Classic Poem

CANTO V.

Argument.

Beatrice replies to the questions of Dante concerning Vows — Ascent into Mercury, where are seen the souls of those who have laboured for Fame.

" I F in love's burning beams to thee I glow,
Beyond the manner which on earth ye see,
And thou thereby with dazzled eyes dost go,
This should not seem a wondrous thing to thee,
For perfect vision aye, as it doth learn,
Thus to the good it knows moves speedily.
Within thy intellect mine eyes discern
The splendour of the sempiternal light,
Which, seen, alone still causes love to burn.
If other things seduce your love from right,
They are but a reflection of the ray,
Ill understood, which here doth greet thy sight.
Thou ask'st if with another gift ye may
Fulfil a broken vow; and thus again
Secure the soul from that which doth affray. "
Thus Beatrice anew began her strain,
And even as one who stayeth not in speech,
The holy words continued: " Among men
The highest gift God's bounty unto each
Hath given, and that to his great goodness still
The most conform'd, and which He aye doth teach
As the most prized, is liberty of will;
Wherewith created things intelligent
(And they alone) are gifted, good and ill
To choose. Thou seest (if hence thine argument)
The vow's great value, if so fashionid
That God consenteth where thou dost consent;
For, when 'twixt God and man such vow is made,
Thou of this treasure mak'st a sacrifice,
With thine own act, as I but now have said.
Then what, as compensation, may suffice?
If that thou shouldst have given thou usest well,
Thou wouldst, from evil gain, good deeds should rise.
Now the chief point to thee is visible;
But because Holy Church from this sets free,
Which seems to contradict the thing I tell,
A little while at table patiently
Thou yet must stay, since this strong food doth so
Assistance need till it digested be.
But ope thy mind to that which now I show,
And shut it fast within; for though thou hear,
If thou retain not, thou dost nothing know.
Two things essentially a vow must bear:
The one, of what 'tis made; the other part,
The compact in itself. This last may ne'er
Be cancell'd, nor may'st thou from thence depart,
And leave it unobserved; concerning this,
Was what I now instill'd into thy heart:
And thus the Hebrews were constrain'd, I wis,
To offer, though the gift might changid be,
As thou dost know. The other part, which is
Named as material of the vow by thee,
May well be such that 'tis no deed of ill,
Though for some other off'ring changed. But see
That none transmute his load at his own will;
For aye the keys of silver and of gold
Must turn, the due permission to fulfil.
And every change thou shouldst believe too bold,
Unless, as four in six, there be descried
The thing laid down in that which thou dost hold:
And thus, if by its worth it doth betide
That every balance be weigh'd down, it then
With other gifts may ne'er be satisfied.
By mortals let not random vows be ta'en:
Be faithful, nor do this in reckless mood,
As Jephthah in his off'ring wild and vain;
For whom it had been better that he should
Have said, " I sinn'd," than to his promise hold,
And thus do worse. Such foolishness imbued
The mighty leader of the Greeks of old;
Whence, for her beauty, by the salt sea-wave,
Iphigenia mourn'd: and still, when told,
Her tale moves every heart. Be then more grave,
Ye Christians, nor like feathers in the wind:
Think not that every stream hath power to lave.
To you are both the Testaments assign'd,
And Holy Church's Pastor, for a guide;
Such aid, to save you, ample ye should find.
If, to mislead you, ill desire hath tried,
Be ye as men, and not as silly sheep;
Lest e'en the Jew who doth among you 'bide
Should mock you. Be not as the lambs who leap,
In frolic play, and from their mothers' sight,
Simple and wanton, flee to tempt the steep. "
Thus Beatrice to me, as now I write;
And then with earnest longing raised her eyes
To where the world hath most of life and light.
Her silence and changed aspect in like guise
Did hush my greedy mind, which aye was fill'd
With newer questions. As the arrow flies
And strikes the mark ere yet the cord is still'd,
Thus to the second realm we soar'd aright.
So joyful now my Lady I beheld,
That as she came within its splendour bright,
More glorious grew its glittering ray, the while,
And all the planet shone with fairer light.
And, if the star did change itself and smile,
What then must I, who do a nature bear
Transmutable! As ye the fish beguile,
Within a pool of water still and clear,
When tow'rd some object from without they draw,
Since like unto their food it doth appear,
More than a thousand splendours here I saw
Approach, and in each spirit-life was said:
" Lo! one who makes our love more brightly glow! "
As nearer unto us each radiance sped,
The soul within more full of gladness shone,
In the clear lightning that from each was shed.
Think, reader, if the story here begun
Should now proceed no further, how in thee
Must wake desire the tale should yet go on;
And thou thyself my ardent wish shalt see
To learn what life within those beings lay,
Who thus were now made manifest to me.
" O spirit fortunate, who seest the ray
Of the bright thrones of everlasting bliss,
Ere from life's battle thou hast pass'd away,
We with the radiance shine, that here, I wis,
Floods all the heaven; and if in thee be stirr'd
Desire of knowledge, learn at will from us. "
From one of those blest spirits this I heard,
And Beatrice continued then: " Speak, speak,
Securely, and believe as in God's Word. "
" To nestle in thy light I see thee seek
And shed its splendour forth from out thine eye;
For, as thou smil'st, its coruscations wake.
But yet I know not who thou art, nor why,
Soul of high worth, thou dwellest in the sphere
Which hid by other rays from men doth lie. "
Thus did I speak unto the light which here
Had now address'd me; whence it shone more bright
Than at the first its splendour did appear:
And as the sun, who veils with too much light
His beams, when, for the heat, no more doth 'bide
The temp'rance of the misty vapours' might,
Thus, for more joy, the holy form did hide
Itself in rays that from its splendour spring;
And veilid, veilid, then to me replied,
Even in the manner which the following song doth sing.