The Divine Comedy (V. 2) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CANTO III. Ante-Purgatory. ? Souls of those who have died in contumacy of the Church. ? Manfred. Inasmuch as the sudden flight had scattered them over the plain, turned to the mount whereto reason spurs us, I drew me close to my trusty companion. And how should I without him have run ? Who would have drawn me up over the mountain ? He seemed to me of his own self remorseful. O conscience, upright and stainless, how bitter a sting to thee is little fault! When his feet left the haste that takes the seem- liness from every act, my mind, which at first had been restrained, let loose its attention, as though eager, and I turned my face unto the hill that towards the heaven rises highest from the sea. The sun, which behind was flaming ruddy, was broken in front of me by the figure that the staying of its rays upon me formed. When I saw the ground darkened only in front of me, I turned me to my side with fear of being abandoned: and my Comfort, wholly turning to me, began to say, " Why dost thou still distrust ? Dost thou not believe mewith thee, and that I guide thee ? It is now evening there where the body is buried within which I cast a shadow; Naples holds it, and from Brundu- sium it is taken; if now in front of me there is no shadow, marvel not more than at the heavens of which one hinders not the other's radiance. To suffer torments, both hot and cold, bodies like this the Power ordains, which wills not that how it acts be revealed to us. Foolish is he who hopes that our reason can traverse the infinite way which One Substance in Three Persons holds. Be content, human race, with the quia;l for if ye had been able to see everything, need had not been for Mary to bear child: and ye have seen desiring fruitlessly men such2 that their desire would have been quieted, which...