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the traitor Judas lowers！ Ah！ from what agonies of heart and brain； What
exultations trampling on despair； What tenderness； what tears； what hate
of wrong； What passionate outcry of a soul in pain； Uprose this poem of
the earth and air； This mediaeval miracle of song！
III
I enter； and I see thee in the gloom Of the long aisles； O poet saturnine！
And strive to make my steps keep pace with thine。 The air is filled with
some unknown perfume； The congregation of the dead make room For
thee to pass； the votive tapers shine； Like rooks that haunt Ravenna's
groves of pine； The hovering echoes fly from tomb to tomb。 From the
confessionals I hear arise Rehearsals of forgotten tragedies； And
lamentations from the crypts below And then a voice celestial that begins
With the pathetic words； 〃Although your sins As scarlet be；〃 and ends with
〃as the snow。〃
IV
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With snow…white veil； and garments as of flame； She stands before
thee； who so long ago Filled thy young heart with passion and the woe
From which thy song in all its splendors came； And while with stern
rebuke she speaks thy name； The ice about thy heart melts as the snow On
mountain heights； and in swift overflow Comes gushing from thy lips in
sobs of shame。 Thou makest full confession； and a gleam As of the dawn
on some dark forest cast； Seems on thy lifted forehead to increase； Lethe
and Eunoethe remembered dream And the forgotten sorrowbring at last
That perfect pardon which is perfect peace。
V
I Lift mine eyes； and all the windows blaze With forms of saints and
holy men who died； Here martyred and hereafter glorified； And the great
Rose upon its leaves displays Christ's Triumph； and the angelic roundelays；
With splendor upon splendor multiplied； And Beatrice again at Dante's
side No more rebukes； but smiles her words of praise。 And then the organ
sounds； and unseen choirs Sing the old Latin hymns of peace and love And
benedictions of the Holy Ghost； And the melodious bells among the spires
O'er all the house…tops and through heaven above Proclaim the elevation
of the Host！
VI
O star of morning and of liberty！ O bringer of the light； whose
splendor shines Above the darkness of the Apennines； Forerunner of the
day that is to be！ The voices of the city and the sea； The voices of the
mountains and the pines； Repeat thy song； till the familiar lines Are
footpaths for the thought of Italy！ Thy fame is blown abroad from all the
heights； Through all the nations； and a sound is heard； As of a mighty
wind； and men devout； Strangers of Rome； and the new proselytes； In their
own language hear thy wondrous word； And many are amazed and many
doubt。
POSTSCRIPT
'Ich habe unter meinen Papieren ein Blatt gefunden； wo ich die
Baukunst eine erstarrte Musik nenne。' （Johann Wolfgang Goethe； 1829
March 23）
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I found Dante in a bar。 The Poet had indeed lost the True Way to be
found reduced to party chatter in a Capitol Hill basement； but I had found
him at last。 I must have been drinking in the Dark Tavern of Error； for I
did not even realize I had begun the dolorous path followed by many since
the Poet's journey of A。D。 1300。 Actually no one spoke a word about
Dante or his Divine Comedy； rather I heard a second…hand Goethe call
architecture 〃frozen music。〃 Soon I took my second step through the gate
to a people lost； this time on a more respectable occasiona lecture at the
Catholic University of America。 Clio； the muse of history； must have been
aiding Prof。 Schumacher that evening； because it sustained my full three…
hour attention； even after I had just presented an all…night project。 There I
heard of a most astonishing Italian translation of 'la Divina Commedia' di
Dante Alighieri。 An Italian architect； Giuseppi Terragni； had translated the
Comedy into the 'Danteum；' a projected stone and glass monument to Poet
and Poem near the Basilica of Maxentius in Rome。
Do not look for the Danteum in the Eternal City。 In true Dantean form；
politics stood in the way of its construction in 1938。 Ironically this
literature…inspired building can itself most easily be found in book form。
Reading this book I remembered Goethe's quote about frozen music。 Did
Terragni try to freeze Dante's medieval miracle of song？ Certainly a cold…
poem seems artistically repulsive。 Unflattering comparisons to the lake of
Cocytus spring to mind too。 While I cannot read Italian； I can read some
German。 After locating the original quotation I discovered that 'frozen' is a
problematic （though common） translation of Goethe's original 'erstarrte。'
The verb 'erstarren' more properly means 'to solidify' or 'to stiffen。' This
suggests a chemical reaction in which the art does not necessarily chill in
the transformation。 Nor can simple thawing yield the original work。 Like a
chemical reaction it requires an artistic catalyst； a muse。 Indeed the
Danteum is not a physical translation of the Poem。 Terragni thought it
inappropriate to translate the Comedy literally into a non…literary work。
The Danteum would not be a stage set； rather Terragni generated his
design from the Comedy's structure； not its finishes。
The poem is divided into three canticles of thirty…three cantos each；
plus one extra in the first； the Inferno； making a total of one hundred
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cantos。 Each canto is composed of three…line tercets； the first and third
lines rhyme； the second line rhymes with the beginning of the next tercet；
establishing a kind of overlap； reflected in the overlapping motif of the
Danteum design。 Dante's realms are further subdivided： the Inferno is
composed of nine levels； the vestibule makes a tenth。 Purgatory has seven
terraces； plus two ledges in an ante…purgatory； adding these to the Earthly
Paradise yields ten zones。 Paradise is composed of nine heavens；
Empyrean makes the tenth。 In the Inferno； sinners are organized by thre