CANTO XXXIII. "THOU Virgin Mother, daughter of thy Son, To human nature gave, that its Creator By heat of which in the eternal peace Of charity, and below there among mortals That he who wishes grace, nor runs to thee, To him who asketh it, but oftentimes In thee compassion is, in thee is pity, In thee magnificence; in thee unites More than I do for his, all of my prayers That thou wouldst scatter from him every cloud Of his mortality so with thy prayers, Still farther do I pray thee, Queen, who canst Whate'er thou wilt, that sound thou mayst preserve Let thy protection conquer human movements; My prayers to second clasp their hands to thee !" The eyes beloved and revered of God, Fastened upon the speaker, showed to us How grateful unto her are prayers devout Then unto the Eternal Light they turned, On which it is not credible could be By any creature bent an eye so clear. And I, who to the end of all desires Was now approaching, even as I ought The ardour of desire within me ended. Bernard was beckoning unto me, and smiling, That I should upward look; but I already Was of my own accord such as he wished; Because my sight, becoming purified, Was entering more and more into the ray Of the High Light which of itself is true. And after dreaming the imprinted passion Ceases my vision, and distilleth yet Even thus upon the wind in the light leaves From the conceits of mortals, to my mind Which I endured would have bewildered me, On this account to bear, so that I joined I saw that in its depth far down is lying Bound up with love together in one volume, What through the universe in leaves is scattered ; Substance, and accident, and their operations, All interfused together in such wise Methinks I saw, since more abundantly One moment is more lethargy to me, Than five and twenty centuries to the emprise Steadfast, immovable, attentive gazed, That to withdraw therefrom for other prospect Is gathered all in this, and out of it Of what I yet remember, than an infant's But through the sight, that fortified itself Within the deep and luminous subsistence Of the High Light appeared to me three circles, As Iris is by Iris, and the third Seemed fire that equally from both is breathed. O how all speech is feeble and falls short Of my conceit, and this to what I saw Is such, 'tis not enough to call it little ! O Light Eterne, sole in thyself that dwellest, Sole knowest thyself, and, known unto thyself And knowing, lovest and smilest on thyself! That circulation, which being thus conceived Appeared in thee as a reflected light, When somewhat contemplated by mine eyes, Within itself, of its own very colour Seemed to me painted with our effigy, As the geometrician, who endeavours To square the circle, and discovers not, By taking thought, the principle he wants, Even such was I at that new apparition ; I wished to see how the image to the circle Had it not been that then my mind there smote Here vigour failed the lofty fantasy: But now was turning my desire and will, The Love which moves the sun and the other stars. 130 133 140 245 THE END. BRADBURY, AGNEW, & Co., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS |