Though he had been absorbed in his delight, →
that contemplator freely undertook
the task of teaching; and his holy words
4 began: “The wound that Mary closed and then →
anointed was the wound that Eve—so lovely
at Mary’s feet—had opened and had pierced.
7 Below her, in the seats of the third rank, →
Rachel and Beatrice, as you see, sit. →
Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and the one
10 who was the great-grandmother of the singer →
who, as he sorrowed for his sinfulness,
cried, ‘Miserere mei’—these you can see
13 from rank to rank as I, in moving through
the Rose, from petal unto petal, give
to each her name. And from the seventh rank, →
16 just as they did within the ranks above,
the Hebrew women follow—ranging downward—
dividing all the tresses of the Rose.
19 They are the wall by which the sacred stairs
divide, depending on the view of Christ
with which their faith aligned. Upon one side,
22 there where the Rose is ripe, with all its petals,
are those whose faith was in the Christ to come;
and on the other side—that semicircle
25 whose space is broken up by vacant places—
sit those whose sight was set upon the Christ
who had already come. And just as on
28 this side, to serve as such a great partition, →
there is the throne in glory of the Lady
of Heaven and the seats that range below it,
31 so, opposite, the seat of the great John— →
who, always saintly, suffered both the desert →
and martyrdom, and then two years of Hell—
34 serves to divide; below him sit, assigned
to this partition, Francis, Benedict, →
and Augustine, and others, rank on rank,
37 down to this center of the Rose. Now see
how deep is God’s foresight: both aspects of
the faith shall fill this garden equally.
40 And know that there, below the transverse row →
that cuts across the two divisions, sit
souls who are there for merits not their own,
43 but—with certain conditions—others’ merits;
for all of these are souls who left their bodies
before they had the power of true choice.
46 Indeed, you may perceive this by yourself—
their faces, childlike voices, are enough,
if you look well at them and hear them sing.
49 But now you doubt and, doubting, do not speak; →
yet I shall loose that knot; I can release
you from the bonds of subtle reasoning.
52 Within the ample breadth of this domain,
no point can find its place by chance, just as
there is no place for sorrow, thirst, or hunger;
55 whatever you may see has been ordained
by everlasting law, so that the fit
of ring and finger here must be exact;
58 and thus these souls who have, precociously,
reached the true life do not, among themselves,
find places high or low without some cause.
61 The King through whom this kingdom finds content
in so much love and so much joyousness
that no desire would dare to ask for more,
64 creating every mind in His glad sight,
bestows His grace diversely, at His pleasure—
and here the fact alone must be enough.
67 And this is clearly and expressly noted →
for you in Holy Scripture, in those twins
who, in their mother’s womb, were moved to anger.
70 Thus, it is just for the celestial light
to grace their heads with a becoming crown,
according to the color of their hair. →
73 Without, then, any merit in their works,
these infants are assigned to different ranks—
proclivity at birth, the only difference.
76 In early centuries, their parents’ faith →
alone, and their own innocence, sufficed
for the salvation of the children; when
79 those early times had reached completion, then →
each male child had to find, through circumcision,
the power needed by his innocent
82 member; but then the age of grace arrived, →
and without perfect baptism in Christ, →
such innocence was kept below, in Limbo.
85 Look now upon the face that is most like →
the face of Christ, for only through its brightness
can you prepare your vision to see Him.”
88 I saw such joy rain down upon her, joy
carried by holy intellects created →
to fly at such a height, that all which I
91 had seen before did not transfix me with
amazement so intense, nor show to me
a semblance that was so akin to God.
94 And the angelic love who had descended →
earlier, now spread his wings before her,
singing “Ave Maria, gratïa plena.”
97 On every side, the blessed court replied,
singing responses to his godly song,
so that each spirit there grew more serene.
100 “O holy father—who, for me, endure
your being here below, leaving the sweet
place where eternal lot assigns your seat—
103 who is that angel who with such delight
looks into our Queen’s eyes—he who is so
enraptured that he seems to be a flame?”
106 So, once again, I called upon the teaching
of him who drew from Mary beauty, as
the morning star draws beauty from the sun.
109 And he to me: “All of the gallantry
and confidence that there can be in angel
or blessed soul are found in him, and we
112 would have it so, for it was he who carried →
the palm below to Mary, when God’s Son
wanted to bear our flesh as His own burden.
115 But follow with your eyes even as I
proceed to speak, and note the great patricians →
of this most just and merciful empire.
118 Those two who, there above, are seated, most
happy to be so near the Empress, may
be likened to the two roots of this Rose:
121 the one who, on her left, sits closest, is →
the father whose presumptuous tasting
caused humankind to taste such bitterness;
124 and on the right, you see that ancient father →
of Holy Church, into whose care the keys
of this fair flower were consigned by Christ.
127 And he who saw, before he died, all of →
the troubled era of the lovely Bride—
whom lance and nails had won—sits at his side;
130 and at the side of Adam sits that guide →
under whose rule the people, thankless, fickle,
and stubborn, lived on manna. Facing Peter,
133 Anna is seated, so content to see →
her daughter that, as Anna sings hosannas,
she does not move her eyes. And opposite
136 the greatest father of a family, →
Lucia sits, she who urged on your lady
when you bent your brows downward, to your ruin.
139 But time, which brings you sleep, takes flight, and now
we shall stop here—even as a good tailor
who cuts the garment as his cloth allows—
142 and turn our vision to the Primal Love,
that, gazing at Him, you may penetrate—
as far as that can be—His radiance.
145 But lest you now fall back when, even as
you move your wings, you think that you advance,
imploring grace, through prayer you must beseech →
148 grace from that one who has the power to help you;
and do you follow me with your affection—
so may my words and your heart share one way.”