Love That Moves the Sun and Other Stars by Dante Alighieri

Author:Dante Alighieri
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2015-12-10T05:00:00+00:00

Canto XXVII

‘To Father and Son and the Holy Ghost,

glory on high!’ all Heaven here began,

till I, at that sweet song, reeled drunkenly.

And what I saw, it seemed, was now the laughter

of the universe. So drunkenness, for me,

came in through hearing and, no less, through sight.

The joy of that! The happiness beyond all words!

A life of peace and love, entire and whole!

Riches all free of craving, troubleless!

The faces of the four before my eyes

were bright with fire. That soul (the first who came)

began to grow more brilliant still at this.

And now, in how it looked, this face became

what Jove would be if he and Mars were birds,

and both exchanged their plumage, white for red.

The providence that makes division here

of duties, tasks and offices imposed

a perfect silence on the holy choir.

And then I heard: ‘If I change colour now,

don’t be amazed at that. For all of these,

as I go on, you’ll see change colour, too.

He who on earth has robbed me of my place,

my place, my place – which therefore, in the sight

of God’s dear Son, stands vacant now – has made

of my own burial ground a shit hole

reeking of blood and pus. In this the sod

who fell from here down there takes sheer delight.’

With that same colour that a cloud takes on,

morning or evening, when it meets the sun,

I saw, in every part, the heavens flush.

And as some innocent – herself quite clean

in conscience – when she notes another’s fault

may still, on hearing this, grow chaste and shy,

so Beatrice changed in countenance.

So, too, I think the heavens were once eclipsed

when Utmost Power submitted to the Cross.

And then Saint Peter’s words went on, his voice

transformed so utterly from what it was

that he, in look, could not have been more changed.

‘The Bride of Christ was not brought forth and raised

on blood of mine – of Linus, too, and Cletus –

to be made use of in pursuit of gold,

but rather, to pursue here living joy,

Sixtus and Pius, Urban, Calixtus,

after harsh tears all shed their blood for this.

We did not mean that some of Christ’s own race

should sit in favour on our heirs’ right hand,

and others, to the left, incur disgrace;

nor that the keys entrusted to my hands

should serve as battle emblem on the flag

that fought against those marked by baptism;

nor that, myself, I should become the stamp

that seals the sale of untrue privilege.

I flare and redden often at this thought.

Down there, in every pasture, ravening wolves

are seen dressed up as shepherds and as priests.

God our defence, why are you still unmoved?

Gascons along with bankers from Cahors

prepare themselves to drink our martyr blood.

To what corrupted ends good starts may sink!

But Providence on high that made defence

through Scipio at Rome of this world’s fame

will soon, as I conceive it, offer aid.

And you, my son, whose body weighs you down

so you’ll return below, speak openly

and do not hide what I don’t hide from you.’

When Sun and Goat Horn touch as winter signs,

the air in our terrestrial atmosphere

floats down in falls of frozen vapour flakes.

So now I saw,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.