Professional Documents
Culture Documents
^'CT
/s'
2007
witii
funding from
IVIicrosoft
Corporation
littp://www.arcliive.org/details/dantestenlieavensOOgardiala
C. K.
OQDEN
BY
EDMUND
G.
GARDNER,
M.A.
'The
unsensed sweet,
felicity."
And
Francis Thompsox.
WESTMINSTER
ARCfflBALD CONSTABLE & CO.
1898
To
MY MOTHER
THIS BOOK
18
DEDICATED.
CONTENTS
CHAPTKB
I.
PAGE
dante's paradise
n.
47 90 130
167
m.
IV.
AND cloister
V.
VI.
215
257
Vn.
APPENDICES
289
301
INDEX
to serve as
an introduction
to
They
upon the
works of Scartazzini, Lubin, and Comoldi. I am also especiindebted to Fraticelli's and Giuliani's editions of Dante's Minor Works Mr. F. J. Church's translation of the De Monarchia;
;
and Value of the IJivina Commedia, edited by Father H. S. Bowden Father J. Rickaby's Aquinas Ethicus; Mr. A. J. Butler's edition of
the Paradiso; the Rev. J.
H. Lupton's Joannes
St.
Thomas, translated
is
The
that
of
translation
of
the
usually
Longfellow, the
De Monarchia
that
of
Mr. Chiu*ch,
and
the
of the
Summa
is
The appended
list
of books
My
aided
George Tyrrell,
of this
S.J.,
the
proofs
book, and
to the
me
with
his
suggestions
for
and
criticism;
and
Rev.
P.
the
H. Wicksteed, M.A.,
first
many
the
text or
have led me
to
modify
my
points in question.
LIST OF
Thomae Aquinatis, Summa Theologica, 6 vols., Rome, 1886. Thomae Aquinatis, Summa contra Gentiles, Rome, 1888. Agnelli, G., Topocronografia del Viaggio Dantesco, Milan, 1891. Ancona, Alessandro d*. La Vita Nuova illustrata eon note,
5.
S.
etc.,
Pisa, 1884.
Bambaglioli, Graziolo de', Commento all' Inferyw, edited by A. FiAMMAzzo, Udine, 1892. Barellt, v., UAllegoria della Divina Gommedia di Dante Alighieri,
Florence, 1864.
Bartoli, a., Storia deUa Letteraiura Italiana, Florence, 1878-84. Benvenuti de Rambaldis de Imola, Comentum super Dantis Aldigherii Comoediam, Vernon & Lacaita, 5 vols., Florence, 1887. S. Bemardis opera omnia, ed. Migne, Paris, 1854. Breviarium Roma^ium, translated by the Marque.ss of Bute, Edinburgh and London, 1879. S. Bon A VENTURA, Vita di S. Francesco d'Assisi, ed. Amoni, Rome, 1888. Butler, A, J., Dante's Paradise, edited with translation and notes* London, 1885. Butler, A. J., A Companion to Dante, from the German of G. A. ScARTAZziNi, London 1893. Capponi, G., Storia della Repubblica di Firenxe, vol. I, Florence, 1888. Carducci, Giosue, Stiidi Letterari, Leghorn, 1874. Church, R. W., Dante, with a translation of the De Monarchia by F. C. Church, London, 1878. CoRNOLDi, G. M., La Divina Gommedia col emnento, Rome, 1887. CORNOLDI, G. M., Ihe I^iysical System of St. Thomas, translated by E. H. Dering, London, 1893. DoLLiNGER, Studies in European History, translated by M. War re London, 1890. Fraticelli, p.. La Divina Gommedia col comento, Florence, 1860, etc. Fraticelli, p., Opere Minori di Dante Alighieri, 3 vols., Florence,
1856, etc.
vols.,
Florence,
Giuliani, G., Metodo di commentare la Gommedia, Florence, 1861. St. Gregory the Great, The Dialogues, an old English version edited by H. J. Coleridge, London, 1874.
Hettinoer, Dante^s Divina Commedia, its Scope and Value, by H. S. BowDEN, London, 1887. HiLLARD, K., The Banquet of Dante Alighieri, Ix)ndon, 1889. S. Isidori Hispalensis episeopi opera, ed. Migne, Paris, 1850.
edited
Latham,
and
C.
S.,
etc.
Boston
New
York, 1891.
dcUla vita, etc.,
Longfellow, The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. LuBlN, A., Commedia di Dante Alighieri, preceduta
Padua, 1881.
LuPTON, J. H., Joannes Coletus super opera Dionysii, London, 1869. Moore, E., Time References in the Divina Commedia, Oxford, 1887. Moore, E., Studies in Dante, vol. I, Oxford, 1896. UOttimo Commento delta Divina Commedia, testo inedito d'un contemporaneo di Dante, 3
vols., Pisa,
1827-29.
Pastor,
Perez,
L.,
vol. I,
of the Popes from tfie close of the Middle Ages, edited by F. L. Antrobus, London, 1891.
History
P., Delle
Iragranxe onde V Alighieri profuma il Purgatorio e il 1867 (Reprinted with / sette cerchi del Purg,
ipsius genitoris
Comoediam
Commen-
Pltjmptre, E. H., The Commedia and Canxoniere of Dante Alighieri, vol. II, London, 1892. Richardi a Sancto Victore, opera omnia, ed. MiGNE, Paris, 1855.
RiCKABY, Joseph, Aquinas Ethicus, 2 vols., London, 1892. EossETTi, Dante Gabriel, Dante and his Circle, London, 1861,
RossETTi, F. M.,
etc.
etc.
SCARTAZZINI, G. A., La Divina Commedia, 3 vols., Leipzig, 1874-90. SCARTAZZINI, G. A., Prolegomeni, Leipzig, 1890. SCARTAZZINI, G. A., La Divina Commedia, edizione rainore. Milan, 1893 and 1896. Selmi, F., II Convito, sua cronologia, etc., Turin, 1865.
Vacchkri
&
Bertacchi,
B.,
TjU
Visione
Vauqhan, R.
2
vols.,
Thomas of Aquin,
London, 1872. Vernon, W. W., Readings on the Inferno, chiefly based on the Commentary of Benvenuto da Imola, 2 vols., London, 1894.
Villani, ViLLANi,
Selections
translated
from the first nine books of the Croniche Fiorentine, by R. E. Selfe, and edited by P. H. Wicksteed,
The
Tujo First Centuries of Florentine History,
vols.,
Westminster, 1896.
VnjiARi, Pasquale,
translated
by Linda Villari, 2
London, 1894-95.
Chapter
I.
DANTE'S PARADISE.
I.
ANIMA
JUSTI.
Dominus per proSt. Bernakd,
"
Cfelum
est
anima
justi, sicut
phetam
dicit:
est."
his
commentary on the
sand to
Bonum est cribrare modium sabuli ut quis unam margaritam, it is good to sift a measure of And Benvenuto goes on in his quaint find a pearl.
how Dante,
this
curiosissimus
The
first measure of sand, the Inferno, gave him the disposition of escaping from endless woe; a second measure, the Purgatorio, showed him the true and arduous way to come to this pearl of great price and now, finally, he sifts a third measure of sand, the Paradiso, and here he finds that most precious pearl, the reward of all his labours, eternal glory
;
in the fruition of
God.
of
this
The
description
eternal glory
conception
of Paradise
as
with the
First
Cause
in vision,
1
therefore
still
Paradiso.
generally
It
perhaps
part
intelligible
of
Ruskin
nobility
enough
other
in one's
own thoughts
any
the
human
soul
to speak clearly
what
it
has
felt of
most divine.*
pictures of
of
lurid
of Dante's genius
more obvious,
in those clear
and
terrible
human
flame.
spokesman and poet of all humanity; his teaching in that second canticle, even for non-Catholics who reject the doctrine of Purgatory, seems to be of more general and
universal
application,
corresponding
of
to
something
Paradiso
in
the
heart
and
conscience
man.
In
the
Dante
Here,
man
perhaps
more than
in
in
what were the noblest thoughts and aspirations of those ages, whose exceeding light has so dazzled weak modern eyesight that they have sometimes been called dark, for
in
them
L'occhio
si
Come
virtii
confonda.
'
There is a sublime passage in the Summa Theologica which gives a key to the comprehension of this boundless
*
Purg.
excess.
viii.
The eye
is
is
confounded
by
A
intellect.
essence of beatitude:
in
consist
it
the
:
vision
of the
thus
"
The
last
first,
that
man
for
is
him
the
desire
is
of every
power
and seek; secondly, that the perfection determined by the nature of its object.
is
Now
hence the
the essence
of
what
is
before
it.
And
therefore,
knows when a
effect, and knows that it has a cause, there outstanding natural desire of knowing the an him is essence of the cause. If therefore a human intellect knows the essence of a created effect without knowing aught of God beyond the fact of His existence, the perfection of
man knows an
in
that intellect does not yet adequately reach the First Cause,
the
said
Cause: hence
it
is
therefore,
is
Cause."
intellect will
have
its
perfection through
as to the object in
man
consists.
United
to
the
good
with
good
things.
This beatitude of
man
belongs there-
by no
activity of sense
Summa,
2.
Q.
3. a. 8.
4
can
of
And
is
so Dante's
Paradise
absolute Truth,
the
supreme
bliss
which
reached in
the
Empyrean Heaven
Luce
of pure light
Amor
di vero
ben pien di
letizia,
*
Notwithstanding
its
essentially
mediieval
character,
the
closest students of
in ranking the
It is a perpetual
hymn
in
his
Defence of Poetry
"
and the gradations of his own love and her loveliness, by which as by steps he feigns himself to have ascended to the throne of the Supreme Cause, is the most glorious
imagination of
is
modem
poetry."
No
less beautiful
and true
Life^
Shelley's characterisation of
his
Dante
in
own
unfinished
masterpiece, The
Triumph of
How
all
Love
of true
ecstasy,
Par. XXX.
Longfellow.
at
and of
celestial
of
the
guidance
of
wisdom,
of
reason
souls
in
after
this
death;
life
it
is
an allegory of how
man
whilst
still
may
for evil,
The
is
the
of the
it
souls
and
in
the allegory
may be taken
from the
in
as
of the reward,"
which
is practi-
cally
words
as
in the Letter to
Can
free
Grande :
will
Man,
is
so far
to
by meritorious use of
^
he
is
subject
If the
earth,
Purgatono
the action or
an allegory of the
represents
man upon
Paradiso
the ideal
whether passed in
contemplation.
Some
express
this
twofold
meaning by
between
moral or spiritual Paradise of virtuous and contemplative Yet the spirits still united to their bodies in this world.
mere
allegory.
In the complicated mediaeval system of fourfold interpretation of the Scriptures, the old
law
is
new
law, of
the figure
glory;
and
similarly
Jemsalem,
in the literal or
'
"
Si
vero
et
homo, prout
aut
merendo
demerendo per
The
anagogical sense
the
of those
things
which are
glory,
ing
upward
the
it
From
separate
this
reward
Ma
Cristo.
Thus
this
is
anagogy,
It is
signified
by the
letter;
of
while
what he sang, and, though necessarily concealed for a and expressed under veils of sensible images, the
Paradise
of
literal
the
poem
is
Of the
is
"This moral sense,' Dante says in the Convito, "readers should caregather from
all
and
their
descendants.'
his Cross
me what
LONGFKLLOW.
A STUDY OF THE PARADISO.
7
hoped for and strove towards the signification of the things beyond sense, the supernal things of eternal glory. This
is
expressed
xxii
in
his
exclamation in
Canto
Le mie
peccata e
il
petto
mi
percuoto.
allegories of comparatively
Without entering into the question of how far the political modern discovery really exist in
it
may
much
place in
political
Paradiso.
The Emperor
himself, the
supreme
authority, he
who has
Uaiuola che ci fa tanto ferod ^ Hfe may freedom and with peace, can but guide man in
man
"
the blessed-
which consists
is
prefigured
Earthly Paradise"
(reason and
{De Manarchia,
iii.l6).
With
Human Wisdom
by Virgil of his leadership, whatever political allegory there was must of necessity have been completed. Such a political
regeneration
of Christendom indicated in the attainment of
'
Reader, as I
may
Triumph return, on whose account I often For my transgressions weep and beat my breast.
Longfellow.
*
The
little
is
fierce.
Par.
xxii.
Aiuola
8
the
and in the lessons inculcated from the history of the Church and Empire represented in those
splendid visionary
Purgatorio,
is
however regarded by Dante as a means and stepping stone to the moral regeneration and eternal happiness of mankind
as
is
shown
life
in
the
Paradiso.
his
as
that represented
of
and
bridle.*
is
Though
main
political
part
of the allegory
still
completed, the
Empire and
greater force,
consummation of the
Beatrice
is
In the allegorical
for
Grace
lecture
even of Contemplation. Dr. Dollinger in his on Dante as a Prophet says, " Beatrice signifies
its
Theology, not in
science,
abstract
meaning as the
letter of religious
which we
shall
on face to face."
On
the
other hand.
the Ecclesiastical
"
Authority in so far as
Revelation."
that the
is
As we
is
Can Grande
best regard
poem
polysensous,
we should perhaps
the
A
attributes
Wisdom
or
by Divine Wisdom
not the
Wisdom
to raise
of
God
the
man
This
him above
near to God'
(Barelli).
spiritual
Authority of the
De
to lead
to revelation to
consists
in
man
Monarchia^
iii.16),
But the
of
the
literal
woman
poet's
cannot be lost sight of, and is Imola and other early commentators.
can hardly be
is
woman
Theo-
the Church's
power and
is
all
authority;
these
symbolical
meanings,
because
all.
it
her function to
them
In the
cal
literal
sense
the
be
essential Paradise
no
allegori-
meaning can
not
well
assigned
is
to
Beatrice;
for
in
known
to the saints
is
here
only refer to
woman, seeming
break
in,
as
it
the
story
of
the
air of
reality
and truth
vision,
to the whole.
consummation
blessedness
is
of
the
when
the
last
of
10
reached,
the
her place
ceases,
and the
has
final
merited,
praying
:
woman is enthroned in the glory she now to the Madonna for her lover's
perseverance
Vcdi Beatrice con quanti beat! Per 11 miei preghi ti chiudon le mani.
House of Life
Thy
famous
lines
from Rossetti's
So
in
Dante's
allegorical
Beatrice
the
real Beatrice,
nor
either
Love
il
The
general
is
based
upon the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, the theological doctrine of the Mansions of Beatitude, and the theories of the supposed Dionysius the Areopagite (followed by Aquinas)
and of
the
St.
Around our
nine
move
sphere
above
these
Dante's
is
passage,
as
heaven to heaven,
Above
*
nine
See, Beatrice with all the blessed are clasping their hands to thee
in support of
*
my
prayers.
all
the stars.
A
around
11
the
spaceless
Empyrean Heaven
of
rest
and
Angels
without
and
saints,
a
fire
spaceless
of Love.
motionless ocean
with the
spiritual
Although
seat
all
exception
have their
certain
final
and home
Empyrean Heaven,
in
in
their thrones into each of the lower spheres to greet his ascent.
Dante
For Dante
is
Book
iv of the
of her
life,
"returns to
first
God
as to the port
whence she
life '
:
set
out
when she
"
ch'entri
citt^, gli si
fanno incontro
si
anima
fanno incontro
quelli
cittadini
della
e
eterna vita;
buone operazioni
le
mondane cose
e cogitazioni, vedere
^
They
and
satisfy
the
to
poet's
their
intellectual
and
spiritual needs,
"
then
return
To
make
behold
the Letter to
all
truth,
Can Grande, " from them, as from those that many things will be asked which have
Also their temporary apparition
'
Convito
iv.
28.
"And
as he
who
come
met by his fellow citizens, meet the noble soul, and this because of her good deeds and meditations. So that, being already dedicated to God, and abstracted from worldly things, she seems to see those whom she believes are with Him." Miss K. Hillakd'b
city, is
forth to
translation.
12
there
are
different
beatitude in that
those blessed
own
arises
capacity.
The
inequality
of
perfection
in beatitude
love,
from the different degrees of their knowledge and since one intellect sees God more perfectly than
another.
Domus
est
est ibi
quia
unum
idest
est et
summum Bonum,
ipse.
heatitudo et vita
that
mansionum; om-
nium,
the
Deus
The
spirits
appear in the
Empyrean.
mystery
They appear
that
as
invisible
intellect.
can
only
be apprehended by the
appear in the eight
saints that
the spirits are seen like faint yet most beautiful reflec-
human form
the
in the
which have
in
just seen
the
their
joy
still,
they appear
stars
or
dazzling
tells
splendours.
that
Benedict
him
in the
Empyrean he
will see
them with countenance unveiled, and it follows clearly from the way Dante asks the question that the deficiency is in his own powers of vision, his eyes can more easily distinguish the lower grades of spirits within the shadow of the
Earth:
*
'The hoose
la
is
for
life
13
Far.
xxii. 58.
is,
immediate
forms, as
For
it
mind
step
by step
in
ineflfable
enjoyment which
infinite
And
Until
restless spheres,
all.
we reach
mark
;
first
is
a sensible
the termination
shadow the second a suprasensible, a purely and mystical sign the shining ladder of gold. For such is the nature of Dante's ascent and intellectual
In the
first
two
divisions,
may
so
much
May
Longfellow.
14
spirits that
The
first
division
is
that
of
the
three
heavens
to
may
therefore be regarded
The
ix.
termination
indicated
in
Canto
v.
118
119,
it
which there
of
is
The shadow
whose
indicates
appear
in
these three
heavens,
spirits
lives
were
marred by
earthly failings
had
and so broken
the monastic
God, had moved Justinian and Romeo to noble deeds Cunizza and her companions had fallen for love. On earth the lives of these souls had been marred through yielding to the temptations and snares
of the world
appear
still
knowledge
diminished.
shadow
is
the
second
and Saturn. Into these heavens four classes of glorious saints descend to greet Dante spirits who followed lives of per;
monk or 80 much
merit
hermit.
to
They appear
not
of their
their
beatitude (as was the case with the spirits seen in the three
15
so
which perfection may be reached and God be served, and Dante would hardly have this beatitude attained to.
St.
Anselm
^
as
God
Now
left
Man
God.
The
warriors and
active
life;
God
for
His Bride the Church of the new law. But the active is a prelude and preparation to the contemplative, the
In the seventh Heaven,
Saturn,
the spirits of ascetics and hermits appear,
contemplatives
who
fled
to
which Dante and Beatrice follow them up the Celestial Ladder into the Firmament. This ladder, up and down
which
the
stretches
up
to
the
last
Heaven
of
all.
In one sense
it
doubtless
signifies
the
heavenly
contemplation
which
is
but
well.
it
has
is
to be regarded only as
the
of
final
the
one below
does not
more
16
St.
a good deal
in the
Paradiso
Ladder
**
On
and everyone who looks for the kingdom of Heaven has a place upon it. This ladder in general is the Church,
life,
which partly
worldly,
is
still
militant
Upon
menwho
contemplative.
At
are the
worldly,
they
who
word of God
are
in the ears of
who sow the men on the summit of the ladder they who despise earthly things and
cultivate the earth,
;
already
These are as the Angels of God, and descending by the ladder, for they ascend through contemplation to God and descend through compassion
to their neighbour.*
^
Although the ladder only becomes visible in the seventh Heaven, yet, just as Jacob's Ladder rests upon the earth,
80
Purgatory.
the
When man
of
in the person of
Dante
issues
from
darkness
alienation
from
God
represented by the
The contuma-
cious and the negligent without the gate, and the spirits in
the
terraces
scheme.
of the
The
*
terraces
of
Purgatory
are
the
lowest rungs
De adiva
et
contemplativa vita.
A
ladder.
'
17
we
have
the
this
contemplative
latter
in
both Dante
attain
life
and
is
St.
Bernard.
To
height
man cannot
the
active
without passing
the
through
the
others,
for
necessary
attain per-
man can
first
Dante
passage
ascending
that
this
ladder.
visible
Although
to
it
is
only the
topmost rungs
it
are
is
a ladder
he
is
Deir etemo palazzo piii s'accende, Com' hai veduto, quanto piii si sale.
Par. xxi.
7.'
There are
after
still
the
to
truth
his
he
attains to the
which
is
beatitude
consists.
Above
the
celestial
ladder
the
it,
third
*
Benvenuto puts
Dante describes the three universal orbs of the heavens, that is, the eighth sphere (the heaven of the Fixed Stars) which is called the Firmament, and the ninth sphere (the Crystalline) which is the Primum Mobile, and the Empyrean Heaven which is called Paradise and in these the poet describes the glorious city of God, the Church Triumphant.
;
of the planets
may be
taken as represent-
my beauty, that ahng the stairs Of the eternal palace more enkindles, As thou hast seen, the farther we ascend. Longfellow.
Because
18
of
man
work
of his
intelligences
the
Empyrean
is
man
finally attains.
It will
be seen
still
Firmament and the Primum Mobile^ Dante under sensible figures and allegorical are merely a further preparatwo heavens veils, for these tion to the true Paradise and the vision of the Divine Essence. The nine moving spheres form the golden stair-way of God's palace, but the Empyrean is His most glorious presencethat, in the
beholds
things
chamber.
Each group
into
Heaven
the
special
its
relation to the
heaven
in
which
it
appears, besides
which
as
In the
first
place, they
their
were influenced by
heavens:
impressed
at
birth
by the
star,
Beatrice in
Paradiso
iv.
admits
some
good and
evil influences
from the
stars
influenza e
11
biasmo.
'
Thus
Cunizza
da
Heaven, following
in
in
of beatitude and Cacciaguida by following rightly the influence of Mars, acquired power and strength to practise the virtues proper to a warrior of the Cross, which earned him his place Yet the celestial bodies have no power to in Paradise.
sphere,
their
influence return
unto
these circles.
A
deprive
19
One
am
And
Or
I have a will
and
faculties of choice
To do
1
why
have none.
do or not do
The
stars
And
Dante,
through
the
mouth
of
Marco
the
Lombard,
way
in Purgatorio xvi.
Pur suso
Se
come
se tutto
Movesse scco di
necessitate.
Per ben
letizia e
Lo
cielo
vostri
movimenti
tutti;
ma, posto
ch'io
il
dica,
ciel
si
notrica.
La mente
in voi,
che
il
ciel
non ha
in
sua cura.
Ye who
Still
upward
things
They
Free
of necessity
I say not all; but granting that I say it. Light has been given you for good and evil.
20
Albertus
principle
there
is
in
man
a twofold
is
of action, nature
stars,
and the
will.
Nature indeed
governed by the
but the
will is free.
Notwithstanding
this freedom, however, the will will be drawn and inclined by nature unless it steadfastly resists, and, since nature moves with the movements of the stars, the will then, if it does not resist, commences to be inclined by the movements
of the stars.
Then,
the
in
the
is
assigned to
care
of
one
the
nine
orders
of
spirits that
The theory
that
the
nine
in addition
its
charge of
own
the
heaven of the
Moon
to the
Angels,
Mercury
;
to the Archangels,
Venus
to the celestial
Principalities
the
Sun
to the
the
and Jupiter to the Dominations; the heaven of Saturn to Thrones, the Firmament to the Cherubim, and the
Crystalline or
Primum
Sometimes
its
celestial
movers
more obvious; at other times the doctrines explained seem more closely related, and the spirits of the saints that
is
And
free volition;
first
which
if
some
if
fatigue
it suffers,
In the
Afterwards conquers
well
'tis
nurtured.
To greater force and to a better nature [God] Though free ye subject are, and that creates The mind in you the heavens have not in charge. Longfellow.
*
This
is
especially
in his commentary..
A
supplying
special
21
appear to Dante
the
angelical
places
the
Angels,
who
fell
from the
is
order to
whom
assigned,
This
some spheres than in others, but is all, and can be traced by comparing Dante's heavens and saints with the Celestial Hierarchies of the supposed Dionysius and with St. Bernard's Angels in his De Conin
sideratione.
The
poet's theory
is
and
St.
The Angels
dians,
to
men; being
are
in
they
and more
human mind.
still
the
Moon
will,
the saints
human
and free
is
the
salvation
and
guidance of individuals.
to
The
function of
the Archangels
and
protect
of
heaven
and guide particular nations. Thus in the Mercury the Emperor Justinian plays the same
the
part towards
Roman
Jews
Redemption by the Incarnation is explained to Dante, even as from the Archangels Gabriel was chosen to bear the message to Mary. The Principalities, according to St. Bernard, regulate and establish earthly Principalities, and transfer and alter their territories
;
and boundaries.
the principality of
this
According
love,
*
to
by ruling with
place
in order that
whatever
all
is
in the
chief
may
lordship with
love and
may
22
the
Principalities
move,
heavens
of,
The
influence
society
is
of
the
for
the
proper constitution of
treated
and various other matters tending good government and substiCarlo Martello
Sicily.
The Powers
The
and the
the
life
work
Dominic
is
described,
The correspondand
is
peculiarly close
According
to
Their
special function
is
to
make
chaste
all
things in
God
and strength among men was endurance by enduring gloriously unto death, even the death of the cross. This becoming weak even to death was the strength and
that true virtue
fortitude of
God."
Risurgi
e vinci, arise
the
words that Dante hears on entering Mars. The souls of warriors and knights imitate the divine strength and
first
fortitude
by forming a
celestial
crucifix;
and Cacciaguida
co-operates
'
J.
H. LuptoD, Joannes
from which
A
future
23
life,
work.
signs
Similarly
St.
admonish mankind
is
move-
xxi,),
parebit
moved by whom these things are done et tunc signum Filii hominis in ceslo. The Dominations are " an express image of the true and archetypal dominion in God," according to Dionysius "for the dominion in them is simple and unmingled, and devoid of all subjection, ruling over all, useful to all, a true and unmixed liberty of bearing sway after the form and pattern of God." Their function is to draw all things to imitate this true dominion, so that rulers may bear true lordship in God and men may imitate this dominion by subjection and obedience. Therefore in the heaven of Jupiter the souls of just kings and emperors appear; and they form the imperial Eagle, the emblem of the universal and absolute form of dominion
be
:
divinely ordained.
The Thrones
Upon
them God sits. According to St. Bernard, this sitting of God upon the Thrones means supreme tranquillity, most placid serenity, peace which surpasseth all understanding. Fittingly, therefore, do the contemplative saints appear in Saturn. According to Dionysius, the Thrones represent the Divine Steadfastness by means of these Angels will God execute His judgments, and their special office is purification. The blessed of Saturn, St. Peter Damian and St. Benedict, are most emphatic in their denunciation of corruption and their terrible threats of divine vengeance. The Cherubim
;
represent
signifies plenitude of
knowledge.
"The Cherubim,"
"draw from
24
mouth of the most High, and pour out the streams of knowledge upon all His citizens." Therefore in the Firmament Christ is seen, and Dante cooperates with the Apostles in spreading the knowledge of God by means of his examination on the theological virtues, and
the very fountain of wisdom, the
Adam
himself appears in
whom
it
is
to
be believed that
Quantunque alia natura umana lece Aver di lume, tutto fosse infuso.
Par.
xiii.*
Thus
the
is
Apostles and
Adam
Adam
the
the vision.
The Seraphim
Primum
Love
of
God.
St.
Thomas
he also
men can
assumed
named from
possibility
of mortal sin
(Summa
63, 7)
Heaven which
There
is
co-operating
filling
work and
*
in their ranks.
light
it
human
all
nature
to possess
was
infused.
Longfellow.
is
not usually
re-
Some German critics assign it to whose name they supjKjse Vasari to have
Dr. Frizzoni supposes
it
to
"
25
Thrones
either,
although
St.
two
St.
Johns,
the
It
would seem as though the painter held that not only did
their excess of burning
no Angel
from that
celestial
order,
the Thrones,
sits
and
in
which,
according to Dionysius,
there
dwells
in
greater measure
and
The sphere over which the Seraphim, who know most who love most, preside is Dante's last heaven of preparation. Out of that he ascends with Beatrice into the
Paradise,
of
true
glory
God and
is
Essence
the
Empyrean, which receives most of the in which the beatific vision of His made known. "And because," thus concludes
the
Letter
is
to
Can Grande,
'
when
which
God
nothing further to
is,
He
God
is
the
Himself,
who
is
ever.
be a pupil of Sandro's
With both
in
picture
(II.
who was also influenced by Andrea Verrocchio. and poem should be compared Dante's statement
6)
the
Gonvito
that
lost
out of aU these
orders.
II.
Subtrahere ordinem rebus creatis est eis subtrahere quod optimum habent; nam singula in seipsis sunt bona: simul autem omnia sunt optima propter Semper enim totum est melius ordinem universi.
id
"
St.
Thomas Aquinas,
Contra Gentiles,
iii.
69.
The
Canto of the Paradiso stands somewhat apart from the rest of the canticle and serves as a general prologue to the whole. As a most fitting introduction to
first
the
of
glory
Law
by which all that Universe is governed. Dante's letter to Can Grande della Scala affords a valuable commentary to accompany this Canto, valuable not only for what it contains but also for the method which it suggests for a
Dantesque
letter,
treatment
is
of
the
is
rest
of
the Paradiso,
This
as
well
known,
letters
of the
Although
in
not
among
which
is
it
to the
end of
last
what purported
to
Much
upon
its
authenticity.
made
27
Dante
1391;
he delivered
but as
to
many
taking
seem
which
frequently
be
they
passages
from the
letter,
nevertheless
do not mention, it has been suggested famous document may have been fabri-
On
the whole,
how-
being
genuine,
and
of
its
importance
critics
and value
is
admitted
its
even
by
some
those
letter
who
call
it
dispute
entire
authenticity.
The
literal
(I
will
between the
the
subject
after
of the
poem
in
(in
souls
far
to
death;
"man
is
in so
as
by free
will
subject
title
justice
its
of
Comedy and
to
end
it
has in view
from
their state
the
state
of
felicity),
into
Prologue and
commencing
the
main action of the Faradiso and running on directly last Canto of the Purgatorio. The Prologue of 36 lines is further divided into Proem (verses 1 12) and Invocation (verses 13 36), and is fully commented upon
from the
in
the
letter;
but,
after
all,
method is a somewhat dry scholastic way of dealing with what is not merely philosophy but essentially poetry, and poetry of so high an order that Shelley, in what was almost
his last letter, cites this
test
La
muove
altrove.
meno
28
che
piii
pub qual
di
lassil
discende;
appressando s^ al suo
intelletto si
disire,
Noatro
profonda tanto,
Che retro la memoria non pu6 ire. Veramente quant' io del regno santo Nella mia mente potei far tesoro, Sar^ ora materia del mio canto.
Par.
i.
1.
lines as a rhetorical
proem,
what
is
to be said so as to prepare
mind
very
that,
wonderful
is
to
be
dealt with,
when he
declares
that
he himself was
to
that
first
heaven and
priceless
will
the
memory
as a
within
his
is
human
for
The glory of Hini who moveth everything Doth penetrate the universe, and shine In one part more and in another less.
Within that heaven which most his light receives Was I, and things beheld which to repeat Nor knows, nor can, who from above descends; Because in drawing near to its desire
Our
intellect
ingulphs
itself
so far,
That after it the memory cannot go. Truly whatever of the holy realm I had the power to treasure in my mind Shall now become the subject of my song.
Longfellow.
29
is
of
the
celestial
Kingdom.
the
And
thirdly docility
:
enterprise
if
he
had
power to retain these things in his mind, other men have the same power and his readers may hope to be
the
In
same
that
strain
he
explains
of the
and demonstrates
his
doctrine,
the
glory
First
Goodness and Wisdom and Power, shines in every corner of the Universe, and that the different created things are
Dante's
scholastic
and then
is
rather
fond of
this
method
employed reason
with
him
it
There
is
an
et
De Aqua
Dante but now usually regarded as apocryphal, where authority is urged to end a purely
scientific
dispute
Even
first
Heaven
(or last),
the
Empyrean, flaming with spiritual fire of love or holy charity and receiving most of the divine light, he must needs have recourse after reasoning to authority Aristotle and St. Paul and the prophet Ezekiel. So also for the
:
exaltation
of the
human
falling
intellect
and consequent
insufficiency
final
short
of
of
human powers
authority
to
appeal to
authors
has
the
the
upon
whom
30
of
St.
On
Contemplation;
let
let
them
not
On
Consideration;
them read
will
Augustine
On
the Quantity
be invidious.*
the
24
lines that
Wisdom
Sun
is
divine
of
his
inspiration
complete
this third
most arduous
have need
the
of
part
work.
Dante remarks
since
great
invocation,
they
are
seeking from
common mode
munus).
allegory
As
his
now human knowledge and wisdom had been suflBcient, but now he needs supernatural wisdom and divine science as well. One of the passages of this invocation almost appears
again in the last Canto of the Paradiso, stripped of
in
all
allegory
is
that
Here
it
Supreme
divina virtd, se
mi
ti
presti
Tanto che I'ombra del beato regno Segnata nel mio capo io manifesti, Venir vedra'mi al tuo diletto legno
Che
Par.
*
i.
22.
'
power
me
So that the shadow of the blessed realm Stamped in my brain I can make manifest,
31
will
become
Luce, che tanto
ti
O somma
Dai
levi
mia mente
fa'
la lingua
Ch'una
of the Paradiso
in
the Earthly
Paradise,
presumably
still
with
the
seven
maidens
who
We
hear no
and Statins who had played their parts in Lethe and Eunoe have been passed that glorious scene. and tasted of, those two mystical streams that, springing from the same fountain, take away memory of sin and
more
of Matilda
restore
the
recollection
of good
works done
in charity
Dant
is
now
In order
to
Heaven which he
Thou'lt see
alone
of mortal
men
me come
tree,
From
my mind
little,
Of what thou
And make my
That but a single sparkle of thy glory It may bequeath unto the future people.
Bnd.
32
had accomplished, he proceeds to tell us how it was at the noblest and most fitting season of the year and the day.
The sun
rises to mortals
where four
three
circles intersect
their intersection
crosses.
Then indeed
its
Pill
a suo
suggella.
Par.
i.*
Dante
he
is
is
i.
3742).
virtues.
Allegorically
the
four
are the
cardinal
;
the
three
crosses
Hope and
Charity.
of
Dante would therefore say that the grace of God shines most upon the soul where the cardinal virtues, which attain to human reason, are united with the theological virtues whose object is God or possibly, as Benvenuto puts it, that God the Sun of Justice and Light of the World rises to men through diverse ways, but especially through the four cardinal and three divine virtues. Remembering too how Dante rather connects the cardinal virtues with the Empire as the theological with the Church,
happiness.
;
man
it
is
not
too
in
fanciful
to
meant
that,
that age
of conflicting claims of
Pope and
own
fashion.
THE PRELUDE TO PARADISE.
Emperor, God shone most upon a soul prepared
and to God the things that are God's.
Fatto avea di la
to
33
fulfil
mane
e di
qua Bera
la.
bianco
Quando
Par.
43.
his ascent
state
upon
the
sun
with
the
eyes
theology.
The sun
rising
of the horizon
tain
had made morning there {di la) on the mounof Purgatory (the morning hours sunrise to midday)
to sunset) here {di qua) in
ordinary
bright
world.
soul
to
was
upon things eternal and divine, whereas the souls earth were mostly dark in ignorance and sin and immersed in worldly cares. Indeed those virtues, the four cardinal and three theological, were not only vivid in his soul, but had even taken visible form as the seven maidens to accompany him to the wondrous waters of Eunoe, holding in their hands the seven lights
gaze
of
men upon
Che son
*
sicuri
d'Aquilone e d'Austro.
Such a passage had made morning there and evening here, and was almost all bright and the other part dark, when I saw Beatrice turned towards the left-hand side and gazing upon the sun. * " Which are secure from Aquilon and Auster." Purg. xxxii. that is, lights that no assaults of the winds can extinguish.
there that hemisphere
34
It
midday that Eunoe had been reached and its waters partaken of. At once, purified and prepared, Dante had returned to the side of his Beatrice. When does he now see her gazing upon the sun and rise up with her into the Kingdom of Heaven? Almost all the early commentators, and the majority of even the modern ones, say that it was at sunrise on the next day, and offer various
suggestions
of
how
such
may
It is
that there
been no
interval,
soon as Dante
The executive
;
of
that
God and
The
chief
at
midday and
to
no
and Paradiso
all
i.^
be almost
illuminated
and
it
should be midday
to Dante's
proceedings
poem.
All
through
we
find
him hastening on to his goal with all the speed he can. The interval would be in absolute contradiction to the (3) very words of Beatrice in this same Canto, lines 136 141.
'
La
Visione
di D.A.
nelli, Topocronografia del viaggio Dantesco. Milano. 1891. Cf. also Dr. Moore's Time-references in the Divine Comedy. Dante distinctly tells us that the sun had risen at that point and was illuminating the whole
western hemisphere.
THE PRELUDE TO PARADISE.
Maraviglia sarebbe in
te,
35
se privo
assiso
vivo.*
Dante had
really
lingered
the
Beatrice
or the bitterest of
sarcasm.
(4)
shores
might
perhaps
for his
seem
ascent to Paradise.
Now
season of the year was the noblest and most virtuous, and
surely
It
the
this.
follows
iv.
(Bk.
of
23) that for Dante the noblest and most virtuous hour
the
day
is
not
sunrise,
but midday.
life
In that famous
to
chapter,
of
man
an arch and
is in
35th year,
of
it
pleased
34th year
our
*
He
desired to remain in
life
up to
ne
culmination, he adds:
I'ora
ci5
manifesta
chfe
voile
quella
consomigliare
Luca, che era quasi ora sesta quando morio, che h a dire
lo
colmo
che
del
al
di;
onde
si
pu5 comprendere
quello
quasi,
colmo
Marvel
it
would be
in thee,
if,
deprived
Of hindrance, thou were seated down below, As if on earth the living fire were quiet. Longfellow.
'
"And
makes
life;
He
it
36
It
is
in this 35th year of his life that Dante has his and he clearly wishes us to notice such analogies. So also he was dead and buried, so to speak, in Hell part of three days like our Lord in the tomb. Just as Christ
vision,
died the
at
the
colmo del
dl, so that
commencement
piu
And
(5)
"
La
sesta ora,
doe
il
mezzo
^
dij e la
nobile di tutto
let
il dl,
e la
piu
veriuosa. "
Finally
{Purg. xxvii.
115117):
Quel dolce pome, che per tanti rami Cercando va la cura de' mortali, Oggi porri in pace le tue fami.*
This sweet apple cannot be the Earthly Paradise, for blessedness of this
life is
all
Neither can
it
be the sight
all,
Beatrice
is
"
can set
is
of
man
which
not
God
alone.
Hence God
He
died; that
is
His
'
"The
*
is,
The care
To-day
shall
Longfellow.
THE PRELUDE TO PARADISE.
It
37
was the
last
that led up to the Earthly was the word he heard from his master's lips before he resigned his guidance. And what a wondrous day it was to be heralded by the dream of Rachel and Leah, followed by the glorious pageant of the
morning broke on
Paradise.
Oggi,
to-day,
Church with the reunion with Beatrice, and the mystical of the past, present and future of the Church and Empire. He had mounted the last steps as the sun rose, it was midday as he stooped to drink of Eunoe, but Dante was to see no evening of that day. The sun of the last day of his pilgrimage rose on the Earthly Paradise, but the poet passed beyond it into Eternity, and was with
visions
Beatrice
suso in cielo
As he
that
ascends, so
to
much
is
it
seemed
the
day
is
day
to St. Augustine,
day
is is
a figure of knowledge
divine knowledge to
human knowledge
Dante turns
'
On
Cf
.
Par.
xi.
11.
Thomas Aquinas, Summa. 1. q. 74. a. 2.: " According to St Augustine, by day is meant the knowledge of the angelical mind,
*
so that the
first
day
is
first
second day the knowledge of the second work, and so for the others.
Angelical knowledge can properly and truly be called day, since light,
which
lux,
is
is
Cogmtio
quae
vere dies
nominari
potest,
cum
est
38
his gaze
invested with
mankind to eternal life in accordance with revelation, and by means of theology to interpret the mysteries which would otherwise
the ecclesiastical authority appointed by
to lead
God
Nel suo aspetto tal dentro mi fei, Qual si fe' Glauco nel gustar
dell'erba,
altri del.
Non
si
A
Tu
me
Novellamente,
11
Amor
che
il
ciel
govemi,
levasti.
*
sal,
mi
Benvenuto
da Imola waxes enthusiastic concerning this comparison which Dante makes of himself to Glaucus the
it
is
an apt one.
Glaucus tasted of
;
these
new
Paradise,
mind becomes
Aquinas,
12.
5.).
way
ii.
god-like.
(Cf. St.
Thomas
i.
Contra Oentiles.
2.
and
Summa
Theologica
Benvenuto works out the analogy in many quaint ways, showing how Dante too was a fisherman, fishing for
Such
became
As Glaucus,
made him
sea.
To
Impossible were
Him
If I
for
whom
was merely what of me thou newly Createdst, Love, who govemest the heaven.
didst
lift
me
Longfellow.
39
taking
fishing
captive
in
the
souls
of
men
who
the
come
been
to a green
other poet
had
fishes
the
Earthly
There he
landed
his
sea.
And
then this
the earth,
becomes
like
Glaucus
semi-god,
now
in divinity
and immortality.
Pointing
impossibility
moral
of
in
his
characteristic
way from
in
the
representing
St.
transumanise
words, and
uttering
the
doubt with
swifter
body or out
their
of the body,
Dante continues
account of
ascent,
than lightning.
light
the
sun;
of
is
heard, the
perpetual
continually
music
revolving,
the
Primum
Mobile
from the fervent longing that each part has to be conjoined with the divinest Heaven, from the desire of God therefore
a perpetual
hymn
The
notion
Dream of
Scipio.
Benvenuto
somewhat concerned
it
at
Dante's doctrine.
He
clearly
finds
non concedendum quod micsica sit in mean something else " Perhaps
:
by
this
harmony
our
proportion
moveth uniformly so
Magnus has
40
no sound
Benvenuto thinks it safest to explain that, even if Dante really meant that there was music in heaven, it was a view that had plenty to be said for it, for great authors both before and after Aristotle, such as Pythagoras and Plato, TuUy and Boethius, affirm
in heaven,
this thing for certain.
made
So rapid
is
their
not at
first
is
returning to
first
departed when
created
it
further
is
that he
transcending
fire
and
ether.
this
He
cannot compre-
hend
so
the
Ottimo interprets
passage
how
human
such grace as
Beatrice
discourse
equally
full
poetry
schoolmen.
Le cose tutte quante Hann' ordine tra loro; e questo forma Che I'universo a Dio fa siraigliante. Qui veggion I'alte creature Torma
fe
Dell'eterno valore,
il
quale 5 fine
Al quale ^
fatta la toccata
norma.
Certain words
of this
of
St.
discourse of Beatrice
Thomas might be taken as the text " To take away order from
:
created
'
beings
is
to take
away what
is
best in
them
the
among themselves, and this is form, That makes the universe resemble God. Here do the higher creatures see the foot-prints Of the Eternal Power, which is the end Whereto is made the law already mentioned.
Have
order
Longfellow.
41
things
are
good
in
themselves, yet
all
of
them
is
indeed the
end
to
and actions of
in
corporeal substances,
earth, inanimate
ties,
things
heaven and
and
mankind
the
and
to things
make up
that
makes the Universe like to God and from which intellectual and rational beings {Valte creature) gather the image of the perfection of God, who is the end that all creatures seek. Just as the products of any art represent and give us some notion of the art itself, so, by meditating upon what God has made, we can to some extent contemplate the Divine Wisdom. For God brought things into being by His Wisdom, and upon the things that He has made there is stamped a certain communication or likeness of the Divine Wisdom, The beauty of the Universe depends upon its order, and the Universe is the image of God, for in creating it He took
the exemplar or idea from within Himself.
Neir ordine
men
vicine;
Onde
movono a diversi porti Per lo gran mar dell' essere, Con istinto a lei dato che la
si
il
e ciascuna
porti.
Questi ne porta
pur
le creature
Ma
*
More or
less
42
This
is
writer
That God
wills to
bind His
"
That every
and
(J.
irrational,
kind or nature
gatorio
xvii.,
law of love:
Nfe Creator n^ creatura mai,
Ck)minci(i
ei,
figliuol,
fu senza
amore
O
and
This
tells
all
naturale o d'animo.'
creatures
the sovereign plan of government existing in the God, as director of all acts and movements, moving all things to their due end the law to which all the movements and actions of all nature are subject. Over this
us
mind
of
all
a bonum, the end for which they are ordered and disposed,
whether they have knowledge or have not. But although Dante here and a few lines further on makes use of the
Hence they move onward unto
ports diverse
With
This
instinct given
fire
it
which bears
it
on.
power;
Nor
Without
intelligence, this
bow
shoots forth,
But those
*
and
love.
Longfellow.
"Neither Creator nor creature, son," he commenced,
*
Was
43
bow and
its
that
aimed
at a
mark by
the archer,
from
its
director or
mover some
by which that inclination or direction is determined. This is what he calls the isiinto a lei dato che la porti, the principle of inclination which God gives to natural things,
form
a draw, uniform in
itself
it
acts,
by which
He
draws
all
things
He has created back to Himself. Now Dante, in the above lines (115
ways
in
to
three
which
seek
philosophers
tend.^
terra),
end, the
insensible
bonum
bodies
to
(^7
which they
fuoco,
la
The inanimate
materiality,
or
God by
reason of
their
which
is
The
step
sensitive natures
nearer
to
God, have
natural
movement
further
is
not in their
own power.
inclination
is
their
end
freely,
but
the
from without.
in their
own
intellectual
knowinclude
ledge the
known bonum
They
Cf.
St.
Thomas, translated by
E. H. Bering.
The student
Dante
44
sides
what the inanimate and sensitive natures possess, but bethey have the inclination in their own power and
freely
move
themselves.
are
called the
freely determined
which last is the human will and by the reason. But upon this terrible
power of the rational nature to incline or not incline, this apparent power to resist the Eternal Law, Beatrice has yet another word to say before she closes her discourse.
Vero
fe
Molte
CJosi
da questo corso
si
diparte
(E
si
Di piegar, cosi pinta, in altra parte come veder si pu6 cadere Fuoco di nube), se I'impeto primo A terra b torto da falso piacere. *
is
La
and
creatura in
question
of
incline
or not incline.
statue
artist
does
not
adequately
idea that
the
whom
given
*
free
will,
True is it, that as oftentimes the form Accords not with the intention of the art, Because in answering is matter deaf, So likewise from this course doth deviate Sometimes the creature, who the power possesses
(In the
Though thus impelled, to move some other way same wise as one may see the fire
Fall from a cloud),
if
the
first
impetus
Earthward
is
Longfellow.
45
that
God
has
given
them
to impel
them
is
in segno
as
to
the
a joyful mark.
end as a due
disposition
of
matter
is
the
form.
Irrational
creatures
Creator.
liberty;
he
is
subject to the
some knowledge
the nature that
good.
God
which
will.
in
reality
may be
tion
"
ship
is
moved towards
the
pilot
to this
Thus
how
this
is
on the side of
Eternal
to
the
wicked suffering
Law
(St.
dictates concerning
fail
them
is
which they
in
to
do what
in
law'
Thomas*).
his
AH
is
this
has
been
has
already
fully
investigated
Purgatorio.
All that
He
now
only to study
those
who
Law
Thus
that,
now
that he
is
purified
and prepared,
much
Sutnma
2. q. 93. a. 6.
(J.
46
the
lofty
mountain down
to the valley
accordance
soul as
things
to
their
purified
to the
found in
God
alone.
Chapter
II.
tise
unum
qualicumque
re invito extorqueri
non
valet."
EiCHAKD OF
St. Victor,
De
One
of the
striking
features
of the Paradiso
is
the pre-
dominance of the
ophy.
its theology and philosSuch passages in the Divine Comedy are analogous to what Coleridge called the " lyrical interbreathings " in Thus, as prelude to the heaven the Elizabethan drama. of the Moon, the second Canto opens with a lyrical exordium in which Dante warns his readers of the difficulty and lofty character of the Paradiso, lays stress upon the need of preparatory knowledge, and promises wonders in store for
The
little
which he had passed over the cruel sea of the Inferno and the better water of the Purgaiorio, has become the legno, the ship sufficient and strong enough to voyage upon the deep ocean of Paradise. Minerva and Apollo, Wisdom and
Divine Grace, inspire and guide him, and the Muses point
47
48
out
the
insists
upon
his readers
Keeping
keel:
in
my wake
is,
before
the
water that
is
growing
my
own
ascend with the utmost rapidity, borne up by man's concreated and perpetual thirst for God, and are received into
the eternal pearl of the
Moon.
ascends,
to
he
various kinds
spirits that
appear to
him.
heaven and
to Universal
its
whole
in
celestial
scheme.
The
knowledge leading up
Truth
and therefore
Moon
difficulty,
an explana-
step
phenomenon, this being regarded as a first upon the ladder that leads up to the most sublime
Further, by
the
mysteries of faith.
mystical
explanation
which Beatrice
would, in this
sense,
step of his
mi
Dove
49
sensi
Vedi che
la ragione
ha corte
I'ali
ii.
Par.
52.'
It
is
concerning
matters
since,
which can
in the
easily
be shown to be wrong.
Dante, therefore,
these
substance.
slight
The
Moon's spots
is
of
Dante regards his art-work as a mirror which must be pure and perfect to reflect the divine truth and beauty, nor will he allow a single speck of dust, however minute, to
rest
upon
it.
the
Firmament,
the
in
its
parts
For
instance,
talents
attributes
his
own
the
great
virtue
of
apocryphal)
treatise
De Aqua
of
et
Terra,
the elevation
is
of
ascribed to the
the
stars
in
same heaven.
'
Such
If the opiaion
said,
Longfellow.
4
50
sole
virtue,
more or
less diffused
throughout and
more
"
rare
and dense
would imply
virtues,
but
fruits
specifically
diverse
the
principles.
And,
again,
even
reasoning
founded
upon
common
The
to be absolutely untenable.
true explanation
is
based upon
closely
Gregory
(a
:
work
"
Nothing can
be disposed of in
this
by another nature
which
from
it
is
invisible."
to direct the
Heaven or Primum Empyrean and receiving virtue movements of all the Universe which
From
the ninth
encloses
and
Heaven
distinct
which
it
distributes
among
its
different
which are
therein.
from
the
fast
Analogously,
for their
hands of
Divine Plan in
to
Ideas
the
material
creation,
upon wax, for " every intelligence is full of forms. " From the Cherubim, who rule the eighth Heaven, the constellations
light
and the stars shine with different and brilliancy, because each has received a different communication from the multiform virtue of these angelic
receive their diverse virtues
;
motors.
is
the
and the
51
and constellations are its limbs and organs, differing and having different specific virtues even as our limbs and A particular application faculties have different functions. of this theory to the Angels and the sphere of the Moon,
over which they preside,
will solve
Dante's
little
difficulty
about the bright and dark places in the Moon, for they are
due
This
a
hardly
somewhat
so
to
vision
full of pathetic
beauty and
human
interest as
just here
and
thrown in
like the
quaint
eternal
accessories
pearl of the
of
mediaeval
picture.
Within the
of that
like reflec-
and transparent
;
through
clear
of beautiful
women.
and
less spiritualised
earth.
Dante's
mistake,
in
application
of
and
is
his
one
the
first
lessons
that
if
man must
learn
in
his
These
the
are
souls
not
of
reflections
spirits,
vere
sustanxie,
women who
They
in life failed to
still
;
keep
were,
retain, as
it
a remnant of earth
in their
appearance
and Dante's eyes can more readily comprehend their degree of bliss. There is a certain exquisite analogy between the nature of the matter discussed upon Dante's arrival at this
52
first
first
group of blessed
was merely a physical difficulty that was to be solved, yet it had led him to a mystical theory of the angelic government of the heavens, and so these blessed ones that appear to him are still robed in the human form
spirits;
though
of
glorified,
yet
from
them he
is
to
Paradise
all
saints.
ben create
spirito,
che a'rai
Di vita etema la dolcezza senti, Che non gustata non sMnteude mai,
And now no
se
mi contenti
sorte.
iii.
Par.
37.'
Neither have
aught;
they
in
on
their
part
all
any
need
to
the souls
is,
Paradise
recognise and
Dante
read in
God
all
things that
'O
well-created spirit, who in the rays Of life eternal dost the sweetness taste Which being untasted ne'er is comprehended,
Grateful
'twill
be to
me
if
thou content
me
53
even
For
it is
Piccarda
of the
to
is
that
in
reveals
herself
;
and
explains
the
lot
this
sphere
and here,
with
in Dante's
answer as
in
why he had
a
most
impressive
many
episodes
the
he had known
whom
Ond'io a
Che
Per6 non
vi
fui
Par.
iii.
58.'
Forse
ti
mia mente
vedessi mai."
Inf. vi. 43.
But
in
many
from
of
circles of Hell
sinners
the
poet's
relentless
although,
is
in
the
realms
hope
in Purgatory, so
it
wasted
Piccarda's
own
is
Whence
I to her
I
There shines
know
conceptions;
my
remembrance."
Longfellow.
my
remembrance,
Ihid.
So that
it
54
memory
awakened.
Now
all
this
lot,
having the
Spirit,
is
Holy
and
"
this
some
question
no desire for a higher place. Full of joy comes Piccarda's reply, telling him of the perfection of their charity, their
wills
made
absolutely
will of
or degrees
of beatitude to
ci asseta.
Se disiassimo esser pii superne, Foran discordi gli nostri disiri Dal voler di Colui che qui ne cerne, Che vedrai non capere in quest! giri,
S'essere in caritate h qui necesse,
Per ch'una
Si che,
regno place,
Come
Ke
la
si
move
iii.
70.*
If
is quieted by virtue Of charity, that makes us wish alone For what we have, nor gives us thirst to be more exalted we aspired.
for more.
Unto the
will of
Him who
here secludes us
55
For the perfection of man's mind is measured by charity which unites him to God, his ultimate end, and the perfection of charity which is possible to any creature even in Paradise consists in the whole power of his affection being ever Just as the substantial form is absolutely fixed on God.^ necessary for the being of anything and actuates formless matter, making the thing what it is, constituting its nature: so this perfection of charity, this absolute making one of the wills of the saints with the will of God, is formal or essential to beatitude. Love is the vital principle that informs and animates the bliss of Paradise as the soul of
man
for
And
of this
bliss
is
of Paradise each
perfectly blessed,
more or
less,
but each
each
is
but with
ineffable
pathos,
story of her
own
life.
and Forese Donati and a distant kinswoman of Dante's wife Gemma, became a nun of the order of St. Clare, and then was forced from her convent by her brother Corso
and compelled
to
marry Rossellino
shalt see finds
is
which
Which thou
no place
its
in these circles
If being in charity
And
Nay,
'tis
if
To keep itself within the will divine, Whereby our very wishes are made one; So that, as we are station above station
Throughout
this realm, to all the
realm
our
'tis
pleasing,
As
to the
will
will
will.
And His
It
our peace;
To which
moving onward whatsoever doth create, and all that nature makes.*
is
Longfellow.
*
St.
Thomas, Summa. II
q. 184. a. 2.
56
and
died.
Passd
alio
Sposo del
Cielo,
quale
of the
and
to
spontaneamente s'era giurata, says the author "Ottimo Commento", who had known Dante in exile whom we owe the story that Dante persuaded Picbrother Forese
is
carda's
to
make
his
deathbed repentance.*
Piccarda
said
to
miraculous illness
God
with her
palm of
virginity.
"
afterward
my
life
became
si
"
E
transition.
Dio
to
sa qual poi
mia
is
vita fuai.
From Florence
the
Empire
On
the great
Empress Constance, the heiress of the last of the Norman two Sicilies, who by her marriage with Henry VI became the mother of Frederick II. Piccarda implies that the story of Constance was similar to her own, forced
rulers of the
to
Non
fu dal vel del cor giammai disciolta. in curious contrast to Dante's words,
Giovanni Villani,
that Constance
remarks
was monaca
del corpo e
non
della mente,
This Forese Donati, the brother of Corao and the son of Simone,
in
who appears
Manetto,
is
not to be confounded
brother of
Gemma
Circle,
who
is
mentators,
and His
del
Appen.
xvi.
57
that
Historical
criticism
the
whole
legend.
We
shall
of
in
of the
men
her heart,
the
is
Moon.
The
that Constance
mainly
through
rather
to
weakness
secure
and personal
the
fear,
Constance complied
evils that
Piccarda's
the
spirits
Ave
Maria, and
There remain
mind by
are
their appearance
and words.
respond perfectly to
They
Moon, nor
elucidate the
state
and position of
all
and
abso-
vision
which those
spirits
actually enjoying.
Just as
is
the
Beatrice
reads
Dante's
questions
the
first
Plato
58
as being
more
felle.
Some such
theories
concerning the souls and the stars had been actually declared
heretical
and
it
is
famous picture
in the
made
under
Botticelli
at one time
fell
some doctrine of this Thus the question was possibly of some importance
on the threshold of the Renaissance,
simply
all
to a mediaeval Florentine
what he has seen. These the same Heaven as the Seraphim and the most glorious of God's saints, even His own Virgin Mother; they enjoy the Beatific Vision in that
and
Beatrice
are
explains
spirits
for
eternity
in
last
Heaven
of
all,
left their
and descended
sensible
It
is
Moon
give Dante
in the
this
sign
bliss
Empyrean.
invisible
may apprehend
the doctrine
both
to
their beatitude,
beatitude.
momen-
Man
to things
apprehended by the
intellect,
to the
knowledge of things
first
man's knowledge
comes
'
It will
gination
as
be remembered that scholastic philosophy regards the imaa material and sensuous faculty, as an internal sense,
intellect is
whereas the
59
as to
how
it
dangerous,
eyes
is
incomprehensible
Dr. Scartazzini
in this
to
mortal
and
faith
is
needed.
As
Dante
heaven
man, and to
has destined
show
is
it.
God
bliss of Paradise,
freedom of that
Aristotle
of St.
Dante follows
closely the
words of
Thomas and
in
the
latter,
his
Be Statu
Free Will.
Interioris
Aristotle
is
where Hominis,
defines
treats
of
the
dignity
of
from without,
in this sense,
Taken
of
Piccarda and
*
compulsory
itself
for,
as
regards
proper act
the
will
"
,
of the will
that is the
great point
Chfe volont^ se
"For
the
quenched."
the
will
It is only in
acts
that
are
commanded by
and exercised
through some inferior power that the will can suffer violence,
not as regards the proper act of the will
the freedom
of the
it.
itself.^
Such
is
do violence to
the
all
human will that God Himself will not " To put violence upon free will, ' writes
"
neither
fits
is
in
power of the creature. If all hell, all the world, even the hosts of heaven were to come together and combine
'
Summa
2*. q. 6. a. 4.
60
in this
from free
did not keep their wills firm, as St. Lawrence on his fiery
Through
fear
their wills yielded, for they did not return to their cloisters
cessation
evil
of
of
a greater
is
are
There
not
does
consent to an
will,
which
evil.
The
but
women kept
wills
firm to their to
vow,
respective
or
actual
yielded
violence.
fell
is
sufficiently fulfilled
which
as
that
is,
to escape a
worse
It
the
human
Dante passes on
intellect
it
in the discussion.
it
Human
cannot be
penetrates
to
Universal Truth:
can penetrate so
and questions
up
to
sazia
Nostro intelletto, se il Ver non lo illustra, Di fuor dal qual nessun vero si spazia. Posasi in esso, come fera in lustra,
Tosto che giunto I'ha: e giugner puollo;
Se non, ciascun
'
There
is
in
totus
denique militia
with Hamlet's
O
*
all
you host
q. 6. a. 6.
of heaven!
earth!
what else?
And
Summa
1.
THE HEAVEN OF THE MOON.
Nasce per
Ch'al
quelle,
61
a guisa
il
di rampollo,
dubbio: ed h nature,
Par.
124.'
sommo
is
the Universal
Good which
found in
God
Universal Truth.
a natural desire to
trate to the First
The intellect of the rational creature has know the truth, and, if it cannot peneCause of
things, this desire
which comes
in vain.
Thus from
again
the
the
known we we
thought
supreme Truth.
It
is
mighty
infinite.
Dante would,
the
therefore, have a difficulty explained concerning making of satisfaction for broken vows, in order to set forth still more clearly that glorious liberty of the will with which man becomes ohnoxius Justitics prcemiatiti, and
life.
is
Heaven which
It is indeed to
vows
is
of
vow
is
due
Well I perceive that never sated is Our intellect unless the Truth illume it. Beyond which nothing true expands itself.
It rests therein, as wild beast in his lair,
When
it
attains it;
and
it
can attain
it;
would frustrate
be.
Doubt Which
us.
LoNQFiaxow.
62
apprezza,
Fu
Di che
le
creature intelligenti,
Par.
V.
19.
In
vow
that
God
accepts,
by
its
own
act
this
most
offered as victim.
If such
be
explained?
of
the essence
of the
Dante shows great severity on this point: the vow contains two elements, the matter
the sacrifice of the will the
:
vow and
ever
be
cancelled,
Thomas was
far
more
lenient
and held, not only that the matter could be commuted, but that the Church has power even to dispense from the actual
vow.
be to
Nor,
in
Dante's
opinion,
commuted.
The change
of
something
for
greater value,
is
vows
which compensation
vow
are
of perpetual chastity.
somewhat concerned
*
The
own goodness
Most highly, is Wherewith the creatures of intelligence Both all and only were and are endowed.
He
doth prize
Longfellow.
Cf.
Richard of
is
St. Victor,
De
^oihmg'in
In
it
man
"was
Will.
is
man
created to the
of the will
impressed
with the image of changeless Eternity and the likeness of the Divine
Majesty."
63
for the
failed in her
vow
and both
Pope has full power in the matter. Such indeed would seem Dante's final conclusion also, for Beatrice, after a solemn warning against vows of indifferent or of unlawful
matter (the latter illustrated as usual by one example from
the Scriptures and one from classical antiquity), thus concludes
her
discourse
will:
Siate, Cristiani,
a muovervi
piii gravi,
Non
siate
vento,
il
Questo
a voatro salvamento.
Par.
V.
73.*
Christians, be
more
like
serious in your
movements;
Be ye not
New
Testament,
Longfellow.
view of the solemn vow of perpetual chastity agrees with
St. Thomas {Summa II 2 q. 88. a. 11). Such vows cannot even be commuted for the common good and the peace of nations, for perils of human things are not to be met by converting things divine to
himaan use.
n.
"
Bomanum Imperium
de Jure
iion fuit,
de Jure
non
si
Eomanum Imperium
in Christo
Adae
non
fuit
punitum".
Swiftly
still
its
mark while
the cord
into this
vibrates,
second Heaven.
these
Mercury a corresponding higher grade of glory and higher perfection of charity, when compared with those in the Moon. Here, as in the Moon and nowhere
of
else
in
figures
becomes
is
its
light as
joy
increased.
is
greater.
The
eager
here,
spirits
Moon had
Dante's
appeared
question;
at
to
in
speak,
the
yet
had
waited
for
once
addresses
Dante
him
to
at his
own
that
he desires
to
know, and
his
own appeal
made
THE HEAVEN OF MERCUEY.
li
65
nostri
amori,
is
their greeting to
will increase
our loves."
With Piccarda we had breathed the air of the convent. Her Canto was full of the purest poetry of the mediaeval
cloister,
impregnated
with the
mystical
aroma of the
fire
that
Now
life
we
directed
to
In marked contrast
the
Emperor
Rome,
the triumphant
of the
Roman
As
Monarchy, he pro-
claims
ing
its
upon the times that passed between Constantine's reign and his own, and upon his own work for Italy and the Empire. With ^neas the Eagle had followed the course of the Heavens from East to West, until Constantine had
first
"
'
(as
Freedom); and there the imperial bird had remained until Justithe reconquest of Italy by the generals of Justinian.
nian in Dante's eyes recovered for the Eagle the garden of
the Empire,
saddle was
whose
88
90).
Converted
work
the
law-giver,
right
whilst
aided
glory
likewise
of
by the
imperial
Vandals.
The
own
:
career
neither
Dante has
in view
Guelphs nor Ghibellines, neither the foes nor the friends of the imperial cause, in their sordid and petty party poli-
66
tics
have Empire
:
emblem
of the
degno
it
worthy of reverence
*
!
among
other truths
ill
understood yet
knowledge touching Temporal Monarchy or the Empire*: in the special treatise the De Monarchia, in Book IV of
the Convito, and here and elsewhere in the Divine
Comedy.
is is
certainly the
work of
De Monarchia was
Henry
written
in
VH
The
fourth
Book
;
of the Convito
Dante's
exile,
and the
in the
rest
of
the
book,
with
its
bitter
Those chapters
read like a
the
first
first
De Monarchia,
containing
latter in
Dante does not yet openly attack the excessive claims of the Papacy and the prelates, nor lash out against It would seem as though he were not their corruption.*
calmer
spirit
yet
embittered
by unjust
exile.
It
was,
perhaps,
while
engaged upon
went the change and conversion which he describes of the De Monarchia. beginning of Book
In the De Monarchia, Dante discusses three questions Is the Empire necessary for the
Franceeco Selmi,
etc.,
Torino 1865.
67
welfare of the world? Did the Roman people rightfully and lawfully obtain this universal sway ? Does the authority of the Empire come directly from God or only through the
Pope?
And
in
the
De Monarchia he answers
point
in
these
nree
questions
from the
politician;
of
Ghibelline
first
the
and second
here,
in
in
manner;
the
Canto
vi.
of
the
Paradiso,
although
he does throughout
more especially deals with the second question, but now more as a poet than as a practical
poem),
he
politician.
He
leaves
the
third
question to be answered,
in the vision of the
allegorically but
in
most emphatically,
Eagle
now
Roman Empire
conquered when
all
{De Mon. H. 9). To show this, Justinian recites the mighty deeds of the Roman Eagle, from JEneas to Csesar and his successors. The great deeds in war of Roman heroes are rehearsed as in the Convito and the De Monarchia. The Roman People was ordained by God for Empire, it was by His judgment that they prevailed and Csesar won the prize of monarchy
the world, conquered by the will of God."
;
where the
rulers
of
the
Many
appeals
As
this sway of the Roman and made them paramount throughout the earth. Dante puts it in the Convito:
68
strumentale,
coltello, e
e cosi del
stata principio
romano imperio."^
of the
From a famous passage at the opening of Book II De Monarchia, we learn that it was Dante's conviction
When
once
convinced
of
that
not
arms
in
and
violence
but Divine
this thing,
Guelphism
and cried on behalf of the glorious Roman People and for " Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine Caesar
:
a vain thing?
rulers
The kings
take counsel
'
His anointed
His
one only
Up
his
proves
by arguments which mostly rest on principles of reason, and then makes his point clear by arguments based upon principles of Christian Faith. These latter arguments
theories
are
two
unjust
of
exist
in
number.
If the
Roman Empire
by
an
not
right, Christ in
thing,
in
He
edict
Csesar
Augustus; and
the
Roman Empire
did
by
Adam was
had
not punished in
rightfully jurisdiction
Convito
iv.
4.
in-
hammer
is
cause; and thus not force but law, and that Divine, was the beginning
of the
Roman
ma
Empire." (Miss K. Hillard's translation). For non forxa is an alternative reading non forxa ma.
69
mankind, the atonement offered by Christ for all all mankind would not have been valid. So, here too, Justinian now brings forward more sacred episodes in its history to show the sanctity of the Empire. All its past and future, all the mighty deeds that the Eagle had done or was to do for the earth beneath its sway, were eclipsed by the
glory under Tiberius of having been the instrument of the
Atonement, when
Then, under Titus,
Christ
it
Himself
owned
its
jurisdiction.
and
then
protected
its
Church which
He had
left,
when
the
beneath
wings
Charlemagne
brought
succour
to
Papacy against the assaults of the Lombards. There is a significant difference in the way Dante concludes his arguments on the Empire in these three works.
In the Convito there
of
his
is
no
fierce attack
view,
but
sacred character of
Rome:
e'l
suolo dov'ella
siede sia degno oltre quello che per gli uomini 6 predicato
In the
De Monarchia
it
is
and injured convert to Ghibelline principles, that concludes the second Book (which had commenced with a defence of
his
own
:
conversion)
alone
"
to insult the
pretend that they are the sons of the Church; when they
*
reverence;
all
iv. 5. "The stones which form her walls are worthy of and the ground upon which she stands is worthy beyond that has been preached and proved by men." Miss K. Hillabd's translation.
Convito
70
see the
that
Roman Empire
and
at the
end of His
when
the Paradiso
was
written,
di tutti
vostri mali.
L'uno al pubblico segno i gigli gialli Oppone, e I'altro appropria quelle a parte; Si ch'^ forte a veder qual piii si falli.
Par.
vi.
97.
The
spirits that
in this
sphere of
Mercury are they who impelled more by ambition and vain glory than by the
deeds,
but
who were
love of
God:
Perchfe onore e
fama
gli
succeda.
Dante's
conception
here
is
striking
to
contrast
to
that
of
the
of
become all in all Renaissance. With him love of Fame true love less vividly mount up wards'*
Church's translation.
Now
Whom
Which
To
and of
their crimes,
it
for
a party,
So that
'tis
LONGFEXLOW.
THE HEAVEN OF MERCURY.
i
71
raggi
in su
*
poggian
men
vivi.
Thomas
the
declares
that
he
is
who
and
human
glory,'
it
glory sought
to
is
vain
of
if
the seeking of
be not
directed
the
honour
God and
all
neighbour.
rays
to
This
imperfection
so, since
of
love,
and
of
due
inequality
charity,
mansion of
the
Moon
derived.
And
As
they
themselves
this
desire
proportion
between
reward.
diverse
voices
make harmony on
Among of Romeo
Romeo,
di cui
Fu
"
mal
gradita.
whose
fair
ill
rewarded."
of
Romeo, the
Provence,
faithful
minister
Raymond
Berlinghieri
made each
Through
as
{colpa
ingratitude,
and
so
departed
poor
he came.
In the
story of Romeo, his work for Raymond Berlinghieri, the envy of the Proven9als and their punishment, the Count's ingratitude and Romeo's voluntary exile and poverty, it is
own
career.
72
The opra
refer
to
the
patriotic
of
Dante as a Florentine
and
fell
resist
Papal interference
Proven9als,
when
them,
the
upon
may
the
misfortunes
;
of
the
and the
account demanded of Romeo's administration perhaps corresponds to the accusations of corrupt practices during the
priorate
which
lines
his
The
concluding
of
Canto
vi.,
his
Dante says elsewhere in the Paradiso and in the Convito of own poverty and wanderings in exile, seem certainly
se
il
mondo
sapesse
il
Mendicando sua
Assai lo loda e
piii lo
loderebbe.
Par.
vi.
139.
From
the
Roman
Eagle,
when Henry
of
bearer,
for the
own
restoration to Florence,
its
is
not
mighty deeds
and
his
stricken in years,
And
if
know
it
laud him
it
Longfellow.
might well be applied to Dante at the time of writing the Paradiso; Giovanni del Virgilio in the Eclogues addresses him as senex. Cf. Paradiso xvii. and Convito I. 3. where the poet describes
himself as peregrino,
Romeo
persona umile
e peregrinn.
73
and
dignified reference to
his
own unmerited
as
in
exile
and
sufferings.
first appearance and in the bearing of Mercury there was a designed contrast with those of the Moon, so it is manifest in their departure, as Justinian and his companions return to the Empyrean. The gentle Ave Maria of those inconstant nuns is replaced by
Just
the
these spirits of
the
hymn
of praise to the
God
spirits
of the
The
nature
first
words have
left in
Dante's
in the
Heaven, even as the Archangels have a profounder comprehension of divine mysteries than the Angels. How could just vengeance be justly avenged, just punishment
punished
it,
justly
by by
the
same judge
that
had
originally
inflicted
Roman
all
Eagle?
offspring,
Adam
his
at
the
Incarnation, the
and human nature was alienated from God Word of God by the work of the
until,
human nature
sin
human nature in Christ. The Maker in Christ was pure from and good through infused virtues, as when it was first
united to
its
created
it
in
Adam
but nevertheless of
it
itself,
inasmuch as
forth
nature,
was
still
banished
from
satisfaction offered
by Christ was of
infinite
was necessary because of the greatness of the offence offered by man to God by sin; and was most just with regard to the human nature which He had assumed, though with regard to the infinite dignity of the Divine
as
74
Heavens opened
Thus
is
how Giusta
imperial jurisdiction.
oiLapena
che
the
la croce porse,
De Monarchia where he propounds that somewhat amazing doctrine that, if the Roman Empire did not exist
by
is
Adam
that
in Christ.
It
was a penalty inflicted by the sentence of a regular judge who had lawfully jurisdiction over the whole world, since all mankind was
intended
to
show
punished
in
the
flesh
of
Christ.
"
And
if
the
Roman
Empire had not existed by right, Tiberius Csesar, whose vicar was Pontius Pilate, would not have had jurisdiction
over
all
mankind."
question
arises.
A
mode
new
Why
did
God choose
this
Beatrice
explains
that
the
human
soul, created
immediately by the
immortality,
sin
is
it
freedom of the
to servitude
will,
and likeness
to to
God.
By
sinks
God: a void
up with
left in
filled
just suffering
Now
original
justice
was
lost
Earthly
Paradise.
Two ways
man
par-
doned, or
of himself
made
satisfaction.
latter course
was an
by
God
requires a satisfaction
is
but
finite.
There-
THE HEAVEN OF MERCURY.
fore
it
75
mercy or of
both ways,
to
by both.
God
chose to proceed by
man
that
satisfied
by the
at once
infinite humiliation
Word
Divine
and
this
redemption
of
man by
work
Mercy:
imprenta,
La
il
mondo
Di proceder per
A
O
primo die
o
fie.
Si alto e
si
magnifico processo,
I'altra fu
sfe
Dio a dar
stesso
A
E
Che
avesse sol da
sfe
dimesso;
modi erano
il
scarsi
Alia giustizia, se
Figliuol di
Dio
vii.
Non
Par.
109.*
One more
difficulty
Why
are
that
God
:
said
Goodness Divine, that doth imprint the world, Has been contented to proceed by each And all its ways to lift you up again; Nor 'twixt the first day and the final night
Such high and such magnificent proceeding By one or by the other was or shall be; For God more bounteous was Himself to give
To make man able to uplift himself, Than if He only of Himself had pardoned; And all the other modes were insufficient For justice, were it not the Son of God Himself had humbled to become incarnate. Longfellow.
76
non
si
move
vii.
quand'ella
sigilla.
Par.
67/
And
come
all
corporeal bodies,
corruption
lies
and
last
but
little
time.
The
solution
of the puzzle
between things created immediately by God and those produced by second causes. The immediate imprint of God's hand can never be cancelled
in the distinction
what His
immortal
finger has
and incorruptible.
nature
perfect,
their
all
everlasting,
But
of
itself,
is
the
same
in all bodies
and
is
determined
Ma
gli
fanno,
Da
informante
Ibid. 133.*
In queste
stelle,
Whate'er from
this [Divine
Goodness] immediately
distils
Has afterwards no end, for ne'er removed Is its impression when it sets its seal. Longfellow.
*
But
all
And all those things which out of them By a created virtue are informed.
Created was the matter which they have; Created was the informing influence
Within these
stars that
77
the
it
same
not
in all bodies,
itself
is
subject
remains as a substratum, which receives successively different forms but still itself remains beneath
it
corruption;
them
all.
As Spenser
writes of Adonis:
Yet
is
eterne in mutabilitie,
succession
oft,
And by
made
perpetuall,
and chaunged diverslie; For him the Father of all formes they call: Therfore needs mote he live, that living gives to
Transformed
all.
But upon
this
He
like
Dante showed in the second Canto how these stars are hammers in the hands of Angels, to stamp these forms
is
Thus, although
was immediately created by God, yet all these substances are produced by secondary causes and are theresubject to corruption.
fore
vital principles
and vegetative
souls,
human
soul
is
created
it is
subsistent, immaterial
rests in
is
restless until
it
Him:
Ma
Di
mezzo spira
disira.
La somma
&h, si
Beninanza, e la innamora
Par.
vii.
142.
'
* But the Supreme Goodness immediately breathes your own enamours it so with Itself that it evermore desires It.
life
and
78
Thence Beatrice draws finally a somewhat unscientific argument concerning the resurrection of the body. This innate tendency to God points to immortality and future resurrection; as also the fact that God in making Adam and Eve
created not
diately,
only
their
souls,
indicates
the
immortality
the
the
body
still
likewise.
However
unscientific
argument, for we
could hardly
that
first
most
man
life at
us
sigilla.
ergo
illius
civitatis
et
una
in
omnibus,
et
ab omni malo
pcenarum;
oblita, ut liberatori
The
their
sphere of the
"
star
"
of
Venus.
Not
of
this
heaven appear
to him, there
is
obviously a
and
their charity as
compared
had surpassed
are at once
the
spirits
of
the
Moon.
Here
their
light,
figures
although, since
there
is
we
not
beyond the
earth's
shadow,
perhaps a
vestige of
saint
(of
human
Dante's
own
though
motion
poet,
less
is
marked than
and their
than that expressed by the quaint image of fishes in pond crowding to be fed, with which Dante had described the souls in Mercuiy. Now they are seen as brilliant lights
fish
moving
their
circle-wise,
is
approach
and
80
the
nostri
amori
of those ambitious
spirits is
drowned
in the
in life yielded
overmuch and
in a
wrong
and
way
to the influence of
comes forward
greet
as
Dante,
quoting
him the
first
line
of
his
own
great ode
Voi che intendendo
that splendid
first
il
in
which Dante
and
with
told
how
love
Anjou that found favour poet's words The imply that at one time in Dante's sight. he had set great hopes upon him, and when, after describing the regions over which he should have reigned. Southern Provence and Apulia, Hungary, of which he was already titular king, and Sicily, the young king speaks of the line of rulers he might have founded
the only
of the house of
Nati per
member
me
di Carlo e di Ridolfo:
we can vaguely
Guelph
race
of the
whom
are
among
Purgaiorio,
and Clemenza.
There may,
:
too,
him
he plays in Paradise
81
though
it
may
only be generally
alluding to the
This
of the
his
illustrates
analogy
between the
saints
it,
who move
vicar,
by
brother
in
Robert
Zaccaria
of
Orvieto,
1315
(whose renewed
his
Ranieri di
sentence
of
the
death
against
Dante,
and included
two sons
in the
decree),
difficulties
connected
was
one of the
to the
"
cripple of Jeru-
The poet in return somewhat ceremoniously demands an explanation. Come uscir pud di dolce seme amaro " How
salem".
"
A similar question
upon in Plato's dialogue Frotagoras ; How does it happen that virtuous fathers frequently have unworthy sons? Dante himself had written in the Purgaslightly
touched
torio
Bade volte risurge per li rami L'umana probitate: e questo vuole Quel che la dk, perch^ da Lui si chiami.
Purg. vu. 121.
But
here, in this
is
heaven of the
closely
question
*
more
investigated
"Much
*
me and
Not The
probity of
gives
it,
Who
so that
82
ence
states.
fundamental
truth
is
made
clear.
The
the
God
influence
Now, by means
best for them:
of this virtue
of the heavens,
God
perfetta,
Ma
esse insieme
con la
lor salute.
Par.
viil.
100.*
end all celestial influences are directed as an arrow mark; and they do not work in vain, or the Divine Intelligence would not be perfect. Whatever the stars cause is not by chance, but tends to the end ordained by God.
this
To
to its
God
first
ordained
man
"
Every man, ' says St. Thomas, " needs the divine assistance, and secondly also human
assistance,
for
man
is
purposes of
Ond'egli ancora:
Or
di',
sarebbe
peggio
non chieggio.
vive
oflSci?
vi scrive.
pu6
non
si
No,
se
il
Ibid. 115.*
'
And
in itself is perfect.
their preservation.
Longfellow. Whence he again: 'Now say would it be worse For men on earth were they not citizens?'
'Yes,' I replied; 'and here I ask
no
reason.'
83
"
The
state is a creation
nature,
and man
either
is
by nature a
political animal.
is
And
without a
above
in vain.
humanity or below
it."*
Nature
makes nothing
wrong.
be a
Man
is
whom
to
she has given power of speech and the sense of right and
Therefore
political
animal:
clearly intended
state
is
by nature
a creation of nature
and prior
is
when
a
isolated,
not
self-sufficing
and therefore he
for
is
like
part
in
a body of
citizens
sufficing
the purposes of
life.
In
of functions
and of
duties.
Carlo Martella
Division
is
necessary,
diflPerent
is
one
a legislator as
The heavenly
influence
bodies
that
to
circle
round us impress
their
upon men,
qualities
Nature in
course would
always
make
parents,
stitution of
human
by means
strive
of the
influence
of the heavens.
below they
diverse?
live
not
offices
No,
*
if
Longfellow.
Aristotle, Polities.
Jowett's
translation.
84
life
suited, nor
make
monk
of
one born a
fit
only to preach.
With
closes
this
pleasant thrust
discourse,
his
his
ix.)
and Dante
opens
the
next
Canto
(Canto
vengeance to
of
their
fall
his children
heritage.
his
heir,
1308
and named
Robert as
Martello.
King Robert
still
good books
the poet
Cunizza
Sofdello,
da Romano,
about
Palma
of Robert Browning's
There
is
a fasci-
nating mystery
After
her
extraordinary
',
of
to
amazing marriages
of her
in
upon the
house in Tuscany.
was
made
seem to have already taken on the fall of her brothers). Dante probably derived his view of her character from the Cavalcanti; he had possibly even seen her whilst leading a life of penance and devotion, and has here enshrined
a memory of his childhood, as
in
in Carlo Martello
he records
She
is
no doubt
of charity covering a
of
her brother,
torch of destruction,
to the
whom Dante
eyebrows
in boiling blood:
85
Cunizza fui chiamata, e qui refulgo Perch^ mi vinse il lume d'esta stella.
Ma
lietamente a
me medesma indulge La cagion di mia sorte, e non mi noia, Che parria forse forte al vostro vulgo.
Par.
ix. 31.*
The
Ottimo
quotes
these
lines
as
an
ilhistration
of
the
doctrine that
Dante has
same stock, the brother following the influence of Mars and the sister that of Venus. A true modem child of Venus, so Benvenuto cynically calls her, but Dante has
enthroned her for
all
Cunizza
for she
of
has
obtained
lower
mansion of
is
beatitude
in
consequence of her
rejoices
in
frailty;
but this
She speaks
upon excellent deeds, and utters prophecies of ills and bloodshed to fall upon the Marca Trevigiana, the usual tales of petty warfare and treachery, numbers still flowing to us
far-off things
And
*
Out
of one root
Cunizza was I
me.
But gladly to myself the cause I pardon Of my allotment, and it does not grieve me; Which would perhaps seem strong unto your
This method of illustrating the text
vulgar.
Longfellow.
shall
'One shall be taken and one be left" by placing one member of a family among the saved, and another closely related among the lost, is characteristic of Dante.
Here we have brother and sister, elsewhere father and son, as in the cases of Frederick and Manfredi, and the two Counts of Montefeltro, Guido and
Buonconte.
86
One
fine
power and
It
is
terrible irony.
incidentally
in the
move
this third
Heaven, where he
Carlo Martello
that he
tells
him
that in reality
it
was the
Principalities
whom
celesti;
and Cunizza bids him note that the Thrones, the mirrors
of God's judgments, rule a higher sphere
Su sono
His object
the
spirits
between
with
its
of
the
sphere
and the
"
sphere
itself
who guide
is
in the
place
may
love
and may join love with lordship." Folco of Marseilles, of whose fame Cunizza had
spoken,
to
is
just
Dante.
Lover and troubadour, then monk, bishop and who was a poet on earth
now
in
Heaven
singing in
And
does indeed
Non Non
perc>
qui
si
pente,
ma
si ride,
mente non
Par.
torna,
Ma
Yet here
103.'
Not But
at the fault,
no repenting, but we smile, which comes not back to mind, at the power which ordered and foresaw.
is
Longfellow.
'
87
remembers them only that be may sing for ever of the mercies of God and contemplate the wonders of Divine
Providence.
in the divine
Grief for
past
sin
is
absorbed in happiness
For,
mercy and
in Dante's allegory,
of.
Intellectual
remains
La
colpa a mente
non
"
torna.
"
In
of
God, "
sin,
its
oblivious
oblivious
deliverer.
of
of
oblivious
sufferings,
deliverance
to
be
ungrateful
The
spirit that is
Heaven
is
Eahab
of
sunbeam
in
clear water.
When
Christ at His Passion descended into Limbo and triumphantly drew forth the souls of the just, Eahab was taken up first
into this planet.
*
Da
questo
cielo, in cui
Tombra s'appunta
face, pria ch'altr'alma
Che
il
vostro
mondo
Del trionfo di Cristo fu assunta. Ben 81 convenne lei lasciar per palma In alcun cielo dell'alta vittoria,
Che
la al
Terra Santa,
papa
la
memoria.
Par.
ix.
119.'
all
other souls
Even
was to leave her in some heaven. palm of the high victory. Which he acquired with one palm and the other,
it
as a
88
For
mind Josue
is
The
scarlet cord
which she
hung
in
the
window
is
whom
she received
from Josue represent the two Testaments which the Church has received from God. Rahab is the last soul who
appears within the earth's shadow, as a type of the Church
men beyond
we catch a
that shadow.
There
is
in these lines
Crusade,
of
which
elsewhere
in the
away
of
in
from Petrarch's verse, finds utterance in the s hero-King Henry V, and perhaps the music of Tasso's song and the glowing
Veronese's
votive
pictures
colours
Paul
to
of
Lepanto.
Rahab's
aid
Josue
affords
characteristic
outburst,
At
certain important
ecstatic
pilgrimage,
Dante
gives
special
utterance
these
of
an
expectation
better
things
to
come.
At
the sphere of
Venus
region,
the
of Paradise
shadow of the earth ends, and the first division is completed. To mark his passage to a higher
through
Folchetto, utters his grido against
Dante,
The golden
florin
stamped
For
it
the
Scriptures
and
Pope
the
memory
of the Pope.
Longfellow.
THE HEAVEN OF VENUS.
89
and Cardinals have no leisure to think of Nazareth! But deliverance is at hand for the sacred places of Rome
Tosto libere
fien
dell'adultero.
It
is
the
death of Boniface
supposed to have
La
St. Celestine
or to the transference
its
very shadow
and corruption, his belief in his and chosen Rome Vaticano e Valtre parti elette di Roma, chosen by God for the seat of Pontiff and Emperor alike; and, possibly, by implication, his never extinguished hope of the purification of the Church and the restoration
his protest against avarice
ideal
of the Empire.
Chapter
III.
SUN.
venit
me
spiritus
Sapientise;
et
prseposui illam
com-
paratione
illius."
Liber Sapientice.
The method
employed by Dante to give greater solemnity beyond earth's shadow to the Sun may be compared with that of his ascent from the Earthly Paradise to the
to his ascent
Moon
at the
There was a pause in the action end of the Purgatorio; the narrative was interrupted
sublime prologue in which the poet touched upon
by
that
the glory of God, the order of the Universe and the Eternal
Law.
his ascent
by defining the season of the year and the time So now in the same way, when about to ascend of day. to a higher stage of knowledge and bliss, not merely above the earth but beyond the very shadow of it, there is a corresponding pause in the action after the end of the ninth Canto. There is, as it were, a new prologue at the the tenth Canto Dante once more sings of the beginning of creation and the order of the Universe, and then returns
;
to
the
SUN.
91
Guardando nel suo Figlio con I'Amore Che I'uno c I'altro eternalmente spira, Le primo ed ineffabile Valore Quanto per mente o per occhio si gira Con tanto ordine fe', ch'esser non pxiote
Senza gustar di Lui chi ci6 rimira.
Par. X.
1.'
Creation
Trinity.
is
the
work
of
all
His
piece
Word and
is
through the
idea which
his will to
intellect
and through
art.
make manifest
;
that idea in a
work of
He
who
that
like
Dante has
is
Canto
it
makes
how
philosophers,
by
the
grandeur
and
may
arrive at a
knowledge of
the power and glory of the Creator. So from creation Dante now passes to the order of the Universe and the dependence of the order of the world upon that of the heavens, bidding his readers raise their thoughts with him
to
that
'
part
of
the heavens
in
Looking into His Son with all the Love Which each of them eternally breathes forth, The Primal and unutterable Power Whate'er before the mind or eye revolves With so much order made, there can be none
Who
For occhio
this beholds
Longfellow.
an alternative reading loco :per mente o per loco, whatever can be conceived of by the intellect or impressed upon the senses.
of line 4 there
is
92
expression.
art,
perfection
the
divine
Dante touches
upon
moved and
rule the
may
by earthly things:
Per
satisfare al
mondo
che
li
chiama.
For by the
of
least
deviation
from
into
this
divine order,
much
the
virtue in
But,
since the
poem
is
death,
in
detail
Dante leaves the question to be worked out by the curious reader, and turns from it to the
And
just as
"
executive part
"
of the
Paradiso by describing the Sun at the spring equinox, conjoined with the constellation of Aries in the most favourable
season
reminding us that
that
it
it was at this season of the spring equinox was granted him to ascend above earth's shadow into the ministro maggior delta natura. The Sun is the fitting sphere for those souls whose writing and teaching shed such a splendour of philosophical illuminaThe higher degree of beatitude tion over the Middle Ages. of these spirits, as compared with those who had appeared within the earth's shadow, is shown by their increased
glory,
their appearing
now
so
the
many suns apparent against the burning background of Sun because more brilliant even than it. And a step
is
further
indicated
in
the
ascent
THE HEAVEN OF THE
suprasensible.
SUN.
93
that,
although
The splendour of these spirits is such we can believe in it and base a desire upon
poet cannot even convey
it
that
:
to the imagination
Le
A
*
tanta altezza,
our
phantasies are too lowly for such a height, " for the or imagination,
is
phantasy,
order,
No
it
cannot be transported
from Paradise.
Essence
peculiar
is
And
of
since
the
number
Blessed
Trinity
is
the
first
and Beatrice.
From
of
is
first circle
of twelve
glorified spirit
Thomas Aquinas
privileged
addresses Dante.
by divine grace, all the blessed are eager to satisfy his desire of knowledge to refuse would be to do violence to their blissful nature. Dante had said to
so
:
Casella:
Per tornare
altra volta
*
lA dove
And
this
hope of
*
his is confirmed
now
in the assurance of
To
return once
more
this journey.
Purg.
ii.
94
St.
and ever
growing love
Ti conduce su per quella scala,
U' senza
risalir
nessun discende.*
So the Angelical Doctor names the twelve saints of his circle; and with true humility before naming himself he Dante indicates his master, Albertus Magnus of Cologne. commences his saints of the Sun with Albert, because it was mainly that Dominican's work to reconcile Aristotle with Christianity, and so enthrone the Stagirite in the supreme
tyrannical
position
of
authority
for
the
mediseval
mind.
Next
vere
is
gratia plenus
grains
Deo
et
mundo^ who by
civil
his
him
more famous Augustinian, Peter the Lombard, the Master of the Sentences, which was perhaps the most imthe
portant treatise
rising
of
its
of
that
great luminary
its
and
in
which
author
Thomas, widow to
Lord.
"
Fairest of
all
Solomon, con-
St.
men of the Middle Ages doubted Thomas touching his profound wisdom
mind
to
be solved
later.
Next
him
is
authority
Boethius,
Bede, Richard of
St.
Victor
and
Sigieri of
Brabant follow.
We
know from
Boethius,
the Convito
the sainted
indebted to
Conducts thee upward by that stair, Where without reascending none descends.
Par.
THE HEAVEN OP THE
soul
SUN.
95
who from
exile
Paradise; a martyr at
if
and mariyrdom came to this peace of the hands of Theoderic the Goth,
for
of
a lady
full of
adorned with virtue, wonderful in knowledge, liberty. " Richard of St. Victor, superhuman
in contemplation,
Che a
is
be regarded as one of Dante's chief masters in the mystical flights of the Paradiso; for in the Letter to Can
to
intellect
soar
to
these
poet
justifies
his
this great
on contemplation form a
life
;
scientific
to
some extent
the Paradiso
by which the
"
soul
impenetrable
mysteries
God which
transcend
all
all
thought of present
In the
verif
who
sillogixxo invidiosi
that
not
true
political
he would
have taught the Florentine republic, repaid only hostility and injustice. It may be taken as a companion with
Vaughan,
St.
I.
96
Romeo. If so, all bitterness is drowned melody with which the tenth Canto ends, as the matin music of the Church to her divine Spouse. In the next Canto Dante, through St. Thomas, is about to discourse upon the most perfect example of renunciation
picture to that of
in the celestial
to
ostensibly
vowed themselves
of high perfection,
were
still
He
commences,
fettered
is now Heaven
therefore,
having a foretaste
with Beatrice.
"
in
his
glorious
An
Si Taradisus in hoc
est
:
mundo
est,
in claustro vel
it
iri
scholis
If
Paradise
is
in this world,
is
in the cloister or
the schools."
The question concerning the Dominican order, which St. Thomas proceeds to solve for Dante, merely means that
the poet for artistic piu-poses feigns not to comprehend the
excellence
at
which the
Dominicans
ought
to
aim, and
and how it is that they have so fallen. Aquinas therefore first shows him what a great work had been intended by the Divine Providence for the Dominican and
Franciscan orders to accomplish, in union with the
celestial
example of
The
inscrutable Providence of
God
to Him, free from heresy and inflamed with love; and these were the seraphic Francis and the cherubical Dominic, whose work and praise are inseparably united.
safely
St.
Francis.
Thomas, as a Dominican, sings the panegyric of St. He rose upon the world from Assisi as the Sun
THE HEAVEN OF THE
SUN.
97
from the East in most resplendent summer; and, before Dante, St. Bonaventura had applied to St. Francis the text
in
the
Apocalypse
"
And
from the East, having the seal of the living God." His mystical marriage with Poverty, the widow of Christ, is
sung
of,
the
foundation of his
order and
its
approbation
We
martyrdom
and, lastly, of
how
Nel crudo
Amo,
Da
Che
sue
membra due
anni portamo.'
Par.
xi.
106.
Two
his
years later he died, as he had lived, in the arms of most dear Lady and mystical spouse Poverty, bequeathing
order, in
soul's purgation from disordered love: Ordina quesf Amore, o tu che m'ami^ " Set love in order, thou that lovest
me. '
St.
own
its
two most
allegorising
lyrical
spirit
passages.
of
In
his
life
the Middle
to
Ages took
account
form.
Indeed,
if
we
are
credit
the
given by St.
On
members
for
98
themselves
personifications
and perform
miracle
play in his
the finest of
honour.
the
which Giotto painted over the tomb of the Saint at Assisi, is a most precious artistic commentary on Dante's lines. Christ standing upon a rock unites St. Francis to his chosen bride, who is haggard and careworn,
four
clothed
in
ragged and
Roses and
thorns
and encircle her head, she wears the aureole and has wings,
though weak,
but
feet.
dog
is
barking at
the
Bride,
all
and boys
and stones,
but
raiment and mighty wings glowing with rainbow hues. Dante follows St. Bonaventura in regarding the Stigmata as the last supreme confirmation of the work of St. Francis.
The
when
heard
reception
is
the
mountain
of
AJvernia seemed
all
aflame to the
Tu
bearer."
s&i il mio Oonfaloniere, " Thou art my standardLove and knowledge are the themes of Dante's
seen in the legend of Aquinas himself, where he offered up his completed Summa before a Crucifix, and a voice came from the wood and was answered by the Saint Thoma, bene scripsisH de Me: quam ergo redpies pro tuo Idbore mercedem ? Domine, non aliam praeier Te, These two legends are indeed priceless and should stand together. Bonaventura
is
:
closes
his
life
of
St.
THE HEAVEN OF THE
passage of the Divine Comedy:
"
SUN.
99
Then
glorious
standard-bearer of Christ,
thou hast walked according to the rule of the Cross; and ending thy course in the Cross, by the testimony of the
Cross thou dost make known to
ness
of
all
thy glory in
Heaven.
in safety
go
forth
for,
by the rod of the Cross of Christ, they will pass through the desert, and having crossed the Jordan of
mortality they will enter into the promised land of the living,
What
to
the
St.
Peter!
This
does
St.
Thomas
Francis to his
own
patriarch, answering
difficulty. Those that follow St. up lay a goodly reward, but he bitterly rebukes the degenerate state of the Dominicans at the epoch of the vision, and their deviations from the pure and stern rule of their
Dante's
founder.
dignities
Greedy for the new pasturage of ecclesiastical and honours, they return to the fold like sheep without milk, with neither good example to set nor sound
doctrine to teach.
To
a
second
of
great
teachers
is
introduced.
is
At
the
one of
dances,
which constitute
joy;
second garland
in
their
thus
encircles the
like a
first,
joining
double
100
rainbow or an echo.
ciscans,
St.
new group
of spirits St.
Francis
In time of
need
God
who worked
celestial
the
in
leading
powers of
darkness;
ing
it,
his
learning,
Dante has a thrust at that excessive study which he regards as one of the prime causes of the corruption of the clergy and as Bonaventura
the true manna,
of
the
Decretals,
proceeds
to
describe
the
confirmation
of
St.
Dominic's
in to
the
degeneration of the
rigid
the
to
papal
chair
since
those
and austere
St.
As
the
Dominic
himself
Now,
its
upon
Thus,
own
of
degenerate
state
the
Franciscans.
St.
back
led
from
them,
the
and
101
doubtless,
with reference to
as
such corrupters
foe
the
of
Franciscan
simplicity
Dante's old
Matteo d'Acquasparta, that Bonaventura describes himself as one who nei grandi offici sempre posposi
Cardinal
la
sinistra
cura,
that
is,
ever
made worldly
interest take
first
the
second
of
place;
two
spirits
his
glorious
whom
friars,
he indicates to Dante
are not
humble
of
St.
and
simple-hearted
who
doctrine
renunciation, have illumined the had been among the greatest teachers of the schools.
whom
law
Richard
Victor,
and the new. Hugh of St. Victor, the master of and of Peter the Lombard, was another of the
Augustinian
theologians
of
mystical
where
before
had been
chair
founded
at
left his
Paris
attacks
of
Abelard.
Peter
same abbey.
as
illustrating
The
logician,
Peter of Spain,
is
;
interesting
Dante's
he
is
the
only
Pope
of Dante's
in Paradise,
and the poet makes no reference to his having been elevated He had been much maligned to the Papacy as John XXI. during his life and at his death, and the fact of his having
suflPered injustice
from the tongues of men probably influenced Nathan is the only Old Testament
as
of
this
group,
type of those
who taught
the
to know themselves and rebuked Then come Chrysostom; St. Anselm; JElius Donatus,
great
the
102
by
St.
Bonaventura's
of Flora, one,
spirit,
shines
the
Calabrian
abbot Joachim
like
who,
Dante himself, endowed with the prophetic like Dante, under cover of this prophetic
high places.
and
spirit fear-
The
celestial
and
to
in
circles
opposite
directions,
and a
over
as
it,
quoted
it
an
instance
teaching as to the
Apt
from any corner of the earth that famous letter had behold the sun and the stars?" said, still usually ascribed to him, in which the amnesty
heavens
:
'
Can I
is
so scornfully refused.
The song
of these doctors
is
upon
Human
beatitude
degree
earth's
was
also
it
the
is
of the
spirits
within
the
shadow,
that this
not
until
that
is
so clearly indicated.
now
solved.
It
in
wisdom
that of
Adam
before and
Adam
and the
SUN.
103
humanity of Christ were created immediately by God, surely they must have had all knowledge and intellectual Hght
possible
to
human
St.
Thomas
causes.
mortal
and
corruptible,
are
finite
They
and so are
This divine
splendours
of the
Idea which
is
the
Word.
more or
for in
nine
Angels
down
to the elements.
Since the
im-
God;
is
as
we
down
reflection
gets
is
feebler
and
feebler.
God
:
infinite
perfection;
He
immutable;
He
alone
is
pure Act.
All
act in respect
may
become
ality.
the nearer to God, the more act and the less potentiare pure act relatively, not in the sense
is
The Angels
in
pure Act.
in
the
increases, until we come to what Dante calls the uliime potenze and brevi coniingenze, the ultimate potentialities
and
brief
contingencies,
all
potentiality
and can readily cease to exist. Such are creatures of the lowest order produced by the motion and influence of the heavens, with seed or without. There is, again, the distinction between things created immediately by God and those
produced by means of second causes, whereby the archetypal
idea,
il
segno ideale or
expressed.
of a
"ideal
signet",
is
more or
less
is
perfectly
The
substantial
form of anything
the
likeness
If
104
the
in
were
in
perfect
condition
and
the
heavens
created
thing
would be
perfect, too,
La
God
artist
has communicated to them, and then the segno ideale will not
like
an
who knows his craft [ha Vabito delVarte)^ but whose hand trembles when he gets weary; nature being God's instrument of creation when He makes use of second causes, and the
"
"
it.
He
has endowed
without
Now where God creates immediately, making use of second causes, the things created
Per6 se
caldo Amor, la chiara Vista
79.*
That
is,
Humanity without and of our Saviour were thus created immediately, any intervention of second causes, certainly in them human
seals the form.
And
since the
man and
the
The
would
all
appear.
seal,
there acquired.
Longfellow.
Virtii
here
means Power,
i.
in
140:
Sapienxa
amore
e virtute.
THE HEAVEN OF THE
L'umana natura mai non
Nfe
fia,
SUN.
105
fue,
After
little
all
this,
Solomon was not the wisest of men, but the wisest of kings, and in that sense alone was his wisdom so peerless. He merely chose regal prudenza, the wisdom
inadequate.
sufficient
for
king
"
An
The words
to kings:
che son molti, e
buon son
rari.
Thus
there
is
no contradiction, though,
led
aft^r the
profound
arguments
that
up
irreverently inclined to
the
"
!
Arguing
from
Dante's
difficulty,
St.
Thomas
utters
Learn
bearing of the
Too
often a hastily
to
the
error.
It
is
fall.
And
thence follows a
practical
the
harbour's
human
an
soul,
is
mouth, not to judge of the ultimate fate of a nor flatter ourselves that we can see such a
in the sight of
one as he
God.
admirable
one,
and yet
Human
Nor
will be,
what
it
was
in those
two persons.
Longfellow.
106
that
to himself.
Had he done
the
loss
so,
the
been
poorer
by
of the
Inferno.
As soon
thought,
as
St.
Thomas has
the
concerning
splendour
of
resurrection.
round;
bodies,
and,
the
it
sense
of
sight
is
how can
A
light,
still
more
hymn
by the divinest
points of
evidently
is
Solomon.
probably
(iii.
Dr.
Scartazzini
out
is
that
Solomon
selected
because
what
said in Ecclesiastes
seem spoken "Who knoweth if the spirit of as apparently much of the children of Adam ascend upward, and if the spirit of the beasts descend downward." He is, as it were, answering
deaths of
beasts
18
men and
the same:
Throughout the
eternal festivity
The
brightness
is
love
is
con-
sequent
upon
responds to
of the
and the intensity of the vision corgrace supernaturally added to the natural powers
vision,
soul.
human
Man
and perfect happiness consists in the vision of the Divine Essence. When soul and body are reunited, the soul's perfection will be completed, for, according to St.
Thomas
"
The
body
not
soul
human
beatitude,
though
essence."
Then
will
even
vision,
itself
love
will
more of the light that enables it to see God; and radiance will be increased. The body
be
transfigured
will
by
soul,
with
SUN.
circles,
107
showing
fervent
body not only for themselves but for those who had been dear to them on earth,
of the resurrection of the
the
Summa (H 2,
18.
2),
where
St.
Thomas
blessed.
there
nor
He
They
desire
And
of
in
although they
still
it.
The
the
comparison
glory
who
already possesses
and so
its
come
future
Now
third
follows
that mysteriously
beautiful
episode
their
of the
garland
like
of
spirits
in
the
Sun,
apparition
from afar
rise,
or
the
closes in.
dazzled
Ed
ecco intorno, di chiarezza pari, Nascere un lustro sopra quel che v'era,
A
E
si
come
prima sera
Comincian per
lo ciel
nuove parvenze,
Parvemi li novelle sussistenze Cominciar a vedere, e fare un giro Di fuor dall'altre due circonferenze. O vero sfavillar del Santo Spiro,
Come
si
non
sofFriro!
'
108
e ridente
Mi
si
non seguir
la mente.
Some have
interpreted these
vision of Angels, a
dazzling
him.
Benvenuto's
brilliant
Dante merely chose out a few of the chief for the first two garlands and relegated the rest to a third great circle inclosing these two, and that his
the
stars
eyes
were
dazzled
because
his
intellect
could
not
fully
Benvenuto seems
to regard these
And
lo! all
And
It
Along the welkin new appearances, So that the sight seems real and unreal, seemed to me that new subsistences Began there to be seen, and make a circle Outside the other two circumferences. very sparkling of the Holy Spirit, How sudden and incandescent it became
Unto mine eyes, that vanquished bore it not! But Beatrice so beautiful and smiling Appeared to me, that with the other sights That followed not my memory I must leave her.
Longfellow.
SUN.
109
imply.
others, which Dante's words certainly do not Other early commentators suppose that he refers to authors that he personally had not been able to study or comprehend. It is, however, perfectly justifiable to see
in
this
episode
that there
scientists to come; an acknowledgment were truths which the mediseval schoolmen had not dreamed of, that a day would come when the world would no longer say with Dante himself in the Convito:
discoveries
and of
la
e fissa e
non
mare
its
is
have
Nor
and that Evolution would yet word to say upon creation and the origin of man. it necessary to suppose this to be an entirely
e centra del delo;^
unconscious
prophecy
to
on
Dante's part; he
may
possibly
have come
see
that
comnot,
pletely inadequate
on many points.
spirits
merely momentary
It
is
that he catches.
any explanation, but rather hurries him upward; and the Ecclesiastic Authority was not
show
itself
tigations.
Convito
iii.
5.
"It
is
quite
authority of Aristotle to
revolve,
know
and that
it
n.
"
Nos autem,
mundus
aeqnor,
quamquam Samum
injuste."
ut,
patiamur
Dante, De Vulgari
The
coming.
Dante
a
step
"translated
to
to
more
lofty
because
nearer
the
First
Cause.
His act of
thanksgiving to
God
and should be compared with the corresponding passages in which he returns thanks for his reception into the Moon
{Par.
ii.
Now
it,
he
no
longer
needs
;
the
admonition of Beatrice to
and the words employed to express the holocaust with the whole heart and the speech of
God in thanksgiving, convey far more than those in which he had corresponded to her bidding in the first and even in the fourth Heaven. Then there appears to him
in the
of
God, greater or
less
bliss.
They move
meet or
no
pass.
Dante describes
their
Ill
ray of
inability
light
into
utter
to
draws
moral
lesson:
reader take
up
his
own
come himself
to see
For
Virtues
titude,
and render
all
things in
God
"
and masculine virtue" (Colet on Dionysius); and therefore the warrior saints whom they influenced are grouped to form that sacred sign whereby Christ taught
valiant in chaste
is
endurance.
to
to
bliss
been
passed,
the
progression
lower heavens.
Benvenuto supposes
and teachers fought for God with the tongue and pen, they
did not merit so
much
as these warriors
God
and
the
Most probably
as
a higher grade of
perfection,
indicated by
Mars and
a
less
the
this
Sun
or
is
enjoying
perfect
vision
than
are
one
in
another
higher
sphere,
since
there
clearly
degrees in each.
A
these
wondrous
spirits,
melody
resounds along
part
the
Cross
from
heard
but only in
comprehended, the
Risurgi
possibly
Vinci,
connected
with
the
Isaiah
("Arise, arise,
so
rapt
in
he
is
ecstasy
112
creased
the
of
Beatrice.
in
celestial
Then
the
spirits
forming
Cross
of
Mars
charity
We
in
in the fourth
is
theory
influence,
Vonor delV influenza e il biasmo. Therefore, on into Mars, the hymn of the blessed souls that greeted Dante was (as far as he could comprehend it) an exhortation to follow the good influence of the planet,
his
first
ascent
which tends
about to
of his
and constancy; but now, when learn more of this heaven and, especially, to hear
to
fortitude
own
exile to
upon love of charity, in opposition to the evil influence of Mars which inflames men to anger and strife. And, in his characteristic manner, he draws from the details of his
vision moral teaching concerning the doctrines and practices
of his Church.
on
dead
[Purg.
31):
sempre ben per noi si dice, Di qua che dire e far per lor si puote Da quei c'hanno al voler buona radice?
si
Se
di 1^
Ben
d^
Che
mondi
e lievi
Possano uscire
alle stellate
mote.*
If there
us,
What may not here be said and done for them, By those who have a good root to their will? Well may we help them wash away the marks
That hence they
carried, so that clean
and
light
Longfellow.
THE HEAVEN OF MARS.
So
here,
113
souls,
he confirms
Come
Mr
concorde?'
Like a
to
falling
star,
^neas
in
Elysium,
addresses
in Cacciaguida's
Heaven
I
in the
This
my
beloved Son in
whom
at
am
well pleased.'
In the
first
When
Cacciaguida
bids
saints
is
vision
the Divine
all things,
of
as
all,
Him,
just
from a clear idea of mathematical unity proceeds the knowledge of the other numbers. Again in Dante's answer,
God
described as
La Prima
to the
made
their
equal.
in
Him
the divine
are identified in
He
'
How
unto just entreaties shall be deaf Those substances, which, to give me desire Of praying them, with one accord grew silent?
Longfellow.
114
has
that
But, with mortals, love and shall see Him as He is." wisdom are not yet equal; voglia and argomenio, affection and power of expressing it, are diversely feathered in their flight; the former outspeeds and anticipates the latter, and
we
thus the
poet can
Se non
patema
festa.
is
the
famosissima
walls
figlia di
So now,
for
still
good works
his
in
who
is
terrace
to
pride,
he
proceeds
give
to
have been
in
streets
and
Free
served the
Commune,
faUen upon
the corrupting influence of France had and when the world of the youths and ladies of Boccaccio's Decamerone was still in the far future. The simple antique customs of the women, the upright and unpretending lives of the men, are contrasted with the ever
before
it,
115
Dante knew.
passes
his
soldier
to
his
Florence,
baptism in
an incidental thrust
Holy Land, he ends with his own military exploits and knighthood under
at the papal neglect of the
his death as a
who
men
of worth
it is
must be sought, that it is a purely spiritual gift of God to But now, the individual soul and a seed of eternal felicity. in the heaven of Mars, he has just heard how his ancestor had been knighted by the Emperor himself and had died
hero's death,
and
at
first
he
is
vaingloriously and
admit
something
Se gloriar di te la gente fai Quaggiii, dove I'affetto nostro langue, Mirabil cosa non mi sar^ mai;
Ch^ 1^, dove appetito non si torce, Dico nel cielo, io me ne gloriai.
Far. xvi.
1.*
make
it
Down
marvellous thing
me; For there where appetite is not perverted, I say in Heaven, of thee I made a boast.
ne'er will be to
Longfellow.
116
But
own
from:
thought,
to
be drawn there-
Ben
sei
tu
manto che
tosto raccorce,
Lo tempo va
dintorno con
le force.*
Benvenuto da Imola has an interesting remark upon this passage, which illustrates his method of distinguishing between " Our the literal and allegorical meanings of the poem.
author, "
of virtue
he
says,
"
and of knowledge
was most noble with the true nobility and yet he gloried in his mind
;
when he heard narrated the ancient nobility of his blood. But here arises a pretty question. How could our author have had a desire of the vain glory of blood in Heaven, when such nobiUty is not there, nor can possibly be desired there where no sin can be? It must briefly be said that he is speaking of the moral Paradise; for he was now
mentally, not really and truly in Heaven.
this appetite
men
seeking the vain things of the world, but even the celestial
minds of those who are bent upon the speculation of things This distincdivine, such as philosophers and theologians."
tion
is
of
wide
application.
such
and the
In
the
essential
Purgatory of separated
purifying
themselves,
man
is
striving ever
So that, unless we piece thee day by day, Time goeth round about thee with his shears.
LoKGFKLLOW.
117
God
hearing of
greatness
of his ancestor,
to
Dante
Up
now he had
in that
given the
tu
to
all
pilgrimage.
most piteous
cry
of
recognition,
he
fixed
his
and But
for Beatrice,
in the next
is this
Canto Dante
it
more
familiar
form; he employs
in the eighth
St.
farewell
It
where
has
cast
aside
all
first
ceremony.
given by
Rome
in his
mark
of respect
when
he united
person
all
mention of
this
supposed act of
Rome
men
persevra.'
The
early
Romans
It
is,
a reference intended
the
resistance of
Rome
to the imperial
power; they no
and there may even be a special rebuke to the papal adherents It is curious to notice that as the " family of Rome."
less perseveres.
118
Henry VII
Emperor's
make
and smiles
in
kindly
superiority
exhibition of
human weakness.
He
it
tells
they
dwelt
in
the
Vecchio,
in the
centre of the city near the Mercato ward named from the eastern gate of San
Therefore silence
is
best,
The
of
what
was
at
commenced
which
is
due much of
the Florence
degeneration of Dante's
Florence from
Just as
Dante's ideal of
its
Rome
sacred centre,
the relentless
Church to the Empire. Not only has all Italy suffered, as Dante had shown in Purgatorio vi., but even the individual cities have been wrecked, as he points out now. If man's two guides are at war, how can his life be passed in freedom and in peace? The successors of Peter have been no true parents to Caesar, their first-born,
of
the
119
and have refused to let their light shine upon him;* or Caesar would have been stronger to illuminate the world, and the feuds of Guelphs and Ghibellines would not have
ruined Florence.
The new
families
forced to enter the town, nor would the rights of the nobles
have been usurped, nor their possessions lost confusion of persons would not have arisen, which was ever the beginning
;
patriotic hero
In Hell,
men
as
cannot be said,
some
of
early
Florentine society.
And
with
it,
as in a kind of
so
covert that
it
is
Those open foes or false friends connected with his exile naturally receive due chastisement. Baldo d'Aguglione, the lawyer who drew up the decree in 1311 which confirmed the unjust sentence, is contemptuously
he alludes.
denounced
the
Bianchi,
is
come
and a monument of
infamy
came
Boccaccio degli Adimari, who seized the poet's goods when he was exiled and exerted his influence to prevent his recall.
Coming
of the
Amidei, he
fitly
Florentine houses
in
Buondelmonti
*
1215.
Up
16.
had been
Cf.
De Monarchia
iii.
120
strong
united,
but
Buondelmonte's
foot of the
desertion
of
his
betrothed
the
instigation of
subsequent murder at
victim
to
the
of Mars, a
the
god of war
day of peace,
mis-
but
triumphant sound
of
the
united
and victorious
its
had known
Con queste
genti, e
esse,
Vid'io Fiorenza in
fatto riposo,
Che non avea cagion onde piangesse; Con queste genti vid'io glorioso
giusto
il
il
giglio
Non
So
victorious
in
that
never had
a captured standard
just
been
reversed
derision
lily
by her foes; so
ensign
her
citizens.
in
the
last line.
From
natural
to Dante's
own
Whilst
With
all
these families,
weep:
With
all
And
Never upon the spear was placed reversed, Nor by division was vermiglion made.
Longfellow.
THE HEAVEN OF MARS.
grievous
121
words of
his
own
future
life.
him
hard
that
it
bitter experience
how
was for a banished man to return to Florence Brunetto Latini had warned him of the ingratitude of the
Gubbio had darkly prophesied that, before long, his fellow citizens would make him know the bitterness of poverty and dependto play a sohtary part in their factions; Oderisi of
now,
as
at
her bidding,
Dante questions
his
;
ancestor
upon
for, as clearly
we
so clearly
their
vision
do the elect behold these contingent things in of God, to whom all things and times are
present because
He
sees
them
all
in
Himself.*
How
it
necessary,
nor deprive
man
of his free
was one of those insoluble questions upon which the mind loved to exercise itself. Cacciaguida does not attempt to solve the problem here; he merely affirms
scholastic
that
the
divine prescience
just
necessary,
certain
as
man who
course
does
not thereby
to
that
course:
La
si
stende,
Contingent things are those which are but might not have been,
things
will.
contingent as
those
opposed to necessary, and here Dante especially means which depend upon the free acts determined by the
human
(Cornoldi).
122
in
giil
che
si
specchia,
discende.
Par.
xvii. 37.*
What
Cacciaguida utters
:
is
obviously Dante's
own
auto-
biographical record
it
is
He
can
lay.
now
look back upon his career and see where the blame
attitude
will,
Dante's
of course, be
remembered: he
his exile,
it
him
then,
and
is
relating
conviene.
Questo
si
E
Lil
si
merca.
Par.
xvii. 46."
Of your
it
takes not,
in
which
'tis
mirrored,
down
descends.
Longfellow.
There are no contingent things except in the material world. In God there is no succession, whereas in material things they follow
each other like the leaves of a book. (ScARXAZzmi).
*
As
went Hippolytus,
By
Already
So thou from Florence must perforce depart. this is willed and this is sought for; And soon it shall be done by him who thinks it, Where every day the Christ is bought and sold.
Longfellow.
123
Calumny at Florence and intrigue at Rome are to be the main causes of his exile. Dante's likening of himself to Hippolytus is a vigorous protest of innocence. His early commentators vaguely state that dishonourable proposals were made to him, and that their rejection in part caused
his ruin.
It is clear that
Dante
still
that he
and
Pope's
legate,
Matteo
d'Acquasparta,
It will
'
marked man
this
in
Rome.
"
had offered to the had made him a be remembered that, before was
sent,
Franciscan
peacemaker
the
Pope had
German
Donati;
tali
princes of the
to submission,
an
understanding
with
Corso
such an
auxilio could
The Ottimo
si cerca to
the si vuole to
whom was
of Valois.
Charles
Cacciaguida,
but
God
the
fell
upon Florence, or
terrible fate of
VHI
Tu
Che
Tu
proverai
come sa
di sale
Lo pane altrui, e com'fe duro calle Lo scendere e 11 salir per I'altrui scale.*
Par.
*
xvii. 55.
Thou
abandon everything beloved and this the arrow is Which first the bow of banishment shoots
shalt
Most
tenderly,
forth.
124
Separation from all that is dearest to him and dependence upon others will be his lot. Uncongenial and unworthy companions will be his associates, until their conduct towards him will lead to their own ruin and force him to form a The lines party by himself.
Si che a te
fia bello
political
Verona
fellow
will
exiles,
be his
first
where the great Lombard, Bartolommeo della Scala, and then his more famous brother, Can Grande, will show him generous hospitality. The future greatness of the latter, who was nine years old in 1300, is
from
his
foretold
in
Dante's
certainly recall to
of
Inferno
i.
splendid manner with passages that some extent the attributes of the Veltro and there is a final prophecy which would
to
doubtless seem to coincide with the stupendous deeds performed by the Messo di Dio of Purgatorio xxxiii:
be
Di
lui,
ma
nol dirai
disse cose
Thou shalt have proof how savoureth of salt The bread of others, and how hard a road The going down and up another's stairs. Longfellow.
Among the things most tenderly beloved, both the Ottimo and Benvenuto mention Dante's wife; Benvenuto, following Boccaccio's theory, oddly adds the manuscript of the first seven Cantos of the Inferno, which
Dante
is
supposed to have
left
upon
this
Canto
is
word about
his father.
So
'twill
party to have
made
thee
by
thyself.
125
a quel che
fia
presented
Par.
xvii. 91.
VH, Can Grande became the incarnation of the Ghibelline hopes, and in 1308 was elected captain of their league; so these incredible things might possibly be the slaying of the Giant and the
After the failure of the enterprise of Henry
Woman
that
the
messenger of
God
is
to perform.
How-
commentator
and Furg.
has
himself.
saw any connection between either of these passages {Inf. i. xxxiii.) and the young tyrant of Verona. Nor
Cacciaguida
only
misfortunes to
future
is
Although
foes
this
very
shortly,
his
life
will
their treachery.
Having thus heard what his future life is to be, Dante now desires counsel from his ancestor as to his conduct
under these circumstances.
things that will
relates
will
he
faithfully
them.
He
doubts
how
his verses
may
not
every
place
proclamation
grido^ his
of justice;
and
yet, if
s'io al
Temo
Par.
xvii.
118.*
"And
written in thy
shalt bear
Of him, but
and
things he said
Incredible to those
who
shall
be present.
Longfellow.
'And
if
am
126
"
For Dante knew well his twofold mission, to rebuke and admonish his contemporaries, but to instruct and teach eternal truths to future ages as well. Cacciaguida, showing
still
greater
is
joy
at to
this
himself
planet
in
prepared
its
of the
and
fortitude
celestial movers, to arise and conquer and endurance, gives the familiar answer and
injunction :
manifesta;'
will.
and
It
let
men
be
take
it
as
they
shame
better
for
them,
the
nourishment
taste.
digested,
let
although
fearlessly
bitter
assail
the
first
him
vice in
high
places;
very
purpose
there
are
especially
famous
or
spirits,
the example of
purgation
best
this
reward,
will
be the more
The
comment upon
injunction,
is
most
noble
passage
the
De
Monarchia, where Dante opens the third Book with the words
of Daniel:
He
forasmuch as before
its
Him
justice
was found
will
me.
him,
he need
men: "I
I fear lest I
may
lose
my
life
with those
Who
'
Longfellow.
All falsehood laid aside,
Make
THE HEAVEN OF MARS.
127
is
forth;
and according
to
the
'putting
faith',
and
had taken
and
laid
contest,
and, by the
arm
of
Him who
blood
lists
from the
opens
with
one
of
the
in
the
whether regarded
while
of
literally or allegorically.
tempering
bitter, the
sweetness
exile
everlasting
and
upon
his foes.
But
all
of Beatrice:
Dio mi menava,
Disse:
Muta
Par.
xviii. 4.*
In the
his
literal
Heaven would be
And in the
allegorical
De Monarchia
*
iii.
1.
Church's translation.
And
Lady who to God was leadmg me Said: 'Change thy thought; consider that I am Near unto Him who every wrong disburdens."
the
LOJTGFELIiOW.
128
sense
understand,
as
Benvenuto
notes,
that
Theology removes the mind from all desire of vengeance, showing that nothing remains unavenged with Him who has
said,
Vengeance
is
Mine.
Kimirando
lo
mio
affetto
disire,'
is
burned away in
her transcendent
the
pure
fire
of
love.
He
gazes upon
beauty,
bids
Volgiti ed ascolta,
allegorically,
beatitude must
These famous
flash across
Mars
are
word of command, or charging at the call of the trumpet. For these are they who were influenced by the celestial
Virtues
fortitude
that
rule this fifth Heaven, to imitate the divine by being "strongly and manfully valiant in chaste
virtue",
and masculine
like
the
signs
and who did mighty deeds on earth and wonders that these Angels effect in the
from every other desire. it seemed to me, by the hope of her excellent salutation, that there was no man mine enemy any longer; and such warmth of charity came upon me that most certainly in that moment I would have pardoned whosoever had done me an injury." (Rossetti's translation). * Turn thee and listen, for not only in my eyes is Paradise.
*
Gazing upon
her,
my
affection
was
free
Cf.
"When
129
first,
the warriors
God under
;
Then
Paladin William of Aquitaine and Rainouart, two mediaeval French heroes of the ninth century who fought against the Saracens and afterwards became monks, the former being a familiar figure in Italian art as St. William Godfrey de Bouillon, the deliverer of Jerusalem and last of all Robert
;
Guiscard,
the
Norman conqueror
of
Southern
Italy,
the
Then
his
upward
rejoins
comrades
Chapter IV.
THE HEAVEN OF
JUPITER.
" Justitia potissima est solum sub Monarcha: ergo ad optimam mundi dispositionem requiritur esse Mo-
narchiatn sive
Imperium
Imperatoris,
Auctoritas temporalis
sine
Monarches,
sive
uUo medio,
in
ipsum de Fonte
Dante, De Monarchia.
The
the
own
perception
God, and
ruddy glow of Mars to the silvery white of Jove, indicate This is the sphere of just the ascent to the next heaven.
rulers,
whose
spirits
appear
birds.
as
singing like
a flock of
The
intense importance of
in
this
the
transformations
which he
approach
beholds
sphere
is
indicated by an invocation.
Purgaiorio,
on
the
sacrosanct and
called
him
aid; so
now
in this heaven,
in analogous terms.
131
words of
is
this invocation
implied,
as in the
had been an
ecclesiastical suggestion of
and
vigils.
Fai
Ed
Le
regni,
lUustrami di
si ch'io rilevi
lor figure
com'
io I'ho concette
Par.
xviii. 82.*
For the poet's theme is Justice in its relations to the Empire and the divine origin of that universal Roman Monarchy,
of which the
knowledge
is
Among
genius
truths
ill
understood
who
Dost glorious make, and render it long-lived, And this through thee the cities and the kingdoms,
Illume
me
may
bring
brief verses!
Longfellow.
Of. the analogous passage in Purg. xxix. 37.
Freddi o
vigilie mai per voi soffersi, Cagion mi sprona ch'io mercfe ne chiami.
Or convien
ch'Elicona per
me
versi,
Ed Urania
Virgins sacrosanct!
Vigils or cold for
if
ever hunger,
I
you
have endured,
The occasion spurs me their reward to claim! ifow Helicon must needs pour forth for me, And with her choir Urania must assist me,
To put
Longfellow.
132
yet
obscure."
Letter by
Dante
form
"Love
justice
letter
by
letter successively in
M of terram has been so that a great golden M stands described background of Jove, the M being the
When
the
Monarchia or Monarchy, which with Dante synonymous with the Empire. This then is the first lesson of this heaven, for Dante himself says in the De Monarchia, " The world is ordered best when Justice is paramount therein .... But Justice is paramount only in a monarchy and therefore a monarchy, that is, the Empire,
initial letter of
is
is
needed
if
the world
is
to
So
Lo
delVamor
De Monarchia we
of
read,
It is evidently
welfare
monarchy or
single
Empire^
And
this
'O
happy race of men if your hearts are ruled by the love which rules the heaven '. " ^ We have seen that in the De Monarchia Dante solved these three questions concerning the Empire is it necessary
:
for the
welfare
Roman People
take
monarchy
the
the
or empire
direct
come
in
directly
answer
the
in
Becond
question
a poetical
way
in the sixth
Canto of
translation.
133
answered the
for
first
question again
necessary
the
second
lesson,
while
drawing
moral
powers
the
who oppose
he
third
Empire,
would
emphatically,
answer the
of the
from God.
Other
rest
descend
M and
there
singing.
Then,
disposition
Si
come
il
Sol, che
1'
accende, sortille,*
who
plete
clearly
to
body of the sacred Bird, one perfect Eagle. It is an allegory of how the Guelphic powers must submit the Empire and form peacefully an integral part in this
And
God's hand:
'
8eguit5 la imprenta.
Even as the sun that lights them had allotted. Par. xviii. Each one being quiet in its place, xviii. 106. With a slight motion followed the imprint, xviii. 114.
105.
184
That this form of government is ordained by God, that it comes directly from Him and is the only one beneath which justice is possible, is clearly indicated:
Quel che dipinge
Ma
non ha chi il guidi: da lui si rammenta Quella virtA ch'fe forma per li nidi.
li
esso guida; e
dolce
Stella,
quali e quanta
gemme
ingemme!*
Mi dimostraron che
nostra giustizia
The
out:
De Monarchia
is
implied through-
"It
is
therefore
from the
one
in
of
universal
authority;
and
this fountain,
unity,
flows
through
many
channels
justice that proceed from the Divine Mind are obscured by the smoke of ecclesiastical corruption, which leads the
Church
to
So,
from the
Dante turns to an animated invective against those ecclesiastics who, by their simony, traffic in sacred things and lead men astray by their evil example.
spectacle of the Eagle,
He
as party weapons,
in
a sudden
not to
tremendous
burst
apparently
addressed
He who
But Himself guides and is from Him remembered That virtue which is form unto the nest.
gentle star! what and how many gems Did demonstrate to me, that all our justice
Eflfect is of that
Longfellow.
THE HEAVEN OF JUPITER.
Boniface
135
the
VHI
Ma
or Clement
tu,
Pensa che Pietro e Paolo, che moru-o Per la vigna che guasti, ancor son vivi.
Ben puoi tu
dire: lo
ho fermo
il
disiro
che per
salti
il
fu tratto al martiro,
Pescator nh Polo.
Par.
xviii. 130.*
universal
Yet thou, who writest but to cancel, think That Peter and that Paul, who for this vineyard
Which thou
Is unto
still
alive!
steadfast
my
desire
him who
And
That
I
Longfellow.
His Holiness
course showing his devotion to St. John by upon the golden coins of Florence, and so has even remember the Apostles. One or two of the early
is
of
no leisure to commentators piously pretend not to see the joke! Cf. Paradiso ix. 127. etc. John XXII was supposed to be massing up a vast treasure in Avignon. The Florentine florin bore the Baptist on one side and the Lily on the other; in 1322 the Pope raised a storm of indignation by himself coining florins like those of Florence, but marked with his own initials and papal mitre on the side of St. John and the monogram of the Apostles by the Lily. When some Italian nobles imitated his example, in 1324, John promptly excommunicated them for their trouble (Villani, Book V)! However, Dr. Pastor well points out the injustice of condemning these Avignon pontiffs merely upon the grounds of their financial and political policy, and leaving out of sight their grand efibrta for the propagation of Christianity in the East.
136
a sign to Dante
tells
God's
in
will
us
the
De Monarchia
the
will
of
God must be
will of
human
will,
who
is
wills,
God
like
an
seal
which has
left
its
manifest im-
pression upon
sign
things as
upon wax.
This
;
blessed
was woven of praise of the Divine grace and the perfect unity and concord of the spirits that compose it,
*
the
is
vividly expressed.
beatitude,
voice
of
their
as
memory which men on earth honour, but do not imitate one sound of many loves, as one heat from many burning
coals in the fire of celestial charity,
We
just
and
faithful
rulers,
now
in
dominion
in
love justice
God", and to
imitate
the dominion in
God by
sub-
The
judgment and
justice
from God when he said: "Give to the king thy judgment, God: and to the king's son thy justice." Their perfect
which
must
exist
and
of
states of the
wills, '
Concord
is
many
says the
De Monarchia,
is
and
all
concord
in wills.
137
the
rest."
is
indicated in the
single
Human
is eager to have an old question solved touching Divine Justice, which the
Eagle
knows without
his
expressing
it.
a mere
it
trifling
And
first
shows
in the
the
justice
of
shows the
indicated
opening
and we may
of the Ancient
remember in illustration Blake's noble design of Days setting a compass to the earth:
C!olui
die volse
il
sesto
Non
si
fare impresao
suo verbo
Non
Since
in
the
Word,
or Divine
Wisdom,
is
the archetypal
idea of
all
may
be,
He who
On
Devised so
a compass turned
who
within
it
much
occult
On
all
Word
Longfellow.
in infinite excess.
138
to,
is
still
Word must
and
remain in
infinite
excess to what
intelli-
actually created,
infinitely
much more
and
it
love.
is
stated
Hence Dante's question is already answered before human intellect can enter just so much into
:
the
Divine
Justice,
as
our
eyes
Dunque
Di che
Non pu6 da
sua natura esser possente Xante che suo principio non discema Molto di Ik, da quel che I'fe parvente.
La
il
vostro
mondo,
il
Com'occhio per
E
'
li,
ma
In consequence
otcr vision,
which perforce
Must be some ray of that intelligence With which all things whatever are replete, Cannot in its own nature be so potent,
That it shall not its origin discern Far beyond that which is apparent
Therefore into the justice sempiternal
to
it.
The power
As eye into the ocean, penetrates; Which though it see the bottom near the shore, Upon the deep perceives it not; and yet
'Tis there,
but
it is
Longfellow.
The reading
vostra
veduta,
"your
vision",
(nostra).
139
as to
light
justice
of
of
the
just
heathen,
M'ho dies
intellect.
unbaptized,
human
who
is
thou
the
that
wouldst
sight
with
short
one span
just,
is
just:
lei
consuona;
So
much
is
just
as
is
accordant
with
it."
In the
De Monarchia Dante
support
of the
:
Roman
Whatever does not agree with the Divine Will cannot be right, and whatever does agree with the Divine Will is Right itself. " The final point in the lesson is given by the Eagle wheeling round with a mysterious song that
Empire
"
"As
incomprehensible as
my
song to thee,
Dante's
so
is
difficulty
practically
solved in
well.
the
following
it is
answered now as
yet
Although faith
Christ
is
necessary,
Christian
aggressively
will
many who in speech are most be found among the reprobate, It is Christ among the elect.
it
is
the
Roman
it
Romani
al rnondo rcverendi;
and
is
and
temporary sovereigns.
Dante's method
is
characteristic of
parvente, or di la,
I 'e
da quel ch'egli e, parvente, mean that God is infinitely more than the finite image of Himself presented to us by His visible creation.
*
140
him; Failh
in
not avail
it!
let all
When
the
book
shall
be opened
presence
of the
condemn
so
highest
all
places;
the
summons
before
his
poetical
tribunal
rulers
of
Eagle
of
condemns them
all.
be
which
Dante himself
he
did
indicates
till
then;
special
perhaps
not
himself quite
know
for
what
rest,
distinguished,
and that
Florentine
it
would
worship
all
be
finally revealed.
exaggerated
of the
Emperor himself. Dante's Unto you therefore, O kings, do I speak that ye may learn wisdom and not fall from it.' In the Convito, Book IV, he bids them unite the philosovidual sovereigns, and even the
is
attitude
that of Solomon,
and
"
perfectly,
and adds
ones
are
in the
same
join
spirit as in this
Canto
miserable
who
rule at present!
and
ruled!
who
no
may
'Woe
princes
to thee,
is
eat
in
the
morning!'
O
!
'
land,
is
THE HEAVEN OF JUPITER.
As
after sunset the stars appear, so
silent,
141
the voices are heard of the blessed spirits composing that sacred and imperial sign (Canto xx.): the
becomes
is
beak
silent
while
the
individual
its
spirits,
growing more
bright,
As
sun,
the
so
of
their
This
is
indicated
by
una
risplende.
'
In the silence of the Eagle for the individual voices of its constituent spirits to be heard, an allusion may be traced
to the teaching of the
Be Monarchia
i.
14.
upon the
liberty
Empire:
It must be carefully observed that, when we say that mankind may be ruled by one supreme prince, we do not
mean
that
the
to
most
trifling
town are
Dante
For nations
political sirventese,
Canto is in reality a glorification of a kind of employed by the Poven al troubadours. The most
famous specimen of the kind is Sordello's Lament for Blacatz, in which, on the death of that gallant warrior, he summons various sovereigns to partake of his heart to restore their courage, and rebukes them all for their failings, commencing with the Emperor Frederick II. It was probably this poem that made Dante assign to Sordello in the Purgatorio the place he holds there, to pass judgment upon the same princes, or their heirs or descendants, whom he had rebuked during life. The influence of this poem of Sordello's is clearly visible in this Canto, Paradiso xix., and in Purgatorio vii., and there is even a reminiscence of it in the first sonnet of the Vita Nuova. See Vila e
Poesie di Sordello di Goito per Cesare de Lollis. (Halle, 1896).
*
By many
lights wherein is
one resplendent.
Par. XX.
6.
142
liarities
and kingdoms and states have each of them certain pecuwhich must be regulated by different laws. For
is
it
law
that
life
is
in
common
to all
men,
that
by a
men should be ruled by one Monarch, and be governed rule common to them all with a view to their peace.
the
individual
And
princes
must receive
this
rule of life
When
and
it
modern
whom
The
in
poet's eagerness
on the subject
is
vividly
expressed
his description of
Parole
il
Quali aspettava
and indeed
it
is
clear
that
names of antiquity might well cause his anxiety to be no mere poetic fiction. The Eagle therefore makes known the
six
highest
It
spirits
of
the
heaven of Jove,
is
who form Of
its
eye.
will
apparently viewing
side.
these six
two are rulers of God's chosen people of old, and two of His divinely instituted universal Empire; one is a solitary type of a just modern king; and one a just man from the ancestral nation of Rome. To each is given an appropriate terzina as a motto. David, the singer of
Words such
Par.
3CK.
29.
THE HEAVEN OF JUPITER.
the
143
Holy
Sun.
Trajan,
supreme Solomon was of the heaven of the Hezekiah and Constantine form the upper
The
when he
consoled the widow for her son, was one of the examples
of humility that Dante had seen sculptured on the wall in the
first
terrace
for
of
Purgatory;
in
it
was
not unfrequent
subject
is
representation
an interesting example
early
from the
hand of some
dearly
it
Veronese
painter.
He had
learnt
how
heaven and
difficulty
be presently solved.
full of difficulty
giudizio eterao
preco
Thomas
alter
reconciles
we do
not pray
the
to
divine
plan, but
to
obtain
:
what God
need
to
has
arranged
be
fulfilled
by
prayers
their
"
Men
do
sundry
divine
eflPects
things,
not
that
by
acts they
plan,
according to
'
Now
knoweth he that the eternal judgment no change, albeit worthy prayer Maketh below to-morrow of to-day.
Suffers
Longfellow.
Summa 12
(].
83.
a.
2.
144
good
find
certain
familiar
favour
in
Dante's eyes.
Constantine
and the Eagle became Greek, to yield Rome to the Pope, soito biwna inienxion che fe mal fruiio,^ or, as Dante
has
elsewhere
its
written
feathers,
of
chariot with
Ora conosce come il mal, dcdutto Dal suo bene operar, non gli fe nocivo, Avvegna che sia il mondo indi distrutto.
Par. XX. 58.*
act evil
which was
evil.
The
effect conse-
as here the breach between the Papacy and the Empire, and the resulting ruin of Italy does not affect
quent upon an action
the morality of the action, unless chosen as a means or intended
an end or annexed as a relevant circumstance to the means chosen. None of these are here to be laid to Constantine's charge, though in the Be Monarchia Dante is " Oh happy people, oh Italy, how glorious more forcible hadst thou been, if either he that weakener of thine Empire had never been born, or if his own pious intention had never deceived him. ' In the same place the poet declares that, had Constantine alienated the dignities of the Empire, he would have rent the seamless coat which even they who
as
:
pierced
divide.
our
Lord's
side
with
spear
did
not dare to
First
in
the
lower arc
is
Under
bad
fruit.
knoweth he how all the ill deduced his good action is not harmful to him, Although the world thereby may be destroyed.
Now
From
THE HEAVEN OF JUPITER.
last
145
of
the
great
Norman
kings
nephew
and
of Constance to
whom
so opened the way for the long and deadly struggle between the houses of Hohenstauffen and Anjou ' he for whom that land mourns which now weeps for the living
;
king."
Aquinas
:
Hettinger) says
"
now he knows how heaven loves a De Regim. Princip. quoted in The eternal reward that God will bestow
;
(in
upon
But
since a
may govern
advantages,
therefore
a just
merits
far higher
Dante has a high conception of the virtues of these mighty Normans both in war and peace Constance, Robert Guiscard, and William: noble women, heroic warriors, just rulers such is the poet's judgment upon the house of Hauteville. Possibly he was influenced by the fact that their race was already a thing of the past, as well as by his divided feeling towards the house of the Hohenstauffen and his hatred of the house of Anjou. And now that their fair heritage had been rent in twain between Anjou and Arragon, in spite of bis respectful treatment of the founders of the two dynasties, Charles the elder and
reward than others."
ix.),
both Arragonese
and Angevin
Charles,
in
his
sight are
To
Angevin king of Apulia, and Frederick, the Arragonese sovereign of Sicily, Dante cries in the Convito: Look to your safety, ye foes of God, who have seized The death of the sceptres of the kingdoms of Italy." initiated for Naples and Sicily the long series William
the
of
changing
dynasties,
all
each
echpsing
its
predecessor in
misrule,
and
practically (as
as
10
146
view of the
Spanish
alike,
and
their
rulers,
French and
seems
to
even prophetical.
Last of the six most
illustrious spirits
is
in
mysteries
divine
grace
as
deeply
as
finite
intellect
may.
Just as Dante preluded the Eagle's rebuke of unjust kings with a reference to the divinely ordained sway of the
Roman
government which
to
it
is
according to God's
He
leads
up
Prima cantando,
Deir ultima dolcezza che la sazia, Tal mi sembib I'imago della imprenta
Dell' eterno piacere, al cui disio
ell'^,
diventa.
that
is
is,
the
Roman Empire,
is
the emblem,
the
"
What God
wonder
wills
mankind
is
to
to enlighten Dante's
and then
with content
Of the last sweetness that doth satisfy her, Such seemed to me the image of the imprint Of the eternal pleasure, by whose will Doth everythii^ become the thing it is. .Longfellow.
THE HEAVEN OF JUPITER.
degli angeli.
all
147
commends
that
it
without understanding
;
how
order that he
may understand;
then
it
makes
Regnum
Da
Non a
Che vince
uom
sovranza,
Ma vince lei perchfe vuole esser vinta; E vinta, vince con sua beninanza.
Par. XX. 94/
By
the the
an application of
vivid
this principle,
hope of
St.
Emperor himself, gained him Paradise; by vivid hope based upon the power of prayer, Gregory obtained from
that
will
God
his
is
life
so that
obstinate in evil), and in a short second life he believed and loved much, and so on his second death had earned Dante refers to this gran vittoria the bliss of Paradise. of Gregory in Purgatorio x. This most amazing legend
Regnum ccdorum sufFereth violence From fervent love and from that
That overcometh the Divine
living
hope
volition.
Not
man
o'ercometh man,
it
But conquers
it
because
will
be conquered
And
Longfellow.
'
'
148
was gravely discussed by mediaeval theologians, even by St. Thomas himself in the Summa, and various explanations were given; some supposed that it was only a temporary
respite
others, like
reunion
with
its
Even
as late as Bellarmine's of
matter
discussion,
:
but
Bellarmine
prudently
"
But as
not recorded
is
The case
of Rhipeus
distinctly
more
interesting.
Bento
it is
a complete answer
man
Un uom
chi ragioni
Di
Cristo,
i
tutti
umana
vede,
che
Ov'h
la colpa sua, se ei
For
saidst thou:
'Bom
man
is
on the shore
Of Indus, and is none who there can speak Of Christ, nor who can read, nor who can write;
And
and
his actions
as
human
reason sees,
life
or in discourse:
He
dieth unbaptized
Where Where
is
is
his
149
So now," says our good Benvenuto, " our author fitly introduces a pagan infidel in the person of Rhipeus, of whose salvation there would seem the very slightest chance of all; by reason of the time, so many centuries before the advent of Christ; by reason of the place, for he was of Troy where exceeding pride was then paramount; by reason of the sect, for he was a pagan and gentile, not a
Jew.
fiction
conclusion
that
is
it,
salvation
no
the
one hoped,
puts
future
or, as
Dr. Scartazzini
revealed
to
redemption
is
virtuous
pagans
the
also.
whom
were
he
regards
as
the
divine
ancestors
light.
of
Roman
is
People
not
without
in the
Rhipeus
only
On
fall of Troy he is band of warriors that gather round JEneas in the moonlight, and again as arraying himself with the rest in the arms taken from the Greeks and so mingling with them. And then at last, when they strive to rescue Cassandra, and
by the Greeks, they are overwhelmed by numbers, and amongst the others Rhipeus falls near the altar of Minerva: "Rhipeus also falls, who was above all others the most just among the Trojans and the
their
disguise
is
perceived
strictest
observer of right"
Qui
Dante,
as
it
were,
weaves
Vii^l " In
is
Him and
worketh justice
timet
to God" /;* omni gente qui operatur justitiam acceptus est iUi; and thus completes his
euni et
150
conception of Rhipeus
righteousness
of
and in reward of his love for righteousness he was enlightened with more grace, laboured against paganism, and had
the theological virtues infused into him.
L'altra, per grazia che
da
si
profonda
Fontana
stilla,
Non
grazia,
Dio
gli
aperse
Da
indi
il
puzzo
le
piii
del paganesmo,
riprendiene
genti perverse.
gli ftlr
per battesmo,
Che tu
Dinanzi
d'un millesmo.
Dante
in
his
teaching of St.
Thomas
as to the two
ways
to
in
which they
may be
or
saved;
God
of
will
make known
*
necessary truths of
faith,
by the voice
*
preacher :
The other
A
Set
Of any
all his
primal wave,
God
unclose
His eye to our redemption yet to be: Whence he believed therein, and suffered not From that day forth the stench of Paganism, And he reproved therefore the folk perverse. Those Maidens three, whom at the right-hand wheel Thou didst behold, were unto him for baptism
Longfellow.
THE HEAVEN OF JUPITER.
himself for having faith through what
is
is
151
in natural reason;
whence
is
it
is
said that,
if
anyone who
born
in
barbarous
God
will reveal to
him what
"
by sending a teacher
The way
that
Statius
in
of interior illumination
of sending
a teacher was
illustrated
by the case of
is
the Furgaiorio.
That of Trajan
of course a
method of action
inscrutable
The Eagle concludes by touching somewhat upon the mystery of Predestination, and, as St. Thomas
in
the
it
God do
and
not
see
all
nor
know
the
yet
so.
We
simply
uttered,
Piccarda
Moon:
scemo;
Ed
Perchfe
ben nostro
in qiiesto
ben
8'afl5na,
e noi volemo.
"Whilst
the
Eagle
makes
clear
Dante's
short
intellectual
of
these
two
of
saints, that
vividly
and
harmoniously
the
joy;
instead of
vibrations
chords of the
lute,
And
sweet to us
is
such a deprivation,
in this
good
is
made
perfect,
wills,
we
also will.
Longfellow.
II.
'
In summitate hujus
sunt
bonorum operum contemplativa vita est specusupemorum. Activa vita terrenis rebus bene
:
utitur:
contemplativa vero,
St.
sgeculo
renuntians,
soli
Deo
vivere delectatur.*
Bernard, De modo
bene
Vivendi.
Benvenuto remarks
of Jove are those
civil
life,
eternal felicity by the active and political, and by just administration of the kingdoms and princedoms of the earth; but that now the poet intends to treat of those souls who served God by the life of contemplation, far away from the noise of the world.
who merited
The
active
templative,
life prepares and disposes a man for the conand perfection in the life of action must be
acquired before
templation.
man can perfectly attain to the life of conThe just rulers represent the highest grade of
life.
It is for
the
Emperor
in
may
and {De
pass
freedom
of
and
peace,
"
whereby
the
waves
blandishments
human
desires
may be
set at rest"
Monarchia
It
iii.lG);
in a sense requisite
that learning
may be
was
fitting,
therefore,
emblem
of the Imperial
THE HEAVEN OF SATURN.
153
Dominion should have been seen in the last heaven of the active life, the sphere ruled by the celestial Dominations who are " an express image of the true and archetypal dominion in God". From the Thrones, the mirrors of God's
judgments,
sphere
that
represent
to enable
intellect
it
them to govern with justice, just as the practical must acquire from the speculative the knowledge
The supreme
of
tranquillity
and serenity
indicated
to
by the
sitting
God upon
the
contemplative
saints,
steadfastness of contemplation
lines
:
Gi^ eran gli occhi miei rifissi al volto Delia mia donna, e I'animo con essi, E da ogni altro intento s'era tolto.
Par. xxi.
1.'
Beatrice
does
not smile,
for
intellect
would be dazzled by her splendour, and, confounded by excess of glory, would comprehend nothing. At her bidding Dante turns to behold the ladder of translucent gold, which
reaches up to the last
of gold to denote
Heaven
is
of Heavens.
The ladder
is
life
above
souls
all
others,
gold
the
Cf.
my Lady's face mine eyes Again were fastened, and with these my mind. And from all other purpose was withdrawn. LOJTOFELLOW.
Already on
154
by one
Possibly
consideration in the
ascent
steps
to universal truth.
they
may
refer
to
St.
the
of
contemplation,
according to
Richard
of
Victor;
grades of ascent to
God, according
way
in
which
is
above reason
to the
finally
God which
transcend
of
all
reason,
and attaining
in
sublime
consideration
divine
truth,
which
mia
luce,
high that
my
sight
could
not follow
final
it.
It has
been
Since
now become
visible
contemplation to
their
neighbour,
God and descend through compassion to Dante now beholds these spirits coming
all
down
the
stars
in
motion like
the
Benvenuto
greatly
some
bird
As Dante
and some-
so
frequently
times
separated
how
is
just begun."
As one
its
love by increased
'
Dante desires
I.
to question
Vaughan,
St.
155
Beatrice gives
the
him leave
of
to
eagerness
before
the blessed
culties,
he has even
as
love,
has
been
suggested
of
the
this
explanation
of the peculiar
lies
is
conduct
the
the
spirits
seventh sphere
in the
to give
necessary
so
to
exercise
find
the
virtue
in
of
the
discretion,
and
we
Dante
certainly
that,
heaven
his
of
Saturn,
has
several
limits
impulsiveness
and
severe
his
questions.
Why
Why,
first
:
heaven?
is
The
from
the
the silence
charity
mortal power.
still
This, of course,
another
way
of expressing
Heaven over
also
all
spheres
of
the
planets.
Perhaps
in
may be a
in
reference
the
higher degrees
of
contemplation
"
the
the imagination
spiritual
element alone
first
is
the object of
thought.
of his
He
Although eager servants to the divine government, yet free will still exists even among the blessed of Paradise: Dante
learns
156
amore
la
in questa corte
Basta a seguir
provvidenza etema.'
Men
in
to
do God's
last
will
by His' laws
Paradise
among
his
companions
been predestinated to
For
is
answer
they have
their
knowledge imparted
suffice to
it is
to
them
full
make a
reply to such
be in their
country
from
light
the Divine
to
and the brightness of the spirits of the blessed corresponds their sight of God. And thence follows a final rebuke
Dante and to men on earth, for their presumption in comprehend mysteries of Predestination which
to
striving to
Ma
queU'alma nel
ciel
che
piii si schiara.
fisso,
How
To
CoRNOLDi's Commentary.
157
neirabisso
Che da ogni
Ed
quando tu riedi, che non presuma A tanto segno piii muover li piedi. La mente che qui luce, in terra fuma
al
mondo
mortal,
Questa rapporta
si
puJi laggide
perchfe
il
ciel
Tassuma.
Par. xxi. 91.*
among
own
austere
life
of contemplation
how
own most
from
this
seems
bitter
now
to
From
promotion
a
the
cardinalate
Damian passes on
to
But
that soul in the heaven which is most pure, That seraph which his eye on God most fixes,
C!ould this
demand
abyss
askest,
off.
Of the
eternal statute
all
what thou
it is
From
created sight
cut
And
may
not presume
Longer tow'rd such a goal to move its feet. The mind, that shineth here, on earth doth smoke; From this observe how can it do below That which it cannot though the heaven assume
'
it?
Longfellow.
See Chapter VII for
this,
and
for Benvenuto's
remark upon
this
episode.
158
satire
the cardinals
and great
prelates.
All
of
you have taken covetousness to wife, the mother of impiety and iniquity:' so Dante exclaims in the letter; nor is his saint now more lenient towards the backslidings of those
who wore that hat, che pur di male in peggio sitravasa.^ The poverty and humility of St. Peter and St. Paul are contrasted with the luxurious lives and worldly pomp of the
modern
all
pastors,
and a
the
God upon these unworthy and vicious shepherds. Dante is overwhelmed with terror, until Beatrice reassures him, and explains the cry as coming only from the good
vengeance of
zeal
less
of these
saints.
If
their
cry so
startles
thee,
much
smile;
my
that
faith,
that
in
the
allegorical
sense,
if
so simple a matter as
stern
ecclesiastical
corruption
uttered
and
the
it
words
thy
holy
writers
have
not
against
disturbs
thou
couldst
higher grades
La qual La Bpada di
Nfe tardi,
ma' che
Which
shifteth evermore
"
And
by
now
imagine,
159
is
it
way
is
in
would seem probable that he is not alluding to any events that had already happened while he was writing (such as
the
that
perhaps the coming of the Dante was clearly in the position of one to whom the sword of Heaven seemed tardy, for he at least was still awaiting it desirously. But Beatrice bids him turn now from this matter to behold the illustrious spirits of this sphere; that is, turn from the spectacle of
poet
still
hoped for
the
corrupt lives
to
of
these
prelates
with their
pomp and
monks
luxury,
simple lives
that
Dante has already so well learned the lesson of discretion, minor but still essential virtue which is a part of
now
hesitates to
speak
him.
the
spirits
shining
pearls
Paradise,
St.
is
Benedict,
reassures
clearly founded
life
upon the
is
Dialogues of
St.
Gregory, whose
of St. Benedict
one
match with
St.
Bonaventura's picture of
St.
Francis
There was a man of venerable life, blessed by grace, and name for he was called Benedictus." The words in which St. Benedict speaks to Dante of his own life and
blessed in
In which if thou hadst understood ita prayers Already would be known to thee the vengeance Which thou shalt look upon before thou diest.
in haste
Nor
tardily,
howe'er
it
seem
to
him
it.*
Who
Longfellow.
160
work
Dialogues
nella costa,
Fu
E E
Lo nome La veritS,
che tanto
ci
sublima.
me
rilusse,
Ch'io ritrassi
le
ville circostanti
il
mondo
sedusse.
xxii. 37.'
Par.
Behind him
in
men
of contemplation,
who were
**
the
heat of divine
fruits of
great deeds;
St. Benedict's
own
rule
strictly
and faithfully, " who within the cloisters firm and held their hearts steadfast" the
sphere
Saturn
who
imitate
the
steadfastness
of
God.
Of
'
That mountain on whose slope Cassino stands Was frequented of old upon its summit By a deluded folk and ill-disposed; And I am he who first up thither bore The name of Him who brought upon the earth
The
truth that so
much
sublimateth us.
And
me
shone
That
all
away
From
Longfellow.
161
the
desert,
in
is
the
hero
of
amazing
devout
latter
legends
fairy
that
fascinating
Vite
mediaeval
book
of
tales,
Cavalca's
de*
was a nobleman of Ravenna who, in penance for his father's slaying a man in a duel, became a Benedictine and founded a stricter branch of the order, the Camaldolese.
To
the
this
order belonged
artist
Don Lorenzo
or Lorenzo
Monaco,
still
famous
observe
is
curious
of
greatest
luminaries
the
Dominican order
in
indirectly
owed some of their first training St. Thomas Aquinas was educated
It
St.
boyhood
to
at
Monte
Cassino.
Dante
his
know him; he
the
saint
tells
life.
he
so
his
addresses
most
noticeable even
amidst the
much
to
many
desire
souls in Paradise.
see St.
Benedict's
dazzling
light,
and no
ance that
this
Empyrean
where every desire is perfected and set at rest. Dante might well have traced an analogy between St. Benedict and himself. The envy and treachery of Florentius drove Benedict from his abbey to found his new convent of Monte
Cassino; the
Dante
the
history
into
exile
envy and treachery of the Florentines drove Nor is it in to write his mighty poem.
fanciful
to
least
too
assign
to
Monte Cassino
to
in the
that of
the
compare the founder of Divine Comedy western monasticism with the creator of modem European
and
to
*
Cf TosTi
.
in
Dante
suo
seeolo.
11
162
poetry.
of
quaint explanation of
the
saints
why
the
this desire to
came
to
all
Dante
especially
lofty
in Saturn.
Contemand,
platives
consider
works
lifted
is
of
God,
to
by
up
to contemplate
Since the
human
soul
made
God's image
and
essence of the
thing;
human
is
soul
and
it
in
the
face
soul
chiefly
finds
expression.
St.
become dens
Usury
sight.
itself,
jectionable in clerics
God's
alike
The Papacy,
from
monks and
all
fallen
for
His
the
chosen
people
stupendous
in
miracle
God, who did such wondrous things of the old law, can by a less set this thing right for His Church
new
dispensation.
There
rapt
is
whirlwind
the
saints
are
together
up the ladder.
to penetrate
man
by
the
Dante
to
the
ladder too.
With a
it
mount Dante
arrives
instantaneously
at
the
Firmament,
or
heaven of
Gemini
In an exquisitely
lyrical
THE HEAVEN OP SATURN.
to
his natal stars,
163
and prays
to
them
for a continuance of
may have
work
for
which
at his birth
gloriose stelle,
o lume pregno
dal quale io riconosco
si
Di gran
virtii,
sia, il
mio ingegno,
vita,
Con
La
vostra region
mi fu
virtute
tira.
That
is,
Heaven
to the
Heaven and since their influence is communicated stars, giving them life and virtue in the way Beatrice
glorious stars,
light
With mighty
All of
virtue
my
genius, whatsoe'er
be,
With you was born, and hid himself with He who is father of all mortal life,
you.
When
And
first
me
round,
To enter the high wheel which turns you Your region was allotted unto me.
To you
my
may
soul
Is sighing, that
virtue
acquire
it
to itself.
Longfellow.
164
had indicated in Canto II, it is therefore in Cherubim that Dante is appealing, for theirs
the mighty
divine
light
divine
of the
into
Cherubim
most
God
Him upon
all
all
beneath them.
Most
into
fittingly
therefore
their influence
the
on earth by diffusing knowledge of divine truth. Like his St. Dominic, Dante was indeed a splendour of Cherubical light
Di cherubica
luce
uno splendore.
light
But
him,
from
more material objects that lie below. Therefore with eyes chiare and acute, clear from passion and acute with discernment, Beatrice bids him once more look down, and behold the vast Universe above which he has already ascended. In one momentary vision he looks down upon all the seven spheres of the planets; he sees them all beneath his feet^ and can comprehend their mutual relations and worth; far away below, he beholds the entire earth, and smiles at its vileness and littleness. Now he can at length measure the
relative
prepared
Paradise.
witness
is
the
final
glories
and mysteries
of
165
but
has
at
length
of Philosophy, which are usually quoted in Commentaries, the closing lines of this Canto xxdi receive very striking illustration from St. Gregory's comments
St. Benedict, in which the whole were together under one beam of the
was presented before his eyes. It occurs in that same book of the Dialogues upon which Dante based other parts
of this Canto:
it
beholdeth the
that
light
things
which is in the Creator, yet very small do all seem that be created: for by means of that superthe
natural light
is
enlarged,
and
is
in
God
so extended that
is
far
manner is also up God, it is above itself; for being inwardly in itself enlarged above itself; and when it is so exalted and looketh downward, then doth it comprehend
yea, and the soul of
him
rapt
in the light of
how
little
all
that
is
which before
in
former baseness
is
it,
it
What marvel
then
if
he saw
of his soul,
was
But
albeit
we
his
were not heaven and earth drawn into any room than they be of themselves, but the soul of the beholder was more enlarged, which, rapt in God, might without difficulty see that which is under God, and therefore in that light, which appeared to his outward eyes, the inward light which was in his soul ravished the mind of
eyes,
lesser
166
St. Gregory, Dialogues. II. 35. {The Dialogues of St. Gregory the
J, Coleridge, S. J.
Burns
Chapter V.
Hodie sacra
et
viventis,
quae
suum in
extructum manibus.
suscipit
quo soluta est condemnatio, in lignum vitae, in quo operta fuit nostra nuditas." St. John DAMASCEara:, De Dormitione B. Mariae.
The
Fixed
eighth
Stars,
Heaven,
is
the
Firmament or Heaven
of
the
the
celestial
The opening lines of Faradiso XXIII carry back our thoughts to the divina foresta spessa e viva of Purgatorio XXVIII. There the song of the birds practising
Paradise.
upon the branches had found utterance in Dante's Here a no less beautiful ti;anscript from bird life verse. describes how the bearing of Beatrice prepares him for what
their art
is
to come.
As
longs
of her
for the
little
may
satisfy the
wants
spiritual
Sun,
whereby
all
at rest.
In the Earthly Paradise Dante had beheld the scene of man's fall, so here in the Stellar Heaven he will have revealed
17
168
to
him somewhat of the work of man's redemption. The Heaven grows more and more resplendent " Behold the
bands of Christ's triumph and
circling of these
all
The idea is clearly that of a Roman triumph, the Conqueror who has won the gran preda from Dis {Inf. XII) coming surrounded by his spoils, "with sign of victory crowned' {Inf. IV). The blessed
spheres".
both
of
the
Old and
the
New
of
circling
of
for the
souls
to
The
ninth Heaven,
the
it
Primum
from the
Empyrean;
this
virtue, before
Heaven
all
the stars
distributes
all
virtue through
the spheres
of the planets; so
the
Dante separately
in
by which they were influenced in life, now appear together with many more in this eighth sphere from which the divinely communicated influence
the single spheres
the
planets
came
to the planets.
"
says Benvenuto,
are
'The seven chosen lines of battle," now recalled from their conflicts and
reward and the triumph they have merited, that they may animate others to fight valiantly." And with them are
the
glorious spirits
more
illustrious
still,
Emperor
of Christ
to
in
all
the
lower heavens.
The
and
sanctiflcation
and salvation of
the
light
as
of
the
Dante
of
Christ in
the
169
is, the Humanity of our Saviour is shown, an indication of the redemption of mankind through His
Incarnation
La
la
Sapienza e la Possanza
il
cielo e la terra,
Onde
fu gii
si
lunga disianza.
Par.
xxiii. 31, 37.
Dante
is
roused
bidding him
now
will
be manifested to
has received
to
him
Empyrean by
of
intuition),
yet he
something
of the
divine
light
and
inspiration
follow
the
wondrous beauty of Beatrice and his ineffable theme, this exceeding joy and loveliness at this point being, in the allegorical sense, undoubtedly significant of the sublime and
glorious nature of the doctrine of man's redemption through
Christ.
in
At her bidding he
words there
is
Beatrice's
an intentional resemblance
:
to
And
The
Into
my
Wisdom and the Omnipotence That oped the thoroughfares 'twixt heaven and earth, For which there erst had been so long a yearning.
Longfellow.
170
mia
ti
si
t'innamora,
la Eosa, in che
si
Verbo divino
li
Came
gigli,
Al cui odor
prese
il
buon cammino.*
In
this
celestial
Christ,
it
Mary
is
Lilies,
and
is
meadow
Dante represents that Christ has passed up from this sphere to the Empyrean. There are obvious and important analogies between this heaven and the Earthly Paradise.* This celestial bel giardino corresponds to the Garden of
that
The
the
last
steps
of
Purgatory
(Purg.
121,
etc.)
the
Celestial
in
Ladder,
rebuke
It
of
Matilda
xxix.
61)
the
the
triumphal
the
pageant
highest
each.
of
was
in
the
Earthly
Paradise,
region
Dante beheld the despoiled Tree from which the forbidden fruit had been taken, and heard the reproachful murmur of "Adamo" (Purg. xxxii. 37 39); so now in the Firmament,
the highest
visible
region
of
Each again
*
is
Why
doth
my
face so
much enamour
is
thee,
That
There
is
Which under
Became
blossoming?
Divine
are
Word
lilies
By whose perfume
the good
P.
Perez,
Delte
Purgatorio
Paradiso.
THE STELLAR HEAVEN.
The passage
to
171
the
examination
;
upon
the
theological
virtues
in
the
Firmament
Faith,
Hope
as
to
and
his
Charity,
Beatrice
had
it is
unveiled
his
her
examina-
which
him-
him
make
it
things
self
of
God.
Also
in this
heaven that
fall,
Adam
now
that he
Firmament.
also closely
The
and the Earthly Paradise. In the Earthly Paradise a sweet melody that ran through the luminous air had induced Dante
in holy zeal to
whom
mankind had
delights
quelle
29).
ineffahili
delixie, in this
those
ineffable
{Purg.
xxix.
So now
heaven amidst
angelical
still
more sweet
Mary had
{Par. the thorn,
healed the
wound
or,
that
St.
Eve
dealt the
xxxiii.
6);
as
Bernard puts
;
Mary came
Rose
all.
is
Empyrean
first
atrix
in the Incarnation,
tion:
172
Che u albergo
girerommi,
Donna
mentre
gli entre.
Che
Piii la spera
suprema, perchfe
Facean sonar
lo
nome
di Maria.
Par.
"
xxiii. 103.*
When
the
glorious
Virgin
this
above,"
between
Paradise
St.
the
is
Assumption
sphere
the
John of Damascus: "The holy and animated Ark of living God, who had held within it its own Maker, is borne to rest in that Temple of the Lord which is not
This day the Eden of the new
Adam
was annulled, wherein the Tree of Life was planted, wherein our nakedness was covered. ' Still crowned by the flaming
Archangel,
sight;
the
resplendent
star
ascends
while
the
gleaming
saints
below
Church's Easter
Hymn
'I
am
The joy sublime which breathes from out the womb That was the hostelry of our Desire And I shall circle, Lady of Heaven, while Thou foUowest thy Son, and mak'st diviner The sphere supreme, because thou enterest there.* Thus did the circulated melody
Seal
itself
up; and
all
Were making
to resound the
name
of Mary.
^
Longfellow,
173
Caeli
laetare,
after
ejaculation
of
keys,
Colui che tien le chiavi di tal gloria.
Now follows the examination upon the three steps by which man can prepare himself to partake of that glory and become a member of Christ's triumphant host. In a well-known passage of the De Monarchia, Dante states that
to
the blessedness
of
of
life
eternal,
which consists
in
the
man can only arrive by spiritual lessons transcending human reason, to be followed in accordance with Faith, Hope and Charity. It is based
fruition
God's
countenance,
upon the teaching of St. Thomas, that, to the happiness which exceeds the nature of man and for which he is nevertheless made, he can only arrive by a divine virtue * There must involving a certain participation in the Deity
:
be superadded to
ness,
man by
is
the gift of
God
certain principles,
to supernatural happihis
he
directed
to
connatural end by
natural
principles,
yet
not
without
Such
principles
have God for their object, inasmuch as by them we are directed aright to God as also because it is only by divine
;
Holy Scripture that such virtues are taught. " ^ They cannot be acquired by human acts, but are wholly from without, and are said to be "a faculty of supernatural Thus the first reason of Dante's action infused by God".
revelation in
is
man
in
way
Summa,
q. 62.
1,
174
logical virtues
of
the
supernal
which Dante
to
is
about to
Hope
this
Comprehension, Charity
to
the
Cherubim
indicates
who
rule
eighth
Heaven, for
their
name
plenitude
of the
the
object
of
God Himself
as
He
Dante has
to
answer
St.
He
defines
the
Faith
is
the
substance
of things to be
hoped
for,
He
why Faith is denominated a substance, or beginning or basis, and why then an argument or convincing. The profound mysteries, which are being made manifest to
by
him
in
lies,
are so
concealed from
deduced from
that they
exist
in
Upon
them
is
And from
other
sight,
this
wherefore
is
said
to
be argument or
leads the intellect
evidence.
to
St.
Thomas
As argument
true, the firm
is
adhesion of the
;
intellect to the
and
same article of the Sumtna (H 2. 4. 1.) the Angelical Doctor shows that, although the words of the Apostle are not an exact definition of Faith, yet they comin
the
pletely
express
are
its
"
quiddity'
and
all
other definitions of
St.
Faith
merely
explanations
of that of
Paul.
He
suggests
the
following form
est
definition:
Fides
habittis
"
175
habit
of
commenced
within
us,
the mind by which life eternal is making the intellect assent to the
non-apparent.
Having drawn from Dante a fervent personal act of Faith, Peter next questions him as to the source of Faith, and receives as answer that the grace of the Holy Spirit, which accompanies the truths revealed in the Old and New Testaments, moves the soul to believe those revealed truths with a firmness surpassing that which comes from philosophical
St.
though
free,
does
will,
but
moves the
Scriptures
will.
in the
is
really
As
St.
Christianity
miracles
;
miracle than
for
the rest
and
him an opportunity
vine to thorn.
After a celestial Te
Deum,
question,
to his
as
to
is
offered
belief.
The
question
practically
asks
the
object of Faith,
since
it
the material
reason by which
is
known
Ed
io rispondo: lo credo in
uno Iddio
il
ciel
muove,
Non
disio.
176
tal
creder non
ho
io
pur prove
Fisiche e metafisiche,
ma dMmi
Par. xxiv. 130.*
Anche
The
is
refers
God,
and
the
His
And
he adds an
reason.
explicit
knowledge of which he has the same formal These prove fisiche e metafisiche are philosophical proofs of the existence of God, apart from theology or revelation.
Trinity, for the
St.
Thomas {Summa.
I.
of
in five
such ways.
From
the point
of view of motion,
we must come
else,
first
at last to
a First
which
moved
by nothing
and
this First
Mover Mover is
is
God.
efficient
is
Cause, which
God.
of itself necessary,
else,
;
the cause
and
one necessarily
consideration of the
come
at last to something
and nobleness; and this highest being, which is the cause And, lastly, there of all goodness and perfection, is God. must be some supreme intelligence by which all natural things are ordained to an end, and this Supreme Intelligence
is
God.
And
I respond: In one
With
love
and with
Himself unmoved;
And
Longfellow.
THE STELLAR HEAVEN.
Dante touches had approved
three
first
177
upon
his earthly
times
in
apostolic
benediction,
so
Florence would
poetical faith
and devotion by
Se mai continga che il poema sacro, Al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra, Si che m'ha fatto per piA anni macro, Vinca la crudelt^, che fuor mi serra Del bello ovile, ov'io dormii agnello Nimico ai lupi, che gli danno guerra;
Con
il
cappello;
che fa conte
mi
gir6 la fronte.
Par. XXV.
1.'
In the
of
letter to
Can Grande,
as also in Cantos
xv and xxi
his
poem
it.
comedy,
we have
is
the poet's
own
title
that
given to
According
If e'er
it
many a
year hath
made me
O'ercome the cruelty that bars me out From the fair sheepfold, where a lamb I slumbered,
An enemy
With
war upon
it.
Poet will I return and at my font Baptismal will I take the laurel crown; Because into the Faith that maketh known
All souls to
God
there entered I,
and then
encircled.
my
brow
Longfellow.
12
178
to
Benvenuto, " heaven " signifies the grace of God through which the influence of the stars fitted the poet for his work, and * earth ' represents the study and labour with
which he strove to correspond with this divine In the De Vulgari Eloquentia Dante protests
Florence so dearly that, for the love
wrongfully sufi*ering exile
self
'
;
influence.
*
we
bore her,
we love we are
but, although
he describes him-
lamb in the fold of St. John, one cannot help reminded of Shakespeare's "He's a lamb indeed There is a connection between that baes like a bear. " St. Peter's approbation of Dante's faith and his hope of In the sentence passed upon him he return to Florence.
as
being a
little
had been described as a foe of the Church's party fidelium devotorum sanctce Romance Ecclesice; and nevertheless his faith is triumphantly accepted in Heaven by that Church's
first
supreme
Pontiff*.
Another
of
glorified
James, advances from the There are apparently many groups circling round independently in this
light,
St.
celestial
heaven of the Sun), their swiftness proportionate to their beatitude; and the swiftest and brightest sphere is
in the
Eidendo
si
scrisse,
Fa
risoDar la
speme
in quest' altezza;
fiate la figuri,
Tu
sai,
che tante
Quanta Gesil
Of our
'
179
clearly
St.
John,
whom
on earth Galicia
is visited,
Lord
:
*. *
The larghexxa
Let him ask of
the
texts in
all
chapter
God who
gift
giveth to
the
men abundantly", and "Every best gift is from above, coming down from
Beatrice's
make Hope resound in Heaven is almost, as it were, to introduce a new forgotten element into their joy, since Hope no longer exists in the blessed of Paradise. Since
in
the
Transfiguration
St.
in
the
New
Testament where
were specially present as witnesses, they are to be thus taken as types of Faith, Hope and Charity, we have perhaps
grounds by analogy for taking many of the souls in Dante's
poem
so
as merely symbols of
some
and
The
mediaeval
mind found types of the theological virtues in the Old Testament in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and also in the As the Apostle who had presented three daughters of Job. Lord's in our own presence, St. James proceeds to Hope question Dante upon the subject since this vision is granted to him that he may strengthen his own hope and that of
;
others.
To
prevent
vainglory,
Beatrice
answers
one
of
own
possession of
Hope
no child of the Church has this vision been vouchsafed; the other questions
himself answer with God's grace.
Make Hope resound within this altitude; Thou knowest as oft thou dost personify
As Jesus
it
LONGFELI^W.
180
Dante
academic
and disputations of the university of Paris; the bachelor and the master, the student and the doctor. Benvenuto remarks that our author had personal experience
of
all this
when he disputed
at Paris,
vanni
the
century, states that Dante went through the and kept the acts required for the doctorate of Theology, but was prevented from actually taking the degree by lack of money. There are some errors of date in the Bishop's account, and it is very possible that it was the expedition of Henry VII to Italy which put an end to
fifteenth
forms
Dante's
Parisian
theological
career.
It
has
been
still
oddly
is
longs
crown,
but
bachelor
had to go through the Sentences of Peter the Lombard under a master, after which he was presented to the chancellor and doctors, held a public disputation and if successful became a master, magister laureatus, and commenced himself to lecture upon the Sentences.* It is now with the definition of Hope given by the Master of the Sentences that Dante begins his answers to St. James. * Hope is the certain expectation of future beatitude, coming from grace divine and precedent merits, " that is, from the grace of God and man's correspondence with that grace by good works. It proceeds from the grace of God as regards the habit of Hope, attaining to Him on whose aid it rests it comes from merit as regards the things hoped for, because man hopes to obtain beatitude by corresponding with divine grace. Revelation is its only source. The most potent of
*
Vaughan,
St.
II.
181
of
many stars, from which this light comes, are the psahns David and the epistle of St. James, Dante again assigning
epistle
the
the
in question
is
Doubtless
reference
especially
life, which God has promised to them that love Him. Faith is again cited as the support or basis of Hope; for although mention of Hope is put
into
the
definition
it
Hope, since
is
us that
possible of attainment.
The
Hope
is
Eternal Beatitude;
soul
prophecy
of
Isaias
Apocalypse of St. must be proportionate to its cause, so must the good that we hope for from God be infinite as Himself; and such a
and body united, as indicated in the the Old Testament and in the John in the New. For as an eflPect
in
good
is
life
everlasting,
"
which consists
not, "
in the
enjoyment of
"
God
Himself.
of
We
He
must
hope
anything
Him
less
than
He
Himself;
since
His
Goodness, whereby
is
A psalm in chorus, exhorting mankind to confidence in God, concludes the examination: Sperent in Te is heard from above, to which all the saints of the Firmament make melodious response. It seems to commence above them in
the Cherubim, who preside over this heaven for the government of the Universe, and to be echoed and completed
by the
the
who
work
of the Cherubim.
The
spirit
of
St.
John
in
who
(if
it
is,
Dante,
body
The Apostle
182
bids him repeat on earth the falsity of the belief that he had not died as other men: "on earth my body is earth";
for
Christ
united in glory.
The legend ran that St. John, like Mary, into Heaven after death, his tomb having of manna as the Blessed Virgin's of hlies.
however, that Dante did not repeat
his friend Giotto,
this
would
seem,
celestial
message to
in
who has
represented
the
rising of St.
to rejoin Christ
in the
the Apostles
and Church
of Santa Croce!
On
been struck
while
and
is
reassures him.
it
The
let
blindness
be but temporary,
so,
lasts,
state the
Benvenuto
beyond the
thinks
literal
that
there
is
no
meaning
intended
strive to
one,
many
expound was troubled by some doubt, or that, in endeavouring to penetrate more deeply into the mysterious revelations of this Eagle of Christ, his intellectual sight was dazzled, and it needed the teaching of theology to restore him from the
blindness
of
error.
Others
suppose
that
he cannot see
the
teachings of Theology
is
God sometimes
it
deprives
man
for a time
him again
in fuller
measure
It
may perhaps be
intended as
a warning
but
if,
as ig
more probable,
183
spiritual
consolation,
Love
as
long
as
the
blindness
lasts.
has written
Is
my
gloom, after
all,
God
since
"
is
book of Love,
God
as to the principle
of happiness."
Lo Ben, che
Mi
Love reads
his missal
sometimes
loudly
in
own
tones
sake,
received or
refer
when God is loved for His and more low when He is loved for benefits rewards hoped for or it may be that the louder
;
to celestial
to
but a stepping-
Supreme Good. This indeed is surely the central thought of the Vita Nuova, and the burden too of Beatrice's reproaches to Dante in the Earthly Paradise.
towards the
it,
such
you
if
I love not
Him,
Him
if
'
The Good, that gives contentment to The Alpha and Omega is of all The writing that Love reads me, low
this Court,
or loud.
Longfellow.
184
practically contained
Charity
not
any love
loved as
God by which He is the object of beatitude, to which we are ordained and Hope. To this love of God man is directed
of
God, but
that
love of
authority,
s'intende,
Quanto
piii di
bontate in
comprende.
trova
Dunque Che
Pift
all'
che
in altra
conviene che
si
muova
La Lo
There
Love.
this
is
natural
tendency
of
the
will
this
to
anything
is
apprehended by the
intellect as good,
and
tendency
The
is
All finite and the more ardent the love. however much goodness they present, can under certain circumstances be not desirable and therefore not apprehended as good. In God alone is the supreme and
tendency
things,
universal
Good
in
which the
will
of
man can
rest
He
is
For good, 80 far as good, when comprehended Doth straight enkindle love, and so much greater As more of goodness in itself it holds; Then to that Essence (whose is such advantage That every good which out of it is found
Is nothing but a ray of its own light) More than elsewhither must the mind be moved Of every one, in loving, who discerns The truth in which this evidence is founded. LCWQFELLOW.
185
compared
to
His Good-
ness
all
finite
sun (Cornoldi).
to
God
be led to love
Him
above
all
things.
God
Dante has already cited, but still revelation and authority: the voice of God Himself to Moses, and the testimony of St. John, the Eagle of Christ. Therefore both human intellect and revealed authority lead man to love God, for His own sake and above all things.
such
as
more emphatically do
God
Supreme
afford
concordant inducements to
Him
Him
own
of
existence,
eternal
hope
is
consciousness already
the
mentioned,
conviction that
God
of
disordered
Supreme Good, have drawn the poet from the sea love and placed him on the shore of the
Charity cannot exist without Faith
2.
and Hope
only
[Summa
of
65.
5).
For Charity
signifies
not
God, but also a certain friendship with Him, a society and certain familiar conversation with Him, which begins in this present life by grace but is perfected in the future by glory and no one can have this friendship without faith in such a society with God, and
the love
;
hope
of
St.
to
attain
to
it.
Charity holds.
"
Wherever there
must
of
is
a principle,
'
says
of
Thomas,
there
to
be
order.
Now
the
love
Charity tends
the
God
common
sharing
is
founded.
And
therefore
186
charity,
God.'*
Le
Quanto da
lui
The order
again
says
:
St.
it
Thomas
will
Even
in
our heavenly
country
hold
good that one will love another, with whom he has a special tie, in more ways than he loves the rest for virtuous motives
:
to
all
these
reasons
is
God."^
are
echoes of this
all
through
the Divine
Comedy.
of
The
and,
the
as
close
the
examination
on Love
divine
is
greeted with
joins,
which Beatrice
love,
she heals
poet's
a clearer
in
one whose
il
intellect
fiamma (Vamore
e adulto {Par.
Within a fourth
Adam
celestial
which
at
first
Dante has
*
new Adam
ascend.
Dante
Summa. II 2. Q.
*
26. a. 1.
The leaves wherewith embowered is all the garden Of the Eternal Gardener, do I love As much as He has granted them of good.
Longfellow.
Summa. 112. Q.
26. a. 13.
187
porno
che
maturo
solo prodotto
fosti!^
Dante
are
New Adam
whose ascent he
He
at
is
whose
fruit the
Angels are
greedy;
dolce
and,
in
Purg. xxvii,
Sicui
He
is
many
sic
Adam
in
God, answers
Ma
that
is, his passing beyond the mark set for human knowledge by God, wishing to be like God as to knowledge of good and evil. St. Thomas explains that the disobedience was " The not in itself the first sin, but was caused by pride first sin of man was in this, that he desired a certain spiritual good beyond his measure, which pertains to pride whence
:
it
is
first
man was
pride."
He
in
930 years on the earth, and then was 4302 years Limbo until Christ came crowned with victory and drew
*
There
is
a curious
This reading
is
peculiarly fitting from the lips of the father of all men, but
universally rejected by other commentators and the reader referred to what Dante himself has said in Purg. xxx, where Beatrice for the only time in the poem addresses him by name. Dante, la voglia tua discemo meglio.
188
him
Thus, since
his
it
is
now
creation to
in the
He
the
garden of Eden.
The most
question
interesting question
that
answered
is
that concerning
Adam
used
discussed in the
different
De
with
the the
totally
answer.
Here
Adam
states
that
entirely
extinct before
language of the
descendants spoke
after
Hebrew
the
confusion of Babel,
which
it
that
of
grace.
curious
difference, Dante's
man undergoes
is
Ch^ nuUo
Ma,
Poi fare a
come fronda
Par. xxvi. 127.*
'
For nevermore
(Because of
result of reasoning
human
is it
natural action
that
man
speaks;
To your own
art, as
men
like
leaf
On
Longfellow.
THE STELLAR HEAVEN.
189
The change in the speech of man is illustrated by the name which he gives to God the Supreme Good, which
recalls
one
Eloquentia:
"
of
the
noblest
passages
of
the
De
Vulgari
As
to
the
first
spoke
It
first,
feel
word uttered by the voice of him who no doubt that it is plain to a man of
this first
of
God.
seems absurd
and
named by man
man
Him and
of
through Him.
is
reasonable to suppose
fall
that
began with
joy
is
and because there is no joy without God, but all joy in God and God Himself is all joy, it follows that he
;
who spoke
first
said
first
else,
Ood."^
hymn
close of
the mystery
redemption,
in
Ofelix culpa qtiae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem; and the poet himself, inebriated with the plenty of God's
house, breaks out into one of his divinest
celestial love,"
"
enragements of
in
adequate expression:
Paradiso,
dolce canto.
Entrava per
De Vtdgari
Eloquentia. Mr. A. G. F.
Howell's
translation.
190
O O
vita intera
d'amore e di pace!
Par. xxvii.
1.'
There
divine
is
silence in
anger utters
successors.
He
Heaven, and St. Peter glowing with tremendous rebuke of his unworthy who on earth usurps his place has made
a
Rome a cloaca of blood and stench, whereby the Evil One is consoled for his fall from Heaven; the throne of
of
Peter
is
VHI,
and John
XXII,
is
the
pope
of minor importance.
is
intended, there
lines
no
famous
in the Purgatorio
is
declared
to be the vicar of Christ, in whose iniquitous treatment at Alagna the sufferings of Christ have been renewed. Although in
Heaven he
is
seen to
office
men on
earth he
is
If
Dante
is
rather thinking of
it is
Clement
their desertion
made
"Glory be to the Father, to the Son, And Holy Ghost " all Paradise began, So that the melody inebriate made me. What I beheld seemed unto me a smile
!
inebriation
joy!
gladness inexpressible!
and peacefulness!
Longfellow.
191
it
has become.*
All
celestial eclipse as
of corruption in the
Non
Del sangue mio, di Lin, di quel di Cleto, Per essere ad acquisto d'oro usata;
Ma
lieto
Urbano
fleto.
.Non fu nostra intenzion ch'a destra mano Dei nostri successor parte sedesse,
Parte
dall'altra, del
popol cristiano
mi
Mr
concesse,
Che contra
Ai
battezzati combattesse;
mendaci,
disfavillo.
paschi:
Guaschi
buon
principio,
A
Ma E
che
vil fine
I'alta
Difese a
Boma
la gloria del
si
mondo,
Soccorr^ tosto,
tu, figliuol,
com'io concipio.
che per lo mortal pondo Ancor gift tomerai, apri la bocca, E non asconder quel ch'io non ascondo.
It
is
medy
is
The theory
some modem
critics that
quite untenable.
'The spouse
On
To be made
192
In the
things,
De Monarchia Dante declares that there is an express command of Christ forbidding the Church to receive temporal
and he can which
? '
find
The blood
creatures
*
;
upon
these
the
the
preparing to seize.
What
"
he exclaims
is
what
of the
Church
own kindred
are
enlarged?
But perchance
is
better to
But
Urban and
Calixtus,
much
not, that on the right hand Of our successors should in part be seated The Christian folk, iu part upon the other;
Nor
that the keys which were to me confided Should e'er become the escutcheon on a banner, That should wage war on those who are baptized;
I be
Nor
made
To
privileges venal
Whereat
I often redden
fire.
In garb of shepherds the rapacious wolves Are seen from here above o'er all the pastures
wrath of God,
why
But the high Providence, that with Scipio At Borne the glory of the world defended,
Will speedily bring aid as I conceive.
And
thou,
my
son,
Shalt
down
What
Dtfesa implies
reading, vendetta.
"
I conceal not,
Longfellow.
defence
"
rather than
"
wrath
"
but there
is
another
The
difesa di Dio
may
possibly
>'
be the Imperial
Eagle.
193
set before us
and
in religious silence
Peter, Dante will now break this religious silence and no more hide ecclesiastical corruption than St. Bernard, and
St.
before him.
by a curious but decidedly picturesque simile of flashing lights snowing upwards (which is also used for the ascent of a glory of Angels che parean pioggia di manna
described
in the
last
down upon
The
which he sees below him, his own position and that of the Sun [Par. xxvii. 79 87) seem somewhat difficult to reconcile
with
{Par.
his
vision
on
first
arriving
at
this
eighth
Heaven
of these
xxii.
133
154),
so
that the
full
solution
two passages, the only two time-references in the Paradiso One interafter the first Canto, remains a vexed question.
preter supposes both passages to be purely ideal descriptions
at the poet's
own
accuracy;
the
ordinary
and the Ganges on the horizon, and wished to correct these erroneous notions from this more advantageous position of
observation.
six hours have passed since he first and I think that his former vision of the complete Universe visible below him is best explained
It
by reference
of
St.
to
St.
Benedict,
in
the
inward
soul
light
194
vouchsafed to contemplative
Even
the
more limited
from a
view obtained
exquisite
right
in
this
delight
or
Primum
Mobile.
At
this
visible
earth,
such
critical points
of
Christendom and
expectation of a deliverer
from
on high.
n.
cicpO[ioi.ov(iivTi,
TfQog
rag
Ts Kccl ivaaig.
The
with
Primum
movements the
all
daily revolutions of
the others,
all
by which they
parts.
their
discourses
government on the
divine
upon the order of the heavens and the want of earth, whereby it does not follow this
and
these
rest,
order
of
will
not
influence
spheres.
principle of
motion and of
makes
the
earth motionless in
the
round
is
it,
has
its
which
itself
bounded only by the light and love that last Heaven of all where God
Divine Mind
turns
rains
this
is
of the divine
Empyrean,
In that
directly rules.
and the virtue that from them down upon the Universe:
ninth
185
196
moto per
altro distinto;
Ma
gli altri
Si come died da mezzo e da quinto. come il tempo tenga in cotal testo Le sue radici, e negli altri le fronde,
Omai a
te puot'esser manifesto.
This heaven
desire
moves
its
swiftest of
all,
of
all
Heaven
;
of
peace.
All
is
motion
measured
visible
by
its
motion
and,
since
time
the
measured by the
and
this
visible
and
planets,
motion
of
caused and
measured by the
therefore
invisible
motion
this ninth
Heaven,
measure of time.
in
Tree of Time has its roots in this crystalline a vase, and its leaves in the other celestial
its
The Heaven as
circles; its
origin
is
in the invisible
motion of
the other
Primum
Mobile;
its
leaves
are visible
in
is
But
on earth covetousness overwhelms and blinds mankind, so that they cannot lift up their eyes and thoughts to behold
celestial
things
and consider
the
Good
be-
ginnings
bella
life
are
rendered abortive,
of
corruption,
and la
figlia
in
God.
Sun of Justice (the Church or human general) has become dark with sin in the sight of Want of government has wrought this ruin:
Its
motion
is
by this, by the half and by the fifth. And in what manner time is such a pot May have its roots and in the rest its leaves,
But
all
As
ten
is
Now
Longfellow.
197
Onde
si
svia
rumana
For of mankind's two divinely appointed guides that are to lead them to blessedness of this life and of life eternal, the one in the sight of God is a simoniacal usurper, and
the other, even in the sight of men,
is
a selfish tyrant
Caesar.
to
make
himself lawful
of
who Yet
the
very
long,
by the
circling
these heavens,
surely
direct
course,
it
come from on high; the fleet will run a and true fruit will come after the flower.
again the prophecy of the
Veltro,
Doubtless
is
who
shall
come
in the
golden age.
repeats
Thus Beatrice
prophecy which
to
in the
St.
the
had
In
this
same message
announce
to the world.
Heaven Dante beholds another preparatory vision, in anticipation of the more complete vision of the Empyrean. The vision of the eighth Heaven had been an anticipation of the vision of the Humanity of Christ which
this ninth
at
last
he
that
is
to
of the
ninth
similarly
For
this
is
the
all
with
celestial
all
its
virtue
that
thus
encloses
and influence the essence of all things [Par. ii. 112 114); and for this
'
is
Whence goes
astray the
human
198
intelligences
are
of
these
spheres
in
127
129).
fitting
Dante beholds,
first
reflected
the
eyes
of Beatrice
and then
in reality,
an
unity
of
the
Divinity,
as
Empyrean.
It
is
size,
Un
punto
lume
lo forte
Acuto
che
il
acume;
piii
poca,
esso,
Come
Stella
con
stella si colloca.
Deus
est
Bernard,
in the letter to
dicuntur,
things
Can Grande, says Inter omnia quae unum arcem tenet unitas divinoe Trinitatis., among all which are called one, the unity of the Blessed
holds
the
highest place.
Trinity
begins his
treatise
through
all
creation
draw
all
things to oneness
with
'
point beheld
I, that was raying out Light so acute, the sight which it enkindles
Must
And
Would seem
As one
to be a
moon,
if
placed beside
is
it
placed.
Longfellow.
199
The One
is
Church
as to the unity of
God, for
in the
Lady
of
philosophy.
God
is
reflected
in
her
life
and death
'
One,
is,
this
nine that
men might
this
the
Holy
Around
nearer
brilliant
the
One,
moving more
swiftly
This
circling
templation in regard
creation.
and flaming of the angelic orders symbolise conto God and action in regard to His
The
light divine is
celestial intelligences,
it
and they, by
perceptible to man.
There are
three
angelic Hierarchies,
According to the supposed Dionysius the Areopagite, " A Hierarchy is a sacred order and science and energy, which
is
to the imitation of
God
it.
nations
conceded to
The scope
of a Hierarchy
is
the
A
by
Westcott, Dionysius
Thought in the
ligious
West);
Dionysii; J.
Paekee, The
Celestial
200
Dante says
di lei s'invera.*
As
to
in
the
Him
knowledge of God Himself, all the Angels see the same way, but as regards created things there
The
known more
Wisdom
God, and they enlighten the lower Angels on these matters. higher Angel instructs the lower about all things that
knows; it communicates the knowledge given to itself from above to the lower Angel, but such knowledge is not
received
so
excellently
in
it
is
in the
From
from
love:
it
goes
forth
all
creation,
and the
first circle,
being nearest,
is
Da
Dipende
il
quel puDto
From
that
point
all
Nature.
Dante had uttered who moveth all the heavens with love and desire. Himself not moved: that is, in God the Prime Movent, in support of which he alleged Here therefore philosophical proofs as well as revelation.
In his profession of Faith,
his
belief
in
Canto and
xxiv.,
One God,
sole
eternal,
I think because
more with
its
truth imbued.
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN.
he
is
201
sentence
"
Prime Movent:
itself
be Actuality.
first
It
must be the
in
first
object of desire
is
and the
im-
object
of will.
exists
itself
movable and
can
It exists
is
by
necessity,
implies
is
the perfect
and beautiful: and in this character it Without it, good or perfection what
it is
cannot be had
the
it
is
of being otherwise.
From
Heaven and
all
Nature."^
"
Dionysius
'
commenced
"
his
Every good
gift is
A difiSculty arises in the poet's mind from the apparent want of correspondence between the order of the Universe and the order seen in these angelic circles. Here the circle is swiftest in its motion and most brilliant in its light in
proportion to
its
world
*
is
mind of the First Agent who is God; then in heaven, as in an instrument by means of which the likeness of the Eternal Goodness unfolds itself
for nature exists
in the
How
is it,
is
seen to what
here shown
Be Monarchia,
II. 2.
Church.
202
more swift
their
divine
their
character?
Beatrice's
answer
is
that
If
he considers
only
their
circles or
sign),
hoops of
fire,
but this
he
virtue
God and
preside
The Priinum
mobile^
which sweeps
similarly, the
along with
own
the
the lower to
this
the less.
As
more
Angels flashing
of Heavenly
light,
as
It
they circle
is
Hymne
Love:
infinite increase of
An
Angels bright,
There they
About
Him
When He them
And
'
caroU
Hymnes
of love both
To
203
some
difficulty
the
the
the
of
movers
to
of the
third
Heaven.
of
Beatrice
therefore
proceeds
celestial
name and
distinguish
these
nine
orders
of
intelligences.
The
in
division
is
participation
the
perfection
Divine
in relation to
1.
{Summa
108.
1).
As
first
Hierarchy which
T'hanno mostrato i Serafi e i Cherubi, Cosi veloci seguono i suoi vimi, Per simigliarsi al punto quanto ponno, E posson quanto a veder son sublimi.
Par. xxviii. 98.'
For the Seraphim are named from excess of love, the Cherubim from plenitude of knowledge, but love and
knowledge are inseparable, and, since the love is consequent upon the vision and in proportion to it, the Seraphim of a
necessity not only love more, but also
the
Cherubim.
called
che piA
ama
The primal
circles
Have shown
To be
own bonds,
And can
Longfellow.
204
The The
light
them
fast to
God,
is
is
that
God
the
wherein
beatitude.
moves round,
more
like a point of
does
it
in the teaching
of
Dionysius
God
as far as
is
permitted to
to
The
relation of the
is
Seraphim
to
names imply,
The
first
subsist
by
by
their
light
of
God
as the others
do His Love.
"
Dean
on Dionysius
calls the
first,
For there is in each both love and wisdom. But in the inasmuch as they are nearer to God, the very Sun
Therefore that
is
which
all
in
them
is
named Love.
;
the
appear to be
only Lights.
Such then
the difference
between these orders; namely, that in the latter is knowledge proceeding from love; in the former is love proceeding
from knowledge.
former, knowledge
of knowledge
is
In the
is
;
latter,
love
is
knowledge;
in the
love.
For
in the
Angels an intensity
knowledge. '
*
love
The Thrones
and
is
They
are the
represent
especially
is
His steadfastness.
The
peculiar
office of the
Thrones
that of the
J.
H. LuPTON, Joannes
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN.
* Power cleanses, makes perfect. " * The difference
205
clear
in
degree of bliss
to
among
all
these angelic
orders
of
leads
Beatrice
beatitude in general.
The
joy of
intellectual beings.
depth of their
God:
d^i saper che tutti
hanno diletto, Quanto la sua veduta si profooda Nel Vero, in che si queta ogn'intelletto. Quinci si pu6 veder come si fonda
L'esser beato nell'atto che vede,
Non
in quel ch'ama,
Che
grazia partorisce e
buona
si
voglia;
procede.
Thus
the
essence
love,
of
beatitude
consists
in
vision
upon
which follows
with grace.
happiness
declares
lectual
:
is
"
From
;
we wish
it
end
but
we
actually
do gain
'
J.
H. LuPTON, Joannes
And
thou shouldst know that they all have delight As much as their own vision penetrates The Truth, in which all intellect finds rest.
this it
From
may
be seen
how
blessedness
And And
not in
the measure.
Which
is
proceed.
Longfellow.
206
it
becomes present
the
essence
of
understanding.
belongs to
But the delight that follows upon happiness the will. * And, further on, " Love ranks above
in
knowledge
attaining;
for
is
known, and
is first
therefore
action
of
an end of understanding
first
is
and Powers, those orders whose names designate a certain common government or disposition. Their special functions
have
been
already
considered.
The
third
Hierarchy
is
Principalities, Archangels
and
these
celestial
intelligences
for
Angels
signify
Messengers,
and
in
this
respect
the
higher Angels
can
name.
called
the Angel
of
the
great Counsel.
which especially
God
E
to
man:
Dio
Tutti
sono e
tutti tirano.
The
'
function
of
the
Summa. 12. Q.
3. a. 4.
(Aquinas Ethicus).
all of
them
are gazing,
And downward
They
God
and
all attract.
207
God and
Him.
manifestation of
Him
to creatures
bring
;
them
to
taught, teach
others
selves
God
they pour
down
influence
from above'
(Colet on
Dionysius).
that
this
Receiving from God the divine light and love makes them like to Him, the higher orders communicate light and love to the lower, like mirrors reflecting the
it
to
men, that
they
like
may render
to
all
God and
that
in
unity
is
with Him.
the
division
Beatrice impresses
of Dionysius,
upon Dante
hers
who
his
disio,
and
to
whom
many
to
such
celestial
Gregory's
divergence,
Bernard but
at which, according
all
very
in
trifling one,
the
second
Hierarchy
attaches
in
the
third.
Dante
because
apparently
St.
the
difference,
between these angelic orders and the spheres that they move, and the souls that appear under their influence in these heavens. However, the poet's own earlier classification of Angels in the Convito differs considerably more from
that
of
Dionysius than
St.
Gregory's
does
for he there
places the Thrones in the lowest and the Powers in the highest Hierarchy, and composes the middle Hierarchy of Dante also, in the Principalities, Virtues and Dominations.
Convito^
*
distinguishes
the Hierarchies
in
relation to their
initiator*
De Caelesti Hierarchia, the author speaks of his "divine and his * illustrious preceptor ", but it was later paraphrasts who inserted the name of St. Paul as the person meant. It is now usually held that the works ascribed to the Areopagite were produced at the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century.
In
the
208
principal
contemplation,
touching
upon
their
the supreme
the
Power
Wisdom
of
of the
Holy
Spirit.
And
each
may be
considered
in
have
different
subject
of
contemplation
in
the
in respect to
Himself
astronomical simile,
in
whose
Non
per aver a
sfe
di
bene acquisto,
ma
Fuor d'ogni
altro
comprender, come
piacque,
S'aperse in nuovi
amor
I'eterao
amore.
Par. xxix. 13.*
In
at
Not
to acquire
Which
is
In its resplendency may say 'Subsisto'. In His eternity outside of time, Outside all other limits, as it pleased Him,
Into
new Loves
the Eternal
Love unfolded.
Longfellow.
Fuor d'ogni
altro
comprender
may mean
or merely "incomprehensibly."
THE CKYSTALLINE HEAVEN.
be loved. God did not create for His own His Goodness is perfect and independent,
of
it
209
incapable
increase;
but
alone.
in
According
is
creation
Love Thomas, * God's principal purpose the good which consists in the resemblance
infinite
from
His
Goodness, His
to St.
of
creatures
to
Himself
from
is
Terche suo
splendore potesse
:
Cornoldi comments
light,
"
The
;
splen-
dour
it.
is
light derived
and
is
God
it
is
as
of
In creation
could
God gave
I
subsist."
existence
say
Nor
inactive.
before
this
creation
not,
of
the
Universe no
first
was God
Time was
creation
there
was
nor after in
Eternity;
love
wherewith
act, for
God
By
creation
God
did
no new
He
to Infinity.^
Time
Lo
itself
commenced with
discorrer di
When the
upon the
divine ideas.
Spirit of
God moved
formless materia
St.
prima
which the Spirit of God moved in Genesis i. 2, as perhaps not meaning water in the ordinary sense of the word, but the materia prima^ the subject of all the substantial transformations
of the corporeal Universe.
The
will of
Spirit of
God
moved
an
artist
might
be said
move over
the
wood
or
operation.
CoBNOLDl's commentary
is
first
part of
this Canto.
14
210
In the mode of production, creation was instantaneous form and matter, and substances composed by the union of both, rayed into perfect being, three arrows from the
three-corded
the work
of
bow
all
is
che
71071
avea
for
"^
God saw
that
all
"
He
and instantaneously,
that
"He
things
all
together."
St.
Thomas
explains
God
created
and embel-
lishment.
These two
last
lines
refer
either
to the heavens,
which,
Were
Pure
Midway bound
Such bond that
It
shall never
be unbound.
Longfellow.
may
but
corporeal
Mooke,
p. 109.)
'
211
bodies
more
of
probably,
to
all
created
by
the
the
union
substantial
forms
with
all
matter.
Thus
pure
creatures,
in
act,
created
the
the
of
Empyrean
corporeal
Heaven
creatures
with
creation
they
St.
move and
rule.
spite of
show
it,
was
1,
Eccles.
Thomas
says,
is
"
The Angels
whole.
fell
God
The
rest that
remained
in
men
consists, has
rupted
and
for
memory,
memory
new
da nuovo
obbietto.
From rebuking
cerning Angels,
Beatrice passes
She denounces the deviations of false philosophy, where love of vain show leads men from the true path in order to seem original by
outbursts against the scandals of the times.
starting
Scriptures are
anticipation of
212
of culture not to read the Scriptures, as they were bad for their taste and would not improve their style as Ruskin has put it, " Christ's teaching was discovered not to be rhetorical, St. Paul's preaching not to be logical, and * the Greek of the New Testament not to be grammatical.
:
men
If
in
Dante gives an accurate picture of the state of things his day, the seeds were already being sown of the
of
"Infidelity
their
the Renaissance."
own
to
inventions
matters,
which
the
culpable
their
flock
if
the congregation
laugh loudly.
nestling in the
all,
merry preacher's
and
is
doubtless especially
moved
to
grant indulgences
had
no
papal
is
bulls
Of
course
the
poet's
sarcasm
show
that he
held
the
Catholic
doctrine on
the subject,
license,
senxa conio.
It
is
to
the
Angels,
;
since
their
consideration
infinite
power of
their Creator.
his
"
thousand thousands
figures.
And
yet,
in this-
213
the
light,
Per tanti modi in essa si recepe, Quanti son gli splendori a che s'appaia
all'atto
che concepe
Segue I'afFetto, d'amor la dolcezza Diversameute in essa ferve e tepe. Vedi I'eccelso omai, e la larghezza
Dell'eterao valor, poscia che tanti
si
spezza,
Uno manendo
in sh
come
davanti.
Not only
different
is
infinite
number
and
in
its
things
single
incorruptible
species,
and
each
the species
sufficiently
is
conserved
in
one.
Even
in
of a different rank.
It is impossible
species, just as
we
one humanity
{Summa
50. 4).
St.
Thomas
declares that
The primal light, that all irradiates it, By modes as many is received therein, As are the splendours wherewith it is mated.
Hence, inasmuch as on the act conceptive
The
or tepid.
The height behold now and the amplitude Of the eternal power, since it hath made
Itself so
many
mirrors, where
'tis
broken.
One
Longfellow.
2U
all
Angels
differ in species
;
grades
of intellectual nature
one species.
Chapter VI.
THE EMPYREAN.
I.
Alta Quies,
omne quod
humanitus moveri solet motum omnem omuis qui tunc est motus divinitus fit,
transit
"
!
amitlit, ubi
et in
Deum
Richard of
'
St. Victob,
De Exterminatione Mali.
magis
delectet, sed
Non
est
equidem quod
me
quam de
gloria Virginia
Bernaed, De Assumptions.
As
the
the
stars
and as
to
be
lost to view, so
is
now
Seraphim,
the last
to disappear.
stars
itself
in
is
in
the
Heaven
of
Heavens.
vision,
These
circles of flame
and that
in
indivisible Point
away
the
full
sunlight
of
absolute Truth.
of
its
to
have an idea
Point had
angelic Hierarchies,
215
this
216
seemed surrounded by them, yet it is a sign of that which is not circumscribed and circumscribes all things:
Non
Then
of Beatrice,
and poem. All his former words of her, brought together into one hymn of praise, would not suffice him now:
ch' io vidi si
15,
trasmoda
certo io credo
da
noi,
ma
literal sense,
Beatrice
is
throne
in
the
Emp3rrean,
is
God
of
Theology
God
the
The mere remembrance of her sweet smile dazzles memory as the sun does a weak sight. The same thought
in
occurs
that
Che mostran de' placer del Paradise; Dico negli occhi e nel suo dolce rise, Che le vi reca amor com' a suo loco.
Not only does the beauty I beheld
Transcend ourselves, but truly I believe
Its
it all.
Longfellow.
Dante's words, di la da noi, imply a complete transcending of our
earthly conditions and comprehension.
THE EMPYREAN.
EUe soverchian lo nostro intelletto, Come raggio di sole un fragil vise*
217
The
Vita
womanhood commenced
in the
Nuova
is
or perfection.
They have reached the Empyrean, the heaven of the last and perfect happiness of man, the true home of Angels and saints, issued from the last material sphere into the heaven
that
is
pure light:
Luce
intellettual piena d'amore,
Amor
di vero
ben pien di
letizia,
philosophy
intellectual
light,
is
that
is,
to behold
God
with
which
St.
arises
which therefore
comprehends
the
all
joy.
Thomas,
it
is
properly
happiness;
is
attained good.
first
He
is
again blinded
Things
in
made
manifest
bliss of
Paradise;
Of her sweet smile I speak, and beaming eyes, Which Love brings there, the place of their desire. Our feeble mind by them is all opprest, As when the sun on vision weak doth rise, Plumptre.
218
for a time,
words recalling
Come
subito
lampo che
discetti
Gli
spiriti visivi, si
che priva
Deir
cielo
con
si fatta salute,
Per
fiamma
il
candelo.
Non
fur
tosto dentro a
me
io
venute
compresi
Me
fe
Che
gli
fosser difesi.*
from
the
is
and
by a new
and
Even as a sudden lightning that disperses The visual spirits, so tliat it deprives The eye of impress from the strongest objects Thus round about me flashed a living light,
And
Of
left
me
veil
its
heaven
No
Welcomes into itself with such salute. To make the candle ready for its flame." sooner had within me these brief words
An
And
To be
I with vision
Such that no light whatever is so pure But that mine eyes were fortified against it. iX)NGFELLOW.
THE EMPYREAN.
new
faculties
219
of
for
comprehending the
even
essence
things
spiritual, there
to the passage
is
from
mortal
life
to
not taken as an
itself. In the nine lower heavens, from the greatest of which he has just issued, the poet has contemplated as much of the glory of God and of the
is
and
now he
is
to
which such
contemplation leads.
Since
(V.
Barelli,
it
Vallegoria
delJa
B.C.
esposta).
Perhaps, however,
like so
many
of Richard of
contemplation,
the
in
man can
is
attain.
This
contemplation
great
the ecstatic
condition
the
found by that
Benjamin, for
mystic
life
represented
by
type
of
whose
"Rachel dies when Benjamin is born, because when the mind of man is rapt above itself it transcends For when, all bounds of human reasoning.
Rachel died^:
elevated
above
the
of
itself
and rapt
all
in
ecstasy,
it
beholds the
light
of
Divinity,
human reason
failing
this
yields.
What
? "
is
the
death
of
reason
It
is
teaching of Richard
Dante
is
contemplation
see
for,
away, he
to
by divine
light
immediate
intuition.
this
temporary death
Cf.
Vauqhan,
St.
Thomas
of Aquin. Vol.
i.
220
Benjamin.
final
vision.
vision
the
Empyrean.
This
is
still
symbolical,
still
merely a
truth
than
vidi
lume
in
forma
di riviera
Di
tal
fiumaDa uscian
d'ogni parte
si
faville vive,
E
Poi,
mettean nei
fiori,
come
E
The wondrous
the Old and
all
New
by
irrigated
of
divine
infinite
grace.
The
is
river
descending
height
the
usually
supposed
to
effusion
of
divine
of
grace
light.
upon
"
all
creatures, flowing
down from
maketh the
the source
city of
The stream
And
of the river
God
joyful
light I
saw
in fashion of
its
a river
Fulvid with
effulgence, 'twLxt
two banks
Out
And on And
then, as
all sides
wondrous
torrent,
And
Longfellow.
THE EMPYEEAN.
the most
221
Accord-
High hath
sanctified
ing
the
to
of the
Word and
is
explanation
to
be preferred.
of
St.
Bernard
of
The
wisdom from the mouth of the Most High, pour out the streams of knowledge upon all His citizens, and this perhaps is what the Psalmist spoke of, the stream of the river making the city of God joyful." Of this stream Dante, a new co-operator in the work of the Cherubim, must drink, if he would fully see this vision of God which he has to relate to diffuse His knowledge on earth as the Cherubim in Heaven. It is a shadowy preface of the truth these things are not of themdrinking
the
Cherubim,
fountain
is
immediate
intuition.
At
the
of this river,
and sees
it
now
This
probably symbolises
to
the
God's grace
Him,
as to the
Another interpretation (Perez) supposes that by the river becoming round is signified the sea of Eternity, into which the rivers of the ages flow but on the whole the former
;
interpretation
is,
as before, to be preferred.
It is the light
the
action
of
Peter
Damian
it
which had been explained to him by in Canto xxi. By it the saints and
Angels, as
*
Out
Longfellow.
222
in the
of the
vision.
the
lo
vidi "I
Most
saw"
significant
is
recalling
itself
:
the
Cristo
Cosi mi
si
cambiaro
in
maggior
feste
Li
vidi
Ambo
Dammi
It
is
:
virtil
a dir com'io
lo vidi.*
by the
lumen
gloriae
that
he beholds this
final
vision
Lume
pace.'
By man
the
God
in
disposes the
mind
of
Angel or
and
is
becomes
a measure
god-like,
Divine Essence.
is
By
the light of
glory,
the
Divine
Essence
made
reflected
from the
light
Thus into greater pomp were changed for me The flowerets and the sparks, so that I saw Both of the Courts of Heaven made manifest. splendour of God by means of which I saw The lofty triumph of the realm veracious, Give me the power to say how it I saw!
!
Longfellow.
*
There
is
light above,
which
visible
creature,
Who
only in beholding
Him
has peace.
Ibid.
THE EMPYREAN.
223
which comes from God, and from which the heaven of First Movement, the Frimum Mobile, receives all its vitaHty and
government of the Universe. In from which they receive glory and beatitude the
virtue
for
the
this
sea
saints of
hill
Paradise
are
mirrored,
as
the
its
foot
just as
Rachel
in
Dante's
dream
at
the
mirror to see her fair eyes, and Leah adorned herself with
flowers in
preparation
'
for
this end.
"
Flowers,"
says
St.
Bernard,
and
to
their
hope of
but
of
all
fruit;
threefold
grace,"
appeared
Dante
all :
lost,
the
emblem
Her who
most
perfect
and glorious
of
La
Odor
rosa sempiterna,
The whole
in
spite
of this allegrexxa
its
is is
of
vastness,
nor
La
'
The Rose eternal, That spreads, and multiplies, and breathes an odour
Of
Longfellow.
*
There near and far nor add nor take away; For there where God immediately doth govern,
in
naught
is
relevant.
Ibid.
224
to
eternal
which consists
in the fruition of
man
natural
powers
light.
She
Now
but
of the Rose.
The
full,
are
nearly
all
among
the
empty thrones
is
one
VH:
gli
occhi tieni
Per
la
v'fe
su posta,
ceni,
Verra
in
prima
La
Che muor
di
fame
will be remembered that Henry of Luxemburg died August 24th, 1313, while Dante was to live until the 14th of September 1321, the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Dante is inflexibly severe upon the Italian resistance
It
on
that great throne whereon thine eyes are fixed For the crown's sake already placed upon it, Before thou suppest at this wedding feast Shall sit the soul (that is to be Augustus On earth) of noble Henry, who shall come
"On
To
upon you,
child
like
unto the
little
Who
dies of
Longfellow.
"
THE EMPYREAN.
to
225
the
Emperor's
offered at
efforts,
times by
"Nevertheless,
know
in
do Although the work of Theology has been done, the ideal spiritual authority has one final lesson to utter, and it takes the form of a terrible warning to those who have usurped
her place upon the chariot of the Bride, as had been shown in figure in the Earthly Paradise
:
not of any useful thing that either French or Germans Italy, save only public and private plundering."
divino
Allora
tal,
Ma
Non ander^ con lui per un cammino. poco poi sar^ da Dio sofferto Nel santo uficio: ch'ei sar^ detruso
La dove Simon mago
h per suo merto,
piii giuso.'
are regarded
by Dante
power, the
the
the place on
spiritual
papal
authority
of
the
De Monarchia
purified
from the
For Dante, beholding the beatitude which God has prepared for men, must naturally pass in thought to those ideal guides, the Emperor and the Pope, that the ineffable Providence
*
"
And
in the sacred
forum then
shall
be
A
On
But long
God he
oflSce;
will
not be endured
In holy
of
Alagna lower go
Longfellow.
15
226
happiness
mission.
and
bliss,
and
judge
how each
will
The Emperor
Henry
short
strive his
the heroic
This terrible denunciation of the Pontiffs in question are the last words that Beatrice utters in the sacred poem.
With them
the glorified
the
task
of
the
allegorical
spiritual
guide
is
woman.
n.
The
last three
are on a
different
footing
the
rest
of
the poem.
crowning the
literal
sense
Here the literal, the allegorical and the anagogical meet, and are almost undistinguishably blended. In the seven spheres of the planets there have been shown
upon
activity.
man may
culminating
the
Then by
this
same contemplation,
in the ninth
heaven anticipatory visions of the glory and of the nature of God and His saints; and now, after his blindness and
illumination
wondrous
foretaste
by the lumen gloriae, he can soar aloft by a and anticipation into the Paradise to
attains after death.
He
is
now
in that state
of ecstasy which, in the teaching of Richard of St. Victor comes to man in the highest stages of contemplation, in
which
Truth."
in eenigmate, but in
In
this
new
life
Dante
in the
and Angels
228
Mi
Che
si
mostrava
la milizia santa,
Ma
I'altra,
La
innamora
I'ale
Par. xxxi.
1.*
it is
said
emblem
and the
of
the
valley,
triumphant
is
and militant
of
and a sign of the joy of the Church The Rose in Him (Hettinger). His Mother, and
in this her flower
also
an emblem
me
Whom
And
Even
Christ in his
But the other host that flying sees and sings The glory of Him who doth enamour it,
the goodness that created
it
so noble,
swarm of bees, that sinks in flowers One moment, and the next returns again To where its labour is to sweetness turned, Sank into the great flower, that is adorned With leaves so many, and thence reascended To where its love abideth evermore.
as a
all of living flame.
And wings of gold, and all the rest so No enow unto that limit doth attain.
white
Longfellow.
THE EMPYREAN.
all
229
Rose,
Herself
Anselm,
flying
too,
service,
likens the Angels to busy bees in God's between the flowers of earth and the hives
all
things.
In a similar strain
Bernard describes the Angels as faithful messengers of love between the lover and the beloved, between God and
gifts;
and indeed he uses this simile of the bee and the flowers " The in a more sacred sense still bee is that which feedeth
:
among
the
the
lilies,
Angels.
is
Hence
flew
away
which
interpreted
Flower,
and
came
clung.
to
the
it
sweet
Thereon
"
^
alighted,
and
therein
it
rested,
and thereto
it
There
is
doubtless
whiteness
that
is,
is
beyond
purity that
man can
conceive
of,
since
not
who
never sinned.
Perhaps there
is
a reference in
of their Divine
attributes
the
Power
the
l)urning
Love
Holy
'
This quotation, and that on page 235, are from the translation of
Bernard's praises of the Blessed Virgin
"
St.
by
a secular priest
"
under the
title
&
230
divine peace
have
that
only Mary,
of the Seraphim),
from God.^
light,
There
is
and
is
all
Paradise
of God.
There
of
a
life,
final
human
its
that
One
star
may
shine upon
its
darkness
;
there
is
with
of
famous irony
from
the celestial
Rome
As
at
the
barbarians
were stupefied
the
Rome
lo,
of Eternity
che
al divino
dall'umano,
esser compiuto!"
The
is
analogous to that
Symposium:
is
He
is
a great
spirit
and
he
intermediate between
He
veying and taking across to the gods the prayers and sacrifices of men,
and
to men the commands and replies of the gods he is the mediator who spans the chasm which divides them, and therefore in him all is
;
bound
together."
*
(Jowett's
translation).
who to the divine had from the human, From time unto eternity, had come, From Florence to a people just and sane. With what amazement must I have been filled!
I
IX>NGFELL0W.
THE EMPYREAN.
231
Dante was
to
aim under
led
now that the term of her The imperial authority by man to blessedness of this
fitly
this
so,
consisted in
in
the
and
that blessedness,
by the priesthood whose functions might fitly be to mediate between the Empire and the Church, and whose office in other respects might seem figured in Matilda). So here the spiritual authority, by means of theology, has led man
to the blessedness of life eternal
;
the place
is
fitly
contemplative.
of the
ecstatic
may
is
a type
contemplation in Richard
glorified
Victor's
doctrine.
The
active
life
good works and in the virtuous use of earthly things, and is more directly ordered to the love of our neighbour: but the glorified contemplative life directly and immediately appertains to the love of God; it begins on earth in the
speculation of supernal things, but
in
is
in the
This seems
Bernard
Beatrice
in
Dante's
final instruction.
God
and contemplation. Excess of charity and the intercession of the Mother of Divine Love are needed for the completion of Dante's work therefore the place of Ecclesiastical Authority and its Theology is taken by
;
232
"
to
Her:
ardo
la
Regina del
cielo, ond'i'
il
which Dante
They
are
derived from the divine science, since the heart does not
usually tend
first
the intellect
is
According
for
Bernard
place
to
all
Beatrice
that
Theology
the
has
given
Intuition.
Theology
there
truths
are
seen
supreme Truth.
tion,
intuitive
contemplation:
it
Beatrice
is
con-
The
living
Charity of the
man who
in this
world
By
'
Longfellow.
And
she, the
Queen
of Heaven, for
whom
bum
Wholly with
THE EMPYREAN.
templation and intuition (Lubin).
that
St.
'
233
God and
mysteries
by opinion,
these
faith,
and
intuition.
In Intuition
are
and manifest knowledge of invisible knowledge that there is nothing more left
things about which this intuition
.
seek of those
is
had
:
{De ConsiderationeY
3).
Since therefore
is
completed, allegory
woman
is
seen
Nel trono che
i
crowned in her glory with the rays of the light eternal. And Dante now at the foot of Madonna's throne, that blessed Queen Mary whose name had always a deep reverence in the words of holy Beatrice" {Vita Nuova), addresses
**
In the superb
finally
is
lyrical flight
with
commends himself
that he
is
thanking
this
woman
God:
mia speranza
vige,
Donna,
in cui la
sofFristi
che
In inferno lasciar
To put an end
to thy desire
Me
'
own
place.
Upon
234
ho vedute,
Tu
vie,
per tutti
modi,
Che
La
tua magnificenza in
me
custodi
si
disnodi.*
The
severance,
the
same grace
may remain
in Paradise.
Her
his
final
prayer
is
accepted by
is
Allegory
is
once
loved.
his
function
of preparing
Dante
consummation of the
in
first
vision.
He must
of
his
sight
'
'
Lady, thou
in
whom my
hope
is
strong.
And who
for
my
Of whatsoever things I have beheld. As coming from thy power and from thy goodness I recognise the virtue and the grace. Thou from a slave hast brought me unto freedom. By all those ways, by all the expedients, Whereby thou hadst the power of doing it.
Preserve towards
me
thy magnificence,
So that
IjONGFELLOW.
"
THE EMPYREAN.
235
the
saints,
and,
above
all,
that of
poem
is
Bernardo,
who
:
in
her the
Sinner's
Ladder
Jacob
the
patriarch
whose top like the ladder which the saw touched the heavens; nay, passed
"
through
heavens,
until
it
Let
us
seek for
;
it
through Mary;
vain.
So now
of the
at Bernard's bidding,
Dante
lifts
up
his eyes to
Heaven
else
of Heavens,
As
Mary
is
brighter
than
of
all
by a multitude
is
With
St.
Bernard he
absorbed
this
vision
Mary
in
in
the
midst
of
of this
surpassing light of
is
Heaven,
the
sunrise
a poetical
Justly
is
Mary
so that, as far
she
fire
seems to be plunged
of that
fire
By
in
the
were cleansed
by the same
But
all
Mary
merit, not, as
it
were, to be
lips,
and, as
it
were, to be
236
One
in a similar
strain
Soul,
is
it
Faith, or
Love or Hope,
That
up Where the light of the Throne is bright? Unto the left, unto the right, The Cherubim, succinct, conjoint,
lets
me
And from
The glory
a hymn.
With Canto
instruction
xxxii
St.
Bernard
commences Dante's
final
Libero
To
of
is
a work
the
active
life,
but saints
contemplative
bours,
the
life
good of
is
"
their neighsignified in
and
this,
my
my
dove,
my
beautiful one,
in love of
102
is
of this Canto.
Thomas has
its
it
"Of
the
But may happen that one individual merits active. more in the works of the active life than another in the works of the contemplative, if through an abounding love for God, to the end that His will may be fulfilled, and for
Absorbed
contemplator
Assumed the
Longfellow.
THE EMPYREAN.
His
glory,
this
237
St,
the saints.
Bernard therefore proceeds to point out the order of Throughout the Rose two descending lines divide
line is
The one
New. composed of holy women and passes down from the glorious throne of the Queen of Heaven, " blessed above all women of the earth;' the other is of holy men,
passing
down from
"
the
seat
of
the
Precursor of Christ,
are born
than
of
whom
more obvious
in
the
Francis,
Eve, tanto
bella, so beautiful
because
is
God and
says
Whereas Eve
the
blotted
fault
Eve
in
believing,
out:'
Eve is the Mother of all living Mother of Him that liveth, and so the Mother of Also Eve, according to St. Isidore, all that live by Him. the Church was consecrated as of the Church is a type Christ's bride by the blood and water that flowed from His side as He died upon the Cross, just as Eve was made
Mary
the
;
from the
Adam.
are side by side in the third row, for in other parts of the
St.
Thomas, Summa.
ii 2. Q.
182.
a. 2.
(Rickaby. Aquinas
Ethicus.)
238
poem
which contemplation beheld in the old law are expounded by the Church's theology in the new. Rachel too is regarded by St. Isidore as a type of the Church,
the truths
comprehending the mysteries of Christ by her clear contemplation, which the blear-eyed Leah (the type of the synagogue) could not do.
is
Beatrice's
apparently connected
number Three,
La Fu
Nel
umiltate,
ov'fe
Maria.'
corresponding
of her
So
too
the pacifica
oriflamma
recalls
(the
orifiamme being an
title
ancient
name
in
for
to
that
Dante
had applied
Beatrice
Mary,
Vita
the
Nuova :
a
Lo
chiam5
questa
gentilissima
gloriare
insegna
fue in
Virgo Maria,
nome
the
That lady of
Lies now, as
all
gentle memories
Among
Mary
is.
ROSSETTI.
' " The Lord God of Justice called my most gracious lady unto Himself that she might be glorious under the banner of that blessed Queen Mary, whose name had always a deep roVerence in the words
of holy Beatrice."
Ibid.
THE EMPYEEAN.
forth
239
the
is
Church;
it
the
Church
is
and
not until the kings of the earth strive to violate her that they find that the Church is truly the spouse of God.
is
Eebecca again, in her marriage with Isaac, is the type of the Church in her mystical union with Christ. Judith, the
is the type of Mary, to whom the Church applies the words that Ozias addressed to Judith on her return from the camp of Holofernes she is also a
Ruth,
the
the
ancestress
of
woman
with
These,
of
the other
Hebrew women
bond
of
the
Rose,
form
the
Testament and the New, as ancestresses of Christ or types of His Mother and His Church.
The
quite
Benedict, and
so
are
line,
are not
line of
obvious.
men
John
those
St.
the
:
Baptist
unto
the
Lord a perfect
It
people
of monasticism
will
and of
scientific theology.
comes His closest and most perfect imitator, io body were renewed the sacred stigmata of His The alto disio that Dante had expressed to St. Passion.
of Christ
whose
Benedict,
to
see
is
here
fulfilled;
towards
notice
that
that
saint
it
is
curious to
Benedict
Beatrice
the
The
Blessing.
contemplative
monk
is
thus likewise
240
fitly
itself.
All the
are
half
full
seats
of
those
who
still
believed in Christ to
come
already,
there are
of
number
when
fede
The
since
view
latter
is
must im-
those
was merely a time of preparation. St. " Of the number of human creatures predestinated, some say it will equal those of the fallen Angels and of the whole angelic creation combined. But that the number of the elect who are to it is better said
Thomas
warily remarks
dwell
in
bliss
in
Heaven
is
known to God alone, as the Dead has it. " Dante's view
snow-white Rose
may be
in
part induced
by
symmetry in
of Paradise.
a lower and an upper quarter each of the two great halves of the celestial flower. Above this line
are
those
children
of the
Faith
filL
shall this
garden
Longfellow.
THE EMPYREAN.
use of reason, blessed in this true
life
241
own
Old and
that
their
New TesChristian
taments
conditions
a
which culminate
gente
in
of
Baptism.
true
life,
before
time to this
still
a vera
'^7a,
and
retain
They
although,
Thus there again, for the last time, arises mind another of those difficulties concerning the mysteries of Divine Predestination and the Divine Justice, which had been answered, or rather silenced, for him, in the lower spheres. How can it be, since they were saved by
merit or demerit.
in Dante's
no merit of
special
their
by chance or by some
if
favour of
St.
God
to
some, and,
is
so,
how can
it
be
just?
Bernard's answer
in effiect the
by chance
is
in
Paradise:
God
wills
it
wills
Justice.
God
gives
grace
in
degrees
correspond.
Thus Dante's
finally
difficulties
concerning
this insoluble
mystery are
answered:
fe
stabilito
Quantunque
Ci
si
Lo
Che
nulla volontfi.
fe
di piii ansa,
Le menti
Divereamente
e qui basti
reflfetto.
16
242
His
again
concerning
since
it
Divine Predestination
is
finally
answered.
For
had occurred
it
to
throughout
the
Paradiso,
should be
is
all
desire
faith
satisfied.
Up
to
this point
by
had
told
him
that
gloriae
enables
the
saints
and Angels
Divine
Essence, yet not the highest of the Seraphim nor the purest
of the saints can penetrate with intellectual sight into the of Divine
to
satisfy
abyss
faith
Predestination.
So
far
him
now
that
gloriae,
he
is
at length convinced.
Now
in
final
preparation
for
the
vision
of
the Divine
Mary, of
this
the
final
Thomas,
whether
God
better than
He
God
created
Note on previous page. ' For by eternal law has been established Whatever thou beholdest, so that closely The ring is fitted to the finger here. The King, by means of whom this realm reposes In 80 great love and in so great delight That no will ventureth to ask for more,
In his own joyous aspect every mind
Creating, at his pleasure dowers with grace
Diversely
and
let
here the
eflfect suflSce.
Longfellow.
THE EMPYREAN.
better
is
243
it
united to
it
is
the fruition of
is
is
of
to
God, and the Blessed Virgin because she God. Therefore this third vision of her
the
vision
to
the
Mother
Mary,
the prelude
of
the Divinity.
From
Beatrice to
from Mary
ascent.
sua chiarezza
Cristo.'
Sola
ti
It
is
St.
Mariam
Dei animabus data est in caelis. Dante turns therefore to her again, and sees her surrounded by the Angels with
visio
Gabriel
Innamorato
si
all
the court
is
Heaven responding
most
ineffable
his
:
to
his
Ave Maria.
like to
This vision
the
God
greeted
St.
eyes
Paradise.
Bernard
alia dottrina
Di
Maria
Come
Look now on
is
most
Bichard of
"
not
only through
given
Mary
is
God
In Inferno ii. Mary had recommended to souls in heaven." Dante to Lucia, the type of Grace Illuminating. So enamoured that he seems of fire. To the doctrine of him, who drew light from Mary as the morning star from the sun.
244
And
Mary
the message
the
Incarnation,
own dottrina in one of his sermons, where he interprets the name Gabriel as " strength of God ", and points out how
this
among Angels
St.
deemed worthy
little
of such a
name and
such an embassy.
Dante as
this
been
the
poet to
We seem, however,
symbol-
have here at
The
Rome and
the celestial
Rome
Senza
in patria are
fine civi
fe
Di
*
quella
Roma
onde Crieto
Romano,*
For evermore
citizens of that
Rome
of which Christ
is
Roman.
THE EMPYREAN.
and
at every turn in the
245
references
is
Paradiso such
not only of the Church, but also of the Empire, and thus
Roman Rome
Empyrean
i
are
pio.'
gran patrici
Nor
to
is
it
augusto
Emperor Henry
VH.
Dante
the
makes
Blessed
added a peculiar symbolism of his own connected with the universal Empire, is strikingly confirmed by a well known
in
Book
IV
Rome was
ordained by
God
The immeasurable Divine Goodness, wishing to bring back human creature, which by the sin of the transgression of the first man had become separated from God and unlike Him, it was decreed in the most high and most
to Itself the
God And
coming
it
condition
of the
earth
is
Prince,
therefore
city
and the
wherein
should be
fulfilled,
is,
Rome
the glorious.
And
King was
to enter should
many worthy
The great
patricians of this
most
just
246
ones,
the rest,
who should
was
And
this race
and honour of humanity, that is, Mary And it was at one and the same time that David was born and that Rome
is,
that
Italy,
origin
Thus
the
divine
election
Rome. of the Roman Empire is made of the holy city, which was conmost noble
city
of
Perhaps therefore,
in this celestial
Rome
of eternal felicity
and harmony, Dante would see in its most glorious Queen two types united, the Church and the Empire, the two
ideals
of his
religious
and
political
faith
figured in
lost
Her
and
who had
guideless
wandered
the
by an
illustrious
Dante scholar as
final
la motrice di tutta la
visione Daniesca.
many reminiscences
beside them are
sit
are
Adam
and
St.
Moses and
St.
and opposite
la
mosse
tua
Anne and St. Lucy: Lucia che donna, Quando chinavi a ndnar le ciglia.*
St.
in their glory,
Thus
seated
just
Inferno
as,
Beatrice
with
in
ancient
said.
And
to,
so
Miss E. Hillard's traDslation. Lucia who moved thy lady, when bend thy brows. Par. xxxii. 137.
*
to rush
THE EMPYREAN.
the nostra procella of Par. xxxi. 30. recalls the
gliosa of Inf.
i.
247
a^ua perito
now
praying
God
succour
those
also
who
in
are
in
Thus
the
wonder
in
Rome, and
108),
Dante's poetic
of his
first
fiction, as
perhaps in
reality,
two cantos of the Inferno. But the vision is drawing to a life was as he wrote, so let him
templation of the
close,
finally
even as Dante's
turn to the con-
Prima Amore,
first
Mary,
Grazia da quella che pu5
aiutarti,*
and following
St.
Again
mouth
With
all
with
all
the
our vows
and prayers, let us turn to Her." The famous address of St. Bernard to the Blessed Virgin holds the same place of supremacy in poetry as does the
Madonna
the
outset
di
paintings.
Setting forth at
the
of the Virgin
Mother from
infinite excel-
Eternity
of
to
bring the
to
Redeemer
love
and hope
dignity,
lence
and
Bernard
implores
Dante
to rise to the
his
final
her
loving
protection
may
still
follow
him
and
thee.
248
di sua mortalita be finally dissipated and he rejoice once more in this supreme vision for all Eternity. The hymn might be taken terzina by terzina so as to show how Dante has made the doctrines of St. Bernard and other
Catholic
song, but
theologians
it is,
live
all,
with a
new
life in his
immortal
after
aid of the cold light of dogma, but with the silent language
and simple
Vergine Madre,
figlia del
tuo Figlio,
Tu
se' colei
Nobilitasti
che
il
suo Fattore
Non
Nel ventre tuo si raccese Tamore, Per lo cui caldo neU'eterna pace
Cosi
fe
germinato questo
fiore.
Qui
sei
Di
Donna,
mortali,
Che qual vuol grazia ed a te non Sua disianza vuol volar senz'ali.
La
A
In
chi
domanda,
al
ma
molte
fiate
Liberamente
In
domandar
precorre.
te misericordia, in te pietate,
te magnificenza, in te
s'aduna
di bontate.
Quantunque
in creatura
fe
Or
questi,
Deir universe
Le
vite spiritali
te,
Supplica a
Ed
io,
Pid
miei preghi
THE EMPYREAN.
Perchfe tu ogni
249
gli disleghi
sommo
piacer gli
si
dispieghi.
Ancor
ti
Dopo
affetti suoi.
Vinca tua guardia i raovimenti umani; Vedi Beatrice con quanti beati Per li miei preghi ti chiudon le mani.
Par. xxxiii,
*
1.'
Thou Virgin Mother, daughter of thy Son, Humble and high beyond all other creature, The limit fixed of the eternal counsel, Thou art the one who such nobility To human nature gave, that its Creator Did not disdain to make Himself its creature.
Within thy
womb
By
Here unto us thou art a noonday torch Of charity, and below there among mortals Thou art the living fountain-head of hope. Lady, thou art so great and so prevailing. That he who wishes grace, nor runs to thee, His aspirations without wings would fly. Not only thy benignity gives succour To him who asketh it, but oftentimes
Forerunneth of
In thee compassion
its
is,
own accord
the asking.
in thee is pity,
Whate'er of goodness
is
in
any creature.
Now
doth this man, who from the lowest depth Of the universe as far as here has seen
One
after
lives.
much power
That with his eyes he may uplift himself Higher towards the uttermost salvation. And I, who never burned for my own seeing
More than
do
my
prayers
short,
Profifer to thee,
250
Mary
Light in intercession.
And,
and perfect happiness of the human intellect, is gradually vouchsafed to Dante. Now that he is approaching this end
of
all
must
that
die
for the
end of
all
desires
to rest,
is
Universal
Good which
Truth
is
it
man
and that
Universal
which
completely
satisfies
the intellect.
Happiness
otherwise
last end, if
something
still
remained to be desired.
When man
His sight
becoming pure enters more and more by infused grace into the Light Divine, which is Truth in its Essence, and of which the light of man's reason at its highest is but a faint
reflected
this
ray.
vision,
powers of man.
love
Though
which
is
still
re-
Supreme Light that he may leave the world some faint notion of what he saw, not now to gain the poet's crown.
scatter from him every cloud Of his mortality so with thy prayers, That the Chief Pleasure be to him displayed. Still farther do I pray thee, Queen, who canst
Whate'er thou
wilt, that
Let thy protection conquer human movements; See Beatrice and all the blessed ones My prayers to second clasp their hands to thee!'
Longfellow.
THE EMPYREAN.
benefit of his fellow
251
nor for any hope of fame or reward, but solely for the
men and
God:
O somma
levi
Dai concetti mortali, alia mia mente Eipresta un poco di quel che parevi fa' la lingua mia tanto possente, Ch'una favllla sol della tua gloria
Possa lasciare
alia futura gente;
Chfe,
Pill si
conceper^ di tua
vittoria.'
it
becomes
of
spirit
(in
Thomas) the
intelligible
all
form
that a
may
In
of
it
all
creation,
all
functions
all
bound up bound
into
the
that
makes
Universe
to
Him:
the whole
From
my mind
little,
Of what thou
And make my
That but a
It
may
For by returning to my memory somewhat. And by a little sounding in these verses, More of thy victory shall be conceived!
Longfellow.
"So
that
is,
so that I
saw
all
252
Che
un semplice lume.
La forma
Credo ch'io
Sustanxia ed accidente
conceivable
(substance)
(accident)
;
lor
costume, that
is,
everything
itself
by
or
e
thought
as
capable of existence in
mode
of being
costume,
apparently
the properties
and
mutual relations of
Immovable
increases.
in
intensity
will are
of contemplation
The
poet's
mind and
completely absorbed
"
in contemplation
When
itself,
and
and
draw some
is
of
the
it
found
is
silence
in
heaven,
may be
disturbed by no tumult
iii.
18.)
saw that
in its
is
lying
Bound up with
What
That what
I speak of
is
one simple
light.
The
Longfellow.
THE EMPYEEAN.
A
quella luce cotal
si
253
diventa,
Che
volgersi
da
lei
E E
"
impossibil che
mai
consenta:
Per6 che il ben, ch'e del volere obbietto, Tutto s'accoglie in lei, e fuor di quella
difettivo ci6 che
11
fe
perfetto.'
The
perfect happiness of
man
Divine Essence.
Now
one
it
is
because every
is
good
in
its
gift
which
is
willing
to
go without,
either
insufficient,
more
sufficing is
sought
or has some inconvenience annexed to it, comes to excite disgust. But the vision of the Divine Essence fills the soul with all good things, since it
place,
it
whereby
unites to
it
the Source of
all
good'
(St.
Thomas. I
will,
2. 5.
4-.
Aquinas Ethicus).
fall
no one
will
it
who
enjoys
any
But there is yet a further progression. In the Divine Essence Dante has seen the type of creation, now he must
behold the Creator.
There
is
is
no change whatever
in the light
upon which he
of
intellectual
light
is
own power
sight
his
seems to
sight
Because the good, which object is of will, Is gathered all in this, and out of it
That
is
defective which
is
perfect there.
Longfellow.
254
sembiante
Che
tal h serapre
Ma
Mutandom'
lo,
me
si
travagliava.*
He
in
Trinity,
is
united to the
Human
the
the
Supreme Light (one substance unity in to him three circles of three colours (distinctness in the Persons) and of one dimension {una coniinenxa equality in the Majesty). And one seemed reflected from the other, and the third like flame proceeded equally from both the reflecting and the reflected. Similarly
subsistence of the
Essence),
the
three
in
Sola t'inteudi,
e,
Ed
intendente, te
The
itself
circle
the
human form
which appeared as reflected showed within del suo colore stesso mi parve pinta
'
Was
For
on which
I looked,
always what
it
was before;
But through the light, that fortified itself In me by looking, one appearance only
To me was
Longfellow.
known unto
thyself
And
THE EMPYREAN.
della
255
in
nostra
effige,^
of the
union of the Divine Nature with the Human Nature in Christ, both remain complete in the unity of the Person
the
of the
Word
Divine.
Then
comprehend yet more of the mystery of the Divinity, how and why human nature is united to the Word, a sudden ray of divine light penetrates his mind, enabling him to
see as
much
Ma
non eran da ci6 le proprie penne, Se non che la mia mente fu percossa Da un fulgore, in che sua voglia venne.
Ma
Si
gia volgeva
manc5 il mio
possa;
disiro e
il
velle,
come ruota ch'egualmente h mossa, L'Amor che muove il sole e I'altre ptelle.*
Thus then the vision ceases, to be renewed the second and final time that Dante is to ascend the stairway of the Eternal Palace, ceases with the poet's desire and will moving in perfect harmony with the will of God. He is united to God by charity, to God who is the ultimate end of the human mind, and thus his mind has attained its
perfection:
for,
quantum
'
attingit
Of
its
own very
appeared to
me
with
our
Jikecess.
But
my own
Had
it
this,
my mind
flash of lightning,
wherein came
its
Here vigour failed the lofty fantasy: But now was turning my desire and will, Even as a wheel that equally is moved. The Love which moves the sun and the other
stars.
Longfellow.
256
fectio,
*
said
to
be perfect inasmuch as
is
it
attains
to
of
the
thing."
is
The
the vision
Thomas
describes as
power
of his
is
upon God;
but this
a perfection that
or literal Paradise.
poem
is
that
life,
in the allegorical or
moral Paradise,
not only
hinders
all
the
is
that
entire
2.
contrary
the
ii
concentration
is
of
the
heart upon
God
{Summa
184. 2). It
To
May He
bring us
all
in patria,
who deigned
to bring this
is
most fortunate author thereto in via; to whom glory and perpetuity, for ever and ever. Amen.
honour,
Deo
Oratias."
Chapter VII.
DANTE'S LETTERS.
Such were his words. It is indeed For ever well our singers should Utter good words and know them good
man be
left to
make.
In
and sceptical
criticism,
it is
growing
dangerous to
divine
his
pen.
That
we know from
from that of
Bnini,
their
of
we have
of Dante's correlittle
spondence
is
still
is
that
and by comparison of its minute quantity with what remains in this kind from Dante's successor Petrarch. In striking contrast to the inmiense mass of
left
257
17
"
258
epistles
verse and
prose, in
mnch
letters
of
his
own
have
personality
life
ever
been
ascribed
to
the
from suspicion.
The
starting
point
of
all
is
the
following
well
known passage
where
he speaks
citizen
and works of
Alighieri,
on the occasion of
the latter's
death:
amongst others three noble letters.
to
"
He wrote
One
of these
Emperor Henry when he was besieging Brescia, rebuking him for his delay in almost The third was to the Italian Cardinals, prophetical language. during the vacancy after the death of Pope Clement, urging them to unite in electing an Italian Pope. All were in Latin with lofty diction and with excellent sentences and authorities, which were much commended by the wise and
Another he sent
the
understanding.
The
Poi tre Pistole fece copiose Pure in volgar, con tanto intendimento,
Che
forse
si belle prose.
DANTE'S LETTERS.
L'una mand5 in Firenze al Reggimento, Mostrando ch'era senza colpa fuore Di casa sua, facendone lamento. L'altra mandb ad Arrigo Imperatore, Essendo a Brescia, quasi profetando, Che la sua stanza non era il migliore.
259
Mand6
a'
Cardinali italiani,
Di Papa Italian tiitti pregando. Le qua' venendo alle discrete mani, Fur commendate assai, se ben discemo,
Da
Of
these
to
tre
nohili pistole,
was up
known an
Italian
In addition there
"
To
all
Italy
and
Florentine
and unjustly
exiled,
prayeth peace'
generally
that
is,
It
is
known
the Letter to the Princes and People of Italy. There was likewise the Latin text of that famous Epistle to Can Grande della Scala, dedicating the first part of the
simply as
merely
would be needless to add a translation as Pucci's lines are a paraphrase of the passage already quoted from Villani. Antonio Pucci was born at the beginning of the 14th century and was still living in 1373, when he abruptly ends his Centiloquio by declaring himself (in a sonnet) as too old and weary to proceed. In his 55th Canto he treats of Dante, following in the main ViUani, but adding a vision of his own in which the seven sciences are weeping over the poet's bier. Pucci is decisive upon Dante having been at one part of his career a Guelph:
'
It
non fu Ghibellino.
260
upon its first Canto. As we have abeady seen, this letter had been ascribed to Dante from the time that Filippo Villani, the nephew of the great chronicler and the successor
to Boccaccio in his professorship at Florence, had lectured upon the Divine Comedy towards the end of the fourteenth
its
authenticity
is
one of the
most difficult problems in the study of Dante's works. Moreover there were extant, and had been first published in 1719, the two Latin Eclogues, two charming pastoral
letters
written
in
hexameters,
to
Giovanni
del
Virgiho,
which,
list of Dante's writings that he gives us in the Chronicle, were well known to Boccaccio. Then, during the first half
of
came
full
to light.
The famous
its
Letter to
a Florentine Friend,
of
of burning indignation
the
proffered
:
amnesty with
This
is
my
country, Father.
If
not the
Can
comer of the earth behold the Then followed the original Latin text
too,
letters
more or
Epistles
two But in the course of time these letters have been taken away from us again, one by one, and the delicate fabric of their authenticity powdered to atoms beneath the sledge-hammer blows of more modem
of
Dante published
Eclogues,
contained fourteen.
critics.
Upon
queer
is
We
with
letter to
Moroello Malaspina
confidence
of
not
intrigue
embassy
261
;
DANTE'S LETTERS.
the lord of Ravenna, will certainly not be missed
the letter to the poet Cino da Pistoia, full of ship
and even
friend-
warm
exile to another,
and
how one
But
that
upon the
letter
readers
English
poetry
know and
Rossetti's paraphrase:
This Dante writ in answer thus,
Words such
as these:
"That
clearly they
The man abode aloof from us Nigh fifteen years, yet lastly skulk'd
Hither to candleshrift and mulct.
That
To traffic in God's justice sold By market-weight of earthly gold, Or to bow down over the lid
Of steaming
censers,
and so be
Made
That since no gate led, by God's will. To Florence, but the one whereat The priests and money-changers sat,
still
He
would wander; for that still. Even through the body's prison-bars, His soul possessed the sun and stars."
Yet
the
difBculties
which prevent
its
being accepted as
genuine
seem almost unsurmountable, and it now stands under strong suspicion of being a mere fabrication upon
We
are thus
left
262
and that
1311,
the the
the
(all
three written in
first
Epistle
;
to
Cardinals
(probably written in
della Scala
1314)
Can Grande
and the two Eclogues to Giovanni del Virgilio, which were clearly produced between 1319 and
(1318
or
1319);
the
to
The
it
letter
The genuineness of the Emperor is alone practically undisputed. Can Grande has always been doubtful, and
is
is
now
of the Eclogues
and the
letter to
the Princes and People, and that the two other letters which
seem
his
may
in reality
be mere
statement.
forgeries,
Chronicle to
constructed
Nevertheless, whatever
may be
held concerning
very
in
little
thus
be
seen
that
those that
we
genuine
or
into
fall
production.
First
come four
letters
in
prose, dealing
;
upon
is
practically a philoso-
and
critical
treatise
and
to
finally,
In some respects it is a happy circumstance that these should be the sole remnants for they treat of no left to us of Dante's correspondence
the
young Bolognese
scholar.
trivial
DANTE'S LETTERS.
tion
263
first
of
the
man and
the
of his
life-work.
The
group
deals
with
two chosen
moments when they seemed about to be actually effected and become living realities for Italy and for Christendom, the restoration of the Empire and the purification of the Church. The poet's spirit is bitter within him as he writes these letters. The moment passed away, and the ideals
faded out of the regions of practical
fulfilment.
politics
and possible
great poem,
He
turns
now
we
find
him interpreting
own
what Emperor and Pope had failed remove those living in this life from
and to lead them
to
accomplish
"to
lastly,
man
the
of
state
of felicity.'
Then
when
the
the
great
work
his
life
was drawing
to a close,
when most
of the bitterness
had passed
spirit
Dante's fierce
be-
A
first
even at
its
best, a
somewhat
laboured
and disappointing
affair.
The
group are practically four glorified political pamphlets, on Henry VH's romantic invasion of Italy to reassert the decadent power of the Holy Roman Empire, and on the Babylonian captivity of the Popes at Avignon. In each
letter
Dante's
is
and
his
indignation
at
the
hopes for Italy and for Rome, his worship of the Empire, his devotion to the Church. * Not by the grace of riches, " he cries in one, * but by the grace of God, I am what I am and the zeal of His house
his ardent
'
hath eaten
frequently
me
up'."
264
ever, as
spirit is
'
were, a captive in an
unknown land
that mighty
mediaeval
pure ether
his
letters
of Italian
in
If
simple
prose,
own
Vita
Nuova and
her
letters
ConvitOj
or
as
St.
not
many
years
later,
Even
in their
an oppressed
opens:
the acceptable time in which the signs of
rising.
"
Lo,
now
is
consolation
The dawn
of a
new
day shineth, before which the darkness of long calamity is passing away. Already a quickening breeze doth blow from
the the
orient;
is
blushing red,
filling
We
arise
looked-for
desert;
who have
Sun
of
long
for
the
Peace
will
and Justice
will
filled
will
be
confounded
The
strong lion
Juda hath mercifully hearkened, and, taking pity upon the wail of universal captivity, hath raised up another Moses who will deliver his people from the burdens of the Egyptians and lead them into a land flowing with
of the tribe of
Rejoice then,
Italy, for
clement Henry,
nuptials.
is
hastening to the
Dry
is
near
who
DANTE'S LETTERS.
265
Dante had hastened back to Italy from Paris, to exult in the coming triumph of the cause and in the anticipation of his own return to Florence. It was in the seeming glory of this new day that he walked as he composed the three letters; to the Princes and People of Italy, urging them to arise and go forth to meet the King that God had given them and that Peter had blessed; to the Florentines, no
supposed
inability
and
lastly to the
Emperor himself, urging him to advance without delay. They throw a vivid light upon this chapter in Italian history, and make us realise what the failure of Henry's enterprise meant to such Italians as Dante. They are full of his
favourite arguments for the divinely instituted
Roman Empire,
sanctioned
his
by Christ Himself
ideals
cherished
of as
bifurcating from
God
seem
from a single
point, gain
new
force
field
now
that they
at last to
Reason and Authority seem now like avenging angels hovering over the imperial host and pointing the way to Rome, already chanting the song of victory. Curio is no longer a sower of sedition, as in the Inferno,
of practical politics.
The golden
might
;
bird of
Empire,
triumphant course,
irresistible in
outspread
wings as
shall
and Florence way. Let the minister of God, the son of the Church, the
surely
sweeps on towards the eternal City, feel its beak and claws on the
delay
promoter of
Roman
earth
glory,
is
no longer
him,
city
in
Lombardy
him march from
when
all
the
awaiting
but
of
let
onwards
Florence,
whence proceeds
266
and already threatening to obscure the sunrise; already his first eager cry, " Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who
taketh
away the
"
doubtful repetition
of
the
"
Art
Still
we
for another
? '
is
in
first
had begun,
of
Isai.
Take confidence
from the Lord God of Hosts in whose sight thou dost act, and lay low this Goliath with the sling of thy wisdom and
the stone of thy power; for, in his
of fear will cover the
fall,
shadow
and Israel
which we have incessantly grieved, be entirely restored to And whereas now, like exiles in Babylon, we weep us.
and breathing
when we remember sweet Jerusalem, so then, as citizens in peace, we shall recollect in joy the miseries
,
of confusion."
the day
was
brief, and,
when
Henry of Luxemburg was dead, and Dante once more a homeless fugitive with a renewed sentence of death upon his head. A mystery surrounds this portion of his life. It was on April 16th, 1311, that he had directed the letter to Henry from " Tuscany near the sources of the Arno", presumably from some castle in the Casentino, and nothing is known with any certainty of what became of Dante in the downfall of the imperial cause, until he appears at Ravenna towards the close of his days. In the interval he may have been with Uguccione della Faggiuola, and
Within the
third year
is
supposed
DANTE'S LETTERS.
to
267
have visited Pisa and Lucca; but it is also possible, even probable, that in his first bitterness of despair he
retired
for
monastery,
Fonte Avellana, and thence gazed forth upon a desolate world. There is a well known reference to this convent in Canto xxi. of the Paradiso, with that
yearning look
Santa Croce
this
watch-tower of contemplation
that
in
1314.
early
A
in
long vacancy
this
Very
sacred
College,
were assembled
ideal
in conclave at Carpentras
in Provence.
The
his
former
wounds
Between two shores of Italy rise cliffs, And not far distant from thy native place. So high, the thunders far below them sound, And form a ridge that Catria is called, 'Neath which is consecrate a hermitage
Wont
Some
Longfellow.
writers put Dante's visit to the monastery at a later date,
there.
and
268
an
who would
to
return to the
Rome and
City?
so restore one
of her
luminaries
Eternal
At present
the
dignity
quasi vedova
us in the
e dispogliata
di ogni dignitade.
Then, as he
the
chief
letter
tells
a,
memory now
that
Rome
lay similarly
and despoiled, for not only was the imperial throne empty, but the spiritual guide of the De Monarchia, the allegorical
Beatrice,
seemed dead, or at least hidden for a time in the darkness and corruption of Avignon; and, taking them as
he wrote to the
"
text,
Church Mi-
"
Quomodo
populo; facta
est
quasi
When
disgraced
the
David,
God
mind
of
words for
mias,
weep again and again holy Jerusalem. Now we, for whose
a prophet to
these
salvation
Jere-
we with
grief, are
deserted
for Rome
whom,
many
triumphs, Christ
by word and work confirmed the Empire of the world, and which Peter and Paul consecrated as the apostolic seat by
the sprinkling of their
*
own
blood.
at our Sabbaths,
and
false prophets
You,
DANTE'S LETTERS.
of the Crucified, and have dragged
it
269
You
it
peregrination, but
You have
to
like the
men
that
were shown
Ezekiel
the
Ye
in
with strange
sent from heaven, where the altars smoke which was not conunanded; ye sell doves the temple and traffic in sacred things. But beware of
despise the
fire
the scourge of
that
little
fire
destroyed
of
patience
Nadab and Abiu, and do not tempt the God who awaits your repentance. Ye have
will
Perchance you
indignantly
ask,
who
is
this
man
hand
Oza dares
falling ?
though
it
were
of
am
no pastoral
am, and
infants,
'
have no
Not then by
I
God eaten me
am what I
Of
old
up.'
in
Nor can any one reproach me with Oza for he put his hand to the
;
is Clement V upon the throne of his kingdom, and there came to him the wicked and ungodly men of Israel; and Alcimus was at the head of them, who desired to be made and the wicked Alcimus he made high priest and he high priest commanded him to take revenge upon the children of Israel" (I Machabees 7.). Dante similarly finds types of Pope Clement and King Philip in Machabees II in the persons of Jason and Antiochus {htf.
cum
Demetrio consensistis.
Alcimus
sat
"And Demetrius
xix.).
270
dragging
ark,
"
right path.
May He
help the
Are ye not ashamed that, out of so many false shepherds and so many neglected sheep, only one faithful voice should be heard in this death of Mother Church, and that of a
private person?
Each
one,
who
is
and
are
justice,
as
charity,
iniquity.^
The
make manifest
of
the result;
almost
all
veritable
children
the
daughters of the
horse-leech.
The
the
their
writers of
decretals
and benefices.
God as And
do not flatter yourselves, fathers, that I stand alone in this and that the rest of the faithful will always endure it in
silence
liveth,
The Lord
is
He who moved
modern
the
"
Lord
also of
brutes.
May shame
And
amendment may be effectual and permanent, restore Rome from what she now is, deprived of both her luminaries, sitting widowed and alone, to that ideal city of Borne which we have conceived in our minds. I speak above all to you who as children knew the sacred Tiber. For although the Latian Capital is to be piously loved by
in order that this
all
Itahans, ye above
birth.
all
are
bound
to worship her
who
are
fills
Romans by
all
and shame,
still
and mourn who were the cause of this her eclipse. It will indeed be amendment, although a shameful scar wiU be left branded upon the apostolic see, if all ye who were the cause
'
Cf.
Lfif.
I.
a cui
si
ammoglia.
DANTE'S LETTERS.
271
do battle for the Spouse of Christ, for the seat of the Spouse which is Rome, for our Italy, and indeed for the whole community of voyagers on earth. Enter gloriously
upon the
all
conflict
eyes
are
fixed,
excelsis resound,
to
usurp
for
themselves
the
glory
of
the
all
Italians,
may
future ages."
The
above
powerful and
is
eloquent composition,
of
which the
partly
of Dante's Apologia
letter
containing
One
in his
of
its
complementary
striven
to the
Dante's
writings
on behalf of the
Ghibelline,
who had
eternal
the
inviolable
Rome
Rome
U'siede
il
It
completes
the
ideal
himself implies):
of
Dante's conception
(as
he
of
as
seat of
man's
spiritual
from
whom
from two suns both paths, the earthly and the heavenly, in short, the ideal set shall be illuminated for mankind, Dante's forth in so many passages of the Divine Comedy.
own
attitude
272
intensely
spotted
and with almost fiercer devotion, as he saw her corruption and disgraced by the lives and
It
is
not
but
it
and he
There
its
is
of
Canto
St.
O
"
patience
of
God
to
endure so much
'
The
other
is
like
are
angelic
judgments of God.
in this letter
:
It
is
"
Beware
from
heaven,
Oppressed
Beatrice as
and she reassures him. Taking Beatrice as representing both Theology and the ideal spiritual guide of the De Monarchia, the allegorical meaning apparently is that, himself seeing the wickedness and cora child
to its mother,
Peter
Damian
of
"
DANTE'S LETTERS.
finding
273
these
scandals
many
other holy
writers,
Dante was
judgment
Church.
or
to
the
authority
Benvenuto, who
this
"
a pleasing fiction of
the
interpretation
"
This
of
is
mind
every wise
man
is
often
much
stupefied
when he
and it seems a wonderful and horrible thing God, who rules all, governs justly, and only wills what
should tolerate such deeds.
of
good,
Nevertheless in this
to Beatrice, that
is
perturbation
to
Holy Scripture, which demonstrates to him how God in His providence permits these things for many causes, although
man
cannot see
all;
for
often,
on account of the
sins of
the subjects.
He
Divine Comedy,
this
letter
to
the
He
and claims
the
would regard himself as the Jeremias of the new law, to take the same stand for Rome as Jeremias
now
King
of Babylon
was
years'
Papacy
to the
French
at
Avignon.
There
is
distinct
from Dante in Italy to the Cardinals at Carpentras and the letter which Jeremias sent from Jerusalem to the captives in Babylon, in spite of the strongly contrasted contents and
the
different
objects
that
the
in
view.
18
274
Almost
are
in
the opening
of
"
midst
of
falsely to
you and your diviners deceive you. you in my name and I have the Lord " (Jer. xxix. Vulgate). Much
:
is
based upon
analogous
the
prophecies
Jeremias,
or
at
least
offers
features.
the
prototypes in Jer.
"the
he
has
arrived,
have their
mountain
I saw
'
and I was, as it were, awaked out of a sleep and (verses 23 and 26); although, but for the Divine Mercy
and the three gracious Ladies that aroused him, Dante's slumber would have rather resembled the everlasting sleep
of
the
sinner (Jer.
li.
39),
and
"
his attempt to
is
ascend the
a practical illustration
shall
Who
innocent. in hands and clean of heart." For the poet was not yet one of these. Those three beasts that drive him back are clearly derived from the fifth chapter of
The
Jeremias,
in
"
A
"
:
wood hath
slain
them, a wolf
to accept
the
their cities
unreservedly the
luxury,
testimony
Possibly the
false doctrine,
in the
Divine
Comedy
certainly justify
the
and the wolf. Savonarola in his trattato on the government of Florence shows that if a tyrant has pride, luxury and avarice, he has virtually all the sins of the world. The Flesh, the World and the Devil, is also an interpretation supported by an early commentator. It is needless to say that until the end of
interpretation of the leopard
more usual
DANTE'S LETTERS.
same chapter afforded the germ
to
his
275
of Cacciaguida's injunction
xvii.
:
descendant in Paradiso
" "
I will go therefore
(Jer. v. 5).
to the great
men and
to
will
speak to them
himself
Dante
in
likewise
is
address
mainly
to
those
high
di
fama
note:
Che
Questo tuo grido far^ come vento, le piii alte cime piii percuote;
ci6
non
So
too,
repeat in
15),
"From
gone forth
il
mondo
attrista,
afflicts
the world
'
{Inf. xix.).
The
Harlot
full
of the
and the Giant in Canto xxxii. of the Purgatorio is seen by comparing it both with the Apocalypse of St. John and the
prophecy of Jeremias.
The
influence
strongly marked
in
upon Dante of his Hebrew prototype is Canto xxvii. of the Paradiso. Indeed
century no one imagined that the three beasts stood for Florence, France and Rome, although some gerzns of such an interpretation may be found in Benvenuto's connecting the wolf with the avarice of the prelates of the Church.
last
*
And
that
is
no
slight
argument of honour.
Longfellow.
276
the
"
of
the
whole Canto
'
;
is
surely Jeremias
vii.
17
and where
St. Peter,
glowing red
my
il
:
usurped,
il
luogo mio,
il
luogo mio,
* Trust not in lying was probably suggested by Jer. vii. 4 words saying The temple of the Lord, the temple of the
:
Lord,
it
is
the
temple
of
the
Lord."
In
many
other
Jeremias
is
obvious.
For
paschi.
above
that
through
all
the
pastures
"
evidently
*
imitates
the
xxiii.
Woe
to the pastors
;
my
pasture'
and the
with
God which
follows,
and Dante's
correspond
Lord
will raise
up
is
to David.
Even
the concluding
2,
with
its
and
at the
change of fortune,
Ruggeran
si
we
are
again
are
reminded
familiar
of
Jeremias
in Joel
(although
similar
expressions
enough
"
DANTE'S LETTERS.
prophets)
utter
:
277
* The Lord shall roar from on high and shall His voice from His holy habitation. This letter also illustrates Dante's attitude towards another
and more modern kind of prophet, the followers of the Abbot Joachim. Joachim himself had vigorously assailed
corruption in high places of the Church, and had regarded
God
it
to interpret the
the
history
of the
of
Church
and
is
well
known how
filled Italy
the adherents
this extraordinary
mystic had
to which latter power they were Joachim himself was supposed to have prophesied that France was the reed that should pierce
right
it,
same
"
direction
fulfilled
by the
Thy
prophets
have seen
false
and
Although perhaps suggested by the Lamentations, Dante's words in this epistle concerning false prophets, "crude
prophets that assert as necessary what ye have deliberately
will,
* ^
be
hostile
It
Joachimists.
things had
was not
pass.
himself as,
come to to some
extent,
an adherent of
this sect
Dante
after his
own
are,
Astronomi quidam
et
cessarium
278
right
of the
He
utterances,
cinque,
may be
his followers,
who
new dark-robed order was to arise, a power in the period of the Holy Spirit, who would abstain from woridly possessions and convert and regenerate mankind. The later followers of Joachim believed too in an Emperor to come, who should punish France and the
taught that a
spiritual
Papacy, but
but
a
the Calabrian
is
this
deliverer
cruel oppressor.^
in
in the
Di
endowed
clear
with
prophetic
spirit.
It
is,
however, perfectly
himself did not
xii.), St.
man
Ubertino
the
da Casale,
friar
spirituals,
party
among
the
Franciscans
the doctrines
the
severe
rules
own
sincerity
Bonaventura couple this Fra Ubertino with Matteo d'Acquasparta, the lax Franciscan Cardinal whose endeavours to interfere with the government of Florence were successfully resisted by Dante
of his later adherents.
He makes
Ibid.
DoLLiHGEK, Dante as a Prophet (Studies in European History). Cf also Dollingeb's Prophecies and^ the Propheti^c Spirit in
.
the Christian
Era.
DANTE'S LETTERS.
in
his
priorate,
279
and
in
Casale
124).
Like the
the
letters
this
on
papal
election
fulfilled in
The
party, and, when the interregnum ended, there was another French Pope upon the throne of Peter and the chariot of
the
Bride
remained
the
at
Avignon.
Cardinals
It
is
Dante's
letter
man among
Napoleone
Orsini,
to
whom
risen
whom
he admonished by name
to
fire.
who
seems to have
King Philip, upon the state of the Church on the death of Pope Clement, is a noble and zealous production, not unworthy of Dante himself, full of
righteous
indignation
at
own
own
pontiflF,
ardent for
Rome
as the only rightful seat of the papacy and for the election Like Dante of a just and holy Pope to reform the Church.
he renews for
Jerusalem.
will
"
Rome
Let us
elect a Pope for the Church who show himself a true vicar of Christ. Otherwise the Faith and the Church will be ruined, and we shall be reputed guilty of the blood of all souls. " * Yet history was
*
Kegem
obitum dementis V. (Baluzius, Vitce Paparum Avenionensium. Paris, 1693). There are some striking points of resemblance between this letter and Dante's to the
Francorum de
RomanaR
Ecclesise
post
Cardinals.
280
Roman
Pope back
In the
political
in
letter
to
turns
from these
and ecclesiastical themes to the more purely ideal and peaceful world of literature. The bearing of the contents
interpretation of the Divine
of that letter upon the Paradiso, and indeed upon the general
upon.
There
is
be taken, not
in a
and
in
distinctly
(I. 2.),
In the Convito
oneself
while
condemning the
it
speaking
of
literature,
Dante declares
to
be lawful
and
own example,
It
Augustine
with
his
Confessions.
own
personal reputation
and a proclaimer of
former mode of
him
in
a well
justice; and that thought is Haunted by an apprehension lest his life, for which Guido Cavalcanti had rebuked known sonnet, and which he had recorded
the
Convito
;
to
throw an allegorical
his
veil
of the past
absolutely
open
confession.
If
the
invidious
do
human
intellect to so soar
and transcend human conditions, as was needed for such a sublime vision as this, let them read the examples
DANTE'S LETTERS.
cited
281
Richard of
it
treatises
of
St.
and Augustine.
and
But, perhaps,
sinful
life
is
only
unworthiness
of the
author
still
doubt:
elevationis
Si
vero
in
dispositionem
oblatrarent,
tantae
propter
ubi
et
peccatum
loquentis
legant
Danielem,
Nabuchodonosor invenient contra peccatores aliqua vidisse divinitus, oblivionique mandasse. Nam 'Qui oriri solem
suum
facit
super bonos
et malos, et pluit
super justos et
manifestat. i
We
are
thus
clearly
justified
in
taking the
first
two
own con-
more general and universal allegory. Whatever his actual faults had been, they were clearly well known, and a bitterer sting was added to his repentance by the thought that his personal reputation would impair
the
Me
degno a ci5 n^
io
n^
altri crede.
of
many
of the earlier
com-
is
the
bitter
self accusation
which rings
Epistola
still
they
Daniel,
Kani 28. * If, however, because of the sin of the speaker bark against a condition of such elevation, let them read where they will find that even Nabuchodonosor by divine
had a vision against sinners which he then forgot. For He 'who maketh His sun to rise upon the good and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust', sometimes in mercy for conversion,
inspiration
sometimes
in
severity
for punishment,
more and
ill."
less,
as
He
wills,
282
cantos of the
personal,
how much
allegorical.
When
Dante kneels
and
when he passes through the purging fire makes confession to Beatrice, the personal element plays no little part. Yet we have always his own words
:
concerning Virgil
Come
It has
to
amaro morso!*
is
no tenderness comparable
that
the
names of so
infamy
that of
in
man who could yet, relentlessly, brand the many of his noblest countrymen with everlasting
Inferno; nor
is
his
who
characterised himself as an
alma
sd^.gnosa,
makes
as
itself
where Dante
poetry.
appears
the
father
modern
pastoral
gatoty,
Clericus Aonidiim, vocalia
vema
Maronis,
had written
great
in
to
letter in
Latin verse
Italian,
Limbo who
'
Purg.
iii.
8.
O noble conscience, and without a stain, How sharp a sting is trivial fault to thee!
Longfellow
DANTE'S LETTERS.
283
had made Dante one of themselves, nor even Statins, had written in the vulgar tongue. Let Dante come to Bologna
to
receive
the
laurel crown,
share in the
was
in
answer to
this,
it,
assuming the pastoral style as Tityrus, wrote his Eclogues. There are clearer glimpses of his life in these
that
Dante,
than in his
their
prose
epistles,
in
spite
of
the artificiality of
of the
form.*
They
give
brighter
the
last
picture
of
great
in
poet's
declining
years,
when
worst
wandering
him,
from
while,
among
the
primitive
Christianity,
staflP,
the majestic
old
poet-shepherd
and
still
Amo
jests
flows
He
interchanges kindly
(his
with
fellow exile,
Dino
Perini),
moralising
of
Alphesiboeus
of souls
(Fiducio de'
the
stars.
Milotti) con-
cerning
hearty
the
return
to
loud and
for once
"
by the from Mopsus (Giovanni del Virgilio) has Tityrus, and his fellow shepherd Meliboeus is to learn what Mopsus wants, and to read But good Meliboeus is no poet and cannot
!
from the stern poet who had been indeed scorched For the letter whirring sulphur-spume ' of Hell
come
to
old
very anxious
the song too. see the joke
at
all:
Cf.
284
Mopsus, quid vult? edissere, dixit. Ridebam, Mopse; magis et magis ille premebat. Victus amore sui, posito vix denique risu, Stulte, quid insanis? inquam; tua cura capellse Te potius poscunt, quamquam mala csenula turbet. Pascua sunt ignota tibi, quae Msenalus alto
Tityre, quid
Herbarum
However,
subsided,
invitation.
in
spite
of
their
fun,
when
talk
over
Dante,
though longing
hostility
deck
his
the
Empire, and
:
et prata sonabunt,
coma
Sed titneam
deorum.
capillos,
Et, patrio redeam si quando, abscondere canos Fronde sub inserta solitum flavescere, Samo?*
He
'
Tityrus,
what does Mopsus want? Tell me." I laughed, Mopsus; he urged me more and more. At last conquered by love for him, my laughter
scarce
to
repressed,
'Foolish fellow,
why
dost rave?*
I said,
thy goats,
The pastures
are
"Look unknown to
which Maenalus, that hides the sun, overshadows with his lofty summit, adorned with varied hues of grass and flowers" {i.e., Melibceus does not understand allegorical poetry).
thee
sloping
Dante's
first
Eclogue.
With what
and the
decked hair I
groves
and meadows resound, if with laurelfrom the lyre the paean hymn. But I fear the
fields that
know not
the gods.
Were
it
not better to
crown
my
locks
laurel wreath
my
my
native
Arno?
DANTE'S LETTERS.
It
is
285
the
same
These
latter part of
crown
In the
the late
letter
date
of
of
first
Giovanni's
events
to
Dante's consideration as
and
interest
to
learned
men
than
grave the
army
King Robert
of Naples,
a victory of
Can Grande
della Scala,
to the relief of
had
Et jam multa tuis lucem narratibus orant. Die age quo petiit Jovis armiger astra volatu: Die age quos flores, quae lilia f regit arator: Die phrygias damas laceratas dente molosso: Die Ligurum montes, et elasses parthenopseas.'
This
will
last
It
be observed
Magister Joannes
this
very clearly shows his Ghibelline sympathies. At the Paradiso was not completed, and not till then
aspire to the laurel
period
will
Dante
crown:
Tell with
what
the
sought the
Tell of
stars.
and
lilies
that the
ploughman broke.
Tell
how
by
of
Molossian tooth.
Parthenope.
Eclogue
Dante.
286
and he speaks
friend
his
young Bolognese
of
is
ten pails of milk fresh from the fairest ewe flock but the cantos are not written yet, as he
all
only
still
more
In
his
stes in
tegmine scabro,
Quam
The
peculiar
to
interest
of
this
passage
lies
in the apparent
reference
*
Dante's wife
Gemma
as Phyllis,
which lends
made manifest
Eclogue.
When
in
my
*
song,
now
it
be well to crown
first
my
Banters
"Ah me!
and shouldst in righteous wrath, A mo, fields from thee Stolen and from thy flocks. Ah, deed of shame For that ungrateful city Oh, that once more thou mightest see thy locks, Locks grey and sacred, gain a second youth, Grown golden, and be trimmed by Phyllis' self.
the fields of
!
How
Thy
wondering look
DANTE'S LETTERS.
some colour
included
in
287
is
at least
piu caramente, which Cacciaguida in Par. xvii. tells Dante he will be forced to Dante's sons, Pietro and Jacopo, together with his leave.
the
ogni
cosa
diletta
daughter
this
Beatrice
were
in
Ravenna
at
time,
but
Gemma,
certainly
remained
however, probable
between husband and wife known to Dante's friends, or Giovanni would hardly have ventured upon what would have been a highly tactless allusion, unless Phyllis is taken as a mere personification
that there
was no
real misunderstanding
himself
Dante seems already to have been regarded, both by and by others, as quite an old man Giovanni addresses him as divine senex and hlande se?iex, and Dante responds in the same strain. It is, however, to be remembered that, in the Canvito, Dante describes senettute (old age) as
;
the
to the 70th
and he had reached the age of 56 before his death. year is said to have elapsed before Dante answered Giovanni with his second Eclogue. It is in the same spirit as the first, full of friendly feeling towards Giovanni himself, with some more pleasant joking with young "Meliboeus ";
but
It
still,
visit
Bologna.
was only
Bologna;
:
Dante's death
that
his
Eclogue among
at
and sent
scholar
to
"
Mopsus
in
it
'
and the
Bolognese
read
the
heaven
Hoc
jam frondator
in alta
Eclogues has
288
not, e'en
now
prepares himself
vineyard.
Thus Dante and his young admirer never met upon and Giovanni, disappointed in his hopes of assisting
Master's coronation,
his epitaph.
earth,
at the
had
to
writing
paratively
These two Eclogues, so noble and so kindly, so comfree from anger and rancour, should be set
of
by that exquisite passage which opens Canto xviii., where some bitter thought of vengeance enters into Dante's mind, but is instantly dispelled by the words of
Beatrice:
perisier is
muta
pensier,
This
muta
and
to this
that sonnet
by Rossetti
rejoices
Dante and
Dante
that
his
bitter
rancour
E E
sommo
concistoro.
contemplo
il
A
Ma
Per
me
si
mi
il
duole,
Che non
ben sicuro^
Appendix A.
DANTE's SOKN'ET to GIOVANNI QUIRINO.
It be
regretted that
the
i
is
to
authenticity
of
this fine
sonnet
Lo Re
die
merta
is
Fraticelli's
edition)
not
beyond doubt.
closing
is
lyrics
be
referred
to
the
Dante's
life.
an excellent translation
Rossetti's
of course
of reproducing
more poetical, but Plumptre's has the advantage more exactly the metre of the original.
ROSSETn.
The King by whose rich grace His With plenty beyond measure <?et
Cruains that I
servants be
to dwell
my
bitter
wrath dispel
And
Till,
lift
mine eyes
noting
how
all their
when I contemplate the great reward To which our God has called the Christian
I long for
seed,
this.
And
then
my
19
290
APPENDIX.
PLUMPTRE.
The
In
king,
who doth
his servants
recompense
o'er,
fullest
Bids
me my
And And
to the highest Council look from hence: thinking on the choir of citizens,
in the
Who
For
if
To which God calls all bom of Christian race, Nought else can in my wishes find a place. But much I mourn for thee, dear friend, whose
Turns not
face
upon that future state, Losing sure good for shows that hope frustrate.
to look
sonnet
often
not
this
shows a certain peculiarity of structure which found in Dante's undoubtedly genuine poems
It
will
of
class.
original, as in
a
thus
b b
a,
In the
unfinished
De
point
at
which he intended
we
and rhyme more complicated Canzone. In the Vita Nuova, Dante shows a distinct preference for three rhyme-sounds in the sestet; out of the twenty-three poems which follow the normal sonnet there are only three with sestets constructed upon structure, two rhymes. Of these three, two follow the arrangement
structure
the
b a
a b;
APPENDIX.
291
is
the
first
Nuova
rhyme
rather peculiar
type
of
arrangement:
a
ba
a,
The
b b
a,
five,
considerable probability
This
same rhyme-arrangement was frequently employed by Cino da Pistoia, and is not quite unknown even in Petrarch; out of the latter's 317 sonnets, four have sestets constructed upon this two-rhyme formula with a rhymed couplet at the close, and one of these is the famous tenth Sonnet of the
first
part
of
the
Edizione Critica)
Qtcando fra
the
of
Canxoniere
(or
xii.
in Signor Mestica's
I'altre
which
early
expresses
most
love.
purely
spiritual
of Petrarch's
conceptions
In
the
particular instance of
may be merely
due
with
to
its
it
was written
on
in
answer to a sonnet
Besides
the
fine
sestet constructed
this principle.
Venetian.
Dante (translated in Dante and his sonnet addressed Circle), commencing Lode di Dio e della Madre pura, in
which he commends Dante's labour to the glory of God and of His Virgin Mother, and which called forth Dante's
292
sonnet
in
APPENDIX.
answer,
there
is
another
poem
of
Quirino's
VI
to
(Bologna
1788),
also
relating
to
the
notorious
Cecco d'Ascoli
in his
and commences:
Qui
si
ragiona che
'1
Maestro Cecco
VenetianOy
it
is
evident
that
Quirino
will
is
a learned
man
carry weight.
Appendix B.
TWO EARLY INTERPRETATIONS OF THE VELTRO.
About
three
years
Bambaglioli,
then
Chancellor
of
Bologna,
His position
study of the Divina Commedia and importance to his attempt to solve the, perhaps insoluble, problem of what Dante really meant by his prophecy of the coming of the Veltro. It is needless to say that for him the Wolf is Cupidity, radix omnium malorum, and that no anticipation of modem
interest
political interpretations are to
Moiti son
gli animali,
ammoglia,
il
Veltro
teri'a
n^ peltro,
umile Italia
fia salute,
la vergine
Cammilla,
villa,
Tumo,
e Niso di ferute.
nell' inferno,
dipartilla.
Inf.
i.
100.*
'
Many are the animals with whom she [the Wolf] weds, And more they shall be still, until the Greyhound
CJomes,
who
shall
make her
293
294
Graziolo
APPENDIX.
mentions
that
great
variety
of views
were
held even then upon these lines {varii varia sentiant), but
declares
that they ought
clearly
to
be understood in two
human
sense, both of
In the divine sense, this which he works out in detail. Veltro is that Divine and Ineffable Wisdom, of which it
is
written,
"
Behold the
sin
Lamb
of
'
God, behold
and,
"
Him who
shall
taketh
away the
further
of the world,
He
*
;
come
and Graziolo
confirmed
in
the verse
sin
for
God.^
to
He
refers
this
Wolf
e
to Hell
feltro as
the
Last Judgment,
as
feltro
by
felt'
an indifferent
cloth,
pannus
vilissimus.
In the
human and more immediate sense, the Veltro is some Pope or Emperor, or some other hero who will arise, lofty
in
men
will
He
shall not feed on either earth or pelf, But upon wisdom and on love and virtue; 'Twixt Feltro and Feltro shall his nation be; Of that low Italy shall he be the saviour, On whose account the maid Camilla died, Euryalus, Tumus, Nisus, of their wounds; Through every city shall he hunt her down.
first
The
Trinity.
virtute
love,
of line
wisdom,
To thus
most
modem
editors do, is
line
is
may, however,
words to Pilate:
"My
APPENDIX.
ness
295
be confounded.
universal
and
truth,
and wickedness
the
will
By
is
come
In
this
into
world,
and
establish
peace
bom.
that
this sense,
we
to spring
from a humble
it
is
and
lost
none of
"
its
fascina-
lectured,
half
a century
What
so
then
is
this
Veltro, "
he asks,
about which
many have
there
said false
are
many
Benvenuto
and beneath
whom
et Virgo,
Purgaiorio
xxii.,
Statius,.
rinnova;
Toma
giustizia, e
nuova.
to
imitate
lines
this
Vir-
passage,
and
that just
as
Virgil's
had been
so
Dante's
of the
Veltro
is
to
be understood
Roman
who
will
reign
in
all
wisdom and
296
APPENDIX.
feltro
as the
heavens;
come
in the
and the Roman Prince will be born under a good conand happy conjunction of stars. stellation It will be
observed
that
this
explanation
it
is
strongly
supported
that
by
the
Purgatorio
xx.,
where
is
distinctly
stated
destroyer of the
the
celestial
Wolf
is
to
come through
Purgatorio
the circling of
xxxiii.,
is
bodies;
and
by
where
at hand,
God
Giant.
It
"
is
indeed a
is
and subtle
texture,
he says
for as felt
it
without
so
is
a simple body."
the salvation the
of
That
Italy,
deliverer
is
especially
called
Benvenuto supposes an
in
allusion to
obedience to
whom
lies
salvation,
Rome
seems
in
indeed a
his
life
highly
plausible
interpretation, that
as
Virgil
Roman Empire, and had darkly prophesied of the first coming of Christ, so now he should in the Divine Comedy
foretell
an
the
and,
at
coming of
Christ.
The whole
this.
episode of Statius in
the
Purgatorio confirms
turned
Statius
Christianity
through
prophecy
of
i.,
Christ's
cries to
Vii^l
when
APPENDIX.
297
about
to
represents
his lips a
commence under his guidance the journey which his own conversion to a better life, hears from
prophecy of Christ's second coming.
remained
in darkness,
And in each
case
the
Virgil
meaning of what he had said. and Dante on the road of salvation, but aided not himself
Faceati
come quel che va di notte, Che porta il lume retro, e sfe non giova,
dopo
sfe
Ma
fa le persone dotte.
There
is
further
he connects
it
own Canzoni.
which,
It
is
that
famous Canzone
authenticity
attested
to later
by Leonardo
Bruni,
contemporary.
human
:*
race
"
will
again
is
turn
And
this
demon-
strates, in that
Canzone of
tongue which
commences
Tre donne intomo
al cor
mi son venute:
and
other virtues for that they are despised and forgotten, where
Thou
didst aa he
who walketh
in the night,
Who
him
not,
Commento
all'
Udine, 1892.
298
APPENDIX.
Larghezza e Temperanza, e
Per6, se questo h danno,
I'altre
nate
e dolgasi la bocca
Che sono
a'
Non
noi,
che semo
etema rocca:
Noi pur saremo, e pur troverem gente, Che questo dardo far^ star lucente."*
The Canzone
and
it
is
later lyrics,
is
from what
light
it
may throw
upon
exiles
the
question
of
the
tells
Veltro.
us.
They
or Justice,
companions
in
misfortune,
honour
L'esilio,
'
Bounty and Temperance, and the rest cognate, Of our high blood, must needs a-begging go;
Wherefore, if this be woe. Let those eyes weep, those lips to wail it learn, Whom most it doth concern, Who dwell beneath the rays of such a heaven;
Not
ours,
For, be
turn;
We
yet shall
and yet
shall find
a race
efface.
Who
Plumptee.
Instead of
shall
live",
Carducci reads
APPENDIX.
This noble
line is a
299
summary
and
it
is
of
much
its
so studied and
authenticity attested to
by Ser Graziolo,
and, like him, to
virtues, with
is
who was
the bitterness
unmerited
little
banishment,
which
he
how honour
gained
in noble suffering:
Come
INDEX OF NAMES.
175; on philosophical proofs of the
existence of Grod, 176; on Hope,
On
on
24;
his
on Charily, 185 186; on man's sin, 187; on Beatitude, 205 206; on Creation, 209211; on
181
;
first
Hierarchies,
10;
Seraphim
fell,
24; on the
;
tion,
Order of the Universe, 26 on union with God, 36; on St. Augustine and angelical knowledge, 37 (note); on the Beatific Vision, 38; on the Order of the Universe and the Eternal Law, 40 45 ; on perfection of Charity, 55; on Free Will and involuntary actions, 59 60; on vows, 62 63; on vain glory, 71; on human society, 82; in the heaven
242
Abelard, 101.
Abraham,
123,
179.
d',
101,
278279.
bis position in the Parcdiso,
fall,
Adam,
of
the
Sun,
96;
9394;
the
voice
extols
St.
from the Crucifix, 98; rebukes the Dominicans, 99; his discourse on the wisdom of Solomon, 102105; against rash judgment, 105; on reunion of soul and body, 106; on Hope in the Blessed, 107; on the efiEicacy of prayer, 143; on good intentions, 144 on just princes, 145 on the resurrection of Trajan, 148 on the salvation of virtuous heathens,
Francis,
;
Paradise, 170
172;
appears in the
sin,
188189;
in the
Empyrean,
^neas,
Agnelli,
246.
Agapetus, Pope,
G.,
Topocronografia
of
del
150
151
early education at
Monte
Agostino
in the
(follower
St.
Francis),
IQl.
Casino,
Virtues,
161;
on
the
Theological
901
302
Albertns Magnus, on stellar influence,
on the music of the spheres, 39; in the heaven of the Sun, 94. Alcimus (Clement V), 269.
20;
Aldighiero,
His commentary, 1; the divisions of the Paradiso, 17 ; on Par. 1. 39, 32; on Dante and Glaucus, 3839;
Alexander of Macedon,
Alighieri,
father's
on the music of the spheres, 39 40; on Piccarda, 56; on broken vows and the Empress Constance, 6263;
on Cunizza, 85; on the fourth Heaven, 96, 102, 108; on the saints in Mars, 111; on Cacciaguida, 113, 115; on the allegorical meaning of the Divine Comedy, 116; on Dante's 123124 (note); on Par. exile, XVni. 4, 128; on Rhipeus the Trojan, 148 149; on the saints in Jove and Saturn, 152, 154; on Christ's Triumph, 168; on the
Pietro
exile,
di
Dante, on
his
reading of Far.
(note); at
XXVL
104, 187
Ravenna, 287.
Anne,
St.
St.,
Anselm, his place in the Paraduo, heaven of the Sun, 101; compares Angels to bees, 229.
15; in the
Par. XXV. 2, 178; on Dante at the University of Paris, 180; on Dante's temporary blindcielo e terra of
Antiochus (Philip the Fair), 269 (note). Antonia (Dante's daughter), 287. Aristotle, quoted in Ep. Kani, 29; on the music of the spheres, 39
40;
his
significance
of Dante's
c
.'
terror
in
the
heaven
Saturn,
(note);
on
involuntary
83;
actions,
59;
Politics,
expounded
by
Bernard.
est
Caelum
anvma
justi, 1
;
on the Prime
angelic Hierarchies, 10
on the on Jacob's
;
Movent, 201.
Augustine,
ledge,
St.,
radiso, 29
30;
37; on
remem79, 87
162,
154; on
on miracles, 175; on Creation, 209; in the Empyrean, 237289; appealed to in the Convito and Epistola Kani, 280281, Augustus, Emperor, 67, 68, 295.
Averrhoes,
1, 49.
171; on
the
ecclesiastical
the Blessed
glory
198; on the
on
flowers,
place
praise
of of
231234;
Bbatricb, paatim.
Bbnvbnuto da Imola.
Mary, 235:. Dante's instructor in the Empyrean, 237; on the little children in Paradise, 241 on Mary
;
303
and Gabriel, 243244; his hymn for Daute to the Blessed Virgin, 247249 appealed to in theEpistola
;
Boniface
159,
VIII, Pope.
89,
123, 135,
19091, 225226.
Sandro, 24, 58.
Botticelli,
Kani, 281.
Balbo, Ceaare, 145.
84.
Baldo d'Aguglione,
Bambaglioli,
Veltro,
Graziolo
on
the
293295; on Dante's Canzone of the Tre Donne, 297299. Barelli, Vineenzo, on the Allegory of the Divine Comedy, 9, 219,
232.
Bnondelmonte 112120.
de'
Buondelmonti,
Christ, passim.
Cacciaguida, influenced by Mars, 18; appears in the fifth Heaven and
gives ideal picture of old Florence,
St., in
the heaven
Bellarmine, Cardinal,
Bellincion Berti, 114.
on the resur-
for,
117;
forefinal
118125; his
his
Benedict,
in
St.,
his place
and function
injunction
descendant, etc
the sphere
of
125128,
159165; his vision described by Bt Gregory and imitated by Dante, 165166, 193; his position in the Empyrean, 237, 289-240.
Benedict XI,
St.,
Can Grande
266,
Pope, 191
(note).
Grande,
198;
Dante's
11;
5, 8,
283
(note),
298
(note).
260261.
the heaven of the
Boethius, 40;
in
Sun, 94
the
95;
influenced Dante in
Convito,
95
quoted
in
the
of Society,
PhUosophiae, 165.
Bonaventura, Bt, his
cis,
life of St.
Fran-
9799;
in
the
Sun
extols
St
162;
assailed
ecclesiastical
corruption,
Cavalcanti,
Guido
St.,
and Ubcr-
Cecco
Acerba, 292.
da Casale, 278.
Celestine V,
Pope, 89.
304
Cerchi, Florentine family, 119.
19.
protects
the Church,
of Mars, 129.
the
heaven
King
of Apulia,
8081,
Venus,
18; as
84, 145.
Heaven
St.
84
Chrysostom,
Ciacco, 53.
Cicero, 28, 39, 165.
D.
from Dante
Clare, St., 55.
to,
Dante Alighieri,
David, 136; holds
passim.
place in the
Clemenza (wife of Carlo Martello), 80; Clemenza (her daughter), 84. Clement V, Pope, 135, 190, 225226, 258, 267269, 279. Cletus, St., Pope, 191192. Cola di Rienzo, Petrarch's Canzone
to,
271.
Demetrius (Philip the Fair), 269. Dionysius the Areopagite, appears in the fourth Heaven, 94; treatise De
Caelesti
Hierarchia
to
(erroneously
ascribed
195,
on Dionysius, 22 25, 204205. Conrad III, Emperor, 115. Constance, Empress (mother of FreColet,
John,
111, 199,
also Colet.
Diotima, 230
derick
II),
her place
;
within the
Earth's Shadow, 14
appears in the
Moon, 56
59
57;
yieiued to Tiolcace,
60;
on Dante and the Joachim277278. Dominic, St., influenced by the celestial Powers, 22; 'is work and life
trice, 8;
ists,
by St. Thomas and St. Bonaventura in the Sun, 96100; a splendour of cherubical light, 164.
extolled
back the Eagle to the East, 65; appears in the heaven of Jove, 143
yields
Donati,
of
Gemma), 56
Rome
to the
Donati,
De MoPhysical
Comoldi,
O.
M.,
on
the
Donati,
(note),
Gemm^
63, 56,
56
(note),
124
286287.
305
Donati, Gnaldrada, 120.
Donati, Piccarda,
Paradiso, 14
in the
Moon, 53
Gabriel,
special
St,
Archangel,
exercises
function
of an Archangel,
in the in
21;
attending
upon Mary
Donatns,
iElius,
the
heaven of
Dante and
Ezzellino da
Romano,
84, 85.
Gregory the Great, St, on the visible and the invisible, 50; his redemption
Farinata degli Uberti, 120121.
Feliro, Bishop of, 86.
of
Trajan,
St.
147 14;
hib
picture
of
Folco,
or
Folchetto,
of
Marseilles,
Guido da Polenta,
Guiscard,
129;
260.
Robert, his
15;
place
in
in the
86
87;
Paradiso,
appears
145.
Mars,
8889.
Francis, St, influenced
Dante's
by the
celestial
bouse of Hauteville,
Powers, 22;
St.
Thomas
sings his
96 97; on love
and order, 97 his life as told by St. Eonaventura and Giotto,97 99; fellow champion with St Dominic, 100; his true followers, 101; on the Order of Charity, 186; in the Empyrean, 237, 239.
Fraticelli, P., 289, 297.
Henry VII,
Power
180;
in
of
Luxemburg, Emperor,
66,
72, 118, 125,
Frederick of
145.
his
throne
prepared
in the
Expedition,
his
failure
24
(note).
20
306
Giovanni del Virgilio on his
285.
fate,
of the
follo-.vers,
182;
278.
Job, 179.
Joel, 276.
Hezekiah,
129.
in the
(St.
Hildebrand
Hillard,
John the
Miss,
the
picture, 25;
on the Florentine
coins,
135;
245246.
III,
the
Empyrean Heaven,
in
237, 239;
to
Honorius
Pope, 97.
quoted
Dante's
Letter
the
De Hugh
the
heaven of
Emperor, 266. John Chrysostom, St., 101. John Damascene, St., on the Assumption, 167, 172.
Sun,
101;
master of Richard
of Peter Lombard,
of St. Victor
101.
and
St., in
a Botti-
picture, 25;
the legend of
182; examines Dante upon Charity, 182186; in the Empyrean, 246 the Apocalypse,
;
llluminato (follower of
in the
St. Francis),
275.
of Spain),
Innocent
Pope, 97.
Isidore of Seville,
heaven of the Sun, 94; on the symbolism of the Holy Women of the Old Testament, 237288.
St.,
Symposium,
230 J.
Jacob, 15, 16, 179.
(note).
James the Greater, St., examines Dante upon Hope, 178 181.
237
type of
Mary and
the Church,
239.
James,
201.
St.,
the Epistle
Paradiso,
to
14;
Jason (Clement V), 269 (note). Jeremias, quoted in the Vita Nuova
that of an
and
in
73.
Cardinals,
268;
Dante's
Hebrew
Jerome,
St.,
211.
Lawrence,
St., 60.
Lia or Leah,
307
linns, St, Pope, 191192. LoUis,
Michael, St, Archangel. 21.
di
Cesare
de,
his
Sordello
Michael Angelo,
Montefeltro,
78.
Comedy, passim.
Lorenzo Monaco, 161. Lubin, Prof., 20 (note), 153, 232, 233. Lucia (St Lucy), type of Grace Illuminating, 243 (note); her place
in the
Moore, Dr.
Guido da, 85 (note). Time References in the Divine Comedy, 34 (note); Studiea
E.,
in Dante, 210 (note). Mopsus. See Giovanni del Moroello Malaspina, 260.
Moses, the voice of
the Empyrean, 246;
Virgilio.
Empyrean,
35.
246.
xemburg
Dino Compagni, 56
another, 264.
del,
N.
Nabuchodonosor, 281. Nathan, in the heaven of the Sun, 101.
Nerli, Florentine family, 114.
Vikgin.
to Botticelli,
Norway, King
of,
140.
Assumption ascribed
Heaven, 167, 170173, 182, 197; Her glory in the Empyrean, 215,
223,
228237
Beatrice's reverence
;
for in the Vita Nuova, 238 Her types in the Old Testament, 239; Her
infinite dignity
and likeness
glory, 244
;
to
God,
242243
Her
type of
Orlando the Paladin, in the hesTen of Mars, 129. Orosius, in the heaven of the Sun, 94. Orsini, Cardinal Napoleone, 279280. Ottimo (the author of the "Ottimo
Comment"),
124, 234.
40, 56,
6263,
85, 123,
prayer
to,
247249; Her
interces-
Oza, 269.
Ozias, 239.
160161.
Manfredi, 86 (note).
P.
19. 18, 61.
25.
St.,
Fisherman neglected by John XXH, 135; his poverty and humility, 158; examines Dante upon Faith, 173
176;
his
177178; a type
Faith,
179;
308
deaouuces corruption in the Church, 190193, 197; his place in the
Canzone
Eclogues,
to
Empyrean, 246;
false
rebuke of
to
286288 of the Sonnet Giovanni Quirino, 289290; of Dante's Canzone of the Tre Donne,
298.
pastors
and
injunction
Dante, 276.
Pontius Pilate,
259.
74.
Palma,
Parker,
tical
84.
See Cunizza.
the Celestial and Ecclesias-
Pythagoras, 39.
(note).
Q
Quirino, Giovanni, 288, 289292.
Paul,
St.,
29,
31,
Sun, 101.
Peter Damian,
the
St.,
Richard of
co-operates 'vith
his
St. Victor.
for
authority
the
Paradiso,
Dante
154
the
heaven
celestial
of Saturn,
155;
221,
on
knowledge
2930; on Freedom of the Will, 47, 5960, 62 (note) in the heaven of the Sun, 94 95; pupil of Hugh,
;
of Predestination,
101
242;
his
denunciation
154
155;
of luxury
272.
158,
and
Benjamin,
on
231;
ecstatic
contemplation,
on the
Master of the
the Sun,
St.
94;
pupil of
Hugh
of
Rabanus Maurus,,
the Sun, 102.
in the
heaven of
223;
Victor,
180.
Hope,
Rachel,
Dante's
dream
of, 37,
Peter of Spain.
Petrarch, 84,
See John
XXL
of France,
219
Philip the
269, 279.
Fair,
King
Phyllis
(Gemma
Donati or Florence),
286-287.
PiuB,
St.,
Empyrean, 237240, 246. Rahab, the highest soul in the third Heaven, 87 a type of the Church, 88. Rainouart, in the heaven of Mars, 129.
in the
Pope, 191192.
Raymond
Berlinghieri, 71
72.
151.
the return of souls to the stars, 57; the Protagoras, 81 ; the Symposium,
Rebecca, in the Empyrean, 237; a type of the Church, 239. Bhipeus the Trojan, in the heaven
of Jove, 146 his salvation, 147
;
230
(note).
309
J., Moral Philotopky, 42; Aquinas Ethicus, pat aim. Robert the "Wise," King of Naples,
Rickaby,
Solomon, brightest soul in the Sun, 94 his wisdom, 102 105 his dis;
Romeo
of Villanova, his
;
fame, 14
Spenser,
Edmund,
77, 203.
own, 7172,
96.
of Saturn,
in
the
Purgatorio in illustration
of the Veltro,
295297.
Christina,
nata, 183.
Rossetti,
Life,
10;
287.
56
261.
289291
Ave, 236;
DamU
at Verona, 257,
Rudolph
Ruskin,
of
2,
Hapsburg,
the
80.
212.
Emperor,
(Dante
69.
Ruth,
in
Empyrean,
237;
TityruB
in
the
Eclogues),
St.
Benedict,
Trajan,
Jove,
Sara, in the
of the
of,
Church, 238239.
della, 124.
of St. Gregory,
147148, 151.
Scala,
u.
Uguccione della Faggiuola, 266, 285. Urban, St., Pope, 191192.
della.
See Can'
Grande.
Scipio, 191.
Scartazzini, 8,
374,
.59,
La
Vitione
Dante
Alighieri
contiderata
the Defence
Life,
of Poetry, 4;
4; Hellas,
65;
Triumph of
on the opening
of the Paradiso,
Vaughan,
180, 219.
St.
Thomas of Aquin,
95,
heaven of
analogy
the
Sun,
94;
certain
Veltro,
the,
96.
298299.
Veronese, Paolo, 88.
310
Veronica
(the), 247.
w.
Westcott, on Dionysius, 199 (note).
William
144;
II, last
Virgil,
Sicilies,
in
246, 282,
295297.
Dante
72 (note); the Ec-logues
Dante's
as
Senex,
William
of
Aquitaine,
St.,
in
the
interchanged
The Chronicle of
Translated by Rose
Edited by the Rev.
P.
Villani
E. Selfe.
H. WICKSTEED.
Crown
'
8vo, 6s.
as it poet.'
is, is
The book, picturesque and instructive reading and still more valuable for readers of Italy's greatest
"Sure
to
Scotsman,
have a
warm welcome.*
Globe.
thoughtful introduction gives a general outline of the Florentine problems of the -period." Western Morning News.
* We welcome the book not only as a real help to students of Dante, but as to all English readers the leading characteristics of one of the most fascinating and life-like of medieval chronicles. Mr. Wicksteed's introduction is brief sober, competent, and workmanlike." Manchester Guardian.
"A
revealing
There are many other fascinating passages in this work, which we consider on own merits one of high historical value, and as an aid to the clearer understanding
of
"Mr. Wicksteed's labours in a good cause deserve encouragement and no stinted Birmingham Post. "Perhaps no one book is so important to the student of Dante as the chronlcU Athen<eum. his contemporary Villani."
EDITED BY
KATE
Volumes
2s. 6d.
"It
is
M.
WARREN.
la.
I.,
11.,
and
6d. each.
gilt
per
a nice, clear, handy volume, containing a brief Preface, an able and compendious Introduction, the text of the original editions of 1590, 1506, collated, and having its orthogp-aphy slightly modernized the author's letter of 1589, expounding the whole intention of the poem ; a serviceable glossary and some necessary and concise notes. While fitted well for use as a school book in higher English classes, it is suitable for the general reader, who, having once 'felt the witchery of Spenser's thought and rhyme, will regard the possession of the poem in this nice form as a ^oj." Educational News,
;
" For school use especially and as a pocket edition this reprint general reader requires. Liverpool Daily Post.
is just
what the
"Evident care has been taken with the text of the present edition, and in the preparation of the glossary the labours of a crowd of scholars have been placed under requisition. The introduction is critical in the illuminative sense, and the biographical facts, though pithy, are well chosen." ^paA;r.
"It is beautifully printed, well-bound, and of a convenient pocket size. There is an excellent glossary, tersely expressed, which not only gives the meaning of different words, but explains the classical and other references generally treated in elaboWe commend the vorii." Educational Tiimes, , rate notes.
. .
* Miss Warren, however, really explains understanding of the text." Leeds Mercury.
all
that is necessary to
an
intelligent
"The text
and
good, there is a full and accurate glossarv, and the notes are clear to the point. The introduction, too, is neatly written.* Col/iofie Times.
is
Co.,
Westminster.
Works Edited by
Professor
F.S.A.; Fellow of King's
EDWARD ARBER
London;
late
College,
English Examiner at
the
London
University; and also at the Victoria University, Manchester; Emeritus Professor of English Language and Literature, Mason College,
Birmingham.
Is.
Any
part
may
be obtained separately.
a.
1.
2.
3. 4. 5.
7.
John Knox. The First Blast of the Trumpet Clbhknt Kobinson and others. A Handful Of Pleasant Delights [Simon Fish.] A Supplication for the Be^rsars [Rev. John Udai.i..] Diotrephes
d.
..16
1 1 1 1
1 1
6 6
6. [
The Return from Parnassus Thomas Deckek. The Seven Deadly Sins
?]
6 6
8.
9.
of London 6 Edward Arber. An Introductory Sketch to the "Meirtln Mar15881590 prelate" Controversy, 8 [Rev. John Udall.] A Demonstration of Discipline 1 6 Richard Stanihdkst. ".^neid I. IV." in English hexameters 8 O "The Elplstle." 6 1 Robert Green. Menaphon 1 6
16.
George Joy. An Apology to William Tyndale 1 6 Richard Barnfield. Poems 8 Bp. Thomas Cooper. An Admonition to the People of Bngland 3 Captain John Smith. "Works. 1120 pages. Six Facsimile Maps. 2 Vols. 12 6
ENGLISH REPRINTS.
1.
Milton
Areopagiiica
2.
5.
Latimer Oosson
Sidney
B.
4.
6. .
7.
1634-54
1711
8.
9.
Addison Lyly
12
EUPHUES
. .
s.
d.
1679-80
1671
4 O
1
Villiers Oascolffne.
Earle
Latimer
The Rehearsal The Steel Glass, etc Miero-cosmographie Seven Sermons before
Utopia
More Puttenham
Ho'well
EDWARD
VI.
...
. .
Monk
Udall
of Bves.
20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 28. 27. 28. 29. 30.
Foreign Travel Roister Bolster The Revelations, etc Counterblast to Tobacco, etc
158293
1640 1570 1557 1550 1586 1528 1591 1563
HabinfiTton
Ascham
Tottel'S
CASTARA
The Schoolmaster Miscellany [Songs and SonneU]
Lever
Sermons
. .
.
W.
Roy, etc
Raleish, etc.
.......
15971626
Last Fight of
"Revenge"
..10 ..10 ..16 ..10 ..29 ..10 1 O ..10 ..10 ..10 1 e ..10 ..10 ..26 ..10 1 o ..50 ..16 ..10
. .
Qooge
Eglogues, Epitaphs,
and Sonnets
Co.,
Westminster.
The
A
Great
History of the Russian Court and Empire
By
R.
NISBET BAIN
:
Author of" Gustavus III. and His Contemporaries," "Charles XII." " Hans Christian Andersen A Biography "
Price
\^s.
net.
Mr. Nisbet Bain's new volume about the makers of Russia could not have appeared at a time more opportune for the attraction of popular interest than the moment
Sir Henry Irving has taken it upon him to interpret for us, on the stage of the Lyceum, the character of Peter the Great. His familiarity with the history and politics of Northern Europe in the last century renders him peculiarly fitted for the task of presenting us with a picture of the Russian Court and Empire up to the death of the Empress Anne." Daily Ckrotttcle. " Mr. Bain has here put together from authentic sources an interesting and useful
when
Without attempting the picturesque, he has written a book that attracts the his judgment is sound, he is unprejudiced and tolerant, and he understands the strange world that he is depicting. His portraits have the great merit of fidelity, and he has a good knowledge of contemporary European politics. " Manchester Gtiardian. "An excellent piece of historical study, founded entirely on original research, sober,
book.
reader
;
broad, and sympathetic in treatment, with a fine sense of historical proportion, and most
Spectator.
it
" A lucid and masterly sketch of the slow development of the modem Russian State between the year 1697 and 1740." Daily News. " Mr. Nisbet Bain is, without question, the best informed student of Northern history who now writes for the British Public, and the volume before us will add to his reputation."
Manchester Courier.
WESTMINSTER
Archibald Constable and 2 WHITEHALL GARDENS
i8q8
Co
Archibald Constable df
Co.'s
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The
By
Bright
EDWARD BRAILSTON BRIGHT,
BRIGHT,
With many
Detny Svo, jQ^ y.
net.
C.E.,
and
CHARLES
vols.
C.E., F.R.S.E.
Illustrations, Portraits,
and Maps.
{jQ2
2s.
Debateable Claims
Series of Essays
By
on Secondary Education
6s.
Author of
'
Dante's
Ten Heavens
Demy
EDMUND GARDNER.
2>vo.
A
By
Contemporary Art
E.
DE LA SIZERANNE.
Translated by H.
Svo.
M. Povnter.
Crown
Quarterly List
Announcements
Andree and
By HENRI
his
and
Balloon
LACHAMBRE
ALEXIS MACHURON
full-page plates.
6s,
Crown
8vo.
This volume contains an accurate account of the making and equipping of Mr. Andree's balloon, and a detailed account of the first attempt made in 1896, when, owin^ to the bad weather, Andree and his two companions could not start, and a detailed and authoritative account of the final preparation and start for the famous flight into the Unknown.
The volume is fully illustrated, and contains a The two authors accompanied the Expedition
July, 1897.
one author
in
1896,
in
The volume is of very great general interest, containing as it does the only authoritative account of the expedition up to date, and is of special value to all interested in ballooning, as the authors are acknowledged experts.
This work
is
in four different
languages.
The Kingdom of
By
Fully Illustrated by E. A.
the Yellow
Robe
ERNEST YOUNG.
Norbury,
R.C..\., and from Photographs.
Demy
%vo.
Constable's "
Hand
Gazetteer of India"
A BOOK OF
AUSTIN FREEMAN,
Demy
8vo.
F.R.G.S.
2 Maps.
A
The
Crown
8vo.
6s.
the Czar dedication of this volume has been graciously accepted by His Majesty of Russia.
Archibald Constable df
Co.'s
Our Troubles
By
in
Commissioner of roona.
Demy
Few of the troubles we have had in India from time to time have assumed so serious an aspect as the recent disturbances in Poona ; but the extreme alarmist view taken by the press at home and the public utterances of certain ill-informed "globe-trotters" have had a mischievous effect in confusing the mind of the British Public as to the rights and wrongs of the case. The Author of this book, having a large experience of
the districts affected, has written this
work
in order to
make
Two
Mutiny
in
Delhi
C.S.L (Bengal Civil Service).
Just Ready.
Map.
These two narratives are a unique and interesting contribution to the literature of the inasmuch as they are the only ones from a purely native source. One is the diary, kept daily throughout the Siege of Delhi in 1857 by Munshi Jeewan Lall. This man, who was an official in the employ of the Governor General's Agent in Delhi, was all along loyal to us, and remained, till his death, an honoured servant of the British Government. He gave the original diary to the translator on the occasion of the Imperial Assemblage at Delhi in 1877. The other narrative is by an educated native nobleman Nawab Mainodin Hassan Khan. He threw in his lot with the rebels, and had eventually to fly, with a price on his head. After some years of exile he returned to India, stood his trial, and was acquitted of complicity in murder, and pardoned for his share in the fighting. This result was brought about mainly through the influence of Sir T. Metcalfe, whose life he had saved during the Siege. The Nawab subsequently drew up the narrative from materials in his possession, and gave it in the original to the translator. Mr. Metcalfe having died before the papers were ready for puTjlication, they are now edited and brought out by his widow.
Constable's
A
Hand
Atlas of India
NEW SERIES OF SIXTY MAPS AND PLANS PREPARED FROM ORDNANCE AND OTHER SURVEYS UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
J.
G.
BARTHOLOMEW,
In
half- morocco,
or full-bound
It is tolerably safe to predict that no sensible traveller will go to India in future without providing himself with 'Constable's Hand Atlas of India.' Nothing half so useful has been done for many years to help both the traveller in India and the student at home. Constable's Hand Atlas is a pleasure to hold and to turn over." Athenctum.
'
'
"
Quarterly List
NOW READY AT ALL
LIBRARIES
a
net.
Camera
This work contains
JOHN THOxMSON,
Foolscap 4to.
0):e
F.R.G.S.
Guinea
Illustrations.
CONTENTS.
Chapter
I.
II.
III.
TyphoonsThe
Hong-kong
North
branch of the
Pearl River.
IV.
V.
Canton
boards
the two
(continued).
appearance Its population -Streets Mode of transacting business Signand Wages The willow-pjttern bridge Juilin. Governor-General of fights Hak-kas The mystic pills Dwellings of the poor The Lohang-tang Buddhist monastic life On board a junk.
Its general
Work
Kwang Clan
VI.
Castos
(continued").
Macao.
Swatow.
Chao-chovv-fu
Amov.
The charitable institutions of China Macao Description of the town Its inhabitants Swatow Foreign settlement Chao-chow-fu Swatow fan-painters ModellersChinese art Village warfare Amoy The native quarter .Abodes of the poor Infanticide
su
,.
Manure-pits Human remains in jars Lekin Romantic scenery Ku-langThe foreign settlement.
VII.
His yamen How to cancel a state debt The Dutch in i66i Sylvan lanes Medical Missions A journey to the interior Old watercourses Broken land Hakka settlers Poahbc Pepohoan village Baksa valley The name " I sla Formosa " A long march The central mountains Bamboo Bridges" Pau-ah-liau " village The Ka-san-po village A wine-feast Interior of a hut Pepohoan dwelfihysician at work ings A savage dance Savage hunting-grounds La-lung village Return journey.
of navigation
Tai-wanfu The
,,
VIII
in Formosa Cause of the invasion The River Min Foochow .Arsenal great bridge .\ City of the dead Its inhabi Beggars Thieves Lepers Kushan Monastery The hermit Tea plantation Paeling hills Voyage ii{>the Min Shui-kow .\n up-country farm Captain Sheng
city
IX.
Shanghai.
Steam
Ningpo.
Hankow.
In the wake of a typhoon Shanghai Notes of or "Sukwangearly history Japanese raids Shanghai foreign settlement Paul " city Ningpo Native soldiers Snowy valley The Mountains ki Shanghai Azaleas 'llie moaactery of the Snowy Crevice The thousand-fathom precipice Buddhist MonksThe Vangtsre, Kiang Hankow The Upper Yangtsze, Ichang The Gorges The great Tsing-tan rapid Mystic fountain lights A dangerous arsenal- The death of disaster Kwei-fu Our return Kiukiang Nanking; Tsing-kwo-fan Chinese superstition.
traffic in
its
Sii,
its
X.
Chefoo.
The
Pekin.
Tientsin.
foreign settlement -The Yellow River Silk Its production Taku forts The Peiho River Chinese progress Floods in Pei-chil-li- Their effects- Tientsin The Peking Sisters' chapel Condition of the people A midnight storm Tung-Chow The Tartar and Chinese divisions of the metropolis Its ro.-ids, shops and people The I'emple and domestic architecture The Tsungli Yamen Prince Kung foreign hotel and the high officers of the empire Literary championship The Confucian Temple The Observatory Ancient Chinese instruments Yang's house Habits of the ladiesPeking enamelling Yuen-Ming- Yuen Remarkable cenotaph A Chinese army LiHung- ChangThe inn of "Patriotic Perfection "The Great Wall The Ming tombs.
Archibald Constable
&
Co.'s
By
Problems of the Far East JAPAN COREACHINA the Rt. Hon. GEORGE N. CURZON, M.P.
Illustrations
With numerous
and Maps.
Extra
avwn
of unusual
value at present, in view of the various questions which will arise in connection with the
in the
Far East.
" Certainly the influence of Mr. Curzon's thoughtful generaHzations, based as they are upon wide knowledge, and expressed in clear and picturesque language, cannot fail to assist in solviug the problems of the Far East." Manchester Courier.
The Popular
Northern India
By
With
WILLIAM CROOKE
2 Vols.
full
Demy
"The book
hand."
The
is
in every respect
an admirable one,
Times.
The Household
By
" May
.
of the Lafayettes
DemyZvo.
ly.iict.
EDITH SICHEL.
.
be warmly commended to every student of social history." Globe. " A work of notable ability and strength." World. ". We scarcely know any book which presents A volume of deep and pathetic interest. . . a more vivid picture of the French Revolutior." Glasg^ow Herald. " Every one who takes any interest in the France of the last quarter of the eighteenth centurj' should read this well-written book." Publishers Circular.
.
British
Army
and Navy
By
Dedicated by Permission to
With
Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen and Empress. and many Illustrations in the text.
Over 600 //.
,t,
2
" Of the manner
in
vols.
Super-Royal 8vo.
3j. lut.
which the work has been carried out it is impossible to speak except in terms of warm praise. ITie medals and ribbons are beautifully reproduced. To produce such a work, so beatitifully illustrated, has necessitated much expense and a corresponding price but we caij scarcely imagine a barracks or a Queen's ship that will be long without it." Pall Mall Gazette. " An exhaustive record, and it will be strange if the inquirer searches its pages for information on a particular medal or decoration and is disappointed." Scotsman. " For beauty and fidelity the coloured reproductions of Army and Navy medals and decorations surpass anything of the kind we have ever seen." Daily Neivs. "One cannot too highly praise the numerous illustrations. The letterpress, too, is extraordinarily full and elaborate. Altogether the work is a mine of authoritative information on its subject, and should abundantly satisfy at once the military enthusiast and the specialist in numismatics."-(J/aj^fTTW Herald. " These two volumes appeal powerfully to all who cherish the great patriotic traditions of the English race, and their value for official reference is, moreover, incontestable." Leeds Mercury.
; '
Quarterly List
The
By
This volume
Principles of Local
Council.
is
Government
\7.s.
of very great value to all interested in various questions of Local Government, especially in view of the forthcoming County Council elections. Mr. Gomme is acknowledged as one of the greatest living authorities on the subject.
" The Statistical Office of the County Council has produced a work of great value in the Principles of Local Government." London. " There is much to be learned from Mr. laurence Gomme's historical and analytical lectures." Daily Mail. " His criticisms on the existing system show a thorough mastery of a complicated subject." Daily
Chronicle.
Crown
Mr. Lecky's."
Reflections and
By
Comments
Crown
Svo, Js. 6J.
literature of his country
" Mr. Godkin's book forms an excellent example of the best periodical time." TAe Daily News.
and
CONSTABLE'S LIBRARY OF
Historical
Edited by
Crown
cloth.
After a Design by A. A.
TURBAYNE.
and
With Illustrations of all the principal features, which include reproductions of roj'al historical signatures, coins, seals, and heraldic devices.
Just Published.
Westward
To
be followed by
Ho
By
charles kingsley.
With numerous
Illustrations.
Reading Abbey
Already Published.
ciiarles macfarlane.
Harold
The
By
LORD LYTTON.
The Camp
of Refuge
" Now we are to have for the first time a fairly complete edition of the best historical novels and romances in our language. Messrs. Archibald Constable & Co. have had a happy idea in planning such a scheme, which is likely to have an enthusiastic reception." National Observer.
Archibald Constable
&
Co.'s
Farthest North
By
FRIDTJOF NANSEN
A Few
Copies of the
NANSEN
net,
Vols.
2s.
are
still
for sale.
The
OWN
THREE MAPS.
"A "A
Times.
book
for
Westminster
"
The
Book
number of Text
Illustrations, sixteen
Coloured
Plates, four
Large
Plates,
and an Etched
Portrait.
Quarterly List
Sir
Henry Wotton
By
Owens
A
;
Biographical Sketch
Litt.D.,
LL.D.,
Principal of the
Fcap. Svo.
6d.
Glasg<nv Herald.
English Schools.
By
A. F.
546-1 548
LEACH,
;
M.A., F.S.A,
Demy
Svo.
12s.
" A very remarkable contribution to the history of secondary education in England, not less novel in TAe Times. its conclusions than important in the documentary evidence adduced to sustain them." " This is the most valuable book on the history of English Education that has seen the light for many a long yiax." The Journal of Education.
Spenser's Faerie
Complete in Six
Volumes.
Queene
cloth,
<^s.
Fcap. Svo,
net.
Edited by
Volumes
Also
I.,
KATE
III.
M.
WARREN.
\s.
II.,
and
now
ready.
each net.
" Miss Warren, however, really explains all that is necessary to an intelligent understanding of the Leeds Mercury. text." " The text is good, there is a full and accurate glossary, and the notes are cle.nr and to the point. The introduction, too, is neatly written." Catholic Times.
Some Observations of
By
Crown
Svo.
a Foster Parent
" A very excellent book on the education of the English boy. should diligently read." Daily Mail.
The book
is
one which
all
parents
The Chronicle
Edited by the Rev.
P.
of Villani
E.
Translated by Rose
H.
Selfe.
WICKSTEED.
Crozvn Svo.
"The
6s.
book, picturesque and instructive reading as it is, is not less interesting and still more valuable for readers of Italy's greatest poet." Scotsman. " Perhaps no one book is so important to the student of Dante as the chronicle of his contemporary
Villani."
A thenceutn.
lo
Co.'s
Archibald Constable
&
A^
all Libraries
and
Booksellers.
Adventures in Legend
Tales of the West Highlands.
By
the
MARQUIS OF LORNE,
Fully Illustrated.
K.T., M.P.
Crown
Svo, 6s.
fust Ready.
of Love
Wingate Rinder.
CHARLES
A.
GOFFIC.
Crown
Translated by E.
Svo, Js. 6d.
Idylls
and
BRIDGES BIRTT.
Crown
Svo, 55.
Odd
By
Stories
Svo, 6s.
"Written for the most part in graceful and vigorous English, veined with a pretty sentiment, and not seldom rising to dramatic power." Pall Mall Gazette. "Charming are the short sketches Miss Frances Forbes- Robertson has reprinted." Illustrated London
Ne^us. " Bright and
artistic, some of them original, none commonplace." Sketch. " The book is steeped in an atmosphere of fantasy, which makes us fe^l as of the world and smelt the flowers which grow there." Literature.
if
we had been
to the
edge
Dracula
By
BRAM STOKER.
Crown
Svo, 6s.
of the most enthralling and unique romances ever written." Tke Chrislian World " The very weirdest of weird tales." Punch. "Its fascination is so great that it is impossible to lay it aside." The Lady. " The idea is so novel that one gasps, as it were, at its originality. A romance far above the ordinary production." St. Paul's. " Much loving and happy human nature, much heroism, much faithfulness, much dauntless hope, so that as one phantasmal ghastliness follows another in horrid swift succession the reader is always accompanied by images of devotion and friendliness." Liverpool Daily Post. " A most fascinating narrative." Dublin Evening Herald.
"One
In the Tideway
By
"
to
(Author of
'
"On
this
the Face of
the Waters,"
etc.).
Crown
Svo, 6s.
It is too late in the day to ?peak of Mrs. Steel's position. This is assured, but an established position. It is profoundly impressive." St. James's Budget. " Wonderfully bright and lively both in dialogue and 'vacxdcats." Scotsman.
ii
Quarterly List
The
Edited by G.
King's Story
by
C.
Book
full-page
LAURENCE GOMME.
Crotvn Zvo, cloth
With numerous
Illustrations
HARRISON MILLER.
gilt, 6s. a 'story-book,' and has carried
"
Publisher's
" Mr.
for
it
" Mr. Gomme's selection is of great interest." SI. James' Gazette. " 'I'he book is most informative, as well as full of interest." Vanity Fair. "We give honourable mention to The King's Siory Book.' It is a book of stories collected out of English romantic literature. This is a book that will thrill more than any modern effort of the imagination a more striking collection of stories of daring and valour was never got between two book covers." Pall Mall Gazette, Nov. 23, 1897.
'
The Laughter of
Crown
8vo, 6s.
Peterkin
A book
for
Re-telling of
Old
young and
old.
By FIONA
MACLEOD.
" This latest and most excellent piece of work of Miss Macleod's." Spectator. " To no more skilful hands than those of Fiona Macleod could the re-telUng of these old tales of the Celtic Wonderland have been confided." Morning Post. "The writing is full of beauty and passion." St. Jantes' Gazette. " The book is a charmijig fairy tale." Athemrum. " This book has .so much charm of style and good writing that it will be eagerly read by many other than the young folk for whom it is intended." Black and White.
A
By
Houseful of Rebels
A
Fairy Tale.
Illustrated
WALTER
C.
RHOADES.
Crown
by
PATTEN WII^ON.
(yl.
"
It is
Weekly Sun.
"A
charming
"Readers
Cuardiati."
story, well told, and is beautifully illustrated by Patten Wilson.' will laugh till they cry over the first fifty pages of a ' Houseful of
Manchester Courier.
Rebels.'"
Manchester
Songs
Profusely Illustrated by
" Miss Stratton has headed, and
fancies."
tailed,
for Little
By
People
8vo, 6s.
NORMAN
GALE.
Bookseller.
" Simple, charming little verses they are of strikingly original." Pall Mall Gazette.
12
Archibald Constable
&
Co.'s
London
Riverside
By
A.
E.
Churches
DANIELL
Profusely illustrated by
ALEXANDER ANSTED
Imperial l6mo,
6s.
time ago Mr.'Daniell gave us a book on the churches of the City of London. He has now turned his attention to ' London Riverside Churches.' He takes the Thames from Greenwich to Kingston, and tells the stories of the various notable churches touched by this line. The book is fully illustrated from sketches by Alexander Ansted." Daily Chronicle.
little
"A
and a
Map
Imperial
\6ino, 6s.
^"Mr.
"The
Daniell's
all
obtaining
work will prove very interesting reading, as he has evidently taken great care in the facts concerning the City churches, their history and associations." London.
book are good, and
it
illustrations to this
Morning
Post.
The Books of
IN SEPARATE
Printed in
the Bible
labels
VOLUMES
uncut edges,
is.
Cloth,
paper
net; cloth
6d. net ;
whole
ST. ST.
THE BOOK OF THE PSALMS MAITHEW ST. LUKE MARK ST. JOHN THE FOUR GOSPELS
In
One Volume
;
Cloth,
paper
white cloth
gilt,
t,s.
net
whole leather,
/^. net.
Others to follow.
" The edition
is
very attractive."
Westminsiet
Gazette.
Ti^ Globe.
is
excellent."
Tke Record.
CONSTABLE, WESTMINSTER
Quarterly List
13
Life
of Johnson
AUGUSTINE BIRRELL
paper
label,
or gilt extra,
zs.
net
per Volume.
and so well bound that they open easily anywhere, are exceedingly St.Jatrus's Budget.
"Constable's edition will long remain the best both for the general reader and the scholar."
Review
0/ Reviews.
CONSTABLE'S REPRINT
OF
The Waverley
The Favourite Edition of SIR
With
Cloth,
all
Novels
In 48 Vols.
WALTER SCOTT
Fcap. Svo.
gilt,
paper
\s. (ni.
Also cloth
gilt,
gilt top,
net
per Volume, or ,^ i6j. net the Set ; and half-lecUher 2s. 6d. net per Volume, or ,6 net the Set.
we know,
"This is one of the most charming editions of the Waverley Novels that the cheapest in the market." Glasgo^v Herald.
as well as one of
The
3 vols.
Edited by
Fcap. Svo.
lished
" This edition, which was first published some twenty years ago, is the standard edition of these remarkable historical documents, and contains upwards of four hundred letters in addition to those put)by Frere in 1823. The reprint is in three small and compact volume?, and should be welcome to students of history as giving an important work in a convenient form." Scotsman.
"One
Manchester
Guardian.
14
Co.'s
Archibald Constable
&
POETRY
Selected
By
"
Poems
6s,
.
GEORGE MEREDITH
Crown
8vo.
.
.
volume which abounds in imaginative vision as well as intellectual strength." Standard. " His poems are achievements of the intellect there is wit in them and genius." Scotsman. " We hope that a large public will wake up to the high and serious beauties and the real genius of Mr.
Meredith's finest poetr>'."^^ Jatnes's Gazette. " These Selected Poems are a literary store." Scotsman.
E.
NESBIT
8vo, cloth gilt.
Crown
New
By FRANCIS
Fcap
Poems
THOMPSON
6s.
Sz'O,
net.
"There is in these new Poems a wider outlook, a greater breadth of sympathy than were discovered in their predecessors." Globe, " A true poet. At any rate here unquestionably is a new poet, a I. Zangwill, in the wielder of beautiful words, a lover of beautiful things."
...
Cosmopolitan, Sept., 1895. "At least one book of poetry has been published this year that we can hand on confidently to other generations. It is not incautious to prophesy Sketch. that Mr. Francis Thompson's poems will last." " Mr. Thompson's new volume will be welcomed by all students and
lovers of the
Glasgow Herald.
Whitman.
Study
By
john burroughs
\2mo.
"Altogether the most complete, the most sympathetic, and the most penetrating estimate of Walt Whitman that has yet been written." Daily Mail.
Fidelis
M.
GEMMER
3^. dd.
net.
" It has undeniable beauty, and it would have been a pity if this and some of the shorter poems included in the same collection had not seen the light. Distinction of tone, careful craftsmanship, and a Afanckester Guardian. rich vocabulary characterise most of them." " Touched with a dainty grace is '' Baby- Land." "A Reverie " in whose tender pathos and abiding charm." Isiteratiire. find an stately movement we
.
15
Quarterly List
The
Cyclists'
Pocket Book
FULL OF INFORMATION
Cloth boards^
\s.
Leather,
\s.
6d.
A
is
of
"THE
CYCLISTS' POCKET
in
BOOK"
also
town and
country',
the
" CYCLISTS'
" "
very handy
volume
highly
in size
it
Can
recommend
to our readers."
...
an ex-
The most useful pocket book for cyclists we have yet seen." Westminster Gazette. " Should be read and digested by all riders very useful, a valuable handbook,
.
to
be
in its
way a gem
Scotsman.
useful information
. . .
"
a novelty." Daily Mail. " Neatly arranged " The telegraphic code
a handy
.
little
volume. "
The
Field.
England.
The
MECREDY
Illustrations.
and A.
J.
WILSON
is. ; cloth,
is. iyd.
With Numerous
" The treatise
Paper,
cycling."
Wheeling.
directions are clearly expressed."
and
its
Sporting Life. " Will be of great value both to beginners and devotees of the wheel."
Whitehall Review,
"The Game
By
T. F.
of Polo"
''
DALE
{''
Stoneclink" 0/
The
FieW)
Demy
"A
Svo
. .
.
Fully Illustrated
0e Guinea net
handsome volume. The author, ' Stoneclink,' of The Field, is one of the reco;;n'eJ authorities of the sport, and what he does not know about it is not knowledge." Pall Mall Gazette. " A book which is likely to rank as the standard work on the subject." Morning Post. " The author writes in a pleasant, spirited style, and may be taken as an admirable guide. A really charming addition to the library of those who are devoted to the game." The Globe.
...
Archibald Constable
<2f
Co.'s List
New
Popular
OF THE
Edition
Works of
George Meredith
Crown
?>vo.
6/- each
Partridge, Harrison
Miller and
Others.
The Ordeal
Feverel
of Richard
{Ready.
One
of
Our
Con-
querors
Rhoda Fleming
Sandra Belloni
VittOria
[Ready.
[Ready.
Aminta
[Ready.
The
Amazing
Mar-
Diana of the
ways
Cross[Ready.
riage
The
The
Shaving of Shag-
The The
Egoist
[just Ready.
pat
Evan Harrington
Adventures
of
Tragic
Come-
dians
Harry Richmond
Beauchamp's Career
Short Stories
Poems
THIS BOOK
20m-6,'62(09211s4)476
IIIIIIIIIIHIII