Then once the adverse truth of mankind’s present miserable state was clearly brought to light by her who holds my mind imparadised,
3
as one who in a mirror catches sight of candlelight aglow behind his back before he sees it or expects to see it,
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and, turning from the looking-glass to test the truth of it, he sees that glass and flame are in accord as notes to music’s beat;
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just so do I remember doing then, as I stood gazing at the lovely eyes, those lures which Love had used to capture me,
12
for, when I turned around, my eyes were met by what takes place here in this whirling sphere whenever one looks deep into its motion.
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I saw a point that radiated light so piercing that the eyes its brightness strikes are forced to shut from such intensity.
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That star which seems the smallest seen from here if set beside that point, like star by star appearing in the heavens, would seem a moon.
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Perhaps the distance of a halo’s glow around the brilliant source that colors it when vapors hold it in their density,
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as close as that a ring of fire whirled around this point at speed that would surpass the sphere that spins the swiftest round the world;
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this one was circled by a second one, second by third, and third by yet a fourth, the fifth the fourth, and then the sixth the fifth;
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the seventh followed spreading out so wide that Juno’s messenger, if made complete, could not contain it in her circle-bow.
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So came the eighth, the ninth; and each of them revolved more slowly according as it was in number farther from the central one
36
16. The point is God, an infinitesimal yet brilliant point of light representing the indivisible center of all of Heaven’s brightness.
19. “Here” is earth, where the Poet is writing.
22. The “halo’s glow” is the kind of misty light that at times is seen surrounding the moon or the sun.
27. This sphere is the ninth heaven, or the Primum Mobile, where the Pilgrim is at present.
whose radiance was clearest of them all for, circling nearest the Pure Spark of Being, I think it shares the fullest in Its Truth.
39
My lady, who observed my eagerness and my bewilderment, said: “On that Point depend all nature and all of the heavens.
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Observe the circle nearest it, and know the reason for its spinning at such speed is that Love’s fire burns it into motion. ”
45
And I to her: “If all the universe were ordered in the way these wheels are here, I would be satisfied with what I see,
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but from our world of sense we can observe the turning of the spheres are more God’s own, the further from its center they revolve.
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Now, if my wish to know is to be granted here in this wondrous and angelic shrine, whose only boundaries are love and light,
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it still has to be made clear to me why the model and the copy are at odds, for on my own I fail to understand. ”
57
“If your weak fingers find it difficult to loosen such a knot, it is no wonder, for it is tight from never being tried!”
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So spoke my lady. Then she said: “If you wish to be satisfied, listen to what I tell you, then, sharpen your wits on it.
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The course of the material spheres is wide or narrow in accord with more or less of virtue that infuses each throughout.
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The greater goodness makes for greater bliss; a greater bliss calls for a greater body, if it is perfect in all of its parts;
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therefore, this sphere which sweeps all of the world along with it must correspond to this, the inner ring, that loves and knows the most.
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And so, if you will take your measurements not by circumference but by the power inherent in these beings that look like rings,
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you will observe a marvelous congruence of greater power to more, lesser to small, in every heaven with its Intelligence. ”
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As splendid clearness and tranquillity will overcome the airy hemisphere when Boreas blows from his milder cheek
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a breeze which purifies the air and clears all the obscuring mist so heaven smiles its loveliness from all its dioceses,
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so was my mind, as soon as I received my lady’s brilliant answer, and I saw the truth shine like a clear star in the heavens.
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When she had spoken her last word, there came showers of light from all the fiery rings, like molten iron in fire spurting sparks,
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and each spark kept to its own ring of fire— the number of them thousand into more than any doubling of the chessboard yields.
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I heard them sing “Hosanna, ” choir on choir, to the Fixed Point that holds each to his ubi, the place they were and will forever be.
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And she, who looked into my mind and saw I was confused, told me: “The first two rings show you the Seraphim and Cherubim.
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They spin so swiftly speeding in their bonds to grow as much like that Point as they can, and they can in proportion to their sight.
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Those loves that circle round the other two are called the Thrones of the Eternal Aspect; they close the first triad of God’s own world;
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And know that all of them delight in bliss according to how deep their vision delves into the Truth in which all minds find rest.
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And so, you understand, their state of bliss is based upon the act of seeing God, not loving Him which is the second step.
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The measure of their vision is their worth, born of His grace and of their own good will: for this their ranks proceed from grade to grade.
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The second triad in full blossom here in this spring of eternity whose buds no nightly frost of Aries can despoil,
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warbling ‘Hosanna!’ sempiternally, sing winter out in threefold melody, that sounds through triple ranks of trinity.
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This hierarchy of divinities consists of the Dominions first, and next the Virtues, and the third are called the Powers.
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In the next to last of the last dancing trio whirl Principalities, and then Archangels; the festive Angels fill the last with play.
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And all of the angelic ranks gaze upward, as downward they prevail upon the rest, so while each draws the next, all draw toward God.
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103-105. The Thrones form the bottom of the first triad of the highest set of angelic orders.
109-111. Vision belongs to the intellect, which precedes love, which is an act of the will. The question of which comes first, knowledge of God or love of Him, was much discussed by the theologians of Dante’s day.
Dionysius set his mind to contemplate these ranks with so much holy zeal for truth, he named and ordered them the way I do;
132
Gregory, later, disagreed with him, but when he died to waken in this heaven he saw the truth, and laughed at his mistake.
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And that such secrets were revealed by one still living on the earth, you need not wonder: the one who saw it here told him this truth
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and many other truths about these rings. ”
CANTO XXIX
AFTER A BRIEF silence Beatrice sees in the mind of God that the Pilgrim has a question, and so she explains to him that the creation of the angels by God was an act of pure love that took place in the Empyrean before time began. She goes on to explain why some angels rebelled against God and others remained fai
thful to Him. Since, according to Beatrice, there is so much confusion on earth concerning the different qualities of the angels, she wishes to make some further clarifications. Those who insist that the angels possess memory are wrong. Angels have no need of memory, because they see everything through God. She reprehends those men who go around teaching and showing off new and exotic theories that twist the truth of the ultimate authority of the Scriptures. Christ, she says, expected his Apostles to spread truth and not garbage. But these ambitious preachers are fattening themselves on the lies they feed their parishoners. After this digression Beatrice returns to the subject of angels, explaining that they are so many in number that the human mind could not possibly think in such terms. The light of God shines upon this multitude of angels, all of whom receive His light in as many different ways as there are celestial intelligences. Think, then, how great God is, Who can divide His light among all these loving and reflecting angelic mirrors and remain Himself forever One and Whole!
130. Dionysius the Areopagite (mentioned in Paradise X, 116-117) was a famous Athenian who was converted to Christianity by the preaching of Paul (see Acts 17: 34). He is believed to have been the first bishop of Athens and was martyred there ca. A.D. 95.
133. Gregory is Pope Gregory I, “the Great” (590-604), who discussed the angelic orders in his Homilies on the Gospel (XXIII, 48).
When the twin children of Latona share the belt of the horizon and are crowned one by the Ram, the other by the Scales,
3
no longer than the zenith holds them poised in balance till their weights begin to shift, as each moves to a different hemisphere,
6
for just so long, her face a radiant smile, was Beatrice silent, her eyes fixed upon the Point whose light I could not bear.
9
She said: “I tell you, without asking you, what you would hear, for I see your desire where every where and every when is centered.
12
Not to increase His good, which cannot be, but rather that His own reflected glory in its resplendence might proclaim I am
15
in His eternity, beyond all time, beyond all comprehension, as pleased Him, new loves blossomed from the Eternal Love.
18
Nor did He lie in idleness before, for neither ‘after’ nor ‘before’ preceded the going forth of God upon these waters.
21
Pure form, pure matter, form and matter mixed came forth into a perfect state of being shot like three arrows from a three-stringed bow.
24
As in crystal or in amber or in glass a shaft of light diffuses through the whole, its ray reflected instantaneously,
27
1. The twin children are Apollo and Diana, the sun and the moon.
so the threefold creation of the Lord was rayed into existence all at once, without beginning, with no interval.
30
With every essence there was co-created its order: at the summit of the world the ones created of pure act were set;
33
and pure potential held the lowest place; and in between, potential-to-act was tied so tight that they can never be untied.
36
Jerome left word with you about the stretch of centuries that angels had existed before the rest of God’s world came to be,
39
but this truth is declared in many texts by writers of the Holy Spirit’s word, and you will find it if you look with care;
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reason itself can almost understand: it could not grant that the angelic powers remain short of perfection for so long.
45
So now you know the where and when and how these loves came into being, and so already three flames of your desire are now quenched.
48
Nor could you count from one as high as twenty faster than part of the angelic group shook the foundation of your elements.
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The rest remained and started practicing their art, as you can see, with such delight they take no time to pause, but whirl forever.
54
The reason for the Fall was the accursed presumption of the one you saw below crushed by the weight of all the universe.
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These others you see here were humbly prompt to recognize their great intelligence as coming from the Goodness of their Lord,
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whereby their vision was raised to such heights by God’s enlightening grace and their own worth that now their will was steadfast and entire;
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and should you doubt, I would have you believe that the receipt of grace implies one’s worth in measure as love opens up to it.
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By now, if you have understood my words, you should be able to conclude much more about this sacred place without more help.
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But since on earth you still teach in your schools that the angelic nature is possessed of understanding, memory, and will,
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I shall say more and show you the pure truth of what on earth has now become confused by equivocations in their arguments.
75
From the first moment these beings found their bliss within God’s face in which all is revealed, they never turned their eyes away from It;
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hence, no new object interrupts their sight, and hence, they have no need of memory since they do not possess divided thought;
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and so on earth men dream their waking dreams, some speaking in good faith, some unbelieving— to these belong the greater guilt and shame.
84
You mortals do not keep to one true path philosophizing: so carried away you are by putting on a show of wits!
87
Yet even this provokes the wrath of Heaven far less than when the Holy Word of God is set aside or misconstrued by you.
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Men do not care what blood it cost to sow the Word throughout the land, nor how pleasing he is who humbly takes Scripture to heart.
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To make a good impression they contrive their own unfounded truths which then are furbished by preachers—of the Gospel not a word!
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Some say that during Christ’s Passion the moon reversed its course intruding on the sun whose light, then, could not reach as far as earth—
99
such preachers lie! For that light hid itself, and men in Spain as well as India shared this eclipse the same time as the Jew.
102
Fables like these are shouted right and left, pouring from pulpits—more in just one year than all the Lapi and Bindi found in Florence!
105
So the poor sheep, who know no better, come from pasture fed on air—the fact that they are ignorant does not excuse their guilt.
108
Christ did not say to his first company: ’Go forth and preach garbage unto the world, ’ but gave them, rather, truth to build upon.
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With only His word sounding on their lips they went to war to keep the faith aflame; the Gospel was their only sword and shield.
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Now men go forth to preach wisecracks and jokes, and just so long as they can get a laugh to puff their cowls with pride—that’s all they want;
117
But if the crowd could see the bird that nestles in tips of hoods like these, they soon would see what kind of pardons they are trusting in.
120
105. Lapo and Bindo (diminutives of Iacopo and Ildobrando) were very common boys’ names in Florence.
110. This line is a parody of Christ’s word to His Apostles (cf. Mark 16:15): “Go throughout the world and preach the gospel to every creature. ”
118-119. The bird is the Devil.
120. The pardons are absolution and indulgences in general.
What folly in mankind’s credulity: no need of proof or testimonials, men rush at any promise just the same!
123
On this
Saint Anthony fattens his pig, and bigger pigs than his get fatter too, paying their bills with forged indulgences.
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We have digressed enough. Turn your mind’s eye back to the road of truth; we must adjust discussion to what time is left us here.
129
The angelic nature goes so far beyond the scale of mortal numbers that there is no word or concept that can reach that far.
132
Look in the Book of Daniel; you will see that when he speaks of thousands of these beings, no fixed or finite number is revealed.
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The primal Light shines down through all of them and penetrates them in as many ways as there are splendors with which It may mate.
138
And since the visual act always precedes the act of loving, bliss of love in each burns differently: some glow while others blaze.
141
And now you see the height, you see the breadth of Eternal Goodness that divides Itself into these countless mirrors that reflect
144
Itself, remaining One, as It was always. ”
124. St. Anthony the Great, the hermit of Egypt, was born ca. 250 and lived to the age of 105. He is considered the founder of monasticism, as those disciples who followed him into the desert drew together and formed an order of sorts.