Paradiso

Canto XXIV

The Radiant Wheel. St. Peter examines Dante on Faith. "

O chosen company gathered for the great feast

of the blessed Lamb, who feeds you so completely

that your desire is satisfied forever—

if by God's grace this man might taste

something of what falls from your table

before death sets his final hour,

turn your minds toward his immense longing

and let some drops reach him.

You drink eternally from the fountain

that is the source of all his thoughts.

So spoke Beatrice, and those blessed souls

transformed themselves into spinning spheres

blazing intensely like comets in flight.

Like the wheels inside a clockwork,

where the innermost appears motionless

to the observer while the outermost flies—

so these dancing circles moved,

each at its own rhythm, showing me

the measure of their joy

through the speed of their turning.

From the most beautiful of these rings

I saw emerge a flame so radiant

that none was left behind with greater brightness.

Three times it circled around Beatrice,

spinning with such divine song

that my memory cannot hold it—

my pen must skip over it,

since both imagination and speech

are too crude for such brilliant beauty.

"O my holy sister, who calls to us

with such devotion and burning love,

your passion frees me from that glorious sphere!"

After it stopped, the blessed fire

directed its voice to my Lady,

speaking just as I have described.

She answered: "O eternal light

of that great man to whom our Lord

gave the keys he carried down

from this miraculous joy—

examine this soul on matters

both simple and profound

concerning the Faith

by which you walked upon the sea.

Whether he loves well, hopes well, believes well

is not hidden from you,

for your sight reaches that place

where everything is clearly seen.

But since this kingdom creates citizens

through true Faith, it is fitting

that he should have the chance

to speak of it himself."

Like a student who prepares himself

but does not speak until the master

poses the question for debate,

not to end it but to explore it—

so I armed myself with every reason

while she was speaking,

ready for such a questioner

and such a sacred profession.

"Speak, good Christian, reveal yourself:

What is Faith?"

At these words breathed forth from that light

I raised my face toward its radiance,

then turned to Beatrice, who gave me

swift signals to pour out the water

from my inner fountain.

"May the grace that allows me to confess

before this great captain," I began,

"make all my thoughts perfectly clear!"

And I continued: "Father, as the truthful pen

of your dear brother wrote—

he who with you set Rome on the right path—

Faith is the substance of what we hope for

and the evidence of things unseen.

This seems to me its essential nature."

Then I heard: "You understand correctly,

if you grasp why he placed Faith

among substances and then among evidences."

And I replied: "The profound realities

that reveal themselves to me here

are so hidden from all eyes below

that they exist there only in belief,

on which our highest hope is founded—

and so Faith takes the nature of substance.

From this belief we must reason

without any other sight,

and so Faith has the nature of evidence."

Then I heard: "If everything learned

in the world below through teaching

were understood this way,

no clever sophistry would find a place."

This was breathed forth from that burning love,

which then added: "The composition and weight

of this coin have been thoroughly examined—

but tell me, do you have it in your purse?"

"Yes," I said, "so bright and perfectly round

that I have no doubt about its stamp."

Then from that profound light

shining there came: "This precious jewel

on which every virtue is founded—

where did you get it?"

"The great outpouring of the Holy Spirit,"

I answered, "spread across both

the ancient and new scriptures,

forms a perfect logical proof

that convinced me with such sharpness

that all other demonstrations seem dull."

Then I heard: "These old and new authorities

that you find so convincing—

why do you accept them as God's word?"

"The proof that shows me their truth,"

I said, "lies in the works that followed,

for which Nature never heated iron

or struck her anvil."

The answer came: "Tell me, who assures you

that those works ever happened?

Only the thing that needs proving

testifies to itself."

"If the world had converted to Christianity

without miracles," I replied,

"that alone would be such a miracle

that the others wouldn't be a hundredth part—

because you entered the field poor and fasting

to plant the good seed

that was once a vine

but has become a thornbush."

When this was finished, the high holy court

rang throughout all the spheres

with "We praise you, one God!"

in the melody that is sung above.

Then that Baron who had led me,

examining me from branch to branch

until we approached the furthest leaves,

began again:

"The Grace that converses

with your mind has opened your mouth

properly up to this point,

so I approve what has emerged.

But now you must declare what you believe

and how this belief came to you."

"O holy father, spirit who can see

what you believed so completely

that you outran younger feet

to the tomb," I began,

"you want me to reveal here

the nature of my eager faith

and also ask the reason for it.

I answer: I believe in one God,

alone and eternal, who moves all the heavens

with love and desire, himself unmoved.

For such faith I have not only

physical and metaphysical proofs,

but also the truth that rains down

from this place through Moses,

the Prophets, and the Psalms,

through the Gospel and through you

who wrote after the fiery Spirit

made you holy.

I believe in three eternal Persons,

and I believe these are one essence—

so perfectly one and three

that they work with both 'are' and 'is.'

The profound and divine mystery

I'm touching on now

has often impressed my mind

through the Gospel teaching.

This is the beginning, this the spark

that then expands into living flame

and sparkles in me like a star in heaven."

Like a master who hears welcome news

and immediately embraces his servant,

celebrating the good message

as soon as he falls silent—

so the apostolic light, at whose command

I had spoken, blessed me with song

and circled me three times when I was done,

so much had my words pleased him.