itself being moved, must be eternal, must be Essence,
and must be Actuality. It must be the first object of
desire and the first object of will. Since the Prime
Movent is itself immovable and exists in actuality, it
is impossible that that can be other than what it is in
any respect whatever. ... It exists by necessity,
and by that species of necessity which implies the
perfect and beautiful : and in this character it is the
originating principle. Without it, good or perfection
cannot be had ; it is what it is absolutely, without
possibility of being otherwise. From a principle of
this kind depend the Heaven and all Nature." ^
In a somewhat analogous way, " Dionysius " com-
menced his treatise on the Celestial Hierarchy by
quoting and interpreting the text from the Epistle of
St. James: " Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and cometh down from the Father of
Lights."
A difficulty arises in the poet's mind from the
apparent want of correspondence between the order
of the Universe and the order seen in these angelic
^ Metaphysica, xxx. (Grote's Aristotle).
224
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
circles. Here the circle is swiftest in its motion and
most brilliant in its light in proportion to its near-
ness to the centre. But this suprasensible world is
the exemplar of the sensible or material world, — " For
nature exists first in the mind of the First Agent,
who is God ; then in heaven, as in an instrument by-
means of which the likeness of the Eternal Goodness
unfolds itself on shapeless matter." ^ How is it, then,
that in the material heavens the very opposite is seen
to what is here shown in the celestial exemplar, since,
the further the heavens are from the earth, which is
their centre, the more swift is their motion and the
more divine their character? Beatrice's answer is
that Dante has again gone astray by merely regard-
ing appearances, by appljdng his measure only —
Alia parvenza
Delle sustanzie che t'appaion tonde.'
If he considers only their virtue (for they are not
really circles or hoops of fire, but this is merely
another sensible sign), he will find perfect correspond-
ence, mirabil conseguenza. The heavens are ample or
narrow according to the greater or less degree of
virtue with which they are impregnated ; and the
nobler angelic order needs the greater sphere for the
fuller exercise of its diviner virtue. The Privium
Mobile, which sweeps along with it the rest of the
Universe, corresponds to the Seraphim who love most
and know most ; and, similarly, the other heavens
each to its own celestial intelligence or special angelic
order, the higher order to the more noble sphere, the
lower to the less.
^ De Monarchia, ii. 2.
^ To the apx>earance of tlie substances that appear to thee round.
— Par. xxviii. 74.
225 Q
DANTE'S TEN HEAVENS
As a star in a clear sky, so does this preliminary-
truth shine brightly in Dante's mind, since the clouds
of doubt and perplexity are resolved by the words of
Beatrice, and he beholds more clearly the vast army
of Angels flashing light, as they circle round the
Point and chant their Hosannas. It is as Spenser
writes in his Hymne of Heavenly Love : —
An infinite increase of Angels bright,
All glistring glorious in their Makers light.
There they in their trinall triplicities
About Him wait and on His will depend,
Either with nimble wings to cut the skies,
When He them on His messages doth send,
Or on His owne dread presence to attend,
"Where they behold the glorie of His light
And caroll Hymnes of love both day and night.
Dante has some difficulty concerning the relative
rank of the angelic orders, as he had already expressed
a view in the Convivio which had proved erroneous
in the matter of the movers qf the third heaven.
Beatrice therefore proceeds to name and distinguish
these nine orders of celestial intelligences. The divi-
sion of Angels into three Hierarchies, or sacred
principalities, is based upon the diversity of their
participation in the perfection of their Divine Prince,
and on the different ways in which the things about
which they are illuminated can be considered in
relation to the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity
{Summa, I. q. 108, a. 1). As Beatrice names the
orders of the first Hierarchy which dwells on the
threshold of the Divinity, Seraphim, Cherubim, and
Thrones, she scarcely distinguishes the Seraphim from
the Cherubim : —
I cerchi primi
T'hanno mostrato i Serafi e i Cherubi.
226
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
Cosi veloci seguono i suoi vimi,
Per simigliarsi al punto quanto ponno,
E posson quanto a veder son sublimi.
Par. xxviii. 98.^
For the Seraphim are named from excess of love, the
Cherubim from plenitude of knowledge ; but love and
knowledge are inseparable, and, since the love is
consequent upon the vision and in proportion to it,
the Seraphim of a necessity not only love more, but
also know more than the Cherubim. Thus Beatrice
had called them —
II cerchio che piu ama, e che piu sape,
"the circle that loves most, and that knows most"
(line 72). The vimi, the band that holds them fast to
God, is that immediate vision and possession of God
wherein is beatitude. The swifter a circle moves
round, the more like a point of light does it become ;
even as a Hierarchy, in the teaching of " Dionysius,"
strives after likeness to God as far as is permitted to
it, and aims at the utmost possible assimilation to and
union with Him. The relation of the Seraphim to
the Cherubim, as their names imply, is that of fire to
light : " The first subsist by their fire of love, the
second by their light of knoTvledge ; and the one
represent the Wisdom of God as the others do His
Love." Dean Colet in his treatise on Dionysius calls
the Seraphim wise loves {amoves sapientes), and the
Cherubim lovers of wisdom {sapientiae amantes) : —
" For there is in each both love and wisdom. But
in the first, inasmuch as they are nearer to God, the
* The first circles have shown thee the Seraphim and the Cheru-
bim. Thus swiftlj' follow they their bonds, to assimilate them-
selves to the Point as most they can ; and they can so by as much
as they are sublime in vision.
227
DANTE'S TEN HEAVENS
very Sun o£ Truth, this exists in a far greater degree.
Therefore that which is in them is named Love. In
those next after them all things are in a less degree ;
and they, as compared "vvith the first, appear to be
only Lights. Therefore they have the appellation of
Knoicledge. Such, then, is the difference between
these orders ; namely, that in the latter is knowledge
proceeding from love ; in the former is love proceeding
from knowledge. In the latter, love is knowledge ;
in the former, knowledge is love. For in the Angels
an intensity of knowledge is love ; a less intense love
is knowledge." ^
The Thrones terminate the primal Triad. They are
the special images of God's power, the mirrors of His
judgment, and represent especially His steadfastness.
The peculiar office of the Thrones is that of purifica-
tion, as illumination is that of the Cherubim and
perfecting that of the Seraphim : " Power cleanses,
clear Truth makes serene, finished Love makes
perfect. " ^
The difference in degree of bliss among these angelic
orders leads Beatrice to touch somewhat upon the
nature of beatitude in general. The joy of all intel-
lectual beings, Angels and men alike, is in proportion
to the depth of their vision of God : —
E dei saper che tutti hanno diletto,
Quanto la sua veduta si profonda
Nel Vero, in clie si queta ogn'intelletto.
Quinci si puo veder come si fonda
L'esser beato neH'atto che vede,
Non in qviel cli'ania, che poscia seconda ;
^ J. H. LuPTON, Joannes Coletus super opera Dwnysii, pp.
20, 21.
^ Ibid., p. 22.
228
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
E del vedere h misiira mercede,
Clie grazia partorisce e buona voglia;
Coai di grado in grado si precede.
Par. xxviii. 106.^
Thus the essence of beatitude consists in vision, upon
which follo^^s love, and the degree of the Beatific
Vision granted to each depends upon meritorious
correspondence vnth grace. St. Thomas, discussing
the question whether happiness is an activity of the
understanding or of the will, declares : " From the
beginning we wish to gain this intellectual end ; but
we actually do gain it only by this, that it becomes
present to us by an act of understanding, and then
the will rests delighted in the end already gained.
So therefore the essence of happiness consists in an
act of understanding. But the delight that follows
upon happiness belongs to the will." And, further
on : " Love ranks above knowledge in moving, but
knowledge goes before love in attaining ; for nothing
is loved but what is known, and therefore an end of
understanding is first attained by the action of under-
standing, even as an end of sense is first attained by
the action of sense." ^
The second Hierarchy is composed of Dominations,
Virtues and Powers, those orders whose names desig-
nate a certain common government or disposition.
* And thou sliouldst know that they all have delight
As much as their own vision penetrates
The Truth, in which all intellect finds rest.
From this it may be seen how blessedness
Is founded in the faculty which sees,
And not in tliat which loves and follows next.
And of this seeing merit is the measure,
Which is brought forth by grace and by good will ;
Thus on from grade to grade doth it proceed.
Longfellow.
* Summa, I. — 2, q. 3, a. 4 {Aquinas Ethicus).
229
DANTE'S TEN HEAVENS
Their special functions have been already considered.
The third Hierarchy is formed by the Princedoms or
Principalities, Archangels and Angels, the last name
being also applied in a general way to all these celestial
intelligences ; for Angels signify Messengers, and in
this respect the higher Angels can execute the function
of the lower, while they have in addition the special
properties from which they derive their own name.
Thus Christ Himself is called the Angel of the great
Counsel. It is this lowest Hierarchy which especially
contemplates the love of the Holy Spirit, and com-
municates the gifts of God to man : —
Questi ordini di su tutti rimirano,
E di giu vincon si, che verso Dio
Tutti tirati sono e tutti tirano.
Par. xxviii. 127/
The function of the celestial intelligences is two-
fold : contemplation of God, and manifestation of Him
to creatures to bring them to Him. " The Angels,
when taught, teach others ; they turn towards God ;
they are steadfast in themselves ; they pour down
influence from above " (Colet on Dionysius). Re-
ceiving from God the divine light and love that makes
them like to Him, the higher orders communicate this
light and love to the lower, like mirrors reflecting the
divine rays ; and these lower orders reflect it to men,
that they may render all things, as far as possible to
each nature, like to God and in unity with Him.
Beatrice impresses upon Dante that hers is the
division of Dionysius, who contemplated these orders
con tanto disio, and to whom his teacher St. Paul,
who had been rapt up into heaven, revealed many
* These orders all gaze upwards, and downwards so exercise
their power, that all are drawn towards God and all draw.
230
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
such celestial secrets.^ St. Gregory's divergence,
which was followed by St. Bernard, but at which,
according to Beatrice, he himself afterwards smiled,
was after all a very trifling one, since he merely
placed the Principalities in the second Hierarchy and
the Virtues in the third. Dante apparently attaches
importance to the difference, because St. Gregory's
division would mar the correspondence of these nine
angelic orders with the spheres that they move and
the sovils that appear under their influence in these
heavens. However, the poet's own earlier classifica-
tion of Angels in the Convivio differs considerably
more from that of Dioiiysius than St. Gregory's does ;
for he there places the Thrones in the lowest and
the Powers in the highest Hierarchy, and composes
the middle Hierarchy of Principalities, Virtues and
Dominations.^ Dante also, in the Convivio, dis-
tinguishes the Hierarchies in relation to their prin-
cipal subject of contemplation, touching upon their
special relationship to the Persons of the Blessed
Trinity — the supremis Power of the Father, the
supreme Wisdom of the Son, the supreme and most
fervent Love of the Holy Spirit. And as each Person
in the Trinity may be considered in a threefold
manner, the three orders in each Hierarchy have
each a different subject of contemplation in the
* In tlie De Caelesti HierarChia, the author speaks of his " divine
initiator " and his " illustrious preceptor," but it was the para-
phrast Pachj^meres who suggested that either St. Paul or Hierotheus
was the person meant. It is now usually held that the works ascribed
to the Areopagite were produced at the end of the fifth or the
beginning of the sixth century.
^ Cf. Dionysius, De Caelesti Hierarchia, iii.-x. ; Gregory, Homi-
liarum in Evangelia, II. 34; Bernard, De Consider atione, V. 4, 5;
Thomas Aquinas, Su7nma, I. q. 108 ; and Dante, Convivio, ii. 5, 6. A
totallj^ different arrangement is adopted by Edmund Spenser in his
Hymne on Heavenly Beautie.
231
DANTE'S TEN HEAVENS
mutual relations of the Divine Persons to each other,
the Seraphim contemplating the Father in respect to
Himself alone.
After a moment's silence in joyful contemplation
of God, a moment expressed by a cosmical image in
which the sun and the moon are balanced momen-
tarily upon the horizon, Beatrice answers Dante's
unasked questions concerning the creation of these
celestial intelligences ; for she has seen his desires
in God, dove sappunta ogni uhi ed ogni quando, in
whose infinity all places centre and all times are
present : —
Non per avere a se di bene acquisto,
Ch'esser non puo, ma perch6 suo splendore
Potesse, risplendendo, dir : Subsisto ;
In sua eternita di tempo fuore,
Fuor d'ogni altro comprender, come i piacque,
S'aperse in nuovi amor I'eterno amore.
Pa7\ xxix. 13.*
In eternity, before time or any other limit was, the
Eternal Love at His own good pleasure created new
beings to love and be loved. God did not create for
His own gain (for, since His Goodness is perfect and
independent, it is incapable of increase), but from
that very Goodness, His infinite Love alone. Ac-
cording to St. Thomas Aquinas, " God's principal
purpose in creation is the good w^hich consists in the
resemblance of creatures to Himself " ; PercM suo
splendore potesse, risplendendo, dir : Subsisto. This
splendour of the Eternal Love is not here the Word
Divine, the splendour of the Father ; but all the
creatures whom He has made ; the creatures upon
* Not to have acquisition of good unto Himself, which cannot be,
but in order that His splendour, by glowing back, could say, " I
subsist " ; in His eternity outside of time, outside of all other
comprehension, as pleased Him, the Eternal Love unfolded Himself
into new Loves.
232
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
whom the divine power is painted, who are illumi-
nated by His light and enkindled with His love, and
from whom His glory thus gloweth back.^ Cornoldi
comments : " The splendour is light derived from
light, and is the fairest image of it. All the Universe
is the finite image of God ; it is as the external
splendour of that infinite light. In creation God
gave existence to an external image of Himself, and
His splendour having received this existence could
say, / subsist."
" Let me tell you then," says Plato in the Thnaeus,
" why the creator made this world of generation.
He was good, and the good can never have any
jealousy of anything. And being free from jealousy,
he desired that all things should be as like himself
as they could be. This is in the truest sense the
origin of creation and of the world, as we should do
well in believing on the testimony of wise men : God
desired that all things should be good and nothing
bad, so far as this was attainable." ^
Nor before this creation of the Universe was God
inactive. " Thou who alone art eternal," writes St.
Augustine in the Confessions {y\\. 15), " didst not
commence to work after innumerable spaces of
times ; for all spaces of times, both those which have
passed by and those which shall pass by, might not
depart nor come, save by Thee working and abiding."
Ne prima quasi torpente si giacque ;
Che n6 prima ne poscia procedette
Lo discorrer di Dio sopra quest' acque.
Par. xxix. 19.^
^ Cf. Conv. iii. 14, Par. i. 1-3, xiii. 53, xxix. 138. In Purg. xxxi.
139, Beatrice is the " splendour of living light eternal."
^ Tf'maeus, 29 d. Jowett.
* Nor before this did He lie as it were in torpor ; for neither
first nor after proceeded the moving forth of God over these waters.
233
DANTE'S TEN HEAVENS
Time was not, there was no first nor after in
Eternity ; creation added no new act to the act of
infinite love wherewith God loved Himself. By
creation God did no new act, for He is infinite Act,
and nothing can be added to Infinity. Time itself,
which Plato calls the moving image of motionless
eternity, commenced with creation — lo discorrer di
Dio sopra quesf acque — when the Spirit of God
moved over the waters, imprinting upon the formless
'iJiateria prima the substantial forms or divine ideas.
St. Augustine interprets these waters over which the
Spirit of God moved, in Genesis i. 2, as perhaps not
meaning water in the ordinary sense of the word,
but the inateria prima, the subject of all the sub-
stantial transformations of the corporeal Universe.
The Spirit of God moved over the primal matter as
the will of an artist might be said to move over the
wood or other subject of his operation.^
Forma e materia, congiiinte e purette,
Usciro ad esser che non avea fallo,
Come d'arco tricorde tre saette ;
E come in vetro, in ambra od in cristallo,
Raggio risplende si, che dal venire
AU'esser tntto non fe intervallo ;
Cosi 11 triforme effetto del suo Sire
Nell' esser suo raggio insieme tutto,
Senza distinzion nell' esordire.
Par. xxix. 22.^
In the mode of production, creation was instan-
taneous ; form and matter, and substances composed
^ I owe this paragraph mainly to Cornoldi.
* Form and matter, conjoined and pure, issued to being that had
no flaw, like three arrows from a three-corded bow ; and as in
glass, in amber or in crj^stal, a ray so gloweth back that from its
coming to its being complete there is no interval ; so tlie triform
effect from its Lord rayed into its being all together, without
distinction in its beginning.
234
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
by the union of both, rayed into perfect being, three
arrows from the three-corded bow of the Blessed
Trinity, since creation is the work of all three
Persons ; instantaneously, for (Eccles. xviii. 1) " He
that liveth for ever created all things together " ; and
into perfect being, ad esser che non avea fallo, for
(Gen. i. 31) " God saw every thing that He had made,
and, behold, it was very good." ^ St. Thomas ex-
plains that God created all things together with
regard to the formless substance of things, but not
together in respect of distinction and embellishment.
Simultaneously with creation was established the
order of the Universe, the various grades of per-
fection in all created substances from the elements
(which are composed of matter and primitive forms)
to the Angels, and their mutual relations : —
Concreato fu ordine e costrutto
Alle sustanzie, e quelle furon cima
Nel mondo, in che puro atto fu produtto.
^ On tlie line usciro ad esser che non avea fallo, Mr, Butler re-
marks : " To say that in the existence of created things there was
no fault, appears to conflict with Dante's view as to the imperfec-
tion of nature, expressed in xiii. 76 and elsewhere. Ought we not
to read uscir da esser, i.e. from the perfect existence of God ? " I
take it (with Prof. Lubin) as simplj^ corresponding to the Genesis
account of creation : Et vidit Deiis quod esset bonum ; Viditque
Deus cuncta quae fecerat, et erant valde bonum. See also St.
Augustine's Confessions, vii. 12. An ingenious and learned writer
in the Church Quarterly Revieto (October, 1898), reviewing the first
edition of this present work, endeavours to show that Dante is
throughout this passage, xxix. 22-33, referring only to the creation
of Angels ; according to him, Angels are not immaterial, but com-
posed of form and matter which " are specially created for the
occasion, and are joined together by a direct ci'eative act of God, so
as to remain pure form and pure matter." It is not easy to see
how this is to be reconciled with the doctrine of St. Thomas,
Summa, I. q. 50, a. 2, where the reverse is stated most emphatically.
235
DANTE'S TEN HEAVENS
Pura potenza tenne la parte ima ;
Nel mezzo strinse potenza con atto
Tal vime, che giammai non si disvima.
Par. xxix. 31.*
Those substances in which pure act was produced are
the Angels ; pure potency is the formless materia
p7nma ; in the midst are the incorruptible heavens,
animated by the Angels, who, by their understanding
alone, move these heavens as hammers to stamp the
forms upon creation. Many commentators hold that
the last two lines refer not to the heavens, but to
all created things (below the Angels) which are consti-
tuted in a determinate nature by the union of form
with matter. St. Thomas (Sumrna, I. q. 50, a. 2)
shows that it is impossible for the angelic intelli-
gences to be other than entirely immaterial ; for
understanding — and, as Dante tells us, it is by under-
standing alone that they move the spheres — is an
absolutely immaterial operation. But although in
Angels there is no composition of form and matter,
St. Thomas, unlike Dante, in several places says that
they are not pure act, but composed of act and
potency.
Thus the angelic intelligences are highest of all
creatures, relatively pure act (according to Dante),
that is, pure subsistent forms, created in the Em-
pyrean Heaven simultaneously with the creation of
corporeal creatures and of the nine lower heavens
that they move and rule. Beatrice declares that, in
spite of St. Jerome's theory that they were created
* Concreate was order and construction in substances; and
tliose were tlie pinnacle of the world, in which pure act was pro-
duced. Pure potency held the lowest part ; in the midst such a
bond clasped potency with act, as may never be unbound, (See
Ml-. Butler's translation and notes ; and Dr. Moore's Studies in
Dante, I. p. 109.)
236
THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN
ages before the corporeal world, the Scriptures show
that their creation was simultaneous with that of
material things (Gen. i. 1, Eccles. xviii. 1), and reason
confirms it, since the movers of the heavens would
not have been perfect without the act of moving.
St. Thomas says, " The Angels are part of the Uni-
verse, and no part is perfect separated from its
whole." Immediately after their creation a section
of the Angels fell, through the pride of Lucifer, who
desired to be like God and drew the others into his
sin. The rest that remained faithful, in reward of
their humility, were enlightened by grace and, re-
ceiving it with open aifection, merited eternal beati-
tude ; at once attaining perfection, they have their
wills confirmed for ever in good. Since they thus
attained beatitude, their vision of the Divine Essence,
in which the beatitude of Angels and men consists,
has never been interrupted ; and therefore, according
to Dante, Angels need not memory, for memory im-
plies a vision interrupted by a new object, vedere
interciso da nuovo obbietto.
From rebuking equivocal doctrines taught on earth
concerning Angels, Beatrice passes to one of Dante's
usual outbursts against the scandals of the times.
She denounces the deviations of false philosophy,
where love of vain show leads men from the true
path in order to seem original by starting new^
systems and schools, and the Scriptures are neglected
and distorted. Her words are an anticipation of the
days of the Renaissance, when great ecclesiastics
advised men of culture not to read the Scriptures, as
they were bad for their taste and would not improve
their style ; as Ruskin has put it, " Christ's teaching
was discovered not to be rhetorical, St. Paul's preach-
ing not to be logical, and the Greek of the New
237
DANTE'S TEN HEAVENS
Testament not to be grammatical." If Dante gives
an accurate picture of the state of things in his day,