Thence, with his Spouse, and with the holy train
Which, following him, had put the girdle on,
That Lord and Father did his way maintain.
Nor aught to waver was his courage seen,
That he was son of Peter Bernardon,
And in appearance wonderfully mean;

But with a royal spirit he revealed

85

91

His hardy purpose unto Innocent,

Who first the vow of his religion seal'd.

And when augmented was the lowly train

That follow'd him with poverty content,

Whose wondrous life deserves an Angel's strain, The leader of this venerable band

His wish saw crown'd again successfully, Through the Holy Spirit by Honorius' hand. Then, as by thirst of martyrdom impell'd,

In the proud presence of the Soldan, he

97

Preach'd Christ, and those his doctrines who upheld.

Finding the people yet unripe to bear

Conversion, he, impatient of delay,

Turn'd back again, the Italian fruit to rear.

In mount Alverna, on the rigid stone,

He, following Christ, did that last penance pay,
Whose seal upon his limbs two years was shown.

103

When God was pleased unto Himself to take
So true a servant, and reward the cares

Of one devoutly humble for his sake,

His dearest Lady recommended he

109

Unto his brethren, now his rightful heirs,

And bade them love her with fidelity:

And from her breast with joyfulness took flight
His glorious spirit, as it homeward hied;

115

Nor for his body ask'd he other rite.
Judge now of him who was esteem'd to be
A colleague fit St. Peter's bark to guide
Through the dark billows of a stormy sea.
Such was our Patriarch.-Wherefore he is wise

Who shapes his course as he has led the way,
Laden alike with goodly merchandise.

But now so greedy are his flock become

Of novel food, they needs must go astray

To seek new pastures far away from home: And in proportion as they quit the track,

Which they were erst accustom'd to pursue,
Emptier of wholesome food do they come back.
Some, fearing harm indeed, for safety's sake,

Draw to their Pastor's side; but these so few,
That little cloth would all their mantles make.

121

127

Now, if intelligible be my word;

If thou hast listen'd me attentively;

And thou remember well what thou hast heard,

In part, at least, thy wish will be content;

Since of these splinters thou the root wilt see;
And the Dominican learn what is meant,

By that which thrives if free from vanity.'

133

NOTES.

Page 102. (Line 1.) From Lucretius, ii. 14—
"O miseras hominum mentes! O pectora cæca!

Qualibus in tenebris vitæ, quantisque periclis
Degitur hoc ævi quodcunque est !"

This exclamation, introductory to Thomas Aquinas's speech, line 19, continued from the last canto, is directed against the modern Dominicans, who had abandoned themselves to worldly pursuits.

canto, line 96. The modern Dominicans

Page 103. (Line 25.) i.e. In the last view there given of the vanity of the causes a doubt in Dante's mind as to St. Dominic. This, Aquinas proceeds to solve, by giving a laudatory history of St. Francis, declaring that St. Dominic was a colleague worthy of him, and showing that St. Dominic was not answerable for the degeneracy of his followers. (26.) These words referring to Solomon, are taken from canto x. 114. This second doubt is explained in canto xiii. 34 :-"the distinction drawn "

being, in what sense Solomon is called incomparable. (29.) "Dangerous it were for the feeble brain of man to wade far into the doings of the Most High; whom, although to know be Life, and Joy to make mention of his name; yet our soundest knowledge is, to know that we know him not as indeed he is, neither can know him; and our safest eloquence concerning him is our silence, when we confess, without confession, that his glory is inexplicable, his greatness above our capacity and reach. He is above, and we upon earth; therefore it behoves our words to be wary and few."-Hooker. Eccl. Pol. b. i. (31) The Church-espoused to our Saviour in His passion. (35.) Her two conductors-St. Francis d'Assisi, and St. Dominic-the one, founder of the order of the Frati Minori, and the other, of the Frati Predicatori.

Page 104. (Line 43.) The situation of Assesi, or Ascesi, where St. Francis was born in 1182, is described as between the streams of Tupino and Chiassi, to which St. Ubaldo retired. (48.) Gualdo and Nocera, situated behind the hill, were towns oppressed by Perugia. (54.) The name of the place where this "wondrous Sun" was born should be changed, says Aquinas, from Ascesi to Orient, according to Buonaventura, who, in his life of St. Francis, appropriated to him the words of St. John: "I saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the Sun," &c. (55.) i.e. For the sake of Poverty. See line 75. He is said to have been beaten for throwing away money, by his father.

Page 105. (Line 61.) Before the Bishop he, about the year 1207, renounced all earthly possessions. (64.) From the time of our Saviour, “who had not where to lay his head,” to that of St. Francis, i.e. above 1100 years, Poverty is said to have had no husband. "Many have been led to suppose, from a

few isolated passages, that Christianity discountenances the possession of wealth in its disciples, and enjoins the profession of a voluntary poverty, as a means of securing the especial favour of the Almighty. But the Gospel, when fairly interpreted, contains no intimation to that effect....The rich man is a servant of God charged with great responsibilities."— Sermons by the Rev. W. Harness, pp. 55, 70. (67.) i.e. "It availed not, to make men embrace Poverty, that she enabled Amyclas, the poor fisherman, to sleep securely in the neighbourhood of hostile armies, and to hear without alarm the voice of Cæsar." The story is from Lucan, Phars. v. 504. He relates that Cæsar, having quitted the camp by night, alone, and wandering by the sea-shore, knocked at the hut of Amyclas, who taking him for some shipwrecked man, “Quisnam mea naufragus, inquit, Tecta petit? aut quem nostræ Fortuna coëgit Auxilium sperare case?" whereon Lucan makes Cæsar exclaim, as imitated by Dante, line 82—

"O vitæ tuta facultas

Pauperis, angustique lares! o munera nondum
Intellecta Deúm! quibus hoc contingere templis,
Aut potuit muris, nullo trepidare tumultu,

Cæsareâ pulsante manu?"

(79.) "St. Bernard first followed the example of St. Francis by going barefoot, in imitation of the Apostles.”—Lombardi. (83.) Egidius and Sylvester were two of the followers of St. Francis.

Page 106. (Line 85.) "Thence," i.e. "from his country," St. Francis (styled "lord and father," as the founder and master of the Order) proceeded to Rome, unabashed by his low birth, and accompanied by his Spouse and family, i.e. Poverty and her followers, who wore the girdle. (89.) Peter Ber