Paradiso, Canto 27
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Paradiso XXVII opens with all Paradise singing Trinitarian glory until Dante is intoxicated through hearing and sight. The four lights stand before him, and Peter, first to come, reddens like Jove and Mars exchanging plumage. He denounces the man who usurps his place on earth, the vacant papal seat before Christ, and the Vatican cemetery made a sewer of blood and stench. As Heaven and Beatrice change color in shame and grief, Peter says the Church was not nourished by apostolic blood for gold, faction, war banners, or sold and lying privileges. He attacks rapacious wolves in shepherds' clothing, names Cahorsins and Gascons, foretells providential aid like that once given through Scipio, and charges Dante to speak openly when mortal weight returns him below. The blessed rise upward like snow falling in reverse. Beatrice has Dante look down from Gemini; he sees the arc of his motion, the mad passage of Ulysses beyond Gades, Europa's shore, and the little threshing floor of earth partly hidden by the sun. His mind turns back to Beatrice, whose beauty outdoes every natural or artistic lure, and her gaze tears him from Gemini into the swiftest heaven, the Primum Mobile. Beatrice explains that this uniform heaven has no where except the divine mind, that love turns it and power rains from it, that its motion measures all the others, and that time has its roots there and leaves below. She then rebukes covetousness, which drowns mortal sight: human will blooms well but continual rain rots true fruit, faith and innocence flee from children, appetite and speech grow corrupt, and white skin turns black at the first sight of the sun's daughter. Dante is told not to marvel, since no one governs on earth and the human family strays; yet before January is wholly unwintered by the neglected calendar error, the supernal circles will radiate so that the long-awaited storm turns the fleet straight and true fruit follows the flower.
Narrative arc
- All Paradise sings Trinitarian glory, and Dante is intoxicated through hearing and sight
- Peter reddens, denounces the usurper of his vacant place, and Heaven and Beatrice change color
- Peter condemns corrupt papal uses of the Church and commands Dante to speak openly on earth
- The blessed rise like upward snow, and Dante looks down from Gemini over Ulysses' passage, Europa's shore, and the little threshing floor
- Beatrice's beauty surpasses every lure for sight and draws Dante into the swiftest heaven
- Beatrice explains the Primum Mobile, its non-spatial where, its motion, and the roots of time
- Beatrice rebukes covetousness as the drowning and rotting of human will, faith, innocence, appetite, and speech
- Beatrice traces human blackening to failed governance and prophesies the coming straightening of the fleet
Central themes
- triumph
- faith
- love
- Church corruption
All Paradise sings Trinitarian glory, and Dante is intoxicated through hearing and sight XXVII.1–9
1‘Al Padre, al Figlio, a lo Spirito Santo’,
cominciò, ‘gloria!’, tutto ’l paradiso,
sì che m’inebrïava il dolce canto.
Ciò ch’io vedeva mi sembiava un riso
5de l’universo; per che mia ebbrezza
intrava per l’udire e per lo viso.
Oh gioia! oh ineffabile allegrezza!
oh vita intègra d’amore e di pace!
oh sanza brama sicura ricchezza!
1"To the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit,"
all Paradise began, "glory!",
so that the sweet singing inebriated me.
What I saw seemed to me a smile
5of the universe; and so my intoxication
entered through hearing and through sight.
O joy! O ineffable gladness!
O life whole with love and peace!
O secure riches without craving!
Commentary
The Trinitarian Gloria is explicit and audible at the opening. The translation preserves Dante's double intoxication through hearing and sight and the third terzina's anaphoric joy without expanding the liturgical formula.
XXVII.1–3 The opening adapts the liturgical Gloria and names the Trinity explicitly. Gloria recalls the first noun of Paradiso and closes the theological examinations.
XXVII.1–3 The opening adapts the liturgical Gloria and names the Trinity explicitly. Line 1: The opening adapts the liturgical Gloria and names the Trinity explicitly. Line 2: Gloria recalls the first noun of Paradiso and closes the theological examinations.
XXVII.1 The opening adapts the liturgical Gloria and names the Trinity explicitly. The opening adapts the liturgical Gloria and names the Trinity explicitly.
XXVII.2 Gloria recalls the first noun of Paradiso and closes the theological examinations. Gloria recalls the first noun of Paradiso and closes the theological examinations.
XXVII.4–6 Dante's delight comes through both senses rather than through sound alone.
XXVII.4–6 Dante's delight comes through both senses rather than through sound alone. Line 6: Dante's delight comes through both senses rather than through sound alone.
XXVII.6 Dante's delight comes through both senses rather than through sound alone. Dante's delight comes through both senses rather than through sound alone.
XXVII.7–9 The heavenly riches answer the canto's later attack on covetousness.
XXVII.7–9 The heavenly riches answer the canto's later attack on covetousness. Line 9: The heavenly riches answer the canto's later attack on covetousness.
XXVII.9 The heavenly riches answer the canto's later attack on covetousness. The heavenly riches answer the canto's later attack on covetousness.
Peter reddens, denounces the usurper of his vacant place, and Heaven and Beatrice change color XXVII.10–39
10Dinanzi a li occhi miei le quattro face
stavano accese, e quella che pria venne
incominciò a farsi più vivace,
e tal ne la sembianza sua divenne,
qual diverrebbe Iove, s’elli e Marte
15fossero augelli e cambiassersi penne.
La provedenza, che quivi comparte
vice e officio, nel beato coro
silenzio posto avea da ogne parte,
quand’ ïo udi’: «Se io mi trascoloro,
20non ti maravigliar, ché, dicend’ io,
vedrai trascolorar tutti costoro.
Quelli ch’usurpa in terra il luogo mio,
il luogo mio, il luogo mio, che vaca
ne la presenza del Figliuol di Dio,
25fatt’ ha del cimitero mio cloaca
del sangue e de la puzza; onde ’l perverso
che cadde di qua sù, là giù si placa».
Di quel color che per lo sole avverso
nube dipigne da sera e da mane,
30vid’ ïo allora tutto ’l ciel cosperso.
E come donna onesta che permane
di sé sicura, e per l’altrui fallanza,
pur ascoltando, timida si fane,
così Beatrice trasmutò sembianza;
35e tale eclissi credo che ’n ciel fue
quando patì la supprema possanza.
Poi procedetter le parole sue
con voce tanto da sé trasmutata,
che la sembianza non si mutò piùe:
10Before my eyes the four torches
stood aflame, and the one that came first
began to make itself more vivid,
and in its appearance became such
as Jove would become, if he and Mars
15were birds and exchanged feathers.
The Providence that there apportions
turn and office, in the blessed choir
had set silence on every side,
when I heard: "If I change color,
20do not marvel, for, as I speak,
you will see all these change color.
He who on earth usurps my place,
my place, my place, which is vacant
in the presence of the Son of God,
25has made of my cemetery a sewer
of blood and stench; by this the perverse one
who fell from up here is placated down there."
With that color that, by the opposing sun,
paints a cloud at evening and at morning,
30I then saw all Heaven overspread.
And like an honorable woman who remains
secure in herself, and at another's failing,
merely by hearing, grows timid,
so Beatrice changed her countenance;
35and such an eclipse, I believe, was in heaven
when the supreme Power suffered.
Then his words went on
with a voice so changed from itself
that his appearance was no more changed:
Commentary
In Peter's color change, Jove and Mars remain planets imagined as birds exchanging plumage, and the repeated luogo mio points to Boniface VIII and the papal vacancy before Christ. The Vatican cemetery/sewer image and Beatrice's crucifixion-eclipse response are retained without softening.
XXVII.10–12 The four lights are Peter, James, John, and Adam. The first to come is Peter.
XXVII.10–12 The four lights are Peter, James, John, and Adam. Line 10: The four lights are Peter, James, John, and Adam. Line 11: The first to come is Peter.
XXVII.10 The four lights are Peter, James, John, and Adam. The four lights are Peter, James, John, and Adam.
XXVII.11 The first to come is Peter. The first to come is Peter.
XXVII.13–15 Jove/Jupiter and Mars mark the shift from white to red. The bird plumage image is kept literal for the planetary color exchange.
XXVII.13–15 Jove/Jupiter and Mars mark the shift from white to red. Line 14: Jove/Jupiter and Mars mark the shift from white to red. Line 15: The bird plumage image is kept literal for the planetary color exchange.
XXVII.14 Jove/Jupiter and Mars mark the shift from white to red. Jove/Jupiter and Mars mark the shift from white to red.
XXVII.15 The bird plumage image is kept literal for the planetary color exchange. The bird plumage image is kept literal for the planetary color exchange.
XXVII.16–18 Vice e officio keeps heavenly sequence and appointed function together.
XXVII.16–18 Vice e officio keeps heavenly sequence and appointed function together. Line 17: Vice e officio keeps heavenly sequence and appointed function together.
XXVII.17 Vice e officio keeps heavenly sequence and appointed function together. Vice e officio keeps heavenly sequence and appointed function together.
XXVII.22–24 The immediate target is Boniface VIII, with papal unworthiness treated as vacancy before Christ. The triple repetition of luogo mio is deliberately retained.
XXVII.22–24 The immediate target is Boniface VIII, with papal unworthiness treated as vacancy before Christ. Line 22: The immediate target is Boniface VIII, with papal unworthiness treated as vacancy before Christ. Line 23: The triple repetition of luogo mio is deliberately retained.
XXVII.22 The immediate target is Boniface VIII, with papal unworthiness treated as vacancy before Christ. The immediate target is Boniface VIII, with papal unworthiness treated as vacancy before Christ.
XXVII.23 The triple repetition of luogo mio is deliberately retained. The triple repetition of luogo mio is deliberately retained.
XXVII.25–27 Peter's cemetery points to his burial place at Rome and the Vatican. Puzza is kept as the coarse stench to preserve the tonal drop. The fallen perverse one is Lucifer/Satan.
XXVII.25–27 Peter's cemetery points to his burial place at Rome and the Vatican. Line 25: Peter's cemetery points to his burial place at Rome and the Vatican. Line 26: Puzza is kept as the coarse stench to preserve the tonal drop. Line 27: The fallen perverse one is Lucifer/Satan.
XXVII.25 Peter's cemetery points to his burial place at Rome and the Vatican. Peter's cemetery points to his burial place at Rome and the Vatican.
XXVII.26 Puzza is kept as the coarse stench to preserve the tonal drop. Puzza is kept as the coarse stench to preserve the tonal drop.
XXVII.27 The fallen perverse one is Lucifer/Satan. The fallen perverse one is Lucifer/Satan.
XXVII.28–30 The whole heaven shares Peter's red response.
XXVII.28–30 The whole heaven shares Peter's red response. Line 30: The whole heaven shares Peter's red response.
XXVII.30 The whole heaven shares Peter's red response. The whole heaven shares Peter's red response.
XXVII.34–36 The eclipse points to the darkness at the Crucifixion. The supreme Power is Christ in the Passion.
XXVII.34–36 The eclipse points to the darkness at the Crucifixion. Line 35: The eclipse points to the darkness at the Crucifixion. Line 36: The supreme Power is Christ in the Passion.
XXVII.35 The eclipse points to the darkness at the Crucifixion. The eclipse points to the darkness at the Crucifixion.
XXVII.36 The supreme Power is Christ in the Passion. The supreme Power is Christ in the Passion.
Peter condemns corrupt papal uses of the Church and commands Dante to speak openly on earth XXVII.40–66
40«Non fu la sposa di Cristo allevata
del sangue mio, di Lin, di quel di Cleto,
per essere ad acquisto d’oro usata;
ma per acquisto d’esto viver lieto
e Sisto e Pïo e Calisto e Urbano
45sparser lo sangue dopo molto fleto.
Non fu nostra intenzion ch’a destra mano
d’i nostri successor parte sedesse,
parte da l’altra del popol cristiano;
né che le chiavi che mi fuor concesse,
50divenisser signaculo in vessillo
che contra battezzati combattesse;
né ch’io fossi figura di sigillo
a privilegi venduti e mendaci,
ond’ io sovente arrosso e disfavillo.
55In vesta di pastor lupi rapaci
si veggion di qua sù per tutti i paschi:
o difesa di Dio, perché pur giaci?
Del sangue nostro Caorsini e Guaschi
s’apparecchian di bere: o buon principio,
60a che vil fine convien che tu caschi!
Ma l’alta provedenza, che con Scipio
difese a Roma la gloria del mondo,
soccorrà tosto, sì com’ io concipio;
e tu, figliuol, che per lo mortal pondo
65ancor giù tornerai, apri la bocca,
e non asconder quel ch’io non ascondo».
40"The bride of Christ was not raised
by my blood, by Linus's, by that of Cletus,
to be used for the gaining of gold;
but to gain this glad life
Sixtus and Pius and Callistus and Urban
45shed their blood after much weeping.
It was not our intention that at the right hand
of our successors part of the Christian people should sit,
and part upon the other side;
nor that the keys granted to me
50should become an emblem on a banner
that fought against the baptized;
nor that I should be the figure of a seal
for privileges sold and lying,
at which I often redden and flash sparks.
55In shepherd's clothing rapacious wolves
are seen from up here through all the pastures:
O defense of God, why do you still lie idle?
Cahorsins and Gascons are preparing
to drink our blood: O good beginning,
60to what vile end you must fall!
But the high Providence that with Scipio
defended Rome, the glory of the world,
will soon bring aid, as I conceive;
and you, my son, who through mortal weight
65will yet return below, open your mouth,
and do not hide what I do not hide."
Commentary
Peter's invective keeps the apostolic-blood argument in sequence: the Church was not raised for gold, factional seating, war banners marked with keys, or sold and lying privileges. Cahorsins and Gascons are treated as pointed anti-papal and anti-avarice references, and the closing command renews Dante's public witness mandate.
XXVII.40–42 The bride of Christ is the Church. Linus and Cletus are early papal successors and martyr figures.
XXVII.40–42 The bride of Christ is the Church. Line 40: The bride of Christ is the Church. Line 41: Linus and Cletus are early papal successors and martyr figures.
XXVII.40 The bride of Christ is the Church. The bride of Christ is the Church.
XXVII.41 Linus and Cletus are early papal successors and martyr figures. Linus and Cletus are early papal successors and martyr figures.
XXVII.43–45 The named early popes continue the martyr-blood argument.
XXVII.43–45 The named early popes continue the martyr-blood argument. Line 44: The named early popes continue the martyr-blood argument.
XXVII.44 The named early popes continue the martyr-blood argument. The named early popes continue the martyr-blood argument.
XXVII.46–48 The factional split parodies right and left rather than preparing souls for judgment.
XXVII.46–48 The factional split parodies right and left rather than preparing souls for judgment. Line 47: The factional split parodies right and left rather than preparing souls for judgment.
XXVII.47 The factional split parodies right and left rather than preparing souls for judgment. The factional split parodies right and left rather than preparing souls for judgment.
XXVII.49–51 The keys are Peter's spiritual authority. Signaculo in vessillo keeps the shift from sacramental authority to military insignia. The line targets papal war against Christians.
XXVII.49–51 The keys are Peter's spiritual authority. Line 49: The keys are Peter's spiritual authority. Line 50: Signaculo in vessillo keeps the shift from sacramental authority to military insignia. Line 51: The line targets papal war against Christians.
XXVII.49 The keys are Peter's spiritual authority. The keys are Peter's spiritual authority.
XXVII.50 Signaculo in vessillo keeps the shift from sacramental authority to military insignia. Signaculo in vessillo keeps the shift from sacramental authority to military insignia.
XXVII.51 The line targets papal war against Christians. The line targets papal war against Christians.
XXVII.52–54 Peter's image on papal seals authenticates the condemned privileges. The color change becomes shame and righteous anger.
XXVII.52–54 Peter's image on papal seals authenticates the condemned privileges. Line 52: Peter's image on papal seals authenticates the condemned privileges. Line 54: The color change becomes shame and righteous anger.
XXVII.52 Peter's image on papal seals authenticates the condemned privileges. Peter's image on papal seals authenticates the condemned privileges.
XXVII.54 The color change becomes shame and righteous anger. The color change becomes shame and righteous anger.
XXVII.55–57 The pastoral image draws on Peter's duty to feed the flock. The apostrophe asks why divine defense or vengeance has not yet acted.
XXVII.55–57 The pastoral image draws on Peter's duty to feed the flock. Line 55: The pastoral image draws on Peter's duty to feed the flock. Line 57: The apostrophe asks why divine defense or vengeance has not yet acted.
XXVII.55 The pastoral image draws on Peter's duty to feed the flock. The pastoral image draws on Peter's duty to feed the flock.
XXVII.57 The apostrophe asks why divine defense or vengeance has not yet acted. The apostrophe asks why divine defense or vengeance has not yet acted.
XXVII.58–60 The plurals point to John XXII of Cahors and Clement V of Gascony, with avarice pressure. The fall language echoes Satan's fall and ecclesial decline.
XXVII.58–60 The plurals point to John XXII of Cahors and Clement V of Gascony, with avarice pressure. Line 58: The plurals point to John XXII of Cahors and Clement V of Gascony, with avarice pressure. Line 60: The fall language echoes Satan's fall and ecclesial decline.
XXVII.58 The plurals point to John XXII of Cahors and Clement V of Gascony, with avarice pressure. The plurals point to John XXII of Cahors and Clement V of Gascony, with avarice pressure.
XXVII.60 The fall language echoes Satan's fall and ecclesial decline. The fall language echoes Satan's fall and ecclesial decline.
XXVII.61–63 Scipio Africanus becomes the Roman-providential comparison for coming aid.
XXVII.61–63 Scipio Africanus becomes the Roman-providential comparison for coming aid. Line 61: Scipio Africanus becomes the Roman-providential comparison for coming aid.
XXVII.61 Scipio Africanus becomes the Roman-providential comparison for coming aid. Scipio Africanus becomes the Roman-providential comparison for coming aid.
XXVII.64–66 Mortal weight marks Dante's living condition and return below. Peter renews the public speech mandate given by Cacciaguida and Beatrice.
XXVII.64–66 Mortal weight marks Dante's living condition and return below. Line 64: Mortal weight marks Dante's living condition and return below. Line 65: Peter renews the public speech mandate given by Cacciaguida and Beatrice.
XXVII.64 Mortal weight marks Dante's living condition and return below. Mortal weight marks Dante's living condition and return below.
XXVII.65 Peter renews the public speech mandate given by Cacciaguida and Beatrice. Peter renews the public speech mandate given by Cacciaguida and Beatrice.
The blessed rise like upward snow, and Dante looks down from Gemini over Ulysses' passage, Europa's shore, and the little threshing floor XXVII.67–87
67Sì come di vapor gelati fiocca
in giuso l’aere nostro, quando ’l corno
de la capra del ciel col sol si tocca,
70in sù vid’ io così l’etera addorno
farsi e fioccar di vapor trïunfanti
che fatto avien con noi quivi soggiorno.
Lo viso mio seguiva i suoi sembianti,
e seguì fin che ’l mezzo, per lo molto,
75li tolse il trapassar del più avanti.
Onde la donna, che mi vide assolto
de l’attendere in sù, mi disse: «Adima
il viso e guarda come tu se’ vòlto».
Da l’ora ch’ïo avea guardato prima
80i’ vidi mosso me per tutto l’arco
che fa dal mezzo al fine il primo clima;
sì ch’io vedea di là da Gade il varco
folle d’Ulisse, e di qua presso il lito
nel qual si fece Europa dolce carco.
85E più mi fora discoverto il sito
di questa aiuola; ma ’l sol procedea
sotto i mie’ piedi un segno e più partito.
67As our air, with frozen vapors, flakes
downward, when the horn
of the heavenly goat touches the sun,
70so upward I saw the ether grow adorned
and flake with triumphant vapors
that had made their sojourn there with us.
My sight followed their forms,
and followed until the medium, through its vastness,
75took from it the power to pass farther on.
Then the lady, who saw me released
from gazing upward, said to me: "Lower
your sight and see how far you are turned."
From the hour when I had first looked down
80I saw that I had moved through the whole arc
that the first clime makes from middle to end;
so that beyond Gades I saw the mad
passage of Ulysses, and on this side, near the shore
where Europa made herself a sweet burden.
85More of the site would have been uncovered to me
of this little threshing floor; but the sun was moving
beneath my feet, a sign and more apart.
Commentary
The upward snow of blessed lights, Beatrice's downward command, the Gemini arc, Ulysses' mad passage, Europa's shore, and the partly hidden aiuola belong together. The translation keeps the geography as medieval cosmological perception rather than modernized space imagery.
XXVII.67–69 The simile describes snow. The heavenly goat is Capricorn.
XXVII.67–69 The simile describes snow. Line 67: The simile describes snow. Line 69: The heavenly goat is Capricorn.
XXVII.67 The simile describes snow. The simile describes snow.
XXVII.69 The heavenly goat is Capricorn. The heavenly goat is Capricorn.
XXVII.70–72 The triumphant vapors are the blessed lights ascending.
XXVII.70–72 The triumphant vapors are the blessed lights ascending. Line 71: The triumphant vapors are the blessed lights ascending.
XXVII.71 The triumphant vapors are the blessed lights ascending. The triumphant vapors are the blessed lights ascending.
XXVII.73–75 The limiting medium is the vast transparent sphere.
XXVII.73–75 The limiting medium is the vast transparent sphere. Line 74: The limiting medium is the vast transparent sphere.
XXVII.74 The limiting medium is the vast transparent sphere. The limiting medium is the vast transparent sphere.
XXVII.76–78 The command frames the second downward view from Gemini.
XXVII.76–78 The command frames the second downward view from Gemini. Line 78: The command frames the second downward view from Gemini.
XXVII.78 The command frames the second downward view from Gemini. The command frames the second downward view from Gemini.
XXVII.79–81 The first downward look was in Paradiso XXII. The arc is conventionally understood as ninety degrees, or six hours of motion.
XXVII.79–81 The first downward look was in Paradiso XXII. Line 79: The first downward look was in Paradiso XXII. Line 81: The arc is conventionally understood as ninety degrees, or six hours of motion.
XXVII.79 The first downward look was in Paradiso XXII. The first downward look was in Paradiso XXII.
XXVII.81 The arc is conventionally understood as ninety degrees, or six hours of motion. The arc is conventionally understood as ninety degrees, or six hours of motion.
XXVII.82–84 Gades is Cadiz, the western boundary near the Pillars of Hercules. The mad passage looks back to Inferno XXVI. Europa's shore invokes Jupiter's abduction in bull form.
XXVII.82–84 Gades is Cadiz, the western boundary near the Pillars of Hercules. Line 82: Gades is Cadiz, the western boundary near the Pillars of Hercules. Line 83: The mad passage looks back to Inferno XXVI. Line 84: Europa's shore invokes Jupiter's abduction in bull form.
XXVII.82 Gades is Cadiz, the western boundary near the Pillars of Hercules. Gades is Cadiz, the western boundary near the Pillars of Hercules.
XXVII.83 The mad passage looks back to Inferno XXVI. The mad passage looks back to Inferno XXVI.
XXVII.84 Europa's shore invokes Jupiter's abduction in bull form. Europa's shore invokes Jupiter's abduction in bull form.
XXVII.85–87 Aiuola repeats the earth-scale image from Paradiso XXII. The sun's position limits how much of earth is illuminated for Dante's view.
XXVII.85–87 Aiuola repeats the earth-scale image from Paradiso XXII. Line 86: Aiuola repeats the earth-scale image from Paradiso XXII. Line 87: The sun's position limits how much of earth is illuminated for Dante's view.
XXVII.86 Aiuola repeats the earth-scale image from Paradiso XXII. Aiuola repeats the earth-scale image from Paradiso XXII.
XXVII.87 The sun's position limits how much of earth is illuminated for Dante's view. The sun's position limits how much of earth is illuminated for Dante's view.
Beatrice's beauty surpasses every lure for sight and draws Dante into the swiftest heaven XXVII.88–99
88La mente innamorata, che donnea
con la mia donna sempre, di ridure
90ad essa li occhi più che mai ardea;
e se natura o arte fé pasture
da pigliare occhi, per aver la mente,
in carne umana o ne le sue pitture,
tutte adunate, parrebber nïente
95ver’ lo piacer divin che mi refulse,
quando mi volsi al suo viso ridente.
E la virtù che lo sguardo m’indulse,
del bel nido di Leda mi divelse,
e nel ciel velocissimo m’impulse.
88My enamored mind, which always dallied
with my lady, burned more than ever
90to bring my eyes back to her;
and if nature or art has made lures
to catch the eyes and so possess the mind,
in human flesh or in its paintings,
all of them gathered together would seem nothing
95beside the divine delight that shone on me
when I turned to her smiling face.
And the power that her look granted me
tore me from the lovely nest of Leda
and impelled me into the swiftest heaven.
Commentary
The Beatrice passage keeps courtly desire, beauty, and theological ascent together: natural and artistic baits for sight are surpassed by her divine pleasure, and her gaze violently draws Dante from Gemini into the swiftest heaven.
XXVII.88–90 Donnea gives the mind's relation to Beatrice a courtly register.
XXVII.88–90 Donnea gives the mind's relation to Beatrice a courtly register. Line 88: Donnea gives the mind's relation to Beatrice a courtly register.
XXVII.88 Donnea gives the mind's relation to Beatrice a courtly register. Donnea gives the mind's relation to Beatrice a courtly register.
XXVII.94–96 The line keeps piacer as delight, with divine beauty and joy active.
XXVII.94–96 The line keeps piacer as delight, with divine beauty and joy active. Line 95: The line keeps piacer as delight, with divine beauty and joy active.
XXVII.95 The line keeps piacer as delight, with divine beauty and joy active. The line keeps piacer as delight, with divine beauty and joy active.
XXVII.97–99 Leda's nest is Gemini, the sphere of the Fixed Stars. The swiftest heaven is the Primum Mobile.
XXVII.97–99 Leda's nest is Gemini, the sphere of the Fixed Stars. Line 98: Leda's nest is Gemini, the sphere of the Fixed Stars. Line 99: The swiftest heaven is the Primum Mobile.
XXVII.98 Leda's nest is Gemini, the sphere of the Fixed Stars. Leda's nest is Gemini, the sphere of the Fixed Stars.
XXVII.99 The swiftest heaven is the Primum Mobile. The swiftest heaven is the Primum Mobile.
Beatrice explains the Primum Mobile, its non-spatial where, its motion, and the roots of time XXVII.100–120
100Le parti sue vivissime ed eccelse
sì uniforme son, ch’i’ non so dire
qual Bëatrice per loco mi scelse.
Ma ella, che vedëa ’l mio disire,
incominciò, ridendo tanto lieta,
105che Dio parea nel suo volto gioire:
«La natura del mondo, che quïeta
il mezzo e tutto l’altro intorno move,
quinci comincia come da sua meta;
e questo cielo non ha altro dove
110che la mente divina, in che s’accende
l’amor che ’l volge e la virtù ch’ei piove.
Luce e amor d’un cerchio lui comprende,
sì come questo li altri; e quel precinto
colui che ’l cinge solamente intende.
115Non è suo moto per altro distinto,
ma li altri son mensurati da questo,
sì come diece da mezzo e da quinto;
e come il tempo tegna in cotal testo
le sue radici e ne li altri le fronde,
120omai a te può esser manifesto.
100Its parts, most living and lofty,
are so uniform that I cannot say
which Beatrice chose as place for me.
But she, who saw my desire,
began, smiling so happily
105that God seemed to rejoice in her face:
"The nature of the world, which quiets
the center and moves all the rest around,
begins from here as from its goal;
and this heaven has no other where
110than the divine mind, in which is kindled
the love that turns it and the power it rains down.
Light and love, in one circle, enclose it,
as this encloses the others; and that precinct
only he who girds it understands.
115Its motion is not distinguished by another,
but the others are measured by this,
as ten is by half and by fifth;
and how time holds in such a vessel
its roots, and in the others its leaves,
120by now can be manifest to you.
Commentary
The translation preserves its uniform parts, non-spatial where in the divine mind, light-and-love enclosure, motion measuring all lower spheres, and time's roots in this vessel with leaves below.
XXVII.100–102 The Primum Mobile lacks differentiated stars or planetary marks.
XXVII.100–102 The Primum Mobile lacks differentiated stars or planetary marks. Line 101: The Primum Mobile lacks differentiated stars or planetary marks.
XXVII.101 The Primum Mobile lacks differentiated stars or planetary marks. The Primum Mobile lacks differentiated stars or planetary marks.
XXVII.106–108 Beatrice begins the cosmological explanation of the Primum Mobile. Meta is kept as goal rather than merely a starting post, preserving final causality.
XXVII.106–108 Beatrice begins the cosmological explanation of the Primum Mobile. Line 106: Beatrice begins the cosmological explanation of the Primum Mobile. Line 108: Meta is kept as goal rather than merely a starting post, preserving final causality.
XXVII.106 Beatrice begins the cosmological explanation of the Primum Mobile. Beatrice begins the cosmological explanation of the Primum Mobile.
XXVII.108 Meta is kept as goal rather than merely a starting post, preserving final causality. Meta is kept as goal rather than merely a starting post, preserving final causality.
XXVII.109–111 The non-spatial where is deliberately left visible. Love and downward influence are kept as distinct forces in the line.
XXVII.109–111 The non-spatial where is deliberately left visible. Line 109: The non-spatial where is deliberately left visible. Line 111: Love and downward influence are kept as distinct forces in the line.
XXVII.109 The non-spatial where is deliberately left visible. The non-spatial where is deliberately left visible.
XXVII.111 Love and downward influence are kept as distinct forces in the line. Love and downward influence are kept as distinct forces in the line.
XXVII.112–114 The enclosing light and love point beyond the Primum Mobile to the Empyrean. The one who girds it is God; intende keeps comprehension and intention in play.
XXVII.112–114 The enclosing light and love point beyond the Primum Mobile to the Empyrean. Line 112: The enclosing light and love point beyond the Primum Mobile to the Empyrean. Line 114: The one who girds it is God; intende keeps comprehension and intention in play.
XXVII.112 The enclosing light and love point beyond the Primum Mobile to the Empyrean. The enclosing light and love point beyond the Primum Mobile to the Empyrean.
XXVII.114 The one who girds it is God; intende keeps comprehension and intention in play. The one who girds it is God; intende keeps comprehension and intention in play.
XXVII.115–117 The Primum Mobile measures the motions of the lower spheres. The arithmetical comparison treats two and five as factors of ten.
XXVII.115–117 The Primum Mobile measures the motions of the lower spheres. Line 116: The Primum Mobile measures the motions of the lower spheres. Line 117: The arithmetical comparison treats two and five as factors of ten.
XXVII.116 The Primum Mobile measures the motions of the lower spheres. The Primum Mobile measures the motions of the lower spheres.
XXVII.117 The arithmetical comparison treats two and five as factors of ten. The arithmetical comparison treats two and five as factors of ten.
XXVII.118–120 Testo is the container or pot in which time's roots are imagined. The inverted plant image gives time roots above and visible leaves below.
XXVII.118–120 Testo is the container or pot in which time's roots are imagined. Line 118: Testo is the container or pot in which time's roots are imagined. Line 119: The inverted plant image gives time roots above and visible leaves below.
XXVII.118 Testo is the container or pot in which time's roots are imagined. Testo is the container or pot in which time's roots are imagined.
XXVII.119 The inverted plant image gives time roots above and visible leaves below. The inverted plant image gives time roots above and visible leaves below.
Beatrice rebukes covetousness as the drowning and rotting of human will, faith, innocence, appetite, and speech XXVII.121–135
121Oh cupidigia che i mortali affonde
sì sotto te, che nessuno ha podere
di trarre li occhi fuor de le tue onde!
Ben fiorisce ne li uomini il volere;
125ma la pioggia continüa converte
in bozzacchioni le sosine vere.
Fede e innocenza son reperte
solo ne’ parvoletti; poi ciascuna
pria fugge che le guance sian coperte.
130Tale, balbuzïendo ancor, digiuna,
che poi divora, con la lingua sciolta,
qualunque cibo per qualunque luna;
e tal, balbuzïendo, ama e ascolta
la madre sua, che, con loquela intera,
135disïa poi di vederla sepolta.
121O covetousness that drowns mortals
so beneath you that no one has power
to draw his eyes out of your waves!
The will blossoms well in human beings;
125but the continual rain converts
the true plums into blighted swellings.
Faith and innocence are found
only in little children; then each
flees before the cheeks are covered.
130One, still babbling, keeps the fast,
who later devours, with loosened tongue,
any food under any moon;
and another, still babbling, loves and listens
to his mother, who, with speech complete,
135then desires to see her buried.
Commentary
Beatrice's invective against covetousness keeps the drowning waves, good flowering of human will, true plums ruined by continual rain, and the paired examples of children losing faith, innocence, dietary discipline, and filial love.
XXVII.121–123 The apostrophe pivots from cosmic order to disordered earthly desire. The drowning image answers the canto's repeated training of sight.
XXVII.121–123 The apostrophe pivots from cosmic order to disordered earthly desire. Line 121: The apostrophe pivots from cosmic order to disordered earthly desire. Line 123: The drowning image answers the canto's repeated training of sight.
XXVII.121 The apostrophe pivots from cosmic order to disordered earthly desire. The apostrophe pivots from cosmic order to disordered earthly desire.
XXVII.123 The drowning image answers the canto's repeated training of sight. The drowning image answers the canto's repeated training of sight.
XXVII.124–126 The line keeps a positive beginning before corruption sets in. Bozzacchioni are spoiled or abortive fruit; the translation keeps the grotesque fruiting image.
XXVII.124–126 The line keeps a positive beginning before corruption sets in. Line 124: The line keeps a positive beginning before corruption sets in. Line 126: Bozzacchioni are spoiled or abortive fruit; the translation keeps the grotesque fruiting image.
XXVII.124 The line keeps a positive beginning before corruption sets in. The line keeps a positive beginning before corruption sets in.
XXVII.126 Bozzacchioni are spoiled or abortive fruit; the translation keeps the grotesque fruiting image. Bozzacchioni are spoiled or abortive fruit; the translation keeps the grotesque fruiting image.
XXVII.127–129 The covered cheeks mark adolescence and beard growth.
XXVII.127–129 The covered cheeks mark adolescence and beard growth. Line 129: The covered cheeks mark adolescence and beard growth.
XXVII.129 The covered cheeks mark adolescence and beard growth. The covered cheeks mark adolescence and beard growth.
XXVII.130–132 The loosening of speech is paired with loosened appetite. The moon keeps the calendar and fast-day pressure visible.
XXVII.130–132 The loosening of speech is paired with loosened appetite. Line 131: The loosening of speech is paired with loosened appetite. Line 132: The moon keeps the calendar and fast-day pressure visible.
XXVII.131 The loosening of speech is paired with loosened appetite. The loosening of speech is paired with loosened appetite.
XXVII.132 The moon keeps the calendar and fast-day pressure visible. The moon keeps the calendar and fast-day pressure visible.
XXVII.133–135 Corrupt speech now accompanies corrupted filial desire.
XXVII.133–135 Corrupt speech now accompanies corrupted filial desire. Line 135: Corrupt speech now accompanies corrupted filial desire.
XXVII.135 Corrupt speech now accompanies corrupted filial desire. Corrupt speech now accompanies corrupted filial desire.
Beatrice traces human blackening to failed governance and prophesies the coming straightening of the fleet XXVII.136–148
136Così si fa la pelle bianca nera
nel primo aspetto de la bella figlia
di quel ch’apporta mane e lascia sera.
Tu, perché non ti facci maraviglia,
140pensa che ’n terra non è chi governi;
onde sì svïa l’umana famiglia.
Ma prima che gennaio tutto si sverni
per la centesma ch’è là giù negletta,
raggeran sì questi cerchi superni,
145che la fortuna che tanto s’aspetta,
le poppe volgerà u’ son le prore,
sì che la classe correrà diretta;
e vero frutto verrà dopo ’l fiore».
136Thus the white skin becomes black
at the first sight of the lovely daughter
of him who brings morning and leaves evening.
You, so that you do not marvel,
140consider that on earth there is no one who governs;
therefore the human family goes astray.
But before January is wholly unwintered
by the hundredth that is neglected down there,
these supernal circles will so radiate,
145that the storm so long awaited
will turn the sterns where the prows are,
so that the fleet will run straight;
and true fruit will come after the flower."
Commentary
The difficult blackened-skin image is left close to Dante's wording with a note on the Circe reading rather than forced into a single allegorical gloss. The lack of earthly governance, neglected Julian calendar correction, and final storm/fleet prophecy are retained as one providential correction arc.
XXVII.136–138 The image is a major crux; the translation keeps Dante's color reversal close to the Italian. The common reading identifies the lovely daughter of the sun as Circe; other allegorical readings remain possible.
XXVII.136–138 The image is a major crux; the translation keeps Dante's color reversal close to the Italian. Line 136: The image is a major crux; the translation keeps Dante's color reversal close to the Italian. Line 137: The common reading identifies the lovely daughter of the sun as Circe; other allegorical readings remain possible.
XXVII.136 The image is a major crux; the translation keeps Dante's color reversal close to the Italian. The image is a major crux; the translation keeps Dante's color reversal close to the Italian.
XXVII.137 The common reading identifies the lovely daughter of the sun as Circe; other allegorical readings remain possible. The common reading identifies the lovely daughter of the sun as Circe; other allegorical readings remain possible.
XXVII.139–141 The line bears both imperial and papal vacancy pressure. Svia returns misdirection to the poem's path language.
XXVII.139–141 The line bears both imperial and papal vacancy pressure. Line 140: The line bears both imperial and papal vacancy pressure. Line 141: Svia returns misdirection to the poem's path language.
XXVII.140 The line bears both imperial and papal vacancy pressure. The line bears both imperial and papal vacancy pressure.
XXVII.141 Svia returns misdirection to the poem's path language. Svia returns misdirection to the poem's path language.
XXVII.142–144 The strange seasonal verb points to calendar drift. The neglected hundredth refers to the Julian calendar's accumulated error. Raggeran is taken as radiating rather than roaring.
XXVII.142–144 The strange seasonal verb points to calendar drift. Line 142: The strange seasonal verb points to calendar drift. Line 143: The neglected hundredth refers to the Julian calendar's accumulated error. Line 144: Raggeran is taken as radiating rather than roaring.
XXVII.142 The strange seasonal verb points to calendar drift. The strange seasonal verb points to calendar drift.
XXVII.143 The neglected hundredth refers to the Julian calendar's accumulated error. The neglected hundredth refers to the Julian calendar's accumulated error.
XXVII.144 Raggeran is taken as radiating rather than roaring. Raggeran is taken as radiating rather than roaring.
XXVII.145–147 Fortuna is rendered as a storm within the ship/fleet prophecy. The fleet image carries political and providential correction.
XXVII.145–147 Fortuna is rendered as a storm within the ship/fleet prophecy. Line 145: Fortuna is rendered as a storm within the ship/fleet prophecy. Line 147: The fleet image carries political and providential correction.
XXVII.145 Fortuna is rendered as a storm within the ship/fleet prophecy. Fortuna is rendered as a storm within the ship/fleet prophecy.
XXVII.147 The fleet image carries political and providential correction. The fleet image carries political and providential correction.
XXVII.148 The closing turns the damaged fruit image into promised true fruit. The closing turns the damaged fruit image into promised true fruit.