Paradiso: Canto VI“After that Constantine the eagle turnedAgainst the course of heaven, which it had followedBehind the ancient who Lavinia took,Two hundred years and more the bird of GodIn the extreme of Europe held itself,Near to the mountains whence it issued first;And under shadow of the sacred plumesIt governed there the world from hand to hand,And, changing thus, upon mine own alighted.Caesar I was, and am Justinian,Who, by the will of primal Love I feel,Took from the laws the useless and redundant;And ere unto the work I was attent,One nature to exist in Christ, not more,Believed, and with such faith was I contented.But blessed Agapetus, he who wasThe supreme pastor, to the faith sincerePointed me out the way by words of his.Him I believed, and what was his assertionI now see clearly, even as thou seestEach contradiction to be false and true.As soon as with the Church I moved my feet,God in his grace it pleased with this high taskTo inspire me, and I gave me wholly to it,And to my Belisarius I commendedThe arms, to which was heaven’s right hand so joinedIt was a signal that I should repose.Now here to the first question terminatesMy answer; but the character thereofConstrains me to continue with a sequel,In order that thou see with how great reasonMen move against the standard sacrosanct,Both who appropriate and who oppose it.Behold how great a power has made it worthyOf reverence, beginning from the hourWhen Pallas died to give it sovereignty.Thou knowest it made in Alba its abodeThree hundred years and upward, till at lastThe three to three fought for it yet again.Thou knowest what it achieved from Sabine wrongDown to Lucretia’s sorrow, in seven kingsO’ercoming round about the neighboring nations;Thou knowest what it achieved, borne by the RomansIllustrious against Brennus, against Pyrrhus,Against the other princes and confederates.Torquatus thence and Quinctius, who from locksUnkempt was named, Decii and Fabii,Received the fame I willingly embalm;It struck to earth the pride of the Arabians,Who, following Hannibal, had passed acrossThe Alpine ridges, Po, from which thou glidest;Beneath it triumphed while they yet were youngPompey and Scipio, and to the hillBeneath which thou wast born it bitter seemed;Then, near unto the time when heaven had willedTo bring the whole world to its mood serene,Did Caesar by the will of Rome assume it.What it achieved from Var unto the Rhine,Isere beheld and Saone, beheld the Seine,And every valley whence the Rhone is filled;What it achieved when it had left Ravenna,And leaped the Rubicon, was such a flightThat neither tongue nor pen could follow it.Round towards Spain it wheeled its legions; thenTowards Durazzo, and Pharsalia smoteThat to the calid Nile was felt the pain.Antandros and the Simois, whence it started,It saw again, and there where Hector lies,And ill for Ptolemy then roused itself.From thence it came like lightning upon Juba;Then wheeled itself again into your West,Where the Pompeian clarion it heard.From what it wrought with the next standard-bearerBrutus and Cassius howl in Hell together,And Modena and Perugia dolent were;Still doth the mournful Cleopatra weepBecause thereof, who, fleeing from before it,Took from the adder sudden and black death.With him it ran even to the Red Sea shore;With him it placed the world in so great peace,That unto Janus was his temple closed.But what the standard that has made me speakAchieved before, and after should achieveThroughout the mortal realm that lies beneath it,Becometh in appearance mean and dim,If in the hand of the third Caesar seenWith eye unclouded and affection pure,Because the living Justice that inspires meGranted it, in the hand of him I speak of,The glory of doing vengeance for its wrath.Now here attend to what I answer thee;Later it ran with Titus to do vengeanceUpon the vengeance of the ancient sin.And when the tooth of Lombardy had bittenThe Holy Church, then underneath its wingsDid Charlemagne victorious succor her.Now hast thou power to judge of such as thoseWhom I accused above, and of their crimes,Which are the cause of all your miseries.To the public standard one the yellow liliesOpposes, the other claims it for a party,So that ’tis hard to see which sins the most.Let, let the Ghibellines ply their handicraftBeneath some other standard; for this everIll follows he who it and justice parts.And let not this new Charles e’er strike it down,He and his Guelfs, but let him fear the talonsThat from a nobler lion stripped the fell.Already oftentimes the sons have weptThe father’s crime; and let him not believeThat God will change His scutcheon for the lilies.This little planet doth adorn itselfWith the good spirits that have active been,That fame and honour might come after them;And whensoever the desires mount thither,Thus deviating, must perforce the raysOf the true love less vividly mount upward.But in commensuration of our wagesWith our desert is portion of our joy,Because we see them neither less nor greater.Herein doth living Justice sweeten soAffection in us, that for evermoreIt cannot warp to any iniquity.Voices diverse make up sweet melodies;So in this life of ours the seats diverseRender sweet harmony among these spheres;And in the compass of this present pearlShineth the sheen of Romeo, of whomThe grand and beauteous work was ill rewarded.But the Provencals who against him wrought,They have not laughed, and therefore ill goes heWho makes his hurt of the good deeds of others.Four daughters, and each one of them a queen,Had Raymond Berenger, and this for himDid Romeo, a poor man and a pilgrim;And then malicious words incited himTo summon to a reckoning this just man,Who rendered to him seven and five for ten.Then he departed poor and stricken in years,And if the world could know the heart he had,In begging bit by bit his livelihood,Though much it laud him, it would laud him more.”
“After that Constantine the eagle turnedAgainst the course of heaven, which it had followedBehind the ancient who Lavinia took,
Two hundred years and more the bird of GodIn the extreme of Europe held itself,Near to the mountains whence it issued first;
And under shadow of the sacred plumesIt governed there the world from hand to hand,And, changing thus, upon mine own alighted.
Caesar I was, and am Justinian,Who, by the will of primal Love I feel,Took from the laws the useless and redundant;
And ere unto the work I was attent,One nature to exist in Christ, not more,Believed, and with such faith was I contented.
But blessed Agapetus, he who wasThe supreme pastor, to the faith sincerePointed me out the way by words of his.
Him I believed, and what was his assertionI now see clearly, even as thou seestEach contradiction to be false and true.
As soon as with the Church I moved my feet,God in his grace it pleased with this high taskTo inspire me, and I gave me wholly to it,
And to my Belisarius I commendedThe arms, to which was heaven’s right hand so joinedIt was a signal that I should repose.
Now here to the first question terminatesMy answer; but the character thereofConstrains me to continue with a sequel,
In order that thou see with how great reasonMen move against the standard sacrosanct,Both who appropriate and who oppose it.
Behold how great a power has made it worthyOf reverence, beginning from the hourWhen Pallas died to give it sovereignty.
Thou knowest it made in Alba its abodeThree hundred years and upward, till at lastThe three to three fought for it yet again.
Thou knowest what it achieved from Sabine wrongDown to Lucretia’s sorrow, in seven kingsO’ercoming round about the neighboring nations;
Thou knowest what it achieved, borne by the RomansIllustrious against Brennus, against Pyrrhus,Against the other princes and confederates.
Torquatus thence and Quinctius, who from locksUnkempt was named, Decii and Fabii,Received the fame I willingly embalm;
It struck to earth the pride of the Arabians,Who, following Hannibal, had passed acrossThe Alpine ridges, Po, from which thou glidest;
Beneath it triumphed while they yet were youngPompey and Scipio, and to the hillBeneath which thou wast born it bitter seemed;
Then, near unto the time when heaven had willedTo bring the whole world to its mood serene,Did Caesar by the will of Rome assume it.
What it achieved from Var unto the Rhine,Isere beheld and Saone, beheld the Seine,And every valley whence the Rhone is filled;
What it achieved when it had left Ravenna,And leaped the Rubicon, was such a flightThat neither tongue nor pen could follow it.
Round towards Spain it wheeled its legions; thenTowards Durazzo, and Pharsalia smoteThat to the calid Nile was felt the pain.
Antandros and the Simois, whence it started,It saw again, and there where Hector lies,And ill for Ptolemy then roused itself.
From thence it came like lightning upon Juba;Then wheeled itself again into your West,Where the Pompeian clarion it heard.
From what it wrought with the next standard-bearerBrutus and Cassius howl in Hell together,And Modena and Perugia dolent were;
Still doth the mournful Cleopatra weepBecause thereof, who, fleeing from before it,Took from the adder sudden and black death.
With him it ran even to the Red Sea shore;With him it placed the world in so great peace,That unto Janus was his temple closed.
But what the standard that has made me speakAchieved before, and after should achieveThroughout the mortal realm that lies beneath it,
Becometh in appearance mean and dim,If in the hand of the third Caesar seenWith eye unclouded and affection pure,
Because the living Justice that inspires meGranted it, in the hand of him I speak of,The glory of doing vengeance for its wrath.
Now here attend to what I answer thee;Later it ran with Titus to do vengeanceUpon the vengeance of the ancient sin.
And when the tooth of Lombardy had bittenThe Holy Church, then underneath its wingsDid Charlemagne victorious succor her.
Now hast thou power to judge of such as thoseWhom I accused above, and of their crimes,Which are the cause of all your miseries.
To the public standard one the yellow liliesOpposes, the other claims it for a party,So that ’tis hard to see which sins the most.
Let, let the Ghibellines ply their handicraftBeneath some other standard; for this everIll follows he who it and justice parts.
And let not this new Charles e’er strike it down,He and his Guelfs, but let him fear the talonsThat from a nobler lion stripped the fell.
Already oftentimes the sons have weptThe father’s crime; and let him not believeThat God will change His scutcheon for the lilies.
This little planet doth adorn itselfWith the good spirits that have active been,That fame and honour might come after them;
And whensoever the desires mount thither,Thus deviating, must perforce the raysOf the true love less vividly mount upward.
But in commensuration of our wagesWith our desert is portion of our joy,Because we see them neither less nor greater.
Herein doth living Justice sweeten soAffection in us, that for evermoreIt cannot warp to any iniquity.
Voices diverse make up sweet melodies;So in this life of ours the seats diverseRender sweet harmony among these spheres;
And in the compass of this present pearlShineth the sheen of Romeo, of whomThe grand and beauteous work was ill rewarded.
But the Provencals who against him wrought,They have not laughed, and therefore ill goes heWho makes his hurt of the good deeds of others.
Four daughters, and each one of them a queen,Had Raymond Berenger, and this for himDid Romeo, a poor man and a pilgrim;
And then malicious words incited himTo summon to a reckoning this just man,Who rendered to him seven and five for ten.
Then he departed poor and stricken in years,And if the world could know the heart he had,In begging bit by bit his livelihood,
Though much it laud him, it would laud him more.”