CANTO XXIV.

"O company elect to the great supper [1] Of the Lamb glorified, who feedeth you So that forever full is your desire, If by the grace of God this man foretastes Of whatsoever falleth from your table, Or ever death prescribes to him the time, Direct your mind to his immense desire, [7] And him somewhat bedew; ye drinking are Forever from the fount whence comes his thought." [9] Thus Beatrice; and those enraptured spirits Made themselves spheres around their steadfast poles, Flaming intensely in the guise of comets. And as the wheels in works of horologes Revolve so that the first to the beholder Motionless seems, and the last one to fly, So in like manner did those carols, dancing [16] In different measure, by their affluence Make me esteem them either swift or slow. From that one which I noted of most beauty Beheld I issue forth a fire so happy That none it left there of a greater splendor; And around Beatrice three several times [22] It whirled itself with so divine a song, My fantasy repeats it not to me; Therefore the pen skips, and I write it not, Since our imagination for such folds, Much more our speech, is of a tint too glaring. [27] "O holy sister mine, who us implorest [28] With such devotion, by thine ardent love Thou dost unbind me from that beautiful sphere!" Thus, having stopped, the beatific fire Unto my Lady did direct its breath, Which spake in fashion as I here have said. And she: "O light eterne of the great man To whom our Lord delivered up the keys He carried down of this miraculous joy, This one examine on points light and grave, As good beseemeth thee, about the Faith By means of which thou on the sea didst walk. If he loves well, and hopes well, and believes, Is hid not from thee; for thou hast thy sight Where everything beholds itself depicted. [42] But since this kingdom has made citizens By means of the true Faith, to glorify it 'Tis well he have the chance to speak thereof." As baccalaureate arms himself, and speaks not Until the master doth propose the question, To argue it, and not to terminate it, So did I arm myself with every reason, While she was speaking, that I might be ready For such a questioner and such profession. "Speak on, good Christian; manifest thyself; [52] Say, what is Faith?" Whereat I raised my brow Unto that light from which this was breathed forth. Then turned I round to Beatrice, and she Prompt signals made to me that I should pour The water forth from my internal fountain. "May grace, that suffers me to make confession," Began I, "to the great Centurion, [59] Cause my conceptions all to be explicit!" And I continued: "As the truthful pen, Father, of thy dear brother wrote of it, Who put with thee Rome into the good way, Faith is the substance of the things we hope for, And evidence of those that are not seen; And this appears to me its quiddity." [66] Then heard I: "Very rightly thou perceivest, If well thou understandest why he placed it With substances and then with evidences." And I thereafterward: "The things profound, That here vouchsafe to me their outward show, Unto all eyes below are so concealed, That they exist there only in belief, Upon the which is founded the high hope, And therefore take the nature of a substance. And it behooveth us from this belief To reason without having other views, And hence it has the nature of evidence." Then heard I: "If whatever is acquired Below as doctrine were thus understood, No sophist's subtlety would there find place." Thus was breathed forth from that enkindled love; Then added: "Thoroughly has been gone over Already of this coin the alloy and weight; But tell me if thou hast it in thy purse?" And I: "Yes, both so shining and so round, That in its stamp there is no peradventure." Thereafter issued from the light profound That there resplendent was: "This precious jewel, Upon the which is every virtue founded, Whence hadst thou it?" And I: "The large outpouring Of the Holy Spirit, which has been diffused Upon the ancient parchments and the new, [93] A syllogism is, which demonstrates it With such acuteness, that, compared therewith, All demonstration seems to me obtuse." And then I heard: "The ancient and the new Postulates, that to thee are so conclusive, Why dost thou take them for the word divine?" And I: "The proof, which shows the truth to me, Are the works subsequent, whereunto Nature Ne'er heated iron yet, nor anvil beat." 'Twas answered me: "Say, who assureth thee That those works ever were? the thing itself We wish to prove, nought else to thee affirms it." "Were the world to Christianity converted," I said, "withouten miracles, this one Is such, the rest are not its hundredth part; For thou didst enter destitute and fasting Into the field to plant there the good plant, Which was a vine and has become a thorn!" This being finished, the high, holy Court Resounded through the spheres, "One God we praise!" In melody that there above is chanted. And then that Baron, who from branch to branch, [115] Examining, had thus conducted me, Till the remotest leaves we were approaching, Did recommence once more: "The Grace that lords it Over thy intellect thy mouth has opened, Up to this point, as it should opened be, So that I do approve what forth emerged; But now thou must express what thou believest, And whence to thy belief it was presented." "O holy father! O thou spirit, who seest What thou believedst, so that thou o'ercamest, Towards the sepulchre, more youthful feet," [126] Began I, "thou dost wish me to declare Forthwith the manner of my prompt belief, And likewise thou the cause thereof demandest. And I respond: In one God I believe, Sole and eterne, who all the heaven doth move, Himself unmoved, with love and with desire; And of such faith not only have I proofs Physical and metaphysical, but gives them Likewise the truth that from this place rains down Through Moses, through the Prophets and the Psalms, Through the Evangel, and through you, who wrote After the fiery Spirit sanctified you; [138] In Persons three eterne believe I, and these One essence I believe, so one and trine, They bear conjunction both with _sunt_ and _est_. With the profound conjunction and divine, Which now I touch upon, doth stamp my mind Ofttimes the doctrine evangelical. This the beginning is, this is the spark Which afterwards dilates to vivid flame, And, like a star in heaven, is sparkling in me." Even as a lord, who hears what pleases him, His servant straight embraces, giving thanks For the good news, as soon as he is silent; So, giving me its benediction, singing, Three times encircled me, when I was silent, The apostolic light, at whose command I spoken had, in speaking I so pleased him.

[Line 1: Beatrice speaks.]

[Line 7: Hunger and thirst after things divine.]

[Line 9: The grace of God.]

[Line 16: The carol was a dance as well as a song.]

[Line 22: St. Peter thrice encircles Beatrice, as the Angel Gabriel did the Virgin Mary in the preceding canto.]

[Line 27: Too glaring for painting such delicate draperies of song.]

[Line 28: St. Peter speaks to Beatrice.]

[Line 42: Fixed upon God, in whom all things reflected.]

[Line 52: St. Peter speaks to Dante.]

[Line 59: The great Head of the Church.]

[Line 66: In the Scholastic Philosophy, the essence of a thing, distinguishing it from all other things, was called its _quiddity_: an answer to the question, _Quid est?_]

[Line 93: The Old and New Testaments.]

[Line 115: In the Middle Ages earthly titles were sometimes given to the saints. Thus, Boccaccio speaks of _Baron Messer San Antonio_.]

[Line 126: St. John, xx. 3-8. St. John was the first to reach the sepulchre, but St. Peter the first to enter it.]

[Line 138: St. Peter and the other Apostles after Pentecost.]