: '"Master," I said to him, "now tell me also:
this Fortune of which thou hintest to me; what is she, that has the
good things of the world thus within her clutches?
this Fortune of which thou hintest to me; what is she, that has the
good things of the world thus within her clutches?
John Donne
God's Deputy or Delegate.
Compare:
Fate, which God made, but doth not control.
_The Progresse of the Soule_, p. 295, l. 2.
Great Destiny the Commissary of God
That hast mark'd out a path and period
For every thing . . .
Ibid. , p. 296, ll. 31 f.
The idea that Fate or Fortune is the deputy of God in the sphere of
external goods ([Greek: ta ektos agatha], i beni del mondo) is very
clearly expressed by Dante in the _Convivio_, iv. 11, and in the
_Inferno_, vi. 67 f.
: '"Master," I said to him, "now tell me also:
this Fortune of which thou hintest to me; what is she, that has the
good things of the world thus within her clutches? " And he to me, "O
foolish creatures, how great is this ignorance that falls upon ye!
Now I wish thee to receive my judgement of her. He whose wisdom
is transcendent over all, made the heavens" (i. e. the nine moving
spheres) "and gave them guides" (Angels, Intelligences); "so that
every part may shine to every part equally distributing the light. In
like manner, for worldly splendours, he ordained a general minister
and guide (ministro e duce); to change betimes the vain possessions,
from people to people, and from one kindred to another, beyond
the hindrance of human wisdom. Hence one people commands, another
languishes; obeying her sentence, which is hidden like the serpent in
the grass. Your knowledge cannot withstand her. She provides,
judges, and maintains her kingdom, as the other gods do theirs. Her
permutations have no truce. Necessity makes her be swift; so oft come
things requiring change. This is she, who is so much reviled, even by
those who ought to praise her, when blaming her wrongfully, and with
evil words. But she is in bliss, and hears it not. With the other
Primal Creatures joyful, she wheels her sphere, and tastes her
blessedness. "' Dante finds in this view the explanation of the want of
anything like distributive justice in the assignment of wealth, power,
and worldly glory.
Compare:
Fate, which God made, but doth not control.
_The Progresse of the Soule_, p. 295, l. 2.
Great Destiny the Commissary of God
That hast mark'd out a path and period
For every thing . . .
Ibid. , p. 296, ll. 31 f.
The idea that Fate or Fortune is the deputy of God in the sphere of
external goods ([Greek: ta ektos agatha], i beni del mondo) is very
clearly expressed by Dante in the _Convivio_, iv. 11, and in the
_Inferno_, vi. 67 f.
: '"Master," I said to him, "now tell me also:
this Fortune of which thou hintest to me; what is she, that has the
good things of the world thus within her clutches? " And he to me, "O
foolish creatures, how great is this ignorance that falls upon ye!
Now I wish thee to receive my judgement of her. He whose wisdom
is transcendent over all, made the heavens" (i. e. the nine moving
spheres) "and gave them guides" (Angels, Intelligences); "so that
every part may shine to every part equally distributing the light. In
like manner, for worldly splendours, he ordained a general minister
and guide (ministro e duce); to change betimes the vain possessions,
from people to people, and from one kindred to another, beyond
the hindrance of human wisdom. Hence one people commands, another
languishes; obeying her sentence, which is hidden like the serpent in
the grass. Your knowledge cannot withstand her. She provides,
judges, and maintains her kingdom, as the other gods do theirs. Her
permutations have no truce. Necessity makes her be swift; so oft come
things requiring change. This is she, who is so much reviled, even by
those who ought to praise her, when blaming her wrongfully, and with
evil words. But she is in bliss, and hears it not. With the other
Primal Creatures joyful, she wheels her sphere, and tastes her
blessedness. "' Dante finds in this view the explanation of the want of
anything like distributive justice in the assignment of wealth, power,
and worldly glory.
