the divine comedy(神曲)-第55节
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The images of such humility;
And dear to look on for their Maker's sake;
〃Behold; upon this side; but rare they make
Their steps;〃 the Poet murmured; 〃many people;
These will direct us to the lofty stairs。〃
Mine eyes; that in beholding were intent
To see new things; of which they curious are;
In turning round towards him were not slow。
But still I wish not; Reader; thou shouldst swerve
From thy good purposes; because thou hearest
How God ordaineth that the debt be paid;
Attend not to the fashion of the torment;
Think of what follows; think that at the worst
It cannot reach beyond the mighty sentence。
〃Master;〃 began I; 〃that which I behold
Moving towards us seems to me not persons;
And what I know not; so in sight I waver。〃
And he to me: 〃The grievous quality
Of this their torment bows them so to earth;
That my own eyes at first contended with it;
But look there fixedly; and disentangle
By sight what cometh underneath those stones;
Already canst thou see how each is stricken。〃
O ye proud Christians! wretched; weary ones!
Who; in the vision of the mind infirm
Confidence have in your backsliding steps;
Do ye not comprehend that we are worms;
Born to bring forth the angelic butterfly
That flieth unto judgment without screen?
Why floats aloft your spirit high in air?
Like are ye unto insects undeveloped;
Even as the worm in whom formation fails!
As to sustain a ceiling or a roof;
In place of corbel; oftentimes a figure
Is seen to join its knees unto its breast;
Which makes of the unreal real anguish
Arise in him who sees it; fashioned thus
Beheld I those; when I had ta'en good heed。
True is it; they were more or less bent down;
According as they more or less were laden;
And he who had most patience in his looks
Weeping did seem to say; 〃I can no more!〃
Purgatorio: Canto XI
〃Our Father; thou who dwellest in the heavens;
Not circumscribed; but from the greater love
Thou bearest to the first effects on high;
Praised be thy name and thine omnipotence
By every creature; as befitting is
To render thanks to thy sweet effluence。
Come unto us the peace of thy dominion;
For unto it we cannot of ourselves;
If it come not; with all our intellect。
Even as thine own Angels of their will
Make sacrifice to thee; Hosanna singing;
So may all men make sacrifice of theirs。
Give unto us this day our daily manna;
Withouten which in this rough wilderness
Backward goes he who toils most to advance。
And even as we the trespass we have suffered
Pardon in one another; pardon thou
Benignly; and regard not our desert。
Our virtue; which is easily o'ercome;
Put not to proof with the old Adversary;
But thou from him who spurs it so; deliver。
This last petition verily; dear Lord;
Not for ourselves is made; who need it not;
But for their sake who have remained behind us。〃
Thus for themselves and us good furtherance
Those shades imploring; went beneath a weight
Like unto that of which we sometimes dream;
Unequally in anguish round and round
And weary all; upon that foremost cornice;
Purging away the smoke…stains of the world。
If there good words are always said for us;
What may not here be said and done for them;
By those who have a good root to their will?
Well may we help them wash away the marks
That hence they carried; so that clean and light
They may ascend unto the starry wheels!
〃Ah! so may pity and justice you disburden
Soon; that ye may have power to move the wing;
That shall uplift you after your desire;
Show us on which hand tow'rd the stairs the way
Is shortest; and if more than one the passes;
Point us out that which least abruptly falls;
For he who cometh with me; through the burden
Of Adam's flesh wherewith he is invested;
Against his will is chary of his climbing。〃
The words of theirs which they returned to those
That he whom I was following had spoken;
It was not manifest from whom they came;
But it was said: 〃To the right hand come with us
Along the bank; and ye shall find a pass
Possible for living person to ascend。
And were I not impeded by the stone;
Which this proud neck of mine doth subjugate;
Whence I am forced to hold my visage down;
Him; who still lives and does not name himself;
Would I regard; to see if I may know him
And make him piteous unto this burden。
A Latian was I; and born of a great Tuscan;
Guglielmo Aldobrandeschi was my father;
I know not if his name were ever with you。
The ancient blood and deeds of gallantry
Of my progenitors so arrogant made me
That; thinking not upon the common mother;
All men I held in scorn to such extent
I died therefor; as know the Sienese;
And every child in Campagnatico。
I am Omberto; and not to me alone
Has pride done harm; but all my kith and kin
Has with it dragged into adversity。
And here must I this burden bear for it
Till God be satisfied; since I did not
Among the living; here among the dead。〃
Listening I downward bent my countenance;
And one of them; not this one who was speaking;
Twisted himself beneath the weight that cramps him;
And looked at me; and knew me; and called out;
Keeping his eyes laboriously fixed
On me; who all bowed down was going with them。
〃O;〃 asked I him; 〃art thou not Oderisi;
Agobbio's honour; and honour of that art
Which is in Paris called illuminating?〃
〃Brother;〃 said he; 〃more laughing are the leaves
Touched by the brush of Franco Bolognese;
All his the honour now; and mine in part。
In sooth I had not been so courteous
While I was living; for the great desire
Of excellence; on which my heart was bent。
Here of such pride is paid the forfeiture;
And yet I should not be here; were it not
That; having power to sin; I turned to God。
O thou vain glory of the human powers;
How little green upon thy summit lingers;
If't be not followed by an age of grossness!
In painting Cimabue thought that he
Should hold the field; now Giotto has the cry;
So that the other's fame is growing dim。
So has one Guido from the other taken
The glory of our tongue; and he perchance
Is born; who from the nest shall chase them both。
Naught is this mundane rumour but a breath
Of wind; that comes now this way and now that;
And changes name; because it changes side。
What fame shalt thou have more; if old peel off
From thee thy flesh; than if thou hadst been dead
Before thou left the 'pappo' and the 'dindi;'
Ere pass a thousand years? which is a shorter
Space to the eterne; than twinkling of an eye
Unto the circle that in heaven wheels slowest。
With him; who takes so little of the road
In front of me; all Tuscany resounded;
And now he scarce is lisped of in Siena;
Where he was lord; what time was overthrown
The Florentine delirium; that superb
Was at that day as now 'tis prostitute。
Your reputation is the colour of grass
Which comes and goes; and that discolours it
By which it issues green from out the earth。〃
And I: 〃Thy true speech fills my heart with good
Humility; and great tumour thou assuagest;
But who is he; of whom just now thou spakest?〃
〃That;〃 he replied; 〃is Provenzan Salvani;
And he is here because he had presumed
To bring Siena all into his hands。
He has gone thus; and goeth without rest
E'er since he died; such money renders back
In payment he who is on earth too daring。〃
And I: 〃If every spirit who awaits
The verge of life before that he repent;
Remains below there and ascends not hither;
(Unless good orison shall him bestead;)
Until as much time as he lived be passed;
How was the coming granted him in largess?〃
〃When he in greatest splendour lived;〃 said he;
〃Freely upon the Campo of Siena;
All shame being laid aside; he placed himself;
And there to draw his friend from the duress
Which in the prison…house of Charles he suffered;
He brought himself to tremble in each vein。
I say no more; and know that I speak darkly;
Yet little time shall pass before thy neighbours
Will so demean themselves that thou canst gloss it。
This action has released him from those confines。〃
Purgatorio: Canto XII
Abreast; like oxen going in a yoke;
I with that heavy…laden soul went on;
As long as the sweet pedagogue permitted;
But when he said; 〃Leave him; and onward pass;
For here 'tis good that with the sail and oars;
As much as may be; each push on his barque;〃
Upright; as walking wills it; I redressed
My person; notwithstanding that my thoughts
Remained within me downcast and abashed。
I had moved on; and followed willingly
The footsteps of my Master; and we both
Already showed how light of foot we were;
When unto me he said: 〃Cast down thine eyes;
'Twere well for thee; to alleviate the way;
To look upon the bed beneath thy feet。〃
As; that some memory may exist of them;
Above the buried dead their tombs in earth
Bear sculptured on them what they were before;
Whence often there we weep for them afresh;