Perhaps six thousand miles away
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The sixth hour blazes above us, and this world
tilts its shadow nearly flat against the earth,
while the depths of heaven grow so profound
that stars begin to fade from view,
vanishing into the celestial abyss.
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As dawn, the radiant servant of the sun, advances,
the sky closes itself to us,
light after light extinguished from our sight.
Just so, the eternal Triumph
that plays forever around the point that conquered me—
seeming enclosed by what it itself encloses—
slowly faded from my vision.
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This forced me to turn my eyes back to Beatrice,
my inability to see anything else
and my love both compelling me.
If everything I have said of her until now
could be gathered into a single song of praise,
it would still be inadequate for this moment.
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The beauty I beheld not only transcends
our human understanding—I truly believe
only its Creator can fully comprehend it.
I confess myself defeated by this passage
more than any comic or tragic poet
was ever overcome by their most difficult theme.
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For as the sun blinds the most sensitive sight,
so the memory of that sweet smile
robs my mind of its very essence.
From the first day I saw her face
in this life until this moment,
my song has never ceased following her—
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but now this sequence must end,
unable to pursue her beauty further with my verse,
like any artist reaching the limits of their power.
I leave her to a greater fame
than my trumpet can provide,
as it brings this difficult matter to its close.
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With the voice and bearing of a perfect guide,
she began again: "We have emerged
from the largest celestial sphere
into the heaven that is pure light—
intellectual light filled with love,
love of true goodness filled with joy,
joy that surpasses every sweetness.
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Here you will see both hosts of Paradise,
and one of them in the same form
you will witness at the final judgment."
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Like sudden lightning that scatters
the visual spirits, robbing the eye
of its impression of the strongest objects,
so a living light flashed around me,
leaving me wrapped in such a veil
of brilliance that I could see nothing.
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"The Love that brings peace to this heaven
always welcomes souls with such greeting,
to prepare the candle for its flame."
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No sooner had these brief words
found entrance within me
than I felt myself lifted beyond my own power,
and I was rekindled with new vision—
so pure that no light exists
against which my eyes were not now fortified.
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I saw light flowing like a river,
golden with effulgence between two banks
painted with miraculous spring flowers.
From this river emerged living sparks
that settled on all sides among the blossoms
like rubies set in gold.
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Then, as if intoxicated by the fragrances,
they plunged back into the wondrous stream,
and as one entered, another emerged.
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"The intense desire that now burns within you
to understand what you see
pleases me more the greater it grows.
But you must drink from this water
before such great thirst can be satisfied."
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So spoke the sunshine of my eyes, and added:
"The river and the golden gems
entering and leaving, and the laughter of the grass—
these are shadowy prefaces of their truth.
Not that these things are difficult in themselves,
but the deficiency lies with you,
for your vision is not yet sufficiently elevated."
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No baby leaps so suddenly toward milk,
awakening much later than usual,
as I did, bending down to the wave
to make better mirrors of my eyes,
so that I might be improved by drinking.
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As soon as my eyelids touched the water,
it immediately appeared to transform
from its length into a perfect circle.
Then, like people who have worn masks
and seem different when they remove
the false appearance they had hidden behind,
the flowers and sparks changed into greater splendor,
so that I saw both Courts of Heaven revealed.
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O radiance of God, through which I witnessed
the supreme triumph of the truthful realm,
give me power to describe what I saw!
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Above us burns a light that makes
the Creator visible to every creature—
only in beholding Him do they find peace.
It expands in circular form
to such extent that its circumference
would be too vast a belt for the sun.
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Its appearance is made entirely of rays
reflected from the summit of the Prime Mover,
which draws from this its life and power.
As a hillside mirrors itself in water at its base,
as if admiring its own beauty
when most abundant in greenery and flowers,
so I saw reflected in the light above,
arranged in more than a thousand tiers,
all those who have returned to heaven from earth.
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If the lowest tier contains within itself
such brilliant light, how vast must be
the span of this Rose in its outermost petals!
My vision, in the breadth and height,
did not lose itself but comprehended
the full quantity and quality of that joy.
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There, near and far neither add nor subtract,
for where God rules directly,
natural law holds no relevance.
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Into the golden center of the Eternal Rose—
that spreads and rises tier upon tier,
breathing an fragrance of praise
to the ever-spring Sun—
Beatrice drew me, though I longed to speak
but remained silent, and said:
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"See how vast the assembly of white robes!
See how wide the circuit of our city!
See our seats filled to overflowing—
few souls are still missing from this place!
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On that great throne where your eyes are fixed,
already crowned before you join
this wedding feast, will sit the soul
of noble Henry, who will come as Emperor
to set Italy right before she is ready.
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Blind greed that enchants you on earth
has made you like a starving infant
who pushes away his nurse.
In the sacred court there will be
a Pope who, whether openly or in secret,
will not walk the same path as Henry.
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But God will not long endure him
in that holy office—he will be thrust down
where Simon Magus suffers for his crimes,
and force the one from Alagna deeper still."
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