(5) For 'twere not fitting that the eye o'ercast By any mist should go before the first Angel, who is of those of Paradise. This little island round about its base Below there, yonder, where the billow beats it, Doth rushes bear upon its washy ooze; No other plant that putteth forth the leaf, Or that doth indurate, can there have life, Because it yieldeth not unto the shocks. Thereafter be not this way your return; The sun, which now is rising, will direct you To take the mount by easier ascent." With this he vanished; and I raised me up Without a word, and wholly drew myself Unto my Guide, and turned mine eyes to him. And he began: "Son, follow thou my steps; Let us turn back, for on this side declines The plain unto its lower boundaries." The dawn was vanquishing the matin hour Which fled before it, so that from afar I recognised the trembling of the sea. Along the solitary plain we went As one who unto the lost road returns, And till he finds it seems to go in vain.

(1) Eager already to search in and round The heavenly forest, dense and living-green, Which tempered to the eyes the new-born day, Withouten more delay I left the bank, Taking the level country slowly, slowly Over the soil that everywhere breathes fragrance. A softly-breathing air, that no mutation Had in itself, upon the forehead smote me No heavier blow than of a gentle wind, Whereat the branches, lightly tremulous, Did all of them bow downward toward that side Where its first shadow casts the Holy Mountain; Yet not from their upright direction swayed, So that the little birds upon their tops Should leave the practice of each art of theirs; But with full ravishment the hours of prime, Singing, received they in the midst of leaves, That ever bore a burden to their rhymes, Such as from branch to branch goes gathering on Through the pine forest on the shore of Chiassi, When Eolus unlooses the Sirocco. Already my slow steps had carried me Into the ancient wood so far, that I Could not perceive where I had entered it.

(6) His sluggish attitude and his curt words A little unto laughter moved my lips; Then I began: "Belacqua, I grieve not For thee henceforth; but tell me, wherefore seated In this place art thou? Waitest thou an escort? Or has thy usual habit seized upon thee?" And he: "O brother, what's the use of climbing? Since to my torment would not let me go The Angel of God, who sitteth at the gate. First heaven must needs so long revolve me round Outside thereof, as in my life it did, Since the good sighs I to the end postponed, Unless, e'er that, some prayer may bring me aid Which rises from a heart that lives in grace; What profit others that in heaven are heard not?" Meanwhile the Poet was before me mounting, And saying: "Come now; see the sun has touched Meridian, and from the shore the night Covers already with her foot Morocco."

(4) And I beheld the flamelets onward go, Leaving behind themselves the air depicted, And they of trailing pennons had the semblance, So that it overhead remained distinct With sevenfold lists, all of them of the colours Whence the sun's bow is made, and Delia's girdle. These standards to the rearward longer were Than was my sight; and, as it seemed to me, Ten paces were the outermost apart. Under so fair a heaven as I describe The four and twenty Elders, two by two, Came on incoronate with flower-de-luce. They all of them were singing: "Blessed thou Among the daughters of Adam art, and blessed For evermore shall be thy loveliness." After the flowers and other tender grasses In front of me upon the other margin Were disencumbered of that race elect, Even as in heaven star followeth after star, There came close after them four animals, Incoronate each one with verdant leaf. Plumed with six wings was every one of them, The plumage full of eyes; the eyes of Argus If they were living would be such as these.

(11) Into Thee enter these hosts of gods, and some in fear extol Thee with folded hands. And bands of Rishis and Siddhas exclaim, “May there be peace!” and praise Thee with splendid hymns.

(11) Therefore, after the cessation [of the dawning] of the Peaceful and the Knowledge-Holding Deities, who come to welcome one, the fifty-eight flame-enhaloed, wrathful, blood-drinking deities come to dawn, who are only the former Peaceful Deities in changed aspect-according to the place [or psychic- centre of the Bardo-body of the deceased whence they proceed]; nevertheless, they will not resemble them.

(4) More of the mount by us was now encompassed, And far more spent the circuit of the sun, Than had the mind preoccupied imagined, When he, who ever watchful in advance Was going on, began: "Lift up thy head, 'Tis no more time to go thus meditating. Lo there an Angel who is making haste To come towards us; lo, returning is From service of the day the sixth handmaiden. With reverence thine acts and looks adorn, So that he may delight to speed us upward; Think that this day will never dawn again." I was familiar with his admonition Ever to lose no time; so on this theme He could not unto me speak covertly. Towards us came the being beautiful Vested in white, and in his countenance Such as appears the tremulous morning star. His arms he opened, and opened then his wings; "Come," said he, "near at hand here are the steps, And easy from henceforth is the ascent." At this announcement few are they who come! O human creatures, born to soar aloft, Why fall ye thus before a little wind?

(9) Then were created the gods in the midst of [heaven

(7) We paused immovable and in suspense, Even as the shepherds who first heard that song, Until the trembling ceased, and it was finished. Then we resumed again our holy path, Watching the shades that lay upon the ground, Already turned to their accustomed plaint. No ignorance ever with so great a strife Had rendered me importunate to know, If erreth not in this my memory, As meditating then I seemed to have; Nor out of haste to question did I dare, Nor of myself I there could aught perceive; So I went onward timorous and thoughtful.

(9) And they said one to another: 'The earth made †without inhabitant cries the voice of their crying† up to the gates of heaven. 3 ⌈⌈And now to you, the holy ones of heaven⌉⌉, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High.".'

(4) And I began: "O Poet, willingly Speak would I to those two, who go together, And seem upon the wind to be so light." And, he to me: "Thou'lt mark, when they shall be Nearer to us; and then do thou implore them By love which leadeth them, and they will come." Soon as the wind in our direction sways them, My voice uplift I: "O ye weary souls! Come speak to us, if no one interdicts it." As turtle-doves, called onward by desire, With open and steady wings to the sweet nest Fly through the air by their volition borne, So came they from the band where Dido is, Approaching us athwart the air malign, So strong was the affectionate appeal. "O living creature gracious and benignant, Who visiting goest through the purple air Us, who have stained the world incarnadine, If were the King of the Universe our friend, We would pray unto him to give thee peace, Since thou hast pity on our woe perverse. Of what it pleases thee to hear and speak, That will we hear, and we will speak to you, While silent is the wind, as it is now.

(79) IV. They knew likewise very well that they were not the whole room or place, but were therein to increase the joy and wonderful proportion, variety and harmony of that same place, and were to accord, qualify and act friendly with that room or place of the Deity, and in a friendly manner affect the qualities that are without, distinct from their bodies.

(4) "God seeth all things, and in Him, blest spirit, Thy sight is," said I, "so that never will Of his can possibly from thee be hidden; Thy voice, then, that for ever makes the heavens Glad, with the singing of those holy fires Which of their six wings make themselves a cowl, Wherefore does it not satisfy my longings? Indeed, I would not wait thy questioning If I in thee were as thou art in me." "The greatest of the valleys where the water Expands itself," forthwith its words began, "That sea excepted which the earth engarlands, Between discordant shores against the sun Extends so far, that it meridian makes Where it was wont before to make the horizon. I was a dweller on that valley's shore 'Twixt Ebro and Magra that with journey short Doth from the Tuscan part the Genoese. With the same sunset and same sunrise nearly Sit Buggia and the city whence I was, That with its blood once made the harbour hot. Folco that people called me unto whom My name was known; and now with me this heaven Imprints itself, as I did once with it;

(53) Thou grantest to the gods to sit upon the earth; to those, namely, who follow thee and come in thy train

(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,

(1) Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me! how hard a thing it is to say What was this forest savage, rough, and stern, Which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is little more; But of the good to treat, which there I found, Speak will I of the other things I saw there. I cannot well repeat how there I entered, So full was I of slumber at the moment In which I had abandoned the true way. But after I had reached a mountain's foot, At that point where the valley terminated, Which had with consternation pierced my heart, Upward I looked, and I beheld its shoulders, Vested already with that planet's rays Which leadeth others right by every road. Then was the fear a little quieted That in my heart's lake had endured throughout The night, which I had passed so piteously. And even as he, who, with distressful breath, Forth issued from the sea upon the shore, Turns to the water perilous and gazes;

(33) And to the east of those beasts I saw the ends of the earth whereon the heaven rests, and the portals of the heaven open.

(5) And then in manner of the little flame, Which followeth the fire where'er it shifts, After the spirit followeth its new form. Since afterwards it takes from this its semblance, It is called shade; and thence it organizes Thereafter every sense, even to the sight. Thence is it that we speak, and thence we laugh; Thence is it that we form the tears and sighs, That on the mountain thou mayhap hast heard. According as impress us our desires And other affections, so the shade is shaped, And this is cause of what thou wonderest at." And now unto the last of all the circles Had we arrived, and to the right hand turned, And were attentive to another care. There the embankment shoots forth flames of fire, And upward doth the cornice breathe a blast That drives them back, and from itself sequesters. Hence we must needs go on the open side, And one by one; and I did fear the fire On this side, and on that the falling down. My Leader said: "Along this place one ought To keep upon the eyes a tightened rein, Seeing that one so easily might err."

(264) 342 To say: The two reed-floats of heaven are placed for Horus that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon, to Harachte. 342 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed for N. that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon, to Harachte. 342 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed for Ssm.ti that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon, to Harachte. 342 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed for N. that he may ferry over therewith to the horizon, to Harachte. 343 The mn`-canal is open; the Winding Watercourse is inundated; 343 the Marshes of Reeds are filled (with water). 344 N. will certainly ferry over to yonder eastern side of heaven, 344 to the place where the gods will give him birth, where he will certainly be born, new and young, 345 when this hour of the morrow comes--the hour of the fifth -day, 345 the hour of the sixth day, the hour of the seventh day, the hour of the eighth day. 346 N. will be summoned by R`, he will be given something (to eat) by Nb-k.w, 346 like Horus, like him of the horizon, 346 when this hour of the morrow comes, the hour of the third day, the hour of the fourth day. 347 When N. stands there like this star which is on the under (side) of the body of the sky; 347 he judges as a god after he has listened like a prince. 348 N. calls to them and they bring to him those four gods, 348 who stand on the d`m-sceptres of heaven, 348 that they may speak the name of N. to R` and announce his name to Horus who inhabits the horizon. 349 He has come to thee; he has come to thee, 349 that he may be loosed from the bands and unbound from the fastenings. 350 He (R`) has freed N. from Hrti; he has not given him to Osiris. 350 N. has not died the death; 350 he has become an w (or, 3) in the horizon; he has become everlasting in the Ddw.t.

(473) 926 To say: The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the morning-boat for R`, 926 that R` may ferry over on them to Horus who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 926 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the evening-boat for Horus who inhabits the horizon, 926 that Horus who inhabits the horizon may ferry over on them to R`, to the horizon. 927 The two reed-floats of heaven are caused to descend for N. by the morning-boat, 927 that N. may mount on them to R`, to the horizon. 927 The two reed-floats of heaven are caused to descend for N. by the evening-boat, 927 that N. may mount on them to Horus, who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 928 N. mounts on high on this eastern side of heaven where the gods are born; 928 N. will be born (anew there) like Horus, like him of the horizon. 929 N. is justified; the ka of N. is justified; 929 the sister of N. is Sothis; the mother of N. is the morning star. 930 N. hath found the spirits well-equipped by reason of their mouth, 930 sitting on the two shores of the -lake, 930 the drinking-bowl of each spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth. 930 "Hast thou no eyes?", so said they to N., 930 the spirits well-equipped by reason of their mouth. 930 Said he, "a spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth." 931 "How has this happened to thee?", so said they to N., 931 the spirits well-equipped by reason of their mouth, 931 "that thou art come to this place which is more august than any place?" 931 N. is come to this place which is more august than any place. 932 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the morning-boat for R`, 932 that R` may ferry over on them to Horus who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 932 The two reed-floats of heaven are placed by the evening-boat for Horus who inhabits the horizon, 932 that Horus who inhabits the horizon may ferry over on them to R`, to the horizon, 933 because the two reed-floats of heaven were caused to descend for N. by the morning-boat, 933 that N. may mount on them for life and joy to R`, to the horizon; 933 because the two reed-floats of heaven were caused to descend for N. by the evening-boat, 933 that N. may mount on them to Horus who inhabits the horizon, to the horizon. 934 N. mounts on high on this eastern side of heaven, where the gods are born; 934 N. was born (anew there) like Horus, like him of the horizon. 935 N. is justified; the ka of N. is justified. 935 Praise be to N.; praise be to the ka of N. 935 The sister of N. is Sothis; the mother of N. is the morning star. 936 N. comes (to be) with you: 936 N. walks with you in the Marsh of Reeds; 936 he pastures as you pasture in the field of malachite; 937 N. eats of that which you eat; 937 N.. lives on that on which you live; 937 N. clothes himself with that wherewith you clothe yourselves; 937 N. anoints himself with that wherewith you anoint yourselves; 937 N. takes water with you out of the mn-canal (or, lake of the nurse) of N., 937 the drinking-bowl of each spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth. 938 N. sits as he who lives in the great 'itr.t-palace; 938 N. commands (each) spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth; 938 N. sits on the two shores of the -lake; 938 N. commands (each) spirit well-equipped by reason of his mouth.