Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Ed egli a lei rispondere : Ora aspetta Tanto, ch' io torni. Ed ella: Signor mio, Come persona in cui dolor s" afEretta — Se tu non torni ? Ed ei: Chi fia dov' io, La ti fara. Ed ella : L' altrui bene A te che fia, se '1 tuo metti in obblio ? Ond' elli: Or ti conforta : chfe conviene, Ch' io solva il mio dovere anzi ch' io muova: Giustizia il vuole, e Pieta mi ritiene." Purgatorio, x. 73-93.1 The bas-relief described by Dante as representing this lovely episode is not imaginary, but real; and it does not belong to Purgatory, but to this world. It was sculptured on one of the panels of a triumphal arch, which stood in the centre of the great square in front of Agrippa's Pantheon. The bas-relief, as is often the case with this class of commemorative monuments, represented and personified a conquered Nation kneeling and begging for mercy beforethe Roman invader.. The simple and inerudite imagination of the Middle Ages gave a different meaning to this plain representation, so common on antique coins and bas-reliefs; it was supposed to commemorate the well-known legend of Trajan's soul rescued from damnation at the request of S. Gregory the Great, — a legend which is still believed by the Roumanians, who worship Trajan as their national hero and national saint. The triumphal arch opposite the Pantheon was accordingly called the Arch of Piety; a hospital close by was called the Hospital of Piety; and the name is still attached to a little church not far from the Pantheon, called the Madonna della Pieta. The arch was destroyed to the level of the foundations by Pope Alexander VII., Chigi, in order that its marbles might be employed in his restoration of the portico of the Pantheon itself. 1 There the high glory of the Roman Prince Was chronicled, whose great beneficence ...