Contents:
Vorrei se tanto desiar mi lice, Essere in Ciel con Dio sempre felice. Intellect Every heart loves good, no-one wants to suffer pains: And I that so love the good, from the depth of my heart call, alas, who can satisfy these eager wishes of mine? No, no, they cannot satisfy me: But what does it give me if it makes me want more? But what does it delight me. One thing I should wish, that alone can satisfy my feelings: I should wish in my heart to have that good that holds all other in itself: I should wish, if such desire is allowed me, to be in Heaven happy for ever with God.
Corpo Anima mia che pensi? Anima Vorrei riposo e pace; Vorrei diletto e gioia, E trovo affanno e noia. Corpo Ecco i miei sensi prendi Qui ti riposa, e godi In mille vari modi. Corpo Prendi gli honor del Mondo, Qui gioir quanto vuoi, Qui saziar ti puoi. E come in me potrei Quetar gli affetti miei? Corpo Lasso, che di noi fia! Se ritrosa sei tanto, Starenci senpre in pianto?
Hor segui il voler mio, Et amendue riposerenci in Dio. Il senso mi trasporta. Misero che far deggio? Body My soul, what are you thinking? Why are you so in travail. Always sighing in woe? Soul I would have repose and peace; I would have love and joy, and I find anxiety and trouble. Body Here, take my senses which will give you repose and joy in a thousand different ways. Soul I do not want to drink these waters, that inflame more greatly my burning thirst. Body Take the honours of the World, to enjoy as much as you want, that can satisfy you.
Soul No, no, I know through experience how much bitter wormwood is covered by its false honey. Body Soul, than every other thing you are fairer and more lovely: Soul Now I myself do not: Body Then what can we do! If you are so unwilling, shall we always stand, complaining? Soul This no, if you listen to me, And gaze with me on higher desires. Earth, why do you draw me down to earth?
Now follow my wish, and let us repose together in God. Who will counsel me? And which of the two should I cling to? Soul comforts me, sense transports me, my flesh tempts me, the eternal frightens me: Should I turn to the worse? No, no, that is not right for a deceiving taste, for my brief pleasure, to lose Heaven, eternal Life, and God.
Well then, my Soul, in company with you I will search with love for Heaven, eternal life, and my Lord. Apre la man divina il gran Signore, E le sue gratie imparte: Chorus Merciful Heaven every grace and favour pours out here below and bestows: His face is kind, his brow ever serene, he looks down, hears and answers: Celebrate the Lord on organs and strings, drum, lutes and trumpets, sing together in harmony the psalm, the hymn, let the height re-echo with the sound: Let every tongue together bless the Lord for he is good. Atto II Scena 1. E con arte e inganno Spesso cader ci fanno: Ma felice chi strinse Il suo nemico e vinse, Che in premio se li dona Nel Ciel scettro, e corona.
Counsel Our life on earth is no other than war: So let the one chosen as a soldier arm his brow and breast; take the mail-coat of faith, and come to the battle for every man, who has given himself to God must needs be tempted: Chorus O what great errors and darkness cast shadow on human minds! O in what great abysses lie hearts ever deluded! What enchantment, what fascination attacks and holds the heart, that it takes poison for food and gives death to the soul?
Piacere Chi gioia vuol, chi brama Gustar spassi e piacere Mentre il tempo lo chiama. Venga, venga a godere, Getti gli affanni suoi. Corra a gioir con noi. Gli Augelli pargoletti, Cantan su gli arbuscelli: I pesci semplicetti Guizzano pei ruscelli, E invitano al piacere Con numerose schiere. Corpo A questi suoni e canti. Alma, muover mi sento. Come la foglia al vento. Anima Come ti cangi presto? Piacere, e compagni O canti, o risi, o gratiosi amori. Pleasure He who wants joy, who desires to taste jests and pleasure while time calls.
Come, come and enjoy, cast aside your troubles. Run and be joyful with us. The little birds sing on the trees: The grassy meadows laugh that have coloured clothing; the woods and shady groves are happy and make festival: Body To these sounds and songs, Soul, I feel myself moved like a leaf in the wind. Soul How do you so quickly change? Be strong and do not fear, this is false pleasure. Pleasure, and companions O songs, O laughter, O pleasant loves, fresh waters, soft meadows, serene breezes, pleasing harmonies, that delight hearts, banquets, suppers and tasty dinners, fair clothing, and delightful scents, triumphs and festival full of merriment, delight, taste, joy and pleasure, blessed the soul that can enjoy them.
Li vostri inganni io so: Tutte le vostre cose Che paion dilettose, Al fin son tutte amare. Piacere, e compagni Cacciate via i pensieri Torbidi, tristi e neri. Anima Via, via false sirene. Di frodi, e inganni piene, Il fin del vostro canto, Occupa sempre il pianto: Piacere, e compagni Hor poi che non vi aggrada La lieta compagnia. Che per aver contento. Verranno a cento, a cento. Soul I do not believe it, no, no! I know your deceits: Blessed the soul that knows how to do without.
Pleasure, and companions Chase away the thoughts so disturbed, sad and black. Open, open your breast to pleasure and to delight. Open, open your heart to joy and to love, sweet delight that makes glad the breast, tender ardour that makes the heart rejoice. Soul Away, away, false Sirens, full of fraud and deceits, the end of your singing is always full of weeping: Pleasure, and companions Since it is not pleasing to you our cheerful company, we shall take our way where others may desire: Vediam quel che risponde. Ecco io raccolgo intero Fuggi vano piacer, ama Dio vero.
Body I do not know if it was good to leave aside such pleasure as the World holds. Soul I will ask Heaven which never hides the truth. We shall see what it answers. Does the wise man love worldly pleasure, or flee? Flee What thing is the man who seeks and seeks in vain? Vain Who gives death to the heart with displeasure? Pleasure How does he obtain life who life does love? God Then he will die who desires pleasure, truly? Truly Now what Heaven has said see, I put together for you, flee vain pleasure, love God truly.
Angelo Custode Fortissimi guerrieri. Altra pugna vi resta Faticosa e molesta, Ma non temete punto, Che son per voi qui giunto. Choro Altri doman le fiere. Guardian Angel Strongest warriors, who have proud enemies chased away, the Lord has sent me here that in every brave enterprise your heart will be comforted.
Another fight remains for you wearying and troublesome, but do not for a moment fear, for I have joined you here. And in every strange event I will hold out to you my hand. Chorus Some tame the proud, some triumph over haughty people, but above every warrior is the brave man who conquers his flattering senses.
Mondo Io son, io son il Mondo, Che di grandezza abondo: Miei son tutti i thesori, Tutti gli argenti e gli ori. Tutto nel seno accoglio, E lo dono a chi voglio. Vita mondana Io son la cara vita Tanto da voi gradita. State aspettando forsi, Quando sian gli anni scorsi? Quando la chioma imbianca, Quando la vita manca?
World I am, I am the World, that abounds in grandeur: Great riches, famous things of beauty, worthy princedoms, powerful kingdoms: Body Soul, I hear great things, if World is telling the truth, I would change my mind. Soul I too am thinking if together I could serve the World and God. Guardian Angel You cannot have two hearts and serve two Lords, for one rules in one way, the other has opposite laws; serve only the powerful Lord God.
World What the earth has, what the sea girdles and holds, and where Heaven stretches, all is under me: I bring together all in my bosom and I give it to whom I want. Worldly Life I am dear life so pleasing to you. Fair, lovely and charming, cheerful, and confident, that give readily whatever I have of what is fair and good: I will give you long days, and with cheerfulness: When the hair grows white and life is over?
Alma, al nemico ardente, Rispondi arditamente. Prendete il ben presente, Vivete allegramente. Ben ti conosco ai panni. Guardian Angel Whoever attends well, it is not all gold that glitters: Soul, to the ardent enemy answer with ardour. Soul I who bear with me the image of the King, I, made with honour, like my Maker, what have I to do with the World, that passes, and falls to the bottom? World Look at my aspect, I give what I promise: Soul I that am spirit, and mind, that last eternally, what have I to do with life that soon is gone?
World You would do well if you argued no more. Guardian Angel This wicked ingrate is covered in mud! This false and lascivious creature is death, that seems alive! Now come, and see the World and what life and the World is. Strip this wicked one and see what your heart does not believe. Body Take off this guise, I want to see you. World Alas, the angelic strength how does it act with force upon me? Body O how the world is all poor and ugly! I know you well by these rags, no more, no more again do you deceive me.
Chorus O wretched lovers, who to the World give your hearts, see how vile is that which seemed to you fine: Angelo custode Dispoglia anco costei. Corpo Ahi miserabil sorte! O quanta nebbia e ombra Gli occhi mortali ingombra! Guardian Angel Strip that one too. Worldly Life Ah me, I would not have that. Body Alas, wretched fate! Then is life death? Then is human life death reclothed? Guardian Angel Now you have discovered deception covered over, with contemptuous hand chase her far away. Soul, and Body together Away, away, deceiving World, away, away, fleeting Life, go and find fools whose eyes are dazzled: O what cloud and shadow obstructs mortal eyes!
Guardian Angel To the brave conqueror honour is due, honour that is prepared in Heaven, that makes him blessed: Angels in Heaven, that opens Come, beloved, to Heaven, come blessed ones, for these fair abodes were made for you above the stars: One of the Chorus After brief toils to be able from cold and ice to leap up blessed, to Heaven, to the everlasting honours from the World, full of evils, is the possible lot of mortals.
Chorus Is the possible lot of mortals. Two of the Chorus After trials man, frail and beggared but a friend to virtue to be able to leap up on high, where there are immortal riches is the possible lot of mortals. Chorus From earthly abysses, Where death reigns, To be able to leap up, perchance, To the highest eternal kingdoms That have no other equals, Is the possible lot of mortals.
To love eternal good, To leap up to Heaven above, To flee the evils of the World Is the possible fate of mortals. Counsel Then flee Hell, where every evil dwells, where is the immortal worm. Intellect Leap up then to Heaven, where songs are heard of the angels and of the saints. Counsel Then flee Hell, where the voices are heard of the cruel angels. Chorus The helmsman avoids the destructive proud storm of the sea, but rather must one avoid the scorn and anger of Heaven. Intellect In Heaven there is always cheerfulness, in Heaven there is always light, that shines eternally.
Counsel Hell is fear, Hell is sorrow, darkness, and horror. Intellect In Heaven are riches, in Heaven are treasures and everlasting honours. Counsel In Hell always there is misery and shame, disgrace and poverty. Com' allo re eh' in suo voler ne invoglia. The use is a little different from that in Purg. Che caritate a suo piacer conforma. Dal mondo, per seguirla, giovinetta Fuggimmi, e nel suo abito mi chiusi, E promisi la via della sua setta. Clara was born of a noble family at Assisi, She attached herself to her fellow-citizen St. Francis, and under his direction founded the order which goes by her name.
Afterwards men more used to ill than to good carried me away forth of the sweet cloister; God knows of what sort was my life thereafter! She was a Sister, and in this wise from her head was taken the shade of the sacred coif. Dio lo si sa, qual poi mia vita fusi. By him she became the mother of Frederick II. He rather mixes up the genealogy of the family. This is the light of the great Constance, who by the second whirlwind of Suabia gave birth to the third, and the last power.
My sight which followed her so long as was possible after it lost her turned to the mark of greatest desire, and converged wholly upon Beatrice ; but she flashed so in my gaze that at first the sight endured it not ; and that made me more slow at asking. Non fu dal vel del cuor giammai disciolta.
Come per acqua cupa cosa grave. Federigo di Soave, ultimo imperadore e re de' Romani ultimo, dico, per rispetto al tempo presente, non ostante che Ridolfo e Adolfo e Alberto poi eletti sieno. Dante falls into doubt concerning two matters: Beatrice resolves both questions. Between two foods, distant and moving in like measure, a man being free would die of hunger, before he should bring one to his teeth. So would a lamb stand between two ravening fierce wolves, fearing equally; so would a hound stand between two does. It is at least as old as Aristotle, who in De Caelo ii. I held my peace, but my desire was depicted on my face, and my demand with it in far warmer colours than by distinct speech.
So did Beatrice as did Daniel, in easing Nebuchadnezzar of wrath which had made him unjustly cruel ; and said: Dalli miei dubbj d' un modo sospinto, , Poich' era necessario, ne commendo. The allusion is to Dan. Thou debatest ; if the good will endures, by what reason does another's violence diminish the measure of desert in me? Further it gives thee occasion for doubting, that the souls appear to return to the stars, according to the opinion of Plato.
These are the questions which are thrusting with equal force in thy will ; and therefore I will first treat of that which has most of gall. Se il buon voler dura. La violenza altrui per qual ragione 20 Di meritar mi scema la misura? Parer tornarsi 1' anime alle stelle, Secondo la sentenza di Platone. Dante's doubt arises, as P. But all make the first circle beautiful, and have a life diversely sweet, through feeling more and less the eternal breath. Ma tutti fanno bello il primo giro, E differentemente han dolce vita.
Corticelli notes vuogli as an old form. Nevertheless, the degree of their blessedness differs 1. This has been from early times the interpretation of such expressions in N. Thus it behoves to speak to your wit, seeing that only from an object of sense does it apprehend that which it afterwards makes meet for intelligence.
For this cause the Scripture condescends to your faculty, and attributes feet and hands to God, and understands something else ; and holy Church represents to you with human likeness Gabriel and Michael, and the other who made Tobias whole again. That which Timaeus reasons about the souls is not like to what is seen here, — for it seems that as he says he thinks. Thomas modifies it slightly: Observe that Dante confuses Tobit with Tobias. And haply his own opinion is otherwise than his words sound, and it may be that it is with intent not to be mocked.
If he means that to these wheels returns the honour of their influence and the blame, haply his bow strikes upon some truth. This principle ill-understood has already turned aside the whole world almost, so that it has gone astray to give the names of Jove Mercury and Mars. Credendo quella quindi esser decisa, Quando natura per forma la diede. S' egli intende tornare a queste ruote L' onor dell' influenza e il biasmo, forse In alcun vero suo arco percuote.
Anima est forma substantialis hominis, etc. Thompson's note to Archer Butler, vol. For the use of jwn in comparative sentences see Diez iii. Scartazzini says "to call upon," referring to Genesis iv. There is clearly an allusion to St. That our justice should appear unjust in the eyes of mortals is argument of faith and pertains not to heretic pravity. Taking them in connection with those that precede and follow, we see clearly their general drift, viz.
This is of course the reason why this second doubt "ha men velen," no theological error being involved in it 1. But how can any doubt on this matter be an " argomento" of faith? The solution is, I think, to be sought in a phrase of Aquinas, S. To find apparent injustice in certain of God's dealings is not a matter of heresy, its discussion is even a possible aid to faith. But as it is a matter which reason can deal with, I will explain the case before us.
In order that an action may be blameless it is not sufficient that it should be involuntary, or done under constraint of violence, i. Duplex est actus voluntatis: Alius autem est actus voluntatis a voluntate imperatus et mediante alia potentia exercitus. Wherefore, if it bends little or much, it follows the force ; and so did these when they might have returned to the sacred place. If their will had remained whole, as it held Laurence on the gridiron and made Mutius stern to his own hand, so it would have hurried them back by the way whence they were dragged, as soon as they were loosed ; but so stout a will is too rare.
And by these words, if thou hast gathered them up as thou oughtest, is the argument quashed, which would have annoyed thee many times yet. Se mille volte violenza il torza. Aquinas takes the example of a stone thrown upwards, its nature being to descend ; Dante, as elsewhere, takes fire forced down- wards. I have put it for certain into thy mind that a soul in bliss could not lie, inasmuch as it is ever near to the primal truth. And then it was possible for thee to hear from Piccarda that Constance retained her love for the veil ; so that she appears in this to be at variance with me.
Many times already, brother, has it befallen that in order to shun danger, against his will a man has done Ma or ti s' attraversa un altro passo Dinanzi agli occhi tal. Beatrice meets a possible objection: In regard to this point I wish thee to think that the force mingles itself with the will, and they act so that the offences cannot be excused. Will absolute consents not to the wrong, but it does consent to it in so far as it fears if it draws back, to fall into a greater distress.
Wherefore, when Piccarda uses that expression, she means Si fe di quel che far non si convenne: Vogha assoluta non consente al danno: Quod per metum fit, simpliciter volun- tarium est, secundum quid autem involuntarium. Id enim quod per metum agitur in se consideratum non est voluntarium, sed fit voluntarium in casu, scilicet ad vitandum malum quod timetur ; sed si quis recte con- sideret, magis sunt hujusmodi voluntaria quam involuntaria.
I see well that our intellect is never sated, if the True illuminate it not, out- side of whom no truth has space. In that it reposes, as a creature in a den, so soon as it has reached it; and it can reach it — if not each desire would be in vain. Tal pose in pace uno ed altro disio. O amanza del primo amante, o diva.
Io veggio ben, che giammai non si 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 1' ha: This invites me, this makes me bold, with reverence. Lady, to ask you of another truth which is obscure to me. I would know if one can so make satisfaction for broken vows with other good deeds, that they shall not be wanting in your balance. MI diedi le reni.
The commentators contend as to the literal or figurative application of these words, chiefly, it would appear, on the ground that Dante would not be guilty of the bad manners of turning his back on a lady. Beatrice shows how no other service can compensate for the breach of religious vows, because the freedom of the will is the greatest of God's gifts. Afterwards they rise to the second heaven, of Mercury. Et propter hoc Philosophus dicit 9. Ethic, quod visio corporalis est principium amoris sensitivi ; et simi- liter contemplatio spiritualis pulchritudinis vel bonitatis est principium amoris spiritualis.
Sic igitur cognitio est causa amoris ea ratione qua et bonum, quod non potest amari nisi cognitum. I see well how already shines in thy intellect the eternal light, which when seen, alone ever kindles love ; and if aught else leads your love astray, it is nought but some vestige of that, ill- recognised, which there shines through.
The reference would seem to be to Eth. Thus Beatrice meets Dante's desire for more Ivnowledge with an assurance of her own perfect knowledge, which again gives rise to perfect love. The emphasis is on sempre ; God alone is the one object which is always desired when seen. There is something to be said for the reading, "vi sta sola, e sempre. Now will Che r anima sicuri di litigio. The idea is the same as in Micah vi. In almost identical words, De Mon. The argument in the following passage, that free- will being the greatest of human possessions, and the monastic vows being the sacrifice of this, no other sacrifice can compensate for the breach of those vows, appears to be Dante's own.
No trace of it is to be found in S. Therefore what can be rendered for recom- pense? If thou thinkest to make a good use of that which has been offered, thou art desiring to make a good work of a bad gain. Che Dio consenta, quando tu consenti: Che nel fermar tra Dio e T uomo il patto. Vittima fassi di questo tesoro. Tal qual io dico, e fassi col suo atto. Se credi bene usar quel eh' hai offerto. Di mal tolletto vuoi far buon lavoro. The male tolte of the Middle Ages is well known. But how then can the Church dispense?
Two things combine to the essence of this sacrifice ; the one is that in respect of which it is made ; the other is the agreement. This last is never cancelled, if not kept, and it is about it that my words above are so precise ; for this cause the offering only was Convienti ancor sedere un poco a mensa. Apri la mente a quel eh' io ti paleso, 40 E fermalvi entro: Due cose si convengono all' essenza Di questo sacrificio: Plato Phaedo 96 B and Menon 98 A. The vow must be kept, though the matter may be changed ; but this only on condition that what is offered in exchange be of greater value than that originally proposed.
In the case of the monastic vows, as explained above, this cannot happen, and therefore, as St. II also holds, "in voto [se. The other, which has been explained to thee as the material, can well be of such a nature that no failure should result if it be exchanged with other material. Ma non trasmuti carco alla Stia spalla Per suo arbitrio alcun, senza la volta E della chiave bianca e della gialla: Ed ogni permutanza credi stolta. The offerings that might be commuted were the first-born of unclean beasis and of men; see also Exodus xiii. This is undoubtedly a subjunctive ;.
There seems no difficulty in taking it as hom fallire. For this cause whatsoever thing weighs so much by its own value that it drags down every balance cannot be redeemed with other expense. Let not mortals take the vow jestingly ; be faithful, and not purblind in doing this, as was Jephthah at his first offering ; whom it behoved rather to say ' I did ill ' than in keeping his vow to do worse. Mal feci, Che servando far peggio: Omnis autem ponderatio non est digna con- tmentis animae.
This is the usual, if not invariable rule. Christians, be you of more weight to be moved ; be not like a feather to every wind ; and deem not that every water may wash you.
Ye have the old and the new Testament, and the pastor of the Church who guides you ; let this suffice you to your salvation. If evil concupiscence cries aught else to you, be men and not senseless cattle, so that the Jew among you laugh not at you. Do not as a lamb which leaves its mother's milk, and simple and sportive fights with itself at its own pleasure.
Non siate come penna ad ogni vento, E non crediate eh' ogni acqua vi lavi. Avete il vecchio e il nuovo Testamento, E il Pastor della Chiesa che vi guida: Questo vi basti a vostro salvamento. Se mala cupidigia altro vi grida, Uomini siate, e non pecore matte, There does not seem to be any special signi- ficance in this expression.
It is most likely a reminiscence of the Lucretian "aspectuque suo lacrimas effundere cives. Her hush and the change of her countenance imposed silence on my craving intellect, which already had new questions before it. And as an arrow, which strikes upon the mark before the bow-string is at rest, so sped we into the second realm.
Here I saw my Lady so joyous, as she entered the light of that heaven, that the planet grew more lucent therefrom. It is pretty clear that it can neither mean "towards the equator," where, as we read in Conv. In any case it only means "she looked upwards. As in a stew, which is calm and clear, the fish draw to that which from without comes in such a way that they deem it their food ; so did I see, ay, more than a thousand splendours draw toward us, and in each was heard, "Lo one who will increase our loves. This line is explained by Pg. O bene nato, a cui veder li troni Del trionfo eternai concede grazia Prima che la milizia s' abbandoni ; Del lume, che per tutto il ciel si spazia, Noi semo accesi: Di' di' Sicuramente, e credi come a Dii.
This is the Emperor Justinian. Che si vela a mortai con gli altrui raggi. Questo diss' io diritto alla lumiera, Che pria m' avea parlato: The difference is only between jPprio and prTo. This of course would mean " in the light of God. This seems conclusive in favour of corruscan ; though many read e' sc. It is no doubt the genuine form, being from iste ipse. Justinian the Emperor recounts in brief the history of the Roman Empire, and speaks of the divisions that are troubling it.
He tells Dante that in this sphere are the souls of those who have sought honour in the active life. Constantine moved the seat of the Roman Empire eastward to Byzantium in A. Justinian became emperor in Aeneas, whom Dante, following Virgil, regards as the founder of the Roman power. Those of the Troad, over against Byzantium.
Che Domenico mena per cammino, U' ben s' impingua, se non si vaneggia. He joined the Dominican order, studied at Padua, taught at Paris and Cologne, was for a short time Bishop of Ratisbon, and died at Cologne in Guardian Angel Now you have discovered deception covered over, with contemptuous hand chase her far away. Our host Theatre is State funded, and we do not expect additional public funding for this new venture against the current background of annual cuts in arts budgets, international sanctions etc. Se mala cupidigia altro vi grida.
Caesar I was ; and I am Justinian, that, by will of the primal Love, whom I feel, drew from among the laws the superfluous and the vain. And before I was intent on the work, I used to deem that one nature was in Christ, E sotto r ombra delle sacre penne. Cesare fui, e son Giustiniano, io Che per voler del primo Amor eh' io sento, D' entro alle leggi trassi il troppo e il vano: E prima eh' io all' opra fossi attento. Una natura in Cristo esser, non piue, 7 penne. The idea is the same as Pg. See also Justinian's own words in the Preface to the Institutes: The Emperor's own orthodoxy seems to have been unimpeachable till quite the end of his life, when he lapsed into erroneous views concerning not the nature but the person of Christ.
See Gibbon chap, xlviii. But the blessed Agapetus, who was the chief shepherd, directed me to the untainted faith with his words. I believed him, and that which was in his faith I now see clear, just as thou seest that all contradictories are both false and true. So soon as with the Church I moved my feet, it pleased God of His Credeva, e di tal fede era contento. He probably followed Paulus Diaconus.
Agapetus was only Pope for one year, , just at the time when the Gothic power in Italy was being destroyed by Belisarius ; and the story is that he was sent by Theodatus, the Gothic king, to make terms with Justinian, and so incidentally discovered and reformed the emperor's heterodox views. Ryd's "Catalogus" says: And to my Belisarius I entrusted the wars, to whom the right hand of Heaven was so conjoined as to be a sign that my duty was to stay quiet.
Here then my reply to the first question reaches its point ; but its circumstances con- strain me to pursue some addition to it. In order that thou mayest perceive by how clear a proof he moves against the most holy ensign, both who claims it for his own, and who opposes himself to it, see how great virtue hath made it worthy of reverence; and I begin from the hour when L' alto lavoro, e tutto in lui mi diedi. Or qui alla quistion prima s' appunta La mia risposta, ma sua condizione Mi stringe a seguitare alcuna giunta.
I have preferred to take it as e. Observe that this passage alone upsets the ordinary notion of Dante as a Ghibeline partisan. Pallas died to give it a kingdom. Thou knowest that it made in Alba its dwelling-place for three hundred years and more, until the end when the three fought the three, for its sake still. Thou knowest what it did from the wrong of the Sabine women up to the woe of Lucretia, in seven kings, conquering the neighbour folk around. See again De Mon. The instances given in the following lines are mostly too well known to require reference or explanation.
It brought to earth the pride of the Arabs, who in Hannibal's train passed the Alpine cliffs, whence thou, Po, gHdest. Under it in their youth triumphed Scipio and Pompey, and to that hill beneath which thou wast born, it appeared harsh. Afterwards, hard upon the time when the heaven wholly willed to bring back the world to its tranquil order, Caesar by the will of Rome bare it ; and what it Negletto fu nomato, e Deci, e Fabi Ebber la fama, che volentier mirro.
Sott' esso giovanetti trionfare Scipione e Pompeo, ed a quel colle, Sotto il qual tu nascesti, parve amaro. Poi presso al tempo, che tutto il Ciel volle Ridur lo mondo a suo modo sereno, Cesare per voler di Roma il tolle: S7 tolle must be formed directly from tulit not, as Scart. That which it did after he issued from Ravenna and leapt the Rubicon, was of such a flight that neither tongue nor pen would follow it. Toward Spain it turned back its array, then to Dyrrhachium, and smote Pharsalia so that to the hot Nile they were aware of the smart. In ver la Spagna rivolse lo stuolo: E mal per Tolommeo poi si riscosse.
These three lines allude, of course, to Caesar's campaigns in Gaul. He is probably thinking of Lucan ix. Circuit exustae nomen venerabile Trojae. Phryx incola manes Hectoreos calcare vetat. Of what it did in the company of its next bearer, Brutus with Cassius howls in Hell, and Modena and Perugia were brought to woe.
Still weeps for its cause the sad Cleopatra, who flying before it received from the viper her death sudden and dark. Piangene ancor la trista Cleopatra, Che, fuggendogli innanzi, dal colubro La morte prese subitana ed atra. Con costui corse insino al lito rubro ; Con costui pose il mondo in tanta pace, 80 Che fu serrato a Giano il suo delubro. Because Justinian, an Eastern emperor, is speaking to the Italian Dante. He alludes to the battle of Munda. Some object to this rendering of latra, that Brutus is expressly stated "non far motto. Probably sug- gested, as Scartazzini notes, by Aeneid viii.
But that which the ensign which makes me speak had done before and after was about to do through the mortal realm which is subject to it, becomes in appearance little and obscure, if it be looked at in the third Caesar's hand with clear eye and pure affection; for the living justice which inspires me granted to it, in the hand of him whom I say, the glory of working vengeance for his wrath. Fatto avea prima, e poi era fatturo Per lo regno mortai eh' a lui soggiace, Diventa in apparenza poco e scuro.
Se in mano al terzo Cesare si mira, Con occhio chiaro e con affetto puro: Gli concedette, in mano a quel eh' io dico, Gloria di far vendetta alla sua ira. Tiberius, under whom Christ was crucified. The argument is that of De Mon. Si romanum imperium de jure non fuit, peccatum Adae in Christo non fuit punitum. Si ergo sub ordinario judice Christus passus non fuisset, ilia poena punitio non fuisset ; et judex ordinarius esse non poterai, nisi supra totum humanum genus jurisdictionem habens. Et supra totum humanum genus Tiberius Caesar, cujusvicarius erat Pilatus, jurisdictionem non habuisset, nisi romanum imperium de jure fuisset.
I have followed the usual rendering, which however is not quite satisfactory, for Justinian is not repeating anything that he has said. In the terms of Roman law the statemerit of the plaintiff's case as sent by the magistrate to the judge, was intentio. E quando il dente Longobardo morse La santa Chiesa, sotto alle sue ali Carlo Magno, vincendo, la soccorse. If the plaintiff answered, this was replication "quia per earn replicatur et resolvitur jus excep- tionis.
Here we have a pretty close parallel, which is set out more fully in the next Canto, God has a controversy with the Jews for the death of Christ. The plea in answer is that this was the appointed atonement for man's fall. The replication enforced by the punishment of the Jews at the hands of Titus, would be that this in no way affected their guilt in crucifying an innocent person.
It is referred to in De Mon. The one to the public ensign opposes the yellow lilies, and the other appropriates it to a party, so that it is hard to see which errs the most. Let the Ghibelines work, let them work their arts under another ensign, for he ever follows that amiss, who separates justice Che son cagion di tutti i vostri mah.
L' uno al pubblico segno i gigli gialli loo Oppone, e T altro appropria quello a parte. At the same time the notion of "magnus" must have come in very early, for King Magnus the Good, from whom the name has become popular in Scandinavia, was named after the emperor, and he was born in Their regular ensign, however, as Villani tells us vii. To this they added " uno giglietto vermiglio sopra il capo dell' aquila.
Nor let this new Charles beat it down with his Guelfs, but let him have a fear of the talons that have dragged the hide from a more exalted lion. Many times ere now have the sons wept for the father's sin, and let him not deem that God is changing His arms for his lilies. With all deference to Herr Witte there can be no allusion to Charles of Valois, who had not come at the lime when Justinian is supposed to be speaking.
The word esto alone precludes this idea.
Possibly the allusion is only to the various exploits of the eagle mentioned above ; but Dante may have more specially intended to refer to the defeats which Charles of Anjou suffered in his later years, e. It is clear that Dante had a great respect for the elder Charles personally. Witte treats this as impersonal, "let it not be thought"; but in that case "suoi" becomes intolerably harsh, lax as are the modem languages in their use of the reflexive pronoun.
There is no difficulty in taking si as pleonastic. I have followed Bianchi and Philalethes. The meaning is obviously "armorial bearings," though Buti and Veil, seem to take it as "weapons. And when the desires rest here, thus going astray, it is meet that the rays of the true love should rest there- upon with less of life. But in the proportioning of our wages with our desert, is a portion of our joy, because we see them to be not too small nor too great.
Hence the living justice makes our affection sweet within us, so that it can never be wrested to any unrighteousness. Divers voices make sweet notes: See for instance Conv. But they of Provence who wrought against him have no laughter ; and so he goes an ill road who makes his own hurt from the prospering of another. Four daughters, and each one a queen, had Raymond Berenger; and this did Romeo for him, a humble person and a stranger.
And afterward slanderous words moved him to demand an account from this just man, who assigned to him seven and five for ten. Thence he departed poor and old j and if the world knew Fu r opra grande e bella mal gradita. Ma i Provenzali, che fer contra lui, Non hanno riso: Indi partissi povero e vetusto: Thence it seems to have acquired a wider signification, as Villani telisi us vi. It seems very uncertain whether his real name has been preserved, though one account speaks of him as najued Romee. Dante, moved by certain words of Justinian, is in doubt concerning God's justice, as displayed in the Redemption of mankind through the Passion of our Lord Christ.
Beatrice resolves this doubt ; and another concerning the dissolution of the elements. Jerome's preface to the Vulgate, where he says that the "books of Kings " are better called " Melachim, id est Regum, quam Malachoth al. Mamlachoth id est Regnorum. This makes other interpretations, such as that Dante meant "works" or "hosts" Philal. I was in doubt, and began to say "Tell her, tell her," within myself: A short while Beatrice endured me in that guise ; and began.
Sopra la qual doppio lume s' addua: Ed essa e 1' altre mossero a sua danza,'' E quasi velocissime faville, Mi si velar di subita distanza. Io dubitava, e dicea: Daniello takes this as merely a reference to v. Scartazzini quotes his own words, from the preface to the Institutes, "imperatoriam majestatem non solum armis decoratam, sed etiam legibus oportet esse armatam.
But I will quickly set loose thy mind ; and do thou listen, for my words shall make thee a gift of a great doctrine. Tal che nel fuoco farla T uom felice: Dante's doubt, arising from Justinian's words in vi. Beatrice replies that qua man, Christ suffered justly; qua God, unjustly.
Passio Christi fuit sacrificii oblatio, inquantum Christus propria voluntate mortem sustinuit ex charitate. Inquantum autem a per- secutoribus est passus, non fuit sacrificium, sed peccatum gravissimum. Adam's sin arose from pride S. Prima inor dinatio appetitus humani fuit ex hoc quod aliquod bonum spirituale inordinate appetiit.
Non autem inordinate appetiisset, appetendo id secundum suam mensuram ex divina regula praestitutam. Unde relinquitur quod primum peccatum hominis fuit in hoc quod appetiit aliquod spirituale bonum supra suam ; id quod pertinet ad superbiam ; and it concerned the will, la virtu che vuole S. Con r atto sol del suo eterno amore. Or drizza il viso a quel che si ragiona ; e Ella n. For the present purpose it will be sufficient to quote from A. Quia natura humana sic unitur Verbo, ut Verbum in ea subsistat, non autem ut aliquid addatur ei ad rationem suae naturae, vel ut ejus natura in aliud transmutetur ; ideo unio humanae naturae ad Verbum Dei facta est in persona, non in natura.
The term is clearly derived from the Aristotelian metaphysic. This nature, united to its Maker, as it was at its creation was untainted and good. But through itself alone was it banished from Paradise, inasmuch as it turned itself aside from the way of truth and from its life. The penalty then which the cross offered, if it be measured according to the nature assumed, — none ever bit so justly ; and likewise none was of so great injustice, looking to the Person who suffered, in whom such nature was bound up.
E cosi nulla fu di tanta ingiura, Guardando alla persona, che sofferse, In che era contratta tal natura. Filius Dei humanam naturam integram assumpsit. Observe the distinction between natura and 1. Persona est naturae rationalis individua substantia. Pater tradidit Christum ex charitate.
Judaei autem ex invidia. Henceforward it should no more seem a great thing to thee, when it is said that a just vengeance was afterward avenged by a just tribunal. Quando si dice, che giusta vendetta 50 Poscia vengiata fu da giusta corte. Ma io veggi' or la tua mente ristretta Di pensier in pensier denteo ad un nodo. Del qual con gran disio solver s' aspetta.
Tanto aliquis modus con- venientior est ad assequendum finem quanto per ipsum plura concurrunt quae sunt expedientia fini ; and he goes on to show that this condition was satisfied by the passion of Christ, since from it man obtained a knowledge of the extent of God's love, an example of obedience, humility, constancy, justice, and other virtues, and deliverance from sin, together with justifying grace and the desert of blessedness ; and further, became the more bound to keep himself pure from sin, while human nature gained in dignity.
This is somewhat expanded by Beatrice in the present passage. This decree, brother, remains buried to the eyes of him whose wit is not full-grown in the flame of love. Nevertheless since at this mark one may gaze long and discern little, I will tell why such a method was most worthy.
The divine Goodness which A nostra redenzion pur questo modo. Man's soul, as the immediate creation of God's love, has the special gifts of immortality, liberty, and likeness to God cf- 2 Cor. Nor can this be regained, save by a penalty equivalent to the offence. But man was not capable of paying such a penalty "quando natura est integra, per seipsam potest reparari ad id quod est sibi conveniens et proportionatum ; sed ad id quod excedit suam proportionem reparari non potest sine exteriori auxilio. Sic igitur humana natura defluens per peccatum, quia non manet integra, sed corrumpitur, non potest per seipsam reparari," S.
Thus the incarnation and passion of Christ were necessary. Quoted from Boethius, Cons. That which from It immediately distils has no end thereafter, because when It seals, Its impress is unmoved. That which from It imme- diately showers is wholly free, because it is not subject to the power of new things.
Signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui, Domine. We must understand cose here in its primary sense of "causes. These, as being created later, are nuove. Signa sunt quae immediate a Deo fiunt ; cum non subdantur secundis causis, non subduntur fato. This, though not usual in Italian, is common in the cognate languages. Of all these things the human creature has the advantage; and if one fails, needs must he fall from his nobility. Sin alone is that which disfranchises him, and makes him unlike to the highest Good, because from Its light he is too little illumined ; and to his own dignity he never comes back, if he does not replenish where sin empties, with just pains against evil enjoyment.
Your nature, when it all sinned in its seed, was removed from these dignities as from Paradise ; nor could it recover them, Di tutte queste cose s' avvantaggia L' umana creatura, e s' una manca, Di sua nobilita convien che caggia. Se non riempie dove colpa vota. Contra mal dilettar con giuste pene. Ne rieovrar poteasi, se tu badi 85 sqq. Excepto huma- nitatis Redemptore omnes homines peccaverunt, quod etiam naturae attribuitur, ej usque peccatum dicitur ; non quod ipsa natura ad imaginem Dei facta illud commiserit, sed quod liberae voluntatis, quae a Deo data est, rationabili bono irrationabilis abusio, et in amorem sensibilium conversio ipsam naturae pulcritudinem.
Fix now thine eye within the abyss of the eternal counsel, applied as straitly to my speech as thou art able. Man could never within his own limits make satisfaction, because he could not descend in humility by subsequent obedience, so far as by disobeying he aimed to rise ; and this is the reason why man was shut off from the power of making satisfaction by himself.
Therefore it became God with His own paths to Ben sottilmente, per alcuna via, Senza passar per un di questi guadi: Ficca mo 1' occhio perentro 1' abisso Dell' eterno consiglio, quanto puoi Al mio parlar distrettamente fisso. Quando disubbidendo intese ir suso: The allusion is to Gen. Aquinas gives the verse, "Omnes Vulg. But whereas the worker's work is the more acceptable in measure as it represents more of the goodness of the heart whence it has issued, the Divine goodness, which sets Its seal on the world, was well pleased to proceed by all Its methods to raise you on high again ; nor between the last night and the first day has there been or will there Riparar 1' uomo a sua intera vita, Dico con r una, o ver con ambedue.
I where the objector is supposed to have quoted Ps. Justitiae quidem ; quia per passionem suam Christus satisfecit pro peccato humani generis. Misericordiae vero; quia cum homo per se satisfacere non posset pro peccato totius humanae naturae Q. The repetition of the phrase seems intended to knit the. For God was more bountiful to give Himself in making man sufficient to raise himself, than if He had of Himself alone remitted the sin. And all other methods were short in respect of justice, save that the Son of God should be humbled to become incarnate.
E tutti gli altri modi erano scarsi Alla giustizia, se il Figliuol di Dio Non fosse umiliato ad incarnarsi. The work of redemption was the greatest possible manifestation of God's mercy, because to enable man to rise, through the sacrifice of Himself, was a greater boon than a free pardon ; of His justice, because nothing but the incarnation of the Son of God could be a full recompense. Sanandae nostrae miseriae convenientior modus alius non fuit quam per Christi passionem.
Beatrice's words in If all that God immediately created is immortal, how is it that the elements and all things compounded of them decay and perish? I see the air, and I see the fire, the earth and the water and all their combina- tions come to destruction and endure but a little: Io veggio 1' aere, io veggio il foco, L' acqua, e la terra, e tutte lor misture Venire a corruzione, e durar poco: E queste cose pur fur creature: Here the paese sincero is, of course, heaven.
The argument of this passage is: God created immediately form and matter only. But matter ' ' is only intelligible as the correlate of form: Consequently neither corruptibility nor incorruptibility can be predicated of it. Thus the only things unsusceptible of corruption in virtue of their immediate creation by God are the heavens, the angels, and human, i. The soul in its lower aspects, nutritive, vegetative, etc. Created was the matter which they have ; created was the informing virtue in these stars which go round about them.
Ma gli elementi che tu hai nomati, E quelle cose, che di lor si fanno. Creata fu la materia eh' egli hanno: But that which is compounded can be destroyed. According to their " complexions " all things have their own potentiality of being affected by the movements of the heavenly bodies. L 4, and of. It is clear, I think, that lo raggio e il moto must be taken as the object and not the subject of tira. But your life the highest Goodness inspires immediately, and enamours it of Itself, so that ever after it desires It.
And hence thou canst further deduce argument for your resurrection, if thou think again how the flesh of man was made at the time when the first parents were both made. E quinci puoi argomentare ancora Vostra resurrezion, se tu ripensi Come r umana carne fessi allora, Che li primi parenti intrambo fensi. The deduction from this of the resurrection of the body appears to be Dante's own ; at any rate it is not formulated by Aquinas. They ascend to the third Heaven, of Venus, wherein are the souls of those who on earth were lovers. Dante talks with the King Charles Mattel, who reproves his own house, and explains how if Nature be thwarted, a good seed may bring forth evil fruit.
The world to its own peril used to deem that the fair one of Cyprus beamed forth the foolish 4ove, turning in the third epicycle ; wherefore not to her only did they pay honour of sacrifices and of votive shouts, the ancient folk in their ancient error, but they honoured Dione and Cupid, her for her SOLEA creder lo mondo in suo periclo, Che la bella Ciprigna il folle amore Raggiasse, volta nel terzo epiciclo ; Per che non pure a lei faceano onore Di sacrifici e di votivo grido Le genti antiche nelF antico errore: I was not conscious of my ascent to it ; but of being in it my Lady gave me assurance enough,.
E da costei, ond' io principio pigHo, io PigHavano il vocabol della stella. Che il sol vagheggia or da coppa or da ciglio. Io non m' accorsi del salire in ella: Ma d' esservi entro mi fece assai fede La donna mia eh' io vidi far pili bella. E come in fiamma favilla si vede b Quella W. The word is usually, if not always, used by Dante of the masculine toward the feminine. The allusion is of course to the fact that Venus, whether preceding or following the sun, is always near him. Da coppa, da ciglio, lit. Strictly speaking, of course, the ap- parent subject is really the object: From a chill cloud never did winds descend, whether visible or not, so swiftly that they would not appear hindered and slow to whosoever had seen these lights divine come towards us, leaving the circling which had been first begun among the Seraphim on high.
We learn from Convito ii. This arrangement, however, differs from that finally adopted by Dante ; see note to xxviii. Then one drew nearer to us, and alone began: Voif che intendendo il terzo del movete: He was born about , was crowned King of Hungary, on the death, without male issue, of his maternal uncle, Ladislas IV. These chapters contain all that is known of this prince, whose early promise so much impressed Dante.
O, in what measure and in what wise did I see it grow more by reason of a new joy which accrued, when I spoke, upon its joys. So fashioned, it said to me: Poscia che gh occhi miei si furo offerti 40 Alla mia donna reverenti, ed essa Fatti gli avea di se contenti e certi, Rivolsersi alla luce, che promessa Tanto s' avea, e: There is supposed to be some difficulty about the change from the singular to the plural, though a similar change is found in Purg. Others again adopt a reading suggested by Daniello in his note, DV chi se' tu.
But there seems no reason why Dante should not ask, "Tell me, who you in this heaven are? My happiness holds me hidden from thee, which beams around me, and covers me like an animal swathed in its own silk. Well didst thou love me, and hadst good reason why: La mia letizia mi ti tien celato, Che mi raggia dintorno, e mi nasconde, Quasi animai di sua seta fasciato. Assai m' amasti, ed avesti bene onde: Witte's view, that this is the last sphere in which the spirits appear with their bodily Hneaments, seems hardly borne out by the text. It is rather the first in which they do not ; showing themselves as lights only.
I should have shown fruits as well. We cannot now tell Dante's reasons for the opinion he formed of Carlo Martello. Their acquaintance must have been made on the occasion of the prince's visit to Florence. E la bella Trinacria, che caliga s Crotona Aid. This is one of the curious reflexive compounds with in almost untranslatable which abound in the Paradise, and scarcely appear at all in the other Cantiche. Doubtless they will here- after serve as arguments for the separate authorship of this portion of the poem.
It is appropriately taken here to denote the extreme limit of the kingdom of Naples to the south, as the Tronto and Verde Garigliano to the north, Bari and Gaeta marking the "upper" and " lower " coasts. It maybe noted that these two towns are almost exactly in the same latitude. All three being on the furthest boundary of the territory are, as it were, suburbs, borghi. Crotona , is in truth a strong argument against it. That of Catania, which is open to the east. As a matter of fact, it was not Typhoeus, but Enceladus whom the ancients fabled to have been buried under Aetna.
Through this the crown of Sicily passed to the House of Aragon, who represented in the female line that of Swabia. It may not be out of place to quote Amari 's estimate of this passage: Observe that in his descendants the con- tending factions would have been united, Rudolf being as Emperor the head of the Ghibelines, and Charles the great champion of the Guelfs. Charles himself seems to have foreseen something of this kind.
Usually, as in Purg. Cruse, following Buti, seems right in rendering "animos addere. His nature which of a lavish Li popoli suggetti, non avesse Mosso Palermo a gridar: Robert, Duke of Calabria, third son of Charles li. We find Robert on more than one occasion after this in command of Aragonese or Catalan forces, whence, no doubt, the allusion in the next line. This may have suggested the metaphor of these lines. T03 one is the niggardly offspring, would have need of such soldiery as should not care to put into coffer. Thou hast made me joyful; and so make me clear, since in speaking thou hast moved me to doubt how from sweet seed bitter can be.
Che il tuo parlar m' infonde, signor mio. S' io posso 1 Dove 3 ; Ove Aid. The historian also, while approving, as do other contemporaries, the general character of Robert, says xii. The Good which sets in revolution and contents all the realm which thou art scaling, makes its foresight to be virtue in these great bodies. And not only the natures are foreseen in the mind which is of itself perfect, but they together with their pre- servation.
Wherefore whatsoever this bow discharges falls disposed to a foreseen end, just as a thing aimed right upon its mark. If this were not so, the heaven where thou Mostrarti un vero, a quel che tu dimandi Terrai il viso, come tieni il dosso. For the metaphor cf. This denotes properly the notch of the arrow Inf. And this cannot be, if the intellects which move these stars are not maimed, and maimed the First, in that He has not perfected them. Wilt thou that this truth dawn more upon thee? Or di', sarebbe il peggio Per r uomo in terra, se non fosse cive? See also De Mon. No, if your master well writes on that point.
No, se il maestro vostro ben vi scrive. Dunque esser diverse Convien dei vostri effetti le radici: The particular passage of Aristotle which Dante has in mind would seem to be Pol. One man is a law-giver, another a tyrant, another a priest or a good king , another a craftsman. In the last there may be a suggestion of the difference between son and father. Daedalus flew, Icarus fell. I07' nature of the spheres, which is seal to the mortal wax, does well its art, but it does not distinguish the one from the other habitation. Hence it happens that Esau is divided in his begetting from Jacob, and Quirinus comes from so mean a father that he is given to Mars.
A nature begotten would always make its course Hke its begetters if the divine foresight were not stronger. Ma non distingue 1' un dall' altro ostello. Natura generata il suo cammino Simil farebbe sempre ai generanti, Se non vincesse il provveder divino. The favourite image; as in i. And if the world below laid its mind to the foundation which nature lays, following her, it would have its folk good. But ye wrest to religion such an one as shall have been born to be girt with the sword, and ye make him a king who is a man of sermons ; wherefore your track is outside of the road.
Dante talks with Cunizza ; and with Folco the troubadour and bishop, who shows him the soul of Rahab. After that thy Charles, fair Clemence, had enlightened me, he recounted to me the treasons which his seed should undergo ; but he said: Taci, e lascia volger gli anni: On the other hand Carlo tuo is an unusual way of speaking of a father to his daughter: For this view we have the support of P.
His words are " fuit uxor Karuli ad quam dirigit sennonem. And by this the life of that holy light had turned back to the Sun which replenishes it, as being that Good, which is to everything in due quantity. Ah, souls deceived and creatures impious, who wrest your hearts from a Good so fashioned, directing the thoughts of your heads unto vanity. Ed ecco un' altro di quegli splendori Ver me si fece, e il suo voler piacermi Significava nel chiarir di fuori.
At this time he was prosperous enough. The eyes of Beatrice which were fixed upon me as before, certified me of a dear assent to my desire. Del suo profondo, ond' ella pria cantava, Seguette, come a cui di ben far giova: GiuL; Ch' i Aid. If possa be taken as a verb, there is nothing to account for the subjunctive ; and further, it is not Dante who reflects his own thought, but the spirit who reflects it back to him.
There does not seem to be any question here of the reflexion of thoughts in the Divine mind as in xv. The reading che possa is found in Gg. There is how- ever some uncertainty about the position of Romano. Lubin under- stands Dante to refer to a point at or near the junction of the territories of Padua, Treviso, and Venice.
No trace of it seems now to exist ; and the view of Philalethes, who with other commentators puts it near Bassano, may arise from a confusion of it with the fortress founded by Ezzelino which still stands in that town. Pietro di Dante, who not improbably died at Treviso, mentions a legend that Ezzelino's mother, shortly before his birth, dreamt that she was brought to bed of a lighted firebrand. His history is too well known to need repetition.
Dante places him among the t nrants in hell, Inf. He died in But gladly I allow to myself the occasion of my lot, and it gives me no annoy, which haply would seem a great thing to your common herd. Of this shining and precious jewel of our heaven which is near to me, a great fame has remained, and before it die, this hundredth year has yet to grow five-fold. See if man has need to make himself excellent, so that the first life may leave a second behind. Ma lietamente a me medesma indulgo La cagion di mia sorte, e non mi noia: Landino's explanation is perhaps better: Sancti in patria erunt ita perfusi gaudio, quod dolor in eis locum habere non poterit ; et ideo de peccatis non dolebunt, sed potius gaudebunt de divina misericordia, qua eis peccata sunt relaxata.
But soon will it come to pass that Padua will discolour at the marsh the water which washes Vicenza, through its folk being unripe for their duty. And where Sile and Cagnano join company, Ne per esser battuta ancor si pente. Philalethes is pro- bably right in his view that it is indicated here merely as the scene of Ezzelino's achievements, and the region in which the speaker's life was chiefly spent. After the death of Ezzelino the Ghibeline cause was for a time under a cloud, and Vicenza became subject to Padua. In however it returned for a while to its former allegiance; but the Paduans seem to have got it back, for in 1 we find the Vicentines treating with the Emperor Henry VII.
Henry ' was not on the best terms with the Paduans ; indeed in the next year they turned out his vicar, and massacred the Ghibelines ; see Villani ix. To this allusion is made in 1. Accordingly Can Grande was appointed imperial vicar of Vicenza, and a war began, which ended in the defeat of the Paduans in 13 The fighting was chiefly near the Bacchiglione, the river on which Vicenza and Padua stand, and which in those days formed a marsh in the low ground between the Monti Berici and Euganei.
Philalethes with some probability identifies the fight here referred to with one that took place in June, 13 Richard of Cammino son of the "good Gerard" of Purg. Feltro will yet bewail the default of its unholy pastor, which shall be so shameful that none ever entered into Malta for the like. Troppo sarebbe larga la bigoncia. The date was 13 They and their companions, to the number of thirty, were executed at Ferrara. After this Feltro passed under the rule of the family of Cammino, and the Bishop is said to have been beaten to death with sandbags.
So say all the early commentators. Scartazzini finds mention in an early chronicler of a tower called Malta, at Viterbo, and assumes this to be referred to here ; but in a maiter of this kind the thirteenth century commentators are most likely to be right. On high are mirrors, ye call them Thrones, whence God in His judgements so beams on us that these words seem to us good. The other joyful one, who already had been marked by me, became a brilliant object in my view, like a fine ruby whereon the Sun should strike. Through rejoicing is bright- ness gained there on high, as laughter here ; but below the shadow is dark outwardly even as the mind is sad.