PARADISE. Alasdair Gray
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First published in Great Britain, the USA and
Canada in 2020 by Canongate Books Ltd,
14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
Distributed in the USA by Publishers Group West and in Canada by Publishers Group Canada
This digital edition first published in 2020 by Canongate Books
Copyright © Alasdair Gray, 2020
The right of Alasdair Gray to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
The author gratefully acknowledges the support of Creative Scotland towards the publication of this book
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 78689 474 8
eISBN 978 1 78689 477 9
LIST OF CANTOS
1: The First Ascent
1 God’s glory moves and shows the universe
shining in some parts more, in others less.
I entered Heaven with joy too great for speech
4 to glorify his light. I can recall
only dim shadows of it now
within this song. All you nine muses
7 led by Virgil helped me evoke the steep
descent to Hell and climb to reach this height.
Sun-king Apollo too inspired their aid!
10 I beg you, please give me such strength again,
turn me into a perfect voice to sing
of Heaven’s grandest things and crown myself
13 with laurels, the one headgear fit for use
by a true poet or great conqueror.
Their fewness demonstrates in human kind
16 a shameful lack of will. If I succeed,
like spark from which flames leap, some after me
may be inspired to write with greater skill.
19 The sunrise greets us most days of the year
from several degrees to north or south.
When solar orbit touches other rings
(equators earthly and celestial, 22
ecliptic and the equinoctial)
four circles make three crosses and so bring
more harmony, and Summer can begin. 25
The sun this morning rose at that good point.
When Beatrice looked up at height of noon
no eagle ever fixed upon the sun 28
a gaze as clear, and since reflected