E credo in tre persone eterne, e queste And I reply: I believe in one God, Sole and Eter- 140 This means that the name of the Holy Trinity can. be spoken of as much in the plural as in the singular. Dante goes on to say that the Gospel teaching suffices to explain the mystery of the Trinity, in so far as we mortals are allowed to understand it. Della profonda condizion divina Ch' io tocco mo, la mente ‡ mi sigilla "Divine, blessed, holy, worthy of reverence," as in Petrarch, Part ii, Canz. i, st. 4:— 66 Quand' alma e bella farsi Ťanto più la vedrem, quanto più vale Casini renders almi as santi, divini, and adds: "erroneamente lo Scartazzini intende alimentatori della fede per mezzo degli scritti." The Gran Dizionario writes: "Che dà e mantiene la vita. Dal Lat. Alo onde Alimonia. Non vive solo nel verso, ma in certe locuzioni, dov'è quasi traslato [i.e. a metaphor], e denota la vita del bene e del bello." *trina: Compare Par. xv, 47: "Benedetto sie tu . . . Trino ed Uno." + soffera for soffre is found also in Conv. ii, 9, 1. 118; and ibid. ii, 15, 1. 167. See also Par. xvi, 10: "Dal Voi, che prima Roma sofferie," etc. Ch' io tocco mo, la mente, etc. Others read: Ch' io tocco, Più volte l' evangelica dottrina.* E come stella in cielo in me scintilla." 145 As regards the mysterious divine nature (of the Trinity) on which I touch now, in full many a passage does the teaching of the Gospel imprint it on my mind. This is the fundamental source; this is the spark which afterwards dilates into a vivid flame, and, like a star in heaven, sparkles in me." Dante's profession of Faith, expressed in his replies to the questions put to him so fills St. Peter with gladness that he encircles Dante three times with his radiance as though he were embracing him, and in his holy chant pronounces a blessing upon him. Come il signor ‡ ch' ascolta quel che i piace, nella mente, but the previous reading has far greater authority, besides greater emphasis. mi sigilla... l'evangelica dottrina: Compare St. Matt. xxviii, 19: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." And John xiv, 16, 17: "And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.' Here Jesus Christ, the Second Person, promises to ask the Father, the First Person, to send the Comforter, the Third Person. And I John v, 7 (which Dante, at any rate, would hold genuine): "For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." + Quest' è il principio: Scartazzini remarks that Dante, having made his profession of Faith, in this terzina goes on practically to say: "This point of Faith is the foundation and the source from which emanate the other articles of the Christian Faith, which is in me like a bright star which disperses the darkness." In other words, it lights up in my mind all the teachings of Faith as it were with the sparkling glory of a star. Come il signor; "Dante paragona sè a servo. Anche nell' In Da indi abbraccia il servo, gratulando Per la novella, tosto ch' ei si tace; * Tre volte cinse me, sì com' io tacqui, L'apostolico lume, al cui comando Io avea detto; sì nel dir gli piacqui.t Even as a lord who hears tidings that please him, (and) thereupon embraces his servant, rejoicing at the news, so soon as he ceases his tale; thus, pouring benedictions upon me in his song, three times circled round me, so soon as I ceased from speaking, that Apostolic radiance, at whose command I had spoken; so greatly did I please him in my words. 150 ferno, preso da timore e rimproverato da Virgilio, usò la stessa immagine, (Inf. xvii, 89, 90) :— 'Ma vergogna mi fêr le sue minacce, Che innanzi a buon signor fa servo forte.' Là servo dignitosamente vergognoso in faccia alla scienza umana che lo corregge: qui, in cielo, servo umilmente lieto rimpetto alla divina che lo benedice." (L. Venturi, Simil. Dant. pp. 148, 149, sim. 250.) Tre volte: "Again a sign of the Trinity," observes Longfellow. This action of St. Peter's is cited in the next Canto (XXV, 10-12): "Perocchè nella Fede, che fa conte L' anime a Dio, quivi entra' io, e poi + gli piacqui: Scartazzini remarks that in matters concerning one's Faith, self-praise is permissible. Compare Jerem. ix, 24: “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." END OF CANTO XXIV, CANTO XXV. SPHERE OF THE FIXED STARS (CONTINUED)-ST. JAMES EXAMINES DANTE ON HOPE-THE DAZZLING RADIANCE OF ST. JOHN. In the last Canto we read what was practically a treatise on Faith on the part of Dante. In this Canto he similarly treats of Hope. Benvenuto divides the Canto into four parts. In the First Division, from ver. I to ver. 27, St. James comes forward to examine Dante on Hope. In the Second Division, from ver. 28 to ver. 63, St. James, at the request of Beatrice, puts three questions to Dante, and to one of these Beatrice herself makes reply. In the Third Divison, from ver. 64 to ver. 96, Dante answers the other two questions. In the Fourth Division, from ver. 97 to ver. 139, Dante sees St. John preparing to examine him on Charity. Division I.-The Canto opens with lines of infinite pathos and beauty. Dante, about to be examined on Hope, breaks forth, in the very centre of Heaven, into the expression of what is his supreme hope and desire on earth, namely, that the recognition of his great poem may earn for him a recall from banishment; in order that, returning home, and humbly kneeling in the beautiful place of his baptism, il mio bel San Giovanni (Inf. xix) he may perchance there, and there only, receive the laurel crown. In comparison with the joy of being re-admitted into his native city-but, re-admitted without dishonour-all distinctions in his eyes are valueless. At the Font of San Giovanni Dante acquired his faith as a Christian; and that faith he has so exalted (in the last Canto) with his song, that St. Peter in gladness and exultation has just encircled his brow thrice in token of benediction. Se mai continga che il poema sacro,* Al quale ha posto mano e cielo e terra,t *poema sacro: Compare Par. xxiii, 62:— "Convien saltar lo sacrato poema." + cielo e terra: Both Heaven and Earth have furnished materials and aid for the Poem: Heaven through the sanctity of its dogmas and the gift of Grace; Earth by its beauty, by the deeds of men, and by the training of Dante's faculties. "Per coelum autor intelligit gratiam Dei per quam influentia coeli fecit autorem habilem adhabitum scientiae. . . . Per terram vero intelligit humanum studium et exercitium, vigiliam et laborem tam animi quam corporis." (Benvenuto.) ‡ più anni: This is the reading adopted in the Oxford Dante, and by the Ottimo, Buti, Vellutello, and Daniello. The other reading per molt' anni is followed by Benvenuto, Landino, and Serravalle. Dr. Moore (Textual Criticism, p. 478) writes: "This passage is recorded because of the distinct separation of the two readings in form, though they are identical in meaning, so that the one or the other must have risen from a deliberate alteration of the text. The MSS. are as nearly as possible evenly divided, so far as my collations go, but as this passage was added comparatively lately to my list, a smaller number of MSS. than usual has been examined here. It is difficult to decide between these alternative readings, but perhaps on the whole più is more likely to have been altered into molti than vice-versa. The same variants più anni and molti anni occur also at Inf. xxxiii, 137. Benvenuto quaintly justifies the sentiment of the text thus: 'Nec mireris, lector si auctor diu laboravit, et si labore macruit in hoc opere altissimo componendo, quia mihi simile accidit in ipso exponendo,"" |