Quale i fioretti dal notturno gelo
Chinati e chiusi, poi che 'l sol gl' imbianca,
Si drizzan tutti aperti in loro stelo,
Fal mi fec' io di mia virtute stanca;
(Inf. c. 2. v. 127.)
As florets, by the frosty air of night
Bent down and clos'd, when day has blanch'd their leaves,
Rise all unfolded on their spiry stems,
So was my fainting vigour new restor'd.
(Cary. [2])
III.
Consider the wonderful profoundness of the whole third canto of the
Inferno
; and especially of the inscription over Hell gate:
Per me si va, &c.
which can only be explained by a meditation on the true nature of religion; that is, reason
plus
the understanding. I say profoundness rather than sublimity; for Dante does not so much elevate your thoughts as send them down deeper. In this canto all the images are distinct, and even vividly distinct; but there is a total impression of infinity; the wholeness is not in vision or conception, but in an inner feeling of totality, and absolute being.
IV.