don,
Republican
nominee for president dur-
ing the campaign of 1935.
ing the campaign of 1935.
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
Nine knowledges: The 9 heavens of Dante's Paradise and their allegorical signifi?
cance.
The first 7 included the traditional trivium and quadrivium.
47. Ideogram: Chih3 [M939], "stop," or "cease," or "to rest in. " The 9 heavens turn around a center that is at rest-the still point of the turning world or the center of the multifoliate rose [85:9].
48. Avicenna: Ibn? Sina. Arabic philosopher, 980? 1037, noted for his work in medicine (The Canon), theology, and alchemy (about which he wrote at least one book, and sever~ al others were falsely attributed to him). It was through his numerous works and the works of other Islamic scholars that the in~
goddess Isis [B de R, Approaches, 34]. The ancient Egyptians used incense as a medium to transform the material into the spiritual
[NS, Reading, 96] .
54. Isis: [90:28]. Pound is creating rhymes to show how the qualities of wisdom, rea- son, compassionate social action, moral aspi~ ration, and love were common driving forces in all great cultures of the past and that they are essential to at least the mystery part 'of all great religions. These qualities will be developed in greater detail in Thrones.
55. "quest' . . . ama": I, "And this union [is what we call love, whereby we can know] what is inside the mind by seeing outside the thing it loves" [Conv. III, 2. 9]. The words in brackets Pound leaves ou t [cf. 90: I] .
56. Risplende . . . : I, "Shines" [Cavalcanti's Donna Mi Prega, 1. 26; T, 132; cf. LE, 164].
57. degli occhi: I, [de li occhi]: "of the eyes" [Conv. Ill, 8. 10]. The whole sentence reads: "Wherefore, since there are six emo- tions proper to the human soul . . . to wit grace, jealousy, pity, envy, love and shame, by none of these may the soul be impas? sioned without the semblance thereof ap- pearing at the window of the eyes" [91:4].
58. Numa Pompilius: Second legendary king of Rome, 715? 672 B. C. A Sabine from Cures, his wife was the nymph Egeria whom he used to meet by night in her sacred grove. The early religious instructions of Rome were almost all attributed to him: "He set up the worship of Terminus (the god of landmarks), appointed the festival of Fides (Faith), built the temple of Janus, reorga- nized the calendar and fixed days of business and holiday. He instituted the fiamens (sacred priests) of Jupiter, Mars and Quiri- nus; the virgins of Vesta, to keep the sacred fire burning on the hearth of the city; the Salii, to guard the shield that fell from heav- en; the pontifices and augurs, to arrange the rites and interpret the will of the gods; he also divided the handicraftsmen into nine gilds" [EB]. It seems that the wisdom, rea- son, civil compassion, and religious motiva-
tion of Pompilius rhyme with that of other early statesmen: the nine heavens of Dante also rhyme with the nine gilds. But histo- rians assert that the accomplishments of Pompilius, essentially Italian in nature, should be attributed to some of his followers as well as to him [JW, Pai, 2-2, 186].
59. the Pitagora si chiamo: I, "who called himself Pythagoras" [Conv. Ill, 91. 3]. The whole sentence reads: "Almost at the time of Numa Pompilius, second King of the Ro- mans, there lived a very noble philospher, who called himself Pythagoras. "
60. "non sempre": I, "not always" [Conv. Ill, 13. 3]. The whole sentence reads: "I say therefore that people who are in love here, that is: in this life, feel it (intelligence) in their thought, not always, but when Love makes his peace felt. " The "jagged" duality of Paradise may be blamed on the absence of love [JW].
61. Convivio: I, "The Banquet. " In some ways a continuation of Vita Nuova [New life], The Banquet was written between 1304 and 1307. It consists of four treatises and a series of odes which deal with various subjects: theology, epistemology, allegory, symbolism, ethics, and literary criticism, to list only the most important. The treatises are divided into chapters with lines num- bered according to the standard edition of G. Busnelli and G. Vandelli, Florence, 1934. Documentation herein gives treatise, chap~ ter, and line.
r
L
62. l'amor . . . bella: I,
you beautiful [Conv. Ill, 13. 9].
63. "ut facias" . . . "pulchram": L, "[You love] so that you may become beautiful. " The first line of a Latin sequence by Gotts- chalk contained in Le Latin Mystique by Remy de Gourmont [SP,422].
64. Goddeschalk: Gottschalk [Godescalus, Gottescale], ca. 808-867'. A German theo- logian dedicated by his parents from infancy to the monastic life, from which he with- drew jn 829 at the synod of Mainz. Because
"the love that
makes
? 564
93/626-627
93/627-628
565
of his enthusiastic promotion of the idea of double predestination (including election to damnation), he was convicted of heresy sev- eral times and became the center of violent religious controversy until his death. Some of his writings were preserved by Erigena, including his Sequaire, containing the line cited.
65. eforma . . . : I, "is the form of philoso? phy" [DG, Pai, 5? 2, 276; Singh, Pai, 3? 2,
163? 165; JW,Pai, 2? 2,183].
66. Danl's: Dante's.
67. belta . . . : I, "beauty, that is, morality" [Conv. II, 3. 63]; "piove fiammelle di foco" ("rains flakes of fire") continues the line. The beauty of philosophy defined by Dante as morality rhymes with "the golden rain of the sun in Neoplatonism and the lyrics of
Arnaut Daniel" [JW].
68. Jacopo Sellaio: [20/90; 80/511]. Flor? entine painter, 1422? 1493, who included knowledge as a necessary ingredient of tech- nique [P, 73; HK, Era, 364].
69. "e solo . . . diletta": I, "and in showing loyalty alone it [the soul] delights" [Conv. III, 4. 131], when young [ages 20040].
and man in a single continuum of nature [JW, Pai, 2? 2, 185].
74. Hieroglyph: King Khaty. Pound asso? ciates him with the compassion toward others expressed in the Convivio.
76. Boss: Mussolini.
77. "Pel mio poema": I, "For my poem. " Pound's response to the question of Musso- lini [GK, 105].
78. bellezza: I, "beauty," or "loveliness. "
79. Perugia: Italian city, capital of the pro? vince of Umbria. Pound recalls the beautiful girl "on an ass-cart" outside this city
[29/145].
80. pargoletta: I, "little girl. "
81. "onestade . . . ,": I, "honor shines" [cf. 44 and 56 above].
82. Dio . . . bontade: I, "God, the first goodness" [Conv. III, 7, 2; JW, Pai, 2? 2, 184; BK,Pai, 5? 1, 214].
83. Ideogram: 14 [M3002], "right con? duct. " Other definitions include concepts such as morality, loyalty, patriotism, and concern with the public good. They rhyme with the nonmetaphysical circles of Dante's 9 spheres.
ruler is to provide a just way to distribute food and other things to meet the needs of the people. The just price is one means to this good end [85:95]. The motif antici? pates Thrones.
89. "cui . . . bontade": I, "wltich this
ness adorns" [Conv. III, 121]. This canzone states that the human soul wedded to good? ness shows this adornment in all of its actions.
90. Know agenda: [Cf. 48, 50 above].
91. virtu: [74:87]. Pound wrote: "The soul of each man is compounded of all the ele? ments of the cosmos of souls, but in each soul there is some one element which pre- dominates, which is in some peculiar and intense way the quality or virtu of the indi- vidual; in no two souls is this the same. It is by reason of this virtu that a given work of art persists" [SP, 28].
92. und kein: G, "and not a. " In the mili- tary a weekend pass was usually devoted to fun and / or entertainment.
93. Mr Hoepli: A publisher in Milan, the great-uncle of Vanni Scheiwiller who pub- lished Pound's wartime economic pamphlets. Tradition has it that Hoepli sent a copy of one such pamphlet to a banker friend in Switzerland, who wrote back saying it should be destroyed [ER, Pai, 2? 1, 143].
94. "urgente": I, "urgent. "
95. "e farlo sparire": I, '? 'and make it vanish. "
96. Shivers: A nickname for either Eisen- hower CR) or Adlai Stevenson CD), who ran for president against each other in the elec- tions of 1952 and 1956. They were both renominated in the conventions of 1955, and Stevenson was twice defeated. Prob. Eisenhower is meant. At his first nomina- tion, Pound remarked, "Well, if this doesn't finish off the Republican Party, nothing else will" [EM, Difficult, 321].
97. "Alfalfa": The nickname of Alfred Lan?
don, Republican nominee for president dur-
ing the campaign of 1935. His overwhelming defeat assigned him to ltistorical oblivion.
98. Grenfell: [87:21]. Both David Gordon and his wife Ellen remember quite vividly Pound's conviction that Grenfell had been murdered. One of the "some others" was James Forrestal (1892? 1949), first secretary of defense, who committed suicide while under care at Bethesda Naval Hospital. The press reported that while the soldier who was supposed to be guarding him was out of the room for a minute, Forrestal jumped out of a window. Pound suspected that he, too, was murdered. Grenfell's Unconditional Hatred was written by a man who ap- proached complex international problems not with partisan passion but with good na- ture and civility.
99. The Bard . . . : [Cf. 27 and 28 above]. 100. Dante: [Cf. 25 above].
101. abuleia: I, "paralysis of the will" [5:44; 54:192].
102. KAT! : [Cf. 2 above].
103. Taffy: An engineer [18:25].
104. Zaharoff: Sir Basil Z. , European muni? tions maker and predatory capitalist [38:2].
105. Aquarone: Duke Pietro Aquarone. Minister of the Italian royal household, who on July 26, 1943 with Marshall Pietro Ba? doglio ousted Mussolini by order of King Vittorio Ernmanuele III.
106. Vb: Ubaldo degli Uberti [77:99; Pai, 6? 2, 244]. A longtime friend of the poet [R. Uberti,Italian Quarterly, 95? 107].
107. agitante calescemus: [calescimus]: L, "When . he [the god in us] stirs we are set on fire" [Ovid, Fasti I, 5]. The phrase is pre? ceded by "est deus in nobis" ("a god is in us"), which Pound associates with Richard of ~t. Victor's "Ignus quidquid in nobis est," which he himself translated, "There is a cer- tain fire within us" [EH, Pai, 3? 1, 136; Pai, 4-1, 30; SP, 72]. It is followed by a line containing the word semina which echoes
"d'udir . . . prode": I, the good" [ibid. , 135].
70. e
hear . . .
of the 3d canzone concerns what the soul delights in at various ages. In the third phrase of life [40. 60], the soul is wedded to goodness, and is "prudent, just, and gener- ous, delighting in itself and in hearing and speaking good of others. "
71. Beaumarchais: Pierre de B. , 1732? 1799 [31:29].
72. KAT! : [Cf. 2 above].
chomachean Ethics, Dante says: "Thus the Pltilosopher says that man is naturally a so- cial [or friendly] animal. " The phrase com? ments on the hieroglyph, which in an idio- grammic way seems to place birds, animals,
86. Saladin: [6:15].
. . . ": I,
87. Galasso di Montefeltro: A famous Ital? ian lord, related to the notorious Guido of Montefeltro [In! XXVII]. Dante mentions the three men in this line as examples of public generosity and liberality [Conv. IV, II, 14]. Other historians have not concurred.
88. distributive justice: This phrase is the heart of the matter. A central concern of the good state and the good, humane man and
73. "cornpagnevole
[Conv. IV, 4]. Speaking of Aristotle'sNi?
"and to Tractate 4
"social animal"
. . .
good-
75. "Perche
wish to put your ideas in order? " [87:4].
84. Augustine: [Cf. II above].
85. Alessandro: [85:230].
Alexander the
Great
ordine? ":
I, "Why
do you
? 566
93/628-629
93/629-631
567
the leitmotif semina motuum [90:24]: "im- petus hic sacrae semina mentis habet" ("This impulse produces the sacred seeds of the intellect").
109. Lux: L, "Light" [83:6].
110. in diafana: I, "in a transparency" [36:4]. The word has other associations in Pound usage. Talking about "the decline of the W est. . . between the Nicon:zachean Ethics and the Magna (or fat) Moralia," and the need for Confucius, he wrote in a letter: "I am trying to get my American publisher to reprint the 'Mencius. ' But don't think it contains much more on the present point (or
diafana)" [L, 333].
111. Creatrix: L, "Mother. "
112. oro: L, "I pray. "
113. Ursula benedetta: I, "Blessed Ursula. " Saint Ursula was a mythical late entry into the company of saints. Many legends flour- ished around her, most having to do with her martyrdom as a virgin along with numerous other virgins, numbered from a few up to thousands. Their slaughter presumably took place near Cologne, which resulted in the basilica of the sacred virgin there [EB].
114. per dilettevoIe ore: I, "through be- loved hours. "
115. Yso1t: Isolde, who languished in the absence of Tristan.
116. Ydone: "Ydoine," from the medieval romance Amadis and Ydoine wltich Pound cites in discussing love "Iais" [SR, 80].
117. Piearda: Piccarda Donati [Par. III, 49], a beautiful lady whom Dante placed in the heaven of the moon because she had broken her vows.
118. Isis-Luna: Conflation of Isis [90:28] and Diana/Artemis, the moon goddess.
119. black panther: One of the hieratic cats, used to evoke a quality of paradisal yearn~ ing. In "Heather," an early poem, we read: "The black panther treads at my side, / And above my fingers / There float the petal-like flames. / The milk-white girls / Unbend from the holly-trees, / And their snow-white leop- ard / Watches to follow our traces" [EP, Lustra, 196].
120. J'ai . . . assez! : F, "I have had compas- sion for others. Not enough! Not enough! "
121. the child . . . : His daughter, Mary, whom he remembers most vividly during her years at Gais [77:102] and at moments in Rapallo during WWII. She wrote a poem then in Italian which contained the senti~ ment "For me nothing, stillness-stillness outlasting all wars" [M de R, Discretions,
151] .
122. The light there . . . : Divinity mani- fested in natural intelligence . . . flowing.
123. Ideogram: Li4 [M3920], "power" or "energy. "
124. Ideogram: Hsing2 [M2754], "to walk" or "act. "
125. Ideogram: Chin4 [MI061], "near to. "
king and queen. La Nave contained the usual horror scenes favored by D'Annunzio (Fale- dro and his four sons have their eyes and tongues torn out on stage), but it projected Italy's restoration as a great sea power with control of the Dalmatian coast. Pound ap~ proved of the daring and lyrical mysticism of the line early on, as he quoted it in "I Gather the Limbs of Osiris" in 1911
[SP, 25].
131. Ocellus: [87:43] Pound attributes to this Pythagorean philosopher the phrase "to build light," which he associates with T'ang's idea "to make it new" [cf. 91/610, 611; 94/642; 98/684; 107/762].
is meant here is not known. Perhaps the horse jump took place in Libya.
140. Quarta Sponda: I, "Fourth Side. " The Fascist name for Libya.
141. Carthage: The possibilities of what "waste" could refer to are numerous enough to discourage speCUlation.
142. Flora: L, goddess of flowers, whose festival was celebrated on April 28. "In the spring buds grow: only in autumn do petals of the flowers flow in the air. "
143. Castalia: [90:5].
144. "pone metum, Cerinthe: L, "lay aside fear, Cerinthus" [25:35,36].
145. Nee deus laedit: L, "God does not harm [lovers]" [25:38].
autumn . . . autumn:
lOS. The
lines framing the god stirring within give a Japanese tone to the awakening fire. The source could be any number of haiku with the traditional autumn tag.
The two
126. Ideogram: Hu "at. "
l
[M2154], "to" or
14S. Ideogram: Hsien3 [M2692], "to mani- fest" [85:143].
149. nuova vita: I, "new life. " Dante's La Vita Nuova concerned how his childhood encounters with Beatrice changed him final- ly from a lovesick troubadour to a man of great spiritual depth.
150. e ti fiammeggio: I, "and for you I burn" [Par.
47. Ideogram: Chih3 [M939], "stop," or "cease," or "to rest in. " The 9 heavens turn around a center that is at rest-the still point of the turning world or the center of the multifoliate rose [85:9].
48. Avicenna: Ibn? Sina. Arabic philosopher, 980? 1037, noted for his work in medicine (The Canon), theology, and alchemy (about which he wrote at least one book, and sever~ al others were falsely attributed to him). It was through his numerous works and the works of other Islamic scholars that the in~
goddess Isis [B de R, Approaches, 34]. The ancient Egyptians used incense as a medium to transform the material into the spiritual
[NS, Reading, 96] .
54. Isis: [90:28]. Pound is creating rhymes to show how the qualities of wisdom, rea- son, compassionate social action, moral aspi~ ration, and love were common driving forces in all great cultures of the past and that they are essential to at least the mystery part 'of all great religions. These qualities will be developed in greater detail in Thrones.
55. "quest' . . . ama": I, "And this union [is what we call love, whereby we can know] what is inside the mind by seeing outside the thing it loves" [Conv. III, 2. 9]. The words in brackets Pound leaves ou t [cf. 90: I] .
56. Risplende . . . : I, "Shines" [Cavalcanti's Donna Mi Prega, 1. 26; T, 132; cf. LE, 164].
57. degli occhi: I, [de li occhi]: "of the eyes" [Conv. Ill, 8. 10]. The whole sentence reads: "Wherefore, since there are six emo- tions proper to the human soul . . . to wit grace, jealousy, pity, envy, love and shame, by none of these may the soul be impas? sioned without the semblance thereof ap- pearing at the window of the eyes" [91:4].
58. Numa Pompilius: Second legendary king of Rome, 715? 672 B. C. A Sabine from Cures, his wife was the nymph Egeria whom he used to meet by night in her sacred grove. The early religious instructions of Rome were almost all attributed to him: "He set up the worship of Terminus (the god of landmarks), appointed the festival of Fides (Faith), built the temple of Janus, reorga- nized the calendar and fixed days of business and holiday. He instituted the fiamens (sacred priests) of Jupiter, Mars and Quiri- nus; the virgins of Vesta, to keep the sacred fire burning on the hearth of the city; the Salii, to guard the shield that fell from heav- en; the pontifices and augurs, to arrange the rites and interpret the will of the gods; he also divided the handicraftsmen into nine gilds" [EB]. It seems that the wisdom, rea- son, civil compassion, and religious motiva-
tion of Pompilius rhyme with that of other early statesmen: the nine heavens of Dante also rhyme with the nine gilds. But histo- rians assert that the accomplishments of Pompilius, essentially Italian in nature, should be attributed to some of his followers as well as to him [JW, Pai, 2-2, 186].
59. the Pitagora si chiamo: I, "who called himself Pythagoras" [Conv. Ill, 91. 3]. The whole sentence reads: "Almost at the time of Numa Pompilius, second King of the Ro- mans, there lived a very noble philospher, who called himself Pythagoras. "
60. "non sempre": I, "not always" [Conv. Ill, 13. 3]. The whole sentence reads: "I say therefore that people who are in love here, that is: in this life, feel it (intelligence) in their thought, not always, but when Love makes his peace felt. " The "jagged" duality of Paradise may be blamed on the absence of love [JW].
61. Convivio: I, "The Banquet. " In some ways a continuation of Vita Nuova [New life], The Banquet was written between 1304 and 1307. It consists of four treatises and a series of odes which deal with various subjects: theology, epistemology, allegory, symbolism, ethics, and literary criticism, to list only the most important. The treatises are divided into chapters with lines num- bered according to the standard edition of G. Busnelli and G. Vandelli, Florence, 1934. Documentation herein gives treatise, chap~ ter, and line.
r
L
62. l'amor . . . bella: I,
you beautiful [Conv. Ill, 13. 9].
63. "ut facias" . . . "pulchram": L, "[You love] so that you may become beautiful. " The first line of a Latin sequence by Gotts- chalk contained in Le Latin Mystique by Remy de Gourmont [SP,422].
64. Goddeschalk: Gottschalk [Godescalus, Gottescale], ca. 808-867'. A German theo- logian dedicated by his parents from infancy to the monastic life, from which he with- drew jn 829 at the synod of Mainz. Because
"the love that
makes
? 564
93/626-627
93/627-628
565
of his enthusiastic promotion of the idea of double predestination (including election to damnation), he was convicted of heresy sev- eral times and became the center of violent religious controversy until his death. Some of his writings were preserved by Erigena, including his Sequaire, containing the line cited.
65. eforma . . . : I, "is the form of philoso? phy" [DG, Pai, 5? 2, 276; Singh, Pai, 3? 2,
163? 165; JW,Pai, 2? 2,183].
66. Danl's: Dante's.
67. belta . . . : I, "beauty, that is, morality" [Conv. II, 3. 63]; "piove fiammelle di foco" ("rains flakes of fire") continues the line. The beauty of philosophy defined by Dante as morality rhymes with "the golden rain of the sun in Neoplatonism and the lyrics of
Arnaut Daniel" [JW].
68. Jacopo Sellaio: [20/90; 80/511]. Flor? entine painter, 1422? 1493, who included knowledge as a necessary ingredient of tech- nique [P, 73; HK, Era, 364].
69. "e solo . . . diletta": I, "and in showing loyalty alone it [the soul] delights" [Conv. III, 4. 131], when young [ages 20040].
and man in a single continuum of nature [JW, Pai, 2? 2, 185].
74. Hieroglyph: King Khaty. Pound asso? ciates him with the compassion toward others expressed in the Convivio.
76. Boss: Mussolini.
77. "Pel mio poema": I, "For my poem. " Pound's response to the question of Musso- lini [GK, 105].
78. bellezza: I, "beauty," or "loveliness. "
79. Perugia: Italian city, capital of the pro? vince of Umbria. Pound recalls the beautiful girl "on an ass-cart" outside this city
[29/145].
80. pargoletta: I, "little girl. "
81. "onestade . . . ,": I, "honor shines" [cf. 44 and 56 above].
82. Dio . . . bontade: I, "God, the first goodness" [Conv. III, 7, 2; JW, Pai, 2? 2, 184; BK,Pai, 5? 1, 214].
83. Ideogram: 14 [M3002], "right con? duct. " Other definitions include concepts such as morality, loyalty, patriotism, and concern with the public good. They rhyme with the nonmetaphysical circles of Dante's 9 spheres.
ruler is to provide a just way to distribute food and other things to meet the needs of the people. The just price is one means to this good end [85:95]. The motif antici? pates Thrones.
89. "cui . . . bontade": I, "wltich this
ness adorns" [Conv. III, 121]. This canzone states that the human soul wedded to good? ness shows this adornment in all of its actions.
90. Know agenda: [Cf. 48, 50 above].
91. virtu: [74:87]. Pound wrote: "The soul of each man is compounded of all the ele? ments of the cosmos of souls, but in each soul there is some one element which pre- dominates, which is in some peculiar and intense way the quality or virtu of the indi- vidual; in no two souls is this the same. It is by reason of this virtu that a given work of art persists" [SP, 28].
92. und kein: G, "and not a. " In the mili- tary a weekend pass was usually devoted to fun and / or entertainment.
93. Mr Hoepli: A publisher in Milan, the great-uncle of Vanni Scheiwiller who pub- lished Pound's wartime economic pamphlets. Tradition has it that Hoepli sent a copy of one such pamphlet to a banker friend in Switzerland, who wrote back saying it should be destroyed [ER, Pai, 2? 1, 143].
94. "urgente": I, "urgent. "
95. "e farlo sparire": I, '? 'and make it vanish. "
96. Shivers: A nickname for either Eisen- hower CR) or Adlai Stevenson CD), who ran for president against each other in the elec- tions of 1952 and 1956. They were both renominated in the conventions of 1955, and Stevenson was twice defeated. Prob. Eisenhower is meant. At his first nomina- tion, Pound remarked, "Well, if this doesn't finish off the Republican Party, nothing else will" [EM, Difficult, 321].
97. "Alfalfa": The nickname of Alfred Lan?
don, Republican nominee for president dur-
ing the campaign of 1935. His overwhelming defeat assigned him to ltistorical oblivion.
98. Grenfell: [87:21]. Both David Gordon and his wife Ellen remember quite vividly Pound's conviction that Grenfell had been murdered. One of the "some others" was James Forrestal (1892? 1949), first secretary of defense, who committed suicide while under care at Bethesda Naval Hospital. The press reported that while the soldier who was supposed to be guarding him was out of the room for a minute, Forrestal jumped out of a window. Pound suspected that he, too, was murdered. Grenfell's Unconditional Hatred was written by a man who ap- proached complex international problems not with partisan passion but with good na- ture and civility.
99. The Bard . . . : [Cf. 27 and 28 above]. 100. Dante: [Cf. 25 above].
101. abuleia: I, "paralysis of the will" [5:44; 54:192].
102. KAT! : [Cf. 2 above].
103. Taffy: An engineer [18:25].
104. Zaharoff: Sir Basil Z. , European muni? tions maker and predatory capitalist [38:2].
105. Aquarone: Duke Pietro Aquarone. Minister of the Italian royal household, who on July 26, 1943 with Marshall Pietro Ba? doglio ousted Mussolini by order of King Vittorio Ernmanuele III.
106. Vb: Ubaldo degli Uberti [77:99; Pai, 6? 2, 244]. A longtime friend of the poet [R. Uberti,Italian Quarterly, 95? 107].
107. agitante calescemus: [calescimus]: L, "When . he [the god in us] stirs we are set on fire" [Ovid, Fasti I, 5]. The phrase is pre? ceded by "est deus in nobis" ("a god is in us"), which Pound associates with Richard of ~t. Victor's "Ignus quidquid in nobis est," which he himself translated, "There is a cer- tain fire within us" [EH, Pai, 3? 1, 136; Pai, 4-1, 30; SP, 72]. It is followed by a line containing the word semina which echoes
"d'udir . . . prode": I, the good" [ibid. , 135].
70. e
hear . . .
of the 3d canzone concerns what the soul delights in at various ages. In the third phrase of life [40. 60], the soul is wedded to goodness, and is "prudent, just, and gener- ous, delighting in itself and in hearing and speaking good of others. "
71. Beaumarchais: Pierre de B. , 1732? 1799 [31:29].
72. KAT! : [Cf. 2 above].
chomachean Ethics, Dante says: "Thus the Pltilosopher says that man is naturally a so- cial [or friendly] animal. " The phrase com? ments on the hieroglyph, which in an idio- grammic way seems to place birds, animals,
86. Saladin: [6:15].
. . . ": I,
87. Galasso di Montefeltro: A famous Ital? ian lord, related to the notorious Guido of Montefeltro [In! XXVII]. Dante mentions the three men in this line as examples of public generosity and liberality [Conv. IV, II, 14]. Other historians have not concurred.
88. distributive justice: This phrase is the heart of the matter. A central concern of the good state and the good, humane man and
73. "cornpagnevole
[Conv. IV, 4]. Speaking of Aristotle'sNi?
"and to Tractate 4
"social animal"
. . .
good-
75. "Perche
wish to put your ideas in order? " [87:4].
84. Augustine: [Cf. II above].
85. Alessandro: [85:230].
Alexander the
Great
ordine? ":
I, "Why
do you
? 566
93/628-629
93/629-631
567
the leitmotif semina motuum [90:24]: "im- petus hic sacrae semina mentis habet" ("This impulse produces the sacred seeds of the intellect").
109. Lux: L, "Light" [83:6].
110. in diafana: I, "in a transparency" [36:4]. The word has other associations in Pound usage. Talking about "the decline of the W est. . . between the Nicon:zachean Ethics and the Magna (or fat) Moralia," and the need for Confucius, he wrote in a letter: "I am trying to get my American publisher to reprint the 'Mencius. ' But don't think it contains much more on the present point (or
diafana)" [L, 333].
111. Creatrix: L, "Mother. "
112. oro: L, "I pray. "
113. Ursula benedetta: I, "Blessed Ursula. " Saint Ursula was a mythical late entry into the company of saints. Many legends flour- ished around her, most having to do with her martyrdom as a virgin along with numerous other virgins, numbered from a few up to thousands. Their slaughter presumably took place near Cologne, which resulted in the basilica of the sacred virgin there [EB].
114. per dilettevoIe ore: I, "through be- loved hours. "
115. Yso1t: Isolde, who languished in the absence of Tristan.
116. Ydone: "Ydoine," from the medieval romance Amadis and Ydoine wltich Pound cites in discussing love "Iais" [SR, 80].
117. Piearda: Piccarda Donati [Par. III, 49], a beautiful lady whom Dante placed in the heaven of the moon because she had broken her vows.
118. Isis-Luna: Conflation of Isis [90:28] and Diana/Artemis, the moon goddess.
119. black panther: One of the hieratic cats, used to evoke a quality of paradisal yearn~ ing. In "Heather," an early poem, we read: "The black panther treads at my side, / And above my fingers / There float the petal-like flames. / The milk-white girls / Unbend from the holly-trees, / And their snow-white leop- ard / Watches to follow our traces" [EP, Lustra, 196].
120. J'ai . . . assez! : F, "I have had compas- sion for others. Not enough! Not enough! "
121. the child . . . : His daughter, Mary, whom he remembers most vividly during her years at Gais [77:102] and at moments in Rapallo during WWII. She wrote a poem then in Italian which contained the senti~ ment "For me nothing, stillness-stillness outlasting all wars" [M de R, Discretions,
151] .
122. The light there . . . : Divinity mani- fested in natural intelligence . . . flowing.
123. Ideogram: Li4 [M3920], "power" or "energy. "
124. Ideogram: Hsing2 [M2754], "to walk" or "act. "
125. Ideogram: Chin4 [MI061], "near to. "
king and queen. La Nave contained the usual horror scenes favored by D'Annunzio (Fale- dro and his four sons have their eyes and tongues torn out on stage), but it projected Italy's restoration as a great sea power with control of the Dalmatian coast. Pound ap~ proved of the daring and lyrical mysticism of the line early on, as he quoted it in "I Gather the Limbs of Osiris" in 1911
[SP, 25].
131. Ocellus: [87:43] Pound attributes to this Pythagorean philosopher the phrase "to build light," which he associates with T'ang's idea "to make it new" [cf. 91/610, 611; 94/642; 98/684; 107/762].
is meant here is not known. Perhaps the horse jump took place in Libya.
140. Quarta Sponda: I, "Fourth Side. " The Fascist name for Libya.
141. Carthage: The possibilities of what "waste" could refer to are numerous enough to discourage speCUlation.
142. Flora: L, goddess of flowers, whose festival was celebrated on April 28. "In the spring buds grow: only in autumn do petals of the flowers flow in the air. "
143. Castalia: [90:5].
144. "pone metum, Cerinthe: L, "lay aside fear, Cerinthus" [25:35,36].
145. Nee deus laedit: L, "God does not harm [lovers]" [25:38].
autumn . . . autumn:
lOS. The
lines framing the god stirring within give a Japanese tone to the awakening fire. The source could be any number of haiku with the traditional autumn tag.
The two
126. Ideogram: Hu "at. "
l
[M2154], "to" or
14S. Ideogram: Hsien3 [M2692], "to mani- fest" [85:143].
149. nuova vita: I, "new life. " Dante's La Vita Nuova concerned how his childhood encounters with Beatrice changed him final- ly from a lovesick troubadour to a man of great spiritual depth.
150. e ti fiammeggio: I, "and for you I burn" [Par.
