The Divine Comedy — Dante Alighieri
xl INTRODUCTION. There was little meekness in Dante's disposition, and with his spirit soured by such treatment he at once threw himself into the arms of the Ghibeline party, whom he had hitherto opposed, and whose leaders he now met in exile.
Dante loved Florence, and the bitterness of his enforced absence from his country, with what he thought of the companions of his misery, is clearly shown in the beautiful and probably best known passage of the " Paradise," where his ancestor Cacciaguida informs him of his coming doom : — ** As lefb Hippolytus his Athens' home, Through his perfidious stepdame, passion fraught. So to depart from Florence is thy doom.
Thus is it willed, and thus already sought : And soon they'll bring to pass what now they scheme, There, where Christ every day is sold and bought. Upon the injured side will cast the blame The wonted cry, but vengeance will achieve Witness to truth, which it doth ever claim. Each thing beloved most dearly thou wilt leave: And this is but the earliest dart which fares From the bow of exile, when it shoots to grieve.
Thyself wilt prove what bitter taste there bears A stranger's bread, and what a weary road Is cUmbing and descending strangers' stairs. And that which most of all thy back will load Will be the evil troop, with whom thou'lt fall. Into this valley, scattered all abroad. For all ungrateful, mad, and impious, all Against thee will they act, but very soon Their brows, not thine, will bear shame's reddened pall.
Of their bestiality the progress on Will be the proof, to thee it will be fair To have made thy party by thyself alone. " Paradiae," XVII., linea 46-^. With little sympathy or confidence in his companions, Dante at first joined them at Arezzo, and formed one of the Council who devised the measures of their party.
But an ill-advised attempt in the following year to re-enter Florence by force, in which they were completely foiled, broke all the hopes of his party, which then dissolved, and Dante commenced the life of wandering exile, which continued till his
INTRODUCTION. xliu death.
The hopes of the Ghibelines were revived on the death of the Emperor Albert, whose murder while preparing to crush the Swiss revolt is alluded to by Dante in his poem as the coming retribution that was to fall on him for his neglect of Italy : — " Gterman Albert, who abandoned her Now savage and unconquerable grown Whose saddle-bows thou shouldst have strided sure : May from the stars just judgment fall adown Upon thy blood, and that it cause the dread Of thy successor, be it new, and known.
"Purgatory," VI., lines 97—102. All his revived hopes turned on Henry of Luxemburg, who was elected to the Imperial throne, and who at once entered on an expedition to Italy to recover the influence there which his later predecessors had abandoned. But the attempt was made too late. The Italian States were now too much confirmed in their independence to yield without a desperate struggle to the yoke of the Empire.
The whole people joined with the Guelph leaders in a resistance which the support of the Ghibeline party did not enable the Emperor to overcome.
Deceived by the promises of Pope Clement, who was, in reality, in the interests of the French monarch, and his relation the King of Naples, Henry wasted precious time in a march to Rome for his coronation, and then prepared to face the league which the people, aided by the Pope and Bobert of Naples, had prepared against him.
He failed in an attempted siege of Florence, being called off by the necessity of marching against the forces of Robert, and on the way, worn out by vexation and disappointment, he died, a.d. 1308, and the Guelphs were at once relieved from the perils with which they had been menaced. Many of the banished nobles of Florence had been recalled by the citizens in the hour of expected danger. But not Dante; he was never forgiven.
The death of Henry was not, however, only a personal disappointment to the poet in depriving him of his well-grounded expectation of returning to his native city under his protection, it was the deathblow of his xliv INTRODUCTION. political hopes for his country; the yision which he had nourished throughout long years of exile, of a happy, united Italy, "was shattered, never to be restored. Dante was no ordinary Ghibeline. He was a patriot in the truest sense of the word ; his affections and aspirations were not, as was the case of all others of his time, confined to a petty State or within the walls of his native city.
He loved Florence well, but Italy more. Witness of the miseries of his country, torn by dissensions, and shifting ever from change to change, his whole hopes rested on the revival of the glories of the Eoman Empire, when the passions of individuals would be controlled for the good of all, beneath the firm sway of a central power.
Thus did he apostrophise his loved Florence as he then saw her : — '* How many times, in days thou dost remember, Thy money, habits, offices, and laws. Hast thou remodelled, and renewed each member ? If clearly thou beholdest thy own flaws. Like a sick woman thou wilt see thee 'plain, Who on her pillow cannot find repose. And seeks with constant turns to ease her pain. " Purgatory," VI., lines 145—161. Such was not the united Italy of his dreams.
Dante was eminently national, though he did look to foreign intervention for the restoration of peace to his country. He was no idle sentimentalist, but, like the great founder of united GJermany, he believed in blood and iron, and he knew of no remedy but force for anarchy and sedition.
Though he had himself been the chief magistrate in a popular Government, he had no sympathy with the populace, and was a rigid aristocrat, who hardly believed in excellence outside his own order. The noble struggle for independence then carried on by the Swiss people is not once alluded to throughout his poem, and seems not to have roused his interest. Whenever any of the lower orders are alluded to by Dante it is without Sympathy.
The rise of such men is lamented as a sign of the degeneracy of the times : — " Ah indeed Is changed to bastard every Eoman heir !
xl INTRODUCTION. There was little meekness in Dante's disposition, and with his spirit soured by such treatment he at once threw himself into the arms of the Ghibeline party, whom he had hitherto opposed, and whose leaders he now met in exile. Dante loved Florence, and the bitterness of his enforced absence from his country, with what he thought of the companions of his misery, is clearly shown in the beautiful and probably best known passage of the " Paradise," where his ancestor Cacciaguida informs him of his coming doom : — ** As lefb Hippolytus his Athens' home, Through his perfidious stepdame, passion fraught. So to depart from Florence is your doom. Thus is it willed, and thus already sought : And soon they'll bring to pass what now they scheme, There, where Christ every day is sold and bought. Upon the injured side will cast the blame The wonted cry, but vengeance will achieve Witness to truth, which it does ever claim. Each thing beloved most dearly you will leave: And this is but the earliest dart which fares From the bow of exile, when it shoots to grieve. Yourself will prove what bitter taste there bears A stranger's bread, and what a weary road Is cUmbing and descending strangers' stairs. And that which most of all your back will load Will be the evil troop, with whom you'lt fall. Into this valley, scattered all abroad. For all ungrateful, mad, and impious, all Against you will they act, but very soon Their brows, not your, will bear shame's reddened pall. Of their bestiality the progress on Will be the proof, to you it will be fair To have made your party by yourself alone." " Paradiae," XVII., linea 46-^. With little sympathy or confidence in his companions, Dante at first joined them at Arezzo, and formed one of the Council who devised the measures of their party. But an ill-advised attempt in the following year to re-enter Florence by force, in which they were completely foiled, broke all the hopes of his party, which then dissolved, and Dante commenced the life of wandering exile, which continued till his
INTRODUCTION. xliu death. The hopes of the Ghibelines were revived on the death of the Emperor Albert, whose murder while preparing to crush the Swiss revolt is alluded to by Dante in his poem as the coming retribution that was to fall on him for his neglect of Italy : — " Gterman Albert, who abandoned her Now savage and unconquerable grown Whose saddle-bows you should have strided sure : May from the stars just judgment fall adown Upon your blood, and that it cause the dread Of your successor, be it new, and known." "Purgatory," VI., lines 97—102. All his revived hopes turned on Henry of Luxemburg, who was elected to the Imperial throne, and who at once entered on an expedition to Italy to recover the influence there which his later predecessors had abandoned. But the attempt was made too late. The Italian States were now too much confirmed in their independence to yield without a desperate struggle to the yoke of the Empire. The whole people joined with the Guelph leaders in a resistance which the support of the Ghibeline party did not enable the Emperor to overcome. Deceived by the promises of Pope Clement, who was, in reality, in the interests of the French monarch, and his relation the King of Naples, Henry wasted precious time in a march to Rome for his coronation, and then prepared to face the league which the people, aided by the Pope and Bobert of Naples, had prepared against him. He failed in an attempted siege of Florence, being called off by the necessity of marching against the forces of Robert, and on the way, worn out by vexation and disappointment, he died, a.d. 1308, and the Guelphs were at once relieved from the perils with which they had been menaced. Many of the banished nobles of Florence had been recalled by the citizens in the hour of expected danger. But not Dante; he was never forgiven. The death of Henry was not, however, only a personal disappointment to the poet in depriving him of his well-grounded expectation of returning to his native city under his protection, it was the deathblow of his xliv INTRODUCTION. political hopes for his country; the yision which he had nourished throughout long years of exile, of a happy, united Italy, "was shattered, never to be restored. Dante was no ordinary Ghibeline. He was a patriot in the truest sense of the word ; his affections and aspirations were not, as was the case of all others of his time, confined to a petty State or within the walls of his native city. He loved Florence well, but Italy more. Witness of the miseries of his country, torn by dissensions, and shifting ever from change to change, his whole hopes rested on the revival of the glories of the Eoman Empire, when the passions of individuals would be controlled for the good of all, beneath the firm sway of a central power. Thus did he apostrophise his loved Florence as he then saw her : — '* How many times, in days you do remember, Your money, habits, offices, and laws. Hast you remodelled, and renewed each member ? If clearly you behold your own flaws. Like a sick woman you will see you 'plain, Who on her pillow cannot find repose. And seeks with constant turns to ease her pain." " Purgatory," VI., lines 145—161. Such was not the united Italy of his dreams. Dante was eminently national, though he did look to foreign intervention for the restoration of peace to his country. He was no idle sentimentalist, but, like the great founder of united GJermany, he believed in blood and iron, and he knew of no remedy but force for anarchy and sedition. Though he had himself been the chief magistrate in a popular Government, he had no sympathy with the populace, and was a rigid aristocrat, who hardly believed in excellence outside his own order. The noble struggle for independence then carried on by the Swiss people is not once alluded to throughout his poem, and seems not to have roused his interest. Whenever any of the lower orders are alluded to by Dante it is without Sympathy. The rise of such men is lamented as a sign of the degeneracy of the times : — " Ah indeed Is changed to bastard every Eoman heir !
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