The second begins: "Then, having"; the third: "And he with me."

X. After my return, I set myself to look for this lady, whom my master had named to me on the road of sighs. And in order that my speaking of her may be brief, I say that in a short while I treated her even as a cloak, and thereby many people spoke disparagingly of her, at which very often I felt terribly grieved. And for this reason, that is to say, because of these disparaging reports, which seemed to slander me wickedly, that most gracious lady, who was the destroyer of all vices and the queen of all virtues, in passing me somewhere, denied me her most sweet salutation, in which was contained all my happiness. And, turning somewhat aside from the present subject, I wish to explain how powerfully her salutation acted upon me.

XI. I say that when she appeared anywhere, because of the hope of the wonderful salutation, I had no longer any enemy, and, moreover, a flame of charity blazed within me, which made me forgive any one who had offended me; and whosoever at that moment should have asked me for anything, my answer, in a countenance full of humility, would have been only, Love. And when she was near to salute me, a spirit of Love, obliterating all other feelings, drove forth my downcast eyes, saying to them: "Go pay homage to your

vostra ; " ed egli si rimanea nel loco loro. E chi avesse voluto conoscere Amore, far lo potea mirando lo tremore degli occhi miei. E quando questa gentilissima donna salutava, non che Amore fosse tal mezzo, che potesse obumbrare a me la intollerabile beatitudine, ma egli quasi per soverchio di dolcezza divenía tale, che lo mio corpo, lo quale era tutto sotto il suo reggimento, molte volte si movea come cosa grave inanimata. Sicchè appare manifestamente che nella sua salute abitava la mia beatitudine, la quale molte volte passava e redundava la mia capacitade.

XII. Ora, tornando al proposito, dico che, poichè la mia beatitudine mi fu negata, mi giunse tanto dolore, che partitomi dalle genti, in solinga parte andai a bagnare la terra d'amarissime lagrime: e poichè alquanto mi fu sollevato questo lagrimare, misimi nella mia camera là ove potea lamentarmi senza essere udito. E quivi chiamando misericordia alla donna della cortesia, e dicendo: "Amore, aiuta il tuo fedele," m' addormentai come un pargoletto battuto lagrimando. Avvenne quasi nel mezzo del mio dormire, che mi parea vedere nella mia camera lungo me sedere un giovane vestito di bianchissime vestimenta, e pensando molto, quanto alla vista sua. Mi riguardava là ov' io giacea; e quando m' avea guardato alquanto, pareami che sospirando mi chia

etc.

lady," and he stayed in their place. And any one who had wished to recognise Love, would have been able to do it by seeing the quivering of my eyes. And when this most gracious lady gave her salutation, Love, far from dimming to me the overpowering happiness, increased it so exccedingly that my body, which was completely under its sway, often moved about as if it were inanimate. So that it is manifestly apparent that in her salutation dwelt all my happiness, which many times surpassed and overflowed all powers of my endurance.

XII. Now, reverting to my subject, I go on to say that as my blessedness was denied to me, such grief came over me, that I departed from others, and went into a solitary place to water the ground with bitterest weeping; and when I had gained some relief thereby, I betook myself to my room where I could lament unheard. And there, having prayed for mercy to the lady of mercies, and saying, "Love, aid thy servant," I fell asleep, even as a little child cries itself to sleep after a whipping.

It came to pass near the middle of my sleep, that I seemed to see in my room seated near me a young man clad in pure white raiment, in deep thought, as his countenance showed. He kept his eyes upon me where I was, and after gazing at me for some time I thought he called to

masse, e dicessemi queste parole: Fili mi, tempus est ut prætermittantur simulata nostra. Allora mi parea ch' io 'l conoscessi, perocchè mi chiamava così, come assai fiate nelli miei sonni m' avea già chiamato. E riguardandolo mi parea che piangesse pietosamente, e parea che attendesse da me alcuna parola; ond' io assicurandomi, cominciai a parlare così con esso: "Signore della nobiltade, perchè piangi tu?" E quegli mi dicea queste parole: Ego tamquam centrum circuli, cui simili modo se habent circumferentiæ partes; tu autem non sic. Allora pensando alle sue parole, mi parea che mi avesse parlato molto oscuro, sì che io mi sforzava di parlare, e diceagli queste parole: "Ch'è ciò, signore, che tu mi parli con tanta scuritade?" E quegli mi dicea in parole volgari: "Non dimandar più che utile ti sia." E però cominciai con lui a ragionare della salute, la quale mi fu negata; e domandailo della cagione; onde in questa guisa da lui mi fu risposto : "Quella nostra Beatrice udío da certe persone, di te ragionando, che la donna, la quale io ti nominai nel cammino de' sospiri, ricevea da te alcuna noia. E però questa gentilissima, la quale è contraria di tutte le noie, non degnò salutare

me with a sigh, and said these words to me, "My son, we must now put off this dissimulation." And thereupon I seemed to know him, because he called to me even as he had already called at other times in my sleep.

And looking at him, I perceived that he was weeping piteously, and I thought that he awaited some word from me: wherefore I took courage and began to speak thus with him: "Master of honour, why weepest thou?" And he said these words to me: "I am even as the centre of a circle; to which every part of the circumference is similarly related: with thee it is not so." Then thinking upon his words, I conceived that he had spoken very mysteriously, so that I prevailed upon myself to speak, and asked of him: "What is this, master, that thou hast spoken to me thus darkly?" And he then made reply in the vulgar tongue, “Ask no more than may be useful to thee."

Then I began to reason with him of her greeting, which had been denied me, and I asked him of the cause: whereupon answer was given me on this wise: "Our Beatrice heard from certain persons, in speaking of thee, that the lady whom I named to thee in the journey of sighing, hath received through thee some disquietment and therefore this most gentle lady, who is a foe to all disquietude, deigned not