the divine comedy(神曲)-第63章
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Didst thou appear there lifeless in Gilboa;
That felt thereafter neither rain nor dew!
O mad Arachne! so I thee beheld
E'en then half spider; sad upon the shreds
Of fabric wrought in evil hour for thee!
O Rehoboam! no more seems to threaten
Thine image there; but full of consternation
A chariot bears it off; when none pursues!
Displayed moreo'er the adamantine pavement
How unto his own mother made Alcmaeon
Costly appear the luckless ornament;
Displayed how his own sons did throw themselves
Upon Sennacherib within the temple;
And how; he being dead; they left him there;
Displayed the ruin and the cruel carnage
That Tomyris wrought; when she to Cyrus said;
〃Blood didst thou thirst for; and with blood I glut thee!〃
Displayed how routed fled the Assyrians
After that Holofernes had been slain;
And likewise the remainder of that slaughter。
I saw there Troy in ashes and in caverns;
O Ilion! thee; how abject and debased;
Displayed the image that is there discerned!
Whoe'er of pencil master was or stile;
That could portray the shades and traits which there
Would cause each subtile genius to admire?
Dead seemed the dead; the living seemed alive;
Better than I saw not who saw the truth;
All that I trod upon while bowed I went。
Now wax ye proud; and on with looks uplifted;
Ye sons of Eve; and bow not down your faces
So that ye may behold your evil ways!
More of the mount by us was now encompassed;
And far more spent the circuit of the sun;
Than had the mind preoccupied imagined;
When he; who ever watchful in advance
Was going on; began: 〃Lift up thy head;
'Tis no more time to go thus meditating。
Lo there an Angel who is making haste
To come towards us; lo; returning is
From service of the day the sixth handmaiden。
With reverence thine acts and looks adorn;
So that he may delight to speed us upward;
Think that this day will never dawn again。〃
I was familiar with his admonition
Ever to lose no time; so on this theme
He could not unto me speak covertly。
Towards us came the being beautiful
Vested in white; and in his countenance
Such as appears the tremulous morning star。
His arms he opened; and opened then his wings;
〃Come;〃 said he; 〃near at hand here are the steps;
And easy from henceforth is the ascent。〃
At this announcement few are they who come!
O human creatures; born to soar aloft;
Why fall ye thus before a little wind?
He led us on to where the rock was cleft;
There smote upon my forehead with his wings;
Then a safe passage promised unto me。
As on the right hand; to ascend the mount
Where seated is the church that lordeth it
O'er the well…guided; above Rubaconte;
The bold abruptness of the ascent is broken
By stairways that were made there in the age
When still were safe the ledger and the stave;
E'en thus attempered is the bank which falls
Sheer downward from the second circle there;
But on this; side and that the high rock graze。
As we were turning thitherward our persons;
〃Beati pauperes spiritu;〃 voices
Sang in such wise that speech could tell it not。
Ah me! how different are these entrances
From the Infernal! for with anthems here
One enters; and below with wild laments。
We now were hunting up the sacred stairs;
And it appeared to me by far more easy
Than on the plain it had appeared before。
Whence I: 〃My Master; say; what heavy thing
Has been uplifted from me; so that hardly
Aught of fatigue is felt by me in walking?〃
He answered: 〃When the P's which have remained
Still on thy face almost obliterate
Shall wholly; as the first is; be erased;
Thy feet will be so vanquished by good will;
That not alone they shall not feel fatigue;
But urging up will be to them delight。〃
Then did I even as they do who are going
With something on the head to them unknown;
Unless the signs of others make them doubt;
Wherefore the hand to ascertain is helpful;
And seeks and finds; and doth fulfill the office
Which cannot be accomplished by the sight;
And with the fingers of the right hand spread
I found but six the letters; that had carved
Upon my temples he who bore the keys;
Upon beholding which my Leader smiled。
Purgatorio: Canto XIII
We were upon the summit of the stairs;
Where for the second time is cut away
The mountain; which ascending shriveth all。
There in like manner doth a cornice bind
The hill all round about; as does the first;
Save that its arc more suddenly is curved。
Shade is there none; nor sculpture that appears;
So seems the bank; and so the road seems smooth;
With but the livid colour of the stone。
〃If to inquire we wait for people here;〃
The Poet said; 〃I fear that peradventure
Too much delay will our election have。〃
Then steadfast on the sun his eyes he fixed;
Made his right side the centre of his motion;
And turned the left part of himself about。
〃O thou sweet light! with trust in whom I enter
Upon this novel journey; do thou lead us;〃
Said he; 〃as one within here should be led。
Thou warmest the world; thou shinest over it;
If other reason prompt not otherwise;
Thy rays should evermore our leaders be!〃
As much as here is counted for a mile;
So much already there had we advanced
In little time; by dint of ready will;
And tow'rds us there were heard to fly; albeit
They were not visible; spirits uttering
Unto Love's table courteous invitations;
The first voice that passed onward in its flight;
〃Vinum non habent;〃 said in accents loud;
And went reiterating it behind us。
And ere it wholly grew inaudible
Because of distance; passed another; crying;
〃I am Orestes!〃 and it also stayed not。
〃O;〃 said I; 〃Father; these; what voices are they?〃
And even as I asked; behold the third;
Saying: 〃Love those from whom ye have had evil!〃
And the good Master said: 〃This circle scourges
The sin of envy; and on that account
Are drawn from love the lashes of the scourge。
The bridle of another sound shall be;
I think that thou wilt hear it; as I judge;
Before thou comest to the Pass of Pardon。
But fix thine eyes athwart the air right steadfast;
And people thou wilt see before us sitting;
And each one close against the cliff is seated。〃
Then wider than at first mine eyes I opened;
I looked before me; and saw shades with mantles
Not from the colour of the stone diverse。
And when we were a little farther onward;
I heard a cry of; 〃Mary; pray for us!〃
A cry of; 〃Michael; Peter; and all Saints!〃
I do not think there walketh still on earth
A man so hard; that he would not be pierced
With pity at what afterward I saw。
For when I had approached so near to them
That manifest to me their acts became;
Drained was I at the eyes by heavy grief。
Covered with sackcloth vile they seemed to me;
And one sustained the other with his shoulder;
And all of them were by the bank sustained。
Thus do the blind; in want of livelihood;
Stand at the doors of churches asking alms;
And one upon another leans his head;
So that in others pity soon may rise;
Not only at the accent of their words;
But at their aspect; which no less implores。
And as unto the blind the sun comes not;
So to the shades; of whom just now I spake;
Heaven's light will not be bounteous of itself;
For all their lids an iron wire transpierces;
And sews them up; as to a sparhawk wild
Is done; because it will not quiet stay。
To me it seemed; in passing; to do outrage;
Seeing the others without being seen;
Wherefore I turned me to my counsel sage。
Well knew he what the mute one wished to say;
And therefore waited not for my demand;
But said: 〃Speak; and be brief; and to the point。〃
I had Virgilius upon that side
Of the embankment from which one may fall;
Since by no border 'tis engarlanded;
Upon the other side of me I had
The shades devout; who through the horrible seam
Pressed out the tears so that they bathed their cheeks。
To them I turned me; and; 〃O people; certain;〃
Began I;