Canto XXVIII of Paradise
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The pleasure of the Angels.
That is this way that reigns the Divine Love.
Poscia che 'ncontro a la vita presente d'i miseri mortali aperse 'l vero quella che 'mparadisa la mia mente, come in lo specchio fiamma di doppiero vede colui che se n'alluma retro, prima che l'abbia in vista o in pensiero, e sé rivolge per veder se 'l vetro li dice il vero, e vede ch'el s'accorda con esso come nota con suo metro; cosě la mia memoria si ricorda ch'io feci riguardando ne' belli occhi onde a pigliarmi fece Amor la corda.
Thus I did, if my memory is faithful to me, while looking in the beautiful eyes of Jeanne whose Love has made gibets to hang myself. And, when my eyes had turned to the sky, I saw a Point which radiated with such a piercing fire, that I had to close my eyes not to be dazzled from it. A circle of fire turned around the Point, so quickly that it would have exceeded the movement of the stars; and this last one was surrounded by another circle, and a third one, then of a fourth one, so that I counted up to nine concentric circles which turned more slowly, as they moved away from the epicentre. My lady, who realized the doubts that furnished my spirit, says to me: "From this principle depends the sky and nature, by the ardent Love which stimulates it." And I answered to her: "If the world from where I come from was laid out this way, I would be filled with joy, but, in the sensitive world, one sees well the opposite; the souls are all the more worthy that they are far away from the Center of the Power; thus, if my desires must be apeased in this temple of Love, I must still learn, why the model and the copy differs, because it is in vain that I seek to understand it by myself." And she answered to me: "If your spirit is unable to understand, do not be astonished because it is a mystery. If you want to be satisfied, open wide your spirit and listen to this. If you measure to the deepness of Love, and not to its apparent size, you will see what admirable conformity there exists, from the larger to the smaller, between each sky and its Intelligence." Thus I saw, after my lady had helped me by this clear answer, and that truth appeared to me to shine like a single star in the sky. In this sky I heard singing: "Hosanna" which was propagating from chorus to chorus around the fixed Point. And whom, who perceived doubts in my mind, told me: "On the first circles are the Seraphinss and the Cherubins. These other lovers who goes around them, are the Thrones of the divine glance, who ended the first ternary. Know that they have as many Joy that they penetrate deeply into the Truth where any Intelligence rests; of this one can understand, that Beatitud is in the act of Seeing and not in that of Loving." I thought by myself and I started to fear that it was to be such, to reach into Beatitud, not being able anymore to Love Whom who spoke to me that way, and by satisfying myself by looking at her and seing her. And she continued as follows: "The second ternary sings Hosanna in three choruses; it is the song of the three goddesses of Extasy: the Dominating ones, the Virtuous ones, the Powerful ones; to the two penulty circles of the dance, trying hard are, the Principalities and the Archangels and the last one is formed by the pleasure of the Angels. All these orders look in a Single Point, that they are attracted towards God, and that God attracts them towards Himself, and that in this way reign the Divine Love." Jeanne then kept silent and she was desirable, as beautiful and virtuous as an Angel.
Marco Polo ou le voyage imaginaire (La tragédie humaine, janvier 2000) © 1999 Jean-Pierre Lapointe
Theme musical: egypte de Claude Debussy, emprunté aux Classical Midi Archives.
Important Notice: any photos or fragments of photos subject to copyright will be removed on notice.
