The contrast between the effects which the life of St.
Francis and that of St. Dominic had upon the poet's mind is shown by
the contrast in tone in which in successive cantos he tells of these
two great pillars of the Church.
In lines 71 and 72, speaking of Poverty, the bride of the Saint, he
says,--
Si che dove Maria rimase giuso,
Ella con Cristo salse in sulia croce:
"So that whilst Mary remained below, she mounted the cross with
Christ," Such is the common reading. Now in all four of the editions
which are in Lord Vernon's reprint, in Benvenuto da Imola, in the
Bartolinian codex, in the precious codex of Cortona, and in many other
early manuscripts and editions, the word _pianse_ is found in the place
of _salse_; "She lamented upon the cross with Christ." The antithesis,
though less direct, is not less striking, and the phrase seems to us to
become simpler, more natural, and more touching. Yet this reading has
found little favor with recent editors, and one of them goes so far as
to say, "che non solo impoverisce, ma adultera l' idea."
Passing over other variations, some of them of importance, in this
eleventh canto, we find the last verses standing in most modern
editions,--
E vedra il coreggier che argomenta
U' ben s' impingua, se non si vaneggia.
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