William Blake

Rumbles shattering the deep sleep from out my
   head resounding echo, so that I came to
   like someone animated forcefully;
and I turnèd my rested eye-sight through,
   lifted right up, and unmoving looked
   intently to see what place I did view.
It is true that I found myself on the edge
   of the valley of grievous abyss which
   accommodates endless cries' thundering.
It was so dark and deep and opaque, that
   in fixing one's gaze toward the bottom, I
   distinguishèd there not one thing a bit.
"Now we climb further down here into the
   blind world," the poet began, fully pale:
   "I shall be first; and you will second be."
And I, made cautious because of his shade,
   did ask, "How will things go, if you whose
   habit is to reassure my doubts are scared?"
And he told me: "The anxiety of these
   peoples down here colors my expressions
   this shade of sympathy, which you perceive
for fear. Let's go, for the long road pushes
   along." So he got going and thus made me
   enter on the first circle which girdles th' abyss.
There, according as to hearing, in that
   place was no complaint but that of sighs which
   make the ever-lasting air tremble; so it
happened on account of mental anguish
   which the crowds of people, that were great and many,
   had of the children and women and men.[30
"Do you not," the great master said to me,
   "ask what ghosts are these you see? Now I want you
   to know, before I go further, that these
were not sinners; and if they had not enough
   virtues, it was that they had no baptism,
   gateway to the faith in which you believe.
And they that were prior to the Christian
   faith did not worship God as they were obliged
   to: & I'm one of these individuals.
For this flaw, not for some other fault, have
   we been lost, by such offense only, that
   we live in desire without hope." Huge
pain grieved my heart when I understood what
   I did recognize, that people who were
   of much worth had been in limbo suspended.
"Do tell me, my teacher, tell me, master,"
   began I, in wanting to be made certain
   of that faith which defeats every error,
"did anyone ever leave, either by one's own
   merit, or through another's, to then be saved?"
   And as one who knew my concealed meaning,
he replied: "I was new to this state of being
   when I saw a man of true power arrive
   here with the mark of victory, having been crowned.
From here he took the soul of the first of
   parents, that of his son Abel and Noah's,
   of Moses the law-giver of obedience;
Abraham the patriarch and king David,
   Israel with his father and with sons, and
   Rachel also, in whom you trust so much;[60
many others too did he make blessèd.
   And so that you, sir, may know, before these
   ones, souls of humankind hadn't been saved."
We stopped not walking while I spoke with them,
   and passed through the forest all the same, the
   woods, I mean, which crowded with spirits.
Our path from there to the hilltop was growing
   short, when I saw a fire, light's semicircle
   prevailing from shadows. Still a bit
far removed from there, we were not so far
   off that I failed to notice that honor-
   able people inhabited this locale.
"Oh, you who do honor science and art,
   who are these that are shown such great honor, it
   sets them apart from the others in manner?"
And he said to me, "The honored renown which
   echoes with them up in your life earns grace
   in heaven, which privilege is proferred them."
Meanwhile, I heard a voice say, "Pay homage
   to the most elevated epic poet:
   his shade, which had departed, does come back."
So as the voice rang out and grew quiet,
   I saw four great shades coming towards us:
   look they bore was neither happy nor sad.
My fine master began speaking: "Get good
   look at him, with that sword in hand, as he
   goes before those three just as he were lord:
that is Homer, the poet almighty;
   that other is Horace the satirical,
   coming; Ovid, third -- the last is Lucan, see.[90
But as each one accords with me in title
   which the one sole voice names, they do pay me
   honor -- & for that they are doing well."
So I watched the fine literary school be
   joined with that lord of epic verse who ruled
   over the others like an eagle flying.
After speaking together a while, he turned
   to me with a sign of salutation;
   and my master did so smile for that: and
they did me still an honor yet even
   greater, as they made me part of their circle,
   so that I was the sixth among such wisdom.
In this way went we up to the firelight, talk-
   ing of things for which keeping silent is seemly,
   just as fine as speaking was when there. At
the foot of a splendid castle did we
   arrive: circled seven times by high walls, it
   was lit by a lovely little fire inside.
We went over this like rough ground; I passed
   through seven gates with these sagacious poets:
   the verdant greenery's meadow we reached.
There were groups of people there with slow, sad eyes --
   of great gravity in the way they looked;
   they spoke high in thin voice, with pleasing tones.
We finished that thus, like one of the birds that
   sings, in an uncovered, well-lit and raised
   spot, so that all of these shades could see. Right
there, direct upon the ink-bright green, did
   I see great spirits of humanity that
   were delighted at seeing the same in me. &[120
I saw Electra with great entourage,
   among whom I knew Hector and Aeneas,
   Ceasar armed, with legendary piercing eyes.
I saw Camilla and Penthesilea; in a
   separate spot I saw Latinus the king
   sitting along with his daughter Lavinia.
I saw Brutus who did Tarquin expel, and
   Lucretia, Julia, Martia and Cornelia; &
   off on his own, alone, I saw Saladin.
Then lifting up my sight a little bit,
   more wide-eyed, I saw the master of those who
   know, sitting in a philosophical family.
All of them are in awe of Aristotle, all do
   him honor: there I saw Socrates and Plato,
   who stand before the others, closer to
the philosopher; Democritus, who had so
   ascribed the world to chance, Diogenes, Anaxagoras
   and Thales, Empedocles, Heraclitus and Zeno;
and I saw the great encyclopedist on plants'
   quality, I mean Diascorides; and I did see
   Orpheus, Cicero, upright Seneca and Linus;
Euclid the mathematician and Ptolemy,
   Hippocrates, Avicenna and Galen;
   Averroes who wrote the great, big commentary.
I cannot repeat them all back in full,
   since my lengthy point so sends me off, as
   oftentimes the saying becomes lesser in
the act. The party of six dwindles into just
   two: the wise leader took me by another way, out
   of the quiet, into the air that trembles.[150
And I got to where is no shine to light.