the miscellaneous writings and speeches-1-第14章

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and　no　ascent　so　painful　as　the　staircase　of　a　patron；his　wounded　spirit　took　refuge　in　visionary　devotion。　　Beatrice；　the　unforgotten　object　of　his　early　tenderness；　was　invested　by　his　imagination　with　glorious　and　mysterious　attributes；　she　was　enthroned　among　the　highest　of　the　celestial　hierarchy：　　Almighty　Wisdom　had　assigned　to　her　the　care　of　the　sinful　and　unhappy　wanderer　who　had　loved　her　with　such　a　perfect　love。　　（〃L'amico　mio；　e　non　della　ventura。〃　　Inferno；　canto　ii。）　　By　a　confusion；　like　that　which　often　takes　place　in　dreams；　he　has　sometimes　lost　sight　of　her　human　nature；　and　even　of　her　personal　existence；　and　seems　to　consider　her　as　one　of　the　attributes　of　the　Deity。

But　those　religious　hopes　which　had　released　the　mind　of　the　sublime　enthusiast　from　the　terrors　of　death　had　not　rendered　his　speculations　on　human　life　more　cheerful。　　This　is　an　inconsistency　which　may　often　be　observed　in　men　of　a　similar　temperament。　　He　hoped　for　happiness　beyond　the　grave：　　but　he　felt　none　on　earth。　　It　is　from　this　cause；　more　than　from　any　other；　that　his　description　of　Heaven　is　so　far　inferior　to　the　Hell　or　the　Purgatory。　　With　the　passions　and　miseries　of　the　suffering　spirits　he　feels　a　strong　sympathy。　　But　among　the　beatified　he　appears　as　one　who　has　nothing　in　common　with　them；…　…as　one　who　is　incapable　of　comprehending；　not　only　the　degree；　but　the　nature　of　their　enjoyment。　　We　think　that　we　see　him　standing　amidst　those　smiling　and　radiant　spirits　with　that　scowl　of　unutterable　misery　on　his　brow；　and　that　curl　of　bitter　disdain　on　his　lips；　which　all　his　portraits　have　preserved；　and　which　might　furnish　Chantrey　with　hints　for　the　head　of　his　projected　Satan。

There　is　no　poet　whose　intellectual　and　moral　character　are　so　closely　connected。　　The　great　source；　as　it　appears　to　me；　of　the　power　of　the　Divine　Comedy　is　the　strong　belief　with　which　the　story　seems　to　be　told。　　In　this　respect；　the　only　books　which　approach　to　its　excellence　are　Gulliver's　Travels　and　Robinson　Crusoe。　　The　solemnity　of　his　asseverations；　the　consistency　and　minuteness　of　his　details；　the　earnestness　with　which　he　labours　to　make　the　reader　understand　the　exact　shape　and　size　of　everything　that　he　describes；　give　an　air　of　reality　to　his　wildest　fictions。　　I　should　only　weaken　this　statement　by　quoting　instances　of　a　feeling　which　pervades　the　whole　work；　and　to　which　it　owes　much　of　its　fascination。　　This　is　the　real　justification　of　the　many　passages　in　his　poem　which　bad　critics　have　condemned　as　grotesque。　　I　am　concerned　to　see　that　Mr　Cary；　to　whom　Dante　owes　more　than　ever　poet　owed　to　translator；　has　sanctioned　an　accusation　utterly　unworthy　of　his　abilities。　　〃His　solicitude；〃　says　that　gentleman；　〃to　define　all　his　images　in　such　a　manner　as　to　bring　them　within　the　circle　of　our　vision；　and　to　subject　them　to　the　power　of　the　pencil；　renders　him　little　better　than　grotesque；　where　Milton　has　since　taught　us　to　expect　sublimity。〃　　It　is　true　that　Dante　has　never　shrunk　from　embodying　his　conceptions　in　determinate　words；　that　he　has　even　given　measures　and　numbers；　where　Milton　would　have　left　his　images　to　float　undefined　in　a　gorgeous　haze　of　language。　　Both　were　right。　　Milton　did　not　profess　to　have　been　in　heaven　or　hell。　　He　might　therefore　reasonably　confine　himself　to　magnificent　generalities。　　Far　different　was　the　office　of　the　lonely　traveller；　who　had　wandered　through　the　nations　of　the　dead。　　Had　he　described　the　abode　of　the　rejected　spirits　in　language　resembling　the　splendid　lines　of　the　English　Poet；had　he　told　us　of

〃An　universe　of　death；　which　God　by　curse　Created　evil；　for　evil　only　good；　Where　all　life　dies；　death　lives；　and　Nature　breeds　Perverse　all　monstrous；　all　prodigious　things；　Abominable；　unutterable；　and　worse　Than　fables　yet　have　feigned；　or　fear　conceived；　Gorgons；　and　hydras；　and　chimaeras　dire〃

this　would　doubtless　have　been　noble　writing。　　But　where　would　have　been　that　strong　impression　of　reality；　which；　in　accordance　with　his　plan；　it　should　have　been　his　great　object　to　produce？　It　was　absolutely　necessary　for　him　to　delineate　accurately　〃all　monstrous；　all　prodigious　things；〃to　utter　what　might　to　others　appear　〃unutterable；〃to　relate　with　the　air　of　truth　what　fables　had　never　feigned；to　embody　what　fear　had　never　conceived。　And　I　will　frankly　confess　that　the　vague　sublimity　of　Milton　affects　me　less　than　these　reviled　details　of　Dante。　　We　read　Milton；　and　we　know　that　we　are　reading　a　great　poet。　　When　we　read　Dante；　the　poet　vanishes。　　We　are　listening　to　the　man　who　has　returned　from　〃the　valley　of　the　dolorous　abyss；〃　（〃Lavalle　d'abisso　doloroso。〃Inferno；　cantoiv。）we　seem　to　see　the　dilated　eye　of　horror；　to　hear　the　shuddering　accents　with　which　he　tells　his　fearful　tale。　　Considered　in　this　light；　the　narratives　are　exactly　what　they　should　be；definite　in　themselves；　but　suggesting　to　the　mind　ideas　of　awful　and　indefinite　wonder。　　They　are　made　up　of　the　images　of　the　earth：…　…they　are　told　in　the　language　of　the　earth。Yet　the　whole　effect　is；　beyond　expression；　wild　and　unearthly。　　The　fact　is；　that　supernatural　beings；　as　long　as　they　are　considered　merely　with　reference　to　their　own　nature；　excite　our　feelings　very　feebly。　　It　is　when　the　great　gulf　which　separates　them　from　us　is　passed；　when　we　suspect　some　strange　and　undefinable　relation　between　the　laws　of　the　visible　and　the　invisible　world；　that　they　rouse；　perhaps；　the　strongest　emotions　of　which　our　nature　is　capable。　　How　many　children；　and　how　many　men；　are　afraid　of　ghosts；　who　are　not　afraid　of　God！　　And　this；　because；　though　they　entertain　a　much　stronger　conviction　of　the　existence　of　a　Deity　than　of　the　reality　of　apparitions；　they　have　no　apprehension　that　he　will　manifest　himself　to　them　in　any　sensible　manner。　　While　this　is　the　case；　to　describe　superhuman　beings　in　the　language；　and　to　attribute　to　them　the　actions；　of　humanity　may　be　grotesque；　unphilosophical；　inconsistent；　but　it　will　be　the　only　mode　of　working　upon　the　feelings　of　men；　and；　therefore；　the　only　mode　suited　for　poetry。　　Shakspeare　understood　this　well；　as　he　understood　everything　that　belonged　to　his　art。　　Who　does　not　sympathise　with　the　rapture　of　Ariel；　flying　after　sunset　on　the　wings　of　the　bat；　or　sucking　in　the　cups　of　flowers　with　the　bee？　　Who　does　not　shudder　at　the　caldron　of　Macbeth？　　Where　is　the　philosopher　who　is　not　moved　when　he　thinks　of　the　strange　connection　between　the　infernal　spirits　and　〃the　sow's　blood　that　hath　eaten　her　nine　farrow？〃　But　this　difficult　task　of　representing　supernatural　beings　to　our　minds；　in　a　manner　which　shall　be　neither　unintelligible　to　our　intellects　nor　wholly　inconsistent　with　our　ideas　of　their　nature；　has　never　been　so　well　performed　as　by　Dante。　　I　will　refer　to　three　instances；　which　are；　perhaps；　the　most　striking：…　…the　description　of　the　transformations　of　the　serpents　and　the　robbers；　in　the　twenty…fifth　canto　of　the　Inferno；the　passage　concerning　Nimrod；　in　the　thirty…first　canto　of　the　same　part；　and　the　magnificent　procession　in　the　twenty…ninth　canto　of　the　Purgatorio。

The　metaphors　and　comparisons　of　Dante　harmonise　admirably　with　that　air　of　strong　reality　of　which　I　have　spoken。　　They　have　a　very　peculiar　character。　　He　is　perhaps　the　only　poet　whose　writings　would　become　much　less　intelligible　if　all　illustrations　of　this　sort　were　expunged。　　His　similes　are　frequently　rather　those　of　a　traveller　than　of　a　poet。　　He　employs　them　not　to　display　his　ingenuity　by　fanciful　analogies；not　to　delight　the　reader　by　affording　him　a　distant　and　passing　glimpse　of　beautiful　images　remote　from　the　path　in　which　he　is　proceeding；　but　to　give　an　exact　idea　of　the　objects　which　he　is　describing；　by　comparing　them　with　others　generally　known。　　The　boiling　pitch　in　Malebolge　was　like　that　in　the　Venetian　arsenal：the　mound　on　which　he　travelled　along　the　banks　of　Phlegethon　was　like　that　between　Ghent　and　Bruges；　but　not　so　large：the　cavities　where　the　Simoniacal　prelates　are　confined　resemble　the　Fonts　in　the　Church　of　John　at　Florence。　　Every　reader　of　Dante　will　recall　many　other　illustrations　of　this　description；　which　add　to　the　appearance　of　sincerity　and　ear