Paradiso (27 page)
Authors: Dante
‘On earth I left behind such vestiges
→
as even wicked people there commend,
Just as from many coals we feel a single heat,
→
so from that image there came forth
21
the undivided sound of many loves.
And I then answered: ‘O everlasting blossoms
→
of eternal bliss, you make all odors
24
blend into what seems a single fragrance,
‘breathe forth and free me from this endless fast
→
→
that ever keeps me famished,
27
since I can find no food for it on earth.
‘It is clear to me that, even though God’s Justice
→
has its mirror in another realm of heaven,
30
in yours it also shines without a veil.
‘You know with what care I prepare myself
to listen, and you know the nature of the doubt
33
that now has kept me fasting for so long.’
As the falcon, freed from its encumbering hood,
→
raises its head, and flapping, as in winged applause,
→
36
displays its beauty and its eagerness,
just so I witnessed that emblem, made with strands
of praise for God’s own grace, surge into songs
39
known but to those who live above in bliss.
Then it began: ‘He who with His compass
→
→
drew the boundaries of the world and then, within them,
42
created distinctions, both hidden and quite clear,
‘did not imprint His power so deep
throughout the universe that His Word
45
would not with infinite excess surpass His making.
‘In proof of this, the first and prideful being,
→
who was created highest of all creatures,
48
by not waiting for the light, plummeted unripe.
‘And thus it is clear that every lesser nature
is too small a vessel for that goodness
51
which has no limit, which is measured by itself alone.
‘Thus your vision, which must be
but a single ray of many in the mind
54
of Him of whom all things are full,
‘by its nature must not have such power
that it should not perceive its source
57
as lying far beyond all it can see.
‘Thus, the vision granted to your world
→
may make its way into eternal justice
60
as deep as eyes may penetrate the sea.
‘From shore they well may glimpse the bottom,
but not once out upon the open sea,
63
and yet it is there, hidden in the depths.
‘No light is never overcast unless it comes
→
from that clear sky which always shines. All others
66
darken in the shadow or the bane of flesh.
‘Now the hiding-place has been laid bare
→
that concealed from you the living justice
‘For you have often asked: “A man is born
→
→
upon the bank along the Indus, with no one there
72
to speak, or read, or write of Christ,
‘ “and all that he desires, everything he does, is good.
As far as human reason can discern,
75
he is sinless in his deeds and in his words.
‘ “He dies unbaptized, dies outside the faith.
Wherein lies the justice that condemns him?
→
78
Wherein lies his fault if he does not believe?”
‘To be sure, for one who wanted to debate this,
had the Scripture not been set above you,
→
84
there might be ample room for question.
‘Oh, earthly creatures! oh, gross minds!
→
The primal Will, good in Itself,
‘Only what accords with It is just: It is not drawn
→
to a created good but, sending forth Its rays,
90
It is the source of every good.’
As a stork will circle above her nest
→
after she has fed her young,
93
and as the one just fed looks up at her,
so, lifting up my brow, I watched
as over me the blessèd image flew on wings
Wheeling, it sang, then spoke:
→
‘As my notes exceed your understanding,
99
such is eternal judgment to all mortals.’
When these, the Holy Spirit’s fiery lights,
grew quiet, still shaped into the sign
→
102
that made the world revere the Romans,
the eagle once again began: ‘To this kingdom
→
no one ever rose without belief in Christ,
→
105
whether before or after He was nailed up on the tree.
‘But observe that many shout out “Christ, O Christ!”
→
who shall be farther off from Him,
108
on Judgment Day, than such as know not Christ.
‘The Ethiopian shall condemn such Christians
→
when the two assemblies go their separate ways,
→
111
the one forever rich, the other poor.
‘There they shall see, among the deeds of Albert,
→
→
the deed—now soon to move the pen—
117
through which the realm of Prague shall suffer desolation.
‘There they shall see the pride that makes men thirst
→
and so drives both the Englishman and Scot to fury
123
that neither will remain within his borders.
‘Of him from Spain, and of Bohemia’s king,
→
the text will show their wanton luxury and lazy ways
126
and that they never knew nor searched for valor.
‘Of the Cripple of Jerusalem the text will show
→
an
I
to mark his only generous act,
129
while an
M
will mark the other traits in him.
‘Of him who rules the isle of fire,
→
where the long life of Anchises had its end,
132
the text will show the greed and cowardice.
‘Displayed will be his utter worthlessness,
→
→
requiring the use of shorthand
135
that will note much in little space.
‘Displayed for all to see will be the wicked deeds
by which his uncle and his brother brought disgrace
→
→
138
to so renowned a line and both their kingdoms.
‘Displayed will be the kings of Portugal and Norway,
→
and he of Rascia, who, to his own hurt,
141
laid his eyes upon Venetian coinage.
‘O happy Hungary, if only she no longer lets
→
→
herself be poorly led! Happy Navarre, if she but takes
144
protection from the mountains that surround her!
‘And, in proof of this, all men should know
→
that Nicosia and Famagosta
lament and complain of their own beast,
JUPITER