So, in the shape of that white Rose, the holy →
legion was shown to me—the host that Christ,
with His own blood, had taken as His bride.
4 The other host, which, flying, sees and sings →
the glory of the One who draws its love,
and that goodness which granted it such glory,
7 just like a swarm of bees that, at one moment,
enters the flowers and, at another, turns
back to that labor which yields such sweet savor,
10 descended into that vast flower graced
with many petals, then again rose up
to the eternal dwelling of its love.
13 Their faces were all living flame; their wings →
were gold; and for the rest, their white was so
intense, no snow can match the white they showed.
16 When they climbed down into that flowering Rose,
from rank to rank, they shared that peace and ardor →
which they had gained, with wings that fanned their sides.
19 Nor did so vast a throng in flight, although
it interposed between the candid Rose
and light above, obstruct the sight or splendor,
22 because the light of God so penetrates →
the universe according to the worth
of every part, that no thing can impede it.
25 This confident and joyous kingdom, thronged
with people of both new and ancient times, →
turned all its sight and ardor to one mark.
28 O threefold Light that, in a single star
sparkling into their eyes, contents them so,
look down and see our tempest here below!
31 If the Barbarians, when they came from
a region that is covered every day
by Helice, who wheels with her loved son, →
34 were, seeing Rome and her vast works, struck dumb
(when, of all mortal things, the Lateran →
was the most eminent), then what amazement
37 must have filled me when I to the divine
came from the human, to eternity
from time, and to a people just and sane
40 from Florence came! And certainly, between →
the wonder and the joy, it must have been
welcome to me to hear and speak nothing.
43 And as a pilgrim, in the temple he
had vowed to reach, renews himself—he looks
and hopes he can describe what it was like—
46 so did I journey through the living light,
guiding my eyes, from rank to rank, along
a path now up, now down, now circling round.
49 There I saw faces given up to love—
graced with Another’s light and their own smile—
and movements graced with every dignity.
52 By now my gaze had taken in the whole
of Paradise—its form in general—
but without looking hard at any part;
55 and I, my will rekindled, turning toward →
my lady, was prepared to ask about
those matters that inclined my mind to doubt.
58 Where I expected her, another answered:
I thought I should see Beatrice, and saw
an elder dressed like those who are in glory. →
61 His gracious gladness filled his eyes, suffused
his cheeks; his manner had that kindliness
which suits a tender father. “Where is she?”
64 I asked him instantly. And he replied:
“That all your longings may be satisfied,
Beatrice urged me from my place. If you
67 look up and to the circle that is third
from that rank which is highest, you will see
her on the throne her merits have assigned her.”
70 I, without answering, then looked on high
and saw that round her now a crown took shape
as she reflected the eternal rays.
73 No mortal eye, not even one that plunged
into deep seas, would be so distant from
that region where the highest thunder forms,
76 as—there—my sight was far from Beatrice;
but distance was no hindrance, for her semblance
reached me—undimmed by any thing between.
79 “O lady, you in whom my hope gains strength,
you who, for my salvation, have allowed →
your footsteps to be left in Hell, in all
82 the things that I have seen, I recognize
the grace and benefit that I, depending
upon your power and goodness, have received.
85 You drew me out from slavery to freedom
by all those paths, by all those means that were
within your power. Do, in me, preserve
88 your generosity, so that my soul,
which you have healed, when it is set loose from
my body, be a soul that you will welcome.”
91 So did I pray. And she, however far
away she seemed, smiled, and she looked at me.
Then she turned back to the eternal fountain.
94 And he, the holy elder, said: “That you
may consummate your journey perfectly—
for this, both prayer and holy love have sent me
97 to help you—let your sight fly round this garden;
by gazing so, your vision will be made
more ready to ascend through God’s own ray.
100 The Queen of Heaven, for whom I am all
aflame with love, will grant us every grace:
I am her faithful Bernard.” Just as one →
103 who, from Croatia perhaps, has come →
to visit our Veronica—one whose
old hunger is not sated, who, as long
106 as it is shown, repeats these words in thought:
“O my Lord Jesus Christ, true God, was then
Your image like the image I see now?”—
109 such was I as I watched the living love
of him who, in this world, in contemplation,
tasted that peace. And he said: “Son of grace,
112 you will not come to know this joyous state
if your eyes only look down at the base;
but look upon the circles, look at those
115 that sit in a position more remote,
until you see upon her seat the Queen
to whom this realm is subject and devoted.”
118 I lifted up my eyes; and as, at morning,
the eastern side of the horizon shows
more splendor than the side where the sun sets,
121 so, as if climbing with my eyes from valley
to summit, I saw one part of the farthest
rank of the Rose more bright than all the rest.
124 And as, on earth, the point where we await →
the shaft that Phaethon had misguided glows
brightest, while, to each side, the light shades off,
127 so did the peaceful oriflamme appear →
brightest at its midpoint, so did its flame,
on each side, taper off at equal pace.
130 I saw, around that midpoint, festive angels—
more than a thousand—with their wings outspread;
each was distinct in splendor and in skill.
133 And there I saw a loveliness that when
it smiled at the angelic songs and games
made glad the eyes of all the other saints.
136 And even if my speech were rich as my
imagination is, I should not try
to tell the very least of her delights.
139 Bernard—when he had seen my eyes intent,
fixed on the object of his burning fervor—
turned his own eyes to her with such affection