123 ‘Quel vago impallidir che ’l dolce riso’

That wandering paleness which conceals

the sweet smile in a loving mist,

offered itself to my heart with such majesty

that it revealed the heart in the face.

Then I knew how one sees another

in paradise, her compassionate thought

showed in such a manner others did not know it:

but I saw it, since I see nothing else.

Every angelic vision, every humble act

of every lady, in whom love had appeared

would be disdained beside her I speak of.

She bent her beautiful gentle gaze to earth,

and said in silence, as it seemed to me:

‘Who distances my faithful friend from me?’