Thus did the circulated melody
Seal itself up; and all the other lightsWere making to resound the name of Mary.
The regal mantle of the volumes allOf that world, which most fervid is and livingWith breath of God and with his works and ways,
Extended over us its inner border,So very distant, that the semblance of itThere where I was not yet appeared to me.
Therefore mine eyes did not possess the powerOf following the incoronated flame,Which mounted upward near to its own seed.
And as a little child, that towards its motherStretches its arms, when it the milk has taken,Through impulse kindled into outward flame,
Each of those gleams of whiteness upward reachedSo with its summit, that the deep affectionThey had for Mary was revealed to me.
Thereafter they remained there in my sight,‘Regina coeli’ singing with such sweetness,That ne’er from me has the delight departed.
O, what exuberance is garnered upWithin those richest coffers, which had beenGood husbandmen for sowing here below!
There they enjoy and live upon the treasureWhich was acquired while weeping in the exileOf Babylon, wherein the gold was left.
There triumpheth, beneath the exalted SonOf God and Mary, in his victory,Both with the ancient council and the new,
He who doth keep the keys of such a glory.
Paradiso: Canto XXIV
“O company elect to the great supperOf the Lamb benedight, who feedeth youSo that for ever full is your desire,
If by the grace of God this man foretasteSomething of that which falleth from your table,Or ever death prescribe to him the time,
Direct your mind to his immense desire,And him somewhat bedew; ye drinking areFor ever at the fount whence comes his thought.”
Thus Beatrice; and those souls beatifiedTransformed themselves to spheres on steadfast poles,Flaming intensely in the guise of comets.
And as the wheels in works of horologesRevolve so that the first to the beholderMotionless seems, and the last one to fly,
So in like manner did those carols, dancingIn different measure, of their affluenceGive me the gauge, as they were swift or slow.
From that one which I noted of most beautyBeheld I issue forth a fire so happyThat none it left there of a greater brightness;
And around Beatrice three several timesIt whirled itself with so divine a song,My fantasy repeats it not to me;
Therefore the pen skips, and I write it not,Since our imagination for such folds,Much more our speech, is of a tint too glaring.
“O holy sister mine, who us implorestWith such devotion, by thine ardent loveThou dost unbind me from that beautiful sphere!”
Thereafter, having stopped, the blessed fireUnto my Lady did direct its breath,Which spake in fashion as I here have said.
And she: “O light eterne of the great manTo whom our Lord delivered up the keysHe carried down of this miraculous joy,
This one examine on points light and grave,As good beseemeth thee, about the FaithBy means of which thou on the sea didst walk.
If he love well, and hope well, and believe,From thee ’tis hid not; for thou hast thy sightThere where depicted everything is seen.
But since this kingdom has made citizensBy means of the true Faith, to glorify it’Tis well he have the chance to speak thereof.”
As baccalaureate arms himself, and speaks notUntil the master doth propose the question,To argue it, and not to terminate it,
So did I arm myself with every reason,While she was speaking, that I might be readyFor such a questioner and such profession.
“Say, thou good Christian; manifest thyself;What is the Faith?” Whereat I raised my browUnto that light wherefrom was this breathed forth.
Then turned I round to Beatrice, and shePrompt signals made to me that I should pourThe water forth from my internal fountain.
“May grace, that suffers me to make confession,”Began I, “to the great centurion,Cause my conceptions all to be explicit!”
And I continued: “As the truthful pen,Father, of thy dear brother wrote of it,Who put with thee Rome into the good way,
Faith is the substance of the things we hope for,And evidence of those that are not seen;And this appears to me its quiddity.”
Then heard I: “Very rightly thou perceivest,If well thou understandest why he placed itWith substances and then with evidences.”
And I thereafterward: “The things profound,That here vouchsafe to me their apparition,Unto all eyes below are so concealed,
That they exist there only in belief,Upon the which is founded the high hope,And hence it takes the nature of a substance.
And it behoveth us from this beliefTo reason without having other sight,And hence it has the nature of evidence.”
Then heard I: “If whatever is acquiredBelow by doctrine were thus understood,No sophist’s subtlety would there find place.”
Thus was breathed forth from that enkindled love;Then added: “Very well has been gone overAlready of this coin the alloy and weight;
But tell me if thou hast it in thy purse?”And I: “Yes, both so shining and so roundThat in its stamp there is no peradventure.”
Thereafter issued from the light profoundThat there resplendent was: “This precious jewel,Upon the which is every virtue founded,
Whence hadst thou it?” And I: “The large outpouringOf Holy Spirit, which has been diffusedUpon the ancient parchments and the new,
A syllogism is, which proved it to meWith such acuteness, that, compared therewith,All demonstration seems to me obtuse.”
And then I heard: “The ancient and the newPostulates, that to thee are so conclusive,Why dost thou take them for the word divine?”
And I: “The proofs, which show the truth to me,Are the works subsequent, whereunto NatureNe’er heated iron yet, nor anvil beat.”
’Twas answered me: “Say, who assureth theeThat those works ever were? the thing itselfThat must be proved, nought else to thee affirms it.”
“Were the world to Christianity converted,”I said, “withouten miracles, this oneIs such, the rest are not its hundredth part;
Because that poor and fasting thou didst enterInto the field to sow there the good plant,Which was a vine and has become a thorn!”
This being finished, the high, holy CourtResounded through the spheres, “One God we praise!”In melody that there above is chanted.
And then that Baron, who from branch to branch,Examining, had thus conducted me,Till the extremest leaves we were approaching,
Again began: “The Grace that dallyingPlays with thine intellect thy mouth has opened,Up to this point, as it should opened be,
So that I do approve what forth emerged;But now thou must express what thou believest,And whence to thy belief it was presented.”
“O holy father, spirit who beholdestWhat thou believedst so that thou o’ercamest,Towards the sepulchre, more youthful feet,”
Began I, “thou dost wish me in this placeThe form to manifest of my prompt belief,And likewise thou the cause thereof demandest.
And I respond: In one God I believe,Sole and eterne, who moveth all the heavensWith love and with desire, himself unmoved;
And of such faith not only have I proofsPhysical and metaphysical, but gives themLikewise the truth that from this place rains down
Through Moses, through the Prophets and the Psalms,Through the Evangel, and through you, who wroteAfter the fiery Spirit sanctified you;
In Persons three eterne believe, and theseOne essence I believe, so one and trineThey bear conjunction both with ‘sunt’ and ‘est.’
With the profound condition and divineWhich now I touch upon, doth stamp my mindOfttimes the doctrine evangelical.
This the beginning is, this is the sparkWhich afterwards dilates to vivid flame,And, like a star in heaven, is sparkling in me.”
Even as a lord who hears what pleaseth himHis servant straight embraces, gratulatingFor the good news as soon as he is silent;
So, giving me its benediction, singing,Three times encircled me, when I was silent,The apostolic light, at whose command
I spoken had, in speaking I so pleased him.
Paradiso: Canto XXV
If e’er it happen that the Poem Sacred,To which both heaven and earth have set their hand,So that it many a year hath made me lean,
O’ercome the cruelty that bars me outFrom the fair sheepfold, where a lamb I slumbered,An enemy to the wolves that war upon it,
With other voice forthwith, with other fleecePoet will I return, and at my fontBaptismal will I take the laurel crown;
Because into the Faith that maketh knownAll souls to God there entered I, and thenPeter for her sake thus my brow encircled.
Thereafterward towards us moved a lightOut of that band whence issued the first-fruitsWhich of his vicars Christ behind him left,
And then my Lady, full of ecstasy,Said unto me: “Look, look! behold the BaronFor whom below Galicia is frequented.”
In the same way as, when a dove alightsNear his companion, both of them pour forth,Circling about and murmuring, their affection,
So one beheld I by the other grandPrince glorified to be with welcome greeted,Lauding the food that there above is eaten.
But when their gratulations were complete,Silently ‘coram me’ each one stood still,So incandescent it o’ercame my sight.
Smiling thereafterwards, said Beatrice:“Illustrious life, by whom the benefactionsOf our Basilica have been described,
Make Hope resound within this altitude;Thou knowest as oft thou dost personify itAs Jesus to the three gave greater clearness.”—
“Lift up thy head, and make thyself assured;For what comes hither from the mortal worldMust needs be ripened in our radiance.”
This comfort came to me from the second fire;Wherefore mine eyes I lifted to the hills,Which bent them down before with too great weight.
“Since, through his grace, our Emperor wills that thouShouldst find thee face to face, before thy death,In the most secret chamber, with his Counts,
So that, the truth beholden of this court,Hope, which below there rightfully enamours,Thereby thou strengthen in thyself and others,
Say what it is, and how is flowering with itThy mind, and say from whence it came to thee.”Thus did the second light again continue.