By now my eyes were set again upon
my lady’s face, and with my eyes, my mind:
from every other thought, it was withdrawn.
4 She did not smile. Instead her speech to me
began: “Were I to smile, then you would be
like Semele when she was turned to ashes, →
7 because, as you have seen, my loveliness—
which, even as we climb the steps of this
eternal palace, blazes with more brightness—
10 were it not tempered here, would be so brilliant
that, as it flashed, your mortal faculty
would seem a branch a lightning bolt has cracked.
13 We now are in the seventh splendor; this, →
beneath the burning Lion’s breast, transmits
to earth its rays, with which his force is mixed.
16 Let your mind follow where your eyes have led,
and let your eyes be mirrors for the figure
that will appear to you within this mirror.” →
19 That man who knows just how my vision pastured →
upon her blessed face, might recognize
the joy I found when my celestial guide
22 had asked of me to turn my mind aside,
were he to weigh my joy when I obeyed
against my joy in contemplating her.
25 Within the crystal that—as it revolves →
around the earth—bears as its name the name
of that dear king whose rule undid all evil,
28 I saw a ladder rising up so high →
that it could not be followed by my sight:
its color, gold when gold is struck by sunlight.
31 I also saw so many flames descend
those steps that I thought every light displayed
in heaven had been poured out from that place.
34 And just as jackdaws, at the break of day, →
together rise—such is their nature’s way—
to warm their feathers chilled by night; then some
37 fly off and never do return, and some
wheel back to that point where they started from,
while others, though they wheel, remain at home;
40 such were the ways I saw those spendors take
as soon as they had struck a certain step,
where they had thronged as one in radiance.
43 The flame that halted nearest us became
so bright that in my mind I said: “I see
you clearly signaling to me your love.
46 But she from whom I wait for word on how
and when to speak and to be silent, pauses;
thus, though I would, I do well not to ask.”
49 And she who, seeing Him who sees all things,
had seen the reason for my silence, said
to me: “Do satisfy your burning longing.”
52 And I began: “My merit does not make
me worthy of reply, but for the sake
of her who gives me leave to question you—
55 a blessed living soul—who hide within
your joy, do let me know the reason why
you drew so near to me. And tell me, too,
58 why the sweet symphony of Paradise
is silent in this heaven, while, below,
it sounds devoutly through the other spheres.”
61 “Your hearing is as mortal as your sight; →
thus, here there is no singing,” he replied,
“and Beatrice, in like wise, did not smile.
64 When, down the sacred staircase, I descended, →
I only came to welcome you with gladness—
with words and with the light that mantles me.
67 The love that prompted me is not supreme;
above, is love that equals or exceeds
my own, as spirit-flames will let you see.
70 But the deep charity, which makes us keen
to serve the Providence that rules the world,
allots our actions here, as you perceive.”
73 “O holy lamp,” I said, “I do indeed →
see how, within this court, it is your free
love that fulfills eternal Providence;
76 but this seems difficult for me to grasp:
why you alone, of those who form these ranks,
were he who was predestined to this task.”
79 And I had yet to reach the final word →
when that light made a pivot of its midpoint
and spun around as would a swift millstone.
82 Then, from within its light, that love replied:
“Light from the Deity descends on me;
it penetrates the light that enwombs me;
85 its power, as it joins my power of sight,
lifts me so far beyond myself that I
see the High Source from which that light derives. →
88 From this there comes the joy with which I am →
aflame; I match the clearness of my light
with equal measure of my clear insight.
91 But even Heaven’s most enlightened soul, →
that Seraph with his eye most set on God,
could not provide the why, not satisfy
94 what you have asked; for deep in the abyss
of the Eternal Ordinance, it is
cut off from all created beings’ vision.
97 And to the mortal world, when you return,
tell this, lest men continue to trespass
and set their steps toward such a reachless goal.
100 The mind, bright here, on earth is dulled and smoky.
Think: how, below, can mind see that which hides
even when mind is raised to Heaven’s height?”
103 His words so curbed my query that I left
behind my questioning; and I drew back
and humbly asked that spirit who he was. →
106 “Not far from your homeland, between two shores →
of Italy, the stony ridges rise
so high that, far below them, thunder roars.
109 These ridges form a hump called Catria; →
a consecrated hermitage beneath
that peak was once devoted just to worship.”
112 So his third speech to me began; then he →
continued: “There, within that monastery,
in serving God, I gained tenacity:
115 with food that only olive juice had seasoned,
I could sustain with ease both heat and frost,
content within my contemplative thoughts.
118 That cloister used to offer souls to Heaven,
a fertile harvest, but it now is barren—
as Heaven’s punishment will soon make plain. →
121 There I was known as Peter Damian →
and, on the Adriatic shore, was Peter
the Sinner when I served Our Lady’s House.
124 Not much of mortal life was left to me →
when I was sought for, dragged to take that hat
which always passes down from bad to worse.
127 Once there were Cephas and the Holy Ghost’s →
great vessel: they were barefoot, they were lean,
they took their food at any inn they found.
130 But now the modern pastors are so plump
that they have need of one to prop them up
on this side, one on that, and one in front,
133 and one to hoist them saddleward. Their cloaks
cover their steeds, two beasts beneath one skin:
o patience, you who must endure so much!” →
136 These words, I saw, had summoned many flames,
descending step by step; I saw them wheel
and, at each turn, become more beautiful.