The Divine Comedy — Dante Alighieri
THE OBLIGATIONS OF DANTE TO VIROIL. Ixziii Thence afterwards it gams appearance, liiglit A shadow, and its organs, hence the while Each one attaineth, even to the sight. Hence is it that we speak, and hence we smile : Hence is it that we break to tears and sighs. Which on the mountain thou hast seen erewhile. According as the spirit's yearnings rise, And its a£Eections, so is shaped the shade. " Purgatory," Canto XXV., lines 94—107.
A thorough comprehension of the passage in Yirgil removes all difficulty from Dante's conception. In the former it is the earthly limbs and vesture of decay that dim the spiritual essence, and even in life cause the passions and desires, while in after life the same are wonderfully ingrained in the spirit, and become a part of it.
In Dante the very appearance and character of the mortal being are stamped upon his shade, and endow it with mortal attributes, and even mortal affections.
It is this mortal taint in the spirit that requires purification even in Virgil's happy fields : — " Ergo exercentur pcenis, veterumque malorum Supplicia expendunt : alifld panduntur inanis SuspenssB ad ventos ; aliis sub gurgite vasto Infectum eluitur scelus, aut exuritur igni : Quisque suos patimur Manis ; exinde per amplum Mittimur Elysium, et pauci Ifista arva tenemus : Donee longa dies, perfecto temporis orbe, Goncretam exemit labem, purumque reliquit .Stherium sensum atque aurai simplicis ignem.
Has omnis, ubi mille rotam volvere per annos, LethsBum ad fluvium deus evocat agmine magno. Scilicet immemores supera ut convexa revisant" Lines 789— 60. There is here unquestionably the whole theory of Purgatory, but of the three special modes of purification indicated in Yirgil Dante introduces one only in the seven cornices of his mountain, when on the highest cornice the spirits of the lustful are purified in fire.
It is a singular fifcct that Dante and his guide pass through all the other cornices without sharing the pains of the purifying spirits. Bat it is not so in this instance ; — /
Izxir THE OBLIGATIONS OF DANTS TO VIBGIL. ** There, where God's Angel glad before ns stood. Beyond the flame he stood, above the way. And sang : ' Beati mando corde/ dear In voice, beyond the reach of human lay : Then, ' Holy sotQs, ye cannot further steer Until the flame has bit ye ; enter brave. And be not deaf unto the song ye'U h ear. " " Purgatory," Canto XXVII., lines 6—12.
Even the shade of Yirgil passes through the flame, fiercer than molten glass, although he only accompanies Dante as far as the Terrestrial Paradise, to leave him there under other guidance and return to limbo. Dante, following Yirgil, places the river of Lethe as the boundary stream, drinking which the spirit shall obtain the boon of forgetfulness after completing his purification.
TTpon his description of the Terrestrial Paradise and its waters of oblivion Dante has poured out all the wealth of his genius, while Yirgil only gives the £untest sketch. Still the germ of Dante's Terrestrial Paradise is here : — " Interea vidit JSneas in valle reducta Sedusum nemus et virgulta sonantia silvis, Lethaeumque, domes placidas qui prsBuatat, amnem/' Liii6B 705-6.
Let the reader refer to the 28th Canto of the " Purgatory," and read the description of the divine forest, with its murmur of leaves, and the dark but crystal clear river gliding beneath the perpetual shade, and he will see how Yirgil's faint outline is filled up into a perfect picture. It is with no thought of depreciating Dante that I have instituted this inquiry into his avowed imitations of his predecessor.
His deep study of Yirgil is his boast, and to it he himself attributes his own success in his art :— - " ' Art thou indeed that Yirgil, and that fount From which sprang forth of song so large a stream P' Answered I to him with a shame-struck front, ' 0, of all other poets, pride and beam. Avail me the great love, and study long. Which made me ever ponder o'er thy theme.
Thou art my Master, I to thee belong: Thou only art the one from whom I've ta'en The polished style, that's brought me fia.me in song. " HeU," Canto I., linei 79-«7.
THB OBLIGATIOKS OF DANTB TO YIBGIL. Izxv It has been the fashion of late years to depreciate Virgil, but when we allow his inferiority to Shakespeare, Homer, Bante himself, and perhaps Milton, it is impossible to find any other poet of ancient or modem times who can fairly be placed in the same rank with the pride of the Augustan era.
As a master of style he is unequalled except by his own follower, Dante, though the style of the latter is distinctly his own, and, except in expressions palpably imitated, is in no way founded upon Virgil's. Virgil's is copious and ornate, Dante's terse to conciseness.
Both indulge in rhetorical commonplaces of description, evidently copied by Dante from his master, and which to the student produce the like charm of association, like the fragrance of a flEimilar vintage : — " Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile — Nox ruit oceano — ^aursd vela vocant — Vocat jam carbasus auras — Cingor fulgentibus armis — " are Virgilian commonplaces which give pleasure through the very iteration.
Dante has caught the trick from his master, and works it in his own way. When he wishes to particularise the hour it is :— - '^ The eternal mistress of Tithonus old. Already whitened in the eastern height. Quitting the dear arms that around her fold. " Purgatory," IX., lines 1—8. " Now in the hour, when the diurnal heat Can warm no more the coldness of the night, Conquered by chill of earth, or Saturn's seat. " Purgatory," XIX., lines 1—8.
" Now without pause 'twas time to mount the height Since the meridian circle of the day Filled Taurus' star, the Scorpion's that of night. " Purgatory," XXV., lines 1—8. " So that his earliest rays were trembling o'er The land in which his Maker shed his blood, And Libra stood on high on Ebro's shore, And Ganges' wave with midday glory glowed. The sun was stationed, so that sank the day. " Purgatory," XXVII., lines 1—6.
'* But onwards now : already seeks the main, With boundary of both hemispheres in view, ij^yond Seville, the faggot-bearing Cain ; And yestreen to its full the roimd moon grew.'^ " Hell," Canto XX., lines 124-27.
THE OBLIGATIONS OF DANTE TO VIROIL. Ixziii Thence afterwards it gams appearance, liiglit A shadow, and its organs, hence the while Each one attains, even to the sight. Hence is it that we speak, and hence we smile : Hence is it that we break to tears and sighs. Which on the mountain you have seen erewhile. According as the spirit's yearnings rise, And its a£Eections, so is shaped the shade." " Purgatory," Canto XXV., lines 94—107. A thorough comprehension of the passage in Yirgil removes all difficulty from Dante's conception. In the former it is the earthly limbs and vesture of decay that dim the spiritual essence, and even in life cause the passions and desires, while in after life the same are wonderfully ingrained in the spirit, and become a part of it. In Dante the very appearance and character of the mortal being are stamped upon his shade, and endow it with mortal attributes, and even mortal affections. It is this mortal taint in the spirit that requires purification even in Virgil's happy fields : — " Ergo exercentur pcenis, veterumque malorum Supplicia expendunt : alifld panduntur inanis SuspenssB ad ventos ; aliis sub gurgite vasto Infectum eluitur scelus, aut exuritur igni : Quisque suos patimur Manis ; exinde per amplum Mittimur Elysium, et pauci Ifista arva tenemus : Donee longa dies, perfecto temporis orbe, Goncretam exemit labem, purumque reliquit .Stherium sensum atque aurai simplicis ignem. Has omnis, ubi mille rotam volvere per annos, LethsBum ad fluvium deus evocat agmine magno. Scilicet immemores supera ut convexa revisant" Lines 789— 60. There is here unquestionably the whole theory of Purgatory, but of the three special modes of purification indicated in Yirgil Dante introduces one only in the seven cornices of his mountain, when on the highest cornice the spirits of the lustful are purified in fire. It is a singular fifcct that Dante and his guide pass through all the other cornices without sharing the pains of the purifying spirits. Bat it is not so in this instance ; — /
Izxir THE OBLIGATIONS OF DANTS TO VIBGIL. ** There, where God's Angel glad before ns stood. Beyond the flame he stood, above the way. And sang : ' Beati mando corde/ dear In voice, beyond the reach of human lay : Then, ' Holy sotQs, you cannot further steer Until the flame has bit you ; enter brave. And be not deaf unto the song you'U h ear.' " " Purgatory," Canto XXVII., lines 6—12. Even the shade of Yirgil passes through the flame, fiercer than molten glass, although he only accompanies Dante as far as the Terrestrial Paradise, to leave him there under other guidance and return to limbo. Dante, following Yirgil, places the river of Lethe as the boundary stream, drinking which the spirit shall obtain the boon of forgetfulness after completing his purification. TTpon his description of the Terrestrial Paradise and its waters of oblivion Dante has poured out all the wealth of his genius, while Yirgil only gives the £untest sketch. Still the germ of Dante's Terrestrial Paradise is here : — " Interea vidit JSneas in valle reducta Sedusum nemus et virgulta sonantia silvis, Lethaeumque, domes placidas qui prsBuatat, amnem/' Liii6B 705-6. Let the reader refer to the 28th Canto of the " Purgatory," and read the description of the divine forest, with its murmur of leaves, and the dark but crystal clear river gliding beneath the perpetual shade, and he will see how Yirgil's faint outline is filled up into a perfect picture. It is with no thought of depreciating Dante that I have instituted this inquiry into his avowed imitations of his predecessor. His deep study of Yirgil is his boast, and to it he himself attributes his own success in his art :— - " ' Art you indeed that Yirgil, and that fount From which sprang forth of song so large a stream P' Answered I to him with a shame-struck front, ' 0, of all other poets, pride and beam. Avail me the great love, and study long. Which made me ever ponder o'er your theme. You are my Master, I to you belong: You only art the one from whom I've ta'en The polished style, that's brought me fia.me in song." " HeU," Canto I., linei 79-«7.
THB OBLIGATIOKS OF DANTB TO YIBGIL. Izxv It has been the fashion of late years to depreciate Virgil, but when we allow his inferiority to Shakespeare, Homer, Bante himself, and perhaps Milton, it is impossible to find any other poet of ancient or modem times who can fairly be placed in the same rank with the pride of the Augustan era.
As a master of style he is unequalled except by his own follower, Dante, though the style of the latter is distinctly his own, and, except in expressions palpably imitated, is in no way founded upon Virgil's. Virgil's is copious and ornate, Dante's terse to conciseness.
Both indulge in rhetorical commonplaces of description, evidently copied by Dante from his master, and which to the student produce the like charm of association, like the fragrance of a flEimilar vintage : — " Tithoni croceum linquens Aurora cubile — Nox ruit oceano — ^aursd vela vocant — Vocat jam carbasus auras — Cingor fulgentibus armis — " are Virgilian commonplaces which give pleasure through the very iteration.
Dante has caught the trick from his master, and works it in his own way. When he wishes to particularise the hour it is :— - '^ The eternal mistress of Tithonus old. Already whitened in the eastern height. Quitting the dear arms that around her fold. " Purgatory," IX., lines 1—8. " Now in the hour, when the diurnal heat Can warm no more the coldness of the night, Conquered by chill of earth, or Saturn's seat. " Purgatory," XIX., lines 1—8.
" Now without pause 'twas time to mount the height Since the meridian circle of the day Filled Taurus' star, the Scorpion's that of night. " Purgatory," XXV., lines 1—8. " So that his earliest rays were trembling o'er The land in which his Maker shed his blood, And Libra stood on high on Ebro's shore, And Ganges' wave with midday glory glowed. The sun was stationed, so that sank the day. " Purgatory," XXVII., lines 1—6.
'* But onwards now : already seeks the main, With boundary of both hemispheres in view, ij^yond Seville, the faggot-bearing Cain ; And yestreen to its full the roimd moon grew.'^ " Hell," Canto XX., lines 124-27.
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