298 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

an epic theme. Dante suffered much owing to his partici-
pation in the factions of his city—the Guelphs and the
Ghibellines. The former stood for the Pope and the latter
for the Emperor. We have already described the nature
of the struggle between the Empire and the Papacy. The
Guelphs having triumped, Dante was banished from
Florence in 1302, and he remained in exile until his death
in 1321. This called forth from Michael Angelo, another
great Florentine of versatile genius, the following sonnet :—

From heaven his spirit came, and, robed in clay,
The realms of justice and of mercy- trod,
Then rose a living man to gaze on God,
That he might make the truth as clear as day.
For that pure star, that brightened with his ray
The undeserving nest where I was born,
The whole wide world would be a prize to scorn ;
None but his Maker can due guerdon pay.
• I speak of Dante^ whose high work remains
Unknown, unhonoured, by that thankless brood
Who only to just men deny their wage.
Were I but he ! Born for like lingering pains,
Against his exile coupled with his good
I'd gladly change the world's best heritage.

But the world has accorded to Dante the justice that
Florence denied him: he is one of its greatest immortals.
The noble epic comprising three parts—Inferno, Purgatorio,
and Paradiso-~i$ incapable alike of paraphrase and epitome
The poet passing through hell and purgatory into paradise
meets with immortals of the classical world, but the crown-
ing glory of reaching Beatrice is his alone. "Guided by1
Beatrice the poet passes through nine Heavens, which are
moving spheres revolving round our globe, till he reaches
the final motionless and fixed Heaven in the Empyrean,
The seven lowest of the Heavens are named after the moon;