I had not yet quite finished with my words
when the light began to spin around its core,
81
whirling like a quickly turning millstone.
Then the love that was within it spoke:
‘Divine light focuses on me, piercing →
84
the radiance that holds me in its womb. →
‘Its power, conjoined with my own sight,
raises me so far above myself that I can see
87
the Highest Essence, the source from which it flows.
‘And this inflames the joy with which I burn:
for, in the clarity of my sight,
90
I match the clearness of my flame. →
‘Nonetheless, the most enlightened soul in Heaven, →
that seraph who fixes most his eye on God,
93
could not produce an answer to your question,
‘for what you ask is hidden in the depths →
of the abyss of God’s eternal law, so that the sight
96
of any being He created is cut off from it.
‘And to the mortal world, when you return,
bear this report, so that it shall no more presume
99
to set its steps toward such a goal.
‘The mind, here bright, is dimmed by smoke on earth.
Ask yourself, then, how could it do down there
102
what it cannot, though Heaven raise it to itself?’
His words so reined me in →
that I withdrew the question, limiting myself
105
to asking humbly who he was.
‘Between Italy’s two shores →
and not far distant from your homeland,
108
crags rise so high that thunder rolls below them.
‘They form a ridge called Càtria.
A consecrated monastery stands below,
111
once dedicated wholly to God’s worship.’ →
Thus a third time he began,
addressing me, and then went on:
114
‘There I became so constant serving God,
‘my simple fare seasoned with olive oil alone, →
that I readily endured the heat and frost,
117
content in contemplation.
‘That cloister which used to yield abundant harvest
to these heavens now is barren,
120
but soon its barrenness must be revealed.
‘In that place I was known as Peter Damian, →
but Peter the Sinner in the House
123
of Our Lady on the Adriatic shore.
‘Little of mortal life on earth was left to me
when I was singled out and dragged to that red hat →
126
which now is passed from bad to worse.
‘Cephas came, and the exalted vessel → →
of the Holy Spirit came, lean and barefoot,
129
receiving their food at any doorway. →
‘Now our modern shepherds call for one on this side,
one on that, to support them, they are so bloated,
132
and one to go before, one to boost them from behind.
‘Their fur-lined mantles hang upon their horses’ flanks
so that two beasts go underneath one skin.
135
O patience, what a heavy load you bear!’
As he spoke, I saw more flickering flames →
descend, spinning from rung to rung,
138
at every turn more lovely.
They thronged around him and then stopped and raised
a cry so loud that nothing here
could be compared to it—nor could I make it out,
142
so did its thunder overwhelm me.
OUTLINE: PARADISO XXII
SATURN
1–21
Beatrice explains the reason for the shouting
1–6
Dante as frightened child, Beatrice as reassuring mother:
7–9
in Heaven, she explains, only righteous zeal can account for such apparently dissonant sounds;
10–12
now he should see that her smile or their song would have been too much for him, since their shout has so moved him;
13–15
had he understood their words, he would understand the vengeance of God that awaits such prelates;
16–18
such vengeance comes slow for mortals who, in longing or in fear, await it anxiously;
19–21
now he should pay attention to the other souls here.
22–51
first part of the discussion with St. Benedict
22–24
Dante sees a crowd of joyous souls;
25–30
he represses the question (“who are you?”) that the largest and brightest of these pearls advances to answer:
31–36
“You should have understood the charity that governs us here and spoken; I will answer without making you do so”:
37–51
Benedict’s autobiography.
52–72
Dante’s premature request
52–60
“Show yourself to me uncovered,” without his light
61–72
Benedict: Dante will see him thus in the Empyrean.
73–99
Benedict denounces the corruption of his order
73–75
No mortals now try to reach meditative heights;
76–78
the monasteries and their monks are now derelict;
79–84
his attack on monastic abdication of duty;
85–87
humans start out well but quickly reveal their faults;
88–93
Peter, Francis, and he built on very little, but now one sees the institutions they founded totally corrupted;
94–96
God’s revenge will show His power: e.g., Jordan, Red Sea;
97–99
Benedict and his companions all disappear above
100–111
Ascent to the heaven of the fixed stars
100–105
Dante and Beatrice move upward with supernatural speed;
106–111
address to the reader: how quickly he went up and entered the Starry Sphere [in Gemini]
112–123
seventh invocation in the poem (to the stars of Gemini)
124–154
Dante looks back down
124–126
Beatrice: “You are so near the final happiness that your sight is clear and keen;
127–132
“therefore, look back at what you have already traversed.”
133–138
Dante sees the seven spheres and the earth,
139–150
and then the seven planets,
151–154
with a final glance at our globe before turning back to the eyes of Beatrice.
PARADISO XXII
Overcome by wonder, I turned to my guide, → →
as does a child who always scurries back
3
to the one who has his utmost trust.
And she, like a mother, quick in comforting →
her son when he is pale and out of breath
6
with a voice that often calmed him in the past,
said: ‘Don’t you understand you are in Heaven? →
Don’t you understand that all of Heaven is holy,
9
that all things done here spring from righteous zeal?
‘It should be clear to you just how their song, → →
and then my smile, would have confused you,
12
since you were so startled by their cry.
‘In it, had you understood their prayers, →
you would already recognize
15
the vengeance you shall see before you die.
‘The sword of Heaven never cuts in haste →
nor in delay, but to the one who waits
18
in longing or in fear, it well may seem so.
‘Now turn around and see the others, →
for you shall look on many illustrious spirits →
21
if you but set your gaze to where I say.’
I turned my eyes as she had urged and saw
one hundred little globes that made each other brighter →
24
in the glittering reflections of one another’s rays.
I was as one who in himself restrains →
the spur of his desire and, fearing to presume,
27
dares not pose his question.
The largest and most lustrous of those pearls →
advanced to satisfy my longing
30
to find out more about him.
Then, from deep within, I heard him say: ‘Could you see, → →
as I do, the charity burning in our midst,
33
you would have shared your thoughts with us.
‘And that your arrival at the lofty goal
be not delayed by waiting, I shall answer
36
your guarded thoughts, which you dare not express.
‘The summit of the mountain on whose slope →
Cassino lies was once much frequented
39
by people both deluded and perverse. →
‘I am he who first brought up the slope
the name of Him who carried down to earth
42
the truth that so exalts us to the heights.
‘And such abundant grace shone down on me
I led the neighboring towns away
45
from impious worship that misled the world. →
‘All these other flames spent their lives in contemplation, →
kindled by that warmth which brings
48
both holy flowers and holy fruits to birth. →
‘Here is Macarius, here is Romualdus, →
here are my brothers whose feet never strayed →
51
beyond their cloisters and whose hearts were firm.’
And I to him: ‘The affection you display →
when you speak with me and the signs of kindness
54
that I see and mark in all your fires
‘have enhanced my confidence,
as the sun expands the rose
57
when it opens to its fullest bloom.
‘Therefore, I pray you, father, reassure me— →
if I may hope to gain so great a favor—
60
that I may see you with your face unveiled.’
And he: ‘Brother, your lofty wish → →
shall find fulfillment in the highest sphere,
63
where all desires are fulfilled, and mine as well.
‘There only all we long for is perfected, →
ripe, and entire. It is there alone
66
each element remains forever in its place,
‘for it is not in space and does not turn →
on poles. Our ladder mounts right up to it →
69
and thus its top is hidden from your sight.
‘Jacob the patriarch saw the ladder’s highest rungs →
attain that height when, teeming with
72
a throng of angels, it appeared to him.
‘But no one bothers now to raise his foot →
up from the earth to climb those rungs,
75
and my Rule is but a waste of paper.
‘The walls that were constructed for an abbey
have been converted into dens for thieves, and sacks, →
78
now filled with rotten flour, once served as cowls.
‘But the highest rates of usury are not exacted
against God’s will so much as is the harvest
81
that turns the hearts of monks to madness.
‘For whatever the Church has in its keeping
is reserved for those who ask it in God’s name,
84
and not for kindred or more vile relations.
‘The flesh of mortals is so weak and dissolute →
that good beginnings go astray down there, undone
87
before the newly planted oak can bring forth acorns.
‘Peter started his community with neither gold → →
nor silver, and I mine with fasting and with prayer, →
90
while Francis with humility established his.
‘If you consider where each started out,
and then consider how far it now has strayed,
93
you shall see how dark its white has turned. →
‘Still, the sight of Jordan driven back and of the sea →
that opened at the will of God were greater wonders
96
to behold than would be His intervention here.’
This he said to me, and then withdrew →
99
now swirled up as in a whirlwind.
My sweet lady, with but a single gesture, urged me on →
to follow right behind them up that stairway,
102
so did her power overcome my nature. →
And never once down here below,
where we mount and descend by natural law,
105
was there motion swift enough to match my flight.
So may I, reader, once again return →
there to that holy triumph for whose sake
108
I frequently bewail my sins and beat my breast,
you could not have withdrawn and thrust your finger → →
into the fire faster than I saw the sign
111
that follows on the Bull and was within.
O glorious stars, O light made pregnant →
with a mighty power, all my talent,
114
whatever it may be, has you as source.
From you was risen and within you hidden
he who is the father of all mortal life
117
when first I breathed the Tuscan air.
And afterward, when I was granted grace
to enter the high wheel that keeps you turning,
120
it was your zone to which I was assigned.
To you now, with devotion, my soul sighs →
that it gain strength for the next daunting task
123
that with such power draws it to itself. →
‘You are so near the final blessedness,’ → →
Beatrice then began,
126
‘your eyes from now on shall be clear and keen.
‘Thus, before you become more one with it, →
look down once more and see how many heavens
129
I have already set beneath your feet, →
‘so that your heart, filled with joy,
may greet the triumphant throng that comes →
132
in gladness to this aethereal sphere.’ →
With my eyes I returned through every one →
of the seven spheres below, and saw this globe of ours →
135
to be such that I smiled, so mean did it appear.
That opinion which judges it as least
I now approve as best, and he whose thoughts
1
38
are fixed on other things may truly be called just.
I saw Latona’s daughter shining bright, → →
without that shadow for which I once believed
141
she was both dense and rare.
The visage of your son, Hyperion, I endured →
and saw how Maia and Dïone move
144
around him in their circling near. →
Then I saw the tempering of Jove between his father →
and his son, and the changes that they make →
147
in their positions were now clear.
All seven planets there revealed →
their sizes, their velocities,
150
and how distant from each other their abodes.
The little patch of earth that makes us here so fierce, →
from hills to rivermouths, I saw it all →
while I was being wheeled with the eternal Twins.
154
Then I turned my eyes once more to those fair eyes.
OUTLINE: PARADISO XXIII
STARRY SPHERE
1–12
simile (1): mother bird, anxiously awaiting dawn, and Beatrice awaiting “sunrise” in order to “nourish” Dante
13–15
comparison (1): Dante is like a man who longs for what he has not and who is satisfied by the hope itself
16–18
but the moments of hoping and seeing are near resolution: the sky is brightening
19–21
Beatrice: “See those first and then later saved by Christ”
22–24
Beatrice’s indescribable joy: her “home” has come to her;
25–30
simile (2): a full moon (Trivïa) and all the stars likened to this “sun” lighting up all the descended souls
31–33
and Dante’s sight cannot bear its brightness;