31. ‘Questa anima gentil che si diparte’

That gentle spirit that departs,

called to the other life before its time,

will join the most blessed region of the sky

when it is welcomed as it is sure to be.

If it passed between Venus, the third light, and Mars,

it would lessen the brightness of the sun,

since noble spirits would gather round her

merely to gaze at her infinite beauty.

If it passed below the fourth, the Sun

all the lesser lights would seem less lovely,

and it alone would have the fame and glory:

it could not exist in Mars’ fifth sphere:

but if it flies higher, I believe truly

Jupiter will be conquered and every star.