CANTO THE TWENTY-NINTH.

ARGUMENT.

BEATRICE observes, in contemplating the divine Mind in beatific Vision, the Doubts arising in the Mind of DANTE, and their Solutions ; then she inveighs against Clerical Corruption.

AS long as in calm Ev’ning’s purple Zone,

With mild and mutual smile, the Sun and Moon

Rest in the heav’nly scale, and fleecy Star,

Till by that hand which from the zenith guides

The balance, one ascends, and one subsides ;

So long, contemplant, stood the heav’nly Fair.

II.

Bending on that bright throne her ardent eye,

She stood, an Image of empyreal joy,

Then thus began : “ Your doubts I can explain,

Ere vested yet in words, by yonder ray,

Where, in the central beam of endless Day,

All Images ascend, a countless Train.

III.

“ NOT for himself he gave his glories room

Thro’ boundless Space, ere, by th’ eternal doom,

Time issu’d forth on wing to run his round

With yon’ resplendent Orbs, but to dispense

Ethereal blessing to created Sense ;

Hence those wing’d Messengers their being found

IV.

“ Nor did th’ eternal SIRE above the deep

Ere Time began in soft ELYSIAN sleep,

Inactive rest, tho’ not by circling hours

His deeds were measur’d, when, as swift as Light,

FORM, and her Colleague, MATTER, rose to light,

And join’d with MOTION their congen’rate pow’rs.

V.

“ Not from the chrystal Orb the shafts of Morn

To the rapt eye with nimbler glance return,

Than these ethereal Beings sprung to light :

At first a vast, but undistinguish’d Host ;

But soon th’ Almighty energy dispos’d,

Each in their Hierarchies, the Orders bright.

VI.

“ Pure intellect the highest rank retains ;

Thence various Pow’rs conspire in countless Trains,

In ev’ry combination, each degree ;

Where Matter weds with Mind, thro’ boundless Space

At large diffus’d, till in the lowest place

Dies the rude mass, devoid of energy.

VII.

“ Yet ev’n this mass, by heav’nly skill refin’d,

Built yon’ proud Temples for the Tribes of Mind,

And all around these heav’n‑defying Tow’rs

Rais’d for the Gods, indissolubly strong ;

Whence those wide Vaults with Hallelujahs rung

Long ere old Time awoke the flying hours.

VIII.

“ JEROM, the Sage, suppos’d th’ angelic Choir

Stretch’d o’er the mighty void their wings of fire,

Long, long before the figur’d world arose

Magnificent ; but Reason, join’d with Light

Reveal’d, against the holy Father fight,

And on th’ attentive Mind their laws impose.

IX.

“ Why to the first created Heirs of Heav’n

Should these gigantic energies be giv’n,

Without some task their Virtues to employ ?

Why should these fiery Sons of Æther sail,

Still idle, over Desolation’s Vale,

Like flaming Meteors thro’ a desert Sky ?

X.

“ Now you discern, as far as Man can know,

Why Angels were created, when, and how ;

Unmeasur’d was the Space, nor is it mine

To span their sinless state, before the Fall

Flung the first Rebel from th’ æthereal Hall,

Thro’ crashing worlds pursu’d by Rage divine.

XI.

“ Yet numbers stood, and, when celestial art,

Impell’d by Love divine, began to part

The kindling seeds of elemental strife,

Then, with the eye of wonder, saw advance

To their soft song yon’ planetary dance,

And all the miracles of Light and Life.

XII.

“ PRIDE was the cause of that Apostate’s doom,

Whom late you saw, deep-’whelm’d in central gloom ;

But these, that circle round in radiant Choir,

To their humility their splendours owe,

Because they always felt the sacred glow

Of gratitude, their swelling strains inspire.

XIII.

“ Heav’n’s favour they besought, nor sought in vain ;

Its mental beams inform’d the holy Train,

And fix’d their sliding will on firmest base :

This is their sole desert, to give the ray

Of heav’nly Light an unresisted way,

And unreluctant meet the boon of Grace.

XIV.

“ From the first Leader of th’ angelic Van,

Down to the lowest rank of ransom’d Man,

The contrite Soul alone can claim a part

In heav’nly bliss. And now you may pursue

Your way with ease, if, like æthereal dew,

My words have clear’d your sense, and warm’d your heart.

XV.

“ Against an human error he must guard,

Taught by your Schools, and many an earthly Bard,

Of those who, by equivocation led,

Confusion worse that BABEL spread around,

And with angelic faculties confound

Your Tribes below, on cates material fed.

XVI.

“ Perception, Will, and Mem’ry, they bestow,

Like these which sightless Mortals boast below,

And Fancy forms them with a dark allay,

That flatters Men in Sin : But Son of Night

Knows no dark medium checks their mental sight,

Nor needs their Mem’ry trace its darksome way.

XVII.

“ For ever on that BEATIFIC VIEW

They look, and dwell with transport ever new

On that bright prospect, where, in Day reveal’d,

The PRESENT, PAST, and FUTURE, all are giv’n

To light, reflected on the eye of Heav’n,

Quick glancing o’er the wide æthereal field.

XVIII.

“ But, worldly Sages oft with you behold

This blessed beam by error’s mists controll’d,

Or with fictitious light the world deceive,

A crime more heinous still ; in error’s maze,

The self-taught Sophist’s lead a thousand ways,

Proud of the sect that listen and believe.

XIX.

“ But not such flames of anger burn above

For this, as when the testament of love,

Interpreter of Heav’n, is taught to plead

The impious cause of the TARTAREAN thrones,

Like a sweet organ with perverted tones,

Which us’d the Pæans of the Blest to lead.

XX.

“ Ah ! little do they think, what blood it cost,

What toils, what conflicts, to the martyr’d host,

To spread the heav’nly boon from shore to shore !

But all, on Pharisaic forms intent,

Reject the Gospel, for salvation meant,

And stun the nations with their empty lore.

XXI.

“ One thinks, the soft‑ey’d Sister of the Day

Cross’d with her shadowy car the solar ray,

Led from her adverse post, when on the SUN

Of RIGHTEOUSNESS, eclips’d, she look’d aghast ;

Another says, no gloom the day o’ercast,

But light spontaneous left the eye of Noon.

XXII.

“ As common as the most Plebeian names,

They mount the Rostrum, and display their shames :

The hungry Sheep look up, and nothing fed,

Pine in the fold, from the rank mist they draw,

Or, swoln with wind, by Nature’s standing law

Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread.

XXIII.

“ Nor did the mighty NAZARENE command

CEPHAS with moon‑bred themes to fill the land,

And maze the fancies of the human race ;

But gave a doctrine which supports its weight,

From Heav’n descending down, and fix’d as Fate

On everlasting Reason’s steadfast base.

XXIV.

“ This unsophisticated word alone

The first Disciples spread from, zone to zone ;

And, in celestial panoply, defy’d

The banded foes of Man, wherever found :

But now, their vile successors deal around

Contagious pestilence from side to side.

XXV.

“ Proud of the saintly cowl, with haughty mien

They frown ; but if the STYGIAN Guide within

Would show his visage to the wond’ring crowd,

Soon would they find how Souls are bought and sold,

Where barter’d pardons are exchang’d for gold,

And crimes, like locusts, spread a living cloud.

XXVI.

“ The crowd, by airy promises beguil’d,

Run to the snare, with expectation wild ;

But on no fairy cates their pastors feed :

Batt’ning with indolence and ease they shine,

And pay their banquet in adult’rate coin,

Inferior to the herd of CIRCE’s breed !

XXVII.

“ Now turn we to the last celestial theme,

And as we can the wasted time redeem ;

So wide th’ angelic Host extend their lines,

The Heav’n of Heav’ns can scarce their Host contain,

Nor human calculation match the train,

Tho’ DANIEL in his dream their sum assigns.

XXVIII.

“ But these determin’d numbers stand for more

Than ever human Reason could explore ;

But that prime Source of Light with vary’d beam

Sheds on each rank a correspondent ray,

In ev’ry bright variety of day,

Where’er his blessings flow in boundless stream.

XXIX.

“ As these congenial blessings ebb or flow,

The bounty of the Godhead wakes below

In ev’ry soul that lives, a various flame :

These countless Mirrors, like the dews of the morn,

Thro’ Space the uncreated beams return

Radiant or dim, but HIS remain the same.”

END OF THE TWENTY-NINTH CANTO.