Epistole (XI, 1-26)

(1) [1]. «Quomodo sola sedet civitas plena populo! facta est quasi vidua domina gentium». Principum quondam Phariseorum cupiditas que sacerdotium vetus abominabile fecit, non modo levitice prolis ministerium transtulit, quin et preelecte civitati David obsidionem peperit et ruinam. (1) [To the Italian Cardinals Dante of Florence, & c.] 'How doth the city sit solitary that was full of people! She is become as a widow that was great among the nations.' The greed aforetime of the chiefs of the Pharisees, which made the ancient priesthood an abomination, not only did away the ministry of the children of Levi, but moreover brought siege and destruction on the chosen city of David.
(2) Quod quidem de specula punctali eternitatis intuens qui solus eternus est, mentem Deo dignam viri prophetici per Spiritum Sanctum sua iussione impressit, et is sanctam Ierusalem velut exstinctam per verba presignata et nimium, proh dolor!, iterata deflevit. (2) And when He, who alone is eternal, beheld this thing from his eternal watch-tower on high, by his Holy Spirit He laid his command upon the mind worthy of God of a man that was a prophet, and in the words above written, alas! too often repeated, lamented over holy Jerusalem as a city undone.
(3) [2]. Nos quoque eundem Patrem et Filium, eundem Deum et hominem, nec non eandem Matrem et Virginem profitentes, propter quos et propter quorum salutem ter de caritate interrogatum et dictum est: Petre, pasce sacrosanctum ovile; Romam -- cui, post tot triumphorum pompas, et verbo et opere Christus orbis confirmavit imperium, quam etiam ille Petrus, et Paulus gentium predicator, in apostolicam sedem aspergine proprii sanguinis consecravit --, cum Ieremia, non lugenda prevenientes, sed post ipsa dolentes, viduam et desertam lugere compellimur. (3) We too who confess the same Father and Son, the same God and Man, yea, the same Mother and Virgin, we for whose sake and for whose salvation thrice was the question repeated concerning love and it was said: 'Peter, feed my sheep', that is to say the sacred fold, Rome, to which, after so many triumphs and glories, Christ by word and deed confirmed the empire of the world, that Rome which the same Peter, and Paul the preacher to the Gentiles, by the sprinkling of their own blood consecrated as the Apostolic See, over her, widowed and abandoned, we, who come not after the woes we have to bewail, but now mourn in consequence of them, are, like Jeremiah, constrained to lament.
(4) [3]. Piget, heu!, non minus quam plagam lamentabilem cernere heresium, quod impietatis fautores, Iudei, Saraceni et gentes, sabbata nostra rident, et, ut fertur, conclamant: «Ubi est Deus eorum?»; et quod forsan suis insidiis apostate Potestates contra defensantes Angelos hoc adscribunt; et, quod horribilius est, quod astronomi quidam et crude prophetantes necessarium asserunt quod, male usi libertate arbitrii, eligere maluistis. (4) It grieves us, alas! no less to witness the lamentable plague of heresies, than that the fomenters of impiety, Jews, Saracens, and Gentiles, make a mock of our Sabbaths, and, as is said, cry out 'Where is their God?' and that perchance the renegade Powers ascribe this to their own wiles against the protecting Angels. And, more horrible still, certain readers of the stars and ignorant prophets declare that to be of necessity, which you, making ill use of your freedom of will, have preferred of your own choice.
(5) [4]. Vos equidem, Ecclesie militantis veluti primi prepositi pili, per manifestam orbitam Crucifixi currum Sponse regere negligentes, non aliter quam falsus auriga Pheton exorbitastis; et quorum sequentem gregem per saltus peregrinationis huius illustrare intererat, ipsum una vobiscum ad precipitium traduxistis. (5) But you, who are as it were the centurions of the front rank of the Church militant, neglecting to guide the chariot of the Spouse of the Crucified along the track which lay before you, have gone astray from the track, no otherwise than as the false charioteer Phaëton. And you, whose duty it was to enlighten the flock that follows you through the forest on its pilgrimage here below, have brought it along with yourselves to the verge of the precipice.
(6) Nec adimitanda recenseo -- cum dorsa, non vultus, ad Sponse vehiculum habeatis, et vere dici possetis, qui Prophete ostensi sunt, male versi ad templum -- vobis ignem de celo missum despicientibus, ubi nunc are ab alieno calescunt; vobis columbas in templo vendentibus, ubi que pretio mensurari non possunt, in detrimentum hinc inde commorantium venalia facta sunt. (6) Nor do I recount examples for your imitation, seeing that you turn your backs, not your faces, to the car of the Spouse, and verily might be likened to them that were shown to the prophet with their backs turned towards the temple; you who scorn the fire sent down from heaven upon the altars, which now are alight with strange fire; you who sell doves in the temple where that which cannot be measured by price is made merchandise to the hurt of them that come and go therein.
(7) Sed attendatis ad funiculum, attendatis ad ignem, neque patientiam contemnatis Illius qui ad penitentiam vos expectat. (7) But give heed to the scourge, give heed to the fire; and make not light of the patience of Him who awaits your repentance.
(8) Quod si de prelibato precipitio dubitatur, quid aliud declarando respondeam, nisi quod in Alcimum cum Demetrio consensistis? (8) But if you doubt as to the precipice whereof I have spoken, what else can I answer to enlighten you but that like Demetrius you have consented unto Alcimus?
(9) [5]. Forsitan 'et quis iste, qui Oze repentinum supplicium non formidans, ad arcam, quamvis labantem, se erigit?' indignanter obiurgabitis. Quippe de ovibus pascue Iesu Christi minima una sum; quippe nulla pastorali auctoritate abutens, quoniam divitie mecum non sunt. Non ergo divitiarum, sed gratia Dei sum id quod sum, et «zelus domus eius comedit me». (9) Perchance in indignant rebuke you will ask : 'And who is this man who, not fearing the sudden punishment of Uzzah, sets himself up to protect the Ark, tottering though it be?' Verily I am one of the least of the sheep of the pasture of Jesus Christ; verily I abuse no pastoral authority, seeing that I possess no riches. By the grace, therefore, not of riches, but of God, I am what I am, and the zeal of His house hath eaten me up.
(10) Nam etiam «in ore lactentium et infantium» sonuit iam Deo placita veritas, et cecus natus veritatem confessus est, quam Pharisei non modo tacebant, sed et maligne reflectere conabantur. (10) For even from the mouth of babes and sucklings has been heard the truth well pleasing to God ; and he who was born blind confessed the truth, which the Pharisees not only concealed, but in their malice even strove to pervert.
(11) Hiis habeo persuasum quod audeo. Habeo preter hec preceptorem Phylosophum qui, cuncta moralia dogmatizans, amicis omnibus veritatem docuit preferendam. (11) These are the justification for my boldness. And besides these I have the authority of the Philosopher, who in his system of morals taught that truth is to be preferred even before friendship.
(12) Nec Oze presumptio quam obiectandam quis crederet, quasi temere prorumpentem me inficit sui tabe reatus; quia ille ad arcam, ego ad boves calcitrantes et per abvia distrahentes attendo. Ille ad arcam proficiat qui salutiferos oculos ad naviculam fluctuantem aperuit. (12) Nor does the presumption of Uzzah, which some may think should be laid to my charge, infect me, as though I had been rash in my utterance, with the taint of his guilt. For he gave heed to the Ark, I to the unruly oxen that are dragging it away into the wilderness. May He give succour to the Ark, who opened his eyes to bring salvation to the labouring ship!
(13) [6]. Non itaque videor quemquam exacerbasse ad iurgia; quin potius confusionis ruborem et in vobis et aliis, nomine solo archimandritis, per orbem dumtaxat pudor eradicatus non sit totaliter, accendisse; cum de tot pastoris officium usurpantibus, de tot ovibus, et si non abactis, neglectis tamen et incustoditis in pascuis, una sola vox, sola pia, et hec privata, in matris Ecclesie quasi funere audiatur. (13) It seems then that I have provoked no one to railing; but rather that I have kindled the blush of confusion in you and in others, chief-priests in name only (if so be that shame has not been wholly rooted out throughout the world), since among so many who usurp the office of shepherd, among so many sheep who, if not driven away, at least are neglected and left untended in the pastures, one voice alone, one alone of filial piety, and that of a private individual, is heard at the obsequies as it were of Mother Church.
(14) [7]. Quidni? Cupiditatem unusquisque sibi duxit in uxorem, quemadmodum et vos, que nunquam pietatis et equitatis, ut caritas, sed semper impietatis et iniquitatis est genitrix. (14) And what wonder? Each one has taken avarice to wife, even as you yourselves have done; avarice, the mother never of piety and righteousness, but ever of impiety and unrighteousness.
(15) A, mater piissima, sponsa Christi, que in aqua et Spiritu generas tibi filios ad ruborem! Non caritas, non Astrea, sed filie sanguisuge facte sunt tibi nurus; que quales pariant tibi fetus, preter Lunensem pontificem omnes alii contestantur. (15) Ah ! most loving Mother, Spouse of Christ, that by water and the spirit bearest sons unto thy shame! Not charity, not Astraea, but the daughters of the horseleech have become thy daughters-in-law. And what offspring they bear thee all save the Bishop of Luni bear witness.
(16) Iacet Gregorius tuus in telis aranearum; iacet Ambrosius in neglectis clericorum latibulis; iacet Augustinus abiectus, Dionysius, Damascenus et Beda; et nescio quod 'Speculum', Innocentium, et Ostiensem declamant. Cur non? Illi Deum querebant, ut finem et optimum; isti census et beneficia consecuntur. (16) Your Gregory lies among the cobwebs; Ambrose lies forgotten in the cupboards of the clergy, and Augustine along with him; and Dionysius, Damascenus, and Bede; and they cry up instead I know not what Speculum, and Innocent, and him of Ostia. And why not ? Those sought after God as their end and highest good; these get for themselves riches and benefices.
(17) [8]. Sed, o patres, ne me phenicem extimetis in orbe terrarum; omnes enim que garrio murmurant aut mussant aut cogitant aut somniant, et que inventa non attestantur. (17) But, my Fathers, suppose not that I am a phoenix in the wide world. For every one is murmuring, or muttering, or thinking, or dreaming, what I cry aloud; but they do not testify to what they have seen. 
(18) Nonnulli sunt in admiratione suspensi: an semper et hoc silebunt, neque Factori suo testimonium reddent? Vivit Dominus, quia qui movit linguam in asina Balaam, Dominus est etiam modernorum brutorum. (18) Some there are who remain lost in wonder; but will they for ever hold their peace, nor bear witness to their Maker ? The Lord liveth, for He who moved the tongue of Balaam's ass, He is the Lord also of the brutes of today.
(19) [9]. Iam garrulus factus sum: vos me coegistis. Pudeat ergo tam ab infra, non de celo ut absolvat, argui vel moneri. (19) Now am I constrained to lift up my voice: ye have compelled me. Be ye therefore ashamed to receive rebuke and admonishment from so lowly a source, and not from Heaven, which may pardon you.
(20) Recte quidem nobiscum agitur, cum ex ea parte pulsatur ad nos ad quam cum ceteris sensibus inflet auditum, ac pariat pudor in nobis penitudinem, primogenitam suam, et hec propositum emendationis aggeneret. (20) In the right fashion indeed are we dealt with when we are smitten on that side by which shame can reach our hearing as well as the rest of our senses, and beget in us repentance, her first-born, who in turn shall give birth to purpose of amendment.
(21) [10]. Quod ut gloriosa longanimitas foveat et defendat, Romam urbem, nunc utroque lumine destitutam, nunc Annibali nedum alii miserandam, solam sedentem et viduam prout superius proclamatur, qualis est, pro modulo vestre ymaginis ante mentales oculos affigatis oportet. (21) And that a glorious patience may foster and maintain this purpose, it behooves you to keep before the eyes of your mind, according to the measure of your imagination, the present condition of the city of Rome, a sight to move the pity even of Hannibal, not to say others, bereft as she now is of the one and the other of her luminaries, and sitting solitary and widowed, as is written above.
(22) Et ad vos hec sunt maxime qui sacrum Tiberim parvuli cognovistis. Nam etsi Latiale caput pie cunctis est Ytalis diligendum tanquam comune sue civilitatis principium, vestrum iuste censetur accuratissime colere ipsum, cum sit vobis principium ipsius quoque esse. (22) And this most chiefly is the concern of you who have known sacred Tiber as little children. For although it is the duty of all Italians to love the capital of Italy as the common source of their civility, yet is it justly held to be your part most especially to reverence it, since for you it is the source also of your very being.
(23) Et si ceteros Ytalos in presens miseria dolore confecit et rubore confudit, erubescendum esse vobis dolendumque quis dubitet, qui tam insolite sui vel Solis eclipsis causa fuistis? (23) And if at the present time misery has consumed with grief and confounded with shame the rest of the inhabitants of Italy, who can doubt but that you must blush with shame, and must grieve, who have been the cause of so unwonted an eclipse of Rome or rather of her Sun?
(24) Tu pre omnibus, Urse, ne degradati college perpetuo remanerent inglorii; et illi, ut militantis Ecclesie veneranda insignia que forsan non emeriti sed inmeriti coacti posuerant, apostolici culminis auctoritate resumerent. (24) Thou above all, Orsini, that thy colleagues who have been degraded should not continue for ever stripped of their glory; and they, that. by the authority of the Apostolic Head they should resume the venerable insignia of the Church Militant, which, not as perchance having completed their service, but undeservedly, they were compelled to lay down.
(25) Tu quoque, transtiberine sectator factionis alterius, ut ira defuncti Antistitis in te velut ramus insitionis in trunco non suo frondesceret, quasi triumphatam Carthaginem nondum exueras, illustrium Scipionum patrie potuisti hunc animum sine ulla tui iudicii contradictione preferre. (25) Thou also, the adherent of the other Transteverine faction, in order that the wrath of the deceased pontiff might put forth leaves in thee, like a branch engrafted on a trunk not its own, as if thou hadst not yet put off the Carthage that was conquered of old, couldst thou, without the reproof of thy better judgement, prefer this purpose before the country of the illustrious Scipios?
(26) [11]. Emendabitur quidem -- quanquam non sit quin nota cicatrix infamis Apostolicam Sedem usque ad ignem, cui celi qui nunc sunt et terra sunt reservati, deturpet --, si unanimes omnes qui huiusmodi exorbitationis fuistis auctores, pro Sponsa Christi, pro sede Sponse que Roma est, pro Ytalia nostra, et ut plenius dicam, pro tota civitate peregrinante in terris, viriliter propugnetis, ut de palestra iam cepti certaminis undique ab Occeani margine circumspecta, vosmetipsos cum gloria offerentes, audire possitis: «Gloria in excelsis»; et ut Vasconum obprobrium qui tam dira cupidine conflagrantes Latinorum gloriam sibi usurpare contendunt, per secula cuncta futura sit posteris in exemplum. (26) There will be amendment, however (although it cannot be but that the scar of infamy will disfigure with its mark the Apostolic See even until the fire for which the heavens that now are and the earth have been reserved), if you all, who were the authors of this deviation from the track, with one accord shall fight manfully for the Spouse of Christ, for the seat of the Spouse, which is Rome, for our Italy, and, to speak more at large, for the whole body politic now in pilgrimage on earth, so that from the wrestling-ground (surveyed on every side from the shores of ocean) of the contest that is already begun, offering yourselves with glory, you may be able to hear 'Glory in the highest', and that the reproach of the Gascons, who, burning with abominable lust, strive to usurp for themselves the glory of the Italians, may be an example to posterity for all ages to come.