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Canto XXVIII
The supreme good, who pleases only himself,
Made man good and for good, and this place
Was given as an earnest of eternal peace.

Through man's default he did not stay here long;
Through his default he changed honest laughter
And sweet play for sorrow and for sweat.

So that the turbulence which is created
Down below, by exhalations of water and earth
Which follow as far as they can after heat

Should not attack man in any way
The mountain rose up towards heaven so high
That it would be clear of them above the gate............

Eager now to explore in and around
The divine forest, which was dense and alive,
So that it tempered the new light to my eyes,

I left the slope, without waiting longer,
Making my way across the plain at leisure
Over the ground which was everywhere fragrant.

A soft air, without any trace
Of variation, struck me on the forehead,
But no harder than a gentle breeze;

It made the branches quiver without resistance
As one and all they bent in the direction
In which the holy mountain cast its first shade;

Yet they were not so deflected from their stations
That the little birds who were perched on top of them
Interrupted the exercise of their art;

But singing the first breezes in all gladness,
They welcomed them among the foliage
Which kept up an accompaniment to their songs