The going down and up another's stairs.

And that which most shall weigh upon thy shoulders Will be the bad and foolish company

With which into this valley thou shalt fall; For all ingrate, all mad and impious

60

65

Will they become against thee; but soon after They, and not thou, shall have the forehead scarlet.

Of their bestiality their own proceedings

Shall furnish proof; so 't will be well for thee
A party to have made thee by thyself.
Thine earliest refuge and thine earliest inn
Shall be the mighty Lombard's courtesy,
Who on the Ladder bears the holy bird,
Who such benign regard shall have for thee

That 'twixt you twain, in doing and in asking,
That shall be first which is with others last.
Him shalt thou see, him who was so impressed
At his nativity by this strong star,

That notable shall his achievements be.

Not yet the people are aware of him

Through his young age, since only nine years yet

Around about him have these wheels revolved.

But ere the Gascon cheat the noble Henry,
Some sparkles of his virtue shall appear

In caring not for silver nor for toil.

So recognized shall his magnificence
Become hereafter, that his enemies

70

75

81

85

Will not have power to keep mute tongues about it. On him rely, and on his benefits;

By him shall many people be transformed,

Line 76. With him shalt thou see one who at his birth
Line 77. Has by this star of strength been so impressed,

90

95

Changing condition rich and mendicant; And written in thy mind thou hence shalt bear Of him, but shalt not say it" and things he said Incredible to those who shall be present. Then added: "Son, these are the commentaries On what was said to thee; behold the snares That are concealed behind few revolutions; Yet would I not thy neighbors thou shouldst envy, Because thy life into the future reaches Beyond the punishment of their perfidies.' When by its silence showed that sainted soul That it had finished putting in the woof Into that web which I had given it warped, Began I, even as he who yearneth after,

Being in doubt, some counsel from a person Who seeth, and uprightly wills, and loves: "Well see I, father mine, how spurreth on

The time towards me such a blow to deal me
As heaviest is to him who most gives way.
Therefore with foresight it is well I arm me,
That, if the dearest place be taken from me,
I may not lose the others by my songs.
Down through the world of infinite bitterness,

100

And o'er the mountain, from whose beauteous summit

The eyes of my own Lady lifted me,

And afterward through heaven from light to light, 115
I have learned that which, if I tell again,
Will be to many a savor of strong acid.

And if I am a timid friend to truth,

Line 92. Of him, but shalt not say it and things said he
Line 117. Will be a savor of strong herbs to many.

I fear lest I may lose my life with those
Who will hereafter call this time the olden."
The light in which was smiling my own treasure
Which there I had discovered, flashed at first
As in the sunshine doth a golden mirror;
Then made reply: "A conscience overcast

Or with its own or with another's shame,
Will taste forsooth the tartness of thy word;
But ne'ertheless, all falsehood laid aside,

Make manifest thy vision utterly,

And let them scratch wherever is the itch;
For if thine utterance shall offensive be

At the first taste, a vital nutriment
'T will leave thereafter, when it is digested.
This cry of thine shall do as doth the wind,
Which smiteth most the most exalted summits,
And that is no slight argument of honor.
Therefore are shown to thee within these wheels,
Upon the mount and in the dolorous valley,
Only the souls that unto fame are known;
Because the spirit of the hearer rests not,

120

125

130

135

Nor doth confirm its faith by an example

140

Which has the root of it unknown and hidden, Or other reason that is not apparent."

CANTO XVIII

Now was alone rejoicing in its word
That soul beatified, and I was tasting

My own, the bitter tempering with the sweet,
And the Lady who to God was leading me

Said: "Change thy thought; consider that I am Near unto Him who every wrong disburdens." Unto the loving accents of my comfort

I turned me round, and then what love I saw
Within those holy eyes I here relinquish ;
Not only that my language I distrust,

But that
my. mind cannot return so far
Above itself, unless another guide it.
Thus much upon that point can I repeat,

That, her again beholding, my affection
From every other longing was released.
While the eternal pleasure, which direct

Rayed upon Beatrice, from her fair face
Contented me with its reflected aspect,
Conquering me with the radiance of a smile,

She said to me, "Turn thee about and listen;
Not in mine eyes alone is Paradise."
Even as sometimes here do we behold

The affection in the look, if it be such
That all the soul is rapt away by it,
So, by the flaming of the effulgence holy

To which I turned, I recognized therein.
The wish of speaking to me somewhat farther.

ΙΟ

15

20

25

And it began: "In this fifth resting-place
Upon the tree that liveth by its top,

And aye bears fruit, and never loseth leaf,
Are blessed spirits that below, ere yet

30

They came to Heaven, were of such great renown That every Muse therewith would affluent be. Therefore look thou upon the cross's horns;

He whom I now shall name will there enact
What doth within a cloud its own swift fire."

I saw athwart the Cross a splendor drawn

By naming Joshua, even as he did it,
Nor noted I the word before the deed;
And at the name of the great Maccabee
I saw another move itself revolving,
And gladness was the whip unto that top.
Likewise for Charlemagne and for Orlando,
Two of them my regard attentive followed
As followeth the eye its falcon flying.
Guglielmo afterward, and Renouard,

35

40

45

And the Duke Godfrey, did attract my sight Along upon that Cross, and Robert Guiscard. Then, moved and mingled with the other lights, The soul that had addressed me showed how great An artist 't was among the heavenly singers. To my right side I turned myself around, My duty to behold in Beatrice

Either by words or gesture signified; And so translucent I beheld her eyes,

51

55

So full of pleasure, that her countenance

Line 29. Upon the tree that liveth by its summit,

Line 30.
And aye bears fruit, and never loses leaf,
Line 46. William thereafterward, and Renouard,