CANTO XXII.

Argument.

Discourse with St. Benedict — Ascent into Gemini.

H EAVY with much amazement, to my guide
I turn'd me, even as doth a child afraid,
Who flees where he may evermore confide.
She, like a mother swiftly bringing aid
Unto her trembling babe by terror driven,
With soothing voice to me thus answerid:
" Dost thou not know that thou art now in Heaven?
And know'st thou not that Heaven is wholly pure,
And all its deeds to sacred zeal are given?
How could'st thou these celestial songs endure,
Or e'en the light that in my smile doth lie,
If now this voice thy spirit doth obscure?
In which, if thou hadst understood its cry,
A prayer for vengeance soundeth full and clear,
Which yet thou shalt behold, before thou die.
That sword smites not in haste, nor doth appear
Too slowly; save, perchance, unto the thought
Which of its coming hath desire or fear.
But let thy mind with other things be fraught;
For many a spirit of illustrious fame
Thou'lt see, if hereunto thy gaze be brought. "
Even as her bidding, was mine act the same;
And I beheld a hundred globes of fire,
And each the fairer for reflected flame.
I stood, as one repressing his desire
Of knowledge, who his eager will doth curb,
Fearing that he too boldly may aspire.
And then the largest and the loveliest orb
Of all those pearls toward me swiftly prest,
To grant the wish that did my soul absorb;
And now I heard: " If thou thy gaze could'st rest,
As mine, upon the love which aye doth glow
In us, thy wish full soon were manifest.
But that too long it seem not till thou know
The thing whereof thou doubtest, I reply
E'en to the inward thought thou dost not show.
The mountain where Cassino now doth lie
Was erst frequented, on its furthest height,
By men deceived in false belief. And I
Am he who on that hill first preach'd aright
The name of Him, who unto Earth brought down
The truth which bears us upward in high flight.
And upon me such grace reflected shone,
That from the worship of the evil Powers
Who Earth seduced, I drew each neighb'ring town.
These other fires all loved to pass their hours
In contemplation, lit by that warm glow
Which giveth birth to holy fruit and flowers.
Macarius here and Romoaldo go:
Here are my brothers who in cloister'd cell
Their footsteps stay'd, and their strong hearts did show. "
And I to him: " The love thy words so well
Set forth, and the fair aspect that I see
And note, which doth in all your radiance dwell,
Hath so my faith dilated, that to me
It is as when the sun doth shed his rays
Upon a rose full blown. And now I thee
Entreat to tell me if in the pure ways
Of grace I may advance so far, that I
On thy unveilid countenance may gaze. "
Whence he: " My brother, all thy longings high
Shall be fulfill'd in the last sphere, I ween,
Which mine and every wish doth satisfy.
There every aspiration shall be seen,
Entire, mature, and perfect; there alone
Is all where it for evermore hath been.
Because in space it dwells not, nor hath known
The polar motion; and our staircase high
Doth reach it, thus above thy gaze hath flown.
Up to yon height the patriarch Jacob's eye
Beheld its summit rise, when in his dream
He saw God's angels come and go thereby.
But, now, to climb this ladder none doth deem
That he his steps should move; and thus my rule
On Earth doth but a blotted parchment seem.
My cells are now a robber-cave: the cowl
And cloak erst worn by holy men of yore,
Sooth, are but sacks that of ill flour are full.
Not usury unmeasured grieves so sore
The heart of God, as doth the wealth which aye
Corrupts the monk with its most evil store.
Because the riches which the Church lays by
Should be for those who ask for God's dear sake,
Not for relations, or less pure a tie.
But oft the flesh of mortals is so weak,
That good beginnings fail; nor is unroll'd
The acorn from the oak. All pure and meek,
St. Peter first began withouten gold
Or silver: I, with fasting and with prayer;
And Francis humbly in his convent-fold.
If thou dost on each fountain look, and where
Its after course doth rush in downward way,
Ye shall behold all dark which erst was fair.
But yet, a harder thing it was to lay
Commands on Jordan to flow back, when thus
By God 'twas will'd, and ocean waves to stay,
In wondrous guise, than to bring aid to us. "
He spake; and to his band he turn'd once more,
That band now filling smaller space, I wis;
Then, like a whirlwind, all on high did soar;
The while my gentle Lady, with a sign
Alone, by that steep stair me upwards bore.
So did she conquer by her power benign,
That never when ye mount and then descend,
On Earth, could motion be as swift as mine.
Reader, as I again would gladly wend
To that high realm, for which my sins I weep
So oft, and smite my breast, thou couldst not lend
Thy finger to the burning flames which leap,
So quickly as I now beheld the Sign
Which in the steps of Taurus aye doth keep,
And enter'd it. O glorious star divine,
O light with virtue fill'd, from whence I bear
All that in gift of Genius may be mine,
He who each mortal life doth still prepare,
With thee was born, and sank to rest with thee,
When first I breathid the sweet Tuscan air;
And, after, when such grace was given to me,
And I arose to thy pure sphere of fire,
Awhile my dwelling thou wert chosen to be:
To thee devoutly doth my soul aspire,
That, for the arduous task whereto I here
Do turn, befitting strength I may acquire.
" Thou art so nigh to the empyreal sphere, "
Thus Beatrice began, " it now is meet
To look thereon with eyes intent and clear.
Thus, ere thou more its glittering depths may greet,
Look downwards; see how many worlds do lie
Spread out already, low beneath thy feet.
Far as it may, thy heart shall thence draw nigh
To those who, joyous, the bright ether cleave,
And upwards like a starry whirlwind fly,
Triumphant. " Then I turn'd me to perceive,
And gaze on the seven spheres; and saw this earth
Such that I at its meanness smiled: and leave
To all this counsel; that of highest worth
The man who holds it in contempt I deem,
And he is truly wise whose thought goes forth
Elsewhere. And now I saw the silver gleam
Of fair Latona's daughter; and the shade
Was gone, which erst as rare and dense did seem.
Hyperion, thy son, in light array'd,
I bore to look upon; and there beheld,
Anear him, Maia and Dioni stay'd.
And thence I gazed upon the golden shield
Of Jupiter, between his son and sire;
And all their changes were to me reveal'd
Most clearly. And of every several fire
The size and motion I might plainly read,
And how they dwell apart in circling gyre.
The little spot which makes us in each deed
So fierce, I wholly saw from shore to shore,
While with the Twins Eternal I did speed:
Then to the fairest eyes I turn'd mine eyes once more.