He also abolished the judicial duel and extended the
appellate
ju- risdiction of the crown to all cases.
A-Companion-to-the-Cantos-of-Ezra-Pound-II
J.
130. & do not mow: A. 's final advice to V. was: "mow not down the loftier stalks which overtop the rest for this maxim of Aristotle's is unjust; but try rather to pluck disaffection out of men's hearts! ) [ibid. , 553? 555J.
and offered sacrifice to Amasis . . . and con- veyed him up country into Egypt with pip- ings, hymns and songs composed in his honor" [ibid. , 569-571 J.
136. enhVTc{J &80VT? C;: H, "in his honor. " 137. Amasis: "Historically, Amasis I, Egyp?
tian pharoah and founder of the XVIIIth Dynasty (c. 1700 B. C. ), is famous as the king who finally delivered Egypt from the Hyksos [cf. 44 aboveJ . . . who overran Egypt somtime around 2100 B. C. " [Neault, Poi, 4-1, 27-28J. In A History of Egypt, Budge records the destruction caused by the Hyksos and the great good done by Amasis. Says Neault: "like Apollonius, Amasis be? comes an embodiment of the moral precept, reaffirmed in Apollonius's identification of
the lion, that was characteristic of an era of immanent gods when men lived in harmony withnature" [ibid. J.
138. keeping the Nile . . . : Then A. set out for Ethiopia "to visit the naked sages. " Through parable A. warned his many fol? lowers so that many remained behind: "but the rest, ten in number, I believe, offered prayer to the gods . . . departed straight for the pyramids, mounted on camels and keep- ing the Nile on their right hand" [P, Life, I, 573J.
139. flil . . . rEK1): H, "one penny begets an- other penny. "
140. book Six, chap. 2: In this chapter, A. praises the wisdom of the Egyptians and Ethiopians in their trading practices: "con- trast our Helenes: they pretend they cannot live unless one penny begets another, and unless they can force up the price of their goods by chaffering or holding them back"
[P, Life, II, 7J.
141. 'H",,,, ME/lVOVC: H, "Memnon of the Dawn. " The statue was famous, "for when the sun's rays fell upon the statue, and this happened exactly at dawn . . . the lips spoke immediately the sun's rays touched them. . . . They . . . offered a sacrifice to . . . Memnon of the Dawn, for this the priests recommended them to do, explaining that
the one name was derived from the words signifying 'to burn and be warm' and the other from his mother" [ibid. , 15? 17J.
142. I/Ivxil . . . TLfl1)TEOV: This sentence does not appear in the source nor in any other of Pound's known sources. As written, it neither construes nor scans. The first two words in reverse order-ae&vlYro<" ljJvxi7, "im- mortal soul"-do appear in the Life [po 404J. If we read \WOiOLV for ~WOiOlV, we could read "living things" or "the living. " Perhaps "the immortal soul which must be honored among the living" is as close as one can come. The Tt, although strangely placed, could function as an interrogative even though neuter.
would not have forgotten" [Strickland, Queens, I03J. Strickiand's note says that the story got into the record by a man who lived 150 years after the siege of Acre.
147. via Padua: From Cyprus, Edward re- turned to England through Italy. At Padua he was honored by being made a member of the legal faculty of the university [T. F. Tout, Edward the Exile, London, 1903, 86J [BKJ.
148. thunderbolt: "At this juncture the life of Edward was preserved in a manner that he considered most miraculous. As he was sit- ting with his queen on a couch, in their palace at Bourdeaux, a flash of lightning killed two lords who were standing directly behind them, without injuring the royal pair" [Queens, 105J. The date was 1273, however.
149. Federico Secondo: Frederick the Sec- ond, I, 1272-1337, known as F. of Aragon [25:14], was king of Sicily 1296? 1337. AI? though he was second, he called himself "the Third" because he was the third son of King Peter. His rule was tumultuous, as Sicily was subjected to the power plays of popes as well as the kings of France and Spain. But Frederick, a wise ruler, was devoted to jus- tice and beloved of his people. In The Can- tos he should not be confused with Freder- ick, king of Sicily (1198? 1212), celebrated by Pound as author of The Book of the Falcon [97:272J; or Frederick II of Prussia [32:38; 62: 117] ; or Frederick II, holy Ro-
man emperor, 1215-1250.
150. Alfonso: A. X, 1221? 1284, king of Castile (1252-1284) and brother of Eleanora [cf. 145 aboveJ. Although his reign was plagued by political and military turmoil, he is known for his advancement of culture, and for being the Justinian of Spain because he was largely responsible for Las Siete Parti- das, a compilation of the legal knowldege of his time. A collection of poems for music is
also attributed to him.
151. St Louis: Louis IX, 1214? 1270, king of France (1226? 1270), was the son of Blanche
131. Ideogram: Wang2
[M7037], "king. "
132. ? AA1)vi~ovTC<"": H, "over Greeks those who can speak Greek. " A. 's advice to V. included the idea that a ruler sent to rule a province should speak the language of that province: "I mean, that over Hellenes should be set men who can speak Greek, and Romans . . . " [ibid. , 557J.
133. Euphrates . . . : Said A. to V. : "0 king, Euphrates and Dian . . -. are at your door . . . call them in . . . for they are both of them wise men" [ibid. , 535J. The king did, but A. was being devious for he wanted the king to see what bad advisers they had been: "You, my sovereign, have learned from these your good~for. nothing predecessors how not to rule" [ibid. , 53'7]. But later, with the emper? or not present, Euphrates attacked A. , "in his anger resorting to coarse insults" [ibid. , 565], thus proving himself a "schnorrer. "
Pen 3 Justice:
145. Acre, again: City where the crusaders headquartered at times [6:IOJ. The first Acre Pound associates with Eleanor of Aquitaine [7:IJ who landed there ca. 1150.
146. Eleanor: Eleanor of Castile (the great- great? granddaughter of Eleanor of Aqui? taine), wife of Edward I of England, who landed at Acre in 1270 on the 7th crusade [DD, Pai, 6-1, 102J. While resting over win- ter at Cyprus, Edward was attacked and wounded by a hired assassin. The wound in his arm blackened so that he had to have painful surgery. "Eleanor was by his bedside at this dreadful crisis . . . and bewailed, with a passion of tears, the anguish about to be inflicted on her husband. " He said that it was better for her to "scream and cry than all England mourn and lament. " The opera- tion was successful and Edward "always at- tributed his final recovery to the tender care of Eleanor; but if there had been any truth in the story of her sucking the poison from his wound, the narrators of the scene . . .
134. Dion . . . music: A.
"too rhetorical and overmuch adapted to please and flatter," so A. said to Dion: "You should use a pipe and a lyre, if you want to tickle men's senses, and not speech" [ibid. ].
135. sent the lion: In Egypt A. saw a man leading a tamed lion on a string. One day, the lion came earnestly fawning to A. so that bystanders thought it wanted food. But A. said: "This lion is begging me to make you understand that a human soul is within him, the soul namely of Amasis, the king of Egypt. " Hearing this, the lion "gave a pite? ous and plaintive roar" and crouched down weeping. A. said he thought the lion should be cared for in a temple. So "the priests met
thought Dion was
143. Ideogram: origin-source. "
. . .
[M5025],
"root?
144. thrones
owing Thrones de Los Cantares, a section thematically based on Dante's Paradiso [96:headnote J. The divine spirit that comes from the divine fire is the root and source and origin ofjustice.
A note
foreshad?
? ? 584
94/641
94/641-642
585
of Castile and thus the brother of Eleanora and Alfonso. He was a monarch dedicated to justice who sought to introduce uniform Ro- man law into France.
He also abolished the judicial duel and extended the appellate ju- risdiction of the crown to all cases.
152. Magnus: M. VI, 1238-1280, called "Magnus the Law Mender. " As king of Nor- way (1263-1280), he made peace with Scot- land by ceding islands to them. After that, he immediately undertook a general revision of the laws. His code introduced the concept that crime is an offense against the state. His acts in the name of justice greatly increased the power of the king by making the throne the source of justice.
. . .
155. Baliol . . . Bruce: After the death of Alexander III, king of Scotland, such confu- sion reigned among the Scottish lords that they called upon Edward to arbitrate among the claimants to the throne. He agreed, if they would recognize him as their overlord. Both the claimants and the lords agreed. Thus, in 1292, Edward declared John Baliol as king of Scotland over Robert Bruce. Baliol did homage to Edward as agreed, but the rest of the Scots along with Bruce carne to resent the arrangement, until finally John himself was left with little power and the Scots made an alliance with the French, who were also causing Edward trouble over Gas~ cony. For some years Edward was at war with both France and Scotland. He con- quered Scotland in 1296; but in 1297 the country arose in revolt under William Wal~ lace and Edward had to reconquer it in
1298. He died attempting a 3d reconquest in 1307, this time facing another Robert Bruce, the grandson of the Bruce he rejected in 1292.
156. stone: The stone of Scone, or the coro~ nation stone, was kept at the royal residence of Scottish kings from the time of the semi- legendary King Kenneth I. Tradition had it that no coronation could be valid without the stone. Thus, when Edward removed it to London, he thought he assured his overlord- ship. It didn't work. Scottish coronations . took place at Scone without it. The Stone may now be seen at Westminster Abbey.
their sweetness from being enjoyed by as many as possible" [P, Life, II, 73].
160. the Cataracts: A. finally agrees that Nilus should join h:im. Then Nilus asks A. how long he plans to stay among the Naked Sages. A. says: "So long as the quality of their wisdom justifies . . . ; after that I shall take my way to the cataracts in order to see the springs of the Nile . . . [and] to listen to the roar of its waterfalls" [ibid. , 75].
161. Kal . . . QKOvam: H, "but to listen to the roar [of its] waterfalls. "
162. ? avraa&:x. . . . : H, "imagination wiser than imitation. " Before leaving, A. has a long discussion with the chief of the Naked Sages about the images of their gods. A. objects to them being pictured as "gro- tesque" and "ignoble" animals. The elder sage says of the Greek artists such as Phidias, "'they went up, I suppose, to heaven and
took a copy of the forms of the gods. " This irony does not impress A. , who says there is a greater wisdom than such imitation: "Imagination wrought these works, a wiser and subtler artist by far than imitation" [ibid. , 77-79].
163. baffled by terror: The elder questioned A. about the customs of Sparta under the law of Lycurgus, by which nobles and slaves were publicly beaten with whips until they were bloody. A. said the custom had a reli- gious sanction and it was an improvement upon the old custom of human sacrifice: "It is not the scourging, but the sprinkling of the altar with human blood that is impor- tant. " He said the Spartans were not terri~ fied by the custom [ibid. , 83].
164. Sparta: When the elder wanted to know why strangers were not allowed to settle in Sparta, A. said that Lycurgus, who made the law, "was not inspired . . . by mere boorish exclusiveness, but by a desire to
keep the institutions of Sparta in their ori~ ginal purity by preventing outsiders from mingling in her life" [ibid. , 85].
165. king . . . king: In a long discussion about the nature of justice and how it is obtained, A. shows that one necessary ingre? dient is for the king to guarantee it by being a just king [ibid. , 89-99].
166. 117] EVO/1l AOVVTWV: H, "not mingling" and thus "not a melting pot. "
167. Athens . . . Aristides: In his response, the elder sage uses the example of Aristides "to show the difference between one who is not unjust and one who is really just. " When Aristides went to the islands he fixed their tribute according to their ability to pay, returning no richer than he was before he went. Afterwards the Athenians increased the tribute with dire results: "For when the Athenians exceeded his valuations and im? posed heavier tributes upon the islands, their naval supremacy at once went to pieces" [ibid. , 97].
168. Coke . . . : Sir Edward Coke [107:3], English jurist who fought for justice against James I and Charles I, even to imprisonment in the Tower. His work in defense of the
Magna Charta is the anti-king gravamen of Cantos 107-109.
169. Ra-Set: [91:19] .
170. To build light: The light descending that leads to the paradiso terrestre will be the result of justice for all put into practice, which will require new ways of doing things.
171. Ideogram: [53:42,43]. Final words of legend on T'ang's bathtub, "Every day make it new. "
172. Ocellus: [87:43]. Often in Pound's list of light-philosophers [Miyake, Pai, 7-1 & 2, 97-100].
153. two years later
denly and unexpectedly on Nov. 29, 1290, while Edward was on his way to Scotland. He rushed back to her sickbed but arrived too late. "In the deepest grief, he followed her corpse in person, during thirteen days . . . to Westminster. . . . The king en- dowed the abbey. . . with many rich gifts. . . . Wax-lights perpetually burnt around her tomb, till the reformation extin- guished them three hundred years after- wards" [Queens, 120-121]. Strickland says much about the continued sadness of her husband but nothing about his luck. The phrase is a musical figure used elsewhere
[2/9; 11/51].
154. Edwardus: Edward I, 1239-1307, the king of England (1272-1307) who extended the power of the throne to include, for the first time, Wales and Scotland. His accomp~ lishments in advancing learning, manners, ar~ chitecture, education, and civilization were enormous, a program in which he was aided by the example of his queen, Eleanor of Castile, who introduced tapestry for the cold stone walls and forks to eat with. In The Cantos, Edward's name rhymes primarily with "thrones and justice. " The consensus says: "more important, however, are those developments during his reign in law and constitution that have caused him to be
praised as the English Justinian" [CE].
157. PACTUM agreement. "
SERVA:
L"
"slave
: Eleanora
died sud-
158. Traist: Db. , "safe" or "secure. "
. . .
159. As
nius, where Nilus, the youngest of the Naked Sages, a culture on the Nile, gives a long argument to A. defending h:is idea that he should leave his people and go over to A. He ends one speech on the idea that age "must not reject the claim that youth makes" by saying: "And anyone who takes the blessings bestowed upon him by fortune into a corner and there enjoys them by himself, violates their character as blessings, for he prevents
corner: We
return to
Apollo-
--'! "I""""~
? ? ? ? ? 586
95/643
95/643? 644
587
. . .
. . .
CANTO XCV Sources
J. P. Migne. Patrologiae Latina, vol. 90 [Migne, 90, column no. ]; John Adams, Old Family Letters, compiled by Alexander Biddle, Philadelphia, 1892; Dante, Conv. IV, iv; Homer, Od. V, 325? 376.
Background
EP, SR, 90; SP, 49? 52, 71, 189, 378? 383,414, 434-435; LE, 150? 154.
Exegeses
JE, Pai, 4? 1, 181? 182; JW, Pai, 2. 2, 183; Morse, Pai, 10? 3,595. 596; RO, Pai, 11? 2,283; WB, in EH, Approaches, 303? 318; HK, Era, 327; CB? R, ZBC, 40,141. 145; George Kearns, Guide to Ezra Pound's Selected Cantos, Rutgers University Press, 1980; MB,
of Mussolini as a leader working "in favour of the whole people. "
13. Van Buren . . . Talleyrand: In the 20s and 30s Pound had a dim view of Talleyrand [62:151] and his treatment of the U. S. am? bassadors to France as well as his demand for bribes, but later he began to respect his intelligence as well as the difficulties he had with Napoleon. Then he noticed that his hero Van Buren expressed an attitude differ- ent from the one John Adams had during the time of the XYZ affair [70: 16].
14. Adams to Rush: [94:9, 10; Pai, 9. 3,429].
IS.
130. & do not mow: A. 's final advice to V. was: "mow not down the loftier stalks which overtop the rest for this maxim of Aristotle's is unjust; but try rather to pluck disaffection out of men's hearts! ) [ibid. , 553? 555J.
and offered sacrifice to Amasis . . . and con- veyed him up country into Egypt with pip- ings, hymns and songs composed in his honor" [ibid. , 569-571 J.
136. enhVTc{J &80VT? C;: H, "in his honor. " 137. Amasis: "Historically, Amasis I, Egyp?
tian pharoah and founder of the XVIIIth Dynasty (c. 1700 B. C. ), is famous as the king who finally delivered Egypt from the Hyksos [cf. 44 aboveJ . . . who overran Egypt somtime around 2100 B. C. " [Neault, Poi, 4-1, 27-28J. In A History of Egypt, Budge records the destruction caused by the Hyksos and the great good done by Amasis. Says Neault: "like Apollonius, Amasis be? comes an embodiment of the moral precept, reaffirmed in Apollonius's identification of
the lion, that was characteristic of an era of immanent gods when men lived in harmony withnature" [ibid. J.
138. keeping the Nile . . . : Then A. set out for Ethiopia "to visit the naked sages. " Through parable A. warned his many fol? lowers so that many remained behind: "but the rest, ten in number, I believe, offered prayer to the gods . . . departed straight for the pyramids, mounted on camels and keep- ing the Nile on their right hand" [P, Life, I, 573J.
139. flil . . . rEK1): H, "one penny begets an- other penny. "
140. book Six, chap. 2: In this chapter, A. praises the wisdom of the Egyptians and Ethiopians in their trading practices: "con- trast our Helenes: they pretend they cannot live unless one penny begets another, and unless they can force up the price of their goods by chaffering or holding them back"
[P, Life, II, 7J.
141. 'H",,,, ME/lVOVC: H, "Memnon of the Dawn. " The statue was famous, "for when the sun's rays fell upon the statue, and this happened exactly at dawn . . . the lips spoke immediately the sun's rays touched them. . . . They . . . offered a sacrifice to . . . Memnon of the Dawn, for this the priests recommended them to do, explaining that
the one name was derived from the words signifying 'to burn and be warm' and the other from his mother" [ibid. , 15? 17J.
142. I/Ivxil . . . TLfl1)TEOV: This sentence does not appear in the source nor in any other of Pound's known sources. As written, it neither construes nor scans. The first two words in reverse order-ae&vlYro<" ljJvxi7, "im- mortal soul"-do appear in the Life [po 404J. If we read \WOiOLV for ~WOiOlV, we could read "living things" or "the living. " Perhaps "the immortal soul which must be honored among the living" is as close as one can come. The Tt, although strangely placed, could function as an interrogative even though neuter.
would not have forgotten" [Strickland, Queens, I03J. Strickiand's note says that the story got into the record by a man who lived 150 years after the siege of Acre.
147. via Padua: From Cyprus, Edward re- turned to England through Italy. At Padua he was honored by being made a member of the legal faculty of the university [T. F. Tout, Edward the Exile, London, 1903, 86J [BKJ.
148. thunderbolt: "At this juncture the life of Edward was preserved in a manner that he considered most miraculous. As he was sit- ting with his queen on a couch, in their palace at Bourdeaux, a flash of lightning killed two lords who were standing directly behind them, without injuring the royal pair" [Queens, 105J. The date was 1273, however.
149. Federico Secondo: Frederick the Sec- ond, I, 1272-1337, known as F. of Aragon [25:14], was king of Sicily 1296? 1337. AI? though he was second, he called himself "the Third" because he was the third son of King Peter. His rule was tumultuous, as Sicily was subjected to the power plays of popes as well as the kings of France and Spain. But Frederick, a wise ruler, was devoted to jus- tice and beloved of his people. In The Can- tos he should not be confused with Freder- ick, king of Sicily (1198? 1212), celebrated by Pound as author of The Book of the Falcon [97:272J; or Frederick II of Prussia [32:38; 62: 117] ; or Frederick II, holy Ro-
man emperor, 1215-1250.
150. Alfonso: A. X, 1221? 1284, king of Castile (1252-1284) and brother of Eleanora [cf. 145 aboveJ. Although his reign was plagued by political and military turmoil, he is known for his advancement of culture, and for being the Justinian of Spain because he was largely responsible for Las Siete Parti- das, a compilation of the legal knowldege of his time. A collection of poems for music is
also attributed to him.
151. St Louis: Louis IX, 1214? 1270, king of France (1226? 1270), was the son of Blanche
131. Ideogram: Wang2
[M7037], "king. "
132. ? AA1)vi~ovTC<"": H, "over Greeks those who can speak Greek. " A. 's advice to V. included the idea that a ruler sent to rule a province should speak the language of that province: "I mean, that over Hellenes should be set men who can speak Greek, and Romans . . . " [ibid. , 557J.
133. Euphrates . . . : Said A. to V. : "0 king, Euphrates and Dian . . -. are at your door . . . call them in . . . for they are both of them wise men" [ibid. , 535J. The king did, but A. was being devious for he wanted the king to see what bad advisers they had been: "You, my sovereign, have learned from these your good~for. nothing predecessors how not to rule" [ibid. , 53'7]. But later, with the emper? or not present, Euphrates attacked A. , "in his anger resorting to coarse insults" [ibid. , 565], thus proving himself a "schnorrer. "
Pen 3 Justice:
145. Acre, again: City where the crusaders headquartered at times [6:IOJ. The first Acre Pound associates with Eleanor of Aquitaine [7:IJ who landed there ca. 1150.
146. Eleanor: Eleanor of Castile (the great- great? granddaughter of Eleanor of Aqui? taine), wife of Edward I of England, who landed at Acre in 1270 on the 7th crusade [DD, Pai, 6-1, 102J. While resting over win- ter at Cyprus, Edward was attacked and wounded by a hired assassin. The wound in his arm blackened so that he had to have painful surgery. "Eleanor was by his bedside at this dreadful crisis . . . and bewailed, with a passion of tears, the anguish about to be inflicted on her husband. " He said that it was better for her to "scream and cry than all England mourn and lament. " The opera- tion was successful and Edward "always at- tributed his final recovery to the tender care of Eleanor; but if there had been any truth in the story of her sucking the poison from his wound, the narrators of the scene . . .
134. Dion . . . music: A.
"too rhetorical and overmuch adapted to please and flatter," so A. said to Dion: "You should use a pipe and a lyre, if you want to tickle men's senses, and not speech" [ibid. ].
135. sent the lion: In Egypt A. saw a man leading a tamed lion on a string. One day, the lion came earnestly fawning to A. so that bystanders thought it wanted food. But A. said: "This lion is begging me to make you understand that a human soul is within him, the soul namely of Amasis, the king of Egypt. " Hearing this, the lion "gave a pite? ous and plaintive roar" and crouched down weeping. A. said he thought the lion should be cared for in a temple. So "the priests met
thought Dion was
143. Ideogram: origin-source. "
. . .
[M5025],
"root?
144. thrones
owing Thrones de Los Cantares, a section thematically based on Dante's Paradiso [96:headnote J. The divine spirit that comes from the divine fire is the root and source and origin ofjustice.
A note
foreshad?
? ? 584
94/641
94/641-642
585
of Castile and thus the brother of Eleanora and Alfonso. He was a monarch dedicated to justice who sought to introduce uniform Ro- man law into France.
He also abolished the judicial duel and extended the appellate ju- risdiction of the crown to all cases.
152. Magnus: M. VI, 1238-1280, called "Magnus the Law Mender. " As king of Nor- way (1263-1280), he made peace with Scot- land by ceding islands to them. After that, he immediately undertook a general revision of the laws. His code introduced the concept that crime is an offense against the state. His acts in the name of justice greatly increased the power of the king by making the throne the source of justice.
. . .
155. Baliol . . . Bruce: After the death of Alexander III, king of Scotland, such confu- sion reigned among the Scottish lords that they called upon Edward to arbitrate among the claimants to the throne. He agreed, if they would recognize him as their overlord. Both the claimants and the lords agreed. Thus, in 1292, Edward declared John Baliol as king of Scotland over Robert Bruce. Baliol did homage to Edward as agreed, but the rest of the Scots along with Bruce carne to resent the arrangement, until finally John himself was left with little power and the Scots made an alliance with the French, who were also causing Edward trouble over Gas~ cony. For some years Edward was at war with both France and Scotland. He con- quered Scotland in 1296; but in 1297 the country arose in revolt under William Wal~ lace and Edward had to reconquer it in
1298. He died attempting a 3d reconquest in 1307, this time facing another Robert Bruce, the grandson of the Bruce he rejected in 1292.
156. stone: The stone of Scone, or the coro~ nation stone, was kept at the royal residence of Scottish kings from the time of the semi- legendary King Kenneth I. Tradition had it that no coronation could be valid without the stone. Thus, when Edward removed it to London, he thought he assured his overlord- ship. It didn't work. Scottish coronations . took place at Scone without it. The Stone may now be seen at Westminster Abbey.
their sweetness from being enjoyed by as many as possible" [P, Life, II, 73].
160. the Cataracts: A. finally agrees that Nilus should join h:im. Then Nilus asks A. how long he plans to stay among the Naked Sages. A. says: "So long as the quality of their wisdom justifies . . . ; after that I shall take my way to the cataracts in order to see the springs of the Nile . . . [and] to listen to the roar of its waterfalls" [ibid. , 75].
161. Kal . . . QKOvam: H, "but to listen to the roar [of its] waterfalls. "
162. ? avraa&:x. . . . : H, "imagination wiser than imitation. " Before leaving, A. has a long discussion with the chief of the Naked Sages about the images of their gods. A. objects to them being pictured as "gro- tesque" and "ignoble" animals. The elder sage says of the Greek artists such as Phidias, "'they went up, I suppose, to heaven and
took a copy of the forms of the gods. " This irony does not impress A. , who says there is a greater wisdom than such imitation: "Imagination wrought these works, a wiser and subtler artist by far than imitation" [ibid. , 77-79].
163. baffled by terror: The elder questioned A. about the customs of Sparta under the law of Lycurgus, by which nobles and slaves were publicly beaten with whips until they were bloody. A. said the custom had a reli- gious sanction and it was an improvement upon the old custom of human sacrifice: "It is not the scourging, but the sprinkling of the altar with human blood that is impor- tant. " He said the Spartans were not terri~ fied by the custom [ibid. , 83].
164. Sparta: When the elder wanted to know why strangers were not allowed to settle in Sparta, A. said that Lycurgus, who made the law, "was not inspired . . . by mere boorish exclusiveness, but by a desire to
keep the institutions of Sparta in their ori~ ginal purity by preventing outsiders from mingling in her life" [ibid. , 85].
165. king . . . king: In a long discussion about the nature of justice and how it is obtained, A. shows that one necessary ingre? dient is for the king to guarantee it by being a just king [ibid. , 89-99].
166. 117] EVO/1l AOVVTWV: H, "not mingling" and thus "not a melting pot. "
167. Athens . . . Aristides: In his response, the elder sage uses the example of Aristides "to show the difference between one who is not unjust and one who is really just. " When Aristides went to the islands he fixed their tribute according to their ability to pay, returning no richer than he was before he went. Afterwards the Athenians increased the tribute with dire results: "For when the Athenians exceeded his valuations and im? posed heavier tributes upon the islands, their naval supremacy at once went to pieces" [ibid. , 97].
168. Coke . . . : Sir Edward Coke [107:3], English jurist who fought for justice against James I and Charles I, even to imprisonment in the Tower. His work in defense of the
Magna Charta is the anti-king gravamen of Cantos 107-109.
169. Ra-Set: [91:19] .
170. To build light: The light descending that leads to the paradiso terrestre will be the result of justice for all put into practice, which will require new ways of doing things.
171. Ideogram: [53:42,43]. Final words of legend on T'ang's bathtub, "Every day make it new. "
172. Ocellus: [87:43]. Often in Pound's list of light-philosophers [Miyake, Pai, 7-1 & 2, 97-100].
153. two years later
denly and unexpectedly on Nov. 29, 1290, while Edward was on his way to Scotland. He rushed back to her sickbed but arrived too late. "In the deepest grief, he followed her corpse in person, during thirteen days . . . to Westminster. . . . The king en- dowed the abbey. . . with many rich gifts. . . . Wax-lights perpetually burnt around her tomb, till the reformation extin- guished them three hundred years after- wards" [Queens, 120-121]. Strickland says much about the continued sadness of her husband but nothing about his luck. The phrase is a musical figure used elsewhere
[2/9; 11/51].
154. Edwardus: Edward I, 1239-1307, the king of England (1272-1307) who extended the power of the throne to include, for the first time, Wales and Scotland. His accomp~ lishments in advancing learning, manners, ar~ chitecture, education, and civilization were enormous, a program in which he was aided by the example of his queen, Eleanor of Castile, who introduced tapestry for the cold stone walls and forks to eat with. In The Cantos, Edward's name rhymes primarily with "thrones and justice. " The consensus says: "more important, however, are those developments during his reign in law and constitution that have caused him to be
praised as the English Justinian" [CE].
157. PACTUM agreement. "
SERVA:
L"
"slave
: Eleanora
died sud-
158. Traist: Db. , "safe" or "secure. "
. . .
159. As
nius, where Nilus, the youngest of the Naked Sages, a culture on the Nile, gives a long argument to A. defending h:is idea that he should leave his people and go over to A. He ends one speech on the idea that age "must not reject the claim that youth makes" by saying: "And anyone who takes the blessings bestowed upon him by fortune into a corner and there enjoys them by himself, violates their character as blessings, for he prevents
corner: We
return to
Apollo-
--'! "I""""~
? ? ? ? ? 586
95/643
95/643? 644
587
. . .
. . .
CANTO XCV Sources
J. P. Migne. Patrologiae Latina, vol. 90 [Migne, 90, column no. ]; John Adams, Old Family Letters, compiled by Alexander Biddle, Philadelphia, 1892; Dante, Conv. IV, iv; Homer, Od. V, 325? 376.
Background
EP, SR, 90; SP, 49? 52, 71, 189, 378? 383,414, 434-435; LE, 150? 154.
Exegeses
JE, Pai, 4? 1, 181? 182; JW, Pai, 2. 2, 183; Morse, Pai, 10? 3,595. 596; RO, Pai, 11? 2,283; WB, in EH, Approaches, 303? 318; HK, Era, 327; CB? R, ZBC, 40,141. 145; George Kearns, Guide to Ezra Pound's Selected Cantos, Rutgers University Press, 1980; MB,
of Mussolini as a leader working "in favour of the whole people. "
13. Van Buren . . . Talleyrand: In the 20s and 30s Pound had a dim view of Talleyrand [62:151] and his treatment of the U. S. am? bassadors to France as well as his demand for bribes, but later he began to respect his intelligence as well as the difficulties he had with Napoleon. Then he noticed that his hero Van Buren expressed an attitude differ- ent from the one John Adams had during the time of the XYZ affair [70: 16].
14. Adams to Rush: [94:9, 10; Pai, 9. 3,429].
IS.
