Paradiso: Canto XVIII
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Now was alone
rejoicing in
its word
That soul
beatified, and I was tasting
My own, the
bitter tempering with the
sweet,
And the Lady who to
God was leading me
Said: "Change thy thought;
consider that I am
Near unto
Him who every wrong
disburdens."
Unto the
loving accents of my
comfort
I turned me round, and then what love I saw
Within those holy eyes I here
relinquish;
Not only that my language I
distrust,
But that my mind cannot return so far
Above itself, unless another
guide it.
Thus much upon that point can I repeat,
That, her again beholding, my
affection
From every other longing was released.
While the
eternal pleasure, which
direct
Rayed upon
Beatrice, from her fair face
Contented me with its
reflected aspect,
Conquering me with the radiance of a smile,
She said to me, "Turn thee about and listen;
Not in
mine eyes alone is
Paradise."
Even as
sometimes here do we behold
The
affection in the look,
if it be such
That all the soul is wrapt away by it,
So, by the
flaming of the
effulgence holy
To which I
turned, I
recognized therein
The wish of speaking to me
somewhat farther.
And it began: "In this fifth
resting-place
Upon the
tree that liveth by its
summit,
And aye
bears fruit, and never
loses leaf,
Are blessed spirits that below, ere yet
They came to
Heaven, were of such
great renown
That every Muse
therewith would
affluent be.
Therefore look thou upon the cross's horns;
He whom I now shall name will there enact
What doth
within a
cloud its own swift fire."
I saw athwart the
Cross a splendour drawn
By naming
Joshua, (even as he did it,)
Nor noted I the word before the deed;
And at the name of the great
Maccabee
I saw another move itself
revolving,
And
gladness was the whip unto that top.
Likewise for
Charlemagne and for
Orlando,
Two of them my regard attentive followed
As followeth the eye its falcon flying.
William
thereafterward, and
Renouard,
And the
Duke Godfrey, did attract my sight
Along upon that
Cross, and Robert
Guiscard.
Then, moved and mingled with the other lights,
The soul that had addressed me showed how great
An artist 'twas among the
heavenly singers.
To my right side I turned myself around,
My duty to behold in
Either by words or gesture signified;
And so translucent I beheld her eyes,
So full of pleasure, that her countenance
Surpassed its other and its latest wont.
And as, by feeling greater
delectation,
A man in doing good from day to day
Becomes aware his
virtue is
increasing,
So I became aware that my
gyration
With heaven together had
increased its arc,
That
miracle beholding more
adorned.
And such as is the change, in little lapse
Of time, in a
pale woman, when her face
Is from the load of
bashfulness unladen,
Such was it in mine eyes, when I had turned,
Caused by the
whiteness of the
temperate star,
The sixth, which to itself had
gathered me.
Within that
Jovial torch did I behold
The sparkling of the love which was
therein
Delineate our
language to mine eyes.
And even as birds
uprisen from the shore,
As in
congratulation o'er their
food,
Make
squadrons of themselves, now round, now long,
So from within those lights the holy
creatures
Sang flying to and fro, and in their
figures
Made of themselves now D, now I, now L.
First singing they to their own
music moved;
Then one becoming of these characters,
A little while they rested and were
silent.
O divine
Pegasea, thou who
genius
Dost
glorious make, and render it long-lived,
And this through thee the cities and the kingdoms,
Illume me with thyself, that I may bring
Their figures out as I have them conceived!
Apparent be thy power in these brief verses!
Themselves then they displayed in five times seven
Vowels and
consonants; and I observed
The parts as they
seemed spoken unto me.
'
Diligite justitiam,' these were
First verb and noun of all that was
depicted;
'
Qui judicatis terram' were the last.
Thereafter in the M of the fifth word
Remained they so arranged, that
Jupiter
Seemed to be silver there with
gold inlaid.
And other lights I saw descend where was
The summit of the M, and pause there singing
The good, I think, that draws them to
itself.
Then, as in striking upon burning logs
Upward there fly
innumerable sparks,
Whence fools are wont to look for
auguries,
More than a
thousand lights seemed thence to rise,
And to ascend, some more, and others less,
Even as the
Sun that lights them had
allotted;
And, each one being quiet in its place,
The head and neck
beheld I of an
eagle
Delineated by that
inlaid fire.
He who there paints has none to be his guide;
But
Himself guides; and is from Him remembered
That virtue which is form unto the nest.
The other beatitude, that contented
seemed
At first to bloom a lily on the M,
By a slight motion followed out the
imprint.
O gentle star! what and how many gems
Did demonstrate to me, that all our
justice
Effect is of that heaven which thou
ingemmest!
Wherefore I pray the
Mind, in which begin
Thy motion and thy
virtue, to regard
Whence comes the smoke that
vitiates thy rays;
So that a second time it now be wroth
With buying and with selling in the temple
Whose walls were built with signs and martyrdoms!
O soldiery of heaven, whom I
contemplate,
Implore for those who are upon the earth
All gone astray after the bad example!
Once 'twas the custom to make war with
swords;
But now 'tis made by taking here and there
The bread the pitying
Father shuts from
none.
Yet thou, who writest but to cancel, think
That
Peter and that
Paul, who for this
vineyard
Which thou art
spoiling died, are still alive!
Well canst thou say: "So
steadfast my desire
Is unto him who willed to live alone,
And for a dance was led to
martyrdom,
That I know not the
Fisherman nor
Paul."
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