Finally, C&S XII

Here is the final, long section of Christ & Satan for your approval. Relineatio is underway for the preceding sections, and I more or less followed my own count as I translated this last part, so I shouldn't expect the rest to be that much different than this one.

What comes next? Either Daniel or the three Christ poems I should think, since they both have their narrative moments. Some more of the shorter poems could pop out as well ---------------------

Now that Prince renowned has announced to us,
Almighty God, the Lord himself, on Doomsday.
He has commanded the high-angels in a booming voice
to blow their horns over the city’s habitations
throughout the corners of the earth.
Then from this earth humans shall awaken—
the dead from the dust arising through the Lord’s might.
That will be the longest day, and the greatest din
loudly heard, when the Savior arrives,
the Wielder amid the clouds coming in this world. (597-607)

Then he will part out the fair and the unclean
into two halves, the good and the evil.
Then the truth-fast on his right hand
will rise to their rest with the Warden of Heaven.
Then they will be overjoyed, those allowed into the city
to go the realm of God,
and he will bless them with his right hand,
the King of All Creation, calling over them all:
“You are all welcome! Go into the light of glory
to the kingdom of heaven, where you shall have
always and forever eternal rest.” (608-18)

Then the evil-doers will stand there, those who have sinned—
they will be quaking when the Son of God
will judge them through the power of his deeds.
They will hope that they will be allowed into the famous city
upwards to the angels, just as the others were,
but the Eternal Lord shall speak to them,
saying over them all:
“Dive down now, accursed, into that house of torment
with the greatest haste. I do not know you now.” (619-27)

At once after those words, the cursed spirits,
the captives of hell, hurry them on their way
by the thousands, and lead them in that direction
into the cavern of criminals, shoving them to the bottom,
into evil’s narrowness—and never afterwards
will they ever be allowed upwards from there,
but there they must suffer miserable tortures,
bonds and imprisonment, and endure
the deep frozen bottom of hell and devils’ talk.
Oh, how they will be often ordained in shame
by swarthy and painful killers, fiends confessing
in violence and sin, where they have often forgotten
their Free Lord, the Eternal Governor,
who should have been a hope to them.
Let us, lo! consider how throughout this world
we have begun to obey our Savior! (628-43)

Eagerly through the grace of God let us remember the fruit of the spirit,
how blessed it is where he sits on high
himself among the clouds, the Son of the Savior.
There is a golden gate, adorned with gemstones,
wound up in delights, for those who are allowed
to go into the light of glory, the kingdom of God,
and around those walls they shine beautifully,
the spirits of angels and the souls of the blessed,
who have journeyed thence.
There the martyrs are pleasing to the Measurer,
and praise the High-Father with holy voices,
the King in his city. They all call out thus:
“You are the Helm of Heroes and the Heaven-Judge,
the First Chief of Angels, and the Issue of the Earth.
You have conducted us up to this blessed home!” (644-58)

So they praised the Warden of Glory wordfully,
the thanes around their Lord—there is great majesty,
a song at his throne, and he is himself the king,
the Lord of All, in that eternal creation. (659-62)

[Though there is no section break here, the topic of the poem seems to change]

That is the Lord, he who suffered
death for us, the Prince of Angels.
Likewise, he fasted for forty days,
the Measurer of Mankind through the power of his mercy.
And then it happened that the Accursed, who was previously cast down
from heaven and who sank down into hell,
then he tempted the King of All Beings.
He brought to his lap broad stones,
and commanded him for his hunger to create loaves—
“If you have a power so great.”
Then the Eternal Lord answered him… (663-73)

[no break in MS, but a gap in sense is posited here]

“Don’t you know, cursed one, that it was written,
'But for me alone…'?
Yet you have set it down, O Owner of Victory,
the light of the living, reward without end,
in heaven’s realm, and holy delights.” (674-78)

Then he took Jesus Christ up with his hands,
the terrible one through scorn, and heaved him upon his shoulder,
the spirit of evil’s harm, and mounted up to a mountain,
setting him upon its peak, the Savior Lord:
“Look now full wide, over the land-dwellers.
I shall give you into your own power
people and earth. Take from me in this place
both city and spacious dwelling into your power,
of the rule of heaven, if you are the rightful king
of angels and men, as you have before thought.” (679-88)

Next the Eternal Lord answered him:
“Depart, accursed, into your cavern of pain,
Satan yourself. For you is surely torment
prepared, not at all the realm of God.
But I command you through the highest power
to announce no hope unto the hell-dwellers
but you can speak of the greatest sorrow to them,
that you met the Measurer of All Creatures,
the King of Mankind. Turn yourself behind me!
Know you as well, accursed, how wide and broad
and dreary is the vault of hell, and measure it with your hands!
Grip it by the ground—proceed like that
until you know all its circuit
and measure it first from above all the way to the bottom,
and how broad is its black breath.
Then you shall know the more eagerly that you have struggled against God,
after you have measured it then with your hands
how high and how deep hell may be within,
the grim grave-house. Go quickly to it,
before two hours are past,
so that you have measured the home marked out for you.” (689-709)

At that point wrack came resting upon that cursed being.
Satan himself ran away and fell into torment,
the wretched monster. Sometimes he measured with his hands
its woe and its tortures. Sometimes the dark flame
leapt against the hateful. Sometimes he saw lying
the captives in hell. Sometimes a cry mounted up
when they saw with their eyes in that terrible place.
The opponents of God had struggled […]
the black spirit of harm, that stood upon the floor. (710-18)

Then it seemed to him that there was from there
to the doors of hell a hundred thousand
miles reckoned out, just as the Mighty had ordered him
that through his own craft to measure out his torment.
Then he remembered that he stood at the very bottom.
He looked about without hope across that hateful hole,
the terror with his eyes, until the terrible horror,
a host of devils climbed up then. (719-26)

With words of pain, those cursed ghasts began
to speak and tell:
“Alas! May evil be upon you always! You never wished for good!” (727-29)

Finit Liber II. Amen.