Paradiso, Canto 32
Dante Alighieri · Italian original · new English translation and commentary by Text Atlas
Overview
Paradiso XXXII continues Bernard's guidance in the Empyrean rose. Absorbed in Mary's joy, Bernard freely assumes the office of teacher and begins to name the rose's order. Mary closes and anoints the wound Eve opened and pierced; Eve sits at Mary's feet, Rachel sits below with Beatrice, and Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and Ruth descend by thresholds as Bernard moves leaf by leaf. The Hebrew women divide the flower according to faith's gaze toward Christ: one side holds those who believed in Christ to come, and the other holds those who looked to Christ already come, where empty seats still remain. Opposite Mary's glorious seat is John the Baptist, with Francis, Benedict, Augustine, and others below him. Bernard then explains the lower seats of infants: they sit by another's merit under fixed conditions, not by their own choices, and no chance can have place in Heaven. Eternal law fits ring to finger; God distributes grace differently from creation, as Scripture's twins in the womb show. Salvation history moves from innocence with parents' faith, to circumcision, to Christ's perfect baptism, without which post-Christ infant innocence remains below. Bernard turns Dante to Mary's Christlike face, where her brightness alone can dispose him to see Christ. Gabriel descends singing Ave, Maria, gratia plena, the blessed court responds, and all sight grows clearer. Dante asks who the angel is, and Bernard identifies Gabriel before naming the great patricians of the just and pious empire: Adam and Peter as roots near Mary, John the Evangelist, Moses, Anna, and Lucia, who moved Beatrice when Dante was falling. Because time is short, Bernard stops like a good tailor who cuts the garment to the cloth, turns Dante's eyes toward the first Love, says grace must be obtained by prayer from Mary, asks Dante to follow with affection, and begins the holy prayer that opens Paradiso XXXIII.
Narrative arc
- Bernard freely assumes the teaching office and names Mary, Eve, Rachel, Beatrice, and the Hebrew women
- The rose is divided by faith's two gazes toward Christ to come and Christ already come
- The infant ranks reveal providence, predestination, first acumen, and the dispensations of faith, circumcision, and baptism
- Mary's Christlike face prepares Dante to see Christ, and Gabriel descends with the Ave Maria
- Dante asks about Gabriel, whose love and Annunciation palm answer Mary's glory
- Bernard names the great patricians of the just and pious empire
- The tailor simile closes the ordering and turns Dante toward prayer to Mary
Central themes
- Empyrean
- rose
- Mary
- contemplation
Bernard freely assumes the teaching office and names Mary, Eve, Rachel, Beatrice, and the Hebrew women XXXII.1–15
1Affetto al suo piacer, quel contemplante
libero officio di dottore assunse,
e cominciò queste parole sante:
«La piaga che Maria richiuse e unse,
5quella ch’è tanto bella da’ suoi piedi
è colei che l’aperse e che la punse.
Ne l’ordine che fanno i terzi sedi,
siede Rachel di sotto da costei
con Bëatrice, sì come tu vedi.
10Sarra e Rebecca, Iudìt e colei
che fu bisava al cantor che per doglia
del fallo disse ‘Miserere mei’,
puoi tu veder così di soglia in soglia
giù digradar, com’ io ch’a proprio nome
15vo per la rosa giù di foglia in foglia.
1Fixed in affection on his delight, that contemplative spirit
freely assumed the office of teacher,
and began these holy words:
"The wound that Mary closed and anointed,
5she who is so beautiful at her feet
is the one who opened and pierced it.
In the order made by the third seats,
Rachel sits below her
with Beatrice, as you see.
10Sarah and Rebecca, Judith and she
who was great-grandmother to the singer who, from sorrow
for his fault, said 'Miserere mei',
you can see thus, from threshold to threshold,
descending by degrees, as I, by proper name,
15go down through the rose from leaf to leaf.
Commentary
Bernard's opening turns on the teacher-office syntax and the Mary/Eve wound reversal. The translation keeps Bernard's free assumption of the teaching office, Mary as healer before Eve as wounder, Rachel and Beatrice together, and Ruth identified through David's penitential Miserere mei.
XXXII.1–3 Bernard remains absorbed in Mary's joy from the close of Paradiso XXXI. Libero officio keeps Bernard's willing, unforced assumption of final teaching.
XXXII.1–3 Bernard remains absorbed in Mary's joy from the close of Paradiso XXXI. Line 1: Bernard remains absorbed in Mary's joy from the close of Paradiso XXXI. Line 2: Libero officio keeps Bernard's willing, unforced assumption of final teaching.
XXXII.1 Bernard remains absorbed in Mary's joy from the close of Paradiso XXXI. Bernard remains absorbed in Mary's joy from the close of Paradiso XXXI.
XXXII.2 Libero officio keeps Bernard's willing, unforced assumption of final teaching. Libero officio keeps Bernard's willing, unforced assumption of final teaching.
XXXII.4–6 The healing action is named before Eve's wound, giving redemption logical priority over the Fall. The one at Mary's feet is Eve. The line preserves the compressed Mary/Eve wound syntax rather than explaining it away.
XXXII.4–6 The healing action is named before Eve's wound, giving redemption logical priority over the Fall. Line 4: The healing action is named before Eve's wound, giving redemption logical priority over the Fall. Line 5: The one at Mary's feet is Eve. Line 6: The line preserves the compressed Mary/Eve wound syntax rather than explaining it away.
XXXII.4 The healing action is named before Eve's wound, giving redemption logical priority over the Fall. The healing action is named before Eve's wound, giving redemption logical priority over the Fall.
XXXII.5 The one at Mary's feet is Eve. The one at Mary's feet is Eve.
XXXII.6 The line preserves the compressed Mary/Eve wound syntax rather than explaining it away. The line preserves the compressed Mary/Eve wound syntax rather than explaining it away.
XXXII.7–9 Beatrice's seat beside Rachel recalls the active/contemplative sequence from Purgatorio XXVII and the final guide transition in Paradiso XXXI.
XXXII.7–9 Beatrice's seat beside Rachel recalls the active/contemplative sequence from Purgatorio XXVII and the final guide transition in Paradiso XXXI. Line 9: Beatrice's seat beside Rachel recalls the active/contemplative sequence from Purgatorio XXVII and the final guide transition in Paradiso XXXI.
XXXII.9 Beatrice's seat beside Rachel recalls the active/contemplative sequence from Purgatorio XXVII and the final guide transition in Paradiso XXXI. Beatrice's seat beside Rachel recalls the active/contemplative sequence from Purgatorio XXVII and the final guide transition in Paradiso XXXI.
XXXII.10–12 The unnamed figure is Ruth, great-grandmother of David. The Latin phrase points to David's penitential psalm and echoes earlier Miserere moments in the poem.
XXXII.10–12 The unnamed figure is Ruth, great-grandmother of David. Line 11: The unnamed figure is Ruth, great-grandmother of David. Line 12: The Latin phrase points to David's penitential psalm and echoes earlier Miserere moments in the poem.
XXXII.11 The unnamed figure is Ruth, great-grandmother of David. The unnamed figure is Ruth, great-grandmother of David.
XXXII.12 The Latin phrase points to David's penitential psalm and echoes earlier Miserere moments in the poem. The Latin phrase points to David's penitential psalm and echoes earlier Miserere moments in the poem.
XXXII.13–15 Keeps soglia in the rose's stair/threshold field. Uses leaf for foglia to maintain the Empyrean rose vocabulary from Paradiso XXX-XXXI.
XXXII.13–15 Keeps soglia in the rose's stair/threshold field. Line 13: Keeps soglia in the rose's stair/threshold field. Line 15: Uses leaf for foglia to maintain the Empyrean rose vocabulary from Paradiso XXX-XXXI.
XXXII.13 Keeps soglia in the rose's stair/threshold field. Keeps soglia in the rose's stair/threshold field.
XXXII.15 Uses leaf for foglia to maintain the Empyrean rose vocabulary from Paradiso XXX-XXXI. Uses leaf for foglia to maintain the Empyrean rose vocabulary from Paradiso XXX-XXXI.
The rose is divided by faith's two gazes toward Christ to come and Christ already come XXXII.16–39
16E dal settimo grado in giù, sì come
infino ad esso, succedono Ebree,
dirimendo del fior tutte le chiome;
perché, secondo lo sguardo che fée
20la fede in Cristo, queste sono il muro
a che si parton le sacre scalee.
Da questa parte onde ’l fiore è maturo
di tutte le sue foglie, sono assisi
quei che credettero in Cristo venturo;
25da l’altra parte onde sono intercisi
di vòti i semicirculi, si stanno
quei ch’a Cristo venuto ebber li visi.
E come quinci il glorïoso scanno
de la donna del cielo e li altri scanni
30di sotto lui cotanta cerna fanno,
così di contra quel del gran Giovanni,
che sempre santo ’l diserto e ’l martiro
sofferse, e poi l’inferno da due anni;
e sotto lui così cerner sortiro
35Francesco, Benedetto e Augustino
e altri fin qua giù di giro in giro.
Or mira l’alto proveder divino:
ché l’uno e l’altro aspetto de la fede
igualmente empierà questo giardino.
16And from the seventh rank downward, just as
up to it, Hebrew women follow in succession,
parting all the tresses of the flower;
because, according to the gaze that faith
20cast toward Christ, these are the wall
by which the sacred stairways are divided.
On this side, where the flower is mature
in all its leaves, are seated
those who believed in Christ to come;
25on the other side, where the semicircles
are cut through by empty spaces, stand
those who had their faces toward Christ already come.
And as on this side the glorious seat
of the lady of Heaven and the other seats
30below it make so great a partition,
so opposite does that of great John,
who, always holy, suffered the desert
and martyrdom, and then Hell for two years;
and beneath him, in this same dividing, were allotted
35Francis, Benedict, and Augustine
and others, down here from circle to circle.
Now look at the high divine foresight:
for the one and the other aspect of faith
will equally fill this garden.
Commentary
The Hebrew women and John the Baptist form dividing lines in the rose. The translation keeps the rose as flower, garden, stairway, and imperial court, and distinguishes faith in Christ to come from faith looking to Christ already come, including the partially empty semicircles.
XXXII.16–18 Chiome keeps the strange hair/tresses image within the rose.
XXXII.16–18 Chiome keeps the strange hair/tresses image within the rose. Line 18: Chiome keeps the strange hair/tresses image within the rose.
XXXII.18 Chiome keeps the strange hair/tresses image within the rose. Chiome keeps the strange hair/tresses image within the rose.
XXXII.19–21 The phrase begins the canto's repeated visual account of faith. The rose is also a set of sacred stairways divided by salvation history.
XXXII.19–21 The phrase begins the canto's repeated visual account of faith. Line 19: The phrase begins the canto's repeated visual account of faith. Line 21: The rose is also a set of sacred stairways divided by salvation history.
XXXII.19 The phrase begins the canto's repeated visual account of faith. The phrase begins the canto's repeated visual account of faith.
XXXII.21 The rose is also a set of sacred stairways divided by salvation history. The rose is also a set of sacred stairways divided by salvation history.
XXXII.22–24 This is the side of those who believed before Christ's advent.
XXXII.22–24 This is the side of those who believed before Christ's advent. Line 24: This is the side of those who believed before Christ's advent.
XXXII.24 This is the side of those who believed before Christ's advent. This is the side of those who believed before Christ's advent.
XXXII.25–27 The empty spaces mark history before the final number is filled. Keeps visi as faces to maintain the canto's gaze language.
XXXII.25–27 The empty spaces mark history before the final number is filled. Line 26: The empty spaces mark history before the final number is filled. Line 27: Keeps visi as faces to maintain the canto's gaze language.
XXXII.26 The empty spaces mark history before the final number is filled. The empty spaces mark history before the final number is filled.
XXXII.27 Keeps visi as faces to maintain the canto's gaze language. Keeps visi as faces to maintain the canto's gaze language.
XXXII.28–30 The lady of Heaven is Mary.
XXXII.28–30 The lady of Heaven is Mary. Line 29: The lady of Heaven is Mary.
XXXII.29 The lady of Heaven is Mary. The lady of Heaven is Mary.
XXXII.31–33 John is John the Baptist, the counterpoint to Mary's dividing line. The two years are the Baptist's time in Limbo before Christ's Harrowing of Hell.
XXXII.31–33 John is John the Baptist, the counterpoint to Mary's dividing line. Line 31: John is John the Baptist, the counterpoint to Mary's dividing line. Line 33: The two years are the Baptist's time in Limbo before Christ's Harrowing of Hell.
XXXII.31 John is John the Baptist, the counterpoint to Mary's dividing line. John is John the Baptist, the counterpoint to Mary's dividing line.
XXXII.33 The two years are the Baptist's time in Limbo before Christ's Harrowing of Hell. The two years are the Baptist's time in Limbo before Christ's Harrowing of Hell.
XXXII.34–36 The founders and rule-givers stand under John in the second dividing line.
XXXII.34–36 The founders and rule-givers stand under John in the second dividing line. Line 35: The founders and rule-givers stand under John in the second dividing line.
XXXII.35 The founders and rule-givers stand under John in the second dividing line. The founders and rule-givers stand under John in the second dividing line.
XXXII.37–39 Proveder keeps providence in a sight/foresight field. The two faith-aspects will fill both sides of the rose.
XXXII.37–39 Proveder keeps providence in a sight/foresight field. Line 37: Proveder keeps providence in a sight/foresight field. Line 39: The two faith-aspects will fill both sides of the rose.
XXXII.37 Proveder keeps providence in a sight/foresight field. Proveder keeps providence in a sight/foresight field.
XXXII.39 The two faith-aspects will fill both sides of the rose. The two faith-aspects will fill both sides of the rose.
The infant ranks reveal providence, predestination, first acumen, and the dispensations of faith, circumcision, and baptism XXXII.40–84
40E sappi che dal grado in giù che fiede
a mezzo il tratto le due discrezioni,
per nullo proprio merito si siede,
ma per l’altrui, con certe condizioni:
ché tutti questi son spiriti ascolti
45prima ch’avesser vere elezïoni.
Ben te ne puoi accorger per li volti
e anche per le voci püerili,
se tu li guardi bene e se li ascolti.
Or dubbi tu e dubitando sili;
50ma io discioglierò ’l forte legame
in che ti stringon li pensier sottili.
Dentro a l’ampiezza di questo reame
casüal punto non puote aver sito,
se non come tristizia o sete o fame:
55ché per etterna legge è stabilito
quantunque vedi, sì che giustamente
ci si risponde da l’anello al dito;
e però questa festinata gente
a vera vita non è sine causa
60intra sé qui più e meno eccellente.
Lo rege per cui questo regno pausa
in tanto amore e in tanto diletto,
che nulla volontà è di più ausa,
le menti tutte nel suo lieto aspetto
65creando, a suo piacer di grazia dota
diversamente; e qui basti l’effetto.
E ciò espresso e chiaro vi si nota
ne la Scrittura santa in quei gemelli
che ne la madre ebber l’ira commota.
70Però, secondo il color d’i capelli,
di cotal grazia l’altissimo lume
degnamente convien che s’incappelli.
Dunque, sanza mercé di lor costume,
locati son per gradi differenti,
75sol differendo nel primiero acume.
Bastavasi ne’ secoli recenti
con l’innocenza, per aver salute,
solamente la fede d’i parenti;
poi che le prime etadi fuor compiute,
80convenne ai maschi a l’innocenti penne
per circuncidere acquistar virtute;
ma poi che ’l tempo de la grazia venne,
sanza battesmo perfetto di Cristo
tale innocenza là giù si ritenne.
40And know that below the rank that strikes
across the middle of the stretch between the two divisions,
no one sits by any merit of his own,
but by another's, with certain conditions:
for all these are spirits set free
45before they had true acts of choice.
You can well perceive this by their faces
and also by their childish voices,
if you look at them well and listen to them.
Now you are doubting, and doubting you are silent;
50but I will loosen the strong knot
in which your subtle thoughts bind you.
Within the breadth of this kingdom
no point of chance can have a place,
any more than sadness or thirst or hunger:
55for by eternal law is established
all that you see, so justly
the ring here answers to the finger;
and therefore these hastened souls
to true life are not sine causa
60more and less excellent here among themselves.
The King through whom this kingdom rests
in so much love and so much delight
that no will dares toward more,
creating all minds in his glad aspect,
65at his pleasure endows them with grace
differently; and here let the effect suffice.
And this is marked for you, expressed and clear,
in Holy Scripture, in those twins
who in their mother had their anger stirred.
70Therefore, according to the color of their hair,
the highest light, with such grace,
must worthily crown them.
Therefore, without reward for their conduct,
they are placed in different ranks,
75differing only in their first keenness.
In the world's young centuries it was enough,
with innocence, to have salvation,
only the faith of the parents;
after the first ages were completed,
80the males needed, for their innocent wings,
to acquire virtue through circumcision;
but after the time of grace had come,
without the perfect baptism of Christ,
such innocence was held down there below.
Commentary
The argument concerns infant salvation and predestination. The translation keeps the lower horizontal division, another's merit under fixed conditions, childish faces and voices, no place for chance, ring-to-finger exactness, differently distributed grace, Jacob and Esau, first acumen, parents' faith, circumcision, and Christ's perfect baptism.
XXXII.40–42 Bernard shifts from the vertical divisions to the horizontal infant ranks.
XXXII.40–42 Bernard shifts from the vertical divisions to the horizontal infant ranks. Line 41: Bernard shifts from the vertical divisions to the horizontal infant ranks.
XXXII.41 Bernard shifts from the vertical divisions to the horizontal infant ranks. Bernard shifts from the vertical divisions to the horizontal infant ranks.
XXXII.43–45 The infant souls sit by another's merit, not by personal moral acts. The processed source reads ascolti; the translation follows the standard sense asciolti, required by the argument about infants before true choice.
XXXII.43–45 The infant souls sit by another's merit, not by personal moral acts. Line 43: The infant souls sit by another's merit, not by personal moral acts. Line 44: The processed source reads ascolti; the translation follows the standard sense asciolti, required by the argument about infants before true choice. Line 45: Vere elezioni marks the absence of mature free choice, not an absence of personhood.
XXXII.43 The infant souls sit by another's merit, not by personal moral acts. The infant souls sit by another's merit, not by personal moral acts.
XXXII.44 The processed source reads ascolti; the translation follows the standard sense asciolti, required by the argument about infants before true choice. The processed source reads ascolti; the translation follows the standard sense asciolti, required by the argument about infants before true choice.
XXXII.45 Vere elezioni marks the absence of mature free choice, not an absence of personhood. Vere elezioni marks the absence of mature free choice, not an absence of personhood.
XXXII.46–48 The infants are perceptible by both face and voice within the Empyrean.
XXXII.46–48 The infants are perceptible by both face and voice within the Empyrean. Line 47: The infants are perceptible by both face and voice within the Empyrean.
XXXII.47 The infants are perceptible by both face and voice within the Empyrean. The infants are perceptible by both face and voice within the Empyrean.
XXXII.49–51 Bernard answers Dante's unspoken theological doubt.
XXXII.49–51 Bernard answers Dante's unspoken theological doubt. Line 51: Bernard answers Dante's unspoken theological doubt.
XXXII.51 Bernard answers Dante's unspoken theological doubt. Bernard answers Dante's unspoken theological doubt.
XXXII.52–54 Keeps casual point as a local denial that even the smallest heavenly placement is accidental.
XXXII.52–54 Keeps casual point as a local denial that even the smallest heavenly placement is accidental. Line 53: Keeps casual point as a local denial that even the smallest heavenly placement is accidental.
XXXII.53 Keeps casual point as a local denial that even the smallest heavenly placement is accidental. Keeps casual point as a local denial that even the smallest heavenly placement is accidental.
XXXII.55–57 The ring-to-finger image keeps exact proportional fitting rather than vague appropriateness.
XXXII.55–57 The ring-to-finger image keeps exact proportional fitting rather than vague appropriateness. Line 57: The ring-to-finger image keeps exact proportional fitting rather than vague appropriateness.
XXXII.57 The ring-to-finger image keeps exact proportional fitting rather than vague appropriateness. The ring-to-finger image keeps exact proportional fitting rather than vague appropriateness.
XXXII.58–60 Festinata gente names those brought quickly to true life in infancy. The Latin phrase is retained because Bernard states the scholastic causality problem directly.
XXXII.58–60 Festinata gente names those brought quickly to true life in infancy. Line 58: Festinata gente names those brought quickly to true life in infancy. Line 59: The Latin phrase is retained because Bernard states the scholastic causality problem directly.
XXXII.58 Festinata gente names those brought quickly to true life in infancy. Festinata gente names those brought quickly to true life in infancy.
XXXII.59 The Latin phrase is retained because Bernard states the scholastic causality problem directly. The Latin phrase is retained because Bernard states the scholastic causality problem directly.
XXXII.61–63 Heavenly will is satisfied rather than restless before divine allotment.
XXXII.61–63 Heavenly will is satisfied rather than restless before divine allotment. Line 63: Heavenly will is satisfied rather than restless before divine allotment.
XXXII.63 Heavenly will is satisfied rather than restless before divine allotment. Heavenly will is satisfied rather than restless before divine allotment.
XXXII.64–66 The line keeps creation in the field of divine sight. Bernard does not explain the hidden why beyond the manifest effect.
XXXII.64–66 The line keeps creation in the field of divine sight. Line 64: The line keeps creation in the field of divine sight. Line 66: Bernard does not explain the hidden why beyond the manifest effect.
XXXII.64 The line keeps creation in the field of divine sight. The line keeps creation in the field of divine sight.
XXXII.66 Bernard does not explain the hidden why beyond the manifest effect. Bernard does not explain the hidden why beyond the manifest effect.
XXXII.67–69 The twins are Jacob and Esau. The reference is to the prenatal struggle in Rebecca's womb.
XXXII.67–69 The twins are Jacob and Esau. Line 68: The twins are Jacob and Esau. Line 69: The reference is to the prenatal struggle in Rebecca's womb.
XXXII.68 The twins are Jacob and Esau. The twins are Jacob and Esau.
XXXII.69 The reference is to the prenatal struggle in Rebecca's womb. The reference is to the prenatal struggle in Rebecca's womb.
XXXII.70–72 The hair-color image points to differing first endowments before personal acts. S'incappelli keeps the crown/hair wordplay as far as English can without forcing it.
XXXII.70–72 The hair-color image points to differing first endowments before personal acts. Line 70: The hair-color image points to differing first endowments before personal acts. Line 72: S'incappelli keeps the crown/hair wordplay as far as English can without forcing it.
XXXII.70 The hair-color image points to differing first endowments before personal acts. The hair-color image points to differing first endowments before personal acts.
XXXII.72 S'incappelli keeps the crown/hair wordplay as far as English can without forcing it. S'incappelli keeps the crown/hair wordplay as far as English can without forcing it.
XXXII.73–75 Primiero acume is the first acuity or capacity for beatific vision, not earned merit.
XXXII.73–75 Primiero acume is the first acuity or capacity for beatific vision, not earned merit. Line 75: Primiero acume is the first acuity or capacity for beatific vision, not earned merit.
XXXII.75 Primiero acume is the first acuity or capacity for beatific vision, not earned merit. Primiero acume is the first acuity or capacity for beatific vision, not earned merit.
XXXII.76–78 Recenti here means the earliest ages of the world, recent relative to creation. Bernard begins the sequence of dispensations governing infant salvation.
XXXII.76–78 Recenti here means the earliest ages of the world, recent relative to creation. Line 76: Recenti here means the earliest ages of the world, recent relative to creation. Line 78: Bernard begins the sequence of dispensations governing infant salvation.
XXXII.76 Recenti here means the earliest ages of the world, recent relative to creation. Recenti here means the earliest ages of the world, recent relative to creation.
XXXII.78 Bernard begins the sequence of dispensations governing infant salvation. Bernard begins the sequence of dispensations governing infant salvation.
XXXII.79–81 The circumcision image mixes bodily rite with flight/feather language.
XXXII.79–81 The circumcision image mixes bodily rite with flight/feather language. Line 80: The circumcision image mixes bodily rite with flight/feather language.
XXXII.80 The circumcision image mixes bodily rite with flight/feather language. The circumcision image mixes bodily rite with flight/feather language.
XXXII.82–84 Christ's baptism is perfect relative to circumcision and John's baptism. The line states Dante's Limbo doctrine for unbaptized infants after Christ.
XXXII.82–84 Christ's baptism is perfect relative to circumcision and John's baptism. Line 83: Christ's baptism is perfect relative to circumcision and John's baptism. Line 84: The line states Dante's Limbo doctrine for unbaptized infants after Christ.
XXXII.83 Christ's baptism is perfect relative to circumcision and John's baptism. Christ's baptism is perfect relative to circumcision and John's baptism.
XXXII.84 The line states Dante's Limbo doctrine for unbaptized infants after Christ. The line states Dante's Limbo doctrine for unbaptized infants after Christ.
Mary's Christlike face prepares Dante to see Christ, and Gabriel descends with the Ave Maria XXXII.85–99
85Riguarda omai ne la faccia che a Cristo
più si somiglia, ché la sua chiarezza
sola ti può disporre a veder Cristo».
Io vidi sopra lei tanta allegrezza
piover, portata ne le menti sante
90create a trasvolar per quella altezza,
che quantunque io avea visto davante,
di tanta ammirazion non mi sospese,
né mi mostrò di Dio tanto sembiante;
e quello amor che primo lì discese,
95cantando ‘Ave, Maria, gratïa plena’,
dinanzi a lei le sue ali distese.
Rispuose a la divina cantilena
da tutte parti la beata corte,
sì ch’ogne vista sen fé più serena.
85Look now into the face that to Christ
is most alike, for its brightness
alone can dispose you to see Christ."
I saw over her so much gladness
rain, carried in the holy minds
90created to fly across that height,
that whatever I had seen before
did not suspend me in such admiration,
nor show me so much likeness of God;
and that love who first descended there,
95singing 'Ave, Maria, gratia plena',
spread his wings before her.
The divine cantilena was answered
from every side by the blessed court,
so that every sight became more serene.
Commentary
Mary's Christlike face, Gabriel's descent, and the court's response carry the sight and light motif. The translation keeps Mary's brightness as the only disposition toward seeing Christ and keeps vista as sight at line 99 rather than flattening the visual field into generic faces.
XXXII.85–87 Bernard turns from theological ordering to Mary's face. Mary's embodied likeness to Christ matters because Christ and Mary alone have resurrected bodies in Heaven before Judgment. Mary's brightness prepares sight for Ch.
XXXII.85–87 Bernard turns from theological ordering to Mary's face. Line 85: Bernard turns from theological ordering to Mary's face. Line 86: Mary's embodied likeness to Christ matters because Christ and Mary alone have resurrected bodies in Heaven before Judgment. Line 87: Mary's brightness prepares sight for Christ rather than replacing him as the goal.
XXXII.85 Bernard turns from theological ordering to Mary's face. Bernard turns from theological ordering to Mary's face.
XXXII.86 Mary's embodied likeness to Christ matters because Christ and Mary alone have resurrected bodies in Heaven before Judgment. Mary's embodied likeness to Christ matters because Christ and Mary alone have resurrected bodies in Heaven before Judgment.
XXXII.87 Mary's brightness prepares sight for Christ rather than replacing him as the goal. Mary's brightness prepares sight for Christ rather than replacing him as the goal.
XXXII.88–90 The holy minds are the angelic intelligences around Mary.
XXXII.88–90 The holy minds are the angelic intelligences around Mary. Line 89: The holy minds are the angelic intelligences around Mary.
XXXII.89 The holy minds are the angelic intelligences around Mary. The holy minds are the angelic intelligences around Mary.
XXXII.91–93 Mary shows the highest creaturely likeness to God before the final vision.
XXXII.91–93 Mary shows the highest creaturely likeness to God before the final vision. Line 93: Mary shows the highest creaturely likeness to God before the final vision.
XXXII.93 Mary shows the highest creaturely likeness to God before the final vision. Mary shows the highest creaturely likeness to God before the final vision.
XXXII.94–96 The angelic love is Gabriel, who descended at the Annunciation. The Latin salutation is retained as liturgical speech.
XXXII.94–96 The angelic love is Gabriel, who descended at the Annunciation. Line 94: The angelic love is Gabriel, who descended at the Annunciation. Line 95: The Latin salutation is retained as liturgical speech.
XXXII.94 The angelic love is Gabriel, who descended at the Annunciation. The angelic love is Gabriel, who descended at the Annunciation.
XXXII.95 The Latin salutation is retained as liturgical speech. The Latin salutation is retained as liturgical speech.
XXXII.97–99 Keeps vista as sight to preserve the canto's movement toward clearer vision.
XXXII.97–99 Keeps vista as sight to preserve the canto's movement toward clearer vision. Line 99: Keeps vista as sight to preserve the canto's movement toward clearer vision.
XXXII.99 Keeps vista as sight to preserve the canto's movement toward clearer vision. Keeps vista as sight to preserve the canto's movement toward clearer vision.
Dante asks about Gabriel, whose love and Annunciation palm answer Mary's glory XXXII.100–114
100«O santo padre, che per me comporte
l’esser qua giù, lasciando il dolce loco
nel qual tu siedi per etterna sorte,
qual è quell’ angel che con tanto gioco
guarda ne li occhi la nostra regina,
105innamorato sì che par di foco?».
Così ricorsi ancora a la dottrina
di colui ch’abbelliva di Maria,
come del sole stella mattutina.
Ed elli a me: «Baldezza e leggiadria
110quant’ esser puote in angelo e in alma,
tutta è in lui; e sì volem che sia,
perch’ elli è quelli che portò la palma
giuso a Maria, quando ’l Figliuol di Dio
carcar si volse de la nostra salma.
100"O holy father, who for me endure
being down here, leaving the sweet place
in which you sit by eternal lot,
who is that angel who with such joy
looks into the eyes of our queen,
105so enamored that he seems of fire?"
Thus I again had recourse to the teaching
of him who was beautified by Mary,
as the morning star is by the sun.
And he to me: "All bold assurance and gracefulness
110that can be in angel or in soul
is in him; and so we will it be,
for he carried the palm
down to Mary, when the Son of God
willed to burden himself with our flesh.
Commentary
Dante's question about Gabriel and Bernard's answer involve register and theology. The translation keeps Bernard as holy father temporarily below his seat, Gabriel's joyful gaze into Mary's eyes, knightly bold assurance and grace, the palm of Annunciation, and the Son of God taking on the burden of human flesh.
XXXII.100–102 Dante recognizes Bernard's temporary departure from his own blessed seat.
XXXII.100–102 Dante recognizes Bernard's temporary departure from his own blessed seat. Line 102: Dante recognizes Bernard's temporary departure from his own blessed seat.
XXXII.102 Dante recognizes Bernard's temporary departure from his own blessed seat. Dante recognizes Bernard's temporary departure from his own blessed seat.
XXXII.103–105 The fiery love is Gabriel's Marian devotion, not a new celestial body.
XXXII.103–105 The fiery love is Gabriel's Marian devotion, not a new celestial body. Line 105: The fiery love is Gabriel's Marian devotion, not a new celestial body.
XXXII.105 The fiery love is Gabriel's Marian devotion, not a new celestial body. The fiery love is Gabriel's Marian devotion, not a new celestial body.
XXXII.106–108 Bernard's teaching authority is inseparable from his Marian devotion.
XXXII.106–108 Bernard's teaching authority is inseparable from his Marian devotion. Line 107: Bernard's teaching authority is inseparable from his Marian devotion.
XXXII.107 Bernard's teaching authority is inseparable from his Marian devotion. Bernard's teaching authority is inseparable from his Marian devotion.
XXXII.109–111 Baldezza e leggiadria gives Gabriel both confident ardor and gracious beauty.
XXXII.109–111 Baldezza e leggiadria gives Gabriel both confident ardor and gracious beauty. Line 109: Baldezza e leggiadria gives Gabriel both confident ardor and gracious beauty.
XXXII.109 Baldezza e leggiadria gives Gabriel both confident ardor and gracious beauty. Baldezza e leggiadria gives Gabriel both confident ardor and gracious beauty.
XXXII.112–114 The palm marks Gabriel's Annunciation and the victory opened through Mary's consent. Salma keeps the body as a burden Christ willingly assumes in the Incarnation.
XXXII.112–114 The palm marks Gabriel's Annunciation and the victory opened through Mary's consent. Line 112: The palm marks Gabriel's Annunciation and the victory opened through Mary's consent. Line 114: Salma keeps the body as a burden Christ willingly assumes in the Incarnation.
XXXII.112 The palm marks Gabriel's Annunciation and the victory opened through Mary's consent. The palm marks Gabriel's Annunciation and the victory opened through Mary's consent.
XXXII.114 Salma keeps the body as a burden Christ willingly assumes in the Incarnation. Salma keeps the body as a burden Christ willingly assumes in the Incarnation.
Bernard names the great patricians of the just and pious empire XXXII.115–138
115Ma vieni omai con li occhi sì com’ io
andrò parlando, e nota i gran patrici
di questo imperio giustissimo e pio.
Quei due che seggon là sù più felici
per esser propinquissimi ad Agusta,
120son d’esta rosa quasi due radici:
colui che da sinistra le s’aggiusta
è il padre per lo cui ardito gusto
l’umana specie tanto amaro gusta;
dal destro vedi quel padre vetusto
125di Santa Chiesa a cui Cristo le chiavi
raccomandò di questo fior venusto.
E quei che vide tutti i tempi gravi,
pria che morisse, de la bella sposa
che s’acquistò con la lancia e coi clavi,
130siede lungh’ esso, e lungo l’altro posa
quel duca sotto cui visse di manna
la gente ingrata, mobile e retrosa.
Di contr’ a Pietro vedi sedere Anna,
tanto contenta di mirar sua figlia,
135che non move occhio per cantare osanna;
e contro al maggior padre di famiglia
siede Lucia, che mosse la tua donna
quando chinavi, a rovinar, le ciglia.
115But come now with your eyes, while I
go on speaking, and mark the great patricians
of this most just and pious empire.
Those two who sit up there most blessed,
because they are nearest to Augusta,
120are almost two roots of this rose:
he who sits next to her on the left
is the father through whose daring taste
the human species tastes so much bitterness;
on the right you see that ancient father
125of Holy Church to whom Christ entrusted
the keys of this beautiful flower.
And he who saw all the grave times,
before he died, of the beautiful bride
won by the lance and by the nails,
130sits beside him; and beside the other rests
that leader under whom on manna lived
the ungrateful, fickle, and backsliding people.
Opposite Peter you see Anna seated,
so content to gaze at her daughter
135that she does not move an eye while singing hosanna;
and opposite the greatest father of a family
sits Lucia, who moved your lady
when you were lowering your eyes toward ruin.
Commentary
The great patricians catalogue follows the rose's chiastic ordering. The translation names Adam and Peter as roots near Mary, John and Moses beside them, then Anna and Lucia opposite Peter and Adam, preserving taste, keys, Bride, manna, fixed gaze, and Lucia's rescue role from Inferno II.
XXXII.115–117 The ocular tour resumes after the Gabriel question. Gran patrici gives the rose an explicitly Roman-imperial court register. The Empyrean rose is also the just and pious empire.
XXXII.115–117 The ocular tour resumes after the Gabriel question. Line 115: The ocular tour resumes after the Gabriel question. Line 116: Gran patrici gives the rose an explicitly Roman-imperial court register. Line 117: The Empyrean rose is also the just and pious empire.
XXXII.115 The ocular tour resumes after the Gabriel question. The ocular tour resumes after the Gabriel question.
XXXII.116 Gran patrici gives the rose an explicitly Roman-imperial court register. Gran patrici gives the rose an explicitly Roman-imperial court register.
XXXII.117 The Empyrean rose is also the just and pious empire. The Empyrean rose is also the just and pious empire.
XXXII.118–120 Augusta is Mary as empress/queen of the rose. Adam and Peter are roots set above, near Mary.
XXXII.118–120 Augusta is Mary as empress/queen of the rose. Line 119: Augusta is Mary as empress/queen of the rose. Line 120: Adam and Peter are roots set above, near Mary.
XXXII.119 Augusta is Mary as empress/queen of the rose. Augusta is Mary as empress/queen of the rose.
XXXII.120 Adam and Peter are roots set above, near Mary. Adam and Peter are roots set above, near Mary.
XXXII.121–123 The left-hand figure is Adam. Ardito gusto keeps Adam's transgressive taste concrete. The taste/tastes repetition links the Fall to humanity's bitter condition.
XXXII.121–123 The left-hand figure is Adam. Line 121: The left-hand figure is Adam. Line 122: Ardito gusto keeps Adam's transgressive taste concrete. Line 123: The taste/tastes repetition links the Fall to humanity's bitter condition.
XXXII.121 The left-hand figure is Adam. The left-hand figure is Adam.
XXXII.122 Ardito gusto keeps Adam's transgressive taste concrete. Ardito gusto keeps Adam's transgressive taste concrete.
XXXII.123 The taste/tastes repetition links the Fall to humanity's bitter condition. The taste/tastes repetition links the Fall to humanity's bitter condition.
XXXII.124–126 The right-hand figure is Peter. The keys return to Peter in their proper heavenly context.
XXXII.124–126 The right-hand figure is Peter. Line 124: The right-hand figure is Peter. Line 125: The keys return to Peter in their proper heavenly context.
XXXII.124 The right-hand figure is Peter. The right-hand figure is Peter.
XXXII.125 The keys return to Peter in their proper heavenly context. The keys return to Peter in their proper heavenly context.
XXXII.127–129 This is John the Evangelist, identified through Revelation. The bride is the Church. The lance and nails point to Christ's Passion as the purchase of the Bride.
XXXII.127–129 This is John the Evangelist, identified through Revelation. Line 127: This is John the Evangelist, identified through Revelation. Line 128: The bride is the Church. Line 129: The lance and nails point to Christ's Passion as the purchase of the Bride.
XXXII.127 This is John the Evangelist, identified through Revelation. This is John the Evangelist, identified through Revelation.
XXXII.128 The bride is the Church. The bride is the Church.
XXXII.129 The lance and nails point to Christ's Passion as the purchase of the Bride. The lance and nails point to Christ's Passion as the purchase of the Bride.
XXXII.130–132 The leader is Moses. The description recalls Israel's wilderness complaints and reversions.
XXXII.130–132 The leader is Moses. Line 131: The leader is Moses. Line 132: The description recalls Israel's wilderness complaints and reversions.
XXXII.131 The leader is Moses. The leader is Moses.
XXXII.132 The description recalls Israel's wilderness complaints and reversions. The description recalls Israel's wilderness complaints and reversions.
XXXII.133–135 Anna, Mary's mother, completes another Marian relation in the rose. Anna's fixed gaze and praise coexist without distraction in beatitude.
XXXII.133–135 Anna, Mary's mother, completes another Marian relation in the rose. Line 133: Anna, Mary's mother, completes another Marian relation in the rose. Line 135: Anna's fixed gaze and praise coexist without distraction in beatitude.
XXXII.133 Anna, Mary's mother, completes another Marian relation in the rose. Anna, Mary's mother, completes another Marian relation in the rose.
XXXII.135 Anna's fixed gaze and praise coexist without distraction in beatitude. Anna's fixed gaze and praise coexist without distraction in beatitude.
XXXII.136–138 The greatest father of family is Adam. Lucia's intercession moved Beatrice in Inferno II. The line recalls Dante's first-cantica fall and the chain of Mary, Lucia, Beatrice, and Virgil.
XXXII.136–138 The greatest father of family is Adam. Line 136: The greatest father of family is Adam. Line 137: Lucia's intercession moved Beatrice in Inferno II. Line 138: The line recalls Dante's first-cantica fall and the chain of Mary, Lucia, Beatrice, and Virgil.
XXXII.136 The greatest father of family is Adam. The greatest father of family is Adam.
XXXII.137 Lucia's intercession moved Beatrice in Inferno II. Lucia's intercession moved Beatrice in Inferno II.
XXXII.138 The line recalls Dante's first-cantica fall and the chain of Mary, Lucia, Beatrice, and Virgil. The line recalls Dante's first-cantica fall and the chain of Mary, Lucia, Beatrice, and Virgil.
The tailor simile closes the ordering and turns Dante toward prayer to Mary XXXII.139–151
139Ma perché ’l tempo fugge che t’assonna,
140qui farem punto, come buon sartore
che com’ elli ha del panno fa la gonna;
e drizzeremo li occhi al primo amore,
sì che, guardando verso lui, penètri
quant’ è possibil per lo suo fulgore.
145Veramente, ne forse tu t’arretri
movendo l’ali tue, credendo oltrarti,
orando grazia conven che s’impetri
grazia da quella che puote aiutarti;
e tu mi seguirai con l’affezione,
150sì che dal dicer mio lo cor non parti».
E cominciò questa santa orazione:
139But because the time that makes you drowsy flees,
140here we will make a stop, like a good tailor
who makes the gown according to the cloth he has;
and we will direct our eyes to the first Love,
that, looking toward him, you may pierce
as far as possible through his radiance.
145Truly, lest perhaps you draw back
while moving your wings, believing you move onward,
you must by prayer obtain grace,
grace from her who has power to help you;
and you will follow me with affection,
150so your heart does not depart from my speech."
And he began this holy prayer:
Commentary
The close carries pacing and the handoff to Paradiso XXXIII. The translation keeps the dream-time pressure, the good-tailor simile, the turn toward the first Love, the risk of falling back while thinking one advances, and the need to obtain grace by prayer from Mary.
XXXII.139–141 The closing pressure names the vision's time as fleeting and dreamlike. The homely tailor simile governs Bernard's decision to stop ordering the rose.
XXXII.139–141 The closing pressure names the vision's time as fleeting and dreamlike. Line 139: The closing pressure names the vision's time as fleeting and dreamlike. Line 140: The homely tailor simile governs Bernard's decision to stop ordering the rose.
XXXII.139 The closing pressure names the vision's time as fleeting and dreamlike. The closing pressure names the vision's time as fleeting and dreamlike.
XXXII.140 The homely tailor simile governs Bernard's decision to stop ordering the rose. The homely tailor simile governs Bernard's decision to stop ordering the rose.
XXXII.142–144 Primo amore returns at the threshold of the final prayer and vision. The goal remains direct vision of God as far as creaturely capacity allows.
XXXII.142–144 Primo amore returns at the threshold of the final prayer and vision. Line 142: Primo amore returns at the threshold of the final prayer and vision. Line 144: The goal remains direct vision of God as far as creaturely capacity allows.
XXXII.142 Primo amore returns at the threshold of the final prayer and vision. Primo amore returns at the threshold of the final prayer and vision.
XXXII.144 The goal remains direct vision of God as far as creaturely capacity allows. The goal remains direct vision of God as far as creaturely capacity allows.
XXXII.145–147 Bernard warns against a self-powered ascent that mistakes regression for advance. The final ascent requires grace obtained through prayer.
XXXII.145–147 Bernard warns against a self-powered ascent that mistakes regression for advance. Line 146: Bernard warns against a self-powered ascent that mistakes regression for advance. Line 147: The final ascent requires grace obtained through prayer.
XXXII.146 Bernard warns against a self-powered ascent that mistakes regression for advance. Bernard warns against a self-powered ascent that mistakes regression for advance.
XXXII.147 The final ascent requires grace obtained through prayer. The final ascent requires grace obtained through prayer.
XXXII.148–150 The one who can help is Mary, whose prayer begins Paradiso XXXIII. Bernard asks Dante to join the coming prayer affectively, not only intellectually.
XXXII.148–150 The one who can help is Mary, whose prayer begins Paradiso XXXIII. Line 148: The one who can help is Mary, whose prayer begins Paradiso XXXIII. Line 150: Bernard asks Dante to join the coming prayer affectively, not only intellectually.
XXXII.148 The one who can help is Mary, whose prayer begins Paradiso XXXIII. The one who can help is Mary, whose prayer begins Paradiso XXXIII.
XXXII.150 Bernard asks Dante to join the coming prayer affectively, not only intellectually. Bernard asks Dante to join the coming prayer affectively, not only intellectually.
XXXII.151 The canto's final line hands directly into Bernard's Marian prayer in Paradiso XXXIII. The canto's final line hands directly into Bernard's Marian prayer in Paradiso XXXIII.