Paradiso (39 page)

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Authors: Dante

BOOK: Paradiso
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‘From this, it may be seen, beatitude itself   

               
is based upon the act of seeing,

111
         
not on that of love, which follows after,

               
‘and the measure of their sight reveals their worth,   

               
which grace and proper will beget in them.

114
         
Such, then, is the process, step by step.

               
‘The second triad thus blossoming   

   

               
in this eternity of spring   

117
         
which no nocturnal Ram cuts short

               
‘ever sings hosannas, the threefold strain   

   

               
resounding in the threefold ranks

120
         
of bliss by which they are intrined.

               
‘In this hierarchy are found the next divinities—   

               
Dominions first, then Virtues,

123
         
and the third are Powers.

               
‘The penultimate two of these festive throngs   

               
are whirling Principalities and Archangels,

126
         
while the last one is all Angels at their play.

               
‘All these orders gaze in ecstasy above.   

               
The highest there are linked with those below,   

129
         
so that the rest are drawn, and also draw, to God.

               
‘Dionysius with such passion set his mind   

               
to contemplate these orders   

132
         
that he named them and arranged them as do I.

               
‘But later Gregory took a different view,   

               
so that, opening his eyes here in this heaven,

135
         
he saw his errors, laughing at himself.   

               
‘And if a mortal man on earth set forth   

               
such hidden truth, you need not wonder,

               
for he who saw it here above revealed it then to him,

139
         
along with many other truths about these circlings.’

OUTLINE: PARADISO XXIX

CRYSTALLINE SPHERE

1–9
   
simile: the moment of the vernal equinox (sun and moon in “balance”) and Beatrice’s silent smile
10–12
   
Beatrice will tell Dante what he wants to know: she has seen his question in God.

Beatrice explains God’s creation of the angels:

13–21
   
motive: (WHY?) not for “gain” to Himself (impossible), but that His splendor might “subsist” (WHEN? & WHERE?) in time and space, after creation out of time and space
22–24
   
(HOW?) form (angels), unformed matter (earth), form and matter joined (heavens) all were created simultaneously
25–30
   
simile: instantaneous flash of light in clear objects and God’s three-stringed bow’s three creations
31–36
   
the three orders of the substances God made (repeated)
37–45
   
against Jerome [and with Thomas], angels not created before the material universe
46–48
   
now Dante knows where, when, and how angels were made
49–66
   
the fallen angels and the good: nearly immediate fall of first, while rest circle God in joy; Lucifer’s pride vs. humility of the good angels. Dante should not doubt their worth: it lies in their affection for God
67–69
   
Beatrice: this suffices for him to understand angels;
70–126
   
however, because Dante may have been incorrectly taught she digresses on how the angels, if they have intellection and will, do not need memory, since they always live in God’s present;
82–96
   
attack on vain philosophizing on earth (which is, nonetheless, not as troublesome as distortion of the Bible), and of foolish preachers; examples:
97–102
   
eclipse at Crucifixion: miracle, not natural
103–126
   
indulgences: lying clergy and foolish flocks
127–145
   
Beatrice adds further intelligence about the angels:
130–135
   
their number is beyond calculation;
136–141
   
the varying degrees in which they partake of God;
142–145
   
God’s glory is reflected in them.
PARADISO XXIX

               
When the two offspring of Latona,   

   

   

               
one covered by the Ram, one by the Scales,

3
             
together make a belt of the horizon

               
for the moment that the zenith   

               
holds them balanced, until each of them,

6
             
in changing hemispheres, now leaves that belt,

               
for just that long, her face lit by a smile,   

               
Beatrice was silent, staring intently

9
             
at the point that overcame me.   

               
Then she began: ‘I tell, I do not ask,   

               
what you would like to hear. For I have seen it there

12
           
where every
ubi
and every
quando
has its center.

               
‘Not to increase His store of goodness,   

               
a thing impossible, but that His splendor,

15
           
shining back, might say
Subsisto
,   

               
‘in His eternity, beyond time, beyond

               
any other limit, as it pleased Him,   

18
           
in these new loves, Eternal Love unfolded.

               
‘Nor, before then, did He rest in torpor,   

               
for until God moved upon these waters

21
           
there existed no “before,” there was no “after.”

               
‘Form and matter, conjoined and separate,   

   

               
came into being without defect,

24
           
shot like three arrows from a three-stringed bow.

               
‘And, as a ray shines right through glass, amber,   

               
or crystal, so that between its presence   

27
           
and its shining there is no lapse of time,

               
‘just so did the threefold creation flash—

               
with no intervals in its beginning—

30
           
from its Lord into being, all at once.

               
‘With it, order was created and ordained   

   

               
for the angels, and these were the summit

33
           
of the universe, for in them God produced pure act.

               
‘Pure potential held the lowest place.

               
Between them, potential and act were held together

36
           
by such a bond as may not be unbound.

               
‘Jerome’s writing tells you all the angels   

               
were created many centuries before

39
           
the rest of the universe came into being.

               
‘Yet the scribes of the Holy Ghost declare

               
the truth on many pages,

42
           
as you shall find on searching with some care.

               
‘And even reason sees it, in some measure,   

               
for it would not grant that the movers of the heavens

45
           
should remain so long without becoming perfect.

               
‘Now you know both where and when these loving spirits   

   

               
were created, and you know how, as well.

48
           
And thus three flames of your desire have been quenched.

               
‘Then, sooner than one might count to twenty,   

               
one band of angels had disturbed   

51
           
the lowest of your elements.   

               
‘The other band remained and gave itself   

               
with such abandon to this task, which you behold,

54
           
that never does it cease its circling motion.

               
‘The cause accounting for the fall

               
was the accursèd pride of him you saw

57
           
crushed beneath the weight of all the world.

               
‘These whom you observe here all were humble,   

               
acknowledging the Goodness that had made them fit

60
           
to be endowed with an intelligence so vast.

               
‘Thus their vision was exalted   

               
by illuminating grace, along with their own merit,

63
           
so that theirs is a will both whole and steadfast.

               
‘And I would not have you doubt, but rather be assured,   

               
that there is merit in receiving grace   

66
           
in measure as the heart inclines to it.

               
‘Henceforth, if you have understood my words,

               
you may examine anything you like

69
           
in this assembly without need of aid.

               
‘But since in schools on earth you still are taught   

   

   

               
that the angelic nature is possessed

72
           
of understanding, memory, and will,

               
‘I will continue, so that you clearly see

               
how truth is made unclear down there

75
           
by such equivocation in its teaching.   

               
‘These angelic beings, since they first rejoiced

               
in the face of God, from which nothing may be hidden,

78
           
have never turned their eyes away from it,

               
‘so that their sight is never interrupted   

               
by some new object. And thus they have no need

81
           
to search the past for some forgotten construct.

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