As gold is separated from impurities by fire,
so our soul through the fires of austerity is made pure;
ready to reflect without distortion the True Light of our Being.
ready to reflect without distortion the True Light of our Being.
तप
Austerity
Then he, ahead of me, entered the fire;
and he asked Statius, who had walked between us
before, dividing us, to go behind.
and he asked Statius, who had walked between us
before, dividing us, to go behind.
No sooner was I in that fire than I’d
have thrown myself in molten glass to find
coolness—because those flames were so intense.
have thrown myself in molten glass to find
coolness—because those flames were so intense.
My gentle father, who would comfort me,
kept talking, as we walked, of Beatrice,
saying: “I seem to see her eyes already.”
kept talking, as we walked, of Beatrice,
saying: “I seem to see her eyes already.”
A voice that sang beyond us was our guide;
and we, attentive to that voice, emerged
just at the point where it began to climb.
and we, attentive to that voice, emerged
just at the point where it began to climb.
“Venite, benedicti Patris mei,”
it sang within a light that overcame me:
I could not look at such intensity.
it sang within a light that overcame me:
I could not look at such intensity.
Dante, Purgatorio, Canto 27 Lines 46-60, Mandelbaum translation