Purgatorio Canto 12

Purgatorio Canto 12Translated by Robert Hollander 1 As oxen go beneath their yoke2 that overladen soul and I went side by side3 as long as my dear escort granted. 4 But when he said: 'Leave him and hurry on,5 for it is fitting here, with all your strength,6 to speed your ship with wings and oars,' 7 I straightened up, erect,8 as one should walk, but still my thoughts9 remained bowed down and shrunken. 10 I set out, following gladly11 in my master's steps, and our easy stride12 made clear how light we felt. 13 And he to me: 'Cast down your eyes.14 It will be good for you and calm you on your way15 to look down at the bed beneath your feet.' 16 As gravestones set above the buried dead17 bear witness to what once they were,18 their carven images recalling them to mind, 19 making us grieve with frequent tears20 when recollection pricks and spurs21 the faithful heart with memories, 22 so were these figures sculpted there23 along that road carved from the mountainside,24 but in their artistry more true in their resemblance. 25 My eyes beheld the one, created nobler26 than any other creature, fall like lightning27 from the sky, over to one side. 28 My eyes beheld Briarèus, on the other,29 transfixed by the celestial bolt,30 now heavy on the earth in chill of death.  31 My eyes beheld Thymbraeus, Pallas, and Mars,32 still armed, together with their father,33 astounded by the giants' scattered limbs. 34 My eyes beheld Nimrod at the base of his great work,35 as though bewildered, and the people,36 who in Shinar shared his pride, all looking on. 37 Ah, Niobe, I saw you sculpted in the roadway,38 your eyes welling up with grief,39 amidst your dead, seven sons and seven daughters. 40 Ah, Saul, you too appeared there, dead41 on your own sword in the mountains of Gilboa,42 which never after knew the rain or dew. 43 Ah, mad Arachne, I saw you all but turned44 to spider, wretched on the strands45 you spun, which did you so much harm. 46 Ah, Rehoboam, now your image does not seem47 to menace but to cower. A chariot bears it off--48 and there is no one giving chase. 49 Now was shown, on that hard floor,50 how Alcmaeon made that necklace, ill-omened,51 seem not worth the price his mother paid. 52 Now was shown how his sons fell upon53 Sennacherib inside the temple,54 and how, slain, they left him there. 55 Now was shown the destruction and cruel slaughter56 wrought by Tomyris when she said to Cyrus:57 'You thirsted for blood. Now drink your fill.' 58 Now was shown the Assyrians routed and in flight59 after the slaying of Holofernes60 and the leavings of that slaughter. 61 My eyes beheld Troy in ashes and in ruins.62 Ah, Ilion, how reduced and shamed you were63 now was shown within the carving.  64 What master of the brush and stylus65 could have designed these forms and outlines66 that would astound even the truest talent? 67 Dead seemed the dead, living seemed the living.68 He who beheld the real events on which I walked,69 head bent, saw them no better than did I. 70 Wax proud then, go your way with head held high,71 you sons of Eve, and no, do not bend down your face72 and so reflect upon your evil path! 73 We had done more of the mountain's circle74 and the sun had sped along its track75 more than my mind, being bound, had reckoned, 76 when he, who always looked before him77 as he went, spoke out: 'Raise your head!78 This is not the time for walking so absorbed. 79 'See the angel over there, preparing80 to approach. See the sixth handmaid who returns81 from her service of the day. 82 'Show reverence in your face and bearing83 so that he may be pleased to send us upward.84 Consider that this day will never dawn again.' 85 I was accustomed to his admonitions86 not to waste my time, so that on this matter87 his speech was not obscure. 88 The fair creature, garbed in white,89 came toward us. In his face there was what seemed90 the shimmering of the morning star. 91 Opening his arms, he spread his wings92 and said: 'Come, the steps are here at hand.93 From here on up the climb is easy. 94 'They are very few who answer to this bidding.95 O race of man, born to fly on high,96 why does a puff of wind cause you to fall?'  97 He brought us where the rock was cleft,98 there tapped my forehead with his wings,99 then promised me that going on I would be safe. 100 Just as, to climb the hillside where the church is set101 which, over Rubaconte, dominates102 the justly governed city, there on the right 103 the sheer slope of the steep ascent is cut104 by stairs that were constructed in a time105 when registers and measures could be trusted, 106 even so the bank that sharply falls away107 from the higher circle is made gentler, except108 that here and there the towering rock scrapes close. 109 While we were moving off in that direction,110 'Beati pauperes spiritu' a voice was singing111 in tones that speech could not express. 112 Ah, how different these entrances from those of Hell,113 for here one's coming in is met with songs114 but there with savage lamentation! 115 Now we were climbing on the hallowed stairs116 and I felt so much lighter than before,117 when the ground I trod was level, 118 that I said: 'Master, tell me,119 what weight has been lifted from me120 that going on is hardly any effort?' 121 He answered: 'When the P's that still remain122 upon your brow, though very faint, shall be,123 as one already is, erased, 124 'your legs shall be so mastered by good will,125 not only will they feel no effort going up,126 but they will take delight in being urged to.' 127 Then I did as those who go along,128 with something on their head, unknown to them,129 except the acts of others make them wonder,  130 so that they reach up with their hand for answers.131 Touching and searching they accomplish132 the task that sight cannot achieve, 133 and, spreading the fingers of my right hand,134 I found that, of the seven letters he of the keys135 had traced upon my forehead, only six remained. 136 Observing this, my leader smiled.