Canto XXXII

Here in the White Rose, absorbed in divine delight,

that contemplative soul became my teacher,

beginning with these sacred words:

"The wound that Mary sealed and healed—

she who sits so beautiful at her feet

is the one who first opened it and pierced.

In the third tier of seats sits Rachel,

below the other, beside Beatrice,

as you can see.

Sarah, Rebecca, Judith, and she

who was ancestor to the Singer

who cried 'Have mercy on me' for his sin—

you can see them descending seat by seat

as I name each one,

moving down through the Rose from petal to petal.

And below the seventh row, as above,

the Hebrew women follow in succession,

dividing all the flower's flowing hair.

According to the view that Faith

had taken toward Christ, these form the partition

by which the sacred steps are separated.

On this side, where the flower is complete

with all its petals, sit those

who believed in Christ yet to come.

On the other side, where the semicircles

are broken by empty spaces,

sit those who looked to Christ already come.

And as on this side the glorious throne

of Heaven's Lady and the seats below

create such a great division,

so opposite sits the throne of great John,

who endured desert, martyrdom,

and then two years in Hell while ever holy.

Below him, chosen to make division,

are Francis, Benedict, and Augustine,

and down to us the rest, round by round.

See now divine providence at work—

both aspects of the Faith

will fill this garden in equal measure.

Know that below that rank which cuts

midway between the two divisions,

souls are seated not by their own merit

but by another's, under fixed conditions.

These are spirits all released

before they had any true choice.

You can recognize this in their faces

and in their childlike voices

if you look and listen carefully.

Now you doubt, and doubting remain silent,

but I will loose the tight knot

in which your subtle thoughts bind you.

In this realm's vast expanse

no random point can find a place,

no more than sorrow, thirst, or hunger can.

Everything you see has been established

by eternal law, so the ring

fits the finger perfectly here.

These people, hurrying toward true life,

are not here without cause,

some more excellent than others.

The King through whom this kingdom rests

in such great love and such delight

that no will dares ask for more,

creating every mind in his joyous sight,

bestows grace as he pleases, diversely.

Let this truth suffice.

This is clearly noted for you

in Holy Scripture, in those twins

whose anger stirred within their mother's womb.

According to the color of their hair,

so with such grace the supreme light

consents that they be worthily crowned.

Without merit from their deeds,

they are placed in different ranks,

differing only in their first keenness.

In the early centuries,

innocence and parents' faith alone

sufficed to work out their salvation.

After those first ages ended,

males needed circumcision added

to their innocent wings for virtue.

But after the time of grace arrived,

without Christ's perfect baptism

such innocence was held back below.

Now look upon the face that most

resembles Christ—only its brightness

can prepare you to see Christ."

I saw such great joy rain down upon her,

carried by the holy minds

created to fly through that height,

that nothing I had seen before

held me in such wonder

or showed me such likeness to God.

And that same Love who first descended there

sang "Hail Mary, full of grace"

with wings spread wide before her.

The blessed court responded

from every part to the divine song,

so every face grew more serene.

"Holy father, who for my sake endures

being here below, leaving the sweet place

where you sit by eternal right,

who is that Angel gazing with such joy

into our Queen's eyes,

so enamored he seems made of fire?"

So I turned again to the teaching

of him who found delight in Mary

as the morning star delights in sun.

He answered: "All the gallantry and grace

that can exist in Angel and in soul

are his—and we would have it so,

for he carried the palm down to Mary

when God's Son chose

to take our burden on himself.

But follow now with your eyes as I speak

and note the great nobles

of this most just and merciful empire.

Those two sitting highest above,

being closest to the Empress,

are like two roots of this Rose.

He placed near her on the left

is the father whose bold appetite

brought such bitter taste to humankind.

On the right you see that ancient father

of Holy Church, to whom Christ

entrusted the keys of this lovely flower.

Beside him sits the one who saw

all the dark days of that beautiful bride

won with spear and nails before his death.

Next to the other rests that leader

under whom the ungrateful, fickle,

stiff-necked people lived on manna.

Opposite Peter you see Anna,

so content gazing at her daughter

she doesn't move her eyes while singing Hosanna.

Opposite the eldest father of our house

sits Lucy, she who moved your Lady

when you bent your brow to rush downward.

But since the moments of your vision fly,

here we'll stop, like a good tailor

who cuts the coat to fit his cloth.

We'll turn our eyes toward the Primal Love,

so looking on him you may penetrate

as far as possible into his radiance.

But lest perhaps you fall back,

beating wings you think move you forward,

grace must be obtained through prayer—

grace from her who has power to help you.

Follow me with your love

so your heart won't turn from my words."

And he began this holy prayer: