Dante no doubt felt a certain appropriateness which justified him in putting these invectives into the mouths of his august dramatis personae: but we are apt to hear the ring of his voice in each of them. There are, however, other passages in the Purgatorio and the Paradiso of which the playfulness belongs to the characters themselves.
In Purg. xx. we have two instances given to show that the risible faculties are not extinguished by the pains of purification.
Greedy Midas’ dismal surprise when, in answer to his ill-advised prayer, his very food turned to gold and became uneatable, is a legitimate and unfailing cause of laughter—
Per la qual sempre convien che si rida—[132]
to those who lie fettered face downwards[133] in the terrace of the avaricious. And it is with evident relish that the same souls repeat their last lesson: “Tell us, Crassus, for thou knowest, what is the flavour of gold?”
Crasso,
Dilci, che ’l sai: di che sapore è l’ oro?[134]
In the next Cantos, xxi. and xxii., the Poet delights us with scenes of a graceful and most appropriate playfulness. First there is the charming episode, Purg. xxi. 100 sqq., where Statius, addressing Virgil, whom he does not recognise, says: “What would I have given to have been on earth when the author of the Aeneid was alive!” and Dante, in spite of Virgil’s unspoken but unmistakable “Taci!” betrays the situation by an uncontrollable smile. Then in the next Canto (xxii.), when the puzzled Virgil mistakes the guilt for which Statius is suffering for avarice, it is Statius’ turn to laugh. The gentle, mirthful grace of the whole scene is enhanced by the pathetic sequel, when Statius explains that it was Virgil who converted him, by his famous fourth Eclogue, to Christianity, like one who, walking himself in darkness, carries a lantern behind his back to illumine the path of those who follow—
Facesti come quei che va di notte