The Divine Comedy — Dante Alighieri
p. 360Cahto XXYI. Because the lady who throughout this laud ^^ Divine doth lead thee, in her look doth claim The virtue granted Ananias' hand. " Or swift or slow as her good will may deem, May healing clear the eyes, which were the gates Through which she entered with my deathless flame ! ^^ That Good, which wholly in this Court elates. Is Alpha and Omega of the whole Which love or lightly or with strength relates.
The selfsame voice which caused away to roll The terror of my sudden dazzlement, ^ To further parley prompted still my soul, And told me : '' Thou must sift thy argument Certes through finer sieve, 'twere fit for thee To say who aimed thy bow to such intent. And I : " By proofs of high philosophy ^* And by authority which from here descends, Such love was fitly printed upon me. For good, in what of good one apprehends.
So kindles love proportioned, and the more That it the more of goodness comprehends. ^ Then for the essence which contains such store. That every good which out of it is found, Is but a ray of its own light galore ; More than in others then must it abound Within his loving mind who seeth clear ^ The truth on which this argument is found.
Such truth unto my intellect lays bare He, who displays to me the primal love Of all the beings in the eternal sphere. And that true author's voice doth also prove, ^ Who unto Moses of himself did speak : * I'll make before thee all my goodness move ! Thou also makest it plain, where thou dost wake The proem high, which more than every ban, . The secret of the Heavens to earth doth break. " ** Line 12.
Who by placing his* hands on Saul restored his lost sight.— Acts ix. Line 16. Dante here replies to St. John's question as to what oonstitatea his soul's desire, which he declares to be God, the Highest Good. Line 37. Supposed to be either Aristotle or Dionysius the Areopagite, who wrote concerning the Celestial Hierarchies, already introduced in Canto X., and again alluded to in Canto XXVIII. Line 42.
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee.— Exodus xxxiii. 19. Line 45. The commencement of St. John's Gospel.
Cahto XXYI. paradise. 361 And then I heard : " By intellect of man, And by authority with it agreeing, Beyond all else thy love to God maintain. But tell me still, if thou dost feel thy being With other cords drawn towards Him, to descry ^ How many fangs of love are on thee preying.*' The holy purpose of Christ's eagle high Was hidden not from me, but well I knew Where my confession he desired to ply.
" Each grappling fang," I then began anew, '^ " Which unto God the heart with power is swaying, Unto my charity is helpmeet true. The being of the world, and my own being. That I might live the death which He sustained, What each believer hopes, with me agreeing, With that the living knowledge now explained, Of evil love hath drawn me from the sea, And to the shore of right love me have chained.
The leaves, of all the garden's greenery Of the eternal Gardener, love I solely As each from Him hath goodness won in fee. As I grew still a song of sweetness wholly Eesounded through the sky, and with the rest My lady chanted Holy, Holy, Holy. As bright light chases dreams from one at rest. By the visual organ which doth greet the light, Piercing the retina from vest to vest, And he awakened, what doth greet his sight.
Through sudden vigil doth not clear behold Until his judgment helpeth him aright ; ^^ So from my eyes each mote away was rolled By a bright ray from Beatrice's eyes, Which shone upon me thousand, thousand fold. Whence better than before my sight descries.
And of a fourth light, as one stupefied ^ I questioned, which I saw amongst us rise. ** Behind those rays," my lady then replied, " The first soul there does his Creator woo, Who first made virtue, since he first was tried. Just as the leaf doth bend upon the bough ®* When breathes the passing wind, and then doth rise By its own virtue rearing it anew. So- did I reverent bow, while she replies.
Awestruck, and then once more emboldened grown By the desire to speak which in me lies, ®* Line 52. Christ's eagle — St. John.
p. 362Cakto XXVI. I thus began : " apple, who alone Wast ripe created, ancient sire ! who aye Each wedded bride dost for thy daughter own, And daughter-in-law, devoutly thee I pray To speak to me : my wish thou well dost note. Which, to hear sooner, I forbear to say.
Just as at times a dog doth sleek its coat As its affection prompteth, to display The feeling its appearance doth denote, So there that first soul, in a similar way Through medium of its covering made me see How much to please me grew its spirit gay.
Then breathed : " Without its being told by thee, To me thy whole desire is better known Than aught by thee of greatest certainty : Because I see it that true glass upon, Which makes itself parhelion to all things. While nothing makes of it parhelion.
Thou'dst hear how long, since God my sojoumings Granted within that garden, whence this maid Thy steps along this lengthened ladder brings : And to my eyes how long its gladness stayed, And the true reason why God banished me. And what the language which I used and made. My son, it was not tasting of the tree That was the reason of so great exile. But only disobeying the decree.
There, whence thy lady Virgil moved erewhile, Four thousand and three hundred years and twain. For this high conclave was I yearning still : ^^ And the sun passing through the Zodiac's train I saw nine hundred times and thirty more, The while on earth my living course I ran. The language which I spake was wholly o'er, Or ere in their impossible emprise ^^ The race of Nimrod strove to raise their tower.
Since nothing which on man's mere reason lies Was everlasting, since the human will Aye changes 'neath the influence of the skies. Line 108. A parhelion is an image of the sun, formed by its reflected light. God reflects His light on all thmgs, bat is Himself reflected by none. Line 119.
By this computation of the length of time in which Adam remained in Limbo, antU borne hence in Christ's triumph over the powers of Hell, the birth of Christ is placed 5,200 years after the Creation.
360 PARADISE. Cahto XXYI. Because the lady who throughout this laud ^^ Divine does lead you, in her look does claim The virtue granted Ananias' hand." " Or swift or slow as her good will may deem, May healing clear the eyes, which were the gates Through which she entered with my deathless flame ! ^^ That Good, which wholly in this Court elates. Is Alpha and Omega of the whole Which love or lightly or with strength relates." The selfsame voice which caused away to roll The terror of my sudden dazzlement, ^ To further parley prompted still my soul, And told me : '' You must sift your argument Certes through finer sieve, 'twere fit for you To say who aimed your bow to such intent." And I : " By proofs of high philosophy ^* And by authority which from here descends, Such love was fitly printed upon me. For good, in what of good one apprehends. So kindles love proportioned, and the more That it the more of goodness comprehends. ^ Then for the essence which contains such store. That every good which out of it is found, Is but a ray of its own light galore ; More than in others then must it abound Within his loving mind who sees clear ^ The truth on which this argument is found. Such truth unto my intellect lays bare He, who displays to me the primal love Of all the beings in the eternal sphere. And that true author's voice does also prove, ^ Who unto Moses of himself did speak : * I'll make before you all my goodness move ! You also makest it plain, where you do wake The proem high, which more than every ban, . The secret of the Heavens to earth does break.' " ** Line 12. Who by placing his* hands on Saul restored his lost sight.— Acts ix. Line 16. Dante here replies to St. John's question as to what oonstitatea his soul's desire, which he declares to be God, the Highest Good. Line 37. Supposed to be either Aristotle or Dionysius the Areopagite, who wrote concerning the Celestial Hierarchies, already introduced in Canto X., and again alluded to in Canto XXVIII. Line 42. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you.— Exodus xxxiii. 19. Line 45. The commencement of St. John's Gospel.
Cahto XXYI. paradise. 361 And then I heard : " By intellect of man, And by authority with it agreeing, Beyond all else your love to God maintain. But tell me still, if you do feel your being With other cords drawn towards Him, to descry ^ How many fangs of love are on you preying.*' The holy purpose of Christ's eagle high Was hidden not from me, but well I knew Where my confession he desired to ply. " Each grappling fang," I then began anew, '^ " Which unto God the heart with power is swaying, Unto my charity is helpmeet true. The being of the world, and my own being. That I might live the death which He sustained, What each believer hopes, with me agreeing, With that the living knowledge now explained, Of evil love has drawn me from the sea, And to the shore of right love me have chained. The leaves, of all the garden's greenery Of the eternal Gardener, love I solely As each from Him has goodness won in fee." As I grew still a song of sweetness wholly Eesounded through the sky, and with the rest My lady chanted Holy, Holy, Holy. As bright light chases dreams from one at rest. By the visual organ which does greet the light, Piercing the retina from vest to vest, And he awakened, what does greet his sight. Through sudden vigil does not clear behold Until his judgment helps him aright ; ^^ So from my eyes each mote away was rolled By a bright ray from Beatrice's eyes, Which shone upon me thousand, thousand fold. Whence better than before my sight descries. And of a fourth light, as one stupefied ^ I questioned, which I saw amongst us rise. ** Behind those rays," my lady then replied, " The first soul there does his Creator woo, Who first made virtue, since he first was tried." Just as the leaf does bend upon the bough ®* When breathes the passing wind, and then does rise By its own virtue rearing it anew. So- did I reverent bow, while she replies. Awestruck, and then once more emboldened grown By the desire to speak which in me lies, ®* Line 52. Christ's eagle — St. John.
362 PARADISE, Cakto XXVI. I thus began : " apple, who alone Wast ripe created, ancient sire ! who aye Each wedded bride do for your daughter own, And daughter-in-law, devoutly you I pray To speak to me : my wish you well do note. Which, to hear sooner, I forbear to say." Just as at times a dog does sleek its coat As its affection prompts, to display The feeling its appearance does denote, So there that first soul, in a similar way Through medium of its covering made me see How much to please me grew its spirit gay. Then breathed : " Without its being told by you, To me your whole desire is better known Than aught by you of greatest certainty : Because I see it that true glass upon, Which makes itself parhelion to all things. While nothing makes of it parhelion. You'dst hear how long, since God my sojoumings Granted within that garden, whence this maid Your steps along this lengthened ladder brings : And to my eyes how long its gladness stayed, And the true reason why God banished me. And what the language which I used and made. My son, it was not tasting of the tree That was the reason of so great exile. But only disobeying the decree. There, whence your lady Virgil moved erewhile, Four thousand and three hundred years and twain. For this high conclave was I yearning still : ^^ And the sun passing through the Zodiac's train I saw nine hundred times and thirty more, The while on earth my living course I ran. The language which I spake was wholly o'er, Or ere in their impossible emprise ^^ The race of Nimrod strove to raise their tower. Since nothing which on man's mere reason lies Was everlasting, since the human will Aye changes 'neath the influence of the skies. Line 108. A parhelion is an image of the sun, formed by its reflected light. God reflects His light on all thmgs, bat is Himself reflected by none. Line 119. By this computation of the length of time in which Adam remained in Limbo, antU borne hence in Christ's triumph over the powers of Hell, the birth of Christ is placed 5,200 years after the Creation.
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