by Dante
31–33
and Dante’s sight cannot bear its brightness;
34
his apostrophe of Beatrice;
35–39
she: “You are conquered by Christ, desired since [Adam]”
40–45
simile (3): lightning swelling in cloud and crashing to earth likened to Dante’s feasting mind leaving itself;
46–48
her command: “See me as I truly am; now you can bear my smile, because of what you have witnessed”;
49–51
comparison (2): Dante is as one awakening from a dream
52–54
when he heard Beatrice’s invitation, worthy of gratitude;
55–60
“non-invocation”: should all the poets best nourished by the Muses now aid him, the result would not be worth much;
61–62
describing Paradise, the sacred poem must make a leap
63
simile (4): poem like a man at an obstruction on his path
64–66
“indirect” address to reader: whoever reflected on the mortal shoulder bearing such a weighty theme would not blame the shoulder for trembling;
67–69
this voyage not for a little bark but for a bold prow and unsparing helmsman.
70–72
Beatrice: “Why look at me and not the ‘garden’?”
73–75
the rose (representing Mary); the lilies (the Apostles)
76–78
Dante tries again to look into the effulgence of Christ
79–84
simile (5): sunbeam shining through rift in cloud upon flowers is like risen Christ’s ray on his companions in beatitude
85–87
apostrophe of Christ, expressing gratitude for His ascent
88–139
fifty-two verses for Mary, her first “moment” in the poem:
88–90
Mary as greatest “flame” of that host; Dante prays to her twice each day
91–96
a “torch” descends and circles Mary, “crowning” her
97–102
“simile” (6): Gabriel’s melody makes the sweetest human music seem grating by comparison
103–108
Gabriel to Mary: “I will circle you until you rejoin Jesus in the Empyrean”
109–111
at end of Gabriel’s song, host call out Mary’s name
112–117
Primum Mobile too distant yet to be visible to Dante
118–120
Dante’s eyes cannot follow Mary’s ascent
121–125
simile (7): infant, after suckling, reaches up to mamma; so the host extend themselves up toward Mary
126–129
the remaining host sing “Regina celi”
130–132
the poet’s exclamation of joy: those good sowers!
133–135
here they enjoy the treasure gained in exile
136–139
here, with the keys to such glory, Peter triumphs.
PARADISO XXIII
As the bird among the leafy branches that she loves, → →
perched on the nest with her sweet brood →
3
all through the night, which keeps things veiled from us, →
who in her longing to look upon their eyes and beaks →
and to find the food to nourish them—
6
a task, though difficult, that gives her joy—
now, on an open bough, anticipates that time →
and, in her ardent expectation of the sun,
9
watches intently for the dawn to break, →
so was my lady, erect and vigilant, →
seeking out the region of the sky →
12
in which the sun reveals less haste. →
I, therefore, seeing her suspended, wistful, →
became as one who, filled with longing,
15
finds satisfaction in his hope.
But time was short between one moment and the next,
I mean between my expectation and the sight
18
of the sky turned more and more resplendent.
And Beatrice said: ‘Behold the hosts →
of Christ in triumph and all the fruit →
21
gathered from the wheeling of these spheres!’
It seemed to me her face was all aflame, →
her eyes so full of gladness
24
that I must leave that moment undescribed. →
As, on clear nights when the moon is full, → →
Trivia smiles among the eternal nymphs
27
that deck the sky through all its depths,
I saw, above the many thousand lamps,
a Sun that kindled each and every one
30
as ours lights up the sights we see above us,
and through that living light poured down →
a shining substance. It blazed so bright
33
into my eyes that I could not sustain it.
O Beatrice, my sweet belovèd guide! →
To me she said: ‘What overwhelms you →
36
is a force against which there is no defense.
‘Here is the Wisdom and the Power that repaired →
the roads connecting Heaven and the earth
39
that had so long been yearned for and desired.’ →
As fire breaks from a cloud, →
swelling till it finds no room there,
42
and, against its nature, falls to earth,
just so my mind, grown greater at that feast, →
burst forth, transported from itself,
45
and now cannot recall what it became. →
‘Open your eyes and see me as I am. →
The things that you have witnessed
48
have given you the strength to bear my smile.’
I was like a man who finds himself awakened →
from a dream that has faded and who strives →
51
in vain to bring it back to mind
when I heard this invitation, deserving →
of such gratitude as can never be erased
54
from the book that registers the past. →
If at this moment all the tongues → →
that Polyhymnia and her sisters nurtured →
57
with their sweetest, richest milk
should sound to aid me now, their song could not attain
one-thousandth of the truth in singing of that holy smile
60
and how it made her holy visage radiant.
And so, in representing Paradise, → →
the sacred poem must make its leap across,
63
as does a man who finds his path cut off.
But considering the heavy theme →
and the mortal shoulder it weighs down,
66
no one would cast blame if it trembled with its load.
This is no easy voyage for a little bark, → →
this stretch of sea the daring prow now cleaves,
69
nor for a pilot who would spare himself.
‘Why does my face arouse you so to love →
you do not turn to see the lovely garden →
72
now blossoming beneath the rays of Christ?
‘There is the rose in which the Word of God →
was turned to flesh. There are the lilies
75
for whose fragrance the right way was chosen.’
Beatrice said these words. And I, all eager
to follow her instruction, again resumed
78
the struggle, despit
e my feeble power of sight. →
As, lit by the sun’s rays streaming through broken clouds, →
my eyes, sheltered by the shade,
81
once saw a field of flowers,
so now I saw a many-splendored throng →
illuminated from above by blazing rays,
84
but could not see the source of all that brightness.
O gracious Power, who did thus imprint them! →
You rose to more exalted heights to grant
87
their sight to eyes not ready to behold you.
The name of the fair flower I invoke →
each morning and at evening time, enthralled my mind
90
as I gazed at the brightest of the flames. →
When the quality and magnitude of the living star, →
who surpasses up above as she surpassed below,
93
were painted on my eyes, →
there descended through the sky a torch that,
circling, took on the likeness of a crown. →
96
It encircled her and wheeled around her.
The sweetest melody, heard here below, →
that most attracts our souls
99
would seem a burst of cloud-torn thunder
compared with the reverberation of that lyre →
with which the lovely sapphire that so ensapphires
102
the brightest heaven was encrowned.
‘I am angelic love and I encircle →
the exalted joy breathed from the womb →
105
that was the dwelling place of our desire,
‘and I shall circle you, Lady of Heaven,
until you follow your Son to the highest sphere, →
108
making it the more divine because you enter.’
Thus that circling music, sealing itself,
came to its conclusion, while all the other lights →
111
made Mary’s name resound.
The royal mantle of the universal turning spheres, → →
which most burns and is most quickened
114
in the breath of God and in His works,
was, at its inner boundary, →
so very far above us that as yet,
117
from where I was, it was well beyond my seeing,
so that my eyes had not the power
to fasten on the crown-tipped flame
120
that rose along the path left by her sowing. →
And, like a baby reaching out its arms →
to mamma after it has drunk her milk,
123
its inner impulse kindled into outward flame,
all these white splendors were reaching upward
with their fiery tips, so that their deep affection
126
for Mary was made clear to me.
Then they remained there in my sight,
singing Regina celi with such sweetness →
129
that my feeling of delight has never left me.
Oh, how great is the abundance → →
that is stored in granaries so rich above,
132
that down on earth were fields ripe for the sowing! →
There they live, rejoicing in the treasure → →
they gained with tears of exile,
135
in Babylon, where they spurned the gold.
Beneath the exalted Son of God and Mary, →
up there he triumphs in his victory,
with souls of the covenants old and new,
139
the one who holds the keys to such great glory.
OUTLINE: PARADISO XXIV
STARRY SPHERE
1–9
Beatrice’s apostrophe of the host (minus Mary and Christ)
10–12
in response the souls whirl in delight while Dante looks;
13–18
simile (1): clock-mechanisms and the various “dancers”;
19–21
a “flame,” as bright as any other there, approached them;
22–27
three times it circled Beatrice with a song so divine that Dante’s phantasy could not preserve it;
28–33
Peter (not yet named) addresses Beatrice, whose prayer drew him from his colleagues to minister to Dante;
34–45
Beatrice to Peter: “question this man on Faith”;
46–51
simile (2): bachelor preparing for his examination and Dante readying himself for questioning;
52–57
Peter’s first question: “What is Faith?”
58–66
Dante’s first response, addressed to Peter, citing Paul.
67–69
Peter’s follow-up: “Why did Paul refer to ‘substances’ and then ‘evidences’?”
70–78
Dante’s second response: “Because Faith gives the most substantial help we mortals have for finding evidence.”
79–85
Peter is pleased, and continues with his third question: “The alloy and the weight of this coin are well examined, but have you got it in your purse?”
86–87
Dante’s third response: “Yes, I do.”
88–90
Peter’s fourth question: “Where did you get this gem?”
91–96
Dante’s fourth response: “From the two Testaments.”
97–99
Peter: “What makes them divinely inspired?”
100–102
Dante’s fifth response: “The proof is found in miracles.”
103–105
Peter: “But who assures you that these ever happened? Is your argument not a circular one?”
106–111
Dante’s sixth response: “The greatest miracle is that the world turned to Christ without miracles.”
112–114
The host sang “Te Deum laudamus” in Italian;
115–123
Peter examines Dante on his faith’s substance and source.
124–138
Dante’s seventh response: Peter at Christ’s tomb;
139–147
Dante’s belief in the Trinity; the evidence for it;
148–154
simile (3): master embraces servant bearing good news as Peter, singing, circles Dante three times.
PARADISO XXIV
‘O company of the elect chosen to feast → →
at the great supper of the blessèd Lamb,
3
who feeds you so that your desire is ever satisfied,
‘since by God’s grace this man enjoys a foretaste →
of whatsoever falls beneath your table, →
6
before death sets a limit to his time,
‘heed his immeasurable craving and with dewdrops
from that fountain where you drink forever, →
9
refresh him at the very source of all his thoughts.’
Thus Beatrice. And those joyful spirits →
transformed themselves to rings around fixed poles,
12
circling, like blazing comets, in their brightness.
And as wheels in the movements of a clock →
turn in such a way that, to an observer,
15
the innermost seems standing still, the outermost to fly,
just so those dancers in their circling, →
moving to a different measure, fast or slow,
18
let me gauge their wealth of gladness.
From the dancer I made out to be most precious → →
I saw come forth a flame so full of joy →
21
that not one there produced a greater brightness.
Three tim
es it circled Beatrice, →
its song so filled with heavenly delight
24
my phantasy cannot repeat it. →
And so my pen skips and I do not write it, →
for our imagination is too crude, as is our speech, →
27
to paint the subtler colors of the folds of bliss. →
‘O my holy sister, who pray to us
with such devotion, by the ardor of your love
30
you draw me forth from that fair circle.’
Once the blessèd fire had come to rest, →
for my lady it breathed forth these words,
33
just as here I’ve set them down.
And she: ‘O everlasting light of that great man →
with whom our Lord did leave the keys,
36
which He brought down from this astounding joy,
‘test this man as you see fit on points, →
both minor and essential, about the faith
39
by which you walked upon the sea. →
‘Whether his love is just, and just his hope and faith, → →
is not concealed from you because your sight
42
can reach the place where all things are revealed.
‘But since this realm elects its citizens
by measure of true faith, it surely is his lot
45
to speak of it, that he may praise its glory.’
Just as the bachelor arms himself and does not speak →
while the master is setting forth the question—
48
for discussion, not for final disposition— →
so I armed myself with all my arguments
while she was speaking, readying myself
51
for such an examiner and such professing.
‘Speak up, good Christian, and make your declaration. → →
What is faith?’ At that I lifted up my brow
