Notes.
5 Eve, who wounded the human race with her
sin, sits at the feet of Mary who healed the wound with the ointment of her Son.
8 Rachel, Jacob’s younger wife, was
clear-sighted and symbolizes the contemplative life. Sarah, Abraham’s wife, bore
Isaac; Rebecca, Isaac’s wife, was the mother of Esau and Jacob: the two women
represent the ancestry of all believers. Judith slew Holofernes and saved the Jewish
people. Ruth, Boaz’s wife, was the great-grandmother of the psalmist King David.
31 Saint John the Baptist fasted in the
desert and was later beheaded by Herod Antipas. Saint Francis of Assisi was seen in Canto
XI and Saint Benedict in Canto XXII. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430) founded Western
theology with his works on the Trinity, free will, the soul, his Confessions, and City
of God.
68 Jacob and Esau, twin sons of Rebecca and
Isaac, were rivals; God showed his favor to Jacob (Genesis 25:22-26).
84 As seen in Inferno
IV,
unbaptized infants are assigned to Limbo.
95 In position and posture, the archangel
Gabriel eternally re-enacts the moment of his annunciation to Mary.
121 Adam sits on the left of Mary while
Saint Peter sits on the right (l. 124).
127 Saint John the Evangelist saw visions
of calamities for the Church which he recorded in Revelation.
131 Moses, who led the Israelites out of
Egypt, sits next to Adam.
133 Anna is the mother of the Virgin Mary.
137 Lucia or Lucy, the patron saint of
light and sight was one of the three ladies who first interceded for Dante (Inferno II, 86-105), sits opposite Adam. |
|
Lovingly
absorbed in his Delight,
The
contemplative took up the teacher’s part
Spontaneously,
and said these holy words:
"The
wound that Mary closed and healed with ointment
5
Had been opened and pierced through by the person
Who
sits, so beautiful, there at her feet.
"Then
in the third row of the circling seats
Below
her, as you witness for yourself,
Rachel
in her throne sits next to Beatrice.
10 "Sarah and Rebecca, there, with Judith
And
Ruth, the great-grandmother of the singer
Who
in remorse cried, ‘Lord, have mercy on me!’:
"These
you may see ranked downward tier by tier
As I
called out the names of each of them
15 From petal down to petal through the rose.
"And
from the seventh row on down, right up
To
the end, Hebrew women form a line
By
parting all the tresses of the flower:
"For
by the way that faith once looked to Christ,
20 These women are the wall of that partition
Which
separates in two the sacred stairway.
"On
one side, where the flower is full blown
With
all its petals, seated on their thrones
Are
all those who had faith that Christ would come.
25 "On the other side, where you see semicircles
Pocked
by empty spaces, sit all those
Who
turned their faces to Christ who had come.
"And
as, on this side, the high throne of glory
Of
heaven’s Lady, with the other seats
30 Below it, forms so vast a parting line,
"So,
facing her, the seat of the great John
Who,
always saintly, suffered wilderness
And
martyrdom, and then hell for two years,
"Forms
the same line with those assigned below him:
35 Francis, Benedict, Augustine, and others
All
the way here from circle down through circle.
"Now
wonder at the depth of providence,
For
each of these two aspects of the faith
With
equal portions shall fill up this garden.
40 "And know as well that, downward from the row
Which
cuts in half the two dividing lines,
These
souls are seated not for their own merits,
"But
for some others’, under set conditions,
Since
all of these are spirits who were freed
45 Before they had the power of true choice.
"You
can observe it clearly in their faces
And
in their children’s voices, if you look
Carefully
at them and listen to them.
"You
are confused now, and in your confusion
50 Keep still, but I will loosen the hard knots
In
which your subtle thoughts have tied you up.
"Within
the spacious compass of this kingdom
No
particle of chance can have a place,
No
more than sorrow can, or thirst or hunger,
55 "Because whatever you see is established
By
everlasting law, so that the match
Fits
the ring to the finger perfectly.
"And
so this group of children, hurried to
True
life, is not without good reason ranked
60 Higher or lower here among themselves.
"The
King, through whom this kingdom comes to rest
In so
much love and in so much delight
That
no one’s will would dare to demand more,
"Creating
all minds in his joyous sight,
65 Endows each differently with grace, at pleasure
To
himself — and here let that fact suffice.
"And
Holy Scripture plainly and expressly
Declares
this fact for you in the twin sons
Whose
anger roused them in their mother’s womb.
70 "The highest light must crown them, then, with halos
According
to the color of their hair
(That
is, the worth of such grace as they have).
"Without
the merit of their own works, therefore,
These
infant souls are placed at different steps
75 By differing only in original gifts.
"In
early times, the faith of their own parents
Alone,
together with their innocence,
Was
found to be enough for their salvation.
"After
that first period was completed,
80 Then circumcision was prescribed for males
To
impart power to their innocent wings.
"But
after the new age of grace arrived,
Then,
lacking perfect baptism in Christ,
Such
innocents were held back there below.
85 "Look now upon the face most like to Christ
Because
its brightness all alone possesses
The
power to prepare you to see Christ."
I saw
rain down upon her face such joy —
Joy
carried by those pure intelligences
90 Created to soar through that altitude —
That
whatever wonders I had seen before
Had
not held me suspended in such awe
Nor
showed me such an image like to God.
And
that same Love who first flew down to her,
95 Singing there, "Hail Mary, full of grace,"
Now
spread his wings out wide in front of her.
From
every side the blessed court responded
So
warmly to the canticle of heaven
That
with the song each face grew more serene.
100 "O holy father, for my sake enduring
To be
down here and leaving the sweet spot
Where
by eternal lot you sit enthroned,
"Who
is that angel who with such pure joy
Looks
into the eyes of our own Queen,
105 So full of love that he seems all aflame?"
So
once more I returned to the instruction
Of
him who drew his beauty down from Mary,
Just
as the morning star draws from the sun,
And
he told me, "Braveheartedness and charm,
110 As much as soul or angel can possess them,
Are
all in him, and we want it that way,
"Because
he is the one who brought the palm
Downward
to Mary, when the Son of God
Willed
to take up the burden of our flesh.
115 "But let your eyes now come while I walk on
Talking,
and take note of the mighty peers
Of
this most just and reverential empire.
"Those
two who sit above there, happiest
In
being seated nearest to the Empress,
120 Are, in a way, the two roots of this rose.
"The
one who sits beside her on the left
Is
the same father through whose reckless tasting
The
human race tastes so much bitterness.
"On
the right side you see the ancient father
125 Of holy church, to whom Christ gave in trust
The
keys to this fair incandescent flower.
"And
that saint who, before his death, saw all
The
times of hardship of the lovely bride
Who
was won with the spear and with the nails
130 "Sits by his side. And by the first father
That
leader rests whose people lived on manna,
A
stubborn, fickle, and ungrateful flock.
"Across
from Peter you see Anna sitting,
So
happy to be gazing on her daughter
135 She does not lift her eyes to sing Hosannah.
"And
opposite the eldest family father
Lucia
sits, who stirred your lady when
Your
head was nodding downward, to your ruin.
"But
since the time when you would slumber flies,
140 We will stop here — just like a skillful tailor
Who
cuts the coat according to his cloth —
"And
we will turn our eyes to the First Love,
That,
gazing toward Him, you may penetrate
As
far as possible through His refulgence.
145 "But to prevent the chance you may fall backward,
Flapping
your wings while thinking to fly forward,
You
now need to acquire grace through prayer:
"Grace
from her hands who has the power to help you.
And
you shall follow me so with your love
150 That your heart will not wander from my words."
And
he began to say this holy prayer:
|
return to Paradiso XXXI