To illustrate Par. xxix. 1-6. ([See p. 265]).
In the first figure the sun and moon are balanced, as it were, being at equal distances from the zenith: in the second, a few minutes later, by the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon, the balance is disturbed, and each changes its hemisphere.
Hardly ever does he find a beautiful epithet for her: she is ruler of Hell,[182] Cain and the Thorns[183] (in reference to the legend which sees this figure in her dark markings); or she is simply Delia,[184] Trivia,[185] the daughter of Latona,[186] or with a little warmth the sister of the sun,[187] and with the sun one of the two Eyes of Heaven.[188] One exception to this harsh treatment is in the beautiful description of reaching the heaven of the moon,[189] for there she is the first star, the eternal pearl; and the sudden burst of eloquence in the midst of a grave argument in De Monarchia startles us doubly when we find that Justice is compared to the moon—not, as one might expect, resplendent in a dark sky, but Phœbe gazing at her brother opposite, in the purple of the morning calm.[190] The passage from Par. xxix. quoted above helps us to understand why the moon in this position should symbolize Justice, for here again is suggested the perfect balancing of the two great orbs, as the sun rises and the full moon sets.
Add to these passages two similes drawn not indeed from the moon itself but from the halo surrounding her,[191] and two descriptions of brilliant moonlight nights,[192] and we have all that Dante has written in praise of the moon. It is true that throughout the Inferno and Purgatorio the sun typifies Divine Grace, and the moon is his opposite, but this cannot altogether explain the difference in their treatment, even in the Divine Comedy. A deeper reason seems to be Dante’s true southerner’s love of the sun; and he doubtless had the astronomer’s feeling that moonlight always means loss of starlight, which he dearly loved (see Purg. xviii. 76, 77). Perhaps too the astrological views of the moon influenced him, consciously or not. According to Ristoro, the moon represents the poorest and lowest classes of people, who are servants and messengers to the rest; and as all the planets were supposed to be either masculine or feminine, he ungallantly adds—“E questa Luna, a cagione di sua viltà, potemo dire per ragione ch’ella sia femmina.”[193] Her only house, too, which is Cancer, is also poor and base. The moon, moreover, is nearer Earth than any other planet, and shows by her dark markings that she is less pure than the rest.
2. MOVEMENTS OF THE SUN.
Whatever the reason, Dante’s fifty-one references to the moon are in strong contrast to his allusions to the sun. These are four times as many, and they include warm expressions of admiration and delight, and beautiful epithets and similes. The sun is Titan with his chariot and horses,[194] he is a Mirror, a Car of Light, the Lantern of the World, the Prince of the Stars, the Father of all mortal life.[195] His beautiful form is admired, “la perfetta sua bella figura,”[196] and his intense brilliance often noted.[197] He is the guide that leads all aright,[198] to whom Virgil appeals:—
“O dolce Lume, a cui fidanza i’ entro Per lo nuovo cammin, tu ne conduci.”[199]
Under his rays the rose expands, the air is gladdened, mists are dispelled, snow melts, and all things are quickened into life.[200] Unlike the moon, the sun is the bringer of warmth and comfort, chasing away cold and darkness,[201] sunrise is the hour of renewed hope and confidence,[202] it strengthens our limbs, paralysed by the cold of night,[203] it is eagerly awaited through the darkness by the little bird on her nest;[204] and delicate flowers, bowed and closed during the cold night, rise upright on their stems and open as soon as the sun shines once more upon them.[205] The exquisite sunsets and sunrises of the Purgatorio are favourite passages with all readers.
Love is compared with the summer sun,[206] the generosity of a noble nature resembles “the great planet.”[207] The Emperor Henry VII., from whom Dante expected the regeneration of Italy and the whole Christian world, is likened to the rising sun;[208] the birth of St. Francis is described as “nacque al mondo un sole,”[209] and his birthplace ought rightly to be called not Assisi but Orient.[210] Virgil is addressed as “O Sol che sani ogni vista turbata;”[211] Beatrice is “Il sol degli occhi miei.”[212] Finally the sun is the best symbol of God,[213] and so it is used many times in the Divine Comedy: “Il Sol degli angeli,”[214] “Il Sol che raggia tutto nostro stuolo;”[215] a spirit turns to “il Sol che la riempie,”[216] and when Virgil laments that he is shut out of heaven it is in these words: “Ho i’ perduto Di veder l’ alto Sol che tu disiri.”[217]
But we may not dwell on those thoughts of the sun as the typical giver of light and life; we must ask what Dante says about his movements, since this was the chief subject-matter of mediæval astronomy.