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Aradia, or The Gospel of the Witches |
Chapter X: Madonna Diana
Once there was, in the very old time in Cettardo Alto, a girl of
astonishing beauty, and she was betrothed to a young man who was as remarkable
for good looks as herself; but though well born and bred, the fortune or
misfortunes of war or fate had made them both extremely poor. And if the
young lady had one fault, it was her great pride, nor would she willingly
be married unless in good style, with luxury and festivity, in a fine garment,
with many bridesmaids of rank. And this became to the beautiful Rorasa
- for such was her name - such an object of desire, that her head was half
turned with it, and the other girls of her acquaintance, to say nothing
of the many men whom she had refused, mocked her so bitterly, asking her
when the fine wedding was to be, with many other jeers and sneers, that
at last in a moment of madness she went to the top of a high tower, whence
she cast herself; and to make it worse, there was below a terrible ravine
into which she fell. Yet she took no harm, for as she fell there appeared
to her a very beautiful woman, truly not of earth, who took her by the
hand and bore her through the air to a safe place. Then all the people
round who saw or heard of this thing cried out, "Lo, a miracle!"
and they came and made a great festival, and would fain persuade Rorasa
that she had been saved by the Madonna. But the lady who had saved her,
coming to her secretly, said, "If thou hast any desire, follow the
Gospel of Diana, or what is called the Gospel of the Witches, who worship
the moon." "If thou adorest Luna, then What thou desir'st thou
shalt obtain!" Then the beautiful girl went forth alone by night to
the fields, and kneeling on a stone in an old ruin, she worshipped the
moon and invoked Diana thus:
Diana, beautiful Diana! Thou who didst save from a dreadful death
When I did fall into the dark ravine! I pray thee grant me still another
grace. Give me one glorious wedding, and with it Full many bridesmaids,
beautiful and grand; And if this favour thou wilt grant me, True to the
Witches' Gospel I will be!
When Rorasa awoke in the morning, she found herself in another house,
where all was far more magnificent, and having risen, a beautiful maid
led her into another room, where she was dressed in a superb wedding garment
of white silk with diamonds, for it was her wedding dress indeed. Then
there appeared ten young ladies, all splendidly attired, and with them
and many distinguished persons she went to the church in a carriage. And
all the streets were filled with music and people bearing flowers. So she
found the bridegrooms, and was wedded to her heart's desire, ten times
more grandly than she had ever dreamed of. Then, after the ceremony, there
was spread a feast at which all the nobility of Cettardo were present,
and, moreover, the whole town, rich and poor, were feasted. When the wedding
was finished, the bridesmaids made every one a magnificent present to the
bride - one gave diamonds, another a parchment (written) in gold, after
which they asked permission to go all together into the sacristy. And there
they remained for some hours undisturbed, until the priest sent his chierico
to inquire whether they wanted anything. But what was the youth's amazement
at beholding, not the ten bridesmaids, but their ten images or likenesses
in wood and in terra-cotta, with that of Diana standing on a moon, and
they were all so magnificently made and adorned as to be of immense value.
Therefore the priest put these images in the church, which is the most
ancient in Cettardo, and now in many churches you may see the Madonna and
Moon, but it is Diana. The name Rorasa seems to indicate the Latin ros
the dew, rorare, to bedew, rorulenta, bedewed - in fact, the goddess of
the dew. Her great fall and being lifted by Diana suggest the fall of dew
by night, and its rising in vapor under the influence of the moon. It is
possible that this is a very old Latin mythic tale. The white silk and
diamonds indicate the dew.
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