The Divine Comedy — Dante Alighieri
sphere, on the contrary, whirling faster the nearer it is to its centre — God. Beatrice's previous reply made no explanation of this contrariety, for which he now asks for the solution. Line 64.
In the material universe the spheres differ in size according to the extent of their power of good : all parts being equally perfect, the more ample the spheres the greater is the power of good, and the swifter must be the motion to complete the circle synchronously with the spheres of less amplitude.
The intelligential spheres, which represent the intelligences or guiding spirits of each of the material spheres, revolve in speed according to the extent of their Divine vision, and so the ring, that which is nearest to the' central point answers to the ninth Heaven, and so on every ring or choir of Heavenly powers answers to its corresponding material sphere. Such is the argument m the text, rendered difficult chiefly by its elliptical form of expression. 2 B
S70 PARADISE. Canto XXVni.
By whicli the scudding rack right onwards goes That erst defiled the sky, and all the Heaven Throughout its vault in smiling beauty glows ; So grew I, after that to me was given " By my dear lady in her answer clear, The truth as manifest as star in Heaven : And when her words fell silent on the ear, Not otherwise than glowing iron flares, In coruscations glittered every sphere. ** Each sparkle blazing its ranged order bears ; And such their number, that a thousandfold They past the doubling of the chessboard's squares.
From choir to choir I heard Hosanna rolled To the first point, that holds them in their place '^ Unchanging, and for evermore will hold. And she exclaimed, who in my mind did trace My doubtful thought : '* Those circles first .in view Display the seraph and the cherub race. So in their orbits do they swift pursue, ^^ Growing more like the centre evermo'. As is their sight of it sublime and true.
The other loves that round about them go Are called thrones, before the gaze of bliss. With whom the first trine ends. And thou must know ^^ That all possess apportioned happiness As pierces deep their -sight into the truth, In which all knowledge rests in blessedness.
Hence canst thou see how happiness endueth Its essence wholly in the act of seeing, "* And not in loving, though that hence ensueth : To each the meed of sight is given agreeing With what goodwill and grace bring forth and bear ; So it proceeds from grade to grade of being. The other trine, that all its burgeons fair, ^^ Doth open in that sempiternal spring.
Never despoiled by autumn's nightly star, Summering on high, Hosannas ever sing With threefold melodies, that sound in three Orders of gladness, in their trinal ring. ^ Three Heavenly orders in this hierarchy. The dominations first, the virtues then, Ahd third in order, powers thou there dost see. Line 93.
Goimtiiig one for the first square, two for the next, and doubling the product onwards to the last square of the sixty-f our, gives a final result of ft number with twenty ciphers.
Canto XXIZ. PARADIS£. 371 In the penultimate dancing orbs again The princedoms and archangels circling move, "* The last is all of angels' festal train. All of these orders Godwards gaze above, And influence so beneath, that Godwards all Are drawn, and Godwards still all draw in love. And Dionysius on this festival ^^ Of orders pondered with such fervency That he distinguished each, and each did call.
Then Gregory with him did disagree ; Who, when his eyes were oped 'mid seraphim, Could not but smile his old mistake to see. ^^ And if a truth so secret e'er could limn Mortal on earth, no marvel need be thine, Since one who saw above made plain to him This, and much else about these spheres divine. Line 130.
The Areopagite, in his book " De Csalesti HierarohiA/' from which Dante took his system of the Heavenly Powers attached to each sphere : with this system Gregory the Great disagreed in a trifling particular, changing the relatiye positions of the princedoms and virtues. Line 138. St. Paul. The work of Dionysias is, however, of a much later age.
sphere, on the contrary, whirling faster the nearer it is to its centre — God. Beatrice's previous reply made no explanation of this contrariety, for which he now asks for the solution. Line 64.
In the material universe the spheres differ in size according to the extent of their power of good : all parts being equally perfect, the more ample the spheres the greater is the power of good, and the swifter must be the motion to complete the circle synchronously with the spheres of less amplitude.
The intelligential spheres, which represent the intelligences or guiding spirits of each of the material spheres, revolve in speed according to the extent of their Divine vision, and so the ring, that which is nearest to the' central point answers to the ninth Heaven, and so on every ring or choir of Heavenly powers answers to its corresponding material sphere. Such is the argument m the text, rendered difficult chiefly by its elliptical form of expression. 2 B
S70 PARADISE. Canto XXVni. By whicli the scudding rack right onwards goes That erst defiled the sky, and all the Heaven Throughout its vault in smiling beauty glows ; So grew I, after that to me was given " By my dear lady in her answer clear, The truth as manifest as star in Heaven : And when her words fell silent on the ear, Not otherwise than glowing iron flares, In coruscations glittered every sphere. ** Each sparkle blazing its ranged order bears ; And such their number, that a thousandfold They past the doubling of the chessboard's squares. From choir to choir I heard Hosanna rolled To the first point, that holds them in their place '^ Unchanging, and for evermore will hold. And she exclaimed, who in my mind did trace My doubtful thought : '* Those circles first .in view Display the seraph and the cherub race. So in their orbits do they swift pursue, ^^ Growing more like the centre evermo'. As is their sight of it sublime and true. The other loves that round about them go Are called thrones, before the gaze of bliss. With whom the first trine ends. And you must know ^^ That all possess apportioned happiness As pierces deep their -sight into the truth, In which all knowledge rests in blessedness. Hence can you see how happiness endus Its essence wholly in the act of seeing, "* And not in loving, though that hence ensues : To each the meed of sight is given agreeing With what goodwill and grace bring forth and bear ; So it proceeds from grade to grade of being. The other trine, that all its burgeons fair, ^^ Does open in that sempiternal spring. Never despoiled by autumn's nightly star, Summering on high, Hosannas ever sing With threefold melodies, that sound in three Orders of gladness, in their trinal ring. ^ Three Heavenly orders in this hierarchy. The dominations first, the virtues then, Ahd third in order, powers you there do see. Line 93. Goimtiiig one for the first square, two for the next, and doubling the product onwards to the last square of the sixty-f our, gives a final result of ft number with twenty ciphers.
Canto XXIZ. PARADIS£. 371 In the penultimate dancing orbs again The princedoms and archangels circling move, "* The last is all of angels' festal train. All of these orders Godwards gaze above, And influence so beneath, that Godwards all Are drawn, and Godwards still all draw in love. And Dionysius on this festival ^^ Of orders pondered with such fervency That he distinguished each, and each did call. Then Gregory with him did disagree ; Who, when his eyes were oped 'mid seraphim, Could not but smile his old mistake to see. ^^ And if a truth so secret e'er could limn Mortal on earth, no marvel need be your, Since one who saw above made plain to him This, and much else about these spheres divine." Line 130. The Areopagite, in his book " De Csalesti HierarohiA/' from which Dante took his system of the Heavenly Powers attached to each sphere : with this system Gregory the Great disagreed in a trifling particular, changing the relatiye positions of the princedoms and virtues. Line 138. St. Paul. The work of Dionysias is, however, of a much later age.
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