Readings on the Paradiso of Dante

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: DANTE'S ITINERARY THROUGH PARADISE. Canto I. Kaster Wednes- I. Immediately after Dante's return from the holy water of .lay, M noon. Eunoe (Purg. xxxiii, 142), he observes that it is bright day in the Southern Hemisphere, and black night in the Northern Hemisphere. Tutto era la bianco Quello emisperio, e 1' altra parte nera. 2. Dante, like Beatrice, is able to gaze upon the Sun's rays. Cosi dell' atto suo, per gli occhi infuso Nell; imagine mia, il mio si fece, E fissi gli occhi al sole oltre a nostr' uso. 3. Dante, awe-struck at the extraordinary increase of sun light around him, is informed by Beatrice that he is being carried up from earth into heaven. ' Tu non se' in terra, si come tu credi; Ma folgore, fuggendo il proprio sito, Non corse come tu ch'ad esso riedi.' Canto II. 1. Dante finds himself in a pale shimmering light. Giunto mi vidi ove mirabil cosa Mi torse il viso a se. 2. He has reached the first planet, the Heaven of the Moon. 'Drizza la mente in Dio grata, ' mi disse, 'Che n'ha congiunti con la prima Stella.' Canto III. i. Dante discerns the faces of certain beings before him, but so dimly, that he thinks they are but reflections of real images behind him. Tali vid' io piu facce a parlar pronte, Perch' io dentro all' error contrario corsi A quel ch' accese amor tra 1' uomo e il fonte. 2. Beatrice tells him that they are real spirits of those who have failed to keep holy vows. ' Vere sustanzie son cio che tu vedi, Qui rilegate per manco di voto.' 3. Dante addresses the spirit of his kinswoman, Piccarda de! Donati. Ed io all' ombra, che parea piu vaga Di ragionar, drizza' mi, e cominciai, Quasi com' uom cui troppa voglia ismaga. 4. Piccarda tells Dante who she...