Dante Alighieri (32 page)

    
In the Terrestrial Paradise are two streams, which both issue from one source, Lethe and Eunoë, the former of which washes away the remembrance of sin, while the latter strengthens the remembrance of good deeds (xxviii. 121-9).

    
Paradiso
. According to Dante's conception, which is based upon the Ptolemaic system, the Universe consists of nine spheres or Heavens, concentric with the Earth, round which they revolve, it being fixed at the centre (
Convivio
, iii. 5, 11. 57-8). The Earth is surrounded by the spheres of air and fire, the latter being in immediate contact with that of the Moon (
Purg
. xviii. 28;
Par
. i.
115 ;
Conv
. iii. 3, 11 11-13), which is the lowest of the nine Heavens. Beyond the Heaven of the Moon come in order those of Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Fixed Stars, and last of all that of the
Primum Mobile
or First Movement. Each of these Heavens revolves with a velocity which increases in proportion to its distance from the Earth. Each of the planets revolves in the epicycle
¹²
of its own Heaven, except the Sun, which revolves round the Earth. The
Primum Mobile
(or Crystalline Heaven) governs the general motion of the Heavens from East to West, and by it all place and time are ultimately measured (
Par
. xxvii. 115-20; xxviii. 70-1;
Conv
. ii. 6, ll. 145-7; ii. 15, ll. 12-13).

    
Each of the Heavens is presided over by one of the Angelic Orders, and exercises its special influence on earthly affairs (
Par
. ii. 127-9;
Conv
. ii. 2, ll. 62-3; ii. 5, ll. 21-4; ii. 6, ll. 105-16.) The three lowest Heavens are allotted to the souls of those whose life on Earth was rendered imperfect through their having yielded to the temptations of the world. The next four are allotted to the souls of those whose actions were wholly directed by virtuous motives. The last two Heavens have no special occupants assigned to them, but serve apparently as common places of meeting, the one to the blessed spirits, the other to Angels. Finally, beyond and outside of all the other Heavens lies the Empyrean, an incorporeal and motionless Heaven, where is neither time nor place, but light only (
Par
. xxvii. 106-20; xxx. 39); this is the special abode of the Deity and resting-place of the Saints (
Conv
. ii. 4, ll. 28-30). The latter, arranged in the form of the
petals of a white Rose, gaze upon the beatific vision of the Deity, who is surrounded by the nine orders of the three Angelic Hierarchies.

    
Each of the first seven spheres or Heavens is representative of, and corresponds to, one of the seven Liberal Arts, the other three corresponding to Natural, Moral and Divine Science (or Theology) respectively (
Conv
. ii. 14, 11. 48-64). The general scheme of Dante's Paradise is as follows:—The first Heaven, that of the Moon, which is presided over by Angels, and is representative of Grammar, is tenanted by the spirits of those who failed to keep their holy vows (
Par
. ii. 34-v. 84). The second Heaven, that of Mercury, which is presided over by Archangels, and is representative of Logic, is tenanted by the spirits of those who for the love of fame wrought great deeds upon Earth (v. 85-vii.). The third Heaven, that of Venus, which is presided over by Principalities, and is representative of Rhetoric, is tenanted by the spirits of those who upon Earth were lovers (viii-ix.). The fourth Heaven, that of the Sun, which is presided over by Powers, and is representative of Arithmetic, is tenanted by the spirits of those who loved wisdom (x.-xiv. 78). The fifth Heaven, that of Mars, which is presided over by Virtues, and is representative of Music, is tenanted by the spirits of those who fought for the faith (xiv. 79-xviii. 51). The sixth Heaven, that of Jupiter, which is presided over by Dominions, and is representative of Geometry, is tenanted by the spirits of those who loved justice (xviii. 52-xx.). The seventh Heaven, that of Saturn, which is presided over by Thrones, and is representative of Astrology, is tenanted by the spirits of those who lived in contemplation of holy things (xxi.-xxii. 99). The eighth Heaven, that of the Fixed Stars, is presided over by Cherubim, and is representative of Natural Science (xxii. 100-xxvii. 87). The
ninth Heaven, that of the
Primum Mobile
, or the Crystalline Heaven, is presided over by Seraphim, and is representative of Moral Science (xxvii. 88-xxix.). The tenth Heaven, that of the Empyrean, is representative of Divine Science, and is the abode of the Deity and of the Spirits of the Blessed. The latter, as already mentioned, are arranged in the petals of a vast white Rose, which, according to Dante's description, resembles a kind of amphitheatre, the centre being formed of a sea of light. On the highest tier, at the point where the light is most dazzling, is seated the Virgin Mary. Next below Mary sits Eve, and below Eve, on the third tier, sits Rachel, with Beatrice at her side; and on successive tiers below them are Sarah, Rebekah, Judith, Ruth, and other Hebrew women. On the opposite side, facing Mary, on the same tier, is seated St. John the Baptist, below whom on successive tiers are St. Francis, St. Benedict, St. Augustine, and others. These two lines (from Mary downwards on one side, and from the Baptist downwards on the other) form, as it were, a wall, which divides the Rose into two parts. In one part are the seats (all filled) of those who believed in Christ to come (i.e. those who lived under the Old Testament dispensation); in the other are the seats (only partially filled) of those who believed in Christ already come (i.e. those who lived under the New Testament dispensation), and who, when all the seats are filled, will be equal in number to those on the opposite side. The lowest tiers are filled by infants, who were saved, not by their own merits, but through baptism by the merit of Christ (xxx.-xxxiii.).

    
Boccaccio tells a story of how at Dante's death the last thirteen cantos of the
Paradiso
were not to be found, so that it was supposed that he had left his great work unfinished, until the whereabouts of the missing
cantos was miraculously revealed to his son, Jacopo, in a vision:—

    
“The friends Dante left behind him, his sons and his disciples, having searched at many times and for several months everything of his writing, to see whether he had left any conclusion to his work, could in nowise find any of the remaining cantos; his friends generally being much mortified that God had not at least lent him so long to the world, that he might have been able to complete the small remaining part of his work; and having sought so long and never found it, they remained in despair. Jacopo and Piero were sons of Dante, and each of them being a rhymer, they were induced by the persuasions of their friends to endeavour to complete, as far as they were able, their father's work, in order that it should not remain imperfect; when to Jacopo, who was more eager about it than his brother, there appeared a wonderful vision, which not only induced him to abandon such presumptuous folly, but showed him where the thirteen cantos were which were wanting to the
Divina Commedia
, and which they had not been able to find.

    
“A worthy man of Ravenna, whose name was Pier Giardino, and who had long been Dante's disciple, grave in his manner and worthy of credit, relates that after the eighth month from the day of his master's death, there came to his house before dawn Jacopo di Dante, who told him that that night, while he was asleep, his father Dante had appeared to him, clothed in the purest white, and his face resplendent with an extraordinary light; that he, Jacopo, asked him if he lived, and that Dante replied: ‘Yes, but in the true life, not our life '. Then he, Jacopo, asked him if he had completed his work before passing into the true life, and, if he had done so, what had become of that part of it which was missing, which they none of
them had been able to find. To this Dante seemed to answer: ‘Yes, I finished it'; and then took him, Jacopo, by the hand, and led him into that chamber in which he, Dante, had been accustomed to sleep when he lived in this life, and, touching one of the walls, he said: ‘What you have sought for so much is here'; and at these words both Dante and sleep fled from Jacopo at once. For which reason Jacopo said he could not rest without coming to explain what he had seen to Pier Giardino, in order that they should go together and search out the place thus pointed out to him, which he retained excellently in his memory, and to see whether this had been pointed out by a true spirit, or a false delusion. For which purpose, though it was still far in the night, they set off together, and went to the house in which Dante resided at the time of his death. Having called up its present owner, he admitted them, and they went to the place thus pointed out; there they found a mat fixed to the wall, as they had always been used to see it in past days; they lifted it gently up, when they found a little window in the wall, never before seen by any of them, nor did they even know that it was there. In it they found several writings, all mouldy from the dampness of the walls, and had they remained there longer, in a little while they would have crumbled away. Having thoroughly cleared away the mould, they found them to be the thirteen cantos that had been wanting to complete the
Commedia
.”
¹³

    
The missing cantos, adds Boccaccio, were at once sent to Can Grande della Scala, to whom Dante had been in the habit of sending every few cantos of his poem, as he finished them, in order that Can Grande might see them before they were submitted to any one else.

    
Boccaccio is responsible for another interesting anecdote
¹⁴
about the
Commedia
, which, if we are to accept it as authentic, shows how the Florentines, by exiling Dante, were very near depriving the world of one of its most precious treasures.

    
“It should be known,” he says, “that Dante had a sister, who was married to one of our citizens, called Leon Poggi, by whom she had several children. Among these was one called Andrea, who wonderfully resembled Dante in the outline of his features, and in his height and figure; and he also walked rather stooping, as Dante is said to have done. He was a weak man, but with naturally good feelings, and his language and conduct were regular and praiseworthy. And I having become intimate with him, he often spoke to me of Dante's habits and ways; but among those things which I delight most in recollecting, is what he told me relating to that of which we are now speaking. He said then, that Dante belonged to the party of Messer Vieri de' Cerchi, and was one of its great leaders ; and when Messer Vieri and many of his followers left Florence, Dante left that city also and went to Verona. And on account of this departure, through the solicitation of the opposite party, Messer Vieri and all who had left Florence, especially the principal persons, were considered as rebels, and had their persons condemned, and their property confiscated. When the people heard this, they ran to the houses of those proscribed, and plundered all that was within them. It is true that Dante's wife, Madonna Gemma, fearing this, by the advice of some of her friends
and relations, had withdrawn from his house some chests containing certain precious things, and Dante's writings along with them, and had put them in a place of safety. And not satisfied with having plundered the houses of the proscribed, the most powerful partisans of the opposite faction occupied their possessions,—some taking one and some another,—and thus Dante's house was occupied.

    
“But after five years or more had elapsed, and the city was more rationally governed, it is said, than it was when Dante was sentenced, persons began to question their rights, on different grounds, to what had been the property of the exiles, and they were heard. Therefore Madonna Gemma was advised to demand back Dante's property, on the ground that it was her dowry. She, to prepare this business, required certain writings and documents which were in one of the chests, which, in the violent plunder of effects, she had sent away, nor had she ever since removed them from the place where she had deposited them. For this purpose, this Andrea said, she had sent for him, and, as Dante's nephew, had entrusted him with the keys of these chests, and had sent him with a lawyer to search for the required papers; while the lawyer searched for these, he, Andrea, among other of Dante's writings, found many sonnets, canzoni, and such similar pieces. But among them what pleased him the most was a sheet in which, in Dante's handwriting, the seven first cantos of the
Commedia
were written; and therefore he took it and carried it off with him, and read it over and over again; and although he understood but little of it, still it appeared to him a very fine thing; and therefore he determined, in order to know what it was, to carry it to an esteemed man of our city, who in those times was a much celebrated reciter of verses, whose name was Dino, the son of Messer Lambertuccio Frescobaldi.

    
“It pleased Dino marvellously; and having made copies of it for several of his friends, and knowing that the composition was merely begun, and not completed, he thought that it would be best to send it to Dante, and at the same time to beg him to follow up his design, and to finish it. And having inquired, and ascertained that Dante was at this time in the Lunigiana, with a noble man of the name of Malaspina, called the Marquis Moroello, who was a man of understanding, and who had a singular friendship for him, he thought of sending it, not to Dante himself, but to the Marquis, in order that he should show it to him : and so Dino did, begging him that, as far as it lay in his power, he would exert his good offices to induce Dante to continue and finish his work.

    
“The seven aforesaid cantos having reached the Marquis's hands, and having marvellously pleased him, he showed them to Dante; and having heard from him that they were his composition, he entreated him to continue the work. To this it is said that Dante answered: ‘I really supposed that these, along with many of my other writings and effects, were lost when my house was plundered, and therefore I had given up all thoughts of them. But since it has pleased God that they should not be lost, and He has thus restored them to me, I shall endeavour, as far as I am able, to proceed with them according to my first design.' And recalling his old thoughts, and resuming his interrupted work, he speaks thus in the beginning of the eighth canto: ‘My wondrous history I here renew'.”
¹⁵