Canto IX

The concubine of old Tithonus now¹Gleamed white upon the eastern balcony,²Forth from the arms of her sweet paramour;With gems her forehead all relucent was,Set in the shape of that cold animal³Which with its tail doth smite amain the nations,And of the steps, with which she mounts, the NightHad taken two in that place where we were,⁴And now the third was bending down its wings;When I, who something had of Adam in me,⁵Vanquished by sleep, upon the grass reclined,There were all five of us already sat.⁶Just at the hour when her sad lay beginsThe little swallow, near unto the morning,⁷Perchance in memory of her former woes,And when the mind of man, a wandererMore from the flesh, and less by thought imprisoned,Almost prophetic in its visions is,⁸In dreams it seemed to me I saw suspendedAn eagle in the sky, with plumes of gold,With wings wide open, and intent to stoop,And this, it seemed to me, was where had been⁹By Ganymede his kith and kin abandoned,When to the high consistory he was rapt.I thought within myself, perchance he strikesFrom habit only here, and from elsewhereDisdains to bear up any in his feet.Then wheeling somewhat more, it seemed to me,Terrible as the lightning he descended,And snatched me upward even to the fire.¹⁰Therein it seemed that he and I were burning,And the imagined fire did scorch me so,That of necessity my sleep was broken.Not otherwise Achilles started up,Around him turning his awakened eyes,And knowing not the place in which he was,What time from Chiron stealthily his mother¹¹Carried him sleeping in her arms to Scyros,Wherefrom the Greeks withdrew him afterwards,Than I upstarted, when from off my faceSleep fled away; and pallid I became,As doth the man who freezes with affright.Only my Comforter was at my side,And now the sun was more than two hours high,And turned towards the sea-shore was my face.“Be not intimidated,” said my Lord,“Be reassured, for all is well with us;Do not restrain, but put forth all thy strength.Thou hast at length arrived at Purgatory;See there the cliff that closes it around;See there the entrance, where it seems disjoined.Whilom at dawn, which doth precede the day,When inwardly thy spirit was asleep¹²Upon the flowers that deck the land below,There came a Lady and said: ‘I am Lucìa;¹³Let me take this one up, who is asleep;So will I make his journey easier for him.’Sordello and the other noble shapes¹⁴Remained; she took thee, and, as day grew bright,Upward she came, and I upon her footsteps.She laid thee here; and first her beauteous eyesThat open entrance pointed out to me;Then she and sleep together went away.”¹⁵In guise of one whose doubts are reassured,And who to confidence his fear doth change,After the truth has been discovered to him,So did I change; and when without disquietMy Leader saw me, up along the cliffHe moved, and I behind him, tow’rd the height.Reader, thou seest well how I exaltMy theme, and therefore if with greater artI fortify it, marvel not thereat.Nearer approached we, and were in such place,That there, where first appeared to me a riftLike to a crevice that disparts a wall,I saw a portal, and three stairs beneath,Diverse in color, to go up to it,And a gate-keeper, who yet spake no word.And as I opened more and more mine eyes,I saw him seated on the highest stair,Such in the face that I endured it not.And in his hand he had a naked sword,Which so reflected back the sunbeams tow’rds us,That oft in vain I lifted up mine eyes.“Tell it from where you are, what is’t you wish?”Began he to exclaim; “where is the escort?Take heed your coming hither harm you not!”“A Lady of Heaven, with these things conversant,”My Master answered him, “but even nowSaid to us, ‘Thither go; there is the portal.’ ”“And may she speed your footsteps in all good,”Again began the courteous janitor;“Come forward then unto these stairs of ours.”Thither did we approach; and the first stair¹⁶Was marble white, so polished and so smooth,I mirrored myself therein as I appear.The second, tinct of deeper hue than perse,¹⁷Was of a calcined and uneven stone,Cracked all asunder lengthwise and across.The third, that uppermost rests massively,Porphyry seemed to me, as flaming redAs blood that from a vein is spirting forth.Both of his feet was holding upon thisThe Angel of God, upon the threshold seated,Which seemed to me a stone of diamond.¹⁸Along the three stairs upward with good willDid my Conductor draw me, saying: “AskHumbly that he the fastening may undo.”Devoutly at the holy feet I cast me,For mercy’s sake besought that he would open,But first upon my breast three times I smote.Seven P’s upon my forehead he described¹⁹With the sword’s point, and, “Take heed that thou washThese wounds, when thou shalt be within,” he said.Ashes, or earth that dry is excavated,Of the same color were with his attire,And from beneath it he drew forth two keys.One was of gold, and the other was of silver;²⁰First with the white, and after with the yellow,Plied he the door, so that I was content.“Whenever faileth either of these keysSo that it turn not rightly in the lock,”He said to us, “this entrance doth not open.More precious one is, but the other needsMore art and intellect ere it unlock,For it is that which doth the knot unloose.From Peter I have them; and he bade me errRather in opening than in keeping shut,If people but fall down before my feet.”Then pushed the portals of the sacred door,Exclaiming: “Enter; but I give you warningThat forth returns whoever looks behind.”²¹And when upon their hinges were turned roundThe swivels of that consecrated gate,Which are of metal, massive and sonorous,Roared not so loud, nor so discordant seemed²²Tarpeia, when was ta’en from it the goodMetellus, wherefore meagre it remained.²³At the first thunder-peal I turned attentive,And “Te Deum laudamus” seemed to hear²⁴In voices mingled with sweet melody.Exactly such an image rendered meThat which I heard, as we are wont to catch,When people singing with the organ stand;²⁵For now we hear, and now hear not, the words.