Her mouth was not yet closed again, before Close at my side to put her to confusion. "Virgilius, O Virgilius! who is this?" Sternly she said; and he was drawing near With eyes still fixed upon that modest one. She seized the other and in front laid open, Rending her garments, and her belly showed me ; "At least thrice have I called thee; rise and come; I rose; and full already of high day Were all the circles of the Sacred Mountain, Like unto one who has it laden with thought, Upward he turned us who thus spake to us, He moved his pinions afterwards and fanned us, A vision new, which bends me to itself, So that I cannot from the thought withdraw me." "Didst thou behold," he said, "that old enchantress, Who sole above us henceforth is lamented? Didst thou behold how man is freed from her? Suffice it thee, and smite earth with thy heels, Thine eyes lift upward to the lure, that whirls Even as the hawk, that first his feet surveys, Then turns him to the call and stretches forward, Such I became, and such, as far as cleaves The rock to give a way to him who mounts, On the fifth circle when I had come forth, People I saw upon it who were weeping, Stretched prone upon the ground, all downward turned. "Adhesit pavimento anima mea," I heard them say with sighings so profound, That hardly could the words be understood. "O ye elect of God, whose sufferings Justice and Hope both render less severe, By then somewhat in front of us; whence I Whence he assented with a cheerful sign Above that creature did I draw myself, 85 Saying: "O Spirit, in whom weeping ripens Whose words before had caused me to take note, 90 That without which to God we cannot turn, Who wast thou, and why are your backs turned upwards, And he to me: "Wherefore our backs the heaven Between Siestri and Chiaveri descends A river beautiful, and of its name The title of my blood its summit makes. A month and little more essayed I how Weighs the great cloak on him from mire who keeps it; Tardy, ah woe is me! was my conversion ; I saw that there the heart was not at rest, From God was I, and wholly avaricious; 95 100 105 110 What avarice does is here made manifest In the purgation of these souls converted, And no more bitter pain the Mountain has. Even as our eye did not uplift itself Aloft, being fastened upon earthly things, So justice here has merged it in the earth. As avarice had extinguished our affection For every good, whereby was action lost, I on my knees had fallen, and wished to speak ; "What cause," he said, "has downward bent thee thus?" Standing, my conscience stung me with remorse." "Straighten thy legs, and upward raise thee, brother," He answered: "Err not, fellow-servant am I If e'er that holy, evangelic sound, Which sayeth neque nubent, thou hast heard, Well canst thou see why in this wise I speak. Now go; no longer will I have thee linger, Because thy stay doth incommode my weeping, With which I ripen that which thou hast said. On earth I have a grandchild named Alagia, Good in herself, unless indeed our house Malevolent may make her by example, And she alone remains to me on earth." 115 120 125 130 135 140 245 CANTO XX. ILL strives the will against a better will; Therefore, to pleasure him, against my pleasure 5 Accursed mayst thou be, thou old she-wolf, O heaven, in whose gyrations some appear To think conditions here below are changed, Is manifested by that hostelry Where thou didst lay thy sacred burden down." Thereafterward I heard: "O good Fabricius, Virtue with poverty didst thou prefer To the possession of great wealth with vice." So pleasurable were these words to me That I drew farther onward to have knowledge He furthermore was speaking of the largess Which Nicholas unto the maidens gave, In order to conduct their youth to honour. "O soul that dost so excellently speak, Tell me who wast thou," said I, "and why only Thou dost renew these praises well deserved? Not without recompense shall be thy word, If I return to finish the short journey Of that life which is flying to its end." And he: "I'll tell thee, not for any comfort I may expect from earth, but that so much Which overshadows all the Christian world, Had power, soon vengeance would be taken on it ; Hugh Capet was I called upon the earth; From me were born the Louises and Philips, By whom in later days has France been governed. I was the son of a Parisian butcher, What time the ancient kings had perished all, 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 I found me grasping in my hands the rein Of the realm's government, and so great power The head of mine own offspring was, from whom So long as the great dowry of Provence Out of my blood took not the sense of shame, Charles came to Italy, and for amends A victim made of Conradin, and then Thrust Thomas back to heaven, for amends. A time I see, not very distant now, Which draweth forth another Charles from France, Unarmed he goes, and only with the lance That Judas jousted with; and that he thrusts He thence not land, but sin and infamy, Shall gain, so much more grievous to himself As the more light such damage he accounts. The other, now gone forth, ta'en in his ship, See I his daughter sell, and chaffer for her Since thou my blood so to thyself hast drawn, I see him yet another time derided; I see renewed the vinegar and gall, And between living thieves I see him slain. I see the modern Pilate so relentless, This does not sate him, but without decretal By looking on the vengeance which, concealed, What I was saying of that only bride Of the Holy Ghost, and which occasioned thee |