(1) As he therefore thus prepared his disciples for erudition, he did not immediately receive into the number of his associates those who came to him for that purpose, till he had made trial of, and judiciously examined them. Hence in the first place he inquired after what manner they associated with their parents, and the rest of their relatives. In the next place he surveyed their unseasonable laughter, their silence, and their speaking when it was not proper; and farther still, what their desires were, with whom they associated, how they conversed with them, in what they especially employed their leisure time in the day, and what were the subjects of their joy and grief. He likewise surveyed, their form, their mode of walking, and the whole motion of their body.

Physiognomically also considering the natural indications of their frame, he made them to be manifest signs of the unapparent manners of the soul. When, therefore, he had thus made trial of some one, he suffered him to be neglected for three years, in the mean time observing how he was disposed with respect to stability, and a true love of learning, and if he was sufficiently prepared with reference to glory, so as to despise [popular] honor. After this, he ordered those who came to him to observe a quinquennial silence, in order that he might experimentally know how they were affected as to continence of speech, the subjugation of the tongue being the most difficult of all victories; as those have unfolded to us who instituted the mysteries.

During this [probationary] time, however, the property of each was disposed of in common, and was committed to the care of those appointed for this purpose, who were called politicians, economizers, and legislators. And with respect to these probationers, those who appeared to be worthy to participate of his dogmas, from the judgment he had formed of them from their life and the modesty of their behaviour, after the quinquennial silence, then became Esoterics , and both heard and saw Pythagoras himself within the veil. For prior to this they participated of his words through the hearing alone, beyond the veil, without at all seeing him, giving for a long time a specimen of their peculiar manners. But if they were rejected they received the double of the wealth which they brought, and a tomb was raised to them as if they were dead by the homacoï ; for thus all the disciples of the man were called.

And if they happened to meet with them afterwards, they behaved to them as if they were other persons, but said that they were dead, whom they had modelled by education, in the expectation that they would become truly good men by the disciplines they would learn. They also were of opinion that those who were more slow in the acquisition of knowledge, were badly organized, and, as I may say, imperfect and barren. If, however, after Pythagoras had physiognomically considered their form, their mode of walking, and every other motion, and the state of their body, and he had conceived good hope respecting them; after likewise the quinquennial silence, and the orgies and initiations from so many disciplines, together with the ablutions of the soul, and so many and such great purifications produced from such various theorems, through which the sagacity and sanctity of the soul is perfectly ingenerated; if, after all this, some one was found to be still sluggish and of a dull intellect, they raised to such a one in the school a certain pillar and monument, (as they are said to have done to Perialus the Thurian, and Cylon the prince of the Sybarites, who were rejected by them) expelled him from the Homacoïon or auditory, loading him with a great quantity of silver and gold.

For these were deposited by them in common, and were committed to the care of certain persons adapted to this purpose, and who were called Economics, from the office which they bore. And if afterwards they happened to meet with such a one, they conceived him to be any other person, than him who according to them was dead. Hence also Lysis, blaming a certain person named Hipparchus, because he had communicated the doctrines of the Pythagoreans to the profane, and to those who acceded to them without disciplines and theory, says as follows:

(2) He named me many others one by one; And all contented seemed at being named, So that for this I saw not one dark look. I saw for hunger bite the empty air Ubaldin dalla Pila, and Boniface, Who with his crook had pastured many people. I saw Messer Marchese, who had leisure Once at Forli for drinking with less dryness, And he was one who ne'er felt satisfied. But as he does who scans, and then doth prize One more than others, did I him of Lucca, Who seemed to take most cognizance of me. He murmured, and I know not what Gentucca From that place heard I, where he felt the wound Of justice, that doth macerate them so. "O soul," I said, "that seemest so desirous To speak with me, do so that I may hear thee, And with thy speech appease thyself and me." "A maid is born, and wears not yet the veil," Began he, "who to thee shall pleasant make My city, howsoever men may blame it. Thou shalt go on thy way with this prevision; If by my murmuring thou hast been deceived, True things hereafter will declare it to thee.

(4) Envoy and servant sooth he seemed of Christ, For the first love made manifest in him Was the first counsel that was given by Christ. Silent and wakeful many a time was he Discovered by his nurse upon the ground, As if he would have said, 'For this I came.' O thou his father, Felix verily! O thou his mother, verily Joanna, If this, interpreted, means as is said! Not for the world which people toil for now In following Ostiense and Taddeo, But through his longing after the true manna, He in short time became so great a teacher, That he began to go about the vineyard, Which fadeth soon, if faithless be the dresser; And of the See, (that once was more benignant Unto the righteous poor, not through itself, But him who sits there and degenerates,) Not to dispense or two or three for six, Not any fortune of first vacancy, 'Non decimas quae sunt pauperum Dei,' He asked for, but against the errant world Permission to do battle for the seed, Of which these four and twenty plants surround thee.

(2) Here saw I people, more than elsewhere, many, On one side and the other, with great howls, Rolling weights forward by main force of chest. They clashed together, and then at that point Each one turned backward, rolling retrograde, Crying, "Why keepest?" and, "Why squanderest thou?" Thus they returned along the lurid circle On either hand unto the opposite point, Shouting their shameful metre evermore. Then each, when he arrived there, wheeled about Through his half-circle to another joust; And I, who had my heart pierced as it were, Exclaimed: "My Master, now declare to me What people these are, and if all were clerks, These shaven crowns upon the left of us." And he to me: "All of them were asquint In intellect in the first life, so much That there with measure they no spending made. Clearly enough their voices bark it forth, Whene'er they reach the two points of the circle, Where sunders them the opposite defect. Clerks those were who no hairy covering Have on the head, and Popes and Cardinals, In whom doth Avarice practise its excess."

(15) He established workers and servants, assisting in what he will do and what he will say, for in every place where he worked he left his countenance in his beautiful name, effecting and speaking of the things which he thinks about.

(4) To me it seemed, in passing, to do outrage, Seeing the others without being seen; Wherefore I turned me to my counsel sage. Well knew he what the mute one wished to say, And therefore waited not for my demand, But said: "Speak, and be brief, and to the point." I had Virgilius upon that side Of the embankment from which one may fall, Since by no border 'tis engarlanded; Upon the other side of me I had The shades devout, who through the horrible seam Pressed out the tears so that they bathed their cheeks. To them I turned me, and, "O people, certain," Began I, "of beholding the high light, Which your desire has solely in its care, So may grace speedily dissolve the scum Upon your consciences, that limpidly Through them descend the river of the mind, Tell me, for dear 'twill be to me and gracious, If any soul among you here is Latian, And 'twill perchance be good for him I learn it." "O brother mine, each one is citizen Of one true city; but thy meaning is, Who may have lived in Italy a pilgrim."

(90) And I saw till that man, who wrote down the names of the shepherds [and] carried up into the presence of the Lord of the sheep [came and helped it and showed it everything: he had come down for the help of that ram].

(3) And close to me approached, even as before, The very same who had entreated me, Attent to listen in their countenance. I, who their inclination twice had seen, Began: "O souls secure in the possession, Whene'er it may be, of a state of peace, Neither unripe nor ripened have remained My members upon earth, but here are with me With their own blood and their articulations. I go up here to be no longer blind; A Lady is above, who wins this grace, Whereby the mortal through your world I bring. But as your greatest longing satisfied May soon become, so that the Heaven may house you Which full of love is, and most amply spreads, Tell me, that I again in books may write it, Who are you, and what is that multitude Which goes upon its way behind your backs?" Not otherwise with wonder is bewildered The mountaineer, and staring round is dumb, When rough and rustic to the town he goes, Than every shade became in its appearance; But when they of their stupor were disburdened, Which in high hearts is quickly quieted,

(42) And Joseph devised a plan whereby he might learn their thoughts as to whether thoughts of peace prevailed amongst them, and he said to the steward who was over his house : " Fill all their sacks with food, and return their money unto them into their vessels, and my cup, the silver cup out of which I N 194 ?HE BOOK OF JUBILEES [chap, xlii drink, put it in the sack of the youngest, and send them away." Joseph finally tests his Brethren, and then makes himself known to them (xliii. -; cf. Gen. xliv., xlv.).

(35) "He was well educated, highly cultivated, of extensive as well as varied information, and very studious. He spent considerable of his time in the patient and persistent conning of a number of very rare old books and ancient manuscripts which he seemed to be deciphering, translating or rewriting. These books and manuscripts, together with his own writings, he never showed to anyone; and he did not even mention them in his conversations with the family, except in the most casual way; and he always locked them up carefully in a large, old-fashioned, cubically shaped, iron-bound, heavy, oaken chest, whenever he left his room, even for his meals. He took long and frequent walks alone, sat on the brows of the neighboring hills, or mused in the midst of the green and flower-gemmed meadows. He was fairly liberal--but in no way lavish--in spending his money, with which he was well supplied. He was a quiet, though a very genial and very interesting, member of the family; and be was seemingly at home upon any and every topic coming up in conversation. He was, in short, one whom everyone would notice and respect, whom few would feel well acquainted with, and whom no one would presume to question concerning himself--as to whence he came, why he tarried, or whither he journeyed. "

(4) If evil lordship, that exasperates ever The subject populations, had not moved Palermo to the outcry of 'Death! death!' And if my brother could but this foresee, The greedy poverty of Catalonia Straight would he flee, that it might not molest him; For verily 'tis needful to provide, Through him or other, so that on his bark Already freighted no more freight be placed. His nature, which from liberal covetous Descended, such a soldiery would need As should not care for hoarding in a chest." "Because I do believe the lofty joy Thy speech infuses into me, my Lord, Where every good thing doth begin and end Thou seest as I see it, the more grateful Is it to me; and this too hold I dear, That gazing upon God thou dost discern it. Glad hast thou made me; so make clear to me, Since speaking thou hast stirred me up to doubt, How from sweet seed can bitter issue forth." This I to him; and he to me: "If I Can show to thee a truth, to what thou askest Thy face thou'lt hold as thou dost hold thy back.

(2) So, by the flaming of the effulgence holy To which I turned, I recognized therein The wish of speaking to me somewhat farther. And it began: "In this fifth resting-place Upon the tree that liveth by its summit, And aye bears fruit, and never loses leaf, Are blessed spirits that below, ere yet They came to Heaven, were of such great renown That every Muse therewith would affluent be. Therefore look thou upon the cross's horns; He whom I now shall name will there enact What doth within a cloud its own swift fire." I saw athwart the Cross a splendour drawn By naming Joshua, (even as he did it,) Nor noted I the word before the deed; And at the name of the great Maccabee I saw another move itself revolving, And gladness was the whip unto that top. Likewise for Charlemagne and for Orlando, Two of them my regard attentive followed As followeth the eye its falcon flying. William thereafterward, and Renouard, And the Duke Godfrey, did attract my sight Along upon that Cross, and Robert Guiscard.

(6) And this man was our Patriarch; hence whoever Doth follow him as he commands can see That he is laden with good merchandise. But for new pasturage his flock has grown So greedy, that it is impossible They be not scattered over fields diverse; And in proportion as his sheep remote And vagabond go farther off from him, More void of milk return they to the fold. Verily some there are that fear a hurt, And keep close to the shepherd; but so few, That little cloth doth furnish forth their hoods. Now if my utterance be not indistinct, If thine own hearing hath attentive been, If thou recall to mind what I have said, In part contented shall thy wishes be; For thou shalt see the plant that's chipped away, And the rebuke that lieth in the words, 'Where well one fattens, if he strayeth not.'"

(10) He who addresses those who are present before him, both tests them by time, and judges by his judgment, and from the others distinguishes him who can hear; watching the words, the manners, the habits, the life, the motions, the attitudes, the look, the voice; the road, the rock, the beaten path, the fruitful land, the wooded region, the fertile and fair and cultivated spot, that is able to multiply the seed. But he that speaks through books, consecrates himself before God, crying in writing thus: Not for gain, not for vainglory, not to be vanquished by partiality, nor enslaved by fear nor elated by pleasure; but only to reap the salvation of those who read, which he does, not at present participate in, but awaiting in expectation the recompense which will certainly be rendered by Him, who has promised to bestow on the labourers the reward that is meet. But he who is enrolled in the number of men ought not to desire recompense. For he that vaunts his good services, receives glory as his reward.

(9) "Since I was glorified like this once before, why do you hold me back when I am eager to go? After my labor you have made me stay with you another eighteen days because of the parables. For some people it was enough to listen to the teaching and understand 'The Shepherds,' 'The Seed,' 'The Building,' 'The Lamps of the Young Women,' 'The Wage of the Workers,' and 'The Silver Coins and the Woman.'

(6) He answered: "When the P's which have remained Still on thy face almost obliterate Shall wholly, as the first is, be erased, Thy feet will be so vanquished by good will, That not alone they shall not feel fatigue, But urging up will be to them delight." Then did I even as they do who are going With something on the head to them unknown, Unless the signs of others make them doubt, Wherefore the hand to ascertain is helpful, And seeks and finds, and doth fulfill the office Which cannot be accomplished by the sight; And with the fingers of the right hand spread I found but six the letters, that had carved Upon my temples he who bore the keys; Upon beholding which my Leader smiled.

(19) Matthew said to him: "Lord, Savior, how was Man revealed?"

(2) Thereafterward I heard: "O good Fabricius, Virtue with poverty didst thou prefer To the possession of great wealth with vice." So pleasurable were these words to me That I drew farther onward to have knowledge Touching that spirit whence they seemed to come. He furthermore was speaking of the largess Which Nicholas unto the maidens gave, In order to conduct their youth to honour. "O soul that dost so excellently speak, Tell me who wast thou," said I, "and why only Thou dost renew these praises well deserved? Not without recompense shall be thy word, If I return to finish the short journey Of that life which is flying to its end." And he: "I'll tell thee, not for any comfort I may expect from earth, but that so much Grace shines in thee or ever thou art dead. I was the root of that malignant plant Which overshadows all the Christian world, So that good fruit is seldom gathered from it; But if Douay and Ghent, and Lille and Bruges Had Power, soon vengeance would be taken on it; And this I pray of Him who judges all.

(1) If e'er it happen that the Poem Sacred, To which both heaven and earth have set their hand, So that it many a year hath made me lean, O'ercome the cruelty that bars me out From the fair sheepfold, where a lamb I slumbered, An enemy to the wolves that war upon it, With other voice forthwith, with other fleece Poet will I return, and at my font Baptismal will I take the laurel crown; Because into the Faith that maketh known All souls to God there entered I, and then Peter for her sake thus my brow encircled. Thereafterward towards us moved a light Out of that band whence issued the first-fruits Which of his vicars Christ behind him left, And then my Lady, full of ecstasy, Said unto me: "Look, look! behold the Baron For whom below Galicia is frequented." In the same way as, when a dove alights Near his companion, both of them pour forth, Circling about and murmuring, their affection, So one beheld I by the other grand Prince glorified to be with welcome greeted, Lauding the food that there above is eaten.

(6) "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."