CANTO XX.
Argument.
The eagle's eye, formed of good and just princes. — The legend of Trajan; and of Ripheus of Troy.
W HEN he who from the world doth chase all gloom
Descendeth from our hemisphere, and day
On every side doth its own light consume,
The sky, first lit but with the sunny ray,
In swiftest changing sparkles forth once more,
With many lamps, in all whose bright array
One only splendour glows. This thought came o'er
My mind, as now the speech was stay'd of this,
The ensign of the world, which erst they bore
Who sway'd it; for each living light in bliss,
Yet shining more and more, began, the while,
A song too sweet for memory, I wis.
O gentlest Love, aye mantled in a smile,
How ardent wert thou in those radiant lyres,
Which never thought unholy may beguile!
After the fair and precious gems, whose fires
O'er the sixth planet shed their jewell'd gleam,
Had hush'd to silence the angelic quires,
I seem'd to hear the murmur of a stream,
Still clearly flowing down from stone to stone,
Whence of its plenteous source ye well might deem.
As sound doth at the cithern's throat alone
Its form receive; and from the flute do flow
Sweet notes, when through its pipe the breath hath blown,
The eagle's whisper'd melody even so
Up from the throat gush'd out upon mine ear,
Nor tarried in its song, nor linger'd slow.
There had it voice, and thence I well might hear
Forth from its beak the accents which my heart
Awaited, to indite them full and clear.
And on this manner it began: " The part
Which doth in mortal eagles bear to see
The sun, unshrinking, if intent thou art
Thereon, thou here mayst look upon in me;
Because, of all the splendours which do trace
My form, those fires of highest order be
Whence gleams my visual orb. He who the space
Doth fill in midst, with radiance pure and strong,
Erst bore the Ark of God from place to place,
The Minstrel of the Holy Spirit's song:
He knoweth now the merit of his strain,
(Far as its counsel did to him belong)
By its reward, which is such wondrous gain.
And of the five who circle round him, he
Who cheer'd the widow when her son was slain
Is lowest: now, the cost he well doth see
Of losing Christ; from the experience
Of this sweet life, and that which aye must be
Opposed to it. In the circumference,
He who is nearest, in the arch supern,
Delay'd his death by truest penitence:
Now, he perceives how God's decrees etern
Are all unchanging; although worthy prayer
Until the morrow some delay may earn.
The next afar the Empire erst did bear,
With good intention which had evil fruit,
And became Greek, that he his place might spare
Unto the Pastor: now, he knows the suit
Of ill, which from his virtuous deed may be,
Doth hurt him not, although from out that root
Earth is destroy'd. The next whom here ye see
Is William, whom the land doth still deplore
That weeps for Charles and Fred'rick bitterly,
Who still do live. He, on the heavenly shore,
How well they love a righteous king doth know;
And shows it forth with his rich splendour's store.
The wand'rer still upon the earth below
Scarce deems that Ripheus of Troy doth here,
The fifth within this holy circle, glow:
Now knoweth he full well what, in your sphere,
Is of the grace divine perceivid not;
Though to his vision all may not appear. "
Even as a lark which in the air doth float,
First singing, then in silence is content
With the last joy wherewith her song is fraught;
Thus seem'd to me the lovely image, blent
Of the Eternal Blessidness, whereby
Each thing was form'd as in His will was meant.
And though the doubts within my soul did lie
As if through clearest glass they had been seen,
Yet brook'd I no delay for their reply;
But from my lips: " What things are these? " I ween,
Burst forth as with its proper weight; and lo!
It seem'd as though a fairer joy had been,
Amid those flashing lights. With richer glow
In its bright eye, the blessid Sign replied,
That I no longer in suspense might go:
" I see that though in faith thou dost abide
Of what I speak, thou knowest not this thing;
Which thus, although believed, is undescried.
Thou dost as one who learns, still following
Somewhat by name, but yet its essence ne'er
Perceives, till ye some friendly guidance bring.
The heavenly kingdom violence doth bear
Of burning love and living hope, which aye
Conquers the Will Divine: nor doth it wear
Such guise as when a man would vict'ry try;
But yields, because it gladly would be sway'd,
And, conquer'd, conquers with benignity
Thou from the first star and the fifth, array'd
Beneath my brow, much wonder dost receive,
Since they among the angel-band are stay'd.
They came not forth, as thou dost still believe,
From out their bodies, in dark heathen gloom,
But plainly did the feet of Christ perceive,
This in the past, and that in days to come
Thus one from Hell, where never they return
To holy will, unseal'd once more the tomb:
And this reward a living hope did earn;
A living hope, which put strong faith in prayer,
To raise him once again, that he might learn
Freely to do God's will. And thus his fair
And lofty soul return'd again to Earth,
A little while, and strong belief did bear
In one, of power to aid him: then had birth
In him such love, that when his second grave
Received him, unto bliss his soul went forth.
The other, by the grace which aye doth save,
Distilling from so deep a fount, that none
Hath ever look'd upon its earliest wave,
On earth his deeds so righteously had done,
That God, from grace to grace, to him did ope
The tale of our redemption by his Son,
In days to come. Then, in this certain hope,
Did he believe: and plainly did he see
The filth of pagan lies; for whose ill scope
A perverse race he blamed. Those Maidens three,
Whom thou didst see at the right wheel, were fraught,
For him, with grace which laves baptismally,
A thousand years ere baptism. How remote,
Predestination, art thou from the eye
Which of thine earliest cause perceiveth nought!
Beware, ye mortals, who so fain would try
Your skill in judgment; we who look on God,
Yet may not wholly his elect descry.
But this is sweet to us; and grace we laud,
Since in this good we reach perfection's line:
Our will and God's do hold the self-same road "
Thus unto me this starry form divine
Gave sweetest medicine, that the holy rays
Might clearly be perceived by my weak eyne.
As to a lovely song the hand that plays
The lute, still vibrates the melodious chord,
And thus yet sweeter are the vocal lays;
So, while this image spake (do I record
In memory) those blissful lights I saw,
Like flashing of an eye, at the same word
Gleam brighter, as if moved by one harmonious law.
Argument.
The eagle's eye, formed of good and just princes. — The legend of Trajan; and of Ripheus of Troy.
W HEN he who from the world doth chase all gloom
Descendeth from our hemisphere, and day
On every side doth its own light consume,
The sky, first lit but with the sunny ray,
In swiftest changing sparkles forth once more,
With many lamps, in all whose bright array
One only splendour glows. This thought came o'er
My mind, as now the speech was stay'd of this,
The ensign of the world, which erst they bore
Who sway'd it; for each living light in bliss,
Yet shining more and more, began, the while,
A song too sweet for memory, I wis.
O gentlest Love, aye mantled in a smile,
How ardent wert thou in those radiant lyres,
Which never thought unholy may beguile!
After the fair and precious gems, whose fires
O'er the sixth planet shed their jewell'd gleam,
Had hush'd to silence the angelic quires,
I seem'd to hear the murmur of a stream,
Still clearly flowing down from stone to stone,
Whence of its plenteous source ye well might deem.
As sound doth at the cithern's throat alone
Its form receive; and from the flute do flow
Sweet notes, when through its pipe the breath hath blown,
The eagle's whisper'd melody even so
Up from the throat gush'd out upon mine ear,
Nor tarried in its song, nor linger'd slow.
There had it voice, and thence I well might hear
Forth from its beak the accents which my heart
Awaited, to indite them full and clear.
And on this manner it began: " The part
Which doth in mortal eagles bear to see
The sun, unshrinking, if intent thou art
Thereon, thou here mayst look upon in me;
Because, of all the splendours which do trace
My form, those fires of highest order be
Whence gleams my visual orb. He who the space
Doth fill in midst, with radiance pure and strong,
Erst bore the Ark of God from place to place,
The Minstrel of the Holy Spirit's song:
He knoweth now the merit of his strain,
(Far as its counsel did to him belong)
By its reward, which is such wondrous gain.
And of the five who circle round him, he
Who cheer'd the widow when her son was slain
Is lowest: now, the cost he well doth see
Of losing Christ; from the experience
Of this sweet life, and that which aye must be
Opposed to it. In the circumference,
He who is nearest, in the arch supern,
Delay'd his death by truest penitence:
Now, he perceives how God's decrees etern
Are all unchanging; although worthy prayer
Until the morrow some delay may earn.
The next afar the Empire erst did bear,
With good intention which had evil fruit,
And became Greek, that he his place might spare
Unto the Pastor: now, he knows the suit
Of ill, which from his virtuous deed may be,
Doth hurt him not, although from out that root
Earth is destroy'd. The next whom here ye see
Is William, whom the land doth still deplore
That weeps for Charles and Fred'rick bitterly,
Who still do live. He, on the heavenly shore,
How well they love a righteous king doth know;
And shows it forth with his rich splendour's store.
The wand'rer still upon the earth below
Scarce deems that Ripheus of Troy doth here,
The fifth within this holy circle, glow:
Now knoweth he full well what, in your sphere,
Is of the grace divine perceivid not;
Though to his vision all may not appear. "
Even as a lark which in the air doth float,
First singing, then in silence is content
With the last joy wherewith her song is fraught;
Thus seem'd to me the lovely image, blent
Of the Eternal Blessidness, whereby
Each thing was form'd as in His will was meant.
And though the doubts within my soul did lie
As if through clearest glass they had been seen,
Yet brook'd I no delay for their reply;
But from my lips: " What things are these? " I ween,
Burst forth as with its proper weight; and lo!
It seem'd as though a fairer joy had been,
Amid those flashing lights. With richer glow
In its bright eye, the blessid Sign replied,
That I no longer in suspense might go:
" I see that though in faith thou dost abide
Of what I speak, thou knowest not this thing;
Which thus, although believed, is undescried.
Thou dost as one who learns, still following
Somewhat by name, but yet its essence ne'er
Perceives, till ye some friendly guidance bring.
The heavenly kingdom violence doth bear
Of burning love and living hope, which aye
Conquers the Will Divine: nor doth it wear
Such guise as when a man would vict'ry try;
But yields, because it gladly would be sway'd,
And, conquer'd, conquers with benignity
Thou from the first star and the fifth, array'd
Beneath my brow, much wonder dost receive,
Since they among the angel-band are stay'd.
They came not forth, as thou dost still believe,
From out their bodies, in dark heathen gloom,
But plainly did the feet of Christ perceive,
This in the past, and that in days to come
Thus one from Hell, where never they return
To holy will, unseal'd once more the tomb:
And this reward a living hope did earn;
A living hope, which put strong faith in prayer,
To raise him once again, that he might learn
Freely to do God's will. And thus his fair
And lofty soul return'd again to Earth,
A little while, and strong belief did bear
In one, of power to aid him: then had birth
In him such love, that when his second grave
Received him, unto bliss his soul went forth.
The other, by the grace which aye doth save,
Distilling from so deep a fount, that none
Hath ever look'd upon its earliest wave,
On earth his deeds so righteously had done,
That God, from grace to grace, to him did ope
The tale of our redemption by his Son,
In days to come. Then, in this certain hope,
Did he believe: and plainly did he see
The filth of pagan lies; for whose ill scope
A perverse race he blamed. Those Maidens three,
Whom thou didst see at the right wheel, were fraught,
For him, with grace which laves baptismally,
A thousand years ere baptism. How remote,
Predestination, art thou from the eye
Which of thine earliest cause perceiveth nought!
Beware, ye mortals, who so fain would try
Your skill in judgment; we who look on God,
Yet may not wholly his elect descry.
But this is sweet to us; and grace we laud,
Since in this good we reach perfection's line:
Our will and God's do hold the self-same road "
Thus unto me this starry form divine
Gave sweetest medicine, that the holy rays
Might clearly be perceived by my weak eyne.
As to a lovely song the hand that plays
The lute, still vibrates the melodious chord,
And thus yet sweeter are the vocal lays;
So, while this image spake (do I record
In memory) those blissful lights I saw,
Like flashing of an eye, at the same word
Gleam brighter, as if moved by one harmonious law.