E'en thus the blind and poor,
Near the confessionals, to crave an alms,
Stand, each his head upon his fellow's sunk;
So most to stir compassion, not by sound
Of words alone, but that which moves not less,
The sight of misery. And as never beam
Of noonday visiteth the eyeless man,
E'en so was heaven a niggard unto these
Of this fair light: for, through the orbs of all,
A thread of wire, impiercing, knits them up,
As for the taming of a haggard hawk."
(Canto, XIII, 42.)
As the poets continue their way over the second terrace Virgil explains
an obscure phrase uttered by Guido del Duca, a soul punished for the sin
of envy. That spirit speaking to Dante reproached mankind for setting
its heart upon material things; "The heavens are calling to you and
wheel around you, displaying unto you their eternal beauties and your
eye gazes only on earth." Envy is consequently engendered because as the
spirit says: "Mankind sets its heart there where exclusion of
partnership is necessary." (XV, 43). "What meant the spirit from Romagna
by mentioning exclusion and partnership?" asks Dante. Virgil proceeds to
tell him that companionship in earthly possessions is not possible, for
the more of any material thing a person has, the less of it remains for
others.
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