Paradiso: Canto XIV
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From
centre unto
rim, from rim to
centre,
In a round
vase the water moves itself,
As from without 'tis
struck or from within.
Into my mind upon a sudden
dropped
What I am saying, at the moment when
Silent became the glorious life of
Thomas,
Because of the
resemblance that was born
Of his
discourse and that of
Beatrice,
Whom, after him, it pleased thus to begin:
"This man has need (and does not tell you so,
Nor with the
voice, nor even in his
thought)
Of going to the
root of one truth more.
Declare unto him if the light wherewith
Blossoms your
substance shall remain with you
Eternally the same that it is now;
And if it do remain, say in what manner,
After ye are again made
visible,
It can be that it injure not your sight."
As by a greater
gladness urged and
drawn
They who are
dancing in a ring
sometimes
Uplift their
voices and their
motions quicken;
So, at that
orison devout and
prompt,
The holy
circles a new joy displayed
In their revolving and
their wondrous song.
Whoso
lamenteth him that here we die
That we may live above, has
never there
Seen the
refreshment of the
eternal rain.
The One
and Two and Three who ever liveth,
And
reigneth ever in Three and Two and One,
Not
circumscribed and all
things circumscribing,
Three several times was
chanted by each one
Among those spirits, with such
melody
That for all
merit it were just
reward;
And, in the
lustre most divine of all
The lesser ring, I heard a
modest voice,
Such as perhaps the
Angel's was to
Mary,
Answer: "As long as the
festivity
Of
Paradise shall be, so long our love
Shall radiate round about us such a
vesture.
Its brightness is
proportioned to the ardour,
The
ardour to the vision; and the
vision
Equals what grace it has
above its worth.
When,
glorious and sanctified,
our flesh
Is
reassumed, then
shall our persons be
More pleasing by their being all
complete;
For will
increase whate'er bestows on us
Of
light gratuitous the
Good Supreme,
Light which enables us to look on
Him;
Therefore the
vision must
perforce increase,
Increase the
ardour which from that is
kindled,
Increase the
radiance which from this
proceeds.
But even as a
coal that sends forth flame,
And by its
vivid whiteness overpowers it
So that its own
appearance it maintains,
Thus the
effulgence that surrounds us now
Shall be o'erpowered in aspect by the
flesh,
Which still to-day the earth doth cover up;
Nor can so great a
splendour weary us,
For strong will be the organs of the body
To
everything which hath the power to
please us."
So sudden and alert
appeared to me
Both one and the other
choir to say
Amen,
That well they showed desire for their
dead bodies;
Nor sole for them perhaps, but for the
mothers,
The fathers, and
the rest who had been dear
Or ever they became
eternal flames.
And lo! all round about of equal
brightness
Arose a
lustre over what was there,
Like an horizon that is
clearing up.
And as at rise of early eve begin
Along the
welkin new
appearances,
So that the sight seems real and
unreal,
It seemed to me that new
subsistences
Began there to be seen, and make a
circle
Outside the other two
circumferences.
O 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.
Then to uplift
themselves mine eyes resumed
The power, and I beheld myself translated
To higher salvation with my
Lady only.
Well was I ware that I was more uplifted
By the
enkindled smiling of the star,
That seemed to me more ruddy than its wont.
With all my heart, and in that dialect
Which is the same in all, such
holocaust
To
God I made as the new grace beseemed;
And not yet from my bosom was exhausted
The ardour of sacrifice, before I knew
This offering was accepted and
auspicious;
For with so great a
lustre and so red
Splendours appeared to me in twofold rays,
I said: "O
Helios who dost so adorn them!"
Even as distinct with less and greater lights
Glimmers between the two
poles of the world
The
Galaxy that maketh
wise men doubt,
Thus
constellated in the depths of
Mars,
Those rays described the
venerable sign
That quadrants joining in a
circle make.
Here doth my
memory overcome my
genius;
For on that cross as levin gleamed forth
Christ,
So that I cannot find ensample
worthy;
But he who takes his cross and
follows Christ
Again will pardon me what I omit,
Seeing in that
aurora lighten
Christ.
From horn to horn, and 'twixt the top and base,
Lights were in motion, brightly
scintillating
As they together met and passed each other;
Thus level and
aslant and swift and slow
We here behold, renewing still the sight,
The
particles of bodies long and short,
Across the sunbeam move, wherewith is listed
Sometimes the shade, which for their own defence
People with cunning and with art contrive.
And as a
lute and
harp, accordant strung
With many
strings, a
dulcet tinkling make
To him by whom the notes are not
distinguished,
So from the lights that there to me
appeared
Upgathered through the cross a melody,
Which
rapt me, not distinguishing the hymn.
Well was I ware it was of lofty laud,
Because there came to me, "
Arise and conquer!"
As unto him who hears and
comprehends not.
So much
enamoured I became therewith,
That until then there was not anything
That e'er had
fettered me with such sweet bonds.
Perhaps my word
appears somewhat too bold,
Postponing the delight of those fair eyes,
Into which gazing my
desire has rest;
But who bethinks him that the living seals
Of every
beauty grow in power ascending,
And that I there had not turned
round to those,
Can me excuse, if I myself accuse
To excuse myself, and see that I speak truly:
For here the holy joy is not
disclosed,
Because
ascending it becomes more pure.
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