Volume I Part 6 (2/2)

Mira che quando ride Pa.s.sa ben di dolcezza ogni altra cosa.

Cos di quella bocca il pensier mio Mi sp.r.o.na, perch io Non ho nel mondo cosa che non desse A tal ch'un si, con buon voler dicesse.

Her neck was white and slender, springing gracefully from the bust--

Poi guarda la sua svelta e bianca gola Commessa ben dalle spalle e dal petto.

A small, round, dimpled chin,

Mento tondo, fesso e piccioletto:

and thereupon the Poet breaks out into a rapture, any thing but theological,

Il bel diletto Aver quel collo fra le braccia stretto E far in quella gola un picciol segno!

Her arms were beautiful and round; her hand soft, white, and polished;

La bianca mano morbida e pulita:

her fingers slender, and decorated with jewelled rings as became her birth; fair she was as a pearl;

Con un color angelica di perla:

graceful and lovely to look upon, but disdainful where it was becoming:

Graziosa a vederla, E disdegnosa dove si conviene.

And as a corollary to these traits, I will quote the eleventh Sonnet as a more general picture of female loveliness, heightened by some tender touches of mental and moral beauty, such as never seem to have occurred to the debased imaginations of the cla.s.sic poets:

Negli occhi porta la mia Donna Amore; Perch si fa gentil ciocch' ella mira: Ov' ella pa.s.sa, ogni uom ver lei si gira; E cui saluta, fa tremar lo core, Sicch ba.s.sando 'l viso tutto smuore, Ed ogni suo difetto allor sospira; Fugge dinanzi a lei superbia ed ira.

Ajutatemi, donne, a farle onore!

Ogni dolcezza, ogni pensiero umile Nasce nel core a chi parlar la sente; Onde laudato chi prima la vide.

Quel ch' ella par, quando un poco sorride No si pu dicer, n tenera mente; Si nuovo miracolo e gentile.

TRANSLATION.

”Love is throned in the eyes of my Beatrice! they enn.o.ble every thing she looks upon! As she pa.s.ses, men turn and gaze; and whomsoever she salutes, his heart trembles within him; he bows his head, the colour forsakes his cheek, and he sighs for his own unworthiness. Pride and anger fly before her! a.s.sist me, ladies, to do her honour! All sweet thoughts of humble love and good-will spring in the hearts of those who hear her speak, so that it is a blessedness first to behold her, and when she faintly and softly smiles--ah! then it pa.s.ses all fancy, all expression, so wondrous is the miracle, and so gracious!”

The love of Dante for his Beatrice partook of the purity, tenderness, and elevated character of her who inspired it, and was also stamped with that stern and melancholy abstraction, that disposition to mysticism, which were such strong features in the character of her lover. He does not break out into fond and effeminate complaints, he does not sigh to the winds, nor swell the fountain with his tears; his love does not, like Petrarch's, alternately freeze and burn him, nor is it ”un dolce amaro,” ”a bitter sweet,” with which his fancy can sport in good set terms. No; it shakes his whole being like an earthquake; it beats in every pulse and artery; it has dwelt in his heart till it has become a part of his life, or rather his life itself.[39] Though we are not told so expressly, it is impossible to doubt, on a consideration of all those pa.s.sages and poems which relate to Beatrice, that his love was approved and returned, and that his character was understood and appreciated by a woman too generous, too n.o.ble-minded, to make him the sport of her vanity. He complains, indeed, _poetically_, of her disdain, for which he excuses himself in another poem: ”We know that the heavens s.h.i.+ne on in eternal serenity, and that it is only our imperfect vision, and the rising vapours of the earth, that make the ever-beaming stars appear clouded at times to our eye.” He expresses no fear of a rival in her affections; but the native jealousy as well as delicacy of his temper appears in those pa.s.sages in which he addresses the eulogium of Beatrice to the Florentine ladies and her young companions.[40] Those of his own s.e.x, as he a.s.sures us, were not worthy to listen to her praises; or must perforce have become enamoured of this picture of female excellence, the fear of which made a coward of him--

Ma tratter del suo stato gentile Donne e donzelle amorose, con vui; Che non cosa da parlarne altrui.

Among the young companions of Beatrice, Dante particularly distinguishes one, who appears to have been her chosen friend, and who, on account of her singular and blooming beauty, was called, at Florence, Primavera, (the Spring.) Her real name was Giovanna. Dante frequently names them together, and in particular in that exquisitely fanciful sonnet to his friend Guido Cavalcanti; where he addresses them by those familiar and endearing diminutives, so peculiarly Italian--

E Monna Vanna e Monna Bice poi.[41]

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