 ruuGAToiiY. 
 
 Perhaps had dream'd. Here was man guiltless, here 
 
 Perpetual spring and every fruit, and this 
 
 The far-fam'd nectar." Turning to the bards, 
 
 When she had ceas'd, I noted in their looks 150 
 
 A smile at her conclusion ; then my face 
 
 Again directed to the lovely dame. 
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 Singing, as if enamour'd, she resum'd 
 
 And clos'ci the song, with " Blessed they whose sins 
 
 Are cover'd." Like the wood-nymphs then, that tripp'd 
 
 Singly across the sylvan shadows, one 
 
 Eager to view and one to 'scape the sun, 5 
 
 So mov'd she on, against the current, up 
 
 The verdant rivage. I, her mincing step 
 
 Observing, with as tardy step pursued. 
 
 Between us not an hundred paces trod, 
 The bank, on each side bending equally, 10 
 
 Gave me to face the orient. Nor our way 
 Far onward brought us, .wlien to me at once 
 She turn'd, and cried : " My brother ! look and hearken." 
 And lo ! a sudden lustre ran across 
 
 Through the great forest on all parts, so bright 15 
 
 I doubted Avhether lightning were abroad ; 
 But that expiring ever in the spleen. 
 That doth unfold it, and this during: still 
 And waxing still in splendor, made me question 
 What it might be : and a sweet melody 20 
 
 Ran throug-Ii the luminous air. Then did I chide 
 With warrantable zeal the hardihood 
 Of our first parent, for that there were earth 
 Stood in obedience to the heav'ns, she only, 
 Woman, the creature of an hour, endur'd not 25 
 
 Restraint of any veil : which had she borne 
 Devoutly, joys, ineffable as these. 
 Had from ithe first, and long time since, been mine. 
 
 While through that wilderness of primy sweets 
 That never fade, suspense I walk'd, and yet 30
 
 PUUGATOllY. 223 
 
 Ex])ectant of beatitude more high, 
 
 Before us, Hke a bhizing fire, the air 
 
 Under the green bouglis glow'd ; and, for a song, 
 
 Distinct the sound of melody was lieard. 
 
 ye thrice holy virgins ! for your sakes 35 
 If e'er I suffer'd hunger, cold and watching, 
 
 Occasion calls on me to crave your bounty. 
 
 Now through my breast let Helicon* his stream 
 
 Pour copious ; and Urania with her choir 
 
 Arise to aid me : while the verse unfolds 40 
 
 Things that do almost mock the grasp of thought. 
 
 Onward a space, Avhat seem'd seven trees of gold, 
 The intervening distance to mine eye 
 Falsely presented ; but when I was come 
 So near them, that no lineament was lost 45 
 
 Of those, with which a doubtful object, seen 
 Remotely, plays on the misdeeming sense, 
 Then did the faculty, that ministers 
 Discourse to reason, these for tapers of gold 
 Distinguish, and i' th' singing trace the sound 50 
 
 " Hosanna." Above, their beauteous garniture 
 Flam'd Avith more ample lustre, than the moon 
 Through cloudless sky at midnight in her full. 
 
 1 turn'd me full of wonder to my guide ; 
 
 And he did answer with a countenance 55 
 
 Charg'd with no less amazement : Avhence my view 
 Keverted to those lofty things, which came 
 So slowly moving towards us, that the bride 
 Would have outstrijit them on her bridal day. 
 
 The lady called abou'd : " Why thus yet burns 60 
 
 Affection in thee for these living lights, 
 And dost not look on that which follows them? " 
 
 I straightway mark'd a tribe behind them walk, 
 As if attendant on their leaders, cloth'd 
 With raiment of such whiteness, as on earth 65 
 
 Was never. On my left, the wat'ry gleam 
 Borrow'd, and gave me back, when there I look'd. 
 As in a mirror, my left side portray'd. 
 
 When I had chosen on the river's edge 
 Such station, that the distance of the stream 70
 
 224 rUKGATOUY. 
 
 Alone (lid separutc me ; there I stay'd 
 
 My steps for clearer prospect, and beheld 
 
 The lianics go onward, leaving, as they went, 
 
 The air beliind tlieiu painted as with trail 
 
 Of liveliest ])encils ! so distinct were mark'd 75 
 
 All those sev'n listed colours, wlience the sun 
 
 IMaketh his bow, and Cynthia her zone. 
 
 These streaming gonfalons did flow beyond 
 
 My vision ; and ten paces, as I guess, 
 
 Parted the outermost. Beneath a sky 80 
 
 So beautiful, came four-and-twenty elders. 
 
 By two and two, with flower-de-luces croAvn'd. 
 
 All sang one song : " Blessed be thou among 
 
 The daughters of Adam ! and thy loveliness 
 
 Blessed for ever ! " After that the flowers, 85 
 
 And the fresh herblets, on the opj)osite brink, 
 
 Were free from that elected race ; as light 
 
 In heav'n doth second light, came after them 
 
 Four animals, each crown'd with verdurous leaf. 
 
 With six wings each was plum'd, the plumage full 90 
 
 Of eyes, and th' eyes of Argus would be such. 
 
 Were they endued with life. Reader, more rhymes 
 
 I will not waste in shadowing forth their form : 
 
 For other need no straitens, that in this 
 
 I may not give my bounty room. But read 95 
 
 Ezekiel ; for he j^aints them, from the north 
 
 How he beheld them come by Chebar's flood, 
 
 In wliirlwind, cloud and Are ; and even such 
 
 As thou shalt find them character'd by him, 
 
 Here were they; save as to the pennons ; there, 100 
 
 From him departing, John accords with me. 
 
 The space, surrounded by the four, enolos'd 
 A car triumphal : on two wheels it came 
 Drawn at a Gryphon's neck ; and he above 
 Stretch'd either wing uplifted, 'tween the midst 105 
 
 And the three listed hues, on each side three ; 
 So that the wings did cleave or injure none ; 
 And out of sight they rose. The members, far 
 As he was bird, were golden ; white the rest 
 With vermeil iutervein'd. So beautiful 110 
 
 .^ '■-'- '— - 11 r — T[-—ffl— -"■"•■ ■—■^^"-'■-■''■^'''^

 
 PUKGATORT. 225 
 
 A car in Rome ne\M- grac'd Augustiis pomp, 
 
 Or Africamis' : e'en the sun's itself 
 
 Were poor to this, that cliariot of the sun 
 
 Erroneous, Avhich in blazing ruin fell 
 
 At Tellus' pray'r devout, by the just doom 115 
 
 I Mysterious of all- seeing Jove. Three nymphs 
 
 At the right wheel, came circling in smooth dance ; 
 
 Tlie one so ruddy, that her form had scarce 
 
 Been known within a furnace of clear flame : 
 j The next did look, as if the flesh and bones 120 
 
 i Were emerald : snow new-fallen seem'd the third. 
 
 Now seem'd the white to lead, the ruddy now ; 
 I And from her song who led, the others took 
 
 Their measure, swift or slow. At th' other wheel, 
 I A band quaternion, each in purple clad, 125 
 
 S Advanc'd witli festal step, as of them one 
 I The rest conducted, one, upon whose front 
 I Three eyes were seen. In rear of all this groupe, 
 \ Two old men I beheld, dissimilar 
 
 \ In raiment, but in port and gesture like, 130 
 
 I Solid and mainly grave ; of whom the one 
 I Did bhow himself some favour'd counsellor 
 j Of the great Coan, him, whom nature made 
 J To serve the costliest creature of her tribe. 
 I His fellow mark'd an opposite intent, 135 
 
 \ Bearing a sword, whose glitterance and keen edge, 
 i E'en as I view'd it with the flood between, 
 I A])pall'd me. Next four others I beheld. 
 
 Of humble seeming : and, behind them all, 
 \ ()ne single old man, sleeping as he came, 140 
 
 \ With a shrewd visage. And these seven, each 
 
 Like the first troop were habited, but wore 
 
 No braid of lilies on their temples wreath'd. 
 
 Rather with roses and each vermeil flower, 
 
 A sight, but little distant, might have sworn, 145 
 
 That they were all on fire above their brow. 
 I Whenas the car was o'er against me, straight 
 
 ] Was heard a thund'ring, at whose voice it seem'd 
 i The chosen multitude were stay'd ; for there, 
 i With the fii'st C'e;si<rns, made thev S(;lemn halt. 150
 
 226 PUKGAT0KY. 
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 SooN" as the polar liglit, which never knows 
 
 Setting nor rising, nor the shadowy veil 
 
 Of other cloud than sin, fair ornament 
 
 Of tlie first heav'n, to duty each one there 
 
 Safely convoying, as that lower doth 6 
 
 The steersman to his port, stood firmly fix'd ; 
 
 Forthwith the saintly tribe, who in the van 
 
 Between the Gryphon and its radiance came, 
 
 Did turn them to the car, as to their rest : 
 
 And one, as if commission'd from above, 10 
 
 In holy chant thrice shouted forth aloud : 
 
 " Come, spouse, from Libanus ! " and all the rest 
 
 Took up the song. — At the last audit so 
 
 The blest shall rise, from forth his cavern each 
 
 Uplifting lightly his new-vested flesh, 15 
 
 As, on the sacred litter, at the voice 
 
 Authoritative of that elder, sprang 
 
 A hundred ministers and messengers 
 
 Of life eternal. " Blessed thoii ! who com'st ! " 
 
 And, "O," they cried, "from full hands scatter ye 20 
 
 Uuwith'ring lilies ; " and, so saying, cast 
 
 Flowers over head and round them on all sides. 
 
 I have beheld, ere now, at break of day, 
 The eastern clime all roseate, and the sky 
 OjDpos'd, one deep and beautiful serene, 25 
 
 And the sun's face so shaded, and with mists 
 Attemper'd at his rising, that the eye 
 Long while endur'd the sight : thus in a cloud 
 Of flowers, that from those hands angelic rose. 
 And down, within and outside of the car, 30 
 
 Fell showering, in white veil wnth olive wreath'd, 
 A virgin in my view appear'd, beneath 
 Green mantle, rob'd in hue of living flame : 
 And o'er my spirit, that in former days 
 Within her presence had abode so long, 35 
 
 No shudd'ring terror crept. Mine eyes no more 
 Had knowledge of her; yet there mov'd from her 
 A hidden virtue, at whose touch awak'd,
 
 PUIJGATORY. 'Si I 
 
 The power of ancient love was slroiig witliin nie. 
 
 No sooner on my vision .streaming, smote 40 
 
 Tlie lieav'nly intliience, which years })a8t, and e'en 
 In chihlhood, thrill'd me, tlian towards Virgil I 
 Turn'd me to leftward, ])anting, like a babe, 
 That flees for refnge to his mother's breast, 
 If auglit have terrified or work'd him woe: 45 
 
 And would have cried : "There is no dram of blood, 
 That dotli not quiver in me. The old flame 
 Throws out clear tokens of reviving fire ; " 
 But Virgil had bereav'd us of himself, 
 Virgil, my best-lov'd father; Virgil, he 50 
 
 To whom I gave me w]) for safety : nor. 
 All, our prime mother lost, avail'd to save 
 My undew'd cheeks from blur of soiling tears. 
 
 " Dante, weep not, that Virgil leaves thee : nay, 
 Weep thou not yet : behoves thee feel the edge 55 
 
 Of other sword, and thou shalt weep for that." 
 
 As to tlie prow or stern, some admiral 
 Paces the deck, inspiriting his crew. 
 When 'mid the sail-yards all hands ply aloof ; 
 Thus on the left side of the car I saw, 60 
 
 (Turning me at the sound of mine own name, 
 Which here I am compell'd to register) 
 Tlie virgin station'd, who before appeared 
 Veil'd in that festive shower angelical. 
 
 Towards me, across the stream, she bent lier eyes; 65 
 Though from her brow the veil descending, bound 
 With foliage of Minerva, suffer'd not 
 That I beheld her clearly ; then with act 
 Full royal, still insulting o'er her thrall. 
 Added, as one, who speaking keepeth back 70 
 
 The bitterest saying, to conclude the speech : 
 " Observe me well. I am, in sooth, I am 
 Beatrice. What ! and hast thou deign'd at last 
 Approach the mountain? Knewest not, O man ! 
 Thy happiness is here ?" Down fell mine eyes 75 
 
 On the clear fount, but there, myself espying, 
 Recoil'd, and sought the greensward : such a weight 
 Of shame was on my forehead. With a mien
 
 228 PUKGATORY. 
 
 Of tliat stern majesty, which dotli surround 
 
 A mother's presence to her awe-struck cliild, 80 
 
 Slie look'd ; a flavour of sucli bitterness 
 
 Was mingled in lier pity. There her words 
 
 Brake off, and suddenly the angels sang : 
 
 " In thee, O gracious Lord, my hope hath been : " 
 
 But went no farther than, " Thou Lord, hast set 85 
 
 My feet in ample room." As snow, that lies 
 
 Amidst the living rafters on the back 
 
 Of Italy congeal'd when drifted high 
 
 And closely pil'd by rough Sclavonian blasts, 
 
 Breathe but the land wliereon no shadow falls. 90 
 
 And straightway melting it distils away, 
 
 Like a fire-wasted taper : thus was I, 
 
 Witliout a sigh or tear, or ever these 
 
 Did sing, that with the chiming of heav'n's sphere, 
 
 Still in their warbling chime : but when the strain 95 
 
 Of dulcet symphony, express'd for me 
 
 Their soft comjiassion, more than could the words 
 
 " Virgin, why so consum'st him ?" then the ice, 
 
 Congeal'd about my bosom, turn'd itself 
 
 To spirit and water, and with anguish forth 100 
 
 Gush'd through the lips and eyelids from the heart. 
 
 Upon the chariot's right edge still she stood, 
 Immovable, and thus address'd her words 
 To those bright semblances with pity touch'd : 
 "Ye in th' eternal day your vigils keep, 105 
 
 So that nor night nor slumber, with close stealth, 
 Conveys from you a single step in all 
 The goings on of life : thence with more heed 
 I shape mine answer, for his car intended. 
 Who there stands weeping, that the sorrow now 110 
 
 May equal the transgression. Not alone 
 Through operation of the mighty orbs. 
 That mark each seed to some predestin'd aim, 
 As with aspect or fortunate or ill 
 
 The constellations meet, but through benign 115 
 
 Largess of heav'nly graces, Avhich rain down 
 From such a height, as mocks our vision, this man 
 Was in the freshness of liis being, such,
 
 PUIIGATOUY. 2li!) 
 
 So qifled virtunlly, tliat in him 
 
 All better li.'ibits woud'rously l>ad thrivM. 120 
 
 The more of kindly strength is in the soil, 
 
 So mucli doth evil seed and lack of culture 
 
 JNIar it tlie more, and make it run to wildne.ss. 
 
 These looks sometime upheld him ; for I sliow'd 
 
 JNIy youthful eyes, and led liim by tlieir liglit 12;") 
 
 In upright walking. Soon as I had i-eachM 
 
 The threshold of my second age, and chang'd 
 
 JNIy mortal for immortal, then he left me. 
 
 And gave"himself to others. When from liesli 
 
 To spirit I had risen, and increase 1.30 
 
 Of beauty and of virtue circled me, 
 
 I was less dear to him, and valued less. 
 
 His steps were turn'd into deceitful ways, 
 
 Following false images of good, that make 
 
 No promise perfect. Nor avaiJ'd me aught 135 
 
 To sue for inspirations, with the which, 
 
 I, both in dreams of night, and otherwise, 
 
 Did call him back ; of them so little reck'd him. 
 
 Such depth he fell, that all device was short 
 
 Of his preserving, save that he should view 140 
 
 The childi-en of perdition. To this end 
 
 I visited the purlieus of the dead : 
 
 And one, who hath conducted him thus high, 
 
 Receiv'd my supj'lications urg'd with weeping. 
 
 It were a breaking of C4od's high decree, 145 
 
 If Lethe should be past, and such food tasted 
 
 Without the cost of some repentant tear." 
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 " O THOU ! " her words she thus without delay 
 Resuming, turn'd their point on me, to whom 
 They but with lateral edge seem'd harsh before, 
 " Say thou, who stand'st beyond the holy stream, 
 If this be true. A charge so grievous needs 
 Thine own avowal." On my faculty 
 Such strange amazement hung, the voice expir'd
 
 230 rUIiOATOUT. 
 
 Iin])crfect, ere its oro;aiis c:ave it birtli. 
 
 A little space refraining, tlien she spake : 
 "What dost thou muse on ? Answer me. The wave 
 On thy remembrances of evil yet 11 
 
 Hath done no injury." A mingled sense 
 Of fear and of confusion, from my lips 
 Did sucli a " Yea " produce, as needed help 
 Of vision to interpret. As when breaks 15 
 
 In act to be discharg'd, a cross-bow bent 
 Beyond its pitch, both nerve and bow o'erstretch'd, 
 The flagging weapon feebly hits the mark ; 
 Thus, tears and sighs forth gushing, did I burst 
 Beneath the heavy load, and thus my voice 20 
 
 Was slacken'd on its way. She straight began : 
 " When my desire invited thee to love 
 The good, which sets a bound to our aspirings, 
 What bar of thwarting foss or linked chain 
 Did meet thee, that thou so should'st quit the hope 
 Of further progress, or what bait of ease 26 
 
 Or promise of allurement led thee on 
 Elsewhere, that thou elsewhere should'st rather wait ? " 
 
 A bitter sigh I drew, then scarce found voice 
 To answer, hardly to these sounds my lips 30 
 
 Gave utterance, wailing : " Thy fair looks AvithdraAvn, 
 Things present, with deceitful pleasures, turn'd 
 My ste]>s aside." She answering spake : " Iladst thou 
 Been silent, or denied what thou avow'st. 
 Thou hadst not hid thy sin the more : such eye 35 
 
 Observes it. But v^'hene'er the sinner's cheek 
 Breaks forth into the precious-streaming tears 
 Of self-accusing, in our court the wheel 
 Of justice doth run counter to the edge. 
 Howe'er that thou may'st profit by thy shame 40 
 
 For errors past, and that henceforth more strength 
 May arm thee, when thou hear'st the Syren-voice, 
 Lay thou aside the motive to tliis grief, 
 And lend attentive ear, while I unfold 
 How opposite a way my buried flesh 45 
 
 Should have impell'd thee. Never didst thou spy 
 In art or nature aught so j^assing sweet,
 
 PURGATORY. 231 
 
 As were the limbs, tliat in their beauteous frame 
 
 Enclos'd me, and are scatter'd now in dust. 
 
 If sweetest thing thus fail'd thee with my death, 50 
 
 What, afterward, of mortal sliould thy wish 
 
 Have tempted? Wlien thou first hadst felt the dart 
 
 Of perishable things, in my departing 
 
 For better realms, thy wing thou should'st have })run'd 
 
 To follow me, and never stoop'd again 55 
 
 To 'bide a second blow for a slight girl, 
 
 Or other gaud as transient and as vain. 
 
 The new and inexperienc'd bird awaits. 
 
 Twice it may be, or thrice, the fowler's aim ; 
 
 But in the sight of one, whose plumes are full, 60 
 
 Id vain the net is spread, the arrow wing'd." 
 
 I stood, as children silent and asham'd 
 Stand, list'ning, with their eyes upon the earth, 
 Acknowledging their fault and self-condemn 'd. 
 And she resuni'd : " If, but to hear thus pains thee, 65 
 Raise thou thy beard, and lo ! what sight shall do ! " 
 
 With less reluctance yields a stvirdy holm, 
 Rent from its fibres by a blast, that blows 
 From off the pole, or from larbas' land, 
 Than I at her behest my visage rais'd : 70 
 
 And thus the face denoting by the beard, 
 I mai'k'd the secret sting her words convey'd. 
 
 No sooner lifted I mine aspect up. 
 Than downward sunk that vision I beheld 
 Of goodly creatures vanish ; and mine eyes 75 
 
 Yet unassur'd and wavering, bent their light 
 On Beatrice. Towards the animal, 
 Who joins two natures in one form, she turn'd. 
 And, even imder shadow of her veil, 
 
 And parted by the verdant rill, that flow'd 80 
 
 Between, in loveliness appear'd as much 
 Her former self surpassing, as on earth 
 All others she surpass'd. Remorseful goads 
 Shot sudden through me. Each thing else, the more 
 Its love had late beguil'd me, now the more 85 
 
 Was loathsome. On my heart so keenly smote 
 The bitter consciousness, that on the ground
 
 232 
 
 ]'lIH(iATOI4Y. 
 
 O'crpower'd I fell : .ind what my state was then, 
 
 She knows who was the cavise. When now my strengtli 
 
 Flow'cl back, returning outward from the heart, 90 
 
 The lady, Avliom alone I first had seen, 
 
 I found above me. "Loose me not," she cried : 
 
 "Loose not thy hold ; " and lo ! had dragg'd me high 
 
 As to my neck into tbe stream, while she, 
 
 Still as she drew me after, swept along, " 95 
 
 Swift as a shuttle, bounding o'er the wave. 
 
 The blessed shore approaching then was heard 
 So sweetly, " Tu asperges me," that I 
 May not remember, much less tell the sound. 
 
 The beauteous dame, her arms expanding, clasp'd 
 My temples, and inmierg'd me, where 't was fit 101 
 
 The wave should drench me : and thence raising up, 
 Within the fourfold dance of lovely nymjihs 
 Presented me so lav'd, and with their arm 
 They each did cover me. " Here are we nymphs, 105 
 And in the heav'n are stars. Or ever earth 
 Was visited of Beatrice, we 
 Appointed for her handmaids, tended on her. 
 We to her eyes will lead thee ; but the light 
 Of gladness that is in them, Avell to scan, 110 
 
 Those yonder three, of deeper ken than ours. 
 Thy sight shall quicken." Thus began their song; 
 And then they led me to the Gryphon's breast. 
 While, turn'd toward us, Beatrice stood. 
 " Spare not thy vision. We have stationed thee 11 f) 
 Before the emeralds, whence love erewhile 
 ITath drawn his weapons on thee." As they spake, 
 A thousand fervent wishes rivited 
 Mine eyes upon her beaming eyes, that stood 
 Still fix'd toward the Gryphon montionless. 120 
 
 As the sun strikes a mirroi", even thus 
 Within those orbs the twyfold being shone, 
 For ever varying, in one figure now 
 Reflected, now in other. Reader ! muse 
 How wond'rous in my sight it seem'd to mark 125 
 
 A thing, albeit steadfast in itself, 
 Vet in its imag'd semblance mutable. 
 
 r
 
 rURGATOTlY. '283 
 
 Full of amaze, and joyous, wliile my soul 
 Fed on the viand, -wliereof still desire 
 Grows with satiety, the other three 130 
 
 With gesture, that declar'd a loftier line, 
 Advane'd : to tlieir own carol on they came 
 Dancing in festive ring angelical. 
 
 " Turn, Beatrice ! " was tlieir song : " O turn 
 Thy saintly sight on this thy faithful one, lo5 
 
 Who to behold thee many a wearisome pace 
 Hath measur'd. Gracious at our pray'r vouchsafe 
 Unveil to him thy cheeks: that he may mark 
 Thy second beauty, now conceal'd." O splendour! 
 O sacred light eternal ! Avho is he 140 
 
 So pale with musing in Pierian shades, 
 Or with that fount so lavishly imbued, 
 Whose spirit should not fail him in th' essay 
 To represent thee such as thou didst seem, 
 When under coj»e of the still-chiming heaven 145 
 
 Thou gav'st to open air thy charms reveal'd ? 
 
 CANTO XXXII. 
 
 Mine eyes with such an eager coveting, 
 
 Were bent to rid them of their ten years' thirst, 
 
 No other sense Avas waking : and e'en they 
 
 Were fenc'd on either side from heed of aught ; 
 
 So tangled in its custom'd toils that smile f) 
 
 Of saintly brightness drew me to itself, 
 
 When forcibly toward the left my sight 
 
 The sacred virgins turn'd ; for from their lij^s 
 
 I heard the warning sounds : " Too fix'd a gaze ! " 
 
 Awhile my vision labor'd ; as when late 10 
 
 U])on the' o'erstrained eyes the sun hath smote : 
 But soon to lesser object, as the view 
 Was now recover'd (lesser in resjiect 
 To that excess of sensible, whence late 
 I had perforce been sunder'd) on their right 15 
 
 I mark'd that glorious army wheel, and turn, 
 Against the sun and sev'nfold lights, their front.
 
 234 PURGATORY. 
 
 As wlien, tlieir bucklers for protection raisM, 
 
 A well-r;iii_2;'<l troop, witli portly banners ciirl'd, 
 
 Wheel circling, ere the whole can change their ground : 
 
 E'en thus the goodly regiment of heav'n 21 
 
 Proceeding, all did pass us, ere the car 
 
 Had slop'd his beam. Attendant at the wheels 
 
 The damsels turn'd ; and on the Gryphon mov'd 
 
 The sacred burden, with a pace so smooth, 25 
 
 No feather on him trembled. The fair dame 
 
 Who through the wave had drawn me, companied 
 
 By Statins and myself, pursued the wheel, 
 
 Whose orbit, rolling, mark'd a lesser arch. 
 
 Through the high wood, now void (the more her 
 blame, 30 
 
 Who by the serpent was beguil'd) I past 
 With step in cadence to the harmony 
 Angelic, Onward had we mov'd, as far 
 Perchance as arrow at three several flights 
 Full wing'd had sped, when from her station down 35 
 Descended Beatrice. With one voice 
 All murmur'd " Adam," circling next a plant 
 Despoil'd of flowers and leaf on every bough. 
 Its tresses, spreading more as more they rose, 
 Were such, as 'midst their forest wilds for height 40 
 
 The Indians might have gaz'd at. " Blessed thou ! 
 Gryphon, whose beak hath never pluck'd that tree 
 Pleasant to taste : for hence the appetite 
 Was warp'd to evil." Round the stately trunk 
 Thus shouted forth the rest, to whom return'd 45 
 
 The animal twice-gender'd : " Yea : for so 
 The generation of the just are sav'd." 
 And turning to the chariot-pole, to foot 
 He drew it of the widow'd branch, and bound 
 There left unto the stock whereon it grew. 50 
 
 As when large floods of radiance from above 
 Stream, with that radiance mingled, which ascends 
 Next after setting of the scaly sign, 
 Our plants then burgein, and each wears anew 
 His wonted colours, ere the sun have yok'd 55 
 
 Beneath another star his flamy steeds ;
 
 PUROATORY. 235 
 
 Tlius ]Mitting fortli a liuo, more faint than rose, 
 And deeper than the violet, was renew'd 
 The plant, erewhile in all its branches bare. 
 
 Uneartlily was the hymn, wliich then arose. 60 
 
 I understood it not, nor to the end 
 Endur'd the harmony. Had I tlie skill 
 To pencil fortli, how clos'd tli' unjjitying eyes 
 Slumb'ring, when Syrinx warbled, (eyes that paid 
 So dearly for their watching,) then like ])ainter, 65 
 
 That with a model paints, I might design 
 The manner of my falling into sleep. 
 But feign who will the slumber cunningly; 
 I pass it by to when I wak'd, and tell 
 How suddenly a flash of splendour rent 70 
 
 The curtain of my sleep, and one cries out : 
 " Arise, what dost thou ? " As the chosen three, 
 On Tabor's mount, admitted to behold 
 The blossoming of that fair tree, Avhose fruit 
 Is coveted of angels, and doth make 75 
 
 Perpetual feast in heaven, to themselves 
 Returning at the word, whence deeper sleej'ts 
 Were broken, that they their tribe dimiuish'd saw, 
 Both Moses and Elias gone, and chang'd 
 The stole tlieir master wore : thus to myself 80 
 
 Returning, over me beheld I stand 
 The piteous one, who cross the stream had bi'ouglit 
 Mv steps. " And where," all doubting, I exclaim'd, 
 " Is Beatrice ? "— " See her," she replied, 
 " Beneath the fresh leaf seated on its root. 8-^ 
 
 Behold th' associate choir that circles her. 
 The others, with a melody more sweet 
 And more profound, journeying to higher realms, 
 Upon the Gry]ihon tend." If there lier words 
 Were clos'd, I know not ; but mine eyes had now 00 
 
 Ta'en view of her, by whom all other thoughts 
 Were barr'd admittance. On the very ground 
 Alone she sat, as she had there been left 
 A guard upon the wain, which I beheld 
 Bound to the twyform beast. The seven nymphs 95 
 
 Did make themselves a cloister round about her,
 
 286 pinir.ATouY. ' 
 
 And in tlieir Imnds iijilield tliosc liij^lits secure 
 From blast septentrion iuid the gusty south. 
 
 "A little wliile thou shalt be forester here : 
 And citizen shalt be for ever with me, 100 
 
 Of that true Home, whei-ein Clirist dwells a Roman. 
 To ])rofit the misguided world, keep now 
 Thine eyes upon the car ; and what thou secst, 
 Take heed thou Avrite, returning to that place." 
 
 Thus Beatrice : at whose feet inclin'd 105 
 
 Devout, at her behest, my thought and eyes, 
 I, as she bade, directed. Never fire, 
 With so swift motion, forth a stormy cloud 
 Leap'd downward from the Avelkin's farthest bound, 
 As I beheld the bird of Jove descending 110 
 
 Pounce on the tree, and, as he rush'd, the rind. 
 Disparting crush beneath him, buds much more 
 And leaflets. On the car with all his might 
 He struck, whence, staggering like a ship, it reel'd, 
 At random driv'n, to starboard now, o'ercome, 11-5 
 
 And now to larboard, by the vaulting waves. 
 
 Next si)ringing up into the chariot's womb 
 A fox I saw, with hunger seeming })in'd 
 Of all good food. But, for his ugly sins 
 The saintly maid rebuking him, away 120 
 
 Scamp'ring lie turn'd, fast as his hide-bound corpse 
 Would bear him. Next, from Avhence before he came, 
 I saw the eagle dart into the hull 
 O' til' car, and leave it with his feathers lin'd ; 
 And then a voice, like that which issues forth 11^5 
 
 P^rom heart with sorrow riv'd, did issue forth 
 From heav'n, and, " O poor bark of mine !" it cried, 
 " How badly art thou freighted ! " Then, it seem'd. 
 That the earth open'd between either wlieel, 
 And I beheld a dragon issue thence, loO 
 
 That through the chariot fix'd his forked train ; 
 And like a wasp that draggeth back the sting, 
 So drawing forth his baleful train, he dragg'd 
 Part of the bottom forth, and went his Avay 
 Exulting. What remnin'd, as lively turf 135 
 
 With green herb, so did clothe itself with plumes,
 
 PUKGATOKr. 237 
 
 Whicli liaply had witli i)iir|)ose chaste and kind 
 
 Ut'L'u offerM ; ;viid tliorewith were cloth'd tlio wheels, 
 
 Both one and other, and the beam, so quickly, 
 
 A sigh were not breath'd sooner. Thus transform'd, 140 
 
 The holy structure, through its several parts, 
 
 Did put forth heads, three on the beam, and one 
 
 On every side ; the first like oxen horn'd, 
 
 I>ut with a single horn upon their front 
 
 The four. Like monster sight hath never seen. 145 
 
 O'er it methought there sat, secure as rock 
 
 On mountain's lofty top, a shameless whore. 
 
 Whose ken rov'd loosely round her. At her side. 
 
 As 't were that none might bear her off, I saw 
 
 A giant stand ; and evci- and anon 150 
 
 They mingled kisses. But, her lustful eyes 
 
 Chancing on me to wander, that fell minion 
 
 Scourg'd her from head to foot all o'er ; then full 
 
 Of jealousy, and fierce with rage, unloos'd 
 
 The monster, and di-agg'd on, so far across 155 
 
 The forest, that from me its shades alone 
 
 Shielded the harlot and the uew-form'd brute. 
 
 CANTO XXXIII. 
 
 " The heathen. Lord ! are come ! " responsive thus, 
 
 The trinal now, and now the virgin band 
 
 Quaternion, their sweet psalmody began, 
 
 Weeping; and Beatrice listen'd, sad 
 
 And sighing, to the song, in such a mood, 5 
 
 That Mary, as she stood beside the cross, 
 
 Was scarce more chang'd. But when they gave her 
 
 place 
 To speak, then, risen upright on her feet. 
 She, with a colour glowing bright as fire, 
 Did answer : " Yet a little while, and ye 10 
 
 Shall see me not ; and, my beloved sisters, 
 Again a little while, and ye shall see me." 
 Before her then she marshall'd all the seven,
 
 238 PUKGATORY. 
 
 And, beck'niiio; only niotion'd nie, tlie dame, 
 
 And that remaining .saire, to follow her. 15 
 
 So on she pass'd ; and had not set, I Aveen, 
 Her tenth step to the gronnd, when with mine eyes 
 Her eyes encounter'd ; and, with visage mild, 
 " So mend thy pace," she cried, " that if my words 
 Address thee, thou mayst still be aptly plac'd 20 
 
 To hear them." Soon as duly to her side 
 I now had hasten'd : " Brother ! " she began, 
 " Why mak'st thou no attempt at questioning, 
 As thus we Avalk together ? " Like to those 
 Wlio, speaking with too reverent an awe 25 
 
 Before their betters, draw not forth the voice 
 Alive unto their lips, befel me then 
 That I in sounds imperfect thus began : 
 "Lady! Avhat I have need of, that thou know'st, 
 And what will suit my need." She answering thus : 
 " Of tearfulness and shame, I will, that thou 30 
 
 Henceforth do rid thee : that thou s])eak no more, 
 As one Avho dreams. Thus far be taught of me : 
 The vessel, which thou saw'st the serpent break. 
 Was and is not : let him, who hath the blame, 35 
 
 Ho])e not to scare God's vengeance with a sop. 
 Without an heir for ever shall not be 
 That eagle, he, who left the chariot plum'd. 
 Which monster made it first and next a prey. 
 Plainly I view, and therefore s])eak, the stars 40 
 
 E'en now approaching, whose conjunction, free 
 From all impediment and bar, brings on 
 A season, in the which, oile sent from God, 
 (Five hundred, five, and ten, do mark liim out) 
 That foul one, and th' accom]>lice of her guilt, 45 
 
 The giant, both shall slay. And if perchance 
 My saying, dark as Themis or as Sphinx, 
 Fail to persuade thee, (since like them it foils 
 The intellect with blindness) yet ere long- 
 Events shall be the NnTads, that will solve 50 
 This knotty riddle, and no damage light 
 On flock or field. Take heed ; and as these words 
 By me are utter'd, teach them even so
 
 rUKGATOKY. 239 
 
 To those ■\vho live iliat life, whicli is a race 
 
 To death : and when thou writ'st them, keep in mind 55 
 
 jNot to conceal how thou hast seen tiie ])lant, 
 
 Tliat twice hath now been spoil'd. This whoso robs, 
 
 This Avhoso plucks, with bl;\,si)hemy of deed 
 
 Sins against God, who for his use alone 
 
 Creating hallow'd it. For taste of this, 60 
 
 In pain and in desire, five thousand years 
 
 And upAvard, the fii'st soul did yearn for him, 
 
 Who punish'd in himself the fatal gust. 
 
 " Thy reason slumbers, if it deem this height 
 And summit thus inverted of the plant, 05 
 
 Without due cause : and were not vainer thoughts, 
 As Elsa's numbing waters, to thy soul, 
 And their fond pleasures had not dyed it dark 
 As Py ramus the mulberry, thou hadst seen, 
 In such momentous circumstance alone, 70 
 
 God's equal justice morally im])lied 
 In the forbidden tree. But since I mark thee 
 In understanding harden'd into stone. 
 And, to that hardness, spotted too and stain'd, 
 So that thine eye is dazzled at ray word, 75 
 
 I will, that, if not written, yet at least 
 Painted thou take it in thee, for the cause. 
 That one brings home his staff inwreath'd with palm." 
 
 I thus : " As wax by seal, that changeth not 
 Its impress, now is stamj^'d my brain b}^ thee. 80 
 
 But wherefore soars thy Avish'd-for speech so high 
 Beyond my sight, that loses it the more. 
 The more it strains to reach it? " — " To the end 
 That thou mayst know," she answer'd straight, " tlie 
 
 school, 
 That thou hast follow'd ; and how far behind, 85 
 
 When following my discourse, its learning halts : 
 And mayst behold your art, from the divine 
 As distant, as the disagreement is 
 ' Twixt earth and heaven's most high and rapturous orb." 
 
 " I not remember," I replied, " that e'er 90 
 
 I was estrang'd from thee, nor for such fault 
 Doth conscience chide me." Smiling she return'd:
 
 240 runGATORv. 
 
 " If thou canst not rcmoinber, call to mind 
 
 IIow lately thou hast drunk of Lethe's wave ; 
 
 7\nd, sure as smoke (h)th indicate a llame, 95 
 
 In that forgetfuluess itself conclnde 
 
 lilanie from thy alienated will incurr'd. 
 
 From henceforth verily my words shall be 
 \ As naked as will suit them to ai^peai- 
 
 I In thy unpractis'd view." More sparkling now, 109 
 
 I And with retarded course the sun possess'd 
 ( The circle of mid-day, that varies still 
 j As th' aspect varies of each several clime, 
 j When, as one, sent in vaward of a troop 
 I For escort, pauses, if perchance he spy 105 
 
 • Vestige of somewhat strange and rare : so paus'd 
 \ The sev'nfold hand, arriving at the verge 
 
 Of a dun umbrage hoar, such as is seen, 
 } Beneath green leaves and gloomy branches, oft 
 I To overbrow a bleak and alpine cliff. 110 
 
 I And, where they stood, before them, as it seem'd, 
 I I Tigris and Eu])hrates both beheld, 
 I Forth from one fountain issue ; and, like friends, 
 
 Linger at parting. " O enlight'ning beam ! 
 I O glory of our kind ! beseech thee say 115 
 
 I What water this, which from one source deriv'd 
 I Itself removes to distance from itself ? " 
 \ To such entreaty answer thus was made : 
 
 I " Entreat Matilda, that she teach thee this." 
 
 And here, as one, who clears himself of blame 120 
 
 Imputed, the fair dame return'd : " Of me 
 I He this and more hath learnt ; and I am safe 
 
 That Lethe's water hath not hid it from liim." 
 j And Beatrice : " Some more pressing care 
 
 \ That oft the memory 'reaves, perchance hath made 125 
 ; His mind's eye dark. But lo ! where Eunoe flows ! 
 I Lead thither ; and, as thou art wont, revive 
 I His fainting virtue." As a coui'teous spirit, 
 i That proffers no excuses, but as soon 
 I As he hath token of another's will, 130 
 
 ; Makes it his own ; when she had ta'en me, thus 
 \ The lovely maiden niov'd her on, and call'd
 
 PURGATORY. 241 
 
 To Statins witli rin uir most lady-like : 
 " Come thou witli him." Were further space allow'd, 
 Then, Reader, might I sing, though but in part, 185 
 
 That beverage, with Mdiose sweetness I had ne'er 
 Been sated. But, since all the leaves are full, 
 Ap])ointed for this second strain, mine art 
 With warning bridle checks me. I return'd 
 From the most holy wave, regenerate, 140 
 
 E'en as new ])lants renew'd with foliage new, 
 Pure and made apt for mounting to the stars. 
 
 16
 
 PARADISE. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 His glory, by whose miglit all things are iiiov'd, 
 
 Pierces the universe, and in one part 
 
 Sheds more res])lendence, elsewliere less. In heav'n, 
 
 Tliat largeliest of his light partakes, was I, 
 
 Witness of things, which to relate again 5 
 
 Sur])asseth power of him who comes from thence ; 
 
 For that, so near approaching its desire 
 
 Our intellect is to such depth absorb'd, 
 
 Tliat memory cannot follow. Nathless all, 
 
 That in my thoughts I of that sacred realm 10 
 
 Could store, shall now be matter of my song. 
 
 Benign Apollo ! this last labour aid, 
 And make me such a vessel of thy worth, 
 As thy own laurel claims of me belov'd. 
 Thus far hath one of steep Parnassus' brows 15 
 
 iSufiic'd me ; henceforth there is need of both 
 For my remaining enterprise. Do thou 
 Enter into my bosom, and there breathe 
 So, as when Marsyas by thy hand was dragg'd 
 Forth from Ids limbs unshcath'd. O power divine ! 20 
 If thou to me of thine impart so much. 
 That of that hap])y realm the shadow'd form 
 Trac'd in my thoughts I may set forth to view, 
 Tliou shalt behold me of thy favour'd tree 
 Come to the foot, and crown myself with leaves; 25 
 
 ■M2
 
 PAHADISE. 243 
 
 For to tliat honour lliou, mid my liigli (heme 
 
 Will fit me. If but seldom, mighty Sire ! 
 
 To grace liis triumj)h gathers theuce a wreath 
 
 Ciesar or bard (luore shame for liuman wills 
 
 Deprav'd) joy to the Delphic god must spring 30 
 
 From the Pierian foliage, when one breast 
 
 Is witli such thirst insjnr'd. From a small spark 
 
 (ireat flame hath risen : after me percliance 
 
 Otliers with better voice may pray, and gain 
 
 From the Cirrhrean city answer kind. 35 
 
 Through divers passages, the world's bright lamp 
 Rises to mortals, but through that Avhich joins 
 Four circles with the threefold cross, in best 
 Course, and in happiest constellation set 
 He comes, and to the worldly wax best gives 40 
 
 Its temper and impression. Morning there, 
 Here eve was by almost such passage made ; 
 And whiteness had o'ersjiread that heinisphere, 
 Blackness the other part ; when to the left 
 I saw Beatrice tuni'd, and on the sun 45 
 
 Gazing, as never eagle fix'd his ken. 
 As from the first a second beam is wont 
 To issue, and reflected upwards rise. 
 E'en as a pilgrim bent on his return. 
 So of her act, that through the eyesight pass'd 50 
 
 Into my fancy, mine was form'd ; and straight, 
 Beyond our mortal wont, I fix'd mine eyes 
 Upon the sun. Much is allow'd us there. 
 That here exceeds our pow'r ; thanks to the place 
 Made for the dwelling of the human kind. 55 
 
 I suffer'd it not long, and yet so long 
 That I beheld it bick'ring sparks around, 
 As iron that comes boiling from the fire. 
 And suddenly upon the day ap])ear'd 
 A day new-ris'n, as he, \vho hath the power, 60 
 
 Had with another sun bedeck'd the sky. 
 
 Her eyes fast fix'd on the eternal wheels, 
 Beatrice stood unmov'd ; and I with ken 
 Fix'd upon her, from upward gaze remov'd, 
 At her aspect, such inwardly became 65
 
 244 PAHADTSK, 
 
 As Glaiicus, wlieii lie tasted of tlic herb, 
 
 Tlint made liim peer among tlic ocean gods ; 
 
 Words may not tell of that transhunian change : 
 
 And therefore let the example serve, though weak. 
 
 For those whom grace hath better i)roof in store. 70 
 
 If I were only Avhat thou didst create, 
 Tlien newly, Love ! by whom tlie hcav'n is rul'd, 
 Tliou know'st, who by tliy light didst bear me up. 
 Whenas the Avheel Avliich thou dost ever guide, 
 Desired Spirit ! with its harmony 75 
 
 Temper'd of thee and measur'd, charm'd mine ear, 
 Then seem'd to me so much of heav'u to blaze 
 With the sun's flame, that rain or flood ne'er made 
 A lake so broad. The newness of the sound. 
 And that great light, inflam'd me with desire, 80 
 
 Keener than e'er was felt, to know their cause. 
 
 Whence she who saw me, clearly as myself, 
 To calm my troubled mind, before I ask'd, 
 Open'd her lips, and gracious thus began : 
 " With false imagination thou thyself 85 
 
 Mak'st dull, so that thou seest not the thing. 
 Which thou hadst seen, liad that been shaken off. 
 Thou art not on the earth as thou believ'st ; 
 For light'ning scap'd from its own proper place 
 Ne'er ran, as thou hast hither now return'd." 90 
 
 Although divested of my first-rais'd doubt. 
 By those brief words, accomj^anied with smiles, 
 Yet in new doubt was I entangled more. 
 And said: "Already satisfied, I rest 
 
 From admiration deep, but now admire 95 
 
 How I above those lighter bodies rise," 
 
 Whence, after utt'rance of a piteous sigh. 
 She tow'rds me bent her eyes, with such a look, 
 As on her frenzied child a mother casts ; 
 Then thus beo-an : " Among themselves all things 100 
 Have order; and from hence the form, which makes 
 The universe resemble God. In this 
 The higher creatures see the printed stepkS 
 Of that eternal worth, which is the end 
 Whither the line is drawn. All natures lean, 105
 
 pAKAnisE. 245 
 
 In this tlicir order, diversely, some more, 
 
 Some less apiiroacliiiig to their i)rimal source. 
 
 Thus tliey to different liaA'ens are niov'd on 
 
 Tlirough the vast sea of being, and each one 
 
 With instinct giv'n, that bears it in its course; 110 
 
 Tliis to the lunar sphere directs the fire, 
 
 Tliis prompts the hearts of mortal animals, 
 
 This the brute earth together knits, and binds. 
 
 Nor only creatures, void of intellect, 
 
 Are aim'd at by this bow; but even those, 115 
 
 That have intelligence and love, are pierc'd. 
 
 That Providence, who so well orders all, 
 
 With her own light makes ever calm the lioaven, 
 
 In which the substance, that hath greatest S2)eed, 
 
 Is turn'd : and thither now, as to our seat 120 
 
 Predestin'd, we are carried by the force 
 
 Of that strong cord, that never looses dart, 
 
 But at fair aim and glad. Yet is it true, 
 
 That as ofttimes but ill accords the form 
 
 To the design of art, through sluggishness 125 
 
 Of unrejilying matter, so this course 
 
 Is sometimes quitted by the creature, who 
 
 Hath power, directed thus, to bend elsewhere; 
 
 As from a cloud the fire is seen to fall. 
 
 From its original imjiulse warp'd, to earth, 130 
 
 By vicious fondness. Thou no more admire 
 
 Thy soaring, (if I rightly deem,) than lapse 
 
 Of torrent down'vvards from a mountain's height. 
 
 There Avould in thee for wonder be more cause, 
 
 If, free of hind'rance, thou hadst fix'd thyself 135 
 
 Below, like fire unmoving on the earth." 
 
 So said, she turn'd toward the heav'n her face. 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 All ye, who in small bark have following sail'd, 
 Eager to listen, on the' advent'rous track 
 Of my proud keel, that singing cuts its way. 
 Backward return with speed, and your own shores
 
 2'1:6 PARADISE. 
 
 Revisit, nor put out to open sea, 5 
 
 Where losing nie, perclinnce ye may remain 
 
 Bewilder'd in deep maze. The way I pass 
 
 Ne'er yet was run : Minerva breatlies the gale, 
 
 Apollo guides me, and another Nine 
 
 To my rapt sight the arctic beams reveal, 10 
 
 Ye other few, who have outstretch'd the neck 
 
 Timely for food of angels, on which here 
 
 They live, yet never know satiety, 
 
 Through the deep brine ye fearless may put out 
 
 Your vessel, marking well the furrow broad 15 
 
 Before you in the wave, that on both sides 
 
 Equal returns. Those, glorious, who pass'd o'er 
 
 To Colchos, wonder'd not as ye will do, 
 
 When they saw Jason following the plough. 
 
 The increate perpetual thirst, that draws 20 
 
 Toward the realm of God's own form, bore us 
 Swift almost as the heaven ye behold. 
 
 Beatrice upward gaz'd, and I on her, 
 And in such space as on the notch a dart 
 Is plac'd, then loosen'd flies, I saw myself 25 
 
 Arriv'd, where ^vond'rous thing engag'd my sight. 
 Whence she, to whom no work of mine was hid. 
 Turning to me, with as])ect glad as fair, 
 Bespake me : " Gratefully direct thy mind 
 To God, through whom to this first star we come." 30 
 
 Me seem'd as if a cloud had cover'd us. 
 Translucent, solid, firm, and polish'd bright, 
 Like adamant, Avhicli the sun's beam had smit. 
 Within itself the ever-during pearl 
 
 Receiv'd us, as the wave a ray of light 35 
 
 Receives, and rests unbroken. If I then 
 Was of corporeal frame, and it ti-anscend 
 Our weaker thought, how one dimension thus 
 Another could endure, which needs must be 
 If body enter body, how much more 40 
 
 Must the desire inflame us to belrold 
 That essence, which discovers by what means 
 God and our nature join'd ! There will be seen 
 That which we hold through faith, not shown by proof.
 
 PARADISE. 247 
 
 But in itself iiitclliuil)!)' pliiin, 45 
 
 E'en us the truth that uiiui at first believes. 
 
 I answered : " Lady ! I with thouglits devout, 
 Such as I best can iVanie, give tlianks to llini, 
 Who hath remov'd me from the mortal world. 
 But tell, I pray thee, whence the gloomy s])ots 50 
 
 U))on this body, Avliich below on earth 
 Give rise to talk of Cain in fabling quaint?" 
 
 She somewhat smil'd, tlien sj)ake : " If mortals err 
 In their opinion, when the key of sense 
 Unlocks not, surely wonder's weapon keen 55 
 
 Ought not to pierce thee ; since thou find'st, the wings 
 Of reason to ])ursue tlie senses' flight 
 Are sliort. But what thy own thouglit is, declare." 
 
 Then I : " What various here above a])pears, 
 Is caus'd, I deem, by bodies dense or rare." 60 
 
 She then resum'd : "Thou certainly wilt see 
 In falsehood tliy belief o'erwhelm'd, if well 
 Thou listen to the arguments, which I 
 Shall bring to face it. The eighth sphere displays 
 Numberless liglits, the Mdiich in kind and size 65 
 
 May be remark'd of different aspects ; 
 If rare or dense of that were cause alone, 
 One single virtue then would be in all. 
 Alike distributed, or more, or less. 
 
 Different virtues needs must be the fruits 70 
 
 Of formal principles, and these, save one, 
 Will by thy reasoning be destroy'd. Beside, 
 If rarity were of that dusk the cause, 
 Which thou inquirest, either in some part 
 That planet must throughout be void, nor fed 75 
 
 AVitli its own matter ; or, as bodies share 
 Their fat and leanness, in like manner this 
 Must in its volume change the leaves. The first, 
 If it were true, had through the sun's eclipse 
 Been manifested, by transparency 80 
 
 Of light, as through aught rare beside effus'd. 
 But this is not. Therefore remains to see 
 The other cause : and if the other fall, 
 Erroneous so must prove what seem'd to thee.
 
 248 PAIIAOISK. 
 
 If not from side to side tliis rarity 85 
 
 Pass tliroiigl), there needs must Ijg a limil, wlience 
 
 Its contrary no furtlicr lets it pass. 
 
 And hence tlie beam, that from Avithout ])rooecds, 
 
 ]\[u8t be pour'd back, as colour comes, tlirough glass 
 
 Reflected, Avhich behind it lead conceals. 90 
 
 Now Avilt thou say, that there of murkier hue 
 
 Than in the other ])art the ray is shown, 
 
 ]>y being thence refracted farther back. 
 
 From this perplexity will free thee soon 
 
 Exi)erience, if thereof thou trial make, 95 
 
 The fountain Avhence your arts derive their streams. 
 
 Three mirrors shalt thou take, and two remove 
 
 From thee alike, and more remote the third. 
 
 Betwixt the former pair, shall meet thine eyes ; 
 
 Then turn'ct toward them, cause behind thy back 100 
 
 A light to stand, that on the three shall shine, 
 
 And thus reflected come to thee from all. 
 
 Though that beheld most distant do not stretch 
 
 A space so ample, yet in brightness thou 
 
 Will own it equalling the rest. But now, 105 
 
 As under snow the ground, if the warm ray 
 
 Smites it, remains dismantled of the hue 
 
 And cold, that cover'd it before, so thee, 
 
 Dismantled in thy mind, I will inform 
 
 With light so lively, that the tremulous beam 110 
 
 Sliall quiver where it falls. Within the heaven, 
 
 Whei-e peace divine inhabits, circles round 
 
 A body, in whose virtue lies the being 
 
 Of all that it contains. The following heaven, 
 
 That hath so many lights, this being divides, 115 
 
 Through different essences, from it distinct. 
 
 And yet contain'd within it. The' other orbs 
 
 Their separate distinctions variously 
 
 Dispose, for their own seed and produce apt. 
 
 Thus do these organs of the world proceed, 120 
 
 As thou beholdest now, from step to step, 
 
 Thcii- influences from above deriving. 
 
 And thence transmitting downwards. Mark me well, 
 
 Ifow through this passage to the truth I ford,
 
 TAKADISE. 249 
 
 The truth thou lov'st, that tliou hencefortli alone, 125 
 May'st know to keep the shallows, safe, untold. 
 " The virtue' and motion of the sacred orbs. 
 As mallet by the workman's hand, must needs 
 By blessed movers be ins})ir'd. This heaven, 
 Made beauteous by so many luminaries, 130 
 
 From the deep spirit, that moves its cii'cling sphere, 
 Its image takes an impress as a seal : 
 And as the soul, that dwells within your dust. 
 Through members different, yet together form'd. 
 In different pow'rs resolves itself; e'en so 135 
 
 The intellectual efficacy' unfolds 
 Its goodness multiplied througliout the stars ; 
 On its own unity revolving still. 
 Different virtue com])act dift'erent 
 
 IVIakes with the precious body it enlivens, 1-40 
 
 With Avhich it knits, as life in you is knit. 
 From its original nature full of joy. 
 The virtue mingled through the body shines. 
 As joy through pupil of the living eye. 
 From lience proceeds, that which from light to light 
 Seems different, and not from dense or rare. I-IG 
 
 This is the formal cause, that generates 
 Proportion'd to its power, the dusk or clear." 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 That sun, which erst with love my bosom warm'd 
 
 Had of fair truth unveil'd the sweet asjject. 
 
 By ])roof of right, and of the false reproof; 
 
 And I, to own myself convinc'd and free 
 
 Of doubt, as much as needed, rais'd my head. 5 
 
 Erect for speech. But soon a sight a]'»pear'd, 
 
 Which, so intent to mark it, held me fix'd. 
 
 That of confession I no longer thought. 
 
 As through translucent and smooth glass, or wave 
 Clear and unmov'd, and flowing not so deep 10 
 
 As that its bed is dark, the shape returns 
 So faint of our impictur'd lineaments,
 
 250 PAUADISK. 
 
 That oil wliito forehead set a pearl as strong 
 Comes to tlie eye : such saw I many a face, 
 All stretch'cl to speak, from whence I straight con- 
 ceiv'd 15 
 
 Delusion opposite to that, which rais'd 
 Between the man and fountain, amorous flame. 
 
 Sudden, as I ])erceiv'd them, deeming these 
 Reflected semblances, to see of whom 
 They were, I turu'd mine eyes, and nothing saw; 20 
 
 Then turn'd them back, directed on the liglit 
 Of my sweet guide, Avho smiling shot forth beams 
 From her celestial eyes. "Wonder not thou," 
 She cry'd, " at tliis my smiling, when I see 
 Thy childish judgment ; since not yet on truth 25 
 
 It rests the foot, but, as it still is wont, 
 Makes thee fall back in unsound vacancy. 
 True substances are these, which thou behold'st. 
 Hither through failure of their vow exil'd. 
 But speak thou with them ; listen, and believe, 30 
 
 That the true light, which fills them with desire. 
 Permits not from its beams their feet to stray." 
 
 Straight to the shadow which for converse seem'd 
 Most earnest, I addressed me, and began, 
 As one by over-eagerness perplex'd : 35 
 
 " O spirit, born for joy ! who in the rays 
 Of life eternal, of that sweetness knoAv'st 
 The flavour, which, not tasted, passes far 
 All apprehension, me it well would please. 
 If thou wouldst tell me of thy name, and this 40 
 
 Your station here." Whence she, with kindness j^rompt, 
 And eyes glist'ring with smiles : " Our charity, 
 To any Avish by justice introduc'd. 
 Bars not the door, no more than she above. 
 Who Avould have all her court be like herself. 45 
 
 I was a virgin sister in the earth ; 
 And if thy mind observe me well, this form, 
 AVith such addition grac'd of loveliness. 
 Will not conceal me long, but thou wilt know 
 Piccarda, in the tardiest sphere thus plac'd, 50 
 
 Here 'mid these other blessed also blest.
 
 PARADISE. 251 
 
 Our hearts, whose higli affections burn alone 
 
 With jileasure, from the Holy Spirit conceiv'tl, 
 
 Admitted to his order dwell in joy. 
 
 And this condition, which appears so low, 56 
 
 Is for this cause assign'd us, that our vows 
 
 Were in some part neglected and made void." 
 
 Whence I to her replied : " Something divine 
 Beams in your countenance, wond'rous fair, 
 From former knowledge quite transmuting you. 60 
 
 Therefore to recollect was I so slow. 
 But what thou sayst hath to my memory 
 Given now such aid, that to retrace your forms 
 Is easier. Yet inform me, ye, who here 
 Are ha])py, long ye for a higher place 65 
 
 More to behold, and more in love to dwell ? " 
 
 She with those other spirits gently smil'd, 
 Then answer'd wdth such gladness, that she seem'd 
 With love's first flame to glow : " Brother! our will 
 Is in composure settled by the power 70 
 
 Of charity, who makes us will alone 
 What we possess, and nought beyond desire ; 
 If we should wish to be exalted more. 
 Then must our wishes jar with the high will 
 Of him, who sets us here, which in these orbs 75 
 
 Thou wilt confess not possible, if here 
 To be in charity miist needs befal. 
 And if her nature well thou contemplate. 
 Rather it is inherent in this state 
 
 Of blessedness, to keep ourselves within 80 
 
 The divine will, by which our wills with his 
 Are one. So that as we from step to step 
 Are plac'd tin-oughout this kingdom, pleases all, 
 E'en as our King, who in us plants his will ; 
 And in his will is our tranquillity ; 86 
 
 It is the mighty ocean, whither tends 
 Whatever it creates and nature makes." 
 
 Then saw I clearly hoAv each spot in heav'n 
 Is Paradise, though witli like gracious dew 
 The supreme virtue show'r not over all. 90 
 
 But as it chances, if one sort of food
 
 252 rARADlSE. 
 
 Hath satiated, and of another still 
 
 Tlie a])petite remains, that this is ask'd, 
 
 And thanks for that return'd ; e'en so did I 
 
 In word and motion, bent from her to learn 95 
 
 What web it was, through which she had not drawn 
 
 Tlie shuttle to its point. She thus began : 
 
 " Exalted worth and perfectness of life 
 
 The Lady liigher up inshrine in heaven, 
 
 By whose pure laws ujion your nether earth 100 
 
 The robe and veil they wear, to that intent, 
 
 That e'en till death they may keep watch or sleep 
 
 With their great bridegroom, who accejjts each vow, 
 
 Which to his gracious pleasure love conforms. 
 
 I from the world, to follow her, when young 105 
 
 Escap'd ; and, in her vesture mantling me, 
 
 Made promise of the way her sect enjoins. 
 
 Thereafter men, for ill than good more apt, 
 
 Forth snatch'd me irofn the pleasant cloister's pale. 
 
 God knoAvs how after that my life Avas fram'd. 110 
 
 This other splendid shape, which thou beholdst 
 
 At my right side, burning with all the light 
 
 Of this our orb, what of myself I tell 
 
 May to herself apply. From her, like me 
 
 A sister, with like violence were torn 115 
 
 The saintly folds, that shaded her fair brows. 
 
 E'en when she to the world again was brought 
 
 In spite of lier own will and better wont. 
 
 Yet not for that the bosom's inward veil 
 
 Did she renounce. This is the luminary 120 
 
 Of mighty Constance, who from that loud blast, 
 
 Which blew the second over Suabia's realm. 
 
 That power produc'd, which was tlie third and last." 
 
 She ceas'd from further talk, and tlien began 
 " Ave Maria" singing, and with that song 125 
 
 Vanish'd, as heavy substance through deep wave. 
 
 Mine eye, that far as it was capable. 
 Pursued her, when in dimness she was lost, 
 Turn'd to the mark where greater want impell'd, 
 And bent on Beatrice all its gaze. 130 
 
 But she as light'ning beam'd upon my looks :
 
 TATIADTSK. 253 
 
 So th.it tlie sight sustnin'd it not at first. 
 Whence I to question lier became less prompt. 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 Between two kinds of food, botli equally 
 
 Remote and tempting, first a man might die 
 
 Of hunger, ere lie one could freely choose. 
 
 E'en so would stand a lamb between the maw 
 
 Of two fierce wolves, in dread of both alike : 5 
 
 E'en so between two deer a dog would stand, 
 
 Wlierefore, if I was silent, fault nor i:)raise 
 
 I to myself impute, by equal doubts 
 
 Held in suspense, since of necessity 
 
 It happen'd. Silent was I, yet desire 10 
 
 Was painted in my looks; and thus I spake 
 
 My wish more earnestly than language could. 
 
 \s Daniel, when the haughty king he freed 
 From ire, that spurr'd him on to deeds unjust 
 And violent ; so look'd Beatrice then. 15 
 
 " Well I discern," she thus her words address'd, 
 " How contrary desires each way constrain thee, 
 So that thy anxious thought is in itself 
 Bound up and stifled, nor breathes freely forth. 
 Thou arguest ; if the good intent remain ; 20 
 
 What reason that another's violence 
 Should stint the measure of my fair desert ? 
 
 " Cause too thou findst for doubt, in that it seems, 
 That spirits to the stars, as Plato deem'd. 
 Return. These are the questions which thy will 25 
 
 Urge equally ; and therefore I the first 
 Of that will treat which hath the more of gall. 
 Of seraphim he who is most ensky'd, 
 Moses and Samuel, and either John, 
 
 Choose which thou wilt, nor even Mary's self, 30 
 
 Have not in any other heav'n their seats, 
 Than have those spirits which so late thou saw'st ; 
 Nor more or fewer years exist ; but all 
 Make the first circle beauteous, diversly
 
 254 1'ai:ai)Isk. 
 
 Partaking of swoct life, as move or less 35 
 
 Afflalion of eternal bliss pervades them. 
 
 Here were lliey shown thee, not that fate assigns 
 
 This for their spliere, but for a sign to thee 
 
 Of that celestial furthest from the height. 
 
 Thus needs, that ye may apprehend, we speak: 40 
 
 Since from tilings sensil»le alone ye learn 
 
 'i'liat, which digested 7-ightly after turns 
 
 To intellectual. For no othei' cause 
 
 The scripture, condesceiuling graciously 
 
 To your perception, hands and feet to God 45 
 
 Attributes, nor so means : and holy church 
 
 Doth represent with human countenance 
 
 Gabriel, and Michael, and him Avho made 
 
 Tobias whole. Unlike what here thou seest, 
 
 The judgment of Tima3us, who afKrms 50 
 
 Each soul restor'd to its particular star, 
 
 Believing it to have been taken thence, 
 
 When nature gave it to inform her mold : 
 
 Since to appearance his intention is 
 
 E'en what his words declare : or else to shun 55 
 
 Derision, haply thus he hath disguis'd 
 
 His true ojnnion. If his meaning be. 
 
 That to the influencing of these orbs revert 
 
 The honour and the lilame in human acts. 
 
 Perchance he doth not wholly miss the truth. 60 
 
 This ])rinciple, not understood aright, 
 
 Erewhile perverted well nigh all the world ; 
 
 So that it fell to fabled names of Jove, 
 
 And Mercury, and Mars. That other doubt, 
 
 Which moves thee, is less harmful ; for it brings 65 
 
 Ko ]ieril of removing thee from me. 
 
 "That, to the eye of man, our justice seems 
 Unjust, is argument for faith, and not 
 For heretic declension. To the end 
 
 This truth may stand more clearly in your view, 70 
 
 1 will content thee even to thy wish, 
 
 " If violence be, Avhen that wdiich suffers, nought 
 Consents to that which forceth, not for this 
 These spirits stood exculpate. For the will,
 
 PAIIADISE. 25f) 
 
 Tliat wills not, still survives iinqueiicliM, and doth 75 
 
 As natui-e doth in tiro, tho' vioh'iiec 
 
 Wrest it a thousand times ; for, if it yield 
 
 Or more or less, so far it follows force. 
 
 And thus did these, whom tliey had power to seek 
 
 The hallow'd place again. In them, liad will 80 
 
 Been perfect, such as once upon the bars 
 
 Held Laurence firm, or wrought in Screvola 
 
 To his own hand remorseless, to the path, 
 
 AVhence they Avere drawn, their ste])s had hasten'd back, 
 
 When liberty return'd : but in too few 85 
 
 Resolve so stedfast dwells. And by these words 
 
 If duly weigh'd, that argument is void. 
 
 Which oft might have perplex'd thee still. But now 
 
 Another question thwarts thee, wliich to solve 
 
 Might try thy patience without better aid. 90 
 
 I have, no doubt, instill'd into thy mind. 
 
 That blessed spirit may not lie ; since near 
 
 The source of primal truth it dwells for aye: 
 
 And thou might'st after of Piccarda learn 
 
 That Constance held affection to the veil ; 95 
 
 So that she seems to contradict me here. 
 
 Not seldom, brother, it hath chanc'd for men 
 
 To do what they had gladly left undone, 
 
 Yet to shun peril they have done amiss : 
 
 E'en as Alcrajcon, at his father's suit 100 
 
 Slew his own mother, so made pitiless 
 
 Not to lose pity. On this point bethink thee, 
 
 That force and will are blended in such wise 
 
 As not to make the' offence excusable. 
 
 Al)solutc will agrees not to the Avrong, 105 
 
 But inasmuch as there is fear of woe 
 
 From non-compliance, it agrees. Of will 
 
 Thus absolute Piccarda spake, and I 
 
 Ot' th' other; so that both have truly said." 
 
 Such was the flow of that pure rill, that Avell'd 110 
 From forth the fountain of all truth ; and such 
 The rest, that to my wond'ring thouglits I found. 
 
 "O thou of primal love the ]irinie delight! 
 Goddess ! " I straight reply'd, " whose lively words
 
 2r>G PAIJAIMSK. 
 
 Still slicd now lieat find vigour through my soul ! 115 
 
 Affection fails me to requite thy grace 
 
 With equal -sum of gratitude : be his 
 
 To recompense, who sees and can reward thee. 
 
 Well I discern, that by that truth alone 
 
 Enlighten'd, beyond which no truth may roam, 120 
 
 Our mind can satisfy her thirst to know : 
 
 Therein slic rcsteth, e'en as in his lair 
 
 The wild beast, soon as she hath reach'd that bound, 
 
 And she hath jiower to reach it ; else desire 
 
 Were gi\en to no end. And thence doth doubt 125 
 
 S]n-ing, like a shoot, around the stock of truth ; 
 
 And it is nature which from height to height 
 
 On to the summit prompts us. This invites, 
 
 This doth assure me, lady, rev'rently 
 
 To ask thee of other truth, that yet 130 
 
 Is dark to me. I fain would know, if man 
 
 By other works well done may so siipply 
 
 The failure of his vows, that in your scale 
 
 They lack not weight." I spake ; and on me straight 
 
 Beatrice look'd with eyes, that shot forth sparks 135 
 
 Of love celestial in such copious stream, 
 
 That, virtue sinking in me overpowered, 
 
 I turn'd, and downward bent conf us'd my sight. 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 " If beyond, earthly wont, the flame of love 
 Illume me, sw that I o'ercome thy power 
 Of vision, marvel not : but learn the cause 
 In that perfection of the sight, which soon 
 As apprehending, hastenetli on to reach 6 
 
 The good it ajiprehends. I well discern, 
 Plow in thine intellect already shines 
 The light eternal, which to view alone 
 Ne'er fails to kindle love ; and if aught else 
 ISTour love seduces, 't is but that it shows 10 
 
 Some ill-mark'd vestige of that ]u-inial beam. 
 " This would'st thou know, if failure of the vow
 
 I'AHAOISK. 257 
 
 By otlier .?c'r\i(X' may be so i>u])]»lied, 
 As from SL'Il"-(|uestioii to assure the soul." 
 
 Thus she lier words, not lieedless of my wish, 15 
 
 Began ; and thus, as one wlio breaks not off 
 Discourse, continued in lier saintly strain. 
 /'Supreme of gilts, which (ilod creating gave 
 \)f his free bounty, sign most evident 
 Of goodness, and in iiis account most ])riz'd, 20 
 
 Was liberty of will, the boon Avherewith 
 All intellectual creatures, and them sole 
 He hath endow'd. Hence now thou mayst infer 
 Of what high worth the vow, which so is fram'd 
 That when man offers, God well-pleas'd accepts; 25 
 
 For in the comi)act between God and him, 
 This treasure, such as I describe it to thee, 
 lie makes the victim, and of his own act. 
 What compensation therefore may he find? ^ 
 
 If that, whereof thou hast oblation made, 30 
 
 By using well thou think'st to consecrate, 
 Thou would'st of theft do charitable deed. 
 Thus I resolve thee of the greater ])oint. 
 
 " But forasmuch as holy church, herein 
 Dispensing, seems to contradict the truth 35 
 
 I have discover'd to thee, yet behoves 
 Thou rest a little longer at the board. 
 Ere the crude aliment, which thou hast ta'en, 
 Digested fitly to nutrition turn. 
 
 0]jen tliy mind to what I now unfold, 40 
 
 And give it inward keeping. Knowledge comes 
 Of learning well retain'd, unfruitful else. 
 
 " This sacrifice in essence of two things 
 Consisteth ; one is tliat, whereof 't is made. 
 The covenant the other. For the last, 45 
 
 It ne'er is cancell'd if not kejit : and hence 
 I sjiakc erewhile so strictly of its force. 
 For this it was enjoin'd the Israelites, 
 Though leave were giv'n them, as thou know'st, to 
 
 change 
 The offering, still to offer. Th' other part, 50 
 
 1'he matter and the substance of the vow, 
 
 17
 
 258 I'AUADISE. 
 
 May well be suoli, to that without offence 
 
 It may for otiicr sulistanoc be exchaiig'd. 
 
 But al his own discretion none may .shift 
 
 The burden on his sholders, unreleas'd 65 
 
 By either key, tlie yellow and the Avhite. 
 
 Nor tleem of any change, as less than vain, 
 
 If the last bond be not within the neAV 
 
 Included, as the quatre in tlie six. 
 
 No satisfaction therefore can be paid 60 
 
 For what so jtrecious in the balance weighs, 
 
 That all in counterpoise must kick the beam. 
 
 Take then no vow at random : ta'en, with faith 
 
 Preserve it ; yet not bent, as Jephthah once, 
 
 Blindly to execute a rash resolve, 65 
 
 Whom better it had suited to exclaim, 
 
 ' I have done ill,' than to redeem his pledge 
 
 By doing worse ■ or, not unlike to him 
 
 In folly, that great leader of the Greeks : 
 
 Whence, on the alter, Iphigenia mourn'd 70 
 
 Her virgin beauty, and hath since made mourn 
 
 Both wise and simple, even all, who hear 
 
 Of so fell sacrifice. Be ye more staid, 
 
 O Christians, not, like feather, by each wind 
 
 Removeable : nor think to cleanse ourselves 75 
 
 In every water. Either testament. 
 
 The old and new, is yours: and for your guide 
 
 The shepherd of the church. Let this suffice 
 
 To save you. When by evil lust entic'd, 
 
 Remember ye be men, not senseless beasts ; 80 
 
 Nor let the Jew, who dwelleth in your streets, 
 
 Hold you in mock'ry. Be not, as the lamb. 
 
 That, fickle wanton, leaves its mother's milk, „ 
 
 To dally with itself in idle i>lay." ^ 
 
 Such were the words that Beatrice spake : 85 
 
 These ended, to that region, where the world 
 Is liveliest, full of fond desire she turn'd. 
 
 Though mainly prompt new question to propose, 
 Her silence and chang'd look did keep me dumb. 
 And as the arrow, ere the cord is still, 90 
 
 Leaj)eth unto its mavk ; so on we sped
 
 PAUADISE. 259 
 
 Into the second realm. There I helickl 
 
 The dame, so joyous, enter, tliat tlie orb 
 
 Grew brighter at lier smiles ; and, if the star 
 
 Were mov'd to gladness, what then was my cheer, 95 
 
 Whom nature hath made apt for every change ! 
 
 As in a quiet and clear lake the tish. 
 If aught approach them from without, do draw 
 Towards it, deeming it their food; so drew 
 Full more than thousand s])lendours towards us, lUO 
 
 And in each one was heard : " Lo ! one arriv'd 
 To multi})ly our loves ! " and as each came 
 The shadow, streaming forth effulgence new, 
 Witness'd augmented joy. Here, reader ! think, 
 If thou didst miss the sequel of my tale, 105 
 
 To know the rest how sorely thou wouldst crave ; 
 And thou shalt see what vehement desire 
 Possess'd me, as soon as tliese had met my view, 
 To know their state. " O born in hapi)y hour ! 
 Thou to whom grace vouchsafes, or ere thy close 110 
 Of fleshly warfare, to behold the thrones 
 Of that eternal triumph, know to us 
 The light communicated, which through heaven 
 Expatiates without bound. Therefore, if aught 
 Thou of our beams wouldst borrow for thine aid, 115 
 Spare not ; and of our radiance take thy fill." 
 
 Thus of those piteous spirits one bespake me ; 
 And Beatrice next : " Say on ; and trust 
 As unto gods ! " — " How in the light su})reme 
 Thou harbour'st, and from thence the virtue bring'st. 
 That, sparkling in thine eyes, denotes thy joy, 121 
 
 I mark; but, who thou art, am still to seek ; 
 Or wherefore, worthy spirit ! for thy lot 
 This sphere assign'd, tliat oft from mortal ken 
 Is veil'd by others' beams." I said, and turn'd 125 
 
 Toward the lustre, that with greeting kind 
 Erewhile had hail'd me. Forthwith brighter far 
 Than erst, it wax'd : and, as himself the sun 
 Hides through excess of light, when his warm gaze 
 Hath on the mantle of thick vapours prey'd ; 130 
 
 Within its proper ray the sauitly shape
 
 200 PAKADISE. 
 
 Was, lliroug-li iiiorcase of uladnt'ss, thus conceal'd; 
 And, shrouded so in splendour answcr'd nie, 
 E'en as tlic tcnour of my s(jiig declares. 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 " Aftek tliat Constantino the eagle turn'd 
 
 Against the motions of the heav'n, that roll'd. 
 
 Consenting with its course, when he of yore, 
 
 Lavinia's spouse, M^as leader of the flight, 
 
 A hundred years twice told and more, his seat 5 
 
 At Euroj^e's extreme point, the bii"d of Jove 
 
 Held, near the mountains, whence he issued first. 
 
 There under shadow of his sacred plumes 
 
 Swaying the world, till through successive hands ^ 
 
 To mine he came devolv'd. Caesar I was, 10 
 
 And am Justinian ; destin'd by the will 
 
 Of that prime love, whose influence I feel. 
 
 From vain excess to clear th' incumber'd laws. 
 
 Or ere that work engag'd me, I did hold 
 
 Christ's nature merely human, with such faith 15 j 
 
 Contented. But the blessed Agapete, 
 
 Who was chief shepherd, he with warning voice 
 
 To the true faith recall'd me. I believ'd 
 
 His words : and w'hat he taught, now plainly see, 
 
 As thou in every contradiction seest 20 
 
 The true and false opipos'd. Soon as my feet 
 
 Were to the church reclaim'd, to my great task, 
 
 By inspiration of God's grace impell'd, 
 
 I gave me wholly, and consign'd mine arms 
 
 To Belisarius, with whom heaven's right hand 25 
 
 Was link'd in such conjointment, 't was a sign 
 
 That I should rest. To thy first question thus 
 
 I sha])e mine answer, which were ended here, 
 
 But that its tendency doth promjtt perforce 
 
 To some addition ; that thou well mayst mark 30 
 
 What reason on each side they have to plead, 
 
 By whom that holiest banner is withstood. 
 
 Both who pretend its power and who oppose.
 
 PARADTSK. 
 
 201 
 
 " Boginning from tlmt hour, wlicn Pallas died 
 To give it rule, behold the valorous deeds 35 
 
 Have made it worthy reverence. Not unknowu 
 To thee, how for three hundred years and more 
 It dwelt in Alba, up to those fell lists 
 Where for its sake were met the rival three ; 
 Nor aught unknown to thee, which it achiev'd 40 
 
 Down to the Sabines' wrong to Lucrece' woe, 
 Witli its sev'n kings conqn'ring the nation round ; 
 Nor all it wrought, by Roman worthies borne 
 'Gainst Brennus and th' Epirot prince, and hosts 
 Of single chiefs, or states in league combin'd 45 
 
 Of social warfare ; hence Torquatus stern, 
 And Quintius nam'd of his neglected locks, 
 The Decii, and the Fabii hence acquir'd 
 Their fame, which I with duteous zeal embalm. 
 By it the pride of Arab hordes Avas quell'd, 50 
 
 When they led on by Hannibal o'erpass'd 
 The Al]Mne rocks, wlience glide thy currents, Po ! 
 Beneath its guidance, in their prime of days 
 Sci])io and Pompey triumph'd ; and that hill, 
 Under Avhose summit thou didst see the light, 55 
 
 Rued its stern bearing. After, near the hour. 
 When heav'n was minded that o'er all the world 
 His own deep calm should brood, to Cffisar's hand 
 Did Rome consign it ; and what then it -wrought 
 From Var unto the Rhine, saw Isere's flood, CO 
 
 Saw Loire and Seine, and every vale, that fills 
 The torrent Rhone, What after that it wrouglit, 
 When froni Ravenna it came forth, and Icap'd 
 The Rubicon, was of so bold a flight, 
 That tongue nor pen may follow it. Tow'rds Spain 65 
 It wheel'd its bands, then tow'rd Dyrrachium smote, 
 And on Pharsalia with so fierce a ]ilunge, 
 E'en the warm Nile was conscious to the pang; 
 Its native shores Antandros, and the streams 
 Of Simois revisited, and there 70 
 
 Wliere Hector lies ; then ill for Ptolemy 
 His pennons sliook again ; lightning thence fell 
 On Juba ; and the next upon your west.
 
 2()'J PAIIADISE. 
 
 At souihI of tlic l^oiniK'inn truni]), rftuniM. 
 
 '' Wli.'it full()\\ iiio- ;uh1 in its next l)o:irer's gripe 75 
 It wrought, is now by Cassias and Brutus 
 BarkM off in lioll, and by Perugia's sons 
 And Modena's was inourn'd. Ileiice weei^etli still 
 Sad Cleo])atra, who, ]nirsued by it. 
 
 Took from tlie adder black and sudden death. 80 
 
 With him it ran e'en to the Red Sea coast ; 
 With him compos'd the world to such a peace, 
 That of his temi)le Janus barr'd the door, 
 
 " But all the mighty standard yet had wrought, 
 And was a]t]winted to perforjii thereafter, 85 
 
 Throughout the mortal kingdom whicli it sway'd, 
 Falls in a])])earance dwindled and obscur'd, 
 If one with steady eye and perfect tliouglit 
 On th.e third Cassar look ; for to his hands, 
 The living Justice, in whose breath I move, 90 
 
 Committed glory, e'en into his hands. 
 To execute the vengeance of its wrath. 
 
 "Hear now and wonder at what next I tell. 
 After with Titus it was sent to wreak 
 Vengeance for vengeance of the ancient sin, 95 
 
 And, when the Lond^ard tooth, with fangs impure, 
 Did gore the bosom of the holy church. 
 Under its wungs victorious, Charlemagne 
 Sped to her rescue. Judge then for thyself 
 Of those, whom I erewhile accus'd to thee, 100 
 
 What they are, and how grievous their offending. 
 Who are the cause of all your ills. The one 
 Against the universal ensign rears 
 The yellow lilies, and with partial aim 
 That to himself the other arrogates : 105 
 
 So that 't is hard to see which more offends. 
 Be yours, ye Ghibellines, to veil your arts 
 Beneath another standard : ill is this 
 Follow'd of liim, who severs it and justice : 
 And let not with his Guelphs the new-crown'd Charles 110 
 Assail it, but those talons hold in dread, 
 Which from a lion of more lofty port 
 Have rent the casing. Many a time ere now
 
 PARAPTSK. 263 
 
 TI10 sons hnve for the sire's transi^ression wfiilM ; 
 
 Nor let him trust the fond belief, that lienv'n 115 
 
 Will truck its armour for his liliefl shield. 
 
 " This little star is furnisli'd with good spirits, 
 Whose mortal lives were busied to that end, 
 That honour and renown might wait on them : 
 And, when desires thus err in their intention, 120 
 
 True love must needs ascend with slacker beam. 
 But it is part of our delight, to measure 
 Our wages with the merit ; and admire 
 The close proportion. Hence doth heav'nly justice 
 Temper so evenly affection in us, 125 
 
 It ne'er can warp to any wrongfulness. 
 Of diverse voices is sweet music made : 
 So in our life the different degrees 
 Render sweet harmony among these Avheels. 
 
 "Within the pearl, that now encloseth lis, 130 
 
 Shines Romeo's light, whose goodly deed and fair 
 Met ill acceptance. But the Proven9als, 
 That were liis foes, have little cause for mirth. 
 Ill shapes that man his course, who makes his wrong 
 Of other's worth. Four daughters were there born 135 
 To Raymond Berenger, and every one 
 Became a queen ; and this for him did Romeo, 
 Though of mean state and from a foreign land. 
 Yet envious tongues incited him to ask 
 A reckoning of that just one, who return'd 140 
 
 Twelve fold to him for ten. Aged and poor 
 He parted thence : and if the world did know 
 The heart lie had, begging his life by morsels, 
 'T would deem the praise, it yields him, scantly dealt." 
 
 CANTO VII. 
 
 " HosANNA Sanctus Deus Sabaoth 
 
 Superillustrans claritate tua 
 
 Felices ignes horum malahoth ! " 
 
 Thus chaunting saw I turn that substance bright 
 
 With fourfold lustre to its orb again,
 
 204 PAKADrSE. 
 
 Revolving; and the rest unto their dance 
 Willi it niov'd also ; and like swiftest sparks, 
 In sudden distance from my siy;ht were veil'd. 
 
 Me doubt possess'd, and "Speak," it wliis))er'd mo, 
 " S]teak, sj^eak unto thy lady, that slie quench 10 
 
 Tliy thirst with dro])S of sweetness," Yet blank awe, 
 Which lords it o'er me, even at the sound 
 Of Beatrice's name, did bow me down 
 As one in slumber held. Not long that mood 
 Beatrice suffer'd : she, with such a smile, 15 
 
 As might have made one blest amid the flames, 
 Beaming u])on me, thus her words began : 
 " Thou in thy thought art pond'ring (as I deem. 
 And what I deem is truth) how just revenge 
 Could be with justice punish'd : from which doubt 20 
 I soon will free thee ; so thou mark my %vords ; 
 For they of weighty matter shall possess thee. 
 
 " That man, who was unborn, himself condemn'd. 
 And, in himself, all, who since him have liv'd. 
 His offspring : whence, below, the human kind 25 
 
 Lay sick in grievous error many an age; 
 Until it pleas'd the Word of God to come 
 Amongst them down, to his own person joining 
 The nature, from its Maker far estrang'd, 
 By the mere act of his eternal love. 30 
 
 Contemplate here the wonder I imfold. 
 The nature with its Maker thus conjoin'd. 
 Created first was blameless, pure and good ; 
 But through itself alone was di'iven forth 
 From Paradise, because it had eschew'd 85 
 
 The way of truth and life, to evil turn'd. 
 Ne'er then was penalty so just as that 
 Inflicted by the cross, if thou regard 
 The nature in assumption doom'd : ne'er wrong 
 So great, in reference to him, who took 40 
 
 Such nature on him, and endur'd the doom, 
 God therefore and the Jews one sentence pleased : 
 So different effects flow'd from one act, 
 And heav'n was open'd, though the earth did quake. 
 Co\int it not hard henceforth, when thou dost hear 45
 
 j PARAPISK. 265 
 
 I 
 
 j That a just vengeance was by righteous court 
 
 I Justly reveng'd. But yet I see thy mind 
 
 By tliouglit on thouglit arising sore perplex'd, 
 
 J And Avitli liow velienient desire it asks 
 
 Sohition of the maze. What I have hoard, 50 
 
 Is ])hiin, tliou sayst : hut wliorefore God this Avay 
 Foi" our redemption chose, ehides my search, 
 
 "Brotlier ! no eye of man not perfected, 
 Nor fully ri])en'd in the flame of love. 
 May fathom tliis decree. It is a mark, 65 
 
 In sooth, much nim'd at, and but little kenn'd : 
 And I will therefore show thee why such way 
 Was worthiest. The celestial love, tliat spurns 
 All envying in its bounty, in itself 
 
 With such effulgence blazeth, as sends forth 60 
 
 All beauteous things eternal. What distils 
 Immediate thence, no end of being knows, 
 Bearing its seal immutably impress'd. 
 Whatever thence immediate falls, is free, 
 Free Avholly, uncontrollable by ])ower 65 
 
 Of each thing new : by such conformity 
 More grateful to its autlior, whose bright beams, 
 Tlioiigh all partake their shining, yet in those 
 Are liveliest, which resemble him the most. 
 These tokens of pre-eminence on man 70 
 
 Largely bestow'd, if any of them fail. 
 Tie needs must forfeit his nobility. 
 No longer stainless. Sin alone is that. 
 Which doth disfranchise him, and make unlike 
 To the chief good ; for that its light in him 75 
 
 Is darken'd. And to dignity thus lost 
 Is no return ; unless, where guilt makes void, 
 He for ill pleasure pay with equal pain. 
 Your nature, which entirely in its seed 
 Trangress'd, from these distinctions fell, no less 80 
 
 Than from its state in Paradise ; nor means 
 Found of recovery (search all methods out 
 As strickly as thou may) save one of these. 
 The only fords were left through which to wade, 
 Eitlier that (l<>d had of his courtesy 85
 
 260 PARADrSR. 
 
 RelcnsM liini morcly, or else man liimself 
 For his own folly by himself aton'd. 
 
 " Fix now thine eye, intently :is thou canst, 
 On th' evei-lasting counsel, and explore, 
 Instructed by my words, the dread abyss. 90 
 
 " Man in himself had ever lack'd the nieana 
 Of satisfaction, for he could not stoop 
 01)eying:, in humility so low, 
 As high he, disobeying, thought to soar: 
 And for this reason he had vainly tried 95 
 
 Out of his own sufficiency to pay 
 The rigid satisfaction. Then behov'd 
 That God should by his own ways lead him back 
 Unto the life, from whence he fell, restor'd : 
 By both his ways, I mean, or one alone. 100 
 
 But since the deed is ever priz'd the more, 
 The more the doer's good intent appears. 
 Goodness celestial, whose broad signature 
 Is on the universe, of all its ways 
 
 To raise ye up, w^as fain to leave out none. 105 
 
 Nor aught so vast or so magnificent. 
 Either for him who gave or who receiv'd, 
 Between the last niglit and the ]>rimal day. 
 Was or can be. For God more bounty show'd, 
 Giving himself to make man ca|>able 110 
 
 Of his return to life, than had the terms 
 Been mere and unconditional release. 
 And for his justice, every method else 
 Were all too scant, had not the Son of God 
 Humbled himself to put on mortal flesh. 115 
 
 " Now, to fulfil each wish of thine, remains 
 I somewhat further to thy view unfold. 
 That thou mayst see as clearly as myself. 
 
 " I see, thou saj'^st, the air, the fire I see, 
 The earth and water, and all things of them 120 
 
 Compounded, to corrujjtion turn, and soon 
 Dissolve. Yet these were also things create, 
 Because, if what w^ere told me, had been true 
 They from corruption had been therefore free. 
 
 " The angels, O my brother ! and this clime 125
 
 PARADISE. ' 267 
 
 Wlieroin thou art, impassible and jHire, 
 
 I call ci-eated, as indeed tbey are 
 
 In their whole being. But the elements, 
 
 Which thou Jiast nam'd, and what of them is made, 
 
 Are by created virtue' inform'd : create 130 
 
 Their substance, and create the' informing virtue 
 
 In these bright stars, that round them circling move 
 
 The soul of every brute and of each plant. 
 
 The ray and motion of the sacred lights. 
 
 With complex poteiicy attract and tui-n. 135 
 
 But this our life tlie' eternal good inspires 
 
 Immediate, and enamours of itself ; 
 
 So that our wishes rest for ever here. 
 
 " And hence thou mayst by inference conclude 
 Our resurrection certain, if thy mind 140 
 
 Consider how the human flesh was fram'd, 
 When both our parents at the first were made." 
 
 CANTO VIII. 
 
 The woidd was in its day of peril dark 
 
 Wont to believe the dotage of fond love 
 
 From tlie fair Cyprian deity, wlio rolls 
 
 In her third epicycle, shed on men 
 
 By stream of potent radiance : therefore they 6 
 
 Of elder time, in their old error blind, 
 
 Not her alone with sacrifice ador'd 
 
 And invocation, but like honours paid 
 
 To Cupid and Dione, deem'd of them 
 
 Her mother, and her son, him whom they feign 'd 10 
 
 To sit in Dido's bosom : and from her, 
 
 Whom I have sung preluding, borrow'd they 
 
 The appellation of that star, which views 
 
 Now obvious, and now averse, the sun. 
 
 I was not ware that I was wafted up 15 
 
 Into its orb ; but the new loveliness 
 "J'hat grac'd my lady, gave me ample proof 
 That we had enter'd there. And as in flame 
 A s])arkle is distinct, or voice in voice
 
 268 rARAPisr*:. 
 
 DisocniM, wlicn one its even tenour keeps, 20 
 
 The other comes and £!;oes ; so in that light 
 I otiier linninai'ies saw, tliat coursM 
 In circling motion, rapid more or less, 
 As their eternal })hasis each impels. 
 
 Never was blast from vapour charged with cold, 25 
 Whether invisible to eye or no, 
 Descended with such speed, it Inid not seem'd 
 To linger in dull tardiness, comj)ar'd 
 To those celestial lights, that tow'rds ns came, 
 Leaving the circuit of their joyous ring, 30 
 
 Conducted by the lofty seraj)liim. 
 And after them, who in the van appear'd, 
 Such an Hosanna sounded, as hath left 
 Desire, ne'er since extinct in me, to hear 
 Kenew'd the strain. Then parting from the rest 35 
 
 One near us drew, and sole began : " We all 
 Are ready at thy pleasure, well dispos'd 
 To do thee gentle service. We are they, 
 To whom thou in the world erewhile didst sing 
 ' O ye ! whose intellectual ministry 40 
 
 Moves the third heaven ! ' and in one orb we roll, 
 One motion, one impulse, with those who rule 
 Princedoms in heaven ; yet are of love so full, 
 That to ])lease thee 't will be as sweet to rest." 
 
 After mine eyes had with meek reverence 45 
 
 Sought the celestial guide, and were by her 
 Assur'd, they turn'd again unto the light 
 Who had so lai'gely promis'd, and ^^'ith voice 
 That bare the lively pressure of my zeal, 
 " Tell who ye are," I cried. Fortlnvith it grew 50 
 
 In size and splendour, through augmented joy ; 
 And thus it answer'd : " A short date below 
 The Avorld possess'd me. Had the time been more, 
 Much evil, that will come, had never chanc'd. 
 My gladness hides thee from me, which doth shine 55 
 Around, and shroud me, as an animal 
 In its own silk unswath'd. Thou lov'dst me well, 
 And had'st good cause; for had my sojourning 
 Been longer on the earth, the love I bare thee
 
 I'AliADlSK. 2G9 
 
 Had put forth more than hlossoiiis. 'Hu' left biiiik, GO 
 
 That llhone, when he hatli niixVl witli .Sui'ga, hives. 
 
 In me its lord expected, and that horn 
 
 Of fair Ausonia, with its borouglis old, 
 
 Bari, and Croton, and Gaeta i^il'd, 
 
 From where the Trento disembogues liis waves, C5 
 
 With Verde mingled, to the salt sea-liood. 
 
 Already on my temples beam'd th(! crown, 
 
 Wliich gave me sov'reignty over the land 
 
 B}^ Danube wash'd, whenas he strays beyond 
 
 The limits of his German shores. The realm, 70 
 
 "Where, on tlie gulf by stormy Eurus lash'd. 
 
 Betwixt Pelorus and Pachynian lieights, 
 
 The beautiful Trinacria lies in gloom 
 
 (Not through Typhoeus, but the vap'ry cloud 
 
 Bituminous upsteam'd), that too did look 75 | 
 
 To have its sceptre wielded by a race 
 
 Of monarchs, sprung through me from Charles and 
 
 Rodolph ; ^ 
 
 Had not ill lording which doth spirit u]^ | 
 
 The people ever, in Palermo rais'd I 
 
 The shout of ' death,' re-echo'd loud and long. 80 | 
 
 Had but my brother's foresight kenn'd as much, 1 
 
 He had been wai'ier that the greedy want I 
 
 Of Catalonia miglit not work his bale. I 
 
 And truly need there is, that he forecast, I 
 
 Or other for him, lest more freight be laid 85 \ 
 
 On his already over-laden bark. I 
 
 Nature in him, from bounty fall'n to thrift, \ 
 
 Woidd ask the guard of braver arms, than such I 
 
 As only care to have their coffers fill'd." 
 
 "My liege, it doth enhance the joy thy words 90 1 
 
 Infuse into me, mighty as it is, \ 
 
 To think my gladness manifest to thee, } 
 
 As to myself, who own it, when thou lookst 
 Into the source and limit of all gotnl. 
 
 There, where thou markest that which Ihou dost speak, 05 
 Thence priz'd of me the more. Glad thou hast made me. 
 Now make intelligent, clearing the doubt 
 Thy speech hath raised in me ; for much I muse,
 
 270 PAHA DISK. 
 
 How bitter can spring up, when sweet is sown." 
 
 I thus inquiring ; lie forthwith replied : 100 
 
 " If I have i)ower to show one trutli, soon that 
 Shall face thee, which thy questioning declares 
 Behind thee now conceard. The Good, that guides 
 And blessed makes this realm, which thou dost mount. 
 Ordains its providence to be the virtue 105 
 
 In these great bodies : nor th' all perfect Mind 
 Upholds their nature merely, but in them 
 Their energy to save : for nought, that lies 
 "Within the range of that unerring bow, 
 But is as level with the destin'd aim, 110 
 
 As ever mark to arrow's point 023])os'd. 
 Were it not thus, these heavens, thou dost visit, 
 Would their effect so work, it would not be 
 Art, but destruction ; and this may not chance. 
 If th' intellectual powers, that move these stars, 115 
 
 Fail not, or who, first faulty made them fail. 
 Wilt thou this truth more clearly evidenc'd ? " 
 
 To whom I thus : " It is enough : no fear, 
 I see, lest nature in her^part should tire." 
 
 He straight rejoin'd: "Say, were it worse for man, 120 
 If he liv'd not in fellowship on earth?" 
 
 " Yea," answer'd I ; " nor here a reason needs." 
 
 " And may that be, if diffeixMit estates 
 Grow not of different duties in your life? 
 Consult your teacher, and he tells you ' no.' " 125 
 
 Thus did he come, deducing to this point, 
 And then concluded : " For this cause behoves, 
 The roots, from whence your operations come. 
 Must differ. Therefore one is Solon born ; 
 Another, Xerxes; and Melchisidec 130 
 
 A third; and he a fourth, whose airy voynge 
 Cost him his son. In her circuitous course, 
 Nature, that is the seal to mortal wax. 
 Doth well her art, but no distinctions owns 
 'Twixt one or other household. Hence befals 135 
 
 That Esau is so wide of Jacob : hence 
 Quirinus of so b:ise a father springs, 
 He dates from Mars his lineatife. Were it not
 
 PAKADISE. 271 
 
 That providence celestial overrul'd, 
 
 Nature, in generation, must the ])ath 140 
 
 Trac'd by the generator, still pursue 
 
 Unswervingly. Thus place I in thy sight 
 
 That, which was late behind thee. ]>ut, in sign 
 
 Of more affection for thee, 't is my will 
 
 Thou wear this corollary. Nature ever 145 
 
 Finding discordant fortune, like all seed 
 
 Out of its proper climate, thrives but ill.' 
 
 And were the world below content to mark 
 
 And Avork on the foundation nature lays, 
 
 It would not lack supply of excellence. 150 
 
 But ye i)erversely to religion strain 
 
 Him, who was born to gird on him the sword, 
 
 And of the fluent phrasemen make your king ; 
 
 Therefore your steps have wander'd from the paths." 
 
 CANTO IX. 
 
 After solution of my doubt, thy Charles, 
 
 O fail- Clemenza, of the treachery spake 
 
 That must befal his seed : but, " Tell it not," 
 
 Said he, " and let the destin'd years come round." 
 
 Nor may I tell thee more, save that the meed 5 
 
 Of sorrow well-deserv'd shall quit your wrongs. 
 
 And now the visage of that saintly light 
 Was to the sun, that fills it, turn'd again, 
 As to the good, whose ])lenitude of bliss 
 Sufficeth all. O ye misguided souls ! 10 
 
 Infatuate, who from such a good estrange 
 Your hearts, and bend your gaze on vanity, 
 Alas for you ! — And lo ! toward me, next. 
 Another of those splendent forms approach'd, 
 That, by its outward bright'ning, testified 15 
 
 The will it hud to pleasure me. The eyes 
 Of Beatrice, resting, as before. 
 Firmly upon me, manifested forth 
 Approval of my wish. " And O," I cried, 
 "Blest spirit! quiekly be my will [lerform'd ; 20
 
 272 PARADISE. 
 
 And ])rove lli()\i to me, thnt my iimiost tliouglits 
 
 I can roriect on thee." Thereat the light, 
 
 That yet was new to mo, I'rom tiio recess. 
 
 Where it Lefoi-e was singing, tlius began, 
 
 As one who joys in kindness: "In tliat jjart 25 
 
 Of the de])ravM It;;Iian hand, Mliicli lies 
 
 Between Kialto, and the fonntain-springs 
 
 Ot" Brenta and of I'iava, there doth rise, 
 
 But to no lofty eminence, a hill. 
 
 From whence erewhile a firebrand did descend, 30 
 
 That sorely slient the region. From one root 
 
 I and it s])rang ; my name on earth Cunizza: 
 
 And here I glitter, for that by its liglit 
 
 This star o'ercanie me. Yet I naught repine, 
 
 Nor grudge myself the cause of this my lot, 35 
 
 Which haj)ly vulgar hearts can scarce conceive. 
 
 " This jewel, that is next me in our heaven, 
 Lustrous and costly, gi'eat renown hath left, 
 And not to })erish, ere these hundred years 
 Five times absolve their round. Consider thou, 40 
 
 If to excel be worthy man's endeavour. 
 When such life may attend the first. Yet they 
 Care not for this, the crowd that now are girt 
 By Adice and Tagliamento, still 
 
 Impenitent, tho' scourg'd. The hour is near, 45 
 
 When for their stubbornness at Padua's marsh, 
 The water shall be chang'd, that laves Vicena. 
 And where Cagnano meets with Sile, one 
 Lords it, and bears his head aloft, for wliom 
 The Aveb is now a-warping. Feltro too 5'> 
 
 Shall sorrow for its godless she])herd's fault, 
 Of so deep stain, that never, for the like. 
 Was Malta's bar unclos'd. Too large should be 
 The skillet, that would hold Ferrara's blood. 
 And wearied he, who ounce by ounce would weight it, 55 
 The which this priest, in show of ]>arty-zoal, 
 Courteous will give ; nor will the gift ill suit 
 The country's custom. We descry above. 
 Mirrors, ye call tliem thrones, from wliich to us 
 Reflected shine the judgments of our God ; 60
 
 PAHA DISK. 
 
 '^73 
 
 Whence these our sayings we avoucli for good." 
 
 She ended, and appear'd on other thoughts 
 Intent, re-ent'ring on tlie wheel slie late 
 Had left. Tliat other joyance meanwhile wax'd 
 A thing to marvel at, in si)lendour glowing, 65 
 
 Like choicest rul)y stricken by the sun. 
 For, in that upper clime, effulgence comes 
 Of gladness, as here laughter : and below, 
 As tlie mind saddens, murkier grows the shade. 
 
 " God seeth all : and in hini is thy sight," 70 
 
 Said I, "blest s])irit ! Therefore will of his 
 Cannot to thee be dark. Why then delays 
 Thy voice to satisfy my wish untold. 
 That voice which joins the inexpressive song, 
 Pastime of heav'n, the which those ardours sing, 75 
 
 That cowl them with six shadowing wings outspread V 
 I would not wait thy askiiig, wert thou known 
 To me, as thoroughly I to thee am known." 
 
 He forthwith answ'ring, thus his words began : 
 " The valley' of Avaters, widest next to that 80 
 
 Which doth the earth engarland, shapes its course, 
 J3etwcen discordant shores, against the sun 
 Inward so far, it makes meridian there. 
 Where was before th' horizon. Of that vale 
 Dwelt I upon the shore, 'twixt Ebro's stream 85 
 
 And Macra's, that divides Avith ])assage brief 
 Genoan bounds from Tuscan. East and west 
 Are nearly one to Begga and my land. 
 Whose haven erst was with its own blood warm. 
 Who knew my name were wont to call me Folco : 00 
 
 And I did bear impression of this heav'n, 
 That now bears mine : for not with fiercer flame 
 Glow'd Belus' daughter, injuring alike 
 SichjBus and Creusa, than did I, 
 
 Long as it suited the unripen'd down 05 
 
 That fledg'd my cheek: nor she of IMiodope, 
 That was beguiled of 7)emophoon ; 
 Nor Jove's son, when the charms of lole 
 Were shrin'd within his lieart. And yet there bides 
 No sorrowful repentance liere, but mirth, 100 
 
 18
 
 j 274 PARADISE. 
 
 I Not for the fault (tli.it doth not come to mind), 
 
 '. ]>utfor tlic virtue, whose o'erruhng sway 
 
 I And ])r()videuee have wrouglit thus quaintly. Here 
 
 II 'i'lie skill is look'd into, that fashioneth 
 
 I "With such effectual Avorking, and the good 105 
 
 I- Discern'd, accruing to this upper Avorld 
 P'roiu that below. But fully to content 
 Thy wishes, all that in this sphere have birth, 
 Demands my further parle. Inquire thou wouldst, 
 Who of this light is denizen, that here 110 
 
 Beside me sparkles, as the sun-beam doth 
 On the clear wave. Know then, the soul of Rahab 
 Is in that gladsome harbour, to our tribe 
 United, and the foremost rank assign'd. 
 lie to that heav'n, at which the shadow ends 115 
 
 Of your sublunar Avorld, was taken up. 
 First, in Christ's triumph, of all souls redeera'd : 
 For well behov'd, that, in some part of heav'n, 
 She should remain a trophy, to declare 
 The mighty conquest won with either palm ; 120 
 
 For that she favour'd first the high exploit 
 Of Joshua on the holy land, whereof 
 The Pope recks little now. Thy city, plant 
 Of him, that on his Maker turn'd the back. 
 And of whose envying so much vroe hath sprung, 125 
 Engenders and exj^ands the cursed flower, 
 That hath made wander both the sheep and lambs, 
 Turning the shepherd to a wolf. For this, 
 The gospel and great teachers laid aside, 
 The decretals, as their stuft margins show, 180 
 
 Are the sole study. Pope and Cardinals, 
 Intent on these, ne'er journey but in thought 
 To Nazareth, where Gabriel op'd his wings. 
 Yet it may chance, erelong, the Vatican, 
 And other most selected parts of Rome, 185 
 
 That were the grave of Peter's soldiery. 
 Shall be deliver'd from the' adult'rous bond."
 
 PARADISE. 275 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 Looking into liis first-born witli tlio love, 
 
 Wliicli breathes fi'om botli eternal, the first Might 
 
 Ineffable, wherever eye or mind 
 
 Can roam, hath in snch order all disjios'd. 
 
 As none may see and fail to' enjoy. Raise, then, 5 
 
 reader! to the lofty wheels, with me. 
 
 Thy ken directed to the point, whereat 
 
 One motion strikes on th' otlier. There begin 
 
 Thy wonder of the mighty Arcliitect, 
 
 Who loves lus work so inwardly, his eye 10 
 
 Doth ever watch it. See, how thence oblique 
 
 Brancheth the circle, where the planets roll 
 
 To pour their wishe<l influence on the world ; 
 
 Whose ])ath not bending thus, in heav'n above 
 
 Much virtue would be lost, and here on earth, 15 
 
 All power well nigh extinct : or, from direct 
 
 Were its departure distant more or less, 
 
 I' th' universal order, great defect 
 
 Must, both in heav'n and here beneath, ensue. 
 
 Now rest thee, reader ! on thy bench, and muse 20 
 
 Anticipative of the feast to come ; 
 So shall delight make thee not feel thy toil. 
 Lo ! I have set before thee, for thyself 
 Feed now : the matter I indite, henceforth 
 Demands entire my thought, Join'd with the i)art, 25 
 Which late we told of, the great minister 
 Of nature, that upon the world imprints 
 The virtue of the heaven, and doles out 
 Time for us with his beam, went circling on 
 Along the spires, where each hour sooner conies'; 30 
 
 And I was with him, weetless of ascent. 
 As one, who till arriv'd, weets not his coming. 
 
 For Beatrice, she who passeth on 
 So suddenly from good to better, time 
 Counts not the act, oh then how great must needs 35 
 
 Have been her brightness ! What she was i' th' sun 
 (Where I had enter'd), not through change of hue, 
 But light transparent — did I summon up
 
 276 PAliADISK. 
 
 Genius, art, practice — I miglit not so speak, 
 
 It sliould be e'er imagin'd : yet believ'd 40 
 
 It may be, and the sight be justly crav'd. 
 
 Aiul if our fantasy fail of such height, 
 
 Wliat marvel, since no eye above the sun 
 
 Ilath ever travel'd ? Such are they dwell here, 
 
 Fourth family of the Omnipotent Sire, 45 
 
 Who of his spirit and of his offspring shows ; 
 
 And holds them still enraptur'd with the view. 
 
 And thus to me Beatrice : " Thank, oh thank, 
 
 The Sun of angels, him, who by his grace 
 
 To this perceptible hath lifted thee." 60 
 
 Never was heart in such devotion bound, 
 And with complacency so absolute 
 Dispos'd to render up itself to God, 
 As mine was at those words : and so entire 
 Tlie love for Him, that held me, it eclips'd 55 
 
 Beatrice in oblivion. Naught displeased 
 Was she, but smil'd thereat so joyously. 
 That of her laughing eyes the radiance brake 
 And scatter'd my collected mind abroad. 
 
 Then saw I a bright band, in liveliness 60 
 
 Surpassing, Avho themselves did make the crown, 
 And us their centre : yet more sweet in voice. 
 Than in their visage beaming. Cinctur'd thus, 
 Sometime Latona's daughter we behold. 
 When the impregnate air retains the thread, 65 
 
 That weaves her zone. In the celestial court, 
 Whence I return, are many jewels found, 
 So dear and beautiful, they cannot brook 
 Transporting from that realm : and of these lights 
 Such was the song. Who doth not prune his wing 70 
 To soar up thither, let him look from thence 
 For tidings from the dumb. When, singing thus. 
 Those burning suns that circled round us thrice. 
 As nearest stars around the fixed pole. 
 Then seem'd they like to ladies, from the dance 7£ 
 
 Not ceasing, but sus^^ense, in silent pause, 
 List'ning, till they have caught the strain anew : 
 Susi^ended so they stood : and, from within,
 
 PARADISE. 277 
 
 Tims lioard I one, wlio spake: " Since with its beam 
 
 Tlie gi-ace, wlience true love ligliteth first his flame, 80 
 
 That aflcii- (loth increase by loving, shines 
 
 So inultiplied in thee, it leads thee up 
 
 Along this ladder, down whose hallow'd steps 
 
 None e'er descend, and mount them not again, 
 
 j Who from his phial should refuse thee wine 85 
 
 I To slake thy thirst, no less constrained were, 
 
 j Than water flowing not unto the sea. 
 
 Thou fain wouldst hear, what i)lants are these, that 
 
 I bloom 
 
 In the bright garland, which, admiring, girds 
 
 This fair dame round, who strengthens thee for heav'n. 90 
 
 I then was of the lambs, that Dominic 
 
 Leads, for his saintly flock, along the way, 
 
 Where well they thrive, not swoln with vanity. 
 
 He, nearest on my right hand, brother was, 
 
 I And master to me : Albert of Cologne 95 
 
 i Is this : and of Aquinum, Thomas I. 
 
 ; If thou of all the rest wouldst be assur'd, 
 
 I Let thine eye, waiting on the words I speak, 
 
 I In circuit journey round the blessed wreath. 
 
 That next res])lendence issues from the smile 100 
 
 Of Gratian, who to either forum lent 
 
 !! Such help, as favour wins in Paradise. 
 The other, nearest, who adorns our quire, 
 
 I Was Peter, he that with the widow gave 
 
 \ To holy church his treasure. The fifth light, 105 
 
 > Goodliest of all, is. by such love inspir'd, 
 
 j That all your world craves tidings of its doom : 
 
 ! Within, there is the lofty light, endow'd 
 
 I With sapience so profound, if truth be truth, 
 
 j That with a ken of such wide amplitude 110 
 
 I No second liath arisen. Next behold 
 
 [ That taper's radiance, to whose view was shown, 
 
 \ Clearliest, the nature and the ministry 
 
 I Angelical, while yet in flesh it dwelt. 
 
 • In the other little light serenely smiles 115 
 
 That ])leader for the Christian temples, he, 
 Who did provide Augustin of his lore. 
 
 "1 "•■
 
 278 PARADISE. 
 
 Now, if tliy miii<Ts eye ]t;iss from lii^-lit to light, 
 
 Upon iny j)raises following, of the eighth 
 
 Thy thirst is next. The suintly soul, that shows 120 
 
 The world's deceitfulness, to all who hear him, 
 
 Is, Avith the siglit of all the good, that is, 
 
 Blest there. Tlie limbs, whence it was driven, lie 
 
 Down in Cieldauro, and from martyrdom 
 
 And exile came it here. Lo ! further on, 125 
 
 Where flames the ardurous spirit of Isidore, 
 
 Of Bede, and Richard, more than man, erewhile, 
 
 In deep discernment. Lastly this, from whom 
 
 Thy look on me reverteth, was the beam 
 
 Of one, whose spirit, on high musings bent, 130 
 
 Rebuk'd tlie ling'ring tardiness of death. 
 
 It is the eternal light of Sigebert, 
 
 Who 'scap'd not envy, Avhen of truth he argued, 
 
 Reading in the straw-litter'd street." Forthwith, 
 
 As clock, that calleth up the spouse of God 135 
 
 To win her bridegroom's love at matin's hour, 
 
 Each part of other fitly drawn and urg'd. 
 
 Sends out a tinkling sound, of note so sweet, 
 
 Affection springs in well-disposed breast ; 
 
 Thus saw I move the glorious wheel, thus heard 140 
 
 Voice answ'ring voice, so musical and soft, 
 
 It can be known but where day endless shines. 
 
 CANTO XI. 
 
 O POND anxiety of mortal men ! 
 
 How vain and inconclusive arguments 
 
 Are those, which make thee beat thy wings below ! 
 
 For statues one, and one for aphorisms 
 
 Was hunting ; this the priesthood follow'd, that 5 
 
 By force or sophistry nspir'd to rule ; 
 
 To rob another, and another sought 
 
 By civil business wealth ; one moiling lay 
 
 Tangled in net of sensual delight. 
 
 And one to witless indolence resign'd ; 10 
 
 What time from all those emiity things escap'd,
 
 PAR'ADTSE. 279 
 
 VV^itli r>catrico, I llius gloriously 
 
 Was rais'd aloft, and made the guest of heav'n. 
 
 They of the circle to that point, each one. 
 Wliere erst it was, had turn'd ; and steady glow'd, 15 
 As candle in his socket. Then within 
 Tile lustre, that erewhile l)esj)ake me, smiling 
 Witli merer gladness, heard I thus begin : 
 
 " E'en as his beam illumes me, so I look 
 Into the eternal light, and clearly mark 20 
 
 Thy thoughts, from whence they rise. Thou art in 
 
 doubt, 
 And wouldst, that I should bolt my words afresh 
 In such plain open phrase, as may be smooth 
 To thy perception, where I told thee late 
 That ' well they thrive ; ' and that ' no second such 25 
 Hath risen,' which no small distinction needs. 
 
 " The providence, that governeth the world, 
 In de|)th of counsel by created ken 
 Unfathomable, to the end that she. 
 
 Who with loud cries was 's])ous'd in precious blood, 30 
 Might keep her footing towards her well-belov'd, 
 Safe in herself and constant unto him, 
 Ilath two ordain'd, who should on either hand 
 In chief escort her : one seraphic all 
 
 In fervency ; for wisdom upon earth, 35 
 
 The other sj^lendour of cherubic light. - 
 I but of one will tell : he tells of both, 
 Who one commendeth, Avhich of them so'er 
 Be taken : for their deeds were to one end. 
 
 " Between Tupino, and the wave, that falls 40 
 
 From blest Ubaldo's chosen hill, there hangs 
 Rich slope of mountain high, whence heat and cold 
 Are wafted through Perugia's eastern gate : 
 And Norcera with Gualdo, in its rear 
 Mourn for their heavy yoke. Upon that side, 45 
 
 Where it doth break its steepness most, arose 
 A sun upon the world, as duly this 
 From Ganges doth : therefore let none, who speak 
 Of that place, say Ascesi ; for its name 
 Were lamely so deliver'd ; but the East, 50
 
 280 PAIiADISE. 
 
 To call tliinf^s rio;litly, be it licnccfortli stylM. 
 Jle was not yet much distant from liis rising, 
 When Lis good influence 'gan to bless the earth. 
 A dame to whom none o])eneth phnisure's gate 
 More than to death, was, 'gainst his father's will, 55 
 
 His stripling choice : and he did make her his, 
 J^cfore the sj)iritual court, by nuptial bonds. 
 And in his father's sight : from day to day, 
 Then lov'd her more devoutly. She, bereav'd 
 Of her first husband, slighted and obscure, 60 
 
 Thousand and hundred years and more, remain'd 
 Without a single suitor, till he came. 
 Nor aught avail'd, that, with Amyclas, she 
 Was found unmov'd at rumour of his voice, 
 Who shook the world : nor aught her constant bold- 
 ness 05 
 Wliereby with Christ she monnted on the cross, 
 When Mary stay'd beneath. But not to deal 
 Thus closely with thee longer, take at large 
 The lovers' titles — Poverty and Francis. 
 Their concord and glad looks, wonder and love, 70 
 And sweet regard gave birth to holy thoughts. 
 So much, that venerable Bernard first 
 Did bare his feet, and, in pursuit of jieace 
 So lieavenly, ran, yet dcem'd his footing slow. 
 O hidden riches ! O prolific good ! 75 
 Egidius bares him next, and next Sylvester, 
 And follow both the bridegroom ; so the bride 
 Can please them. Thenceforth goes he on his way, 
 ^ The father and the master, with his spouse, 
 I And with that family, Avhoni now the cord 80 
 \ Girt humbly : nor did abjectness of heart 
 I Weigh down his eyelids, for that he was son 
 I Of Pietro Bernardone, and by men 
 I In wond'rous sort despis'd. But royally 
 I His hard intention he to Innocent 85 
 I Set forth, and from him first receiv'd the seal 
 f Ou his religion. Then, wdien numerous flock'd 
 I The tribe of lowly ones, that trac'd his steps, 
 i Whose marvellous life deservedly were sung
 
 PARADISE. 281 
 
 In hciglits OTn]iyroa], tlu-oi'.oli Ilonorins' hand 90 
 
 A second crown, to deck llieir Clunrdinn's virtues, 
 Was by tlie' eternal Sj>irit inwreath'd : and "wlien 
 lie liad, tlirou^li tliir^t of niartyrdoui, stood up 
 In tlie ])i-oud Soldan's presence, and tliere preach'd 
 Clirist and his followers ; but found tlie race 96 
 
 Unrijien'd for conversion : back once more 
 He liasted (not to intermit liis toil), 
 And reaj)'d Ausonian lands. On the hard rock, 
 'Twixt Arno and the Tybei-, he from Christ 
 Took the last signet, which his limbs two years 100 
 
 Did carry. Then the season come, that he, 
 Who to such good had destin'd him, Avas ].'leas'd 
 ( T' advance him to the meed, Avhich he had earu'd 
 I By his self-humbling, to his brotherhood, 
 i As their just heritage, he gave in charge 105 
 
 { Plis dearest lady, and enjoin'd their love 
 
 And faith to her : and, from her bosom, will'd 
 ( Plis goodly s})irit should move forth, returning 
 I To its appointed kingdom, nor would have 
 s His body laid upon another bier. 110 
 
 I " Think noAV of one, who were a fit colleague, 
 
 I To keep the bark of Peter in deej5 sea 
 i Helm'd to right point ; and such our Patriarch was. 
 ; Therefore who follow him, as he enjoins, 
 I Thou mayst be certain, take good lading in. 115 
 
 I But hunger of new viands tempts his flock, 
 i So that they needs into strange pastures wide 
 ; INIust spread them : and the more remote from him 
 t The stragglers wander, so much more they come 
 I Home to tlie sheep-fold, destitute of milk. 120 
 
 I There are of them, in truth, who fear their harm, 
 ; And to the shepherd cleave ; but these so few, 
 j A little stuff may furnish out their cloaks. 
 
 "Now, if my words be clear, if thou have ta'en 
 I Good heed, if that, which I h.ave told, recall 125 
 
 I To mind, thy Avish may be in part fulfill'd : 
 
 For thou Avilt see the ]dant from Avhence they split, 
 j Nor miss of the reproof, Avhich that implies, 
 ' That Avell they thrive not sAvolu Avith vanity.' "
 
 282 PARADISE. 
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 Soon as its final word the blessed flame 
 
 Had rais'd for utterance, straight the holy mill 
 
 Began to wheel, nor yet had once revolv'd, 
 
 Or ere another, circling, compass'd it, 
 
 Motion to motion, song to song, conjoining, 6 
 
 Song, that as much our muses doth excel, 
 
 Our Syrens with their tuneful ])ij)es, as ray 
 
 Of primal splendour doth its faint reflex. 
 
 As when, if Juno bid her handmaid forth, 
 Two arches parallel, and trick'd alike, 10 
 
 Span the thin cloud, the outer taking birth 
 From that within (in manner of that voice 
 Whom love did melt away, as sun the mist). 
 And they who gaze, presageful call to mind 
 The compact, made with Noah, of the world 15 
 
 No more to be o'erflow'd ; about us thus 
 Of sempiternal roses, bending, wreath'd 
 Those garlands twain, and to the innermost 
 E'en thus tli' external answered. When the footing, 
 And other great festivity, of song, 20 
 
 And radiance, light with light accordant, each 
 Jocund and blythe, had at their pleasure still'd 
 (E'en as the eyes by quick volition mov'd. 
 Are shut and rais'd together), from the heart 
 Of one amongst the new lights mov'd a voice, 25 
 
 That made me seem like needle to the star, 
 In turning to its whereabout, and thus 
 Began : " The love, that makes me beautiful. 
 Prompts me to tell of th' other guide, for whom 
 Such good of mine is spoken. Where one is, 30 
 
 The other worthily should also be ; 
 That as their warfare was alike, alike 
 Should be their glory. Slow, and full of doubt. 
 And with thin ranks, after its banner mov'd 
 The army' of Christ (which it so dearly cost 35 
 
 To reappoint), when its imperial Head, 
 Who reigneth ever, for the drooping host 
 Did make provision, thorough grace alone, 

 
 PAUADISK. 283 
 
 And not tlirongli its deserving. As tlioii hofird'st, 
 
 Two cliainpions to the succour of his spouse 40 
 
 He sent, wlio by tlieir deeds and words miglit jo'u 
 
 Again liis scatter'd people. In tliat clime, 
 
 Where sjirings the pleasant west-wind to unfold 
 
 The fresh leaves, with Avhich Europe sees hersel' 
 
 Kew-garmented ; nor from those hillows far, 45 
 
 Beyond whose chiding, after weary course, 
 
 Tlie sun doth sometimes hide him, safe abides 
 
 The liappy Callaroga, under guard 
 
 Of the great shield, Avherein the lion lies 
 
 Subjected and supreme. And there was born 50 
 
 The loving minion of the Christian faith, 
 
 The hollow'd Avrestler, gentle to his own, 
 
 And to his enemies terrible. So replete 
 
 His soul with lively virtue, that when first 
 
 Created, even in the mother's womb, 55 
 
 It prophesied. When, at the sacred font, 
 
 The spousals were complete 'twixt faith and him, 
 
 Where pledge of mutual safety was exchang'd, 
 
 The dame, wlio was his surety, in her sleep 
 
 Beheld the wondrous fruit, that was fi'om him 60 
 
 And from his heirs to issue. And that such 
 
 He might be construed, as indeed he Avas, 
 
 She was inspir'd to name hira of his owner. 
 
 Whose he was wholly, and so call'd him Dominic. 
 
 And I speak of him, as the labourer, 65 
 
 Whom Christ in his own garden chose to be 
 
 His help-mate. Messenger he seem'd, and friend 
 
 Fast-knit to Christ; and the first love he show'd, 
 
 Was after the first counsel that Christ gave. 
 
 Many a time his nurse, at entering, found 70 
 
 That he had ris'n in silence, and was prostrate, 
 
 As who should say, ' My errand was for this.' 
 
 O hajipy father ! Felix rightly nam'd ! 
 
 O favour'd mother! rightly nam'd Joanna! 
 
 If that do mean, as men interpret it. 75 
 
 Not for the world's sake, for which now they pore 
 
 Upon Ostiense and Taddeo's page, 
 
 But for the real manna, soon he grew
 
 284 PARADISE. 
 
 Mi,<>lity in learning;, and did set liiinsflf 
 To go about the vineyard, that soon turns 80 
 
 To wan and vvither'd, if not tended well : 
 And from the see (whose bounty to the just 
 And needy is gone by, not through its fault, 
 ]]ut his who fills it basely), he besought, 
 No disj)ensation for commuted wrong, 85 
 
 Nor the first vacant fortune, nor the tenths, 
 That to God's paujiers riglitly appertain. 
 But, 'gainst an erring and degenerate world. 
 Licence to h'ght, in favour of that seed, 
 From which the twice twelve cions gird thee round. 90 
 Then, with sage doctrhie and good will to help, 
 P^orth on his great apostleship he far'd. 
 Like torrent bursting from a lofty vein ; 
 And, dashing 'gainst the stocks of heresy. 
 Smote fiercest, where resistance Avas most stout. 95 
 
 Thence many rivulets have since been turn'd, 
 Over the garden Catholic to lead 
 Their living waters, and have fed its plants. 
 " If such one wheel of that two-yoked car, 
 Wherein the holy church defended her, 100 
 
 And rode trium})hant through the civil broil. 
 Thou canst not doubt its fellow's excellence. 
 Which Thomas, ere my coming, hath declar'd 
 So courteously unto thee. But the track, 
 Which its smooth fellies made, is now deserted : 105 
 
 That mouldy mother is where late were lees. 
 His family, that wont to trace his path. 
 Turn backward, and invert their steps ; erelong 
 To rue the gathering in of their ill crop, 
 When the rejected tares in vain shall ask 110 
 
 Admittance to the barn. I question not 
 But he, who search'd our volume, leaf by leaf, 
 Might still find page with this inscription on't, 
 'I am as I was wont.' Yet such Avere not 
 From Acquasparta nor Casale, whence lit 
 
 Of those, who come to meddle with the text, 
 One stretches and another cramps its rule. 
 Bonaventura's life in me behold,
 
 PARADISE. 285 
 
 From Bngiiororogio, one, who in discharge 
 
 Of my Ljrcat offices still laid aside 120 
 
 All sinister aim. Illiiminato here, 
 
 And Agostino join me : two they were, 
 
 Among the first of those barefooted meek ones, 
 
 Who sought God's friendsliij) in the cord : with tlieni 
 
 Ilugues of Saint Victor, Pietro Mangiadore, 125 
 
 And lie of Spain in his twelve volumes shining, 
 
 Nathan the prophet, Metropolitan 
 
 Chrysostom, and Anselmo, and, who deign'd 
 
 To put his hand to the first art, Donatus. 
 
 Raban is here : and at my side there shines 130 
 
 Calabria's abbot, Joachim, endow'd 
 
 With soul prophetic. The bright courtesy 
 
 Of friar Thomas, and his goodly lore. 
 
 Have mov'd me to the blazon of a peer 
 
 iSo worthy, and with me have mov'd this throng." lo5 
 
 CANTO XIII. 
 
 Let him, who would conceive what now I saw, 
 
 Imagine (and retain the image firm. 
 
 As mountain rock, the whilst he hears me speak), 
 
 Of stars fifteen, from midst the ethereal host 
 
 Selected, that, with lively ray serene, 5 
 
 O'ercome the massiest air : thereto imagine 
 
 The wain, that, in the bosom of our sky, 
 
 Si)ins ever on its axle night and day. 
 
 With the bright summit of that horn which swells 
 
 Due from the pole, round which the first wheel rolls, 10 
 
 T' have rang'd themselves in fashion of two signs 
 
 In heav'n, such as Ariadne made. 
 
 When death's chill seized her ; and that one of them 
 
 Did compass in the other's beam ; and both 
 
 In such sort Avhirl around, that each should tend 15 
 
 With opposite motion : and, conceiving thus. 
 
 Of that true constellation, and the dance 
 
 Twofold, that circled me, he shall attain 
 
 As 't were the shadow ; for things there as much
 
 286 PA K A DISK. 
 
 Surpass our usage, ns tlie swiftest heav'n 2^ 
 
 Is swifter than the Chiana. There was sung 
 
 No Bacchus, and no lo Pasan, but 
 
 Three Persons in the Godhead, and in one 
 
 Substance that nature and the liuman join'd. 
 
 The song fultill'd its measure ; and to us 25 
 
 Those saintly liglits attended, liappier made 
 At each new minist'ring. Then silence brake, 
 Amid th' accordant sons of Deity, 
 That luminary, in which the wondrous life 
 Of the meek man of God was told to me ; 30 
 
 And thus it spake : " One ear o' th' harvest thresh'd, 
 And its grain safely stor'd, sweet charity 
 Invites me Avith the other to like toil. 
 
 " Thou know'st, that in the bosom, whence tlie rib 
 Was ta'en to fashion that fair cheek, whose taste 35 
 
 All the world pays for, and in that, which pierc'd 
 By the keen lance, both after and before 
 Such satisfaction offer'd, as outweighs 
 Each evil in the scale, whate'er of light 
 To human nature is allow'd, must all 40 
 
 Have by his virtue been infus'd, who form'd 
 Both one and other : and thou thence admir'st 
 In that I told thee, of beatitudes 
 A second, there is none, to his enclos'd 
 In the fifth radiance. Open now thine eyes 45 
 
 To what I answer thee ; and thou shalt see 
 Thy deeming and my saying meet in truth, 
 As centre in the round. Tliat which dies not. 
 And that which can die, are but each the beam 
 Of that idea, which our Sovereign Sire 50 
 
 Engendereth loving ; for that lively light. 
 Which passeth from lus brightness, not disjoin'd 
 From him, nor fi'om his love triune with them, 
 Doth, through his bounty, congregate itself, 
 Mirror'd, as 't were in new existences, 55 
 
 Itself unalterable and ever one, 
 
 "Descending hence unto the lowest powers, 
 Its energy so sinks, at last it makes 
 But brief conting;encies : for so I name
 
 rAKADISK. 287 
 
 Thinc^s exonerated, wlucli the heav'nly orbs 60 
 
 Movinu;, with seed or Avitliout seed, ])n)duce. 
 
 Their wax, and that which molds it, differ much : 
 
 And tlicnce Avith lustre, more or less, it shows 
 
 Th' ideal stamj) imprest : so that one tree 
 
 According to his kind, hath better fruit, 65 
 
 And worse : and, at you birth, ye, mortal men, 
 
 Are in your talents various. |Were the Avax 
 
 Molded with nice exactness, and the heav'n 
 
 In its disposing influence supreme, 
 
 The lustre of the seal should be complete : 70 
 
 But nature renders it imperfect ever, 
 
 Resembling thus the artist in her Avork, 
 
 Whose faultering hand is faithless to his skill. 
 
 Howe'er, if love itself dispose, and mark 
 
 The primal virtue, kindling with bright view, 75 
 
 There all perfection is vouchsafed ; and such 
 
 The clay was made, accomplish'd with each gift, 
 
 That life can teem with ; such the burden fili'd 
 
 The virgin's bosom : so that I commend 
 
 Thy judgment, that the human nature ne'er 80 
 
 Was or can be, such as in them it was. 5 
 
 " Did I advance no further than this point, 
 * How then had be no peer ? ' thou might'st reply. 
 But, that what now appears not, may appear 
 Right plainly, ponder, who he was, and Avhat 85 
 
 (When he was bidden ' Ask '), the motive sway'd 
 To his requesting. I have spoken thus, 
 That thou mayst see, he was a king, who ask'd 
 For wisdom, to the end he might be king 
 SufKcient : not the number to search out 90 
 
 Of the celestial movers ; or to know, 
 If necessary with contingent e'er 
 Have made necessity ; or whether that 
 Be granted, that first motion is ; or if 
 Of the mid circle can, by art, be made 95 
 
 Triangle with each corner, blunt or sharp. 
 
 "Whence, noting that, which I have said, and this, 
 Thou kingly prudence and that ken mayst learn, 
 At which the dart of my intention aims.
 
 288 PARADISE. 
 
 And, inMi-kiiiu; clearly, that I told thee, 'Risen,' 100 
 
 Tliou shalt discern it only liath respect 
 
 To kings, of whom are many, and the good 
 
 Are rare. With this distinction take my words ; 
 
 And they may well consist with that which thou 
 
 Of the first human father dost believe, 105 
 
 And of our well-beloved. And let this 
 
 Henceforth be led unto thy feet, to make 
 
 Thee slow in motion, as a weary man. 
 
 Both to the ' yea ' and to the ' nay ' thou seost not. 
 
 For he among the fools is down full low, 110 
 
 Whose affirmation, or denial, is 
 
 Without distinction, in each case alike 
 
 Since it befals, that in most instances 
 
 Current opinion leads to false : and then 
 
 Affection bends the judgment to lier ply. 115 
 
 "Much more than vainly doth he loose from shore, 
 Since he returns not such as he set fortli. 
 Who fishes for the truth and wanteth skill. 
 And ojicn proofs of this vinto the world 
 Have been afforded in Parraenides, 120 
 
 Melissus, Bryso, and the crowd beside, 
 Who journey'd on, and knew not whither: so did 
 Sabellius, Arius, and the other fools, 
 Who, like to scymitars, reflected back 
 The scripture-image, by distortion marr'd. 125 
 
 "Let not the people be too swift to jndgc, 
 As one who reckons on the blades in field. 
 Or ere the crop be ripe. For I have seen 
 Tlie thorn frown rudely all the winter long 
 And after bear the rose upon its top ; 130 
 
 And bark, that all the way across the sea 
 Ran straight and speedy, perish at the last, 
 E'en in the haven's mouth. Seeing one steal. 
 Another bring his offering to the priest. 
 Let not Dame Birtha and Sir Martin thence 135 
 
 Into heav'n's counsels deem that they can pry : 
 For one of these may rise, the other fall."
 
 PAKADISE. 289 
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 P'kom conti'C' to tlie circle, and so back 
 
 From circle to the ccnti-e, water moves 
 
 In the round chalice, even as the blow 
 
 Im]>els it, inwardly, or from without. 
 
 Such was the image glanc'd into my mind, 5 
 
 As the great s])irit of Aqninum ccas'd ; 
 
 And Beatrice after him her words 
 
 Resuni'd alternate : "Need there is (the' yet 
 
 He tells it to you not in words, nor e'en 
 
 In thought) that he should fathom to its depth 10 
 
 Another mystery. Tell him, if the light. 
 
 Wherewith your substance blooms, shall stay with you 
 
 Eternally, as now : and, if it doth, 
 
 How, when ye shall regain your visible forms. 
 
 The sight may without harm endure the change, 15 
 
 Tliat also tell." As those, who in a ring 
 
 Tread the light measure, in their fitful mirth 
 
 liaise loud the voice, and spring with gladder bound ; 
 
 Thus, at the hearing of that pious suit, 
 
 The saintly circles in their tourneying 20 
 
 And wond'rous note attested new delight. 
 
 Whoso laments, that we must doff this garb 
 Of frail mortality, thenceforth to live 
 Immortally above, he hath not seen 
 The sweet refreshing of that heav'nly shower. 25 
 
 Him, wlio lives ever, and for ever reigns 
 In mystic union of the Three in One, 
 Unbounded, bounding all, each spirit thrice 
 Sang, with such melody, as but to hear 
 For highest merit were an ample meed. 30 
 
 And from the lesser orb the goodliest light, 
 With gentle voice and mild, such as perhaps 
 The angel's once to Mary, thus re))lied : 
 "Long as the joy of Paradise shall last. 
 Our love shall shine around that raiment, bright, 35 
 
 As fervent ; fervent, as in vision blest ; 
 And that as far in blessedness exceeding, 
 As it hath grave beyond its virtue great, 
 
 19
 
 290 PAKADISK. 
 
 Our sba]io, regarmentcd witli glorious weeds 
 
 Of saintly flesh, must, being thus entire, 40 
 
 Show yet moi-c gracious. Therefore shall increase, 
 
 AVhate'er of light, gi-atuitous, ini])arts 
 
 The Supreme Good ; light, niinistei-ing aid, 
 
 The better disclose his glory : whence 
 
 The vision needs increasing, much increase 45 
 
 The fervour, which it kindles ; and that too 
 
 The ray, tiiat comes from it. But as the gieed 
 
 Which gives out flame, yet it its whiteness shines 
 
 More livelily than that, and so preserves 
 
 Its proper semblance ; thus this circling sphere 50 
 
 Of splendour, shall to view less radiant seem, 
 
 Than shall our fleshly robe, which yonder earth 
 
 Now covers. Nor will such excess of light 
 
 O'erpower us, in corporeal organs made 
 
 Firm, and susceptible of all delight." 55 
 
 So ready and so cordial an " Amen," 
 Followed from eitlier clioir, as plainly spoke 
 Desire of their dead bodies ; yet ])erchance 
 Not for themselves, but for their kindred dear. 
 Mothers and sires, and those whom best they lov'd, GO 
 Ere they wei'e made imperishable flame. 
 
 And lo ! forthwitli there rose up round about 
 A kistre over that already there. 
 Of equal clearness, like the brightening up 
 Of the liorizon. As at evening hour 65 
 
 Of twilight, new appearances through heav'n 
 Peer with faint glimmer, doubtfully descried ; 
 So there new substances, methought began 
 To rise in view ; and round the other twain 
 Enwheeling, sweep their ampler circuit wide. 70 
 
 O genuine glitter of eternal Beam ! 
 With what a sudden whiteness did it flow, 
 O'erpowering ^•ision in me ! But so fair, 
 So passing lovely, Beatrice show'd. 
 
 Mind cannot follow it, nor words express 75 
 
 Her infinite sweetness. Thence mine eyes regain'd 
 Power to look up, and I beheld myself, 
 Sole witli my lady, to more lofty bliss
 
 PAUAUISE. 
 
 291 
 
 Translated : for the star, with wanner sniile 
 Impurpled, well (lenoterl our ascent. 80 
 
 Witli all the heart, and witli that tongue which sj)eak3 
 The same in all, an holocaust I made 
 To God, befitting the new grace vouchsaf d. 
 And from my bosom had not yet upsteam'd 
 The fuming of that incense, when I knew 85 
 
 The rite accepted. With such mighty slieen 
 And mantling crimson, in two listed rays 
 The splendours shot before me, that I cried, 
 " God of Sabaoth ! that does i)rank them thus ! " 
 
 As leads the galaxy from pole to pole, UU 
 
 Distinguish'd into greater lights and less, 
 Its pathway, which the wisest fail to spell ; 
 So thickly studded, in the depth of Mars, 
 Those rays describ'd the venerable sign. 
 That quadrants in the round conjoining frame. 95 
 
 Here memory mocks the toil of genius. Christ 
 Beam'd on that cross ; and pattern fails me now. 
 But whoso takes his cross, and follows Christ 
 Will pardon me for that I leave untold, 
 When in the flecker'd dawning be sliall spy 100 
 
 The glitterance of Christ. From horn to horn, 
 And 'tween the summit and the base did move 
 Lights, scintillating, as they met and pass'd. 
 Thus oft are seen, with ever-changeful glance, 
 Straight or athwart, now rapid and now slow, 105 
 
 The atomies of bodies, long or short. 
 To move along the sunbeam, whose slant line 
 Checkers the shadow, interpos'd by art 
 Against the noontide heat. And as the chime 
 Of minstrel music, dulcimer, and harp 110 
 
 With many strings, a pleasant dining makes 
 To him, who heareth not distinct tlie note ; 
 So from the lights, whicli there appear'd to me, 
 Gather'd along the cross a melody, 
 
 That, indistinctly heard, with ravishment 115 
 
 Pussess'd rae. Yet I mark'd it was a liymn 
 Of lofty ])raises ; for there came to me 
 " Arise and conquer," as to one wlio hears
 
 292 TAIiADISK. 
 
 And coniprolicnds not. Me sucli ecstasy 
 O'crcnnie, that never till tliat liour was thing 120 
 
 That held me in so sweet iniprisoninent. 
 Ferliaps my saying over bold appears, 
 Accounting less the ])leasure of those eyes, 
 AVliereon to look fullilleth all desire. 
 
 But he, who is aware those living seals 125 
 
 Of every beauty work with quicker force, 
 The higiier they are ris'n ; and that there 
 I had not turn'd me to them ; he may well 
 Excuse me that, Avhereof in my excuse 
 I do accuse me, and may own my truth ; 130 
 
 That holy i)leasure here not yet reveal'd, 
 Which grows in transport as we mount aloof. 
 
 CANTO XV. 
 
 True love, that ever shows itself as clear 
 
 In kindness, as loose appetite in wrong. 
 
 Silenced that lyre harmonious, and still'd 
 
 The sacred chords, that are by heav'n's right hand 
 
 Unwound and tighten'd. How to righteous prayers 5 
 
 Should they not hearken, who, to give me will 
 
 For praying, in accordance thus were mute? 
 
 He hath in sooth good cause for endless grief. 
 
 Who, for the love of thing that lasteth not. 
 
 Despoils himself for ever of that love. 10 
 
 As oft along the still and pure serene, 
 At nightfall, glides a sudden trail of fire, 
 Attracting with involuntary heed 
 The eye to follow it, erewhile at rest. 
 And seems some star that shifted place in heav'n, 15 
 
 Only that, whence it kindles, none is lost. 
 And it is soon extinct ; thus from the horn, 
 That on the dexter of the cross extends, 
 Down to its foot, one luminary ran 
 
 From mid the cluster shone there; yet no gem 20 
 
 Drop])'d from its foil ; and through the beamy list 
 Like fianie in alabaster, glow'd its course.
 
 PAUADTSB. 2913 
 
 So forward strctcliM liim (if of credenoo nuglit 
 Our greater muse may claim) the pious ghost 
 Of old Anchises, iu the' Elysiau bower, 25 
 
 When he perceiv'd his son. " O thou, my blood! 
 
 most exceeding grace divine ! to whom. 
 As now to thee, liath twice the heav'nly gate 
 J^een e'er unclos'd ? " so spake the light ; whence 1 
 Turn'd me toward him ; then unto my dame 30 
 JMy sight directed, and on either side 
 
 Amazement waited me ; for in her eyes 
 
 Was lighted such a smile, I thought that mine 
 
 Had div'd unto the bottom of my grace 
 
 And of my bliss in Paradise. Forthwith 35 
 
 To hearing and to sight grateful alike, 
 
 The spirit to his proem added things 
 
 1 understood not, so profound he spake ; 
 Yet not of choice but through necessity 
 
 Mysterious ; for his high conception scar'd 40 
 
 Beyond the mark of mortals. When the flight 
 
 Of holy transport had so spent its rage. 
 
 That nearer to the level of our thought 
 
 The speech descended, the first sounds I heard 
 
 Were, " Blest be thou, Triunal Deity ! 45 
 
 That hast such favour in my seed vouchsaf'd ! " 
 
 Then follow'd : " No unpleasant thirst, tho' long, 
 
 Wliicli took me reading in the sacred book. 
 
 Whose leaves or Avhite or dusky never change, 
 
 Thou hast allay'd, my son, within this light, 50 
 
 From whence my voice thou hear'st ; more thanks to her. 
 
 Who for such lofty mounting has with plumes 
 
 Begirt thee. Thou dost deem thy thouglits to me 
 
 From Him transmitted, Avho is first of all. 
 
 E'en as all numbers ray from unity ; 55 
 
 And therefore dost not ask me who I am, 
 
 Or why to thee more joyous I appear. 
 
 Than any other in this gladsome throng. 
 
 The truth is as thou deem'st ; for in this life 
 
 Both less and greater in that mirror look, 60 
 
 In which thy thoughts, or ere thou think'st, arc shown. 
 
 l)ut, that the love, wliicli kee|)s me w akcf iil ever,
 
 294 PAnADIRE. 
 
 Urging with sacred thirst of sweet desire, 
 
 May be conteiuled fully, let thy voice, 
 
 Fearless, and fi-ank and jocund, utter forth 65 
 
 Thy will distinctly, utter forth the wish, 
 
 "VVhereto my ready answer stands decreed." 
 
 I turn'd me to Beatrice ; and she heard 
 Ere I had sjioken, smiling an assent, 
 
 That to my will gave wings ; and I began : 70 
 
 " To each among your tribe, what time ye kenn'd 
 The nature, in whom naught imequal dwells. 
 Wisdom and love were in one measure dealt ; 
 For that they are so equal in t'le sun. 
 From whence ye drew your radiance and your heat, 75 
 As makes all likeness scant. But will and means, 
 In mortals, for the cause ye well discern. 
 With unlike wings are fledge. A mortal I 
 Experience inequality like this. 
 
 And therefore give no thanks, but in the heart, 80 
 
 For thy paternal greeting. This howe'er 
 I pray thee, living topaz ! that ingemm'st 
 This precious jewel, let me hear thy name." 
 
 " I am thy root, O leaf ! whom to expect 
 Even, hath pleas'd me:" thus the prompt reply 85 
 
 Prefacing, next it added ; "he, of whom 
 Thy kindred appellation comes, and who, 
 These hundred years and more, on its first ledge 
 Hath circuited the mountain, was my son 
 And thy great grandsire. Well befits, his long 90 
 
 Endurance should be shorten'd by thy deeds. 
 
 " Florence, within her ancient limit-mark, 
 Which calls her still to matin prayers and noon, 
 Was chaste and sober, and abode in peace. 
 She had no armlets and no head-tires then, 95 
 
 No purfled dames, no zone, that caught the eye 
 More than the person did. Time was not yet. 
 When at his daughter's birth the sire grew pale, 
 For fear the age and dowry should exceed 
 On each side just proportion. House was none 100 
 
 Void of its family ; nor yet had come 
 Sardanapalus, to exhibit feats
 
 PAKAPISE, 295 
 
 Of clinniher prowess. Montoinalo yet 
 
 O'er our suburban turret rose; as much 
 
 To be surpast in fall, as in its rising. 105 
 
 I saw Bellincion Berti walk abroad 
 
 In leathern girdle and a clasp of bone; 
 
 And, with no artful colouring on her cheeks, 
 
 TTis lady leave tlie glass. The sons T saw 
 
 Of Nerli and of Vecchio well content llU 
 
 With unrob'd jerkin ; and their good dames handling 
 
 The spindle and the flax; O happy they! 
 
 Each sure of burial in her native land, 
 
 And none left desolate a-bed for France ! 
 
 One wak'd to tend the cradle, hushing it 115 
 
 With sounds tliat luU'd the parent's infancy: 
 
 Another, with her maidens, drawing off 
 
 The tresses from the distaff, lectur'd them 
 
 Old tales of Troy and Fesole and Rome. 
 
 A Salterello and Cianghella we 120 
 
 Had held as strange a marvel, as ye would 
 
 A Cincinnatus or Cornelia now. 
 
 " In such compos'd and seemly fellowship, 
 Such faithful and such fair equality, 
 
 In so sweet household, Mary at my birth 125 
 
 BestoAv'd me, call'd on with loud cries ; and there 
 In your old baptistery, I was made 
 Christian at once and Cacciaguida ; as were 
 My brethren, Eliseo and Moro7ito. 
 
 " From Valdipado came to me my spouse, 130 
 
 And hence thy surname grew. I follow'd then 
 The Emperor Conrad ; and his knighthood he 
 Did gird on me ; in such good part he took 
 My valiant service. After him I went 
 To testify against that evil law, 135 
 
 Whose people, by the shei)herd's fault, possess 
 Your right, usurjjing. There, by that foul crew 
 Was I releas'd from the deceitful world. 
 Whose base affection many a spirit soils, 
 And from the martyrdom came to this peace." 140
 
 296 PARADTSR. 
 
 CANTO XVI. 
 
 SLiGnr respect of man's nohility! 
 
 1 never sliall accouiiL it iiiai-velloiis, 
 Tliatour infirm affection liere below 
 
 Thou mov'st to boastinj^, Avlien I could not chuse, 
 
 E'en in that region of unwar]>'d desire, 6 
 
 In heav'n itself, but make my vaunt in thee! 
 
 Yet cloak thou art soon shorten'd, for that time, 
 
 Unless thou be eked out from day to day, 
 
 Goes round thee with his shears. Resuming tlien 
 
 With greeting such, as Home, was first to bear, 10 
 
 But since hath disaccustom'd I began ; 
 
 And Beatrice, that a little space 
 
 Was sever'd, smil'd reminding me of her. 
 
 Whose cough embolden'd (as the story holds) 
 
 To first offence the doubting Guenever. 15 
 
 "You are my sire," said I, " you give me heart 
 Freely to speak my thought : above myself 
 You raise me. Through so many streams with joy 
 My soul is fill'd, that gladness wells from it ; 
 So that it bears the miglity tide, and bursts not. 20 
 
 Say then, my honour'd stem ! what ancestors 
 Where those you sprang from, and what years were mai-k'd 
 In your first childhood V Tell me of the fold. 
 That hath Saint John for guardian, what was then 
 Its state, and who in it were highest seated ?" '25 
 
 As embers, at the breathing of the wind. 
 Their iiame enliven, so that light I saw 
 Shine at my blandishments ; and, as it grew 
 More fair to look on, so with voice more sweet, 
 Yet not in this our modern phrase, forthrvith 30 
 
 It answer'd : "From the day, when it was said 
 ' Hail Virgin ! ' to the throes, by which my mother, 
 Who now is sainted, lighten'd her of me 
 Whom she was heavy with, this tire had come, 
 Five huiulred fifty times and thrice, its beams 35 
 
 To reilumine underneath the foot 
 Of its own lion. They, of whom I sprang, 
 And I, had there our birth-])lace, where the last 
 
 J—
 
 PAKAorsE. 297 
 
 Partition of our city first is reach'd 
 
 By liiiii, tliat runs lu'r annual game. Thus much 40 
 
 Suffice of my forefathers : who they Avere, 
 
 And whence they liitlier came, more honourable 
 
 It is to pass in'silence than to tell. 
 
 All those, who in that time were there from Mars 
 
 Until tlie Baptist, fit to carry arms, 45 
 
 Were but the fifth of them this clay alive. 
 
 But then the citizen's blood, that now is mix'd 
 
 From Campi and Certaldo and Fighine, 
 
 Ran purely through the last mechanic's veins. 
 
 O how much better were it, that these people 50 
 
 Were neighbours to you, and that at Gallnzzo 
 
 And at Trespiano, ye should have your bound'ry, 
 
 Than to have them Avithin, and bear the stench 
 
 Of Aguglione's hiiul, and Signa's, him. 
 
 That hath his eye already keen for bart'ring ! 55 
 
 Had not the peo})le, which of all the world 
 
 Degenerates most, been stepdame unto Caisar, 
 
 But, as a mother, gracious to her son ; 
 
 Such one, as hath become a Florentine, 
 
 And trades and tralRcs, had been turn'd adrift GO 
 
 To Simifonte, where liis grandsire i)ly'd 
 
 The beggar's craft. The Conti were possess'd 
 
 Of Montemurlo still : the Cerchi still 
 
 Were in Acoue's parish ; nor had haply 
 
 From Yaldigrieve past the Buondelmonti. 65 
 
 The city's malady hath ever source 
 
 In the confusion of its jkm-sous, as 
 
 The body's, in variety of food : 
 
 And the blind bull falls with a steeper plunge, 
 
 Than the blind lamb ; and oftentimes one sword 70 
 
 Doth more and better execution. 
 
 Than five. Mark Luni, Urbisaglia mark, 
 
 How they are gone, and after them how go 
 
 Chiusi and Sinigaglia; and 't will seem 
 
 No longer new or strange to thee to hear, 75 
 
 Tiiat families fail, Avhen cities have their end. 
 
 All things, that appertain t' ye, like yourselves, 
 
 Ai'c mortal : but mortalitv in some 

 
 298 PAR, A DIRE. 
 
 Ye mark not, tlicy endure so long, and you 
 
 ]*ass })y so suddenly. And as the moon 80 
 
 Dotli, i)y the rolling of her heav'nly sphere, 
 
 Hide and reveal the strand unceasingly; 
 
 So fortune deals with Floi-ence. Hence admire not 
 
 At what of them I tell thee, whose renow^i 
 
 Time covers, the first Florentines. I saw 85 
 
 The Ughi, Catilini and Filippi, 
 
 The Alberichi, Greci and Ormanni, 
 
 Now in their wane, illustrious citizens : 
 
 And great as ancient, of Sannella him, 
 
 With him of Area saw, and Soldanieri 90 
 
 And Ardinghi' and Bostichi. At the poop, 
 
 That now^ is laden with new felony. 
 
 So cumb'rous it may speedily sink the bark, 
 
 The Ravignani sat, of whom is sprung 
 
 The County Guido, and whoso hath since 95 
 
 His title from the fam'd Bellincion ta'en. 
 
 Fair governance was yet an art well priz'd 
 
 By him of Pressa : Galigaio show'd 
 
 The gilded hilt and pommel, in his house. 
 
 The column, cloth'd with verrey, still was seen 100 
 
 Unshaken : the Sacchetti still were great, 
 
 Giouchi, Sifanti, Galli and Barucci, 
 
 With them who blush to hear the bushel nam'd. 
 
 Of the Calfucci still the branchy trunk 
 
 Was in its strength : and to the curule chairs 105 
 
 Sizii and Arigucci yet were drawn. 
 
 How mighty them I saw, whom since their pride 
 
 Hath undone ! and in all her goodly deeds 
 
 Florence was by the bullets of bright gold 
 
 O'erflourish'd. Such the sires of those, who now, 110 
 
 As surely as your church is vacant, flock 
 
 Into her consistory, and at leisure 
 
 There stall them and grow fat. The o'erweening brood. 
 
 That plays the dragon after him that flees, 
 
 But unto such, as turn and show the tooth, 115 
 
 Ay or the purse, is gentle as a lamb. 
 
 Was on its rise, but yet so slight esteem'd, 
 
 That Ubertino of Donati cjrud£;'d
 
 PAKADISK- 299 
 
 ITis fntlicr-in-law should yoke him to its tribe. 
 
 Already Caponsaeco had descended 120 
 
 Into the mart from Fesole : and Giuda 
 
 An<l Infangato were good citizens, 
 
 A tiling incredible I tell, tho' true : 
 
 The gateway, named from those of Pera, led 
 
 Into the narrow circuit of your walls. 125 
 
 Each one, who bears the sightly quarterings 
 
 Of the great Uaron (he whose name and worth 
 
 The festival of Thomas still revives) 
 
 His knighthood and his privilege retain'd ; 
 
 Albeit one, who borders them with gold, 130 
 
 This day is mingled with the common herd. 
 
 In Borgo yet the Gualterotti dwelt. 
 
 And Importuni : Avell for its repose 
 
 Plad it still lack'd of newer neighbourhood. 
 
 The house, from whence your tears have had their spring, 
 
 Through the jiist anger that hath murder'd ye 136 
 
 And put a period to your gladsome days, 
 
 Was honour'd, it, and those consorted with it. 
 
 O Buondelmonti ! what ill counseling 
 
 Prevail'd on thee to break the plighted bond ? 140 
 
 Many, who now are weejnng, would rejoice, 
 
 Had God to Ema giv'n thee, the first time 
 
 Thou near our city cam'st. But so was doom'd : 
 
 On that maim'd stone set up to guard the bridge. 
 
 At thy last peace, the victim, Florence ! fell. 145 
 
 With these and others like to them, I saw 
 
 Florence in such assur'd tranquillity. 
 
 She had no cause at which to grieve : with these 
 
 Saw her so glorious and so just, that ne'er 
 
 The lily from the lance had hung reverse, 150 
 
 Or through division been with vermeil dyed." 
 
 CANTO XVII. 
 
 Such as the youth, wlio came to Clymene 
 
 To certify himself of that re])roach. 
 
 Which had been fasten'd on him, (he whose end
 
 300 PARAmSR. 
 
 Still makes the fatliors cliavy to their sons, 
 
 E'cii such was I ; nor luujbserv'd was such 6 
 
 Of l>eatriee, and that saintly lam]), 
 
 Who had erewhile for me his station mov'd ; 
 
 When thus by lady: " Give thy wish free vent, 
 
 That it may issue, bearing true report 
 
 Of the mind's im])i'ess ; not that aught thy words 10 
 
 May to our knowledge add, but to the end, 
 
 That thou mayst use thyself to own thy thirst 
 
 And men may mingle for thee when they hear." 
 
 " O plant ! from whence I spiing! rever'd and lov'd ! 
 Who soar'st so high a pitch, thou seest as clear, 15 
 
 As earthly thought determines two obtuse 
 In one triangle not contain'd, so clear 
 Dost see contingencies, ere in themselves 
 P]xistent, looking at the point whereto 
 All times are ]»resent, I, the whilst I scal'd 20 
 
 With Virgil the soul-purifying mount, 
 And visited the nether world of svoe, 
 Touching my future destiny have heard 
 Words grievous, though I feel me on all sides 
 Well squar'd to fortune's blows. Therefore my will 25 
 Were satisfied to know the lot awaits me, 
 The arrow, seen beforehand, slacks its flight." 
 
 So said I to the brightness, which erewhile 
 To me had spoken, and my Avill declar'd. 
 As Beatrice will'd, exjdicitly. 30 
 
 Nor with oracular res])onse obscure, 
 Such, as or ere the Lamb of God was slain, 
 Beguil'd the credulous nations ; but, in terms 
 Precise and unambiguous lore, replied 
 The spirit of ])aternal love, enshrin'd, 35 
 
 Yet in his smile apparent ; and thus spake : 
 " Contingency, unfolded not to view 
 TJ|>on the tablet of your mortal mold. 
 Is all depictur'd in the' eternal sight; 
 laut hence deriveth not necessity, 40 
 
 More tlien the tall ship, hurried down the flood, 
 Doth from the vision, that reflects the scene. 
 From thence, as to the ear sweet harmony
 
 TAIiADISK. 301 
 
 From organ conies, so comes before mine eye 
 
 The time prepar'd for thee. Such as driv'n out 15 
 
 From Atliens, l)y his cruel stejuhime's wiles, 
 
 Hippolytus de))arted, such must thou 
 
 Depart from Florence. This they wish, and this 
 
 Contrive, and will ere long effectuate, there, 
 
 Where gainful merchandize is made of Christ, 50 
 
 Throughout the livelong day. The common cry, 
 
 Will, as 't is ever wont, affix the blame 
 
 Unto the party injur'd : but the truth 
 
 Shall, in the vengeance it dispenseth, find 
 
 A faithful witness. Thou shall leave eacli thing 55 
 
 Belov'd most dearly : this is the first shaft 
 
 Shot from the bow of exile. Thou shalt prove 
 
 How salt the savour is of other's bread, 
 
 How hard the passage to descend and climb 
 
 By othei-'s staii-s. But that shall gall thee most 60 
 
 Will be the worthless and vile coni])any. 
 
 With whom thou must be thrown into these straits. 
 
 For all ungrateful, impious all and mad. 
 
 Shall turn 'gainst thee: but in a little while 
 
 Theirs and not thine shall be the crimson'd brow. G5 
 
 Their course shall so evince their brutishness 
 
 T' have ta'en thy stand apart shall well become thee. 
 
 " First refuge thou must find, first placie of rest, 
 In the great Lombard's courtesy, who bears 
 Upon the ladder perch'd tlie sacred bird. 70 
 
 He shall behold thee wath such kind regard, 
 That 'twixt ye two, the contrary to that 
 Which falls 'twixt other men, the granting shall 
 Forerun the asking. With him shalt thou see 
 That mortal, who was at his birth impi-est 75 
 
 So strongly from this star, that of his deeds 
 The nations shall take note. His unripe age 
 Yet holds him from observance ; for these wheels 
 Only nine years have compast him about. 
 But, ere the Gascon practice on great Hai-iy, 80 
 
 Si)arkles of virtue shall shoot forth in him, 
 In equal scorn of labours and of gold. 
 His bounty shall be spread abroad so widely, 
 
 I-
 
 il02 PARADISE, 
 
 As not to let the tongues e'en of bis foes 
 
 Be idle in its ])raise. Look tlion to him 86 
 
 And liis benclicence : for he sliall cause 
 
 Reversal of their lot to many peoj^le, 
 
 Rich men and beggars interchanging fortunes. 
 
 And tliou shalt bear this written in thy soul 
 
 Of him, but tell it not ; " and things he told 90 
 
 Incredible to those Avho Avitness them ; 
 
 Tlien added : " So interpret thou, my son, 
 
 What hath been told thee. — Lo ! the ambushment 
 
 Tliat a few circling seasons hide for tliee ! 
 
 Yet envy not thy neighbours : time extends 95 
 
 Thy span beyond their treason's chastisement." 
 
 Soon, as the saintly spirit, by his silence, 
 Had shown the web, which I had stretch'd for him 
 Upon the warp, was woven, I began, 
 As one, who in perplexity desires 100 
 
 Counsel of other, wise, benign and friendly : 
 "My father! well I mark how time spurs on 
 Toward me, ready to inflict the blow. 
 Which falls most heavily on him, who most 
 Abandoneth himself. Therefore 't is good 105 
 
 I should forecast, that dri\en from the place 
 Most dear to me, I may not lose myself 
 All others by my song. Down through the world 
 Of infinite mourning, and along the mount 
 From whose fair height my lady's eyes did lift me, 110 
 And after through this heav'n from light to light, 
 Have I learnt tliat, which if I tell again, 
 It may with many "wofully disrelish ; 
 And, if I am a timid friend to truth, 
 
 I fear my life may pei'ish among those, 115 
 
 To whom these days shall be of ancient date." 
 
 The brightness, whci'e enclos'd the treasure sinil'd, 
 Which I had found there, first shone glisteringly, 
 Like to a golden mirroi- in the sun ; 
 
 Next answer'd : " Conscience, dimm'd or by its own 120 
 Or other's shame, will feel thy saying sharj). 
 Thou, notwithstanding, all deceit remov'd, 
 See the whole vision be made manifest.
 
 PARADISK. 803 
 
 And let tliom Avince who have their withers wrung. 
 
 "What tliough, when tasted first, tliy voice shall prove 1*25 
 
 Unwelcome, on digestion it will turn 
 
 To vital nourishment. Tiie cry tliou raisest, 
 
 Shall, as the wind doth, smite the proudest summits ; 
 
 Which is of honour no light argument. 
 
 For this there only have been shown to thee, 1.30 
 
 Throughout these orbs, the mountain, and the deep, 
 
 Spirits, whom fame hath note of. For the mind 
 
 Of him, who hears, is loth to acquiesce 
 
 And fix its faith, unless the instance brought 
 
 Be palpable, and proof apparent urge." 135 
 
 CANTO XVIII. 
 
 Now in his word, sole, ruminating, joy'd 
 
 That blessed spirit ; and I fed on mine, 
 
 Temp'ring the sweet witli bitter : she meanwhile, 
 
 Who led me unto God, admonish'd : " Muse 
 
 On other thoughts: bethink thee, that near Him 5 
 
 I dwell, who recompenseth every wrong." 
 
 At the sweet sounds of comfort straight I turn'd ; 
 And, in the saintly eyes what love was seen, 
 I leave in silence here : nor through distrust 
 Of ray words only, but that to such bliss 10 
 
 The mind remounts not without aid. Thus much 
 Yet may I speak ; that, as I gaz'd on her, 
 Affection found no room for other wish. 
 While the' everlasting ])leasure, that did full 
 On Beatrice shine, with second view 15 
 
 From her fair countenance my gladden'd soul 
 Contented ; vanquishing me with a beam 
 Of her soft smile, she spake : " Turn thee, and list. 
 These eyes are not thy only Paradise." 
 
 As here we sometimes in the, looks may see 20 
 
 Th' affection mark'd, when that its sway hath ta'en 
 The spirit wholly ; tlius the hallow'd light. 
 To whom I turriM, flashing, bewi-ay'd its will 
 To talk yet further with me, and began :
 
 304 PAKADISE. 
 
 " On this fiftli lodgmenl of the tree, wliose life 25 
 
 Is from its toji, wliose fruit is ever fair 
 
 And leaf unwitli'ring, blessed S])irits abide, 
 
 That were below, ere they arriv'd in heav'n, 
 
 So mighty in renown, as every muse 
 
 Might grace her triumph with them. On the liorns oO 
 
 Look therefore of the cross : he, Avhom I name, 
 
 Shall there enact, as doth in summer cloud 
 
 Its nimble fire." Along the cross I saw, 
 
 At the repeated name of Joshua, 
 
 A s]ilendour gliding ; nor, the word was said, 35 
 
 Ere it was done : then, at the naming saw 
 
 Of the great Maccabee, another move 
 
 With whirling speed ; and gladness w\as the scourge 
 
 Unto that top. The next for Charlemagne 
 
 And for the peer Orlando, two my gaze 40 
 
 Pursued, intently, as the eye pui'sues 
 
 A falcon flying. Last, along the cross, 
 
 William, and Renard, and Duke Godfrey drew 
 
 My ken, and Robert Guiscard. And the soul, 
 
 Who spake with me among the other lights 45 
 
 Did move away, and mix ; and with the choir 
 
 Of heav'niy songsters prov'd his tuneful skill. 
 
 To Beatrice on my right I bent. 
 Looking for intimation or by word 
 
 Or act, what next behov'd ; and did descry 50 
 
 Such mere effulgence in her eyes, such joy, 
 It past all former wont. And, as by sense 
 Of new delight, the man, who pei-severes 
 In good deeds doth perceive from day to day 
 His virtue growing ; I e'en thus perceiv'd 55 
 
 Of my ascent, together with the heav'n 
 The circuit widen'd, noting the increase 
 Of beauty in that wonder. Like the change 
 In a brief moment on some maiden's cheek. 
 Which from its fairness doth discharge the weight 60 
 Of pudency, that stain'd it ; such in her. 
 And to mine eyes so sudden was the change. 
 Through silvery whiteness of that tem])erate star, 
 Whose sixth orb now enfolded us. I saw. 
 
 „L
 
 PAllADISE. 
 
 305 
 
 Witliin tlial Jovial cresset, tlie clear sparks 65 
 
 Of love, that reiii'n'd there, fashion to my view 
 Our language. And as birds, from river bank? 
 -Arisen, now in round, now Icngthen'd troop. 
 Array them in their flight, greeting, as seems. 
 Their new-fonnd pastures ; so, within the lights, 70 
 
 The saintly creatures flying, sang, and made 
 Now D. now I. now L. figur'd i' th' air. 
 First, singing, to their notes they mov'd, then one 
 Becoming of these signs, a little while 
 Did rest them, and were mute. O nymph divine 75 
 
 Of Pegasean race ! whose souls, which thou 
 Tns])ir\st, mak'st glorious and long-liv'd, as they 
 C'ities and realms by thee ! thou with thyself 
 Inform me ; that I may set forth the shapes, 
 As fancy doth present them. Be thy power 80 
 
 I)is]^lay\l in this brief song. The characters, 
 Vocal and consonant, were five-fold seven. 
 In order each, as they ap])ear'd, I mark'd. 
 Diligite Justitiam, the first, 
 
 Both verb and noun all blazon'd ; and the' extreme 85 
 Qui judicatis terram. In the M. 
 Of the fifth word they held their station, 
 ]V[aking the star seem silver streak'd with gold. 
 And on the siimmit of the M. I saw 
 
 Descending other lights, that rested there, 90 
 
 Singing, methinks, their bliss and ])rimal good. 
 Then, as at shaking of a lighted brand, 
 Sparkles innumerable on all sides 
 Rise scattcr'd, source of augury to th' \inwise ; 
 Thus more than thousand twinkling lustres hence 05 
 
 Seem'd reascending, and a higher ])itch 
 Some mounting, and some less; e'en as the sun. 
 Which kindleth them, decreed. And when each oi > 
 Had settled in his i)lace, the head and neck 
 Then saw I of an eagle, livelily ^OO 
 
 Grav'd in that streaky fire. AVho ])ainteth there, 
 Hath none to guide him ; of himself he guides; 
 And every line and texture of the nest 
 Doth own from him the virtue, fashions it. 
 
 20 

 
 306 PARADISE. 
 
 Tlie oilier briGjht beatitude, that seemM 105 
 
 Erewliile, with lilieil crowning, well content 
 To over-canopy the M. mov'd forth. 
 Following gently the impress of the bird. 
 
 Sweet star ! what glorious and thick-studded gems 
 Declar'd to me our justice on the earth 110 
 
 To be the effluence of that heav'n, which thou, 
 Thyself a costly jewel, dost inlay ! 
 Therefore I i>ray the Sovran Mind, from whom 
 Thy motion and thy virtue are begun. 
 That he would look from whence the fog doth rise, 115 
 To vitiate thy beam : so that once more 
 He may ])ut forth his hand 'gainst such, as drive 
 Their traffic in that sanctuary, Avhose walls 
 With miracles and martyrdoms were built. 
 
 Ye host of heaven ! whose glory I survey ! 120 
 
 beg ye grace for those, that are on earth 
 All after ill example gone astray. 
 
 War once had for its instrument the sword : 
 
 But now 't is made, taking the bread away 
 
 Which the good Father locks from none. — And thou, 125 
 
 That writes but to cancel, think, that they, 
 
 Who for the vineyai'd, which thou wastest, died, 
 
 Peter and Paul live yet, and mark thy doings. 
 
 Thou hast good cause to cry, " My heart so cleaves 
 
 To him, that liv'd in solitude remote, 130 
 
 And from the wilds was dragg'd to martyrdom, 
 
 1 wist not of the fisherman nor Paul." 
 
 CANTO XIX. 
 
 Before my sight appear'd, with open wings, 
 The beauteous image, in fruition sweet 
 Gladdening the thronged spirits. Each did seem 
 A little ruby, whereon so intense 
 The sun-beam glow'd that to mine eyes it came 
 In clear refraction. And that, which next 
 Befalls me to portray, voice hath not utter'd, 
 Nor hatli ink written, nor in fantasy
 
 PARADISE. 307 
 
 Was e'er conceiv'd. For I beheld and heard 
 
 The beak discourse ; and, wliat intention forni'd 10 
 
 Of many, singly as of one express, 
 
 Beginning: " For that I was just and piteous, 
 
 I am exalted to this height of glory. 
 
 The which no wish exceeds : and there on earth 
 
 Have I my memory left, e'en by the bad 15 
 
 Commended, while they leave its course untrod." 
 
 Thus is one heat from many embers felt, 
 As in that image many were the loves, 
 And one the voice, that issued from them all. 
 Whence I addrest them : " O perennial flowers 20 
 
 Of gladness everlasting ! that exhale 
 In single breath your odours manifold! 
 Breathe now ; and let the hunger be appeas'd, 
 That with great craving long hath held my soul, 
 Finding no food on earth. This well I know, 25 
 
 That if there be in hcav'n a realm, that shows 
 In faithful mirror the celestial Justice, 
 Yours without veil reflects it. Ye discern 
 The heed, wherewith I do prepare myself 
 To hearken ; ye the doubt, that iirges me 30 
 
 With such inveterate craving." Straight I saw, 
 Like to a falcon issuing from the hood. 
 That rears his head, and claps him with his Avings, 
 His beauty and his eagerness bewraying. 
 So saw I move that stately sign, with praise 85 
 
 Of grace divine inwoven and high song 
 Of inexpressive joy. " He," it began, 
 
 I " Who turn'd his compass on the world's extreme, 
 
 I And in that space so variously hath wrought, 
 
 Both oj»enly' and in secret, in such wise 40 
 
 I Could not through all the universe disjflay 
 
 I Imj^ression of his glory, that the Word 
 
 I Of his omniscience should not still remain 
 
 I In infinite excess. In proof whereof, 
 
 I He first through pride supplanted, who was sum 45 
 
 \ Of each created being, waited not 
 
 I For light celestial, and abortive fell. 
 
 I Whence needs each lesser nature is but scant
 
 4- 
 
 308 PARADISE. 
 
 Roc(>]Uaele unto that Good, whicli knows 
 
 No limit, nieasnr'd by itself .alone. 50 
 
 Therefore your sight, of th' omnipi-esent Mind 
 
 A single beam, its origin must own 
 
 Surj)assing far its utmost potency. 
 
 The ken, your world is gifted with, descends 
 
 In th' everlasting Justice as low down, 55 
 
 As eye doth in the sea ; which though it mark 
 
 The bottom from the shore, in the wide main 
 
 Discerns it not ; and ne'ertheless it is. 
 
 But hidden through its deepness. Light is none, 
 
 Save that which coineth from the pure serene 60 
 
 Of ne'er disturbed ether : for the rest, 
 
 'Tis darkness all, or shadow of the flesh, 
 
 Or else its poison. Here confess reveal'd 
 
 That covert, which hath hidden from thy search 
 
 The living justice, of the Avhich thou mad'st 65 
 
 Such frequent question ; for thou saidst — 'A man 
 
 Is born on Indus' banks, and none is iheri 
 
 Who 8]jeaks of Chi-ist, nor who doth read nor write, 
 
 And all his inclinations and his acts, 
 
 As far as human reason sees, are good, 70 
 
 And he offendeth not in word or deed. 
 
 But unbaptiz'd he dies, and void of faith. 
 
 Where is the justice that condemns him? where 
 
 His blame, if he believeth not?' — What then, 
 
 And wlio art thou, that on the stool wouldst sit 75 
 
 To judge at distance of a thousand miles 
 
 With the short-sighted vision of a span ? 
 
 To him, "who subtilizes thus with me. 
 
 There would assuredly be room for doubt 
 
 Even to wonder, did not the safe word 80 
 
 Of scripture liold supreme authority. 
 
 " O animals of clay ! O sjnrits gross I 
 The prinial will, that in itself is good. 
 Hath from itself, the chief Good, ne'er been mov'd. 
 Justice consists in consonance with it, 85 
 
 Derivable by no created good. 
 Whose very cause depends uj^on its beam." 
 
 As on her uest the stork, that turns about
 
 PARAT)TST5. 309 
 
 tlnto her yonncf, whom lately she hath fed, 
 
 While they with uj)\var(l eyes do look on her; 90 
 
 So lifted I my gaze ; and bending so 
 
 The ever-blessed image wav'd its wings, 
 
 Lab'ring with such deep counsel. Wheeling round 
 
 It warbled, and did say : " As are my notes 
 
 To thee, who understand'st them not, such is 95 
 
 Th' eternal judgment unto mortal ken." 
 
 Then still abiding in that ensign rang'd, 
 Wherewith the Romans over-awed the world, 
 Those burning splendours of the Holy Spirit 
 Took up the strain ; and thus it spake again : 100 
 
 " None ever hath ascended to this realm. 
 Who hath not a believer been in Christ, 
 Either before or after the blest limbs 
 Were nail'd upon the wood. But lo ! of those 
 Who call ' Christ, Christ,' there shall be many found, 105 
 In judgment, further off from him by far. 
 Than such, to whom his name was never known. 
 Christians like these the Ethiop shall condemn : 
 When that the two assemblages shall part ; 
 One rich eternally, the other poor. 110 
 
 " What may the Persians say unto your kings, 
 When they shall see that volume, in the which 
 All their dispraise is written, spread to view? 
 There amidst Albert's works shall that be read, 
 Which will give speedy motion to the pen, 115 
 
 When Prague shall mourn her desolated realm. 
 There shall be read the woe, that he doth work 
 With his adulterate money on the Seine, 
 Who by the tusk Avill perish : there be read 
 The thirsting pride, that maketh fool alike 120 
 
 The' English and Scot, impatient of their bound. 
 There shall be seen the Spaniard's luxury, 
 The delicate living there of the Bohemian, 
 Who still to Avorth has been a willing stranger. 
 The halter of Jerusalem shall see 125 
 
 A unit for his virtue, for his vices 
 No less a mark than million. He, who guards 
 The isle of fire by old Anchises honour'd
 
 310 rARABTSE. 
 
 Bliall finfl his nvarico tliore and cowardice; 
 
 And bettor to denote liis littleness, 130 
 
 The writing must be letters maini'd, that speak 
 
 Much in a narrow space. All thei-e shall know 
 
 Ilis uncle and his brother's filthy doings, 
 
 Who so renown'd a nation and two crowns 
 
 Have bastavdiz'd. And they, of Portugal 135 
 
 And Norway, there shall be expos'd with him 
 
 Of llatza, who hath counterfeited ill 
 
 The coin of Venice. O blest Hungary ! 
 
 If thou no longer patiently abid'st 
 
 Thy ill-entreating ! and, O blest Navarre ! 140 
 
 If with thy mountainous girdle thou wouldst arm thee ' 
 
 In earnest of that day, e'en now are heard 
 
 Wailings and groans in Famagosta's streets 
 
 And Nicosia's, grudging at their beast, 
 
 Who keepeth even footing with the rest." 145 
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 When, disappearing from our hemisphere, 
 
 The world's enlightener vanishes, and day 
 
 On all sides wasteth, suddenly the sky, 
 
 Erewhile irradiate only with his beam. 
 
 Is yet iigain unfolded, putting forth 6 
 
 Innumerable lights wherein one shines. 
 
 Of such vicissitude in heaven I thought, 
 
 As the great sign, that marshaleth the world 
 
 And the world's leaders, in the blessed beak 
 
 Was silent ; for that all those living lights, 10 
 
 Waxing in splendour, burst forth into songs, 
 
 Such as from memory glide and fall away. 
 
 Sweet love ! that dost apparel thee in smiles, 
 How lustrous was thy semblance in those sparkles. 
 Which merely are from holy thouglits inspir'd ! 15 
 
 After the ])recious and bright beaming stones. 
 That did ingem the sixth light, ceas'd the chiming 
 Of their angelic bells ; methought I heard. 
 The murmuring of a river, that doth fall 
 P^rom rock to rock transpicuous, making known 20 
 
 ' 
 
 ^^^"
 
 PAKAPISE. 311 
 
 Tlio riclmoss of his spring-lioad : nnrl as sound 
 
 Of cittern, at tlie fret-board, or of pii)e, 
 
 Is, at the wind-liole, modulate and tun'd ; 
 
 Tims up the neck, as it were hollow, rose 
 
 That murmuring of the eacle, and forth^vith 25 1 
 
 Voice there assum'd, and thence along the beak 
 
 Issued in form of Avords, such as my heart 
 
 Did look for, on whose tables I inscrib'd them. 
 
 " The part in me, that sees, and bears the sun, 
 In mortal eagles," it began, "must now 30 
 
 Be noted steadfastly : for of the fires, 
 That figure me, those, glittering in mine eye, 
 Are chief of all the greatest. This, that shines 
 Midmost for ])upil, was the same, who sang 
 The Holy Spirit's song, and bare about 35 
 
 The ark from town to town ; now doth he kno\r 
 The merit of his soul-impassion'd strains 
 By their well-fitted guerdon. Of the five, 
 That make the circle of the vision, he 
 Who to the beak is nearest, comforted 40 
 
 The widow for her son : now doth he know 
 How dear he costeth not to follow Christ, 
 Both from experience of this pleasant life. 
 And of its opposite. He next, who follows 
 In the circumference, for the over arch, 45 
 
 By true repenting slack'd the pace of death : 
 Now knoweth he, that the decrees of heav'n 
 Alter not, when through pious prayer below 
 To-day's is made to-morroAv's destiny. 
 The other following, with the laws and me, 50 
 
 To yield the shephei'd room, pass'd o'er to Greece, 
 From good intent producing evil fruit : 
 Now knoweth he, how all the ill, deriv'd 
 From his well doing, doth not harm him aught, 
 Though it have brought destruction on the world. 55 
 
 That, M'hich thou seest in the under bow, 
 Was William, whom that land bewails, which weeps 
 For Charles and Frederick living : now he knows 
 How well is lov'd in heav'n the righteous king, 
 Which he betokens by his radiant seeming. 60
 
 ■Jl2 PARADISK. 
 
 Who in (lio orriiiGf world boncttli would dcom, 
 
 That Trojan 1M|)1kmis in this i-oiuid was set 
 
 I'^iflh of tiie saintly splendours V now he knows 
 
 Knoug-h of that, wliich the woi'ld cannot see, 
 
 The grace divine, alljeit e'en his sight 65 
 
 1 leach not its utmost dej)th." Like to the lark, 
 
 That warbling in the air ex])atiates long, 
 
 'I'lien, trilling out his last sweet melody, 
 
 ]J)ro))s satiate with the sweetness ; such appoar'd 
 
 That image stami»t by the' everlasting pleasure, 70 
 
 Which fashions like itself all lovely tilings. 
 
 I, though my doul)ting were as manifest, 
 As is through glass the hue that mantles it, 
 In silence waited not : for to my lips 
 "What things are these?" involuntary rushM, 75 
 
 And forc'd a passage out: whereat I niark'd 
 A sudden lightening and new revelry. 
 The eye was kiudled : and i\\e l)lessed sign 
 No more to keep me wond'ring and suspense, 
 Keplied : " I see that thou believ'st these things, 80 
 
 Because I tell them, but discern'st not how ; 
 So that thy knowledge waits not on thy faith: 
 As one who knows the name of thing by rote. 
 But is a stranger to its properties, 
 
 Till other's tongue reveal them. Fervent love 85 
 
 And lively hope with violence assail 
 The kingdom of the heavens, and overcome 
 The will of the Most High ; not in such sort 
 As man prevails o'er man ; but conquers it, 
 Because 't is willing to be conquer'd, still, 90 
 
 Though conquer'd, by its mercy conquering. 
 
 " Those, in the eye who live the first and fifth, 
 Cause thee to marvel, in that thou behold'st 
 The region of the angels deck'd with them. 
 They quitted not their bodies, as thou deem'st, 95 
 
 Gentiles but Christians, in firm rooted faith, 
 This of the feet in future to be pierc'd. 
 That of feet nail'd already to the cross. 
 One from the barrier of the dark abyss. 
 Where never any with good will returns, 100
 
 PAKAPTSE. 31 B 
 
 Came back unto his bones. Of lively hope 
 
 Such was the meed ; of lively hope, that wing'd 
 
 The prayers sent up to God for his release, 
 
 And ])Ut ])Ower into them to bend his will. 
 
 The i^dorious S])irit, of whom I s]>eak to thee, 105 
 
 A little while returning to the tlesh, 
 
 Believ'd in liim, who had the means to help, 
 
 And, in believing, nourish'd such a flame 
 
 Of holy love, that at the second death 
 
 He was made sharer in our gamesome mirth. 110 
 
 The other, through the riches of that grace, 
 
 VVhicli from so deep a fountain doth distil. 
 
 As never eye created saw its rising, 
 
 Plac'd all his love below on just and right : 
 
 Wherefore of grace God op'd in him the eye 115 
 
 To the redemption of mankind to come ; 
 
 "Wherein believing, he endur'd no more 
 
 The filth of paganism, and for their ways 
 
 Rebuk'd the stubborn nations. The three nymphs, 
 
 Whom at the right wheel thou bcheldst advancing, 120 
 
 Were sponsors for him more than thousand years 
 
 Before baptizing. O hoAv far remov'd, 
 
 P]-edestination ! is thy root from such. 
 
 As see not the First Cause entire : and ye, 
 
 O mortal men ! be wary how ye judge : 125 
 
 For we, who see our Maker, know not yet 
 
 The number of the chosen : and esteem 
 
 Such scantiness of knowledge our delight : 
 
 For all our good is in that primal good 
 
 Concentrate, and God's will and ours are one." 130 
 
 So, by that form divine, was giv'n to me 
 Sweet medicine to clear and strengthen sight, 
 And, as one handling skilfully the harp. 
 Attendant on some skilful songster's voice 
 Bids tlie chords vibrate, and thei'ein the song 135 
 
 Accpiires more pleasure ; so, the Avhilst it spake, 
 It doth remember me, that I beheld 
 Tlie pair of blessed luminaries move. 
 Like the accordant twinkling of two eyes. 
 Their beamy circlets, dancing to the sounds. 140
 
 314 PARAPTRE. 
 
 CANTO XXI. 
 
 Again mine eyes were fix'd on Beatrice, 
 And Avilli mine eyes my soul, that in her looks 
 Found all contentment. Yet no smile she wore : 
 And, "Did I smile," quoth she, "thou wouldst be 
 
 straight 
 Like Semele when into ashes turn'd : 5 
 
 For, mounting these eternal palace-stairs, 
 My beauty, which the loftier it climbs, 
 As thou hast noted, still doth kindle more. 
 So shines, that, were no temp'ring interpos'd, 
 Thy mortal puissance would from its rays 10 
 
 Shrink, as the leaf doth from the thunderbolt. 
 Into the seventh s])lendour are we wafted. 
 That underneath the burning lion's breast 
 Beams, in this hour, commingled with his might, 
 Thy mind be with thine eyes : and in tliem mirror'd 15 
 The shape, which in this mirror shall be shown." 
 Whoso can deem, how fondly I had fed 
 My sight upon her blissful countenance. 
 May know, when to new thoughts I chang'd, what joy 
 To do the bidding of my heav'nly guide: 20 
 
 In equal balance poising either weight. 
 
 Within the crystal, which records the name, 
 (As its remoter circle girds the world) 
 Of that lov'd monarch, in whose happy reign 
 Ko ill had power to harm, I saw rear'd up, 25 
 
 In colour like to sun-illumin'd gold. 
 A ladder, which my ken pursued in vain. 
 So lofty was the summit ; down whose steps 
 I saw the splendours in such multitude 
 Descending, ev'ry light in heav'n, methought, 30 
 
 Was shed thence. As the rooks, at dawn of day. 
 Bestirring them to dry their feathers chill. 
 Some s])eed their way a-field, and homeward some, 
 Keturning, cross their flight, while some abide 
 And wheel around their airy lodge ; so seem'd 35 
 
 That glitterance, wafted on alternate Aving, 
 As upon certain stair it met, and clash'd
 
 PARADISE. 315 
 
 Its shining. And one ling'rin<]f near us, wax'd 
 So brii^ht, that in my tliouii-ht I saitl : "The love, 
 Which this betokens me, admits no doubt." 40 
 
 Unwillingly from question I refrain, 
 To her, by whom my silence and my speech 
 Are oi'der'd, looking for a sign : whence the, 
 Who in the sight of Him, that seeth all, 
 Saw wherefore I was silent, promjited me 45 
 
 T' indulge the fervent wish ; and I began : 
 " I am not worthy, of my own desert, 
 That thou shouldst answer me ; but for her sake, 
 Who hath vouchsaf d my asking, spirit blest ! 
 That in thy joy art shrouded ! say the cause, 50 
 
 Which bringeth thee so near : and wherefore, say, 
 Doth the sweet symphony of Paradise 
 Keep silence here, pervading with such sounds 
 Of rapt devotion ev'ry lower sphere ?" 
 " Mortal art thou in hearing as in sight ; " 55 
 
 Was the re])ly : " and what forbade the smile 
 Of Beatrice interrujits our song. 
 Only to yield thee gladness of my voice, 
 And of the light that vests me, I thus far 
 Descend these hallow'd steps : not that more love 60 
 
 Invites me ; for lo ! there aloft, as much 
 Or more of love is witness'd in those flames: 
 But such my lot by charity assign'd. 
 That makes us ready servants, as thou seest, 
 To execute the counsel of the Highest." 65 
 
 " That in this court," said I, " O sacred lamp ! 
 Love no compulsion needs, but follows free 
 Th' eternal Providence, I well discern : 
 This harder find to deem, why of thy peers 
 Thou only to this office wert foredoom'd." 70 
 
 I had not ended, when, like rapid mill, 
 Upon its centre whirl'd the light ; and then 
 The love, that did inhabit there, replied : 
 " Splendour eternal, piercing through these folds. 
 Its virtue to my vision knits, and thus 7^ 
 
 Supported, lifts me so above myself, 
 That on the sov'ran essence, which it wells from,
 
 .')!() I'AllADISR. 
 
 I have flip power to gaze : and lionce tlie joy, 
 
 Whei-owitli I sparkle, equalling with my blaze 
 
 The keeniiL'bs of my sight. But not the soul, 80 ! 
 
 That is in heav'n most lustrous, nor the seraph j 
 
 That hatli his eyes most fix'd on God, shall solve | 
 
 What thou hast ask'd : for in th' abyss it lies | 
 
 Of th' everlasting statute sunk so low, ( 
 
 That no created ken may fatiiom it. 85 
 
 And, to the mortal world when thou return'st, 
 
 ])e tliis reported ; that none henceforth dare \ 
 
 Direct his footsteps to so dread a bourn. f 
 
 The mind, that here is radiant, on the earth 
 
 Is wrapt in mist. Look then if she may do, 90 
 
 Below, what passeth her ability, i 
 
 When she is ta'en to heav'n." By Avords like these i 
 
 Admonish'd, I the question urg'd no more; * \ 
 
 And of the spirit humbly sued alone | 
 
 T' instruct me of its state. " 'Twixt either shore 95 1 
 
 Of Italy, nor distant from thy land, 
 
 A stony ridge ariseth, in such sort. 
 
 The thunder doth not lift his voice so high, | 
 
 They call it Catria : at whose foot a cell t 
 
 Is sacred to the lonely Eremite, 100 
 
 For worship set apart and holy rites." 
 
 A third time thus it spake ; then added : " There I 
 
 So firmly to God's service I adher'd, | 
 
 That with no costlier viands than the juice 
 
 Of olives, easily I pass'd the heats 105 [ 
 
 Of summer and the Avinter frosts, content \ 
 
 In heav'n-ward musings. Rich were the returns 
 
 And fertile, which that cloister once was us'd 
 
 To render to these heavens : now 't is fall'n 
 
 Into a waste so empty, that ere long llO 
 
 Detection must lay bare its vanity 
 
 Pietro Damiano there was I y-clept : 
 
 Pietro the sinner, Avhen before I dwelt 
 
 Beside the Adriatic, in the house 
 
 Of our blest Lady. Near upon my close 115 
 
 Of mortal life, through mucli im])ortuning 
 
 I was constraiu'd to wear the hat tliat still
 
 PARADISE. 317 
 
 From bad to worse it sliiftcd. — Cej)has came; 
 He came, who was the Holy S]>irit'8 vessel, 
 Bai-efoot and lean, eating their bread, as chanc'd, lliO 
 At the first table. Modern Sheplierd's need 
 Those who on either liand may pro]i and lead them, 
 So biii-ly are they grown : and from behind 
 Others to hoist them. Down tlie ])alfrey's sides 
 Spread their broad mantles, so as both the beasts 125 
 Are cover'd with one skin. patience ! thou 
 That lookst on this and doth endure so long." 
 I at those accents saw the splendours down 
 P^'rom step to step alight, and ^^■heel, and wax. 
 Each circuiting, more beautiful. Round tliis loO 
 
 They came, and stay'd them ; uttered them a shout 
 So loud, it hath no likeness here : nor I 
 Wist what it spake, so deaf'ning was the thunder. 
 
 CANTO XXII. 
 
 Astounded, to the guardian of my steps 
 
 I turn'd me, like tlie child, who alway runs 
 
 Thither for succour, where he trusteth most, 
 
 And she was like the mother, who lier son 
 
 Beholding pale and breathless, with lier voice 5 
 
 Soothes him, and he is cheer'd ; for thus she spake. 
 
 Soothing me : Know'st not thou, thou art in heav'n? 
 
 And know'st not thou, whatever is in heav'n, 
 
 Is holy, and that nothing tliere is done 
 
 But is done zealoiisly and well ? Deem now, 10 
 
 What change in thee the song, and what my smile 
 
 Had wrought, since thus the shout had i)Ow'r to move 
 
 thee. 
 In which couldst thou have understood their prayers, 
 The vengeance were already known to thee. 
 Which thou must witness ere tliy mortal hour, 15 
 
 The sw^rd of heav'n is not in haste to smite, 
 Nor yet doth linger, save unto his seeming. 
 Who in desire or fear doth look for it. 
 But elsewhere now I bid thee turn thy view ;
 
 318 PAKADISE, 
 
 So shalt thou many a famous spirit l)e]iokl." 20 
 
 Mine eyes directinu^, as she will'd, I saw 
 
 A liundred little spheres, that fairer grew 
 
 IJy interchange of splendour. I remain'd, 
 
 As one, who fearful of o'er-much presuming, 
 
 Abates in him the keenness of desire, 25 
 
 Nor dares to question, when amid those pearls, 
 
 One largest and niost lustrous onward drew. 
 
 That it might yielo contentment to my wish ; 
 
 And from within it these the sounds I heard. 
 
 " If thou, like me, beheldst the charity 30 
 
 That burns amongst us, what thy mind conceives, 
 Were utter'd. But that, ere the lofty bound 
 Thou reach, expectance may not weary thee, 
 I will make answer even to the thought, 
 "Which thou hast such respect of. In old days, 35 
 
 That mountain, at whose side Cassino rests, 
 Was on its height frequented by a race 
 Deceived and ill dispos'd : and I it was, 
 Who thither carried first the name of Him, 
 Who brought the soul-subliming truth to man. 40 
 
 And such a speeding grace shone over me. 
 That from their impious worship I reclaim'd 
 The dwellers round about, who with the world 
 Were in delusion lost. These other flames, 
 The spirits of men contemplative, were all 45 
 
 Enliven'd by that warmth, whose kindly force 
 Gives birth to flowers and fruits of holiness. 
 Here is Macarius ; Romoaldo here : 
 And here my brethren, who their steps refrain'd 
 Within the cloisters, and held firm their heart." 50 
 
 I answ'ring thus ; " Thy gentle words and kind, 
 And this the cheerful semblance, I behold 
 Not unobservant, beaming in ye all. 
 Have rais'd assurance in me, wakening it 
 Full-blossom'd in my bosom, as a rose 55 
 
 Before the sun, when the consummate flower 
 Has spread to utmost amplitude. Of thee 
 Therefore intreat I, father ! to declare 
 If I may gain such favour, as to gaze
 
 PARADISE. 319 
 
 Upon tliine image, by no covering veil'd." GO 
 
 " Brother! " he thus rejoinVl, " in tlie last spliere 
 Expect completion of tliy lofty aim, 
 For there on each desire comj^letion waits, 
 And there on mine : where every aim is found 
 Perfect, entire, and for fulfilment ripe. 65 
 
 There all things are as they liave ever been : 
 For s})ace is none to bound, nor pole divides, 
 Our ladder reaches even to that clime, 
 And so at giddy distance mocks thy view. 
 Thither the Patriarch Jacob saw it stretch 70 
 
 Its topmost round, when it appeared to him 
 With angels laden. But to mount it now 
 None lifts his foot from earth : and hence my rule 
 Is left a profitless stain upon the leaves ; 
 The walls, for abbey rear'd, turned into dens, 75 
 
 The cowls to sacks choak'd up with musty meal. 
 Foul usury doth not more lift itself 
 Against God's pleasure, than that fruit which makes 
 The hearts of monks so Avanton : for whate'er 
 Is in the church's keeping, all pertains. 80 
 
 To such, as sue for heav'n's sweet sake, and not 
 To those who in respect of kindred claim, 
 Or on more vile allowance. Mortal flesh 
 Is grown so dainty, good beginnings last not 
 From the oak's birth, unto the acorn's setting. 85 
 
 His convent Peter founded without gold 
 Or silver ; I with pray'rs and fasting mine ; 
 And Francis his in meek humility. 
 And if thou note the point, whence each proceeds, 
 Then look what it hath err'd to, thou shalt find 90 
 
 The white grown murky. Jordan was turn'd back ; 
 And a less wonder, then the refluent sea. 
 May at God's pleasure work amendment here." 
 
 So saying, to his assembly back he drew : 
 And they together cluster'd into one, 95 
 
 Then all roll'd i;pward like an eddying wind. 
 
 The sweet dame beckon'd me to follow them : 
 And, by that influence only, so ])revail'd 
 Over niv nature, that no natural motion,
 
 320 PARADISE. 
 
 Ascondincj or (Icscoudiiii; liorc below, 100 
 
 II:i(l, !is I inoiiiited, with my jjcnnon vied. 
 
 So, re.adcf, as my liope is to return 
 Unto the lioly triuin])h, for the whieh 
 I ol'ttimes wail my sins, and smite my breast. 
 Thou hadst been longer drawing out and thrusting 1U£ 
 Thy finger in the fire, than I was, ere 
 The sign, that followeth Taurus, I beheld, 
 And cntcr'd its precinet. O glorious stars ! 
 
 light impregnate Avith exceeding virtue ! 
 
 "j^o whom whate'er of genius lifteth me 110 
 
 Above the vulgar, grateful I refer; 
 
 With ye the parent of all mortal life 
 
 Arose and set, when I did first inhale 
 
 The Tuscan air ; and afterward, when grace 
 
 Vouchsaf'd me entrance to the lofty wheel 115 
 
 That in its orb impels ye, fate decreed 
 
 My passage at your clime. To you my soul 
 
 Devoutly sighs, for virtue even now 
 
 To meet the hard emprize that draws me on. 
 
 " Thou art so near the sum of blessedness," 120 
 
 Said Beatrice, " that behoves thy ken 
 Be vigilant and clear. And, to this end, 
 Or even thou advance thee further, hence 
 Look doAvnward, and contemj)late, what a world 
 Already stretched under our feet there lies : 125 
 
 So as thy heart may, in its blithest mood. 
 Present itself to the triumphal throng. 
 Which through the' etherial concave comes rejoicing." 
 
 I straight obey'd ; and with mine eye return'd 
 Through all the seven spheres, and saw this globe 130 
 So })itiful of semblance, that j^erforce 
 It moved my smiles : and him in truth I liold 
 For wisest, who esteems it least : whose thoughts 
 Elsewhere are fix'd, him worthiest call and best. 
 
 1 saw the daughter of Latona shine 185 
 Without the shadow, whereof late I deem'd 
 
 'J'hat dense and rare Avere cause. Here I sustain'd 
 
 The visage, ITyjie-rion ! of thy sun ; 
 
 And mark'd, how near him with their circle, round
 
 
 PAllADISE 3'n 
 
 Move M:ua and Dione; here disccrn'd 1-10 
 
 Jove's tempering 'twixt his sire and son ; and hence 
 
 Their clianges and their various aspects 
 
 Distinctly scann'd. Nor might I not descry 
 
 Of all the seven, how bulky each, how swift ; 
 
 Nor of their several distances not learn, 145 
 
 Til is ]»ctty area (o'er the which we stride 
 
 So fiercely), as along the eternal twins 
 
 I wound my way, appear'd before me all, 
 
 Forth from the havens stretch'd unto the hills. 
 
 Then to the beauteous eyes mine eyes retura'd. 150 
 
 CANTO XXIII. 
 
 E'en as the bird, who midst the leafy bower 
 
 Has, in her nest, sat darkling through the night, 
 
 "With her sweet brood, impatient to descry 
 
 Their wished looks, and to bring home their food, 
 
 In the fond quest unconscious of her toil : 5 
 
 She, of the time prevenient, on the spray, 
 
 That overhangs their couch, with wakeful gaze 
 
 Expects the sun ; nor ever, till the dawn, 
 
 Removeth from the east her eager ken ; 
 
 So stood the dame erect, and bent her glance 10 
 
 Wistfully on that region, where the sun 
 
 Abateth most his speed ; that, seeing her 
 
 Suspense and Avand'ring, I became as one, 
 
 In whom desire is waken'd, and the hope 
 
 Of somewhat new to come fills Avith delight. 15 
 
 Short space ensued ; I was not held, I say, 
 Long in expectance, when I saw the heav'n 
 Wax more and more rcs;)lendent ; and, " Behold," 
 Cried Beatrice, " the triumphal hosts 
 
 Of Christ, and all the harvest reap'd at length 20 
 
 Of thy ascending up these spheres." Meseem'd, 
 That, while she spake her image alLdid burn, 
 And in her eyes such fulness was of joy, 
 And I am fain to pass unconstrued by. 
 
 As in the calm full moon, when Tiivia smiles, 25 
 
 f
 
 322 PARADISE. 
 
 in peerless beauty, 'mid Ih' eternal nyniplis, 
 
 That paint througli all its grilj)lis the blue jn-ufound; 
 
 In bright pre-eminence so saw I there, 
 
 O'er million lam]is a sun, from whom all drew 
 
 Tiieir radiance, as from ours the starry train : 30 
 
 And through the li\ing light so lustrous glow'd 
 
 The substance, that my ken endur'd it not. 
 
 ]ieatrice ! sweet and precious guide ! 
 Who cheer'd me with her comfoitable words! 
 " Against the virtue, that o'erpow'reth thee, 35 
 
 I Avails not to resist. Here is the might, [ 
 
 And here the wisdom, which did o])en lay i 
 
 The path, that had been yearned for so long, I 
 
 Betwixt the heav'n and earth." Like to the fire, \ 
 
 \ That, in a cloud imprison'd doth break out 40 
 
 I Expansive, so that from its womb enlarg'd, 
 \ Itfalleth against nature to the ground; 
 j Thus in that heav'nly banqueting my soul 
 I Outgrew herself ; and, in the transport lost. 
 ; Holds now remembrance none of what she was. 45 
 
 " Ope thou thine eyes, and mark me : thou hast seen 
 Things, that empower thee to sustain my smile." 
 
 1 was as one, when a forgotten dream 
 Doth come across him, and he strives in vain 
 To shape it in his fantasy again, 50 
 
 ' Whenas that gracious boon was i)roffer'd me, 
 Which never may be cancel'd from the book. 
 Wherein the past is written. Now Avere all ^ 
 
 Those tongues to sound, that have on sweetest milk i 
 
 Of Polyliymnia and her sisters fed 55 
 
 ' And fatten'd, not with all their help to boot. 
 Unto the thousandth parcel of the truth, 
 
 I My song might shadow forth that saintly smile, 
 
 j How merely in her saintly looks it wrought. 
 
 ' And with such figuring of Paradise 60 
 
 i; The sacred strain must leap, like one, that meets 
 
 |; A sudden interruption to his road. 
 
 i But he, who thinks how ponderous the theme, 
 
 j And that 't is lain upon a mortal shoulder, 
 
 • May pardon, if it tremble with the burden. 65
 
 TAliADISK. 82S 
 
 The track, our veiitrous keel imisl furrow, brooks 
 No unribbVi pinnace, no self-s])ariii;j^ pilot. 
 
 " Why doth my face," said l^eatrice, " thus 
 Enamour thee, as that tliou dost not turn 
 Unto the beautiful garden, blossoming 70 
 
 Beneath the rays of Christ? Here is the rose. 
 Wherein the word divine Avas made incarnate ; 
 And here the lilies, by whose odour known 
 The way of life was follow'd." Prompt I heard 
 Her bidding, and encounter once again 75 
 
 The strife of aching vision. As erewhile, 
 Through glance of sunlight, stream'd through broken 
 
 cloud. 
 Mine ejes a flower-besprinkled mead have seen, 
 Though veil'd themselves in shade ; so saw I there 
 Legions of splendours, on whom burning rays 80 
 
 Shed lightnings from above, yet saw I not 
 The fountain whence they HoAv'd. O gracious virtue ! 
 Thou, whose broad statnp is on them, higher up 
 Thou didst exalt thy glory to give room 
 To my o'erlabour'd sight : when at the name 85 
 
 Of that fair flower, whom duly I invoke 
 Both morn and eve, my soul, with all her might 
 Collected, on the goodliest ardour lix'd. 
 And, as the bright dimensions of the star 
 In heav'n excelling, as once here on earth 90 
 
 Were, in my eyeballs livelily portray'd, 
 Lo ! from within the sky a cresset fell, 
 Circling in fashion of a diadem. 
 And girt the star, and hov'ring round it Avheel'd. 
 
 Whatever melody sounds sweetest here, 95 
 
 And draws the spirit most unto itself, 
 Might seem a rent cloud when it grates the thunder, 
 Compar'd unto the sonnding of that lyre. 
 Wherewith the goodliest sa])pliire, that inlays 
 The floor of heav'n, Avas croAvn'd. "Angelic Love 100 
 I am, who tlius with hov'ring flight enwheel 
 The lofty rapture from that womb inspir'd, 
 Where. our desire did dwell : and I'ound thee so, 
 Lady of Heav'n! will hover; long as thou
 
 8*24 PAUADISE. 
 
 Thy Son shalt folloAv, and diviner joy 105 
 
 Shall from thy ])resence gild the highest sphere." 
 
 Such close was to the circling melody : 
 And, as it ended, all the other lights 
 Took up the strain, and echoed Mary's name. 
 
 The robe, that with its regal folds enwraps 110 
 
 The world, and with the nearer breath of God 
 Doth burn and quiver, held so far retir'd 
 Its inner hem and skirting over us, 
 That yet no glimmer of its majesty 
 
 Had stream'd unto me : therefore were mine eyes 115 
 Unequal to pursue the crowned flame. 
 That rose and sought its natal seed of fire ; 
 And like to babe, that stretches foi'th its arras 
 For very eagerness towards the breast, 
 After the milk is taken ; so outstretch'd 120 
 
 Their wavy summits all the ferA^ent band. 
 Through zealous love to Mary : then in view 
 There halted, and " Regina Coeli " sang 
 So sweetly, the delight hath left me never. 
 
 O what o'erflowing plenty is up-pil'd 125 
 
 In those rich-laden coffers, which below 
 Sow'd the good seed, whose harvest now they keep. 
 
 Here are the treasures tasted, that with tears 
 Were in the Babylonian exile won, 
 
 When gold had fail'd them. Here in synod high 130 
 Of ancient council with the new conven'd, 
 Under the Son of Mary and of God, 
 Victorious he his mighty triumph holds, 
 To whom the keys of glory were assign'd. 
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 " O YE ! in chosen fellowship advanc'd 
 To the great supper of the blessed Lamb, 
 Whereon who feeds hath every wish fulfill'd ! 
 If to this man through God's grace be vouchsaf d 
 Foretaste of that, which from your table falls, 
 Or ever death his fated term prescribe ;
 
 PARADISE. 325 
 
 t 
 
 I Be ye not heedless of liis urgent Avill ; 
 
 But may some influence of yom* sacred dews 
 Sprinkle him. Of the fount ye alway di-ink, 
 Whence flows what most he craves." Beatrice spake, 10 
 And the rejoicing spirits, like to spheres 
 i On firm-set )>oles revolving, trail'd a blaze 
 I Of comet splendour ; and as wheels, that wind 
 5 Their circles in the horologe, so work 
 ! The stated rounds, that to th' observant eye 15 
 
 I The first seems still, and, as it flew, the last ; 
 \ E'en thus their carols weaving variously, 
 I They by the measure pac'd, or swift, or slow, 
 I Made me to rate the riches of their joy. 
 i From that, which I did note in beauty most 20 
 
 [ Excelling, saw I issue forth a flame 
 ■ So bright, as none was left more goodly there. 
 Round Beatrice thrice it wheel'd about, 
 With so divine a song, that fancy's ear 
 Records it not ; and the pen passeth on 25 
 
 And leaves a blank : for that our mortal sjieech, 
 Nor e'en the inward shaping of the brain. 
 Hath colours fine enough to trace such folds. 
 " O saintly sister mine ! thy prayer devout 
 Is with so vehement affectinn urg'd, 30 
 
 Thou dost unbind me from tliat beauteous sphere." 
 Such were the accents towards my lady breath'd 
 From that blest ardour, soon as it was stay'd : 
 To whom she thus : " O everlasting light 
 Of him, within Avhose mighty gi'asp our Lord 35 
 
 Did leave the keys, which of this wondrous bliss 
 lie bare below ! tent this man, as thou wilt. 
 With lighter probe or deep, touching the faith, 
 By the which thou didst on the billows Avalk. 
 If he in love, in hope, and in belief, 40 
 
 Be steadfast, is not hid from thee : for thou 
 Hast there thy ken, where all things are beheld 
 In liveliest portraiture. But since true faith 
 Has peopled this fair realm with citizens. 
 Meet is, that to exalt its glory more, 45 
 
 Thou in his audience shouldst thereof discourse."
 
 320 PA UA DISK. 
 
 Ijike to tl>e hacliclor, \\^\o arms himself, 
 And speaks not, till the master have pro|)os'd 
 The question, to a[)])rove, and not to end it ; 
 So I, in silence, arm'd me, M'hile she spake, 60 
 
 Summoning u]) each argument to aid ; 
 As was belioveful for such questioner, 
 And such profession : " As good Chistian onglit. 
 Declare tlice. What is faith ? " Whereat I rais'd 
 My forehead to the light, -wlience this had breath'd, 55 
 Tlien turn'd to Beatrice, and in her looks 
 A]>proval met, that from their inmost fount 
 I should unlock the waters. " May the grace, 
 That giveth me the captain of the church 
 For confessor," said I, " vouclisafe to me 60 
 
 A]>t utterance for my thouglits ! " then added : " Sire ! 
 E'en as set down by the unerring style 
 Of thy dear brother, who with thee conspir'd 
 To bring Rome in unto the way of life. 
 Faith of things hop'd is substance, and the proof 65 
 
 Of things not seen'; and hei-ein doth consist 
 Methinks its essence," — " Rightly hast thou deem'd," 
 Was answer'd : " if thou well discern, why first 
 He hath defin'd it, substance, and then ])roof." 
 
 " The deep things," I replied, " which here I scan 70 
 Distinctly, are below from mortal eye 
 So hidden, they liave in belief alone 
 Their being, on which credence hope sublime 
 Is built ; and therefore substance it intends. 
 And inasmuch as we must needs infer 75 
 
 From such belief our reasoning, all respect 
 To otlier view excluded, hence of j^roof 
 Th' intention is deriv'd." Forthwith I heard : 
 " If thus, whate'er by learning men attain. 
 Were understood, the sophist would want room 80 
 
 To exercise his Avit." So breath'd the flame 
 Of love : then added : " Current is the coin 
 Thou ntter'st, botli in weight and in alloy. 
 But tell me, if thou hast it in thy purse." 
 
 " Even so glittering and so round," said I, 85 
 
 " T not a whit misdoubt of its assay."
 
 PARADISE. 327 
 
 Next issued from the deep imbosom'd splendour: 
 " Say, whence the costly jewel, on the which 
 Is founded every virtue, came to thee." 
 "The Hood," I answer'd, "from the Spirit of God 90 
 
 Rain'd down upon the ancient bond and new, — 
 Here is the reas'ning, that convinceth me 
 So feelingly, each argument beside 
 Seems blunt and forceless in comparison." 
 Then heard I : " Wherefore boldest thou that each, 95 
 The elder proposition and the new, 
 Which so persuade thee, are the voice of heav'n ? " 
 
 " The works, that follow'd, evidence their truth ; " 
 I answer'd : "Nature did not make for these 
 The iron hot, or on her anvil mould them." 100 
 
 " Who voucheth to thee of the works themselves, 
 Was the reply, " that they in very deed 
 Are that they purport ? None hath sworn so to thee." 
 " That all the world," said I, " should have been 
 turn'd 
 To Christian, and no miracle been Avrought, 105 
 
 AYould in itself be such a miracle. 
 The rest were not an hundredth part so great. 
 E'en thou wentst forth in poverty and hunger 
 To set the goodly plant, that from the vine, 
 It once was, now is grown unsightly bramble." 110 
 
 That ended, through the higli celestial court 
 Resounded all the spheres. "Praise we one God ! " 
 In song of most unearthly melody. 
 And wlien that Worthy thus, from branch to branch, 
 Examining, had led me, that we now 115 
 
 Ap])roach'd the topmost bough, he straight resum'd ; 
 " Tlie grace, that holds sweet dalliance with thy soul, 
 So far discreetly hath tliy lips unclos'd 
 That, whatsoe'er has past them, I commend. 
 Behoves thee to express, what thou believ'st, 120 
 
 The next, and whereon thy belief hath grown." 
 
 " O saintly sire and spirit ! " I began, 
 "Who seest that, which thou didst so believe, 
 As to outstrip feet younger than thine own, 
 Toward the sepulchre ? thy will is here, 125
 
 i 328 I'AKADISE. 
 
 Tliat I tliG tcnour of my creed unfold ; 
 And thou tlie cause of it hast likewise ask'd. 
 And I reply : I in one God believe, 
 One sole eternal Godhead, of Avhose love 
 
 i All heav'n is niov'd, himself unmov'd the while. 130 
 
 I Nor demonstration ])hysical alone, 
 
 I Or more intelligential and a))struse, 
 
 f Persuades me to this faith ; but from that truth 
 It Cometh to me rather, which is shed 
 Through Moses, the rapt Prophets, and the Psalms. 135 
 The Gospel, and that ye yourselves did write. 
 When ye were gifted of the Holy Ghost. 
 In three eternal Persons I believe. 
 Essence threefold and one, mysterious league 
 Of union absolute, which, many a time, 140 
 
 The word of gospel lore upon my mind 
 Imprints : and from this germ, this firstling spark, 
 The lively flame dilates, and like heav'n's star 
 Doth glitter in me." As the master hears, 
 Well pleas'd, and then enfoldeth in his arms 145 
 
 The servant, who hath joyful tidings brought, 
 And having told the errand keeps his peace ; 
 Thus benediction uttering with song 
 Soon as my peace I held, compass'd me thrice 
 The apostolic radiance, whose behest 150 
 
 I Had op'd lips ; so well their answer pleas'd. 
 
 CANTO XXV. 
 
 If e'er the sacred poem that hath made 
 
 Both heav'n and earth copartners in its toil. 
 
 And with lean abstinence, through many a year, 
 
 Faded my brow, be destin'd to prevail 
 
 Over the cruelty, which bai's me forth 5 
 
 Of the fair sheep-fold, where a sleeping lamb 
 
 The wolves set on and fain had worried me, 
 
 With other voice and fleece of other grain 
 
 I shall forthwith return, and, standing up 
 
 At my baptismal font, shall claim the wreath 10
 
 4- 
 
 PARADISE. 329 
 
 Due to the poet's temj^les : for I there 
 First enter'd on the faith which niaketh souls 
 Acceptable to God : and, for its sake, 
 Peter had then circled my forehead thus. 
 
 Next from the squadron, whence had issued forth 15 
 Tlie first fruit of Christ's vicars on the earth, 
 Toward us mov'd a light, at view whereof 
 My Lady, full of gladness, spake to me : 
 " Lo ! lo ! behold the peer of mickle might, 
 That makes Falicia throng'd with visitants ! " 20 
 
 As when the ring-dove by his mate alights, 
 In circles each about the other wheels. 
 And murmuring cooes his fondness ; thus saw I 
 One, of the other great and glorious prince, 
 With kindly greeting hail'd ; extolling both 25 
 
 Their heavenly banqueting; but Avhen an end 
 Was to their gratulation, silent, each, 
 Before me sat they down, so burning bright, 
 I could not look upon them. Smiling then, 
 Beatrice spake : " O life in glory shrin'd ! 30 
 
 Who didst the largess of our kingly court 
 Set down with faithful pen ! let now thy voice 
 Of hope the praises in this height resound. 
 For thou, who figur'st them in shapes, as clear. 
 As Jesus stood before thee, well can'st speak them." 35 
 
 " Lift up thy head : and be thou strong in trust: 
 For that, which hither from the mortal Avorld 
 Arriveth, must be ripen'd in our beam." 
 
 Such cheering accents from the second flame 
 Assur'd me ; and mine eyes I lifted up 40 
 
 Unto the mountains that had bow'd them late 
 With over-heavy burden. " Sith our Liege 
 Wills of his grace, that thou, or ere tliy death, 
 In the most secret council, with his lords 
 Shouldst be confronted, so that having view'd 45 
 
 The glories of our court, thou mayst therewith i 
 
 Thyself, and all who hear, invigorate 1 
 
 With liope, that leads to blissful end ; declare, I 
 
 What is that hope, how it doth flourish in thee, \ 
 
 And whence thou hadst it?" Thus proceeding still, 50
 
 330 PARADISE. I 
 
 The second lit:^1it : and she, whose gentle love j 
 
 My sonring pennons in that lofty fliy'lit 
 
 Escorted, tlius jn-eventing me, rejoin'd : 
 
 " Among her sons, not one more fnll of liope, 
 
 Hath the churcli militant : so 't is of him 55 
 
 Recorded in the sun, whose liberal orb 
 
 Enlighteneth all onr tribe : and ere his terra 
 
 Of warfare, hence permitted he is come, 
 
 From Egypt to Jerusalem, to see. 
 
 The other points, both which thou hast inquir'd, 60 
 
 Not for more knowledge, but that he may tell 
 
 How dear thou holdst the virtue, these to him 
 
 Leave I ; for he may answer thee with ease, 
 
 And without boasting, so God give him grace." 
 
 Like to the scholar, practis'd in his task, 65 
 
 Who, willing to give proof of diligence, 
 
 Seconds his teacher gladly, " Hope," said I, 
 
 " Is of the joy to come a sure expectance. 
 
 Th' effect of grace divine and merit preceding. 
 
 This light from many a star visits my heart, 70 
 
 But How'd to me the first from him, who sang 
 
 The songs of the Supreme, himself suj)reme 
 
 Among his tuneful brethren. ' Let all hope 
 
 In thee,' so speak his anthem, ' who have known 
 
 Thy name ;' and with my faith who know not that ? 75 
 
 From thee, the next, distilling from his spring, ; 
 
 In thine epistle, fell on me the drops i 
 
 So plenteously, that I on others shower 
 
 The influence of their dew." Whileas I spake, i 
 
 A lamping, as of quick and vollied lightning, 80 | 
 
 Within the bosom of that mighty sheen, I 
 
 Play'd tremulous ; then forth these accents breath'd : | 
 
 " Love for the virtue which attended me j 
 
 E'en to the palm, and issuing from the field, | 
 
 Glows vigorous yet within me, and inspires 85 « 
 
 To ask of thee, whom also it delights ; \ 
 
 What promise thou from hojie in chief dost win." 
 
 "Both scriptures, new and ancient," I re])ly'd, 
 " Propose the mark (which even now I view) 
 For souls belov'd of God. Isaias saith, 90 ', 
 
 S
 
 PAKADTRK. 
 
 331 
 
 'Tlint, in their own land, each one must l)e clad 
 
 In twofold vesture;' and tlicir jM-ojjer land 
 
 Is this delicious life. In terms more full, 
 
 And clearer far, thy brother hath set forth 
 
 This revelation to us, where ho tells 95 
 
 Of the Avhite raiment destin'd to the saints." 
 
 And, as the words were ending, from ahove, 
 
 " They hope in thee," first heard we cried : whereto 
 
 Answer'd the carols all. Amidst them next, 
 
 A light of so clear am])litude cmerg'd, 100 
 
 That M-inter's month were but a single day, 
 
 Were such a crystal in the Cancer's sign. 
 
 Like as a virgin riseth uj), and goes. 
 And enters on the mazes of the dance, 
 Though gay, yet innocent of worse intent, 105 
 
 Than to do fitting honour to the bride ; 
 So I beheld the new effulgence come 
 Unto the other two, who in a ring 
 "VVheel'd, as became their rapture. In the dance 
 And in the song it mingled. And the dame 110 
 
 Held on them fix'd her looks : e'en as the spouse 
 Silent and moveless. "This is he, who lay 
 Upon the bosom of our pelican : 
 This he, into whose keeping from the cross 
 The mighty charge was given." Thus she spake, 115 
 Yet therefore naught the more remov'd her sight 
 From marking them, or ere her words began. 
 Or when they clos'd. As he, who looks intent. 
 And strives with searching ken, how he may see 
 The sun in his eclipse, and, through desire liiO 
 
 Of seeing, loseth power of sight : so I 
 Peer'd on that last resplendence, while I heard : 
 " Why dazzlest thou thine ej-es in seeking that, 
 Whicii here abides not ? Earth my body is. 
 In earth: and shall be, with the rest, so long, 125 
 
 As till our number equal the decree 
 Of the Most High. The two that have ascended, 
 In this our blessed cloister, shine alone 
 With the two garments. So report below." 
 
 As when, for ease of labour, or to shun 130
 
 332 PAUADISE. 
 
 Suspected peril at a wliistlo's l)i-eatli, 
 
 The oars, erewliile dasliM fre(|ueut in the wave, 
 
 All rest ; the ilamy ciicle at tliat voice 
 
 So rested, and the minnlini^ sound was still, 
 
 Which from the triual hand soft-breathini;- i-ose. 135 
 
 I turn'd, but ah ! how trembled in my thouy;ht, 
 
 When, looking at my side again to see 
 
 Beatrice, I descried her not, although 
 
 Not distant, on the happy coast she stood. 
 
 CANTO XXVI. 
 
 With dazzled eyes, Avhilst wond'ring I remain'd, 
 
 Forth of the beamy flame which dazzled me, 
 
 Issued a breath, that in attention mute 
 
 Detain'd me; and these words it sjxake : " 'Twere well, 
 
 That, long as till thy vision, on my form 5 
 
 O'erspent, regain its virtue, Avith discourse 
 
 Thou comi)ensate the brief delay.' Say then, 
 
 Beginning, to what point thy soul ns])ires : 
 
 And meanwhile rest assur'd, that sight in thee 
 
 Is but o'erpowcred a space, not wholly quench'd : 10 
 
 Since thy fair guide and lovely, in her look 
 
 Hath potency, the like to that which dwelt 
 
 In Ananias' hand." I answering thus : 
 
 " Be to mine eyes the remedy or late 
 
 Or early, at her pleasure ; for they were 15 
 
 The gates, at which she enter'd, and did light 
 
 Her never-dying fire. My wishes hei-e 
 
 Are centred ; in this palace is the weal, 
 
 That Alpha and Omega, is to all 
 
 The lessons love can read me." Yet again 20 
 
 The voice which had dispers'd my fear, when daz'd 
 
 With that excess, to converse urg'd, and spake : 
 
 "Behoves thee sift more narrowly thy terms, 
 
 And say, who level'd at this scope thy bow." 
 
 "Philosophy," said I, " hath arguments, 25 
 
 And this place hath authority enough 
 'T' imprint in ]iic such love : for, of constraint,
 
 PARADISE. 338 
 
 Good, inasmuch as we perceive the goorl, 
 
 Kindles our love, and in degree the more, 
 
 As it comprises more of goodness in 't. 30 
 
 The essence then, where such advantage is. 
 
 That each good, found without it, is naught else 
 
 But of his light the beam, must needs attract 
 
 The soul of each one, loving, who tlie truth 
 
 Discerns, on which this ])roof is built. Such truth 35 
 
 Learn I from him, who shows me the first love 
 
 Of all intelligential substances 
 
 Eternal : from his voice I learn, whose word 
 
 Is truth, that of himself to Moses saith, 
 
 ' I will make all my good before thee pass.' 40 
 
 Lastly from thee I learn, who chief proclaim'st, ; 
 
 E'en at the outset of thy heralding, ( 
 
 In mortal ears the mystery of heav'n." i| 
 
 " Through human wisdom, and tli' authority | 
 
 Therewith agreeing," heard I answer'd, " keep 45 I 
 
 The choicest of thy love for God. But say, | 
 
 If thou yet other cords within thee feel'st | 
 
 That draw tliee towards him ; so that thou report i 
 
 How many are the fangs, w5t,]i which this love | 
 
 Is grappled to thy soul." 1 iid not miss, 50 ' 
 
 To what intent the eagle of our Lord | 
 
 Had pointed his demand ; yea noted well c 
 
 Th' avowal, which he led to ; and resum'd : - 
 
 " All grappling bonds, that knit the heart to God, 
 Confederate to make fast our charity. 55 
 
 The being of the world, and mine own being, \ 
 
 The death which He endur'd that I sliould live, \ 
 
 And that, which all the faithful hope, as I do, ! 
 
 To the foremcntiou'd lively knowledge join'd, 1 
 
 Have from the sea of ill love sav'd my bark, 60 I 
 
 And on the coast secur'd it of the right. I 
 
 As for the leaves, that in the garden bloom, 
 My love for them is great, as is the good | 
 
 Dealt by th' eternal hand, that tends them all." I 
 
 I ended, and therewith a song most sweet 65 j 
 
 Rang through the sjjheres ; and " Holy, holy, holy," I 
 
 Accordant with the rest my lady sang.
 
 334 PARADISK. 
 
 And as a sleep is bvolcen and (lisj)crs'd 
 i Tlirouo;]i sliarj) encounter of tlie nimble li!j;lit, 
 I With tlic eye's spirit running forth to meet 70 
 
 Tlic ray, from membrane on to the membrane urgM ; 
 
 And the upstartled wight loathes that he sees; 
 
 So, at his sudden waking, he misdeems 
 
 Of all around him, till assurance waits 
 
 On better judgment : thus the saintly dame 75 
 
 ])rove from before mine eyes the motes away, 
 
 With the res])lendence of her own, that cast 
 
 Their brightness downward, thousand miles below. 
 
 Whence I my vision, clearer than before, 
 
 Recover'd ; and, well nigh astounded, ask'd 80 
 
 Of a fourth light, that now with us I saw. 
 ! And Beatrice : " The first living soul, 
 
 : That ever the first virtue fram'd, admires 
 
 Within these rays his Maker." Like the leaf, 
 i That bows its lithe top till the blast is blown ; 85 
 
 By its own virtue rear'd then stands aloof ; 
 I So I, the whilst she said, awe-stricken bow'd. 
 I Then eagerness to speak embolden'd me ; 
 i And I began : " O fruit ! that wast alone 
 
 Mature, when first engender'd ! Ancient father ! DO 
 
 That doubly seest in every wedded bride 
 t Thy daughter by afiinity and blood ! 
 1 Devoutly as I may, I pray thee hold 
 I Converse with me: my will thou seest; and I, 
 I More speedily to hear thee, tell it not." 95 
 
 \ It chanceth oft some animal bewrays, 
 i Through the sleek cov'ring of his furry coat. 
 I The fondness, that stii-s in him and conforms 
 j His outside seeming to the cheer within : 
 ) And in like guise was Adam's spirit mov'd 100 
 
 ; To joyous mood, that through the covering shone, 
 j Transparent, when to pleasure me it sjjake : 
 
 "No need thy will be told, which I untold 
 I Better discern, than thou whatever thing 
 i Thou holdst most certain : for that will I see 105 
 
 In Him, Avho is ti-uth's mii'ror, and Himself 
 i Parhelion unto all things, and naught else
 
 PARADISE. 33t< 
 
 To Hiiri. This wouldst thou liear; liow \oug since God 
 
 Plac'd me high garden, from Avhose bounds 
 
 She led me nj) in tliis hidder, steep and long; IK 
 
 What space endur'd my season of delight; 
 
 Whence truly sprang the wrath that banish'd me ; 
 
 And what the language, "svliich I S])ake and frani'd 
 
 Not that I tasted of the tree, my son, 
 
 Was in itself the cause of that exile, 115 
 
 But only my transgressing of the mark 
 
 Assign'd me. There, whence at thy lady's hest 
 
 The Mantuan mov'd liim, still Avas Idebarr'd 
 
 This council, till the sun had made com])lete. 
 
 Four thousand and three hundred rounds and twice, 
 
 His annual journey ; and, through every light 121 
 
 In his broad pathway, saw I him return. 
 
 Thousand save sev'nty times, the whilst I dwelt 
 
 Upon the earth. The language I did use 
 
 Was Avorn away, or ever Nimrod's race 125 
 
 Their unaccomplishable work began. 
 
 For naught, that man inclines to, ere was lasting, 
 
 Left by his reason free, and variable. 
 
 As is the sky that sways him. That he speaks, 
 
 Is nature's prompting: whether thus or thus, 130 
 
 She leaves to you, as ye do most affect it. 
 
 Ere I descended into liell's abyss. 
 
 El was the name on earth of the Chief Good, 
 
 Whose joy enfolds me : Eli then 't was call'd • 
 
 And so beseeraeth : for, in mortals, use 135 
 
 Is as the leaf upon the bough ; that goes, 
 
 And other comes instead. Upon the mount 
 
 Most high above tlie waters, all my life. 
 
 Both innocent and guilty, did but reach 
 
 From the first hour, to that which comech next 140 
 
 (As the sun changes quarter), to the sixth. 
 
 CANTO XXVII. 
 
 Then " Glory to the Father, to the Sod, | 
 
 And to the Holy Si)ii-it," rang aloud j
 
 33G PARADISE. 
 
 TIirou2;hout all Paradise, that with tho song 
 My s])irit i-oelM, so passini^ sweet the strain: 
 And wliat I saw was equal ecstasy ; 5 
 
 ; One universal smile it seeni'd of all things, 
 I J*'y P'lst compare, gladness unutterable, 
 I In;]ierishable life of peace and love, 
 1 Exiuiustless riches and unmeasur'd bliss. 
 1; Before mine eves stood the four torches lit : 10 
 
 i And that, which first had come, began to wax 
 j; In brightness, and in semblance such became, 
 I As Jove might be, if he and Mars were birds, 
 And interchang'd their plumes. Silence ensued, 
 Through the blest quire, by Him, who here appoints 15 
 Vicissitude of ministry, enjoin'd ; 
 When thus I heard : " Wonder not, if my hue 
 Be chang'd ; for, while I speak, these shalt thou see 
 All in like manner change with me. My place 
 He who usurps on earth (my place, ay, mine, 20 
 
 Which in the presence of the Son of God 
 Is void}, the same hath made my cemetery 
 A common sewer of puddle and of blood : 
 The more below his triumnh, who from hence 
 Malignant fell." Such colour, as the sun, 25 
 
 At eve or morning, paints and adverse cloud, 
 Then saw I sprinkled over all the sky. 
 I And as th' unblemish'd dame, who in herself 
 I Secure of censure, yet at bare report 
 I Of other's failing, shrinks with maiden fear ; ■ 30 
 
 I So Beatrice in her semblance chang'd : 
 I And such eclipse in heav'a methinks was seen, 
 I When the Most Holy suffer'd. Then the words 
 Proceeded, with voice, alter'd from itself 
 So clean, the semblance did not alter more, 35 
 
 ? "Not to this end was Christ's spouse with my blood, 
 I With that of Linus, and of Cletus fed : 
 : That she might serve for purchase of base gold : 
 I But for the purchase of this happy life 
 I Did Sextus, Pius, and Callixtus bleed, 40 
 
 I And Urban, they, whose doom was not Avithout 
 I Much weeping seal'd. No purpose was of ours. 
 
 TT-
 
 PARADISE. 337 
 
 That oil tlu! ri^lit Iiaiid of our successors 
 I'art of the Christian jieoplc should be set, 
 And ])art u))on their left ; nor that the keys, 45 
 
 Which were vouelisafd me, should for ensign serve 
 Unto the banners, that do levy war 
 On the baptiz'd : nor I, for sigil-raark 
 Set upon sold and lying privileges ; 
 
 Which makes me oft to bicker and tui'n red. 50 
 
 In shepherd's clothing greedy wolves below 
 Range wide o'er all the pastures. Arm of God ! 
 Why longer sleepst thou ? Caorsines and Gascons 
 Prepare to quaff our blood. O good beginning 
 To what a vile conclusion must thou stooji! 55 
 
 But the high providence, which did defend 
 j Through Scipio the world's glory unto Rome, 
 I Will not delay its succour : and thou, son, 
 
 AVho througli thy mortal weight shall yet again 
 Return below, open thy lips, nor hide 6U 
 
 AVhat is by me not hidden." As a flood 
 Of frozen va])Ours streams adown tlie air, 
 What time the she-goat with her skiey horn 
 i Touches the sun ; so saw I there stream wide 
 
 The vapours, who with us had linger'd late 65 
 
 And with glad triumph deck th' etherial cope. 
 Onward my sight their semblances pursued; 
 So far pursued, as till the space between 
 P^rom its reach sever'd them : whereat the guide 
 Celestial, marking me no more intent 70 
 
 On upward gazing, said, " Look down and see 
 What circuit thou hast compass'd." From the hour 
 When I before had cast ray view beneath, 
 All the first region overpast I saw, 
 
 Which from the midmost to the bound'ry winds ; 75 
 
 That onward thence from Gades I beheld 
 The unwise passage of Laertes' son, 
 And hitherward the shore, where thou, Europa I 
 IVIad'st thee a joyful burden : and yet more 
 Of this dim spot had seen, but that the sun, 80 
 
 A constellation off and more, had ta'ea 
 Ilis progress in the zodiac underneath. 
 
 22
 
 338 PARADISE. 
 
 Then by the spirit, that dotlt never leave 
 Its amorous (hilliance with my lady's looks, 
 Back -with redoubled ardour were mine eyes 85 
 
 Led unto her : and from her radiant smiles, 
 Whenas I turn'd me, pleasure so divine 
 Did lighten on me, that whatever bait 
 Or art or nature in the human flesh, 
 
 Or in its limn'd resemblance, can combine 90 
 
 Through greedy eyes to take the soul withal, 
 Were to her beauty nothing. Its boon influence 
 From the fair nest of Leda rapt me forth, 
 And wafted on into the swiftest heav'n. 
 
 What place for entrance Beatrice chose, 95 
 
 I may not say, so uniform was all, 
 Liveliest and loftiest. She my secret wish 
 Divin'd ; and with such gladness, that God's love 
 Seem'd from her visage shining, thus began : 
 " Here is the goal, whence motion on his race 100 
 
 Starts ; motionless the centre, and the rest 
 All mov'd around. Except the soul divine. 
 Place in this heav'n is none, the soul divine, 
 Wherein the love, which ruleth o'er its orb. 
 Is kindled, and the virtue that it sheds ; 105 
 
 One circle, light and love, enclasping it, 
 As this doth clasp the others ; and to Him, 
 Who draws the bound, its limit only known. 
 Measur'd itself by none, it doth divide 
 Motion to all, counted unto them forth, 110 
 
 As by the fifth or half ye count forth ten. 
 The vase, wherein time's roots are jilung'd, thou seest, 
 Look elsewhei'e for the leaves. O mortal lust ! 
 That canst not lift thy head above the waves 
 Which whelm and sink thee down ! The will in man 115 
 Bears goodly blossoms ; but its ruddy promise 
 Is, by the dripping of ]>erpetual rain, 
 Made mere abortion : faith and innocence 
 Are met with but in babes, each taking leave 
 Ere cheeks with down are sjn-inkled ; he, that fasts, 120 
 While yet a stammerer, with his tongue let loose 
 Gluts every food alike in every moon. 
 
 ■Itt^M^iMW
 
 PARADISE. 339 
 
 One yet a babbler, loves and listens to 
 
 His mother ; but no sooner hath free use 
 
 Of speech, than he cloth wish her in her grave. 125 
 
 So suddenly doth the fair child of him, 
 
 Whose Avelcome is the morn and eve his parting, 
 
 To negro blackness change her virgin white. 
 
 " Thou, to abate thy wonder, note that none 
 Bears rule in earth, and its frail family 130 
 
 Are therefore wand'rers. Yet before the date, 
 "When through the hundredth in his reck'ning dropt 
 Pale January must be shov'd aside 
 From winter's calendar, these heav'nly spheres 
 Shall roar so loud, that fortune shall be fain 135 
 
 To turn the poop, where she hath now the prow ; 
 So that the fleet run onward ; and true fruit, 
 Expected long, shall crown at last the bloom ! " 
 
 CANTO XXVIII. 
 
 So she who doth imparadise my soul, 
 
 Had drawn the veil from off our present life, 
 
 And bar'd the truth of poor mortality ; 
 
 "When lo ! as one who, in a mirror, spies 
 
 The shining of a flambeau at his back, 6 
 
 Lit sudden ere he deem of its approach, 
 
 And turneth to resolve him, if the glass 
 
 Have told him true, and sees the record faithful 
 
 As note is to its metre ; even thus, 
 
 I well remember, did befal to me, 10 
 
 Looking upon the beauteous eyes, whence love 
 
 Had made the leash to take me. As I turn'd ; 
 
 And that, Avhich, in their circles, none who spies, 
 
 Can miss of, in itself apparent, struck 
 
 On mine ; a point I saw, that darted light 15 
 
 So sharp, no lid, imclosing, may bear up 
 
 Against its keenness. The least star we view 
 
 From hence, had seem'd a moon, set by its side, 
 
 As star by side of star. And so far off, 
 
 Perchance, as is the halo from the light, 20
 
 340 PARADISE. 
 
 Wliicli i)aints it, Avhcn most dense tlie vapour spreads, 
 
 "J^here wlicelM about the point a cn-cle of lire, 
 
 More raj)!*! tlian the motion, whieli first girds 
 
 The world. Then, circle after circle, round 
 
 Enring'd each other ; till the seventh reach'd 25 
 
 Circumference so ample, that its bow, 
 
 Within the span of Juno's messenger. 
 
 Had scarce been held entire. Beyond the sev'nth, 
 
 Follow'd yet other two. And every one, 
 
 As more in number distant from the first, 30 
 
 Was tardier in motion ; and that glow'd 
 
 With flame most pure, that to the sparkle' of truth 
 
 Was nearest, as }»artalving most, methinks, 
 
 Of its reality. The guide belov'd 
 
 Saw me in anxious thought suspense, and spake : 35 
 
 " Heav'n, and all nature, hangs upon that point. 
 
 The circle thereto most conjoin'd observe ; 
 
 And know, that by intenser love its course 
 
 Is to this swiftness wing'd." To whom I thus : 
 
 " It were enough ; nor should I further seek, 40 
 
 Flad I but witness'd order, in the world 
 
 Appointed, such as in these wheels is seen. 
 
 But in the sensible world such diff'rence is, 
 
 That is each round shows more divinity, 
 
 As each is wider from the centre. Hence, 45 
 
 If in this Avondrous and angelic temple, 
 
 That hath for confine only light and love, 
 
 ]\Iy wish may have completion I must know. 
 
 Wherefore such disagreement is between 
 
 Th' exemplar and its copy : for myself, 50 
 
 Contemplating, I fail to pierce the cause." 
 
 " It is no marvel, if thy fingers foil'd 
 Do leave the knot untied : so hard't is grown 
 For want of tenting." Thus she said : " But take," 
 She added, " if thou Avish thy cure, my Avords, 55 
 
 And entertain them subtly. Every orb 
 Cor])oreal, doth proportion its extent 
 Unto the virtue through its parts diffus'd. 
 The greater blessedness preserves the more. 
 The greater is the body (if all parts 60
 
 t'ARADISE. 341 
 
 Share equally) the more is to preserve. 
 
 Therefore the circle, whose swift course en wheels 
 
 Tlie universal frame answers to that, 
 
 Which is supreme in knowle(li:;o and in love 
 
 Thus by the virtue, not the seeming breadth 65 
 
 Of substance, measure, thou shalt see the heav'ns, 
 
 I Each to the' intelligence that ruletli it, 
 
 j Greater to more, and smaller unto less, 
 Suited in strict and wondrous harmony." 
 
 As when the sturdy north blows from his cheek 70 
 
 i A blast, that scours the sky, forthwith our air, 
 
 ( Clear'd of the rack, that hung on it before, 
 Glitters ; and, with his beauties all unveil'd, 
 The firmament looks forth serene, and smiles; 
 Such was my cheer, when Beatrice drove 75 
 
 I With clear reply the shadows back, and truth 
 
 ! Was manifested, as a star in heaven. 
 
 { And when the words were ended, not unlike 
 
 I To iron in the furnace, every cirque 
 
 I Ebullient shot forth scintillating fires : 80 
 
 I And every sparkle shivering to new blaze, 
 
 ; In number did outmillion the account 
 
 ' Reduplicate u])on the chequer'd board. 
 
 Then heard I echoing on from choir to choir, 
 
 [ " Hosanna," to the fixed point, fliat holds, 85 
 
 ; And shall for ever hold them to their place. 
 From everlasting, irremovable. 
 
 ; Musing awhile I stood : and she, who saw 
 
 My inward meditations, thus began : 
 " In the first circles, they, whom thou beheldst, 90 
 
 Are seraphim and cherubim. Thus swift 
 
 ■ Follow their hoops, in likeness to the point, 
 Near as they can, approaching; and they can 
 The more, the loftier their vision. Those, 
 That round them fleet, gazing the Godhead next, 95 
 
 Are thrones ; in whom the first trine ends. And all 
 Are blessed, even as their sight descends 
 Deeper into the truth, wherein rest is 
 For every mind. Thus happiness hath root 
 In seeing, not in loA ing, which of sight 100
 
 342 PARAPTRE. 
 
 Is uftcrgrowtli. And of ll\c seeing such 
 
 Tlie meed, as unto each in due degree 
 
 Grace and good-will their measure liave assign'd. 
 
 The other trine, that with still opening buds 
 
 In this eternal springtide blossom fair, 106 
 
 Fearless of bruising from the nightly ram, 
 
 Breathe up in warbled melodies threefold 
 
 Ilosannas blending ever, from the three 
 
 Transmitted, hierarchy of gods, for aye 
 
 Rejoicing, dominations first, next then 110 
 
 Virtues, and powers the third. The next to whom 
 
 Are princedoms and archangels, with glad round 
 
 To tread their festal ring; and hast tlie band 
 
 Angelical, disporting in their sphere. 
 
 All, as they circle in their orders, look 115 
 
 Aloft, and downward with such sway prevail, 
 
 That all with mutual impulse tend to God. 
 
 These once a mortal view beheld. Desire 
 
 In Dionysius so intently wrought, 
 
 That he, as I have done rang'd them ; and nam'd 120 
 
 Their orders, marshal'd in his thought. From him 
 
 Dissentient, one ref us'd his sacred read. 
 
 But soon as in this heav'n his doubting eyes 
 
 Were open'd, Gregory at his error smil'd 
 
 Nor marvel, that a denizen of earth 125 
 
 Should scan such secret truth ; for he had learnt 
 
 Both this and much beside of these our orbs, 
 
 From an eye-witness to heav'n's mysteries." 
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 No longer than what time Latona's twins 
 
 Cover'd of Libra and the fleecy star. 
 
 Together both, girding the' horizon hang, 
 
 In even balance from the zenith pois'd. 
 
 Till from that verge, each, changing hemisphere, 
 
 Part the nice level ; e'en so brief a space 
 
 Did Beatrice's silence hold. A smile 
 
 Sat painted on her cheek ; and her fix'd gaze
 
 PARADTSK. 343 
 
 Bent on the point, nt wliicli my vision f.ail'd : 
 
 When thus her words resuming- slie began : 10 
 
 " I speak, nor M'liat tliou wouhlst inquire demand ; 
 
 For I have mark'd it, wliere all time :Mid place 
 
 Are pi'esent. Not for increase to himself 
 
 Of good, which may not be increas'd, but forth 
 
 To manifest his glory by its beams, 16 
 
 Inhabiting his own eternity, 
 
 Beyond time's limit or what bound soe'er 
 
 To circumscribe his being, as he will'd, 
 
 Into new natures, like unto himself, 
 
 Eternal Love unfolded. Nor before, 20 
 
 As if in dull inaction torpid lay. 
 
 For not in process of before or aft 
 
 Upon these waters mov'd the Spirit of God. 
 
 Simple and mix'd, both form and substance, forth 
 
 To perfect being started, like three darts 25 
 
 Shot from a bow three-corded. And as ray 
 
 In crystal, glass, and amber, shines entire, 
 
 E'en at the moment of its issuing ; thus 
 
 Did, from th' eternal Sovran, beam entire 
 
 His threefold operation, at one act 30 
 
 Produc'd coeval. Yet in order each 
 
 Created his due station knew : those highest. 
 
 Who pure intelligence w^ere made : mere power 
 
 The lowest : in the midst, bound with strict league, 
 
 Intelligence and power, unsever'd bond. 35 
 
 Long tract of ages by the angels past. 
 
 Ere the creating of another world, 
 
 Describ'd on Jerome's pages thou hast seen. 
 
 But that what I disclose to thee is true. 
 
 Those penmen, whom the Holy Spirit mov'd 40 
 
 In many a passage of their sacred book 
 
 Attest ; as thou by diligent search shalt find 
 
 And reason in some sort discerns the same. 
 
 Who scarce would grant the heav'nly ministers 
 
 Of their perfection void, so long a space. 45 
 
 Thus when and Avhere these s]iirits of love were made, 
 
 Thou know'st, and how : and knowing hast allay'd 
 
 Thy thirst, which from the trij^le question rose. 
 
 +
 
 344 PAUADIRK. 
 
 Krc one liad rcckon'd twenty, e'en so soon 
 
 P:u-t of tlie angels fell : and in their fall 50 
 
 Confusion to your elements ensued. 
 
 The others kept thek- station : and this task, 
 
 Whereon thou lookst, began with such delight, 
 
 That they surcease not ever, day nor night. 
 
 Their circling. Of that fatal lapse the cause 05 
 
 Was the curst pride of him, whom thou hast seen 
 
 Pent with the world's incumbrance. Those, whom here 
 
 Thou seest, were lowly to confess themselves 
 
 Of his free bounty, who had made them apt 
 
 For ministries so high : therefore their views GO 
 
 Were by enlight'ning grace and their own merit 
 
 Exalted ; so that in their will confirm'd 
 
 Tiiey stand, nor fear to fall. For do not doubt. 
 
 But to receive the grace, which heav'n vouchsafes, 
 
 Is meritorious, even as the soul 05 
 
 With prompt affection Avelcometh the guest. 
 
 Kow, without further help, if with good heed 
 
 ]\Iy words thy mind have treasur'd, thou henceforth 
 
 This consistory round about mayst scan. 
 
 And gaze thy fill. But since thou hast on earth 70 
 
 Pleard vain disputers, reasoners in the schools, 
 
 Canvas the' angelic nature, and dispute 
 
 Its powers of apprehension, memory, choice ; 
 
 Therefore, 't is well thou take from me the truth, 
 
 Pure and without disguise, which they below, 75 
 
 Equivocating, darken and perplex. 
 
 " Know thou, that, from the first, these substances, 
 Rejoicing in the countenance of God, 
 Have held unceasingly their view, intent 
 Upon the glorious vision, from the which 80 
 
 Naught absent is nor hid : Avhere then no change 
 Of newness with succeesion interruiJts, 
 Peniembrance there needs none to gather up 
 Divided thought and images remote. 
 
 " So tliat men, thus at variance with the truth 85 
 
 Dream, though their eyes be open ; reckless some 
 Of error ; others well aware they err. 
 To whom more guilt and shame are justly due.
 
 PARADISIC, 345 
 
 Each tlie known track of sai^e pliilosophy 
 
 Deserts, and lias a l)yway of l)is own : 90 
 
 80 inucli tlie restless eaj^crness to shine 
 
 And love of singularity prevail. # 
 
 Yet this, offensive as it is, provokes 
 
 Ileav'n's anger less, than when the book of God 
 
 Is forc'd to yield to man's authority, 95 
 
 Or from its sti'aightness Avarp'd : no reck'ning made 
 
 What blood the sowing of it in tlie world 
 
 Has cost ; what favour for himself he wins, 
 
 Who meekly clings to it. The aim of all 
 
 Is how to shine : e'en they, whose office is 100 
 
 To preach the Gospel, let the gospel sleep, 
 
 And pass their own inventions off instead. 
 
 One tells, how at Christ's suffering the wan moon 
 
 Bent back her steps, and shadow'd o'er the sun 
 
 With intervenient disk, as she -withdrew : 105 
 
 Another, how the light shrouded itself 
 
 Within its tabernacle, and left dark 
 
 The Spaniard and the Indian, with the Jew. 
 
 Such fables Florence in her pulpit hears. 
 
 Bandied about more frequent, than the names 110 
 
 Of Bindi and of Lapi in her streets. 
 
 The sheep, meanwhile, poor witless ones, return 
 
 From pasture, fed with wind : and what avails 
 
 For their excuse, they do not see their harm ? 
 
 Christ said not to his first conventicle, 115 
 
 ' Go forth and preach impostures to the world,' 
 
 But gave them truth to build on ; and the sound 
 
 Was mighty on their lips; nor needed they, 
 
 Beside the gospel, other spear or shield. 
 
 To aid them in their warfare for the faith. 120 
 
 ''file ])reacher now provides himself with store 
 
 Of jests and gibes ; and, so there be no lack 
 
 Of laughter, while he Agents them, his big cowl 
 
 Distends, and he has won the meed he sought : 
 
 Could but the vulgar catch a glimpse the while 125 
 
 Of that dark bird which nestles in his hood, 
 
 They scarce would wait to hear the blessing said. 
 
 Which now the dotards lioM in such esteem,
 
 I 
 
 346 rARAmsE. 
 
 That ovory coiintorfoit, who spronrls a1)roafl 
 
 The hands of holy ]iroinise, finds n throng 130 
 
 Of credulous fools beneath. Haint Anthony 
 
 Fattens with this liis swine, and others worse 
 
 Than swine, wlio diet at his lazy board, 
 
 Paying with unstamp'd metal for their fare. 
 
 " ])ut (for we far have wander'd) let us seek - 135 
 
 The forward path again ; so as the way 
 Be shorten'd with the time. No mortal tongue 
 Nor thought of man hath ever reach'd so far, 
 That of these natures he might count the tribes. 
 What Daniel of their thousands hath reveal'd 140 
 
 With finite number infinite conceals. 
 The fountain at whose source these drink their beams, 
 With light sujiplies them in as many modes, 
 As there are splendours, that it shines on : each 
 According to the virtue it conceives, 145 
 
 Differing in love and sweet affection. 
 Look then how lofty and how huge in breadth 
 The' eternal might, which, broken and disjjers'd 
 Over such countless mirrors, yet remains 
 Whole in itself and one, as at the first." 150 
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 Noon's fervid hour perchance six thousand miles 
 
 From hence is distant ; and the shadowy cone 
 
 Almost to level on our earth declines; 
 
 When from the midmost of this blue abyss 
 
 By turns some star is to our vision lost. 5 
 
 And straightway as the handmaid of the sun 
 
 Puts forth her radiant brow, all, light by light. 
 
 Fade, and the spangled firmament shuts in. 
 
 E'en to the loveliest of the glittering throng. 
 
 Thus vanish'd gi-adually from my sight 10 
 
 The triumph, which plays ever round the jDoint, 
 
 That overcame me, seeming (for it did) 
 
 Engirt by that it girdeth. Wherefore love, 
 
 With loss of other object, forc'd me bend.
 
 PAKADTSE. 347 
 
 Mine c-yos on TJoatrice once agnin. 15 
 
 If all, that hitherto is told of her, 
 Were in one piaise concluded, 't were too weak 
 To furnish out this turn. Mine eyes did look 
 On beauty, such, as I believe in sooth, 
 Not merely to exceed our human, but, 20 
 
 That save its Maker, none can to the full 
 Enjoy it. At this ]ioint o'erpower'd I fail, 
 Unequal to my theme, as never bard 
 Of buskin or of sock hath fail'd before. 
 For, as the sun doth to the feeblest sight, 25 
 
 E'en so remembrance of that witching smile 
 Hath dispossest my spirit of itself. 
 Not from that day, when on this earth I first 
 Beheld her charms, up to that view of them, 
 Have I with song ap]ilausive ever ceas'd 30 
 
 To follow, but not follow them no more ; 
 My course here bounded, as each artist's is. 
 When it doth touch the limit of his skill. 
 
 She (such as I bequeath her to the bruit 
 Of louder trump than mine, which hasteneth on, 35 
 
 Urging its arduous matter to the close), 
 Her words resum'd, in gesture and in voice 
 Resembling one accustom'd to command : 
 " Foi'th from the last corporeal are we come 
 Into the heav'n, that is unbodied light, 40 
 
 Light intellectual replete with love. 
 Love of true happiness replete with joy, 
 Joy, that transcends all sweetness of delight. 
 Here shalt thou look on either mighty host 
 Of Paradise; and one in that array, 45 
 
 Which in the final judgment thou shalt see." 
 
 As when the lightning, in a sudden spleen 
 Unfolded, dashes from the blinding eyes 
 The visive spirits dazzled and bedimm'd ; 
 So, round about me, fulminating streams 60 
 
 Of living radiance play'd, and left me swath'd 
 And veil'd in dense impenetrable blaze. 
 Such weal is in the love, that stills this heav'n; 
 For its own flame the torch this fitting ever !
 
 348 I'AllADTSE. 
 
 No sooner to my list'nin<]f oar had come 55 
 
 The brief assurance, than I understood 
 New virtue into me infus'd, and sit:;lit 
 Kindled afresh, with vigour to sustain 
 Excess of liglit, liowever j)ure. I look'd ; 
 And in tlie likeness of a river saw CO 
 
 ]jight flowing, fi'om whoso amber-seeming waves 
 Flash'd up effidgence, as they glided on 
 'Twixt baid<s, on either side, i)ainted with spring, 
 Incredible liow fair; and, from the tide, 
 There ever and anon, outstarting, flow 65 
 
 Sparkles instinct with life ; and in the flow'rs 
 Did set them, like to rubies chas'd in gold ; 
 Then, as if drunk with odors, plung'd again 
 Into the wondrous flood; fi-om which, as one 
 Re'enter'd, still another rose. "The thirst 70 
 
 Of knowledge high, whereby thou art inflam'd. 
 To search the meaning of what here thou seest, 
 The more it warms thee, pleases me the more. 
 But first behoves thee of this water drink, 
 Or ere that longing be allay'd." So spake 75 
 
 The day-star of mine eyes ; then thus subjoin'd : 
 " This stream, and these, forth issuing from its gulf, 
 And diving back, a living topaz each, 
 With all this laughter on its bloomy shores. 
 Are but a preface, shadowy of the truth 80 
 
 They emblem: not that, in themselves, the things 
 Are crude ; but on thy part is the defect, 
 For that thy views not yet aspire so high." 
 Never did babe, that had outslept his wont. 
 Rush, Avith such eager straining, to the milk, 85 
 
 As I toward the water, bending me. 
 To make the better mirrors of mine eyes 
 In the refining wave ; and, as the eaves 
 Of mine eyelids did drink of it, forthwith 
 Seem'd it unto mo turn'd from length to round. 90 
 
 Then as a troop of maskers, when they put 
 Their vizors off, look other than before. 
 The counterfeited semblance thrown aside ; 
 So into greater jubilee were chang'd 
 
 ■~-^
 
 PARADISE. 349 
 
 Tliosc flowers nnd sparkles, and distinct I saw 05 
 
 Before me either court of lieav'n dis])lay'd. 
 
 O prime enlightcner ! thou wlio gav'st mc strength 
 On the hii,di triumph of thy realm to gaze ! 
 Grant virtue now to utter what I kenn'd, 
 
 There is in heav'n a light, whose goodly shine 100 
 
 Makes the Creator visible to all 
 Created, that in seeing him alone 
 Have peace ; and in a circle spreads so far, 
 That the circumf'rence were too loose a zone 
 To girdle in the sun. All is one beam, 105 
 
 lletlected from the summit of the first, 
 That moves, which being hence and vigour takes, 
 And as some cliff, that from the bottom eyes 
 Its image mirror'd in the crystal flood, 
 As if 't admire its brave appareling 110 
 
 Of verdure and. of flowers: so, round about. 
 Eyeing the light, on more than million thrones, 
 Stood, eminent, whatever from our earth 
 Has to the skies return'd. How wide the leaves 
 Extended to their utmost of this rose, 115 
 
 Whose lowest step embosoms such a space 
 Of ample radiance ! Yet, nor amplitude 
 Nor height impeded, but my view with ease 
 Took in the full dimensions of that joy. 
 Near or remote, what there avails, Avhere God 120 
 
 Immediate rules, and Nature, awed, suspends 
 Her sway? Into the yellow of the rose 
 Perennial, which in bright expansiveness, 
 Lays foi-th its gradual blooming, redolent 
 Of j)raises to the never-wint'ring sun, 125 
 
 As one, who fain would speak yet holds his peace, 
 Beatrice led me ; and, " Behold," she said, 
 " This fair assemblage ! stoles of snowy white 
 How numberless ! The city, where we dwell, 
 Bohold how vast ! and these our seats so throng'd 130 
 Few now are wanting here ! In that proud stall, 
 On wliich, the crown, already o'er its state 
 Susj)ended, holds thine eyes — or ere thyself 
 JVlayst at the wedding sup, — shall rest the soul
 
 350 
 
 PAKADISE. 
 
 Of tlic great Harry, lie who, by the world 135 
 
 Augustus hail'd, to Italy mustcoinc, 
 
 Before her day be rii)e. But ye are sick, 
 
 And in your tetchy wantonness as blind, 
 
 As is the bantling, that of hunger dies. 
 
 And drives away the nurse. Nor may it be, 140 
 
 That he, who in the sacred forum sways. 
 
 Openly or in secret, shall with him 
 
 Accordant walk : v/hom God will not endure 
 
 I' th' holy office long; but thrust him down 
 
 To Simon Magus, where Alagna's priest 145 
 
 Will sink beneath him : such Avill be his meed." 
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 In fashion, as a snow-white rose, lay then 
 
 Before my view the saintly multitude. 
 
 Which in his own blood Christ espous'd. Meanwhile 
 
 That other host, that soar aloft to gaze 
 
 And celebrate his glory, whom they love, 
 
 Hover'd around ; and, like a troop of bees, 
 
 Amid the vernal sweets alighting now. 
 
 Now, clustering, where their fragrant labour glows, 
 
 Flew downward to the mighty flow^'r, or rose 
 
 From the redundant petals, streaming back 
 
 Unto the steadfast dwelling of their joy. 
 
 Faces had they of flame, and wings of gold ; 
 
 The rest was whiter than the driven snow. 
 
 And as they flitted down into the flower, 
 
 From range to range, fanning their plumy loins, 
 
 Whisper'd the pea'.-e and ardour, which they won 
 
 From that soft winnowing. Shadow none, the vast 
 
 Interposition of such numerous flight 
 
 Cast, from above, upon the flower, or view 
 
 Obstructed aught. For, through the universe, 20 
 
 Wherever merited, celestial light 
 
 Glides freely, and no obstacle prevents. 
 
 All there, who reign in safety and in bliss, 
 Ages long past or new, on one sole mark 
 
 10 
 
 15
 
 PARADISE. 351 
 
 Their love and vision fix'd. O trinal beam 25 
 
 Of individual star, that channst them tlius, 
 Vouchsafe one glance to gild our storm below ! 
 
 If the grim brood, from Arctic shores that roaio'd, 
 (Where Helice, forever, as she wheels, 
 Sparkles a mother's fondness on her son) 30 i 
 
 Stood in mute wonder 'mid the works of Rome, 
 Wlien to their view the Latcran arose 
 In greatness more than earthly ; I, who then , 
 
 From human to divine had past, from time 
 Unto eternity, and out of Florence 85 
 
 To justice and to truth, how might I choose 
 But marvel too ? 'Twixt gladness and amaze, 
 In sooth no will had I to utter aught. 
 Or hear. And, as a pilgrim, when he rests 
 Within the temple of his vow, looks round 40 
 
 In breathless awe, and hopes some time to tell 
 Of all its goodly state : e'en so mine eyes 
 Coiirs'd up and down along the living light, 
 Now low, and now aloft, and now around, 
 Visiting every step. Looks I beheld, 45 
 
 Where charity in soft persuasion sat. 
 Smiles from within and radiance from above, 
 And in each gesture grace and honour high. 
 
 So rov'd my ken, and its general form 
 All Paradise survey'd : when round I turn'd 50 
 
 With purpose of my lady to inquire 
 Once more of things, that held my thought suspense, 
 But answer found from other than I ween'd ; 
 For, Beatrice, when I thought to see, 
 I saw instead a senior, at my side, 55 
 
 Kob'd, as the rest, in glory. Joy benign 
 Glow'd in his eye, and o'er his clieek diffus'd, 
 With gestures such as spake a father's love. 
 And, " Whither is she vanish'd ? " straight I ask'd. 
 
 " By Beatrice summon'd," he replied, 60 
 
 "I come to aid thy wish. Looking aloft 
 To the third circle from the highest, there 
 Behold her on the throne, Avherein her merit 
 Hath plac'd her." Answering not, mine eyes I rais'd,
 
 352 PARADISE. 
 
 And saw licr, wlicre aloof she sat, lier brow 65 
 
 A wreath reflecting of eternal beams. 
 
 Not from the centre of the sea so far 
 
 Unto the region of the highest thunder, 
 
 As was my ken from hers ; and yet tlie form 
 
 Came through that medium down, unniix'd and pure, 70 
 
 " O Lady ! thou in whom my hojies have rest ! 
 Who, for my safety, hast not scorn'd, in hell 
 To leave the traces of thy footsteps raark'd ! 
 For all mine eyes liave seen, I, to thy power 
 And goodness, virtue owe and grace. Of slave, 75 
 
 Thou hast to freedom brought me ; and no means, 
 For my deliverance ajit, hast left untried. 
 Thy liberal bounty still toward me keep. 
 That, when my spirit, v/hich thou madest whole, 
 Is loosee'd from this body, it may find 80 
 
 Favour with thee." So I my suit preferr'd : 
 And she, so distant, as appear'd, look'd down. 
 And smil'd ; then tow'rds th' eternal fountain turn'd. 
 
 And thus the senior, holy and rever'd : 
 " That thou at length mayst hajipily conclude 85 
 
 Thy voyage (to which end I was despatch'd, 
 By supplication raov'd and holy love) 
 Let thy upsoaring vision range, at large, 
 This garden through : for so, by ray divine 
 Kindled, thy ken a higher flight shall mount ; 90 
 
 And from heav'n's queen, whom fervent I adore. 
 All gracious aid befriend us ; for that I 
 Am her own faithful Bernard." Like a wight, 
 Who haply from Croatia wends to see 
 Our Veronica, and the while 't is shown, 95 
 
 Hangs over it with never-sated gaze. 
 And, all that he hath heard revolving, saith 
 Unto himself in thought : "And didst thou look 
 E'en thus, O Jesus, my true Lord and God ? 
 And was this semblance thine ?" So gaz'd I then 100 
 Adoring ; for the charity of him. 
 Who mushig, in the world that peace enjoy'd. 
 Stood livelily before me. " Child of grace ! " 
 Thus he began : " thou shalt not knowledge gain 
 
 iiiiiiiin, ,111. ^^ — , .^^-.a^.- : . rt^ nil irniinrjtitii
 
 PAllAOISE. 353 
 
 Of this glad being, if thine eyes are held 105 
 
 Still in this dej)th below. But search around 
 
 The circles, to the furthest, till thou spy 
 
 Seated in state, the queen, that of this realm 
 
 Is sovran." Straight mine eyes I rais'd ; and bright, 
 
 As, at the birth of morn, the eastern clime 310 
 
 Above th' horizon, where the sun declines ; 
 
 So to mine eyes, that upward, as from vale 
 
 To moxnitain sped, at th' extreme bound, a part 
 
 Excell'd in lustre all the front oppos'd. 
 
 And as the glow burns ruddiest o'er the wave, 115 
 
 That waits the sloping beam, which Phaeton 
 
 111 kncAV to guide, and on each part the light 
 
 Diminish'd fades, intensest in the midst ; 
 
 So burn'd the peaceful oriflamb, and slack'd 
 
 On every side the living flame decay'd. 120 
 
 And in that midst their sportive pennons wav'd 
 
 Thousands of angels ; in resplendence each 
 
 Distinct, and quaint adornment. At their glee 
 
 And carol, smil'd the Lovely One of heav'n, 
 
 That joy was in the eyes of all the blest. 126 
 
 Had I a tongue in eloquence as rich, 
 As is the colouring in fancy's loom, 
 'T were all too poor to utter the least part 
 Of that enchantment. When he saw mine eyes 
 Intent on her, that charm'd him, Bernard gaz'd 130 
 
 With so exceeding fondness, as infus'd 
 Ardour into my breast, unfelt before. 
 
 CANTO XXXII. 
 
 Freely the sage, though wrapt in musings high, 
 Assum'd the teacher's j)art, and mild began : 
 " The wound, that INfary clos'd, she o])en'd first, 
 Who sits so beautiful at Mary's feet. 
 The third in order, underneath hei', lo ! 
 Rachel with Beatrice. Sarah next, 
 Judith, Rebecca, and the gleaner maid, 
 Meek ancestress of him, who sang the songs 
 
 23
 
 354 PAUADISE. 
 
 Of sore ropontancc in liis sorrowful mood. 
 All, as I name them, down from leaf to leaf, 10 
 
 Ai"e in gradation throned on the rose. 
 And frum the seventh step, successively, 
 Adown the breathing tresses of the flow'r 
 Still doth the tile of Hebrew dames proceed. 
 For these are a partition wall, whereby 15 
 
 The sacred stairs are sever'd, as the faith 
 In Christ divides them. On this part, where blooms 
 Each leaf in full maturity, are set 
 Such as in Christ, or ere he came, believ'd. 
 On th' other, where an intersected space 20 
 
 Yet shows the semicircle void, abide 
 All they, who look'd to Christ already come. 
 And as our Lady on her glorious stool. 
 And they who on their stools beneath her sit, 
 This way distinction make : e'en so on his, 25 
 
 The mighty Baptist that way marks the line 
 (He who endur'd the desart and the pains 
 Of martyrdom, and for two years of hell, 
 Yet still continued holy), and beneath, 
 Augustin, Francis, Benedict, and the rest, 30 
 
 Thus far from round to round. So heav'u's decree 
 Forecasts, this garden equally to fill. 
 With faith in either view, jiast or to come, 
 Learn too, that downward from the step, which cleaves 
 Midw^ay the twain compartments, none there are 35 
 
 Who place obtain for merit of their own, 
 But have through others' merit been advanc'd, 
 On set conditions : spirits all releas'd, 
 Ere for themselves they had the power to choose. 
 And, if thou mark and listen to them well, 40 
 
 Their childish looks and voice declare as much. 
 " Here, silent as thou art, I know thy doubt ; 
 And gladly will I locse the knot, wherein 
 Thy subtil thoughts have bound thee. From this realm 
 Excluded, chance no entrance here may find, 45 
 
 No more than hunger, thirst, or sorrow can. 
 A law immutable hath stablish'd all; 
 Noi" is there aught thou seest, that doth not fit,
 
 PAUAUISE. 355 
 
 Exactly, as the finger to the ring. 
 
 It is not tlierefore without cause, tliat these, 50 
 
 0'ers]ieefly comers to iiiunortal life, 
 
 Are different in their shares of excellence. 
 
 Our Sovran Lord — that settleth this estate 
 
 In love and in deliijht so absolute, 
 
 That wish can dare no further — every soul, 55 
 
 Created in his joyous sight to dwell. 
 
 With grace at pleasure variously endows. 
 
 And for a proof th' effect may well suffice. 
 
 And 't is moreover most expressly mark'd 
 
 In holy scripture, where the twins are said 60 
 
 T' have struggled in the womb. Therefore, as grace 
 
 Inweaves the coronet, so every brow 
 
 Weareth its proper hue of orient light. 
 
 And merely in respect to his prime gift, 
 
 Not in reward of meritorious deed, 65 
 
 Hath each his several degree assign'd. 
 
 In early times with their own innocence 
 
 More was not wanting, than the parents' faith, 
 
 To save them : those first ages past, behov'd. 
 
 That circumcision in the males should imp 70 
 
 The flight of innocent Avings : but since the day 
 
 Of grace hath come, without baptismal rites 
 
 In Christ accomplish'd, innocence herself 
 
 Must linger yet below. Now raise thy view 
 
 Unto the visage most resembling Christ : 75 
 
 For, in her splendour only, shalt thou win 
 
 The pow'r to look on him." Forthwith I saw 
 
 Such floods of gladness on her visage shower'd, 
 
 From holy spirits, winging that profound ; 
 
 That, whatsoever I had yet beheld, 80 
 
 Had not so much suspended me with wonder, 
 
 Or shown nie such similitude of God. 
 
 And he, who had to her descended, once. 
 
 On earth, now haiPd in heav'n ; and on pois'd wing, 
 
 " Ave, Maria, Gratia Plena," sang : 85 
 
 To whose sweet anthem all the blissful court. 
 
 From all parts answ'ring, rang : tliat holier joy 
 
 Brooded the deej) serene. " Father rever'd :
 
 356 PAKADISE. 
 
 Wlio (loli:c'i'«t5 foi" "i^^j ^o quit tlie pleasant i)lace, 
 
 AVhoroinlliou sittcst, l)y eternal k)t ! 90 
 
 Say, who that angel is, that with sueh glee 
 
 Jk'liolds our ({ueen, and so enaniour'd glows 
 
 Of her high beauty, that all fire he seems." 
 
 So I again resorted to the loi-e 
 
 Of niy wise teacher, he, whom Mary's charms 95 
 
 Embellisli'd, as the sun the moiMiing star; 
 
 Who thus in answer spake : "In him are sumra'd, 
 
 Wliate'er of buxomness and free delight 
 
 May be in spirit, or in angel, met: 
 
 And so beseems : for that he bare the paha 100 
 
 Down unto Mary, when the Son of God 
 
 Vouchsaf d to clothe him in terrestrial weeds. 
 
 Now let thine eyes wait heedful on my words, 
 
 And note thou of this just and ])ious realm 
 
 The chiefest nobles. Those, highest in bliss, 105 
 
 The twain, on each hand next our empress thron'd, 
 
 Are as it M'ere two roots unto this rose. 
 
 He to the left, the parent, whose rash taste 
 
 Proves bitter to liis seed ; and, on the right, 
 
 That ancient father of the holy church, 110 
 
 Into whose keeping Christ did give the keys 
 
 Of this sweet flow'r : near whom behold the seer. 
 
 That, ere he died, saw all the grievous times 
 
 Of the fair bride, who wdth the lance and nails 
 
 Was won. And, near unto the other, rests 115 
 
 The leader, imder whom on manna fed 
 
 Th' ungrateful nation, fickle and perverse. 
 
 On th' other part, facing to Peter, lo ! 
 
 Where Anna sits, so well content to look 
 
 On her lov'd daughter, that with moveless eye 120 
 
 She chants the loud hosanna : while, oppos'd. 
 
 To the first father of your mortal kind, 
 
 Is Lucia, at whose best thy lady s])ed, 
 
 When on the edge of ruin clos'd thine eye. 
 
 " But (for the vision hasteneth so an end) 125 
 
 Here break we off, as the good workman doth. 
 That shapes the cloak according to the cloth : 
 And to the primal love our ken shall rise ;
 
 PARADISE. 357 
 
 That tliou mayst penetrate tlie brightness, far 
 
 As sight can bear tliee. Yet, ahxs ! in sootli 130 
 
 Beating thy pennons, thinking to advance, 
 
 Thou backward fall'st. Grace then must first be gain'd ; 
 
 Her grace, wliose niiglit can lielp thee. Thou in 2)i-ayer 
 
 Seek her : and, witli affection, whilst I sue, 
 
 Attend, and yiehl me all thy heart." He said, 135 
 
 And thus the saintly orison began. 
 
 CANTO XXXIII. 
 
 " O viRGix mother, daughter of thy Son, 
 
 Created beings all in lowliness 
 
 Surpassing, as in height, above them all, 
 
 Term by th' eternal counsel pre-ordain'd, 
 
 Ennobler of thy nature, so advanc'd f 
 
 In thee, that its great Maker did not scorn, 
 
 Himself, in his own work enclos'd to dwell ! 
 
 For in thy womb rekindling shone the love 
 
 Reveal'd, whose genial influence makes now 
 
 This flower to germin in eternal peace ! 10 
 
 Here thou to us, of charity and love. 
 
 Art, as the noon-day torch : and art, beneath. 
 
 To mortal men, of hope a living spring. 
 
 So mighty art thovi, lady ! and so great. 
 
 That he who grace desireth, and comes not 15 
 
 To thee for aidance, fain would have desire 
 
 Fly without wings. Nor only him who asks, 
 
 Thy bounty succours, but doth freely oft 
 
 Forerun the asking. Whatsoe'er may be 
 
 Of excellence in creature, pity mild, 20 
 
 Relenting mercy, large munificence, 
 
 Are all combin'd in thee. Here kneeletli one. 
 
 Who of all spirits hath review'd the state, 
 
 From the world's lowest gap nnto this height. 
 
 Suppliant to thee he kneels, imploring grace 25 • 
 
 For virtue, yet more high to lift his ken 
 
 Toward the bliss supreme. And I, who ne'er 
 
 Coveted sight, more fondly, for myself,
 
 35S PAKAnisE. 
 
 Than now for liim, niy prayers to thee ])rofor, 
 
 (And ])r:iy they be not scant) that tliou wuuldst drive 30 
 
 Each cloud of his mortality away ; 
 
 That on the sovran ])lcasurc he may gaze. 
 
 This also I entreat of thee, O queen ! 
 
 "Who canst do what thou wilt ! that in him thou 
 
 Wouldst after all he liath beheld, preserve 35 
 
 Affection sound, and human passions quell. 
 
 Lo ! where, with Beatrice, many a saint 
 
 Stretch their clasp'd hands, in furtherance of my suit ! " 
 
 The eyes, that heav'n with love and awe regards, 
 Fix'd on the suitor, witness'd, how benign 40 
 
 She looks on pious pray'rs : then fasten'd they 
 On th' everlasting light, wherein no eye 
 Of creature, as may well be thought, so far 
 Can travel inward. I, meanwhile, who drew 
 Near to the limit, Avhere all wishes end, 45 
 
 Tlie ardour of my wish (for so behov'd), 
 Ended within me. Beck'ning smii'd the sage, 
 That I should look aloft : but, ere he bade, 
 Already of myself aloft I look'd ; 
 
 For visual strength, refining more and more, 60 
 
 Bare me into the ray authentical 
 Of sovran liglit. Thenceforward, what I saw, 
 Was not for words to speak, nor memory's self 
 To stand against such' outrage on her skill. 
 As one, who from a dream awaken'd, straiglit, 55 
 
 All he hath seen forgets ; yet still retains 
 Impression of the feeling in his dream ; 
 E'en such am I : for all the vision dies, 
 As 't were, away ; and yet the sense of sweet, 
 That sprang from it, still trickles in my heart. 60 
 
 Thus in the sun-thaw is the snow unseal'd ; 
 Thus in the winds on flitting leaves was lost 
 The Sybil's sentence. O eternal beam ! 
 (Whose lieight what reach of mortal thought may soar?) 
 Yield me again some little particle 65 
 
 Of what thou then appearedst, give my tongue 
 Power, but to leave one sparkle of thy glory, 
 Unto the race to come, that shall not lose
 
 PARAPI8E. 359 
 
 Thy triumph wholly, if thou waken aught 
 
 Of memory in me, and endure to hear 70 
 
 Tlie record sound in tliis unequal straiu. 
 
 Sucli keenness from the living ray I met, 
 That, if mine- eyes had turn'd away, methinks, 
 I had been lost ; but, so embolden'd, on 
 I pass'd, as I remember, till my view 75 
 
 Ilover'd the brink of dread infinitude. 
 
 O grace ! unenvying of thy boon ! that gav'st 
 Boldness to fix so earnestly my ken 
 On th' everlasting splendour, that I look'd. 
 While sight was unconsum'd, and, in that depth, 80 
 
 Saw in one volume clasp'd of love, whate'er 
 The universe unfolds ; all projierties 
 Of substance and of accident, beheld, 
 Comjiounded, yet one individual light 
 The whole. And of such bond methinks I saw 85 
 
 The universal form : for that whene'er 
 I do but speak of it, ray soul dilates 
 Beyond her proper self ; and, till I speak, 
 One moment seems a longer lethai-gy. 
 Than five-and-twenty ages had aj)])ear'd 90 
 
 To that emprize, that first made Neptune wonder 
 At Argo's shadow darkening on his flood. 
 
 With fixed heed, suspense and motionless, 
 Wondring I gaz'd ; and admiration still 
 Was kindled, as I gaz'd. It may not be, 95 
 
 Tliat one, who looks upon that light, can turn 
 To other object, willingly, his view. 
 For all the good, that will may co\'et, there 
 Is summ'd ; and all, elsewhere defective found. 
 Complete. My tongue shall utter now, no more 100 
 
 E'en what remembrance keeps, than could the babe's 
 That yet is moisten'd at his mother's breast. 
 Not that the semblance of the living light 
 Was chang'd (that ever as at first remain'd) 
 But that my vision quickening, in that sole 105 
 
 Appearance, still new miracles descry'd, 
 And toil'd me with the change. In that abyss 
 Of radiance, clear and lofty, seem'd methought,
 
 360 PAUADISK. 
 
 Tliree orbs of triple hue dipt in one bound : 
 And, from anothex', one reflected seem'd, 110 
 
 As rainbow is from rainboAv : and tlie third 
 Seem'd fire, breath'd equally from both. Oh speech 
 How feeble and how faint art tliou, to give 
 Conception birth ! Yet this to what I saw 
 Is less than little. Oh eternal light ! 115 
 
 Sole in thyself that dwellst ; and of thyself 
 Sole understood, past, present, or to come ! 
 Thou smiledst ; on that circling, which in thee 
 Seem'd as reflected splendour, while I mus'd ; 
 I For I therein, mcthought, in its own hue 120 
 
 \ Beheld our image painted : steadfastly 
 i I therefore por'd upon the view. As one 
 < Who vers'd in geometric lore, woiild fain 
 I Measure the circle ; and, though pondering long 
 I And deeply, that beginning, which he needs, 125 
 
 ? Finds not ; e'en such was I, intent to scan 
 i The novel wonder, and trace out the form, 
 k How to the circle fitted, and therein 
 
 [How plac'd : but the flight was not for my wing ; 
 Had not a flash darted athwart my mind, 130 
 
 I And in the spleen unfolded what it sought. 
 f Here vigour fail'd the tow'ring fantasy : 
 
 iBut yet the will roll'd onward, like a wheel 
 In even motion, by the Love impell'd. 
 That moves the sun in heav'n and all the stars 135
 
 IsrOTES TO HIEIjL. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 Verse 1. In the midway.'] That the a?ra of the Poem is intended by 
 
 these words to he fixed to the thirty-fifth year of the poet's a.i-e, a.d. ] 
 
 1300, will appear more plainly in Canto XXI. where that date is explicitly \ 
 
 marked. j 
 
 V. 16. That planet' s beam.'] The snn. 3 
 
 V. 29. The hinUer foot.'] It is to be remembered, that in ascending a \ 
 
 hill the weight of the body rests on the hinder foot. 3 
 
 V. 30. A panther.] Pleasure or luxury. | 
 
 V. 3(). With those stars.] The sun was in Aries, in which sign ho suiJ- \ 
 
 poses it to have begun its course at the creation. j 
 
 V. 43. A Hon.] Pride or ambition. ' 
 
 V. 45. A she-ioolf.] Avarice. 
 
 v. 5(5. Where the sun in silence rests.] Hence Milton appears to have j 
 
 taken his idea in the Samson Agonistes : j 
 
 The snn to me is dark, \ 
 
 And silent as the moon, &c. | 
 
 The same metaphor will recur, Canto V. v. 29. | 
 
 Into a place I came \ 
 Where liglit was silent all. 
 
 V. G5. When the poiver of JnUns.] Tliis is explained by the comnien- ] 
 
 tators to mean — " Although it was rather late with respect to my birth, ~i 
 
 before .Julius C»sar assumed the supreme authority, and made himself ; 
 
 perpetual dictator." ] 
 
 V. 98. That grey hovnd.] This passage is intended as an eulogium on ] 
 
 the liberal spirit of his Veronese patron Can Grande della Scala. I 
 
 V 102. 'Twizt either Feltro.] Verona, the country of Can della Scala, ; 
 
 is situated between Feltro, a city in the Marca Trivigiana, and Monte |; 
 
 Feltro, a city in tlie territory of Urbino. \ 
 
 V. 103. Italia,' s plains .] " Umile Italia," from Virgil, Mn. lib. iii. 522. \ 
 
 Humilemque videmus \ 
 Italian!. 
 
 V. 115. Content in fire.] The spirits in Purgatory. 
 
 V. 118. A spirit ivorthier.] Beatrice, who conducts the Poet through 
 Paradise. 
 
 V. i;!0. Saint Peter's fjaie.] The gate of Purgatory, whicli the Poet 
 feigns to bo gu;u'ded by an angel ]i!aced on that station by St. Peter. 
 
 361
 
 3)2 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 V. 1. Now wan the (l(nj.'\ A conipciHlinm of Virgil's dcscrintion, ..'En. 
 lib. iv. 522. Nox erat, &c. Compare Apolhjiiiu.s KlunUus, lib. iii. 744. and 
 lib. iv, 1058 
 V. 8. miiul] 
 
 tlioiifjht tliat write all that I met, 
 And in the tresorie it .set 
 Of my biaine, now shall men see 
 If any viitne in thee be. 
 
 Chaucer. Temple of Fame, b. ii. v. 18. 
 V. 14. Silvnis^ sire.] ^neas. 
 
 V. 30. The chosen vessel.] St. Paul. Acts, c. ix. v. 15. " But the 
 Lord said unto him, Go thy way ; for he is a chosen vessel unto me." 
 
 V. 4(i. 77/// .wul.] L'anima tua e da viltate offe.sa. So in Bcrni, Orl. 
 Inn. lib. iii. c. i. st. 53. 
 
 Se I'alma avete offcsa da viltate. 
 V. 54. TF7iO rest S7(.<<pended.] The spirits in Limbo, neither admitted to 
 a state of glorj^ nor doomed to punishment. 
 
 V. (!1. A friend not of my fortune, hut myself] Se non forttiuie sed 
 hominibiis solere esse amicum. Cornelii Nepotis Attici V'itir, c. ix. 
 
 V. 7.S. Whatever is contain'd.] Every other thing comprised within 
 the liuiar heaven, which, being the lowest of all, has the smallest circle. 
 V. !);>. A blessed dame.] The divine mercy. 
 V. 07. Liicia.] The enlightening grace of heaven. 
 V. 124. Three 7naids.] The divine mercy, Lucia, and Beatrice. 
 V. 127. Asflo7-ets.] This simile is well translated by Chaucer — 
 But right as floures through the cold of night 
 Iclosed, stoupen in her stalkes lowe, 
 Redressen hem agen the sunue briglit. 
 And speden in her Idnde course by rowe, &c. 
 
 Troilus and Creseide, b. ii. 
 It has been imitated by many others, among whom see Berni, Orl. Inn. 
 lib. 1. c. xii. St. 8(5. Marino, Adone, c. xvii. st. (53. and Son. "Donna 
 vestita di nero." and Spenser's Faery Queen, b. 4. c. xii. st. 34. and b. G. 
 c. ii. st. 35. 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 V. 5. Poiver divine, 
 
 Supremcst wisdom, and primeval loiie."] 
 The three persons of the l:)lessed Trinity. 
 V. !). All hope abandoned.] 
 
 Lasciate ogni siieranza voi ch' eutrate. 
 So Berni, Orl. Inn. lib. i. c. 8. st. 53. 
 
 Lascia pur della vita ogni speranza. 
 V. 29. Like to the sand.] 
 
 Unnumber'd as the sands 
 Of Barca or Gyrene's torrid soil, 
 Le\ ied to side with warring winds, and poise 
 Their lighter wings. 
 
 Milton. P. L. b. ii. 003.
 
 V. 40. La^t th' arc7(rsrd tribe.] Lest the reLellious niseis should exult 
 at seeing tliose who were neutral, .and therefore less guilty, condeuine<l 
 to the same puuisluutiit with thenisclves. 
 V. 50. A flag.] 
 
 All the grisly legions that troop 
 Under the sooty flag of Acheron. . 
 
 Milton. C'omus. 
 V. 56. Who to base fear 
 
 Yicklinr/, ahjur'd his hir/h estate.] 
 This is commonly understood of Celestine the Fifth, who abdicated the 
 papal power in 1294. Venturi mentions a work written by Innocenzio 
 Barcellini, of the Celestine order, and printed in Milan in 1701, in which 
 an atteni)it is m;ide to ])ut a different interpretation on this passage. 
 V. 70. Throiujh the blear licjht.] 
 
 Lo fioco lume. 
 So Filicaja, canz. vi. st. 12. 
 
 Qual fioco lame. 
 V. 77. An old man.] 
 
 Portitor has liorrendns aquas et flumina servat 
 Terribili sqnalore Charon, cui plurima nu-nto . 
 Canities inculta jacet ; stant lumina llaniuui. 
 
 Vir;/. /En. lib. tI. 2, 
 V. 82. In fierce heat and in ice.] 
 
 The delighted spirit 
 To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside 
 In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice. 
 
 Shakesp. Measure fur Measure, a. iii. s. 1. 
 Compare Milton, P. L. b. ii. COO. 
 V. 92. The livid lake.] Vada livida. 
 
 Virrj. yF.n. lib. vi. 320. 
 Totius ut Incus putida-que jialudis 
 Lividissima, maximeqne est profunda vorago. 
 
 Catullus, xviii. 10. 
 V. 102. With eyes ofbirrninr; coal.] 
 
 His looks were dreadful, and his fiery eyes 
 Like two great beacons glared bright and wide. 
 
 S2M)iser. F. Q. b. vi. c. vii. st. 42. 
 V. 104. As fall off the li</ht of autumnal leaves.] 
 
 Qnnm multa in silvis autnmni frigore i^rimo 
 Lapsa cadunt folia. 
 
 Virg. J??i. lib. vi. 300. 
 Compare Apoll. Rhod. lib. iv. 214, 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 V. 8. A thund'roits sound.] Imitated, as Mr. Thyer has remarked, by 
 Milton, P. L. b. viii. 242. 
 
 But long ere onr approaching heard 
 Noise, other than the sound of dance or song, 
 Torment, and loud lament, and furious rage. 
 V. 50. A pvLssant one.] Our Saviour.
 
 364 NOTES, 
 
 V. 75. Honour the bard 
 
 Sitbl 17111'.] 
 Onorate I'iiltissiino poeta. 
 So Chiabrera, Canz. Eroiclie. i)2. 
 
 Onorando I'altissimo poeta. 
 V. 79. Of semblance neither sorrotoful nor glad.] 
 She lias to sober ne to plad. 
 
 Chaucer's Dream. 
 V. 90. T7ie Monarch of .vihlimest sonr/.] Homer. 
 V. 100. Fitter left untold.] 
 
 Che'l taccre fe bello. 
 So our Poet, in Canzone 14. 
 
 La vide in parte che'l tacere e bello. 
 Ruccellai, Le Api, 789. 
 
 Ch' a dire e brutto ed a tacerlo e bello. 
 \ And Berabo, 
 
 \ " Vie pill bello e il tacerle, clie il favellarne." 
 
 \ Gli. Asol. lib. 1. 
 
 i| V. 117. Electra.] The danshterof Atlas, and mother of DaiTlniiiis, tlie 
 
 p founder of Troy. See Virjj. jFm. b. viii. i;34. as referred to by Dant';- in 
 ij treatise " De Jlonarchia," lib. ii. "Electra, scilicet, nata maj^ni iionii.iis 
 •j regis Atlantis, lit de ambobus tcstinioninra reddit poeta noster in octavo 
 S ubi jEiieas ad Avandrnni sic ait 
 
 5 
 
 I "Dardanns Iliaerp," &c. 
 
 I V. 125. Julia.] The daughter of .Tuliiis C;T?sar, and wife of Poinpey. 
 
 i v. 126. The Soldan fierce.] Saladiu, or Salaheddiu, tlie rival of Rich- 
 
 ard Coiiir de Leon, See D'llcrbelot, Bibl Orient, and Knolles's Hist, 
 of the Turks, p. 57 to 7.3 ; and the Life of Saladin, by Bohao'edia Ebn 
 Shedad, jMiblished by Albert Sclmltcns, with a Latin translation. He is 
 introduced by Petrarch in the Triuin])li of Fame, c. ii. 
 v. 128. The master of the sapient thromj.] 
 
 Maestro di color die sanno. 
 Aristotle. — Petrarch assigns the first place to Plato. See Triumph of 
 Fame, c. iii. 
 Pulci, in his Morgante Maggiore, c. xviii. says, 
 
 Tu se'il maestro di color che sanno. 
 V. 132. Demorritus, 
 
 TF7io sets the ivorld at chance.] 
 Democritus, who maintained tlie world to have been formed by the 
 fortuitous concourse of atoms. 
 
 V. 140. Aviccji.] See D'llerbelot, Bibl. Orient, article Sina. He died 
 in 1050. Pulci here again imitates our poet : 
 
 Avicenna quel che il sentimento 
 Intese di Aristotile c i segreti, 
 Averrois che fece il gran coniento. 
 
 Morg. Mag. c. xxv. 
 V. 140. Him toho made 
 
 That commentary vast, Atterroes.] 
 Averroes, called by the Arabians Roschd, translated and commented 
 the works of Aristotle, According to Tirabosclii (Storia doUa Lett.
 
 HELL. 865 
 
 Ital. t. V. 1. ii. c. ii. sect. 4) he was the source of modern pliiloso])liical 
 impiety. The critic quotes some passages from rctrarch (Seiiih 1. v. 
 ep. iii. et. Oper. v. ii. p. 114o) to sliow liow stroiij^ly such seiitiineuts 
 prevailed in the time ol that poet, l^y wiiom tliey were lield in horror 
 and detestation. He adds, tliat tliis fanatic admirer of Aristotle trans- 
 hited his writings with that felicity, whicli might he expected from one 
 who did not know a syllable of Greek, and who was therefore compelled 
 to avail himself of the unfaithful Arabic versions. D'Herbelot, on the 
 other liand, informs us, that " Averroes was the first who translated 
 Aristotle from Greek into Arabic, before tlie Jews had made their trans- 
 lation ; and tliat we had for a long time no other text of Ai'istotle, ex- 
 cept that of the Latin translation, which was made from this Arabic 
 version of thih great philosopher (Averroes), who afterwards added to it 
 a very ample commentary, of which Thomas Aquinas, and the other 
 scholastic writers, availed themselves, before the Greek originals of 
 Aristotle and liis commentators were known to us iu Europe." Accord- 
 ing to D'Herbelot, he died iu 1198 ; but Tiraboschi places that event 
 about 1206. 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 V. 6. Grinning ivith ghastly feature.'] Hence Milton : 
 Death 
 Grinn'd horrible a ghastly smile. 
 
 P. L. b. ii. 845. 
 V. 46. As cranes.] This simile is imitated by Lorenzo de Medici, iu 
 his Ambra, a poem, first published by Mr. Roscoe, iu the Appendix to 
 his Life of Lorenzo. 
 
 Marking the tracts of air, the clamorous cranes 
 Wheel tlieir due flight in varied ranks descried ; 
 And each with outstretch'd neck his rank maintains, 
 In marshal'd order through th' etliereal void. 
 
 Roscoe, v. i. c. v. p. 257. 4to edit. 
 Compare Homer. II. iii. 3. Virgil, ^neid. 1. x. 264, and Ruccellai, Le 
 Api, 942, and Dante's Purgatory, Canto XXIV. 63. 
 V. 96. The land.] Ravenna. 
 V. 99. Love, that in gentle heart is quicTcly learnt.] 
 
 Amor, ch' al cor gentil ratto s'apprende, 
 A line taken by Marino, Adone, c. cxli. st. 251. 
 V. 102. Love, that denial takes from none helov'd.] 
 
 Amor, ch' a null' amato amar perdona. 
 So Boccaccio, in his Filocopo. 1. 1. 
 
 Amore mai non perdonb I'amore a nullo amato. 
 And Pulci, in the Morgante Maggiore, c. iv. 
 
 E perche amor mal volontier perdona, 
 Che non sia al fin sempre amato clii ama. 
 Indeed many of the Italian poets have repeated this verse. 
 V. 105. Caina.] The place to which murderers are doomed. 
 V. 113. Francesca.] Francesca, daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of 
 Ravenna, was given liy her father in marriage to Lanciotto, son of Jlala- 
 testa, lord of Rimini, a man of extraordinary courage, but deformed in 
 his person. His brother Paolo, who uuliappily possessed those graces
 
 3G() NOTKS. 
 
 which tlie hushnml of Frniicosca wanted, cngagprl lior affections ; and 
 beinfj; talven in adiilttry, they were lioth put to death by the enraged 
 Lanciotto. See Notes to Canto XXVll. v. 4;{. 
 
 Tlie wliole of this i)assat,'e is alluded to by Pctravcli, in liis Trinniph of 
 Love, c. iii. 
 
 V. 118. iN'^o f/rcotcr grief than to remember days 
 
 Of joy, when mis'ry is ul hand .'] 
 
 lniit;ited by Marino : 
 
 Che non lia doglia il niisero niapsiore, 
 Che ricordar la gioia entio il dolore. 
 
 Adone, c. xiv. st. 100. 
 And by Fortiguerra : 
 
 Kiniciiibrarc il ben pcrduto 
 Fa piu meschino lo presente stato. 
 
 Ricciurdetto, c. xi. st. 83. 
 Tlie original perhaps was in Boetius de Consol. Philosoph. "In onnii 
 adversitate fortiune infelicissinumi genus est iufortunii f uisse felicem et 
 non esse." 1. 2. \)v. 4. 
 
 V. 124. Luncvht.'] One of the Knights of the Round Table, and the 
 lover of Ginevra, or Guinever, celebrated in ronumce. The incident 
 alluded to seems to have made a strong impression on the imaginatiou 
 of Dante, who introduces it again, less happily, in the Paradise, Canto 
 XVI. 
 V. 128. At one point.'] 
 
 Questo quel punto fu, che sol mi vinse. 
 
 Tasso, II Torrisrnondo, a. i. s. 3. 
 V. 13G. And like a corpse fell to the groiind.] 
 
 E caddi, come corpo morto cade. 
 So Pulci : 
 
 E cadde come morto in terra cade. 
 
 Moryante Magf/oire, c. xxii. 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 V. 1. My sense reviving.'] 
 
 Al tornar della mente, che si chinse, 
 Dinanzi alia pieta de' duo cognati. 
 
 Berni has made a sportive application of these lines, in his Orl. Inn. 1. 
 iii. c. viii. st. 1. 
 
 V. 21. That great worm.] So in Canto XXXIV. Lucifer is called 
 Th' abhorred v:orm, that boreth through the world. 
 Ariosto has imitated Dante : 
 
 Ch' al gran verme infernal mette la briglia, 
 E che di lui come a lei par dis])one. 
 
 Orl. Fw: c. xlvi. st. 7fi. 
 V. 52. Ciacco.] So called from his inordin.'itc apjietite : Ciacco, in 
 Italian, signifying a pig. The real name of this glutton has not been 
 transmitted to us. He is introduced in Boccaccio's Deciuieron, Giorn. 
 ix. Nov. 8. 
 
 V. fil. The dinidcd city.] The city of Florence, divided into the Bianchl 
 and Neri factions. 
 V. 65. The wild party from the woods.] So called, because it was
 
 HELL. 367 
 
 headed by Veri de' Cerchi, whose family liad lately come into the city 
 from Acone, and tlie woody country of the Val di Nievolo. 
 
 V. (5<). Thr other.] The opposite party of the Neri, at the head of which 
 was Corso Doiiati. 
 
 V. 07. Tliis must fall.'] The Bianchi. 
 
 V. 69. Of one, who under shore 
 
 yoiv rests.] 
 
 Charles of Valois, by whose means the Neri were replaced. 
 
 V. 73. The just are two in 7iumber.] Who these two were, the com- 
 mentators are not agreed. 
 
 V. 7!). Of Farinatn and Teqghiaio.] See Canto X. and Notes, and 
 Canto XV[. and Notes. 
 
 V. SO. Glacopo.] Giacopo Knsticncci. See Canto XVI. and Notes. 
 
 V. 81. Arrigo, J/oscrt.] Of Arrigo, who is said by the commentators 
 to have been of the noble family of the Fifanti, no mention afterwards 
 occurs. Mosca degli Uberti is introduced in Canto XXVIII. 
 
 V. 108. Consult thy knoxvledge.] Wo are referred to the following pas- 
 sage in St. Augnstin : — " Cum fiet resurrectio carnis, et bonornm gaudia 
 et inalorum tormenta majora erunt." — " At the resurrection of the tlesli. 
 both the happiness of the good and the torments of the wicked will be 
 increased." 
 
 CANTO VII. 
 
 V. 1. Ah me ! Satan ! Satan !] 
 
 Pape Satan, Pape Satan, aleppe. 
 Pape is said by the commentatoi's to be the same as the Latin word 
 papcB ! "strange!" Of aleppe they do not give a more satisfactory 
 account. 
 
 See the Life of Benvenuto Cellini, translated bj' Dr. Nugent, v ii. b. 
 iii. c. vii. p. ll."?, where he mentions "having heard the words Paix, 
 paiXi Satan ! allez, paix ! in the court of justice at Paris. I recollected 
 what Dante said, when he with his master Virgil entered the gates of 
 hell : for Dante, and Giotto the jiainter, were together in France, and 
 visited Paris with particular attention, where the court of justice may be 
 considered as hell. Hence it is that Dante, who was likewise perfect 
 master of the French, made use of that expression ; and I have ofteu 
 been surprised that it was never understood in that sense." 
 V. 12. The first adulterer proud.] Satan. 
 v. 22. E'en as a hilloio.] 
 
 As when two billows in the Irish sowndes 
 Forcibly driven with contrarie tides, 
 Do meet together, each aback rebounds 
 With roaring rage, and dashing on all sides, 
 That filleth all the sea with foam, divides 
 The doubtful current into divers wayes. 
 
 Spenser, F. Q'. b. iv. c. 1. st. 42. 
 V. 48. Popes and cardinals.] Ariosto, having personified Avarice aa 
 a strange and hideous monster, says of her — • 
 
 Peggio facea nella Romana corte, 
 Che v'avea uccisi Cardinali e Papi. 
 
 Orl. Fur. c. xxvi. st. 32. 
 Worse did she in the court of Rome, for there 
 She had slain Popes and Cardinals.
 
 3i38 NOTKS. 
 
 V. 5)1. By vrces.vli/.] Tliis sciitiincnt called foitli the icpicheiisiou ol 
 Cecco d'Ascoli, in liis Acerha, 1. 1. c. i. 
 
 In cid pecc.'isti, O Fiorciitin poct.a, &c. 
 Herein, () Itaid of Florence, (li<lst tliou err, 
 Laying; it down that f<jrtiine's larj;esscs 
 Are fated tu their unal. Fnrtiin<; is none, 
 That reason cannot eonqner. Marie thou, Dante, 
 If any argument may gainsay this. 
 
 CANTO VIII. 
 
 V. 18. Phlcr/yas.'] Phle^yas, who was so incensed af^ainst Ajiollo, for 
 having violated his daugliter Coronis, that he set fire to the tem|il(; of 
 that deitv, by whose vengeance he was cast into Tartarus. See A'irg. 
 ^n. 1. vi." H18. 
 
 v. 59. Filippo Arr/enti.] Boccaccio tells ns, " he was a man remark- 
 able for the large jiroportions and extraordinary vigor of his bodily 
 frame, and the extreme waywardness and irascibility of Ins temper." 
 Decani, g. ix. n. 8. 
 
 V. G6. The city, that of Dis is nam'd.] So Ariosto. Orl. Fur. c. xl. 
 6t. 32. 
 
 V. 94. Seven times.] The commentators, .'says Venturi, iierplex them- 
 selves with the inquiry what seven perils these were from which Dante 
 had been delivered by Virgil. Reckoning the beasts in the first Cimto 
 as one of them, and adding Charon, Minos, Cerlierus, PlutMs, Phlegyas, 
 and Fili|)po Argenti, as so many others, we shall have the number ; and 
 if this be not satisfactory, we may suppose a determinate to have been 
 put for an indeterminate number. 
 
 V. 109. At ivar 'twixt loill and loill not.] 
 
 Che SI, e no nel capo mi tenzona. 
 
 So Boccaccio, Ninf. Fiesol. st. 233. 
 
 II PI e il lib nel capo gli contende. 
 
 The words I have adopted as a translation, are Shakspeare's, Measure 
 for Measure, a. ii. s. 1. 
 
 V. 122. This their insolence, not neio.] Virgil assures onr poet, that 
 these evil spirits had formerly shown the same insolence when our Sa- 
 vior descended into hell. They attemjited to prevent him from entering 
 at the gate, over which Dante had read the fatal inscription. "That 
 gate which," says the Roman poet, "an angel has just ])assed, by whose 
 aid we shall overcome this opposition, and gain admittance into the city." 
 
 CANTO IX. 
 V. 1. The 7i7(c.] Virgil, perceiving that Dante was pale with fear, re- 
 etrained those outward tokens of displeasure which his own countenance 
 had betrayed. 
 
 V. 23. Erietho.] Erictho, a Thessalian sorceress, according to Lncan, 
 Pharsal. 1. vi. was employed by Sextus, son of Pompey the Great, to 
 conjure up a spirit, who should inform him of the issue of the civil wars 
 ■between his father and Caesar. 
 V. 25. No long space my flesh 
 
 Was naked of me.] 
 Qam corpus complexa animae tam fortis inane. 
 
 Ovid. Met. 1. xiii. f. 2.
 
 HELL. . 369 
 
 Daiito appears to liave fallen into a strange anachronism, Virgil's 
 deatli did not haiipcn till Jong after this period. 
 V. 42. Adders and cerastes.] 
 
 Vipereum crineni vittis iiniexa cruentis. 
 
 Virr/. ^n. 1, vi. 281. 
 ^spiuaqne vagi torquente cerastaj 
 
 - - - - et torrida dipsas 
 
 Et gravis in geminum vergens capnt amphisba'na. 
 
 Lucan. Pharsal. 1. ix. 719. 
 So Milton : 
 
 Scorpion and asp, and ampliisba-na dire, 
 Cerastes liorn'd, liydrus and elops drear, 
 And dipsas. 
 
 P. L. b. X. 524. 
 V. G7. A wind.] Imitated by Berni, Oil. Inn. 1. 1. c. ii. st. 6. 
 V. 88. With Jiis wand.] 
 
 She with her rod did softly snute the raile, 
 Which straight flew ope. 
 
 S2Knscr. F. Q. b. iv. c. iii. st. 40. 
 V. <,)(). What projits at the fays to hut the horn.] "Of what avail can it 
 be to offer violence to impassive behigs ? " 
 
 V. 97. Yonr Cerberus.] Cerberns is feigned to have been dragged by 
 Hercules, bound with a three-fold chain, of which, says the angel, he 
 still bears the marks. 
 
 v. 111. The plains of Aries.] In Provence. See Ariosto, Orl. Fur. c. 
 xxxix. st. 72. 
 
 v. 112. At Pola.] A city of Istria, situated near the gulf of Quaniaro, 
 in the Adriatic sea. 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 V. 12. Josaphat.] It seems to have been a common opinion among the 
 Jews, as well as among many Christians, that the general judgment will 
 be held in the valley of Josaiihat, or Jehoshajihat : " I will also giither 
 all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshajihat, 
 and will plead with them there for my people, and for my heritage 
 Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my 
 land." Joel, iii. 2. 
 
 V. 32. Farivafa.] Farinata dcgli Uberti, a noble Florentine, was the 
 leader of the Ghibelline faction, when they obtained a signal victory 
 over the Guelfi at Montapei-to, near the river Arbia. IMacciiiavelli cal's 
 him "a man of exalted soul, and great military talents." Hist, of Flor. 
 b. ii. 
 
 V. 52. A shade.] The spirit of Cavalcante Cavalcanti, a noble Floreij- 
 tine, of the Guelph ])arty. 
 
 V. 59. 3fy S07).] Guido, the son of Cavalcante Cavalcanti ; "he whom 
 I call the first of my friends," says P.inte in his A'^ita Nnova, where the 
 coniniencement of their friend^hij) is related. From the character given 
 of him by contcm|3orary writ(^rs, his temper was well formed to assimi- 
 late with that of our poet. " He was," according to G. Villani, 1. viii. c. 
 41. " of a ])hilosophical and elegant mind, if he had not been too delicate 
 and fastidious." And Dino Compagni terms him " a young and noble 
 
 24
 
 'd'tO NOTES. 
 
 knight, bravo and conrteoiis, but of a lofty scornful si)irit, much addicted 
 to solitude and study." Muratori. lier. Ital. Scii|)t. t. It. 1. 1. |). 481. He 
 died, citlicr in exile at Serrazana, or soon after his return to Florence, 
 December t;?00, diirinj;- the spring of which year the action of this poem 
 is supposed to be passing. 
 
 V. 62. Guido thy son 
 
 Had ill coiHcmpt.] 
 
 Guido Cavalcanti, being more given to ])hilosophy than poetry, was 
 perhaps no groat admirer of Virgil. Some p(;ctical comimsitions by 
 Guido are, however, still extant ; and his reputation for skill in the art 
 was .such as to eclipse that of his predecessor and namesake Guido 
 Guinicelli, as we shall see in the Purgatory, Canto XI. His "Canzone 
 sopra il Terreno Aniore" was thought worthy of b(nng illustrated by 
 numerous and ample commentaries. Crescinibeni 1st. della Volg. Poes. 
 1. V. 
 
 For a ]>layful sonnet which Dante addressed to him, and a spirited 
 translation of it, see Hayley's Essay on Epic Poetry, Notes to Ep. iii. 
 
 V. 66. Saidst thou he' had?] In ^Escliylus, the shade of Darius is 
 represented as inquiring with similar anxiety after the fate of his son 
 Xerxes. 
 
 Atnssn, MoroSa 5e 'Eip^r)v epTj/xbi' ((>acriu 6v izokKiav /xe'ra — • ' • 
 Darius. Uws 5e 5») khI ttoi TeKevTav etrri ; Tts aioTr^pCa ; 
 
 nErSAI. 723. 
 
 Atossa. Xerxes astonisli'd, desolate, alone — 
 
 Ghost of Dar. How will this end ? Nay, pause not. Is he safe ? 
 
 The Persians. Patterns Translation. 
 
 V. 77. Not yet fifty times.'] " Not fifty months shall be passed, before 
 thou shalt learn, by woeful experience, the difficulty of returning from 
 banishment to thy native citj'." 
 
 V. 83. The slaur/hter.] " By means of Farinata degli Uberti, the Guelfi 
 were conquered by the army of King Manfredi, near the river Arbia, 
 with so great a slaughter, that those who escaped from that defeat took 
 refuge not in Florence, which city they considered as lost to them, but 
 iu Lucca." Macchiavelli. Hist, of Flor. b. 2. 
 
 V. 86. Such orisons.] This appears to allude to certain prayers which 
 were offered up in the churches of Florence, for deliverance from the 
 hostile attempts of the Uberti. 
 
 V. flO. SinqJi/ there I stood.] Guido Novello assembled a council of 
 the Ghibellini at Empoli, where it was agreed by all, that, in order to 
 maintain the ascendency of the Ghibelliue party in Tuscany, it was nec- 
 essary to destroy Floi'ence, which could serve only (tlie people of that 
 city being Guelfi) to enable the party attached to the church to recover 
 its strength. This cruel sentence, passed upon so noble a city, met ^^•itll 
 no opposition from any of its citizens or friends, except Farinata degli 
 Uberti, who ojienly and without reserve forbade the measure, affirming 
 that he had endured so ninny hardships, and encountered so many 
 dangers, with no other view than that of being able to pass his days in 
 his own country. Macchiavelli. Hist, of Flor.b. 2. 
 
 V. 103. Mif fault.] Uante felt remorse for not having returned an 
 immediate answer to tlie inquiry of Cavalcante, from wiiich delay he 
 was led to believe that his son Guido was no longer living. 
 
 V. 120. Frederick.] The Emperor Frederick the Second, who died in 
 1250. See Notes to Canto Xill. 
 
 V. 121. The Lord Cardinal .] Ottaviano Ubaldini, a Florentine, made
 
 HELL. 871 ■ 
 
 Cardinal in 1245, and deceased about 1273. On account of his great 
 influence, lie was generally known by tlie appellation of "the Cardinal." 
 It is reported of liini tiiat he declared, if there were any such thing as a 
 human soul, he liad lost his for the Ghibellini. 
 V. 132 Her gracious beam.] Beatrice. 
 
 CANTO XI. 
 
 V. 9. Pope Anof^tasms.] The commentators are not agreed concerning 
 the identity of the person, who is here mentioned as a fohower ol' tlie 
 heretical Photinus. By some he is supjiosed to have been AnastMsins 
 the Second ; by others, the Fourth of that nauie ; wliile a third set, 
 jealous of the integrity of tlie pa]>al faith, contend that our poet has con- 
 fonnded him with Anastasius I. Emperor of tlie East. 
 
 V. 17. Ml/ so?).] The remainder of the present Canto may be con- 
 sidered as a syllabus of the wliole of tliis part of tlie poem. 
 
 V. 48. And sorroii-s.] Tliis flue moral, that not to enjoy our being is 
 to be nngrateful to the Author of it, is well expressed in Spenser, F. Q. 
 b. iv. c. viii. st. 15. 
 
 For he whose dales in wilful woe are worne, 
 
 The grace of his Creator doth despise, 
 
 Tliat will not use his gifts for thankless nigardise. 
 
 V. 53. Cahors.] A city in Guienne, mucli frequented by nsurers. 
 
 V. 83. Thy ethic page.] He refers to Aristotle's Ethics. 
 
 " Mera 5e Ta.vTa AeKTe'o)' a\\r]v TroiTJcrajticVonS apx')'', OTi tCiv irepl To. rjOrj (jievKTiiv 
 rpCa ecTTii' eiSr), KaKia, axpacria, 0ripi.6Tri<;. Etldc. Nicomach. 1. vii. C. i. 
 
 "In the next place, entering on another division of the subject, let it 
 be defined, that respecting morals there are three sorts of things to be 
 avoided, malice, incontinence, and bruti.shness." 
 
 V. 104. Her lavs.] Ari.stOtle's PliysicS. — " 17 rexi-i? /xifxerrai Tr\v 4>v(Tii'." 
 
 Arist. *Y2. AKP. 1. ii. c. ii. " Art imitates nature." — See the Coltiva- 
 zione of Alamanni, 1. 1. 
 
 1' arte umaua, &c. 
 
 V. 111. Creation's holy hook.] Genesis, c. iii. v. 19. "In the sweat of 
 thy face slialt thou eat bread." 
 
 V. 119. The wain.] The constellation Bootes, or Charles's waiu. 
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 V. 17. The king of Athens.] Theseus, who was enabled, by the 
 Instructions of Ariadne, the sister of the Minotaur, to destroy that 
 monster. 
 
 V. 21. Like to a bull.] 
 
 'fis 5' oral' b^vv exeoi/ ireXeKvv oi^Jjiog avrip, 
 K6i|/as i^oniOev Kepdwv ^obs aypavXoio, 
 'Iva. Ttt/xT) Sua. iracrav, 6 Se wpodopuiv epiVrjcj-tv. 
 
 Homer. H. 1. xvii. 522. 
 As when some vig'rous youth with sharpcn'd axe 
 A pastur'd bullock smites behind tlie horns. 
 And hews the muscle through ; he, at the stroke 
 Springs forth and falls. 
 
 Cowper's Translation.
 
 OiZ NOTES. 
 
 V .'in. He nrrii''il.] Our Saviour, wlio, aocordinjT t(i Dante, wlien he 
 ascc'iidcil from licll, carried witli liiiii tlie souls of tlio patriarclm, and 
 otliui' just iiiCM, out of tlie first circii;. ' Sue Canto IV. 
 
 V. "Ki, jVc.'(.s/(s.) Our ]ioi't was probably indiiciMl, l)y the f<jllo\\in<i line 
 in Ovid, to asHif^n to Nessiis the task of conducting tlieni over the ford : 
 Nessus adit nicnibri.sque valens scitnsque vadorimi. 
 
 Melmn. 1. ix. 
 And Ovid's authority was Sophocles, who says of this Centaur — 
 
 , O? Tof PaOiipjiovv TTOTa/ibi/ Eiirfvov ^poTOUS 
 MiaBoii TTopeve xcpalv ourt Trofiirinois 
 Kujirai; «pt'<rCT<oi','OUT« \aC(f>eiTiv few;. 
 
 Track. 570. 
 He in his arms, Even us' stream 
 Dcep-fiowin<i, bore the ])assen,y:er for hire, 
 Without or sail or billow-cleaving oar. 
 
 V. 110. Ezzolino.'] E/.zolino, or Azzolino di Romano, a most cruel 
 tyrant in the ]M;irca Trivigiana, Lord of Padua, Yiccnza, A'eiona, and 
 Brescia, who died in 12(50. His atrocities form the subject of a Latin 
 tragedy, called J'^i'ccrinis, by Albertino Mussato, of Padua, the contem- 
 jioi'ary of Dante, and the most elegant writer of Latin verse of that age. 
 Sec also the Paradise, Canto IX. Berni. Orl. Tim. 1. ii. c. xxv. st. 50. 
 Ariosto. (>rl. Fur. c. iii. st. o.'i. and Tassoni Seccliia Hapita, c. viii. st. 11. 
 
 V. 111. (ihizzo' of Este.] Marquis of Ferrara and of the INL-irca d'An- 
 cnna, was murdered by liis own son (whom, for the most unn.'itural act, 
 Dante calls his step-son), iov the sake of tlie treasures which his rapacity 
 had amassed. See Ariosto. Orl. Fur. c. iii. st. 32. He died in 1293, 
 according to Gibbon. Ant. of the House of Brunswick. Posth. Works, 
 V. ii. 4to. 
 
 V. Ill), //c] " Henrie, tlie brother of this Edmund, and son to the 
 foresaid king of Almaine (Richard, brother of Henry III. of England) as 
 lie returned from Affrike, where he had been with Prince Edward, was 
 slain at Vitorbo in Italy (whither he was come about business which he 
 had to do with the Pope) by the hand of Guy de Montfort, the son of 
 Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, in revenge of tlie same Simon's 
 death. The niurther was committed afore the high altar, as the same 
 Henrie kneeled tiiere to hear divine service." a.d. 1272, Holinshed's 
 Cliron. p. 275. See also Giov. Villani Hist. I. vii. c. 40. 
 
 V. 1.35. On Serins and on Pyrrhus.] Sextus, either the son of Tarqnin 
 the Prond, or of Pompey the Great ; or, as Vellutelli conjectures, Sextus 
 Claudius Nero, and Pyrrhus king of Epirns. 
 
 V. 137. The Rinieri, of Corneio this, 
 
 Pazzo the other named.'] 
 
 Two noted marauders, by whose depredations tlie public ways in Italy 
 were infested. The latter was of the noble family of Pazzi in Florence. 
 
 CANTO xm. 
 
 V. 10. BeticiTt Corncto and CecbuCs stream.'] A wild and woody tract 
 of country, abounding in deer, goats, and wild boars. Cecina is a river 
 not far to the south of Leghorn ; Corneto, a small city on the same 
 coast, in the iiatrimony of the church. 
 
 V. 12. The Stnqihitdrs.] See Virg. ^,n. 1. iii. 210. 
 
 V. 14. Broad arc their pennons.] From Virg. .^n. 1. iii. 216.
 
 nELL, 373 
 
 V. 48. In my verxe drarrihrd.] Tlie commentators cx|)lain this, " If lie 
 could liave believed, in consequence of my assurances alone, tliat of wliicli 
 he liath now had ocular proof, he would not have stretched forth his 
 hand against thee." But 1 am of o])inion that Dante makes Viri;il 
 allude to his own story of Polydorus, in the third book of the j-Eueid. 
 
 V. 5(i. That pleasant loord vf thine.] " Since you have inveigled me to 
 speak my holding forth so gratifying an expectation, let it not disi>]ease 
 you if I am as it were detained in the snare you have spread for me, so 
 as to be somewhat ])roIix in my answer." 
 
 V. 60. I it lous.] Pietro delle Vigne, a native of Capua, who, from a 
 low condition, raised himself by his eloc(uence and legal knowledge to 
 the office of Chancellor to the Emperor Frederick II. whose confidence in 
 him was such, that his influence in the empire became unbounded. The 
 courtiers, envious of his exalted situation, contrived, by means of forged 
 letters, to make Frederick believe that lie held a secret and traitorous 
 intercourse with the Pope, who was then at enmity with the Emperor. 
 In consequence of this supposed crime he was cruelly condemned by his 
 too credulous sovereign to lose liis eyes, and, being driven to despair by 
 his unmerited calamity and di.sgrace, he put an end to his life by dashing 
 out his brains against the walls of a church, in the year 1245. Both 
 Frederick and Pietro delle Vigne composed verses in the Sicilian dialect, 
 which are yet extant. 
 
 V. 07. The harlot] Envy. Chaucer alludes to this iu the Prologue to 
 the Legeude of Good Women. 
 
 Envie is lavender to the court alway, 
 For she ne parteth neither night ne day 
 Out of the house of Cesar ; thus saitli Dant. 
 
 V. 119. Each fan o' th' luood.] Hence perhaps Miltou : 
 Leaves and fuming rills, Aurora's fan. 
 
 P. L. b. V. 6. 
 
 T. 122. Lano.] Lano, a Siennese, who, being reduced by prodigality 
 to a state of extreme want, found his existence no hjnger supportable ; 
 and, having been sent by his couutrymeii on a military expedition, to 
 assist the Florentines against the Aretini, took that opportunity of ex- 
 posing himself to certain death, in the engagement which took place at 
 Toppo near Arezzo. See G. Villani. Hist. 1. 7. c. cxix. 
 
 V. 133. Giacomo 
 
 Of Sunt' Andrea .'] 
 
 Jacopo da Sant' Andrea, a Padnan, who, having wasted his property 
 in the most wanton acts of profusion, killed himself in despair. 
 
 V. 144. In that citi/.] " I was an inhabitant of Florence, that city 
 ■wliich changed her first patron Mars for St. .Tohn the Ba|itist, fin- which 
 reason the vengeance of the deity thus slighted will never be appeased ; 
 and, if some remains of his statue were not still visible on the bridge 
 over the Arno, she would have been already levelled to the ground ; and 
 thus the citizens, who raised her again from the ashes to which Attila 
 had reduced her, would have laboured in vain." See Paradise, Canto 
 XVI. 44. 
 
 The relic of antiquity, to which the superstition of Florence attached 
 so high an importance, was carried away by a (loud, that destroyed the 
 bridge on which it stood, in the year I'^ol, but without the ill effects 
 th.at were apprehended from the loss of their fancied Palladium. 
 
 V. 152. I slumj the fatal noose.] We are not informed who this suicide 
 was.
 
 374 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 V. 15. liii Cato'sfoot.'] See Liican, Plijirs, 1. 0. 
 
 V. '2C>. liilutedjialccs ofJiir.\ (Joiiiinue Tasso. fi. L. c. x. st. 61. 
 
 V. 28. As, in the torrid Indian clinic] Laiidino refers to Albertus 
 Maguiis for tlie ciiciiiiistaiico here alluded to. 
 
 V. 53. In Mon<iiJ)<:llo. J 
 
 More hot tlian MUi" or flaniinj? Mongibcll. 
 
 Spenser, F. Q. b. ii. c. ix. st. 29. 
 
 Soo Y'u'j;. JFa\. 1. viii. 41«). and Beriii. Orl. Inn. 1. i. c. xvi. st. 21. It 
 would be endless to refer to iiarallel i)assajics in the Greek writers. 
 
 V. (i4. Tliis of the seiten kinfis 'n'd.t oiic.\ (Jompare ^I'^scli. Seven Chiefs, 
 425. Euripides, I'hcen. llT'.t.' and Statius. Tlieb. 1. x. 821. 
 
 V. 7(). Bulicame.] A warm medicinal spring near Viterbo, tlie waters 
 of which, as Laudino and Vellutelli affirm, passed by a place of ill lame, 
 ■yenturi, with less probability, conjectures that Dante would imply, that 
 it w-as tlie scene of much licentious merriment among those who fre- 
 quented its baths. 
 
 V. 'Jl. Under ivJtose monarch.] 
 
 Credo pudicitiam Saturno rege moratam 
 
 In terris. Juv. Satir. vi. 
 
 V. 102. His head.] Daniel, ch. ii. 32, 33. 
 
 V. 133. Whither.] Ou the other side of Purgatory. 
 
 CANTO XV, 
 
 V. 10. Chiarentana.] A part of the Alps where the Brenta rises, 
 which river is much swoln as soon as the snow begins to dissolve on the 
 mountains. 
 
 v. 28. Brimetto.] " Ser Brunetto, a Florentine, the secretary or chan- 
 cellor of the city, and Dante's pireceiitor, hath left us a work so little 
 read, that both the subject of it and the language of it have been mis- 
 taken. It is in the French spolcen in the reign of St. Louis, under the 
 title of Tresor, and contains a species of philosophical course of lectures 
 divided into theory and practice, or, as he expresses it, v)i enchaiisse- 
 ment des chases diiunes et hmnaines," &c. Sir R. Clayton's Translation 
 of Tenhove's Memoirs of the Medici, vol. i. ch. ii. p. 104. The Tresor 
 has never been printed in the original language. Tliere is a fine manu- 
 script of it in the British Museum, with an illuminated portrait of Bru- 
 netto in his study prefixed. JIus. Brit. MSS. 17, E. 1. Tesor. It is 
 divided into four books ; the first, on Cosmogony and Theology ; the 
 second, a transPatiou of Aristotle's Ethics ; the third on Virtues and 
 Vices ; the fourth, on Rhetoric. For an interesting memoir relating to 
 this work, see Hist, de I'Acad. des Inscrijjtions, torn. vii. 296. 
 
 His Tesoretto, one of the earliest productions of Italian poetry, is a 
 curious work, not unlike the writings of Chaucer in style and numbers, 
 though Bembo remarks, that his jnipil, however hirgely he had stolen 
 from it, could not have much enriched himself. As it is perhaps but 
 little known, I will here add a slight sketch of it. 
 
 Brunetto describes himself as returning from an embassy to the King 
 of S})ain, on which be had been sent by the Gneli)h party from Florence. 
 On the plain of Ilonccsvalles he meets a scholar on a bay mule, who 
 tells him that the Guelfi are driven out of the city with great loss.
 
 HELL. 375 
 
 Struck with grief at these mournful tidings, nnd musing witli liis liciul 
 bent downwards, he loses his road, and wanders into a wood. Here 
 Nature, whose figure is described with sultliniity, ajjpears, an.d discloses 
 to him the secrets of her ojierations. After this he \\iinders into a 
 desert ; but at lengtli i)roceeds on liis way, under the jirfitection of a 
 banner, with which Nature had furnished iiim, till on the thiid day he 
 finds himself in a large pleasant champaign, where are assembled many 
 emperors, kings, and sages, ft is the habitation of Virtue and her 
 daughters, the four Cardinal Virtues. Here Brunetto sees also Courtesy, 
 Bounty, Loy.alty, and Prowess, and hears the instructions they give to a 
 knight, which occupy about a fourth i)art of the poem. Leaving this 
 territorj', he passes over valleys, mountains, woods, forests, and bridges, 
 till he arrives in a beautiful valley covered with flowers on all sides, and 
 the richest in the world ; but which was continually shifting its api)ear- 
 auce from a round figure to a square, from obscurity to light, and from 
 populousness to soltitude. This is the region of Pleasure, or Cupid, 
 who is accomjianied by four ladies, Love, Hope, Fear, and Desire. lu 
 one part of it he meets with Ovid, and is instructed by him how to con- 
 quer the passion of love, and to escape from that place. After his 
 escape he makes his confession to a friar, and then leturns to the forest 
 of visions : and ascending a mountain, he meets with Ptolemy, a vener- 
 able old man. Here the narrative breaks off. The poem ends, as it 
 began, with an address to Rustico di Filippo, on whom he lavishes every 
 port of praise. 
 
 It has been observed, that Dante derived the idea of opening his 
 poem by describing himself as lost in a wood, from the Tesuretto of his 
 master. I know not whether it has been remarked, that the crime of 
 usury is branded by both these poets as offensive to God and Nature : 
 or that the sin for which Brunetto is condemned by his pupil, is men- 
 tioned in the Tesoietto with great horror. Dante's twenty-fifth sonnet 
 is a jocose one, addressed to Brunetto. He died in 1295 
 
 V. 62. Who in old times came dozen from Fesolc] See G. Villaui, 
 Hist. 1. iv. c. 5. and Macchiav. Hi.st. of Flor. b. ii. 
 
 V. 89. With another text.] He refers to the prediction of Farinata, in 
 Canto X. 
 
 V. 110. Priscian.] There is no reason to believe, as the commentators 
 observe, that the granunarian of this name was stained with the vice 
 imputed to him ; and we must therefore suppose that Dante ])uts the 
 individual for the species, and implies the frequency of the crime among 
 those who abused the opportunities which the education of youth 
 afforded them, to so abominable a purpose. 
 
 V. 111. Fixinccsco.] Son of Accorso, a Florentine, celebrated for his 
 skill in juiisi>rudence, and commonly known by the name of Acciir.xins. 
 
 V. 113. Him.'] Andrea de' Mozzi, who, that his scandalous life niigl.t 
 be less exjiosed to observation, was translated either by Nicholas III. or 
 Boniface VIH. from the see of Florence to that of Vicenza, throu.sih 
 which passes the river Bacchiglione. At the latter of these places he 
 died. 
 
 V. 114. The serranis' servayit.] Servo de' servi. 
 
 So Ariosto, Sat. 3. 
 
 Degli servi 
 lo sia il gran servo. 
 
 V. 124. I commend my Treasure <o <7tee.] Brunette's great work, the 
 Tresor. 
 
 Sieti raccomandato '1 mio Tesoro.
 
 ■57() NOTES. 
 
 So (iiiistu do* Coiiti, in liis liflhi IM;iiio, Son. " Oorhi: '' 
 Siavi lacfoinniaiuliito il niio Tcsoro. 
 
 CANTO XVI. 
 
 V. :^8. Giinhlrailn.'] OnaMrada was tlio daiislitrr of Bollinoiono Berti, 
 of whom mention is iiiado in tlie rarndise, Canto XV. and XVI. Ho 
 was of the fainily of liavi^nani, a hninc-h of the Adimari. Tlie Kmpcror 
 Otho IV. heinu' at a festival in Florence, wlieie (Inaldrada was i)resent, 
 was struck witli her l)oant.v ; and inqtiirinLC who she was, was answered 
 by Helliiicione, that she was the dansliter of one wlio, if it was his 
 Majesty's pleasure, would make her admit the honour of his salute. ( )ii 
 oveVhearinsc this, she arose from her seat, and blushin;?, in an animated 
 tone of voice, desired her father that lie would not be so liberal in his 
 ofTers. for that no man should ever be allowed that freedom, cxoejit him 
 who should l)e her lawful husband. The Emperor was not less deli.uhted 
 \)y her resolute modesty than he had before been by the loveliness of 
 her person, and callins'to him (Inido, one of his barons, gave her to him 
 in niarri.age, at the same time raisim^ him to the rank of a count, and be- 
 stowing on lier the whole of Casentino, and a part of tlie territory of 
 Romnuna, as her portion. Two sons were the offspring of this union, 
 Giiglielmo and Iluguieri, the hitter of wliom was father of Guidognerra, 
 a man of great military skill and jirowess ; who, at the liead of four 
 iiundred Florentines of the Gueliih ])arty, was signally instrumental tv> 
 the victory obtained at IJenevciito by Charles of Anjou, over ]Manfredi, 
 King of Naples, in 12()5. One of tlie con.sequences of this victory was 
 the expulsion of the Ghibellini, and the re-establishment of the Guelfi at 
 Florence. 
 
 V. ?>Vi. Mitny n nnhle act.'] Comjiare Tasso, G. L. c. i. st. 1. 
 
 V. 42. AldohramU.] Tegghiaio Aldobrandi ^^as of the noble family of 
 Adimari, and ninch esteemed for his military talents. He endeavoured 
 to dissuade tlie Florentines from the attack which they meditated against 
 the Siennese, and tlie rejection of his counsel occasioned the memorable 
 defeat wliich the former sustained at Montaperto, and the consequent 
 banishment of the Guelfi from Florence. 
 
 V. 45. Rnsticnrcl] Giacopo Rusticucci, a Florentine, remarkable for 
 his opulence and the generosity of his spirit. 
 
 V. 70. Borsiere.'] GuglielmoBorsiere, another Florentine, whom Boc- 
 caccio, in a story which he relates of him, terms " a man of courteous 
 and elegant manners, and of great readiness in conversation." Dec. 
 Giorn. i. Nov. 8. 
 
 V. 84. When thou icith pleasure shall retrace the pasf] 
 Quando ti giovera dicere io fui. 
 
 So Tasso, G. L. c. xv. st. 38. 
 
 Quando mi giovera narrar altrui. 
 Le no vita vedute, e dire; io fui. 
 
 V. 121. Ever to that truth.'] This memorable apophthegm is repeated 
 by Luigi Pulci and Trissino. 
 
 Senipre a quel ver, ch' ha faccia di menzogna 
 E ])iii senno tacer la lingua cheta, 
 Che spesso senza colpa fa vergogna. 
 
 Morgante Mafjr;. c. xxiv.i
 
 nKT,L. B77 
 
 Ln, verity, olie par niPnsop;nfi, 
 Si dovrebbe tacer dall' iiom ch' e sassio. 
 
 Italia Lib. c. xvi. 
 
 CANTO XVII. 
 
 V. 1. The fell monster.'] Fraud. 
 
 V. 53. A povch.'] A purse, wlieieon the armorial beariiips of each were 
 emblazoned. According to Laiidino, our poet imiflies tliat the usurer 
 can jjretend to no other honour, than such as he derives from his i)urse 
 and his family. 
 
 V. 57. A yellow purse.'] The arms of the Gianfij^Iiazzi of Florence. 
 
 V. 60. Another.] Those of the Ubbriachi, another Florentine family 
 of high distinction. 
 
 V. 62. A fat and aztn-e s^cine.] The arms of the Scrovigni a noble 
 family of Padua. 
 
 V. (kj. VitaUano.] Vitaliano del Dente, a Paduan. 
 
 V. 69. That noble l-night.] Giovanni Bn^amonti, a Florenthie usurer, 
 the most infamous of Ids time. 
 
 CANTO XVIII. 
 
 V. 28. With vs beyond.] Beyond the middle point they tended the 
 same way with us, but their ]ince was quicker tlian ours. 
 
 V. 29. F'eji thus the Bomans.] In the year l.SOO, Pojie Boniface VIII., 
 to remedy the inconvenience occasioned by the pre.--s of peoi)le, who were 
 passing over the bridge of St. Angelo duiing the time of the Jubilee, 
 caused it to be divided lengthwise by a imrtition, and ordered, that all 
 those who were going to St. Peter's should keep one side, and thuse re- 
 turning the other. 
 
 V. 50. Venedico.] Venedico Cacciaidniico, a Bolognese, who prevailed 
 on his si.ster Ghisola to prostitute hejsclf to Obizzo da Este, Marquis of 
 Ferrara, whom we have seen among the tyrants. Canto XII. 
 
 V. 62. To answer S'i])i\.] He denotes Bologna by its situation between 
 the rivers Savena to the east, and Reno to the west of that city; and by 
 a peculiarity of dialect, the use of the affirinative s/pa instead of si. 
 
 V. 90. Ilypsipijle.] See .\pollonius Rhodius, 1. i. and Valerius Flaccus, 
 1. ii. Hypsipyle deceived the other women by concealing her father 
 Thoas, when they had agreed to put all their males to death. 
 
 V. 120. Ahssio'.] Alessio, of an ancient and consideiable family in 
 Lucca, called tlie fnternnnei. 
 
 V. 130. Thais.] He alludes to that passage in the Eunnchus of Terence, 
 wliere Tliraso aslcs if Thais was obliged to him for the present he h;id 
 sent her, and Gnatho replies, that she had expressed her obligation in 
 the most forcible terms. 
 
 T. Magiias vero agere gratias Thais mihi ? 
 
 G. Ingentes. Evn. a. iii. b. i. 
 
 CANTO XIX. 
 
 V. 18. Saint .John's fair dovfie.] The apertures in the rock were of 
 the same dimensions as the fonts of St. .John the liajilist at Florence, one 
 of which, Dante says, he had broken, to rescue a child that was jilayiug
 
 878 N(>TKK. 
 
 near iind foil in IIo iiitimatos tli;it tlio inotivo of liis biciking tlic font 
 liail been iiiulieioiisl.v rciirosuiited by liirf enemies. 
 
 V. Tio. O I lit)) >/<«■('' !] Tiie spirit niist:il<cs D.into for P.oiiifape VIII. 
 who was thou ahve, and wiio he did not expect wmild have arrived so 
 Boon, in conscinience, as it sliouUi seem, of a propliecy, whicli predicted 
 tlic death of that I'ope at a later i)criod. Koniface died in II'-O.'!. 
 
 V. 58. /u guile.'] " Tlum didst presume to arrive by fraudulent means 
 at th<! papal power, and afterwards to abuse it." 
 
 V. 71. jiithe niii/htif nxiiille I icas rob'd.] Nicholas III. of the Ortdni 
 family, whom the poet therefore calls " figliuol deir or.sa," " son of the 
 she-bear," He died in 1281. 
 
 V. <S!). Fromfirrtli the west, a shrphrrd-\i'ithovt lav;.'] Bcrtrand de Got, 
 Archbishop of Bonrdeaux, who su<'ioed(d to the pontificate in i;505, and 
 asstnned the title of Clement V. He transferred the holy see to Aviynou 
 in loOS (where it remained till 137(5), and died in 1314. 
 
 V. 88. A nev) J«.s))i.] See Maccabees, b. li. c. iv. 7, 8. 
 
 V. 97. Nov Peter.] Acts of the Apostles, c. i. 26. 
 
 V. 100. T/ic eoiKicmned sdjil.] Judas. 
 
 V. 10.">. Af/ainst Cliaiies.] Nicholas III. was enraged af];ainst Charles I. 
 King of Sicily, beciiuse he rejected with scorn a proposition made by 
 that Pope for an alliance between their families. See G. Villani, Hist. 
 1. vii. c. liv. 
 
 V. lOli. Th' Eranrjeli'ft.] Rev. c. xvii. 1, 2, 3. Compare Petrarch. Opera, 
 fol. ed. Basil. 1554. Epist. sine titulo liber, ep. xvi. p. 72!). 
 
 V. 118. Ally Constantine .'] He alludes to the pretended gift of the 
 Lateran by Constantine to Silvester, of which Dante himself seems to 
 imply a doubt, in his treatise " De Monarchia." — "Ergo scindere Im- 
 periiim, Imperatori non licet. Si ergo aliquae dignitates per Constau- 
 tinura essent alienat;"e ^ut dicunt) ab Imperio," &c. 1. iii. 
 
 The gift is by Ariosto very humorously placed in the moou, among the 
 things lost or abused on earth. 
 
 Di varj tiori, &c. 0. F. c. xxxiv. st. 80. 
 
 Milton has translated both this passage and that iu the text. Prose 
 Works, vol. i. p. 11. ed. 1753. 
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 V. 11. Eevers'd.] Compare Spenser, F. Q. b. i. c. viii. st. 31. 
 
 V. 30. Be/ore -whose eyes.] Amphiaraiis, one of the seven kings who 
 oesJeged Thebes He is said to have been swallowed up by an opening 
 of the earth. See Lidgate's Storie of Thebes, Part III. where it is told 
 how the " Bishop Amphiaraiis " fell down to hell. 
 
 And thus the devill for his outrages, 
 Like his desert payed him his wages. 
 
 A different reason for his being doomed tlius to perish is assigned by 
 Pindar. 
 
 o S' 'An'jiidpTqi, &c. 2fem ix. 
 
 For thee, Amphiaraiis, earth. 
 By Jove's all-riving thunder cleft, 
 Her mighty bosom ojien'd wide, 
 Thee and thy plunging steeds to hide, 
 Or ever on thy back the spear 
 Of Periclymenus impress'd
 
 A wound to shame thy warlike breast : 
 
 For struck witli panic fear 
 The gods' own children flee. 
 
 V. 37. Tiresias.] 
 
 Duo magnoruni viridi eoeuntia sylva 
 Corpora serpentiini bacilli violaverat ictu, &c. 
 
 Ovid. Met. 1. iii. 
 
 V. 43. Arnns.^ Aruns is said to have dwelt in the mountains of Luni 
 {from whence that territory is still called Liinigiana), above Cairnni. 
 celebrated for its marble. Lncan. Phars. 1 i. 575. So Boccaccio, in the 
 Fiaminetta, 1. iii. " Quale Arunte," &c. "Like Aruns, who amidst the 
 white marbles of Luni, contemplated the celestial bodies and their 
 motions.'' 
 
 V. 50. Manto.'] The daughter of Tiresias of Tliebes, a city dedicated to 
 Bacchus. From Jlanto, JLantua, the country of Virgil, derives its name. 
 The Poet ]iroceeds to describe the situation of that jjlace. 
 
 V. 61. Beticeen the vule.'\ The lake Benacus, now called tlie Lago di 
 Garda, though liere said to lie between Garda, Val Camouica, and the 
 Apeuniue, is, however, very distant from the latter two. 
 
 V. 6o. There is n spot.'] Prato di Fame, where the dioceses of Trento, 
 Verona, and Brescia met. 
 
 V. 69. Pesrhierrt.] A garrison situated to the south of the lake, 
 where it empties itself and forms the JNIincius. 
 
 V. 94. Casnlodi's mddness.] Alberto da Casalodi, who had got pos- 
 session of Mantua, was persuaded by Pinamonte Buonacossi, that he 
 might ingratiate himself with the jieople by banishing to their own 
 castles the nobles, who werg obnoxious to them. No sooner was this 
 done, than Pinamonte put himself at the head of the po[)ulace, drove out 
 Casalodi and his adherents, and obtained the sovereignty for himself. 
 
 V. 111. So sings my tragic strain.] 
 
 Suspensi Eurypilum scitatum oracnla Phcebi 
 
 Mittimus. Virg. JEneid. ii. 14. 
 
 V. 115. Michael Scot.] Sir Michael Scott, of Balwearie, astrologer to 
 the Emperor Frederick IL lived in the thirteenth century. For further 
 particulars relating to this singuhir man, seeWarton's History of English 
 Poetry, vol. i. diss. ii. and sect. ix. p. 292, and the Notes to ]\Ir. Scott's 
 "Lay of the Last Ministrel," a poem in which a happy use is made of 
 the traditions that are still current ia North Britain concerning him. 
 He is mentioned bj' G. ViUani. Hist 1. x. c. cv. and cxli. and I. xii. c. 
 xviii. and by Boccaccio, Dec. Giorn. viii. Nov. 9. 
 
 V. 116. Gvido Bonatti.] An astrologer of Forli, on whose skill Guido 
 da Montefeltro, lord of that place, so much relied, that he is rejwrted 
 never to have gone into battle, except in the hour recommended to hin 
 as fortunate by Bonatti. 
 
 Landino and Vellutello speak of a book which he composed on the 
 subject of his art. 
 
 V. 116. Asdente.] A .shoemaker at Parma, who deserted his business 
 to practise the arts of divination. 
 
 v. 123. Cain ivithfork of thorns.] By Cain and the thorns, or what is 
 still vulgarly called the Man in the Moon, the Poet denotes that lu- 
 minary. The same superstition is alluded to in the Paradise, Canto IL 
 52. The curious reader may consult Brand on Popular Antiquities, 4to. 
 1813. vol. ii. p. 476,
 
 380 ' NOTES. 
 
 CANTO xxr. 
 
 V. 7. In the Vcnrthnia' an^cnfd.'] Compare Riu'cellai, Le Api, 165, and 
 Dryrlt'irs Aiiiiiis Miialiilis, st. 1 Hi. &c. 
 
 V. .'57. Oih; "/ Smitd Zilu's cl'lcrx.] The elders or chief iiiagistrates o( 
 Lucca, wlierc Santa Zita was held in esjiecial veneration. The name o( 
 this sinner is snpi)ose<l to have been Mnitino Botaio. 
 
 V. 40. Exrcpl lliDituro, htirti rcrs.] Thi.s is said ironically of 15ontui'o 
 de' Dati. ISy bartarrs are meant peciilntois, of every description ; all 
 who trallic the interests of tlie luiblic for their own private advantage. 
 
 V. 48. 7s other sivimmiuc/ than in Servhio's ivave-l 
 
 Qui si niiota altrinienti clie nel Serchio. 
 Serchio is the river that flows by Lucca. So Piilci, Morg. Masf. c. xxiv. 
 Qui si nnota nel sangne, e non nel Serchio. 
 
 V. f)2. From Caprona.] The surrender of the castle of Capron.a to the 
 combined forces of Florence and I^ucca, on condition that tlie garrison 
 should march ont in safety, to which event Dante was a witness, took 
 place in 1290. See (J. Villain, Hist. 1. vii. c. 136. 
 
 V. 109. Yesterdui/.] This jjassage fixes the *ra of Dante's descent at 
 Good Friday, in the year l."00 (34 years from our blessed Lord's incar- 
 nation being added to 1206), and at the thirty-fifth year of our poet':} 
 age. See Canto I. v. 1. 
 
 The awful event alluded to, the Evangelists inform us, happened "at 
 the ninth hour," that is, our sixth, when "the rocks were rent," and 
 the convulsion, according to Dante, was felt even in the depths in Hell. 
 See Canto XIL 38. 
 
 CANTO XXH, 
 
 V. 16. In the church.] This proverb is repeated by Pulci, Morg. 
 Magg. c. xvii. 
 
 V. 47. Born in Navarre's domain.'] The name of this peculator is said 
 to have been Ciampolo. 
 
 V. 51. Tlie good king TJiibavlt.] " Thibanlt I. King of Navarre, died 
 on the 8th of June, 1233. as much to be commended for the desire he 
 showed of aiding the war In the Holy Land, as reprehensible and faulty 
 for his design of opi)ressing the rights and pi'ivileges of the churcli, on 
 which account it is said that the w hole kingdom was under an interdict 
 for the space of three entire years.- — Thibanlt undoubtedly merits praise, 
 as for his other endowments, so especiallj- for his cultivation of the lib- 
 eral arts, his exercise and knowledge of music and poetry, in which he 
 go much excelled, tliat he was accustomed to compose verses and sing 
 them to the viol, and to exhibit his poetical comjwsitions publicly in his 
 palace, that they might be criticised by all." Mariana, History of 
 Spain, b. xiii. c. 9. 
 
 An account of Thibanlt, and two of his songs, with what were prob- 
 ably the original melodies, may be seen in Dr. Burney's History of 
 Music, v. ii. c. iv. His poems, which are in the French language, were 
 edited by M. I'Eveque de la Ravalliere. Paris. 1742. 2 vol. V2mn. Dante 
 twice cpiotes one of his verses in tlie Treatise de Vulg. Eloq. 1. i. c. ix 
 and 1. ii. c. v. and refers to him again, 1. ii. c. vi. 
 
 From " the good king Thibanlt" are descended the good, but more 
 unfortunate monarch, Louis XVI. of France, and consecpientiy tlie
 
 HELL. 381 
 
 present louitiniute sovereign of tliat realm. See TTcnault, Abrcge Cliioii. 
 1252, 2, 4.' 
 
 V. SO. Tlie friar Gomita.'] He was entrusted Ly Nino de' Visconti 
 witli tlic government of (Jallnra, one of tlie four jurisdictions into wliicli 
 Sardinia was divided. Having his master's enemies in his jiowcr. lie 
 toolc a hribe from tliem, and allowed them to esoai)e. Mention of Nino 
 Avill recur in tlie Notes to Canto XXXHI. and in the rmgatory, Canto 
 
 viir. 
 
 V. 88. Michel Zanche.] Tlie president of Logodoro, another of the 
 four Sardinian jurisdictions. See Canto XXXHI. 
 
 CANTO xxni. 
 
 V. 5. jF.nop's fable.'] The fable of the frog, who offered to carry the 
 mouse across a ditch, with the intention of drowning him, when luith 
 were carried off by a kite. It is not among those Greek Fables Avliich go 
 under the name of yEsop. 
 
 V. 6.'!. Moiil's in Volofpie.] They wore their cowls unnsiially large. 
 
 V. ()(). Frcdeiick's.] The Emperor Frederick H. is said to have pun- 
 ished those who were guilty of high treason, by wrajiping thciii up in 
 lead, and casting them into a furnace. 
 
 V. 101. Our bonnets (/lecmiiiif/ hrif/hl with orange hue.'] It is observed 
 by Ventiiri, that the word "ranee" does not liere signify "rancid or 
 disgustful," as it is exphiined by the old commentators, but "orange- 
 coloured," in which sense it occurs in the Purgatory, Canto IL 9. 
 
 V. 104. Joyoiisfrictrs.] " Those who ruled the city of Florence on the 
 part of the Ghibillines, perceiving this discontent ancl murmuring, which 
 they were fearful mifiht produce a rebellion against themselves, in order 
 to satisfy the people, made choice of two knights, Frati Godenti (joyous 
 friars) of Bologna, on whom they conferred the chief iiower in Florence, 
 one named M. Catalano de' Malavolti, the other M. Lodeiinj^o di Lian- 
 dolo ; one an adhei'ent of the Guelph, the other of the Ghiljelliiie party. 
 It is to be remarked, that the Joyous Friars were called Knights of St. 
 Mary, and became knights on taking that habit : their robes were white, 
 the mantle sable, and the arms a white field and red cross with t/ivo 
 stars : their office was to defend widows and orphans ; they were to act 
 as mediators ; they had internal regulations like other religious bodies. 
 The above-mentioned M. Loderingo was the founder of that order. But 
 it was not long before they too well deserved the ajipellation given 
 them, and were found to be more bent on enjoying themseh es than on 
 any other subject. These two friars were called in by the Florentines, 
 and had a residence assigned them in the palace belonging to the jieople 
 over against the Abbey. Such was the dejjendence placed on the 
 character of their order, that it was expected they would be impartial, 
 and -would save the commonwealth any unnecessary expense •. instead 
 of which, though inclined to opposite parties, they secretly and hyjio- 
 critically concurred in promoting their own advantage rather than the 
 public good " G. Villani, b. vii. c. 13. This happened in 1'2(3(!. 
 
 V. lib. Gardinc/o'.s vicinage.] The name of that part of the city which 
 was inhal)itcd by the iiowerfiil Ghibelline family of Uberti, and de- 
 str(>ye<l under the partial and iniquitous administration of Catalano and 
 Loderingo. 
 
 v. 117. That pierced spirit.] Caiaphas.
 
 382 NOTES. 
 
 V. 124. 'llm father of Ms consort ^ Annas, fatlicr-in-law to Caiaplias. 
 V. 14(). lie is a liar.] John, e. *iii. 44. Dauto had perhaps heard 
 this text Iroiu oue of the pulpits in lioloyiia. 
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 V. 1. In the year's early nonar/e.] "At the latter part of January, 
 when the sun enters into Aquarius, and the cipiinox is drawiii,;; near, 
 when the hoar-frosts in the morning often wear the appearance of snow, 
 but are melted hy the risinsj sun." 
 V. 51. Vanquish (hy tveariness.] 
 
 Quill corpus onustum 
 Hesternis vitiis aninuiui quoque pnrgravat iinS., 
 Atque aftigit huiui divinai particulani aurse. 
 
 Ilor. Sat. ii. 1. ii. 78. 
 V. 82. Of her sands.] Compare Lucan, Phars. 1. ix. 703. 
 V. 92. Heliotrope.] The occult properties of this stone are described 
 by Solinus, c. xl. and by Boccaccio, in his humorous tale of Calandrino. 
 Desani. G. viii. N. 3. 
 
 In Chiabrera's Ruggiero, Scaltrimento begs of Sofia, who is sending 
 him ou a perilous errand, to lend him the heliotrope. 
 In mia man fida 
 L' elitropia, per cui possa involarmi 
 Secoudo 11 mlo talento agll occhi altrui. 
 
 c. vi. 
 Trust to my hand the heliotrope, by which 
 I may at will from others' eyes conceal me. 
 Compare Ariosto, II Negromante, a. 3. s. .3. Pulci, Morg. Magg. c. 
 XXV. and Fortiguerra, Ricciardetto, c. x. st. 17. 
 
 Gower, in his Confessio Amantis, lib. vii. enumerates it among the 
 jewels iu the diadem of the sun. 
 
 Jaspis and helitropius. 
 V. 104. The' Arabian phcenix.] This Is translated from Ovid, Metam. 
 
 1. XV. 
 
 Una est quse repar.it, seque ipsa reseminat ales, &c. 
 
 See also Petrarch, Canzone ; 
 
 " Qua! piu," &c. 
 
 V. 120. Vannl Fiicci.] He is said to have been an illegitimate off- 
 spring of the family of Lazari in Pistoia, and, liaviug robbed the sacristy 
 of the church of St. James iu that city, to have charged Vauiii della 
 No'ia with the sacrilege, in consequence of which accusation the latter 
 suffered death. 
 
 V. 142. Pistoia.] " In May 1301, the Bianchi party of Pistoia, with 
 the assistance and favor of the Bianchi who ruled Florence, drove out 
 the Neri party from the forii;er place, destroying their houses, palaces, 
 and farms." Giov. ViUaiii, Hist. 1. viii. c xliv. 
 
 V. 144. From Valdimar/ra.] The commentators explain this propiieti- 
 cal threat to allude to the victory obtained by tlie Marquis Marcello 
 Malaspiua of Valdiuiagra (a tract of country now called the Lunigiaua), 
 who put himself at the head of the Neri, and defeated their oi)poiients, 
 the Bianchi, in the Cumpo Piceno near Pistoia, soon alter the occurrence
 
 HELL. 383 
 
 related in the preceding note. Of tliis ens'isenieiit I find no niention in 
 Villani. Currado Malaspina is introduced in the cislith (Janto of the 
 Pnrgatory ; where it ujipears tliat, althoit„'li on the present occasion 
 tliey esponsed contrary sides, st)nie iuij)ortant favours were ne\'ertlieles8 
 conferred hy tiiat family on our poet at a subsequent period of his exilo 
 in 1307. 
 
 CANTO XXV. 
 
 V. 1. The Smner.'] So Trissino. 
 
 Poi facea con le man le fiche al cielo 
 Dicendo : Togli, Iddio ; che puoi piii farmi ? 
 
 L'llal. Lib. c. xii. 
 V. 12. Tliy seed.] Thy ancestry. 
 V. 15. Not hiiii.'] Capaneus. Canto XIV. 
 
 V. 18. On Muremma's marsh.] An extensive tract near the sea-shoro 
 in Tuscany. 
 V. 24. Cams.] Virgil, ^n. 1. viii. 193. 
 
 V. 31. A himdved blozvs.] Less than ten blows, out of the hundred 
 Hercules gave him, had dejirived him of feeling. 
 
 V. 39. C'ianfa.] He is said to have been of the family of Donati at 
 Florence. 
 V. 57. Thus up the shrinlcinfj paper.] 
 
 — All my bowels crumble up to dust. 
 1 am a scribbled form, drawn with a pen 
 Upon a parchment ; and against this fire 
 Do I shrink up. 
 
 Shakspeare, K. John, a. v. s. 7. 
 V. 61. Af/nello-] Agnello Brunelleschi. 
 V. 77. In that part.] The navel. 
 V. 81. As if by sleep orfev'rous fit assail'd.] 
 O Rome ! thy head 
 Is drown' d in sleep, and all thy body fev'ry. 
 
 Ben Jonson's Catiline. 
 V. 85. Lncan.] Phars. 1. ix. 706 and 793. 
 V. 87. Or id.] Metain. 1. iv. and v. 
 
 T. 121. Jlis sharpenhl visaf/e.] Compare Milton, P. L. b. x. 511, &c. 
 V. 131. Buoso.] He is also said to have been of the Donati family. 
 V. 1.38. Sciancato.] Puccio Sciancato, a noted robber, whose faniily, 
 Venturi says, he has ]iot been able to discover. 
 
 V. 140. Gaville.] France.-co Guercio Cavalcante was killed at Gaville, 
 near Florence ; and in revenge of his death several inhabitants of that 
 district were put to death. 
 
 CANTO XXVI 
 
 V. 7. Bvt if our minds.'] 
 
 Nanique sub Anroram. jam d'ormitante lucerna, 
 Somnia quo cerui tempore vera solent. 
 
 Ovid, Episi. xix.
 
 884 NOTES. 
 
 The same poetical Riipcrstition is alluded to in the Purgatory, Canto 
 IX. and XXVll. 
 
 V. 0. Shalt feel what Prato.] The poet prognosticates the calamities 
 vhich were soon to befal his native city, and which, he says, even her 
 noait'st noighlior, Prato, would wish her. The calamities more jiaiticn- 
 laily pointed at, ai'c said to bo the fall of a wooden bridge over the 
 Arno, in May, lo04, wiiere a large multitude were assembled to witness 
 a representation of hell and the infernal torments, in consequenct! of 
 which accident many lives were lost ; and a conflagration, that in the 
 fuUowing month destroyed more than seventeen hundred houses, many 
 of them sumptuous buildings. See G. Villani, Hist. 1. viii. c. 70 and 71. 
 
 V 2'i. More than I atn ivont.] '""When I reflect on the punishment 
 allotted to tiiose who do not give sincere and uiuight advice to oHk-i's. \ 
 am more anxiou.s than ever not to abuse to so bad a purpose those talents, 
 whatever they may be, which Nature, or rather Providence, has I'on- 
 ferrod on me.'' It is probable that this declaration was the resuH of real 
 I'eeiing in the mind of Dante, whose political character would have given 
 great wei.i;ht to any opinion or paity he had esitonsed, and to whom in- 
 digence and exile might have offered strong tem[)tations to deviate fi-om 
 that line of conduct which a strict sense of duty prescribed. 
 
 V. 35. As he, v)hosc wrom/s.'] Kings, b. ii. c. ii. 
 
 V. 54. Ascendiiif/ from (hat funeral pHe.] The flame is said to have 
 divided on the funeral pile which consumed the bodies of F.teocles and 
 Polyuices, as if conscious of the enmity that actuated them while living. 
 
 Ecce iterum fratris, &c. 
 
 Statitis, Tlich. 1. xii. 
 Osteudens coufectas flanima, &c. 
 
 Lucan, Pharsal. 1. 1. 145. 
 
 V. GO. The ambush of the horse.] "The ambush of the wooden hor.«e, 
 that caused .tineas to qint the city of Troy and seek his fortune in Italy, 
 wliere his descendants founded tlie Roman empii-e. " 
 
 V. 91. Caieta.] Virgil, Ji^neid. 1. vii. 1. 
 
 V. 93. Nor fondness for imj son.] Imitated by Tasso, G. L. c, viii. 
 Bt. 7. 
 
 Ne timor di fatica 6 di periglio, 
 Ne vaghezza del regno, ne pietade 
 Del vecchio genitor, si degno affetto 
 Intiepedir nel generoso petto. 
 
 This imagined voyage of Ulysses into the Atlantic is alluded to bj 
 PulcL 
 
 E sopratutto cominendava Ulisse, 
 Che per vedor nell' altro mondo gisse. 
 
 Morg. Magg. c. xxv 
 And by Tasso, G. L. c. xv. 25. 
 V. lOG. The strait pass.] The straits of Gibraltar. 
 V. 122. Made our oars goings.] So Chialjrera, Canz. l"]roiche, xili. 
 
 Faro de' remi un volo. 
 And Tasso. Ibid. 2G. 
 V. 128. A mountain dim.] The mountain of Purgatory
 
 
 HELL, 385 
 
 CANTO XXVII. 
 
 V. 6. The Sicilian Bull] The eugiue of torture invcuted bj' Perillus, 
 for the tyrant Phalaris. 
 
 V. 20. Of the mountains there.'\ Moiitefoltro. 
 
 V. 38. Polenta's eagle.] Guide Novello da Polenta, who bore an eagle 
 for his coat of arms. The name of Polenta was derived from a castle ho 
 called iu the neighbourhood of Brittonoro. Cervia is a small maritime 
 city, about fifteen miles to the south of Kiivenua. Guido was the son of 
 Ostasio da Polenta, and made himself master of Ravenna in I'ifio. In 
 1322 he was deprived of his sovereignty, and died at Bologna in the year 
 following. This last and most munificent patron of Dante is himself 
 enumerated, by the historian of Italian literature, among the poets of 
 his time. Tiraboschi, Storia della Lett. Ital. t. v. 1. iii. c. ii. § 13. The 
 passage in the text might have removed the uncertainty which Tirabos- 
 chi expressed, respecting the duration of Guido's absence from Rjivenna, 
 when he was driveu from that city in 1295, by the arms of Pietro, arch- 
 bishop of Monreale. It must evidently have been very short, since his 
 government is here represented (in 1300) as not having suffered any 
 material disturbance for many years. 
 
 V. 41. The land.] The territory of Forli, the inhabitants of which, in 
 1282, were enabled, by the statagem of Guido da Montefeltro, who then 
 governed it, to defeat with great slaughter the French army by which it 
 had been besieged. See G. Villain, 1. vii. c. 81. The poet informs 
 Guido, its former ruler, that it is now in the ijossession of Sinibaldo 
 Ordolaffl, or ArdelafH, whom he designates by his coat of arms, a lion 
 vert. 
 
 V. 43. The old mastiff of Verruchio and tlie yoimg.] Malatesta and 
 Malatestino his son, lords of Rimini, called, from their ferocity, the 
 mastiffs of Verruchio, which was the name of their castle. Malatestino 
 was perhaps the husband of Francesca, daughter of Guido Novello da 
 Polenta. See Notes to Canto V. v. 113. 
 
 V. 44. Montagna.] Montagna de' Parcitati, a noble knight, and leader 
 of the Ghihelline party at Rimini, murdered bj' Malatestino. 
 
 V. 4(3. Lamone's city and Santerno's.] Lamone is the river at Faenza, 
 and Santerno at Iniohu 
 
 V. 47. TJie lion of the snoicy lair.] Machinardo Pagano, whose arms 
 were a lion azure on a field argent ; mentioned again in the Purgatory, 
 Canto XIV. 122. See G. Villaui passim, where he is called Machinardo 
 da Susinana. 
 
 V. 50. Whose flank is loash'd of Savio's wave-] Cesena, situated at the 
 foot of a mountain, and washed by the river Savio, that often deaceudd 
 with a swoln and rajiid stream from the Apennine. 
 
 V. (>4. A man of arms.] Guido da Montefeltro. 
 
 V. (58. The high priest.] Boniface VIII. 
 
 V. 72. The nature of the lion than the fox.] 
 
 Noil f uron leonine ma di volpe. 
 
 So Pulci, Morg. Magg. c. xix. 
 
 E furon le sue opre e le sue colpe 
 Non creder leonine nia di volpe. 
 
 V. 81. The chief of the ncio Pharisees.] Boniface VIII. whose enmity 
 to the family of Colonna promjitcd him to destroy their houses near 
 the Lateral!. Wishing to obtain ]n)sscssiou of their other scat, I'enes- 
 trlno, he consulted with Guido da Montefeltro how he might accomplish 
 
 '25
 
 386 woTi])6. 
 
 hlH piirpoHO, offoHnp; him ftt tho Kinio tliiio iibsolutloii for Ills jKiHt Bins, 
 an well as for llwil vvliicli lie was tlicii t('iii|itiii.L: liiiu to coinniit. (Jiiido'H 
 advicii was, tliat kind words and fair proiiiisL's would put his oiicniieH 
 into his jiowor ; and tliey at'cordin.u'ly soon afterwards fell into the snaro 
 laid for them, a.J). li:"J8." Sec G. Viilaiii, 1. viii. c. 23. 
 
 V. 84. I^^or against Acre one 
 
 Iladfovf/ht.] 
 
 He alludes to the renegade Christians, l\v whom the Sar.aceiis, in 
 Ajiri'., ]2'.tl, were assisted to recover St. .Fohn d'Aore, tho last possession 
 of tho Christians in the Holy Land. The rejj;ret expressed by the Flor- 
 entine aiinali.^t, G. Villani, for the loss of this valuable fortress, is well 
 worthy of t)bservation, 1. vii. c. 144. 
 
 V. S'.i. As in Sararlc, Constantinn besowjht.] So in Dante's treatise 
 I)e JMonarchia : " Dicunt quidain adhiio, quod Constantiiuis Iinjieratoi-, 
 niimdatus a lejinl interce.ssione Sylvestri, tunc sunimi jiontificis, imperii 
 eedeni, scilicet liomani, donavit ecclosia?, cum multis aliis imperii digui- 
 tatibus." Lib. iii. 
 
 V. 101. My iyredccessor.] Cclestine V. See Notes to Canto HL 
 
 CANTO XXVIU. 
 
 V. 8. In that long tear.] Tho war of Hannibal in Italy. " When 
 Mago brought news of his victories to Cartliage, in order to niako his 
 Buccesses more easily credited, he commanded tho golden rings to be 
 poured out in the senate house, whicli made so large a heap, that, as 
 some relate, they filled three modii and a half. A more probable ac- 
 count represents them not to have exceeded one modins." Livy, Hist. 
 1. xxiii. 12. 
 
 V. 12. Guiscard's Norman steel.'] Robert Gniscard, who conquered 
 tho kingdom of Naples, and died in 1110. G. Villani, 1. iv. c. 18. lie is 
 introduced in the Paradise, Canto XVIII. 
 
 V. 13. And those the rest.] Tho army of Manfredi, which, through 
 the treachery of tlie Apulian troops, was overcome by Charles f)f Anjou 
 in 1265, and fell in such numbers, that the bones of the slain were still 
 gathered near Ceperano. G. Villani, 1. vii. c. 9. See the Purgatory, 
 Canto III. 
 
 V. 16. Tagliocozzo.] He alludes to the victory which Charles gained 
 over Couradino, by the sage advice of the Sieur de Valeri, in 1268. G. 
 Villani, 1. vii. c. 27. 
 
 V. 32. AIL] The disciple of Mohammed. 
 
 V. 53. Dolcino.] "In 1305, a friar, called Dolcino, who belonged to no 
 regular order, contrived to raise in Novara, in Lombardy, a large com- 
 pany of the meaner sort of people, declaring himself to be a true api:)stle 
 of Christ, and promulgating a community of property and of wives, 
 with many other such heretical doctrines. He blamed the pope, cardi- 
 nals, and other i)relates of the holy church, for not observing their duty, 
 nor leading the angelic life, and affirmed that he ought to bo pope. He 
 was followed by more than three thousand men and women, who lived 
 promiscuously on the mountains together, like beasts, and, when they 
 wanted provisions, supplied themselves by depredation and rapine. 
 This lasted for two years till, many being struck with conipiinction at 
 the dissolute life they led, his .sect was much diminished ; and through 
 failure of food, and the severity of the snows, he was taken by the
 
 HELL. 3t*7 
 
 people of Novnra, and burnt, w itli Mai>;arita liin (»m]>anion, and in;iny 
 other men and women whom hirt errors liad reduced." G. Villani, i. 
 viii. c. 84. 
 
 Landino observes, that he was possessed of singular eloquence, :nid 
 that both he and Margarita endured their fate w ith a finnnci-s woitliy 
 of a better cause. For a further account of hiui, see Muraturi Rer. Ital. 
 Script, t. ix. p. 427. 
 
 V. 69. MecUcina.'] A place in the territory of Bologna. Piero fonienti d 
 dissensions among the inhabitants of that city, and among the leaders 
 of the neighbouring states. 
 
 V. 70. The pleasant land.l Lombardy. 
 
 V. 72. The txvuin.'] Guido del Cassero and Angiolello da Cagnano, two 
 of the worthiest and most distinguished citizens of Fano, were in^ ited 
 by Malatestino da Rimini to an entertainment, on pretence tliat he had 
 some important lousiness to transact with them : and, according to in- 
 structions given by hiiu, they were drowned iu their passiige near Cat- 
 tolica, between Rimini and Fano. 
 
 V. 85. Focara's iciiid.] Focara is a mountain, from which a wind 
 blows that is peculiarly dangerous to the navigators of that coast. 
 
 V. J)4. The doubt in Ccesar's mind.] Curio, whose speech (according 
 to Lucan) determined Julius Casar to proceed when he had arrived at 
 Rimini (the ancient Arimiuum), and doubted whether he should prose- 
 cute the civil war. 
 
 ToUe moras : semper nocuit differre paratis. 
 k Pharsal. 1. I 281. 
 
 V. 102. Mosca.'] Buondelmoute was engaged to marry a lady of the 
 Amidei familj', but broke his promise, and united himself to one of the 
 Donati. This was so much resented by the former, that a meeting of 
 themselves and their kinsmen was held, to consider of the best means of 
 revenging the insult. Mosca degli Uberti persuaded them to resolve on 
 the assassination of Buondelmoute, exclaiming to them " the thing once 
 done, there is an end." The counsel and its effects were the source of 
 many terrible calamities to the state of Florence. " This murder," says 
 G. Villani, 1. v. c. 38, "was the cause and beginning of the accursed 
 Guelph and Ghibelliue parties in Florence." It happened in 1215. See 
 the Paradise, Canto XVI. 139. 
 
 V. 111. The boon companion.'] 
 
 What stronger breastplate than a heart untainted ? 
 
 Shakspeare, 2 Hen. VI. a. iii. b. 2. 
 
 V. 130. Bertrand.] Bertrand de Born, Vicomto de Hautefort, near 
 Perigueux in Guienne, who incited John to rebel against his lather, 
 Henry II. of England. Bertrand liolds a distinguished phice among the 
 Provencal poets. He is quoted in Dante, " De Vulg. Eloq." 1. ii. c. 2. 
 For the translation of some extracts from his poems, see Millot, Hist. 
 Litteraire des Troubadours, t. i. p. 210 : but the historical parts of that 
 work are, I believe, not to Le relied on. 
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 V, 26. Geri of Bello.] A kinsman of the Poet's, who was murdered by 
 one of the Sacchetti family. His being placed here, may be considered 
 as a proof that Dante was more impaitial iu the allotment of his punish' 
 ments than has generally been supposed. 
 
 "T
 
 388 NOTKS. 
 
 V. 44. As ivero the tonneiU.] It is vory ])robal)lc tliat t)icso lines ga\e 
 Milt4)n tlio idea of liiH celeliratod (Icscription : 
 
 Immcdiatfily a place 
 Ik'fore tlioir eyes ai)i)far'd, sad. iioisoino, dark, 
 A lazar-lioiise it seem'd, \vliereiii were laid 
 Numbers of all dlscaa'd, all maladies, &c. 
 
 P. L. b. xi. 477. 
 
 V. 45. Valdirhiana.] The valley throiiijh wliich j>asses ttie river 
 Cliiana, bounded by Arezzo, Cortona, Montcpnk-i.-uio, and ('liiusi. In 
 tlie heat of autumn it was formerly rendered unwholesome by tlu; sta;^- 
 nation of the water, but has since been drained by the Emperor Leopold 
 If. The Cliian;i is ntentioned as a remarkably si ugj^ish stream, in the 
 Paradise, Canto XIII. 21. 
 
 v. 47. Maranma s pestilent fen.'] See Note to Canto XXV. v. 18. 
 
 V. 58. In ^'Ef/ina.] lie alludes to the fable of the ants chanj.;ed into 
 Myrmidons. Ovid, Mot. 1. vii. 
 
 V. 104. Ar'ezzo mas my chcelUnf/.] Grifolino of Arezzo, who jtromised 
 Albero, son of the Bishop of Sienna, that he would teach him the art of 
 flying ; and because he did not keep his promise, Albero prevailed on 
 his father to have him burnt for a necromancer. 
 
 V. 117. Was ever race 
 
 Light as Sienria's ?] 
 
 The same imputation is again cast on the Siennese, Purg. Canto XIII. 
 141. 
 
 v. 121. Strirca.'] This is said ironically. Stricca, Niccolo Salimbeni, 
 Caccia of Asoiano, and Abbagliato, or Meo dc Folcacchieri, belonged to 
 a company of prodigal and luxurious young men in Sienna, called the 
 " hrigata dodereccia." Niccolo was tV(^ inventor of a new manner of 
 using cloves in cookery, not very well , 'irstood by the commentators, 
 and which was termed the " costuma r>.Lca." 
 
 V. 125. In that garden.] Sienna. 
 
 V. 134. Capocchio's ghost.] Capocchio of Sienna, who is said to have 
 been a fellow-student of Dante's in natural philosophy. 
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 V. 4. Athamas.] From Ovid, Metam. 1. iv. 
 Protinus .(Eolides, &c. 
 
 V. 16. Hecuba.] See Euripides, Hecuba ; and Ovid, Metam. 1. xiii. 
 
 V. 33. Schicchi.] Gianni Schicchi, who was of the family of Caval- 
 canti, possessed such a faculty of moulding his features to the resem- 
 blance of others, that he was employed by Simon Donati to personate 
 Buoso Donati, then recently deceased, and to make a will, leaving 
 Simon his heir ; for which service he was remunerated with a mare of 
 extraordinary value, here called " the lady of tlie herd." 
 
 V. 39. Myrrha.] See Ovid, Metam. 1. x.' 
 
 V. 60. Adamo's woe.] Adamo of Brescia, at the instigation of Gnido, 
 Alessandro, and their brother Aghinulio, lords of Romena, counterfeited 
 the coin of Florence ; for which crime he was burnt. Landino savs, 
 that in his time the i)easants still iiointcd out a j)ile of stones near Ro- 
 mena, as the place of his execution.
 
 HETX. 889 
 
 V. 64. Cascnti)W.] Romena is a part of Caseiitino. 
 
 V. 77. Braii'Ms limpid .yirin;/.] A fountain in Sienna. 
 
 V. 88. The forevx villi thnc i-iira(fi of alloy.] Tiie lloicn \v:is a cimii 
 tliat ought to liave had twonty-four carats of pure <io\d. Yiiliiui relates, 
 that it was first used at Florence in ]li52, an a-ra of jjrcat i)ros| crity in 
 tlie annals of the rei)ul)li(; ; before which time their most valuable coin- 
 age was of silver. Hist. 1. vi. c. 54. 
 
 V. 96. T/ie/alse accuser.] Potiphar's wife. 
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 V. 1. The very tongue.'] 
 
 Vulnus in Herculeo qnre quondam fecerat hoste 
 Vuhieris auxiliiun Pelias hastii f uit. 
 
 Ovid, Eem. Amor. 47. 
 
 The same allusion was made by Bernard de Ventadour, a Provencal 
 poet, in the middle of the twelfth century : and Millot observes, that 
 
 it was a singular ln.«tance of erudition in a Troubadour." But it i,s 
 not inipo.ssible, as Wartou remarks, (Hist, of Engl. Poetry, vol. ii. sec. 
 X. p. 215.) but that he might have been indebted for it to some of the 
 eiirly romances. 
 
 In Chaucer's Squier's Tale, a sword of similar quality is introduced : 
 
 And other folk have wondred on the sweard, 
 
 That could so piercen through every thing ; 
 
 And fell in speech of Telephus the king, 
 
 And of Achilles for his queint .spere. 
 
 For he couth with it both heale and dere. 
 So Shakspeare, Henry VI. p. ii. a. 5. s. 1. 
 
 Whose smile and frown like to Achilles' spear 
 
 Is able with the change to kill and cure. 
 V. 14. Orlando.] 
 
 When Charlemain with all his peerage fell 
 
 At Foutarabia. Milton, P. L. b. i. 5.Sfi. 
 
 See Warton's Hist, of Eng. Poetry, v. i. sect. iii. p. i;?2. "This is tlie 
 horn which Orlando won from the giant Jatmund, and wliich, as Turpin 
 and the Islaudic bards rejiort, was endued with magical power, and 
 might be heard at the distance of twenty miles." Charlemain and Or- 
 lando are introduced in the Paradise, Canto XVIII. 
 
 V. 3(3. Montereugion.] A castle near Sienna. 
 
 V. 105. Tlie fortunate vale.] The country near Carthage. See I.iv. 
 Hist. 1. XXX. and Lucan, Phars. 1. iv. .5".I0, &c. Dante has kept the latter 
 of these writers in his eye throughout all this passage. 
 
 V. 12.3. Alcides.] The combat between Hercules Antaeus is adduced by 
 the Poet in his ti'eatise " De Monarchia," 1. ii. as a proof of the judg- 
 ment of God displayed in the dxiel, according to the singular super.sti 
 tion of those times. 
 
 V. 128. The tower of Curisendn.] The leaning tower at Bologna 
 
 ■f-
 
 390 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO xxxir. 
 
 ▼. 8. A tonyur. not vs'd 
 
 To in/ant hubbliru/.] 
 N& da lingua, clio, cliianii mamma, o babbo. 
 
 Dante in his treatise " Do Yiil^'. Eloq." speaking of words not admissi- 
 ble in tlie loftier, or as In; calls it, tragic style of poetry, says—" In 
 quorum nnmero nee puerilia propter suam Biniplicitatem ut Mamma et 
 Babbo," 1. ii. c. vii. 
 
 V. 29. Tahernich or Pietrapana.'] The one a mountain in Sclavonia, 
 the othor in that tract of country called tlie Garfagnana, not far from 
 Lucca. 
 
 V. 33. To wlicre modest shame appears.'] " As high as to the face." 
 
 V. 35. Moving their teeth in shrill note like the stork.] 
 Mettendo i denti in nota di cicogua. 
 
 So Boccaccio, G. viii. n. 7. " Lo scolar cattivello quasi cicogna divenuto 
 si forte batteva i denti." 
 
 V. 53. Who are these two.] Alessandro and Napoleone, sons of Allierto 
 Albcrti, who murdered each other. They were proprietors of the valley 
 of Falterona, where the Bisenzio has its source, a river that falls into the 
 Arno about six miles from Florence. 
 
 V. 59. Not him.] Mordrec, son of King Arthur. 
 
 V. GO. FocacciaT] Focaccia of Cancellieri, (the Pistoian family) wlioso 
 atrocious act of revenge against his uncle is said to have given rise to 
 the parties of the Bianchi and Neri, in the year 1.jOO. See G. Villani, 
 Hist. 1. viii. c. 37. and Macchiavelli, Hist. 1. ii. The account of the latter 
 writer differs much from tliat given by Landino in his Commentary. 
 
 V. 63. Mascheroni.] Sassol Slascheroni, a Florentine, who also mur- 
 dered his uncle. 
 
 V. C6. Catniccione.] Camiccione de' Pazzi of Valdarno, by whom his 
 kinsman Ubertino was treacherously put to death. 
 
 V. 67. Carlino.] One of tlie same family. He betrayed the Castel di 
 Piano Travigne, ni Valdarno, to the Florentines, after the refugees of 
 the Bianca and Ghibelline party had defended it again.st a siege for 
 twenty-nine days, in the sunmier of 1302. See G. Villani, 1. viii. c. 52. 
 and Dino Compagni, 1. ii. 
 
 V. 81. 3Iuntapertr>.] The defeat of the Guelfi at Montaperto, occa- 
 sioned by the treachery of Bocca degli Abbati, who, during tlie engage- 
 ment, cut otT the hand of Gincopo del Vacoa de' Pazzi, bearer of the 
 Fiortiiitiiie standard. G. Villani, 1. vi. c. 80. and Notes to Canto X. 
 This event hap()ened in 12(;0. 
 
 V. 113. Him (if Di((r(i.] 13uoso of Cremona, of the family of Duera, 
 who was bribed by Guy de Montfort, to leave a pass between Piedmont 
 and Parma, with the defence of which he had been entrusted by the 
 Gliibelliiies, open to the army of Charles of Anjou, A.n. 12G5, at w hieh 
 the i)cople of Cremona were so enraged, that they extirpated tlie whole 
 family. G. Villani, 1. vii. c. 4. 
 
 V. 116. Beccariu.] Abbot of Vallombrosa, who was the Pope's Legate 
 at Florence, where his intrigues in favour of the Ghibellines being dis- 
 covered, he was beheaded. I do not find the occurrence in Vallini, nor 
 do the comment:itors say to what pope he was legate. By Landino ho 
 is reported to have been from Parma, by Vellutello from Pavia. 
 
 V. 118. Soldanieri.] "Gianni Soldanieri," says Villani, Hist. 1. vii. c.
 
 HELL. 391 
 
 14, " put liiuifielf at the Jicad of the people, in the liopes of rising Into 
 power, not aware that the result would bo uiischioi' to the Ghibelline 
 party, and his own ruin ; an event which seems ever to have belallen 
 him, who has headed the populace in Florence," A.i). 1266. 
 
 V. 119. Ganellon.] Tlie betrayer of Charlemain, nieritioned by Arch- 
 bishop Turpiu. He is a common instance of treachery with the poets of 
 the middle ages. 
 
 Trop son fol e mal i>€nsant. 
 
 Pis valent que Guenelon. 
 
 Thibaut, Roi de Navarre. 
 
 new Scariot, and new Ganilion, 
 O false dissembler, &c. 
 
 Chaucer, Nonne^s Prieste's Tale. 
 
 And in the Monlce's Tale, Peter of Spaine. 
 
 V. ll'J. Tribalddlo.] Tribaldello do' :Manfredi, -who was bribed to be- 
 tray the city of Faenza, a. d. 1282. G. Villanl, 1. vli. c. 80. 
 V. 128. Tt/deus.] See Statiua, Theb. 1. viil. ad finem. 
 
 CANTO XXXIII. 
 
 V. 14. Count Ugolino.] " In the year 1288, in the month of July, Pisa 
 was much divided by competitors for the sovereignty ; one party, com- 
 posed of certain of the Guelphi, being headed by the Judge Nino di Gal- 
 lura de' Visconti; another., consisting of others of the same faction, by 
 the Count Ugoliuo de' Ghcrardeschi; and the tliird by the Archbishop 
 Ruggieri degli Ubaldini, with the Lanfranchi, Sismondi, Gualandi, and 
 other Ghibelline houses. The Count Ugolino, to eft'ect his pur])ose, 
 united with the Archbishop and his party, and having betrayed Nino, 
 his sister's son, they contrived that ho and his followers should eitlier bo 
 driven out of Pisa, or their jiorsons seized. Nino hearing this, and not 
 seeing any means of defending himself, retired to Calci, his castle, and 
 formed an alliance with the Florentines and people of Lucca, against the 
 Pisans. The Count, before Nino was gone, in order to cover his treach- 
 ery, when everything was settled for his expulsion, quitted Pisa, and re- 
 paired to a manor of his called Settimo; whence, as soon as he was in- 
 formed of Nino's departure, lie returned to Pisa with great rejoicing and 
 festivity, and was elevated to the supreme power with e^■ery demonstra- 
 tion of triumph and honour. But his greatness was not of long continu- 
 ance. It pleased tlie Almighty that a total reverse of fortune should 
 ensue, as a punishment for his acts of treachery and guilt: for lie was 
 said to have poisoned the Count Anselmo da Capraia, his sifter's son, on 
 account of the envy and fear excited in his mind by the high esteem in 
 which the gracious manners of Anselmo were held by the Pisans. The 
 power of tiie Guelphi being so much diminished, the Archbishop devised 
 means to betray the Count Ugolino, and caused hiin to be suddenly at- 
 tacked in his palace by tlie fury of the people, whom he had exasperated, 
 by telling them that Ugolino had betrayed Pisa, and given ni> their 
 castles to the citizens of Florence and of Lucca. He was immediately 
 compelled to surrender; his bastard son and his gr.andson fell in the 
 assault; and two of his sons, with their two sons also, were conveyed to 
 prison." G. Villain, 1. vii. c. 120. 
 
 "In the follovving March, the Pisans, who had imprisoned the Comit 
 Ugolino, with two of his sous and two of his grandchildren, the offspring 
 of his sou the Count Giielfo, in a tower on the Piazza oi the Anziaua,
 
 392 NOTEfl. 
 
 (Siiiscd tlio towor to ho locked, tlie key thrown nito the Anio, ajid all 
 food to ho witliliold from them. In a few days tliey died of him^^er; Imt 
 tho Count first witli loud cries declared liis iieiiiteiice, and yet iieitlier 
 jiricst nor friar was allowed to shrixe liim. All tho live, \\lien dead, 
 wcro dragsi'fl out of the juison, and iiieaidy inteircd; and from thence- 
 forward tlie tower was called the tower of famine, and so shall ever be." 
 Ibid. c. 127. 
 
 Chaucer lias briefly told Ugolino's story. See Monke's Talc, Iliigelino 
 of Pise. 
 
 V. 29. Unto the mountain.} The mountain S. Giuliano, between Pisa 
 and Lucca. 
 
 V. 59. T?iou gcoj'st.] 
 
 Tn ne vestisti 
 Questo misers cami, e tu le spoglia. 
 
 Imitated by Filicaja, Canz. iii. 
 
 Di qnesta Imperial caduca spoRlia 
 Tu, Siffiior, me vestisti e tu mi spoglia: 
 Ben puoi '1 Regno me tor tu che mo 'I destl. 
 
 And by Maffei, in the Merope: 
 
 Tu disciogleste 
 Quests misere membra e tu Is annodi. 
 V. 79. In that fair region.'] 
 
 Del bel paese 1^, dove '1 si suona. 
 Italv, as exjilained by Dante liimself, in Ids treatise De Vulg. Eloq. 1. i. 
 c. 8. Qui autem Si dicunt a pr.'cdictis finibus. (Januensium) Orienta- 
 Ism (Meridionalis Europa3 partem) tenent; videlicet usque ad promon- 
 torium illud Italia", qua sinus Adriatic! maris incipit et Siciliam." 
 
 V. 82. Capraia and Oorgona.] Small islands near the mouth of the 
 Arno. 
 V. 94. There very weeping svffers not to weep. ] 
 
 Lo pianto stesso li pianger non lascia. 
 So Giusto de' Conti, Bella Mano. Son. "Quanto il ciel." 
 
 Che il troppo pianto a me pianger non lassa. 
 V. 116. The friar Alberigo.} Alberigo de' Manfredi, of P'aenza, one of 
 the Frati Godenti, Joyous Friars, who having quarrelled with some of his 
 brotherhood, under i)retenco of wishing to be reconciled, invited them to 
 a banquet, at the conclusion of which he called for the fruit, a signal for 
 tho assassins to rush in and dispatch those whom he had marked for de- 
 struction. Hence, adds Landino, it is said proverbially of one who has 
 been sbibbed, that he has had some of the friar Alberigo's fruit. 
 Thus Pulci, Morg. Magg. c. xxv. 
 
 Le f rutto amare di frate Alberico. 
 V. 123. Ptolomea.] This circle is named Ptolomea from Ptolemy, the 
 son of Abubus, by whom Simon and his sous were murdered, at a great 
 banquet he had made for them. See 1 Maccabees, ch. xvi. 
 T. 12G. TJie glazed tcai'-drops.] 
 
 — sorrow's sys, glazed Avith blinding tears. 
 
 Shak.y)eare, Rich. II. a 2. s. 2. 
 
 V. 13G. Branca Doria.} The family of Doria was possessed of great
 
 HELL. 893 
 
 influence in Genoa. Branca is said to liave murdered liis fj^tliei-in-hut, 
 Micliel Zanclie, introduced in Canto XXII. 
 V. 152. Bomagtia's dai-kest spirit.] The friar Alljcrigo. 
 
 CANTO XXXIV. 
 
 V. 6. A wind-miU.] The author of the Caliph Vathek, in the notos to 
 that tale, justly observes, that it is more than proljaLle that Don 
 ■Quixote's mistake of the wind-mills for giants was suggested to Cervan- 
 tes by this simile. 
 
 V. 37. Three faces.'] It can scarcely be doubted but that Milton derived 
 his description of Satan in those lines, 
 
 Each passion dimm'd his face 
 Thrice chang'd with pale, ire, envy, and despair. 
 
 P. L. h. iv. 114. 
 from this passage, coupled with the remark of Vellutello upon it: " Tlie 
 first of these sins is auger, which he signifies by the red face; the second, 
 represented by that between pale and yellow, is envy, and not, as others 
 have said, avarice; and the third, denoted by the black, is a melancholy 
 humour that causes a man's thoughts to be dark and evil, and averse 
 from all joy and tranquillity." 
 V. 44. Sails.] 
 
 — His sail-broad vans 
 He spreads for flight. 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. ii. 927. 
 Compare Spenser, F. Q. b. i. c. xi. st. 10; Ben Jonson's Every Man out 
 of his Humour, v. 7; and Fletcher's Prophetess, a. 2. s. 3. 
 
 V. 46. Like a hut.] The descrijitiou of an imaginary being, who is 
 called Typhurgo, in the Zodiaciis Vitm, has some touches very like this 
 of Dante's Lucifer. 
 
 Ingentem vldi regem, ingentique sedenteni 
 In solio, crines flammanti stemmate ciuctum, 
 
 utrinque pateutes 
 
 Alse hunieris magnre, quales vespertilionum 
 
 Membrauis coutexta' auijilis — 
 
 Nudus crat longis sed opeitns corpora villis. 
 
 M. Palitu/enii, Zod. Vit. 1. ix. 
 A mighty king I might discerne, 
 
 Plac'd hie on lofty chaire, 
 His haire with fyry garland deckt 
 
 Puft up in fiendisli wise. 
 
 Largo wings on him did gnnv 
 Framde like the wings of fliudcr mice, <fec. 
 
 Goofje's Translation. 
 V. 61. Bridits.] Landiuo struggles, but I fear in vain, to extricate 
 Brutus from the unworthy lot wliicli is heie assigned him. He maintains, 
 that by Brutus and Cassius are not meant tlie iudixidnals known by 
 those names, but any who put a lawful monarcli to death. Ytt i| Caesar 
 was such, tlie conspirators might bo regarded as deserving of their 
 doom.
 
 394 NOTES. 
 
 V. 89. Within one hour nntl half of noon.] Tlio Poet uses tlic HeLiow 
 niannor of compiitiiiR tho day, .'iccordinj; to which the third hour answers 
 to our twelve o'doclc at noon. 
 
 V. I'JO. By ichut of firm land on this side appears.] The mountain of 
 Purgatory. 
 
 V. 12:1 Tho vaulted tomb.] " La tomba." Tliis word is used to ex 
 weea tho whole depth of the infernal rej^iou. 
 
 -[
 
 i^xji^o^^Toi^^sr. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 Verse 1. O'er better toaves.] So Bernl, Orl. Inn. 1. 2. c. 1. 
 
 Per correr magsior acqiia alza le velo, 
 debil navicella del niio iiigegno. 
 V. 11. Birds of chattering note.] For the fable of tlie daughter? of 
 Pierus, wlio challenged the muses to sing, and were by thcin chanyed 
 into magpies, see Ovid, Met. 1. v. fab. 5. 
 V. 19. Planet.] Venus. 
 
 V. 20. Made all the orient laugh.] Hence Chaucer, Knight's Talc: 
 And all the orisout laugheth of the sight. 
 It is sometimes read " orient." 
 
 V. 24. Fortr .stars.] Symbolical of the four cardinal virtues, Prndei ",o. 
 Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. See Canto XXXI v. 105. 
 V. 30. The icai7i.] Charles's wain, or Bootes. 
 V. 31. Anoldma7i.] Cato. 
 
 V. 42. Venerable plumes.] The same metaphor has occurred hi IMl, 
 Canto XX. v. 41: 
 
 the plumes, 
 
 That mark'd the better sex. 
 It is used by Ford in the Lady's Trial, a. 4. s. 2. 
 
 Now the down 
 Of softness is exchang'd for i)lumes of age. 
 V. 58. The farthest gloom.] L' ultima sera. So Ariosto, 0. F. c. .xx v • 
 Bt, 59: 
 
 Che nou hau visto ancor 1' ultima sera. 
 And Filicaja, c. ix. Al Sonno. 
 
 L' ultima sera. 
 ▼.79. Marcia.l 
 
 Da fojdera priscl 
 niibata tori : da tantum nomen inane 
 Connubii: liceat tumulo scripsisse, Catonia 
 Martia. Lncan, Phars. 1. ii. 344. 
 
 V. 116. Ispy'd the trembling of the ocean stream.] 
 
 Conobbi il tremolar della ni.-irina. 
 So Trissino, in the Sofonisba: 
 
 E resta in tremolar I'ond.a marin.T,. 
 
 395
 
 390 NOTKS. 
 
 And Fortlgiiorm, Ricclnrdotto, c. ix. pt. 17. 
 
 visto il tromolar dolla marina. 
 
 V. 135. Another.] From Virf;. Mn. 1. vi. IKt. 
 
 Primo avuleo iion deficit alter. 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 V. 1. Now had the mn.] Danto was now antipodal to Jenis.alem; so 
 that wliilo the nun was sottlii^ with rcHpect to that place, which ho sup- 
 
 ] looses to ho the iiiiddlo of the inhabited earth, to him it waa rising. 
 
 j V. 6. The scales.] Tho constellation Libra. 
 
 I V. 35. Winnowinc; the air.] 
 
 \ Trattiindo I'aere con I'eterne peune. 
 
 1 SoFilicaja, canz. viii. st. 11. 
 
 \ Ma trattar I'aero coll' eterne plume. 
 
 \ V. 45. In eritu.] " When Israel camo out of Ef,'ypt." Ps. cxlv. 
 
 I V. 75. Thrice my hands.] 
 
 I Ter coiiatus ibi collo dare brachia circnm, 
 
 I Ter fniHtra comprensa manus effny:it imago, 
 
 ! Par levibus ventis volucriquo eiuiillima Pomno. 
 
 \ Virg. jEn. ii. 7i^. 
 
 Compare Homer, Od. XI. 205. 
 
 V. 88. My Casella.] A Florentine, celebrated for his skill in music, 
 " in whose company," says Landinc, " Dante often recreated his spirits, 
 wearied by severe studies.'' See Dr. Bnrney's History of Music, vol. ii. 
 c. iv. p. 322. Milton has a fine allusion to this meeting in his sonnet to 
 
 s Henry Lawes. 
 
 L V. 90. Hath so mvch time been lost.] Casella }iad been dead some 
 
 i; years, but was only just arrived. 
 
 1^ V. 91. He.] The conducting angel. 
 
 t V. 94. Thc.ie three months past.] Since the time of the Jubilee, during 
 
 i; which all spirits, not condemned to eternal punishment, were supposed 
 to pass over to Purgatory as soon as they pleased. 
 
 ; V. 96. The shore.] Ostia. 
 
 j V. 170. " Love that discoiirses in my thxni(/hts."] 
 
 ^ " Amor che nella mente mi ragiona." 
 
 I The first verse of a canzone, or song, in the Convito. of Dante, which 
 
 I he again cites in his Treatise de Vulg. Eloq. 1. ii. c. vL 
 
 CANTO in. 
 
 T. 9. Hoio doth a little/ailing wound thee sore.] 
 
 Ch'era al cor picciol fallo amaro niorso. 
 
 Tasso, L. c. x. st 69. 
 
 V. 11. Haste, that mars all decency of act.] Aristotle in his Pliv siog. c. 
 ill. reckons it among the avaihoi,<; arnxfla " the signs of an imi)ndent ni.an," 
 that he is ev rai? Ktvija-etTiv clii?, " quiclc in his motions." Compare 
 
 S<)l>hocles, Eloctra, 878. To Koa/Jnov utOelaa, 
 
 2(i. 7() Xaplcs.] Virgil died at IJrundusium, from whence his bodj 
 is said to have lM'<^n removed to Naples.
 
 PUROATORY. 
 
 3§7 
 
 V. 38. Desiriiif/ fruitlessli/.] See II. Cuiito IV. 39. 
 
 V. 49. 'Twixt Lerice and Tiirbia.] At that time tlie two extremities of 
 the Genoese republic, the former on tlio east, tlie latter on the west. A 
 very ingenious writer has had occasion, for a different purpose, to nion- 
 tiou one of these places as remarkably secluded by its mountainous 
 situation. " On an eminence among the mountains, between the two 
 little cities, Nice and Manoca, is the vilhige of Torbia, a name formed 
 from the Greek rponaia.," Mitford ou the Harmony of Language, sect. 
 XV. p. .351. 2d edit. 
 
 V. 78. As sheep.] The imitative nature of these animals supplies our 
 Poet with another comparison in his Convito, Opere, t. i. p. o4. Ediz. 
 Ven. 1793. 
 
 110. Manfredi. King of Naples and Sicily, and the natural son of 
 Frederick II. He was lively and agreeable in his manners, and delighted 
 in poetry music, and dancing. But he was luxurious and ambitious, void | 
 of religion, and in his philosophy an Epicurean. See (j. Villani, 1. vi. c. j 
 xlvii. and Mr. Matthias's Tirabosclii, v. i. p. 38. He fell in tlie battle 
 -with Charles of Anjou in 1265, alluded to in Danto XXVIII. of Hell, v. 
 13. " Dying excommunicated. King Charles did not allow of his being 
 buried iu sacred ground, but he was interred near the bridge of Bene- 
 vento, and on his grave there was cast a stone by every one of the arni3', 
 ■whence there was formed a great mound of stones. But some have said, 
 that afterwards, by command of the Pope, the IMsliop of Cosenza took up 
 his body and sent it out of the kingdom, because it was the land of the 
 church, and that it was buried by the river Verde, ou the borders of the 
 kingdom and of Cauipagua. This, however, we do not affirm." G. Vil- 
 lani, Hist. 1. vii. c. 9. 
 
 V. 111. Costanza.'] See Paradise, Canto III. v. 121. 
 
 V. 112. My fair daughter.'] Costanza, the daughter of Manfredi, and 
 wife of Peter III. King of Arragon, by whom she was mother to Freder- 
 ick, King of Sicily, and James, King of Arragon. With the latter of these 
 she was at Rome 1296. See G. Vilhini, L viii. e. 18. and notes to Canto 
 VU. 
 
 v. 122. Clement.'] Pope Clement IV. 
 
 V. 127. The stream of Ve^'de.] A river near Ascoli, that falls into the 
 Toronto. The "extinguished lights" formed part of the ceremony at 
 the interment of one excommunicated. 
 
 v. 130. Hope.] 
 
 Mentre che la eperanza ha fior del verde. 
 So Tasso, G. L. c. xix. st. 53. 
 
 infin che verde h fior di speme. 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 V. 1. When.] It must be owned the beginning of this Canto is some- 
 what obscure. Vellutello refers, for an elucidation of it, to the reason- 
 ing of Statins in the twenty-fifth Canto. Perhaps some illustration may 
 be derived from the following pass:ige in South's Sermons, in which I 
 have ventured to supply the words between crotchets that seemed to be 
 wanting to complete the sense. Now whether these three, judgment, 
 memory, and invention, are three distinct things, both in being distin- 
 guished from one another, and likewise from tlie substance of the soul 
 itself, considered without any such faculties; [or whether the soul be 
 one individual substance] but only receiving these several denomiua-
 
 398 NOTES. 
 
 tions from tlie BOvcral respects iirisinii from the several actions exeifod 
 imnicili.'itcly bv itself upon scvoral olijcctrt, or several (iiialities of the 
 eanie object; I'say wlicthcr of these it is, is not easy to (Icctidc^, and it is 
 well that it is not necessary. Aquinas, and most witli hiin, allirm the 
 former, and Scotus witli his followers the latter." Vol. iv. Serin. 1. 
 
 V. 2."5. Sanlco.] A fortress on the summit of Montefeltro. 
 
 V. 24. Noli.] In the Cicnoese territory, between Finale and Savona. 
 
 V. 25. Jiismantua.] A steep mountain in the territory of Kej;;;io. 
 
 V. 55. From the left.] Vellutello observes an imitatiou of Lucan in 
 this passage : 
 
 Ignotum vobis, Arabes, venistia in orbera, 
 Umbras mirati uemorum uou ire sinistras. 
 
 Phars. 1. iii. 248. 
 
 V. 69. Thou wilt see.] " If yon consider tliat tliis monntain of I'urga- 
 tory and that of Sion are antipodal to each other, yon will perceive that 
 the sun nnist rise on opposite sides of the respective eminences." 
 
 V. 119. Bclacqua.] (Jouceruiug this man, the com meutators afford no 
 
 i information. 
 CANTO V. 
 
 ■< V. 14. Be as a tower.] Sta come torre ferma. 
 
 I So Berni, Orl. Inn. 1. 1. c. x\\. st 48: 
 
 j In quei due piedi sta fermo il gigante 
 
 i Com' nna torre in mezzo d'un castello. 
 
 I And MUton P. L. b. i. 591. 
 
 \ Stood like a tower. 
 
 iv. 36. Ne'er saw I fiery vapours.] Imitated by Tasso, G. L. c. xix. 
 Bt 62: 
 Tal suol fendendo liquido sereno 
 Stella cader della gran uiadre in seno. 
 
 I And by Milton, P. L. b. iv. 558 : 
 
 I Swift as a shooting star 
 
 j In autumn thwarts the night, when vapours fir'd 
 
 i Impress the air, 
 
 S T. 67. That land.] The Marca d'Ancona, between Romagna and 
 
 E Apulia, the kingdom of Charles of Anjou. 
 
 ; V. 73. From thence I came.] Giacopo del Cassero, a citizen of Fano, 
 
 ■ who having spoken ill of Azzo da Este, Marquis of Ferrara, was by his 
 
 \ orders put to death. Giacopo was overtaken by the assassins at Oriaco, 
 
 i a place near the Brenta, from whence, if he had fled towards Mira, 
 
 ! higher up on that river, instead of making for the marsh on the sear- 
 shore, he might have escaped. 
 Y. 75. Antenor's land.] The city of Padua, said to be founded by 
 S Antenor. 
 
 IV. 87. Of Montefeltro I.] Buonconte (son of Guido da Montefeltro, 
 whom we have had in the twenty-seventh Canto of Hell) fell in the 
 battle of Campaldino (1289), fij;liting on the side of the Aretini. 
 ; V. 88. Giovanna.] Either the wife, or kinswoman, of Buonconte. 
 
 ', V. 94. Tlie hermit's seat.] The hermitage of Canialdoli. 
 
 V. 95. Where its 7iame is cancel'd.] That is, between Bibbiena and 
 • Poppi, where tlie Archiauo falls into the Anio.
 
 rUKGATORY. 399 
 
 V. 115. From Pratomagito to the mountain range.'] From Pratomagno, 
 now called Prato Vecchio (which divides the Valdarno from Caseutiiio), 
 as far as to the Apeimiue. 
 
 V. 131. Pia.] She is said to have been a Sieiniese lady, of the family 
 of Tolommei, secretly made away with by her husband, Nello della 
 Pietra, of the same city, in Maremma, where he had some possessions. 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 V. 14. Of Arezzo him."] Benincasa of Arezzo, eminent for his skill in jiv 
 risprudence, who, having condemned to death Tiirrinoda Turrita, brotliei 
 of Ghino di Tacco, for his robberies in Maremma, was nnirdered by 
 Ghino, in an apartment of his own house, in the presence of many wit- 
 nesses. Ghino was not only suffered to escape in safety, but (as tlie 
 commentators inform us) obtained so high a rejmtation V)y the liberality 
 ■with which he was accustomed to dispense tlie fruits of his plunder, and 
 treated those who fell into his hands with so much courtesy, that he was 
 afterwards invited to Rome, and knighted by Boniface VIU. A story is 
 told of him by Boccaccio, G. x. N. 2. 
 
 V. 15. Him. beside.'] Ciacco de' Tarlatti of Arezzo. He is said to have 
 been carried by his horse into the Arno, and there drowned, while he 
 "was in pursuit of certain of his enemies. 
 
 V. 17. Frederic Novello.] Son of the Coute Guido da Battifolle, and 
 elaiu by one of the family of Bostoli. 
 
 V. 18. Of Pisa he.] Farinata de* Scornigiani of Pisa. His father 
 Marzuco, who had entered the order of thePrati Minori, so entirely over- 
 came the feelings of resentment, that he even kissed tlie liands of tlie 
 slayer of his son, and, and as he was following the funeral, exhorted his 
 kinsmen to reconciliation. 
 
 V. 20. Count Oi'so.] Son of Napoleone da Cerbaia, slain by Alberto da 
 Mangona, his uncle. 
 
 V. 23. Peter de la Brosse.] Secretary of Philip III. of France. The 
 courtiers, envying the high place which he held in the king's favour, pre- 
 vailed on Mary of Brabant to charge him falsely with an attempt upon 
 her person ; for which supposed crime he suffered deatlu 
 
 So say the Italian commentators. Henault represents the matter very 
 differently: "Pierre de la Brosse, formerly barber to St. Louis, after- 
 wards the favourite of Philip, fearing the too great attachment of the 
 king for his wife Mary, accuses this princess of having poisoned Louis, 
 eldest son of Philip, by his first marriage. This calumny is discovered 
 by a nun of Nivelle in Flanders, La Brosse is hung." Abrege Chrou. 
 1275, &c 
 
 V. 30. In thy text.] He refers to Virgil, ^n. 1, vi. 376. 
 
 Desine fata deum flecti sperare precaudo. 
 T. 37. The sacred height 
 
 Of judgment.] 
 So Shakspeare, Measure for Measure, a. ii. s. 2. 
 
 If he, which is the top of judgment 
 V. 66. Eying us as a lion on his watch.] 
 
 A guisa di Leon quando si posa. 
 A line taken by Tasso, G. L. c. x. st. 56. 
 
 V. 75. Sordcllo.] The history of Sordello's life is Avrapt in the obscur- 
 ity of romance. That he distinguished himself by his skill in Provcu(;al
 
 400 NOTES. 
 
 poetry is certain. It is iiroltablc that he was Iwrn towards tlie end of thi 
 twelftli, and died about tlio iiiiddli; of tlin succeed in, u% ceiitiirv. Tinihosclii 
 lias takcMi imuli pains to sift all the notices ho coid<l collect relatinj,' to 
 iiini. IlononiabU' mention of his name is niiide by our I'oct iu the Trea- 
 tise de Vnl^j. I'^bx]. 1. i. c 15. 
 V. 7(j. Thou inn of (jrief.] 
 
 Thou most beauteous inn. 
 Why gliould hard-favour'd Rrief l)e lod^'M in theeV 
 
 Shakspeare, lUduird II. a. 5. s. 1. 
 
 V. 80. Jm^tinian's hand.] " Wliat avails it that Justinian delivered 
 tliee from the (Joths, and reformed thy laws, if tliou art no longer uiuler 
 the control of his successors in the empire? " 
 
 V. ;»4. Thai ivhich God comnumds.] He alludes to the j)recept — " Iten- 
 der unto Ca-sar the tilings which are C.'csar's.'' 
 
 V. 98. German Albert .'] The Emperor Albert I. succeeded Adolplius 
 iu 1298, and was murdered in 1308. See Par. Canto XIX. 114. 
 
 V. 103. Thif successor.] The successor of Albert was Henry of Luxem- 
 burg, by whose interposition in the affairs of Italy our Poet hoped to have 
 been reinstated in his native city. 
 
 V. 104. Thi/ sire.] The Empereor Rodolph, too intent on increasiu"; 
 his power in Germany to give much of his thoughts to Italy, "the garden 
 of the empire." 
 
 [ V. 107. Capnlets a7id Montagues.] Our ears are so familiarized to the 
 
 \ names of these rival families in the language of Shakspeare, that I have 
 
 used them inste,'id of the " Moutecchi " and "Cappelletti." 
 I V. 108. Philippeschi and Monaldi.] Two other rival families in 
 
 [ Orvieto. 
 
 V. 113. What safety Santafiore can svpply.] A place between Pisa and 
 Sienna. What he alludes to is so doubtful, that it is not certain whether 
 ■we should not read "come si cura" — "How Santafiore is governed." 
 Perhaps the event related iu the note to v. 58, Canto XL may bo pointed 
 at. 
 V. 127. Marcellus.] Uu Marcel diventa 
 
 Ogni villan che parteggiaudo vieue. 
 Bepeated by Alamauni iu his Coltivazione, 1. i. 
 
 V. 51. A sick wretch.] Imitated by the Cardinal de Polignac in his 
 Anti-Lucretius, 1. i. 1052. 
 
 Ceu lectum peragrat membris langnentibns reger, 
 In latus alterne l.^evum dcxtrumque recumbens: 
 Nee jnvat: inde oculos toUit resupinus in altum : 
 Nusquam inventa quics; semper qutesita: quod illi 
 Primum in deliciis fuerat, niox torquet et augit; 
 Nee morbum sanat, uec fallit taidia morbi. 
 
 CANTO VIL 
 
 V. 14. Where one of mean estate might clasp his lord.] So Arioeto, 
 Ori. F. c. xxiv. St. 19. 
 
 E I'abbracciaro, ove ii maggior s'abbraccia, 
 Col capo nudo e col ginocchio chino. 
 
 V. 31. Tlie three holy virtues.] Faith, Hope and Charity. 
 
 V. 32. T?ierest.] Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance.
 
 PURGATORY. 401 
 
 V. 72. Fresh emeralds.] 
 
 Under foot the violet, 
 Crocus, and hyacinth with rich inliiy 
 Broider'd the ground, more colour'd tlian with stoue 
 Of costliest emblem. 
 
 Milion, P. L. b. iv. /03. 
 
 Compare Ariosto, Orl. F. c. xxxiv. st. 49. 
 
 V. 79. Salve Regina.] The beginning of a prayer to the Virgin. It is 
 sufficient here to observe, tliat in similar instances I shall either preserve 
 the original Latin words or translate them, as it may seem best to suit 
 the purf)ose of the verse. 
 
 V. 91. The Emperor Rodolph.] See the last Canto, v. 104. He died in 
 1291. 
 
 V. 95. That cotintry.] Bohemia. 
 
 V. 97. Ottocar.'] King of Bohemia, was killed in the battle of March- 
 field, fought with Rodolph, August 2G, 1278. Winceslaus II., his son, 
 who succeeded him iu the kiugdoni of Ijoliemia. died in 1305. He is 
 again taxed with luxury in the Paradi.se, Canto XIX. 123. 
 
 V. 101. That one ivith the nose deprest.] Pliilip III. of France, who died 
 iu 1285, at Perpignan, in his retreat from Arragon. 
 
 V. 102. Ilim 0/ gentle look.] Henry of Navarre, father of Jane married 
 to Philip IV. of France, whom Dante calls " lual di Francia "— " Gallia's 
 bane." 
 
 V. 110. He so robust of limb.] Peter III. called the Great. King of 
 Arragon, who died in 1285, leaving four sons, Alonzo, James, Frederick, 
 and Peter. Tlie two former succeeeded him iu the kingdom of Arragon, 
 and Frederick hi that of Sicily. See G.Villani, 1. vii. c. 102. and Mariiina, 
 I. xiv. c. 9. 
 
 He is enumerated among the Provenc^al poets by Millot, Hist. Litt. des 
 Troubadours, t. iii. p. 150. 
 
 V. 111. Him of feature prominent] "Dal maschio naso" — with the 
 masculine nose." Charles I. King of Naples, Count of Anjou, and 
 brother of St. Louis. He died iu 1284. 
 
 The annalist of Florence remarks, that " there had been uo sovereign 
 of the house of France, since the time of Charlemagne, by whom Charles 
 was surpassed either in military renown, and prowess, or in the loftiness 
 of his understanding." G. Villaui, 1. vii. c. 94. We shall, however, find 
 many of his actions severely reprobated iii the twentieth Canto. 
 
 V. 113. That stripling.] Either (as the old commentators suiijiose) 
 Alonzo III. King of Arragon, the eldest son of Peter III. who died iu 
 1291, at the age of 27 ; or, according to Venturi, Peter the youngest son. 
 The former was a young prince of virtue sufficient to have justified tlie 
 eulogium and the hopes of Dante. See Mariana, 1. xiv. c. 14. 
 V. 119. Raraly.] 
 
 Full well can the wise poet of Florence, 
 
 That hight Dante, speaken iiithis sentence ; 
 
 Lo ! in such manner rime is Dantestale. 
 
 Full selde uprisetli by liis brandies smale 
 
 Prowesse of man, for God of his gooduesse 
 
 AVoll that we claim of him our geutleuesse : 
 
 For of our elders may we nothing claime 
 
 But temporal thing, that men may hurt and maime. 
 
 Chaucer, Wife of Bathe's Tale. 
 26
 
 402 NOTES. 
 
 Compare Homer, Od. b. ii. v. 276 ; Pindar, Ncm. xi. 48 ; and r.ini- j 
 pides, l'".lectra, 'Mii. j 
 
 V. 1122. To Vhurles.] "Al Nasuto."—" Charles II. King of Naples, is 1 
 no le.'^s inferior to his father Charles I. than James and Fiederick to S 
 tlieirs, Peter III." ', 
 
 V. 127. C'o,s/a?(2;a.] Widow of Peter 111. She has been already men- 
 tioned in the third Canto, v. 112. By Beatrice and Margaret are prob- 
 ably meant two of the daughters of Raymond Herenger, Count of Pio- 
 vcnce ; the former married to St. Louis of France, the latter to his 
 liidther Charles of Anjon. See Paradise, Canto Yl. 135. Dante there- 
 fore c(jnsiders Peter as the most illustrious of the tliree monarclis. 
 
 V. 129. Harry of Eru/land.] Henry 111. 
 
 V. 130. Better issve.] Edward I. of whose glory our Poet was perhaps 
 a witness, in his visit to England. 
 
 V. 133. William, that brave Marquis.] "William, Marquis of Monfer- 
 rat, was treacherously seized by his own subjects, at Alessandria in 
 Lombardy, a.d. 12i)0, and ended his life in prison. See G. Villani, L vii. 
 c. 135. A war ensued between the people of Alessandria and those of 
 Mouferrat and the Canavese. 
 
 CANTO vm. 
 
 ▼. 6. That seems to mourn for the erpiring day.'] 
 
 The curfew tolls the knell of parting day. 
 
 G7-ay^s Elegy. 
 V. 13. Te Lucis Ante.] The beginning of one of the evening hymns. 
 V. 36. As faculty.] 
 
 My earthly by his heav'nly overpower'd 
 
 As with an object, that excels the sense, 
 Dazzled and spent. 
 
 Milton., P. L. b. viii. 457. 
 
 V. 53. Nino, thou courteoiis judge.] Nino di Gallura de' Visconti, 
 nephew to Count Ugolino de' Gherardeschi, and betrayed by him. See 
 Notes to Hell, Canto XXXIII. 
 
 V. 65. Conrad.] Currado Malaspina. 
 
 V. 71. My Giovanna.] The daughter of Nino, and wife of Riccardo da 
 Cammino of Trevigi. 
 
 V. 73. Her mother.] Beatrice, marchioness of Este, wife of Nino, and 
 after his death married to Galeazzo de' Visconti of Milan. 
 
 V. 74. The white and ivimpled folds.] The weeds of widowhood. 
 
 V. 80. The viper.] The arms of Galeazzo and the ensign of the Mi- 
 lanese. 
 
 V. 81. Shrill Galhira's bird.] The cock was the ensign of Gallura, 
 Nino's province in Sardinia. Hell, Canto XXII. 80. and Notes. 
 
 V. 115. Valdimagra.] See Hell, Canto XXIV. 144. and Notes. 
 
 V. 133. Sev'n times the tired sun.] " The sun shall not enter into the 
 constellation of Aries seven times more, before thou shalt have still 
 better cause for the good opinion thoii exjn'essest of Valdimagra, in the 
 kind receptit)!! tliou shalt tliere meet with." Dante was hospitably re- 
 ceived by the Marchese Marcello Malaspina, during his banishment, 
 A.D. 1307.
 
 PURGATORY. 403 
 
 CANTO IX 
 
 T. 1. Now the fair consort of TUhonxis old.'\ 
 
 La coiicubina di Titone antico. 
 So Tassoui, Sccchia Rapita, c. viii. st. 15. 
 
 La puttanella del canuto aiiiante. 
 V. 5. Of that chill animal.^ The scorpion. 
 » V. 14. Our minds.] Compare Hell, Canto XXVI. 7. 
 
 V. 18. A (/olden-feathered eac/le.] So Chaucer, in the House of Fame, 
 at the concln.siou of the lirst book and beginning of tlie .secoiid, repre- 
 sents himself carried up by the " grini pawes " of a golden eagle. Much, 
 of his description is closely imitated from Dante. j 
 
 V. 50. Lncia.] The enliglitening grace of heaven. Hell, Canto 11. 07. I 
 V. 85. T/ie loivest stair.] By the white step is meant the distinctness ) 
 with which the conscience of the ])enitent reflects his offences ; by the j 
 burnt and cracked one, his contrition on their account ; and by that of ' 
 porphyry, the fervour with which lie resolves on the fnture pursuit of | 
 piety and virtue. Hence, no doubt, Milton describing "the gate of j 
 heaven," P. L. b. iii. 51G. 
 
 Each stair mysteriously was meant. ' 
 
 V. 100. Seven times.] Seven P's, to denote the seven sins (Peccata) of j 
 
 which he was to be cleansed in his i)assage through Purgatory. j 
 
 V. 115. One is more prccioiis.] Tb.e golden key denotes tlie divine I 
 
 authority by which the priest absolves the sinners : the silver expresses I 
 
 the learning and judgment requisite for the due discharge of that office. I 
 
 V. 127. Harsh was the grating.] ] 
 
 On a sudden open fly I 
 
 With impetuous recoil and jarring sonnd i 
 
 Til' infernal doors, and on their hinges grate "; 
 
 Harsh thunder. Milton, P. L. b. ii. 882. '■ 
 
 T. 128. The Tarpeian.] 
 
 Protinus, abducto patuernnt templa Metello. > 
 
 Tunc rupes Tarpeia sonat r niagfioque reclusas 
 Testatur stridore fores : tunc conditus imo 
 Eruitur templo multis intactup at aunis 
 Bouiaui census popali, &c. 
 
 LucaTi.. Ph- 1, iii 187. 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 T. 6. That wmmd.] Ventnri justly observes, that the Padre d'Aquioo 
 has misrepresented the sense of this passage in his transhitiou. 
 — dabat ascensum tendentibus ultra 
 Scissa tremensque silex, tenuique erratica motu. 
 The verb " inuover " is used in the same signification in the inferno. 
 Canto XVIIL 21. 
 
 Cos'i da imo della roccia scogli 
 Movcu.
 
 404 NOTES. 
 
 — from tlio rock's low base 
 Tims Hint}' i)atlis advaiic'd. 
 Ill neither place is actual motion intendeil to be expressed. 
 
 V. 52. That from unbidikii ojjice awes mankind.] Sec 2 Sam. c. vL 
 6,7. 
 
 V. 58. Preccdinf/.] Ibid. 14, &c 
 
 V. 08. Grcf/on/.] St. Grofrory's prayers are said to have delivered 
 Trajan from' hell. See Paradise, Canto XX. 40. 
 
 V. ()'.). Trajan th' J'Jmpcror.] For this story, Laiidino refers to two 
 ■writers, wliom he calls " Hennando," of France, by whom ho mcms 
 Elinaiid, a monk and chronicler, in the reign of Philip Aui^ustus, and 
 " Polycrato," of England, by whom is meant John of Salisbury, author 
 of the Polycraticus de Curialiiim Nugis, in the twelfth century. The 
 passage in the text I find to be nearly a translation from that work, 1. v. 
 c. 8. The original appears to be in Dio Cassiiis, where it is told of tho 
 Emperor Hadrian, lib. Ixix. a^cAet yucaDcbs, «• t. a. " when a woman ap- 
 peared to him with a suit, as he was on a journey, at first he answered 
 jier, 'I have no leisure ;' but she crying out to him, 'then reigu uo 
 longer,' he turned about, and heard her cause." 
 
 V. 119. As to sup})ort.] Chillingworth, ch. vi. § 54, speaks of " those 
 crouching anticks, which seem in great buildings to labour under the 
 weight they bear." And Lord Shaftesbury has a similar illustration iu 
 his Essay ou V\' it and Humour, p. 4. s. 3. 
 
 CANTO XI. 
 
 ' V. 1. thou Almif/?ity FatJier.'] The first four lines are borrowed by 
 Pulci, Jlorg. Magg. c. vi. 
 
 Dante, iu his ' Credo,' has again versified the Lord's prayer. 
 
 V. 58. I icas of Lativm.] Omberto, the son of Guglielmo Aldobran- 
 desco. Count of Santafiore, iu the territory of Sienna, llis arrogance 
 provoked his countrymen to such a pitch of fury against him, that he 
 was murdered by them at Campagnatico. 
 
 V. 79. Oderifji/] The illuminator, or miniature painter, a friend of 
 Giotto and Dante. 
 
 V. 83. lioloanian Franco."] Franco of Bologna, who is said to have 
 been a pupil of Oderigi's. 
 
 V. 93. Cimabiie.] Giovanni Cimabue, the restorer of painting, was 
 born at Florence, of a noble family, iu 1240, and died iu 1300. The paa- 
 eage iu the text is an illusion to his epitaph : 
 
 Credidit ut Cimabos picturze castra tenere, 
 Sic tenuit viveus : nunc teuet astra poll. 
 
 V. 95. The cry is Giotto^s.] In Gi(;tto we have a ])roof at how early a 
 period the fine arts were encouraged in Italy. His talents were discov- 
 ered by Cimabue, while he was tending sheep for his father in the 
 neighbinirhood of Florence, and he was afterwards patronized bv Po])e 
 Benedict XI. and Robert King of Naples, and enjoyed' the society and 
 friendship of Dante, whose likeness he has transmitted to posterity. He 
 died in 133G, at the age of GO. 
 
 V. 96. One Guidofrom the other.] Guido Cavalcanti, the friend of our 
 Poet, (see Hell, Canto X. 59.) had eclipsed the literary fame of Guido 
 Guiuieelli, of a noble family iu Bologna, whom we shall meet with iu
 
 PURGATORY. 406 
 
 the twenty-sixth Canto, .and of whom iTeqnent mention is made by onr 
 Poet in liis Treatise do Vuls. Eloq. Giiinicelli died in 1276. Many of 
 Cuvalciinti's writings, hitherto in MS. are now pubUshing at Florence. 
 Esprit des Journaux, Jan. 1813. 
 
 V. 97. He perhaps is born.] Some imagine, with mnch probability, 
 tliat Dante liere augurs the greatness of his own poetical reputation. 
 Others have fancied that he prophesies the glory of Petrarch. lUit Pe- 
 trarch was not yet born. 
 
 V. 136. A suitor.] Provenzano Salvani liumbled himself so f.ar for the 
 pake of one of his friends, who was detained in captivity by Charles I. of 
 Sicily, as personally to supplicate the people of Sienna to contribute the 
 Bum required by the king for his ransom : and this act of self-abasement 
 atoned for his general ambition and pride. 
 
 V. 140. Thy ?iei{/hbors soo7i.] " Thou wilt know in the time of thy 
 banishment, which is near at hand, what it is to solicit favours of others, 
 and ' tremble through every vein,' lest they should be refused thee." 
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 V. 26. The Thymbrcen god.] Apollo, 
 
 Si modo, quem perhibes, pater est Thymbrseus Apollo. 
 
 Virg. Oeorg. iv. 323. 
 
 V. 27. Mars.] "With snch a grace, 
 
 Tlie giants that attempted to scale heaven. 
 When they lay dead on the Phlegneu plain, 
 Mars did appear to Jove. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, The Pro- 
 phetess, a. 2. s. 3. 
 T. 42. Rehoboam.] 1 Kings, c. xii. 18. 
 
 V. 46. Alcimeon.] Yirg. ^Eu. 1. vi. 445, and Homer, Od. xi. 325. 
 V. 48. Sennacherib.] 2 Kings, c. six. 37. 
 V. 58. What master of the pencil or the style.] 
 
 —inimitable on earth 
 By model, or by shading pencil drawn. 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. iii. 509. 
 V. 94. The chapel sta7ids.] The church of San Miniato in Florence, 
 eituated on a height that overlooks the Arno, where it is crossed by the 
 bridge Rubaconte, so called from Messer Rubaconte da Mandella, of 
 Milan, chief magistrate of Florence, by whom the bridge was founded 
 in 1237. See G. Villani, 1. vi. c. 27. 
 V. 96. 3%e icell-guided city.] This is said ironically of Florence. 
 V. 99. The registry.] In allusion to certain instances of fraud com- 
 mitted with respect to the public accounts and measures. See Paradise, 
 Canto XVI. 103. 
 
 CANTO xm. 
 
 V. 26. They have no loine.] John, ii. 3. These words of the Virgin 
 are referred to as an instance of charity. 
 V. 29. Ch-estcs.] Alluding to his friendship with Pylades. 
 V. 32. Love ye those have wrong'd you.] Matt. c. v. 44.
 
 406 NOTES. 
 
 V. .•?.•?. The srovrfic'] "Tho chastisement of envy consists in lioaring 
 
 exain|iios of tlio ()p|)osite virtue, charity. As a curb and restraint on 
 this vice, you will presently liear very dill'erent soiuuls, those of tlireab- 
 enins and punishment." 
 
 V. 87. Citizens 
 
 Of one true city.'] 
 
 •' For here we have no continuing city, but we seek to come." Heb. 
 c. xiii. 14. 
 
 V. 101. Sapia.'] A lady of Sienna, who, living in exile at CoUe, was so 
 overjoyed at a defeat which her countrymen sustained near tliat place, 
 that slic declared nothing more was wanting to make lier die contented. 
 
 V. 114. TIiP merlin.'] The story of tlie merlin is, that having been 
 induced by a gleam of fine weather in the winter to escape from his 
 master, he was soon oppressed by the rigour of the season. 
 
 V. 119. Tlie hermit Piero.] Piero Pettiuagno, a holy hermit ol 
 Florence. 
 
 V. 141. That vain mnltitmle.] Tlie Siennese. See ITell, Canto XXIX. 
 117. "Their acquisition of Telamone, a seaport on the confines of the 
 Maremma, has led them to conceive hojies of becoming a naval power : 
 but this scheme will prove as chimerical as their former plan for the 
 discovery of a subterraneous stream under their city." Why they gave 
 the appellation of Diana to the imagined stream, Veuturi says he leaves 
 it to the antiquaries of Sienna to conjecture. 
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 T. 34. Malm'd ofPelorus.'] Virg. JKn. 1. iii. 414. 
 —a hill 
 Torn from Pelorus. 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. i. 232. 
 
 V. 45. 'Midst brnte swine.] The people of Casentino. 
 
 V. 49. Curs.] The Arno leaves Arezzo about four miles to the left. 
 
 V. 53. 'Wolves.] The Florentines. 
 
 V. 55. Foxes.] The Pisans. 
 
 V. 61. TJiy grandson.] Fulcieri de' Calboli, grandson of Rinieri de' 
 Calboli, who is here spoken to. The atrocities predicted came to pass in 
 1302. See G. Villain, 1. viii. c. 59. 
 
 V. 95. ' Tiuixl Po, the mount, the Reno, and the shore.] The boundaries 
 of Romagna. 
 
 V. 99. Lizio.] Lizio da Valbona, introduced into Boccaccio's De- 
 cameron, G. V. N. 4. 
 
 V. 100. Manardl, Traversaro, and Carpigna.] Arrigo Manardi of 
 Faenza, or as some say, of Brettinoro ; Pier Traversaro, lord of Ra- 
 venna ; and Guido di Carpigna of Montefeltro. 
 
 v. 102. In Bologna the Imn artisan.] One who had been a mechanic, 
 named Lambertaccio, arrived at almost supreme power in Bologna. 
 
 V. 103. To)i Dernardin.] Bernardin di Fosco, a man of low origin, 
 but great talents, who governed at Faenza. 
 
 V. 107. Prata.] A place between Faenza and Ravenna. 
 
 V. 107. Of Azzo him.] Ugolino, of the Ubaldini family in Tuscany. 
 He is recouriced among the poets by Crescimbeni and Tiraboschi. 
 
 V. 108. Tignoso.] Federigo Tignoso of Rimini. 
 
 ^-
 
 PURGATORY. 407 
 
 V. 109. Traversaro's hoitxe and Anastctf/io's.] Two noble families of 
 Ravenna. She to whom Dryden has given the name of Honoria, in the 
 fable so admirably paraphrased from Boccaccio, was of the former : her 
 lover and tlie spectre were of the Anastagi family. 
 
 V. 111. The ladies, d:c.] These two lines express the true spirit of 
 chivalry. " Agi " is understood by the conmientators whom I have con- 
 sulted, to mean "the ease procurfd for others by the exertions of 
 knight-errantry." But surely it signifies the alternation of ease with 
 labour. 
 
 V. 114. Brettiiioro.] A beautifully situated castle in Romagua, the 
 hospitable residence of Guido del Duca, who is here speaking. 
 
 V. 118. Baynacavallo.] A castle between Imola and Ravenna. 
 
 V. 118. Castracaro ill 
 
 And Conio ivorsc] Both in Romagna. 
 
 V. 121. Pagani.'] The Pagani were lords of Faenza and Imola. One 
 of them, Machinardo, was nauied tlie Lemon, from his treachery. See 
 Hell, Canto XXVII. 47, and Note. 
 
 V. 124. Hufjolin.] Ugolino Ubaldini, a noble and virtuous person in 
 Faenza, who, on account of his age probably, was not likely to leave 
 any offspring behind him. He is enumerated among the poets by Cres- 
 cirnbeni, and Tiraboschi. Mr. Matthias's edit. vol. i. p. 143. 
 
 V. 136. Whosoever finds 
 
 Will slay 7>ie.] 
 The words of Cain, Gen. c. iv. 14. 
 
 V. 142. Aglaiiros.] Ovid, Met. 1, ii. fab. 12. 
 
 v. 145. There loas the galling hit.'] Referring to what had been before 
 Bald, Canto XIU. 35. 
 
 CANTO XV. 
 
 V. 1. As much.'] It wanted three hours of sunset. 
 
 V. 16. As ichen the ray.] Compare Virg. Mn. 1. viii. 22, and Apoll. 
 Rhod. 1. iii. 755. 
 
 v. 19. Ascending at a glance!] Lucretius, 1. iv. 215. 
 
 V. 20. Differs from the stone.] The motion of light being quicker than 
 that of a stone through an equal space. 
 
 V. 38. Blessed the mercifid.] Matt. c. v. 7. 
 
 V. 43. Romagna' s spirit.] Guido del Duca, of Brettinoro, whom we 
 have seen in the preceding Canto. 
 
 V. 87. A da7ne.] Luke, c. ii. 48 
 
 v. 101. Hoio shall we those req^(ite.] The answer of Pisistratus the 
 tyrant to his wife, when she urged him to inflict the punishment of 
 death on a young man, who, inflamed with love for his daughter, had 
 snatched from her a kiss in public. The story is told by Valerius Maxi- 
 mus, 1. v. 1. 
 
 V. 105. A stripling youth.] The protomartyr Stephen. 
 
 GANTO XVI. 
 
 V. 24. As thou.] " If thou wert still living." 
 
 V. 46. / was of Lombard)/, and Marco call'd.] A Venetian gentleman. 
 " Lombardo" both was his sirname and denoted the country to which
 
 408 NOTES. 
 
 ho liclonKcd. 0. Villani, 1. vii. c. 120, lornis him " a wise and worthy 
 fiiintior." 
 
 V. M. Ehnrhcrc.'] He refers to wliiit rinido dol V>\\n Imd said in the 
 foiirtocnth Canto, concerning llic dc^^cnoracy of liis coiinlrvnien. 
 
 V. 70. If this were so.] Mr. Crowe in his Lewe.sdoii Hill has exi^ressed 
 eimilar Bentiments witli much energy. 
 
 Of this be sure, 
 Where freedom is not, there no virtue is, &c. 
 
 Compare Origen iu Genesim, Patrum Gra.'Corum, vol. xi. p. 14. Wirc©- 
 burgi, 1783. 8vo. 
 
 V. 7'.t. To inif/htier fvrce.] " Though ye are subject to a higher power 
 than that of tlie heavenly constellations, even to the power of the great 
 Creator himself, yet ye are titill left in the iiossession of liberty." 
 
 V. 88. Like a bcibc that icantons sportively.] This reminds one of the 
 Emperor Hadrian's verses to his departing soul: 
 Auimula vagula blandula, &c. 
 
 V. 99. The fortress.] Justice, the most necessary virtue in the chiel 
 magistrate, as the commentators explain it. 
 
 V. 103. Who.] He compares the Pope, on account of the union of the 
 temporal with the spiritual power in his person, to an unclean beast in 
 the levitical law. " The camel, because he clieweth the cud, but divideth 
 not the hoof ; he is unclean unto you." Levit. c. xi. 4. 
 
 V. 110. Tivo suns.] The Emperor and the Bishop of Rome. 
 
 V. 117. That landf] Lombardy. 
 
 V. 119. Ere the day.] Before the Emperor Frederick H. was defeated 
 before Parma, in 1248. G. Villaui, 1. vi. c. 35. 
 
 V. 126. The r/ood Gherardo.] Gherardo di Camino, of Trevigi. Ho is 
 honourably mentioned in our Poet's " Convito." Opere di Dante, t. i. 
 p. 173. Venez. 8vo. 1793. And Tiraboschi supposes him to have been the 
 same Gherardo with whom the Provencal poets were used to meet a 
 liospitable reception. See Mr. Matthias's edition, t. i. p. 137. 
 
 V. 127. Conrad.] Currado da Palazzo, a gentleman of Brescia. 
 
 V. 127. Guido of Castello.] Of Reggio. All the Italians were called 
 Lombards by the French. 
 
 V. 144. His davyhtcr Gain.] A lady equally admired for her modesty, 
 the beauty of her person, and the excellency of her talents. Gaia, says 
 Tiraboschi, may perhaps lay claim to the praise of having been the first 
 among the Italian ladies, by whom the vernacular poetry was cultivated. 
 Ibid. p. 137. 
 
 CANTO xvn. 
 
 V. 21. The bird, that most 
 
 Delights itself in song.] 
 
 I cannot think with Vellutello, that the swallow is here meant. Dante 
 probably alludes to the story of Philomela, as it is found in Homer's 
 Odyssey, b. xix. 518, rather than as later poets have told it. " She in- 
 tended to slay the son of her husband's brother Amphion, incited to it, 
 by the envy of his wife, who had six children, while herself had only two 
 liiit through mistake slew her own son Itylus, and for her punishment 
 was transformed by Jupiter into a nightingale." Cowper's note on the 
 passage. 
 
 In P]>ea)cing of the nightingale, let me observe, that while some have
 
 PURGATORY. 409 
 
 considered its song .is n, molanclioly, and others ivs Ji cheerful one, Cliia- 
 brera apiicars to liave come nearest the truth, wlien he says, in the AI- 
 cippo, a. i. s. 1, 
 
 Non raai si stanca d' iterar le note, 
 
 O gioconde o dogliose, 
 
 Al scntir dilettose. 
 
 Unwearied still reiterates her lays, 
 Jocund or sad, delightful to the ear. 
 V. 2(). One crucified.'] Ilanian. See the book of Esther, c. vii. 
 V. 34. A damsel.] Lavinia, mourning for lier mother Ainata, who, 
 impelled by grief and indign.ation for the supposed death of Turims, de- 
 stroyed herself, ^n. 1. xii. 595. 
 
 V. 42. TTie broken slumber quivering ere it dies.] Venturi suggests 
 that this bold and unusual metaphor may have been formed on that in 
 VirgU : 
 
 Tempus erat quo prima quies mortalibus segris 
 Incipit, et dono divflm gratissima serpit 
 
 ^n. 1. ii. 268. 
 
 V. G8. The peace-makers.] Matt. c. v. 9. 
 
 V. 81. Tfielove.] " A defect in our love towards God, or lukewarm- 
 ness in piety, is here removed." 
 
 V. 94. The primal blessinrjs.] Spiritual good. 
 
 V. 95. 77t' inferior.] Temporal good. 
 
 V. 102. Noiv.] " It is impossible for any being, either to hate itself, or 
 to hate the First Cause of all, by which it exists. We can therefore only 
 rejoice in the evil which befalls others." 
 
 V. 111. There is.] The proud. 
 
 V. 114. There is.] The envious. 
 
 V. 117. There is he.] The resentful. 
 
 V. 135. Along Three circles .] According to the allegorical commenti- 
 tors, as Venturi has observed, Reason is re|)resented under the ])erson of 
 Virgil, and Sense under that of Dante. The former leaves to the latter 
 to discover for itself the three carnal sins, avarice, gluttony, and libid- 
 iuousness ; having already declared the nature of the spiritual sins, 
 pride, envy, auger, and indifference, or lukewarmness in piety, which 
 the Italians caU accidia, from the Greek word a/cijSia. 
 
 CANTO xvm. 
 
 V. 1. The teacher ended.] Compare Plato, Protagoras, v. iii. p. 123. 
 Bip. edit. Upuirayopa^ iiev TOcrauTa, k. t. A. Apoll. Rliod. 1. 1. 513, and Miltoii, 
 p. L. b. viii. 1. 
 
 The angel ended, &c. 
 
 V. 23. Your apprehension.] It is literally, " Your apprehensive faculty 
 derives intension from a thing really existing, and displays the inten- 
 sion within yon, so that it makes the soul turn to it.'' The comment.a- 
 tors labour in explaining this; and whatever sense they have elicited 
 may, I think, be resolved into tlie words of the translation in the text. 
 
 V. 47. Spirit.] The huuKin sonl, which differs from tliat of brutes, 
 inasmuch as, though united with the body, it has a separate existence of 
 ita own. 
 
 V. G5. Those men.] The great moral philosophers among the heathens
 
 410 NOTES. 
 
 V. 78. A craq.'] I have preforrod tlio roadins of Landino, nrhfifffp'on, 
 'I " cruij," c'oiicciviiij:: it to Ix^ iiioi'O ])ootic;il than srrrhion, " liiicl;('t.'' whicli 
 I is the {'oiiiiiioii i-cadiii;^. The sanie caiiso, the vapoius, which the C(jiii- 
 I incntators say iiri^ht ix'wa the ap]iearance of iufroased niasnitude to the 
 I 11)0011, iiiisht also make her Heeiii broken at her rise. 
 I V. 78. Up the vaidL] The luooii passed with a motion op])Osite to that 
 
 I of the lieavens, tiiroii^ili the ('oiistcllatiiiii of tlie scorpion, in whicli tlie 
 8 Bun is, when to those who are in lioiue he apiiears to set between the 
 \ isles of Corsica and Sardinia. 
 
 V. 84. Andes.] Andes, now Pietola, made more famous than Mantua, 
 il near which it is situated, bj^ having been the birthplace of Virgil, 
 I V. 92. I.^DK'niis (Did Asopus.] Rivers near Thebes. 
 
 I V. 98. Man/.] Luke, c. i. 3it, 40. 
 
 I V. it!). C'«!.s<;/c.] See Liican, Phars. 1. iii. and iv., and Caesar, de Bello 
 
 I Civili, 1. i. Ciesar left Brutus to comi)lete the seijre of Marseilkjs, and 
 1 hastened on to the attack of Afranius and Petreius,the generals of Pom- 
 ■ pey, at Ileida (Lerida) in Spain. 
 
 ' V. 118. Abbot.] Alberto, abbot of San Zeno in Verona, when Freder- 
 
 ick I. was emperor, by whom Milan was besieged and reduced to ashes, 
 in 1102. 
 ; V. 121. There is he.] Alberto della Scala, lord of Veroua, who had 
 
 I made his natural son abbot of San Zeno. 
 
 ? V. 133. First they died.] The Israelites, who, on account of their dis- 
 
 l obedience, died before reaching the promised laud. 
 ; V. 135. A7id they.] Virg. .iEu. 1. v. 
 
 I 
 
 ! CANTO XIX. 
 
 t 
 
 V. 1. The hour.] Near the dawn. 
 
 V. 4. The geomancer. The geomancers, says Landino, when they 
 divined, drew a figure consisting of sixteen marks, named from so many 
 stars which constitute the end of Aquarius and the beginning of Pisces. 
 One of these they called " the greater fortune." 
 
 V. 7. A ivoman's shcqye.] Worldly happiness. This allegory reminds 
 us of the " Choice of Hercules." 
 1 Y. li. Love's own hiie.] 
 
 \ A smile that glow'd 
 
 [ Celestial rosy red, love's projjcr hue. 
 
 I Milton, P. L. b. viii. 619. 
 
 I — fades pulcherrima tunc est, 
 
 j Qnura porphyriaco variatur Candida rubro. 
 
 ; Quid color hie roseus sibi vult? designat amorem: 
 
 iQuii^De amor est igni sirailis; flammasque rubentes 
 Ignis habere solet. 
 Palingenii Zodiacus Vitce, 1. xii. 
 V. 26. A dame.] Philosophy. 
 I ▼. 49. Who mown.] Matt. c. v. 4. 
 
 f ▼. 72. My sotd.] Psalm cxix. 25. 
 
 f V. 97. The successor of Peter.] Ottobuono, of the family of Fieschi, 
 
 [J Counts of Lavagna, died thirty-nine days after he became Pope, with the 
 
 title of Adrian V. in 127G. 
 I] V. 98. That stremn.] The river Lavagna, in the Genoese territory. 
 
 V. 135. Nor shall be (jiv'n in marriage.] Matt, c xxii. 30. " Since in
 
 PUnOATORY. 411 
 
 this state we neitlier marry nor are given in marriapje, I am no lonper 
 the spouse of the cliiircli, and tlieiefore no longer retain my former dig- 
 nity." 
 
 V. 140. A kinfico7van.'\ Alngia is said to have been the wife of tlie 
 Marchese Marcello Malaspina, one of the poet's protectors during his 
 exile. See Cauto VIII. 133. 
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 V. 3. I dreiD the sponge.'] " I did not persevere in my inquiries from 
 the spirit, though still anxious to learn more.'' 
 
 V. 11. Wolf.] Avarice. 
 
 V. 16. Of his appeariiifi.] He is thought to allude to Can Grande della 
 Scala. See Hell, Canto' I. 98. 
 
 V. 25. Fabrkius-I Compare Petrarch, Tr. della Fama, c. 1. 
 Uu Curio ed un Fabricio, &c. 
 
 V. 30. Nicholas.'] The story of Nicliolas is, that an angel having re- 
 vealed to him that the father of a family was so impoverished as to re- 
 solve on exposing the chastity of his three daughters to sale, he threw 
 in at the window of their liouse three bags of money, containing a suffi- 
 cient i)ortion for each of them. 
 
 V. 42. Root.] Hugh Capet, ancestor of Philip FV. 
 
 V. 46. Had Ghent and Douay, Lille and Bvvges poicer.] These cities 
 had lately been seized by Philip IV. The spirit is made to imitate the 
 approaching defeat of the French army by the Flemings, in the battle of 
 Courtrai, which happened in 1302. 
 
 V. 51. The slaughterer's trade.] Tliis reflection on the birth of his an- 
 cestor induced Francis I. to forbid the reading of Dante in his dominions. 
 Hugh Capet, who came to the throne of France in i)87, was however the 
 grandson of Robert, who was the brother of Eudes, King of France iu 
 888. 
 
 v. 52. All save one.] The posterity of Charlemagne, the second race 
 of French monarchs, had failed, with the exception of Charles of Lor- 
 raine, who is said, on account of the melancholy temper of his mind, to 
 have always clothed himself in black. Venturi suggests that Dante may 
 have confounded him with Childeric III. the last of the Merovingian, or 
 first, race, who was deposed and made a monk in 751. 
 
 V. 57. My son. — Hugh Capet caused his son Robert to be crowned at 
 Orleans. 
 
 V. 59. The Great dower of Provence.] Louis IX. and his brother, 
 Charles of Anjou, married two of the four daughters of Raymond Beren- 
 ger. Count of Provence. See Par. Canto VI. 135. 
 
 V. 63. For amend,<>.] This is ironical. 
 
 V. 64. Poitou it seiz'd, Navarre and Gaseony.] I venture to read — 
 Potti e Navarra prese e Guascogna, 
 instead of 
 
 Ponti e Normandia prese e Guascogna. 
 Seiz'd Ponthieu, Normandy and Gascogny. 
 
 Landino has "Potti," and he is probably right: for Poitou was an- 
 nexed to the French crown by Philip IV. See Renault, Abrege Chron. 
 A. D. 1283, &c. Normandy had been united to it long before by Philip 
 Augustus, a circumstance of which it is difficult to imagine that Dante
 
 412 NOTKS. 
 
 Bboiild liavo ho.on isnomut; butriiilip IV., says Ilonniilt, il)i<l., took tlie 
 t-itlo of KiiiLj of Xiivarrc: and the siil)jii;,'atioii of Navarre is also alluded 
 to ifi the I'aradise, Canto XIX. 140. In l'2\y.'>, riiilip IV. siirmioiied 
 Edward I. to do him hoiiiafje for tlio duchy of Gasco^Miy, wlilch lie had 
 conceived the desij,'n of seizinf^. See (i. Villaiii, 1. \ iii. c. 4. 
 
 V. GO. Young Cviiradiae.] Charles of Anjou i)ut Coiiradiiie to de;ith 
 in 12G8, and becjinio King of Naples. See Hell, Canto XXVIII. Ki, and 
 Note. 
 
 V. 07. Th' anrielic teacher.'] Thomas Aqninas. Ho was reported to 
 liavo been jjoi.soncd by a jihysirian, who wished to inf^ratiaU; himself 
 v.ith Charles of Anjou. G. Villani, 1. ix. c. 218. We shall find liiui in 
 the Paradise, Canto X. 
 
 V. (W. Arwtlur Charles.'] Charles of Valois, bi-othcr of I'liilip IV., was 
 sent by Pope Boniface VHI. to settle the disturbed state of Florence, in 
 consequence of the measures he adopted for that purpose, our poet and 
 liis friends were condemned to exile and death. 
 
 V. 7L — with that luiice 
 
 Which the arch-traitor tilted tuith.] 
 — con la lancia 
 Con la qual giostro Guida. 
 
 If I remember right, in one of the old romances, Judas is represented 
 tilting with our Saviour. 
 
 V. 78. The other.] Charles, King of Naples, the eldest son of Charles 
 of Anjou, having, contrary to the directions of his father, engaged with 
 Ruggier de Lauria, the admiral of Peter of Arragon, w.'is made prisoner, 
 and carried into Sicily, June, 1284. He afterwards, in consideration of a 
 large sum of money, married his daughter to Azzo VIII., Marquis of 
 Ferrara. 
 
 V. 85. The floioer-de-htce.] Boniface VIII. was seized at Alagna in 
 Campagna, by order of Philip IV., in the year 1303, and soon after died 
 of grief. G. Villani, 1. viii. c. 03. 
 
 V. 94. Into the temple.] It is uncertain whether our Poet alludes still 
 to the event mentioned in the preceding Note, or to the destruction of the 
 order of the Templars in 1310; but the latter appears more probable. 
 
 V. 103. Pygmalion.] Virg. ^n. 1. i. 348. 
 
 V. 107. Aciian.] Joshua, c. vii. 
 
 V. 111. Ileliodorus.] 2 Maccabees, c. iii. 25. " For there appeared 
 unto them a horse, with a terrible rider upon him, and adorned \\ ith a 
 very fair covering, and he ran fiercely and smote at Heliodorus with his 
 fore feet." 
 
 V. 112. Thracia's king.] Polymuestor, tlie murderer of Polydorus. 
 Hell, Canto XXX. 19. 
 
 V. 114. Crass}ts.] Marcus Crassus, who fell miserably in the Parthian 
 war. See Appian, Partliica. 
 
 CANTO XXI. 
 
 V. 25. She.] Lachesis, one of the three fates. 
 V. 43. — that, lohlch heaven in itself 
 
 Doth of itself 7'eccive.] 
 Venturi, I think rightly, interprets this to bo light. 
 V. 49. Thanmantian.] Figlia di Taumante. 
 
 @aviia.VTO<i dvyairip. Ilesiod, Thcoq. 780.
 
 PURGATORY. 413 
 
 Compare Plato, Thea't. v. ii. p. 76. Bip. edit. ; Virj;. Mn. ix. 5 ; ;u)d 
 
 Spenser, l''aerj Queen, b. v. c. Ji. at. 25. 
 
 V. 85. T/u; vamc] Tlie name »f I'oet. 
 
 V. 89. i'Voru Tolosa.] Dante, as many others liave done, confounds 
 Statins the poet, who was a Neapolitan, with a rhetorician of the same 
 name, who was of Tolosa, or Thoulousev Tluis Chaucer, Temple of 
 Fame, b. iii. 
 
 The Tholason, that height Stace. 
 
 V. 94. Fell.] Statins lived to write only a small part of the Achillcid. 
 
 CANTO XXII. 
 
 V. 5. Blessed.] Matt. v. 6. 
 
 V. 14. Aqxdnnm's hard.] Juvenal had celebrated his contemporary, 
 Statins, Sat. vii. 82 ; thougli some critics imagine that there is a secret 
 derision couched under his prai.so. 
 
 V. 28. Why.] Quid nou mortalia pectora cogis, 
 
 Auri sacra fames ? 
 
 Virg. Mn . 1. iii. 57. 
 
 Venturi supposes that Dante might have mistaken the meaning of the 
 •word sacra, ixuA construed it " holy," instead of " cursed." But I see 
 no necessity for having recourse to so improbable a conjecture. 
 
 V. 41. The fierce encounter.] See Hell, Canto VII. 20. 
 
 V. 46. With shorn locks. ] Ibid. 58. 
 
 V. 57. Tfte licin sorroio of Jocasta' s loomh.] Eteoclea and Polynices. 
 
 V. 71. A renovated ivorld.] Virg. Eel. iv. 5. 
 
 V. 100. That Greek.] Homer. 
 
 V. 107. Of thy train.] '• Of those celebrated in thy Poem." 
 
 V. 112. Tiresias' daughter.] Dante appears to have forgotten tliat he 
 had placed Manto, the daughter of Tiresias, among the sorcerers. See 
 Hell, Canto XX. Vellutello endeavours, rather awkwardly, to reconcile 
 the inconsistency, by observing, that altliough she was X)laled there as a 
 sinner, yet, as one of famous memory, she had also a place among the 
 worthies iu Limbo. 
 
 Lonibardi excuses onr author better, by observing that Tiresias had a 
 daughter named Daphne. See Diodorus Siculus, 1. iv. § 06. 
 
 V. 139. Mary took more thought] "The blessed virgin, who answera 
 for you now in heaven, when she said to Jesus, at the marriage in Cana 
 of Galilee, ' they have no wine,' regarded not the gratification of her 
 own taste, but the honour of the nuptial banquet." 
 
 V. 142. The women of old Rome.] See Valerius Maximus, 1. ii! c. 1. 
 
 CANTO xxin. 
 
 V. 9. My lips.] Psalm Ii. 15. 
 
 T. 20. The eyes.] Compare Ovid, Metam. 1. viii. 801. 
 V. 26. When Mary.] Josephus, De Bello Jud. 1. vii. c. xxi. p. 954. Ed. 
 Geuev. fol. 1611. The shocking story is well told. 
 V. 27. Rings.] In this habit 
 
 Met I my father with his bleeding rings, 
 Their precious stoues new lost. 
 
 Shakspeare, Lear, a. 5. b. 3.
 
 414 NOTKS. 
 
 V. 28. 117)0 reads the name.'] " IIo, who protends t) distinguish tlie 
 letters which form OMO in tlic features of the human face, niisiit easily 
 have traced out the M on their emaciated conntenauces." The templeH, 
 nose, and forehead are supixised to represent this letter ; and the eyes 
 the two O's placed within each side of it. 
 
 V. 44. J''o;v.se.] One of the brothers of Piccarda, she who is again 
 spoken of in the next Canto, and introduced in the Paradise, Canto III. 
 
 V. 72. If the power.'] " If thou didst delay thy rei)entance to the last, 
 when thou hadst lost the power of sinning, how happens it thou ait 
 arrived here so early ?'' 
 
 V. 76. Lower.'] In tlie Ante-Purgatory, See Canto II. 
 
 V. 80. My Nclln.] The wife of Forese. 
 
 v. 87. The tract 7nost barVroiis of Sardinians isle.'] The Barba[/ia is 
 a i^art of Sardinia, to whicli that name was given, on account of tlie 
 nncivilized state of its inliabitauts, who are said to have gone nearly 
 naked. 
 
 V. 94. The^ intbhishinr/ dames of Florence.] Landino's note exhibits a 
 curious instance of the changeableness of his countrywomen. He even 
 goes beyond the acrimony of tlie original. " In those days," says the 
 commentator, "no less than in ours, the Florentine ladies exposed the 
 neck and bosom, a dress, no doubt, more suitable to a harlot than a 
 matron. But, as they changed soon after, insomuch that they wore 
 collars up to the chin, covering the whole of the neck and throat, so 
 have I hopes they will change again ; not indeed so much from motives 
 of decency, as through that fickleness, which pervades every action of 
 their lives." 
 
 V. 97. Saracens.] "This word, during the middle ages, Mas indis- 
 criminately api)lied to Pagans .and Mahometans ; in short, to all na- 
 tions (except the Jews) who did not profess Christianity." Mr. Ellis's 
 Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances, vol. i. page 196, a note. 
 Lond. 8vo. 1805. 
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 V. 20. Bnovagrjhtnta.] Buonaggiunta Urbiciani, of Lucca. "Tliere 
 Is a canzone by this poet, iirinted in the collection made by the Giunti, 
 
 j (p. 209,) and a sonnet to Guido Guinicelli in that made by Corbinelli, (j). 
 
 I 169,) from which we collect that he lived not about 1230, as Quadrio 
 
 '{ supposes, (t. ii. p. 159,) but towards the end of the thirteenth century. 
 
 i Concerning other poems by Buonaggiunta, that are preserved in ^iS. in 
 
 I .some libraries, Crescimbeni may be consulted." Tiraboschi, Mr. Mat- 
 
 i thias's ed. v. i. p. 115. 
 
 I V. 23. He loas of Toxtrs.] Simon of Tours became Pope, with the title 
 
 I of Martin IV. in 1281, and died in 1285. 
 
 I V. 29. Vbaldino.] Ubaldino degli Ubaldini, of Pila, in the Florentine 
 
 9 territory. 
 
 I V. 30. Boniface.] Archbishop of Ravena. By Venturi he is called 
 
 I Bonifazio de' Fieschi, a Genoese ; by Vellutello, the son of the above- 
 
 5 mentioned Ubaldini ; and by Lnndino Francioso, a Frenchman. 
 
 I V. 32. The Marquis.] The Marchese de' Rigogliosi, of Forli. 
 
 s V. 38. Gentncca.] Of tins lady it is thought that our Poet became 
 
 i enamoured during his exile.
 
 PURGATORY. 415 
 
 V. 45. Whose brow no tcimple shades i/et.'] " Who has not yet assumed 
 the dress of a woman." 
 
 V. 46. Blame it as they marj.'] See Hell, Canto XXI. 39. 
 
 T. 51. Ladies, ye that con the lore o/to/'e.] 
 
 Donne ch' aveie intelletto d'amore. 
 
 The first verse of a canzone in our author's Vita Nnova. 
 
 V. 56. The Notary.] Jacopo da Lentino, called tlie Notary, a poet of 
 these times. He was probably an Apulian : for Dante, (De Vulji. Elt)<|. 
 1. i. c. 12.) quoting a verse which belongs to a canzone of his. published 
 by the Giunti, without mentioning the writer's name, terms liim one of 
 " the illustrious Apulians," pra?fulgentes Apuli. See Tiraboschi, Mr. 
 Mattliias's edit. vol. i. p. 137. Crescimbeni (1. i. Delia Volg. Poes. p. 
 72. 4to. ed. 16118) gives an extract from one of his poems, printed in Al- 
 lacci's Collection, to show that the whimsical compositions called 
 " Ariette " are not of modern invention. 
 
 v. 56. Gnittone ] Fra Guittone, of Arezzo, liolds a distinguished place 
 in Italian literature, as, besides his poems printed in tlie collection of the 
 Giunti, he has left a collection of letters, forty in number, which afford 
 the earliest specimen of that kind of writing in the language. They 
 were published at Rome in 1743, with learneii illustrations by Giovamii 
 Bottari. He was also the first who gave to the sonnet its regular and 
 legitimate form, a species of composition in which not only his own 
 countrymen, but many of the best poets in all the cultivated languages 
 of modern Euroi)e, have since so much delighted. 
 
 Guittone, a native of Arezzo, was the son of Yiva di Michele. He was 
 of the order of the " Frati Godenti," of which an account mav be seen 
 in the Notes to Hell, Canto XXIII. It the year 1293, he founded a 
 monaster}' of the order of Camaldoli, in Florence, and died in the follow- 
 ing year. Tiraboschi, Ibid. p. 119. Dante, in the Treatise de Yulg. 
 Eloq. 1. i. c. 13, and 1. ii. c. 6, blames him for preferring the plebeian to 
 the more courtly style; and Petrarch twice places twice him in the com- 
 pany of our Poet. Triumph of Love, cap. iv. and Sou. Par. Sec. " Sen- 
 nuccio mio." 
 
 V. 63. The birds.'] Hell, Canto V. 46 ; Euripides, Helena, 1495 ; and 
 Statins, Theb. 1. v. 12. 
 
 V. 81. He.] Corso Donati was suspected of aiming at the sovereignty 
 of Florence. To escape the fury of his fellow-citizens, he fled away on 
 horseback, but falling, was overtaken and slain, a.d. 1308. The con- 
 temporary annalist, after relathig at length the circumstances of his 
 fate, adds, "that he was one of the wisest and most valorous knights, 
 the best speaker, the most expert statesman, the most renowned and 
 enterprising man of his age in Italy, a comely knight and of graceful 
 carriage, but very worldly, and in his time had formed many conspira- 
 cies in Florence, and entered into many scandalous i)ractices, for the 
 sake of attaining state and lordship." " G. Yillani, 1. viii. c. 96. Tlie 
 character of Corso is forcibly drawn by anotlier of liis contcmiioraries, 
 Dino Compagni, 1. iii., Muratori, Rer. Ital. Script, t. ix. p. 523. 
 
 V. 120. Creatures of the clouds.] The Centaurs. Ovid, Met. 1. xii 
 fab. 4. 
 
 V. 123. Tlie Hebrews.] Judges, c. vii.
 
 416 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO XXV. 
 
 V. 58. As sca-sporif^e .'] The fojtiis in in this stage a zoopyhte. 
 V. G6. — More loise, 
 
 Than thoxi, has erred.] 
 Averroes is said to bo here iiioant. Vciitnri refers to liis cominciitivry 
 on Aristotle, De Anini. 1. iii. c. 5. for the ojiinion that there is only one 
 universal intellect or niiiul pervadinfj every individiKil of the human 
 race. MiK'li of the Iniowledge disi^layed by our Poet in the present 
 I Canto ai)pears to have been derived from the medical work of Averroes, 
 ( called the Colli.i,'ct, lib. ii. f. 10. Yen. 1490. fol. 
 
 ! V. 7'J. Mark the sun's heat.] Rodi and Tiraboschi (Mr. Mattliias's ed. 
 
 I V. ii. p. ."6.) have considered this an anticipation of a profound discovery 
 I of Galileo's in natural ]>hilosoi)hy ; but it is in reality taken from a 
 I passajio in Cicero "de Senectiitc," where, speaking' of the grajie, lie 
 E BJiys, " qua% ct succo. terras et «tlore solis augesccns, primo est pcra,- 
 l cerba gu.statii, delude maturata dulcescit." 
 t V. 123. I do not knoio a man.] Luke, c. 1. 34. 
 
 V. 126. C'allisto.] See Ovid, Met. 1. ii. fab. 6. 
 
 CANTO XXVI. 
 
 V. 70. CcEsar.'] For the opprobrium cast on Caisar's efTemiuacy, see 
 Suetonius, Julius Caesar, c. 49. 
 
 V. 83. GuinicellL] See Note to Canto XI. 96. 
 
 V. 87. Lyciir</i(s.] Statins, Theb. 1. iv. and v. Hypsipile had left her 
 infant diarize, the son of Lycurgus, on a bank, where it was destroyed 
 by a serpent, when she went to show the Argive army the river of Lnn- 
 gia : and, on her escaping the effects of Lycurgus's resentment, the joy 
 her own children felt at the sight of her was such as our Poet felt on 
 beholding his predecessor Guinicelli. 
 
 The incidents are beautifully described in Statins, and seem to have 
 made an impression on Dante, for he again (Canto XXII. 110.) character- 
 izes Hypsipile, as her — 
 
 Wlio show'd Langia's wave. 
 
 V. 111. He.] The united testimony of Dante, and of Petrarch, in his 
 Triumph of Love, c. iv. places Arnault Daniel at the head of the Pro- 
 vencj-al poets. That he was born of poor but noble ])arents, at the castle 
 of Ribeyrac in Perigord, and that he was at the English court, is the 
 amount of Millot's information concerning him (t. ii. p. 479). The ac- 
 count there given of his writings is not much more satisfactory, and the 
 criticism on them must go for little better than nothing. It is to be re- 
 gretted that we have not an opportunity of judging for ourselves of his 
 '' love ditties and his tales of prose." 
 
 Versi d'amore e prose di roraanzi. 
 
 Our Poet frequently cities him in the work De Vulgari Eloquentia. 
 According to Crescimbeui, (Delia Volg. Poes. 1. 1. p. 7. ed. 1698.) ho died 
 in 1189. 
 
 V. 113 Tlie songster of Limor/es.] Giraud do P)orneil, of Sideuil, a 
 castle i'n Limoges. He was a troubadour, much admired and caressed 
 iu his day, anil appears to have been in favour with the mouarchs ol
 
 4~- 
 
 PUKGATOUY. 417 
 
 Cnstile, Leon, Navarre, and Arrason. He is quoted by Dante, Dc Viilg. 
 Eloq. and many of liis poems are still remaining in MS. According to 
 Nostradamus lie died in 1278. Jlillot, Hist. Litt. des Tronl). t. ii. p. 1, 
 and 2:!. IJiit I suspect that there is some error in this date, and that he 
 did not live to see so late a period. 
 
 V. 118. Guittone.] See Canto XXIV. 56. 
 
 V. 123. Far as needs. ] See Canto XI. 23. 
 
 V. 132. 77)?/ courtesy.] Arnault is here made to speak in his own 
 tongue, the Proven(,'al. According to Dante, (De Vulg. Eloq. 1. 1. c. 8. ) 
 the Provencal was one language with tlie Spanisli. What he says on 
 this subject is so curious, that the reader will perhaps not be displeased 
 if I give an abstract of it. 
 
 He first makes three great divisions of the European languages. 
 "One of these extends from the mouths of the Daiuibe, or the lake of 
 JLTOtis, to the western limits of England, and is bounded by the limits 
 of the French and Italians, and by the ocean. One idiom obtained over 
 the whole of this space : but was afterwards subdivided into the Scla- 
 vonian, Hungarian, Teutonic, Saxon, English, and the vernacular 
 tongues of several other people, one sign remaining to all, that they use 
 the affirmative io, (our English oy.) The whole of Europe, beginning 
 from the Hungarian limits and stretching towards the east, has a second 
 idiom, which reaches still further than the end of Europe, into Asia. 
 This is the Greek. In all that remains of Eurojie, there is a third idiom, 
 subdivided into three dialects, which may be severally distinguished bj 
 the use of the affirmatives, oc, oil, and si ; the first s))oken by the Span- 
 iards, the next by the French, and the third by the Latins (or Italians) 
 The first occupy the western part of southern Enro[)e, beginning from 
 the limits of the Genoese. The third occupy the eastern ]iart from the 
 said limits, as far, that is, as the promontory of Italy, where the Adriatic 
 sea begins, and to Sicily. The second are in a manner northern with 
 respect to the«p. for they liave the Germans to the east and north, on the 
 •west they are bounded by the English sea and the niountnius of Arra- 
 gon, and on the south by the people of Provence and the declivity of the 
 Apennine." 
 
 Ibid. c. X. " Each of these three," he observes, "has its own claims to 
 distinction. The excellency of the French language consists in its being 
 best adapted, on account of its facility and agreeableness, to prose nar- 
 ration, (quicquid redactnm, sive inventum est ad vulgare prosaicnm, 
 suum est) ; and he instances the books compiled on the gests of the Tro- 
 jans and Romans, and the delightful Adventures of King Arthur, with ' 
 many other histories and works of instruction. The Spanish (or Pro- \ 
 venral) may boast of its having produced such as first cultivated in this, i 
 as in a moie perfect and sweet language, the vernacular poetry : among | 
 whom are Pierre d'Auvergne, and others more ancient. The i)rivileges j 
 of the Latin, or Italian, are two ; first, that it may reckon for its own ; 
 those writers who have adopted a more sweet and subtile style of poetry, f: 
 in the number of whom are Cino da Pistoia and his friend; and the 
 next, that its writers seem" to adhere to certain general rules of gram- 
 mar, and in so doing give it, in the opinion of the jiitelligent, a very 
 weighty pretension to jnef erence. " ,' 
 
 27 I
 
 418 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO XXVII. 
 
 V. 1. TJie sun.] At .Terasalem it was dawn, in Spain niidiiiglit, and 
 In India noondav, wliile it was sunset in I'lirgatory. 
 
 V. 10. Blessed'.] Matt. c. v. 8. 
 
 V. 57. Vomc] Matt. c. xxv. ;?4. 
 
 V. 102. I (tm Leah.] By Leali is understood tlie active life, as Uaeliel 
 fij^iires the contemplative. Tlie divinity is the mirror in which the latter 
 looks. Michel An;ielo lias made these ancj;orical i)ersona.i;es the subject 
 of two statues on the monument of Julius II. in the church of S. Pietro 
 in Viucolo. See Mr. Uuppa's Life of Michel Angelo, Sculpture viii. and 
 X. and 1). 247. 
 
 V. 135. Those bright eyes.] The eyes of Beatrice. 
 
 CANTO XXVIII, 
 
 V. 11. To that part.] Tlie west. 
 
 V, 14. The feathered q^ciristers.] Imitated by Boccaccio, Fiammetta, 1. 
 Iv. " Odi 1 queruli uccelli," &c. — "Hear the querulous birds plaining 
 with sweet songs, and the boughs trembling, and, moved by a gentle 
 wind, as it were keeping tenor to their notes." 
 
 V. 7. A pleasant air.] Compare Ariosto, 0. F. c. xxxiv. st. 50. 
 
 V. Chiassi.] This is the wood where the scene of Boccaccio's sublimost 
 story is laid. See Dec. g. 5. u. 8. and Dryden's Theodore and Honnria. 
 Our Poet perhaps wandered in it during his abode with Guido Novello 
 da Polenta. 
 
 V. 41. A lady.] Most of the commentators suppose, that by this lady, 
 who in the last Canto is called Jlatilda, is to be understood the Countess 
 Matilda, who endowed the holy see witli the estates called the P;itrir.iony 
 of St. Peter, and died in 1115. See G. Villani, 1. iv. c. 20. But it seems 
 more probable that she should be intended for an allegorical personage. 
 
 V. 80. Thou, Lord ! hast made me f/lad.] Psalm xcii. 4. 
 
 V. 146. On the Parnassian tnou7itain.] 
 
 "a bicipitl somuiasse Paruasso. 
 
 Persius, Prol. 
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 V. 76. Listed colours.] 
 
 Di sette liste tutte iu quel colori, &c. 
 
 — a bow 
 Conspicuous with three listed colours gay. 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. xi. 865. 
 V. 79. Ten paces.] For an explanation of the allegorical meaning of 
 this mysterious procession, Venturi refers those " who would see in the 
 dark " to the conimentaries of Landino, Vellutello, and others : and adds, 
 that it is evident the Poet has accommodated to his own fancy many 
 sacred images in the Apocalypse. In Vasari's Life of Giotto, we learn 
 that Dante recommended that book to his friend, as affording fit snbjecta 
 for his pencil.
 
 PUKGATUKY. 41 y 
 
 V. 89. Fo^n-.] The four evangelists. 
 
 V. !H). Ezclid.'] Cliap. i. 4. 
 
 V. 101. Jo/ui.] Rev. c. iv. 8. 
 
 V. lOi. Gri/pJum.] Under tlie gryplion, an imaginary crentiiri', the 
 forei)art of whicli is an eagle, and the hinder a lion, is shadowed I'ortli 
 the union of the divine and human nature in Jesus Clirist. The car is tlio 
 church. 
 
 V. 115. Telhis' prayer.] Ovid, Met. 1. ii. v. 279. 
 
 V.116. Three nymxihs.l Tlie three evangelical virtues: the fust 
 Charity, the next Hope, and tlie third Faith. Faith may be produced i>y 
 charity, or charity liy faith, but the inducements to hope must arise 
 either from one or otlier of these 
 
 V. rif). A band quaternioji.'] The four moral or cardinal virtues, of 
 whom Prudence directs tlie others. 
 
 V. 129. Two old men.'] Saint Luke, characterized as the writer of the 
 Acts of the Apostles, and Saint Paul. 
 
 V. 133. Of the f/rcat Coan.] Hippocrates, " whom nature made for the 
 benefit of her favourite creature, man." 
 
 V. 138. Four others.] "The commentators," says Venturi- "suppose 
 these four to be tlie four evangelists; but I should rather take tliem to 
 be four principal doctors of tlie church." Yet both Landino iind Vellu- 
 tello expressly call them the authors of the epistles, James, Peter, John, 
 and Jude. 
 
 v. 140. One single old man.] As some say, St. John, under his charac- 
 ter of the autlior of the Apocalyi)se. But in the poem attributed to 
 Giacopo, the son of our Poet, which in some MSS. accompanies the origi- 
 nal of this work, and is descriptive of its plan, this old man is said to be 
 Moses. 
 
 E'l vecchio, ch' era dietro a tutti loro, 
 Fu Moyse. 
 
 And the old man, who was behind them all, 
 Was Moses. 
 See No. 3459 of the Harl. MSS. in the British Museum. 
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 V. 1. TJie polar lif/ht.] The seven candlesticks. 
 
 V. 12. Come.] Song of Solomon, c. iv. 8. 
 
 V. 19. Blessed.] Matt. c. xxi. 9. 
 
 V. 20. From full hands.] Virg. JEn. 1. vi. 884. 
 
 V. 47. The old flame.] 
 
 Aguosco veteris vestigia flammse. 
 
 Virg. ^n. 1. iv. 23. 
 Conosco 1 segni dell' antico fuoco. 
 
 Giusto de' Conti, La Bella Mano. 
 V. 51. Nor,] "Not all the beauties of the terrestrial Paradise; in 
 which I was, were sufficient to alhiy my grief." 
 
 v. 85. Bid.] They sang the tliirty -first Psalm, to the end of the eighth 
 verse. 
 V. 87. The living rafters.] The leafless woods on the Aiieuniue. 
 V. 90. The land ichcrcon no shadoio falls.] " When tlio wind blow.s 
 from off Africa, where, at the time of the eipiiuox, bodies being under
 
 420 NOTES. 
 
 tlic cquiitor cast little or no sliadow ; or, in other words, Avhcn the wind 
 is sdiitli." 
 
 V. 98. The ice-'] Milton has transferred this conceit, thoufi:h scarcely 
 worth the pains of removing, into one of his Italian poonis, son. v. 
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 V. 3. With lateral edf/e.] The words of Beatrice, when not addressed 
 directly to hini.self, but speaking to the angel of him, Dante had tlioiight 
 Biifflcioiitly harsh. 
 
 V. 30. Counter to the edr/e.] " The weapons of di\ ino jii.-<tice are \ 
 
 blunted by the confession and sorrow of the offender." 1 
 
 V. 68. J}ird.] Prov. c. i. 17. 
 
 V. 69. From larhas' land.'] The south. ? 
 
 V. 71. The heard.'] " I perceived, that when she desired me to raise \ 
 
 my beard, instead of telling me to lift up my head, a severe rcllcction 5 
 
 was implied on my want of that wisdom which should accompany the | 
 
 age of manhood.'' \ 
 
 V. 98. Tu asi)erges me.] A prayer repeated by the priest at sprinkling |i 
 
 the holy water. S 
 
 V. 106. And in the heaven are stars.] See Canto I. 24. | 
 
 v» 116. I'he emeralds.] The eyes of Beatrice. | 
 
 CANTO XXXII. 
 
 i i 
 
 t V. 2. Tlieir ten years' thirst.] Beatrice had been dead ten years. \ 
 
 I V. 9. Too fix'd a gaze.] The allegorical interpretation of Vellutello, ! 
 
 I whether it be considered as justly inferrible from tlie text or not, con- - 
 
 j veys so useful a lesson, that it deserves our notice. " The undeistandiug ■ 
 
 i is sometimes so intently engaged in contemplating the light of divine ^ 
 
 truth in the scriptures, that it becomes dazzled, and is made less capable r 
 of attaining such knowledge, than if it had sought after it with greater 
 
 moderation.'' j 
 
 V. 39. Its tres.ses.] Daniel, c. iv. 10, &c. j 
 
 V. 41. The Indians.] i 
 
 Quos oceano proprior gerit India lucos. 5 
 
 Virg. Georg. 1. ii. 122. \ 
 
 Such as at this day to Indians known. | 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. ix. 1102. j 
 
 V. 51. When large floods of radiaiice.] When the sun enters into Aries, 
 the constellation next to that of the Fish. 
 
 V.63. Th' impitying eyes .] See Ovid, Met. 1. i. 689. 
 
 V. 74. The blossoming of that fair tree.] Our Saviour's transfigura- 
 tion. 
 
 V. 97. Those lights.] The tapers of gold. 
 
 V. 101. That true Rome.] Heaven. 
 
 v.llO. The bird of Jove .] This, which is imitated from Ezekiel, c. 
 xvii. 3, 4. appears to be typical of the persecutions which the church 
 Bustained from the Roman Emperors. 
 
 V. 118. A fox.] By the fox perhaps is represented the treachery of the 
 heretics .
 
 PURGATORY. 421 
 
 V.124. WitJi hix feathers lin'd.l In allusion to the donations m.-ulo 
 by the Rninan Emperors to tlie chiireh. 
 
 \. l.'JO. A dnu/Dii.] Probably Mahomet. 
 
 V. 13(). With pi (lines.] The donations before mentioned. 
 
 V. 142. Ilecats.] 15y t'ue seven lieads, it is siii)posed with sufficient 
 probability, are meant the seven capital sins; by tlie tliree witli two 
 horns, ]iride, anjier, and avarice, injurions botli to man liimself and to 
 his neii^hbor : by the fonr with one liorn, gluttony, liikewarmness, con- 
 cupi.^cence, and envy, hurtful, at least in their primary effects, chiefly to 
 liim who is jjuilty of them. 
 
 V. 146. O'er it.] The harlot is thou?;ht to represent tlie state of the 
 church under Boniface VIll. and the ijinnt to figure Pliilip IV. of France. 
 
 V. 155. Drcif/f/'d on.] The removal of the Pope's residence from Kome 
 to Avignon is pointed at. 
 
 CANTO xxxm. 
 
 ▼. 1. The Heathen. Psalm Ixxix. 1. 
 
 V. 36. Hope not to scare God's venr/eance icith a sop."] " Let not him 
 who hath occasioned the destruction of the church, that vessel which the 
 serjient brake, hope to appease the anger of the Deity by any outward 
 acts of religious, or rather superstitious, ceremony, such as was that, in 
 our [loet's time, performed by a murderer at Florence, who inuigined 
 himself secure from vengeance, if he ate a sop of bread in wine, upon 
 the grave of the person murdered, within the space of nine days." 
 
 v. 38. That eagle.] He prognosticates that the Kmperor of Germany 
 will not always continue to submit to the usurpations of the Po|)e, and 
 foretells the coming of Henry VII. Duke of Luxemburg, signified by the 
 numerical figures DVX; or, as Lombard! supposes, of Can Grande della 
 Scala, appointed the leader of the Ghibelline forces. It is unnecessary 
 to iioint out the imitation of the Apocalypse in the maimer of this 
 prophecy. 
 
 V. 50." The Naiads."] Dante, it is observed, has been led into a mistake 
 by a corruption in the text of Ovid's Metam . 1 . vii . 757 . where he found — 
 
 Carmina Naiades non intellecta priorum ; 
 
 instead of Carmina Laiades, &c. as it has been since corrected. 
 
 Lombardi refers to Pausanias, where "the Nymphs " are spoken of 
 as expounders of oracles, for a vindication of the poet's accuracy. 
 
 Should the reader blame me for not departing from the error of the 
 original (if error it be), he may substitute 
 
 Events shall be the CEdipus will solve, &c. 
 
 V. 67. Elsa's nvmbing icatersi] The Elsa, a little stream, which flows 
 into tlie Arno about twenty miles below Florence, is said to possess a 
 petrifying quality. 
 
 v.'/s. Tluit one brings home his staff" inwrenih'd iLu'th palm.] "For 
 the same cause that the pilgrim, returning from Palestine, brings home 
 his staff, or bourdon, bound with palm," that is, to show where he has 
 been. 
 
 Che si reca '1 bordon di palma cinto.
 
 422 NOTES. 
 
 " In retrard to tlio word bmmlnn, why it lias boon niiiilied to a piljjrim's 
 staff, it {"s not easy to f;n»'SH. I believe, howevfr, that this iianie has 
 bcoM'f;iven to sudi Sdit of staves, bei'aiisc iiii.i;rinis usually travel and 
 perfurni their iiil^rima^ies <jn foot, their staves serving them instead of 
 liorses or innles, then called hmmloriR and biirdoncs, by writers in tlio 
 niicidie ages." Mr. .lohnes's Translation of Joinville's Memoirs. Disser- 
 tation xv''. bv M . du ('ange, p. 15'2. 4to. edit. 
 
 The word'^is thrice used by Chaucer in the Uomauut of the Rose.
 
 t>j^:eij^idx&:e:. 
 
 CANTO I. 
 
 Verse 12. Bfmr/n Apollo.] CnAurER lias imitated this invocation very 
 closely at the beginning of the Third Booke of Fame. 
 
 If, divine vertne, thou 
 Wilt helpe me to shewe now 
 Tliat in my head ymaiked is, 
 
 Thou shalt see me go as blive 
 Unto the next laiirer I see, 
 And kisse it, for it is thy tree. 
 Now eutre tliou my breast anone. 
 
 V. 15. 77ms /a?".] He appears to mean nothing more than that this part 
 of his poem will require a greater exertion of his powers than the 
 former. 
 
 V. 19. Marsi/as.'] Ovid, Met. 1. vi. fab. 7. Compare Boccaccio, II Filo- 
 copo, 1. 5. p. 25. V. ii. Ediz. Fir. 1723. " Egli nel niio potto entri," &c. — 
 " May he enter my bosom, and let my voice sound like his own, when 
 he made that daring mortal deserve to come forth unsheathed from his 
 limbs." 
 
 V. 29. Cmsar, or bard.'] So Petrarch, Son. Par. Prima. 
 
 Arbor vittoriosa e trionfale, 
 Onor d'imperadori e di poeti. 
 
 And Spenser, F. Q. b. i. c. 1. st. 9. 
 
 The laurel, meed of mighty conquerours 
 And poets sage. 
 
 V. 37. Through that.] " Where the four circles, the horizon, the zodiac, 
 the equator, and the equinoctial colure, join; the la.st three intersecting 
 each other so as to form three crosses, as may be seen in the armillary 
 sphere." 
 
 v. 39. In hapjnest covstellation.] Aries. Some understand the planet 
 Venus by the " miglior stella." 
 
 v. 44. To the left.] Being in the opj)osite hemisphere to ours, Beatrice, 
 that she may behold the rising sun, turns herself to the left. 
 
 v. 47. As from the first a second beam.] " Like a reflected sunbeam," 
 which he compares to a pilgrim hastening homewards. 
 
 423
 
 424 NOTKR. 
 
 Nc simil tiiiito inai mggio Bccondo 
 Dill priino usci. 
 
 Filicaja, canz. 15. st. 4. 
 
 V. 68. As iron that comes boiling from thefire.^ So Milton, P. L. b. iii. 
 
 As glowing iron with fire. \ 
 
 V. 69. Upon the day appcar'cL] 1 
 
 If the lieaven had ywonne, ; 
 
 All new of God anotlier siinne. ; 
 
 Chaucer, First Booke of Fame. 
 E par ch' aggiunga un altro sole al cielo. 
 
 Ariosto, O. F. c. x. st. 109. 
 Ed ecco un lustre lampeggiar d' intoino 
 Che sole a sole aggiunse e giorno a gionio. 
 
 Marino, Adone. c. xi. st. 27. 
 
 Quando a paro col sol ma piu lucente 
 L'angelo gli appari sull' orieute. 
 
 Tasso, 0. L. c. i. 
 
 Seems another morn 
 
 Ris'n on mid-noon. 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. v. 311. 
 
 Compare Euripides, Ion. 1550. 'KvOriXiov -rrpoawTrov. 
 V. 66. As Glavcus.] Ovid, Met. 1. xiii. fab. 9. 
 
 V. 71. If.] "Thou, divine Spirit, knowest whether I had not risen 
 above my human uature, and were not merely such as thou hadst then 
 formed me." 
 V. 125. Through sluggishness.] 
 
 Perch' a risponder la materia h sorda. 
 So Filicaja, cauz. vi. st. 9. 
 Perche a risponder la discordia fe sorda 
 "The workman hath in his heart a purpose, he carrieth in mind the 
 whole form which his work should have; there wan teth not liim skill 
 and desire to bring his labour to the best effect; only the matter, which 
 he hath to work on, is uuframeable." Hooker's Eccl. Polity, b. 5. § 9. 
 
 CANTO II. 
 
 V. 1. In small bai'k.] 
 
 Con la barchetta mia cantando in rima. 
 
 Pulci, Morg. Magg. c. xxviii. 
 lo me n'andro con la barchetta mia, 
 Quauto I'acqua comporta un picciol legno. 
 
 Ibid. 
 V. 30. This first star.] The moon. 
 
 T. 46. E'en as the trtdh.] " Like a truth that does not need demon- 
 Btration, but is self-evident." 
 V. 52. Cain.] Compare Hell, Canto XX. 123. and Note. 
 V. 65. Nmnberless lights.] The fixed stars, which differ both in bulk 
 and .splendor.
 
 rARADI55B. 425 
 
 V. 71. Save one.'] "Except tli.it principle of rarity and dtiisoiiPss 
 which thou hast assigned.'' Hy "formal principles," pj'incf/y /o?v?i((^/, 
 are meant constituent or essential causes." 
 
 Milton, in imitation of this passage, introduces the angel arguing witli 
 Adam respecting the causes of the spots on the moon. IJiit, as a Into 
 French translator of the Paradise well remarks, his reasoning is physical; 
 that of Dante partly metai)hysical and partly tlieologic. 
 
 V. 111. Within the heaven.'] According to our Poet's system, there aro 
 ten lieavens; the seven planets, the eighth sphere contivining the fixed 
 stars, the 2'i' inium mobile, and the empyrean. 
 
 V. 143. The virtue mingled.] Viig. .Mn. 1. vi. 724. 
 Principio ccelum, &c 
 
 CANTO III. 
 
 V. 16. Dehision.] "An error the contrary to that of Narcissus, he- 
 cause lie mistook a shadow for a substance, I a substance for a shadow." 
 
 V. 50. Piccarda.] The sister of Forese whom we have seen in the Pur- 
 gatory, Canto XXIir. ] 
 
 V. 99. The Lad)/.] St. Clare, the foundress of the order called after 
 her. She was born of opulent and noble parents at Assisi, in 1193, and 
 died in 1253. See Biogr. Univ. t. 1. p. 598. 8vo. Paris, 1813. 
 
 V. 121. Con.<itancc.] Daughter of Ruggieri, king of Sicily, who, being ■ 
 
 taken by force out of a monaster}' where she liad professed, was mari'ied | 
 
 to the Emperor Henry VI. and by him was mother to Frederick II. She 1 
 
 was fifty years old or more at the time, and " because it was not credited ] 
 
 that she could have a child at that age, she was delivered in a pavilion, { 
 
 and it was given out, that any lady, who pleased, was at liberty to see j 
 
 her. Many came, and saw her; and the s^ispicion ceased." Ricordauo ] 
 
 Malaspiua in Muraiori, Rer. It. Script, t. viii. p. 939; and G. Villani, in j 
 
 the same words, Hist. 1. v. c. 10. I 
 
 The French translator above mentioned speaks of her having poisoned ) 
 
 her husband. The death of Henry VI. is recorded in the Chronicon | 
 
 Sicili;p, by an anonymous writer, (Muratori, t. x.) but not a word of his i 
 
 having been jioisoned by Constance; and Ricordauo IMalasjiina even | 
 
 mentions her decease as happening before that of her husband, Henry i 
 
 \^., for so this author, with some others, terms him. i 
 
 V. 122. The second.] Henry VI. son of Frederick I. was the second \ 
 
 emperor of the house of Suabia; and his sou Frederick II. " the third and ' 
 
 last" I 
 
 CANTO IV. 
 
 T. 6. Between two deer.] 
 
 Tigris ut, anditis, diversa valle duorum, 
 Extimulata fame, mugitibusarmentorum, 
 Nescit utro potius ruat, et mere ardet utroque. 
 
 Ovid, Metam. 1. v. 166. [ 
 
 V. 13. Daniel.] See Daniel, c. ii. '■ 
 
 V. 24. Plato.] Suo-T^cra? «e, K. T. A. Plato. Tima^us v. ix. p. 326. Edit. ; 
 Bip. " The Creat<n-, when he had fi'amcd tlie universe, distributed to the 
 stars an equal nnmbor of souls, appointing to each soul its several st;ir."
 
 42() NOTKS, 
 
 V. 27. 0/that.] Plato's opinion. 
 V. 'M. The first circle] The cnii)yrean. 
 V. 48. — IJim rvho made 
 
 Tobias whole.'] 
 Raphael, the socialjlc spirit, that deign'd 
 To ti'avel willi Tol)ias, and secnv'd 
 His niarriago with the sev'n times wedded maid. 
 
 Milton, P. L. h. V. 223. 
 
 V. 67. TJiat to the eye ofma7i.] " That the ways of divine justice are 
 often inscrntal3le to man, ought rather to be a motive to faith tlian an in- 
 duceniont to heresy." Such appears to me the most satisfactory exi)la- 
 iiation of the passage. 
 
 V. 82. Laurence.] Who suffered martyrdom in the third century. 
 
 V. 82. ^c(erola.] See Liv. Hist. D. 1. 1. ii. 12. 
 
 V. 100. Alcmoion.] Ovid, IMet. 1. ix. f. 10. 
 
 — Ultusquc parcnte parentem 
 Natus, erit facto pius et sceleratus eodem, 
 
 V. 107. O/ivill] "What Piccarda asserts of Constance, tliat she re- 
 tained her affection to the monastic life, is said absolutely and without 
 relation to circiunstances; and that which I afiirni is spoken of the will 
 conditionally and respectively: so that our apijarent difference is witlioiit 
 any disagreement." 
 
 V. 119. That truth.] The light of divine truth. 
 
 CANTO V. 
 
 V. 43. Tivo things.] The one, the substance of the vow; the other, the 
 compact, or form of it. 
 
 V. 48. It iras enjoin'd the Israelites.] See Lev. c. xii, and xxvii. 
 
 V. 5(!. Either key.] Purgatory, Canto IX. 108. 
 
 V. 80. Tliat region.] As some explain it, the east; according to otlici's, 
 the equinoctial line. 
 
 V. 124. This sphere.] The planet Mercury, which, being nearest to tlic 
 Buu, is oftenest hidden by that luminary. 
 
 CANTO VI. 
 
 V. 1. After that Constantine the eagle tiirn'd.] Constantine, in trans- 
 ferring the scat of empire from Rome to Byzantium, carried the eagle, 
 the Imperial ensign, from the west to the east, .^neas, on the contiai'v, 
 had moved along with the sun's course, when he passed from Trov to 
 Italy. 
 
 V. 5. A hvndred years twice told and more.] The Emperor Constantine 
 entered Byzantium in 324; and Justinian began his reign in 527. 
 
 V. 6. At El!) ape's extreme point.] Constantinople being situated at the 
 extreme of Europe, and on the borders of Asia, near those mountains in 
 the neighbourhood of Troy, from wlience tlie first founders of Rome had 
 emigrated. 
 
 V. 13. To clear th' inciimher\l hnos.] The code of laws was abridged 
 and reformed by Justinian.
 
 PARADISE. 427 
 
 V. IT). ChrixVanafvrr mrrrb/ human.] Justinian is said to havo boon 
 a follower of the heretical opinions held by Eutyches, " who tanght that 
 in Christ there was but one nature, viz. that of the incarnate word." 
 Maclaine's Mosheini, t. ii. Cent. v. ]). ii. c. v. § 13. ' 
 
 V. IG. A(/np(;te.] " Agapetus, Bishop of Rome, whose Schcda Uegia, 
 addressed to tlio Emperor Justinian, i)rocured him a phice among the 
 -wisest and most judicious writers of this century." Ibid. Cent. vi. p. ii. 
 c. ii. § 8. 
 
 V. 33. Who pretend it!^ poiocr.] The Ghibellines. 
 
 V. 33. And who oppose.] Tlie Guelphs. 
 
 V. 34. rallas died. ] See Virgil, M\\. 1. x. 
 
 V. 39. Tlie rival three.] The Horatii and Curiatii. 
 
 V. 41. Doion.] "From the rape of the Sabine women to the violation 
 of Lucrctia." 
 
 V. 47. Quintias.] Quintius Cincinnatus. 
 
 E Cincinnato dall' incnlta chioma. 
 
 Petrarca- 
 
 V. 50. Ai-ab hordes.] The Arabians seem to be put for the barbarians 
 in general. 
 
 V. 54. That hill.] The city of Fesulte, which was sacked by the 
 Romans after the defeat of Cataline. 
 
 V. 56. Near the hour.] Near the time of our Saviour's birth. 
 
 V. 59. What then it ivroii/jht.] In the following fifteen lines the Poet 
 has comprised the exploits of Julius Cit'sar. 
 
 V. 75. 1)1 its next hearer's gripe.] With Augustus C;T?sar. 
 
 V. 89. TJie third Coisar.] " Tiberius, the tliird of the Caesars, had it 
 in his power to surpass the glory of all who either preceded or came after 
 hira, by destroying the city of Jerusalem, as Titus afterwards did, and 
 thus revenging tlie cause of God himself on the Jews." 
 
 V. 95. Vengeance for vengeance.] This will be afterwards explained 
 by the Poet himself. 
 
 V. 98. Charlemagne.] Dante could not be ignorant that the reign o\ 
 Justinian was long prior to that of Charlemagne; but the spirit of the 
 former emperor isre[n'esented, both in this instance and in what follows, 
 as conscious of the events that had taken jilace after his own time. 
 
 V. 104. The yellow lilvs.] The French ensign. 
 
 V. 110. Charles.] The commentators explain this to mean Charles II. 
 king of Naples and Sicily. Is it not more likely to allude to Cliailes of 
 Valois, son of Philip HI. of France, who was sent for, about this time. 
 into Italy l)y Pope Boniface, with the promise of being made cmi)eror ? 
 See G. Villaui, 1. viii. c. 42. 
 
 V. 131. Romeo's light.] The story of Romeo is involved in some un- 
 certainty. The French writers assert the continuance of his ministeiial 
 office even after the decease of his sovereign, Raymond Berenger, count 
 of Provence: and they rest this assertion chiefly on the fact of a certain 
 Romieu de Villeneuve, who was the contemporary of that prince, having 
 left large possessions behind him, as ajipears by his will preserved in tl.e 
 archives of the bishopric of Venice. There might, however, have been 
 more than one person of the name of Romieu, or Romeo, which answers 
 to that of Palmer in our language. Nor is it jirobable that the Italians, 
 who lived so near the time, were mi.sinformed in an occurrence of such 
 notoriety. According to them, after he had long been a faithful steward 
 to Raymond, when an account was reqtured fnjm him of the revenues 
 which he had carr.fully husbanded, and his master as lavishly disbursed.
 
 428 NOTES. 
 
 " lie (leniaiulcd the little mnle, tlic staff, and the scrip, with wliicli lie 
 had first entered into tlio count's service, Ji stranj^er pilgrim from the 
 shrine of St. .lames in Galicia, and paited as he came; nor was it ever 
 known whence lie was, or whither he went." G. Villani, 1. vi. c. !I2. 
 
 V, i;>5. Fuiird(iii(/h(L'rs.] Of the four daiiLiliters f)f Raymond Beren- 
 gcr, Margaret, the eldest, was marrieil to Louis IX. of France; Eleanor, 
 tlienext, to Henry 111. of England; Saiiclia, the third, to Richard, Henry's c 
 brother, and King of the Romans; and the youngest, Beatrice, to Charles ■i 
 I. King of Naples and Sicily, and brotlier to Louis. I 
 
 V. 13(). liaymond Bcreiii/cr.] This prince, the last of the house of I 
 Barcelona, who was Count of Provence, died in 1245. He is in the list i 
 oi Provencal poets. See Millot, Hist. Litt. des Troubadours, t. ii. p. 112. \ 
 
 CANTO VIL 
 
 V. 3. Malahoih.] A Hebrew word, signifying " kingdoms." 
 V. 4. That substance hright.'] Justinian. 
 
 V. 17. As might haw made one blest amid the flames.] So Ginsto de' 
 Conti, Bella Mauo. " Qual salamandra." 
 
 Che puommi nelle fiamnii far beato. 
 V. 23. TJiai man, loho was unborn.'] Adam. 
 
 V. 61. What distils.] "That, which proceeds iminediately from God, 
 and without the intervention of secondary causes, is immortal.'' 
 
 V. 140. Our resurrection ceiiain.] Venturi aiii)ears to mistake the 
 Poet's reasoning, when he observes : "Wretched for ns, if we had not 
 arguments more convincing, and of a higher kind, to assure ns of the 
 truth of our resurrection." It is here intended, I think, that the wliolo 
 of God's dispensations to man should be considered as a jiroof of our 
 resurrection. The conclusion is, that as before sin man was immortal, 
 so, being restored to the favour of heaven by the expiation made for sin, 
 he necessarily recovers his claim to immortality. 
 
 There is much in this poem to justify the encomium which the learned 
 Salvini has passed on it, when, in an epistle to Redi. imitating what 
 Horace had said of Homer, that the duties of life might be better learnt 
 from the Grecian bard, than from the teachers oi' the porch or the 
 academy, he says — 
 
 And dos>t thou ask, what themes my mind engage ? 
 The lonely hours I give to Dante's page ; 
 And meet more sacred learning in his lines. 
 Than I had gain'd from all the school divines. 
 Se volete saper la vita mia, 
 Studiando io sto lungi da tutti gli uomini ; 
 Ed ho imparato piii teologia 
 In questi giorni, che ho riletto Dante, 
 Che nelle scuole fatto io non avria. 
 
 CANTO vin. 
 
 V. 4. Epicycle.] "In snl dosso di questo cerchio," &c. Convito di 
 Dante, Opere, t. i. p. 48. ed. Yen. 1793. "Upon the back of this circle, 
 in the heaven of Venus, whereof we are now treating, is a little sphere, 
 which has in that heaven a revolution of its own : whose circle the 
 astronomers term ejiicycle." 
 
 V. 11. 2'o sit in Didu's bosom.] Virgil, JKn. 1. i. 718.
 
 + 
 
 I'AKADISE. 429 
 
 V. 40. ' ye wlwse intellectual ministry.'] 
 
 Voi ch' iuteiidendo il terzo ciel movete. 
 
 The first line in our Poet's first Ciinzoiie. See liis Convito, Ibid. p. 40. 
 
 V. 53. Had the time been more.\ Tlie spirit now siieakins is Cliarles 
 
 Martel, crowned Icin.y; cvf Hungary, and son of Cliarles II. kin<; of Na|)les 
 
 and Sicily, to which doniiniuus, dying in his fatlier's lifetime, lie did not 
 
 sncceed. 
 
 V. 57. Tlwu lov'dst me well.'] Charles Martel might have been known 
 to onr i)oet at Florence, ■whither he came to meet his fatlier in 1295, the 
 year of his death. The retinae and the habiliments of tlie yonng mon- 
 arch are minutely described by G. Villani, who adds, that " he remained 
 more than twenty days in Florence, waiting for his father King Charles 
 and his brothers ; during which time great honour was done him by the 
 Florentines, and he showed no less love towards them, and he was much 
 in favour with all." 1. viii. c. 13. His brother Robert, king of Naples, 
 was the friend of Petrarch. 
 V. 00. The left bank.] Provence. 
 V. G2, That horn 
 
 Of fail' Ausonia.] 
 The kingdom of Naples. 
 V. 68. The land.] Hungary. 
 
 V. 73. The beautiful Trinacria.] Sicily ; so called from its three pro- 
 montories, of which Pachynus and Pelorus, here mentioned, are two. 
 
 V. 74. Typhvuus.] The giant, whom Jupiter is fabled to have over- 
 whelmed under the mountain jEtua, from whence he vomits forth smoke 
 and flame. 
 
 V. 77. Sprung throuc/h me from Charles and Rodolph.] " Sicily would 
 be still ruled by a race of monarchs, descended through me fromCharles 
 I. and Rodoljih I., the former my grandfather, king oit' Naples and Sicily; 
 the latter, emperor of Germany, my father-in-law ; " both celebrated in 
 the Purgatorj', Canto VH. 
 
 V. 78. Had not ill loi'ding.] "If the ill conduct of our governors in 
 Sicily had not excited the resentment and hatred of the people, and 
 stimulated them to that dreadful massacre at the Sicilian vespers ;" in 
 consequence of which the kingdom fell into the hands of Peter III. of 
 Arragon, in 1282. 
 
 V. 81. My brother's foresight.] He seems to tax his brother Robert 
 with employing necessitous and greedy Cataloniaus to administer the 
 affairs of his kingdom. 
 
 V. 99. Hoio bitter can spring up.] "How a covetous sou can spring 
 from a liberal father." Yet that father has himself been accused of 
 avarice in the Purgatory, Canto XX. v. 78 ; though his general character 
 was that of a bounteous prince. 
 
 V. 125. Consult your teacher.] Aristole. cTrel ef avoiJ-oiiav ri woAts, k. t. 
 A. De Rej). 1. iii. c. 4. " Since a state is made up of members differing 
 from one another ; (for even as an animal, in the first in,stance, consists 
 of soul and body ; and the son!, of reason and desire ; and a family, of 
 man and woman ; and property, of master and slave ; in like manner a 
 state consists both of all these, and besides these of other dissimilar 
 kinds ;) it necessarily follows, that the excellence of all the members 
 of the state cannot be one and the same." 
 V. 136. Esau.] Genesis, c. xxv. 22. 
 
 V. 137. Quiriiius.] Romulus, born of so obscure a father, that bis 
 parentage was attributed to Mars.
 
 430 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO IX. 
 
 V. 2. Ofair Clemenza.] Diiughter of Charles Martel, and second wife 
 of Louis X. of France. 
 
 V. 2. Tfui trcacheri/ .] He alludes to the occupation of the kingdom of 
 Sicily by licjbcrt, in exclusion of his brother's son Carobert, or Charles 
 Robert, "tlie rightful heir. See G. Villani, 1. viii. c. 112. 
 
 V. 7. Tliat sidnthj l>(/ht.] Charles Martel. 
 
 V. 25. In that part.] Between Rialto in the Venetian territory, and 
 the sources of the rivers Brenta and Piava, is situated a castle called 
 Uoinano, the birth-place of the famous tyrant Ezzolino or Azzolino, tlie 
 brother of Cunizza, who is now speaking. The tyrant we have seen in 
 " the river of blood." Hell, Canto XII. v. 110. 
 
 V. 32. Ctmizza.] The adventures of Cunizza, overcome by the influ- 
 ence of her star, are related by the chronicler Rolandino of Padua, 1. i. 
 c. 3, in Muratori, Rer. It. Script, t. viii. p. 173. She eloped from her 
 first husband, Richard of St. Boniface, in the company of Sordello, (see 
 Purgatory, Canto VI. and VII.) with whom she is supposed to have co- 
 habited before her marriage: then lived with a soldier of Trevigi, whose 
 wife was living at the same time in the same city ; and on his being 
 murdered by her brother the tyrant, was by her brother married to a 
 nobleman of Bragnnzo ; lastly, when he also had fallen by the same 
 hand, she, after her brother's death, was again wedded in Verona. 
 
 V. 37. This.] Folco of Genoa, a celebrated Proven(;al poet, commonly 
 termed Folques of Marseilles, of which place he was perhaps bishoii. 
 Many errors of Nostradamus, concerning him, which have been followed 
 by Crescimbeni, Quadrio, and Millot, are detected by the diligence of 
 Tiraboschi. Mr. Matthias's ed. v. 1. p. 18. All that appears certain, is 
 what we are told in this Canto, that he was of Genoa ; and by Petrarch, 
 in the Triumph of Love, c. iv. that he was better known by the appella- 
 tion he derived from Marseilles, and at last resumed the religious habit. 
 
 One of his verses is cited by Dante, De Vulg. Eloq. 1. ii. c. 6. 
 
 V. 40. Five times.] The five hundred years are elapsed : and, unless 
 the Provencal MSS. should be brought to light, the poetical reputation 
 of Folco must rest on the mention made of him by the more fortunate 
 Italians. 
 
 V. 43. The crowd.] The people who inhabited the tract of country 
 bounded by the river Tagliamento to the east, and Adice to the west. 
 
 V. 45. The hour is near.] Cunizza foretells the defeat of Giacopo da 
 Carrara, Lord of Padua, by Can Grande, at Vicenza, on the 18th Sep- 
 tember, 1314. See G. Villain, 1. ix. c. 62. 
 
 V. 48. One.] She predicts also the fate of Ricciardo da Camino, who 
 is said to have been murdered at Trevigi, (where the rivers Sile and 
 Caguano meet) while he was engaged in playing at chess. 
 
 V. 50. The loe^.] The net, or snare, into which he is destined to fall. 
 
 V. 50. Feltro.] The Bishop of Feltro, having received a number of 
 fugitives from Ferrara, who were in opposition to the Pope, under a 
 promise of protection, afterwards gave them np ; so that they were re- 
 conducted to that city, and the greater part of them there jiut to death. 
 
 v. 53. Malta's.] A tower, eitlier in the citadel of Padua, which, under 
 the tyranny of Ezzolino, had been " with many a foul and midnight 
 murder fed ;" or (as some say) near a ri\er of the same name, that falls 
 into the lake of 15(>lsena, in which the Pojte was accustomed to imi)risoiJ 
 Buch as had been guilty of an irrcmissible siu.
 
 PAllADISE. 481 
 
 V. 5f;. 'lids priest.] Tlie bisliop, wlio, to show liinisclf ;i zealous 
 pjirtizan of the Pope, had committed the above-mentioned act of 
 treachery. 
 
 V. 58. We descry.] " We behold the things tliat we predict, in tlio 
 mirrors of eternal truth." 
 
 V. 64. That other joyance.'] Folco. 
 
 V. 76. iSix ,<ihadoiving zvinrjs.] "Above it stood the seraidiiras : eacli 
 one liad six wings." I.«aiah, c. vi. 2. 
 
 V. 80. The valley of loaters.] Tlie Mediterranean sea. 
 
 V. 80. That.] The great ocean. 
 
 V. 82. Discordant shores.] Europe and Africa . 
 
 V. 8.3. Meridian.] Extending to the east, the Mcditerranciin at last 
 reaches the coa.st of Palestine, which is on its horizon when it enters tlio 
 Straits of Gibraltar. " Wherever a man is," says Vellutello, "there he 
 has, above his head, his own particular meridian circle." 
 
 V. 85 . — ' Twi7t Ebro's stream 
 
 And Macraes.] 
 Ebro, a river to the west, and Macra, to the east of Genoa, where Folco 
 was born. 
 
 V. 88. Bcf/ga.] A place in Africa, nearly opposite to Genoa. 
 
 V. 89. Whose haven.] Alluding to the terrible slaugliter of the Gen- 
 oese made by the Saracens in '.)36 ; for which event Vellutello refers to 
 the history of Augnstino Giustiniani. 
 
 V. 91. This ?ieav'n.] The ]ilanet Venus. 
 
 V. 9.3. Debts' daiu/hter.] Dido. 
 
 V. 96. <s7ie of Rhodope.] Phyllis. 
 
 V. 98. Jore''s son.] Hercules. 
 
 V. 112. Rahah.] Heta. c. xi. 31. 
 
 V. 120. With either palm.] " By the crucifixion of Christ." 
 
 V. 126. The cvrscd flower.] The coin of Florence, called the florcn. 
 
 V. 130. 77ie decretals.] Tlie canon law. 
 
 V. 134. The Vatican.] He alludes either to the deatli of Pojie Boniface 
 VIII. or, as Venturi supposes, to the coming of the Enii)eror Henry VII. 
 into Italy ; or else, according to the yet more probable conjecture of 
 Lombardi, to the transfer of the holy see from Rome to Avignon, which 
 took place in the pontificate of Clement V. 
 
 CANTO X. 
 
 v. 7. The point.] "To that part of heaven," as Venturi explains it, 
 " in which the equinoctial circle and tlie Zodiac intersect each other, 
 where the common motion of the heavens from east to west may be s;iid 
 to strike with greatest force against the motion ])roper to the planets ; 
 and this repercussion, as it were, is here the strongest, because tlie ve- 
 locity of each is increased to the utmost by their respective distance 
 from' the poles. Such at least is the system of Dante." 
 
 V. 11. Oblique.] The zodiac. 
 
 V. 25. The part .] The above-m.entioned intersection of the equinoctial 
 circle and the zodiac. 
 
 V. 26. Minister.] The sun. 
 
 V. 30. Where.] In which the sun rises every day earlier after th« 
 rernal equinox. 
 
 V. 45. Fourth family .] The inhabitants of the sun, the fourth planet.
 
 432 NOTKS. 
 
 V. AC). Of hin uphit (Did of his ofspj-iin/.] Tlic procopsioii of the lliird, 
 and tlie f^eiicnitiou of the second person in tlie Trinity. 
 
 V. 70. Such tvas (he sovy.] " Tlie sonj; of thc^e si)irits was ineffable." 
 
 V. 8(). No less conslruhiedA " Tlie riv<!rs nii<;ht as easily' cease to flow 
 towards the sea, as we could deny thoe thy request." 
 
 V. ill. I thoi.] " I was of tlic l)oniinic;in order." 
 
 V. 95. Albert of Colo(/}ic.] Albertiis Ma{;niis was lx)rn at Lanp;inKcn, 
 in Thurinjiia, in llii.S, and studied at Paris and at Padua, at the latter of 
 which places he entered into the Dominican order. lie then tauu'ht 
 theology in various parts of Germany, and jjarticnlarly at Cohii^iie. 
 Thomas Aquinas was Ids favouiite pupil. In ]2(X), lie reluctantly ac- 
 cepted the bishopric of Ratisbon, and in two years after resij^ned it,' and 
 X'eturncd to his cell in Cologne, where the remainder of his life was 
 passed in superintending the school, and in coni])Osing his voluminous 
 works on divinity and natural science. He died in 12^,0. The absurd 
 imputation of his having dealt in the magical art is well known ; and 
 his biographers take some i)ains to clear him of it. Scriptores Ordiiiis 
 Praedicatorum, by Quetif and Echard, Lut. Par. !l71!J. fol. t. 1. p. Kili. 
 
 V. 96. Of Aq\tmxim, llwmas.] Thomas Aquinas, of whom Bucer is 
 reported to have said, " Take but Thomas away, and I will overturn the 
 church of Rome," and whom Hooker terms ''the greates-t among the 
 school divines," (Eccl. Pol. b. 3. § 9), was born of noble paicnts, « ho 
 anxiously, but vainly, endeavoured to divert him from a life of celibacy 
 and study ; and died in 1274, at the age of forty-seven. Echard and 
 Quetif, ibid. p. 271. See also Purgatory, Canto XX. v. {17. 
 
 V. 101. Gratiaii.] "Gratian, a Benedictine monk belonging to the 
 con%'ent of St. Felix and Nabor, at Bologna, and by biith a Tuscan, 
 coniix)sed, about the year lloO, for the use of the schools, an abiidg- 
 Tuent or epitome of canon law, drawn from the letters of the iiontiffs, 
 the decrees of councils, and the writings of the ancient doctors." Mac- 
 laine's Mosheim, v. iii. cent. 12. part 2. c. i. § 6. 
 
 V. 101. To either foriim.] " By reconciling," as Venturi explains it, 
 "the civil with the ciinon law." 
 
 V. 104. Peter.] " Pietro Lombardo was of obscure origin, nor is the 
 place of his birth in Lombardy ascertained. With a recommendation 
 from the bishop of Lucca to St. Bernard, he went into France to con- 
 tinue his studies; and for that luirpose remained some time at Rheims, 
 whence he afterwards ]iroceedcd to Paris. Here his reputation was so 
 great, that Philip, brother of Loui.s VII., being chosen bishop of Paris, 
 resigned that dignity to Pietro, whose pupil he had been. He held his 
 bishopric oidy one year, and died in 11(50. His Liber Sentcntiarum is 
 highly esteemed. It contains a system of scholastic theology, so much 
 more complete than anj'wliich had been yet seen, that it may be deemed 
 an original work." Tirabo.schi, Storia della Lett. Ital. t. iii.l. 4. c. 2. 
 
 v. 104. Who vnth the ividow f/ot-p.] This alludes to the beginning of 
 the Liber Sentcntiarum, where Peter says: " Cupiens aliquid de i)eniuia 
 ac tenuitate nostra cum panpercula in gnzophylacium domiui mittere," 
 
 V. 105. Thp Jifih lif/ht.'] Solomon 
 
 V. 112. That toper' s radiance.] St. Di.)nysius the Areopagite. "The 
 famous Grecian fanatic, who gave himself out for Dionysius the Areop.i- 
 gite, disciple of St. Paul, and who, under the protection of this venerable 
 name, gave laws and instructions to those that were desirous of raising 
 their souls above all human things, in order to unite them to their great 
 source by sublime coutemplatioii, lived most probably in this ceutury
 
 PARADISE. 433 
 
 (the foiirlb); thoiiy;h some iil.ice liiin before, others after, tlie present 
 period." Maclaiiio's Mosheim, v. i. cent. iv. j). 2. c. .'?. § 12. 
 
 V. IIC). That pli-'ii'Jrr.] In the fifth century, Tanliis Orosius " acquireil 
 a considerable decree of reputation by the History lie wrote to refute 
 the cavils of the Pagans against Christianity, and by his books against 
 the Pelagians and Priscillianists." Ibid. v. ii. cent. v. p. 12. c. 2. § 11. A 
 similar train of argument was pursued by Augustine, in his book De 
 Civitate Dei. 
 
 Orosius is classed by Dante, in his treatise De Vnlg. Eloq. 1. ii. c. G. a.s 
 one of his favourit antiiors, among those "qui usi sunt altissimas i)rf> 
 sas," — " who have written prose with the greatest loftiness of style." 
 
 V. 110. The eir/hth.] Boetius, whose book De Consohitione Philoso- 
 phi;e excited so much attention during the middle ages, was born, as 
 Tiraboschi conjectures, about -ITO, " In 524 he was cruelly put to deat'i, 
 by command of Theodoric, either on real or pretended snsi)icion of his 
 being engaged in ,a conspiracy." Delia Lett. Ital. t. iii. 1. i. c. 4. 
 
 V. 124. Ckldauro.] Boetius was buried at Pavia, in the monastery of 
 S. Pictro in Ciel d'oro. 
 
 V. 12(!. l.sidore.] He was Archbishop of Seville daring forty years, and 
 died in (j.'?.'). See IMariana, Hist. 1. vi. c. 7. 
 
 Mosheim, whose critical oi^inions in general must be taken with somr 
 allowance, observes that "his grammatical, theological, and historical 
 productions, discover more learning and pedantry, than judgment and 
 taste." 
 
 v. 127. Bede.] Bede, whose virtues obtained him the appellation of 
 the Venerable, was born in ()72 at Wearmontli and Jarrow, in the bishop- 
 ric of Durham, and died in 735. Invited to Rome by Pope Sergius I., he 
 preferred passing almost the whole of his life in the seclusion of a 
 monastery. A catalogue of his numerous writings may be seen ii) 
 Kippis's Biographia Britannica, v. ii. 
 
 v. 127. Richard.] Richard of St. Victor, a native either of Scotland or 
 Ireland, was canon and prior of the monastery of that name at Paris; 
 and died in 1173. "He was at the head of the Mystics in this century; 
 and his treatise, entitled the Mystical Ark, which contains as it were the 
 marrow of this kind of theology, was received with the greatest avidity." 
 Maclaine's Mosheim, v. iii. cent. xii. p. 2. c. 2. § 2.3. 
 
 v. 1.32. Sif/ehert.] "A monlc of the abbey of Geniblonrs, who was 
 in high repute at the end of the eleventh, and beginning of the twelfth, 
 century." Diet, de Moreri. 
 
 V. 134. TJie straw-litter' d street.] The name of a street in Paris : the 
 "Rue du Fonarre." 
 
 V. 135. The spouse of God.] The church. 
 
 CANTO XI. 
 
 V. 1. fond anxiety of mortal men.] Lucretius, 1. ii. 14. 
 
 O miseras hominnm mentes ! O pectora ceca J 
 Qualibns in tenebris vitir, qnantisque periclia 
 Degitur hoc ievi quodcnnquc est ! 
 
 V. 4. Aiihorit<i)i.\] The stiuly of medicuic. 
 
 V. 17. The liii^lir.] Tlie spirit of Thomas Aquinas. 
 
 V. 2<). ,S7;<'.] The church. 
 
 34. One] Saint Francis. 
 
 28 

 
 434 NOTK8. 
 
 v.Sfi. 'Ilie other.'] Suiiit Doiniiiic. 
 
 V. 40. Th])iii(j.] A rivulet near Assisi, or Ascesi, where Francis was \ 
 born ill 11X2. [ 
 
 V. 40. T/i.e ivave.] Chiascio, a strciun tliiit ri.ses in a mountain near 
 Agobbio, chosen by St. Ubaklo for tlie place of his rctireineiit. \ 
 
 V. 42. Ileal and cold. \ Cold from the snow, and heat from t'.'e reflec- ' 
 
 tion of the sun. 
 
 V. 45. Yoke.] Vellutello understands this of the vicinity of llie jn,o(/u- 
 taiii to Noccra and Giialdo; and Veiitiiri(as I have taken it) of the heavy 
 iniliositions laid on those places by the rerugians. For <yw£/o, like the 
 Liitin./«f/w??i, will admit of either sense. 
 
 V. 50. The cast.] 
 
 This is the cast, and Juliet is the sun. 
 
 t^hakspeare. 
 
 V. 55. 'Gai7ist his father's ivill.] In opposition to the wishes of his 
 natural father. 
 
 V. 58. In hisfather^s fiight.'] The spiritual father, or bishop, in v/hose 
 presence he made a profession of poverty. 
 
 V. 60. Her first husband.] Christ. 
 
 V. 63 Amyclas.] Lucan makes Cffisar exclaim, on witnessing the secure 
 poverty of the fisherman Amyclas : 
 
 vitre tuta facultas 
 
 Pauperis, angustique lares ! O munera nondum 
 Intellecta deiim ! quibus hoc contiiigere templis, 
 Ant potuit muris, niillo trepidare tniiiultu, 
 Cajsarea pulsante manu? 
 
 rhars. 1. V. 5.31. 
 
 V. 72. Ber7iard.] One of the first followers of the saint. 
 
 V. 76. Ef/idivs.] The third of his disciples, wlio died in 1262. His 
 work, entitled Verba Aurea, was published in 1534, at Antwerp. See 
 Lucas Waddingus, Aunales Ordinis Minoris, p. 5. 
 
 V. 76. Sylvester.] Another of his earliest associates. 
 
 V. 83. Pietro Bernardone.] A man in an humble station of life at 
 Assisi. 
 
 V. 85. Innocent.'] Pope Innocent III. 
 
 V. 90. Honorms.] His successor Honorius III. who granted certain 
 privileges to the Franciscans. 
 
 V. 93. On the hard rock.] The mountain Alverna in the Apennine. 
 
 V. 100. The last sif/net.] Alluding to the stigmata, or marks resembling 
 the wounds of Christ, said to have been found on the saint's body. 
 
 V. 106. His dearest lady.] Poverty. 
 
 V. 113. Our Patriarch.] Saint Dominic. 
 
 V. 116. His flock.] The Dominicans. 
 
 V. 127. The planet from ivhence they split.'] " The rule of their order, 
 which the Dominicans neglect to observe." \ 
 
 CANTO XII. 
 
 V. 1. The blessed flame.] Thomas Aquinas. 
 
 V. 12. That voice.] The nymph Echo, transformed into the repcrcug- 
 fsion of the voice.
 
 PARADISE. 4C5 
 
 V. 25. Onp.] Saint Bnoiiavcntnra, _£;ciioral of the Fraiioiscan order, in 
 which he efrectcd some rct'ornialion, and one of the most iirofduiul di- 
 vines of liis ai;e. "lie rcltised the archlMslioprii; of Yorls, which una 
 offered him by Clement IV., but afterwards was prevaihnl on to accept 
 the bishojiric of Alliano and a cardinal's hat. lie was boi-n at I5a,i;n(ire- 
 gio or Ba.ynorea, in Tnscany, a.d. 1221, and died in 1274." Diet. Histor. 
 par Chaiidon et Dclandine. Kd. Lyon. 1814. 
 
 V. 28. T/te lore.] By an act of niutual conrtesy, IJuonaventnra, a 
 Franciscan, is made to iiroclaim the i)raises of St. Uoniinic, as Thonii^s 
 Aquinas, a Dominican, has celebrated those of St. Francis. 
 ' V. 42. In that clime] Spain. 
 
 V. 48. Cnllarof/a.] Between Osuia and Aranda, in Old Castile, desig- 
 nated by the royal coal of arms. 
 
 \. 51. The loi'iiu/ winion of the Christian faith.] Dominic was born 
 Aprils, 1170, and' died Aiigiistfi, 1221. His "birth-place, Callaroga; his 
 father and mother's names, Felix and Joanna, liis mother's dream; his 
 name of Donunic, given him in consequence of a vision by a noble ma- 
 tron, who stood sponsor to him, are all told in an anonymous life of the 
 saint, said tt) be written in the thirteentli century, and published by 
 Quetif and ICcliard, Scriptores Ordinis Pradicatornm. Par. 1719. fol. t. 
 1. p. 25. These writers deny his having been an inquisitor, and iiuh cd 
 the establishment of the inquisition itself before the fourth Latcrau 
 council. Ibid. p. 88. 
 
 V. 55. In the mother's ico77ib.] His mother, when pregnant with him, 
 is paid to have dreamt that she should bring forth a white and black dog, 
 witli a lighted torch in its mouth. 
 
 V. 59. The dajne.] His godmother's dream was, that he had one star 
 in his forehead, and another in the nape of his neck, from which he com- 
 municated light to the east and the west. 
 
 V. 73. Feliic.] Felix Gusman. 
 
 V. 75. As men interpret it.] Grace or gift of the Lord. 
 
 V. 77. Ostiense.] A cardinal, who explained the decretals. 
 
 V. 77. Taddeo.] A physician of Florence. 
 
 V. 82. The see.] " 'The apostolic see, which no longer continues its 
 wonted liberality towards the indigent and deserving; not indeed tlirougli 
 its own fault, as its doctrines are still the same, but through the fault of 
 the pontiff, who is seated in it." 
 
 V. 85. No dispensation.] Dominic did not ask licence to compound for 
 tlie use of unjust acquisitions, by dedicating a part of them to pious 
 purposes. 
 
 V. 89. Infavovrofthatseed.] "For that seed of the divine word, 
 from which have sprung up these four-and-twenty plants, that now 
 environ thee." 
 
 V. 104. Uut ihe track.] "But tlie rule of St. Francis is already de- 
 serted: ami the lees of the wine are turned into niouldiness." 
 
 V. 110. Tares.] He adverts to the parable of the taies and the wheat. 
 
 V. 111. I question not.] " Some indeed might be found, who still ob- 
 eerve the rule of the order; but such would come neither from Ca sale 
 nor Acquasparta : " of the former of whicli places was Uberto, one 
 master-general, by whom the disciiiline had been relaxed; and of the 
 latter, Matteo, another, who had enforced it with unnecessary rigour. 
 
 V. 121. Ilhnninato here, 
 
 And Agostino.] 
 
 Two among the earliest followers of St. Francis.
 
 436 NOTES. ' 
 
 V. 125. Ihif/vrs of St. Victor.'] A Saxon of tlio monastery of Saint Vic- 
 tor, .at I'aris, who clicil in 1142, at the atre of forty-four. " A mau distin- i 
 giiished by the fecundity of his genius, who treated in liis \vritin,i;s of all ] 
 tlie branches of sacred and profane erudition that were Ivnown in his time, 
 and who csomposcd sevenil dissertations that arc not destitute of merit." 
 Macl.aine's Mosheini, Eccl. Hist. v. iii cent. xii. p. 2. c. 2. § 23. I liavo 
 looived into his writings, and found some reason for tliis high eulogium. J 
 
 V. 125. PMro Bfaiif/iadore.] " Petrus Comestor, or the Eater, born at ' 
 Troycs, was canon and dean of tliat chnrcli, and afterw.ards cliancellor ' 
 of the clmrcli of I'aris. He relinquislied these benefices to become a 
 regular canon of St. Victor at Paris, where he died in 1198." Chaudon 
 et Delandine, Diet. Hist. Ed. Lyon. 1804. 
 
 The work by which he is best known, is his Historia Scolastica, which 
 I shall have occasion to cite in the Notes to Canto XXVI. 
 
 V. 120. Tie of Spain.] "To Pope Adrian V. succeeded .John XXI. a. ' 
 native of Lisbon ; a man of great genius and extraordinary acquirements, 
 especially in logic and in medicine, as his books, written in the name of 
 Peter of Spain (by which he was Ivnown before lie became Pope), may 
 testify. His life was not much longer than that of his predecessors, for ; 
 lie was killed at Viterbo, by the falling in of tlie roof of his chamber, 
 after he had been pontiff only eight months and as many days," A.i>. 
 1277. Mariana, Hist, de Esp. 1. xiv. c. 2. 
 
 V. 128. Chriisostom.] The eloquent patriarch of Constantinople. 
 
 V. 128. Anselmo.] " Ansel ni. Archbishop of Canterbury, was born at ; 
 Aosta, about 10;34, and studied under Lanfranc, at the monastery of Bee, \ 
 in Normandy, where he afterwards devoted himself to a religious life, 
 in his twenty-seventh year. In three years he was made prior, and then ' 
 abbot of that monastery; from whence he was taken, in 1093, to succeed -i 
 to the archl)ishopric, vacant by the death of Lanfranc. He enjoyed this 
 dignity till his deatli, in 1109, though it was disturbed by many dissen- 
 sions with William II. and Henry I. respecting the immunities and in- - 
 vestitiires. There is much depth and precision in his tlieological works." ? 
 Tiraboschi, Stor. della. Lett. Ital. t. iii. 1. iv. c. 2. " | 
 
 Ibid. c. V. " It is an observation made by many modern writers, that j 
 the demonstration of the existence of God, taken from the idea of a l 
 Supreme Being, of which Des Cartes is thought to be the author, was so ' 
 many ages back discovered and brouglit to light by Anselm. Leibnitz ] 
 himself makes the remark, vol. v. Oper. p. 570. Edit. Genev. 17r)8." i 
 
 V. 129. Donatas.] .^lius Donatus, the grammarian, in the fourth ceu- s 
 tnry, one of the preceptors of St. Jerome. J 
 
 V. ISO. Rahan.] "Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mentz, is deserv- I 
 edly placed at the head of the Lathi writers of this age." Mosheini, v. » 
 ii. cent. ix. p. 2. c. 2. § 14. | 
 
 V. lo\. Joachim.] Abbot of Flora in Calabria ; "whom the multitude | 
 revered as a person divinely inspired, and equal to the most illustrious \ 
 proi)hets of ancient times." Ibid. v. iii. cent. xiii. p. 2. c. 2. § 33. 
 
 V. 134. A peer.] St. Dominic. 
 
 CANTO XIII. I 
 
 V. 1. TM him.] " Whoever wonld conceive the .sight that now prc- 
 
 Bented itself to me, must imagine to himself fifteen of the brightest stars • 
 
 in heaven, together with seven stars of Arctiirus Major and two of \ 
 
 Arcturus Minor, ranged in two circles, one within the other, each re- ^ 
 
 +
 
 PARADISB. 437 
 
 sembling tlie crown of Ariarlne, and moving ronnd in opposite direc- 
 tions." 
 V. 21. The Cliiana.] See Hell, Cniito XXIX. 45. 
 V. 20. That Ivmiimn/.] Thomas A(iiiinas. 
 V. 31. One ear.] " Havin.i^r solved one of thy questions, I proceed to [ 
 
 answer the other. Thou thinUest, then, that Adam and Christ were both | 
 
 endued with all the jierfection of which the human nature is capable, I 
 
 and therefore woiiderest at what has been said concerninjj Solomon." I 
 
 V. 48. TJiat.] " Things corruptible and incorruptible, are only emana- J 
 
 tions from the archetypal idea residing in tlie Divine mind." \ 
 
 y. 52. His brightness.] The Word. -"the Sou of God. j 
 
 V. 53. His love triune loith them.] The Holy Ghost. { 
 
 V. 55. Neiv existences.] Angels and human souls. I 
 
 V. 57. The lowest poioers.] Irrational life and brute matter. j 
 
 V. 02. Tlieir loax and that lohich moulds it.] Matter, ;iud the virtue or f 
 
 energy, that acts on it. \ 
 
 V. G'8. The heav'n.] The influence of the planetary bodies. if 
 
 V. 77. The clay.] Adam. | 
 
 V. 88. Who a.^k'd.] "He did not desire to know the number of the 
 stars, or to pry into the subtleties of metaphysical and mathematical 
 science: bat asked for that wisdom which might fit him for his kingly 
 office." 
 
 V. 120. Parmenides, 
 
 Melisszis Bryso.] 
 For the singular opinions entertained by the two former of these heathen 
 philosophers, see Diogenes Laertius, 1. ix. and Aristot. de Ca?lo, 1. iii.c. 1. 
 and Phys. 1. i. c. 2. Tlie last is also twice adduced by Aristotle (Anal. 
 Post. 1. i. c. 9. and Rhet. 1. iii. c. 2.) as affording instances of false 
 reasoning. 
 V. 123. tSdbellius, Aritis.] Well-known heretics. 
 
 V. 124. Scj/mitars.] A passage in the travels of Bertradon de la 
 Brocquiere, translated by Mr. Johnes, will explain this allusion, which 
 has given some tnnible to tlie connnentators. That traveller, who wrote 
 before Dante, informs us, p. 138, that the wandering Arabs used their 
 scymitars as mirrors. 
 
 V. 12G. Let not.] " Let not short-sighted mortals presume to decide 
 on the future doom of any man, from a consideration of his present char- 
 acter and actions." 
 
 CANTO XIV. 
 
 V. 5. S^lch was the image.] The voice of Thomas Aquinas proceeding 
 from the circle to the centre, and that of Beatrice from the centre to the 
 circle. 
 
 V. 26. Him.] Literally translated by Chaueer, Troilus and Cresseide, 
 b. 5. 
 
 Thon one, two, and three eterne on live, 
 That raignest aie in three, two, and one, 
 Uncircnmscript, and all mai.st circonscrive. 
 
 v. 31. The goodliest light] Solomon. 
 
 V. 78. To more lofty bliss.] To the planet Mara. 
 
 V. 94. The venerable sign.] The cross.
 
 438 NOTES. 
 
 ij 
 
 V. ILTi. TTr.'] " TTf^, wlio rnnsiilois tliat tlir> ryos of T.oiitrico 1)fcame j 
 
 more i:iili;iiit tlio liii^'licr wo ascimlcd, must not Wdiidcr tli;il I do not f;x- ; 
 
 (•opt ovon tlioni,!is 1 had imt jet behold thoiii since our ontiance into lliis 
 
 plaint." 
 
 CANTO XV. 
 
 V. 24. Our greater Mu^c.'\ Viigil, ^En. 1. vi. ('.84. [ 
 
 V. 84. I onithif root.] Cacciaguida, fatlier to Alighieri, of whom our r 
 
 Poet was the f;ieat-yiaiid.«oii. j 
 
 \. S':). 'Fhc monxUiiv.] rnrsatory. I 
 
 V. !)2. Fl'irvnrc] See G. Villain, 1. iii. C. 2. : 
 
 V. !»;>. W/iich rails hvr still.] The public clock beiiig f^till within the , 
 circuit of the aucioiit walls. 
 
 V. 98. When.] When the women were not married at too early an age, I 
 
 and did ntjt cxi)ect too large a portion. t 
 
 V. 101. Void.] Through the civil wars. i 
 
 V. 102. Sardanapdltts.] The luxurious monarch of A.ssyria. Juvenal . 
 
 is here imitated, who uses his name for an instance of effeminacy. Sat. '■ 
 
 X. 302. i 
 
 V. 103. Monlemalo.] Either an elevated spot between Rome and •: 
 
 Viterbo ; or Monte Mario, the site of the villa Mellini, commanding a view \ 
 
 of Rome. [ 
 
 V. 104. Our aiilmrhan. turret.] Uccellato jo, near Florence, from whence j 
 
 that city was discovered. j 
 
 V. lOG. Bclliiiricn Ikrti.] Hell, Canto XVI. 38. and Notes. There ia 
 
 a curious descri])tion of the siniiile manner in which the earlier Floreii- \ 
 
 tines dressed themselves in G. Villani, 1. vi. c. 71. \ 
 
 V. 110.] Of Nerliandof Vecchio.] Two of the most opulent families 5 
 
 in Florence. • 
 
 v. 113. Each.] " None fearful either of dying in banishment, or of [ 
 
 being deserted by her husband on a scheme of traffic in France. L 
 
 V.I20. A Salterello and Ciavf/hclla.] The latter a shameless woman !■ 
 
 of the family of Tosa, married to Lito degli Alidosi of Imola : the former [ 
 
 Lapo Salterello, a lawyer, witli whom Dante was at variance. } 
 
 V. 125. Mary.] The Virgin was invoked in the pains of child-biith. | 
 
 Purgatory, Canto XX. 21. f 
 
 V. ISO.' Valdipado.] Cacciaguida's wife, who.se family name was Al- • 
 dighieri, came from Ferrara, called Val di Pado, from its being watered 
 
 by the Po. I 
 
 V. 131. Conrad.] The Emperor Conrad III. who died in 1152. See G. 
 Villani, 1. iv. 34. 
 
 V. 130. Whose people.] The Mahometan.?, who were left in possession | 
 of the Holy Land, through the supineness of the Pope. 
 
 CANTO XVI. 
 
 ; 
 
 V. 10. With f/reetinr/.] The Poet, who had addressed the spirit, not j 
 
 knowing him to be his ancestor, with a plain "Thou," now uses more ij 
 
 ceremony, and calls him "You," according to a cu.stom introduced | 
 among the Ronian.s in the latter times of the empire.
 
 PARADISE. 439 
 
 V. 15. Giiinever.'] Be.atrice's smile cn('onr.'iG;ecl liim to proceed; just 
 as tlie C()iif;h of Giiievi'a's fenuile servant t^ave lioi- mi.sti'css.assurancc to 
 admit tlie freedoms of Lancelot. See Hell, Uanto V. 124. 
 
 V. 2'A. The fold.] Florence, of which John the Baptist was the patrou 
 saint. 
 
 V. 31. From the daij.'] From tlie Incarnation to the birth of Caccia- 
 giiida, the planet Mars had returned five hundred and fifty-three times 
 to the constellation of Leo, with which it is supposed to have a conjjenial 
 influence. His birth may, therefore, lie placed about HOG. 
 
 V. 38. TliG last.'] The city was divided into four comi)artments. The 
 Elisei, tlie ancestors of Daiite, resided near the entrance of that named 
 from the Porta S. Piero, which was the last reached by the competitor in 
 the annual race at Florence. See G. Villaui, 1. iv. c. 10. 
 
 V. 44. From Mars.] " Both in the times of heathenism and of Christi- 
 anity." Hell, Canto XIIL 144. 
 
 v."48. Campi and Certaldo and Fighine.] Country places near Flor- 
 ence. 
 
 V. 50. Tliat these people.] "That the inhabitants of the above-men- 
 tioned places had not been mixed with the citizens: nor the limits of 
 Florence extended beyond Galhizzo and Trespiano." 
 
 V. 54. Ar;}(f/Uone's hind and Signals.] Baldo of Aguglione, and Boni- 
 fazio of Signa 
 
 V. 50. Had not the people.] If Rome had continued in her allegiance to 
 the emperor, and the Guelpli and Ghibelline factions had thus been pre- 
 vented, Florence would not have been polluted by a race of upstarts, nor 
 lost the most respectable of her ancient families. 
 
 V. 61. Simifonte.] A castle dismantled by the Florentines. G. Villani, 
 L V. c. 30. The individual here alluded to is no longer known. 
 
 V. 69. The blind bull.] So Chaucer, Troilus and Cresseide b. 2. 
 
 For swifter conrse cometh thing that is of wight 
 When it desceudeth than done things light. 
 
 Compare Aristotle, Ethic. Nic. 1. vi. c. 13. " crtufian io-x^'P". ''• t- ^• 
 
 V. 72. Liini, Urbisaglia.] Cities formerly of importance, but then fallen 
 to decay. 
 
 V. 74. Chiusi and Sinigaf/lia.] The same. 
 
 V. 80. As the moon.] " The fortune of us, that are the moon's men, 
 doth ebb and flow like the sea." Shaksi^eare, 1 Henry IV. a. 1. s. 2. 
 
 V. 86. The Uf/hi.] Whoever is curious to know the habitations of these 
 and the other ancient Florentines, may consult G. Villani, 1. iv. 
 
 V. 91. At the poop.] Many editions read porta. "gate."^The same 
 metaphor is found in ^Eschylus, Sui)p. 356, and is there also scarce un- 
 derstood by the critics. 
 
 AtSov (TV TTpvixvav ttoAco? w5' ecTTefiix^t^rjv. 
 
 Respect these wreaths, tliat crown your city's poop. 
 
 V. 99. Tlie gilded hilt and pommel.] The symbols of knighthood. 
 
 V. 100. The colu7nn cloth'd v:ith rerrei/.] The arms of the Pigli. 
 
 V. 103. With them.] Either the Ghiaramontesi, or the Tosinghi, one of 
 I which had committed a fraud in measuring out the wheat from the pub- 
 ij lie granary. See Purgatory, Canto XII. 99. 
 
 \ V. 109. The bullets of bhght gold.] The arms of the Abbati, as it ia 
 
 \ conjectured. 
 
 V. 110. The sires of those.] " Of the Visdomini, the Tosinghi, and the 
 Cortigiani, who, being sprung from the founders of the bishopric of Flor-
 
 440 NOTKS. 
 
 eiipo, .arc the curators of its rovrnuos, wliicli tlioy do not sparp, wlioiv | 
 
 ever it ijocuiiiois vacant." 
 
 V. li:>. 77/' (•'(■rirrctiiiii/ hi'DMl] Tlic Arliiiiari. 'i'liis family \\as so little 
 esteemed, that llhertiiio Poiiato, who bad manied a daiij;liter of lU'llin- 
 cion IJerti, himself indeed derived from tiie same stock (sec; Note to Hell, 
 Canto XVI. 38.) was olTended with his father-in-law, U>v giving another 
 of his daughters in mariiage to one of them. 
 
 V. r_'l. The i/dtcirai/.] Landino refers this to the smallncss of the city: 
 Vellutcllo, witli less iirobability, to the simplicity of the people in naming 
 one of the gates after a private family. 
 
 V. 127. T/ic t/nat baron.] The Marchese Ugo, who resided at Florence 
 as lieutenant (if tlie I'Jnperor Otlio III., gave many of the chief fandlies 
 licence to bear his arms. See (}. Villani, 1. iv. c. 2., wliere the vision is 
 related, in consequence of which he sold all his possessions in Germany, 
 and founded seven abbeys, in one whereof his memory was celebrated 
 at Flm-ence on St. Thomas's day. 
 
 V. l.'U). One] Giano della Bella, belonging to one of the families thus 
 distinguished, who no longer retained his i)lace among the noliility, and 
 had y<^t added to his anas a bordure or. See Macchiavelli, 1st. Fior. 1. il. 
 p. 8(J. Kdiz. Giolito. 
 
 V. 132. Gnaltprotti dwelt 
 
 And ImiwrLuni.] 
 
 Two families in the compartment of the city called Borgo. 
 
 V. 135. The house.] Of Amidei. See Notes to Canto XXVIII. of Hell, 
 V. 102. 
 
 V. 112. To Ema.] "It had been well for the city, if thy ancestor had 
 been drowned in the Ema, when he crossed that stream on his way 
 from Montebuono to Florence.'' 
 
 V. 144. On thai maim'd .^tone.] See Hell, Canto XIII. 144. Near the 
 remains of the statue of iMars, Buondolmonti was slain, as if he had been 
 a victim to the god; and Florence had not since Icnown the blessing of 
 peace. 
 
 V. 150. The lily.] " The arms of Florence had never hung reversed on 
 the spear of her enemies, in token of lier defeat; nor beeji changed from 
 argent to gules;" as they afterwards were, when the Guelfi gained the 
 predominance. | 
 
 CANTO XVli. 
 
 I 
 
 V. 1. The yonth.] Phaeton, who came to his mother Clymene, to in- 
 quire of lier'if he were indeed the son of Apollo. See Ovid, Met. 1. i. ad 
 linem. 
 
 V. 0. Tliat saintly lamp.] Cacciaguida. j 
 
 V. 12. Toovnilhy thirst?] "That thou mayst obtain from others a ; 
 
 solution of any doubt that may occur to thee." '■_ 
 
 V. 15. Thou see.'it as clear.] " Thou beholdest future events, with the 
 same cle.irness of evidence, that we discern the simplest mathematical ; 
 
 demonstrations." 
 
 V. 19. The point.] The divine nature. ; 
 
 V. 27. The an-oio?] m 
 
 Nam prsevisa minus Isedere tela solent. 
 
 Ovid.
 
 PARADISE. 441 
 
 Che l>i.\£Tfi antivednta aspai men «1no]e. 
 
 J'ctrarc(i,Trio)ifo del Tempo 
 
 T. 38. Contingeney.'] "The evidejioe witli vJiit-li we sec tlie future 
 pourtrayed in tiie source of all truth, no more necessitates that future, 
 than does the inia';e, reflected in the sight by a ship sailing down a 
 btreani, necessitate the motion of the vessel." 
 
 V. 43. Fro7n thence.] " From the eternal sight; the view of the Deity 
 himself." 
 
 V. 49. There.] At Rome, where the eximlsionof Dante's party from 
 Florence was then plotting, in 1300. 
 
 V. 65. nieirs.] " They shall be ashamed of the part they }iave takeu 
 against thee." 
 
 V. 69. The r/reat Lombard.] Either Alberto della Scala, or Eartolom- 
 meo his eldest son. Their coat of arms was a ladder and an eagle. 
 
 V. 75. Thai mortal.] Can Grande della Scala, born under the inlluence 
 of Mars, but at this time only nine years old. 
 
 V. 80. The Gii.von.] Pope Clcnieiit V. 
 
 V. 80. Great Harry.] The Emperor Henry VII. 
 
 V. 127. The cry tfiou raisest.] "Thou shalt stigmatize tlie faults of 
 those who are most eminent and powerful." 
 
 CANTO XVUl. 
 
 V. 3. Temp'i'inrj the siceet icith bitter.] 
 
 Chewing the cud of sweet and bitter fancy. 
 
 Shakspeare, As you Like it, a. 3. s. 3. 
 
 V. 25. On this fifth lodgment of the tree.] Mars, the fifth of tlie 
 heavens. ' 
 
 V.37. The great Maecabee.] Judas Maccabeus. 
 
 V. 39. Chaiiemagne.] L. Pulci commends Dante for placing Charle- 
 magne and Orlando here : 
 
 Jo mi confido ancor molto qui a Dante, | 
 
 Che non sanza cagion nel ciel su misse ' 
 
 Carlo ed Orlando in quelle croci sante, i 
 
 Che come diligente intese e scrisse. j 
 
 Morg. Magg. c. 28. I 
 
 V. 43. William and Fenard.] Probably, not, as the commentators have ,? 
 Imagined, AVilliam II. of Orange, and his kinsman Kaimband, two f)f 
 the crusaders under Godfiey of Bouillon, (Maimbourg, Hist, des Croisa- 
 dcs, ed. Par. 1682. 12mo. t. i. p. 9().) but rather the two more cclebrati'd 
 heroes in the age of Charlemagne. The former, "William I. of Oiange, 
 su])i)osed to have been the founder of the present illustrious family of 
 that name, died about 808, according to Josejih de la Piser Tableau de I 
 
 I'Hist. des Princes et Principaute d'Orange. Our countryman, Ordericus ■ 
 
 Yitalis, professes to give his true life, which had beeji misrejiresentcd in ; 
 
 the songs of the itinerant baids. " Vulgo canitur a jocnlatoribus de illo i 
 
 cantilena; sed jure pra/ferenda est relatio authentica. " Eccl. Hist, in I 
 
 Duchesne, Hist. Norniann. Scrijt. p. 508. The latter is better known by 
 having been celebrated by Ariosto, under the name of Rinaldo. 
 
 V. 43. J>iihe dddfrci/.] Goilfiev of lU)uillon. 
 
 V. 44. Eoberl Guist'ard.] See Hell, Canto XXYIII. v. 12.
 
 442 NOTES. 
 
 V. 81. Tfif chnrnotrm.'] Diligitn jnstitirim qui jiifliontis torram. 
 " l.()vo lijiliteonsuesH, ye that he judfjes of the eaitli." Wis(h)ui of Solo- 
 mon, f. i. 1. 
 
 V. 11(1. Thai (mcc more. ^ "That lie may a^aiu drive out those who 
 biiv and sell in the teini)le. " 
 
 V. 124. Tii.ki>iii Ihr hrcmi (diun/.] " Exconiuiuuication, or tlic interdic- 
 tion of the cuiliarist, is now employed as a \veai)on of warfare." 
 
 V. 12() T/iat hu-ilcM hut to etoir'cl.] " And thou, Pope Boniface, who 
 writest tliy ecclesiastical censures for no other puriiose than to be paid 
 for re\ okini; them." 
 
 V. loO. 7'o him.] Tl)e coin of Florence was stamped with the impres- 
 eiou of John the Baptist. 
 
 CANTO XIX. 
 
 V. 38. TT7io turn'd his compass.] Compare Proverbs, c. viii. 27. and 
 Milton, P. L. b. vii. 224. 
 
 V. 42. The Word.] " The divine nature still remained incom])rehen- 
 Bible. Of this Lucifer was a i)roof; for had lie thoro uglily comprehended 
 it, lie would not have fallen." 
 
 V. 108. 77ie Ethiop.] ftlatt. c. xii. 41. 
 
 V. 112. Tliat volume.] Rev. c. xx. 12. 
 
 V. 114. Albert.] Purgatory, Canto VI. v. 98. 
 
 V. IIG. Prague.] The eagle predicts the devastation of Bohemia by 
 Albert, which happened soon after this time, when that Emjieror ob- 
 tained tlie kingdom for his eldest son Rodolph. See Coxe's House of 
 Austria, 4to. ed. v. i. part 1. p. 87. 
 
 v. 117. H<\] Philip IV. of France, after the battle of Courtrai, 1302, in 
 which the French were defeated by the Flemings, raised the nominal 
 value of the coin. This king died in consequence of his horse being 
 thrown to the ground by a wild boar, in 1314. 
 
 v. 121. The English and Scot.] He adverts to the disjuites between 
 John Baliol and Edward I., the latter of whom is commended in the Pur- 
 gatory, Canto VII. v. 1.30. 
 
 V. 122. The Spaniard's luxury.] The commentators refer this to Alonzo 
 X. of Si)aiu. It seems probable that the allusion is to Ferdinand IV. 
 ■who came to the crown in 12115, and died in 1312, at the age of twenty- 
 four, in consequence, as it was supposed, of his extreme intemperance. 
 See Mariana, Hist. 1. xv. c. 11. 
 
 V. 123. The Bohemian.] Wiuceslaus II. Purgatory, Canto VII. v. 
 99. 
 
 V. 125. The halter of Jerusalem.] Charles II. of Naples and Jerusalem, 
 who was lame. See note to Purgatory, Canto VII. v. 122, and XX. v. 78. 
 
 v. 127. He.] Frederick of Sicily, son of Peter III. of Arragon. Pur- 
 gatory, Canto VII. v. 117. The isle of fire is Sicily, where was the tomb 
 of Auchises. 
 
 V. 133. His uncle.] James, king of Majorca and Minorca, brother to 
 Peter III. 
 
 V. 133. His brother.] James II. of Arragon, who died in 1327. See 
 Purgatory, Canto VII. v. 117. 
 
 V. 135. 0/ Portugal.] In the time of Dante, Dionysius was king of 
 Portugal. He died in 1328, after a reign of near forty-six years, and does 
 not seem to have deserved the stigma here fastened on him. See Mari-
 
 rARADTRii;, 443 
 
 aiifi, 1. XV. c. IS. Pprliaps tho roliollious son of Dionvsiiis niny ho allndod 
 to. 
 
 V. loG. Noi'i'xn/.] Hiiquiii, liiiit^ of Norw.iy. is jn'obiilily meant: who, 
 having given refuge to the umrderer.s of Eric VII. liing of Deninarlc. A n. 
 1288, commenced a war again.':t liis successor, EricVlil., " wliich con- 
 tinued for nine years, almost to the utter ruiii and destruction of both 
 kingdoms." Modern Univ. Hist. v. xxxii. p. 215. 
 
 V. 13(). Him 
 
 OfRafy.a.] 
 One of the dynasty of tlie house of Nemagna, whicli ruled the kingdom 
 of Rassia, or Ratza, in Sclavonia, from 1161 to 1371, and whose history 
 may be found in Mauro Orbiiio, Regno degli Slavi, Ediz. Pesaro. 1601. 
 Uladislaus appears to have been the sovereign in Dante's time; but the 
 disgraceful forgery adverted to iu the text, is not I'ecorded by the his- 
 torian. 
 
 v. 138. Hungary.'] The kingdom of Hungary was about this time dis- 
 puted by Carobert, son of Charles Martel, and Winceslaus, prince of 
 Bohemia, son of Winceslaus H. See Coxe's House of Austria, vol. i. p. 
 1. p. 86. 4to edit. 
 
 V. 140. Navarre.'] Navarre was now under the yoke of France. It 
 Boon after (in 1328) followed the advice of Dante and had a mouarch of 
 its own. Mariana, 1. xv. c. 19. 
 
 V. 141. Mountainovs girdle.] The Pyrenees. 
 
 V. 143. Famagosta's streets 
 
 And Nicosia's,] 
 Cities hi the kingdom of Cyprus, at that time ruled by Henry TT. a pusil- 
 lanimous prince, Vertot. Hist, des Chev. de Malte, 1. iii. iv. Tlie mean- 
 ing appears to be, that the complaints made by those cities of their weak 
 and worthless governor, may be regarded as au earnest of his coudemna- 
 tiou at the last doom. 
 
 CANTO XX. 
 
 V. 6. 'WJierein one shines.] The light of the sun, whence he supposes 
 the other celestial bodies to derive their light. 
 
 V. 8. The great sign.] The eagle, the Imperial ensign. 
 
 V. 34. Who.] David. 
 
 V. 39. He.] Trajan. See Purgatory, Canto X. 68. 
 
 V. 44. He 7iext.] Hezekiah. 
 
 V. 50. 'FJie other folloiv in g.] Constantiue. There is no passage in which 
 Dante's opinion of the evil, that had arisen from the mixture of the civil 
 with the ecclesiastical }>ower, is more unequivocally declared. 
 
 V. 57. William.] William II. king of Sicily, at the latter part of the 
 twelfth century. He was of the Norman line of so\ereigns, and obtained 
 the appellation of "the Good;" and, as tlie poet says, his loss was as 
 much the subject of regret in his dominions, as the presence of Charles 
 II. of Anjou, and Frederick of Arragon, was of sorrow and complaint. 
 
 V. 62. Trojan Riphevs.] 
 
 Ripheus, justissimus uiius 
 Qui fuit in Teuciis, at servantissimus jequi. 
 
 'Firg. yEn. I. ii. 427, 
 
 ▼. 97. This.] Ripheus. 
 
 -"^
 
 444 NOTKR. 
 
 V. Its. T/ifit.] Trajan. 
 
 V. 10.!. 77ic i>raf/<rs.\ Tim i)rnyoi's of 8t. Grofjory. 
 V. 1]<I. 77/r t/iirc ■iitpDjihs.] Faitli, Il(ii»e, and Cliarity. Purgatory, 
 Canto XXIX. 11(1. 
 V. 138. The pair.'] Itiiiheus and Trajan. 
 
 CANTO XXI. 
 
 V. 12. Tlte .trrmth f^plonlovr.] Tlie jilanet Saturn. 
 
 V. i;5. The hitrviiifi lion's breast.] The constellation Leo. 
 
 V. 21. In eqnalhfildvcc] " ]\Iy i)leasure was as great in complying 
 with lier will, as in l)eliolding licr countenance." 
 
 V. 24. Of tliatlov\l momireli.] Saturn. Compare Hell, Canto XIV. 
 91. 
 
 V. 56. What forbade the smile.] "Because it would have overcome 
 thee." 
 
 V. 61. Tliere aloft.] Where the other souls were. 
 
 V. 97. A stony ridc/e.] The Apennine. 
 
 V. 112. Pietro Damiano.] " S. Pietro Damiano obtained a great and 
 well-merited reputation, by the pains he took to coi'rcct the abuses 
 among the clergy. Ravenna is supjiosed to have been the place of his 
 birth, about 1007. He was em])loyed in several important missions, and 
 rewarded by Stephen IX. with the dignity of cardinal, and the bisliopric 
 of Cstia, to which, however, he j)rel'erred his former retreat in the mon- j 
 astery of Fonte Avellana, and prevailed on Alexander II. to ])crmit him = 
 
 to retire thither. Yet he did not long continue in this seclusion, before ; 
 he was sent on other embassies. He died at Faenza in 1072. His letters ;. 
 throw much light on the obscure history of these times. Besides them, '! 
 
 he has left several treatises on sacred and ecclesiastical subjects. His > 
 eloquence is worthy of a better age." Tiraboschi, Storia dclla Lett. Ital. ' 
 t. iii. 1. iv. c. 2. 
 
 V. 114. Be.nde the Adriatic] At Rnvenna. Some editions have fii, : 
 instead oifni; according to wliich reading, Pietro distinguishes himself 
 from another Pietro, who was termed "Peccator," the sinner. 
 
 V. 117. The hnt.] The cardinal's hat. ; 
 
 V. lis. Cephas.] St. Peter. i 
 
 \.1V.l The Holy Spirit's vessel. St. Paul. See Hell, Canto IL 30. 5 
 
 V. 130. Round this.] Round the spirit of Pietro Damiano. f 
 
 CANTO XXII. 
 
 V. 14. The vengeance.] Beatrice, it is supposed, intimates the ap- 
 proaching fate of Boniface VIH. See Purgatory, Canto XX. 86. 
 
 V. 'Ml Cassino.] A castle in tlie Terra di Lavoro. 
 
 V. 38. I it icas.] "A new order of monks, which in a manner ab- 
 gorbed all the others that were established in the west, was instituted 
 A. D. 529, by Benedict of Nursia, a man of piety and reputation lor the 
 age he lived in." Maclaiue's Mosheim, Eccles. Hist. v. ii. cent. vi. p. 2. 
 cii. 2. § 6. 
 
 V. 48. 3faea7'ins.] There are two of this name enumerated by ^losheim 
 among the Greek theologians of the fourth century, v. i. cent. iv. y. 11. 
 c. 2. § 9. In the following chapter, § 10. it is said, " Macarius, an I'.g.v]*-
 
 PARADISE. 445 
 
 tian monlc, uiidonlitcdly deserves tlie first rank among the practical 
 writers of tliis time, as liis works displayed, some few tilings excepted, 
 the liriglitest and m(«t lovely portraiture of sanctity and virtue " 
 
 V. 48. liomoaldo.l S- Romoaldo, a native of Ravenna, and the foun- 
 der of the order of Camaldoli, died in 1027. lie was the author of a coiu- 
 luentary on the Psalms. 
 V. 70. The patriarch Jacob.'] So Milton, P. L. b. iii. 510 : 
 The stairs were such, as whereon Jacob saw 
 Angels ascending and descending, bauds 
 Of guardians bright. 
 V. 107. Tliesign.'] The constellation of Gemini. 
 V. 130. This globe.] So Chaucer, Troilus and Cresseide, b. v. 
 
 And down from thence fast he gan avise 
 This little spot of earth, that with the sea 
 Embraced is, and full^' gau despise 
 This wretched world . 
 
 Compare Cicero, Somn. Scip. " Jam ipsa terra ita niihi parva visa est," 
 &c. Lucan, Phars. 1. ix. 11; and Tasso, G. L. c. xiv. st. 9, 10, 11. 
 V. 140. Muiaand Dione.] The planets Mercury and Venus. 
 
 CANTO XXIII. 
 
 V. 11. Tlh it region.] Towards the south, where the course of the suu 
 appears lesr« rapid, than when he is in the east or tlie west. 
 
 V. 25. Tricia.] A name of Diana. 
 
 V, 26. Til' etniial mimphs.] The stars. 
 
 V. 3(). Tlic Might.] 'Our Saviour. 
 
 V. 71. Tlie rose.] The Virgin Mary. 
 
 V. 73. The lilies.] The apostles. 
 
 V. 84. Thou didst exalt thy glory.] The divine light retired upwards, 
 to render the eyes of Dante more capable of enduring the spectacle which 
 now presented itself. 
 
 V. 85. Tlie name 
 
 Of thai fa ir flower. ] 
 The name of the Virgin. 
 
 V. 92. A cresset.] The angel Gabriel. 
 
 V. 98. That lyre.] By synecdoche, the lyre is put for the angel. 
 
 V. 99. The goodliest sapphire.] The Virgin. 
 
 V. 12(5. Those rich-laden cogens.] Those spirits, who, having sown the 
 eeed of good works on earth, now contain the fruit of their pious endea- 
 vours. 
 
 V. 129. In the Babylonian exile.] During their abode in this world. 
 
 V. 133. He.] St. Peter, with the other holy men of the Old and New 
 Testament. 
 
 CANTO XXIV. 
 
 V. 28. Sneh folds.] Pindar has the same bold image: 
 
 VIJ.VMV TTTUX'ai?. O. 1. 170. 
 
 On which Heyuc strangely remarks; "Ad ambitus stropharum videtur 
 ei)ectare."
 
 446 NOTES. I 
 
 V. 05. Faith.] Hebrews, c. xi. 1. So Mariuo, in one of liia sonnets, ! 
 which he calls Divozioni: 
 
 Fcclc e siist;ui7.a di sperate cose, j 
 
 E dellc lion visibili argoniento. t 
 
 V. 82. Cw-rait.] "The an.'^wcr tliou hast made is right: hut let nie 
 
 know if thy inward i)crsuasi<>ii is confoniiahle to thy protcssion.'' j 
 
 V. '.)!. T/ic (inci( lit bond aixl new.] The Old and Kew Testaincnt. I 
 
 V. 114. That Worthy.] Quel Baron. \ 
 
 In the next Canto, St. Jaiue.s i.s called " Baroiie." So in Boccaccio, G. 
 
 vi. N. 10, we find " Baron ISIesser Santo Antonio." ^ 
 
 V. 124. Ai< to outstrip.] Venturi insists that tlie Poet lias here " made ' 
 
 n slip; " for that John came liivst to the se])ulchre, thougli Peter was the ! 
 
 first to enter it. But let Dante liave leave to exjjlain his own lueaniiiL;, 
 
 in a passage from his third book De Monarchia : " Dicit ctiani Joliaiuu^s > 
 
 ipsum (scilicet Petrum) iutroiisse subito, cum venit in monuiuentuui, ; 
 
 videns alium discipulum cuuctautem ad ostium." Opere di Dante, Yen. • 
 
 1793.t.ii.p.l46. ; 
 
 i 
 
 CANTO XXV. j 
 
 V. 6. TJie fair sheep-fold.] Florence, whence he was banished. ' 
 
 V. 13. For its sake.] For the sake of that faith . i 
 
 V. 20. Galicia throng' d luith visitants.] See Mariana, Hist. 1. xi. c. 1.3. I 
 
 "En el tiem])o," &c. "At the time that the sepulchre of the a]H).><tie j 
 
 St. James was discovered, the devotion for that place extended itself not I 
 
 only over all Spain, but even round about to foreign nations. Multi- I 
 
 tudes from all jiarts of the world came to visit it. Many others were d&- I 
 
 terred by the difficulty of the journey, by the roughness and barrenness 
 of those jiarts, and by the incursions of the Moors, who made captives j 
 
 many of the pilgrims. The canons of St. Eloy afterwards (the precise time 1 
 
 is not known), with a desire of remedying these evils, built, in many 
 places, along tlie whole road, which reached as far as to France, hospitals 
 for the reception of the pilgrims." i 
 
 v. 31. Who.] Tlie Epistle of St. James is here attributed to the elder • 
 
 apostle of that name, whose shrine was at Compostella, in Galicia. 
 Which of the two was the author of it, is yet doubtful. The learned and 
 candid Michaelis contends very forcibly for its having been written by 
 James the Elder. Lardner rejects that opinion as absurd: while Ben.son 
 argues against it, but is well answered by Michaelis, who, after all, is 
 obliged to leave the question undecided. See his Introduction to the 
 New Testament, translated by Dr. Marsh, ed. Cambridge, 1T'J3. v. iv. c. 
 2t3. § 1, 2, 3. 
 
 V. 35. As Jesiis.] In the transfiguration on Mount Tabor. 
 
 V. 39. The second flame.] St. James. 
 
 y. iO. I lifted lip.] "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from 
 whence cometh my help." Ps. cxxi. 1. 
 
 V. 59. From Er/ypt to Jcrtisalem.] From the lower world to heaven. 
 
 V. 67. Hope.] This is from the Sentences of Petrus Lombardus. " Est 
 antem spes virtus, qua spiritualia et a'terna bona sperantur, id est, cum 
 fidacia cxpectantui-. Est eiiiin spes certa expectatio futur.'e beatitudinis, 
 veniens ex Dei gratia et ex ineritis prrecedeiitibtis vel ipsarn speiii, quam 
 n.ntura pra-it charitas ut rem speratam, id est, beatitudineiii a'ternain. 
 Sine ineritis eiiiiii aliquid sperare noii spes, sed pi;csuiiiptio, dici potest." 
 Pet. Lomb. Sent. 1. iii. dist. 2(J. ed. Bas. 14a6. fol.
 
 PARADISE. 447 
 
 V 74. His anihcm.'] Psalm ix. 10. 
 
 V. 90. 7.sr/(V/.s.] Chap. Ixi. 10. 
 
 V. 94. Thy brother.] St. Juliii in tlie Rc\ elation, c. vii. 9. 
 
 V. 101. Wiiilcr's 7nonth.] "If a hnuinaiy, like that wliicli now ap- 
 peared, were to sliiue throughout the month following the \^ inter solstice, 
 during which the constellatiou Cancer appears in the east at the setting 
 of the sun, there would be no interruption to the light, but the whole 
 month would be as a single day." 
 
 V. 1112. This.] St. John, who reclined on the bosom of our Saviour, 
 and to whose cliarge Jesus recommended his mother. 
 
 V. 121. jSo I.] He looked so earnestly, to descry whether St. John 
 were present there in body, or in spirit only ; having had his doubts 
 raised by that saying of our Saviour's: "If I will, that lie tarry till I 
 come, what is that to thee? " 
 
 V. 127. 17ie tii'o.] Christ and Mary, whom he has described, iu the 
 last Canto but one, as rising above his sight. 
 
 CANTO XXVI. 
 
 V. 2. The beccnnj flame.] St. John. 
 
 V. 13. Ananias' hand.] Who, by putting his hand on St. Paul, restored 
 his sight. Acts, c. ix. 17. 
 
 V. 36. From him.] Some suppose that Plato is here meant, who, in his 
 Banquet, makes Pha'driis say: " Love is confessedly amongst the eldest 
 of beings; and, being the eldest, is the cause to us of the greatest goods." 
 Plat. Op. t. X. p. 177. Bip. ed. Others have understood it of Aristotle, 
 and others, of the writer who goes by the name of Dionysius the Areo- 
 pagite, referred to iji the twenty-eighth Canto. 
 
 y. 40. I vn'll make.] Exodus, c. xxxiii. 19. 
 
 V. 42. At the otitset.] John, c. i. 1. &c. 
 
 V. 51. The eaf/le of our Lord.] St. John. 
 
 T. 62. The leaves.] Created beings. 
 
 V. 82. Theflrst livinr/ sonl.] Adam. 
 
 V. 107. Parhelion.] Who enlightens and comin-ehends all things; but 
 is himself enligliteued and comprehended by ncjne. 
 
 v. 117. Whejice.] Tliat is, from Limbo. See Hell, Canto II. 53. Adam 
 pays that 5232 years elapsed from his creation to the time of his deliver- 
 ance, which followed the death of Christ. 
 
 V. 133. El.] Some read Vn, " One," instead of El : but the latter of 
 these readings is confirmed by a passage from Dante's Treatise De Yulg. 
 Eloq. 1. i. cap. 4. " Quod prius vox primi loqueutis souaverit, viro san;i' 
 mentis in jiromptu esse non dubito ipsum fuisse quod Deus est, videlicet 
 Kl." St. Isidore in the Origiues, I. vii. c. 1. had said, " Primum apud 
 Hebr.Tos Dei nomen El dicitur." 
 
 V. 135. Use.] From Horace, Ars. Poet. 62. 
 
 V. 138. All my life.] " I remained in the terrestrial Paradise only to 
 the seventh hour." In the Historia Scolastica of Petrus Comestor, it is 
 said of our first parents : Quidam tradunt eos fuisse in Paradise septeni 
 boras." t. 9. ed. Par. 1513. 4to. 
 
 CANTO XXVII.. 
 V. 10. Four torches.] St. Peter, St. James, St. John, and Adam.
 
 418 NOTES. 
 
 V. 11. Th'it.] St. Pctor, wlio l(ii)kofl :is tlio planet Jupiter would, if it 
 assumed the siuiLMiiiic :ip|)o;iniiico ol Mars 
 V. 20. lie] Bi)iiifaL-c VIII. 
 V. 25. Hack colour.] 
 
 Qui color infectis adversi solis ub ictu 
 Nubibiis esse solet; aut purpuroie Aiironc. 
 
 Ovid, Met. 1. iii. 184. ; 
 
 V. 37. Of Linus and of Clelus.] Bishops of Rome in the first cen- 
 tury. 
 
 V. 40. Did Se.xtus, Pius, and Callixtus bleed, 
 And I'vhan.] 
 The former two, hisltops of the same see, in the second; aiid the otlicrs, 
 in the fourth century. , 
 
 V. 42. Xo pnrpose icasoforirs.] " We did not intend that our succcs- ; 
 Bors should take any part in the political divisions anions Cliristiaiis; or > 
 that my liuuro (tlie seal of St. Peter) should serve as a mark to authorise ' 
 ini(luitous L;raiiis and privilctccs." 
 
 V. 51. Wolocs.] Compare Milton, P. L. b. xii. 508, &c. 
 
 V. 5;?. Calwrshira and Gascons.] He alludes to ,Iac(p\os d'Ossa, a na- \ 
 tivo of Cahors, who filled the i)ai)al chair in loKi, after it luid been two \ 
 years vacant, and assumed the name of .John XXII., and to Clement V., I 
 a Gascon, of whom see Hell, Canto XIX. 8(i, and Xote. i 
 
 V. ()3. The she-rioat.] When the sun is in Capricorn. j 
 
 V. 72. From tlic hour.] Since he had last looked (see Canto XXII.), 1 
 he perceived that he had passed from tlie meridian circle to the eastern j 
 horizon, the half of our hemisphere, and a rpiarter of the he.aven. • 
 
 V. 7(5. From Gades.] See Hell, Canto XXVI. 106. 
 
 V. 78. The shore.] Phcunicia, where Europa, the daughter of Agcnor, 
 mounted on the back of Jupiter, in his shajie of a bull. ' 
 
 V. 80. The sun.] Dante was in the constellation Gemini, and the sun 1 
 in Aries. There was, therefore, part of those two con.stellations, and the | 
 whole of Taurus, between them. 
 
 V. 93. The fair nest of Leda.] "From the Gemini; " thus called, be- 
 cause Leda was the mother of the twins, Castor and Pollu.v. 
 
 V. 112. Time's roots.] "Hero," says Beatrice, "are the roots, from 
 whence time springs: for the parts, into which it is di\ided, tlie other j 
 heavens must be considered." And she then breaks out into an excia- i 
 mation on the degeneracy of human nature, which does not lift itself to t 
 the contemplation of divine things. ' 
 
 V. 126. The fair child of him.] So she calls human nature. Pindar, 
 by a more easy figure, terms the day, " child of the sun : " 
 
 'Afiepav 
 naiO 'AAiou. 01. ii. .59. 
 
 V. 129. None.] Because, as has been before said, the shepherds are ■ 
 become wolves. 
 
 V. 131. Before the date .] "Before many ages are past; before those ' 
 
 fractions, which are dropt in the reckoning of every year, shall amount ; 
 
 to so large a portion of time, that January shall be no moie a winter j 
 
 month." By this iieriphrasis is meant " in a short time; "as wc say i 
 
 familiarly, such a thing will hai>|ien before a thousand years are over, j 
 
 when we mean, it will haiiiicn soon. f 
 
 V. 135. Fortune shall bo fain.] The commentators, in general, siip- 
 IHJse that our Poet here augurs that great reform, whicli he vainly hoped 
 
 -=-^-^^"wrai 1 1
 
 rAKADlSE. 449 
 
 would follow on the arrival of the Emperor Henry VII. in Italy. Lom- 
 bardi refers the ijrognostication to Can Grande della Scala : and, when 
 we consider thai tliis Canto was not finished till after the deatli of Henry, 
 as appears from the mention tliat is made of John XXII.. it cannot ba 
 denied but the conjecture is probable. 
 
 CANTO XXVIII. 
 
 V. 36. Ileav' 71, and all nature, hangs npon tliat point.'] «« Toeou'iTjs apa 
 "PX'Js WTiTai 6 oiipaj'bs (cai ij (^ucris. Aristot. Metapli . 1. xii. c. 7. "From 
 that beginning depend heaven and nature." 
 
 V. 43. Such diff'rencc.'} Tlie material world and the intelligential 
 (the copy and the pattern) appear to Dante to differ in tins respect, tliat 
 the orbits of the latter are more swift, the nearer they are to the centre, 
 whereas the contrary is the case with the orbits of the former. Tlie seeming 
 contradiction is thus accounted for by Beatrice. In the material world, 
 the more ami)le the body is, the greater is the good of which it is 
 capable, supposing all the parts to be equally perfect. But in the iiiteb 
 ligeutial world, the circles are more excellent and powerful, the more 
 they ajjproximate to the central point, which is God. Thus the fii'st 
 circle, that of the seraphim, corresponds to the ninth sphere, or primum 
 mobile; the second, that of the cherubim, to the eighth sphere, or heaven 
 of fixed stars; the third, or circle of thrones, to the seventh sphere, or 
 planet of Satu'-n ; and in like manner throughout the two other trines of 
 circles and spheres. 
 
 In orbs 
 Of circuit inexpressible they stood, 
 Orb within orb. 
 
 3mton, P. L. b. V. 596. 
 
 V. 70. Tliestiirdij north.'] Compare Homer, II. b. v. 524. 
 
 V. 82. In number.] The sparkles exceeded the number which would 
 be produced by the sixty-four squares of a chess-board, if for the first 
 we reckoned one; for the next, two; for the third, four; and so went on 
 doubling to the end of the account. 
 
 V. 106. Fearless of bnimnr/ from the nif/htly ram.] Not injured, like 
 the productions of our spring, by the influence of autumn, when the con- 
 Btellation Aries rises at sunset. 
 
 V. 110. Do7niiiations.] 
 
 Hear all ye angels, progeny of light, 
 
 Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers. 
 
 31ilton, P.L.h. v. 601. 
 
 V. 119. Dionysius.] The Areopagite, in his book De Ccelesti Hier- 
 archia. 
 
 V. 124. Gregory.] Gregory the Great. "Novem vero angelorum 
 ordines dixinuis; quia videlicet esse, testante sacro eloquio, scimus: 
 Augelos, archangelos, virtutes, potestates, principatus, dominationos, 
 thronos, cherubin atque seraphin." Divi Gregorii, Horn, xxxiv. f. 125. 
 ed. Par. 1518. fol. 
 
 V. 126. He had learnt.] Dionysius, he says, had learnt from St. Paul. 
 It is almost unnecessary to add, that the book, above referred to, which 
 goes under his name, was the production of a later age. 
 
 29 
 
 t
 
 450 NOTES. 
 
 CANTO XXIX. 
 
 V. 1. No lon.ffer.'] As short a space, as tho sun and moon are in cliang- 
 
 inj; licmisplicros, when tliey arc opposite to one anotlier, the one under 
 the sij,'n of Aries, iuul the other under that of Lihni, and both han^ for a 
 nioniont, jjoised as it were in tlie liand of the zenith. 
 
 V. 122. /b?", luit ill process of before or aft.] Tlicre was neitlicr " before 
 nor after," no distinction, tliat is, of time, till the creation of the woi'ld. 
 
 V. oO. His threefold operation.] He seems to mean that spiritual 
 beings, brute matter, and the intermediate part of the creation, which 
 participates b(jth of spirit and matter, were |)rodiiccd at once. 
 
 V. ;W. On Jerome's ;)«,7c.v.] St. Jerome had described the an.t;els as 
 created beforc the rest of the universe: an opinion whii'h 'I'liomas 
 Aquinas controverted; and the latter, as Dante thiidis, had Scriiituro on 
 his side. | 
 
 V. 57. Pent] See Hell, Canto XXXIV. 105. 
 
 V. 111. Of Hindi and of Lapi.] Coramou names of men at Florence. 
 
 V. 112. 27ie shcejx] So Milton, Lycidas. j 
 
 The hungry sheep look up and are not fed, 
 
 But, swoln with wind and the rank mist they draw, 
 
 Rot inwardly. 
 
 V. 121. The preacher."] Thus Cowper, Task, b. ii. 
 
 'Tis pitiful 
 To court a grin, when you should woo a soul, &c. 
 
 V. 131. Scant Anthomj 
 
 Fattens loith this his sivine.] 
 
 On the sale of these blessings, the brothers of St. Anthony snpi)orted 
 themselves and their paramours. From behind the swine of St. Anthony, 
 our Poet levels a blow at the object of his inveterate enmity, Boniface 
 VIII., from whom, "in 1297, they obtained the dignity and privileges of 
 an indejiendeut congregation." See Mosheim's Eccles. History in Dr. 
 Maclaine's Translation, v. ii. cent. xi. p. 2. c. 2. § 28. 
 
 V. 140. Daniel.] " Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten 
 thousand times ten thousand stood before him." Dan c. vii. 10. 
 
 CANTO XXX. 
 
 V. 1. Six thousand miles.] He compares the vanishing of the vision to 
 
 the fading away of the stars at dawn, when it is noon-day .six thousand J 
 
 miles off, and the shadow, formed by the earth over the part of it in- j 
 
 habited by the Poet, is about to disappear. ] 
 
 V. 13. Engirt.] " Appearing to be encompassed by these angelic bands, | 
 
 which are in reality encomi)assed by it.'' i 
 
 V. 18. This turn.] Questa vice. j 
 
 Hence perhaps Milton, P. L. b. viii. 491. I 
 
 This turn hath made amends. 
 
 V. 39. Forth.] From the ninth sphere to the empyrean, wliich i« mere 
 light.
 
 PARADISE. 451 
 
 V. 44. Either mujhly host.'] Of angels, that remained faithful, and of 
 beatified souls; the latter iu that form which they will have at the last 
 day. 
 
 V. Gl. Light flounnr/.] " And he shewed me a pure river of water of 
 life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the 
 Lamb." Rev. c. xxii. 1. 
 
 underneath a bright sea flow'd 
 
 Of jasper, or of liquid pearl. 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. iii. 518, 
 
 V. 80. Shadoivy of the truth.] 
 
 Son di lor vero ombriferi prefazii. 
 
 So Mr. Coleridge, iu his Religious Musings, v. 40G. 
 
 Life is a vision shadowy of truth. 
 
 V. 88. the eves 
 
 Of mine eyelids.] 
 
 Thus Shakspeare calls the eyelids " peutliouse lids." Macbetli, a. 
 1. s. 3. 
 V. 108. As some cliff.] 
 
 A lake. 
 That to the fringed bank with myrtle crown'd 
 Her crystal mirror holds. 
 
 3Iilton, P. L. b. iv. 263. 
 V. 118. My view ivith ease.] 
 
 Far and wide his eye commands; 
 For sight no obstacle found here, nor shade. 
 But ail sun-shine. 
 
 Milton, P. L. b. iii. GIG. 
 
 V. 135. Of the great Harry.] The Emperor Henry VII. who died iu 
 1313. 
 V. 141. He.] Pope Clement V. See Canto XXVII. 53. 
 V. 145. Alagna's }oricst.] Pope Boniface VIII. Hell, Canto XIX. 79. 
 
 CANTO XXXI. 
 
 V. 6. Bees.] Compare Homer, Iliad, ii. 87. Virg. JEn. i. 430, and Mil- 
 ton, P. L. b. 1. 7G8. 
 
 V. 29. Helice.] Callisto, and her son Areas, changed into tlie constelhi' 
 tions of the Greater Bear and Arctophylax, or Bootes. Sec Ovid, INIet. 1. 
 ii. fal). V. vi. 
 
 V. 93. Bernard.] St. Bernard, the venerable abbot of Clairvaiix. :ind 
 the great promoter of the second crusade, who died a.d. 115.'!, in his 
 sixty-third year. His sermons are called by Honaiilt, " chefs-dVruvres 
 do sentiment ct de force." Abrege Ciiron. do I'Hist. de Fi'. ll-S.'i. 'I'lipy 
 have even been preferred to all the in'oductions of the ancients, and tlie 
 author has been termed the last of the fathers of the churcli. It is un- 
 certain whether they were not delivered originally in the French tongue. 
 Ibid. 
 
 That tlie part he acts in the present Poem should be assigned to him, 
 appears somewhat remarkable, when we consider that he severely ceu-
 
 452 NOTES. 
 
 [ tured tlic new festival established in honour of the Immaculate Concep- 
 
 tion of the Vii'sin. and " opjiosed the doctiine itself with the greatest 
 vigonr, as it siii)i)osod her heing honoured witli a privilege wiiich belonged 
 so Christ alone." Dr. ]\laclaine's Mosheini, v. iii. cent. xii. p. ii. i. ;5. §"i<). 
 
 V. 'J5. Our Veronica.] The holy handkerchief, then i)reservcd at 
 Rome, o!i which tho couuteuance of our Saviour was supposed to have 
 been imprest. 
 
 V. 101. ///Hi.] St. Bernard. 
 
 V. 108. The queen.'] The Virgin Mary. 
 
 V. 111). Orijlumb.] Menage on this word quotes the Roman des Royaua 
 Liguages of Guillaume Ghyart. 
 
 Oriflamme est une banniere 
 De cendal roujoyant et simple 
 Sans portraiture' d'autre affaire. 
 
 CANTO xxxir. 
 
 V. 3. She.] Eve. 
 
 V. 8. Ancestress.] Ruth, the ancestress of David. 
 
 V. 60. In holy scriptwe.] Gen. c. xxv. 22. 
 
 V. 123. Lucia.] See Hell, Canto U. 97. 
 
 CANTO XXXIII. 
 
 V. 63. TJie Sybil's sentejice.] Virg. ^n. iii. 445. 
 
 V. 89. One mo7nent.] "A moment seems to me more tedious, tnan 
 five-and-twenty ages would have appeared to the Argonauts, when tliev 
 bad resolved on their expedition." 
 
 v. 92. Argd's shadoio.] 
 
 Qure siraul ac rostro ventosura proscidit a?quor, 
 Tortaque remigio spuniis Incanduit unda, 
 Emersere feri candenti e gurgite vultus 
 .ffiquoreai monstrum Nereides admirantes. 
 
 Catullus, De Nupt. Pel. et Thet. 15. 
 
 V. 109. Tliree orbs of triple hue, dipt in one bomid.] The Trinity. 
 V. 118. That circling.] The second of the circles, " Light of Light," in 
 which he dimly beheld the mystery of the iucaruatiou. 
 
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