Epistole (VII, 1-31)

(1) Sanctissimo gloriosissimo atque felicissimo triumphatori et domino singulari domino Henrico divina providentia Romanorum Regi et semper Augusto, devotissimi sui Dantes Alagherii Florentinus et exul inmeritus ac universaliter omnes Tusci qui pacem desiderant, terre osculum ante pedes. (1) To the most glorious and most fortunate Conqueror, and sole Lord, the Lord Henry, by Divine Providence King of the Romans, and ever Augustus, his most devoted servants, Dante Alighieri, a Florentine undeservedly in exile, and all the Tuscans everywhere who desire peace, offer a kiss on the ground before his feet.
(2) [1]. Inmensa Dei dilectione restante, relicta nobis est pacis hereditas, ut in sua mira dulcedine militie nostre dura mitescerent, et in usu eius patrie triumphantis gaudia mereremur. (2) As the boundless love of God bears witness, the heritage of peace was left to us, that in its wondrous sweetness the hardships of our warfare might be softened, and that by its practice we might earn the joys of the triumphant Fatherland.
(3) At livor antiqui et implacabilis hostis, humane prosperitati semper et latenter insidians, nonnullos exheredando volentes, ob tutoris absentiam nos alios impius denudavit invitos. (3) But the envy of the ancient and implacable enemy, who ever secretly plots against the prosperity of mankind, having dispossessed some of their own free will, has, owing to the absence of our guardian, impiously stripped us others against our will.
(4) Hinc diu super flumina confusionis deflevimus, et patrocinia iusti regis incessanter implorabamus, qui satellitium sevi tyranni disperderet et nos in nostra iustitia reformaret. (4) Wherefore we have long wept by the waters of Confusion, and unceasingly prayed fur the protection of the just king, who should destroy the satellites of the cruel tyrant, and should stablish us again under our own justice.
(5) Cumque tu, Cesaris et Augusti successor, Apennini iuga transiliens veneranda signa Tarpeia retulisti, protinus longa substiterunt suspiria lacrimarumque diluvia desierunt; et, ceu Titan preoptatus exoriens, nova spes Latio seculi melioris effulsit. (5) But when thou, the successor of Caesar and of Augustus, o'erleaping the ridge of the Apennines, didst bring back the venerated Tarpeian standards, forthwith our deep sighing was stayed, and the flood of our tears was dried up; and like the rising of the long-awaited Sun, a new hope of a better age shone abroad upon Italy.
(6) Tunc plerique vota sua prevenientes in iubilo tam Saturnia regna quam Virginem redeuntem cum Marone cantabant. (6) Then many, going before their wishes in their joy, sang with Maro of the reign of Saturn, and of the return of the Virgin.
(7) [2]. Verum quia sol noster, sive desiderii fervor hoc submoneat sive facies veritatis, aut morari iam creditur aut retrocedere supputatur, quasi Iosue denuo vel Amos filius imperaret, incertitudine dubitare compellimur et in vocem Precursoris irrumpere sic: «Tu es qui venturus es, an alium expectamus?». (7) But because our Sun (whether it be the fervour of our longing, or the appearance of truth which suggests it) is believed to be tarrying, or is suspected to be turning back, as though at the bidding once again of Joshua or of the son of Amoz, we are constrained in our uncertainty to doubt, and to break forth in the words of the Forerunner: 'Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?'
(8) Et quamvis longa sitis in dubium que sunt certa propter esse propinqua, ut adsolet, furibunda deflectat, nichilominus in te credimus et speramus, asseverantes te Dei ministrum et Ecclesie filium et Romane glorie promotorem. (8) And though prolonged desire, as is its wont, turns into doubt in its frenzy things which owing to their being close at hand seem to be certain, nevertheless we believe and hope in thee, declaring thee to be the minister of God, the son of the Church, and the furtherer of the glory of Rome.
(9) Nam et ego qui scribo tam pro me quam pro aliis, velut decet imperatoriam maiestatem benignissimum vidi et clementissimum te audivi, cum pedes tuos manus mee tractarunt et labia mea debitum persolverunt. (9) For I too, who write as well for myself as for others, beheld thee most gracious, and heard thee most clement, as beseems Imperial Majesty, when my hands touched thy feet, and my lips paid their tribute.
(10) Tunc exultavit in te spiritus meus, cum tacitus dixi mecum: «Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi». (10) Then my spirit rejoiced within me, when I said secretly within myself: 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world'.
(11) [3]. Sed quid tam sera moretur segnities admiramur, quando iamdudum in valle victor Eridani non secus Tusciam derelinquis, pretermittis et negligis, quam si iura tutanda Imperii circumscribi Ligurum finibus arbitreris; non prorsus, ut suspicamur, advertens, quoniam Romanorum gloriosa potestas nec metis Ytalie nec tricornis Europe margine coarctatur. (11) But we marvel what sluggishness holds thee so long, in that, long since victor in the valley of Po, thou dost abandon, pass by, and neglect Tuscany, not otherwise than as if thou didst suppose the imperial rights entrusted to thy guardianship to be limited by the boundaries of Liguria; forgetting in sooth, as we apprehend, that the glorious dominion of the Romans is confined neither by the frontiers of Italy, nor by the coast-line of three-cornered Europe.
(12) Nam etsi vim passa in angustum gubernacula sua contraxerit, undique tamen de inviolabili iure fluctus Amphitritis attingens vix ab inutili unda Oceani se circumcingi dignatur. (12) For although it has been constrained by violence to narrow the bounds of its government, yet by indefeasible right it everywhere stretches as far as the waves of Amphitrite, and scarce deigns to be circumscribed by the ineffectual waters of Ocean.
(13) Scriptum etenim nobis est:
Nascetur pulcra Troyanus origine Cesar, imperium Occeano, famam qui terminet astris.
(13) For it is written for our behoof : 'From the fair line of Troy a Caesar shall be born, who shall bound his empire by the ocean, his glory by the stars'.
(14) Et cum universaliter orbem describi edixisset Augustus, ut bos noster evangelizans accensus Ignis eterni flamma remugit, si non de iustissimi principatus aula prodiisset edictum, unigenitus Dei Filius homo factus ad profitendum secundum naturam assumptam edicto se subditum, nequaquam tunc nasci de Virgine voluisset; non enim suasisset iniustum, quem «omnem iustitiam implere» decebat. (14) And when Augustus decreed that all the world should be taxed (as the lowing of our Evangelic Ox, aglow with the flame of the eternal fire, records), if the decree had not issued from the court of a most just prince, in vain would the only-begotten Son of God, made man, in order to the declaring a himself subject to the edict, in accordance with the nature he had assumed, have willed to be born of the Virgin at that time. For He, whom it behoved to fulfil all righteousness, would not have counselled an unrighteous act.
(15) [4]. Pudeat itaque in angustissima mundi area irretiri tam diu quem mundus omnis expectat; et ab Augusti circumspectione non defluat quod Tuscana tyrannis in dilationis fiducia confortatur, et cotidie malignantium cohortando superbiam vires novas accumulat, temeritatem temeritati adiciens. (15) Let him, then, for whom the whole world is looking, be ashamed to be entangled so long in such a narrow corner of the world; and let it not escape the consideration of Augustus that the tyrant of Tuscany is encouraged by the assurance that he is delaying, and daily by appealing to the pride of the evil-doers gathers fresh strength, heaping daring upon daring.
(16) Intonet iterum vox illa Curionis in Cesarem:
Dum trepidant nullo firmate robore partes, tolle moras; semper nocuit differre paratis: par labor atque metus pretio maiore petuntur.
(16) Let the voice of Curio to Caesar be heard once again: 'While the factions are in confusion and without support, away with delay! delay was ever the bane of the ready -- equal toil and fear are more dearly bought'.
(17) Intonet illa vox increpitantis Anubis iterum in Eneam:
Si te nulla movet tantarum gloria rerum, nec super ipse tua moliris laude laborem, Ascanium surgentem et spes heredis Iuli respice, cui regnum Ytalie Romanaque tellus debentur.
(17) Once again let the voice of Mercury chiding Aeneas be heard: 'If the glory of such mighty deeds leave thee unmoved, and thou wilt not exert thyself for thine own fame's sake, yet consider the young Ascanius, Iulus thine hope and heir, to whom are due the kingdom of Italy and the land of the Romans'.
(18) [5]. Iohannes namque, regius primogenitus tuus et rex, quem, post diei orientis occasum, mundi successiva posteritas prestolatur, nobis est alter Ascanius, qui vestigia magni genitoris observans, in Turnos ubique sicut leo deseviet et in Latinos velut agnus mitescet. (18) For John, thy royal first-born, the king, whom, after the setting of the day which is now rising, the succeeding generation of the world awaits as their ruler, is to us as a second Ascanius, who, following in the footsteps of his great sire, shall rage like a lion against the followers of Turnus wheresoever they be, and towards the followers of Latinus shall be as gentle as a lamb.
(19) Precaveant sacratissimi regis alta consilia, ne celeste iudicium Samuelis illa verba reasperent: «Nonne cum parvulus esses in oculis tuis, caput in tribubus Israel factus es, unxitque te Dominus in regem super Israel, et misit te Deus in via et ait: Vade et interfice peccatores Amalech?». Nam et tu in regem sacratus es ut Amalech percutias et Agag non parcas, atque ulciscaris Illum qui misit te de gente brutali et de festina sua sollempnitate; que quidem et Amalech et Agag sonare dicuntur. (19) Let the lofty counsels of the most sacred king take heed lest the judgement from on high renew the bitter words of Samuel: 'When thou wert little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel. And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites'. For thou likewise hast been anointed king that thou mayest smite Amalek, and not spare Agag; and mayest avenge him that sent thee on 'the brutal people', and their 'over-hasty rejoicing' (which things verily 'Amalek' and 'Agag' are said to signify).
(20) [6]. Tu Mediolani tam vernando quam hiemando moraris et hydram pestiferam per capitum amputationem reris extinguere? Quod si magnalia gloriosi Alcide recensuisses, te ut illum falli cognosceres, cui pestilens animal, capite repullulante multiplici, per damnum crescebat, donec instanter magnanimus vite principium impetivit. (20) Through the spring as through the winter dost thou linger at Milan, thinking to extirpate the pestiferous hydra by cutting off its heads? But, if then hadst turned thy thoughts back to the mighty deeds of glorious Alcides, then wouldst perceive that thou, like him, art deceiving thyself; for the noisome beast, as its ever-multiplying head sprouted again, grew stronger through the loss, until the hero in good earnest attacked the seat of life, itself.
(21) Non etenim ad arbores extirpandas valet ipsa ramorum incisio quin iterum multiplicius virulenter ramificent, quousque radices incolumes fuerint ut prebeant alimentum. (21) For to destroy a tree the mere lopping of branches is of no avail -- nay, the noxious growth will but come again the more thickly, so long as the roots are uninjured and can supply nourishment.
(22) Quid, preses unice mundi, peregisse preconicis cum cervicem Cremone deflexeris contumacis? nonne tunc vel Brixie vel Papie rabies inopina turgescet? Ymo, que cum etiam flagellata resederit, mox alia Vercellis vel Pergami vel alibi returgebit, donec huius scatescentie causa radicalis tollatur, et radice tanti erroris avulsa, cum trunco rami pungitivi arescant. (22) What dost thou, the sole ruler of the world, imagine then wilt have accomplished when thou hast set thy foot upon the neck of rebellious Cremona? Will not some unlooked-for madness next break out at Brescia or at Pavia? Yea, and when this has been chastised and has subsided, presently another will break out at Vercelli, or at Bergamo, or elsewhere, until the root cause of this exuberance be removed, and, the root of all the mischief being plucked up, the spiny branches shall wither together with the trunk.
(23) [7]. An ignoras, excellentissime principum, nec de specula summe celsitudinis deprehendis ubi vulpecula fetoris istius, venantium secura, recumbat? Quippe nec Pado precipiti, nec Tiberi tuo criminosa potatur, verum Sarni fluenta torrentis adhuc rictus eius inficiunt, et Florentia, forte nescis?, dira hec pernicies nuncupatar. (23) Dost thou not know, most excellent Prince, and canst thou not descry from the watch-tower of thine exalted Highness where that stinking vixen has her lair, undisturbed by the hunters? Verily the culprit drinks neither of headlong Po, nor of thine own Tiber, but her jaws pollute e'en now the rushing stream of Arno, and Florence -- canst thou be unaware? -- Florence is the name of this baleful pest.
(24) Hec est vipera versa in viscera genitricis; hec est languida pecus gregem domini sui sua contagione commaculans; hec Myrrha scelestis et impia in Cinyre patris amplexus exestuans; hec Amata illa impatiens, que, repulso fatali connubio, quem fata negabant generum sibi adscire non timuit, sed in bella furialiter provocavit, et demum, male ausa luendo, laqueo se suspendit. (24) She is the viper that turns against the vitals of her own mother; she is the sick sheep that infects the flock of her lord with her contagion; she is the abandoned and unnatural Myrrha, inflamed with passion for the embraces of her father Cinyras; she is the passionate Amata, who, rejecting the fated marriage, did not shrink from claiming for herself a son-in-law whom the fates denied her, but in her madness urged him to battle, and at the last, in expiation for her evil designs, hanged herself in the noose.
(25) Vere matrem viperea feritate dilaniare contendit, dum contra Romam cornua rebellionis exacuit, que ad ymaginem suam atque similitudinem fecit illam. (25) Verily with the ferocity of a viper she strives to rend her mother, when she sharpens the horns of rebellion against Rome, which made her in her own image and after her own likeness.
(26) Vere fumos, evaporante sanie, vitiantes exhalat, et inde vicine pecudes et inscie contabescunt, dum falsis illiciendo blanditiis et figmentis aggregat sibi finitimos et infatuat aggregatos. Vere in paternos ardet ipsa concubitus, dum improba procacitate conatur summi Pontificis, qui pater est patrum, adversum te violare assensum. (26) Verily she exhales pestilential fumes from the reek of corruption, whence the neighbouring flocks all unknowing waste away, when by the lure of lying blandishments and deceit she wins over to herself those on her borders, and having won them deprives them of their senses. Verily she burns for the embraces of her own father, when she wickedly and wantonly seeks to compass a breach between thee and the supreme Pontiff, who is the father of fathers.
(27) Vere «Dei ordinationi resistit», proprie voluntatis ydolum venerando, dum regem aspernata legiptimum non erubescit insana regi non suo iura non sua pro male agendi potestate pacisci. Sed attendat ad laqueum mulier furiata quo se innectit. (27) Verily she resists the ordinance of God, worshipping the idol of her own will, when, spurning her rightful king, she is not ashamed, mad as she is, to barter rights not her own with a king not her own for the power to do evil. But let the infuriate woman take heed to the noose wherein she is entangling herself.
(28) Nam sepe quis in reprobum sensum traditur, ut traditus faciat ea que non conveniunt; que quamvis iniusta sint opera, iusta tamen supplicia esse noscuntur. (28) For oft-times such an one is 'given over to a reprobate mind', to the end that when so given over he may 'do those things which are not convenient'. For though the deeds be unjust, yet as retribution they are seen to be just.
(29) [8]. Eia itaque, rumpe moras, proles altera Isai, sume tibi fiduciam de oculis Domini Dei Sabaoth coram quo agis, et Goliam hunc in funda sapientie tue atque in lapide virium tuarum prosterne; quoniam in eius occasu nox et umbra timoris castra Philistinorum operiet: fugient Philistei et liberabitur Israel. (29) Up then! make an end of delay, thou new scion of Jesse, and take confidence from the eyes of the Lord God of Hosts, in whose sight thou strivest; and overthrow this Goliath with the sling of thy wisdom and with the stone of thy strength; for at his fall night and the shadow of fear shall cover the camp of the Philistines -- the Philistines shall flee and Israel shall be delivered.
(30) Tunc hereditas nostra, quam sine intermissione deflemus ablatam, nobis erit in integrum restituta; ac quemadmodum, sacrosancte Ierusalem memores, exules in Babilone gemiscimus, ita tunc cives et respirantes in pace, confusionis miserias in gaudio recolemus. (30) Then our heritage which was taken away, and for which we lament without ceasing, shall be restored to us whole again. But even as now, remembering the most holy Jerusalem, we mourn as exiles in Babylon, so then as citizens, and breathing in peace, we shall think with joy on the miseries of Confusion.
(31) Scriptum in Tuscia sub fonte Sarni xv Kalendas Maias, divi Henrici faustissimi cursus ad Ytaliam anno primo. (31) Written in Tuscany, from beneath the springs of Arno, on the seventeenth day of April, in the first year of the most auspicious passage of the holy Henry into Italy.