Per più letizia sì mi si nascose Dentro al suo raggio la figura santa, Nel modo che il seguente canto canta. This said I, being turned straight towards the bright lustre that had first addressed me, whereupon it waxed far more radiant than it had been before. Even as the Sun, which through excess of light concealeth its own self, when heat has eaten away the tempering veil of the thick vapours (that surround it):--so by increase of gladness did that holy form conceal itself from me within its own radiance, and thus completely enfolded it made answer to me in the fashion which the ensuing Canto sings. la faccia del sol nascere ombrata, * chiusa chiusa: "interamente nascosta, tutta velata dal suo splendore" (Casini). END OF CANTO V. CANTO VI. EMPEROR SPHERE OF MERCURY (CONTINUED) THE As was stated in the Commentary on the preceding Canto, the present one is wholly devoted to the words. spoken by the spirit of the Emperor Justinian.* Benvenuto divides the Canto into three parts. In the First Division, from ver. I to ver. 27, Justinian briefly touches upon the principal events of his reign, his conversion to Christianity, and his great deeds. In the Second Division, from ver. 28 to ver. 111, he glances over the more notable exploits of the Romans achieved during several centuries under their glorious standard, the Roman Eagle. In the Third Division, from ver. 112 to ver. 142, * Scartazzini (Ediz. Min.) notices the coincidence of Dante's successive treatment of the VIth Canto of each of the Cantiche. In Canto VI of the Inferno all the feuds then troubling Florence are described, and others are foretold. In Canto VI of the Purgatorio the general condition of Italy is Dante's theme. In Canto VI of the Paradiso the history of the Empire from Æneas down to Caesar, to Charlemagne, and even down to Dante's own time is dilated upon. This parallel arrangement of Cantos is not unfrequent with Dante. In Inf. xix he relates his interview with a wicked Pope; in Purg. xix with a good Pope; and other instances might be cited. Justinian replies to the question put to him by Dante (Canto v, 127-129) as to why he happens to be a dweller in the Sphere of Mercury. Division I.-Dante, in the last Canto, had said to the spirit: "I do not know who thou art, nor why this particular degree of beatitude has been assigned to thee." These words contain two questions : (1) "Who art thou?" (2) "Why art thou here?" To the first question Justinian at once proceeds to reply. The second he will answer in ll. 112-126. Justinian begins by relating the epoch of his tenure of the Empire. He tells first how the Roman Empire had remained in Greece over 200 years from the time of its translation there by Constantine, before it passed into his hands. -"Posciachè Constantin l'aquila volse Contra il corso del ciel,* ch' ella seguío *Contra il corso del ciel: When Constantine transferred the seat of the Empire from Rome in the West, to Byzantium, situated to the East of Rome, he turned the Eagle, emblem of the Roman Empire, into the contrary course from that of the Heavens, which are supposed to move from East to West (compare Par. ix, 85: contra il sole). The Eagle had followed the course of the Sun behind that taken by Eneas, who, when he left Troas in the East, came to Italy in the West, and there laid the original foundations of the Roman Empire. Another reading, which has considerable MS. authority and is very commonly adopted, is che la seguío (instead of, as here, ch' ella seguío). Scartazzini says the sense must decide which of the two is right. Is it the Eagle that followed the course of the Heavens (ch' ella seguío), or the course of the Heavens that followed the Eagle (che la seguio)? Cesari (vol. iii, p. 99), derides the idea of the latter: "E' mi par troppo ardito questo immagi Cento e cent' anni e più l' uccel di Dio Nell' estremo d' Europa si ritenne, Governò il mondo lì di mano in mano E si cangiando in sulla mia pervenne. "After that Constantine had turned the Eagle back against the course of Heaven, which it followed behind that ancient one (Æneas) who took (to wife) Lavinia, for a hundred and a hundred years and more did the bird of God (i.e. the Eagle) hold itself on the extreme confines of Europe near unto the mountains (of Troas) from which it had first gone forth; and beneath the shadow of the sacred wings it governed the world there (at Constantinople) from hand to hand, and so changing (i.e. from one Emperor to another in succession) it alighted at last upon mine (i.e. my hand). 5 Scartazzini observes that it is somewhat an anachronism on the part of Dante to suppose that the Eagle had been the standard of the Roman Empire from the time of Eneas. It was Marius who first made it the standard of all the Roman Legions. Benvenuto says that Justinian describes himself, first, by his Imperial dignity, secondly, by his proper nar che Enea con l'aquila in mano insegnasse quasi al sole la strada che certo ei dovea sapersela bene. E però io bacio e benedico un codice, il quale ha ch'ella seguío: facendo che essa aquila seguisse il corso del sole, dietro a' passi d' Enea; il che è più grave, e ragionevole, e vero." *Cento e cent' anni: From the removal of the seat of Empire to Byzantium in A.D. 324 to the Accession of Justinian as Èmperor in A. D. 527 was almost exactly two hundred years. +l'ombra delle sacre penne: Compare Psalm xvii, 8: "Hide me under the shadow of thy wings." And Psalm xxxvi, 7: "The children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings." And Psalm lxiii, 7 : "In the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice." name, and thirdly, by his most excellent work. Being sister's son of Justinus, and adorned with every virtue and accomplishment, Justinian succeeded to the Imperial throne, A.D. 538 [it was really 527], and for thirty-eight years his administration of public affairs was worthy of all praise. Immediately on his accession he set to work to codify and ameliorate the principal Imperial constitutions or statutes, of which there was such a multitude, that the life of one man would not even have sufficed to read them. Justinian, leaving to his distinguished generals the prosecution of his wars, abstracted the laws into a very few books, and gained for himself a lasting reputation. Cesare fui, e son Giustiniano,t Che, per voler del primo amor ch' io sento, E prima ch' io all' opra fossi attento, Una natura in Cristo esser, non piùe, I was Cæsar, and I am Justinian, who by the will of 15 *Cesare fui: Justinian alludes to his having been Cæsar or Emperor in the past tense, and gives Dante thereby to understand that all earthly dignities are at an end after a man's death. He says: "I was Emperor, but I remain plain Justinian.' Compare Purg. v, 88: "Io fui di Montefeltro, io son Buonconte." + Giustiniano: Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1862, vol. v, p. 248 and p. 282), gives an excellent account of Justinian. |