itant
Of greater hope possesses, as is written
In that Sun which irradiates all our band; [54]
Therefore it is conceded him from Egypt
To come into Jerusalem to see, [56]
Or ever yet his warfare is completed.
The other points, that not for knowledge' sake [58]
Have been demanded, but that he report
How much this virtue unto thee is pleasing,
To him I leave; for hard he will not find them,
Nor to be boasted of; them let him answer;
And may the grace of God in this assist him!"
As a disciple, who obeys his teacher,
Ready and willing, where he is expert,
So that his excellence may be revealed,
"Hope," said I, "is the certain expectation [67]
Of glory in the hereafter, which proceedeth
From grace divine and merit precedent.
From many stars this light comes unto me;
But he instilled it first into my heart,
Who was chief singer unto the chief captain. [72]
_Hope they in thee_, in the high Theody
He says, _all those who recognize thy name_; [74]
And who does not, if he my faith possesses? [75]
Thou didst instil me, then, with his instilling
In the Epistle, so that I am full,
And upon others rain again your rain." [78]
While I was speaking, in the living bosom
Of that effulgence quivered a sharp flash,
Sudden and frequent, in the guise of lightning.
Then breathed: "The love wherewith I am inflamed
Towards the virtue still, which followed me
Unto the palm and issue of the field,
Wills that I whisper thee, thou take delight
In her; and grateful to me is thy saying
Whatever things Hope promises to thee."
And I: "The ancient Scriptures and the new
The mark establish, and this shows it me, [89]
Of all the souls whom God has made his friends.
Isaiah saith, that each one garmented
In his own land shall be with twofold garments, [92]
And his own land is this sweet life of yours.
Thy brother, too, far more explicitly,
There where he treateth of the robes of white, [95]
This revelation manifests to us."
And first, and near the ending of these words,
_Sperent in te_ from over us was heard,
To which responsive an