35 The seventh followed thereupon in width 40 Beheld me much perplexed, said: "From that point Dependent is the heaven and nature all. Behold that circle most conjoined to it, And know thou, that its motion is so swift Through burning love whereby it is spurred on." And I to her: "If the world were arranged In the order which I see in yonder wheels, What's set before me would have satisfied me; But in the world of sense we can perceive That evermore the circles are diviner In this miraculous and angelic temple, 46 50 55 60 Be insufficient, it is no great wonder, So hard hath it become for want of trying." My Lady thus; then said she: "Do thou take What I shall tell thee, if thou wouldst be sated, And exercise on that thy subtlety. According to the more or less of virtue Of more to greater, and of less to smaller, The hemisphere of air, when Boreas Is blowing from that cheek where he is mild est, Because is purified and resolved the rack That erst disturbed it, till the welkin laughs Thus did I likewise, after that my Lady Had me provided with her clear response, And like a star in heaven the truth was seen. And soon as to a stop her words had come, Not otherwise does iron scintillate When molten, than those circles scintillated. 9 Their coruscation all the sparks repeated, And they so many were, their number makes More millions than the doubling of the chess. I heard them sing hosanna choir by choir 85 To the fixed point which holds them at the Ubi, 95 And ever will, where they have ever been. And she, who saw the dubious meditations Within my mind, "The primal circles," said, "Have shown thee Seraphim and Cherubim. Thus rapidly they follow their own bonds, 100 105 To be as like the point as most they can, And can as far as they are high in vision. Those other Loves, that round about them go, Thrones of the countenance divine are called, Because they terminate the primal Triad. And thou shouldst know that they all have delight As much as their own vision penetrates The Truth, in which all intellect finds rest. From this it may be seen how blessedness Is founded in the faculty which sees, 110 And not in that which loves, and follows next; And of this seeing merit is the measure, Which is brought forth by grace, and by good will; Thus on from grade to grade doth it proceed. The second Triad, which is germinating In such wise in this sempiternal spring, With threefold melody, that sounds in three The Principalities and Archangels wheel; 115 120 125 And downward so prevail, that unto God They all attracted are and all attract. And Dionysius with so great desire 130 To contemplate these Orders set himself, He named them and distinguished them as I do. But Gregory afterwards dissented from him ; Wherefore, as soon as he unclosed his eyes Within this heaven, he at himself did smile. And if so much of secret truth a mortal Proffered on earth, I would not have thee marvel, For he who saw it here revealed it to him, With much more of the truth about these circles." 135 CANTO XXIX. At what time both the children of Latona, As long as from the time the zenith holds them Did Beatrice keep silence while she gazed What thou dost wish to hear, for I have seen it Outside all other limits, as it pleased him, 5 10 15 Nor as if torpid did he lie before; For neither after nor before proceeded The going forth of God upon these waters. Matter and form unmingled and conjoined Came into being that had no defect, E'en as three arrows from a three-stringed bow. And as in glass, in amber, or in crystal A sunbeam flashes so, that from its coming 20 25 So from its Lord did the triform effect Midway bound potentiality with act Such bond that it shall never be unbound. Jerome has written unto you of angels Created a long lapse of centuries Or ever yet the other world was made; But written is this truth in many places By writers of the Holy Ghost, and thou Shalt see it, if thou lookest well thereat. And even reason seeth it somewhat, For it would not concede that for so long 30 35 40 Could be the motors without their perfection. 45 Now dost thou know both where and when these Loves Created were, and how; so that extinct In thy desire already are three fires. Nor could one reach, in counting, unto twenty So swiftly, as a portion of these angels 50 |