CANTO XXIV.
Argument.
St. Peter examines Dante on the nature and grounds of Faith.
" O CHOSEN company, who evermore
At the great Supper of the Lamb are fed,
And satisfied from his most bounteous store,
Since, by the grace of God, this man is led
To taste what from your table falls, though still
His mortal life not yet its course hath sped,
Look on his eager longing, and fulfil
Somewhat his strong desire: ye drink the stream
For ever, from whose fount his thoughts distil. "
Thus Beatrice: and these glad souls did seem
As spheres on polar axis; and a light
Sent forth, most like a comet's burning gleam.
As wheels within a clock do turn aright,
In such a wise that ever to our eye
The first seems still, the last in rapid flight;
Thus, in those carols' fair diversity,
I of their various riches might receive
The measure, as more swift or slow they fly.
From whence I did most loveliness perceive,
I saw come forth a flashing light so fair,
Amid its band none clearer did it leave:
And thrice round Beatrice it circled there,
With a sweet song, whose melody divine
No longer Fantasy to me may bear.
Then let my pen pass o'er this charmid line;
Because our imaging (and speech much more)
Doth fail, with hues too bright for mortal eyne.
" O holy sister, who with such full store
Of fervour prayest, thou dost draw me forth
From out the mystic dance by thy sweet lore. "
Then stay'd this fire of high and blessid worth,
And tow'rds my Dame the glowing breath did turn,
From whence, as I have said, these words had birth.
And she: " O light which evermore is worn
By him to whom our Lord hath left the keys
He held on earth of all the gladsome bourne!
Examine now, as thee it best shall please,
This man on simple points and deep, which dwell
Within the Faith whereby upon the seas
Thou once didst walk. 'Tis true, thou seist well
If he believes and hopes and loves aright,
For thou dost gaze where all is visible:
Yet, since within this heavenly kingdom bright,
True faith full many a citizen hath brought,
'Tis meet he celebrate its glorious light. "
As doth the student arm himself in thought,
Nor speaks, until the master doth propound
His question, to approve the answer, not
To end the argument; even thus I bound
Reason's full armour firmly on my breast,
That prompt for such discourse I might be found
" Thyself now as a Christian manifest:
Say, what is faith? " Wherefore I rais'd my brow
Unto the Splendour which me thus addrest;
Then turn'd I unto Beatrice, who now
Made signs that freely forth I here might shed
The stream which from its inward source did flow.
" Now may the grace thus given to me, " I said,
" Unto our Captain to confess my faith,
With clearer speech unto my thoughts give aid. "
And added: " As the word veracious saith,
Father, of thy dear brother, who, I ween,
With thee erst guided Rome to the true path,
Faith is the evidence of things not seen,
The substance of things hoped-for: this to me
Appears its essence, as it aye hath been. "
And then I heard: " Declare, if here by thee
Is rightly understood why he doth call
It evidence and substance. " Speedily,
I thus made answer: " The deep things which fall
Here in my vision's range, yet by the eyes
Of those who dwell upon the earth are all
Unseen; thus but in faith their being lies:
Therefore it doth of substance take the name,
Because from thence our highest hopes arise.
And on this faith's foundation do we claim
To syllogise, when we nought else do see:
Thus by the name of evidence it came. "
And then I heard: " If all the truths, which ye
Receive on earth as doctrine, thus were learn'd,
No place for arts sophistical should be. "
Thus breathed this love which with such splendour burn'd;
Then added: " Now the temper and the weight
Thou of this coin most surely hast discern'd;
But say, if it within thy purse is set? "
And I made answer: " Yea, so clear and bright,
That of its stamp no doubt my mind doth fret. "
Then came from out the depths of that pure light:
" This jewel fair, from which doth ever grow
Each virtue, say, whence came to thee its might? "
And I: " The bounteous rain which aye doth flow
From the most Holy Spirit, and diffuse
The wealth which new and ancient parchments show,
E'en as a syllogism sure, doth loose
My mind from doubt so wholly, that anear
This truth all demonstration were obtuse. "
And yet once more these accents did I hear:
" The new and ancient doctrines thou dost hold,
Why as inspir'd do they to thee appear? "
And I: " The proofs which do the truth unfold
Are works that follow it; which nature ne'er
Hath fused, nor on her anvil hath unroll'd. "
" Who shall assure thee that those wonders were
In very deed? The thing which thou wouldst prove,
And none besides, its certitude doth swear. "
Thus he; I answer'd: " If the world should move,
Without a miracle, to Christian truth,
This were a sign a hundred times above
All other. Poor and lowly thou, in sooth,
First enteredst the field, this seed to sow;
Now a wild-briar, a vine in its first youth. "
I ended: from the holy Court did flow
" Dio lodiamo " through the spheres on high,
In melody which but in heaven they know.
And the great Prince, who caused me thus to fly
From branch to branch, hard-press'd, and made me seek
Now the last leaves, thus framid his reply:
" The grace, which ever loves thy soul, its weak
And human nature teacheth, and aright
Doth move thy lips in fitting words to speak;
Thus thy discourse is righteous in my sight:
But tell me the belief which in thee lies,
And whence was offer'd unto thee its light. "
I said: " O holy father, by whose eyes
That now is seen, so firmly once imprest
By faith, that at the sepulchre the prize
Thou gain'dst, o'er younger feet; of me thy quest
Would know the form of faith which I receive,
And whence to me it is made manifest
Thus I reply: " I in one God believe,
Sole and eternal; who, himself unmoved,
Doth move the heavens their mystic dance to weave
Of love and longing. Nor this faith is proved
By physics' or by metaphysics' lore,
But by the gifts of truth to us approved
By Moses, by the prophet-seers of yore,
By psalms, and by the Gospel, and by thee,
And by the words the Holy Spirit bore.
And I believe in the Eternal Three,
In essence evermore so One and Trine,
That sunt et este there conjoin'd we see.
With the deep marvels of the truth divine
I speak of, (though to mortals dim and dark,)
The doctrine evangelic oft doth sign
My spirit. This is the first glimmering spark,
Which afterwards dilates in flame, and gleams
In me, as star in heaven. " As when ye hark
To some discourse of pleasant sound, which seems
Fraught with good tidings, gladly oft ye fling
Your arms around the messenger; the beams
Which from the Apostolic Radiance spring,
As I was silent, circled round me thrice,
And strains of holy blessing still did sing:
So much he deem'd my answering speech of worthy price.
Argument.
St. Peter examines Dante on the nature and grounds of Faith.
" O CHOSEN company, who evermore
At the great Supper of the Lamb are fed,
And satisfied from his most bounteous store,
Since, by the grace of God, this man is led
To taste what from your table falls, though still
His mortal life not yet its course hath sped,
Look on his eager longing, and fulfil
Somewhat his strong desire: ye drink the stream
For ever, from whose fount his thoughts distil. "
Thus Beatrice: and these glad souls did seem
As spheres on polar axis; and a light
Sent forth, most like a comet's burning gleam.
As wheels within a clock do turn aright,
In such a wise that ever to our eye
The first seems still, the last in rapid flight;
Thus, in those carols' fair diversity,
I of their various riches might receive
The measure, as more swift or slow they fly.
From whence I did most loveliness perceive,
I saw come forth a flashing light so fair,
Amid its band none clearer did it leave:
And thrice round Beatrice it circled there,
With a sweet song, whose melody divine
No longer Fantasy to me may bear.
Then let my pen pass o'er this charmid line;
Because our imaging (and speech much more)
Doth fail, with hues too bright for mortal eyne.
" O holy sister, who with such full store
Of fervour prayest, thou dost draw me forth
From out the mystic dance by thy sweet lore. "
Then stay'd this fire of high and blessid worth,
And tow'rds my Dame the glowing breath did turn,
From whence, as I have said, these words had birth.
And she: " O light which evermore is worn
By him to whom our Lord hath left the keys
He held on earth of all the gladsome bourne!
Examine now, as thee it best shall please,
This man on simple points and deep, which dwell
Within the Faith whereby upon the seas
Thou once didst walk. 'Tis true, thou seist well
If he believes and hopes and loves aright,
For thou dost gaze where all is visible:
Yet, since within this heavenly kingdom bright,
True faith full many a citizen hath brought,
'Tis meet he celebrate its glorious light. "
As doth the student arm himself in thought,
Nor speaks, until the master doth propound
His question, to approve the answer, not
To end the argument; even thus I bound
Reason's full armour firmly on my breast,
That prompt for such discourse I might be found
" Thyself now as a Christian manifest:
Say, what is faith? " Wherefore I rais'd my brow
Unto the Splendour which me thus addrest;
Then turn'd I unto Beatrice, who now
Made signs that freely forth I here might shed
The stream which from its inward source did flow.
" Now may the grace thus given to me, " I said,
" Unto our Captain to confess my faith,
With clearer speech unto my thoughts give aid. "
And added: " As the word veracious saith,
Father, of thy dear brother, who, I ween,
With thee erst guided Rome to the true path,
Faith is the evidence of things not seen,
The substance of things hoped-for: this to me
Appears its essence, as it aye hath been. "
And then I heard: " Declare, if here by thee
Is rightly understood why he doth call
It evidence and substance. " Speedily,
I thus made answer: " The deep things which fall
Here in my vision's range, yet by the eyes
Of those who dwell upon the earth are all
Unseen; thus but in faith their being lies:
Therefore it doth of substance take the name,
Because from thence our highest hopes arise.
And on this faith's foundation do we claim
To syllogise, when we nought else do see:
Thus by the name of evidence it came. "
And then I heard: " If all the truths, which ye
Receive on earth as doctrine, thus were learn'd,
No place for arts sophistical should be. "
Thus breathed this love which with such splendour burn'd;
Then added: " Now the temper and the weight
Thou of this coin most surely hast discern'd;
But say, if it within thy purse is set? "
And I made answer: " Yea, so clear and bright,
That of its stamp no doubt my mind doth fret. "
Then came from out the depths of that pure light:
" This jewel fair, from which doth ever grow
Each virtue, say, whence came to thee its might? "
And I: " The bounteous rain which aye doth flow
From the most Holy Spirit, and diffuse
The wealth which new and ancient parchments show,
E'en as a syllogism sure, doth loose
My mind from doubt so wholly, that anear
This truth all demonstration were obtuse. "
And yet once more these accents did I hear:
" The new and ancient doctrines thou dost hold,
Why as inspir'd do they to thee appear? "
And I: " The proofs which do the truth unfold
Are works that follow it; which nature ne'er
Hath fused, nor on her anvil hath unroll'd. "
" Who shall assure thee that those wonders were
In very deed? The thing which thou wouldst prove,
And none besides, its certitude doth swear. "
Thus he; I answer'd: " If the world should move,
Without a miracle, to Christian truth,
This were a sign a hundred times above
All other. Poor and lowly thou, in sooth,
First enteredst the field, this seed to sow;
Now a wild-briar, a vine in its first youth. "
I ended: from the holy Court did flow
" Dio lodiamo " through the spheres on high,
In melody which but in heaven they know.
And the great Prince, who caused me thus to fly
From branch to branch, hard-press'd, and made me seek
Now the last leaves, thus framid his reply:
" The grace, which ever loves thy soul, its weak
And human nature teacheth, and aright
Doth move thy lips in fitting words to speak;
Thus thy discourse is righteous in my sight:
But tell me the belief which in thee lies,
And whence was offer'd unto thee its light. "
I said: " O holy father, by whose eyes
That now is seen, so firmly once imprest
By faith, that at the sepulchre the prize
Thou gain'dst, o'er younger feet; of me thy quest
Would know the form of faith which I receive,
And whence to me it is made manifest
Thus I reply: " I in one God believe,
Sole and eternal; who, himself unmoved,
Doth move the heavens their mystic dance to weave
Of love and longing. Nor this faith is proved
By physics' or by metaphysics' lore,
But by the gifts of truth to us approved
By Moses, by the prophet-seers of yore,
By psalms, and by the Gospel, and by thee,
And by the words the Holy Spirit bore.
And I believe in the Eternal Three,
In essence evermore so One and Trine,
That sunt et este there conjoin'd we see.
With the deep marvels of the truth divine
I speak of, (though to mortals dim and dark,)
The doctrine evangelic oft doth sign
My spirit. This is the first glimmering spark,
Which afterwards dilates in flame, and gleams
In me, as star in heaven. " As when ye hark
To some discourse of pleasant sound, which seems
Fraught with good tidings, gladly oft ye fling
Your arms around the messenger; the beams
Which from the Apostolic Radiance spring,
As I was silent, circled round me thrice,
And strains of holy blessing still did sing:
So much he deem'd my answering speech of worthy price.