Book 6, lines 898-972

[Previous: lines 813-897]

The disciples gather in a Jerusalem upper room.

Interea scelus infandum pellacis Iudae
multa exsecrantes socii se adjussa parabant
munera, diversas sortiti protinus oras,                           [900]
quas peterent, moresque novos, nova sacra docerent.
Quove autem patribus bis senis caetera, ut ante,
pareret pubes, numerum, sanctumque senatum,
quod superest, supplent : sociisque ex omnibus unus
sortitu gaudes tanto praelatus honore,                           [905]
Matthia, obscurum genus, et sine luce propago.
Tum cuncti inter se mœsti sic ore precari:
“Si nunc, si nobis auraï cœlitus almae
halitus omnipotens patefacto aspiret Olympo,
quandoquidem toties nobis Deus omnibus illum            [910]
auxilio fore pollicitus: sanè omnia vera
praedixit: defit veris hoc hactenus unum.”
Talia suspensi secum aegra mente serebant.
Ecce autem cœli ruere ardua visa repentè,
et superûm tonat ingenti domus alta fragore                  [915]
suspiciunt; nova lux oculis diffulsit, et ingens
visus ab aethereo descendere vertice nimbus,
lucis inardescens maculis, tectumque per omne
diversi rumpunt radii; tum innoxius ignis
omnibus extemplo supra caput astitit ingens,                 [920]
et circùm rutilis incanduit aura favillis;
stricturis veluti crebrae crepitantibus olim
dissiliunt scintillae, acres dum incudibus ictus
alternant Chalybes, robustaque brachia tollunt,
candentem curva versantes forcipe massam.                  [925]
Nam Pater omnipotens, superaque a quœvus ab arce
Filius aspirant unà omnipotentibus auris,
Infunduntque viris numen: deus ecce repentè,
ecce Deus! cunctis divinitus algida corda
incipiunt afflata calescere, numine tacti                         [930]
implentur propiore viri, sacrumque furorem
concepere, Deumque imis hausere medullis.
Nec mora, nec requies: ter scintillantibus igneis
terrifico radiis fulgore, ter alitis aurae
turbine correpti blando flammantur amore,                   [935]
ignescuntque animis, atque exsultantia cunctis
exercent acres stimulis praecordia motus.
Diffugiunt animis terrores: mira loquuntur,
Mira canunt. Eadem variis (mirabile dictu)
gentibus accipitur vox haud obscura; sibique               [940]
quisque videbatur patrias haurire loquelas,
multi ut tunc ierant variis huc partibus orbis
sacrorum studio, visendaeque urbis amore;
solennem quae, luce illâ, celebrabat honorem,
quinquaginta actis post orgia prima diebus;                 [945]
orgia, cùm mensis epulandum apponimus agnum.
Hic sua verba audit tellure Libystide cretus;
hic Gallisua, Romulidae, Parthique, Scythaeque;
necnon subiecti glaciali sidere Thraces,
Afrique, Cretesque, Phrygumque è gente profecti,         [950]
atque Indi, atque Arabes, et arenivagi Garamantes:
Mirantur cuncti circùm, mirantur et ipsi.
Namque hominem velut exuti, moribundaque membra,
mente domos cœli peragrant, atque aethera apertum,
intenti, et superûm taciti sermone fruuntur.                     [955]
Iamque canunt ventura : animis Deus expulit atram
lustrans corda intus nubem, quœ corpora circum
caligatque, hebetatque humanas humida mentes.
Quosque modò durae mortis formidine turpi
speluncis atris terrebant omnia clausos,                          [960]
liberiùs nunc luce palam, atque licentiùs audent
terrorum expertes; nec iam mortalia curant.
Non ferrum, aut flammas metuunt, morsusve ferarum;
sed regem vulgo testantur, morte peremptum
immeritâ, genus aethereo deducere Olympo.                   [965]
Iamque pudet metuisse omnes, animosaque leti
spes magis atque magis viget acris numinis haustu.
Haud secus ac crebris cùm rimis terra dehiscit,
cùm sitit omnis ager, tum quae morientia languent
gramina, cœruleussi cœlovenerit imber,                           [970]
continuò attollant rursus capita, arvaque ponant
squalorem, redeatque decor suus omnibus agris.

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Meanwhile, reviling Judas’ heinous crime,
(that traitor!) the disciples were preparing
for their various new appointed functions,                      [900]
each given a land in which to spread the word.
That their group be twelve again, as before,
and young people would respect them, they filled
the missing space in their holy senate
with a worthy name of the greatest honour—                 [905]
Matthias (though not from a famous bloodline).
Then they all began to pray in sadness:
“If only—now—heaven in its gentleness
would open, breathe breath from Olympus
on us, spreading the godhead to us all                             [910]
as we were promised! All has indeed come true
that was foretold; only this one thing remains.”
These were their grim words, and they were sick at heart.

But then—see!—suddenly, falling out of the air,
with a thunder-crash like a house collapsing—               [915]
they looked up; new light shone in their eyes, a vast
aurora descended from the sky’s height
incandescent spots of light filling the house
beaming in all directions. Then mild fire
stood, huge, over the head of everyone there,                  [920]
and the air ignited into deep red flames:
as when, with thick crowding hissing, sparks
fly out as iron is struck on the anvil,
alternate blows from Chalybe smiths’ strong arms,
working molten metal with red-hot pincers.                    [925]
The Almighty Father and his equal Son
both breathed from heaven an almighty breath
of numinousness—see! Suddenly God
see! God! Divinity warming their cold hearts
inspiration firing inside them—numinous power            [930]
filled these men: a divine madness took them
and they received God into their marrow.

No pause, no rest! Three times a scintillant fire
shot terrifying rays, three times the glow
of suave flames of tornado-ing love that                          [935]
seized their souls in exultant conflagration
penetrating their hearts with sharp joyous prongs.
Terror left their minds. They spoke amazing things,
sang amazingly. Words (amazing to say)
were heard not as obscure but straightforwardly             [940]
and everyone seemed to hear his mother tongue—
for many had come from all over the world
for piety, and to see the city
on this day, celebrating its festival
of the ‘fifty days’ since the ritual                                     [945]
when lamb was set upon the altar table.
Libyans heard words in their native language;
the Gauls, Romans, Parthians and Scythians
likewise; and the wintry-starred Thracians,
Africans, Cretans and Phrygian tribes,                             [950]
Indians, Arabs, and nomad Garamantes:
All were amazed—the disciples marvelled too.
It was as though they left their mortal bodies,
traversed the air, saw heavenly mansions,
and heard, in silence, the secret songs of angels.              [955]

They sang of things to come: God purged their souls
driving from their hearts the dark clouds that surround
and weakens weary bodies in their moistness.
Those who were recently trapped by base dread
entirely hidden away in dark caves,                                   [960]
are now free to enjoy the daylight, to dare
anything, fearless—uncowed by mortal things,
not swords, fire, nor the bite of wild beasts;
but gave testimony—how the king was killed,
guiltless; how he was the son of Olympus.                        [965]
They were ashamed to have ever been afraid:
divinity meant their longing grew greater.
As when the parched earth gapes cracked and split,
the fields are thirsty and the grass languishes
in drought—when the dark blue skies pour rain down       [970]
they immediately raise their heads again,
throw off squalor and return beauty to the fields.

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What descends from the highest heaven is a nimbus (line 917), a word that means, say L&S, ‘a rainstorm, rain shower, rain cloud; a thunder cloud; a halo (visible aura of divine power)’. I’ve avoided this last specific word since it’s something of a cliché in its religious context. Of the ‘Chalybes’, I quote Wikipedia, and you can’t stop me:

The Chalybes (Greek: Χάλυβες, Χάλυβοι) or Chaldoi (Greek: Χάλδοι) were a people mentioned by classical authors as living in Pontus and Cappadocia in northern Anatolia during Classical Antiquity. [They] are counted among the first ironsmith nations by classical authors. Χάλυψ, the tribe's name in Greek, means "tempered iron, steel", a term that passed into Latin as chalybs, “steel” … The main sources for the history of the Chaldoi are accounts from classical authors, including Homer, Strabo, and Xenophon.

Vergil talks about how the Chalybes worked their iron naked (at Chalybes nudi ferrum; Georgics 1:58) which seems like a health and safety nightmare to me.

The slightly awkward repetition of ‘almighty’ in lines 926 and 927 is in the original Latin, as is the repetition of ‘numinous’ in lines 928 and 930.

This, then, is how Vida ends his epic: with a prolonged retelling of the Pentecost, sourced from the beginning of Acts of the Apostles and various later Christian-Catholic traditions:

The events of Acts Chapter 2 are set against the backdrop of the celebration of Pentecost in Jerusalem. There are several major features to the Pentecost narrative presented in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles ... There is a ‘mighty rushing wind’ (wind is a common symbol for the Holy Spirit) and ‘tongues as of fire’ appear. The gathered disciples were ‘filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance’. Some scholars have interpreted the passage as a reference to the multitude of languages spoken by the gathered disciples, while others have taken the reference to ‘tongues’ (γλώσσαι) to signify ecstatic speech. In Christian tradition, this event represents fulfillment of the promise that Christ will baptize his followers with the Holy Spirit.(Out of the four New Testament gospels, the distinction between baptism by water and the baptism by Christ with ‘Holy Spirit and fire’ is only found in Matthew and Luke.)

Vida's decision to style this episode as the climax of his epic is interesting, not least because as he was publishing (1535) the figuration of the Pentecost in Italian Catholic culture was about to change. Here's Carolyn Valone:

The image of the Pentecost underwent some significant changes during the Italian Renaissance, particularly during the late sixteenth century in Rome. Traditionally, the scene had shown the descent of the Holy Spirit on the twelve Apostles and sometimes Mary, but in this period the image was expanded to include all the women and men numbered among the disciples after the Ascension: the 120 mentioned in Acts 1:15. This enlarged version of the Pentecost was related to the reform ideas and the missionary imperative of the Counter-Reformation papacy of Gregory XIII Boncompagni (1572-1585). Gregory promoted this new image, which found its most eloquent expression in the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, particularly in Jacopo Zucchi's apse frescoes commissioned by the Order of Santo Spirito in 1582, and in the chapel of the MarchesaVittoria della Tolfa. Papal rhetoric, the liturgy of the reformed Missal of Pius V, popular preaching, and the writings of Gregory Nazianzus all contributed to the new Pentecost imagery in late Cinquecento Rome. [Carolyn Valone, ‘The Pentecost: Image and Experience in Late Sixteenth-Century Rome’, The Sixteenth Century Journal, 24:4 (1993), 801]

Vida's twelve men (line 902; not even Mary) is clearly on the other side of this later development. But ... wait a moment. Having set up this intimate gathering, Vida suddenly expands it prodigiously. It seems we are already on the far side of the divide Valone discusses: everybody heard the words in their native language, from Libyans the Gauls, Romans, Parthians and Scythians to Thracians, Africans, Cretans and Phrygian tribes, not to mention Indians, Arabs, and nomad Garamantes. How on earth did they all squeeze into the upper room of a Jerusalem building?

[Next: lines 973-986]