DANTE
DRAMATISED
L’INFERNO
FOR RADIO
DANTE
DRAMMATIZZATO
L’INFERNO
DRAMATISED FOR RADIO
Dante composes L’Inferno as he is conducted through that realm. We may occasionally hear the sound
of a stylus on a slate, or scratching on paper and its rustling. Only Dante and Beatrice versify.
The dramatisation is for English-speakers but contains as much of Dante’s Italian as is appropriate.
Some material comes from outside the Divine Comedy.
The parallel-text layout makes the scenario look very large, but it can be read as quickly as any other.
In my recently-completed stage version of the Divine Comedy’s 3 parts, the Muses leaven the
masculine mass and economise on actors by impersonating some male characters. They remain in the
Radio Version, e.g. Buoso de Duera (Polyhymnia), though only Erato is named in the text. The Muses
are the basis of the Chorus, to which is added a few male voices and, perhaps, instrumentalists.
NO. OF LINES/PART-LINES ITALIAN +
NO. OF LINES/PART-LINES ENGLISH
DANTE 746 , 831
VIRGIL 58 , 1052
ADAMO OF BRESCIA - , 26
AGNELLO 1 , ALESSIO DEGLI INTERMINEI - , 6
BEATRICE 3 , 45
BOCCA (URANIA) 1 , 24
BRUNETTO 5 , 33
BUOSO DE DUERA (POLYH.) - , 3
BUOSO DEGLI ABATI - , 1
CACCIANEMICO - , 12
CAPANEUS - , 11
CAPOCCHIO (EUTERPE) - , 16
CAV. DE’ CAVALCANTI - , 5
CHARON - , 9
CHIRON - , 3
CIACCO 1 , 24
DEMONS 16 , 24
BARBARICCIA
BLACK DEMON
DRAGHIGNAZZO
GRAFFIACANE (MELPOMENE)
MALACODA
SCARMIGLIONE
DIDO 2 , 16
ERATO 2 , 2
FARINATA 1 , 32
FILIPPO ARGENTI 2 , 1
FRANCESCA - , 31
FR. ALBERIGO - , 13
FR. CATALANO (TERPSIC.) - , 29
FR. LODERINGO (THALIA) - , 6
GRIFFOLINO - , 9
GUERRA 3 , 2
GUIDO DA MONTEFELTRO. - , 59
HEAVENLY MESSENGER 2 , 4
JAC. DA SANT’ ANDREA - , 2
LANO MACONI 1 , 1
MINOS - , 3
NESSUS - , 16
NIMROD (EUTERPE) 1 , PAOLO 4 , 10
PHLEGYAS 4 , 1
PLUTUS 1 , POPE NICH. III (CLIO) - , 23
PUCCIO 1 , RUSTICUCCI 3 , 35
SATAN - , ?
SINON - , 5
TEGGHIAIO 2 , 3
TRUNK / P.DELLE VIGNE 3 , 46
UGOLINO (MELPOMENE) - , 69
ULYSSES FLAME VOICE 1 , 48
VANNI FUCCI 1 , 26
UN-NAMED SPIRITS 15 , 2
DURATION
Full-length: 175 mins.
Short version (omitting greyed-out sections): 141 mins.
SECTION
THE DARK WOOD & THE HILL BEATRICE
THE GATE OF HELL
CHARON & SOULS
LOOKING INTO THE ABYSS
THE UNBAPTISED
THE GREAT: 4 POETS ERATO
HEROES & HEROINES DIDO
PHILOSOPHERS MINOS
THE LUSTFUL DIDO
PAOLO & FRANCESCA
CERBERUS
CIACCO
PLUTUS
CHURCHMEN & FORTUNE
THE STYX
THE FERRY: PHLEGYAS
CITY OF DIS (MUSES), BEATRICE, HEAVENLY MESSENGER
DURATION
Inc. Music
14.00
3.20
2.50
.30
1.50
1.30
2.10
2.30
2.00
4.00
1.40
3.10
.40
3.25
1.00
2.50
12.40
C1 1 - C2 138
C3 1-78
C3 82-129
C3 129 - C4 22
C4 22-63
C4 63-99
C4 103-129
C4 130 - C5 24
C5 25-67
C5 73-138
C6 1-24
C6 40-108
C6 115 - C7 12
C7 37-97
C7 97-126
C8 4-61
C8 67 - C10 132
5.40
2.25
2.15
1.50
5.45
C11 10-115
C12 1-45
C12 46-96
C12 99-139
C13 1-129
6.15
5.00
3.10
4.00
4.00
C14 16-142
C15 4-124
C16 1-87
C16 87 - C17 136
C18 22-126
3.20
1.30
4.30
8.45
C19 1-117
C20 1-45
C20 52-130
C21 1 - C22 36
4.30
C23 76 - C24 18
12.30
C24 19 - C26 40
9.30
4.45
5.00
C26 42 - C27 129
C27 133 - C29 66
C29 109 - C30 148
4.30
9.30
C31 12 - C32 12
C32 13 - C33 153
3.30
3.00
C34 1-127
C34 139
CAVALCANTE DE’ CAVALCANTI, FARINATA
VIOLENCE ETC
THE MINOTAUR
THE CENTAURS CHIRON, NESSUS
THE BLOODY STREAM
HARPY WOOD TRUNK/PIER DELLE VIGNE, JACOMO DA SANT’ ANDREA
LANO MACONI
THE VIOLENT AGAINST GOD CAPANEUS
BRUNETTO LATINI
RUSTICUCCI, GUERRA &TEGGHIAIO
GST
ERYON
1 & 2ND CHASM:PANDERS SEDUCERS FLATTERERS
CACCIANEMICO, ALESSIO DEGLI INTERMINEI
SIMONISTS POPE NICHOLAS III
SEERS & SORCERERS: TEARS
MANTUA & MANTO
DEMONS BLACK, SCARMIGLIONE, BARBARICCIA, MALACODA
GRAFFIACANE, DRAGHIGNAZZO
FRIAR CATALANO (TERPSICHORE)
FRIAR LODERINGO (THALIA)
THE WALL BEATRICE, VANNI FUCCI, AGNELLO
BUOSO DEGLI ABATI, PUCCIO
LAMPS DIDO, ULYSSES FLAME, GUIDO DA MONTEFELTRO FLAME
THE SOWERS OF DISCORD
FALSIFIERS, LIARS GRIFFOLINO, CAPOCCHIO (EUTERPE),
ADAMO, SINON
NIMROD EUTERPE
THE FROZEN COCYTUS BOCCA D. ABATI (URANIA)
BUOSO DE DUERA (POLYH.), FRIAR ALBERIGO
VEXILLA REGIS: ASCENT & DAMN! SATAN
RETURNED BEATRICE
HYPOCRITES
1
L’INFERNO
DRAMATISED FOR RADIO
CHARACTER -1321 + = -1321 or later 1283↔1300 = between 1283 and 1300
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC given when the character is first heard
MALE FEMALE
optional
?? = a guess
words not in the Divine Comedy, or Kline rearranged
THE DARK WOOD & THE HILL
CANTO 1
DANTE ALIGHIERI
1265 - 1321 AGE : 34 (ABOUT 2 MONTHS SHORT OF 35)
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
(DURANTE) DANTE ALIGHIERI WAS BORN IN FLORENCE OF A PRO-PAPACY GUELPH FAMILY. THE DISHONESTY &
CORRUPTION OF POPE BONIFACE VIII ALIGNED HIM WITH THE GHIBELLINE PRO-IMPERIALS. THE CENTURIES-LONG,
EUROPEAN GUELPH./.GHIBELLINE SCHISM ORIGINATED IN GERMANY, SUPPOSEDLY WHEN ONE PRINCE DISPARAGED
THE HUNTING-DOG OF ANOTHER. FLORENTINE FAMILIES WERE SPLIT, ALSO, INTO BLACKS & WHITES, ORIGINALLY
BECAUSE OF A PRETTY PISTOIAN. IN 1302, FRENCH INTERVENTION LED TO THE EXILE OF DANTE & 14 OTHERS
UNDER SENTENCE OF DEATH. DANTE NEVER RETURNED.
DANTE TELLS OF HIS JOURNEY AS SOMETHING DONE.
DANTE:
INF C1 1-3 / TRANSLATION BY A.S.KLINE
INF C1 1-3 / DANTE
In the middle of the journey of our life,
I came to myself, in a dark wood,
where the direct way was lost.
Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.
It is a hard thing to speak of, how wild,
harsh and impenetrable that wood was,
so that thinking of it recreates the fear.
Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura!
It is scarcely less bitter than death: but,
in order to tell of the good that I found there,
I must tell of the other things I saw.
Tant' è amara che poco è più morte;
ma per trattar del ben ch'i' vi trovai,
dirò de l'altre cose ch'i' v'ho scorte.
INF C1 4-6 / DANTE
INF C1 7-9 / DANTE
THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT ENGLISH VERSIONS OF [C1 1-3]. DANTE TRIES PERHAPS
HALF A DOZEN FROM THOSE BELOW, PAUSING BETWEEN EACH.
HE STILL DOES NOT KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO.
DANTE:
DANTE:
Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.
Midway in the journey of our life
I found myself in a dark wood,
for the straight way was lost.
INF C1 1-3 / PHILLIPS
INF C1 1-3 / ELLIS
Just halfway through this journey of our life
I reawoke to find myself inside
a dark wood, way off course, the right road lost.
Halfway through our trek in life
I found myself in this dark wood,
miles away from the right road.
INF C1 1-3 / MUSA
INF C1 1-3 / BOTTRALL
Midway along the journey of our life
I woke to find myself in some dark woods,
for I had wandered off from the straight path.
Midway in human life's allotted span,
I found myself in a dark wood,
where the straight path I sought in vain.
INF C1 1-3 / HEANEY
INF C1 1-3 / CARY
In the middle of the journey of our life
I found myself astray in a dark wood
where the straight road had been lost sight of.
In the midway of this our mortal life
I found me in a gloomy wood, astray
Gone from the path direct:
INF C1 1-3 / CIARDI
INF C1 1-3 / MANDELBAUM
Midway in our life's journey, I went astray
from the straight road and woke to find myself
alone in a dark wood.
When I had journeyed half of our life's way,
I found myself within a shadowed forest,
for I had lost the path that does not stray.
INF C1 1-3 / LONGFELLOW
INF C1 1-3 / SINGLETON
INF C1 1-3 / BICKERSTETH
INF C1 1-3 / SISSON
At midpoint of the journey of our life
I woke to find me astray in a dark wood,
perplexed by paths with the straight way at strife.
Halfway along the road we have to go
I found myself obscured in a great forest,
Bewildered, and I knew I had lost the way.
INF C1 1-3 / ZIMMERMAN
INF C1 1-3 / COTTER
In the middle of our life's way
I found myself in a wood so dark
That I couldn't tell where the straight path lay.
Halfway through the journey we are living
I found myself deep in a darkened forest,
For I had lost all trace of the straight path.
INF C1 1-3 / UNKNOWN
INF C1 1-3 / NORTON
One night, when half my life behind me lay,
I wandered from the straight lost path afar.
Through the great dark was no releasing way;
Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself in a dark wood,
where the right way was lost.
INF C1 1-3 / BINYON
INF C1 1-3 / PINSKY
Midway life's journey I was made aware
That I had strayed into a dark forest,
And the right path appeared not anywhere.
Midway on our life’s journey, I found
myself in dark woods, the right roads lost.
HE SETTLES ON THE PROSE VERSION OF A. S. KLINE:
DANTE:
INF C1 1-3 / DANTE
INF C1 1-3 / KLINE
Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.
In the middle of the journey of our life,
I came to myself, in a dark wood,
where the direct way was lost.
INF C1 4-6/ DANTE
Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura!
It is a hard thing to speak of, how wild,
harsh and impenetrable that wood was,
so that thinking of it recreates the fear.
INF C1 7-9 / DANTE
Tant' è amara che poco è più morte;
ma per trattar del ben ch'i' vi trovai,
dirò de l'altre cose ch'i' v'ho scorte.
It is scarcely less bitter than death: but, in
order to tell of the good that I found there,
I must tell of the other things I saw there.
2
3
♫
NIGHT SOUNDS * * * * * * * * * *
INF C1 9
Night sounds suggest a savage place.
AS THE MUSIC SOUNDS, DANTE IS RETURNED TO THE MOMENT WHEN HE LOST HIS WAY, THE
BEGINNING OF HIS JOURNEY.
DANTE:
INF C1 10-12 / DANTE
INF C1 10-12 / KLINE
Io non so ben ridir com' i' v'intrai,
tant' era pien di sonno a quel punto
che la verace via abbandonai.
I cannot rightly say how I entered it.
I was so full of sleep, at that point
where I abandoned the true way.
INF C1 13-15 / DANTE
Ma poi ch'i' fui al piè d'un colle giunto,
là dove terminava quella valle
che m'avea di paura il cor compunto,
But when I reached the foot of a hill,
where the valley, that had pierced
my heart with fear, came to an end,
INF C1 16-18 / DANTE
guardai in alto e vidi le sue spalle
vestite già de' raggi del pianeta
che mena dritto altrui per ogne calle.
I looked up and saw its shoulders brightened
with the rays of that sun that leads
men rightly on every road.
INF C1 19-21 / DANTE
Allor fu la paura un poco queta,
che nel lago del cor m'era durata
la notte ch'i' passai con tanta pieta.
Then the fear, that had settled in the lake
of my heart,through the night that I had spent
so miserably, became a little calmer.
INF C1 22-24 / DANTE
E come quei che con lena affannata,
uscito fuor del pelago a la riva,
si volge a l'acqua perigliosa e guata,
And as a man, who, with panting breath,
has escaped from the deep sea to the shore,
turns back towards the perilous waters and stares,
INF C1 25-27 / DANTE
così l'animo mio, ch'ancor fuggiva,
si volse a retro a rimirar lo passo
che non lasciò già mai persona viva.
so my mind, still fugitive,
turned back to see that pass again,
that no living person ever left.
INF C1 28-30 / DANTE
Poi ch'èi posato un poco il corpo lasso,
ripresi via per la piaggia diserta,
sì che 'l piè fermo sempre era 'l più basso.
After I had rested my tired body a while,
I made my way again over empty ground,
always bearing upwards to the right.
INF C1 31-33 / DANTE
And, Behold!, almost at the start
of the slope, a light swift leopard
with spotted coat
Ed ecco, quasi al cominciar de l'erta,
una lonza leggera e presta molto,
che di pel macolato era coverta;
LEOPARD (PANTHER): FLORENCE OR WORLDLY PLEASURE, LUST OR ENVY
INF C1 31-33 / DANTE
Ed ecco, quasi al cominciar de l'erta,
una lonza leggera e presta molto,
che di pel macolato era coverta;
And, Behold!, almost at the start
of the slope, a light swift leopard
…Florence…with spotted coat
4
INF C1 34-36 / DANTE
e non mi si partia dinanzi al volto,
anzi 'mpediva tanto il mio cammino,
ch'i' fui per ritornar più volte vòlto.
It would not turn from before my face,
and so obstructed my path,
that I often turned, in order to return.
INF C1 37-39 / DANTE
Temp' era dal principio del mattino,
e 'l sol montava 'n sù con quelle stelle
ch'eran con lui quando l'amor divino
The time was at the beginning of the morning,
and the sun was mounting up with all those stars
that were with him when Divine Love
INF C1 40-42 / DANTE
mosse di prima quelle cose belle;
sì ch'a bene sperar m'era cagione
di quella fiera a la gaetta pelle
first moved all delightful things,
so that the hour of day, and the sweet season, gave
me fair hopes of that creature with the bright pelt.
INF C1 43-45 / DANTE
l'ora del tempo e la dolce stagione;
ma non sì che paura non mi desse
la vista che m'apparve d'un leone.
But not so fair that I could avoid fear
at the sight of a lion, ambition, that appeared,
and which seemed
LION: THE ROYAL HOUSE OF FRANCE, AND AMBITION OR PRIDE.
INF C1 46-48 / DANTE
Questi parea che contra me venisse
con la test' alta e con rabbiosa fame,
sì che parea che l'aere ne tremesse.
to come at me, with raised head
and rabid hunger, so that it seemed
the air itself was appeared afraid;
INF C1 49-51 / DANTE
Ed una lupa, che di tutte brame
sembiava carca ne la sua magrezza,
e molte genti fé già viver grame,
and a she-wolf, avarice, that looked
full of craving in its leanness, and, before now,
has made many men live in sadness.
SHE-WOLF: THE PAPACY & AVARICE
INF C1 52-54 / DANTE
questa mi porse tanto di gravezza
con la paura ch'uscia di sua vista,
ch'io perdei la speranza de l'altezza.
She brought me such heaviness of fear
from the aspect of her face,
that I lost all hope of ascending.
INF C1 55-57 / DANTE
E qual è quei che volontieri acquista,
e giugne 'l tempo che perder lo face,
che 'n tutti suoi pensier piange e s'attrista;
And as one who is eager for gain, weeps,
and is afflicted in his thoughts,
if the moment arrives when he loses,
INF C1 58-60 / DANTE
tal mi fece la bestia sanza pace,
che, venendomi 'ncontro, a poco a poco
mi ripigneva là dove 'l sol tace.
so that creature, without rest, made me
like him: and coming at me, little by little,
drove me back to where the sun is silent.
DANTE SEES VIRGIL.
VIRGIL 70 - 19 BC AGE : 51?
PUBLIUS VERGILIUS MARO, VIRGILIO
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
VIRGIL (PUBLIUS VERGILIUS MARO) (70 – 19 BC), THE ROMAN POET, WAS BORN IN ANDES, NEAR MANTUA. HE
GUIDES DANTE FROM L’INFERNO 1 TO IL PURGATORIO 30. HE IS THE TYPE OF HUMAN PHILOSOPHY, WHICH GUIDES
THE MIND FROM UNWORTHINESS TO BLISS. ECLOGUE 4 GAVE HIM REPUTE AS A PROPHET OF CHRIST. H IS AENEID
LINKED, FOR DANTE, THE GREEK WORLD OF HOMER & TROY WITH THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
INF C1 61-63 / KLINE
While I was returning to the depths, one appeared, in front of my eyes, who seemed hoarse from long silence.
5
DANTE:
INF C1 64-66 / KLINE
INF C1 64-66 / DANTE
When I saw him in the great emptiness I cried Quando vidi costui nel gran diserto,
out to him: Have pity on me, whoever you are, Miserere di me, gridai a lui,
whether a man, in truth, or a shadow!
qual che tu sii, od ombra od omo certo!
INF C1 65-66 / DANTE
Miserere di me, gridai a lui,
qual che tu sii, od ombra od omo certo!
out to him: Have pity on me, whoever you are,
whether a man, in truth, or a shadow!
VIRGIL:
INF C1 67-69 / DANTE
INF C1 67-69 / KLINE
Rispuosemi: «Non omo, omo già fui,
e li parenti miei furon lombardi,
mantoani per patrïa ambedui.
He answered me: Not a man: but a man I once was,
and my parents were Lombards,
and both of them, by their native place, Mantuans.
INF C1 70-72 / DANTE
Nacqui sub Iulio, ancor che fosse tardi,
e vissi a Roma sotto 'l buono Augusto
nel tempo de li dèi falsi e bugiardi.
I was born sub Julio though late,
and lived in Rome, under the good Augustus,
in the age of false, deceitful gods.
INF C1 73-75 / DANTE
Poeta fui, e cantai di quel giusto
figliuol d'Anchise che venne di Troia,
poi che 'l superbo Ilïón fu combusto.
I was a poet, and sang of Aeneas,
that virtuous son of Anchises, who came
from Troy when proud Ilium was burned.
DANTE notes:
INF C1 73 / KLINE
INF C1 73 / DANTE
I was a poet, and sang of Aeneas,
Poeta fui, e cantai di quel giusto
VIRGIL DECLAIMS.
VIRGIL:
AENEID 1 1 / KLINE
AENEID 1 1 / VIRGIL
I sing of arms and the man
Arma virumque cano
VIRGIL POINTS IN TWO DIRECTIONS.
VIRGIL:
INF C1 76-78 / KLINE
INF C1 76-78 / DANTE
But you, why do you You turn back towards
Ma tu perché ritorni a tanta noia?
such pain. Why do you not climb the delightful perché non sali il dilettoso monte
mountain, that is the origin and cause of all joy? ch'è principio e cagion di tutta gioia?
INF C1 76-78 / DANTE
Ma tu perché ritorni a tanta noia?
perché non sali il dilettoso monte
ch'è principio e cagion di tutta gioia?
But you, why do you You turn back towards such
pain. Why do you not climb the delightful mountain,
that is the origin and cause of all joy?
DANTE:
INF C1 79-81 / DANTE
INF C1 79-81 / KLINE
Or se' tu quel Virgilio e quella fonte
che spandi di parlar sì largo fiume?,
rispuos' io lui con vergognosa fronte.
I answered him, with a humble expression:
Are you then that Virgil, and that
fountain, that pours out so great a river of speech?
INF C1 82-84 / DANTE
O de li altri poeti onore e lume,
vagliami 'l lungo studio e 'l grande amore
che m'ha fatto cercar lo tuo volume.
O, glory and light to other poets,
may that long study, and the great love, that made
me scan your work, be worth something now.
6
INF C1 85-87 / DANTE
Tu se' lo mio maestro e 'l mio autore,
tu se' solo colui da cu' io tolsi
lo bello stilo che m'ha fatto onore.
You are my master, and my author:
you alone are the one from whom I learnt
the high style that has brought me honour.
DANTE POINTS UP TO WHERE HE SAW THE SHE-WOLF.
DANTE:
or DANTE:
INF C1 88-90 / DANTE
INF C1 88-90 / KLINE
Vedi la bestia per cu' io mi volsi;
aiutami da lei, famoso saggio,
ch'ella mi fa tremar le vene e i polsi.
See the creature that I turned back from:
O, sage, famous in wisdom, save me from her,
she that makes my veins and my pulse tremble.
VIRGIL:
INF C1 91-93 / DANTE
INF C1 91-93 / KLINE
A te convien tenere altro vïaggio,
rispuose, poi che lagrimar mi vide,
se vuo' campar d'esto loco selvaggio;
When he saw me weeping, he answered:
You must go another road, if you wish
to escape this savage place.
INF C1 94-96 / DANTE
ché questa bestia, per la qual tu gride,
non lascia altrui passar per la sua via,
ma tanto lo 'mpedisce che l'uccide;
This creature that distresses you allows
no man to cross her path,
but obstructs him, to destroy him;
INF C1 97-99 / DANTE
e ha natura sì malvagia e ria,
che mai non empie la bramosa voglia,
e dopo 'l pasto ha più fame che pria.
and she has so vicious and perverse a nature,
that she never sates her greedy appetite,
and after food is hungrier than before.
INF C1 100-102 / DANTE
Molti son li animali a cui s'ammoglia,
e più saranno ancora, infin che 'l veltro
verrà, che la farà morir con doglia.
Many are the creatures she mates with, and there
will be many more, until the Greyhound…
Can Grande della Scala…comes who will make her
die in pain.
GREYHOUND: PROBABLY THE GREAT GHIBELLINE LEADER CAN GRANDE DELLA SCALA, BORN IN VERONA, BETWEEN FELTRO IN
VENETIA & MONTEFELTRO IN ROMAGNA. DANTE’S LATER PATRON, HE MAY HAVE BEEN REGARDED BY DANTE AS THE
DELIVERER WHO WOULD RESTORE IMPERIAL POWER, REINSTITUTE ROMAN LAW, ELIMINATE AVARICE, BRING PEACE &
ESTABLISH A REFORMED ORDER OF THINGS.
DANTE notes:
INF C1 102 / KLINE
INF C1 102 / DANTE
della Scala…comes who will make her
die in pain.
verrà, che la farà morir con doglia.
VIRGIL:
INF C1 103-105 / DANTE
INF C1 103-105 / KLINE
Questi non ciberà terra né peltro,
ma sapïenza, amore e virtute,
e sua nazion sarà tra feltro e feltro.
He will not feed himself on land or wealth, but
on wisdom, love and virtue, and his birthplace
will lie between Feltro and Feltro.
INF C1 106-108 / DANTE
Di quella umile Italia fia salute
per cui morì la vergine Cammilla,
Eurialo e Turno e Niso di ferute.
He will be the salvation of that lower Italy
for which virgin Camilla died of wounds
and Euryalus, Turnus and Nisus.
CAMILLA: A VIRGIN WARRIOR, THE ROMAN VERSION OF AN AMAZON, WHOSE DEATH IS DESCRIBED IN AENEID 11.
EURYALUS: THE CLOSE COMRADE OF NISUS IN THE AENEID, NOTED FOR HIS BEAUTY. HIS DEATH IS DESCRIBED IN AENEID 9.
TURNUS: YOUNG KING OF THE RUTULIANS, AN ITALIAN PEOPLE WITH THEIR CAPITAL AT ARDEA, SOUTH OF ROME, NOT FAR
FROM MODERN ANZIO. HIS DEATH AT THE HANDS OF AENEAS IS DESCRIBED IN AENEID 12 & CONCLUDES THE WORK. AENEAS
MARRIED LAVINIA, TURNUS’S INTENDED BRIDE.
NISUS: SON OF HYRTACUS, COMRADE OF EURYALUS. HE DIES AVENGING HIS DEATH IN AENEID 9.
INF C1 109-111 / DANTE
Questi la caccerà per ogne villa,
fin che l'avrà rimessa ne lo 'nferno,
là onde 'nvidia prima dipartilla.
He will chase the she-wolf through every city
until he has returned her to Hell,
from which envy first loosed her.
7
DANTE notes:
INF C1 109 / KLINE
INF C1 109 / DANTE
He will chase the she-wolf through every city, Questi la caccerà per ogne villa,
VIRGIL:
INF C1 112-114 / DANTE
INF C1 112-114 / KLINE
Ond' io per lo tuo me' penso e discerno
che tu mi segui, e io sarò tua guida,
e trarrotti di qui per loco etterno;
It is best, as I think and understand, for you
to follow me, and I will be your guide,
and lead you from here through an eternal space
DANTE notes:
INF C1 113 / KLINE
INF C1 113 / DANTE
to follow me, and I will be your guide,
che tu mi segui, e io sarò tua guida,
VIRGIL:
INF C1 115-117 / DANTE
INF C1 115-117 / KLINE
ove udirai le disperate strida,
vedrai li antichi spiriti dolenti,
ch'a la seconda morte ciascun grida;
where you will hear the desperate shouts,
will see the ancient spirits in pain,
so that each one cries out for a second death:
INF C1 118-120 / DANTE
e vederai color che son contenti
nel foco, perché speran di venire
quando che sia a le beate genti.
and then you will see others at peace in
the flames, because they hope to come,
whenever it may be, among the blessed.
INF C1 121-123 / DANTE
A le quai poi se tu vorrai salire,
anima fia a ciò più di me degna:
con lei ti lascerò nel mio partire;
Then if you desire to climb to them, there
will be a spirit fitter than I am, to guide you,
and I will leave you with her when we part,
SPIRIT FITTER: BEATRICE
INF C1 124-126 / DANTE
ché quello imperador che là sù regna,
perch' i' fu' ribellante a la sua legge,
non vuol che 'n sua città per me si vegna.
since the Lord, who rules above, does not
wish me to enter his city,
because I was rebellious to his law.
INF C1 127-129 / DANTE
In tutte parti impera e quivi regge;
quivi è la sua città e l'alto seggio:
oh felice colui cu' ivi elegge!
He is lord everywhere, but there he rules,
and there is his city, and his high throne:
O, happy is he, whom he chooses to go there!
DANTE:
INF C1 130-132 / DANTE
INF C1 130-132 / KLINE
E io a lui: Poeta, io ti richeggio
per quello Dio che tu non conoscesti,
acciò ch'io fugga questo male e peggio,
And I to him: Poet, I beg you, by the God
you did not acknowledge, lead me where you said,
so that I might escape this evil or worse
INF C1 133-135 / DANTE
che tu mi meni là dov' or dicesti,
sì ch'io veggia la porta di san Pietro
e color cui tu fai cotanto mesti.
and see the Gate of St Peter
and those whom you
make out to be so saddened.
VIRGIL MOVES OFF. DANTE STAYS AND CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C1 133-135 / KLINE
INF C1 133-135 / DANTE
and see the Gate of St Peter,
and those whom you
make out to be so saddened.
che tu mi meni là dov' or dicesti,
sì ch'io veggia la porta di san Pietro
e color cui tu fai cotanto mesti.
INF C1 136 / KLINE
Then he moved: and I moved on behind him.
8
CANTO 2
DANTE:
INF C2 1-3 / DANTE
INF C2 1-3 / KLINE
Lo giorno se n'andava, e l'aere bruno
toglieva li animai che sono in terra
da le fatiche loro; e io sol uno
The day was going, and the dusky air
was freeing the creatures
of the earth, from their labours, and I, one, alone,
INF C2 4-6 / DANTE
m'apparecchiava a sostener la guerra
sì del cammino e sì de la pietate,
che ritrarrà la mente che non erra.
prepared prepare myself to endure the inner war
of the journey and its pity,
that the mind, without error, shall recall.
DANTE OPENS HIS BOOK AND CALLS TO TWO PARTS OF THE SKY.
DANTE:
INF C2 7-9 / KLINE
INF C2 7-9 / DANTE
O Muses, O high invention, aid me, now!
O memory, that has engraved what I saw,
here your nobility will be shown.
O muse, o alto ingegno, or m'aiutate;
o mente che scrivesti ciò ch'io vidi,
qui si parrà la tua nobilitate.
INF C2 7 / DANTE
O muse, o alto ingegno, or m'aiutate;
O Muses, O high invention, aid me, now!
THE MUSES
AGE : YOUNG
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
THE 9 GODDESSES WHO INSPIRE HUMANITY, AND MAIM, DESTROY OR TRANSFORM INTO BIRDS ANY HUMAN WHO
CHALLENGES THEIR SUPREMACY.
NAME
CALLIOPE (CALLIOPEIA)
CLIO
ERATO
EUTERPE
MELPOMENE
POLY(HY)MNIA
TERPSICHORE
THALIA (THALEIA)
URANIA (OURANIA)
♫
SYMBOL
DOMAIN
INTEREST
Writing tablet
Scroll
Lyre
Double flute
Tragic mask
Pensive mask; finger at mouth
Dancing figure
Comic mask
[Staff points to] globe or stars
Epic Poetry
History
Love Poetry
Music
Tragedy
Sacred Poetry
Dancing
Comedy
Astronomy
Philosophy
the Alphabet
RESPONSE TO INVOCATION: OVERTURE * * * * * * * * * *
INF C2 7
CHORUS OR MUSES ONLY
Ancient or Archaic Greek Music, becoming Christian.
DANTE CALLS OUT TO VIRGIL.
Chanting
Geometry
Prophecy
9
DANTE:
INF C2 10-12 / DANTE
INF C2 10-12 / KLINE
Io cominciai: Poeta che mi guidi,
guarda la mia virtù s'ell' è possente,
prima ch'a l'alto passo tu mi fidi.
I began: Poet, who guides me, examine my virtue,
see if I am fitting,
before you trust me to the steep way.
INF C2 13-15 / DANTE
Tu dici che di Silvïo il parente,
corruttibile ancora, ad immortale
secolo andò, e fu sensibilmente.
You say that Aeneas, the father of Sylvius,
while still corruptible flesh,
went to the eternal world and in his senses.
INF C2 16-18 / DANTE
Però, se l'avversario d'ogne male
cortese i fu, pensando l'alto effetto
ch'uscir dovea di lui, e 'l chi e 'l quale
But if God, who opposes every evil, was gracious
to him, thinking of the noble consequence
of who and what should derive from him,
INF C2 19-21 / DANTE
non pare indegno ad omo d'intelletto;
ch'e' fu de l'alma Roma e di suo impero
ne l'empireo ciel per padre eletto:
then that does not seem unreasonable
to a man of intellect, since he was chosen to be
the father of benign Rome and of her empire.
INF C2 22-24 / DANTE
la quale e 'l quale, a voler dir lo vero,
fu stabilita per lo loco santo
u' siede il successor del maggior Piero.
Both of them were founded
as a sacred place, where the
successor of the great Peter is enthroned.
INF C2 25-27 / DANTE
Per quest' andata onde li dai tu vanto,
intese cose che furon cagione
di sua vittoria e del papale ammanto.
By that journey, by which you graced him,
Aeneas learned things that were the source
of his victory and of the Papal Mantle.
INF C2 28-30 / DANTE
Andovvi poi lo Vas d'elezïone,
per recarne conforto a quella fede
ch'è principio a la via di salvazione.
Afterwards Paul, the Chosen Vessel, went there,
to bring confirmation of the faith
that is the entrance to the way of salvation.
INF C2 31-33 / DANTE
Ma io, perché venirvi? o chi 'l concede?
Io non Enëa, io non Paulo sono;
me degno a ciò né io né altri 'l crede.
But why should I go there? Who allows it?
I am not Aeneas, I am not Paul. Neither I,
nor others, think me worthy of it.
INF C2 34-36 / DANTE
Per che, se del venire io m'abbandono,
temo che la venuta non sia folle.
Se' savio; intendi me' ch'i' non ragiono.
So, if I resign myself to going, I fear
that going there may prove foolish: you know
and understand better than I can say.
DANTE BEGINS VERSIFYING.
DANTE:
INF C2 37-39 / KLINE
INF C2 37-39 / DANTE
And I rendered myself, on that dark shore,
like one who unwishes what he wished,
and changes his purpose in new thinking,
E qual è quei che disvuol ciò che volle
e per novi pensier cangia proposta,
sì che dal cominciar tutto si tolle,
so that he leaves off what he began,
completely, since in thought I consumed
action that had been so ready to begin.
tal mi fec' ïo 'n quella oscura costa,
perché, pensando, consumai la 'mpresa
che fu nel cominciar cotanto tosta.
INF C2 40-42 / DANTE
VIRGIL INTERRUPTS HIM.
VIRGIL:
INF C2 43-45 / DANTE
INF C2 43-45 / KLINE
«S'i' ho ben la parola tua intesa»,
rispuose del magnanimo quell' ombra,
«l'anima tua è da viltade offesa;
The ghost of the generous poet replied:
If I have understood your words correctly,
your spirit is attacked by cowardly fear,
10
DANTE notes:
INF C2 44 / KLINE
INF C2 44 / DANTE
The ghost of the generous poet replied:
rispuose del magnanimo quell' ombra,
VIRGIL:
INF C2 46-48 / DANTE
INF C2 46-48 / KLINE
la qual molte fïate l'omo ingombra
sì che d'onrata impresa lo rivolve,
come falso veder bestia quand' ombra.
that often weighs men down,
so that it deflects them from honourable action,
like a creature seeing phantoms in the dusk.
INF C2 49-51 / DANTE
Da questa tema acciò che tu ti solve,
dirotti perch' io venni e quel ch'io 'ntesi
nel primo punto che di te mi dolve.
That you may shake off this dread yourself,
I will tell you why I came, and what I heard
at the first moment when I took pity on you.
INF C2 52-54 / DANTE
Io era tra color che son sospesi,
e donna mi chiamò beata e bella,
tal che di comandare io la richiesi.
I was among those, in Limbo, in suspense, and
a lady called to me, so blessed, so beautiful
that I begged her to command me.
DANTE EXCLAIMS WITH FEELING.
DANTE:
INF C2 53 / KLINE
INF C2 53 / DANTE
and a lady called to me, she so blessed,
so beautiful
e donna mi chiamò beata… e bella,
INF C2 55-57 / KLINE
Her eyes shone more brightly than the stars, and she began to speak, gently, quietly, in an angelic voice, in her
language:
♫
BE-A-TRI-CE MOTIF * * * * * * * * * *
INF C2 53
Four notes, representing the syllables of the name in Italian: Be – a – tri – ce (‘blessed’).
In later segments the motif may be developed.
BEATRICE (BICE DI FOLCO PORTINARI)
1266? - 1290 AGE : 24
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BORN IN FLORENCE, BICE DI FOLCO PORTINARI (BEATRICE) WAS FIRST SEEN BY DANTE WHEN SHE WAS 8 YEARS OLD &
HE WAS 9. HIS LOVE FOR HER INSPIRED THE
PHILOSOPHY.
VITA NUOVA & THE DIVINE COMEDY., IN WHICH SHE REPRESENTS DIVINE
DESCRIPTION
HER VOICE IS FROM HEAVEN [INF C2 55-57].
BEATRICE:
INF C2 58-60 / KLINE
INF C2 58-60 / DANTE
O noble Mantuan spirit, whose fame
still endures in the world,
and will endure as long as time endures,
O anima cortese mantoana,
di cui la fama ancor nel mondo dura,
e durerà quanto 'l mondo lontana,
11
DANTE SPEAKS WITH SHOCK, JOY AND TENDERNESS.
Bea…Beatrice!
DANTE:
Bice!...Beatrice!
HE RECOVERS A LITTLE AND SPEAKS MORE FORMALLY BUT STILL WITH PASSION.
my lady
DANTE:
La donna mia
THIS PHRASE OCCURS IN DANTE’S MOST FAMOUS LYRIC, A SONNET ABOUT BEATRICE. (JOSEPH TUSIANI: “THIS
MOST HARMONIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL SONNET HAS ACHIEVED DANTE’S POETIC GOAL OF THE HIGHEST FORM OF
LOVE POETRY EMBODIED IN THE THE STILNOVISTIC CREDO…”.)
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONNET DANTE / MUSA
[INF C34 139] GIVES DANTE’S NOTE
Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare
la donna mia quand'ella altrui saluta,
ch'ogne lingua deven tremando muta,
e li occhi no l'ardiscon di guardare.
Such sweet decorum and such gentle grace
attend my lady's greeting as she moves
that lips can only tremble into silence,
and eyes dare not attempt to gaze at her.
Ella si va, sentendosi laudare,
benignamente d'umiltà vestuta;
e par che sia una cosa venuta
da cielo in terra a miracol mostrare.
Moving, benignly clothed in humility,
untouched by all the praise along her way,
she seems to be a creature come from Heaven
to earth, to manifest a miracle.
Mostrasi sì piacente a chi la mira,
che dà per li occhi una dolcezza al core,
che 'ntender no la può chi no la prova:
Miraculously gracious to behold,
her sweetness reaches, through the eyes, the heart
(who has not felt this cannot understand),
e par che de la sua labbia si mova
un spirito soave pien d'amore,
che va dicendo a l'anima: Sospira.
and from her lips it seems there moves a gracious
spirit, so deeply loving that it glides
into the souls of men, whispering: "Sigh!"
LA
DONNA MIA STARTS DANTE COMPOSING, MOSTLY SILENTLY. AT THE FINALE OF THE
CANTICLE [INF C34 139] HE RECITES THE WHOLE SONNET TO BEATRICE.
VIRGIL MODESTLY TRANSLATES BEATRICE’S TRIBUTE TO HIMSELF.
VIRGIL:
INF C2 58-60 / DANTE
INF C2 58-60 / KLINE
O anima cortese mantoana,
di cui la fama ancor nel mondo dura,
e durerà quanto 'l mondo lontana,
O noble Mantuan spirit, whose fame
still endures in the world,
and will endure as long as time endures.,
BEATRICE:
INF C2 61-63 / DANTE
INF C2 61-63 / KLINE
l'amico mio, e non de la ventura,
ne la diserta piaggia è impedito
sì nel cammin, che vòlt' è per paura;
my My friend, not fortune’s friend, is so
obstructed in his way, along the desert strand,
that he turns back in terror,
INF C2 64-66 / DANTE
e temo che non sia già sì smarrito,
ch'io mi sia tardi al soccorso levata,
per quel ch'i' ho di lui nel cielo udito.
and I fear he is already so far lost,
that I have started too late to his aid,
from what I heard of him in heaven.
12
INF C2 67-69 / DANTE
Or movi, e con la tua parola ornata
e con ciò c'ha mestieri al suo campare,
l'aiuta sì ch'i' ne sia consolata.
Now go, and help him so, with your eloquence,
and with whatever is needed for his relief,
that I may be comforted.
I am Beatrice who asks you to go:
I come from a place I long to return to:
love moved me that made me speak.
I' son Beatrice che ti faccio andare;
vegno del loco ove tornar disio;
amor mi mosse, che mi fa parlare.
INF C2 70-72 / DANTE
INF C2 70-72 / DANTE
I' son Beatrice che ti faccio andare;
vegno del loco ove tornar disio;
amor mi mosse, che mi fa parlare.
I am Beatrice who asks you to go:
I come from a place I long to return to:
love moved me that made me speak.
THE ITALIAN PRONUNCIATION OF BEATRICE SHOULD BE USED FROM HERE, EVEN WHEN THE
NAME IS QUOTED IN THE ENGLISH VERSION.
BEATRICE:
INF C2 73-75 / DANTE
INF C2 73-75 / KLINE
Quando sarò dinanzi al segnor mio,
di te mi loderò sovente a lui.
Tacette allora, e poi comincia' io:
When I am before my Lord,
I will often praise you to him.
Then she was silent, and I began:
VIRGIL:
INF C2 76-78 / DANTE
INF C2 76-78 / KLINE
O donna di virtù sola per cui
l'umana spezie eccede ogne contento
di quel ciel c'ha minor li cerchi sui,
O lady of virtue, in whom, alone,
humanity exceeds all that is contained
in the lunar heaven, which has the smallest sphere,
INF C2 79-81 / DANTE
tanto m'aggrada il tuo comandamento,
che l'ubidir, se già fosse, m'è tardi;
più non t'è uo' ch'aprirmi il tuo talento.
your command is so pleasing to me, that,
obeying, were it done already, it were done too
slow: you have no need to explain your wishes
further.
INF C2 82-84 / DANTE
Ma dimmi la cagion che non ti guardi
de lo scender qua giuso in questo centro
de l'ampio loco ove tornar tu ardi".
But tell me why you do not hesitate
to descend here, to this centre below,
from the wide space you burn to return to.
BEATRICE:
INF C2 85-87 / DANTE
INF C2 85-87 / KLINE
"Da che tu vuo' saver cotanto a dentro,
dirotti brievemente", mi rispuose,
"perch' i' non temo di venir qua entro.
She replied: Since you wish to know,
I will tell you this much,
briefly, of why I do not fear to enter here.
INF C2 88-90 / DANTE
Temer si dee di sole quelle cose
c'hanno potenza di fare altrui male;
de l'altre no, ché non son paurose.
Those things that have the power to hurt
are to be feared: not those
other things that are not fearful.
INF C2 91-93 / DANTE
I' son fatta da Dio, sua mercé, tale,
che la vostra miseria non mi tange,
né fiamma d'esto 'ncendio non m'assale.
I am made such, by God’s grace,
that your suffering does not touch me,
nor does the fire of this burning scorch me.
INF C2 94-96 / DANTE
Donna è gentil nel ciel che si compiange
di questo 'mpedimento ov' io ti mando,
sì che duro giudicio là sù frange.
GENTLE LADY: MARY
There is a gentle lady in heaven, who has such
compassion, for this trouble I send you to
relieve, that she overrules the strict laws on high.
13
INF C2 97-99 / DANTE
Questa chiese Lucia in suo dimando
e disse:--Or ha bisogno il tuo fedele
di te, e io a te lo raccomando--.
She called St Lucy…Lucia…to carry out her
request, and said: “Now, he who is faithful
to you, needs you, and I commend him to you.”
ST LUCY: VIRGIN MARTYR OF SYRACUSE, IN THE THIRD CENTURY AD, TRADITIONALLY ASSOCIATED WITH LIGHT &
SHE IS DANTE’S PATRON SAINT (HE HAD WEAKENED EYESIGHT) & IS FOR HIM THE SYMBOL OF ILLUMINATING GRACE.
VISION.
INF C2 100-102 / DANTE
Lucia, nimica di ciascun crudele,
si mosse, e venne al loco dov' i' era,
che mi sedea con l'antica Rachele.
Lucy, who is opposed to all cruelty,
rose and came to the place where I was,
where I sat with that Rachel of antiquity.
INF C2 103-105 / DANTE
Disse: Beatrice, loda di Dio vera,
ché non soccorri quei che t'amò tanto,
ch'uscì per te de la volgare schiera?
Lucy said: “Beatrice, God’s true praise, why do
you not help him, who loved you, so intensely,
he left behind the common crowd for you?
INF C2 106-108 / DANTE
Non odi tu la pieta del suo pianto,
non vedi tu la morte che 'l combatte
su la fiumana ove 'l mar non ha vanto?
Do you not hear how pitiful his grief is? Do you
not see the spiritual death that comes to meet him,
on that dark river, over which the sea has no
power?”
BEATRICE TREMBLES WITH EMOTION.
BEATRICE:
INF C2 109-111 / DANTE
INF C2 109-111 / KLINE
Al mondo non fur mai persone ratte
a far lor pro o a fuggir lor danno,
com' io, dopo cotai parole fatte,
No one on earth was ever as quick to search for
their good, or run from harm, as I to descend,
from my blessed place,
INF C2 112-114 / DANTE
venni qua giù del mio beato scanno,
fidandomi del tuo parlare onesto,
ch'onora te e quei ch'udito l'hanno".
after these words were spoken,
and place my faith in your true speech,
that honours you and those who hear it.
DANTE BOWS REVERENTLY.
DANTE:
LA VITA NOVA l. 2 / DANTE SONNET / TUSIANI SONNETTO? Tanto gentile
my lady, when she greets a passer-by,
La donna mia quand’ella altrui saluta,
INF C2 115-117 / KLINE
She turned away, with tears in her bright eyes, after saying this to me, and made me, by that, come here all the
quicker:
DANTE TAKES A STEP FORWARD AND SPEAKS WITH TENDERNESS AND GRIEF.
Beatrice!…Bea!
DANTE:
Beatrice!…Bice!…
VIRGIL:
INF C2 118-120 / DANTE
INF C2 118-120 / KLINE
E venni a te così com' ella volse:
rescued
d'inanzi a quella fiera ti levai
che del bel monte il corto andar ti tolse.
and And so I came to you, as she wished, and
you in the face of that the wild creature that denied
you the shortest path to the lovely mountain.
14
INF C2 121-123 / DANTE
Dunque: che è? perché, perché restai,
perché tanta viltà nel core allette,
perché ardire e franchezza non hai,
Dunque…What is it then? Why, do you hold back?
Why let such cowardly fear into your heart?
Why, when three such blessed ladies
INF C2 124-126 / DANTE
poscia che tai tre donne benedette
curan di te ne la corte del cielo,
e 'l mio parlar tanto ben ti promette?».
in the courts of heaven care for you,
and my words promise you so much good,
are you not free and ardent?
INF C2 127-132 / KLINE
As the flowers, bent down and closed, by the night’s cold, erect themselves, all open, on their stems, when the sun
shines on them, so I rose from weakened courage: and so fine an ardour coursed through my heart, that I began to
speak, like one who is freed:
DANTE:
INF C2 133-135 / DANTE
INF C2 133-135 / KLINE
«Oh pietosa colei che mi soccorse!
e te cortese ch'ubidisti tosto
a le vere parole che ti porse!
O she, who pities, who helps me; and you,
so gentle, who swiftly obeyed
the true words she commanded,
INF C2 134-136 / DANTE
Tu m'hai con disiderio il cor disposto
sì al venir con le parole tue,
ch'i' son tornato nel primo proposto.
you have filled my heart with such desire,
by what you have said, to go forward, that I have
turned back to my first purpose.
INF C2 137-139 / DANTE
Or va, ch'un sol volere è d'ambedue:
tu duca, tu segnore e tu maestro.
Così li dissi; e poi che mosso fue,
Go now, for the two of us have but one will,
you, the guide, the lord, the master.
So I spoke to him, and he going on,
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C2 137-138 / KLINE
INF C2 137-138 / DANTE
Go now, for the two of us have but one will,
you, the guide, the lord, the master.
Or va, ch'un sol volere è d'ambedue:
tu duca, tu segnore e tu maestro.
INF C2 140 / KLINE
INF C2 140 / DANTE
I entered on the steep, tree-shadowed way.
intrai per lo cammino alto e silvestro.
CANTO 3
THE GATE OF HELL
♫
INFERNAL: SOFT, BECOMING LOUDER * * * * * * * * * *
INF C3 1
Infernal: dire but without sounds of suffering humans.
15
DANTE:
INF C3 10-12 / DANTE
INF C3 10-12 / KLINE
Queste parole di colore oscuro
vid' ïo scritte al sommo d'una porta;
per ch'io: «Maestro, il senso lor m'è duro».
These were the words, with their dark colour,
that I saw written above the gate, at which I said:
‘Master, their meaning, to me, is hard.’ see the
words with their dark colour above the Gate.
A LOUD, DIRE NOTE SOUNDS.
DANTE:
INF C3 1-3 / KLINE
INF C3 1-3 / DANTE
‘THROUGH ME TO THE ETERNAL CITY: ‘Per me si va ne la città dolente,
THROUGH ME TO ETERNAL SADNESS: per me si va ne l'etterno dolore,
THROUGH ME TO THE LOST PEOPLE.
per me si va tra la perduta gente.
VIRGIL:
INF C3 1-3 / DANTE
INF C3 1-3 / KLINE
Per me si va ne la città dolente,
per me si va ne l'etterno dolore,
per me si va tra la perduta gente.
‘THROUGH ME TO THE ETERNAL CITY:
THROUGH ME TO ETERNAL SADNESS:
THROUGH ME TO THE LOST PEOPLE.’
Alternative:
THIS WAY FOR THE SORROWFUL CITY:
THIS WAY FOR ETERNAL SUFFERING:
THIS WAY TO JOIN THE LOST PEOPLE.
DANTE BEGINS READING. VIRGIL STARTS JUST AFTER HIM.
DANTE:
& VIRGIL:
INF C3 4-6 / DANTE
INF C3 4-6 / KLINE
Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore;
fecemi la divina podestate,
la somma sapïenza e 'l primo amore.
JUSTICE MOVED MY SUPREME MAKER:
I WAS SHAPED BY DIVINE POWER,
BY HIGHEST WISDOM, AND BY PRIMAL LOVE.
INF C3 7-8 / DANTE
Dinanzi a me non fuor cose create
se non etterne, e io etterno duro.’
BEFORE ME, NOTHING WAS CREATED
THAT IS NOT ETERNAL: AND ETERNAL I ENDURE.’
VIRGIL AND DANTE FINISH TOGETHER.
DANTE:
♫
& VIRGIL:
INF C3 9 / DANTE
INF C3 9 / KLINE
Lasciate ogne speranza, voi
HERE.’
ch'intrate'.
or:
FORSAKE ALL HOPE, ALL YOU THAT ENTER
ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE.’
INFERNAL: LOUD NOTE * * * * * * * * * *
INF C3 9
VIRGIL:
INF C3 13-15 / DANTE
INF C3 13-15 / KLINE
Ed elli a me, come persona accorta:
«Qui si convien lasciare ogne sospetto;
ogne viltà convien che qui sia morta.
And he replied to me, as one who knows:
Here, all uncertainty must be left behind:
all cowardice must be dead.
16
Come with me.
INF C3 16-21 KLINE
We have come to the place where I told you that you would see the sad people who have lost the good of the intellect.’
And placing his hand on mine, with a calm expression, that comforted me, he led me towards the hidden things.
INF C3 22-30 KLINE
Here sighs, complaints, and deep groans, sounded through the starless air, so that it made me weep at first. Many
tongues, a terrible crying, words of sadness, accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse, with sounds of hands amongst
them, making a turbulence that turns forever, in that air, stained, eternally, like sand spiralling in a whirlwind.
♫
MISERABLE MODE * * * * * * * * * *
INF C3 15 from C3 22, 25-30
‘sighs, complaints, deep groans; many tongues, a terrible crying, words of sadness, accents of
anger, voices deep & hoarse, with sounds of hands amongst them, making a turbulence that turns
forever, in that air, stained, eternally, like sand spiralling in a whirlwind.’
DANTE:
INF C3 31-32 / DANTE
INF C3 31-32 / KLINE
E io ch'avea d'error la testa cinta,
dissi: «Maestro, che è quel ch'i' odo?
e che gent' è che par nel duol sì vinta?».
And I, my head surrounded by the horror, said:
Master, what is this I hear, and what race are these
that seem so overcome by suffering?
VIRGIL:
INF C3 34-36 / DANTE
INF C3 34-36 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Questo misero modo
tegnon l'anime triste di coloro
che visser sanza 'nfamia e sanza lodo.
And he to me: This is the miserable mode
in which those exist
who lived without praise, without blame.
DANTE:
INF C3 36 / KLINE
INF C3 36 / DANTE
who lived without praise, without blame.
che visser sanza 'nfamia e sanza lodo.
VIRGIL:
INF C3 37-39 / DANTE
INF C3 37-39 / KLINE
Mischiate sono a quel cattivo coro
de li angeli che non furon ribelli
né fur fedeli a Dio, ma per sé fuoro.
They are mixed in with the despised
choir of angels, those not rebellious,
not faithful to God, but for themselves.
INF C3 40-42 / DANTE
Caccianli i ciel per non esser men belli,
né lo profondo inferno li riceve,
ch'alcuna gloria i rei avrebber d'elli».
Heaven drove them out to maintain its beauty,
and deep Hell does not accept them,
lest the evil have glory over them.
DANTE:
INF C3 43-44 / DANTE
INF C3 43-44 / KLINE
E io: «Maestro, che è tanto greve
a lor che lamentar li fa sì forte?».
And I: Master, what is so heavy on them,
that makes them moan so deeply?
VIRGIL:
INF C3 45 / DANTE
INF C3 45 / KLINE
Rispuose: «Dicerolti molto breve.
He replied: I will tell you, briefly.
17
INF C3 46-48 / DANTE
Questi non hanno speranza di morte,
e la lor cieca vita è tanto bassa,
che 'nvidïosi son d'ogne altra sorte.
They have no hope of death,
and their darkened life is so mean
that they are envious of every other fate.
INF C3 49-51 / DANTE
Fama di loro il mondo esser non lassa;
misericordia e giustizia li sdegna:
non ragioniam di lor, ma guarda e passa».
Earth allows no mention of them to exist:
mercy and justice reject them:
let us not talk of them, but look and pass.
INF C3 52-54 / KLINE
And I, who looked back, saw a banner, that twirling round, moved so quickly, that it seemed to me scornful of any
pause,
DANTE MURMURS…
DANTE:
INF C3 55-56 / KLINE
INF C3 55-56 / DANTE
and behind it came so long a line of people,
I never would have believed that death
e dietro le venìa sì lunga tratta
di gente, ch'i' non averei creduto
INF C3 55-56 / DANTE
INF C3 55-56 / KLINE
e dietro le venìa sì lunga tratta
di gente, ch'i' non averei creduto
and behind it came so long a line of people,
I never would have believed that death
…THEN SPEAKS CLEARLY.
DANTE:
INF C3 56-57 / DANTE
INF C3 56-57 / KLINE
di gente, ch'i' non averei creduto
che morte tanta n'avesse disfatta.
I never would have believed that death
had undone so many.
AFTER A WHILE…
DANTE:
INF C3 55-57 / KLINE
INF C3 55-57 / DANTE
and behind it came so long a line of people,
I never would have believed that death
had undone so many.
e dietro le venìa sì lunga tratta
di gente, ch'i' non averei creduto
che morte tanta n'avesse disfatta.
AFTER ANOTHER
WHILE…
DANTE:
INF C3 58-60 / DANTE
INF C3 58-60 / KLINE
Poscia ch'io v'ebbi alcun riconosciuto,
vidi e conobbi l'ombra di colui
che fece per viltade il gran rifiuto.
When I had recognised some among them,
I saw see and knew know the shade of him
who from cowardice made ‘the great refusal’:
Pope Celestine.
THE SHADE OF HIM: CELESTINE V, SAINT & POPE: PIETRO DA MORRONE, A SAINTLY HERMIT FROM THE ABRUZZI, WAS
COMPELLED TO BECOME POPE BY THE CARDINALS IN 1294, AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY. FIVE MONTHS LATER, WORN OUT, HE
ABDICATED AND WAS CONFINED BY HIS SUCCESSOR, BONIFACE VIII, TILL HIS DEATH IN 1296. HE WAS CANONISED IN 1313.
DANTE notes:
INF C3 60 / KLINE
INF C3 60 / DANTE
who from cowardice made ‘the great refusal’.
che fece per viltade il gran rifiuto.
DANTE:
INF C3 61-63 / DANTE
INF C3 61-63 / KLINE
Incontanente intesi e certo fui
che questa era la setta d'i cattivi,
a Dio spiacenti e a' nemici sui.
Immediately I understood that this
This was is the despicable crew,
hateful to God and his enemies.
18
DANTE:
INF C3 64-66 / DANTE
INF C3 64-66 / KLINE
Questi sciaurati, che mai non fur vivi,
erano ignudi e stimolati molto
da mosconi e da vespe ch'eran ivi.
These wretches, who never truly lived,
were are naked, and goaded
viciously by hornets, and wasps,
INF C3 67-69 / DANTE
Elle rigavan lor di sangue il volto,
che, mischiato di lagrime, a' lor piedi
da fastidiosi vermi era ricolto.
there, making their faces stream with blood,
that, mixed with tears, was is collected,
at their feet, by loathsome worms.
DANTE:
INF C3 70-72 / DANTE
INF C3 70-72 / KLINE
E poi ch'a riguardar oltre mi diedi,
vidi genti a la riva d'un gran fiume;
per ch'io dissi: «Maestro, or mi concedi
And then, as I looked onwards, I saw people
on the bank of a great river,
at which I said: Master, now let me understand
INF C3 73-75 / DANTE
ch'I' sappia quali sono, e qual costume
le fa di trapassar parer sì pronte,
com' i' discerno per lo fioco lume».
who these are, and what custom
makes them so ready to cross over,
as I can see by the dim light.
VIRGIL:
INF C3 76-78 / DANTE
INF C3 76-78 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Le cose ti fier conte
quando noi fermerem li nostri passi
su la trista riviera d'Acheronte».
And he to me: The thing will be told you,
when we halt our steps,
on the sad strand of Acheron.
DANTE notes:
INF C3 78 / KLINE
INF C3 78 / DANTE
on the sad strand of Acheron.
su la trista riviera d'Acheronte».
INF C3 79-81 / KLINE
Then, fearing that my words might have offended him, I stopped myself from speaking, with eyes ashamed and
downcast, till we had reached the flood.
CHARON & SOULS
CHARON
MYTHICAL AGE : AGED
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
VIRGIL DESCRIBES HIM:
AENEID 6 298-304 / VIRGIL
AENEID 6 298-304 / KLINE
portitor has horrendus aquas et flumina seruat
terribili squalore Charon, cui plurima mento
canities inculta iacet, stant lumina flamma,
sordidus ex umeris nodo dependet amictus.
ipse ratem conto subigit uelisque ministrat
et ferruginea subuectat corpora cumba,
iam senior, sed cruda deo uiridisque senectus
A grim ferryman watches over the rivers and streams,
Charon, dreadful in his squalor, with a mass of unkempt
white hair straggling from his chin: flames glow in his eyes,
a dirty garment hangs, knotted from his shoulders.
He poles the boat and trims the sails himself,
and ferries the dead in his dark skiff,
old now, but a god’s old age is fresh and green.
CHARON WOULD PROBABLY USE A POLE RATHER THAN AN OAR, BUT [INF C3 110] WOULD HAVE TO BE CHANGED.
LEAVE THE POLE TO PHLEGYAS [INF C8 13-] AND GIVE CHARON A SCULL TO USE OVER THE STERN OF HIS BOAT.
CHARON SHOUTS.
19
CHARON:
INF C3 82-84 / DANTE
INF C3 82-84 / KLINE
Ed ecco verso noi venir per nave
un vecchio, bianco per antico pelo,
gridando: «Guai a voi, anime prave!
And see, an old man, with white hoary locks,
came towards us in a boat, shouting:
Woe to you, wicked spirits!
CHARON (΄KARƏN): THE FERRYMAN OF THE RIVER ACHERON IN THE UNDERWORLD. THE OTHER RIVERS OF THE UNDERWORLD
WERE THE COCYTUS, A TRIBUTARY OF THE ACHERON, WITH ITS TRIBUTARY THE PHLEGETHON; THE LETHE & THE STYX.
DANTE ECHOES CHARON.
DANTE:
INF C3 84 / KLINE
INF C3 84 / DANTE
Woe to you, wicked spirits!
gridando: Guai a voi, anime prave!
THE
POETS WALK SLOWLY TOWARDS HIM.
SPIRITS./.SPIRITS AROUND VIRGIL AND DANTE.
CHARON
SHOUTS AT THE INVISIBLE
CHARON:
INF C3 85-87 / DANTE
INF C3 85-87 / KLINE
Non isperate mai veder lo cielo:
i' vegno per menarvi a l'altra riva
ne le tenebre etterne, in caldo e 'n gelo.
Never hope to see heaven: I come to carry you
to the other shore, into eternal darkness,
into fire and ice.
CHARON POINTS AT DANTE.
CHARON:
INF C3 88-90 / DANTE
INF C3 88-90 / KLINE
E tu che se' costì, anima viva,
pàrtiti da cotesti che son morti».
Ma poi che vide ch'io non mi partiva,
And you, who are there, a living spirit,
depart from those who are dead.
But when he saw that I did not depart,
DANTE DOES NOT MOVE.
CHARON:
INF C3 91-93 / DANTE
INF C3 91-93 / KLINE
disse: «Per altra via, per altri porti
verrai a piaggia, non qui, per passare:
più lieve legno convien che ti porti».
he said: By other ways, by other means of passage,
you will cross to the shore:
a quicker boat must carry you.
VIRGIL:
INF C3 94-96 / DANTE
INF C3 94-96 / KLINE
E 'l duca lui: «Caron, non ti crucciare:
vuolsi così colà dove si puote
ciò che si vuole, e più non dimandare».
And my guide said to him: Charon,
do not vex yourself: it is willed there,
where what is willed is done: ask no more.
INF C3 97-99 / KLINE
Then the bearded mouth, of the ferryman of the livid marsh, who had wheels of flame round his eyes, was stilled.
♫
INFERNAL * * * * * * * * * *
INF C3 96
Not MISERABLE MODE because Dante describes the human voices.
20
VIRGIL:
INF C3 100-102 / DANTE
INF C3 100-102 / KLINE
Ma quell' anime, ch'eran lasse e nude,
cangiar colore e dibattero i denti,
ratto che 'nteser le parole crude.
But those The naked and weary spirits, who were
naked and weary, altered colour, and gnashed gnash
their teeth, when they heard his former, cruel words.
INF C3 103-105 / DANTE
Bestemmiavano Dio e lor parenti,
l'umana spezie e 'l loco e 'l tempo e 'l seme
di lor semenza e di lor nascimenti.
They blasphemed blaspheme against God, and
their parents, the human species, the place, time,
and seed of their conception, and of their birth.
INF C3 106-108 / DANTE
Poi si ritrasser tutte quante insieme,
forte piangendo, a la riva malvagia
ch'attende ciascun uom che Dio non teme.
♫
Then, all together, weeping bitterly,
they neared near the cursed shore that waits
for every one who has no fear of God.
INFERNAL * * * * * * * * * *
INF C3 108
AS THE MUSIC SOUNDS, DANTE VERSIFIES…
DANTE:
INF C3 100-102 / KLINE
INF C3 100-102 / DANTE
But those spirits, who were naked and weary,
altered colour, and gnashed their teeth,
when they heard his former, cruel words.
Ma quell' anime, ch'eran lasse e nude,
cangiar colore e dibattero i denti,
ratto che 'nteser le parole crude.
INF C3 103-105 / DANTE
They blasphemed against God, and their
Bestemmiavano Dio e lor parenti,
parents, the human species, the place, time,
l'umana spezie e 'l loco e 'l tempo e 'l seme
and seed of their conception, and of their birth. di lor semenza e di lor nascimenti.
INF C3 106-108 / DANTE
Then, all together, weeping bitterly,
they neared the cursed shore that waits
for every one who has no fear of God.
Poi si ritrasser tutte quante insieme,
forte piangendo, a la riva malvagia
ch'attende ciascun uom che Dio non teme.
INF C3 109-111 / DANTE
Charon, the demon, with eyes of burning coal, Caron dimonio, con occhi di bragia
beckoning, gathers them all:
loro accennando, tutte le raccoglie;
and strikes with his oar whoever lingers.
batte col remo qualunque s'adagia.
INF C3 112-114 / DANTE
As the autumn leaves fall, one after another,
till the branches see
all their spoilage on the ground,
Come d'autunno si levan le foglie
l'una appresso de l'altra, fin che 'l ramo
vede a la terra tutte le sue spoglie,
so, one by one, the evil seed of Adam,
threw themselves down from the bank
when signalled, like the falcon at its call.
similemente il mal seme d'Adamo
gittansi di quel lito ad una ad una,
per cenni come augel per suo richiamo.
INF C3 115-117 / DANTE
…AND GIVES THE ENGLISH.
21
INF C3 109-111 / DANTE
INF C3 109-111 / KLINE
Caron dimonio, con occhi di bragia
loro accennando, tutte le raccoglie;
batte col remo qualunque s'adagia.
Charon, the demon, with eyes of burning coal,
beckoning, gathers them all:
and strikes with his oar whoever lingers.
INF C3 112-114 / DANTE
Come d'autunno si levan le foglie
l'una appresso de l'altra, fin che 'l ramo
vede a la terra tutte le sue spoglie,
As the autumn leaves fall, one after another,
till the branches see
all their spoilage on the ground,
INF C3 115-117 / DANTE
similemente il mal seme d'Adamo
gittansi di quel lito ad una ad una,
per cenni come augel per suo richiamo.
♫
so, one by one, the evil seed of Adam,
threw themselves down from the bank
when signalled, like the falcon at its call.
INFERNAL: DIES AWAY * * * * * * * * * *
INF C3 117
DANTE:
INF C3 118-120 / DANTE
INF C3 118-120 / KLINE
Così sen vanno su per l'onda bruna,
e avanti che sien di là discese,
anche di qua nuova schiera s'auna.
So they vanish on the dark water,
and before they have landed over there,
over here a fresh crowd collects.
VIRGIL:
INF C3 121-123 / DANTE
INF C3 121-123 / KLINE
Figliuol mio, disse 'l maestro cortese,
quelli che muoion ne l'ira di Dio
tutti convegnon qui d'ogne paese;
The courteous Master said: My son,
those who die subject to God’s anger,
all gather here, from every country,
INF C3 124-126 / DANTE
e pronti sono a trapassar lo rio,
ché la divina giustizia li sprona,
sì che la tema si volve in disio.
and they are quick to cross the river,
since divine justice goads them on,
so that their fear is turned to desire.
INF C3 127-129 / DANTE
Quinci non passa mai anima buona;
e però, se Caron di te si lagna,
ben puoi sapere omai che 'l suo dir suona.
This way no good spirit ever passes, and so
if Charon complains damns at you, you can well
understand, now, the meaning of his words.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C3 127-129 / KLINE
INF C3 127-129 / DANTE
This way no good spirit ever passes, and so
if Charon complains at you, you can well
understand, now, the meaning of his words.
Quinci non passa mai anima buona;
e però, se Caron di te si lagna,
ben puoi sapere omai che 'l suo dir suona.
INF C3 130-136 / KLINE
When he had ended, the gloomy ground trembled so violently, that the memory of my terror still drenches me with
sweat. The weeping earth gave vent, and flashed with crimson light, overpowering all my senses, and I fell, like a
man overcome by sleep.
22
CANTO 4
INF C4 1-6 / KLINE
A heavy thunder shattered the deep sleep in my head, so that I came to myself, like someone woken by force, and
standing up, I moved my eyes, now refreshed. And looked round, steadily, to find out what place I was in.
DANTE to himself:
INF C4 7-9 / DANTE
INF C4 7-9 / KLINE
Vero è che 'n su la proda mi trovai
de la valle d'abisso dolorosa
che 'ntrono accoglie d'infiniti guai.
I found find myself, in truth,
on the brink of the valley of the an sad abyss
that gathers the thunder of an infinite howling.
INF C4 10-12 / DANTE
INF C4 10-12 / KLINE
Oscura e profonda era e nebulosa
tanto che, per ficcar lo viso a fondo,
io non vi discernea alcuna cosa.
It was is so dark, and deep,
and clouded, that I could can see nothing.
by staring into its depths.
LOOKING INTO THE ABYSS
♫
WIND / PERSONS HOWLING * * * * * * * * * *
INF C3 129 from INF C4 9
VIRGIL:
INF C4 13-15 / DANTE
INF C4 13-15 / KLINE
«Or discendiam qua giù nel cieco mondo»,
cominciò il poeta tutto smorto.
«Io sarò primo, e tu sarai secondo».
The poet, white of face, began:
Now, let us descend into the blind world below:
I will go first, and you go second.
DANTE’S QUICK COUPLET IS NOT RESPECTFUL.
DANTE:
INF C4 13-15 / KLINE
INF C4 13-15 / DANTE
The poet, white of face, began:
«Or discendiam qua giù nel cieco mondo»,
Now, let us descend into the blind world below: cominciò il poeta tutto smorto.
I will go first, and you go second.
Io sarò primo, e tu sarai secondo.
INF C4 16-18 / DANTE
E io, che del color mi fui accorto,
dissi: «Come verrò, se tu paventi
che suoli al mio dubbiare esser conforto?».
And I, who saw his altered colour, said:
How can I go on, if you are afraid,
who are my comfort when I hesitate?
VIRGIL POINTS DOWN.
VIRGIL:
INF C4 19-21 / DANTE
INF C4 19-21 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «L'angoscia de le genti
che son qua giù, nel viso mi dipigne
quella pietà che tu per tema senti.
And he to me: The anguish of the people
here below, brings that look of pity to my face
that you mistake for fear.
23
INF C4 22-24 / DANTE
Andiam, ché la via lunga ne sospigne».
Così si mise e così mi fé intrare
nel primo cerchio che l'abisso cigne.
Let us go, for the length of our journey demands
it. So he entered, and so he made me enter,
into the first circle that surrounds the abyss.
DANTE:
♫
INF C4 22 / KLINE
INF C4 22 / KLINE
Let us go, for the length of our journey…
Andiam., ché la via lunga ne sospigne».
MUSIC ?
GIVING WAY TO NEXT
**********
THE UNBAPTISED
♫
SIGHING: SORROW, NOT TORMENT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C4 22 from INF C4 25-30
INF C4 25-30 / KLINE
Here there was no sound to be heard, except the sighing, that made the eternal air tremble, and it came from the
sorrow of the vast and varied crowds of children, of women, and of men, free of torment.
VIRGIL:
INF C4 31-33 / DANTE
INF C4 31-33 / KLINE
Lo buon maestro a me: «Tu non dimandi
che spiriti son questi che tu vedi?
Or vo' che sappi, innanzi che più andi,
The good Master said to me: ‘You do not demand
to know who these spirits are that you see?
I want you to learn, before you go further,
INF C4 34-36 / DANTE
ch'ei non peccaro; e s'elli hanno mercedi,
is
non basta, perché non ebber battesmo,
ch'è porta de la fede che tu credi;
in.
that they had no sin: yet, though they have worth, it
not sufficient, because they were not baptised, and
baptism is the gateway to the faith that you believe
DANTE notes:
INF C4 35 / KLINE
INF C4 35 / DANTE
not sufficient, because… not baptised, and
non basta, perché non ebber battesmo,
VIRGIL:
INF C4 37-39 / DANTE
INF C4 37-39 / KLINE
e s 'e' furon dinanzi al cristianesmo,
non adorar debitamente a Dio:
e di questi cotai son io medesmo.
Since they lived before Christianity
they did not worship God correctly,
and I myself am one of them.
INF C4 40-42 / DANTE
Per tai difetti, non per altro rio,
semo perduti, e sol di tanto offesi
che sanza speme vivemo in disio».
For this defect, and for no other fault, we are lost,
and we are only tormented,
in that without hope we live in desire.
INF C4 43-45 / KLINE
When I heard this, great sadness gripped my heart, because I knew of people of great value, who must be suspended in
that Limbo.
DANTE IS DOWNCAST: HE KNOWS ‘PEOPLE OF GREAT VALUE…IN THAT LIMBO’ [INF C4 45].
24
DANTE:
INF C4 46-48 / DANTE
INF C4 46-48 / KLINE
«Dimmi, maestro mio, dimmi, segnore»,
comincia' io per voler esser certo
di quella fede che vince ogne errore:
Wishing to be certain in that faith that overcomes
every error, I began: Tell me my Master,
tell me, sir, did anyone ever go from here,
INF C4 49-51 / DANTE
INF C4 49-51 / KLINE
«uscicci mai alcuno, o per suo merto
o per altrui, che poi fosse beato?».
E quei che 'ntese il mio parlar coverto,
through his own merit or because of others’
merit, who afterwards was blessed?
And he, understanding my veiled question,
VIRGIL UNDERSTANDS HIS ‘VEILED QUESTION’ [INF C4 51-52].
VIRGIL:
INF C4 52-54 / DANTE
INF C4 52-54 / KLINE
rispuose: «Io era nuovo in questo stato,
quando ci vidi venire un possente,
con segno di vittoria coronato.
replied: I was new to this state
when I saw a great one, Christ come here
crowned with the sign of victory.
GREAT ONE: CHRIST
INF C4 55-57 / DANTE
Trasseci l'ombra del primo parente,
d'Abèl suo figlio e quella di Noè,
di Moïsè legista e ubidente;
He took from us the shade of Adam,
our first parent, of his son Abel, and that of Noah,
of Moses the lawgiver,
DANTE notes:
INF C4 56-57 / KLINE
INF C4 56-57 / DANTE
his son Abel, and that of Noah,
of Moses the lawgiver,
d'Abèl suo figlio e quella di Noè
di Moïsè legista e ubidente;
VIRGIL:
INF C4 58-60 / DANTE
INF C4 58-60 / KLINE
Abraàm patrïarca e Davìd re,
Israèl con lo padre e co' suoi nati
e con Rachele, per cui tanto fé,
and Abraham, the obedient Patriarch, King David,
Jacob with his father Isaac, and his children,
and Rachel, for whom he laboured so long,
INF C4 58-60 / KLINE
INF C4 58-60 / DANTE
and Abraham, the…Patriarch, King David,
Jacob with his father Isaac, and his children,
and Rachel, for whom he laboured so long,
Abraàm patrïarca e Davìd re,
Israèl con lo padre e co' suoi nati
e con Rachele, per cui tanto fé
DANTE notes
VIRGIL:
INF C4 61-63 / DANTE
INF C4 61-63 / KLINE
e altri molti, e feceli beati.
E vo' che sappi che, dinanzi ad essi,
spiriti umani non eran salvati».
and many others, and made them blessed.,
and I wish you to know that no. No human souls
were saved before these.
INF C4 64-72 / KLINE
We did not cease moving, though he was speaking, but passed the wood meanwhile, the wood, I say, of crowded
spirits. We had not gone far from where I slept, when I saw a flame that overcame a hemisphere of shadows. We were
still some way from it, but not so far that I failed to discern in part what noble people occupied that place.
25
THE GREAT: 4 POETS
♫
LAMP: EERIE?
**********
INF C4 63
4 GREAT SHADES EMERGE, ACCOMPANIED BY THE MUSE ERATO.
DANTE:
INF C4 73-75 / DANTE
INF C4 73-75 / KLINE
«O tu ch'onori scïenzïa e arte,
questi chi son c'hanno cotanta onranza,
che dal modo de li altri li diparte?».
O you, who value every science and art,
who are these who have such honour
that they stand apart from all the rest?
VIRGIL:
INF C4 76-78 / DANTE
INF C4 76-78 / KLINE
E quelli a me: «L'onrata nominanza
che di lor suona sù ne la tua vita,
grazïa acquista in ciel che sì li avanza».
And he to me: Their fame, that sounds out
for them, honoured in that life of yours,
brings them heaven’s grace that advances them.
DANTE notes:
INF C4 76 / KLINE
INF C4 76 / DANTE
And he to me: Their fame, that sounds out
E quelli a me: «L'onrata nominanza
VIRGIL CALLS OUT TO ERATO.
VIRGIL:
AENEID 7 37 / KLINE
AENEID 7 37 / DANTE
Come now, Erato, and I’ll tell of the kings,
the times.
Nunc age, qui reges, Erato, quae tempora, rerum
DANTE MURMURS THE TRANSLATION.
DANTE:
AENEID 7 37 / DANTE
AENEID 7 37 / KLINE
Nunc age, qui reges, Erato, quae
tempora, rerum
Come now, Erato, and I’ll tell of the kings, the times.
ERATO:
INF C4 79-81 / DANTE
INF C4 79-81 / KLINE
Intanto voce fu per me udita:
Onorate l'altissimo poeta;
l'ombra sua torna, ch'era dipartita.
Meanwhile I heard a voice:
Honour the great poet:
his departed shade returns.
INF C4 82-84 / KLINE
After the voice had paused, and was quiet, I saw four great shadows come towards us with faces that were neither sad
nor happy.
THE 4 SHADES APPROACH DANTE AND VIRGIL.
Lo buon maestro cominciò a dire:
«Mira colui con quella spada in mano,
che vien dinanzi ai tre sì come sire:
VIRGIL:
The good Master began to speak: ‘Take note
of him, with a sword in hand, who comes in
front of the other three, as if he were their lord:
INF C4 88-90 / DANTE
INF C4 88-90 / KLINE
quelli è Omero poeta sovrano;
l'altro è Orazio satiro che vene;
Ovidio è 'l terzo, e l'ultimo Lucano.
That is Homer, the sovereign poet:
next Horace the satirist:
Ovid is the third, and last is Lucan.
26
HOMER: BLIND GREEK EPIC POET: THE ODYSSEY, THE ILIAD.
HORACE (QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS): 65-8 BC. BORN VENUSIA, NEAR BORDER OF APULIA. HE WROTE ODES & EPODES IN
VARIOUS METRES DERIVED FROM THE GREEK POETS; SATIRES; & EPISTLES. THE TYPE OF A MORALIST, RATHER THAN A SATIRIST,
FOR DANTE.
OVID (PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO): BORN AT SULMO (SULMONA, ITALY) IN 43 BC. HE WAS EXILED FROM AUGUSTAN ROME IN
AD 8 (FOR A POEM, PROBABLY THE ARS AMATORIA & AN ERROR, PROBABLY AN INDISCRETION CONCERNING AUGUSTUS’S
WAYWARD DAUGHTER JULIA) & DIED AT TOMIS ON THE BLACK SEA IN AD 17. HIS GREATEST WORK IS THE METAMORPHOSES, A
RETELLING OF MYTHS DOWN TO HIS OWN TIME, BASED ON THE THEME OF CHANGE. THIS, THE OVIDIO MAGGIORE WAS THE MAIN
SOURCE FOR DANTE’S KNOWLEDGE OF MYTHOLOGY, ALONG WITH VIRGIL’S AENEID.
LUCAN (MARCUS ANNAEUS LUCANUS): 39-65 BC. BORN CORDOVA, EDUCATED AT ROME. HIS UNFINISHED EPIC: THE CIVIL
WAR (KNOWN AS THE PHARSALIA FOR ITS CLIMACTIC BATTLE) A POETICAL GUIDE TO DANTE IN HIS IDEAS OF ROMAN HISTORY.
DANTE notes:
INF C4 88-90 / KLINE
INF C4 88-90 / DANTE
That is Homer, the sovereign poet:
next Horace the satirist:
Ovid is the third, and last is Lucan.
quelli è Omero poeta sovrano;
l'altro è Orazio satiro che vene;
Ovidio è 'l terzo, e l'ultimo Lucano.
VIRGIL:
♫
INF C4 91-93 / DANTE
INF C4 91-93 / KLINE
Però che ciascun meco si convene
nel nome che sonò la voce sola,
fannomi onore, e di ciò fanno bene.
Because each is worthy, with me, of that name
the one voice sounded, they do me honour,
and, in doing so, do good.
MUSIC:
FANFARE?
THE POETS EMBRACE. DANTE WRITES THEIR NAMES IN HIS BOOK, THINKS FOR A WHILE AND
WRITES./.READS.
DANTE:
INF C4 94-96 / KLINE
INF C4 94-96 / DANTE
So I saw gathered together the noble school
of the lord of highest song,
who soars, like an eagle, above the rest.
Così vid' i' adunar la bella scola
di quel segnor de l'altissimo canto
che sovra li altri com' aquila vola.
INF C4 94-96 / DANTE
Così vid' i' adunar la bella scola
di quel segnor de l'altissimo canto
che sovra li altri com' aquila vola.
So I saw gathered together the noble school,
of the lord of highest song,
who soars, like an eagle, above the rest.
THE 4 DRIFT OFF WITH ERATO.
DANTE:
INF C4 97-99 / DANTE
INF C4 97-99 / KLINE
Da ch'ebber ragionato insieme alquanto,
volsersi a me con salutevol cenno,
e 'l mio maestro sorrise di tanto;
After they had talked for a while amongst
themselves, they turned towards me with a sign of
greeting, at which my Master smiled.
27
INF C4 100-102 / DANTE
e più d'onore ancora assai mi fenno,
ch'e' sì mi fecer de la loro schiera,
sì ch'io fui sesto tra cotanto senno.
And they honoured me further still,
since they made me one of their company,
so that I made a sixth among the wise.
HE FOLLOWS THEM QUICKLY.
HEROES & HEROINES
♫
ANCIENT PASTORAL OR HEROIC * * * * * * * * * *
INF C4 103
Pleasant only by comparison with the other music.
VIRGIL IS STILL BEHIND THE CURTAIN. DANTE RETURNS, OPENS HIS BOOK AND ADDRESSES
THE AUDIENCE.
DANTE:
INF C4 103-105 / KLINE
INF C4 103-105 / DANTE
So we went onwards to the light, speaking of Così andammo infino a la lumera,
things about which it is best to be silent, just as parlando cose che 'l tacere è bello,
it was best to speak of them, where I was.
sì com' era 'l parlar colà dov' era.
INF C4 103-105 / DANTE
Così andammo infino a la lumera,
parlando cose che 'l tacere è bello,
sì com' era 'l parlar colà dov' era.
So we went onwards to the light, speaking of
things about which it is best to be silent, just as
it was best to speak of them, where I was.
INF C4 106-108 / DANTE
Venimmo al piè d'un nobile castello,
sette volte cerchiato d'alte mura,
difeso intorno d'un bel fiumicello.
We came to the base of a noble castle;
surrounded seven times by a high wall;
defended by a beautiful, encircling, stream.
INF C4 109-111 / DANTE
Questo passammo come terra dura;
per sette porte intrai con questi savi:
giugnemmo in prato di fresca verdura.
This we crossed as if it were solid earth:
I entered through seven gates, with the wise:
we reached a meadow of fresh turf.
INF C4 112-114 / DANTE
Genti v'eran con occhi tardi e gravi,
di grande autorità ne' lor sembianti:
parlavan rado, con voci soavi.
The people there were of great authority in
appearance, with calm, and serious looks,
speaking seldom, and then with soft voices.
INF C4 115-117 / DANTE
Traemmoci così da l'un de' canti,
in loco aperto, luminoso e alto,
sì che veder si potien tutti quanti.
We moved to one side, into an open space,
bright and high, so that every one,
of them all could be seen.
DANTE VERSIFIES AND VIRGIL GIVES A SUMMARY.
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
28
INF C4 118-120 / DANTE
INF C4 118-120 / KLINE
Colà diritto, sovra 'l verde smalto,
mi fuor mostrati li spiriti magni,
che del vedere in me stesso m'essalto.
There, on On the green enamel, the great spirits.
were pointed out to me, directly, so that
I feel exalted, inside me, at having seen them.
INF C4 121-122 / DANTE
INF C4 121-122 / KLINE
I' vidi Eletra con molti compagni,
tra ' quai conobbi Ettòr ed Enea,
I saw Electra with many others,
amongst whom I knew Hector, Aeneas,
ELECTRA: MOTHER BY ZEUS OF DARDANUS FOUNDER OF TROY. SHE WAS, IN ONE VERSION, THE SEVENTH STAR OF THE
PLEIADES THAT WAS SAID TO HAVE DISAPPEARED IN GRIEF FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY & THE HOUSE OF DARDANUS. THE
PALLADIUM, OR EFFIGY OF PALLAS ATHENE, WAS CAST DOWN WITH ELECTRA FROM OLYMPUS BY ATHENE, WHEN ZEUS HAD
VIOLATED ELECTRA & SHE HAD DEFILED THE STATUE WITH HER TOUCH. ELECTRA GAVE IT TO HER SON DARDANUS.
HECTOR: TROJAN PRINCE, SON OF PRIAM & HECABE (HECUBA), A HERO OF THE ILIAD, KILLED BY ACHILLES IN REVENGE FOR
THE DEATH OF PATROCLUS.
DIDO HEARS THE NAME AENEAS.
DIDO
MYTHICAL AGE : YOUNGISH?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
TYRE CARTHAGE ? PHOENICIAN
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
DIDO:
MYTHICAL QUEEN OF PHOENICIAN CARTHAGE, PROBABLY AN INCARNATION OF ASTARTE THE GREAT GODDESS, WHO
LOVED AENEAS & COMMITTED SUICIDE WHEN HE DESERTED HER. SHE BROKE FAITH WITH THE MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND
SYCHAEUS FOR HIM. (AENEID 1)
DIDO:
AENEID 4 365-366 / VIRGIL
AENEID 4 365-366 / KLINE
nec tibi diua parens generis…perfide
Deceiver, your mother was no goddess.
VIRGIL:
&
VIRGIL:
AENEID 6 455 / VIRGIL
AENEID 6 455 / KLINE
infelix Dido…
Dido, unhappy spirit…
DIDO:
AENEID 4 386 / VIRGIL
AENEID 4 386 / KLINE
dabis, improbe, poenas.
Cruel one, you’ll be punished.
DANTE CONTINUES.
DANTE:
INF C4 123 / DANTE
INF C4 123 / KLINE
Cesare armato con li occhi grifagni.
and Caesar, armed, with his eagle eye.
CAESAR: JULIUS
DANTE:
INF C4 124-126 / KLINE
INF C4 124-126 / DANTE
I saw Camilla and Penthesilea,
on the other side, and the King of Latium,
Latinus, with Lavinia, his daughter.
Vidi Cammilla e la Pantasilea;
da l'altra parte vidi 'l re Latino
che con Lavina sua figlia sedea.
CAMILLA: A VIRGIN WARRIOR, THE ROMAN VERSION OF AN AMAZON, WHOSE DEATH IS DESCRIBED IN AENEID 11.
PENTHESILEA: AMAZON QUEEN, KILLED BY ACHILLES WHEN SHE FOUGHT FOR THE TROJANS DURING THE TROJAN WAR. THE
TYPE OF A NOBLE WOMAN.
LATINUS: KING OF LATIUM, AN ANCESTOR OF THE ROMANS THROUGH HIS DAUGHTER LAVINIA, THIRD WIFE OF AENEAS.
INF C4 127-129 / DANTE
I saw that Brutus who expelled Tarquin,
Lucretia, Julia, Marcia and Cornelia,
and I saw Saladin, by himself, apart.
Vidi quel Bruto che cacciò Tarquino,
Lucrezia, Iulia, Marzïa e Corniglia;
e solo, in parte, vidi 'l Saladino.
LUCIUS JUNIUS BRUTUS: THE TYPE OF A NOBLE ROMAN OF THE REPUBLIC. CONQUERED TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS, WHOSE SON
HAD RAPED LUCRETIA, COLLATINE’S WIFE, IN 510 BC.
LUCRETIA: WIFE OF THE ROMAN COLLATINE, RAPED BY THE SON OF TARQUINIUS SUPERBUS. A NOBLE, WRONGED WIFE.
29
JULIA: JULIUS CAESAR’S DAUGHTER BY CORNELIA. SHE MARRIED POMPEY. A TYPE OF THE NOBLE ROMAN WOMAN.
MARCIA: NOTED FOR HER INTEGRITY & NOBILITY. A TYPE OF THE NOBLE ROMAN WIFE. SECOND WIFE OF CATO, WHO YIELDED
HER TO HIS FRIEND QUINTUS HORTENSIUS. WHEN HE DIED SHE MARRIED CATO AGAIN. DANTE’S CONVITO TREATS HER RETURN
TO CATO AS AN ALLEGORY OF THE SOUL’S RETURN TO GOD.
CORNELIA: DAUGHTER OF SCIPIO AFRICANUS. MOTHER OF TIBERIUS & CAIUS THE TWO FAMOUS TRIBUNES, THE GRACCHI. A
TYPE OF THE NOBLE ROMAN WOMAN. SHE CLAIMED THAT ‘HER SONS WERE HER JEWELS’.
SALADIN: SULTAN OR SOLDAN, SALHAD-DIN, 1137-1193 AD, KURDISH FOUNDER OF THE AYYUBID DYNASTY OF EGYPT. HE
TOOK JERUSALEM IN 1187 AD. DANTE’S TYPE OF ISLAMIC NOBILITY & MAGNIFICENCE.
VIRGIL:
INF C4 124-126 / DANTE
INF C4 124-126 / KLINE
Vidi Cammilla e la Pantasilea;
da l'altra parte vidi 'l re Latino
che con Lavina sua figlia sedea.
I saw Camilla and Penthesilea,
on the other side, and the King of Latium,
Latinus, with Lavinia, his daughter.
INF C4 127-129 / DANTE
INF C4 127-129 / KLINE
Vidi quel Bruto che cacciò Tarquino,
Lucrezia, Iulia, Marzïa e Corniglia;
e solo, in parte, vidi 'l Saladino.
I saw that Brutus who expelled Tarquin,
Lucretia, Julia, Marcia and Cornelia,
and I saw Saladin, by himself, apart.
PHILOSOPHERS: MUSES ALL
VIRGIL INTERPRETS DANTE.
DANTE:
INF C4 130-132 / KLINE
INF C4 130-132 / DANTE
When I lifted my eyes a little higher, I saw
the The Master of those who know
sitting amongst the company of philosophers.
Poi ch'innalzai un poco più le ciglia,
vidi 'l maestro di color che sanno
seder tra filosofica famiglia.
VIRGIL:
INF C4 131 / DANTE
INF C4 131 / KLINE
vidi 'l maestro di color che sanno
I saw the The Master of those who know…Aristotle
DANTE:
INF C4 133-135 / KLINE
INF C4 133-138 / DANTE
All gaze at him: all show him honour.
There I saw Socrates and Plato
who stand nearest to him of all of them;
Tutti lo miran, tutti onor li fanno:
quivi vid' ïo Socrate e Platone,
che 'nnanzi a li altri più presso li stanno;
VIRGIL:
INF C4 133-135 / DANTE
INF C4 133-138 / KLINE
Tutti lo miran, tutti onor li fanno:
quivi vid' ïo Socrate e Platone,
che 'nnanzi a li altri più presso li stanno;
All gaze at him: all show him honour.
There I saw Socrates and Plato
who stand nearest to him of all of them;
DANTE
&
VIRGIL:
INF C4 136-138 / DANTE
INF C4 136-138 / KLINE
Democrito che 'l mondo a caso pone,
Dïogenès, Anassagora e Tale,
Empedoclès, Eraclito e Zenone;
Democritus, who ascribes the world to chance,
Diogenes, Anaxagoras, and Thales,
Empedocles, Heraclitus and Zeno.
DEMOCRITUS: GREEK
PHILOSOPHER, OF ALDERA, D.361 BC, WHO DEVELOPED LEUCIPPUS’S IDEAS OF
REGARDS HIM AS HAVING TAUGHT THAT THE WORLD ARISES FROM CHANCE ARRANGEMENTS OF ATOMS.
ANAXAGORAS: PRE-SOCRATIC GREEK PHILOSOPHER, BORN AT CLAZOMENAE IN
CITIZEN WHO WENT TO ATHENS IN THE YEAR OF SALAMIS 480/79 BC.
ASIA MINOR
ABOUT
ATOMISM. DANTE
500 BC. A PERSIAN
EMPEDOCLES: PRE-SOCRATIC GREEK PHILOSOPHER, A CITIZEN OF AKRAGAS, OR AGRIGENTUM, IN SICILY. HE WAS ALIVE IN 443
BC & GAVE RISE TO A NUMBER OF APOCRYPHAL STORIES ABOUT HIS MAGICAL ABILITIES AS A PYTHAGOREAN.
HERACLITUS: PRE-SOCRATIC GREEK PHILOSOPHER, EPHESIAN NOBLEMAN WHO FLOURISHED ABOUT THE 69TH OLYMPIAD 504501 BC. DEALT WITH THE FLUX OF EXISTENCE, THE INSTABILITY OF SENSATION & EXPERIENCE. HIS KEY CONCEPT IS OF UNITY
IN DIVERSITY & DIVERSITY IN UNITY, A THEME THAT DANTE OFTEN PLAYS WITH. THE ONE EXISTS AS A TENSION OF OPPOSITES,
IN THE MANY, IDENTITY IN DIFFERENCE.
THALES: PRE-SOCRATIC GREEK PHILOSOPHER OF MILETUS. DIED SHORTLY BEFORE THE FALL OF SARDIS (546/5 BC).
ZENO OF CITIUM (C 342-370 BC): FOUNDER OF THE STOIC SCHOOL OF WHICH SENECA WAS A MEMBER.
30
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
INF C4 139-141 / DANTE
INF C4 139-144 / KLINE
e vidi il buono accoglitor del quale,
Dïascoride dico; e vidi Orfeo,
Tulïo e Lino e Seneca morale;
and I saw the good collector of the qualities of plants,
I mean Dioscorides; and I saw Orpheus,
Cicero, Linus, and Seneca the moralist;
DIOSCORIDES: GREEK PHYSICIAN, AUTHOR OF A WORK ON MATERIA MEDICA PARTICULARLY BOTANY; LIVED ABOUT 50 AD.
MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, 106-43 BC, ROMAN ORATOR & STATESMAN, BORN AT ARPINUM OF A WEALTHY FAMILY. ELECTED
CONSUL IN 63 BC & SUPPORTED POMPEY. HIS WRITINGS WERE INFLUENTIAL ON MEDIEVAL THINKING.
LINUS: MYTHOLOGICAL POET, THE BROTHER OF ORPHEUS. COMPOSED POEMS HONOURING DIONYSUS & A CREATION EPIC. HE IS
SAID TO HAVE INVENTED MELODY & RHYTHM. THE LAMENT FOR HIM WAS WIDESPREAD & IS THE THEME OF THE EGYPTIAN
SONG OF MANEROS.
LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA, ROMAN PHILOSOPHER, MORALIST & SENATOR, D. 65 AD. A MEMBER OF ZENO’S STOIC SCHOOL &
TUTOR TO THE EMPEROR NERO WHO DROVE HIM TO COMMIT SUICIDE.
INF C4 142-144 / DANTE
INF C4 142-144 / KLINE
Euclide geomètra e Tolomeo,
Ipocràte, Avicenna e Galïeno,
Averoìs, che 'l gran comento feo.
Euclid the geometer, and Ptolemaeus;
Hippocrates, Avicenna, and Galen;
and Averrhoës, who wrote the vast commentary.
CLAUDIUS PTOLEMAEUS, PTOLEMY, FL 127-51 AD, CODIFIED ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE IN HIS WORK THE
WAS THE AUTHORITY THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE AGES.
ALMAGEST. HE
AVICENNA: ARAB PHYSICIAN & COMMENTATOR ON ARISTOTLE 979-1037 AD. HE CODIFIED GALEN WITH SMATTERINGS OF
HIPPOCRATES.
GALEN: ROMAN EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICIAN & THE MAIN AUTHORITY ON MEDICINE & PHYSIOLOGY THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE
AGES. HE LIVED C 130-200 AD.
AVERRHOËS: IBN RUSHD, 1128-1198 AD, ARABIAN PHYSICIAN & COMMENTATOR ON ARISTOTLE. HE ESPOUSED A SCEPTICAL
PHILOSOPHY & MADE ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY SUPREME IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
INF C4 145-147 / DANTE
INF C4 145-147 / KLINE
Io non posso ritrar di tutti a pieno,
però che sì mi caccia il lungo tema,
che molte volte al fatto il dir vien meno.
I cannot speak of them all in full,
because the great theme drives me on, so that
the word falls, many times, short of the fact.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO AS VIRGIL AND HE WALK TO A POINT AND LOOK DOWN.
DANTE:
INF C4 148-150 / KLINE
INF C4 148-150 / DANTE
The six companions reduce to two:
the wise guide leads me, by another path,
out of the quiet, into the trembling air,
La sesta compagnia in due si scema:
per altra via mi mena il savio duca,
fuor de la queta, ne l'aura che trema.
INF C4 151 / KLINE
INF C4 151 / DANTE
and I come to a region, where nothing shines.
E vegno in parte ove non è che luca.
CANTO 5
♫
WIND / PERSONS HOWLING: SOFT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C4 151
INF C5 1-3 / KLINE
So I descended from the first circle to the second, that encloses a smaller space, and so much more pain it provokes
howling.
DANTE:
INF C5 4-6 / DANTE
INF C5 4-6 / KLINE
Stavvi Minòs orribilmente, e ringhia:
essamina le colpe ne l'intrata;
giudica e manda secondo ch'avvinghia.
There Minos stands, grinning horribly, examines
the crimes on entrance, judges, and sends
the guilty down as far as is signified by his coils:
31
INF C5 7-9 / KLINE
INF C5 7-9 / DANTE
I mean that when the evil-born spirit
comes before him it confesses everything,
and that knower of sins
Dico che quando l'anima mal nata
li vien dinanzi, tutta si confessa;
e quel conoscitor de le peccata
decides the proper place in hell for it,
and makes as many coils with his tail,
as the circles he will force it to descend.
vede qual loco d'inferno è da essa;
cignesi con la coda tante volte
quantunque gradi vuol che giù sia messa.
INF C5 10-12 / DANTE
INF C5 13-15 / DANTE
Sempre dinanzi a lui ne stanno molte:
vanno a vicenda ciascuna al giudizio,
dicono e odono e poi son giù volte.
A multitude always stand before him,
and go in turn to be judged,
speak and hear, and then are whirled downwards.
MINOS:
INF C5 16-18 / DANTE
INF C5 16-18 / KLINE
O tu che vieni al doloroso ospizio,
disse Minòs a me quando mi vide,
lasciando l'atto di cotanto offizio,
When Minos saw me, passing by
the actions of his great office, he said:
O you, who come to the house of pain,
MINOS
MYTHICAL
AGE : *?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
CRETE.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
MYTHICAL KING OF CRETE. BUILDER OF THE LABYRINTH AT CNOSSUS, DAEDALUS BEING THE ARCHITECT. HE WAS APPOINTED
BY ZEUS AS ONE OF THE THREE JUDGES OF THE DEAD, WITH RHADAMANTHYS & AEACUS & LIVED IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS IN
THE UNDERWORLD. HE RULED OVER NINETY CRETAN CITIES & CONTROLLED NAVIGATION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. HE IS THE
JUDGE OF THE INFERNAL REGIONS IN THE AENEID & IS FOR DANTE A SYMBOL OF THE SINNER’S GUILTY CONSCIENCE.
DANTE notes:
INF C5 16 / KLINE
INF C5 16 / DANTE
O you, who come to the house of pain
O tu che vieni al doloroso ospizio,
MINOS:
INF C5 19-20 / DANTE
INF C5 19-20 / KLINE
guarda com' entri e di cui tu ti fide;
non t'inganni l'ampiezza de l'intrare!
take care how you enter, and in whom you trust;
do not let the width of the entrance deceive you.
VIRGIL:
INF C5 21 / DANTE
INF C5 21 / KLINE
E 'l duca mio a lui: Perché pur gride?
And my guide replied: Why do you cry out?
INF C5 22-24 / DANTE
Non impedir lo suo fatale andare:
vuolsi così colà dove si puote
ciò che si vuole, e più non dimandare.
Do not obstruct his destined journey:
so it is willed, where what is willed
is done: demand no more
DANTE:
INF C5 24 / KLINE
INF C5 24 / DANTE
is done: demand no more.
ciò che si vuole, e più non dimandare.
THE LUSTFUL
♫
32
WIND / PERSONS HOWLING: LOUDER * * * * * * * * * *
INF C5 24
DANTE:
INF C5 25-27 / DANTE
INF C5 25-27 / KLINE
Or incomincian le dolenti note
a farmisi sentire; or son venuto
là dove molto pianto mi percuote.
Now the mournful notes begin to reach me:
now Now I come
where much sorrowing hurts me.
INF C5 28-30 / KLINE
I came to a place devoid of light, that moans like a tempestuous sea, when it is buffeted by warring winds.
INF C5 31-33 / DANTE
La bufera infernal, che mai non resta,
mena li spirti con la sua rapina;
voltando e percotendo li molesta.
The hellish storm that never ceases
drives the spirits with its force,.
and, whirling and striking, it molests them:
INF C5 34-36 / KLINE
When they come to the ruins there are shouts, moaning and crying, where they blaspheme against divine power.
VIRGIL:
INF C5 37-39 / DANTE
INF C5 37-39 / KLINE
Intesi ch'a così fatto tormento
enno dannati i peccator carnali,
che la ragion sommettono al talento.
I learnt that the The carnal sinners
are condemned to these torments,
they who subject their reason to their lust.
DANTE:
INF C5 40-42 / DANTE
INF C5 40-42 / KLINE
E come li stornei ne portan l'ali
nel freddo tempo, a schiera larga e piena,
così quel fiato li spiriti mali
And, as their wings carry the starlings, in
a vast, crowded flock, in the cold season,
so that That wind carries the wicked spirits,
AS THE WIND BLOWS, DANTE LOOKS AND SILENTLY COMPOSES FOR A WHILE THEN RECITES.
VIRGIL INTERPRETS./.TRANSLATES A LITTLE BEHIND HIM.
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
INF C5 40-42 / DANTE
INF C5 40-42 / KLINE
E come li stornei ne portan l'ali
nel freddo tempo, a schiera larga e piena,
così quel fiato li spiriti mali
And, as their wings carry the starlings,
in a vast, crowded flock, in the cold season,
so that wind carries the wicked spirits,
INF C5 43-45 / DANTE
di qua, di là, di giù, di sù li mena;
nulla speranza li conforta mai,
non che di posa, ma di minor pena.
and leads them here and there, and up
and down. No hope of rest, or even
lesser torment, comforts them.
INF C5 46-48 / DANTE
E come i gru van cantando lor lai,
faccendo in aere di sé lunga riga,
così vid' io venir, traendo guai,
And as the cranes go, making their sounds,
forming a long flight, of themselves, in the air,
so I saw the shadows come,
INF C5 49-51 / DANTE
ombre portate da la detta briga;
per ch'i' dissi: Maestro, chi son quelle
genti che l'aura nera sì gastiga?
DANTE POINTS TO SPIRITS./.SPIRITS.
moaning, carried by that war of winds.
At which I said: Master, who are these people,
that the black air chastises so?
33
DANTE:
INF C5 50-51 / DANTE
INF C5 50-51 / KLINE
per ch'i' dissi: Maestro, chi son quelle
genti che l'aura nera sì gastiga?
At which I said: Master, who are these people,
that the black air chastises so?
VIRGIL:
INF C5 52-54 / DANTE
INF C5 52-54 / KLINE
«La prima di color di cui novelle
of,
tu vuo' saper», mi disse quelli allotta,
«fu imperadrice di molte favelle.
He replied: The first, of those you wish to know
was Empress of many languages,
so corrupted
INF C5 55-57 / DANTE
A vizio di lussuria fu sì rotta,
che libito fé licito in sua legge,
per tòrre il biasmo in che era condotta.
by the vice of luxury, that she made licence
lawful in her code, to clear away
the guilt she had incurred.
INF C5 58-60 / DANTE
Ell' è Semiramìs, di cui si legge
che succedette a Nino e fu sua sposa:
tenne la terra che 'l Soldan corregge.
She is Semiramis, of whom we read
that she succeeded Ninus and was his wife:
she held the countries that the Sultan rules.
SEMIRAMIS: SAMMURAMAT, QUEEN OF THE NEW ASSYRIAN EMPIRE, RULED 810-805 BC, WHOSE POLICIES WERE SUCCESSFUL
DURING THE MINORITY OF HER SON ABADNIRARI III. ACCORDING TO OROSIUS, SHE SUCCEEDED HER HUSBAND SHAMSHI-ADAD
V, NINUS. THOUGH DANTE IS CORRECT IN BELIEVING THAT THE ASSYRIANS HELD EGYPT (THE SOLDAN’S LAND) IT WAS NOT
TILL MUCH LATER UNDER ESARHADDON.
DANTE notes:
INF C5 60 / KLINE
INF C5 60 / DANTE
she held the countries that the Sultan rules.
tenne la terra che 'l Soldan corregge.
VIRGIL:
INF C5 61 / DANTE
INF C5 61 / KLINE
L'altra è colei che s'ancise amorosa,
The next is Dido who killed herself for love,
VIRGIL QUOTES HIS OWN AENEID.
VIRGIL:
AENEID 6 450-451 / KLINE
AENEID 6 450-451 / VIRGIL
Phoenician Dido wandered, in the
great wood, her wound still fresh.
inter quas Phoenissa recens a vulnere
Dido errabat silua in magna;
DANTE interprets:
AENEID 6 450-451 / VIRGIL
AENEID 6 450-451 / KLINE
inter quas Phoenissa recens a vulnere
Dido errabat silua in magna;
Phoenician Dido wandered in the
great wood, her wound still fresh.
DIDO, HEARING HER NAME MENTIONED, RESUMES HER PLAINT.
DIDO:
AENEID SEVERAL LINES / VIRGIL
AENEID SEVERAL LINES / KLINE
Troius Aeneas
Aeneas the Trojan
AENEID 4 369 / VIRGIL
AENEID 4 369 / KLINE
num fletu ingemuit nostro? Num
lumina flexit?
Did he groan at my weeping? Did he look at me?
AENEID 4 385 / VIRGIL
AENEID 4 385 / KLINE
mors anima seduxerit artus,
Death has divided my soul and body.
(ALTERNATIVELY, DIDO SPEAKS IN VIRGIL’S LATIN AND VIRGIL INTERPRETS.)
34
VIRGIL:
INF C5 61-62 / KLINE
INF C5 61-62 / DANTE
The next is Dido who killed herself for love,
and broke faith with Sichaeus’s ashes:
L'altra è colei che s'ancise amorosa,
e ruppe fede al cener di Sicheo;
SICHAEUS: MYTHICAL HUSBAND OF DIDO, QUEEN OF CARTHAGE. SEE THE AENEID.
VIRGIL:
or VIRGIL:
INF C5 63 / DANTE
INF C5 63 / KLINE
poi è Cleopatràs lussurïosa.
then comes …licentious Licentious Cleopatra.
INF C5 64-66 / DANTE
Elena vedi, per cui tanto reo
tempo si volse, e vedi 'l grande Achille,
che con amore al fine combatteo.
See Helen, for whom, so long,
the mills of war revolved: and see the great Achilles,
who fought in the end with love, of Polyxena.
ACHILLES: GREEK HERO OF HOMER’S ILIAD WHO AVENGES THE DEATH OF PATROCLUS BY KILLING HECTOR & DIES FROM AN
ARROW WOUND INFLICTED BY PARIS IN HIS VULNERABLE HEEL. OFFERED THE CHOICE OF GLORY OR A LONG LIFE HE CHOSE
FAME & A BRIEF EXISTENCE. ULYSSES (ODYSSEUS) MEETS HIS SOUL IN HADES (ODYSSEY 11).
INF C5 67-69 / DANTE
Vedi Parìs, Tristano»; e più di mille
ombre mostrommi e nominommi a dito,
ch'amor di nostra vita dipartille.
See Paris; Tristan…and he pointed out
more than a thousand shadows with his finger,
whom love had severed from life.
PARIS: TROJAN PRINCE WHOSE
ABDUCTION OF HELEN FROM SPARTA INITIATED THE TROJAN WAR. PARIS WAS INVOLVED IN
JUDGING THE MERITS OF THE THREE GODDESSES HERA, ATHENE & APHRODITE, CHOOSING APHRODITE, GODDESS OF LOVE, AS
SUPREME. (THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS). TO DANTE & THE MIDDLE AGES THE TYPE OF THE GREAT (PAGAN) LOVER.
TRISTAN, TRISTRAM; LEGENDARY LOVER OF ISOLDE (ISEULT/YSEULT) IN THE MEDIEVAL
ARTHUR. THE TYPE OF THE GREAT LOVER. HE WAS KILLED BY MARK, ISEULT’S HUSBAND.
STORIES CENTRED AROUND
KING
INF C5 70-72 / KLINE
After I had heard my teacher name the ancient knights and ladies, pity overcame me, and I was as if dazed,
PAOLO & FRANCESCA
DANTE POINTS INTO THE DARKNESS.
DANTE:
INF C5 73-75 / DANTE
INF C5 73-75 / KLINE
I' cominciai: «Poeta, volontieri
parlerei a quei due che 'nsieme vanno,
e paion sì al vento esser leggeri».
I began: Poet, I would speak willingly
to those two who go together,
and seem so light upon the wind.
VIRGIL:
INF C5 76-78 / DANTE
INF C5 76-78 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Vedrai quando saranno
And he to me: You will see, when they are
più presso a noi; e tu allor li priega
nearer to us. Beg them, then,
per quello amor che i mena, ed ei verranno». by the love that leads them, and they will come.
DANTE:
♫
or DANTE:
INF C5 79-81 / DANTE
INF C5 79-81 / KLINE
Sì tosto come il vento a noi li piega
Mossi la voce: O anime affannate,
venite a noi parlar, s'altri nol niega!
As soon as the wind brought them to us,
I raised my voice: O weary souls, come
and talk with us, if no one prevents it.
FLIGHT OF PAOLO AND FRANCESCA * * * * * * * * * *
INF C5 81
Aerial, aetherial, posibly containing the words: colombe dal disio chiamate
35
DANTE WRITES OR ADDRESSES THE AUDIENCE DURING THE FLIGHT.
DANTE:
INF C5 82-84 / DANTE
INF C5 82-84 / KLINE
Quali colombe dal disio chiamate
con l'ali alzate e ferme al dolce nido
vegnon per l'aere, dal voler portate;
As doves Doves, claimed by desire, fly steadily,
with raised wings through the air, to their sweet
nest, carried by the will, so the spirits flew from
the crowd.
INF C5 85-87 / KLINE
where Dido is coming towards us through malig nant air, such was the power of my affecting call.
PAOLO DOES NOT ACTUALLY
FRANCESCA’S LINES.
SPEAK IN
DANTE’S
POEM.
HERE
HE GETS SOME OF
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 88-90 / DANTE
INF C5 88-90 / KLINE
O animal grazïoso e benigno
che visitando vai per l'aere perso
noi che tignemmo il mondo di sanguigno,
O gracious and benign living creature
that comes to visit us through the dark air,
if the universe’s king were our friend,
PAOLO MALATESTA
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
RIMINI
DESCRIPTION
IL BELLO.
----? - 1285
*
FRANCESCA DA RIMINI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BORN RAVENNA.
DESCRIPTION
*
--?
AGE : *
----? - 1285?
*
--?
AGE : *
FRANCESCA DA RIMINI: LOVED PAOLO MALATESTA, IL BELLO, & WAS UNFAITHFUL TO HER HUSBAND GIANCIOTTO, THE SON OF
MALATESTA DA VERUCCHIO, LORD OF RIMINI. GIANCIOTTO STABBED TO DEATH THE UNFAITHFUL FRANCESCA WITH PAOLO.
(HE WAS STILL ALIVE IN 1300, THE DATE OF THE VISION, SO THAT THE CAÏNA, THE FIRST RING OF THE NINTH CIRCLE, RESERVED
FOR MURDERERS OF THEIR KIN, IS ‘WAITING’ FOR HIM ACCORDING TO FRANCESCA.) SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF GUIDO
VECCHIO DA POLENTA & AUNT OF GUIDO NOVELLO AT WHOSE COURT IN RAVENNA DANTE FOUND HIS LAST REFUGE.
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 91-93 / DANTE
INF C5 91-93 / KLINE
se fosse amico il re de l'universo,
noi pregheremmo lui de la tua pace,
poi c'hai pietà del nostro mal perverso.
we, who tainted the earth with blood,
would beg him to give you peace,
since you take pity on our sad misfortune.
PAOLO:
INF C5 94-96 / DANTE
INF C5 94-96 / KLINE
Di quel che udire e che parlar vi piace,
noi udiremo e parleremo a voi,
mentre che 'l vento, come fa, ci tace.
While the wind, as now, is silent,
we will hear you and speak to you,
of what you are pleased to listen to and talk of.
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 97-99 / DANTE
INF C5 97-99 / KLINE
Siede la terra dove nata fui
su la marina dove 'l Po discende
per aver pace co' seguaci sui.
The place where I was born is by the shore,
where the River Po runs down to rest at peace,
with his attendant streams.
PAOLO:
INF C5 100 / KLINE
INF C5 100 / DANTE
Love, that is quickly caught in the gentle heart, Amor, ch'al cor gentil ratto s'apprende
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 100-102 / DANTE
INF C5 100-102 / KLINE
Amor, ch'al cor gentil ratto s'apprende,
prese costui de la bella persona
che mi fu tolta; e 'l modo ancor m'offende.
Love, that is quickly caught in the gentle heart,
filled him with my fair form, now lost to me,
and the nature of that love still afflicts me.
36
PAOLO:
INF C5 103 / KLINE
INF C5 103 / DANTE
Love, that allows no loved one to be excused
from loving,
Amor, ch'a nullo amato amar perdona
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 103-5 / DANTE
INF C5 103-5 / KLINE
Amor, ch'a nullo amato amar perdona,
Love, that allows no loved one to be excused from
loving,
seized me so fiercely with desire for him
it still will not leave me, as you can see.
mi prese del costui piacer sì forte,
che, come vedi, ancor non m'abbandona.
PAOLO:
INF C5 106 / KLINE
INF C5 106 / DANTE
Love led us to one death.
Amor condusse noi ad una morte.
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 106-108 / DANTE
INF C5 106-108 / KLINE
Amor condusse noi ad una morte.
Caina attende chi a vita ci spense.
Queste parole da lor ci fuor porte.
Love led us to one death.
Caïna, in the ninth circle, waits for him who
quenched our life. These words carried to us, from
them.
INF C5 109-111 / KLINE
After I had heard those troubled spirits I bowed my head, and kept it bowed, until the poet said: ‘What are you
thinking?’
♫
WIND STIRRING * * * * * * * * * *
INF C5 108
DANTE MURMURS.
DANTE:
INF C5 112-114 / KLINE
INF C5 112-114 / DANTE
When I replied, I began: O alas,
what sweet thoughts, what longing,
brought them to this sorrowful state?
Quando rispuosi, cominciai: Oh lasso,
quanti dolci pensier, quanto disio
menò costoro al doloroso passo!
DANTE TURNS AGAIN TO FRANCESCA.
DANTE:
INF C5 115-117 / DANTE
INF C5 115-117 / KLINE
Poi mi rivolsi a loro e parla' io,
e cominciai: «Francesca, i tuoi martìri
a lagrimar mi fanno tristo e pio.
Then I turned to them again, and I spoke,
and said: Francesca, your torment
makes me weep with grief and pity.
INF C5 118-120 / DANTE
Ma dimmi: al tempo d'i dolci sospiri,
a che e come concedette amore
che conosceste i dubbiosi disiri?».
But tell me, in that time of sweet sighs,
how did love allow you
to know these dubious desires?
37
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 121-123 / DANTE
INF C5 121-123 / KLINE
E quella a me: Nessun maggior dolore
che ricordarsi del tempo felice
ne la miseria; e ciò sa 'l tuo dottore.
And she to me: There is no greater pain
than to remember happy times in misery.,
and this your teacher knows.
DANTE versifies:
INF C5 121-123 / KLINE
INF C5 121-123 / DANTE
And she to me: There is no greater pain
than to remember happy times in misery,
and this your teacher knows.
E quella a me: Nessun maggior dolore
che ricordarsi del tempo felice
ne la miseria; e ciò sa 'l tuo dottore.
DANTE LOOKS AT VIRGIL.
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 124-126 / DANTE
INF C5 124-126 / KLINE
Ma s'a conoscer la prima radice
del nostro amor tu hai cotanto affetto,
dirò come colui che piange e dice.
But if you have so great a yearning to understand
the first root of our love,
I will be like one who weeps and tells.
PAOLO ADDRESSES THE WORD NOI TO FRANCESCA, JOINING THEM IN THE SAD TELLING.
PAOLO:
INF C5 127 / KLINE
INF C5 127 / DANTE
We read, one day, to our delight, of
Noi leggiavamo un giorno per diletto
FRANCESCA AND PAOLO SPEAK. DANTE VERSIFIES A LITTLE BEHIND THEM.
DANTE:
&
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 127-129 / DANTE
INF C5 127-129 / KLINE
Noi leggiavamo un giorno per diletto
di Lancialotto come amor lo strinse;
soli eravamo e sanza alcun sospetto.
We read, one day, to our delight, of
Lancelot and how love constrained
him: we were alone and without suspicion.
LANCELOT: THE KNIGHT OF THE ROUND TABLE IN THE ARTHURIAN LEGENDS WHO LOVES QUEEN GUINEVERE, ARTHUR’S
CONSORT & INDIRECTLY BRINGS ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ROUND TABLE & THE DEATH OF ARTHUR.
DANTE:
&
PAOLO:
INF C5 130-132 / DANTE
INF C5 130-132 / KLINE
Per più fïate li occhi ci sospinse
quella lettura, e scolorocci il viso;
ma solo un punto fu quel che ci vinse.
Often those words urged our eyes to meet,
and coloured our cheeks,
but it was a single moment that undid us.
PAOLO:
INF C5 133-134 / DANTE
INF C5 133-134 / KLINE
Quando leggemmo il disïato riso
esser basciato da cotanto amante,
When we read how that lover kissed
the beloved smile,
FRANCESCA:
INF C5 135-136 / DANTE
INF C5 135-136 / KLINE
questi, che mai da me non fia diviso,
la bocca mi basciò tutto tremante.
he who will never be separated from me,
kissed my mouth all trembling.
PAOLO:
INF C5 137-138 / DANTE
INF C5 137-138 / KLINE
Galeotto fu 'l libro e chi lo scrisse:
quel giorno più non vi leggemmo avante.
That book was a Galeotto, a pandar,
and he who wrote it: that day we read no more.
GALEOTTO. GALLEHAUT: THE GO-BETWEEN FOR LANCELOT & GUENEVERE, WHO URGED THE QUEEN TO GIVE LANCELOT THE
FIRST KISS.. HIS NAME WAS THEREFORE SYNONYMOUS WITH ‘PANDAR’ (‘PANDER’).
38
♫
WIND RISES HUGELY * * * * * * * * * *
INF C5 138
DANTE SITS, WRITING.
DANTE:
INF C5 139-141 / DANTE
INF C5 139-141 / KLINE
Mentre che l'uno spirto questo disse,
l'altro piangëa; sì che di pietade
io venni men così com' io morisse.
While the one spirit spoke, the other wept,
so that I fainted out of pity,
and, as if I were dying,
INF C5 142 / DANTE
E caddi come corpo morto cade.
fell, as a dead body falls.
HE CHOPS DOWN ON EACH ACCENTED SYLLABLE WITH HIS HAND AND CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C5 142 / KLINE
INF C5 142 / DANTE
fell, as a dead body falls.
E caddi come corpo morto cade.
CANTO 6
CERBERUS
♫
RAIN * * * * * * * * * *
INF C5 139
Perhaps ‘Piova Piova Piova Piova…(‘it’s raining’) and/or ‘Rain Rain Rain Rain…’
Heavier rain might be represented by ‘Pioggia Pioggia Pioggia…’ (‘rain’ – the noun)
INF C6 1-3 / KLINE
When my senses return, that closed themselves off from pity of those two kindred, who stunned me with complete
sadness,
VIRGIL:
INF C6 4-6 / DANTE
INF C6 4-6 / KLINE
novi tormenti e novi tormentati
mi veggio intorno, come ch'io mi mova
e ch'io mi volga, e come che io guati.
I see around me new New torments,
and new tormented souls…, wherever I move,
or turn, and wherever I gaze.
DANTE:
INF C6 4-6 / KLINE
INF C6 4-6 / DANTE
I see around me new torments,
and new tormented souls, wherever I move,
or turn, and wherever I gaze.
novi tormenti e novi tormentati
mi veggio intorno, come ch'io mi mova
e ch'io mi volga, e come che io guati.
39
INF C6 7-9 / DANTE
I am in the third circle, of eternal, accursed,
cold and heavy rain:
its kind and quality is never new.
Io sono al terzo cerchio, de la piova
etterna, maladetta, fredda e greve;
regola e qualità mai non l'è nova.
HE TRANSLATES FOR THE AUDIENCE.
DANTE:
INF C6 7-9 / DANTE
INF C6 7-9 / KLINE
Io sono al terzo cerchio, de la piova
etterna, maladetta, fredda e greve;
regola e qualità mai non l'è nova.
I am in the third circle, of eternal, accursed,
cold and heavy rain:
its kind and quality is never new.
INF C6 10-12 / DANTE
Grandine grossa, acqua tinta e neve
per l'aere tenebroso si riversa;
pute la terra che questo riceve.
Large hail, tainted water, and sleet,
pour down through the shadowy air:
and the earth is putrid that receives it.
CERBERUS BARKS THUNDEROUSLY FROM HIS THREE MOUTHS.
EXCLAIM ALMOST TOGETHER.
DANTE:
&
THE
POETS STOP AND
VIRGIL:
INF C6 13 / DANTE
INF C6 13 / KLINE
Cerbero, fiera crudele e diversa,
Cerberus, the fierce and strange monster,
DANTE AND VIRGIL SPEAK ALMOST TOGETHER.
VIRGIL:
INF C6 13-15 / DANTE
INF C6 13-15 / KLINE
Cerbero, fiera crudele e diversa,
con tre gole caninamente latra
sovra la gente che quivi è sommersa.
Cerberus, the fierce Fierce and strange monster,
triple-throated, barks. dog-like
over the people submerged in it.
INF C6 16-18 / DANTE
INF C6 16-18 / KLINE
Li occhi ha vermigli, la barba unta e atra,
e 'l ventre largo, e unghiate le mani;
graffia li spirti ed iscoia ed isquatra.
His eyes Eyes are crimson, his beard is foul
and black, his belly vast, and his limbs are clawed:
he snatches the spirits, flays, and quarters them.
INF C6 19-21 / KLINE
The rain makes them howl like dogs: they protect one flank with the other: often writhing: miserable wretches.
CERBERUS BARKS CLOSER.
HIM.
DANTE:
VIRGIL
THROWS FISTFULS OF DIRT IN HIS MOUTH TO QUIETEN
or DANTE:
INF C6 22-24 / DANTE
INF C6 22-24 / KLINE
Quando ci scorse Cerbero, il gran vermo,
le bocche aperse e mostrocci le sanne;
non avea membro che tenesse fermo.
When Cerberus, the great worm, saw us,
he opened his jaws, and showed his fangs:
not a limb of his stayed still.
40
INF C6 25-39 / KLINE
My guide, stretching out his hands, grasped earth, and hurled it in fistfuls into his ravening mouth. Like a dog that
whines for food, and grows quiet when he eats it, only fighting and struggling to devour it, so did demon Cerberus’s
loathsome muzzles that bark, like thunder, at the spirits, so that they wish that they were deaf. We passed over the
shades, that the heavy rain subdues, and placed our feet on each empty space that seems a body. They were all lying
on the ground but one, who sat up straight away when he saw us cross in front of him:
CIACCO
A MALE SPIRIT CALLS OUT.
CIACCO:
INF C6 40-42 / KLINE
INF C6 40-42 / DANTE
He said to me: O you, who are led through
this Inferno, recognise me if you can:
you were made before I was unmade.
O tu che se' per questo 'nferno tratto,
mi disse, riconoscimi, se sai:
tu fosti, prima ch'io disfatto, fatto.
INF C6 40-42 / DANTE
O tu che se' per questo 'nferno tratto,
mi disse, riconoscimi, se sai:
tu fosti, prima ch'io disfatto, fatto.
He said to me: O you, You who are led through
this Inferno, recognise me if you can:
you were made before I was unmade.
CIACCO
1256?? - 1286 AGE : 30??
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE. CIACCO (HOG) WAS A CONTEMPORARY OF DANTE. MENTIONED IN BOCCACCIO: DECAMERON 9 8.
DESCRIPTION
FAT.
CIACCO:
INF C6 41-42 / DANTE
INF C6 41-42 / KLINE
mi disse, riconoscimi, se sai:
tu fosti, prima ch'io disfatto, fatto.
Inferno, recognise me if you can:
you were made before I was unmade.
DANTE:
INF C6 43-45 / DANTE
INF C6 43-45 / KLINE
E io a lui: «L'angoscia che tu hai
forse ti tira fuor de la mia mente,
sì che non par ch'i' ti vedessi mai.
And I to him: The anguish that you suffer
conceals you perhaps from my memory,
so that it seems as if I never knew you.
INF C6 46-48 / DANTE
Ma dimmi chi tu se' che 'n sì dolente
loco se' messo, e hai sì fatta pena,
che, s'altra è maggio, nulla è sì spiacente».
But tell me who you are that are lodged so sadly,
and undergo such punishment, that though
there are others greater, none is so unpleasant.
CIACCO:
INF C6 49-51 / DANTE
INF C6 49-51 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «La tua città, ch'è piena
d'invidia sì che già trabocca il sacco,
seco mi tenne in la vita serena.
And he to me: Your city, that is so full
of envy it overflows,
held me in the clear life.
DANTE notes:
INF C6 49 / KLINE
INF C6 49 / DANTE
And he to me: Your city, that is so full
Ed elli a me: «La tua città…Fiorenza…,
ch'è piena
CIACCO:
INF C6 52-54 / DANTE
INF C6 52-54 / KLINE
Voi cittadini mi chiamaste Ciacco:
per la dannosa colpa de la gola,
come tu vedi, a la pioggia mi fiacco.
You, the citizens, called me Ciacco:
and for the damnable sin of gluttony, as you see,
I languish beneath the rain:
41
INF C6 55-57 / KLINE
and I am not the only wretched spirit, since all these are punished likewise for like sin.
DANTE:
INF C6 58-60 / DANTE
INF C6 58-60 / KLINE
Io li rispuosi: «Ciacco, il tuo affanno
mi pesa sì, ch'a lagrimar mi 'nvita;
ma dimmi, se tu sai, a che verranno
I answered him: Ciacco, your affliction
weighs on me, inviting me to weep,
but tell me, if you can,
INF C6 61-63 / DANTE
li cittadin de la città partita;
s'alcun v'è giusto; e dimmi la cagione
per che l'ha tanta discordia assalita».
♫
what the citizens of that divided city
will come to; if any there are just:
and the reason why such discord tears it apart.
PROPHECY MOTIF * * * * * * * * * *
INF C6 64
This may occur when a character talks of the supposed future. It should be short, perhaps a single
chord or arpeggio, and soft enough to avoid the bad film-music doom cliché.
CIACCO:
INF C6 64-66 / DANTE
INF C6 64-66 / KLINE
E quelli a me: «Dopo lunga tencione
verranno al sangue, e la parte selvaggia
caccerà l'altra con molta offensione.
And he to me: After long struggle they will come
to blood and the Whites, the party of the woods,
will throw out the Blacks, with great injury.
DANTE notes:
INF C6 65 / KLINE
INF C6 65 / DANTE
to blood, and, the Whites, the party
of the woods,
verranno al sangue, e la parte selvaggia
CIACCO:
INF C6 67-69 / DANTE
INF C6 67-69 / KLINE
Poi appresso convien che questa caggia
infra tre soli, e che l'altra sormonti
con la forza di tal che testé piaggia.
Within three years, then, it must happen,
that the Blacks will conquer,
with the help of him who now veers about.
INF C6 70-72 / DANTE
Alte terrà lungo tempo le fronti,
tenendo l'altra sotto gravi pesi,
come che di ciò pianga o che n'aonti.
That party will hold its head high for a long time,
weighing the Whites down under heavy oppression,
however they weep and however ashamed they are.
INF C6 73-75 / DANTE
Giusti son due, e non vi sono intesi;
superbia, invidia e avarizia sono
le tre faville c'hanno i cuori accesi.
Two men are just, but are not listened to.
Pride, Envy and Avarice are the three
burning coals that have set all hearts on fire.
INF C6 76-78 / KLINE
Here he ended the mournful prophecy, and I said to him: I want you to instruct me still, and grant me a little more
speech.
DANTE:
INF C6 79-81 / DANTE
INF C6 79-81 / KLINE
Farinata e 'l Tegghiaio, che fuor sì degni,
Iacopo Rusticucci, Arrigo e 'l Mosca
e li altri ch'a ben far puoser li 'ngegni,
Tell me where Farinata and Tegghiaio are, who
were worthy enough, and Jacopo Rusticucci,
Arrigo, Mosca, and the rest who set their minds to
doing good:
FARINATA: SEE INF C10 22
RUSTICUCCI, TEGGHAIO: SEE INF C16 7-9.
42
ARRIGO,
DE’ FIFANTI(?): HIS FAMILY IS UNCERTAIN. HE IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN ONE OF MOSCA DE’ LAMBERTI’S
ACCOMPLICES IN THE MURDER OF BUONDELMONTE DE’ BUONDELMONTI, THAT INITIATED THE GUELPH & GHIBELLINE
FACTIONAL ALIGNMENTS IN FLORENCE.
MOSCA
DE’ LAMBERTI: ONE OF THE INITIATORS OF THE MURDER OF BUONDELMONTE DE’ BUONDELMONTI, WHO WAS
BETROTHED TO A DAUGHTER OF THE AMIDEI, BUT BROKE FAITH AT THE INSTIGATION OF GUALDRADA DONATI. IN THE DEBATE
AS TO WHETHER HE SHOULD BE KILLED MOSCA SAID THE EVIL WORD, ‘A THING DONE HAS AN END.’ BUONDELMONTE WAS
MURDERED, AT THE FOOT OF THE STATUE OF MARS, ON THE PONTE VECCHIO, IN 1215. THE FAMILY DIVISIONS CREATED THE
GUELPH & GHIBELLINE FACTIONAL CONFLICTS.
INF C6 82-84 / DANTE
dimmi ove sono e fa ch'io li conosca;
ché gran disio mi stringe di savere
se 'l ciel li addolcia o lo 'nferno li attosca».
let me know of them, for a great longing
urges me to discover whether Heaven
soothes them, or Hell poisons them.
CIACCO:
INF C6 85-87 / DANTE
INF C6 85-87 / KLINE
E quelli: Ei son tra l'anime più nere;
diverse colpe giù li grava al fondo:
se tanto scendi, là i potrai vedere.
And he to me: They are among the blackest
spirits; another crime weighs them to the bottom:
if you descend so deep, you may see them.
INF C6 88-89 / DANTE
Ma quando tu sarai nel dolce mondo,
priegoti ch'a la mente altrui mi rechi:
più non ti dico e più non ti rispondo.
But when you are again in the sweet world,
I beg you to recall me to other minds:
I tell you no more, and more I will not answer.
INF C6 91-93 / KLINE
At that he turned his fixed gaze askance, and looked at me a while: then, bent his head, and lowered himself, and it,
among his blind companions.
CIACCO
FIXES HIS GAZE ASKANCE AND LOWERS HIS HEAD [INF C6 91-93].
HIM AND WAITS WITH HIS STYLUS, THEN WRITES.
DANTE
WATCHES
DANTE:
INF C6 90 / KLINE
INF C6 90 / DANTE
I tell you no more, and more I will not answer. più non ti dico e più non ti rispondo.
VIRGIL AND DANTE BEGIN WALKING.
VIRGIL:
INF C6 94-96 / DANTE
INF C6 94-96 / KLINE
E 'l duca disse a me: «Più non si desta
di qua dal suon de l'angelica tromba,
quando verrà la nimica podesta:
And my guide said to me: He will not stir further
until the angelic trumpet sounds,
when the Power opposing evil will come:
INF C6 97-99 / DANTE
ciascun rivederà la trista tomba,
ripiglierà sua carne e sua figura,
udirà quel ch'in etterno rimbomba».
each will revisit his sad grave,
resume his flesh and form,
and hear what will resound through eternity.
INF C6 100-102 / KLINE
So we passed over the foul brew of rain & shadows, with slow steps, speaking a little of the future life.
DANTE:
INF C6 103-105 / DANTE
INF C6 103-105 / KLINE
per ch'io dissi: «Maestro, esti tormenti
crescerann' ei dopo la gran sentenza,
o fier minori, o saran sì cocenti?».
Of this I asked: Master, will these torments increase,
after the great judgement,
or lessen, or stay as fierce?
VIRGIL:
INF C6 106-108 / DANTE
INF C6 106-108 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Ritorna a tua scïenza,
che vuol, quanto la cosa è più perfetta,
più senta il bene, e così la doglienza.
And he to me:Remember your science,
that says that the more perfect a thing is,
the more it feels pleasure and pain.
43
INF C6 109-111 / DANTE
Tutto che questa gente maladetta
in vera perfezion già mai non vada,
di là più che di qua essere aspetta».
Though these accursed ones will never
achieve true perfection,
they will be nearer to it after, than before.
INF C6 112-114 / KLINE
We circled along that road, speaking of much more than I repeat: we came to the place where the descent begins,
where we found
PLUTUS
VIRGIL AND
AUDIENCE.
DANTE WALK UNTIL VIRGIL IS STOPPED BY AN UGLY SIGHT, NOT SEEN BY THE
VIRGIL:
INF C6 115 / DANTE
INF C6 115 / KLINE
quivi trovammo Pluto , il gran nemico
Plutus, the god of wealth, the great enemy!
PLUTO / PLUTUS
*MYTHICAL AGE : *?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY: 1 LINE
PLUTO
ASSIGNED THE RULE OF THE UNDERWORLD. DANTE MERGES HIM WITH PLUTUS, GOD OF THE RICHES DUG FROM THE
GROUND & THEREFORE THE SOURCE OF THE SIN OF AVARICE & THE ‘GREAT ENEMY’.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
♫
INF C6 115 / KLINE
INF C6 115 / DANTE
Plutus, the god of wealth, the great enemy!
quivi trovammo Pluto , il gran nemico
INFERNAL: 1 NOTE * * * * * * * * * *
INF C6 115
CANTO 7
A GREAT VOICE CROAKS.
PLUTUS:
INF C7 1-3 / KLINE
INF C7 1-3 / DANTE
Pape Satàn, pape Satàn aleppe!,
Plutus began to croak, and the gentle sage,
who understood all things,
Pape Satàn, pape Satàn aleppe!,
cominciò Pluto con la voce chioccia;
e quel savio gentil, che tutto seppe,
PAPE SATÀN: A CRY OF ALARM OR WARNING TO LUCIFER THAT HIS REALM IS INVADED BY SOME UNUSUAL APPARITION…DANTE
HIMSELF HARDLY SEEMS TO HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE WORDS, THOUGH HE SUGGESTS THAT VIRGIL DID. (LONGFELLOW)
VIRGIL:
INF C7 4-6 / DANTE
INF C7 4-6 / KLINE
disse per confortarmi: «Non ti noccia
la tua paura; ché, poder ch'elli abbia,
non ci torrà lo scender questa roccia».
comforted me, saying: Do not let fear hurt you,
since whatever power he has, he will not
prevent you descending this rock.’
44
DANTE notes:
INF C7 7 / KLINE
INF C7 7 / DANTE
Then he turned to that swollen face
Poi si rivolse a quella 'nfiata labbia,
VIRGIL:
INF C7 7-9 / DANTE
INF C7 7-9 / KLINE
Poi si rivolse a quella 'nfiata labbia,
e disse: «Taci, maladetto lupo!
consuma dentro te con la tua rabbia.
Then he turned to that swollen face
and said: Peace, evil wolf!...
Devour yourself inside, in your rage.
DANTE:
INF C7 8 / KLINE
INF C7 8 / DANTE
and said: Peace, evil wolf!...
e disse: «Taci, maladetto lupo!
VIRGIL:
INF C7 9 / DANTE
INF C7 9 / KLINE
consuma dentro te con la tua rabbia.
…devour yourself inside, in your rage.
INF C7 10-12 / DANTE
Non è sanza cagion l'andare al cupo:
vuolsi ne l'alto, là dove Michele
fé la vendetta del superbo strupo».
Our journey to the depths is not without reason: it
is willed on high, there where Michael made war
on the great dragon’s adulterating pride.
INF C7 13-18 / KLINE
Like a sail, bellying in the wind, that falls in a heap, if the mast breaks, so that cruel creature fell to earth. In that way
we descended into the fourth circle, taking in a greater width of the dismal bank, that encloses every evil of the
universe.
THEY WALK AND THE SOUND OF BODIES AND WEIGHTS BEGINS AND CONTINUES BEHIND
THEM.
INF C7 19-27 / KLINE
O Divine Justice! Who can tell the many new pains and troubles, that I saw, and why our guilt so destroys us? As the
wave, over Charybdis, strikes against the wave it counters, so the people here are made to dance. I found more people
here than elsewhere, on the one side and on the other, rolling weights by pushing with their chests, with loud howling.
CHURCHMEN:
INF C7 28-30 / KLINE
INF C7 28-30 / DANTE
They struck against each other, and then each
wheeled around where they were, rolling the
reverse way, shouting: ‘Why do you hold?’
and ‘Why do you throw away.’
Percotëansi 'ncontro; e poscia pur lì
si rivolgea ciascun, voltando a retro,
gridando: «Perché tieni?» e «Perché burli?».
INF C7 31-36 / KLINE
So they returned along the gloomy circle, from either side to the opposite point, shouting again their measure of
reproach. Then each one, when he had reached it, wheeled through his half circle onto the other track. And I, who felt
as if my heart were pierced,
CHURCHMEN & FORTUNE
♫
INFERNAL: FAINT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C7 37
45
DANTE:
INF C7 37-39 / DANTE
INF C7 37-39 / KLINE
dissi: «Maestro mio, or mi dimostra
che gente è questa, e se tutti fuor cherci
questi chercuti a la sinistra nostra».
said: My Master, show tell me now who these
people are: and whether all those, with tonsures,
on our left were churchmen.
VIRGIL:
INF C7 40-42 / DANTE
INF C7 40-42 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Tutti quanti fuor guerci
sì de la mente in la vita primaia,
che con misura nullo spendio ferci.
And he to me: They were so twisted in mind
in their first life
that they made no balanced expenditure.
INF C7 43-45 / DANTE
Assai la voce lor chiaro l'abbaia,
quando vegnono a' due punti del cerchio
dove colpa contraria li dispaia.
Their voices bark this out most clearly
when they come to the two ends of the circle,
where opposing sins divide them.
INF C7 46-48 / DANTE
Questi fuor cherci, che non han coperchio
piloso al capo, e papi e cardinali,
in cui usa avarizia il suo soperchio».
These were priests, that are without hair on their
heads, and Popes and Cardinals,
in whom avarice does its worst.
DANTE:
INF C7 49-51 / DANTE
INF C7 49-51 / KLINE
E io: «Maestro, tra questi cotali
dovre' io ben riconoscere alcuni
che furo immondi di cotesti mali».
And I: Master, surely, amongst this crowd,
I ought to recognise some of those
tainted with these evils.
VIRGIL:
INF C7 52-54 / DANTE
INF C7 52-54 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Vano pensiero aduni:
la sconoscente vita che i fé sozzi,
ad ogne conoscenza or li fa bruni.
And he to me: You link idle thoughts:
the life without knowledge, that made them ignoble,
now makes them incapable of being known.
INF C7 55-57 / DANTE
In etterno verranno a li due cozzi:
questi resurgeranno del sepulcro
col pugno chiuso, e questi coi crin mozzi.
They will go butting each other to eternity:
and these will rise from their graves
with grasping fists, and those with shorn hair.
INF C7 58-60 / DANTE
Mal dare e mal tener lo mondo pulcro
ha tolto loro, e posti a questa zuffa:
qual ella sia, parole non ci appulcro.
Useless giving, and useless keeping,
has robbed them of the bright world, and set them
to this struggle: what struggle it is, I do not amplify.
DANTE notes:
INF C7 58 / KLINE
INF C7 58 / DANTE
Useless giving, and useless keeping,
Mal dare e mal tener lo mondo pulcro
VIRGIL:
INF C7 61-63 / DANTE
INF C7 61-63 / KLINE
Or puoi, figliuol, veder la corta buffa
d'i ben che son commessi a la fortuna,
per che l'umana gente si rabbuffa;
But you, my son, You can see now the vain
mockery of the wealth controlled by Fortune, for
which the human race humans fight with each other.,
INF C7 64-66 / DANTE
ché tutto l'oro ch'è sotto la luna
e che già fu, di quest' anime stanche
non poterebbe farne posare una».
since all All the gold under the moon
that ever was, could not give peace
to one of these weary souls.
DANTE:
INF C7 67-69 / KLINE
46
INF C7 67-69 / DANTE
I said to him: Master, now tell me about
«Maestro mio», diss' io, «or mi dì anche:
Fortune also, that subject you touched on, who questa fortuna di che tu mi tocche,
is she, who has the wealth of the world
che è, che i ben del mondo ha sì tra branche
in her arms?
VIRGIL:
INF C7 67-69 / DANTE
INF C7 67-69 / KLINE
«Maestro mio», diss' io, «or mi dì anche:
questa fortuna di che tu mi tocche,
che è, che i ben del mondo ha sì tra
branche?».
I said to him: Master, now tell me about Fortune
also, that subject you touched on, who is she,
who has the wealth of the world in her arms?
INF C7 70-72 / KLINE
And he to me: ‘O, blind creatures, how great is the ignorance that surrounds you! I want you, now, to hear my
judgement of her.
INF C7 73-75 / DANTE
INF C7 73-75 / KLINE
Colui lo cui saver tutto trascende,
fece li cieli e diè lor chi conduce
sì, ch'ogne parte ad ogne parte splende,
He whose wisdom transcends all things,
made the heavens, and gave them ruling powers,
so that each part illuminates the others,
INF C7 76-78 / DANTE
distribuendo igualmente la luce.
Similemente a li splendor mondani
ordinò general ministra e duce
distributing the light equally.
Similarly he put in place a controller,
and a guide, for earthly splendour,
INF C7 79-81 / DANTE
che permutasse a tempo li ben vani
di gente in gente e d'uno in altro sangue,
oltre la difension d'i senni umani;
to alter, from time to time, idle possession,
between nation and nation, and from kin to kin,
beyond the schemes of human reason.
INF C7 82-84 / DANTE
per ch'una gente impera e l'altra langue,
seguendo lo giudicio di costei,
che è occulto come in erba l'angue.
So one people commands: another wanes,
obeying her judgement, she who is concealed,
like a snake in the grass.
DANTE notes and corrects:
INF C7 84 / KLINE
INF C7 84 / DANTE
like a snake [eel] in the grass.
un serpente…?
che è occulto come in erba l'angue.
VIRGIL:
INF C7 85-87 / DANTE
INF C7 85-87 / KLINE
Vostro saver non ha contasto a lei:
questa provede, giudica, e persegue
suo regno come il loro li altri dèi.
Your wisdom cannot comprehend her: she
furnishes, adjudicates, and maintains
her kingdom, as the other gods do theirs.
INF C7 88-90 / DANTE
Le sue permutazion non hanno triegue:
necessità la fa esser veloce;
sì spesso vien chi vicenda consegue.
Her permutations never end:
necessity makes her swift:
so, often, someone comes who creates change.
INF C7 91-93 / DANTE
Quest' è colei ch'è tanto posta in croce
pur da color che le dovrien dar lode,
dandole biasmo a torto e mala voce;
This is she: so often reviled, even by those
who ought to praise her, but, wrongly,
blame her, with malicious words.
INF C7 94-96 / DANTE
ma ella s'è beata e ciò non ode:
con l'altre prime creature lieta
volve sua spera e beata si gode.
Still, she is in bliss, and does not hear:
she spins her globe, joyfully,
among the other primal spirits and tastes her bliss.
47
VIRGIL:
INF C7 97-99 / DANTE
INF C7 97-99 / KLINE
Or discendiamo omai a maggior pieta;
già ogne stella cade che saliva
quand' io mi mossi, e 'l troppo star si vieta.
Now let us descend to greater misery: already
every star is declining, that was rising when I
set out, and we are not allowed to stay too long.
STAR IS DECLINING: BY DEDUCTION, IN THE FIFTH CIRCLE IT IS SATURDAY PRE-DAWN.
DANTE:
INF C7 97 / KLINE
INF C7 97 / DANTE
Now let us descend to greater misery:
Or discendiamo omai a maggior pieta;
THE STYX
♫
INFERNAL: FAINT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C7 99
INF C7 100-105 / KLINE
We crossed the circle to the other bank, near a spring, that boils and pours down, through a gap that it has made. The
water was darker than a dark blue-grey, and we entered the descent by a strange path, in company with the dusky
waves.
VIRGIL POINTS DOWN AT THE STREAM.
VIRGIL:
INF C7 106-108 / DANTE
INF C7 106-108 / KLINE
In la palude va c'ha nome Stige
questo tristo ruscel, quand' è disceso
al piè de le maligne piagge grige.
This woeful stream forms the marsh called Styx,
when it has fallen to the foot
of the grey malignant walls.
[VERSE SPOKEN BY DANTE ORIGINALLY]
DANTE versifies:
INF C7 106-107 / KLINE
INF C7 106-108 / DANTE
This woeful stream forms the marsh
called Styx, when it has fallen to the foot
In la palude va c'ha nome Stige
questo tristo ruscel, quand' è disceso
INF C7 109-114 / KLINE
And I who stood there, intent on seeing, saw muddy people in the fen, naked, and all with the look of anger. They
were striking each other, not only with hands, but head, chest, and feet, mangling each other with their teeth, bite by
bite.
VIRGIL POINTS INTO THE DARKNESS.
VIRGIL:
INF C7 115-117 / DANTE
INF C7 115-117 / KLINE
Lo buon maestro disse: «Figlio, or vedi
l'anime di color cui vinse l'ira;
e anche vo' che tu per certo credi
The kind master said: Now, son,
see See the souls of those overcome by anger,
and also, I want you to know, in truth,
VIRGIL BENDS TO LOOK INTO THE WATER.
VIRGIL:
INF C7 118-120 / DANTE
INF C7 118-120 / KLINE
che sotto l'acqua è gente che sospira,
e fanno pullular quest' acqua al summo,
come l'occhio ti dice, u' che s'aggira.
there are people under the water who sigh
and make it bubble on the surface,
as your eye can see whichever way it turns.
48
INF C7 121-123 / DANTE
Fitti nel limo dicon: ``Tristi fummo
ne l'aere dolce che dal sol s'allegra,
portando dentro accidïoso fummo:
Fixed in the slime they say: “We were sullen
in the sweet air that is gladdened by the sun,
bearing indolent smoke in our hearts:
INF C7 124 / DANTE
INF C7 124 / KLINE
or ci attristiam ne la belletta negra".
now we lie here, sullen, in the black mire.”
INF C7 124 / KLINE
INF C7 124 / DANTE
now we lie here, sullen, in the black mire.”
or ci attristiam ne la belletta negra".
DANTE BENDS DOWN TO LISTEN, THEN CLUTCHES HIS THROAT AND GURGLES, CLOSING THE
CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C7 125-126 / KLINE
INF C7 125-126 / DANTE
This measure they gurgle in their throats,
because they cannot utter it in full speech.
Quest' inno si gorgoglian ne la strozza,
ché dir nol posson con parola integra».
INF C7 127-130 / KLINE
So we covered a large arc of the loathsome swamp, between the dry bank and its core, our eyes turned towards those
who swallow its filth: we came at last to the base of a tower.
CANTO 8
INF C8 1-3 / KLINE
I say, pursuing my theme, that long before we reached the base of the high tower, our eyes looked upwards to its
summit,
THE FERRY: PHLEGYAS
DANTE POINTS TO THINGS BACKSTAGE FAR OUT OF SIGHT OF THE AUDIENCE.
DANTE:
INF C8 4-6 / DANTE
INF C8 4-6 / KLINE
per due fiammette che i vedemmo porre,
e un'altra da lungi render cenno,
tanto ch'a pena il potea l'occhio tòrre.
because we saw I see a two beacon-flames flame
set there, and another, from so far away. that the eye
could scarcely see it, gave a signal in return.
INF C8 7-9 / DANTE
E io mi volsi al mar di tutto 'l senno;
And I turned to the fount of all knowledge, and
dissi: «Questo che dice? e che risponde
asked: What does it say? And what does is the
quell' altro foco? e chi son quei che 'l fenno? other light reply? And who Who has made the
signal?
VIRGIL:
INF C8 10-12 / DANTE
INF C8 10-12 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Su per le sucide onde
già scorgere puoi quello che s'aspetta,
se 'l fummo del pantan nol ti nasconde».
And he to me: Already you can see,
what is expected, coming over the foul waters,
if the marsh vapours do not hide it from you.
49
DANTE LOOKS AND VERSIFIES.
DANTE:
INF C8 10-12 / KLINE
INF C8 10-12 / DANTE
And he to me: Already you can see,
Ed elli a me: «Su per le sucide onde
what is expected, coming over the foul waters, già scorgere puoi quello che s'aspetta,
if the marsh vapours do not hide it from you. se 'l fummo del pantan nol ti nasconde».
INF C8 13-15 / DANTE
No bowstring ever shot an arrow
that flew through the air so quickly,
as the little boat,
Corda non pinse mai da sé saetta
che sì corresse via per l'aere snella,
com' io vidi una nave piccioletta
INF C8 16-17 / DANTE
that I saw coming towards us, through the
venir per l'acqua verso noi in quella,
waves, under the control of a single steersman, sotto 'l governo d'un sol galeoto,
VIRGIL:
INF C8 15-16 / DANTE:
INF C8 15 / KLINE:
com' io vidi una nave piccioletta
venir per l'acqua verso noi in quella,
as the A little boat,
that I saw coming towards us, through the waves,
PHLEGYAS
MYTHICAL
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
*
AGE : *?
PHLEGYAS AVENGED HIS DAUGHTER CORONIS, RAPED BY
WHICH HE WAS CONDEMNED TO TARTARUS.
APOLLO,
BY BURNING DOWN THE GOD’S TEMPLE AT
DELPHI
FOR
PHLEGYAS SHOUTS.
PHLEGYAS:
INF C8 18 / DANTE
INF C8 18 / KLINE
che gridava: Or se' giunta, anima fella!
who cried: Are you here, now, fierce spirit?
AENEID 1 620 / VIRGIL
or
discite iustitiam moniti et non temnere
diuos
AENEID 1 620 / KLINE
Learn justice: be warned, and don’t despise the
gods.
VIRGIL IS MORE THAN A BIT IRRITATED AT HAVING HIS OWN WORDS QUOTED AT HIM.
VIRGIL:
AENEID 1 620 / VIRGIL
or
discite iustitiam moniti et non temnere
diuos
AENEID 1 620 / KLINE
Learn justice: be warned, and don’t despise the
gods.
INF C8 19-21 / DANTE
INF C8 19-21 / KLINE
«Flegïàs, Flegïàs, tu gridi a vòto»,
disse lo mio segnore, «a questa volta:
più non ci avrai che sol passando il loto».
My Master said: Phlegyas, Phlegyas,
this time you cry in vain: you shall not
keep us longer than it takes us to pass the marsh.
DANTE WRITES AND REPEATS VIRGIL’S CRY.
50
DANTE:
INF C8 19 / KLINE
INF C8 19 / DANTE
My Master said: Phlegyas, Phlegyas,
«Flegïàs, Flegïàs!, tu gridi a vòto»,
INF C8 22-30 / KLINE
Phlegyas in his growing anger was like someone who listens to some great wrong done him, and then fills with
resentment. My guide climbed down into the boat and then made me board after him, and it only sank in the water
when I was in. As soon as my guide and I were in the craft, its prow went forward, ploughing deeper through the water
than it does carrying others.
THE
BOAT PLOUGHS INTO THE WOODEN LANDING STAGE. VIRGIL STEPS ON BOARD AND
HELPS DANTE DO THE SAME.
THE TRIP COMMENCES. PHLEGYAS POLES THE BOAT, THE POLE SUCKING IN THE MUD
♫
INFERNAL: BOAT TRIP * * * * * * * * * *
INF C8 19
The rhythm is perhaps based on the boat’s propulsion.
THE MUSIC FADES AND THE SOUND OF POLING IS JOINED AFTER A LITTLE WHILE BY THAT OF
A PERSON APPROACHING THROUGH MUD AND WATER.
FILIPPO ARGENTI ARRIVES, WADING IN MUD.
FILIPPO ARGENTI
----? - *----?
*
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
PATRICIAN.
--?
AGE : *
FILIPPO ARGENTI: A FLORENTINE NOBLE, NOTORIOUS FOR HIS FIERCE TEMPER & OVERBEARING CONDUCT. HE & THE ADIMARI
FAMILY MAY ALSO HAVE BEEN HOSTILE TO DANTE.
IN BOCACCIO’S COMMENTO ARGENTI HAD HIS HORSE SHOD WITH SILVER & FROM THIS HE HAD HIS SURNAME (LONGFELLOW).
FILIPPO ARGENTI:
INF C8 31-33 / DANTE
INF C8 31-33 / KLINE
Mentre noi corravam la morta gora,
dinanzi mi si fece un pien di fango,
e disse: «Chi se' tu che vieni anzi ora?».
While we were running through the dead channel,
one rose up, one rose up in front of me, covered with
mud and said: Who are you, that come before your
time?
DANTE notes:
INF C8 34-35 / DANTE
INF C8 34-35 / KLINE
E io a lui: «S'i' vegno, non rimango;
ma tu chi se', che sì se' fatto brutto?».
And I to him: If I come, I do not stay here:
but who are you, who are so mired? covered
with mud?
FILIPPO APPEALS TO VIRGIL AND DANTE IN TURN.
FILIPPO ARGENTI:
INF C8 36 / DANTE
INF C8 36 / KLINE
Vedi che son un che piango
He answered: You see that I am one who weeps.
51
DANTE:
INF C8 36 / KLINE
INF C8 36 / DANTE
He answered: You see that I am one
who weeps.
Vedi che son un che piango
INF C8 37-39 / DANTE
INF C8 37-39 / KLINE
E io a lui: «Con piangere e con lutto,
spirito maladetto, ti rimani;
ch'i' ti conosco, ancor sie lordo tutto».
And I to him: Cursed spirit, remain weeping
and in sorrow! For I know you,
Filippo Argenti, muddy as you are.
ARGENTI ATTEMPTS TO GET ONTO THE BOAT AND VIRGIL PUSHES HIM OFF.
VIRGIL:
INF C8 40-42 / DANTE
INF C8 40-42 / KLINE
Allor distese al legno ambo le mani;
per che 'l maestro accorto lo sospinse,
dicendo: «Via costà con li altri cani!».
Then he stretched both hands out to the boat,
at which the cautious Master pushed him off, saying:
Away, there, with the other dogs! curs!
PHLEGYAS:
AENEID 1 620 / VIRGIL
AENEID 1 620 / KLINE
discite iustitiam moniti et non temnere
diuos
Learn justice: be warned, and don’t despise the
gods.
VIRGIL EMBRACES DANTE AND KISSES HIS FACE [INF C8 43].
VIRGIL:
INF C8 43-45 / DANTE
INF C8 43-45 / KLINE
Lo collo poi con le braccia mi cinse;
Then he put his arms around my neck,
basciommi 'l volto e disse: «Alma sdegnosa, kissed my face, and said: Blessed be she who
benedetta colei che 'n te s'incinse!
bore you, soul, who are rightly indignant.
DANTE notes:
INF C8 44-45 / KLINE
INF C8 44-45 / DANTE
kissed my face, and said: Blessed be she
basciommi 'l volto e disse: Alma sdegnosa,
who bore you, soul, who are rightly indignant. benedetta colei che 'n te s'incinse!
VIRGIL:
INF C8 46-48 / DANTE
INF C8 46-48 / KLINE
Quei fu al mondo persona orgogliosa;
bontà non è che sua memoria fregi:
così s'è l'ombra sua qui furïosa.
He was an arrogant spirit in your world:
there is nothing good with which to adorn
his memory: so his furious shade is here.
INF C8 49-51 / DANTE
Quanti si tegnon or là sù gran regi
che qui staranno come porci in brago,
di sé lasciando orribili dispregi!».
How many up there think themselves mighty kings,
that will lie here like pigs in mire,
leaving behind them dire condemnation!
DANTE:
INF C8 52-54 / DANTE
INF C8 52-54 / KLINE
E io: «Maestro, molto sarei vago
di vederlo attuffare in questa broda
prima che noi uscissimo del lago».
Master, I would be glad to see
him doused in this swill before
we quit the lake.
VIRGIL:
INF C8 55-57 / DANTE
INF C8 55-57 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Avante che la proda
ti si lasci veder, tu sarai sazio:
di tal disïo convien che tu goda».
And he to me: You will be satisfied
before the shore is visible to you:
it is right that your wish should be gratified.
52
INF C8 58-60 / KLINE
Not long after this I saw the muddy people make such a rending of him, that I still give thanks and praise for it.
THEY TRAVEL A LITTLE FURTHER AND SPIRITS./.SPIRITS SHOUT IN THE DISTANCE.
SPIRITS / SPIRITS (VOICES):
&
SPIRITS / SPIRITS (VOICES):
INF C8 61-63 / DANTE
INF C8 61-63 / KLINE
Tutti gridavano: A Filippo Argenti!;
e 'l fiorentino spirito bizzarro
in sé medesmo si volvea co' denti.
All shouted: At Filippo Argenti!
That fierce Florentine spirit turned
his teeth in vengeance on himself.
SPIRITS
SPIRITS
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
*
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
*
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
INF C8 64-66 / KLINE
We left him there, so that I can say no more of him, but a sound of wailing assailed my ears, so that I turned my gaze
in front, intently.
♫
MUSIC?
CITY OF DIS: FALLEN ANGELS
A HUBBUB BEGINS TO BE HEARD.
VIRGIL:
INF C8 67-69 / KLINE
INF C8 67-69 / DANTE
The kind Master said: Now, my son,
we approach the city they call Dis,
with its grave citizens, a vast crowd.
Lo buon maestro disse: «Omai, figliuolo,
s'appressa la città c'ha nome Dite,
coi gravi cittadin, col grande stuolo».
INF C8 67-69 / DANTE
INF C8 67-69 / KLINE
Lo buon maestro disse: «Omai, figliuolo,
s'appressa la città c'ha nome Dite,
coi gravi cittadin, col grande stuolo».
The kind Master said: Now, my son,
we approach the city they call Dis,
with its grave citizens, a vast crowd.
DANTE notes:
INF C8 68 / KLINE
INF C8 68 / DANTE
we approach the city they call Dis,
s'appressa la città c'ha nome Dite,.
INF C8 70-78 / KLINE
And I: ‘Master, I can already see its towers, clearly there in the valley, glowing red, as if they issued from the fire.’
And he to me: ‘The eternal fire, that burns them from within, makes them appear reddened, as you see, in this deep
Hell.’ We now arrived in the steep ditch, that forms the moat to the joyless city: the walls seemed to me as if they were
made of iron.
THE BOAT PLOUGHS INTO A STONE LANDING STAGE.
53
PHLEGYAS (angrily):
INF C8 79-81 / KLINE
INF C8 79-81 / DANTE
Not until we had made a wide circuit, did
Non sanza prima far grande aggirata,
we reach a place where the ferryman said to us: venimmo in parte dove il nocchier forte
Disembark: here is the entrance.
Usciteci, gridò: qui è l'intrata.
PHLEGYAS (more angrily):
INF C8 81 / DANTE
INF C8 81 / KLINE
Usciteci, gridò: qui è l'intrata.
Disembark: here is the entrance.
DANTE AND VIRGIL STEP OFF THE BOAT. DANTE BEGINS WRITING IN HIS BOOK.
DANTE:
INF C8 82-83 / DANTE
INF C8 82-83 / KLINE
Io vidi più di mille in su le porte
da ciel piovuti, che stizzosamente
I saw see more than a thousand of those angels
that fell from Heaven like rain, above the gates.
FALLEN ANGELS
FALLEN ANGELS
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
VARIOUS.
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
VARIOUS.
FALLEN ANGEL 1:
INF C8 84 / DANTE
INF C8 84 / KLINE
dicean: Chi è costui che sanza morte
who cried angrily: Who is this, that, without death
INF C8 85-87 / DANTE
va per lo regno de la morta gente?».
E 'l savio mio maestro fece segno
di voler lor parlar segretamente.
goes through the kingdom of the dead?
And my wise Master made a sign to them,
of wishing to speak in private.
THE CLAMOUR INTENSIFIES…
DANTE:
INF C8 85-87 / DANTE
INF C8 85-87 / KLINE
va per lo regno de la morta gente?».
E 'l savio mio maestro fece segno
di voler lor parlar segretamente.
goes through the kingdom of the dead?
And my My wise Master made a sign to them,
of wishing to speak in private.
…AND QUIETENS SOMEWHAT.
FALLEN ANGEL 2:
INF C8 88-90 / KLINE
INF C8 88-90 / DANTE
Then they furled their great disdain,
and said: Come on, alone, and let him go,
who enters this kingdom with such audacity.
Allor chiusero un poco il gran disdegno
e disser: «Vien tu solo., e quei sen vada
che sì ardito intrò per questo regno.
FALLEN ANGEL 1:
INF C8 91-93 / DANTE
INF C8 91-93 / KLINE
Sol si ritorni per la folle strada:
pruovi, se sa; ché tu qui rimarrai,
che li ha' iscorta sì buia contrada.
Let him return, alone, on his foolish road.
See if he can: and you, remain,
who have escorted him, through so dark a land.
INF C8 94-96 / DANTE
INF C8 94-96 / KLINE
Pensa, lettor, se io mi sconfortai
nel suon de le parole maladette,
ché non credetti ritornarci mai.
Think, Reader, whether I was not disheartened
at the sound of those accursed words,
not believing I could ever return here.
54
DANTE APPEALS TO VIRGIL.
DANTE:
INF C8 97-99 / DANTE
INF C8 97-99 / KLINE
O caro duca mio, che più di sette
volte m'hai sicurtà renduta e tratto
d'alto periglio che 'ncontra mi stette,
I said: O my dear guide, who has ensured
my safety more than seven times, and snatched
me from certain danger that faced me,
INF C8 100-102 / DANTE
non mi lasciar, diss’ io, così disfatto;
e se 'l passar più oltre ci è negato,
ritroviam l'orme nostre insieme ratto.
do not leave me so helpless:
and if we are prevented from going on,
let us quickly retrace our steps.
VIRGIL:
INF C8 103-105 / DANTE
INF C8 103-105 / KLINE
E quel segnor che lì m'avea menato,
mi disse: «Non temer; ché 'l nostro passo
non ci può tòrre alcun: da tal n'è dato.
And that lord, who had led me there, said to me:
Have no fear: since no one can deny us passage:
it was given us by so great an authority.
INF C8 106-108 / DANTE
Ma qui m'attendi, e lo spirito lasso
conforta e ciba di speranza buona,
ch'i' non ti lascerò nel mondo basso».
But you, wait for me, and comfort and nourish
your spirit with fresh hope,
for I will not abandon you in the lower world.
DANTE:
INF C8 109-111 / DANTE
INF C8 109-111 / KLINE
Così sen va, e quivi m'abbandona
lo dolce padre, e io rimagno in forse,
che sì e no nel capo mi tenciona.
So the gentle father goes, and leaves me there,
and I am left in doubt:
since ‘yes’ and ‘no’ war inside my head.
INF C8 112-117 / KLINE
I could not hear what terms he offered them, but he had not been standing there long with them, when, each vying
with the other, they rushed back. Our adversaries closed the gate in my lord’s face, leaving him outside, and he turned
to me again with slow steps.
♫
Sì? Sì? Sì?...No! No! No * * * * * * * * * *
INF C8 111
They sing a high-pitched travesty of Virgil’s argument, consisting entirely of repetitions of the
question: Sì? followed by a mocking repeated: No!
Virgil tries again twice. Each time the Angels raise the pitch of the Sì? ’s, and lower the pitch and
raise the volume of their No! ’s.
After the third attempt, a bass single No! may be sung by Satan within the City.
MEANWHILE, DANTE CATCHES UP WITH HIS VERSIFICATION.
DANTE:
INF C8 82-84 / KLINE
INF C8 82-84 / DANTE
I saw more than a thousand of those angels,
Io vidi più di mille in su le porte
that fell from Heaven like rain, above the gates da ciel piovuti, che stizzosamente
who cried angrily: Who is this, that, without
dicean: Chi è costui che sanza morte
death
INF C8 85-87 / DANTE
goes through the kingdom of the dead?
And my wise Master made a sign to them,
of wishing to speak in private.
va per lo regno de la morta gente?».
E 'l savio mio maestro fece segno
di voler lor parlar segretamente.
55
INF C8 88-90 / DANTE
Then they furled their great disdain,
and said: Come on, alone, and let him go,
who enters this kingdom with such audacity.
Allor chiusero un poco il gran disdegno
e disser: «Vien tu solo., e quei sen vada
che sì ardito intrò per questo regno.
INF C8 91-93 / DANTE
Let him return, alone, on his foolish road.
Sol si ritorni per la folle strada:
See if he can: and you, remain,
pruovi, se sa; ché tu qui rimarrai,
who have escorted him, through so dark a land. che li ha' iscorta sì buia contrada.
INF C8 94-96 / DANTE
Think, Reader, whether I was not disheartened Pensa, lettor, se io mi sconfortai
at the sound of those accursed words,
nel suon de le parole maladette,
not believing I could ever return here.
ché non credetti ritornarci mai.
INF C8 97-99 / DANTE
I said: O my dear guide, who has ensured
O caro duca mio, che più di sette
my safety more than seven times, and snatched volte m'hai sicurtà renduta e tratto
me from certain danger that faced me,
d'alto periglio che 'ncontra mi stette,
INF C8 100-102 / DANTE
do not leave me, so helpless:
and if we are prevented from going on,
let us quickly retrace our steps.
non mi lasciar, diss’ io, così disfatto;
e se 'l passar più oltre ci è negato,
ritroviam l'orme nostre insieme ratto.
INF C8 103-105 / DANTE
And that lord, who had led me there, said to me: E quel segnor che lì m'avea menato,
Have no fear: since no one can deny us passage: mi disse: «Non temer; ché 'l nostro passo
it was given us by so great an authority.
non ci può tòrre alcun: da tal n'è dato.
INF C8 106-108 / DANTE
But you, wait for me, and comfort and nourish Ma qui m'attendi, e lo spirito lasso
your spirit with fresh hope,
conforta e ciba di speranza buona,
for I will not abandon you in the lower world. ch'i' non ti lascerò nel mondo basso».
INF C8 109-111 / DANTE
So the gentle father goes, and leaves me there, Così sen va, e quivi m'abbandona
and I am left in doubt:
lo dolce padre, e io rimagno in forse,
since ‘yes’ and ‘no’ war inside my head.
che sì e no nel capo mi tenciona.
THE GATE CLANGS AND VIRGIL RETURNS DISTRESSED TO DANTE [INF C8 112-117].
VIRGIL:
INF C8 118-120 / DANTE
INF C8 118-120 / KLINE
Li occhi a la terra e le ciglia avea rase
d'ogne baldanza, e dicea ne' sospiri:
«Chi m'ha negate le dolenti case!».
His eyes were on the ground, and his expression
devoid of all daring, and he said, sighing: Who are
these who deny me entrance to the house of pain?
INF C8 121-123 / DANTE
E a me disse: «Tu, perch' io m'adiri,
non sbigottir, ch'io vincerò la prova,
qual ch'a la difension dentro s'aggiri.
And to me he said: Though I am angered,
do not you be dismayed: I will win the trial,
whatever obstacle those inside contrive.
INF C8 124-126 / DANTE
Questa lor tracotanza non è nova;
ché già l'usaro a men segreta porta,
la qual sanza serrame ancor si trova.
This insolence of theirs is nothing new,
for they displayed it once before, at that less secret
gate we passed, that has remained unbarred.
INF C8 127-129 / DANTE
Sovr' essa vedestù la scritta morta:
e già di qua da lei discende l'erta,
passando per li cerchi sanza scorta,
Over it you saw the fatal writing, and already
on this side of its entrance, one is coming,
down the steep, passing the circles unescorted,
56
INF C8 130 / DANTE
tal che per lui ne fia la terra aperta».
one for whom the city shall open to us.
THE CLAMOUR OF ANGEL VOICES AND INSULTING LAUGHTER BECOMES UNBEARABLE.
CANTO 9
INF C9 1-6 / KLINE
The colour that cowardice had printed on my face, seeing my guide turn back, made him repress his own heightened
colour more swiftly. He stopped, attentive, like one who listens, since his eyes could not penetrate far, through the
black air and the thick fog.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 7-9 / DANTE
INF C9 7-9 / KLINE
«Pur a noi converrà vincer la punga»,
Nevertheless we must win this struggle, he began,
cominciò el, «se non . . . Tal ne s'offerse.
if not … then help such as this was offered to us.
Oh quanto tarda a me ch'altri qui giunga!». Oh, how long it seems to me, that other’s coming!
INF C9 10-15 / KLINE
I saw clearly, how he hid the meaning of his opening words with their sequel, words differing from his initial thought.
None the less his speech made me afraid, perhaps because I took his broken phrases to hold a worse meaning than they
did.
BEATRICE, IN HEAVEN, USES MORE SOFTLY THE WORDS SHE SPOKE TO VIRGIL EARLIER.
HER VOICE IS IN VIRGIL’S MEMORY AND/OR ADDRESSED TO THE TARDY HEAVENLY
MESSENGER. DANTE APPARENTLY DOES NOT HEAR BEATRICE.
BEATRICE:
INF C2 70-72 / DANTE
INF C2 70-72 / KLINE
I' son Beatrice che ti faccio andare;
I am Beatrice who asks you to go.
DANTE:
INF C9 16-18 / DANTE
INF C9 16-18 / KLINE
In questo fondo de la trista conca
discende mai alcun del primo grado,
che sol per pena ha la speranza cionca?
Do any of those whose only punishment
is deprivation of hope, ever descend, into the
depths of this sad chasm, from the first circle?
VIRGIL:
INF C9 19-21 / DANTE
INF C9 19-21 / KLINE
Questa question fec' io; e quei «Di rado
incontra», mi rispuose, «che di noi
faccia il cammino alcun per qual io vado.
I asked this question, and he answered me:
It rarely happens, that any of us
make the journey that I go on.
INF C9 22-24 / DANTE
Ver è ch'altra fïata qua giù fui,
congiurato da quella Eritón cruda
che richiamava l'ombre a' corpi sui.
It is true that I was down here, once before,
conjured to do so by that fierce sorceress Erichtho,
who recalled spirits to their corpses.
ERICHTHO: THESSALIAN SORCERESS MENTIONED BY LUCAN (PHARSALIA 6 507-826), WHERE SHE SUMMONS UP THE SPIRIT OF A
DEAD SOLDIER FOR SEXTUS POMPEIUS BEFORE THE BATTLE OF PHARSALIA. DANTE’S REFERENCE IS TO SOME FURTHER
UNKNOWN TRADITION ABOUT HER PRESENCE IN THE LOWEST REGIONS OF HELL, THE GIUDECCA (JUDECCA).
DANTE notes:
INF C9 23 / KLINE
INF C9 23 / DANTE
conjured to do so by that fierce sorceress
Erichtho,
congiurato da quella Eritón cruda
57
VIRGIL:
INF C9 25-27 / DANTE
INF C9 25-27 / KLINE
Di poco era di me la carne nuda,
ch'ella mi fece intrar dentr' a quel muro,
per trarne un spirto del cerchio di Giuda.
My flesh had only been stripped from me a while
when she forced me to enter inside that wall,
to bring a spirit out of the circle of Judas.
INF C9 28-30 / DANTE
Quell' è 'l più basso loco e 'l più oscuro,
e 'l più lontan dal ciel che tutto gira:
ben so 'l cammin; però ti fa sicuro.
That is the deepest place, and the darkest,
and the furthest from that Heaven that surrounds
all things: I know the way well: so be reassured.
INF C9 31-33 / DANTE
Questa palude che 'l gran puzzo spira
cigne dintorno la città dolente,
u' non potemo intrare omai sanz' ira».
This marsh, that breathes its foul stench,
circles the woeful city round about,
where we also cannot enter now without anger.
INF C9 34-42 / KLINE
And he said more that I do not remember, because my eyes had been drawn to the high tower, with the glowing crest,
where, in an instant, three hellish Furies, stained with blood, had risen, that had the limbs and aspects of women,
covered with a tangle of green hydras, their hideous foreheads bound with little adders, and horned vipers.
VIRGIL CATCHES SIGHT OF
BATTLEMENT.
THALIA, URANIA
AND
CLIO
MOVING TO FORM A TRIO ON THE
VIRGIL:
INF C9 43-45 / KLINE
INF C9 43-45 / DANTE
And Virgil, who knew the handmaids of
the queen of eternal sadness well, said to me:
See, the fierce Erinyes: the Furies.
E quei, che ben conobbe le meschine
de la regina de l'etterno pianto,
Guarda, mi disse, le feroci Erine.
DANTE:
INF C9 43-45 / DANTE
INF C9 43-45 / KLINE
E quei, che ben conobbe le meschine
de la regina de l'etterno pianto,
Guarda, mi disse, le feroci Erine.
And Virgil, who knew the handmaids of the queen
of eternal sadness well, said to me:
See, the fierce Erinyes: the Furies.
ERINYES: EUMENIDES OR KINDLY ONES, A EUPHEMISM FOR THE ERINYES, THE THREE SISTERS, THE FURIES, WHO LIVE IN
EREBUS. THEY PUNISH CRIMES BY HOUNDING THE WRONGDOER & ACTING AS THE UNREMITTING CONSCIENCE. FOR DANTE
THEY SYMBOLISE REMORSE. THE RECOLLECTION OF PAST SINS IS A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF DESPAIR, DELAYING PENITENCE &
TURNING THE SOUL BACK TO WRONGDOING.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 46-48 / DANTE
INF C9 46-48 / KLINE
Quest' è Megera dal sinistro canto;
quella che piange dal destro è Aletto;
Tesifón è nel mezzo; e tacque a tanto.
That is Megaera on the left: the one that weeps,
on the right, is Alecto:
Tisiphone is in the middle. Then he was silent.
INF C9 49-51 / KLINE
Each one was tearing at her breast with her claws, beating with her hands, and crying out so loudly, that I pressed
close to the poet, out of fear.
FURY 1 / THALIA:
INF C9 52-54 / KLINE
INF C9 52-54 / DANTE
Let Medusa come…, they all said, looking
down on us, so that we can turn him to stone:
we did not fully avenge Theseus’s attack.
«Vegna Medusa: sì 'l farem di smalto»,
dicevan tutte riguardando in giuso;
«mal non vengiammo in Tesëo l'assalto».
FURY 2 / URANIA:
INF C9 52-54 / DANTE
INF C9 52-54 / KLINE
«Vegna Medusa: sì 'l farem di smalto»,
dicevan tutte riguardando in giuso;
«mal non vengiammo in Tesëo l'assalto».
Let Medusa come…, they all said, looking
down on us, so that we can turn him to stone:
we did not fully avenge Theseus’s attack.
58
MEDUSA: ONE OF THE GORGONS. THE OTHER TWO ARE EURYALE & STHEINO. MEDUSA WAS RAPED BY NEPTUNE
(POSEIDON) IN THE TEMPLE OF MINERVA (ATHENE), WHO CHANGED HER TO A WINGED MONSTER WITH SNAKES FOR HAIR, HER
GAZE TURNING ANYONE WHO LOOKED AT HER TO STONE. PERSEUS DECAPITATED HER, LOOKING AT HER REFLECTION IN HIS
SHIELD & USED HER HEAD TO TURN ATLAS TO STONE. SHE SYMBOLISES OBDURACY, DELAYING REPENTANCE.
THESEUS: LEGENDARY KING OF ATHENS WHO KILLED THE MINOTAUR, AIDED BY ARIADNE, THE DAUGHTER OF KING MINOS OF
CRETE. HE ALSO MADE AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO RESCUE PROSERPINE. HE WAS PUNISHED BY BEING PLACED IN HADES,
AND, IN THE VERSION OF THE MYTH THAT DANTE FOLLOWS, WAS RESCUED BY HERCULES.
FURY 3 / CLIO:
INF C9 52-54 / DANTE
INF C9 52-54 / KLINE
«Vegna Medusa: sì 'l farem di smalto»,
dicevan tutte riguardando in giuso;
«mal non vengiammo in Tesëo l'assalto».
Let Medusa come, they all said, looking down
on us, so that we can turn him to stone:
we did not fully avenge Theseus’s attack.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 55-57 / DANTE
INF C9 55-57 / KLINE
Volgiti 'n dietro e tien lo viso chiuso;
ché se 'l Gorgón si mostra e tu 'l vedessi,
nulla sarebbe di tornar mai suso».
Turn your back. Keep your eyes closed,
since there will be no return upwards, if she
were to show herself, and you were to see her.
INF C9 58-63 / KLINE
said the Master, and he himself turned me round. Not leaving it to me, he covered them, also, with his own hands. O
you, who have clear minds, take note of the meaning that conceals itself under the veil of clouded verse!
VIRGIL TURNS DANTE ROUND
(VIRGIL’S) HANDS [INF C9 58-60].
AND COVERS
DANTE’S
EYES, ALREADY CLOSED, WITH HIS
FURY 3 / CLIO:
INF C9 55-57 / DANTE
INF C9 55-57 / KLINE
Volgiti 'n dietro e tien lo viso chiuso;
ché se 'l Gorgón si mostra e tu 'l vedessi,
nulla sarebbe di tornar mai suso».
Turn… your back. Keep your eyes closed,
since there will be no return upwards., if she
were to show herself, and you were to see her.
INF C9 64-72 / KLINE
Now, over the turbid waves, there came a fearful crash of sound, at which both shores trembled; a sound like a strong
wind, born of conflicting heat, that strikes the forest, remorselessly, breaks the branches, and beats them down, and
carries them away, advances proudly in a cloud of dust, and makes wild creatures, and shepherds, run for safety.l
DANTE TRIES TO TURN AND VIRGIL STRAINS TO HOLD HIM.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 55-57 / DANTE
INF C9 55-57 / KLINE
Volgiti 'n dietro e tien lo viso chiuso;
ché se 'l Gorgón si mostra e tu 'l vedessi,
nulla sarebbe di tornar mai suso».
Turn your back. Keep your eyes closed,
since there will be no return upwards, if she
were to show herself, and you were to see her.
♫
A SINGLE HEAVENLY NOTE. * * * * * * * * * *
VIRGIL, GREATLY RELIEVED, UNCOVERS DANTE’S EYES [INF C9 73].
VIRGIL:
INF C9 73-75 / DANTE
INF C9 73-75 / KLINE
Li occhi mi sciolse e disse:
Or drizza il nerbo
del viso su per quella schiuma antica
per indi ove quel fummo è più acerbo.
Virgil uncovered my eyes, and said: Now direct
your vision to that ancient marsh, there,
where the mists are thickest.
59
THERE IS A ‘A FEARFUL CRASH OF SOUND [INF C9 65], MADE BY THE FALLEN ANGELS LEAPING
INTO THE CITY OFF THE BATTLEMENTS.
♫
CRASH! * * * * * * * * * *
INF C9 75 from INF C9 64
AS THE ANGELS SCATTER, VIRGIL DESCRIBES THE ACTION.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 76-78 / DANTE
INF C9 76-78 / KLINE
Come le rane innanzi a la nimica
biscia per l'acqua si dileguan tutte,
fin ch'a la terra ciascuna s'abbica,
Like frogs that all scatter through the water,
in front of their enemy before the snake,
until each one squats on the bottom,
INF C9 79-81 / DANTE
vid' io più di mille anime distrutte
fuggir così dinanzi ad un ch'al passo
passava Stige con le piante asciutte.
so I saw more than a thousand damaged spirits
they scatter in front of one who passed
the Stygian ferry with dry feet.
INF C9 82-84 / KLINE
He waved that putrid air from his face, often waving his left hand before it, and only that annoyance seemed to weary
him.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 85-87 / DANTE
INF C9 85-87 / KLINE
Ben m'accorsi ch'elli era da ciel messo,
e volsimi al maestro; e quei fé segno
ch'i' stessi queto ed inchinassi ad esso.
I well knew he was a The messenger from Heaven.,
and I turned to the Master, who made
a gesture that I should stay quiet, and bow to him.
DANTE:
INF C9 85-87 / KLINE
INF C9 85-87 / DANTE
I well knew he was a messenger from Heaven., Ben m'accorsi ch'elli era da ciel messo,
and I turned to the Master, who made a
e volsimi al maestro; e quei fé segno
gesture that I should stay quiet, and bow to him. ch'i' stessi queto ed inchinassi ad esso.
INF C9 88-90 / KLINE
INF C9 88-90 / DANTE
How full of indignation he seemed to me!
Ahi quanto mi parea pien di disdegno!
He reached the gate, and opened it with a wand: Venne a la porta e con una verghetta
there was no resistance.
l'aperse, che non v'ebbe alcun ritegno.
INF C9 88-90 / DANTE
Ahi quanto mi parea pien di disdegno!
Venne a la porta e con una verghetta
l'aperse, che non v'ebbe alcun ritegno.
How full of indignation! he seemed to me!
He reached the gate, and opened it with a wand:
there was no resistance.
THE MESSENGER SPEAKS FROM INSIDE THE CITY.
HEAVENLY MESSENGER:
INF C9 91-93 / DANTE
INF C9 91-93 / DANTE
On the vile threshold he began to speak:
outcasts from Heaven,
why does this insolence still live in you?
O cacciati del ciel, gente dispetta»,
cominciò elli in su l'orribil soglia,
«ond' esta oltracotanza in voi s'alletta?
INF C9 91-93 / DANTE
O cacciati del ciel, gente dispetta»,
cominciò elli in su l'orribil soglia,
«ond' esta oltracotanza in voi s'alletta?
60
On the vile threshold he began to speak:
outcasts from Heaven
why does this insolence still live in you?
INF C9 94-96 / DANTE
Perché recalcitrate a quella voglia
a cui non puote il fin mai esser mozzo,
e che più volte v'ha cresciuta doglia?
Why are you recalcitrant to that will,
whose aims can never be frustrated,
and that has often increased your torment?
HEAVENLY MESSENGER:
INF C9 97-99 / KLINE
INF C9 97-99 / DANTE
What use is it to butt your heads against the
Che giova ne le fata dar di cozzo?
Fates? If you remember, your Cerberus still
Cerbero vostro, se ben vi ricorda,
shows a throat and chin scarred from doing so. ne porta ancor pelato il mento e 'l gozzo».
VIRGIL ECHOES HIM TRIUMPHANTLY.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 97-99 / DANTE
INF C9 97-99 / KLINE
Che giova ne le fata dar di cozzo?
Cerbero vostro, se ben vi ricorda,
ne porta ancor pelato il mento e 'l gozzo».
What use is it to butt your heads against the Fates?
If you remember, your Cerberus still shows
a throat and chin scarred from doing so.
DANTE AND VIRGIL WALK TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE TO THE
CATCHES UP WITH HIS VERSIFICATION…
CITY
OF
DIS
AS
DANTE
DANTE:
INF C9 76-78 / KLINE
INF C9 76-78 / DANTE
Like frogs, that all scatter through the water,
in front of their enemy the snake,
until each one squats on the bottom,
Come le rane innanzi a la nimica
biscia per l'acqua si dileguan tutte,
fin ch'a la terra ciascuna s'abbica,
so I saw more than a thousand damaged
spirits scatter, in front of one who passed
the Stygian ferry with dry feet.
vid' io più di mille anime distrutte
fuggir così dinanzi ad un ch'al passo
passava Stige con le piante asciutte.
INF C9 79-81 / DANTE
INF C9 82-84 / DANTE
He waved that putrid air from his face,
Dal volto rimovea quell' aere grasso,
often waving his left hand before it,
menando la sinistra innanzi spesso;
and only that annoyance seemed to weary him. e sol di quell' angoscia parea lasso.
VIRGIL PROMPTS DANTE.
VIRGIL:
INF C9 100-102 / DANTE
INF C9 100-102 / KLINE
Poi si rivolse per la strada lorda,
e non fé motto a noi, ma fé sembiante
d'omo cui altra cura stringa e morda
Then he returned, over the miry pool,
and spoke no word to us,… but looked like one
preoccupied and driven by other cares,
DANTE:
INF C9 100-102 / KLINE
INF C9 100-102 / DANTE
Then he returned over the miry pool,
and spoke no word to us, but looked like one
preoccupied and driven by other cares,
Poi si rivolse per la strada lorda,
e non fé motto a noi, ma fé sembiante
d'omo cui altra cura stringa e morda
than of those who stand before him.
And we stirred our feet towards the city,
in safety, after his sacred speech.
che quella di colui che li è davante;
e noi movemmo i piedi inver' la terra,
sicuri appresso le parole sante.
INF C9 103-105 / DANTE
61
♫
INFERNAL: SOFT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C9 105
THE FOOTSTEPS OF DANTE AND VIRGIL ECHO.
DANTE:
INF C9 106-108 / DANTE
INF C9 106-108 / KLINE
Dentro li 'ntrammo sanz' alcuna guerra;
e io, ch'avea di riguardar disio
la condizion che tal fortezza serra,
We entered Dis without a conflict
and I gazed around, as soon as I was inside,
eager to know what punishment
INF C9 109-11 / DANTE
com' io fui dentro, l'occhio intorno invio:
e veggio ad ogne man grande campagna,
piena di duolo e di tormento rio.
the place enclosed., and saw
on all sides a vast plain
full of pain and vile torment.
THE MUSIC CEASES.
INF C9 112-123 / KLINE
As at Arles, where the Rhone stagnates, or Pola, near the Gulf of Quarnaro, that confines Italy, and bathes its coast,
the sepulchres make the ground uneven, so they did here, all around, only here the nature of it was more terrible.
Flames were scattered amongst the tombs, by which they were made so red-hot all over, that no smith’s art needs
hotter metal. Their lids were all lifted, and such fierce groans came from them, that, indeed, they seemed to be those of
the sad and wounded.
DANTE:
INF C9 124-126 / DANTE
INF C9 124-126 / KLINE
E io: «Maestro, quai son quelle genti
che, seppellite dentro da quell' arche,
si fan sentir coi sospiri dolenti?».
And I said: ‘Master, who are these people,
entombed? in those vaults, who make
themselves known by tormented sighing?’
VIRGIL:
INF C9 127-129 / DANTE
INF C9 127-129 / KLINE
E quelli a me: «Qui son li eresïarche
con lor seguaci, d'ogne setta, e molto
più che non credi son le tombe carche.
And he to me: Here are the arch-heretics,
with their followers, of every sect: and the tombs
contain many more than you might think.
INF C9 130-132 / DANTE
Simile qui con simile è sepolto,
e i monimenti son più e men caldi».
E poi ch'a la man destra si fu vòlto,
Here like is buried with like
and the monuments differ in degrees of heat.
Then after turning to the right,
DANTE notes:
INF C9 131 / KLINE
INF C9 131 / DANTE
and the monuments differ in degrees of heat.
e i monimenti son più e men caldi».
INF C9 133 / DANTE
we passed between the tormented, and the steep ramparts.
CANTO 10
62
INF C10 1-3 / KLINE
Now my Master goes, and I, behind him, by a secret path between the city walls and the torments.
DANTE AND VIRGIL KEEP ON WALKING.
DANTE:
INF C10 4-6 / DANTE
INF C10 4-6 / KLINE
«O virtù somma, che per li empi giri
mi volvi», cominciai, «com' a te piace,
parlami, e sodisfammi a' miei disiri.
I began: ‘O, summit of virtue, who leads me round
through the circles of sin, as you please,
speak to me, and satisfy my longing.
INF C10 7-9 / DANTE
La gente che per li sepolcri giace
potrebbesi veder? già son levati
tutt' i coperchi, e nessun guardia face».
Can those people who lie
in the sepulchres be seen?
The lids are all raised, and no one keeps guard.
INF C10 10-12 / KLINE
And he to me: They will all be shut, when they return here, from Jehoshaphat, with the bodies they left above.
DANTE AND VIRGIL ARE NOW ON STAGE, BUT CANNOT BE SEEN IN THE DARKNESS.
VIRGIL:
INF C10 13-15 / DANTE
INF C10 13-15 / KLINE
Suo cimitero da questa parte hanno
con Epicuro tutti suoi seguaci,
che l'anima col corpo morta fanno.
In this place Epicurus and all
his followers are entombed,
who say the soul dies with body.
THE NEO-EPICUREAN CATARI & PATERINI HERETICS OF THE THIRTEENTH & FOURTEENTH CENTURIES MAY HAVE DENIED THE
RESURRECTION OF THE BODY & THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. EPICURUS CERTAINLY CONCENTRATED ON LIFE IN THIS WORLD
& WAS RETICENT ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE.
DANTE notes:
INF C10 13-15 / KLINE
INF C10 13-14 / DANTE
In this place Epicurus and all
his followers are entombed,
Suo cimitero da questa parte hanno
con Epicuro tutti suoi seguaci,
VIRGIL:
INF C10 16-18 / DANTE
INF C10 16-18 / KLINE
Però a la dimanda che mi faci
quinc' entro satisfatto sarà tosto,
e al disio ancor che tu mi taci».
Therefore, you will soon be satisfied, with an
answer to the question that you ask me, and also
the longing that you hide from me, here, inside.
DANTE:
INF C10 19-21 / DANTE
INF C10 19-21 / KLINE
E io: «Buon duca, non tegno riposto
a te mio cuor se non per dicer poco,
e tu m'hai non pur mo a ciò disposto».
And I: Kind guide, I do not keep my heart hidden
from you, except by speaking too briefly,
something to which you have previously inclined
me.
A COFFIN LID OR TOMB DOOR CREAKS OPEN.
DANTE:
Dio!
FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI:
INF C10 22-24 / DANTE
INF C10 22-24 / KLINE
«O Tosco che per la città del foco
vivo ten vai così parlando onesto,
piacciati di restare in questo loco.
O Tuscan, who goes alive through the city of fire,
speaking so politely,
may it please you to rest in this place.
63
FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE. FIERCE SPEECH.
DESCRIPTION
*
----? - 1264?
--?
AGE : *
HEAD OF THE UBERTI CLAN FROM 1239, WHO SUPPORTED THE GHIBELLINES, DANTE’S PARTY. HE ANNIHILATED THE
FLORENTINE GUELPHS AT THE BATTLE OF MONTAPERTI (A VILLAGE NEAR SIENA, ON A HILL NEAR THE RIVER ARBIA) ON
SEPTEMBER 4TH 1260. FARINATA OPPOSED THE DESTRUCTION OF FLORENCE URGED BY THE SIENESE, AND PISANS, BUT AFTER
THE FINAL TRIUMPH OF THE GUELPHS IN 1266, THE FAMILY WERE EXCLUDED FROM AMNESTY, AND BANISHED FOREVER. WHEN
ARNOLFO DI CAMBIO BUILT THE PALAZZO VECCHIO IN FLORENCE HE WAS FORBIDDEN TO BUILD WHERE THE REBEL UBERTI
HOUSES HAD STOOD.
FARINATA DEGLI UBERTI:
INF C10 25-27 / DANTE
INF C10 25-27 / KLINE
La tua loquela ti fa manifesto
di quella nobil patrïa natio,
a la qual forse fui troppo molesto.
Your speech shows clearly you are a native
of that noble city
that I perhaps troubled too much.
INF C10 28-30 / KLINE
This sound came suddenly from one of the vaults, at which, in fear, I drew a little closer to my guide.
VIRGIL:
INF C10 31-33 / DANTE
INF C10 31-33 / KLINE
Ed el mi disse: Volgiti! Che fai?
Vedi là Farinata che s'è dritto:
da la cintola in sù tutto 'l vedrai.
And he said to me: Turn round: what are you
doing: look at Farinata., who has raised
himself: you can see him all from the waist up.
INF C10 34-36 / KLINE
I had already fixed my gaze on him, and he rose erect in stance and aspect, as if he held the Inferno in great disdain.
VIRGIL PUSHES DANTE TOWARDS FARINATA [INF C10 38].
VIRGIL:
INF C10 37-39 / DANTE
INF C10 37-39 / KLINE
E l'animose man del duca e pronte
mi pinser tra le sepulture a lui,
dicendo: Le parole tue sien conte.
The spirited and eager hands of my guide
pushed me through the sepulchres towards him,
saying: Make sure your words are measured.
FARINATA DEMANDS ‘ALMOST CONTEMPTUOUSLY’ [INF C10 41] IN ITALIAN…
FARINATA:
INF C10 40-42 / DANTE
INF C10 40-42 / DANTE
When I was at the base of the tomb, Farinata
looked at me for a while, and then, almost
contemptuously, he demanded of me: Who
were your ancestors?
Com' io al piè de la sua tomba fui,
guardommi un poco, e poi, quasi sdegnoso,
mi dimandò: Chi fuor li maggior tui?
…AND WHEN DANTE IS SLOW TO REPLY, SWITCHES TO ENGLISH.
FARINATA:
INF C10 42 / DANTE
INF C10 42 / KLINE
Com' io al piè de la sua tomba fui,
guardommi un poco, e poi, quasi sdegnoso,
mi dimandò: Chi fuor li maggior tui?
When I was at the base of the tomb, Farinata looked
at me for a while, and then, almost contemptuously,
he demanded of me: Who were your ancestors?
INF C10 43-45 / KLINE
I, desiring to obey, concealed nothing, but revealed the whole to him, at which he raised his brows a little.
64
DANTE’S REPLY MAY BE INAUDIBLE.
FARINATA:
INF C10 46-48 / DANTE
INF C10 46-48 / KLINE
poi disse: «Fieramente furo avversi
a me e a miei primi e a mia parte,
sì che per due fïate li dispersi».
Then he said: They were fiercely opposed to me,
and my ancestors and my party,
so that I scattered them twice.
DANTE:
INF C10 49-51 / DANTE
INF C10 49-51 / KLINE
«S'ei fur cacciati, ei tornar d'ogne parte»,
rispuos' io lui, «l'una e l'altra fïata;
ma i vostri non appreser ben quell' arte».
I replied: Though they were driven out, they returned
from wherever they were, the first and the second
time, but your party have not yet learnt that skill.
INF C10 52-57 / KLINE
Then, a shadow rose behind him from the unclosed space, visible down to the tip of its chin: I think it had raised itself
on to its knees. It gazed around me, as if it wished to see whether anyone was with me, but when all its hopes were
quenched,
ANOTHER LID OR DOOR OPENS, SOME DISTANCE AWAY.
CAVALCANTE CAVALCANTI:
INF C10 58-60 / DANTE
INF C10 58-60 / KLINE
piangendo disse: «Se per questo cieco
carcere vai per altezza d'ingegno,
mio figlio ov' è? e perché non è teco?».
it said, weeping: If by power of intellect,
you go through this blind prison,
where is my son, and why is he not with you?
CAVALCANTE CAVALCANTI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
*
---- - *----?
*
AGE : 70??
CAVALCANTE CAVALCANTI: FATHER OF GUIDO CAVALCANTI. SEE BOCCACCIO’S DECAMERON 6 9, WHICH CONCERNS GUIDO.
DANTE:
INF C10 61-63 / DANTE
INF C10 61-63 / KLINE
E io a lui: «Da me stesso non vegno:
colui ch'attende là, per qui mi mena
forse cui Guido vostro ebbe a disdegno».
And I to him: I do not come through my own
initiative: he that waits there, whom your Guido
disdained perhaps, leads me through this place.
GUIDO DE’ CAVALCANTI: POET, BORN 1250-1259, WAS FARINATA’S SON-IN-LAW & A PROMINENT WHITE GUELPH. HE
MARRIED FARINATA’S DAUGHTER, BEATRICE, DURING ONE OF THE ATTEMPTS TO FORGE PEACE THROUGH MARRIAGE
ALLIANCES. HE, ‘THE FIRST OF MY FRIENDS’, & DANTE ARE THE CHIEF POETS OF THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL OF THE DOLCE STIL
NUOVE STYLE OF LYRIC POETRY THAT SUPERSEDED THE BOLOGNESE SCHOOL OF GUIDO GUINICELLI. THE VITA NUOVA WAS
DEDICATED TO GUIDO. HE WAS EXILED WITH THE WHITES (A DECISION DANTE WAS PARTY TO) IN JUNE 1300 TO SARZANA IN
THE LUNIGIANA. ALLOWED TO RETURN TO FLORENCE, DUE TO ILLNESS, CAUSED BY THE UNHEALTHY LOCALITY, HE DIED IN THE
AUGUST & WAS BURIED ON AUGUST 29TH, BUT WAS STILL ALIVE AT THE TIME OF THE VISION ITSELF.
INF C10 64-66 / KLINE
His words and the nature of his punishment had spelt his name to me, so that my answer was a full one.
CAVALCANTE CAVALCANTI STANDS [INF C10 67].
CAVALCANTE CAVALCANTI:
INF C10 67-69 / DANTE
INF C10 67-69 / KLINE
Di sùbito drizzato gridò: «Come?
dicesti ``elli ebbe"? non viv' elli ancora?
non fiere li occhi suoi lo dolce lume?».
Suddenly raising himself erect, he cried:
What did you say? Disdained? Is he not still
alive? Does the sweet light not strike his eyes?
INF C10 70-75 / KLINE
When he saw that I delayed in answering, he dropped supine again, and showed himself no more. But the other one, at
whose wish I had first stopped, generously did not alter his aspect or move his neck, or turn his side.
65
DANTE MAY QUIETLY VERSIFY AS FARINATA CONTINUES.
DANTE:
INF C10 67-69 / KLINE
INF C10 67-69 / DANTE
Suddenly raising himself erect, he cried: What Di sùbito drizzato gridò: «Come?
did you say? Disdained? Is he not still alive? dicesti ``elli ebbe"? non viv' elli ancora?
Does the sweet light not strike his eyes?
non fiere li occhi suoi lo dolce lume?».
FARINATA:
INF C10 76-78 / DANTE
INF C10 76-78 / KLINE
e sé continüando al primo detto,
Continuing his previous words, he said:
«S'elli han quell' arte», disse, «male appresa, And if my party have learnt that art of return badly,
ciò mi tormenta più che questo letto.
it tortures me more than this bed,
♫
PROPHECY MOTIF * * * * * * * * * *
INF C10 78
FARINATA:
INF C10 79-81 / DANTE
INF C10 79-81 / KLINE
Ma non cinquanta volte fia raccesa
la faccia de la donna che qui regge,
che tu saprai quanto quell' arte pesa.
but the face of the moon-goddess Persephone,
who rules here, will not be crescent fifty times,
before you learn the difficulty of that art.
PERSEPHONE: THE VEGETATION RITUALS OF CERES-DEMETER & PERSEPHONE FORMED THE ESSENCE OF THE SECRET MYSTERIES
AT ELEUSIS. ONE OF THE INCARNATIONS OF THE TRIPLE MOON-GODDESS.
YOU LEARN: FARINATA WARNS HIM OF HIS LONG EXILE, TELLING HIM THAT NOT FIFTY MOONS WILL PASS BEFORE HE LEARNS
HOW HARD IT IS TO RETURN FROM BANISHMENT. THE DATE OF THE VISION IS APRIL 1300 & DANTE’S EFFORTS AT RETURN WERE
THWARTED BY THE FAILURE OF POPE BENEDICT XI, WHO SUCCEEDED BONIFACE TO ACHIEVE RECONCILIATION IN EARLY 1304.
BENEDICT VISITED FLORENCE BUT LEFT ON JUNE 4TH LEAVING THE REBELLIOUS CITY UNDER AN INTERDICT. IT WAS LESS THAN
FIFTY ONE LUNAR MONTHS BEFORE DANTE’S EFFORTS AT RETURN FAILED, SUGGESTING A COMMUNICATION WITH BENEDICT
(DANTE WAS ACTING AS SECRETARY THEN TO ALLESSANDRO DA ROMANO, OF THE OLD GHIBELLINE FAMILY OF THE COUNTS
GUIDI, WHO WAS THE LEADER OF THE GHIBELLINES IN EXILE) SOME TIME IN MARCH OR EARLY APRIL.
INF C10 82-84 / DANTE
E se tu mai nel dolce mondo regge,
dimmi: perché quel popolo è sì empio
incontr' a' miei in ciascuna sua legge?
And, as you wish to return to the sweet world,
tell me why that people is so fierce towards my kin,
in all its lawmaking?
DANTE:
INF C10 85-87 / DANTE
INF C10 85-87 / KLINE
Ond' io a lui: «Lo strazio e 'l grande scempio At which I answered him: The great slaughter
che fece l'Arbia colorata in rosso,
and havoc, that dyed the Arbia red, is the cause
tal orazion fa far nel nostro tempio».
of those indictments against them in our churches.
FARINATA:
INF C10 88-90 / DANTE
INF C10 88-90 / KLINE
Poi ch'ebbe sospirando il capo mosso,
«A ciò non fu' io sol», disse, «né certo
sanza cagion con li altri sarei mosso.
Then he shook his head, sighing, and said:
I was not alone in that matter, nor would I
have joined with the others without good cause,
INF C10 91-93 / DANTE
Ma fu' io solo, là dove sofferto
fu per ciascun di tòrre via Fiorenza,
colui che la difesi a viso aperto».
but I was alone, there, when all agreed
to raze Florence to the ground,
and I openly defended her.
DANTE:
66
INF C10 94-96 / DANTE
INF C10 94-96 / KLINE
Deh, se riposi mai vostra semenza»,
prega' io lui, «solvetemi quel nodo
che qui ha 'nviluppata mia sentenza.
Ah, as I hope your descendants might sometime
have peace, I begged him, solve the puzzle
that has entangled my mind.
INF C10 97-99 / DANTE
El par che voi veggiate, se ben odo,
dinanzi quel che 'l tempo seco adduce,
e nel presente tenete altro modo».
It seems, if I hear right, that you see
beforehand what time brings,
but have a different knowledge of the present.
FARINATA:
INF C10 100-102 / DANTE
INF C10 100-102 / KLINE
«Noi veggiam, come quei c'ha mala luce,
le cose», disse, «che ne son lontano;
cotanto ancor ne splende il sommo duce.
Like one who has imperfect vision’, he said,
we see things that are distant from us: so much
of the light the supreme Lord still allows us.
INF C10 103-105 / DANTE
Quando s'appressano o son, tutto è vano
nostro intelletto; e s'altri non ci apporta,
nulla sapem di vostro stato umano.
But when they approach, or come to be, our
intelligence is wholly void, and we know nothing
of your human state, except what others tell us.
INF C10 106-108 / DANTE
Però comprender puoi che tutta morta
fia nostra conoscenza da quel punto
che del futuro fia chiusa la porta».
So you may understand that all our knowledge
of the future will end, from the moment
when the Day of Judgement closes the gate of
futurity.’
DANTE:
INF C10 109-111 / DANTE
INF C10 109-111 / KLINE
Allor, come di mia colpa compunto,
dissi: «Or direte dunque a quel caduto
che 'l suo nato è co' vivi ancor congiunto;
Will you therefore, tell that fallen one,
Cavalcanti, now, that his son Guido
is still joined to the living.
INF C10 112-114 / DANTE
e s'i' fui, dianzi, a la risposta muto,
fate i saper che 'l fei perché pensava
già ne l'error che m'avete soluto».
And if I was silent before in reply, let him
know it was because my thoughts were already
entangled in that error you have resolved for me.
INF C10 115-123 / KLINE
And now my Master was recalling me, at which I begged the spirit, with more haste, to tell me who was with him. He
said to me: ‘I lie here with more than a thousand: here inside is Frederick the Second, and the Cardinal, Ubaldini, and
of the rest I am silent.’ At that he hid himself, and I turned my steps towards the poet of antiquity, reflecting on the
words that boded trouble for me.
VIRGIL BECKONS TO DANTE AND THEY MOVE ON.
INF C10 124-126 / KLINE
Virgil moved on, and then, as we were leaving, said to me: Why are you so bewildered? And I satisfied his question.
VIRGIL:
INF C10 127-129 / DANTE
INF C10 127-129 / KLINE
«La mente tua conservi quel ch'udito
hai contra te», mi comandò quel saggio;
«e ora attendi qui», e drizzò 'l dito:
The sage exhorted me: Let your mind retain
what you have heard of your fate,
and note this:, and he raised his finger,
VIRGIL RAISES HIS FINGER.
VIRGIL
INF C10 130-132 / DANTE
INF C10 130-132 / KLINE
quando sarai dinanzi al dolce raggio
di quella il cui bell' occhio tutto vede,
da lei saprai di tua vita il vïaggio.
When you stand before the sweet rays of
that lady, whose bright eyes see everything, you
will learn the journey of your life through her.
67
DANTE GLOWS, WRITES, SPEAKS AND CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C10 130-132 / KLINE
INF C10 130-132 / DANTE
When you stand before the sweet rays of that quando sarai dinanzi al dolce raggio
lady, whose bright eyes see everything, you
di quella il cui bell' occhio tutto vede,
will learn the journey of your life through her. da lei saprai di tua vita il vïaggio.
INF C10 133-136 / KLINE
Then he turned his feet towards the left: we abandoned the wall, and went towards the middle, by a path that makes its
way into a valley, that, even up there, forced us to breathe its foulness.
CANTO 11
VIOLENCE ETC
INF C11 1-9 / KLINE
On the edge of a high bank, made of great broken rocks in a circle, we came above a still more cruel crowd, and here,
because of the repulsive, excessive stench that the deep abyss throws out, we approached it in the shelter of a grand
monument, on which I saw an inscription that said: ‘I hold Anastasius, that Photinus drew away from the true path.’
DANTE AND
FALL?
VIRGIL
WALK TO THE EDGE OF AN ABYSS AND LOOK DOWN.
STONES
MAY
VIRGIL:
INF C11 10-12 / DANTE
INF C11 10-12 / KLINE
Lo nostro scender conviene esser tardo,
sì che s'ausi un poco in prima il senso
al tristo fiato; e poi no i fia riguardo.
The Master said: We must delay our descent
until our sense is somewhat used to the foul wind,
and then we will not notice it.
DANTE:
INF C11 13-14 / DANTE
INF C11 13-14 / KLINE
Così 'l maestro; e io «Alcun compenso»,
dissi lui, «trova che 'l tempo non passi
I said to him: Find us something to compensate,
so that the time is not wasted.
VIRGIL:
INF C11 15 / DANTE
INF C11 15 / KLINE
perduto». Ed elli: «Vedi ch'a ciò penso».
And he: See, I have thought of it.
VIRGIL SITS ABRUPTLY ON THE GROUND.
VIRGIL:
INF C11 16-18 / DANTE
INF C11 16-18 / KLINE
«Figliuol mio, dentro da cotesti sassi»,
cominciò poi a dir, «son tre cerchietti
di grado in grado, come que' che lassi.
He began: My son, within these walls
of stone, are three graduated circles
like those you are leaving.
DANTE notes:
INF C11 16 / KLINE
INF C11 16 / DANTE
He began: My son, within these walls
«Figliuol mio, dentro da cotesti sassi»,
VIRGIL:
68
INF C11 19-21 / DANTE
INF C11 19-21 / KLINE
Tutti son pien di spirti maladetti;
ma perché poi ti basti pur la vista,
intendi come e perché son costretti.
They are all filled with accursed spirits: but so that
the sight of them may be enough to inform you, in
future, listen how and why they are constrained.
INF C11 22-24 / DANTE
D'ogne malizia, ch'odio in cielo acquista,
ingiuria è 'l fine, ed ogne fin cotale
o con forza o con frode altrui contrista.
The outcome of all maliciousness, that Heaven
hates, is harm: and every such outcome,
hurts others, either by force or deceit.
INF C11 25-27 / DANTE
Ma perché frode è de l'uom proprio male,
beings,
più spiace a Dio; e però stan di sotto
li frodolenti, e più dolor li assale.
But because deceit is a vice peculiar to human
it displeases God more, and therefore the fraudulent
are placed below, and more pain grieves them.
INF C11 28-30 / DANTE
Di vïolenti il primo cerchio è tutto;
ma perché si fa forza a tre persone,
in tre gironi è distinto e costrutto.
The whole of the seventh circle is for the violent,
but, since violence can be done to three persons,
it is constructed and divided in three rings.
INF C11 31-33 / DANTE
A Dio, a sé, al prossimo si pòne
far forza, dico in loro e in lor cose,
come udirai con aperta ragione.
I say violence Violence may be done to God, or to
oneself, or one’s neighbour, and their person or
possessions, as you will hear, in clear discourse.
DANTE notes:
INF C11 31 / KLINE
INF C11 31 / DANTE
I say violence may be done to God, or oneself, A Dio, a sé, al prossimo si pòne
VIRGIL:
INF C11 34-36 / DANTE
INF C11 34-36 / KLINE
Morte per forza e ferute dogliose
nel prossimo si danno, e nel suo avere
ruine, incendi e tollette dannose;
Death or painful wounds may be inflicted
on one’s neighbour; and devastation,
fire, and pillage, on his substance.
INF C11 37-39 / DANTE
onde omicide e ciascun che mal fiere,
guastatori e predon, tutti tormenta
lo giron primo per diverse schiere.
Therefore the first ring torments all homicides;
every one who lashes out maliciously;
and thieves and robbers; in their diverse groups.
VIRGIL JUMPS TO HIS FEET AND BEGINS WALKING UP AND DOWN. DANTE FOLLOWS.
VIRGILE:
INF C11 40-42 / DANTE
INF C11 40-42 / LONGNON
Puote omo avere in sé man vïolenta
e ne’ suoi beni; e però nel secondo
giron convien che sanza pro si penta
On peut porter aussi sur soi-même et se biens
une main violente; aussi dans le second
giron conviendra-t-il que se repente en vain
DANTE notes:
INF C11 40 / KLINE
INF C11 40 / DANTE
A man may do violence to himself and
to his property,
Puote omo avere in sé man vïolenta
VIRGIL:
INF C11 43-45 / DANTE
INF C11 43-45 / KLINE
qualunque priva sé del vostro mondo,
biscazza e fonde la sua facultade,
e piange là dov' esser de' giocondo.
or gamble away and dissipate their his wealth;
or weep there,
when they he should be happy.
69
INF C11 46-48 / DANTE
Puossi far forza ne la deïtade,
col cor negando e bestemmiando quella,
e spregiando natura e sua bontade;
Violence may be done, against the Deity,
denying him and blaspheming in the heart,
and scorning Nature and her gifts,
INF C11 49-51 / DANTE
e però lo minor giron suggella
del segno suo e Soddoma e Caorsa
e chi, spregiando Dio col cor, favella.
and so the smallest ring stamps with its seal
both Sodom and Cahors, and those
who speak scornfully of God, in their hearts.
CAHORS IN GUYENNE (ON THE RIVER LOT) IN SOUTHERN FRANCE WAS
‘CAORSINUS’ WAS A SYNONYM FOR ‘USURER’.
NOTORIOUS FOR ITS USURERS. IN THE
MIDDLE AGES
INF C11 52-54 / DANTE
La frode, ond' ogne coscïenza è morsa,
può l'omo usare in colui che 'n lui fida
e in quel che fidanza non imborsa.
Human beings may practise deceit,
which gnaws at every conscience, on one
who trusts them, or on one who places no trust.
INF C11 55-57 / DANTE
Questo modo di retro par ch'incida
pur lo vinco d'amor che fa natura;
onde nel cerchio secondo s'annida
This latter form of fraud only severs
the bond of love that Nature created,
and so, in the eighth circle, are nested
INF C11 58-60 / DANTE
ipocresia, lusinghe e chi affattura,
falsità, ladroneccio e simonia,
ruffian, baratti e simile lordura.
hypocrisy; sorcery; flattery; cheating; theft
and selling of holy orders; pimps; corrupters
of public office; and similar filth.
DANTE notes:
INF C11 58-60 / KLINE
INF C11 58-60 / DANTE
hypocrisy; sorcery; flattery; cheating; theft
and selling of holy orders; pimps; corrupters
of public office; and similar filth.
ipocresia, lusinghe, e chi affattura,
falsità, ladroneccio e simonia,
ruffian, baratti e simile lordura.
VIRGIL:
INF C11 61-63 / DANTE
INF C11 61-63 / KLINE
Per l'altro modo quell' amor s'oblia
che fa natura, e quel ch'è poi aggiunto,
di che la fede spezïal si cria;
In the previous form, that love that Nature
creates is forgotten, and also that
which is added later, giving rise to special trust.
INF C11 64-66 / DANTE
onde nel cerchio minore, ov' è 'l punto
de l'universo in su che Dite siede,
qualunque trade in etterno è consunto».
So, in the ninth, the smallest circle, at the base
of the universe, where Dis has his throne,
every traitor is consumed eternally.
DIS: LUCIFER, SATAN: THE REBELLIOUS ANGEL WHO WAS BANISHED FROM HEAVEN FOR HIS PRIDE & IN HIS FALL PENETRATED
INTO THE CAVERN OF HELL & THREW UP BEHIND HIM THE MOUNTAIN OF PURGATORY. HE TEMPTED CHRIST IN THE
WILDERNESS. SEE MATTHEW 4.
DANTE:
INF C11 67-69 / DANTE
INF C11 67-69 / KLINE
E io: «Maestro, assai chiara procede
la tua ragione, e assai ben distingue
questo baràtro e 'l popol ch'e' possiede.
And I said: Master, your reasoning proceeds
most clearly, and lays out excellently this gulf
and those that populate it.,
INF C11 70-72 / DANTE
Ma dimmi: quei de la palude pingue,
che mena il vento, e che batte la pioggia,
e che s'incontran con sì aspre lingue,
but But tell me why those of the great marsh,
those whom the wind drives, and the rain beats,
and those who come together with sharp words,
INF C11 73-75 / DANTE
perché non dentro da la città roggia
sono ei puniti, se Dio li ha in ira?
e se non li ha, perché sono a tal foggia?».
are not punished in the burning city,
if God’s anger is directed towards them?
And if not why they are in such a state?
VIRGIL:
INF C11 76-78 / DANTE
INF C11 76-78 / KLINE
Ed elli a me «Perché tanto delira»,
disse, «lo 'ngegno tuo da quel che sòle?
o ver la mente dove altrove mira?
And he to me: Why does your mind err
so much more than usual?,
or are your thoughts somewhere else?
70
INF C11 79-81 / DANTE
Non ti rimembra di quelle parole
con le quai la tua Etica pertratta
le tre disposizion che 'l ciel non vole,
Do you not remember the words with which
your Aristotelian Ethics speaks
of the three natures that Heaven does not will:
ARISTOTELIAN ETHICS: NICHOMACHEAN ETHICS. SEE 7 1 ‘...THOSE QUALITIES OF CHARACTER TO BE AVOIDED, WHICH MAY BE
TAKEN AS THREE IN NUMBER & WE CALL THEM INCONTINENCE ( = LACK OF SELF-CONTROL), BRUTISHNESS OR BESTIALITY ( =
VIOLENCE) & VICE ( = FRAUD).’. SEE ALSO 7 6: ‘...IT IS THOUGHT MORE EXCUSABLE TO FOLLOW THE NATURAL IMPULSES, WHICH ALL
MEN FEEL, THAN THOSE WHICH ARE PECULIAR TO CERTAIN PERSONS....BESTIALITY IS A LESSER EVIL THAN VICE.
VIRGIL:
INF C11 82-84 / DANTE
INF C11 82-84 / KLINE
incontenenza, malizia e la matta
bestialitade? e come incontenenza
men Dio offende e men biasimo accatta?
incontinence, prodigality, malice and mad
brutishness, and how incontinence offends God less
and incurs less blame?
DANTE REMEMBERS AND NOTES.
DANTE:
INF C11 82 / KLINE
INF C11 82 / DANTE
incontinence, malice and mad brutishness,
incontenenza, malizia e la matta
VIRGIL:
INF C11 83-84 / DANTE
INF C11 83-84 / KLINE
bestialitade? e come incontenenza
men Dio offende e men biasimo accatta?
and how incontinence prodigality offends God less
and incurs less blame?
INF C11 85-87 / DANTE
Se tu riguardi ben questa sentenza,
e rechiti a la mente chi son quelli
che sù di fuor sostegnon penitenza,
If you consider this doctrine correctly,
and recall to mind who those are,
that suffer punishment out there, above,
INF C11 88-90 / DANTE
tu vedrai ben perché da questi felli
sien dipartiti, e perché men crucciata
la divina vendetta li martelli».
you will see, easily, why they are separated
from these destructive spirits, and why
divine justice strikes them with less anger.
DANTE:
INF C11 91-93 / KLINE
INF C11 91-93 / DANTE
I said: O Sun, that heals all troubled sight, you «O sol che sani ogne vista turbata,
make me so content when you explain to me, tu mi contenti sì quando tu solvi,
that to question is as delightful as to know.
che, non men che saver, dubbiar m'aggrata.
INF C11 91-93 / DANTE
«O sol che sani ogne vista turbata,
I said: O Sun, that heals all troubled sight, you
tu mi contenti sì quando tu solvi,
make me so content when you explain to me,
che, non men che saver, dubbiar m'aggrata. that to question is as delightful as to know.
INF C11 94-96 / DANTE
Ancora in dietro un poco ti rivolvi»,
diss' io, «là dove di' ch'usura offende
la divina bontade, e 'l groppo solvi».
Go back a moment, to where you said
that usury offends divine goodness,
and unravel that knot.
VIRGIL:
INF C11 97-99 / DANTE
INF C11 97-99 / KLINE
«Filosofia», mi disse, «a chi la 'ntende,
nota, non pure in una sola parte,
come natura lo suo corso prende
He said to me: To him who attends,
Philosophy shows, in more than one place,
how Nature takes her path
71
DANTE notes:
INF C11 97-98 / KLINE
INF C11 97-98 / DANTE
He said to me: To him who attends,
Philosophy shows, in more than one place,
«Filosofia», mi disse, «a chi la 'ntende,
nota, non pure in una sola parte,
VIRGIL:
INF C11 100-102 / DANTE
INF C11 100-102 / KLINE
dal divino 'ntelletto e da sua arte;
e se tu ben la tua Fisica note,
tu troverai, non dopo molte carte,
from the Divine Intelligence, and its arts,
and if you note your Physics well,
you will find, not many pages in,
YOUR PHYSICS: ARISTOTLE’S PHYSICS 2 2 ‘.. IF ART MIMICS NATURE.’
INF C11 103-105 / DANTE
che l'arte vostra quella, quanto pote,
segue, come 'l maestro fa 'l discente;
sì che vostr' arte a Dio quasi è nepote.
that art follows her as well as it can,
as the pupil does the master, so that
your art is as it were the grandchild of God.
INF C11 106-108 / DANTE
Da queste due, se tu ti rechi a mente
lo Genesì dal principio, convene
prender sua vita e avanzar la gente;
By these two, art and nature, man must earn
his bread and flourish, if you recall to mind
Genesis, near its beginning.
INF C11 109-111 / DANTE
e perché l'usuriere altra via tene,
per sé natura e per la sua seguace
dispregia, poi ch'in altro pon la spene.
Because the usurer holds to another course,
he denies Nature, in herself, and in that which
follows her ways, putting his hopes elsewhere.
VIRGIL SPEAKS AS IF DANTE HAS BEEN DELAYING HIM.
VIRGIL:
INF C11 112-114 / DANTE
INF C11 112-114 / KLINE
Ma seguimi oramai che 'l gir mi piace;
ché i Pesci guizzan su per l'orizzonta,
e 'l Carro tutto sovra 'l Coro giace,
But follow me, now, by the path I choose.
for Pisces quivers on the horizon, and all
Boötes covers Caurus, the north-west wind,
QUIVERS ON THE HORIZON: BY DEDUCTION, IT IS NEAR DAWN ON SATURDAY.
INF C11 115 / DANTE
e 'l balzo via là oltra si dismonta».
and over Over there, some way, we descend.
the cliff.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C11 112-114 / KLINE
INF C11 112-114 / DANTE
But follow me, now, by the path I choose,
for Pisces quivers on the horizon, for all
Boötes covers Caurus, the north-west wind,
Ma seguimi oramai che 'l gir mi piace;
ché i Pesci guizzan su per l'orizzonta,
e 'l Carro tutto sovra 'l Coro giace,
INF C11 115 / KLINE
INF C11 115 / DANTE
and over there, some way, we descend the cliff. e 'l balzo via là oltra si dismonta».
CANTO 12
THE MINOTAUR
72
INF C12 1-9 / DANTE
The place we reached to climb down the bank was craggy, and, because of the creature there, also, a path that every eye
would shun. The descent of that rocky precipice was like the landslide that struck the left bank of the Adige, this side of
Trento, caused by an earthquake or a faulty buttress, since the rock is so shattered, from the summit of the mountain,
where it started, to the plain,
THE MINOTAUR MAKES A MUFFLED, ANGRY BULL SOUND.
VIRGIL:
INF C12 10-12 / DANTE
INF C12 12 / KLINE
cotal di quel burrato era la scesa;
e 'n su la punta de la rotta lacca
l'infamïa di Creti era distesa
that it might form a route, for someone above:
and at the top of the broken gully,
the The infamy of Crete, the Minotaur,
INF C12 13-15 / DANTE
che fu concetta ne la falsa vacca;
e quando vide noi, sé stesso morse,
sì come quei cui l'ira dentro fiacca.
conceived on Pasiphaë, in the wooden cow, lay
stretched out. When he saw us he gnawed himself,
like someone consumed by anger inside.
PASIPHAË:
WIFE OF MINOS OF CRETE & MOTHER OF THE MINOTAUR, ASTERION, WHOM SHE CONCEIVED, CONCEALED IN A
WOODEN FRAMEWORK MADE TO LOOK LIKE A HEIFER, WITH A WHITE BULL FROM THE SEA.
DANTE:
or DANTE:
INF C12 16 / DANTE
INF C12 16 / KLINE
Lo savio mio inver' lui gridò: «Forse
My wise guide called to him: Perhaps you think
VIRGIL:
INF C12 16-18 / DANTE
INF C12 16-18 / KLINE
Lo savio mio inver' lui gridò: «Forse
tu credi che qui sia 'l duca d'Atene,
che sù nel mondo la morte ti porse?
My wise guide called to him: Perhaps you think
that Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is here, who
brought about your death in the world above?
INF C12 19-21 / DANTE
INF C12 19-21 / KLINE
Pàrtiti, bestia, ché questi non vene
ammaestrato da la tua sorella,
ma vassi per veder le vostre pene».
Leave here, monstrous creature. This man
does not come here, aided by your sister, Ariadne,
but passes through to see the punishments.
DANTE:
INF C12 19 / KLINE
INF C12 19 / DANTE
Leave here, monstrous creature.
Pàrtiti, bestia, ché questi non vene
INF C12 22-24 / KLINE
Like a bull, breaking loose, at the moment when it receives the fatal blow, that cannot go forward, but plunges here
and there,
VIRGIL:
INF C12 25-27 / DANTE
INF C12 25-27 / KLINE
vid' io lo Minotauro far cotale;
e quello accorto gridò: «Corri al varco;
mentre ch'e' 'nfuria, è buon che tu ti cale».
so I saw the Minotaur, and my cautious guide cried:
Run to the passage: while he is in a fury.,
it is time for you to descend.
INF C12 28-30 / KLINE
So we made our way, downwards, over the landslide of stones, that often shifted beneath my feet, from the
unaccustomed weight.
VIRGIL AND DANTE RUN BRIEFLY, THEN WALK OVER SHIFTING STONES.
VIRGIL:
INF C12 31-33 / DANTE
INF C12 31-33 / KLINE
Io gia pensando; e quei disse: «Tu pensi
forse a questa ruina, ch'è guardata
da quell' ira bestial ch'i' ora spensi.
I went thoughtfully, and he said: Perhaps you are
contemplating this fallen mass of rock, guarded
by the bestial anger that I quelled a moment ago.
73
INF C12 34-36 / DANTE
Or vo' che sappi che l'altra fïata
ch'i' discesi qua giù nel basso inferno,
questa roccia non era ancor cascata.
I would have you know that the The previous time
I came down here to the deep Inferno,
this spill had not yet fallen.
INF C12 37-39 / DANTE
Ma certo poco pria, se ben discerno,
che venisse colui che la gran preda
levò a Dite del cerchio superno,
But, if I discern the truth, the deep and loathsome
valley shook, not long before He
came to take the great ones of the highest circle,
HE: CHRIST
INF C12 40-42 / DANTE
da tutte parti l'alta valle feda
tremò sì, ch'i' pensai che l'universo
sentisse amor, per lo qual è chi creda
so that I thought the universe
thrilled with love, by which
as some believe
AS SOME BELIEVE: EMPEDOCLES
DANTE notes:
INF C12 40-42 / KLINE
INF C12 40-42 / DANTE
so that I thought the universe
thrilled with love, by which
as some believe
da tutte parti l'alta valle feda
tremò sì, ch'i' pensai che l'universo
sentisse amor, per lo qual è chi creda
VIRGIL:
INF C12 43-45 / DANTE
INF C12 43-45 / KLINE
più volte il mondo in caòsso converso;
e in quel punto questa vecchia roccia,
qui e altrove, tal fece riverso.
the world has often been overwhelmed by chaos.
In that moment ancient rocks,
here and elsewhere, tumbled.
THE CENTAURS
VIRGIL:
INF C12 46-48 / DANTE
INF C12 46-48 / KLINE
Ma ficca li occhi a valle, ché s'approccia
la riviera del sangue in la qual bolle
qual che per vïolenza in altrui noccia».
But fix your gaze on the valley, because
we near the river of blood in which
those who injure others by violence are boiled.
DANTE GAZES FOR A WHILE.
See later
INF C12 49-51 / KLINE
O blind desires, evil and foolish, which so goad us in our brief life, and then, in the eternal one, ruin us so bitterly!
DANTE:
INF C12 52-54 / DANTE
INF C12 52-54 / KLINE
Io vidi un'ampia fossa in arco torta,
come quella che tutto 'l piano abbraccia,
secondo ch'avea detto la mia scorta;
I saw see a wide canal bent in an arc, looking
as if it surrounded surrounds the whole plain.,
from what my guide had told me. Centaurs are were
racing,
INF C12 55-57 / DANTE
e tra 'l piè de la ripa ed essa, in traccia
corrien centauri, armati di saette,
come solien nel mondo andare a caccia.
one behind another, between it and the foot
of the bank, armed with weapons,
as they were accustomed to hunt on earth.
INF C12 58-61 / KLINE
Seeing us descend they all stood still, and three, elected leaders, came from the group, armed with bows and spears.
74
DANTE VERSIFIES.
DANTE:
INF C12 49-51 / KLINE
INF C12 49-51 / DANTE
O blind desires, evil and foolish,
Oh cieca cupidigia e ira folle,
which so goad us in our brief life,
che sì ci sproni ne la vita corta,
and then, in the eternal one, ruin us so bitterly! e ne l'etterna poi sì mal c'immolle!
INF C12 52-54 / DANTE
I saw a wide canal bent in an arc, looking
as if it surrounded the whole plain, from what
my guide had told me. Centaurs were racing,
Io vidi un'ampia fossa in arco torta,
come quella che tutto 'l piano abbraccia,
secondo ch'avea detto la mia scorta;
one behind another, between it and the foot
of the bank, armed with weapons,
as they were accustomed to hunt on earth.
e tra 'l piè de la ripa ed essa, in traccia
corrien centauri, armati di saette,
come solien nel mondo andare a caccia.
INF C12 55-57 / DANTE
DANTE IS INTERRUPTED BY A SHOUT FROM THE CENTAUR NESSUS
[INF C12 58-61].
NESSUS:
INF C12 61-63 / DANTE
INF C12 61-63 / KLINE
e l'un gridò da lungi: «A qual martiro
venite voi che scendete la costa?
Ditel costinci; se non, l'arco tiro».
And one of them shouted from the distance: What
torment do you come for, you that descend the
rampart? Speak from there, if not, I draw the bow.
NESSUS
MYTHICAL AGE : *?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
FIERCE SPEECH.
NESSUS:
A CENTAUR, SON OF IXION, KILLED BY HERCULES, WITH AN ARROW POISONED WITH THE HYDRA’S BLOOD, FOR HIS
ATTEMPT TO STEAL & RAPE DEIANIRA. HE DIPPED HIS FATAL SHIRT IN HIS OWN, POISONED, BLOOD & GAVE IT AS A GIFT (A
SUPPOSED LOVE CHARM) TO DEIANIRA, WHO THEREBY, UNWITTINGLY, BROUGHT ABOUT HERCULES’S DEATH.
VIRGIL SHOUTS BACK.
VIRGIL:
INF C12 64-66 / DANTE
INF C12 64-66 / KLINE
Lo mio maestro disse: «La risposta
farem noi a Chirón costà di presso:
mal fu la voglia tua sempre sì tosta».
My Master said: We will make our reply
to Chiron, who is there, nearby.
Sadly, your nature was always rash.
CHIRON (KI-RON): WISE CENTAUR, SON OF
VARIOUSLY REARED JASON & ACHILLES.
SATURN & PHILYRA, TO WHOM APOLLO ENTRUSTED HIS SON AESCULAPIUS & WHO
VIRGIL POINTS.
VIRGIL:
INF C12 67-69 / DANTE
INF C12 67-69 / KLINE
Poi mi tentò, e disse: «Quelli è Nesso,
who
che morì per la bella Deianira,
e fé di sé la vendetta elli stesso.
Then he touched me, and said: That is Nessus,
died because of his theft of the lovely Deianira,
and, for his blood, took vengeance, through his
blood.
75
INF C12 70-72 / DANTE
E quel di mezzo, ch'al petto si mira,
è il gran Chirón, il qual nodrì Achille;
quell' altro è Folo, che fu sì pien d'ira.
PHOLUS: A CENTAUR WHO ENTERTAINED HERCULES
AT THE BATTLE OF THE LAPITHS & CENTAURS.
He, in the centre, whose head is bowed to his chest,
is the great Chiron, who nursed Achilles:
the other is Pholus, who was so full of rage.
& WAS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED BY ONE OF HIS ARROWS. HE WAS PRESENT
VIRGIL:
INF C12 73-75 / DANTE
INF C12 73-75 / KLINE
Dintorno al fosso vanno a mille a mille,
saettando qual anima si svelle
del sangue più che sua colpa sortille».
They race around the ditch, in thousands,
piercing with arrows any spirit that climbs further
from the blood than its guilt has condemned it to.
INF C12 76-78 / KLINE
We drew near the swift creatures. Chiron took an arrow, and pushed back his beard from his face with the notched
flight.
THE CENTAURS ARE NOW CLOSE.
CHIRON:
INF C12 79-81 / DANTE
INF C12 79-81 / KLINE
Quando s'ebbe scoperta la gran bocca,
disse a' compagni: «Siete voi accorti
che quel di retro move ciò ch'el tocca?
When he had uncovered his huge mouth,
he said to his companions: Have you noticed
that the one behind moves whatever he touches?
CHIRON
MYTHICAL AGE : MATURE
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
CHIRON:
INF C12 82-84 / DANTE
INF C12 82-84 / KLINE
Così non soglion far li piè d'i morti».
E 'l mio buon duca, che già li er' al petto,
dove le due nature son consorti,
The feet of dead men do not usually do so.
And my good guide, who was by Chiron’s front part,
where the two natures join, replied:
VIRGIL:
INF C12 85-87 / DANTE
INF C12 85-87 / KLINE
rispuose: «Ben è vivo, e sì soletto
mostrar li mi convien la valle buia;
necessità 'l ci 'nduce, e non diletto.
He is truly alive, and, alone,
I have to show him the dark valley.
Necessity brings him here, and not desire.
INF C12 88-90 / DANTE
Tal si partì da cantare alleluia
che mi commise quest' officio novo:
non è ladron, né io anima fuia.
She, who gave me this new duty,
came from singing Alleluiahs:
he is no thief: nor am I a wicked spirit.
INF C12 91-93 / DANTE
Ma per quella virtù per cu' io movo
li passi miei per sì selvaggia strada,
danne un de' tuoi, a cui noi siamo a provo,
But, by that virtue, by means of which I set
my feet on so unsafe a path,
lend us one of your people whom we can follow,
INF C12 94-96 / DANTE
e che ne mostri là dove si guada,
e che porti costui in su la groppa,
ché non è spirto che per l'aere vada».
CHIRON ADDRESSES NESSUS.
so that he may show us where the ford is,
and carry this one over on his back,
since he cannot fly as a spirit through the air.
76
CHIRON:
INF C12 97-99 / DANTE
INF C12 97-99 / KLINE
Chirón si volse in su la destra poppa,
e disse a Nesso: «Torna, e sì li guida,
e fa cansar s'altra schiera v'intoppa».
Chiron twisted to his right, and said to Nessus:
Turn, and guide them, then, and
if another crew meet you, keep them off.
THE BLOODY STREAM
♫
INFERNAL: SOFT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C12 96
Not Miserable Mode because Dante describes the human action.
THE POETS AND NESSUS WALK BESIDE THE STREAM.
DANTE:
INF C12 100-102 / DANTE
INF C12 100-102 / KLINE
Or ci movemmo con la scorta fida
lungo la proda del bollor vermiglio,
dove i bolliti facieno alte strida.
We moved onwards with our trustworthy guide,
along Along the margin of the crimson boiling
in which the boiled were shrieking loudly.
INF C12 103-105 / DANTE
Io vidi gente sotto infino al ciglio;
e 'l gran centauro disse: «E' son tiranni
che dier nel sangue e ne l'aver di piglio.
I saw see people immersed as far as the eyebrows,
and the great Centaur said: These are tyrants
who indulged in blood, and rapine.
SOME WORDS FROM [INF C12 103-138] ORIGINALLY SPOKEN BY NESSUS.
NESSUS:
INF C12 106-108 / DANTE
INF C12 106-108 / KLINE
Quivi si piangon li spietati danni;
quivi è Alessandro, e Dïonisio fero
che fé Cicilia aver dolorosi anni.
Here they lament their offences, done without
mercy. Here is Alexander, and fierce Dionysius of
Syracuse. who gave Sicily years of pain.
DIONYSIUS
OF SYRACUSE: THE ELDER, TYRANT OF
RESISTANCE TO THE CARTHAGINIANS.
SYRACUSE (405-367 BC). HE
LED THE
GREEK
CITIES OF
INF C12 109-111 / DANTE
INF C12 109-111 / KLINE
E quella fronte c'ha 'l pel così nero,
è Azzolino; e quell' altro ch'è biondo,
è Opizzo da Esti, il qual per vero
That head of black hair is Azzolino,
and the other, which is blonde,
is Obizzo da Este, whose life
SICILY
IN
AZZOLINO (EZZELLINO) III DA ROMANO, THE TYRANT (1194-1259): LORD OF VERONA, VICENZA & PADUA, CALLED ‘THE SON
OF THE DEVIL’, IMPERIAL VICAR UNDER FREDERICK II. POPE ALEXANDER IV DECLARED A CRUSADE AGAINST HIM & HE WAS
DEFEATED AT CASSANO ON THE ADDA & SUBSEQUENTLY DIED. HE WAS THE HEAD OF THE GHIBELLINES IN NORTHERN ITALY.
OBIZZO DA ESTE, OBIZZO II OF ESTE, FOURTH MARQUIS OF FERRARA, WHO HAD LED THE GUELPH CRUSADERS AGAINST
EZZELINO. OBIZZO, DYING IN 1293, WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN MURDERED BY HIS SON & SUCCESSOR AZZO VIII (FROM 12931308), WHOM DANTE CALLS HIS STEPSON IN REFERENCE TO THE UNNATURAL NATURE OF THE CRIME. HIS DAUGHTER BEATRICE
MARRIED NINO DE’ VISCONTI OF PISA, THEN GALEOZZO VISCONTI OF MILAN.
DANTE versifies:
INF C12 106-108 / KLINE
INF C12 106-108 / DANTE
Here they lament their offences, done without
mercy. Here is Alexander, and fierce
Dionysius of Syracuse who gave Sicily
years of pain.
Quivi si piangon li spietati danni;
quivi è Alessandro, e Dïonisio fero
che fé Cicilia aver dolorosi anni.
That head of black hair is Azzolino,
and the other, which is blonde,
is Obizzo da Este, whose life
E quella fronte c'ha 'l pel così nero,
è Azzolino; e quell' altro ch'è biondo
è Opizzo da Esti, il qual per vero
INF C12 109-111 / DANTE
77
INF C12 112-114 / DANTE
was quenched, in truth, by his stepson, up in the fu spento dal figliastro sù nel mondo.
world. Then I turned to the poet, and he said: Allor mi volsi al poeta, e quei disse:
‘Let him guide you first, now, and I second.’ «Questi ti sia or primo, e io secondo».
INF C12 115-117 / KLINE
A little further on, Nessus paused, next to people who seemed to be sunk in the boiling stream up to their throat.
NESSUS:
INF C12 118-120 / DANTE
INF C12 118-120 / KLINE
Mostrocci un'ombra da l'un canto sola,
dicendo: «Colui fesse in grembo a Dio
lo cor che 'n su Tamisi ancor si cola».
He showed us a shade, apart by itself, saying: That
one, Guy de Montfort, in God’s church pierced
that heart that is still venerated by the Thames
– Henry’s, the nephew of the king.
GUY DE MONTFORT: SON OF SIMON DE MONTFORT, EARL OF LEICESTER. HE AVENGED THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER AT THE
BATTLE OF EVESHAM (1265) WHERE EDWARD (LATER EDWARD I) DEFEATED THE ENGLISH BARONS, WHEN, IN 1271, WHILE
VICAR GENERAL OF TUSCANY HE MURDERED HENRY, HIS COUSIN, THE SON OF RICHARD, EARL OF CORNWALL, THE NEPHEW OF
THE ENGLISH KING, IN THE CHURCH OF SAN SILVESTRO AT VITERBO. HENRY’S HEART WAS PLACED IN A GOLD CASKET & SET ON
A PILLAR BY LONDON BRIDGE, OR IN THE HAND OF HIS STATUE IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
INF C12 121-123 / KLINE
Then I saw others, who held their heads and all their chests, likewise, free of the river: and I knew many of these.
THEY WALK ON.
NESSUS:
INF C12 124-126 / DANTE
INF C12 124-126 / KLINE
Così a più a più si facea basso
quel sangue, sì che cocea pur li piedi;
e quindi fu del fosso il nostro passo.
So the The blood grew grows shallower and
shallower, until it only cooked cooks their feet,
…and here was is our ford through the ditch.
VIRGIL CROSSES THE FORD, FOLLOWED BY DANTE, WHO VERSIFIES.
DANTE:
INF C12 124-126 / KLINE
INF C12 124-126 / DANTE
So the blood grew shallower and shallower,
until it only cooked their feet,
and here was our ford through the ditch.
Così a più a più si facea basso
quel sangue, sì che cocea pur li piedi;
e quindi fu del fosso il nostro passo.
INF C12 127-129 / KLINE
The Centaur said: As you see the boiling stream continually diminishing, on this side, so, on the other,
NESSUS:
INF C12 130-132 / DANTE
INF C12 130-132 / KLINE
che da quest' altra a più a più giù prema
lo fondo suo, infin ch'el si raggiunge
ove la tirannia convien che gema.
it It sinks more and more,
till it comes again to where tyrants
are doomed to grieve.
THEY TURN AND RECROSS THE FORD.
NESSUS:
INF C12 133-135 / DANTE
INF C12 133-135 / KLINE
La divina giustizia di qua punge
quell' Attila che fu flagello in terra,
e Pirro e Sesto; e in etterno munge
Divine Justice here torments Attila, the scourge
of the earth; and Pyrrhus,
and Sextus Pompeius; and for eternity
ATTILA THE HUN, THE SCOURGE OF GOD (FLAGELLUM DEI), KING OF THE HUNS (433-453): ADVANCED INTO THE EASTERN
ROMAN EMPIRE & ON TO THE WEST, BUT WAS TURNED BACK AT CHALÔNS IN THE BATTLE OF THE CATALAUNIAN FIELDS IN
451. HE RETREATED TO HUNGARY (THE PLAINS OF TISZA) & DIED THERE. THE HISTORIANS, & DANTE, CONFUSED HIM WITH
TOTILA, THE LEADER OF THE GOTHS, WHO REPUTEDLY SACKED FLORENCE. TOTILA GAINED ITALY (542-552) EXCLUDING
RAVENNA & RESISTED BELISARIUS FROM 544 TO 549, BUT DIED FIGHTING NARSES AT TADINAE.
78
PYRRHUS: NEOPTOLEMUS, CALLED PYRRHUS, WHO KILLED PRIAM & SACRIFICED POLYXENA ON ACHILLES’S GRAVE.
VIRGIL STRESSES HIS CRUELTY IN AENEID 2 469.
SEXTUS POMPEIUS: SON OF POMPEY THE GREAT. DEFEATED BY JULIUS CAESAR AT MUNDA IN 45 BC & BY OCTAVIAN’S
(AUGUSTUS’S) ADMIRAL AGRIPPA AT MYLAE & NAULOCHUS OFF SICILY IN 36 BC. LUCAN GIVES HIM A VERY BAD PRESS.
INF C12 136-138 / DANTE
le lagrime, che col bollor diserra,
a Rinier da Corneto, a Rinier Pazzo,
che fecero a le strade tanta guerra».
milks tears, produced by the boiling,
from Rinier da Corneto, and Rinier Pazzo,
who made war on the highways.
RINIER DA CORNETO: A NOTORIOUS HIGHWAYMAN OF DANTE’S TIME.
DANTE FOLLOWS VIRGIL AND CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C12 136-138 / KLINE
INF C12 136-138 / DANTE
milks tears, produced by the boiling,
from Rinier da Corneto, and Rinier Pazzo,
who made war on the highways.
le lagrime, che col bollor diserra,
a Rinier da Corneto, a Rinier Pazzo,
che fecero a le strade tanta guerra».
Then he turned back, and recrossed the ford.
Poi si rivolse e ripassossi 'l guazzo.
INF C12 139 / DANTE
CANTO 13
HARPY WOOD
♫
HARPIES + SOULS
BOUM, BELLUM + SIGHS, MURMURINGS OF SOULS IN TREES
INF C13 1 from INF C13 10
**********
In the Aeneid, Harpies predict future tribulations for the Trojans. (My emphases)
AENEID 3 245-257 / VIRGIL
AENEID 3 245-257 / KLINE
una in praecelsa consedit rupe Celaeno,
infelix uates, rumpitque hanc pectore uocem;
'bellum etiam pro caede boum stratisque iuuencis,
Laomedontiadae, bellumne inferre paratis
et patrio Harpyias insontis pellere regno?
accipite ergo animis atque haec mea figite dicta,
quae Phoebo pater omnipotens, mihi Phoebus Apollo
praedixit, uobis Furiarum ego maxima pando.
Italiam cursu petitis uentisque uocatis:
ibitis Italiam portusque intrare licebit.
sed non ante datam cingetis moenibus urbem
quam uos dira fames nostraeque iniuria caedis
ambesas subigat malis absumere mensas.
Only Celaeno, ominous prophetess, settles on a high cliff,
and bursts out with this sound from her breast:
“Are you ready to bring war to us, sons of Laomedon, is it war,
for the cows you killed, the bullocks you slaughtered,
driving the innocent Harpies from their father’s country?
Take these words of mine to your hearts then, and set them there.
I, the eldest of the Furies, reveal to you what the all-powerful
Father prophesied to Apollo, and Phoebus Apollo to me.
Italy is the path you take, and, invoking the winds,
you shall go to Italy, and enter her harbours freely:
but you will not surround the city granted you with walls
until dire hunger, and the sin of striking at us, force you
to consume your very tables with devouring jaws.”
Their cries here are distillations of these:
Laomedontiadae…boum…bellum…fames…mensae
Boum, bellum…boum, bellum…boum, bellum…boum bellum…
louder or softer as the Harpies dive and soar away.
79
DANTE AND VIRGIL WALK THROUGH SEMI-DARKNESS.
AND SPEAKS.
DANTE LOOKS
ABOUT HIM, NOTES
DANTE:
INF C13 1-3 / DANTE
INF C13 1-3 / KLINE
Non era ancor di là Nesso arrivato,
quando noi ci mettemmo per un bosco
che da neun sentiero era segnato.
Nessus had not yet returned to the other side,
when we We entered a wood
unmarked by any path.
INF C13 4-6 / DANTE
Non fronda verde, ma di color fosco;
non rami schietti, ma nodosi e 'nvolti;
non pomi v'eran, ma stecchi con tòsco.
The foliage was not green, but a dusky colour:
the branches were not smooth, but warped and
knotted: there were no fruits there, but poisonous
thorns.
DANTE notes:
INF C13 4-6 / KLINE
INF C13 4-6 / DANTE
The foliage was not green, but a dusky colour: Non fronda verde, ma di color fosco;
the branches were not smooth, but warped and non rami schietti, ma nodosi e 'nvolti;
knotted: there were no fruits there, but
non pomi v'eran, ma stecchi con tòsco.
poisonous thorns.
DANTE:
INF C13 7-9 / DANTE
INF C13 7-9 / KLINE
Non han sì aspri sterpi né sì folti
quelle fiere selvagge che 'n odio hanno
tra Cecina e Corneto i luoghi cólti.
The wild beasts, that hate the cultivated fields,
in the Tuscan Maremma, between Cecina and
Corneto, have lairs less thick and tangled.
INF C13 10-12 / DANTE
Quivi le brutte Arpie lor nidi fanno,
che cacciar de le Strofade i Troiani
con tristo annunzio di futuro danno.
Here the brutish Harpies make their nests,
they who chased the Trojans from the Strophades,
with dismal pronouncements of future tribulations.
INF C13 13-15 / DANTE
Ali hanno late, e colli e visi umani,
piè con artigli, e pennuto 'l gran ventre;
fanno lamenti in su li alberi strani.
They have broad wings, and human necks
and faces, clawed feet, and large feathered bellies.,
and they make mournful cries in that strange wood.
INF C13 16-18 / KLINE
The kind Master said: ‘Before you go further, be aware you are in the second ring, and will be until
VIRGIL:
INF C13 19-21 / DANTE
INF C13 19-21 / KLINE
che tu verrai ne l'orribil sabbione.
Però riguarda ben; sì vederai
cose che torrien fede al mio sermone».
you come to the dreadful sands.
So look Look carefully, and you will see things
that might make you mistrust my words.’
INF C13 22-24 / KLINE
Already I heard sighs on every side, and saw no one to make them, at which, I stood totally bewildered.
♫
HARPIES FAINT OR OCCASIONAL; SIGHS, MURMURINGS LOUDER * * * * * * * * * *
INF C13 25
DANTE (aside):
INF C13 25 / KLINE
INF C13 25 / DANTE
I think that he thought that I was thinking
Cred' ïo ch'ei credette ch'io credesse
80
INF C13 25-27 / DANTE
Cred' ïo ch'ei credette ch'io credesse
che tante voci uscisser, tra quei bronchi,
trees,
da gente che per noi si nascondesse.
I think that he thought that I was thinking
that many of those voices came from among the
from people who hid themselves because of us.
VIRGIL STEPS UP BEHIND HIM.
VIRGIL:
INF C13 28-30 / DANTE
INF C13 28-30 / KLINE
Però disse 'l maestro: «Se tu tronchi
qualche fraschetta d'una d'este piante,
li pensier c'hai si faran tutti monchi».
So the Master said: If you break a little twig
from one of these branches,
the thoughts you have will be seen to be in error.
THE SOUL’S VOICE IS A SHRIEK…
TRUNK / PIER DELLE VIGNE:
INF C13 31-33 / KLINE
INF C13 31-33 / DANTE
Then I stretched my hand out a little, and broke Allor porsi la mano un poco avante
a small branch from a large thorn,
e colsi un ramicel da un gran pruno;
and its trunk cried out: Why do you tear at me? e 'l tronco suo gridò: Perché mi schiante?
…AND BREATHY.
INF C13 33 / DANTE
INF C13 33 / KLINE
e 'l tronco suo gridò: Perché mi schiante?
and its trunk cried out: Why do you tear at me?
PIER DELLE VIGNE
1190? - 1249 AGE : 59?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BORN AT CAPUA IN THE PROVINCE OF CASERTA. HE WAS BORN POOR SO IS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE SPOKEN A
DIALECT. EDUCATED SPEECH.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
PIER DELLE VIGNE: CHANCELLOR OF THE TWO SICILIES & MINISTER TO THE EMPEROR FREDERICK II. HE RECAST THE LAWS &
WAS IN FREDERICK’S CONFIDENCE UNTIL 1247, WHEN HE WAS ACCUSED OF PLOTTING WITH POPE INNOCENT IV, WAS BLINDED
& IMPRISONED, SUBSEQUENTLY COMMITTING SUICIDE. HE WAS BORN IN POVERTY IN CAPUA. HE WAS A POET & SAID TO HAVE
COMPOSED THE FIRST ITALIAN SONNET. HE WAS COMPARED, AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS POWER, TO ST PETER, HOLDING THE KEYS OF
PUNISHMENT & MERCY.
OTHER IMPRISONED SOULS ACCOMPANY DELLE VIGNE IN SIGHING VOICES.
OTHER SOULS:
&
TRUNK / PIER DELLE VIGNE:
INF C13 34-36 / DANTE
INF C13 34-36 / KLINE
Da che fatto fu poi di sangue bruno,
ricominciò a dir: «Perché mi scerpi?»
non hai tu spirto di pietade alcuno?
And when it had grown dark with blood, it began
to cry out again: Why do you
splinter me? Have you no breath of pity?
INF C13 37-39 / DANTE
Uomini fummo, e or siam fatti sterpi:
ben dovrebb' esser la tua man più pia,
se state fossimo anime di serpi».
We were men, and we are
changed to trees: truly, your hand would be more
merciful, if we were merely the souls of snakes.
INF C13 40-45 / KLINE
Just as a green branch, burning at one end, spits and hisses with escaping air at the other, so from that broken wood,
blood and words came out together: at which I let the branch fall, and stood, like a man afraid.
DANTE IS HORRIFIED. VIRGIL ADDRESSES THE TRUNK./.PIER DELLE VIGNE.
81
VIRGIL:
INF C13 46-48 / DANTE
INF C13 46-48 / KLINE
«S'elli avesse potuto creder prima»,
rispuose 'l savio mio, «anima lesa,
ciò c'ha veduto pur con la mia rima,
My wise sage replied: Wounded spirit,
if he had only believed, before,
what he had read in my verse
AENEID 3 25-29 / KLINE,VIRGIL
AENEID 3 25-29 / VIRGIL,KLINE
to decorate the altar with leafy branches, I saw
a wonder, dreadful and marvellous to tell of.
nam quae prima solo ruptis radicibus arbos
uellitur, huic atro liquuntur sanguine guttae
et terram tabo maculant. mihi frigidus horror
conatus, ramis tegerem ut frondentibus aras,
horrendum et dictu uideo mirabile monstrum.
From the first bush, its broken roots
torn from the ground, drops of dark blood dripped,
and stained the earth with fluid.
INF C13 49-51 / DANTE
non averebbe in te la man distesa;
ma la cosa incredibile mi fece
indurlo ad ovra ch'a me stesso pesa.
he He would not have lifted his hand to you,
but the incredible nature of the thing
made me urge him to do what grieves me.
INF C13 52-54 / DANTE
Ma dilli chi tu fosti, sì che 'n vece
d'alcun' ammenda tua fama rinfreschi
nel mondo sù, dove tornar li lece».
OTHER SOULS:
But tell him who you were, so that he might
make you some amends and renew your fame
up in the world, to which he is allowed to return.
&
TRUNK / PIER DELLE VIGNE:
INF C13 55-57 / DANTE
INF C13 55-57 / KLINE
E 'l tronco: «Sì col dolce dir m'adeschi,
ch'i' non posso tacere; e voi non gravi
perch' ïo un poco a ragionar m'inveschi.
And the tree replied: You tempt me so,
with your sweet words, that I cannot keep silent,
but do not object if I am expansive. in speech.
INF C13 58-60 / DANTE
Io son colui che tenni ambo le chiavi
del cor di Federigo, e che le volsi,
serrando e diserrando, sì soavi,
I am Pier delle Vigne, who held both the keys
to Frederick’s heart, and employed them,
locking and unlocking, so quietly,
EMPEROR FREDERICK II, (1194-1250), ‘STUPOR MUNDI’, THE WONDER OF THE WORLD, BECAME KING OF SICILY & NAPLES IN
1197 & EMPEROR IN 1212. HE WAS CROWNED EMPEROR IN ROME IN 1220.
DANTE:
Emperor Frederick II: Stupor Mundi.
OTHER SOULS:
&
TRUNK / PIER DELLE VIGNE:
INF C13 61-63 / DANTE
INF C13 61-63 / KLINE
che dal secreto suo quasi ogn' uom tolsi;
fede portai al glorïoso offizio,
tanto ch'i' ne perde' li sonni e ' polsi.
that I kept almost everyone else from his secrets.
I was so faithful to that glorious office
that through it I lost my sleep and my life.
INF C13 64-66 / DANTE
La meretrice che mai da l'ospizio
di Cesare non torse li occhi putti,
morte comune e de le corti vizio,
The whore that never turned her eyes
from Caesar’s household, Envy,
the common disease and vice of courts,
INF C13 67-69 / DANTE
infiammò contra me li animi tutti;
e li 'nfiammati infiammar sì Augusto,
che ' lieti onor tornaro in tristi lutti.
stirred all minds against me, and being stirred
they stirred Augustus, so that my fine honours
were changed to grievous sorrows.
INF C13 70-72 / DANTE
L'animo mio, per disdegnoso gusto,
credendo col morir fuggir disdegno,
ingiusto fece me contra me giusto.
My spirit, in a scornful mode, thinking to escape
scorn by death, made me,
though I was just, unjust to myself.
82
INF C13 73-75 / DANTE
Per le nove radici d'esto legno
vi giuro che già mai non ruppi fede
al mio segnor, che fu d'onor sì degno.
By the strange roots of this tree,
I swear to you, I never broke faith with my lord,
so worthy of honour.
INF C13 76-78 / DANTE
E se di voi alcun nel mondo riede,
conforti la memoria mia, che giace
ancor del colpo che 'nvidia le diede».
If either of you return to the world,
raise and cherish the memory of me,
that still lies low from the blow Envy gave me.
TRUNK./.PIER DELLE VIGNE IS SILENT FOR A WHILE.
AND SPEAKS [INF C13 79-84].
DANTE MENTALLY COMPOSES, WRITES
DANTE:
INF C13 73-75 / KLINE
INF C13 73-75 / DANTE
By the strange roots of this tree,
Per le nove radici d'esto legno
I swear to you, I never broke faith with my lord, vi giuro che già mai non ruppi fede
so worthy of honour.
al mio segnor, che fu d'onor sì degno.
INF C13 76-78 / KLINE
INF C13 76-78 / DANTE
If either of you return to the world,
E se di voi alcun nel mondo riede,
raise and cherish the memory of me,
conforti la memoria mia, che giace
that still lies low from the blow Envy gave me. ancor del colpo che 'nvidia le diede».
INF C13 79-84 / KLINE
The poet listened for a while, then said to me: ‘Since he is silent, do not lose the moment, but speak, and ask him to
tell you more.’ At which I said to him: ‘You ask him further, about what you think will interest me, because I could
not, such pity fills my heart.’
VIRGIL:
INF C13 85-87 / DANTE
INF C13 85-87 / KLINE
Perciò ricominciò: «Se l'om ti faccia
liberamente ciò che 'l tuo dir priega,
spirito incarcerato, ancor ti piaccia
So he continued: That the man may do freely what
your words request from him, imprisoned spirit,
be pleased
INF C13 88-89 / DANTE
di dirne come l'anima si lega
in questi nocchi; e dinne, se tu puoi,
to tell us further how the spirits are caught in these
knots.: and tell us, if you can,
DANTE:
INF C13 89-90 / DANTE
INF C13 89-90 / KLINE
in questi nocchi; e dinne, se tu puoi,
s'alcuna mai di tai membra si spiega».
and And tell us, if you can, whether any of them
free themselves from these limbs.
[WORDS ORIGINALLY VIRGIL’S]
OTHER SOULS:
&
TRUNK / PIER DELLE VIGNE:
INF C13 91-93 / DANTE
INF C13 91-93 / KLINE
Allor soffiò il tronco forte, e poi
si convertì quel vento in cotal voce:
«Brievemente sarà risposto a voi.
My reply will be brief. Then the trunk
blew fiercely, and the breath
was turned to words like these:
TRUNK./.PIER DELLE
BEHIND.
VIGNE SPEAKS WHILE DANTE VERSIFIES./.INTERPRETS, ABOUT A VERSE
DANTE:
&
TRUNK / PIER DELLE VIGNE:
INF C13 94-96 / DANTE
INF C13 94-96 / KLINE
Quando si parte l'anima feroce
dal corpo ond' ella stessa s'è disvelta,
Minòs la manda a la settima foce.
When the savage spirit leaves the body,
from which it has ripped itself,
Minos sends it to the seventh gulf.
83
INF C13 97-99 / DANTE
Cade in la selva, e non l'è parte scelta;
ma là dove fortuna la balestra,
quivi germoglia come gran di spelta.
It falls into this wood., and no place is set for it,
but, wherever Wherever chance hurls it, there it
sprouts, like a grain of German wheat,
INF C13 100-102 / DANTE
Surge in vermena e in pianta silvestra:
l'Arpie, pascendo poi de le sue foglie,
fanno dolore, e al dolor fenestra.
shoots up as a sapling, and then as a wild tree.
The Harpies feeding then on its leaves hurt it,
and give an outlet to its hurt.
INF C13 103-105 / DANTE
Come l'altre verrem per nostre spoglie,
ma non però ch'alcuna sen rivesta,
ché non è giusto aver ciò ch'om si toglie.
Like others we shall go to our corpses on the
Day of Judgement, but not to so that any of us
may inhabit them again, because it would not be
just to have what we took from ourselves.
INF C13 106-108 / DANTE
Qui le strascineremo, e per la mesta
selva saranno i nostri corpi appesi,
ciascuno al prun de l'ombra sua molesta».
We shall drag them here, and our Our bodies
will be hung through the dismal wood,
each on the thorn-tree of its tormented shade.
INF C13 109-114 / KLINE
We were still listening to the tree, thinking it might tell us more, when we were startled by a noise, like those who
think the wild boar is nearing where they stand, and hear the animals and the crashing of branches.
BRANCHES CRASH.
♫
CHASE * * * * * * * * * *
INF C13 108 from INF C13 115
DANTE:
INF C13 115-117 / DANTE
INF C13 115-117 / KLINE
Behold! on the left, two naked,
torn spirits, running so hard
they broke every thicket of the wood.
Ed ecco! due da la sinistra costa,
nudi e graffiati, fuggendo sì forte,
che de la selva rompieno ogne rosta.
INF C13 115-117 / DANTE
INF C13 115-117 / KLINE
Ed ecco due da la sinistra costa,
nudi e graffiati, fuggendo sì forte,
che de la selva rompieno ogne rosta.
Behold!...on the left, two naked,
torn spirits, running so hard
they broke every thicket of the wood.
HE RUSHES OFF AND IS BACK IN A FEW SECONDS, PANTING.
DANTE:
INF C13 116-117 / DANTE
INF C13 116-117 / KLINE
nudi e graffiati, fuggendo sì forte,
che de la selva rompieno ogne rosta.
torn spirits, running so hard
they broke every thicket of the wood.
LANO’S VOICE COMES FROM 2 DIFFERENT PLACES.
84
LANO:
INF C13 118-120 / KLINE
INF C13 118-120 / DANTE
The leader cried: Come Death, come now!
and the other, Jacomo,
who felt himself to be too slow cried:
Quel dinanzi: Or accorri, accorri, morte!
E l'altro, cui pareva tardar troppo,
gridava: «Lano, sì non furo accorte
LANO MACONI
----
--?
*
? - 1288 AGE : *
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
SIENA.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
A MEMBER OF THE BRIGATA SPENDERECCIA, THE SPENDTHRIFT BRIGADE, A CLUB FOUNDED BY TWELVE WEALTHY SIENESE, IN
THE SECOND HALF OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY, WHO VIED WITH EACH OTHER IN SQUANDERING THEIR MONEY ON RIOTOUS
LIVING. HE ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE KILLED AT THE BATTLE OF PIEVE DEL TOPPO WHERE THE ARETINES DEFEATED THE
SIENESE IN 1288.
LANO:
INF C13 118-120 / DANTE
INF C13 118-120 / KLINE
Quel dinanzi: Or accorri, accorri, morte!
E l'altro, cui pareva tardar troppo,
gridava: «Lano, sì non furo accorte
The leader cried: Come Death, come now!
and the other, Jacomo,
who felt himself to be too slow cried:
JACOMO DA SANT’ ANDREA
INF C13 121-123 / DANTE
INF C13 121-123 / KLINE
le gambe tue a le giostre dal Toppo!».
E poi che forse li fallia la lena,
di sé e d'un cespuglio fece un groppo.
Lano, your legs were not so swift at the jousts of
Toppo! And since perhaps his breath was failing him,
he merged himself with a bush.
JACOMO (GIACOMO) DA SANT’ ANDREA
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
PADUA.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
*
----? - 1239?
--?
AGE : *
HE WASTED HIS OWN & OTHERS’ FORTUNES, EMPLOYING ARSON & OTHER EXTRAORDINARY METHODS. APPARENTLY EXECUTED
BY EZZELINO DA ROMANO IN 1239, PRESUMABLY AFTER COURTING DEATH.
DANTE:
Lano Maconi of the Brigata Spendereccia, the
Sienese Spendthrift Brigade; and Jacomo da Sant’
Andrea, profligate arsonist.
THE CHASE MUSIC CEASES. DANTE REPORTS.
DANTE:
INF C13 124-126 / DANTE
INF C13 124-126 / KLINE
Di rietro a loro era la selva piena
di nere cagne, bramose e correnti
come veltri ch'uscisser di catena.
The wood behind them was filled
with black bitch hounds, eager and quick
as greyhounds. that have slipped the leash.
INF C13 127-129 / DANTE
In quel che s'appiattò miser li denti,
e quel dilaceraro a brano a brano;
poi sen portar quelle membra dolenti.
They clamped their teeth into Lano,
who squatted, and tore him bit by bit,
then carried off his miserable limbs.
HE PACES IN AGITATION AND CLOSES THE CANTO.
85
DANTE:
INF C13 124-126 / KLINE
INF C13 124-126 / DANTE
The wood behind them was filled
with black bitch hounds, eager and quick
as greyhounds that have slipped the leash.
Di rietro a loro era la selva piena
di nere cagne, bramose e correnti
come veltri ch'uscisser di catena.
They clamped their teeth into Lano,
who squatted, and tore him bit by bit,
then carried off his miserable limbs.
In quel che s'appiattò miser li denti,
e quel dilaceraro a brano a brano;
poi sen portar quelle membra dolenti.
INF C13 127-129 / DANTE
INF C13 130-151 / KLINE
My guide now took me by the hand, and led me to the bush, which was grieving, in vain, through its bleeding
splinters, crying: ‘O Jacomo da Sant’ Andrea, what have you gained by making me your screen? What blame do I
have for your sinful life? When the Master had stopped next to it, he said: ‘Who were you, that breathe out your
mournful speech, with blood, through so many wounds? And he to us: ‘You spirits, who have come to view the
dishonourable mangling that has torn my leaves from me, gather them round the foot of this sad tree. I was of
Florence, that city, which changed Mars, its patron, for St John the Baptist, because of which that god, through his
powers, will always make it sorrowful. Were it not that some fragments of his statue remain where Ponte Vecchio
crosses the Arno, those citizens, who rebuilt it on the ashes Attila left, would have worked in vain. I made a gibbet for
myself, from my own roofbeam.’
♫
MUSIC? * * * * * * * * * *
CANTO 14
THE VIOLENT AGAINST GOD
INF C14 1-15 / KLINE
As the love of my native place stirred in me, I gathered up the scattered leaves, and gave them back to him who was
already hoarse. Then we came to the edge, where the second round is divided from the third, where a fearsome form of
justice is seen. To make these new things clear, I say we reached a plain, where the land repels all vegetation. The
mournful wood makes a circle round it, as the ditch surrounds the wood: here we stepped close to its very rim. The
ground was dry, thick sand, no different in form than that which Cato once trod.
DANTE:
INF C14 16-18 / DANTE
INF C14 16-18 / KLINE
O vendetta di Dio, quanto tu dei
esser temuta da ciascun che legge
ciò che fu manifesto a li occhi mei!
O God’s vengeance, how what was shown
to my sight should be feared,
by all who read!
INF C14 19-21 / DANTE
D'anime nude vidi molte gregge
che piangean tutte assai miseramente,
e parea posta lor diversa legge.
I saw many groups of naked spirits
who were all moaning bitterly:
and there seemed to be diverse rules applied to them.
INF C14 22-24 / DANTE
Supin giacea in terra alcuna gente,
alcuna si sedea tutta raccolta,
e altra andava continüamente.
Some were lying face upward on the ground;
some sat all crouched:
and others roamed around continuously.
INF C14 25-27 / DANTE
Quella che giva 'ntorno era più molta,
e quella men che giacëa al tormento,
ma più al duolo avea la lingua sciolta.
Those who moved were more numerous,
and those that lay in torment fewer,
but uttering louder cries of pain.
INF C14 28-30 / KLINE
INF C14 28-30 / DANTE
Dilated flakes of fire, falling slowly,
like snow in the windless mountains,
rained down over all the vast sands.
Sovra tutto 'l sabbion, d'un cader lento,
piovean di foco dilatate falde,
come di neve in alpe sanza vento.
Like the flames that Alexander saw falling,
in the hot zones of India, over all his army,
until they reached the ground,
Quali Alessandro in quelle parti calde
d'Indïa vide sopra 'l süo stuolo
fiamme cadere infino a terra salde,
fires that were more easily quenched while
they were separate, so that his troops took
care to trample the earth - like those,
per ch'ei provide a scalpitar lo suolo
con le sue schiere, acciò che lo vapore
mei si stingueva mentre ch'era solo:
fell this eternal heat, kindling the sand
like tinder beneath flint and steel,
doubling the pain.
tale scendeva l'etternale ardore;
onde la rena s'accendea, com' esca
sotto focile, a doppiar lo dolore.
The dance of their tortured hands
was never still, now here, now there,
shaking off the fresh burning.
Sanza riposo mai era la tresca
de le misere mani, or quindi or quinci
escotendo da sé l'arsura fresca.
86
INF C14 31-33 / DANTE
INF C14 34-36 / DANTE
INF C14 37-39 / DANTE
INF C14 40-42 / DANTE
INF C14 40-42 / DANTE
Sanza riposo mai era la tresca
de le misere mani, or quindi or quinci
escotendo da sé l'arsura fresca.
The dance of their tortured hands
was never still, now here, now there,
shaking off the fresh burning.
INF C14 43-45 / DANTE
I' cominciai: «Maestro, tu che vinci
tutte le cose, fuor che ' demon duri
ch'a l'intrar de la porta incontra uscinci,
I began: Master, you who overcome everything
except the obdurate demons, that came out
against us at the entrance to the gate,
INF C14 46-48 / DANTE
chi è quel grande che non par che curi
lo 'ncendio e giace dispettoso e torto,
sì che la pioggia non par che 'l marturi?».
who is that great spirit, who seems indifferent to
the fire, and lies there, scornful, contorted, so that
the rain does not seem to deepen his repentance?
THE SPIRIT HAS HEARD DANTE [INF C14 49-51].
CAPANEUS:
INF C14 49-51 / DANTE
INF C14 49-51 / KLINE
E quel medesmo, che si fu accorto
ch'io domandava il mio duca di lui,
gridò: «Qual io fui vivo, tal son morto.
And he himself, noting that I asked
my guide about him, cried: What I was
when I was living, I am now I am dead.
CAPANEUS
--?
MYTHICAL AGE : *
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
*
CAPANEUS: AN ARGIVE CHIEF IN THE WAR OF THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES WHO SCALED THE WALL & WAS STRUCK DOWN BY
JUPITER’S LIGHTNING BOLT. HE WAS A SYMBOL OF PRIDE. (AESCHYLUS: SEVEN AGAINST THEBES)
CAPANEUS (angry):
INF C14 52-54 / DANTE
INF C14 52-54 / KLINE
Se Giove stanchi 'l suo fabbro da cui
crucciato prese la folgore aguta
onde l'ultimo dì percosso fui;
Though Jupiter exhausts Vulcan, his blacksmith,
from whom he took, in anger, the fierce lightning
bolt that I was struck down with on my last day,
87
INF C14 55-57 / DANTE
o s'elli stanchi li altri a muta a muta
in Mongibello a la focina negra,
chiamando ``Buon Vulcano, aiuta, aiuta!",
and though he exhausts the others, the Cyclopes,
one by one, at the black forge of Aetna, shouting:
“Help, help, good Vulcan”,
CYCLOPES: A FABULOUS RACE OF GIANTS ON THE COAST OF SICILY, WITH ONE EYE IN THE CENTRE OF THEIR FOREHEADS. THEY
FORGED JUPITER’S LIGHTNING BOLTS IN THE FIRES OF MOUNT AETNA ON SICILY.
DANTE notes:
INF C14 57 / KLINE
INF C14 57 / DANTE
“Help, help, good Vulcan”,
"Buon Vulcano, aiuta, aiuta!"
CAPANEUS:
INF C14 58-60 / DANTE
INF C14 58-60 / KLINE
sì com' el fece a la pugna di Flegra,
e me saetti con tutta sua forza:
non ne potrebbe aver vendetta allegra».
just as he did at the battle of Phlegra, between the
gods and giants, and hurls his bolts at me with all
his strength, he shall still not enjoy a true revenge.’
VIRGIL SPEAKS WITH UNWONTED FORCEFULNESS.
VIRGIL:
INF C14 61-63 / DANTE
INF C14 61-63 / KLINE
Allora il duca mio parlò di forza
tanto, ch'i' non l'avea sì forte udito:
«O Capaneo, in ciò che non s'ammorza
Then my guide spoke, with a force
I had not heard before: O Capaneus,
you are punished more in that
INF C14 64-66 / DANTE
la tua superbia, se' tu più punito;
nullo martiro, fuor che la tua rabbia,
sarebbe al tuo furor dolor compito».
your pride is not quenched:
no torment would produce pain fitting
for your fury, except your own raving.
VIRGIL SPEAKS MORE GENTLY TO DANTE.
VIRGIL:
INF C14 67-69 / DANTE
INF C14 67-69 / KLINE
Poi si rivolse a me con miglior labbia,
dicendo: «Quei fu l'un d'i sette regi
ch'assiser Tebe; ed ebbe e par ch'elli abbia
Then he turned to me with gentler voice, saying:
That was one of the seven kings
who laid siege to Thebes:
DANTE notes:
INF C14 68 / KLINE
INF C14 67-69 / DANTE
Then he turned to me with gentler voice,
saying: That was one of the seven kings
who laid siege to Thebes:
Poi si rivolse a me con miglior labbia,
dicendo: «Quei fu l'un d'i sette regi
ch'assiser Tebe; ed ebbe e par ch'elli abbia
VIRGIL:
♫
INF C14 70-72 / DANTE
INF C14 70-72 / KLINE
Dio in disdegno, e poco par che 'l pregi;
ma, com' io dissi lui, li suoi dispetti
sono al suo petto assai debiti fregi.
and he held God, and seems to hold him,
in disdain, and value him lightly, but as I told him,
his spite is an ornament that fits his breast.
MUSIC? * * * * * * * * * *
DANTE:
88
INF C14 76-78 / DANTE
INF C14 76-78 / KLINE
Tacendo divenimmo là 've spiccia
fuor de la selva un picciol fiumicello,
lo cui rossore ancor mi raccapriccia.
We came, in silence, to the place,
where a A little stream gushes from the wood.,
the Its redness of which still makes me shudder.
INF C14 79-81 / DANTE
Quale del Bulicame esce ruscello
che parton poi tra lor le peccatrici,
tal per la rena giù sen giva quello.
Like the rivulet that runs sulphur-red from the
Bulicame spring, near Viterbo, that the sinful women
share among themselves, so this ran runs down over
the sand.
INF C14 82-84 / DANTE
Lo fondo suo e ambo le pendici
fatt' era 'n pietra, e ' margini dallato;
per ch'io m'accorsi che 'l passo era lici.
Its bed and both its sloping banks were are petrified,
and its nearby margins:
so that I realised our way lay there.
VIRGIL:
INF C14 85-87 / DANTE
INF C14 85-87 / KLINE
«Tra tutto l'altro ch'i' t'ho dimostrato,
poscia che noi intrammo per la porta
lo cui sogliare a nessuno è negato,
Among all the other things that I have shown you,
since we entered though the gate,
whose threshold is denied to no one,
INF C14 88-90 / DANTE
cosa non fu da li tuoi occhi scorta
notabile com' è 'l presente rio,
che sovra sé tutte fiammelle ammorta».
your eyes have seen nothing
as noteworthy as this present stream,
that quenches all the flames over it.
INF C14 91-93 / KLINE
These were my guide’s words, at which I begged him to grant me food, for which he had given me the appetite.
VIRGIL:
INF C14 94-96 / DANTE
INF C14 94-96 / KLINE
«In mezzo mar siede un paese guasto»,
diss' elli allora, «che s'appella Creta,
sotto 'l cui rege fu già 'l mondo casto.
He then said: There is a deserted island
in the middle of the sea, named Crete,
under whose king Saturn, the world was pure.
DANTE versifies:
INF C14 94-96 / KLINE
INF C14 94-96 / DANTE
He then said: There is a deserted island
in the middle of the sea, named Crete,
under whose king Saturn, the world was pure.
«In mezzo mar siede un paese guasto»,
diss' elli allora, «che s'appella Creta,
sotto 'l cui rege fu già 'l mondo casto.
VIRGIL:
INF C14 97-99 / DANTE
INF C14 97-99 / KLINE
Una montagna v'è che già fu lieta
d'acqua e di fronde, che si chiamò Ida;
or è diserta come cosa vieta.
There is a mountain, there, called Ida, which was
once gladdened with waters and vegetation,
and now is abandoned like an ancient spoil heap.
INF C14 100-102 / DANTE
Rëa la scelse già per cuna fida
del suo figliuolo, e per celarlo meglio,
uando piangea, vi facea far le grida.
Rhea chose it, once, as the trusted cradle of her
son, and the better to hide him when he wept,
caused loud shouts to echo from it.
RHEA: HID HER SON, JUPITER, IN A CAVE TO PREVENT HIM BEING EATEN BY HIS FATHER, CRONUS.
INF C14 103-105 / DANTE
Dentro dal monte sta dritto un gran veglio,
che tien volte le spalle inver' Dammiata
e Roma guarda come süo speglio.
Inside the mountain, a great Old Man stands erect
with his shoulders turned towards Egyptian
Damietta, and looks at Rome as if it were his mirror.
OLD MAN: AN ALLEGORY OF HUMAN HISTORY BASED ON DANIEL 2 32. THE FOUR METALS ARE THE FOUR AGES OF MAN: GOLD,
SILVER, BRONZE & IRON (SEE ALSO OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 1). THE IRON & CLAY FEET, ARE SECULAR & SPIRITUAL
AUTHORITY, THE LATTER FOOT BEING THE ONE HUMANITY LOOKS TO FOR SUPPORT, BUT WEAKENED & CORRUPTED BY
TEMPORAL POWER. CRETE IN AENEID 3 104-5 IS THE ‘CRADLE OF OUR (ROMAN) RACE’ TRACED BACK VIA TROY TO TEUCER.
DAMIETTA STANDS FOR EGYPT, SUPERSEDED BY ROME. THE GOLDEN AGE ALONE WAS FREE OF TEARS.
89
INF C14 106-108 / DANTE
La sua testa è di fin oro formata,
e puro argento son le braccia e 'l petto,
poi è di rame infino a la forcata;
His head is formed of pure gold, his arms
and his breasts are refined silver:
then he is bronze as far as the thighs.
INF C14 109-111 / DANTE
da indi in giuso è tutto ferro eletto,
salvo che 'l destro piede è terra cotta;
e sta 'n su quel, più che 'n su l'altro, eretto.
Downwards from there he is all of choice iron,
except that the right foot is baked clay, and more
of his weight is on that one than the other.
INF C14 112-114 / DANTE
Ciascuna parte, fuor che l'oro, è rotta
d'una fessura che lagrime goccia,
le quali, accolte, fóran quella grotta.
Every part, except the gold, is cleft
with a fissure that sheds tears,
which collect and pierce the grotto.
INF C14 115-117 / DANTE
Lor corso in questa valle si diroccia;
fanno Acheronte, Stige e Flegetonta;
poi sen van giù per questa stretta doccia,
Their course falls from rock to rock
into this valley. They form
Acheron, Styx and Phlegethon,
INF C14 118-120 / DANTE
infin, là ove più non si dismonta,
fanno Cocito; e qual sia quello stagno
tu lo vedrai, però qui non si conta».
where there is no further fall, and form
Cocytus: you will see what kind of lake that is:
so I will not describe it to you here.
DANTE versifies:
INF C14 118-120 / KLINE
INF C14 118-120 / DANTE
where there is no further fall, and form
infin, là ove più non si dismonta,
Cocytus: you will see what kind of lake that is: fanno Cocito; e qual sia quello stagno
so I will not describe it to you here.
tu lo vedrai, però qui non si conta».
INF C14 121-123 / DANTE
E io a lui: «Se 'l presente rigagno
si diriva così dal nostro mondo,
perché ci appar pur a questo vivagno?»
I said to him: If the present stream flows down
like that from our world,
why does it only appear to us on this bank?
INF C14 124-126 / DANTE
INF C14 124-126 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Tu sai che 'l loco è tondo;
e tutto che tu sie venuto molto,
pur a sinistra, giù calando al fondo,
And he to me: You know the place is circular,
and though you have come far,
always to the left, descending to the depths,
VIRGIL:
DANTE notes:
INF C14 124-126 / KLINE
INF C14 124-126 / DANTE
And he to me: You know the place is circular, Ed elli a me: «Tu sai che 'l loco è tondo;
VIRGIL:
INF C14 127-129 / DANTE
INF C14 127-129 / KLINE
non se' ancor per tutto 'l cerchio vòlto;
per che, se cosa n'apparisce nova,
non de' addur maraviglia al tuo volto».
you have not yet turned through a complete round,
so that if anything new appears to us, it should
not bring an expression of wonder to your face.
DANTE:
INF C14 130-132 / DANTE
INF C14 130-132 / KLINE
E io ancor: «Maestro, ove si trova
Flegetonta e Letè? ché de l'un taci,
e l'altro di' che si fa d'esta piova».
And I again: Master, where are Phlegethon and
Lethe found, since you do not speak of the latter,
and say that the former is created from these tears?
VIRGIL:
INF C14 133-135 / DANTE
INF C14 133-135 / KLINE
«In tutte tue question certo mi piaci»,
rispuose, «ma 'l bollor de l'acqua rossa
dovea ben solver l'una che tu faci.
He replied: You please me, truly, with all
your questions, but the boiling red water might
well answer to one of those you ask about.
90
VIRGIL POINTS.
VIRGIL:
INF C14 136-138 / DANTE
INF C14 136-138 / KLINE
Letè vedrai, ma fuor di questa fossa,
là dove vanno l'anime a lavarsi
quando la colpa pentuta è rimossa».
You will see Lethe, but above this abyss, there, on
the Mount, where the spirits go to purify themselves,
when their guilt is absolved by penitence.
INF C14 139-141 / DANTE
Poi disse: «Omai è tempo da scostarsi
dal bosco; fa che di retro a me vegne:
li margini fan via, che non son arsi,
Then he said: Now it is time to leave the wood:
see that you follow me: the margins
which are not burning form a path,
INF C14 142 / DANTE
e sopra loro ogne vapor si spegne».
and over them all the fire is quenched.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C14 139-141 / KLINE
INF C14 139-141 / DANTE
Then he said: Now it is time to leave the wood: Poi disse: «Omai è tempo da scostarsi
see that you follow me: the margins
dal bosco; fa che di retro a me vegne:
which are not burning form a path,
li margini fan via, che non son arsi,
INF C14 142 / DANTE
and over them all the fire is quenched.
♫
MUSIC
OR SILENCE
e sopra loro ogne vapor si spegne».
**********
CANTO 15
BRUNETTO LATINI
INF C15 1-21 / KLINE
Now one of the solid banks takes us on, and the smoke from the stream makes a shadow above, so that it shelters the
water and its margins. Just as the The Flemings between Bruges and Wissant make their dykes to hold back the sea,
fearing the flood that beats against them; and as the Paduans do, along the Brenta, to defend their towns and castles,
before Carinthia’s mountains feel the thaw; so those banks were similarly formed, though their creator, whoever it
might be, made them neither as high or as deep. Already we were so far from the wood, that I was unable to see where
it was, unless I turned back, when we met a group of spirits, coming along the bank, and each of them looked at us, as,
at twilight, men look at one another, under a crescent moon, and peered towards us, as an old tailor does at the eye of
his needle.
SPIRITS./ .SPIRITS STRAGGLE PAST THEM IN THE OTHER DIRECTION. DANTE WRITES.
SPIRITS
AGE : VARIOUS
DESCRIPTION
*
ONE OF THE SPIRITS STOPS, GOES BACK AND PEERS INTO
ADDRESSES DANTE WITH ENTHUSIASM.
DANTE’S FACE [INF C15 13-24]. HE
91
BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 22-24 / KLINE
INF C15 22-24 / DANTE
Eyed so by that tribe, I was recognised, by one Così adocchiato da cotal famiglia,
who took me by the skirt of my robe and said: fui conosciuto da un, che mi prese
How wonderful!
per lo lembo e gridò: Qual maraviglia!
INF C15 24 / DANTE
per lo lembo e gridò: Qual maraviglia!
How wonderful!
BRUNETTO LATINI
c 1210 - 1294 AGE : 84?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
HE CARRIES A SMALLISH BOOK, HIS TESORO (TRESORO).
BRUNETTO LATINI: A FLORENTINE GUELPH, LATINI WAS A POLITICIAN & PHILOSOPHER, AUTHOR OF A PROSE ENCYCLOPAEDIA
LI LIVRES DOU TRÉSOR WRITTEN IN FRENCH (HE WAS IN EXILE IN FRANCE IN 1260 AFTER MONTAPERTI) & THE TESORETTO, A
POPULAR DIDACTIC POEM IN ITALIAN, CONTAINING SIMILAR MATTER, IN THE FORM OF AN ALLEGORICAL JOURNEY, A KIND OF
PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, THAT CLEARLY INFLUENCED DANTE, OPENING WITH THE POET LOST IN A WOOD OF ERROR. HE
INTRODUCED THE ART OF ORATORY & THE STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE INTO FLORENCE. IN THE TESORETTO HE SPEAKS
AGAINST THE HOMOSEXUALITY THAT CONDEMNS HIM TO HELL. HE INFLUENCED & POSSIBLY TAUGHT DANTE.
DANTE PUTS HIS HAND TO THE SPIRIT’S FACE AND PEERS [INF C15 25-28].
INF C15 25-27 / KLINE
And I fixed my eyes on his baked visage, so that the scorching of his aspect did not prevent
DANTE:
INF C15 28-30 / KLINE
INF C15 28-30 / DANTE
my mind from knowing him,
and bending my face to his
I replied: Are you here, Ser Brunetto?
la conoscenza süa al mio 'ntelletto;
e chinando la mano a la sua faccia,
rispuosi: Siete voi qui, ser Brunetto?
BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 31-33 / DANTE
INF C15 31-33 / KLINE
E quelli: «O figliuol mio, non ti dispiaccia
se Brunetto Latino un poco teco
ritorna 'n dietro e lascia andar la traccia».
And he: O my son, do not be displeased
if Brunetto Latini turns back with you a while
and lets the crowd pass by.
DANTE:
INF C15 34-36 / DANTE
INF C15 34-36 / KLINE
I' dissi lui: «Quanto posso, ven preco;
e se volete che con voi m'asseggia,
faròl, se piace a costui che vo seco».
I said: I ask it with all my strength,
and, if you want me to sit with you, I will,
if it pleases him there whom I go with.
BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 37-39 / DANTE
INF C15 37-39 / KLINE
«O figliuol», disse, «qual di questa greggia
s'arresta punto, giace poi cent' anni
sanz' arrostarsi quando 'l foco il feggia.
He said: O my son, whoever of the flock stops for a
moment, must lie there for a hundred years after,
without cooling himself when the fire beats on him.
INF C15 40-42 / DANTE
Però va oltre: i' ti verrò a' panni;
e poi rigiugnerò la mia masnada,
che va piangendo i suoi etterni danni».
So go on, I will follow at your heels,
and then I will rejoin my crew again,
who go mourning their eternal loss.
INF C15 43-45 / KLINE
I did not dare leave the road to be level with him, but kept my head bowed like one who walks reverently.
INF C15 46-47 / DANTE
El cominciò: «Qual fortuna o destino
anzi l'ultimo dì qua giù ti mena?
He began: What fate, or chance, bring you down
here before your final hour?
BRUNETTO LATINI:
or BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 48 / DANTE
INF C15 48 / KLINE
e chi è questi che mostra 'l cammino?».
Who is this who shows you the way?
92
DANTE BEGINS DECLAIMING THE FIRST TERCET OF L’INFERNO…
DANTE:
INF C1 1-3 / KLINE
INF C1 1-3 / DANTE
In the middle of the journey of our life,
I came to myself, in a dark wood,
where the direct way was lost.
Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,
ché la diritta via era smarrita.
…BUT THINKS BETTER OF IT.
DANTE:
INF C15 49-51 / DANTE
INF C15 49-51 / KLINE
«Là sù di sopra, in la vita serena»,
rispuos' io lui, «mi smarri' in una valle,
avanti che l'età mia fosse piena.
I lost myself in the clear life up above,
in a valley,
before my years were complete.
INF C15 52-54 / DANTE
Pur ier mattina le volsi le spalle:
questi m'apparve, tornand' ïo in quella,
e reducemi a ca per questo calle».
♫
Only yesterday morning I turned my back on it:
he appeared to me as I was returning to it,
and guides me back again, but by this path.
PROPHECY MOTIF * * * * * * * * * *
INF C15 54
BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 55-57 / DANTE
INF C15 55-57 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Se tu segui tua stella,
non puoi fallire a glorïoso porto,
se ben m'accorsi ne la vita bella;
And he to me: If you follow your star,
you cannot fail to reach a glorious harbour:
if I judged clearly in the sweet life.
INF C15 58-60 / DANTE
e s'io non fossi sì per tempo morto,
veggendo il cielo a te così benigno,
dato t'avrei a l'opera conforto.
If I had not died before you, I would have
supported you in your work,
seeing that Heaven is so kind to you.
DANTE WRITES AND READS, ADDING EMPHASIS.
DANTE:
INF C15 55-57 / KLINE
INF C15 55-57 / DANTE
And he to me: If you follow your star,
you cannot fail to reach a glorious harbour:
if I judged clearly in the sweet life.
Ed elli a me: «Se tu segui tua stella,
non puoi fallire a glorïoso porto,
se ben m'accorsi ne la vita bella;
INF C15 58-60 / KLINE
INF C15 58-60 / DANTE
If I had not died before you, I would have
supported you in your work,
seeing that Heaven is so kind to you.
e s'io non fossi sì per tempo morto,
veggendo il cielo a te così benigno,
dato t'avrei a l'opera conforto.
93
BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 61-63 / DANTE
INF C15 61-63 / DANTE / KLINE
But that ungrateful, malignant people who
came down from Fiesole to Florence, in
ancient times, and still have something of the
mountain and the rock,
Ma quello ingrato popolo maligno
che discese di Fiesole ab antico,
e tiene ancor del monte e del macigno
INF C15 61-63 / DANTE
Ma quello ingrato popolo maligno
che discese di Fiesole ab antico,
e tiene ancor del monte e del macigno,
But…that ungrateful, malignant people who came
down from Fiesole to Florence, in ancient times,
and still have something of the mountain and the
rock,
MALIGNANT PEOPLE: ACCORDING TO TRADITION CATILINE WAS BESIEGED, BY CAESAR, IN FIESOLE (FAESULAE), IN THE HILLS,
THREE MILES NORTH-WEST OF FLORENCE. WHEN THE TOWN FELL A NEW TOWN WAS ESTABLISHED, IN THE VALLEY, BY THE
RIVER ARNO. THE INHABITANTS WERE A MIXTURE OF FIESOLANS & ROMAN SOLDIERS. THE FLORENTINE COMMONERS
(WHITES) WERE HELD TO BE DESCENDED FROM THE FIESOLANS, THE NOBILITY (BLACKS) FROM THE ROMANS. THIS WAS
REGARDED AS A SOURCE OF THE FUTURE CONFLICTS. DANTE WAS FOR A REFORMED PAPACY & A STRONG (HOLY ROMAN)
EMPIRE & WAS ACTIVE IN THE EXPULSION OF BOTH WHITES & BLACKS FROM FLORENCE, HE WAS THEREFORE OPPOSED BY
BOTH PARTIES, THOUGH OSTENSIBLY A GHIBELLINE (HIS FATHER HAVING BEEN A GUELPH) & COURTED & VILIFIED BY BOTH.
DANTE IS RECONCILED TO BRUNETTO’S & FARINATA’S PROPHECY, OF A TROUBLED EXILE.
INF C15 64-66 / DANTE
ti si farà, per tuo ben far, nimico;
ed è ragion, ché tra li lazzi sorbi
si disconvien fruttare al dolce fico.
will be inimical to you for the good you do, and
with reason, since it is not fitting for the sweet
fig tree to fruit, among the sour crab-apples.
DANTE VERSIFIES AGAIN.
DANTE
INF C15 61-63 / KLINE
INF C15 61-63 / DANTE
that ungrateful, malignant people, who came
down from Fiesole to Florence, in ancient
times, and still have something of the
mountain and the rock,
Ma quello ingrato popolo maligno
che discese di Fiesole ab antico,
e tiene ancor del monte e del macigno,
will be inimical to you for the good you do,
and with reason, since it is not fitting for the
sweet fig tree to fruit, among the sour
crab-apples.
ti si farà, per tuo ben far, nimico;
ed è ragion, ché tra li lazzi sorbi
si disconvien fruttare al dolce fico.
INF C15 64-66 / DANTE
BRUNETTO:
INF C15 67-69 / DANTE
INF C15 67-69 / KLINE
Vecchia fama nel mondo li chiama orbi;
gent' è avara, invidiosa e superba:
dai lor costumi fa che tu ti forbi.
Past report on earth declares them blind,
an envious, proud and avaricious people:
make sure you purge yourself of their faults.
INF C15 70-72 / DANTE
La tua fortuna tanto onor ti serba,
che l'una parte e l'altra avranno fame
di te; ma lungi fia dal becco l'erba.
Your fate prophesies such honour for you,
that both parties will hunger for you,
but the goat will be far from the grass.
DANTE PICKS UP BRUNETTO’S PHRASE AND ELABORATES IT.
DANTE:
INF C15 70-72 / KLINE
INF C15 70-72 / DANTE
Your fate prophesies such honour for you,
that both parties will hunger for you,
but the goat will be far from the grass.
La tua fortuna tanto onor ti serba,
che l'una parte e l'altra avranno fame
di te; ma lungi fia dal becco l'erba.
INF C15 73-75 / KLINE
INF C15 73-75 / DANTE
Let the herd from Fiesole make manure of
themselves, but not touch the plant in which
the sacred seed of those Romans revives,
Faccian le bestie fiesolane strame
di lor medesme, e non tocchin la pianta,
s'alcuna surge ancora in lor letame,
INF C15 76-78 / KLINE
INF C15 76-78 / DANTE
who stayed, when that nest of malice
was created, if any plant
still springs from their ordure.
in cui riviva la sementa santa
di que' Roman che vi rimaser quando
fu fatto il nido di malizia tanta».
94
DANTE:
INF C15 79-81 / DANTE
INF C15 79-81 / KLINE
«Se fosse tutto pieno il mio dimando»,
rispuos' io lui, «voi non sareste ancora
de l'umana natura posto in bando;
I answered him: If my wishes had been
completely fulfilled, you would not have been
separated, yet, from human nature,
INF C15 82-84 / DANTE
ché 'n la mente m'è fitta, e or m'accora,
la cara e buona imagine paterna
di voi quando nel mondo ad ora ad ora
since, in my memory, the dear, and kind,
paternal image of you is fixed, and now goes
to my heart, how, when in the world, hour by hour,
INF C15 85-87 / DANTE
m'insegnavate come l'uom s'etterna:
e quant' io l'abbia in grado, mentr' io vivo
convien che ne la mia lingua si scerna.
you taught me the way man makes himself
eternal; and it is fitting my tongue should show
what gratitude I hold, while I live.
DANTE WRITES IN HIS BOOK AND SPEAKS AIRILY.
DANTE:
♫
INF C15 88-90 / DANTE
INF C15 88-90 / KLINE
Ciò che narrate di mio corso scrivo,
e serbolo a chiosar con altro testo
a donna che saprà, s'a lei arrivo.
What you tell me of my fate, I write,
and retain it with a former text, for a lady, who
will know how to comment on it if I reach her.
BE-A-TRI-CE MOTIF * * * * * * * * * * ?
INF C15 96
DANTE:
INF C15 93 / KLINE
INF C15 93 / DANTE
I am ready for whatever Fortune wills,
ch'a la Fortuna, come vuol, son presto.
INF C15 91-93 / DANTE
INF C15 91-93 / KLINE
Tanto vogl' io che vi sia manifesto,
pur che mia coscïenza non mi garra,
ch'a la Fortuna, come vuol, son presto.
I would make this much known to you:
I am ready for whatever Fortune wills.,
as long as conscience does not hurt me.
INF C15 94-96 / DANTE
Non è nuova a li orecchi miei tal arra:
però giri Fortuna la sua rota
come le piace, e 'l villan la sua marra».
Such prophecies are not new to my ears:
so let Fortune turn her wheel as she pleases,
and the peasant wield his mattock.
95
INF C15 97-117 / KLINE
At that, my Master, looked back, on his right, and gazed at me, then said: ‘He listens closely, who notes it.’ I carry on
speaking, no less, with Ser Brunetto, and ask who are the most famous and noblest of his companions. And he to me:
‘It is good to know of some: of the rest it would be praiseworthy to keep silent, as the time would be too little for such
a speech. In short, know that all were clerks, and great scholars, and very famous, tainted with the same sin on earth.
Priscian goes with that miserable crowd, and Francesco d’Accorso: and if you had any desire for such scum, you
might have seen Andrea di Mozzi there, who by Boniface, the Pope, servus servorum Dei, servant of servants, was
translated from the Arno to Vicenza’s Bacchiglione, where he departed from his ill-strained body. I would say more,
but my speech and my departure must not linger, since there I see new smoke, rising from the great sand.
SPIRITS APPROACH, SILENTLY OR WITH VOICES. BRUNETTO GIVES
THE TESORO (TRESORO), WITH A RUSTLING OF PAGES.
DANTE HIS OWN BOOK,
BRUNETTO LATINI:
INF C15 118-120 / DANTE
INF C15 118-120 / KLINE
Gente vien con la quale esser non deggio.
Sieti raccomandato il mio Tesoro,
nel qual io vivo ancora, e più non cheggio.
People come that I cannot be with:
let my Tresoro be commended to you,
in which I still live: more I ask not.
BRUNETTO GIVES
PAGES.
DANTE
HIS OWN BOOK, THE
TESORO (TRESORO),
WITH A RUSTLING OF
INF C15 119-120 / KLINE
INF C15 119-120 / DANTE
let my Tresoro be commended to you,
in which I still live: more I ask not.
Sieti raccomandato il mio Tesoro,
nel qual io vivo ancora, e più non cheggio.
INF C15 119-120 / DANTE
INF C15 119-120 / KLINE
Sieti raccomandato il mio Tesoro,
nel qual io vivo ancora, e più non cheggio.
let my Tresoro be commended to you,
in which I still live: more I ask not.
BRUNETTO EMBRACES DANTE AND RESUMES HIS DIRECTION AT SPEED.
DANTE:
INF C15 121-123 / DANTE
INF C15 121-123 / KLINE
Poi si rivolse, e parve di coloro
che corrono a Verona il drappo verde
per la campagna; e parve di costoro
Then he turned back, and seemed like one
who runs for the green cloth, at Verona,
through the open fields: and seemed like
INF C15 124 / DANTE
quelli che vince, non colui che perde.
one of those who wins, not one who loses.
DANTE COMPARES BRUNETTO’S DEPARTURE TO ONE RUNNING THE RACE AT VERONA, HELD ON THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT,
FOR WHICH THE PRIZE WAS A PIECE OF GREEN CLOTH, A MANTLE, OR PALIO.
CANTO 16
RUSTICUCCI, GUERRA & TEGGHIAIO
INF C16 1-6 / KLINE
I was already in a place where the booming of the water, that fell, into the next circle, sounded like a beehive’s
humming, when three shades together, running, left a crowd that passed under the sharp burning rain. They came
towards us, and each one cried:
♫
96
HUMMING / BOOMING WATERFALL – NOT TOO LOUD * * * * * * * * * *
INF C16 1 from INF C15 24
‘the booming of the water that fell into the next circle sounded like a beehive’s humming’
Or the waterfall noise is provided by a real waterfall.
THREE ‘SCORCHED, STAINED’ SPIRITS – JACOPO RUSTICUCCI, GUIDO GUERRA
TEGGHIAIO ALDOBRANDI – COME RUNNING.
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI
----? - *----?
--?
*
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
*
AND
AGE : *
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI: A FLORENTINE WHO WAS DRIVEN TO IMMORAL PRACTICES BY AN UNHAPPY MARRIAGE.
GUIDO GUERRA
----
--?
*
? - 1272 AGE : *
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
*
GUIDO GUERRA: A LEADING GUELPH IN TUSCANY FROM 1250 TO 1266, APPOINTED VICAR OF TUSCANY BY CHARLES OF
ANJOU. . HE PLAYED A DISTINGUISHED PART AT BENEVENTO IN 1265, WHERE MANFRED DIED & BEFORE THE DISASTER AT
MONTAPERTI IN 1260, WHEN THE GUELPHS WENT DOWN TO DEFEAT, HE WAS ONE OF THE NOBLES WHO HAD VOTED WITH
TEGGHIAIO AGAINST THE EXPEDITION, KNOWING THE SIENESE HAD BEEN REINFORCED WITH GERMAN MERCENARIES.
TEGGHIAIO ALDOBRANDO
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
*
----? - 1260 +
*
--?
AGE : *
TEGGHIAIO ALDOBRANDI: A FLORENTINE GUELPH WHO, WITH GUIDO GUERRA, TRIED TO DISSUADE HIS PARTY FROM THE
CONFLICT THAT LED TO THE GUELPH DISASTER AT MONTAPERTI IN 1260. HE FOUGHT COURAGEOUSLY & TOOK REFUGE AT
LUCCA WITH OTHER DEFEATED GUELPHS.
DANTE READS HIS VERSIFICATION OF BRUNETTO’S DEPARTURE.
DANTE:
INF C15 121-123 / KLINE
INF C15 121-123 / DANTE
Then he turned back, and seemed like one
who runs for the green cloth, at Verona,
through the open fields: and seemed
Poi si rivolse, e parve di coloro
che corrono a Verona il drappo verde
per la campagna; e parve di costoro
THE 3 SPIRITS (VOICE?):
&
THE 3 SPIRITS (VOICE?):
INF C16 7-9 / DANTE
INF C16 7-9 / KLINE
Venian ver' noi, e ciascuna gridava:
«Sòstati tu ch'a l'abito ne sembri
esser alcun di nostra terra prava».
Wait, you., who seem to us,
by By your clothes, you are
to be someone from our perverse city.
DANTE:
INF C15 121-123 / KLINE
INF C15 121-123 / DANTE
Then he turned back, and seemed like one
who runs for the green cloth, at Verona,
through the open fields: and seemed
Poi si rivolse, e parve di coloro
che corrono a Verona il drappo verde
per la campagna; e parve di costoro
INF C15 124 / KLINE
INF C15 124 / DANTE
one of those who wins, not one who loses.
quelli che vince, non colui che perde.
97
VIRGIL:
INF C16 13-15 / DANTE
INF C16 13-15 / KLINE
A le lor grida il mio dottor s'attese;
volse 'l viso ver' me, e «Or aspetta»,
disse, «a costor si vuole esser cortese.
My teacher listened to their cries,
turned his face towards me, and said:
Wait, now: courtesy is owed them,
INF C16 16-18 / DANTE
E se non fosse il foco che saetta
la natura del loco, i' dicerei
che meglio stesse a te che a lor la fretta».
and if there were not this fire, that the place’s
nature rains down, I would say that you
were more hasty than them.
INF C16 19-27 / KLINE
As we rested, they started their former laments again, and when they reached us, all three of them formed themselves
into a circle. Wheeling round, as champion wrestlers, naked and oiled, do, looking for a hold or an advantage, before
they grasp and strike one another, each directed his face at me, so that his neck was turned, all the time, in an opposite
direction to his feet.
DANTE, MIFFED AT VIRGIL’S REPROACH, STANDS STIFFLY AND DOES NOT TAKE NOTES.
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI:
INF C16 28-30 / DANTE
INF C16 28-30 / KLINE
E «Se miseria d'esto loco sollo
rende in dispetto noi e nostri prieghi»,
cominciò l'uno, «e 'l tinto aspetto e brollo,
And one of them began: If the misery
of this sinful place, and our scorched, stained
look, renders us, and our prayers, contemptible,
INF C16 31-33 / DANTE
la fama nostra il tuo animo pieghi
a dirne chi tu se', che i vivi piedi
così sicuro per lo 'nferno freghi.
let our fame influence your mind
to tell us who you are, that move
your living feet, safely, through Hell.
RUSTICUCCI POINTS AHEAD…
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI:
INF C16 34-36 / DANTE
INF C16 34-36 / KLINE
Questi, l'orme di cui pestar mi vedi,
tutto che nudo e dipelato vada,
fu di grado maggior che tu non credi:
He, in whose footsteps you see me tread,
all peeled and naked as he is,
was greater in degree than you would think.
INF C16 37-39 / DANTE
nepote fu de la buona Gualdrada;
Guido Guerra ebbe nome, e in sua vita
fece col senno assai e con la spada.
His name is Guido Guerra, grandson
of the good lady Gualdrada, and in his life
he achieved much in council and with his sword.
GUALDRADA DE’ RAVIGNANI: THE VIRTUOUS & LOVELY DAUGHTER OF BELLINCION BERTI WAS THE ANCESTRESS OF THE CONTI
GUIDI, THE GREAT FEUDAL NOBLES OF THE CASENTINO.
…AND BEHIND.
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI:
INF C16 40-42 / DANTE
INF C16 40-42 / KLINE
L'altro, ch'appresso me la rena trita,
è Tegghiaio Aldobrandi, la cui voce
nel mondo sù dovria esser gradita.
The other, that treads the sand behind me,
is Tegghiaio Aldobrandi, whose words
should have been listened to in the world.
INF C16 43-45 / DANTE
E io, che posto son con loro in croce,
Iacopo Rusticucci fui, e certo
la fiera moglie più ch'altro mi nuoce».
And I, who am placed with them in torment,
am Jacopo Rusticucci, and certainly
my fierce wife injured me more than anything else.
98
INF C16 46-51 / KLINE
If I had been sheltered from the fire, I would have dropped down among them below, and I believe my teacher would
have allowed it, but as I would have been burned and baked, myself, my fear overcame the goodwill, that made me
eager to embrace them.
DANTE WARMS TO THEIR FAME AND THEIR INTEREST IN HIM.
DANTE:
INF C16 52-54 / DANTE
INF C16 52-54 / KLINE
Poi cominciai: «Non dispetto, ma doglia
la vostra condizion dentro mi fisse,
tanta che tardi tutta si dispoglia,
Then I began: Your condition stirred sadness,
not contempt, in me; so deeply,
it will not soon be gone,
INF C16 55-57 / DANTE
tosto che questo mio segnor mi disse
parole per le quali i' mi pensai
che qual voi siete, tal gente venisse.
when my guide spoke words to me by which
I understood such men as yourselves
might be approaching.
INF C16 58-60 / DANTE
Di vostra terra sono, e sempre mai
l'ovra di voi e li onorati nomi
con affezion ritrassi e ascoltai.
I am of your city, and I have always heard,
and rehearsed, your names
and your deeds with affection.
INF C16 61-63 / DANTE
Lascio lo fele e vo per dolci pomi
I leave the gall behind, and go towards the
promessi a me per lo verace duca;
sweet fruits promised me by my truthful guide,
ma 'nfino al centro pria convien ch'i' tomi». but first I must go downwards to the centre.
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI (VOICE?):
INF C16 64-66 / DANTE
INF C16 64-66 / KLINE
«Se lungamente l'anima conduca
le membra tue», rispuose quelli ancora,
«e se la fama tua dopo te luca,
He replied, then: That your soul may long
inhabit your body,
and your fame may shine after you,
DANTE notes:
INF C16 64 / KLINE
INF C16 64-66 / DANTE
and that your fame may shine after you,
e se la fama tua dopo te luca,
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI (VOICE?):
INF C16 67-69 / DANTE
INF C16 67-69 / KLINE
cortesia e valor dì se dimora
ne la nostra città sì come suole,
o se del tutto se n'è gita fora;
tell us if courtesy and courage,
still live in our city as they used to.,
or if they have quite forsaken it?
INF C16 70-72 / DANTE
ché Guiglielmo Borsiere, il qual si duole
con noi per poco e va là coi compagni,
assai ne cruccia con le sue parole».
Guglielmo Borsiere, who has been in pain with us,
a little while, and goes along there with our
companions, torments us greatly with what he says.
GUGLIELMO BORSIERE: A RETIRED PURSE-MAKER WHO ENTERED THE ARISTOCRACY. IN
NOTED FOR REFINEMENT & ELOQUENCE. HE DIED SHORTLY BEFORE 1300.
BOCCACCIO’S DECAMERON 1 8
HE IS
DANTE CRIES OUT ‘WITH LIFTED FACE [INF C16 76]’ TO THE WORLD.
DANTE:
INF C16 73-75 / DANTE
INF C16 73-75 / KLINE
«La gente nuova e i sùbiti guadagni
orgoglio e dismisura han generata,
Fiorenza, in te, sì che tu già ten piagni».
New men, and sudden wealth,
have created pride and excess in you,
Florence, so that you already weep for it.
INF C16 76-78 / KLINE
So I cried with lifted face and the three, who took this for an answer, gazed at one another, as one gazes at the truth.
99
THE 3 SPIRITS ‘GAZE AT ONE ANOTHER AS ONE GAZES AT THE TRUTH’ [INF C16 77-78].
JACOPO RUSTICUCCI:
INF C16 79-81 / DANTE
INF C16 79-81 / KLINE
«Se l'altre volte sì poco ti costa»,
rispuoser tutti, «il satisfare altrui,
felice te se sì parli a tua posta!
They replied together: Happy are you, if,
by speaking according to your will,
it costs so little for you to satisfy others!
INF C16 82-84 / DANTE
Però, se campi d'esti luoghi bui
e torni a riveder le belle stelle,
quando ti gioverà dicere "I' fui",
So, if If you escape these gloomy spaces,
and turn, and see the beauty of the stars again,
when you will be glad to say: “I was”.,
GUIDO GUERRA:
INF C16 84 / KLINE
INF C16 84 / DANTE
when you will be glad to say: “I was”.,
quando ti gioverà dicere "I' fui",
TEGGHIAIO:
INF C16 85-87 / KLINE
INF C16 85-87 / DANTE
See that you tell people of us.
Then they broke up their circle, and,
as they ran, their swift legs seemed wings.
fa che di noi a la gente favelle».
Indi rupper la rota, e a fuggirsi
ali sembiar le gambe loro isnelle.
RUSTICUCCI:
INF C16 85 / DANTE
INF C16 85 / KLINE
fa che di noi a la gente favelle».
see See that you tell people of us.
THE 3 RUN SWIFTLY OFF.
GERYON
♫
HUMMING / BOOMING WATERFALL –
LOUDER THAN BEFORE
**********
INF C16 87
Or the waterfall noise is provided by a real waterfall.
INF C16 88-114 / KLINE
An Amen could not have been said in so quick a time as their vanishing took, at which my Master was pleased to
depart. I followed him. We had gone only a little way, when the sound of the water came so near us, that if we had
been speaking we would hardly have heard each other. Like that river (the first that takes its own course to the eastern
seaboard, south of Monte Veso, where the Po rises, on the left flank of the Apennines, and is called Acquacheta above,
before it falls to its lower bed, and loses its name, to become the Montone, at Forlì) which, plunging through a fall,
echoes from the mountain, above San Benedetto, where there should be refuge for a thousand, so, down from a steep
bank, we found that tainted water re-echoing, so much so that, in a short while, it would have dazed our hearing.
DANTE:
INF C16 106-108 / DANTE
INF C16 106-108 / KLINE
Io avea una corda intorno cinta,
e con essa pensai alcuna volta
prender la lonza a la pelle dipinta.
I had a cord tied round me,
and with it I had once thought to catch
the leopard with the spotted skin.
INF C16 109-111 / DANTE
Poscia ch'io l'ebbi tutta da me sciolta,
sì come 'l duca m'avea comandato,
porsila a lui aggroppata e ravvolta.
After I had completely unwound it from
myself, as my guide commanded, I held it
out to him, gathered up and coiled.
100
INF C16 112-114 / DANTE
Ond' ei si volse inver' lo destro lato,
e alquanto di lunge da la sponda
la gittò giuso in quell' alto burrato.
Then he turned towards the right, and
threw the end of it, away from the edge
a little, down into the steep gulf.
INF C16 115-120 / KLINE
I said to myself: ‘Surely something strange will follow this new sign of our intentions, that my master tracks with his
eyes, as it falls.’ Ah, how careful men should be with those who do not only see our actions but, with their
understanding, see into our thoughts!
VIRGIL:
INF C16 121-123 / DANTE
INF C16 121-123 / KLINE
El disse a me: «Tosto verrà di sovra
ciò ch'io attendo e che il tuo pensier sogna;
tosto convien ch'al tuo viso si scovra».
He said to me: ‘That which I expect will soon
ascend, and, what your thoughts speculate
about, will soon be apparent to your sight.
DANTE:
INF C16 124-126 / DANTE
INF C16 124-126 / KLINE
Sempre a quel ver c'ha faccia di menzogna
de' l'uom chiuder le labbra fin ch'el puote,
però che sanza colpa fa vergogna;
A man should always shut his lips, as far as he can,
to truth that seems like falsehood,
since he incurs reproach,
INF C16 127-129 / DANTE
ma qui tacer nol posso; e per le note
di questa comedìa, lettor, ti giuro,
s'elle non sien di lunga grazia vòte,
though he is blameless, but I cannot be silent here:
and Reader, I swear to you, by the words of this
Commedia, that they may not be free of lasting
favour,
INF C16 130-132 / DANTE
ch'i' vidi per quell' aere grosso e scuro
venir notando una figura in suso,
maravigliosa ad ogne cor sicuro,
that I saw a shape, Geryon, marvellous,
to every unshaken heart , come swimming
upwards through the dense, dark air,
A SHAPE: GERYON, THE TYPE OF FRAUD OR MALICE. A COMBINATION OF THE MYTHICAL (THREE-BODIED IN THE MYTH, BUT NOT
HERE) & MONSTROUS KING OF SPAIN WHOM HERCULES KILLED FOR THE SAKE OF HIS HERD OF CATTLE (VIRGIL’S AENEID 8 202
& OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 9 184), & THE CREATURES OF THE BOTTOMLESS PIT IN REVELATION 9.
INF C16 133-135 / DANTE
sì come torna colui che va giuso
talora a solver l'àncora ch'aggrappa
o scoglio o altro che nel mare è chiuso,
as a man rises, who has gone down, sometime,
to loose an anchor, caught on a rock
or something else, hidden in the water,
INF C16 136 / DANTE
che 'n sù si stende e da piè si rattrappa.
who spreads his arms out, and draws up his feet.
♫
MUSIC ? * * * * * * * * * *
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO AS THE MUSIC SWIRLS.
DANTE:
INF C16 133-135 / KLINE
INF C16 133-135 / DANTE
as a man rises, who has gone down, sometime, sì come torna colui che va giuso
to loose an anchor, caught on a rock
talora a solver l'àncora ch'aggrappa
or something else, hidden in the water,
o scoglio o altro che nel mare è chiuso,
INF C16 136 / DANTE
who spreads his arms out, and draws up his feet.che 'n sù si stende e da piè si rattrappa.
101
CANTO 17
VIRGIL:
INF C17 1-3 / DANTE
INF C17 1-3 / KLINE
Ecco la fiera con la coda aguzza,
che passa i monti e rompe i muri e l'armi!
Ecco colei che tutto 'l mondo appuzza!
See the The savage beast Geryon, with the pointed
tail, that crosses mountains, and pierces walls and
armour, : see him, who pollutes the whole world.
INF C17 4-6 / KLINE
So my guide began to speak to me, and beckoned to him to land near the end of our rocky path,
DANTE:
INF C17 7 / KLINE
INF C17 7 / DANTE
and that vile image of Fraud came on,
E quella sozza imagine di froda
INF C17 7-9 / DANTE
E quella sozza imagine di froda
sen venne, e arrivò la testa e 'l busto,
ma 'n su la riva non trasse la coda.
and that vile image of Fraud came comes on,
and grounded grounds his head and chest,
but did not lift his tail onto the cliff.
INF C17 10-12 / DANTE
La faccia sua era faccia d'uom giusto,
tanto benigna avea di fuor la pelle,
e d'un serpente tutto l'altro fusto;
His face was is the face of an honest man,
it had so benign and outward aspect:
all the rest was a serpent’s body.
INF C17 13-15 / DANTE
due branche avea pilose insin l'ascelle;
lo dosso e 'l petto e ambedue le coste
dipinti avea di nodi e di rotelle.
Both arms were are covered with hair to the
armpits; the back and chest and both flanks
were adorned with knots and circles.
INF C17 16-18 / DANTE
Con più color, sommesse e sovraposte
non fer mai drappi Tartari né Turchi,
né fuor tai tele per Aragne imposte.
Tartars or Turks never made cloths with more colour,
background and embroidery:
nor did Arachne spread such webs on her loom.
ARACHNE: A LYDIAN GIRL, THE DAUGHTER OF IDMON, FAMOUS FOR HER WEAVING, WHO CHALLENGED
CONTEST, WAS DEFEATED & CHANGED INTO A SPIDER. (OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 6 42 ETC.)
PALLAS ATHENE TO A
INF C17 19-21 / DANTE
Come talvolta stanno a riva i burchi,
che parte sono in acqua e parte in terra,
e come là tra li Tedeschi lurchi
As the boats rest on the shore, part in water
and part on land, and as
the beaver, among the guzzling Germans,
INF C17 22-24 / DANTE
lo bivero s'assetta a far sua guerra,
così la fiera pessima si stava
su l'orlo ch'è di pietra e 'l sabbion serra.
readies himself for a fight, so that
worst of savage creatures lay lies on the cliff
that surrounds the great sand with stone.
INF C17 25-27 / DANTE
Nel vano tutta sua coda guizzava,
torcendo in sù la venenosa forca
ch'a guisa di scorpion la punta armava.
The whole of his tail glanced glances into space,
twisting the venomous fork upwards,
that armed arms the tip, like a scorpion.
INF C17 28-30 / DANTE
INF C17 28-30 / KLINE
Lo duca disse: «Or convien che si torca
la nostra via un poco insino a quella
bestia malvagia che colà si corca».
My guide said: ‘Now we must direct our path,
somewhat, towards the
malevolent beast that rests there.’
VIRGIL:
102
INF C17 31-51 / KLINE
Then we went down, on the right, and took ten steps towards the edge, so that we could fully avoid the sand and
flame, and when we reached him, I saw people sitting near the empty space, a little further away, on the ground. Here
my Master said: ‘Go and see the state of them, so that you may take away a complete knowledge of this round. Talk
briefly with them: I will speak with this creature, until you return, so that he might carry us on his strong shoulders.’
So, still on the extreme edge of the seventh circle, I went, all alone, to where the sad crew were seated. Their grief was
gushing from their eyes: they kept flicking away the flames and sometimes the burning dust, on this side, or on that,
with their hands, no differently than dogs do in summer, now with their muzzle, now with their paws, when they are
bitten by fleas, or gnats, or horse-flies.
INF C17 52-78 / KLINE
When I set my eyes on the faces of several of them, on whom the grievous fire falls, I did not recognise any, but I saw
that a pouch hung from the neck of each, that had a certain colour, and a certain seal, and it seemed their eye was
feeding on it. And as I came among them, looking, I saw, on a golden-yellow purse, an azure seal that had the look
and attitude of a lion. Then my gaze continuing on its track, I saw another, red as blood, showing a goose whiter than
butter. And one who had his white purse stamped with an azure, pregnant sow, said to me: ‘What are you doing in this
pit? Now go away, and since you are still alive, know that my neighbour, Vitaliano, will come to sit here on my left. I,
a Paduan, am with these Florentines. Many a time they deafen my hearing, shouting: ‘Let the noble knight come, who
will carry the purse with three eagles’ beaks.’ Then he distorted his mouth, and thrust his tongue out, like an ox licking
its nose, and I, dreading lest a longer stay might anger him, who had warned me to make a brief stay, turned back from
those weary spirits.
DANTE
VERSIFIES IN A MURMUR AS HE AND
WHERE GERYON RESTS.
VIRGIL
DESCEND A ROCK-CLINKING PATH TO
DANTE:
INF C17 19-21 / KLINE
INF C17 19-21 / DANTE
As the boats rest on the shore, part in water
and part on land, and as
the beaver, among the guzzling Germans,
Come talvolta stanno a riva i burchi,
che parte sono in acqua e parte in terra,
e come là tra li Tedeschi lurchi
readies himself for a fight, so that
worst of savage creatures lay on the cliff
that surrounds the great sand with stone.
lo bivero s'assetta a far sua guerra,
così la fiera pessima si stava
su l'orlo ch'è di pietra e 'l sabbion serra.
The whole of his tail glanced into space,
twisting the venomous fork upwards,
that armed the tip, like a scorpion.
Nel vano tutta sua coda guizzava,
torcendo in sù la venenosa forca
ch'a guisa di scorpion la punta armava.
INF C17 22-24 / DANTE
INF C17 25-27 / DANTE
VIRGIL :
INF C17 79-81 / DANTE
INF C17 79-81 / KLINE
Trova' il duca mio ch'era salito
già su la groppa del fiero animale,
e disse a me: «Or sie forte e ardito.
I found my guide, who had already mounted
the flank of the savage creature
and he said to me: Be firm and brave.
INF C17 82-84 / DANTE
Omai si scende per sì fatte scale;
monta dinanzi, ch'i' voglio esser mezzo,
sì che la coda non possa far male».
Now we must descend by means of these stairs:
you You climb in front: I wish to be in the centre,
so that the tail may not harm you.
INF C17 85-90 / KLINE
Like a man whose fit of the quartan fever is so near, that his nails are already pallid, and he shakes all over, by keeping in
the shade, so I became when these words were said: shame in me, that makes the servant brave in the presence of a
worthy master.
DANTE SPEAKS QUAVERINGLY…
DANTE:
INF C17 91-93 / KLINE
INF C17 91-93 / DANTE
I set myself on those vast shoulders.
I' m'assettai in su quelle spallacce;
I wished to say: “See that you clasp me tight.” sì volli dir, ma la voce non venne
but my voice did not come out as I intended.
com' io credetti: `Fa che tu m'abbracce'.
103
…THEN MORE FIRMLY.
DANTE:
INF C17 91-93 / DANTE
INF C17 91-93 / KLINE
I' m'assettai in su quelle spallacce;
sì volli dir, ma la voce non venne
com' io credetti: `Fa che tu m'abbracce'.
I set myself on those vast shoulders.
I wished to say: “See that you clasp me tight.”
but my voice did not come out as I intended.
INF C17 94-96 / KLINE
He, who helped me in other difficulties, at other times, embraced me, as soon as I mounted, and held me upright.
VIRGIL:
INF C17 97-99 / DANTE
INF C17 97 / KLINE
e disse: «Gerïon, moviti omai:
le rote larghe, e lo scender sia poco;
pensa la nova soma che tu hai».
Then he said: Now move, Geryon!
Make large circles, and let your descent be gentle:
think of the strange burden that you carry.
DANTE READS./.SPEAKS TO THE AUDIENCE. VIRGIL INTERPRETS A VERSE OR SO BEHIND.
♫
INFERNAL: SPIRALLING DESCENT TO GREAT EVILS * * * * * * * * * *
INF C17 98
VIRGIL:
INF C17 100-102 / DANTE
INF C17 100-102 / KLINE
Come la navicella esce di loco
in dietro in dietro, sì quindi si tolse;
cliff,
e poi ch'al tutto si sentì a gioco,
turns
As a little boat goes backwards, backwards, from
its mooring, so the The monster left leaves the
and when he felt himself quite free, he turned
his tail around,
INF C17 103-105 / DANTE
là 'v' era 'l petto, la coda rivolse,
e quella tesa, come anguilla, mosse,
e con le branche l'aere a sé raccolse.
to where his chest had been, and stretching,
flicked flicks it like an eel, and gathered gathers
the air towards him with his paws.
DANTE:
INF C17 100-102 / KLINE
INF C17 100-102 / DANTE
As a little boat goes backwards, backwards,
from its mooring, so the monster left
the cliff, and when he felt himself
quite free, he turned his tail around
Come la navicella esce di loco
in dietro in dietro, sì quindi si tolse;
e poi ch'al tutto si sentì a gioco,
to where his chest had been, and stretching,
flicked it like an eel, and gathered
the air towards him with his paws.
là 'v' era 'l petto, la coda rivolse,
e quella tesa, come anguilla, mosse,
e con le branche l'aere a sé raccolse.
I do not believe the fear was greater
when Phaëthon let slip the reins, and the
sky was scorched, as it still appears to be;
Maggior paura non credo che fosse
quando Fetonte abbandonò li freni,
per che 'l ciel, come pare ancor, si cosse;
INF C17 103-105 / DANTE
INF C17 106-108 / DANTE
PHAËTON: COULD NOT CONTROL THE SUN-CHARIOT OF HIS FATHER, PHOEBUS APOLLO, & WAS DESTROYED BY JUPITER.
INF C17 109-111 / DANTE
104
or when poor Icarus felt the feathers melt from né quando Icaro misero le reni
his arms, as the wax was heated, and his father sentì spennar per la scaldata cera,
Daedalus cried: “You are going the wrong
gridando il padre a lui «Mala via tieni!»,
way!”
INF C17 112-114 / DANTE
as mine was when I saw myself surrounded
by the air, on all sides, and saw everything
vanish, except the savage beast.
che fu la mia, quando vidi ch'i' era
ne l'aere d'ogne parte, e vidi spenta
ogne veduta fuor che de la fera.
He goes down, swimming slowly, slowly:
wheels and falls: but I do not see it except by
the wind, on my face, and from below.
Ella sen va notando lenta lenta;
rota e discende, ma non me n'accorgo
se non che al viso e di sotto mi venta.
INF C17 115-117 / DANTE
LEONARDO RICCI (‘NATURE’ 7/4/2005) SUGGESTS THAT THIS ANTICIPATES GALILEO’S OBSERVATION THAT TRAVELLERS ON A
SHIP OFTEN CANNOT TELL WITHOUT VISUAL CUES WHETHER THEY ARE AT REST OR IN MOTION. GALILEO MADE EXPERIMENTS
AND PRODUCED HIS THEORY OF INVARIANCE, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT THE LAWS OF PHYSICS REMAIN UNCHANGED BY CHANGES
IN VELOCITY. THAT IS TRUE UP TO NEAR THE SPEED OF LIGHT. G.K.
INF C17 115-117 / DANTE
Ella sen va notando lenta lenta;
rota e discende, ma non me n'accorgo
se non che al viso e di sotto mi venta.
He goes down, swimming slowly, slowly:
wheels and falls: but I do not see it except by
the wind, on my face, and from below.
INF C17 118-120 / KLINE
Already I heard the cataract, on the right, make a terrible roaring underneath us, at which I stretched my neck out, with
my gaze downwards.
FAINT MOANING IS HEARD.
INF C17 121-126 / KLINE
Then I was more afraid to dismount, because I saw fires and heard moaning, so that I cowered, trembling all over. And
then I saw what I had not seen before, our sinking and circling through the great evils that drew close on every side. our
sinking and circling through the great evils
that drew close on every side.
DANTE:
INF C17 127-129 / KLINE
INF C17 127-129 / DANTE
As the falcon, that has been long on the wing,
descends wearily, without seeing bird or lure,
making the falconer cry: “Ah, you stoop!”
Come 'l falcon ch'è stato assai su l'ali,
che sanza veder logoro o uccello
fa dire al falconiere «Omè, tu cali!»,
INF C17 130-132 / KLINE
INF C17 130-132 / DANTE
and settles far from his master
disdainful and sullen,
so Geryon set us down,
discende lasso onde si move isnello,
per cento rote, e da lunge si pone
dal suo maestro, disdegnoso e fello;
VIRGIL:
INF C17 133 / DANTE
INF C17 133 / KLINE
così ne puose al fondo Gerïone
so Geryon set sets us down,
DANTE:
INF C17 133-135 / DANTE
INF C17 133-135 / KLINE
così ne puose al fondo Gerïone
al piè al piè de la stagliata rocca,
e, discarcate le nostre persone,
at the base, close to the foot
of the fractured rock,
and relieved of our weight,
INF C17 136 / DANTE
si dileguò come da corda cocca.
CANTO 18
and shot shoots off, like an arrow from the bow.
105
1ST & 2ND CHASM: PANDERS, SEDUCERS, FLATTERERS
…AND BEGINS DESCRIBING THE POPULACE OF THE 1ST CHASM.
DANTE:
INF C18 22-24 / KLINE
INF C18 22-24 / DANTE
On the right I saw new pain and torment,
and new tormentors,
with which the first chasm was filled.
A la man destra vidi nova pieta,
novo tormento e novi frustatori,
di che la prima bolgia era repleta.
In its depths the sinners were naked: on our
Nel fondo erano ignudi i peccatori;
INF C18 25 / DANTE
INF C18 22-24 / DANTE
A la man destra vidi nova pieta,
novo tormento e novi frustatori,
di che la prima bolgia era repleta.
On the right: I saw new New pain and torment,
and new tormentors,
with which the first chasm was filled.
INF C18 25 / DANTE
Nel fondo erano ignudi i peccatori;
In its depths the Naked sinners were naked: on our
INF C18 25-27 / DANTE
Nel fondo erano ignudi i peccatori;
dal mezzo in qua ci venien verso 'l volto,
di là con noi, ma con passi maggiori,
In its depths the sinners were naked: on our inner
side of its central round they came come towards us,
on the outer side, with us, but with larger steps.
INF C18 28-30 / DANTE
come i Roman per l'essercito molto,
l'anno del giubileo, su per lo ponte
hanno a passar la gente modo colto,
So the people of Rome, in that year, at the Jubilee,
because of the great crowds, initiated this means
to pass the people over the bridge: As in Jubilee year
at Rome, great crowds of people were got
over the bridge.
INF C18 31-33 / DANTE
che da l'un lato tutti hanno la fronte
verso 'l castello e vanno a Santo Pietro,
da l'altra sponda vanno verso 'l monte.
those on the one side all had their faces towards
Castello Sant’ Angelo, and went to St Peter’s:
those on the other towards Monte Giordano.
INF C18 34-36 / DANTE
Di qua, di là, su per lo sasso tetro
vidi demon cornuti con gran ferze,
che li battien crudelmente di retro.
On this side and on that, along the fearful rock,
I saw horned Horned demons with large whips,
who struck strike them fiercely, from behind.
INF C18 37-39 / DANTE
Ahi come facean lor levar le berze
a le prime percosse! già nessuno
le seconde aspettava né le terze.
Ah, how How it made them they quicken
their steps at the first stroke!
Truly none None waited wait for the second or third.
THE SHADE OF VENEDICO CACCIANEMICO PASSES WITH A LOWERED FACE [INF C18 43-48].
VENEDICO DE’ CACCIANEMICO (CACCIANIMICO)
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BOLOGNA.
DESCRIPTION
*
----? - 1289 +
*
--?
AGE : *
A LEADING GUELPH, EXILED IN 1289. A FOLLOWER OF MARQUIS OBIZZO II D’ESTE OF FERRARA. HE ASSISTED THE MARQUIS IN
THE SEDUCTION OF VENEDICO’S SISTER, GHISOLA, IN 1270.
DANTE:
106
INF C18 40-42 / DANTE
INF C18 40-42 / KLINE
Mentr' io andava, li occhi miei in uno
furo scontrati; e io sì tosto dissi:
Già di veder costui non son digiuno.
As I went on, my eyes encountered one of them,
and instantly I said:
This shade I have seen before.
INF C18 43-45 / KLINE
So I stopped to scrutinise him, and the kind guide stood still with me and allowed me to return a little.
DANTE:
INF C18 46-48 / DANTE
INF C18 46-48 / KLINE
E quel frustato celar si credette
bassando 'l viso; ma poco li valse,
ch'io dissi: «O tu che l'occhio a terra gette,
And that scourged spirit thought to hide himself,
lowering his face, but it did not help, since I said:
You, who cast your eyes on the ground,
INF C18 49-51 / DANTE
se le fazion che porti non son false,
Venedico se' tu Caccianemico.
Ma che ti mena a sì pungenti salsa
if the features you display are not an illusion,
you are Venedico Caccianemico:
but what led you into such a biting pickle?
VENEDICO CACCIANEMICO:
INF C18 52-54 / DANTE
INF C18 52-54 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: Mal volontier lo dico;
ma sforzami la tua chiara favella,
che mi fa sovvenir del mondo antico.
And he to me: I tell it unwillingly,
but your clear speech that makes me remember
the former world, compels me.
INF C18 55-57 / DANTE
I' fui colui che la Ghisolabella
condussi a far la voglia del marchese,
come che suoni la sconcia novella.
It was I who induced the fair Ghisola
to do the Marquis of Este’s will,
however unpleasant the story sounds.
INF C18 58-60 / DANTE
E non pur io qui piango bolognese;
anzi n'è questo loco tanto pieno,
che tante lingue non son ora apprese
And I am not the only Bolognese that weeps here:
this place is so filled with us,
that as many tongues are no longer taught
INF C18 61-63 / DANTE
a dicer `sipa' tra Sàvena e Reno;
e se di ciò vuoi fede o testimonio,
rècati a mente il nostro avaro seno.
to say sipa for sì, between the Sàvena’s stream
that is west, and the Reno’s, that is east of Bologna.
If you want assurance and testimony of it, recall to
mind our avaricious hearts.
A WHIP CRACKS.
DEMON:
INF C18 64-66 / KLINE
INF C18 64-66 / DANTE
And as he spoke, a demon struck him with
his whip, and said: Away, pander!
there are no women here to sell.
Così parlando il percosse un demonio
de la sua scurïada, e disse: «Via,
ruffian! qui non son femmine da conio».
INF C18 66 / DANTE
ruffian! qui non son femmine da conio».
There are no women here to sell.
INF C18 67-72 / KLINE
I rejoined my guide: then in a few steps we came to where a causeway ran from the cliff. This we climbed very easily,
and, turning to the right on its jagged ridge, we moved away from that eternal round.
VIRGIL:
INF C18 73-75 / KLINE
INF C18 73-75 / DANTE
When we reached the arch where it yawns
below to leave a path for the scourged,
my guide said: Wait, and let
Quando noi fummo là dov' el vaneggia
di sotto per dar passo a li sferzati,
lo duca disse: Attienti, e fa che feggia
INF C18 75 / DANTE
lo duca disse: Attienti, e fa che feggia
my guide said: Wait, and let
107
INF C18 76-78 / DANTE
lo viso in te di quest' altri mal nati,
ai quali ancor non vedesti la faccia
però che son con noi insieme andati».
the aspect of those other ill-born
spirits strike you, whose faces you have not yet seen,
since they have been going in our direction.
INF C18 79-81 / KLINE
We viewed their company from the ancient bridge, travelling towards us on the other side, chased likewise by the
whip.
INF C18 82-84 / DANTE
E 'l buon maestro, sanza mia dimanda,
mi disse: «Guarda quel grande che vene,
e per dolor non par lagrime spanda:
Without my asking, the kind Master said to me:
Look at that great soul who comes,
and seems not to shed tears of pain:
INF C18 85-87 / DANTE
quanto aspetto reale ancor ritene!
Quelli è Iasón, che per cuore e per senno
li Colchi del monton privati féne.
what a royal aspect he still retains!
That is Jason, who, by wisdom and courage,
robbed the Colchians of the Golden Fleece.
JASON: THE ARGONAUT; SON OF AESON, WHO WAS SENT BY HIS UNCLE PELIAS, FROM IOLCHOS IN THESSALY, TO BRING BACK
THE GOLDEN FLEECE FROM COLCHIS. HE SAILED THE ARGO, THE FIRST SHIP, WITH THE ARGONAUTS, THE GREEK HEROES.
MEDEA THE WITCH, THE KING’S DAUGHTER, FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM & HELPED HIM BUT HE ABANDONED HER FOR CREUSA.
(OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 7 & 8.) HE ALSO ABANDONED HYPSIPYLE, DAUGHTER OF KING THOAS OF LEMNOS, WHOM SHE HAD
SAVED WHEN THE WOMEN OF THE ISLAND KILLED THE MALE INHABITANTS. (OVID: METAMORPHOSES 13 399.)
DANTE notes:
INF C18 86 / KLINE
INF C18 86 / DANTE
That is Jason, who, by wisdom and courage,
Quelli è Iasón, che per cuore e per senno
INF C18 88-90 / DANTE
INF C18 88-90 / KLINE
Ello passò per l'isola di Lenno
poi che l'ardite femmine spietate
tutti li maschi loro a morte dienno.
He sailed by the Isle of Lemnos,
after the bold merciless women there
had put all their males to death.
VIRGIL:
INF C18 91-93 / DANTE
Ivi con segni e con parole ornate
Isifile ingannò, la giovinetta
che prima avea tutte l'altre ingannate.
There with gifts and sweet words he deceived
the young Hypsipyle, who had saved
her father by deceiving all the rest.
INF C18 94-96 / DANTE
Lasciolla quivi, gravida, soletta;
tal colpa a tal martiro lui condanna;
e anche di Medea si fa vendetta.
He left her there, pregnant and lonely:
such guilt condemns him to such torment:
and revenge is also taken for his abandoning Medea.
INF C18 97-99 / DANTE
Con lui sen va chi da tal parte inganna;
e questo basti de la prima valle
sapere e di color che 'n sé assanna».
With him go all who practise like deceit,
and let this be enough for knowledge of the first
chasm., and those whom it swallows.
DANTE notes:
INF C18 97-99 / KLINE
INF C18 97-99 / DANTE
With him go all who practise like deceit,
Con lui sen va chi da tal parte inganna;
INF C18 100-118 / KLINE
We had already come to where the narrow causeway crosses the second bank and forms a buttress to a second arch.
Here we heard people whining in the next chasm, and blowing with their muzzles, and striking themselves with their
palms. The banks were crusted, with a mould from the fumes below that condenses on them, and attacks the eyes and
nose. The floor is so deep, that we could not see any part of it, except by climbing to the ridge of the arch, where the
rock is highest. We came there, and from it, in the ditch below, I saw people immersed in excrement, that looked as if
it flowed from human privies. And while I was searching it, down there, with my eyes, I saw one with ahead so
smeared with ordure, that it was not clear if he was clerk or layman.
DANTE LOOKS INTO THE DARKNESS
ALESSIO DEGLI INTERMINEI:
108
INF C18 118-120 / DANTE
INF C18 118-119 / KLINE
Quei mi sgridò: «Perché se' tu sì gordo
di riguardar più me che li altri brutti?».
E io a lui: «Perché, se ben ricordo,
He shouted at me: Why are you so keen to gaze
at me more than the other mired ones?
And I to him: Because, if I remember rightly,
ALESSIO DEGLI INTERMINEI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
LUCCA.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
----? - 1295 +
*
--?
AGE : *
ALESSIO DEGLI INTERMINEI: MEMBER OF A PROMINENT FAMILY OF LUCCAN WHITES, ALIVE IN THE YEAR 1295.
DANTE:
INF C18 121-123 / DANTE
INF C18 121-123 / KLINE
già t'ho veduto coi capelli asciutti,
e se' Alessio Interminei da Lucca:
però t'adocchio più che li altri tutti».
I have seen you before with dry head,
and you are: Alessio Interminei of Lucca:
so I eye you more than all the others.
ALESSIO DEGLI INTERMINEI:
INF C18 124-126 / DANTE
INF C18 124-126 / KLINE
Ed elli allor, battendosi la zucca:
Qua giù m'hanno sommerso le lusinghe
ond' io non ebbi mai la lingua stucca.
And he then, beating his forehead: The flatteries
Flatteries, of which my tongue never
wearied, have brought me down to this!
DANTYE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C18 124-126 / KLINE
INF C18 124-126 / DANTE
And he then, beating his forehead:
The flatteries, of which my tongue never
wearied, have brought me down to this!
Ed elli allor, battendosi la zucca:
Qua giù m'hanno sommerso le lusinghe
ond' io non ebbi mai la lingua stucca.
INF C18 127-132 / KLINE
At which my guide said to me: ‘Advance your head a little, so that your eyes can clearly see, over there, the face of
that filthy and dishevelled piece, who scratches herself, with her soiled nails, now crouching down, now rising to her
feet. It is Thais, the whore, who answered her lover’s message, in which he asked: “Do you really return me great
thanks?” with “No, wondrous thanks.” And let our looking be sated with this.’
CANTO 19
SIMONISTS
DANTE ADDRESSES ANOTHER SOUL.
DANTE:
INF C19 1-3 / DANTE
INF C19 1-3 / KLINE
O Simon mago, o miseri seguaci
che le cose di Dio, che di bontate
deon essere spose, e voi rapaci
O Simon Magus. O you, his rapacious,
wretched followers, who prostitute,
for gold and silver,
SIMON MAGUS: SIMON OF SAMARIA (SIMON THE SORCERER), REBUKED (ACTS VIII 9-24) BY ST PETER FOR THINKING
‘THE GIFT OF GOD MAY BE PURCHASED WITH MONEY’. HENCE: ‘SIMONISTS’ (‘SIMONIACS’) WHO TRADE IN HOLY OFFICES.
THAT
INF C19 4-6 / DANTE
per oro e per argento avolterate,
or convien che per voi suoni la tromba,
però che ne la terza bolgia state.
the things of God that should be wedded
to virtue! Now the trumpets must sound for you,
since you are in the third chasm.
109
INF C19 7-9 / KLINE
Already we had climbed to the next arch, onto that part of the causeway that hangs right over the centre of the ditch.
DANTE LOOKS AROUND HIM.
DANTE:
INF C19 10-12 / KLINE
INF C19 10-12 / DANTE
O Supreme Wisdom… how great the art is,
that you display, in the heavens, on earth, and
in the underworld, and how justly your
virtue acts.
O somma sapïenza, quanta è l'arte
che mostri in cielo, in terra e nel mal mondo,
e quanto giusto tua virtù comparte!
INF C19 10-12 / DANTE
O somma sapïenza, quanta è l'arte
O Supreme Wisdom… how great the art is,
che mostri in cielo, in terra e nel mal mondo, that you display, in the heavens, on earth, and in
e quanto giusto tua virtù comparte!
the underworld, and how justly your virtue acts.
INF C19 13-15 / DANTE
Io vidi per le coste e per lo fondo
piena la pietra livida di fóri,
d'un largo tutti e ciascun era tondo.
On the sides and floor of the fosse,
I saw the livid stone is full of holes,
all of one width, and each one rounded.
INF C19 16-18 / DANTE
Non mi parean men ampi né maggiori
che que' che son nel mio bel San Giovanni,
fatti per loco d'i battezzatori;
They seemed seem no narrower or larger,
than those in my beautiful Baptistery of St John,
made as places to protect those baptising,
DANTE BROODS, AND DECIDES TO BRING UP SOMETHING WHICH RANKLES.
DANTE:
INF C19 19-21 / DANTE
INF C19 19-21 / KLINE
l'un de li quali, ancor non è molt' anni,
rupp' io per un che dentro v'annegava:
e questo sia suggel ch'ogn' omo sganni.
one of which I broke, not many years ago,
to aid a child inside: and let this be a sign
of the truth to end all speculation.
I BROKE: DANTE EXPLAINS HERE, TO COUNTER CHARGES, PRESUMABLY OF SACRILEGE MADE AGAINST HIM.
HE RETURNS TO THE PRESENT.
DANTE:
INF C19 22-24 / DANTE
INF C19 22-24 / KLINE
Fuor de la bocca a ciascun soperchiava
d'un peccator li piedi e de le gambe
infino al grosso, e l'altro dentro stava.
From the mouth of each hole, a sinner’s feet
and legs emerged emerge, up to the calf,.
and the rest remained inside.
INF C19 25-27 / DANTE
Le piante erano a tutti accese intrambe;
per che sì forte guizzavan le giunte,
che spezzate averien ritorte e strambe.
The soles were are all on fire: so that the joints
quivered quiver so strongly, that they would have
snapped snap grass ropes and willow branches.
INF C19 28-45 / DANTE
As the flame of burning oily liquids moves only on the surface, so it was in their case, from the heels to the legs. I
said: ‘Master, who is that, who twists himself about, writhing more than all his companions, and licked by redder
flames?’ And he to me: ‘If you will let me carry you down there by the lower bank, you will learn from him about his
sins and himself.’ And I: ‘Whatever pleases you is good for me: you are my lord, and know that I do not deviate from
your will, also you know what is not spoken.’ Then we came onto the fourth buttress: we turned and descended, on the
left, down into the narrow and perforated depths. The kind master did not let me leave his side until he took me to the
hole occupied by the one who so agonised with his feet.
110
DANTE ADDRESSES AN UPSIDE-DOWN SPIRIT, POPE NICHOLAS III, IMPERSONATED BY CLIO.
POPE NICHOLAS III
----? - 1280
*
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
ROME.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE CLIO.
NICHOLAS III, GIOVANNI GUATANI ORSINI: POPE FROM 1277 TO 1280. THE ORSINI FAMILY EMBLEM WAS A SHE-BEAR. HE HAD
TO WAIT 23 YEARS IN HELL UNTIL THE DEATH OF BONIFACE HIS SUCCESSOR IN 1303, WHO WOULD IN TURN WAIT ONLY ELEVEN
YEARS FOR THE DEATH OF CLEMENT V. (BENEDICT XI, IN BETWEEN THEM, POPE FROM 1303-1304, WAS NOT GIVEN TO
SIMONY.)
DANTE:
INF C19 46-48 / KLINE
INF C19 46-48 / DANTE
I began to speak: O, unhappy spirit, whoever «O qual che se' che 'l di sù tien di sotto,
you are, who have with your upper parts below, anima trista come pal commessa»,
planted like a stake, form words if you can.
comincia' io a dir, «se puoi, fa motto».
INF C19 46-48 / DANTE
«O qual che se' che 'l di sù tien di sotto,
anima trista come pal commessa»,
comincia' io a dir, «se puoi, fa motto».
I began to speak: …O, unhappy spirit, whoever
you are, who have with your upper parts below,
planted like a stake, form words if you can.
INF C19 49-51 / KLINE
I stood like the friar who gives confession to a treacherous assassin, who, after being fixed in the ground, calls the
confessor back, and so delays his burial.
POPE NICHOLAS III / CLIO:
INF C19 52-54 / DANTE
INF C19 52-54 / KLINE
Ed el gridò: Se' tu già costì ritto?,
se' tu già costì ritto, Bonifazio?
Di parecchi anni mi mentì lo scritto.
And he cried: Are you standing there already,
Boniface? The book of the future
has deceived me by several years.
INF C19 55-57 / DANTE
Se' tu sì tosto di quell' aver sazio
per lo qual non temesti tòrre a 'nganno
la bella donna, e poi di farne strazio?».
Are you sated, so swiftly, with that wealth, for
which you did not hesitate to seize the Church,
our lovely lady, and then destroy her?
INF C19 58-60 / KLINE
I became like those who stand, not knowing what has been said to them, and unable to reply, exposed to scorn.
VIRGIL:
INF C19 61-63 / DANTE
INF C19 61-63 / KLINE
Allor Virgilio disse: «Dilli tosto:
"Non son colui, non son colui che credi"»;
e io rispuosi come a me fu imposto.
Then Virgil said: Quickly, say to him,
“I am not him, I am not whom you think.”
And I replied as I was instructed.
DANTE:
INF C19 62 / KLINE
INF C19 62 / DANTE
I am not him, I am not whom you think.
Non son colui, non son colui che credi
POPE NICHOLAS III / CLIO:
INF C19 64-66 / KLINE
INF C19 64-66 / DANTE
At which the spirit’s legs writhed fiercely:
Per che lo spirto tutti storse i piedi;
then, sighing, in a tearful voice, he said to me: poi, sospirando e con voce di pianto,
Then what do you want of me?
mi disse: «Dunque che a me richiedi?
INF C19 66 / DANTE
mi disse: «Dunque che a me richiedi?
Then what What do you want of me?
INF C19 67-69 / DANTE
Se di saper ch'i' sia ti cal cotanto,
che tu abbi però la ripa corsa,
sappi ch'i' fui vestito del gran manto;
If it concerns you so much to know, who I am,
that you have left the ridge,
know that I wore the Great Mantle,
111
INF C19 70-72 / DANTE
e veramente fui figliuol de l'orsa,
cupido sì per avanzar li orsatti,
che sù l'avere e qui me misi in borsa.
and truly I was son of the Orsini she-bear,
so eager to advance her cubs,
that I pursed up wealth, above, and here myself.
DANTE notes:
Pope Nicholas III.
POPE NICHOLAS III / CLIO:
INF C19 73-75 / DANTE
INF C19 73-75 / KLINE
Di sotto al capo mio son li altri tratti
che precedetter me simoneggiando,
per le fessure de la pietra piatti.
The other simonists, who came before me,
are drawn down below my head,
cowering inside the cracks in the stone.
INF C19 76-78 / DANTE
Là giù cascherò io altresì quando
verrà colui ch'i' credea che tu fossi,
allor ch'i' feci 'l sùbito dimando.
I too will drop down there, when Boniface comes,
the one I mistook you for.
when I put my startled question.
INF C19 79-81 / DANTE
Ma più è 'l tempo già che i piè mi cossi
e ch'i' son stato così sottosopra,
ch'el non starà piantato coi piè rossi:
But the extent of time, in which I have baked my
feet, and stood like this, reversed, is already longer
than the time he shall stand planted in turn with
glowing feet,
INF C19 82-84 / DANTE
ché dopo lui verrà di più laida opra,
di ver' ponente, un pastor sanza legge,
tal che convien che lui e me ricuopra.
since, after him, will come Clement,
the lawless shepherd, of uglier actions,
fit indeed to cap Boniface and me.
POPE BONIFACE VIII: BENEDETTO GAETANI WHO SUCCEEDED CELESTINE IN 1294 & IMPRISONED HIM AFTER HIS ABDICATION
UNTIL HIS DEATH. HIS POLITICAL MANOEUVRES ARE THE BACKGROUND TO THE CRITICAL THREE YEARS OF DANTE’S POLITICAL
LIFE, LEADING TO HIS EXILE FROM FLORENCE & DESCRIBED IN CIACCO’S PROPHECY. FOR DANTE, HE REPRESENTED THE
CORRUPT PAPACY, PLACED IN HELL FOR HIS VINDICTIVENESS; FALSITY; PROFLIGATE SIMONY; AN ULTRAMONTANE
SACERDOTALISM, THAT SAW THE EMPIRE AS SUBORDINATE TO THE CHURCH, WITH ONLY A DERIVED AUTHORITY; & HIS
DESTRUCTIVE POLICIES THAT LED TO FRENCH CONTROL OF FLORENCE. BONIFACE DIED IN OCTOBER 1303 & WAS SUCCEEDED
BY BENEDICT XI. BONIFACE IS THEREFORE THE POPE AT THE TIME OF THE VISION IN 1300.
INF C19 85-87 / KLINE
He will be a new Jason, the high priest, whom we read about in Maccabees: and as his king Antiochus was compliant,
so will Philip be, who governs France.’
DANTE PACES, COMPOSING IN HIS HEAD. BACK WITH POPE NICHOLAS HE STARTS QUIETLY
AND GETS LOUDER. VIRGIL GETS THE IDEA ACROSS TO ENGLISH-ONLY SPEAKERS, A VERSE
OR SO BEHIND.
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
INF C19 88-90 / DANTE
INF C19 88-90 / KLINE
Io non so s'i' mi fui qui troppo folle,
ch'i' pur rispuosi lui a questo metro:
«Deh, or mi dì: quanto tesoro volle
I do not know if I was too foolhardy then,
but I answered him in this way:
Ah, now tell me, how much wealth
INF C19 91-93 / DANTE
Nostro Segnore in prima da san Pietro
ch'ei ponesse le chiavi in sua balìa?
Certo non chiese se non "Viemmi retro".
the Lord demanded of Peter, before he gave
the keys of the Church into his keeping? Surely he
demanded nothing, saying only: “Follow me.”
INF C19 94-96 / DANTE
Né Pier né li altri tolsero a Matia
oro od argento, quando fu sortito
al loco che perdé l'anima ria.
Nor did Peter or the other Apostles, ask gold
or silver of Matthias., when he was chosen to fill
the place that Judas, the guilty soul, had forfeited.
SAINT MATTHIAS: CHOSEN BY THE APOSTLES (ACTS I 13-26), TO FILL THE PLACE AMONG THE DISCIPLES FORFEITED BY JUDAS.
112
INF C19 97-99 / DANTE
Però ti sta, ché tu se' ben punito;
e guarda ben la mal tolta moneta
ch'esser ti fece contra Carlo ardito.
So, remain here, since you are justly punished,
and keep well the ill-gotten money,
that made you so bold against Charles of Anjou.
CHARLES OF ANJOU: DEFEATED MANFRED, KING OF SICILY, AT BENEVENTO IN 1265 & BECAME KING OF NAPLES & SICILY. HE
SCHEMED TO BRING DOWN THE EASTERN EMPEROR, MICHAEL PALEOLOGUS, BUT WAS OPPOSED BY KING PERE II OF ARAGON
WHOSE WIFE CONSTANCE (COSTANZA) WAS MANFRED’S DAUGHTER. ON EASTER MONDAY 1282 THE APPROACHES OF A YOUNG
FRENCH SOLDIER TO A YOUNG SICILIAN WOMAN IN PALERMO PROVOKED HIS MURDER BY HER HUSBAND, AND, WHILE THE BELLS
CALLED VESPERS, IT LED TO A CHAIN REACTION OF ANTI-FRENCH MASSACRES IN SICILY. PERE WAS ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE
OF A POWER VACUUM & OUSTED CHARLES FROM SICILY. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETY-YEAR ‘WAR OF THE VESPERS’.
HE & PETER (PERE) BOTH DIED IN 1285.
CHARLES REFUSED TO ACCEPT ONE OF POPE NICHOLAS III’S NIECES AS A WIFE FOR HIS NEPHEW & NICHOLAS DEPRIVED
CHARLES OF THE OFFICE OF SENATOR OF ROME & ACCEPTED MONEY FROM MICHAEL PALEOLOGUS, HELPING TO FUEL
CHARLES’S ANTI-BYZANTINE POLICY.
INF C19 100-102 / DANTE
E se non fosse ch'ancor lo mi vieta
la reverenza de le somme chiavi
che tu tenesti ne la vita lieta,
And were it not that I not am still restrained by
reverence for the great keys that you held
in your hand in the joyful life,
INF C19 103-105 / DANTE
io userei parole ancor più gravi;
ché la vostra avarizia il mondo attrista,
calcando i buoni e sollevando i pravi.
I would use even more forceful words.,
since your avarice grieves the world,
trampling the good, and raising the wicked.
INF C19 106-108 / DANTE
Di voi pastor s'accorse il Vangelista,
quando colei che siede sopra l'acque
puttaneggiar coi regi a lui fu vista;
John the Evangelist spoke of shepherds such as
you, when he saw “the great whore that sitteth
upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth
have committed fornication”,
JOHN THE EVANGELIST: ST JOHN THE DIVINE, AUTHOR OF THE REVELATION. DANTE REFERS TO THE VISION OF THE GREAT
WHORE. THE SEVEN HEADS IN REVELATION 8 ARE INTERPRETED AS THE SEVEN VIRTUES OR SACRAMENTS & THE TEN HEADS AS
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, KEPT AS LONG AS THE POPES WERE VIRTUOUS.
INF C19 109-111 / DANTE
quella che con le sette teste nacque,
e da le diece corna ebbe argomento,
fin che virtute al suo marito piacque.
she that was born with seven heads and,
as long as virtue pleased her spouse,
had justification.
INF C19 112-114 / DANTE
Fatto v'avete dio d'oro e d'argento;
e che altro è da voi a l'idolatre,
se non ch'elli uno, e voi ne orate cento?
You have made a god for yourselves of gold and
silver, and how do you differ from the idolaters,
except that he worships one image and you a
hundred?
INF C19 115-117 / DANTE
Ahi, Costantin, di quanto mal fu matre,
non la tua conversion, ma quella dote
that
che da te prese il primo ricco patre!».
Ah, Constantine, how much evil you gave birth
to, not in your conversion, but in that Donation
the first wealthy Pope, Sylvester, received from
you!
THE DONATION OF CONSTANTINE: A FORGED DOCUMENT OF THE MIDDLE AGES, IN WHICH POPE SYLVESTER I WAS SUPPOSED
TO HAVE CURED CONSTANTINE OF LEPROSY, HE THEN RESOLVING TO TRANSFER HIS CAPITAL TO CONSTANTINOPLE, LEAVING
THE POPE WITH TEMPORAL POWER IN ITALY. DANTE SAW THIS AS THE SOURCE OF THE FATAL INVOLVEMENT OF THE CHURCH IN
TEMPORAL POWER &, AS A CONSEQUENCE. THE EMPIRE’S INVOLVEMENT IN COVETING THE SPIRITUAL POWER OF THE CHURCH.
HE CONSIDERED THE DONATION INVALID AS THE EMPEROR COULD NOT RELINQUISH TEMPORAL POWER, NOR COULD THE POPE
RECEIVE IT. (SEE DANTE DE MONARCHIA 3 10 ETC)
INF C19 118-133 / KLINE
And while I sung these notes to him, he thrashed violently with both his feet, either rage or conscience gnawing him. I
think it pleased my guide, greatly, he had so satisfied an expression, listening to the sound of the true words I spoke.
So he lifted me with both his arms, and when he had me quite upon his breast, climbed back up the path he had
descended, and did not tire of carrying me clasped to him, till he had borne me to the summit of the arch, that crosses
from the fourth to the fifth rampart. Here he set his burden down, lightly: light for him, on the rough steep cliff, that
would be a difficult path for a goat. From there another valley was visible to me.
113
♫
MISERABLE MODE * * * * * * * * * *
INF C19 117
114
CANTO 20
SEERS & SORCERERS: TEARS
DANTE SPEAKS TO BOTH LANGUAGE SECTIONS AS
AN EMOTION RECOLLECTED IN TRANQUILLITY.
ONE WHO KNOWS POETRY COMES FROM
DANTE:
INF C20 1-3 / KLINE
INF C20 1-3 / DANTE
I must make verses of new torments,
and give matter for this twentieth Canto,
of the Inferno that treats of the damned.
Di nova pena mi conven far versi
e dar matera al ventesimo canto
de la prima canzon, ch'è d'i sommersi.
INF C20 1-3 / DANTE
Di nova pena mi conven far versi
e dar matera al ventesimo canto
de la prima canzon, ch'è d'i sommersi.
I must make verses of new torments,
and give matter for this twentieth Canto,
of the Inferno that treats of the damned.
INF C20 4-6 / KLINE
I was now quite ready to look into the ditch, bathed with tears of anguish, which was revealed to me:
HE OPENS HIS BOOK AND READS THROUGH SOME PROSE NOTES.
DANTE:
INF C20 7-9 / DANTE
INF C20 7-9 / KLINE
e vidi gente per lo vallon tondo
venir, tacendo e lagrimando, al passo
che fanno le letane in questo mondo.
I saw people coming, silent and weeping,
through the circling valley, at a pace which
processions, that chant Litanies, take through the
world.
INF C20 10-12 / DANTE
Come 'l viso mi scese in lor più basso,
mirabilmente apparve esser travolto
ciascun tra 'l mento e 'l principio del casso,
When my eyes looked further down on them,
each of them appeared strangely distorted,
between the chin and the start of the chest,
INF C20 13-15 / DANTE
ché da le reni era tornato 'l volto,
e in dietro venir li convenia,
perché 'l veder dinanzi era lor tolto.
since the head was reversed towards the body
and they had to move backwards, since they
were not allowed being unable to look forwards.
INF C20 16-18 / DANTE
Forse per forza già di parlasia
si travolse così alcun del tutto;
ma io nol vidi, né credo che sia.
Perhaps one might be so distorted by palsy,
but I have not seen it,
and do not credit it.
INF C20 19-21 / KLINE
Reader, as God may grant that you profit from your reading, think now yourself how I could keep from weeping,
INF C20 22-24 / DANTE
quando la nostra imagine di presso
vidi sì torta, che 'l pianto de li occhi
le natiche bagnava per lo fesso.
DANTE STOPS, AFFECTED BY EMOTION.
when When I saw our image so contorted, nearby,
that the tears…the tears… from
their eyes bathed their hind parts at the cleft
115
DANTE:
INF C20 23-24 / DANTE
INF C20 23-24 / KLINE
le natiche bagnava per lo fesso.
the tears from their eyes bathed their hind parts
at the cleft.
DANTE DROPS HIS HEAD AND WEEPS PITEOUSLY.
VIRGIL:
INF C20 25-27 / DANTE
INF C20 25-27 / KLINE
Certo io piangea, poggiato a un de' rocchi
del duro scoglio, sì che la mia scorta
mi disse: «Ancor se' tu de li altri sciocchi?
Truly, I wept, leaning against one of the rocks
of the solid cliff, so that my guide said to me:
Are you like other fools?, as well?
VIRGIL:
INF C20 28-30 / DANTE
INF C20 28-30 / KLINE
Qui vive la pietà quand' è ben morta;
chi è più scellerato che colui
che al giudicio divin passion comporta?
Pity is alive here, where it is best forgotten.
Who is more impious than one who bears
compassion for God’s judgement?
VIRGIL TRIES LIFTING DANTE’S HEAD.
VIRGIL:
INF C20 31-33 / KLINE
INF C20 31-33 / DANTE
Lift your head, lift it and see him for whom
earth opened, under the eyes of the Thebans,
at which they all shouted: “Where
are you rushing
Drizza la testa, drizza, e vedi a cui
s'aperse a li occhi d'i Teban la terra;
per ch'ei gridavan tutti: "Dove rui,
INF C20 31-33 / DANTE
Drizza la testa, drizza, e vedi a cui
s'aperse a li occhi d'i Teban la terra;
per ch'ei gridavan tutti: "Dove rui,
Lift your head, lift it. and see See him for whom
earth opened, under the eyes of the Thebans, at
which they all shouted: “Where are you rushing,
INF C20 34-36 / DANTE
Anfïarao? perché lasci la guerra?".
E non restò di ruinare a valle
fino a Minòs che ciascheduno afferra.
Amphiaräus? Why do you quit the battle?”
And he did not stop his downward rush
until he reached Minos, who grasps every sinner.
AMPHIARÄUS: A GREEK SEER, ONE OF THE HEROES AT THE CALYDONIAN BOAR HUNT. IN THE WAR OF THE SEVEN AGAINST
THEBES, AMPHIARAÜS WAS ONE OF THE SEVEN CHAMPIONS. HE FLED ALONG THE BANKS OF THE RIVER ISMENUS IN HIS CHARIOT
AND WAS ON THE POINT OF BEING KILLED WHEN ZEUS CLEFT THE EARTH WITH A THUNDERBOLT. HE VANISHED FROM SIGHT,
CHARIOT & ALL, & NOW REIGNS ALIVE AMONG THE DEAD. (OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 8 317, 9 407-410.)
INF C20 37-39 / DANTE
Mira c'ha fatto petto de le spalle;
perché volle veder troppo davante,
di retro guarda e fa retroso calle.
Note how he has made a chest of his shoulders:
because he willed to see too far beyond him,
he now looks behind and goes backwards.
INF C20 40-42 / DANTE
Vedi Tiresia, che mutò sembiante
quando di maschio femmina divenne,
cangiandosi le membra tutte quante;
See Tiresias, who changed his form,
when he was made into a woman,
all his limbs altering:
TIRESIAS: THEBAN SEER. HE SPENT SEVEN YEARS IN THE FORM OF A WOMAN AFTER STRIKING A PAIR OF COUPLING SNAKES. ON
STRIKING THEM AGAIN HE WAS CHANGED BACK. HE WAS CALLED UPON, BY JUPITER, TO JUDGE AN ARGUMENT, BETWEEN
HIMSELF & JUNO, AS TO WHETHER MEN OR WOMEN GET THE MOST PLEASURE FROM LOVEMAKING. DECIDING IN FAVOUR OF
WOMEN (& SO JUPITER), JUNO STRUCK HIM BLIND. JUPITER GAVE HIM THE POWER OF PROPHECY TO COMPENSATE FOR HIS
BLINDNESS. (OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 3 324-332.)
INF C20 43-45 / DANTE
e prima, poi, ribatter li convenne
li duo serpenti avvolti, con la verga,
che rïavesse le maschili penne.
and later he had to strike the two entwined snakes
with his staff a second time,
before he could resume a male aspect.
116
INF C20 46-51 / KLINE
That one is Aruns, who has his back to Tiresias’s belly, he who in the mountains of Tuscan Luni, where the Carrarese
hoe, who live beneath them, had a cave to live in, among the white marble, from which he could gaze at the stars and
the sea, with nothing to spoil his view.’
MANTUA & MANTO
DANTE’S EYES ARE STILL SHUT. VIRGIL COAXES HIM WITH SOFTER MATTERS.
VIRGIL:
INF C20 52-54 / DANTE
INF C20 52-54 / KLINE
E quella che ricuopre le mammelle,
che tu non vedi, con le trecce sciolte,
e ha di là ogne pilosa pelle,
And she that hides her breasts, that you cannot see,
with her flowing tresses
and has all hairy skin on the other side,
INF C20 55-57 / DANTE
Manto fu, che cercò per terre molte;
poscia si puose là dove nacqu' io;
onde un poco mi piace che m'ascolte.
was Manto, who searched through many lands,
then settled where I was born, about which it
pleases me to have you listen to me speak a while.
MANTUA: VIRGIL WAS ACTUALLY BORN IN ANDES, NEAR MANTUA.
MANTO: THE DAUGHTER OF TIRESIAS & APOLLO’S PROPHETIC PRIESTESS, THE PYTHONESS, AT DELPHI,
RHACIUS, KING OF CARIA & BORE HIM (OR APOLLO) A SON MOPSUS WHO WAS A FAMOUS SOOTHSAYER.
VIRGIL DESCRIBED AN ALTERNATIVE VERSION OF MANTUA’S FOUNDING IN AENEID 11 98-200.
WHO MARRIED
INF C20 58-60 / DANTE
Poscia che 'l padre suo di vita uscìo
e venne serva la città di Baco,
questa gran tempo per lo mondo gio.
After her father departed from life, and Thebes
the city of Bacchus, came to be enslaved,
she roamed the world a long time.
INF C20 61-63 / DANTE
Suso in Italia bella giace un laco,
a piè de l'Alpe che serra Lamagna
sovra Tiralli, c'ha nome Benaco.
A lake, Lake Garda, lies at the foot of the Alps,
up in beautiful Italy,
where Germany is closed off beyond the Tyrol.
INF C20 64-66 / DANTE
Per mille fonti, credo, e più si bagna
tra Garda e Val Camonica e Pennino
de l'acqua che nel detto laco stagna.
Mount Apennino, between the town
of Garda and Val Camonica,
is bathed by the water that settles in the lake.
INF C20 67-69 / DANTE
Loco è nel mezzo là dove 'l trentino
pastore e quel di Brescia e 'l veronese
segnar poria, s'e' fesse quel cammino.
In the middle there is a place where the Bishops
of Trent, Brescia, and Verona might equally
give the blessing if they went that way.
INF C20 70-72 / DANTE
Siede Peschiera, bello e forte arnese
da fronteggiar Bresciani e Bergamaschi,
ove la riva 'ntorno più discese.
A strong and beautiful fortress stands
where the shoreline is lowest,
to challenge the Brescians and Bergamese.
DANTE OPENS HIS BOOK AND BEGINS MAKING NOTES.
VIRGIL:
INF C20 73-75 / DANTE
INF C20 73-75 / KLINE
Ivi convien che tutto quanto caschi
ciò che 'n grembo a Benaco star non può,
e fassi fiume giù per verdi paschi.
There, all the water that cannot remain
in the breast of Lake Garda has to descend
through the green fields, and form a river.
117
INF C20 76-78 / DANTE
Tosto che l'acqua a correr mette co,
non più Benaco, ma Mencio si chiama
fino a Governol, dove cade in Po.
As soon as the water has its head
it is no longer Garda, but Mincio,
down to Governolo where it joins the Po.
INF C20 79-81 / DANTE
Non molto ha corso, ch'el trova una lama,
ne la qual si distende e la 'mpaluda;
e suol di state talor essere grama.
It has not flowed far before it It finds the level,
on which it spreads and makes a marsh there,
and in summer tends to be unwholesome.
INF C20 82-84 / DANTE
Quindi passando la vergine cruda
vide terra, nel mezzo del pantano,
sanza coltura e d'abitanti nuda.
Manto, the wild virgin, passing that way,
saw untilled land,
naked of inhabitants, among the fens.
DANTE notes:
INF C20 82-84 / KLINE
INF C20 82-84 / DANTE
Manto, the wild virgin, passing that way,
Quindi passando la vergine cruda
VIRGIL:
INF C20 85-87 / DANTE
INF C20 85-87 / KLINE
Lì, per fuggire ogne consorzio umano,
ristette con suoi servi a far sue arti,
e visse, e vi lasciò suo corpo vano.
There, to avoid all human contact, she stayed,
with her followers, to practise practised her arts
and lived there and left her empty body.
INF C20 88-90 / DANTE
Li uomini poi che 'ntorno erano sparti
s'accolsero a quel loco, ch'era forte
per lo pantan ch'avea da tutte parti.
Then the people who were scattered round
gathered together, in that place, which was
well defended by the marshes on every side.
INF C20 91-93 / DANTE
Fer la città sovra quell' ossa morte;
e per colei che 'l loco prima elesse,
Mantüa l'appellar sanz' altra sorte.
They built the city over those dead bones
and without other augury, called it Mantua,
after her who first chose the place.
INF C20 94-96 / DANTE
Già fuor le genti sue dentro più spesse,
prima che la mattia da Casalodi
da Pinamonte inganno ricevesse.
Once there were more inhabitants,
before Casalodi, was foolishly
deceived by Pinamonte.
CASALODI: THE BRESCIAN COUNTS OF CASALODI HELD MANTUA IN 1272 BUT WERE UNPOPULAR & THREATENED WITH
EXPULSION. PINAMONTE DE BUONACCORSI, OBTAINED CONTROL, BY ADVISING ALBERTO DA CASALODI TO BANISH THE
POWERFUL NOBLES, AS A SOURCE OF TROUBLE. HE THEN TOOK OVER, MASSACRED ANY OPPONENTS, EXPELLED ALBERTO &
HELD MANTUA UNTIL 1291.
INF C20 97-99 / DANTE
Però t'assenno che, se tu mai odi
originar la mia terra altrimenti,
la verità nulla menzogna frodi».
So I charge you, if you ever hear another story
of the origin of my city,
do not let falsehoods destroy the truth.
DANTE FINALLY PRODUCES A VERSE.
DANTE:
INF C20 82-84 / KLINE
INF C20 82-84 / DANTE
Manto, the wild virgin, passing that way,
saw untilled land,
naked of inhabitants, among the fens.
Quindi passando la vergine cruda
vide terra, nel mezzo del pantano,
sanza coltura e d'abitanti nuda.
DANTE IS QUITE HIMSELF AGAIN. HE MAKES HIMSELF MORE COMFORTABLE.
DANTE:
118
INF C20 100-102 / DANTE
INF C20 100-102 / KLINE
E io: «Maestro, i tuoi ragionamenti
mi son sì certi e prendon sì mia fede,
che li altri mi sarien carboni spenti.
And I said: Master, your speeches are so sound
to me, and so hold my belief,
that any others are like spent ashes.
INF C20 103-105 / DANTE
Ma dimmi, de la gente che procede,
se tu ne vedi alcun degno di nota;
ché solo a ciò la mia mente rifiede».
But tell me about the people who are passing,
if you see any of them worth noting,
since my mind returns to that alone.
VIRGIL LOOKS AT UNSEEN SPIRITS.
DANTE:
INF C20 106 / KLINE
INF C20 106 / DANTE
Then he said to me: That one, whose beard
stretches
Allor mi disse: «Quel che da la gota
VIRGIL:
INF C20 106-108 / DANTE
INF C20 106-108 / KLINE
Allor mi disse: «Quel che da la gota
porge la barba in su le spalle brune,
fu--quando Grecia fu di maschi vòta,
Then he said to me: That one, whose beard stretches
down from his cheeks, over his dusky shoulders, was
an augur, when Greece was so emptied of males,
INF C20 109-111 / DANTE
sì ch'a pena rimaser per le cune-augure, e diede 'l punto con Calcanta
in Aulide a tagliar la prima fune.
for the expedition against Troy, that there were
scarcely any left, even in their cradles. Like Calchas
at Aulis, he He set the moment for cutting loose the
first cable.
CALCHAS: AT AULIS: WHERE THE GREEK SHIPS WAITED FOR A FAVOURABLE WIND TO SAIL TO TROY. CALCHAS INTERPRETED
THE APPEARANCE OF A SNAKE THAT KILLED A SPARROW & HER EIGHT FLEDGLINGS & THEN WAS TURNED TO STONE. IT
SIGNIFIED THAT TROY WOULD BE TAKEN IN THE TENTH YEAR AFTER A LONG STRUGGLE. HE ALSO PROPHESIED THAT THEY MUST
PACIFY ARTEMIS BY SACRIFICING AGAMEMNON’S DAUGHTER, IPHIGENIA. AFTER THAT THE NORTH-EAST WIND DROPPED & THE
FLEET WAS ABLE TO SET SAIL FOR TROY.
EURYPYLUS: ACCORDING TO SINON, SENT BY THE GREEKS TO THE ORACLE OF APOLLO TO ASK FOR A FAVOURABLE WIND HOME
TO GREECE. THE ORACLE REPLIED BY REMINDING THEM OF CALCHAS AT AULIS & TELLING THEM TO SHED BLOOD AGAIN. (SEE
VIRGIL’S TRAGEDÍA & THE AENEID 2 110 ET SEQ.
INF C20 112-114 / DANTE
Euripilo ebbe nome, e così 'l canta
l'alta mia tragedìa in alcun loco:
ben lo sai tu che la sai tutta quanta.
Eurypylus is his name, and my high Poem
sings of it in a certain place:
you know it well, who know the whole thing.
AENEID 2 108-109 / KLINE
AENEID 2 108-109 / VIRGIL
The Greeks, weary with the long war, often
longed to leave Troy and execute a retreat:
'Saepe fugam Danai Troia cupiere relicta
moliri et longo fessi discedere bello;
DANTE:
AENEID 2 108-109 / VIRGIL
AENEID 2 108-109 / KLINE
'Saepe fugam Danai Troia cupiere relicta
moliri et longo fessi discedere bello;
The Greeks, weary with the long war, often
longed to leave Troy and execute a retreat:
VIRGIL:
INF C20 115-117 / DANTE
INF C20 115-117 / KLINE
Quell' altro che ne' fianchi è così poco,
Michele Scotto fu, che veramente
de le magiche frode seppe 'l gioco.
The other, so thin about the flanks, is
Michael Scott, who truly understood
the fraudulent game of magic.
MICHAEL SCOTT OF BALWEARIE (C 1109-1250): STUDIED AT OXFORD, PARIS & TOLEDO. HE FOLLOWED THE EMPEROR
FREDERICK II TO HIS COURT, THOUGH HE DIED IN SCOTLAND. HE TRANSLATED ARISTOTLE & WAS A FAMOUS ASTROLOGER.
FOR A CHANGE, DANTE INTERPRETS VIRGIL’S ITALIAN.
119
VIRGIL:
&
DANTE:
INF C20 118-120 / DANTE
INF C20 118-120 / KLINE
Vedi Guido Bonatti; vedi Asdente,
ch'avere inteso al cuoio e a lo spago
ora vorrebbe, ma tardi si pente.
See Guido Bonatti, see Asdente, the toothless one
who wishes now he had attended more to his
shoemaker’s leather and cord, but repents too late.
GUIDO BONATTI: PRIVATE ASTROLOGER TO GUIDO DA MONTEFELTRO. HE CAME FROM FORLÌ & WAS A TILER BY TRADE. HE
WROTE LIBER INTRODUCTORIUS AD JUDICIA STELLORUM (C 1170) & WAS CREDITED WITH AIDING GUIDO’S VICTORY OVER THE
FRENCH PAPAL FORCES AT FORLÌ IN 1282.
ASDENTE:
A SHOEMAKER OF PARMA.
SOOTHSAYER. HE DIED C 1284.
ASDENTE (‘THE
TOOTHLESS’), WHOSE REAL NAME WAS
BENVENUTO,
PRACTISED AS A
INF C20 121-123 / DANTE
Vedi le triste che lasciaron l'ago,
la spuola e 'l fuso, e fecersi 'ndivine;
fecer malie con erbe e con imago.
See the The miserable women who abandoned
needle, shuttle and spindle, and became
prophetesses: they made witchcraft, using herbs and
images.
VIRGIL:
INF C20 124-126 / DANTE
INF C20 124-126 / KLINE
Ma vienne omai, ché già tiene 'l confine
d'amendue li emisperi e tocca l'onda
sotto Sobilia Caino e le spine;
But come, now, for Cain with his bundle of thorns,
that Man in the Moon, reaches the western confines
of both hemispheres and touches the waves south of
Seville.,
CAIN: THE
SACRIFICE.
MAN
IN THE
MOON
IN POPULAR SUPERSTITION, WAS
CAIN
CARRYING A BUNDLE OF THORNS AS HE WENT TO
TOUCHES THE WAVES: BY DEDUCTION, THE TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 6.45 ON SATURDAY MORNING.
INF C20 127-129 / DANTE
e già iernotte fu la luna tonda:
ben ten de' ricordar, ché non ti nocque
alcuna volta per la selva fonda».
and already Already, last night, the Moon was full:
you must remember it clearly, since she did
not serve you badly in the deep wood.
DANTE LOOKS UP AT THE ‘SKY’ AND CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C20 127-129 / KLINE
INF C20 127-129 / DANTE
and already, last night, the Moon was full:
you must remember it clearly, since she did
not serve you badly in the deep wood.
e già iernotte fu la luna tonda:
ben ten de' ricordar, ché non ti nocque
alcuna volta per la selva fonda».
So he spoke to me, and meanwhile we
moved on.
Sì mi parlava, e andavamo introcque.
INF C20 130 / DANTE
120
CANTO 21
INF C21 1-6 / KLINE
So from bridge to bridge we went, with other conversation which my Commedía does not choose to recall, and we
were at the summit arch when we stopped to see the next cleft of Malebolge, and more vain grieving, and I found it
marvellously dark.
♫
INFERNAL: SOFT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C20 130
DEMONS
DANTE BEGINS REPORTING ON A SCENE FROM ABOVE IT.
from end of segment
INF C21 16-18 / DANTE
DANTE:
tal, non per foco ma per divin' arte,
bollia là giuso una pegola spessa,
che 'nviscava la ripa d'ogne parte.
so, a A dense pitch boiled boils down there,.
not melted by fire, but by divine skill,
and glued the banks over, on every side.
Quale ne l'arzanà de' Viniziani
bolle l'inverno la tenace pece
a rimpalmare i legni lor non sani,
As, in the Venetian Arsenal, the glutinous
pitch boils in winter,
that they use to caulk the leaking boats
As, in the Venetian Arsenal, the glutinous
pitch boils in winter,
that they use to caulk the leaking boats
Quale ne l'arzanà de' Viniziani
bolle l'inverno la tenace pece
a rimpalmare i legni lor non sani,
INF C21 16-18 / KLINE
INF C21 7-9 / DANTE
INF C21 7-9 / DANTE
See later
INF C21 10-18 / KLINE
they cannot sail; and so, instead one man builds a new boat, another plugs the seams of his, that has made many voyages,
one hammers at the prow, another at the stern, some make oars, and some twist rope, one mends a jib, the other a
mainsail; so, a dense pitch boiled down there, not melted by fire, but by divine skill, and glued the banks over, on every
side.
INF C21 19-21 / KLINE
I saw it, but nothing in it, except the bubbles that the boiling caused, and the heaving of it all, and the cooling part’s
submergence.
VIRGIL shouting:
INF C21 22-24 / DANTE
INF C21 22-24 / KLINE
Mentr' io là giù fisamente mirava,
lo duca mio, dicendo Guarda, guarda!
mi trasse a sé del loco dov' io stava.
While I was gazing fixedly at it,
my guide said: Take care. Take care!
and drew me towards him, from where I stood.
My guide said: Take care. Take care!
lo duca mio, dicendo Guarda! Guarda!
INF C21 23 / DANTE
INF C21 28-30 / KLINE
INF C21 28-30 / DANTE
so that he dare not stop to look:
and behind us I saw a black Demon,
come running up the cliff!
che, per veder, non indugia 'l partire:
e vidi dietro a noi un diavol nero
correndo su per lo scoglio venire.
121
INF C21 25-27 / KLINE
Then I turned round, like one who has to see what he must run from, and who is attacked by sudden fear,
DANTE:
INF C21 29-30 / DANTE
INF C21 28-30 / KLINE
e vidi dietro a noi un diavol nero
correndo su per lo scoglio venire.
and behind us I saw a A black Demon,
come running up the cliff!
INF C21 31-33 / DANTE
INF C21 31-33 / KLINE
Ahi quant' elli era ne l'aspetto fero!
e quanto mi parea ne l'atto acerbo,
con l'ali aperte e sovra i piè leggero!
Ah, how How fierce his aspect was is,
And how cruel he seemed in action,
with his outspread wings and nimble legs!
INF C21 34-36 / DANTE
L'omero suo, ch'era aguto e superbo,
carcava un peccator con ambo l'anche,
e quei tenea de' piè ghermito 'l nerbo.
His high-pointed shoulders carried
a sinner’s two haunches and he held
the sinews of each foot tight.
THE BLACK DEMON SHOUTS BACK TO THE DEMONS BELOW.
BLACK DEMON:
INF C21 37-39 / DANTE
INF C21 37-39 / KLINE
Del nostro ponte disse: Malebranche,
ecco un de li anzïan di Santa Zita!
Mettetel sotto, ch'i' torno per anche
He cried: You, Demons…the Evil-clawed…
see here that’s one of Lucca’s elders the elders of
Lucca., that city whose patron is Santa Zita. Push
him under while I go back for the rest.,
INF C21 40-42 / DANTE
a quella terra, che n'è ben fornita:
ogn' uom v'è barattier, fuor che Bonturo;
Bonturo;
del no, per li denar, vi si fa ita».
back to that That city which is well provided with
them: every one there is a barrator, except
there they make ‘Yes’ of ‘No’ for money.
BONTURO DE’ DATI: HEAD OF THE POPULAR PARTY IN LUCCA & THE WORST BARRATOR OR ABUSER
DANTE’S COMMENT IS IRONIC, PRESUMABLY SINCE BONTURO WAS LOUDEST TO DENY THE OFFENCE.
OF OFFICE IN THE CITY.
INF C21 43-48 / KLINE
He threw him down, then wheeled back along the stony cliff, and never was a mastiff loosed so readily to catch a
thief. The sinner plunged in, and rose again writhing, but the demons under cover of the bridge, shouted: ‘Here the
face of Christ, carved in your cathedral, is of no avail:
DANTE versifies:
INF C21 31-33 / KLINE
INF C21 31-33 / DANTE
Ah, how fierce his aspect was!
And how cruel he seemed in action,
with his outspread wings, and nimble legs!
Ahi quant' elli era ne l'aspetto fero!
e quanto mi parea ne l'atto acerbo,
con l'ali aperte e sovra i piè leggero!
THE VOICES OF THE OTHER DEMONS COME FROM BELOW.
SCARMIGLIONE:
INF C21 49 / DANTE
INF C21 49 / KLINE
qui si nuota altrimenti che nel Serchio!
here you swim differently than in the Serchio:
BARBARICCIA:
INF C21 50-51 / DANTE
INF C21 50-51 / KLINE
Però, se tu non vuo' di nostri graffi,
non far sopra la pegola soverchio».
so, unless you want to try our grapples,
do not emerge above the pitch.
INF C21 52-54 / KLINE
Then they struck at him with more than a hundred prongs, and said: ‘Here you must dance, concealed, so that you steal
in private, if you can.’
122
DANTE:
INF C21 55-57 / DANTE
INF C21 55-57 / KLINE
Non altrimenti i cuoci a' lor vassalli
fanno attuffare in mezzo la caldaia
la carne con li uncin, perché non galli.
No different is it, when the cooks make their
underlings push the meat down into the depths of
the cauldrons with their hooks, to stop it floating.
VIRGIL COMES UP TO DANTE.
VIRGIL:
INF C21 58-60 / DANTE
INF C21 58-60 / KLINE
Lo buon maestro «Acciò che non si paia
che tu ci sia», mi disse, «giù t'acquatta
dopo uno scheggio, ch'alcun schermo t'aia;
The good master said to me: Cower down behind
a rock so that you have a screen to protect yourself,
and so that it is not obvious that you are here,
INF C21 59 / KLINE
INF C21 59 / DANTE
Cower down behind a rock, so that you have
che tu ci sia», mi disse, «giù t'acquatta
INF C21 61-63 / DANTE
INF C21 61-63 / KLINE
e per nulla offension che mi sia fatta,
non temer tu, ch'i' ho le cose conte,
perch' altra volta fui a tal baratta».
and whatever insult is offered to me, have no fear,
since I know these matters,
having been in a similar danger before.
VIRGIL DESCENDS TO THE DEMONS AS DANTE VERSIFIES.
CRIES AND BEATING WINGS OF THE DEMONS ARE HEARD.
DURING
THE LAST VERSE THE
DANTE:
INF C21 7-9 / KLINE
INF C21 7-9 / DANTE
As, in the Venetian Arsenal, the glutinous
pitch boils in winter,
that they use to caulk the leaking boats
Quale ne l'arzanà de' Viniziani
bolle l'inverno la tenace pece
a rimpalmare i legni lor non sani,
they cannot sail; and so, instead one man
builds a new boat, another plugs the seams
of his that has made many voyages,
ché navicar non ponno--in quella vece
chi fa suo legno novo e chi ristoppa
le coste a quel che più vïaggi fece;
INF C21 10-12 / DANTE
INF C21 13-15 / DANTE
one hammers at the prow, another at the stern, chi ribatte da proda e chi da poppa;
some make oars, and some twist rope,
altri fa remi e altri volge sarte;
one mends a jib, the other a mainsail;
chi terzeruolo e artimon rintoppa--:
INF C21 16-18 / DANTE
so, a dense pitch boiled down there,
not melted by fire, but by divine skill,
and glued the banks over, on every side.
tal, non per foco ma per divin' arte,
bollia là giuso una pegola spessa,
che 'nviscava la ripa d'ogne parte.
INF C21 64-66 / DANTE
Poscia passò di là dal co del ponte;
e com' el giunse in su la ripa sesta,
mestier li fu d'aver sicura fronte.
The demons rushed from below
the bridge and turned
their weapons against him,
INF C21 67-69 / DANTE
Con quel furore e con quella tempesta
ch'escono i cani a dosso al poverello
che di sùbito chiede ove s'arresta,
with the storm and fury
with which of a dog rushes rushing at
a poor beggar, who suddenly
INF C21 70 / DANTE
usciron quei di sotto al ponticello,
seeks alms when he stops for alms.
DANTE INTERPRETS VIRGIL AND THE DEMONS BELOW.
123
VIRGIL:
INF C21 71 / KLINE
INF C21 71 / DANTE
But Virgil cried:
None, of you, before you commit an outrage.
e volser contra lui tutt' i runcigli;
ma el gridò: «Nessun di voi sia fello!
INF C21 73-75 / DANTE
INF C21 73-75 / KLINE
Before you touch me with your forks,
Innanzi che l'uncin vostro mi pigli,
DANTE:
INF C21 72 / DANTE
INF C21 72 / KLINE
ma el gridò: «Nessun di voi sia fello!
None, of you, Before you commit an outrage.
INF C21 73-75 / DANTE
INF C21 73-75 / KLINE
Innanzi che l'uncin vostro mi pigli,
traggasi avante l'un di voi che m'oda,
e poi d'arruncigliarmi si consigli».
Before you touch me with your forks,
one of you come over here, to listen,
and then discuss whether you will grapple me.
DEMONS (VOICES):
INF C21 76-78 / KLINE
INF C21 76-78 / DANTE
They all cried: You go, Malacoda Evil Tail
Tutti gridaron: Vada Malacoda!
at which one moved while the others stood still, per ch'un si mosse--e li altri stetter fermi—
and came towards Virgil, saying:
e venne a lui dicendo: Che li approda?
What good will it do him?
DANTE:
INF C21 76 / DANTE
INF C21 76 / KLINE
Tutti gridaron: Vada Malacoda!
They all cried: You go, Malacoda…Evil Tail
DEMONS:
INF C21 78 / KLINE
INF C21 78 / DANTE
and came towards Virgil, saying:
What good will it do him?
e venne a lui dicendo: Che li approda?
DANTE:
INF C21 78 / DANTE
INF C21 78 / KLINE
e venne a lui dicendo: Che li approda?
and came towards Virgil, saying:
What good will it do him?
VIRGIL:
INF C21 79-81 / KLINE
INF C21 79-81 / DANTE
My Master said: Malacoda, do you think
I have come here without
the Divine Will, and propitious fate,
«Credi tu, Malacoda, qui vedermi
esser venuto», disse 'l mio maestro,
«sicuro già da tutti vostri schermi,
safe from all your obstructions?
Let me go by, since it is willed
in Heaven that I show another this wild road.
sanza voler divino e fato destro?
Lascian' andar, ché nel cielo è voluto
ch'i' mostri altrui questo cammin silvestro».
INF C21 82-84 / DANTE
DANTE:
INF C21 79-81 / DANTE
INF C21 79-81 / KLINE
«Credi tu, Malacoda, qui vedermi
esser venuto», disse 'l mio maestro,
«sicuro già da tutti vostri schermi,
My Master said: Malacoda, do you think
I have come here without
the Divine Will, and propitious fate,
INF C21 82-84 / DANTE
sanza voler divino e fato destro?
safe from all your obstructions?
Lascian' andar, ché nel cielo è voluto
Let me go by., since It is willed,
ch'i' mostri altrui questo cammin silvestro». in Heaven, that I show another this wild road.
MALACODA BACKS DOWN, DROPPING HIS HOOK.
124
MALACODA:
INF C21 85-87 / KLINE
INF C21 85-87 / DANTE
Then the demon’s pride was so down,
that he let the hook drop at his feet,
and said to the others: Do not hurt him!
Allor li fu l'orgoglio sì caduto,
ch'e' si lasciò cascar l'uncino a' piedi,
e disse a li altri: Omai non sia feruto.
DANTE:
INF C21 85-87 / DANTE
INF C21 85-87 / KLINE
Allor li fu l'orgoglio sì caduto,
ch'e' si lasciò cascar l'uncino a' piedi,
e disse a li altri: Omai non sia feruto.
Then the demon’s pride was so down,
that he let He lets the hook drop. at his feet,
and said to the others: Do not hurt him!
VIRGIL:
INF C21 88-90 / KLINE
INF C21 88-90 / DANTE
And my guide to me: O you, who are sitting,
crouching, crouching amongst
the bridge’s crags, return to me safely, now!
E 'l duca mio a me: «O tu che siedi
tra li scheggion del ponte quatto quatto,
sicuramente omai a me ti riedi».
DANTE:
INF C21 88-90 / DANTE
INF C21 88-90 / KLINE
E 'l duca mio a me: «O tu che siedi
tra li scheggion del ponte quatto quatto,
sicuramente omai a me ti riedi».
And my guide to me: O you, who are sitting,
crouching, crouching, amongst
the bridge’s crags, return to me safely, now!
INF C21 91-96 / KLINE
At which I moved, and came to him quickly, and the devils all pressed forward so that I was afraid they would not
hold to their orders. So I once saw the infantry, marching out, under treaty of surrender, from Caprona, afraid at
finding themselves surrounded by so many enemies.
DANTE WAITS FOR MORE WORDS, REALISES VIRGIL MEANS HIM, AND DESCENDS TO VIRGIL
AND THE DEMONS. HE CONTINUES INTERPRETING AND NAMING THE SPEAKERS WHILE BEING
THREATENED.
INF C21 97-99 / KLINE
I pressed my whole body close to my guide, and did not take my eyes away from their aspect, which was hostile.
GRAFFIACANE (MELPOMENE ’s VOICE):
INF C21 100-102 / KLINE
INF C21 100-102 / KLINE
They lowered their hooks, and kept saying to Ei chinavan li raffi e Vuo' che 'l tocchi,
one another: Shall I touch him on the backside? diceva l'un con l'altro, in sul groppone?
and answering, Yes. Give him a nick.
E rispondien: Sì, fa che gliel' accocchi.
DANTE:
INF C21 100-101 / DANTE
INF C21 100-101 / KLINE
Ei chinavan li raffi e Vuo' che 'l tocchi,
diceva l'un con l'altro, in sul groppone?.
They lowered their hooks, and kept saying to
one another: Shall I touch him on the backside?
That’s Graffiacane: ‘Scratchdog’ ‘Cat Claw’?
SCARMIGLIONE:
&
DRAGHIGNAZZO:
INF C21 102 / DANTE
INF C21 102 / KLINE
E rispondien: Sì, fa che gliel' accocchi.
and answering, Yes. Give him a nick.
DANTE:
INF C21 102 / DANTE
INF C21 102 / KLINE
E rispondien: Sì, fa che gliel' accocchi.
and answering, Yes. Give him a nick. Scarmiglione
and Draghignazzo: ‘Dragon’s Smirk’
MALACODA:
INF C21 103-105 / KLINE
INF C21 103-105 / DANTE
But that demon who was talking to my guide,
turned round quickly, and said:
Quiet, quiet, Scarmiglione!
Ma quel demonio che tenea sermone
col duca mio, si volse tutto presto
e disse: Posa, posa, Scarmiglione!».
125
DANTE:
INF C21 103-105 / DANTE
INF C21 103-105 / KLINE
Ma quel demonio che tenea sermone
col duca mio, si volse tutto presto
e disse: Posa, posa, Scarmiglione!».
But that demon who was talking to my guide,
turned round quickly, and said:
Quiet!...Malacoda again.
MALACODA ADDRESSES DANTE AND VIRGIL.
MALACODA:
INF C21 106-108 / DANTE
INF C21 106-108 / KLINE
Poi disse a noi: «Più oltre andar per questo
iscoglio non si può, però che giace
tutto spezzato al fondo l'arco sesto.
Then he said to us: It will not be possible
to go any further along this causeway,
since the sixth arch is lying broken at the base,
INF C21 109-111 / DANTE
E se l'andare avante pur vi piace,
andatevene su per questa grotta;
presso è un altro scoglio che via face.
and if you desire still to go forward,
go along this ridge, and nearby
is another cliff that forms a causeway.
INF C21 112-114 / DANTE
Ier, più oltre cinqu' ore che quest' otta,
mille dugento con sessanta sei
anni compié che qui la via fu rotta.
Yesterday, five hours later than this hour,
twelve hundred and sixty-six years were completed,
since this path here was destroyed.
THIS HOUR: BY DEDUCTION (SUPPOSING CHRIST TO BE INCARNATED IN DECEMBER OF BC
THE ANNIVERSARY OF HIS 33RD YEAR IN DECEMBER 33 AD) IT IS 7 AM, SATURDAY.
1 & TO DIE AT AGE 33, CELEBRATING
INF C21 115-117 / DANTE
Io mando verso là di questi miei
a riguardar s'alcun se ne sciorina;
gite con lor, che non saranno rei».
I am sending some of my company here
to see if anyone is out for an airing: go with them,
they will not commit treachery.
MALACODA DEPLOYS HIS MINIONS AND DANTE INTERPRETS.
MALACODA:
&
DANTE:
INF C21 118-120 / DANTE
INF C21 118-120 / KLINE
«Tra'ti avante, Alichino, e Calcabrina»,
cominciò elli a dire, «e tu, Cagnazzo;
e Barbariccia guidi la decina.
Then he began speaking: Advance, Alichino
and Calcabrina and you, Cagnazzo ‘Big Dog':
let Barbariccia lead the ten.
MALACODA:
&
DANTE::
INF C21 118-120 / DANTE
INF C21 118-120 / KLINE
«Tra'ti avante, Alichino, e Calcabrina»,
cominciò elli a dire, «e tu, Cagnazzo;
e Barbariccia guidi la decina.
Then he began speaking: Advance, Alichino
and Calcabrina and you, Cagnazzo ‘Big Dog':
let Barbariccia lead the ten.
INF C21 121-123 / DANTE
Libicocco vegn' oltre e Draghignazzo,
Cirïatto sannuto e Graffiacane
e Farfarello e Rubicante pazzo.
Let Libicocco come as well, and Draghignazzo,
tusked Ciriatto, Graffiacane,
Farfarello, and Rubicante, the mad one.
MALACODA:
INF C21 124-126 / KLINE
INF C21 124-126 / DANTE
Search round the boiling glue:
See these two safe, as far as the other cliff
that crosses the chasms, completely, without
a break.
Cercate 'ntorno le boglienti pane;
costor sian salvi infino a l'altro scheggio
che tutto intero va sovra le tane».
DANTE::
126
INF C21 125 / DANTE
INF C21 124-125 / KLINE
Cercate 'ntorno le boglienti pane;
costor sian salvi infino a l'altro scheggio
Search round the boiling glue;
see See these two safe, as far as the other cliff.
INF C21 127-129 / DANTE
«Omè, maestro, che è quel ch'i' veggio?»,
diss' io, «deh, sanza scorta andianci soli,
se tu sa' ir; ch'i' per me non la cheggio.
I said: O me! Master, what do I see?
Oh, let us go alone, without an escort,
if you know the way: as for me, I would prefer not.
INF C21 130-132 / DANTE
Se tu se' sì accorto come suoli,
non vedi tu ch'e' digrignan li denti
e con le ciglia ne minaccian duoli?».
If you are as cautious as usual,
do Do you not see how they grind their teeth, and
darken their brows, threatening us with mischief?
VIRGIL:
INF C21 133-135 / DANTE
INF C21 133-135 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Non vo' che tu paventi;
lasciali digrignar pur a lor senno,
ch'e' fanno ciò per li lessi dolenti».
And he to me: I do not want you to be afraid:
let Let them grin away at their will:
since they do it for the boiled wretches.
♫
MUSIC?
INFERNAL: SOFT
* * * * * * * * * * OR SILENCE?
DANTE:
INF C21 136-138 / DANTE
INF C21 136-138 / KLINE
Per l'argine sinistro volta dienno;
ma prima avea ciascun la lingua stretta
coi denti, verso lor duca, per cenno;
They turned by the left bank: but first,
each of them had stuck his tongue out, between
his teeth, towards their the leader, as a signal,
HE HESITATES BEFORE CLOSING THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C21 139 / DANTE
INF C21 139 / KLINE
ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta.
and he had made a trumpet of his arse.
INF C21 136-138 / KLINE
INF C21 136-8 / DANTE
They turned by the left bank: but first,
Per l'argine sinistro volta dienno;
each of them had stuck his tongue out, between ma prima avea ciascun la lingua stretta
his teeth, towards their leader, as a signal,
coi denti, verso lor duca, per cenno;
INF C21 139 / DANTE
and he had made a trumpet of his arse.
ed elli avea del cul fatto trombetta.
CANTO 22
DANTE SPEAKS WITH ANGER AND DISGUST.
DANTE:
INF C22 1-3 / DANTE
INF C22 1-3 / KLINE
Io vidi già cavalier muover campo,
e cominciare stormo e far lor mostra,
e talvolta partir per loro scampo;
I have seen cavalry moving camp, before now,
starting a foray, holding muster,
and now and then retiring to escape;
I HAVE SEEN: DANTE INDICATES HE WAS PRESENT AT THE SURRENDER OF THE PISAN FORTRESS OF CAPRONA, BESIEGED BY THE
TUSCAN GUELPHS IN AUGUST 1289.
127
INF C22 4-6 / DANTE
corridor vidi per la terra vostra,
o Aretini, e vidi gir gualdane,
fedir torneamenti e correr giostra;
I have seen war-horses, on your territory,
O Aretines, and seen the foraging parties,
the clash of tournaments, and repeated jousts;
ARETINES: DANTE INDICATES THAT HE SAW THE CAMPAIGNING IN ARETINE TERRITORY IN 1289.
INF C22 7-9 / DANTE
quando con trombe, e quando con campane, now with trumpets, now with bells,
con tamburi e con cenni di castella,
with drums and rampart signals,
e con cose nostrali e con istrane;
with native and foreign devices,
INF C22 10-12 / DANTE
né già con sì diversa cennamella
cavalier vidi muover né pedoni,
né nave a segno di terra o di stella.
♫
but I never yet saw infantry or cavalry,
or ship at sight of shore or star,
move to such an obscene trumpet.
INFERNAL: SOFT * * * * * * * * * *
INF C22 12
AS THE MUSIC SOUNDS, DANTE VERSIFIES AND VIRGIL TRANSLATES.
DANTE:
VIRGIL:
INF C22 13-15 / DANTE
INF C22 13-15 / KLINE
Noi andavam con li diece demoni.
Ahi fiera compagnia! ma ne la chiesa
coi santi, e in taverna coi ghiottoni.
We went with the ten demons: ah, savage company!
But, they They say: “In church with the saints,
and in the inn with the drunkards.”
INF C22 16-18 / DANTE
Pur a la pegola era la mia 'ntesa,
per veder de la bolgia ogne contegno
e de la gente ch'entro v'era incesa.
But my mind was on the boiling pitch,
to see each feature of the chasm
and the people who were burning in it.
INF C22 19-21 / DANTE
Come i dalfini, quando fanno segno
a' marinar con l'arco de la schiena
che s'argomentin di campar lor legno,
Like dolphins, arching their backs,
telling the sailors to get ready
to save their ship,
INF C22 22-24 / DANTE
talor così, ad alleggiar la pena,
mostrav' alcun de' peccatori 'l dosso
e nascondea in men che non balena.
so, now and then, to ease the punishment,
some sinner showed his back
and hid as quick as lightning.
INF C22 25-27 / DANTE
E come a l'orlo de l'acqua d'un fosso
stanno i ranocchi pur col muso fuori,
sì che celano i piedi e l'altro grosso,
As frogs squat, at the edge of
the ditchwater,
with only mouths showing,
INF C22 28-30 / DANTE
sì stavan d'ogne parte i peccatori;
ma come s'appressava Barbariccia,
così si ritraén sotto i bollori.
so the sinners stood on every side:
but they instantly shot beneath
the seething, as Barbariccia approached.
INF C22 31-33 / DANTE
I' vidi, e anco il cor me n'accapriccia,
uno aspettar così, com' elli 'ncontra
ch'una rana rimane e l'altra spiccia;
I saw and my heart still shudders at it,
one linger, just as one frog remains
when the others scatter:
INF C22 34-36 / DANTE
e Graffiacan, che li era più di contra,
li arruncigliò le 'mpegolate chiome
e trassel sù, che mi parve una lontra.
128
and Graffiacane…Scratchdog, who was nearest,
him hooked his pitchy hair, and hauled him up,
looking, to me, like an otter.
INF C22 37-63 / KLINE
I already knew the names of every demon, so I noted them well as they were called, and when they shouted to each
other, listened out. ‘O Rubicante, see you get your clutches in him, and flay him,’ all the accursed tribe cried together.
And I: ‘Master, make out if you can, who that wretch is, who has fallen into the hands of his enemies.’ My guide drew
close to him, and asked him where he came from, and he answered: I was born in the kingdom of Navarre. My mother
placed me as a servant to a lord, since she had borne me to a scurrilous waster of himself and his possessions. Then I
was of the household of good King Thibaut, and there I took to selling offices, for which I serve my sentence in this
heat.’ And Ciriatto, from whose mouth a tusk, like a boar’s, projected on each side, made him feel how one of them
could rip. The mouse had come among the evil cats: but Barbariccia caught him in his arms, and said: ‘Stand back,
while I fork him!’ And, turning to my Master, he said: ‘Ask away, if you want to learn more from him, before
someone else gets at him.’
INF C22 64-87 / KLINE
So my guide said: ‘Now say, do you know any of the other sinners under the boiling pitch that is a Latian?’ And
Ciampolo replied: ‘I separated, just now, from one who was a neighbour of theirs over there, and I wish I were still
beneath him, since I should not then fear claw or hook!’ And Libicocco cried: ‘We have endured this too long!’ and
grappled Ciampolo’s arm with the prong, and, mangling it, carried away a chunk. Draghignazzo, too, wanted a swipe
at the legs, below: at which their leader twisted round and round on them with an evil frown. When they had settled a
little, without waiting, my guide asked Ciampolo, who was still gazing at his wound: ‘Who was he, from whom you
say you unluckily separated, to come on land?’ He replied: ‘It was Friar Gomita, he of Gallura, in Sardinia, the vessel
of every fraud, who held his master’s prisoners in his hands, and treated them so that they all praise him for it, taking
money for himself, and letting them go, quietly: and in his other roles, he was a high, and not a low, barrator.
INF C22 88-123 / KLINE
With him, Don Michel Zanche of Logodoro, keeps company, and their tongues never tire of speaking of Sardinia. O
me! See that other demon grinning: I would speak more, but I fear he is getting ready to claw my skin.’ And their
great captain, turning to Farfarello, who was rolling his eyes to strike, said: ‘Away with you, cursed bird.’ The scared
sinner then resumed: ‘If you want to see or hear Tuscans or Lombards, I will make them come, but let the
Malebranche hold back a little, so that the others may not feel their vengeance, and sitting here, I, who am one, will
make seven appear, by whistling, as we do, when any of us gets out.’ Cagnazzo raised his snout, at these words, and,
shaking his head, said: Hear the wicked scheme he has contrived to plunge back down.’ At which Ciampolo, who had
a great store of tricks, replied: ‘I would be malicious indeed, if I contrived greater sorrow for my companions.’
Alichino, could contain himself no longer, and contrary to the others said to him: ‘If you run, I will not charge after
you, but beat my wings above the boiling pitch: forget the cliff, and let the bank be a course, and see if you alone can
beat us.’ O you that read this, hear of this new sport! They all glanced towards the cliff side, he above all who had
been most unwilling for this. The Navarrese picked his moment well, planted his feet on the ground, and in an instant
plunged, and freed himself from their intention.
INF C22 124-151 / KLINE
Each of the demons was stung with guilt, but Alichino most who had caused the error: so he started up and shouted:
‘You are caught!’ But it helped him little, since wings could not outrun terror: the sinner dived down: and Alichino,
flying, the sinner dived down: and Alichino, flying, lifted his breast. The duck dives like that when the falcon nears,
and the hawk flies back up, angry and thwarted. Calcabrina, furious at the trick, flew on after him, wanting the sinner
to escape, in order to quarrel. And when the barrator had vanished, he turned his claws on his friend, and grappled
with him above the ditch. But the other was sparrow hawk enough to claw him thoroughly, and both dropped down,
into the centre of the boiling pond. The heat, instantly, separated them, but they could not rise, their wings were so
glued up. Barbariccia, lamenting with the rest, made four fly over to the other bank, with all their grappling irons, and
they dropped rapidly on both sides to the shore. They stretched their hooks out to the trapped pair, who were already
scaled by the crust, and we left them, like that, embroiled.
CANTO 23
INF C23 1-18 / KLINE
Silent, alone, and free of company, we went on, one in front, and the other after, like minor friars journeying on their
way. My thoughts were turned, by the recent quarrel, to Aesop’s fable of the frog and mouse, since ‘Si’ and ‘Yes’ are
not better matched, than the one case with the other, if the thoughtful mind couples the beginning and end. And as one
thought springs from another, so another sprang from that, redoubling my fear. I thought of this: ‘Through us, these
are mocked, and with a kind of hurt and ridicule, that I guess must annoy them. If anger is added to their malice, they
will chase after us, fiercer than snapping dogs that chase a leveret.’
THE MUSIC CEASES.
129
DANTE:
INF C23 19-21 / DANTE
INF C23 19-21 / KLINE
Già mi sentia tutti arricciar li peli
de la paura e stava in dietro intento,
quand' io dissi: Maestro, se non celi
I felt my hair already lifting in fright,
and was looking back intently, as I said:
Master, if you do not hide us
INF C23 22-24 / DANTE
te e me tostamente, i' ho pavento
d'i Malebranche. Noi li avem già dietro;
io li 'magino sì, che già li sento».
both, quickly, I am afraid of
Malebranche the Demons: they are
already behind us. I imagine I can hear them now.
VIRGIL:
INF C23 25-27 / DANTE
INF C23 25-27 / KLINE
E quei: «S'i' fossi di piombato vetro,
l'imagine di fuor tua non trarrei
più tosto a me, che quella dentro 'mpetro.
And he: If I were made of silvered glass,
I could not take up your image from outside
more rapidly than I fix that image from within.
INF C23 28-30 / DANTE
Pur mo venieno i tuo' pensier tra ' miei,
con simile atto e con simile faccia,
sì che d'intrambi un sol consiglio fei.
Even now your thoughts were entering mine,
with similar form and action, so that, from both,
I have made one decision.
INF C23 31-33 / DANTE
S'elli è che sì la destra costa giaccia,
che noi possiam ne l'altra bolgia scendere,
noi fuggirem l'imaginata caccia».
If the right bank slopes enough,
that we can drop down, into the next chasm,
we will escape this imaginary pursuit.
INF C23 34-57 / KLINE
He had not finished stating this resolve, when I saw them, not far off, when I saw them, coming with extended wings,
with desire to seize us. My guide suddenly took me up like a mother, wakened by a noise, seeing flames burning in
front of her eyes, who takes her child and runs, and caring more about him than herself, does not even wait to look
around her. Down from the ridge of the solid bank, he threw himself forward on to the hanging cliff that dams up the
side of the next chasm. Water never ran as fast through the conduit, turning a mill-wheel on land, when it reaches the
paddles, as my Master, down that bank, carrying me, against his breast, like a son, and not a companion. His feet had
hardly touched the floor, of the depth below, before the demons were on the heights above us, but it gave him no fear,
since the high Providence, that willed them to be the guardians of the fifth moat, takes, from all of them, the power to
leave it.
AS VIRGIL FINISHES SPEAKING, THE DEMONS’ WINGS ARE HEARD RAPIDLY APPROACHING.
♫
CHASE * * * * * * * * * *
HYPOCRITES: LODERINGO, CATALANO
(used later)
INF C23 58-75 / KLINE
Down below we found a metal-coated tribe, weeping, circling with very slow steps, and weary and defeated in their
aspect. They had cloaks, with deep hoods over the eyes, in the shape they make for the monks of Cologne. On the
outside they are gilded so it dazzles, but inside all leaden, and so heavy, that compared to them Frederick’s were made
of straw. O weary mantle for eternity! We turned to the left again, beside them, who were intent on their sad weeping,
but those people, tired by their burden, came on so slowly that our companions were new at every step. At which, I
said to my guide: Make a search for someone known to us, by name or action, and gaze around as we move by.
FRIAR LODERINGO / THALIA:
INF C23 76-78 / DANTE
INF C23 76-78 / KLINE
E un che 'ntese la parola tosca,
di retro a noi gridò: Tenete i piedi,
voi che correte sì per l'aura fosca!
And one of them, who understood the Tuscan
language, called after us: Rest your feet,
you who speed so fast through the dark air,
130
INF C23 79 / DANTE
Forse ch'avrai da me quel che tu chiedi.
maybe you will get from me what you request.
VIRGIL SPEAKS SOFTLY TO DANTE.
LODERINGO DEGLI ANDALÒ
DATES SIMILAR TO CATALANO
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BOLOGNA. IN 1233 HE FOUNDED THE ORDER OF THE GLORIOUS SAINT MARY: THE FIRST RELIGIOUS ORDER OF
KNIGHTHOOD TO GRANT THE RANK OF MILITISSA TO WOMEN. IT WAS APPROVED BY POPE ALEXANDER IV (?) IN
1261 AND SUPPRESSED BY SIXTUS V IN 1558.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE THALIA.
CATALANO DE’ CATALINI
c 1210-1285?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BOLOGNA.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE TERPSICHORE
FRATI GAUDENTI, OR JOVIAL FRIARS: A DERISIVE NAME FOR THE CAVALIERI DI S. MARIA (ORDO MILITAE BEATAE MARIAE)
FOUNDED AT BOLOGNA IN 1261, WITH THE APPROVAL OF URBAN IV, TO ACT AS MEDIATORS & PROTECT THE WEAK. IT WAS
DISBANDED DUE TO ITS LAXITY. CATALANO DE’ CATALINI (OR DE’ MALAVOLTI) & LODERINGO DEGLI ANDALÒ, A GHIBELLINE,
WERE CALLED TO FLORENCE, FROM BOLOGNA, IN 1266 TO ACT TOGETHER AS PODESTÀ & REFORM THE GOVERNMENT. THEY
WERE ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY & CORRUPTION & EXPELLED. THE GARDINGO DISTRICT (PIAZZA DI FIRENZE) THE SITE OF THE
UBERTI PALACE, WAS DESTROYED IN A RISING AGAINST THE GHIBELLINES.
VIRGIL:
INF C23 80-81 / DANTE
INF C23 80-81 / KLINE
Onde 'l duca si volse e disse: Aspetta,
e poi secondo il suo passo procedi.
At which my guide turned round and said:
Wait, and then go on, at his their pace.
DANTE STUDIES THE FIGURES AS THEY APPROACH AND STUDY HIM.
(from earlier)
DANTE:
INF C23 58-60 / DANTE
INF C23 58-60 / KLINE
Là giù trovammo una gente dipinta
che giva intorno assai con lenti passi,
piangendo e nel sembiante stanca e vinta.
Down below we found a A metal-coated tribe,
weeping, circling with very slow steps,
and weary and defeated in their aspect.
INF C23 61-63 / DANTE
Elli avean cappe con cappucci bassi
dinanzi a li occhi, fatte de la taglia
che in Clugnì per li monaci fassi.
They had cloaks Cloaks with deep hoods
over the eyes, in the shape they make
for the monks of Cologne.
INF C23 58-60 / KLINE
INF C23 58-60 / DANTE
Down below we found a metal-coated tribe,
weeping, circling with very slow steps,
and weary and defeated in their aspect.
Là giù trovammo una gente dipinta
che giva intorno assai con lenti passi,
piangendo e nel sembiante stanca e vinta.
They had cloaks with deep hoods
over the eyes, in the shape they make
for the monks of Cologne.
Elli avean cappe con cappucci bassi
dinanzi a li occhi, fatte de la taglia
che in Clugnì per li monaci fassi.
INF C23 61-63 / DANTE
DANTE’S VERSIFICATION IS INTERRUPTED.
131
INF C23 82-87 / KLINE
I stood still, and saw two spirits, who were eager in mind to join me, but their burden and the narrow path delayed
them. When they arrived, they eyed me askance, for a long time, without speaking a word, then they turned to one
another and said:
FRIAR LODERINGO / THALIA:
INF C23 88-90 / DANTE
INF C23 88-90 / KLINE
Costui par vivo a l'atto de la gola;
e s'e' son morti, per qual privilegio
vanno scoperti de la grave stola?
This one seems alive, by the movement of his throat,
and if they are dead, by what grace are they moving,
free of the heavy cloaks?
FRIAR CATALANO / TERPSICHORE:
INF C23 91-93 / DANTE
INF C23 91-93 / KLINE
Poi disser me: O Tosco, ch'al collegio
de l'ipocriti tristi se' venuto,
dir chi tu se' non avere in dispregio.
Then they said to me: O Tuscan, you have come
to the college of sad hypocrites:
do not scorn to tell us who you are.
DANTE SPEAKS LIKE A CATECHUMEN.
DANTE:
INF C23 94-96 / KLINE
INF C23 94-96 / DANTE
And I to them: I was born, and I grew up,
by Arno’s lovely river, in the great city:
and I am in the body I have always worn.
E io a loro: I' fui nato e cresciuto
sovra 'l bel fiume d'Arno a la gran villa,
e son col corpo ch'i' ho sempre avuto.
INF C23 94-96 / DANTE
E io a loro: I' fui nato e cresciuto
sovra 'l bel fiume d'Arno a la gran villa,
e son col corpo ch'i' ho sempre avuto.
And I to them: I was born and I grew up,
by Arno’s lovely river, in the great city:
and I am in the body I have always worn.
INF C23 97-99 / DANTE
INF C23 97-99 / KLINE
Ma voi chi siete, a cui tanto distilla
quant' i' veggio dolor giù per le guance?
e che pena è in voi che sì sfavilla?
But you, who are you from whom such sadness
is distilled, that I see, coursing down your cheeks?
And what punishment is this, that glitters so?
FRIAR CATALANO / TERPSICHORE:
INF C23 100-102 / DANTE
INF C23 100-102 / KLINE
E l'un rispuose a me: Le cappe rance
son di piombo sì grosse, che li pesi
fan così cigolar le lor bilance.
And one of them replied: Our orange mantles
are of such dense lead, that weights
made of it cause the scales to creak.
INF C23 103-105 / DANTE
Frati godenti fummo, e bolognesi;
io Catalano e questi Loderingo
nomati, e da tua terra insieme presi
We were Fraudi Gaudenti, of that Bolognese order
called the “Jovial Friars”: I am Catalano,
and he is Loderingo, chosen by your city,
INF C23 106-108 / DANTE
come suole esser tolto un uom solingo,
per conservar sua pace; e fummo tali,
ch'ancor si pare intorno dal Gardingo.
as usually only one is chosen, to keep the peace:
and we wrought such as still appears
round your district of Gardingo.
DANTE:
INF C23 109-111 / DANTE
INF C23 109-111 / KLINE
Io cominciai: O frati, i vostri mali...;
ma più non dissi, ch'a l'occhio mi corse
un, crucifisso in terra con tre pali.
O Friars, your evil ... I began, but said no more,
because one came in sight, crucified,
on the ground, with three stakes.
INF C23 112-114 / KLINE
When he saw me he writhed all over, puffing into his beard, and sighing, and Friar Catalano, who saw this,
DANTE STOPS, STARING INTO THE DARKNESS.
132
FRIAR CATALANO / TERPSICHORE:
INF C23 115-117 / DANTE
INF C23 115-117 / KLINE
mi disse: Quel confitto che tu miri,
consigliò i Farisei che convenia
porre un uom per lo popolo a' martìri.
said to me: That one you look at who is transfixed,
is Caiaphas the high priest, who counselled the
Pharisees that it was right to martyr one man for the
sake of the people.
INF C23 118-120 / DANTE
Attraversato è, nudo, ne la via,
come tu vedi, ed è mestier ch'el senta
qualunque passa, come pesa, pria.
Crosswise and naked he lies in the road,
as you see, and feels the weight
of every one who passes:
INF C23 121-123 / DANTE
E a tal modo il socero si stenta
in questa fossa, e li altri dal concilio
che fu per li Giudei mala sementa».
and his father-in-law Annas is racked,
in this chasm, and the others of that Council,
that was a source of evil to the Jews.
INF C23 124-126 / KLINE
Then I saw Virgil wonder at him, stretched out on the cross, so vilely, in eternal exile.
VIRGIL ADDRESSES THE FRIARS.
VIRGIL:
INF C23 127-129 / DANTE
INF C23 127-129 / KLINE
Poscia drizzò al frate cotal voce:
Non vi dispiaccia, se vi lece, dirci
s'a la man destra giace alcuna foce
He addressed these words to the Friars,
afterwards: If it is lawful for you, may it not
displease you, to tell us if there is any gap on the
right,
INF C23 130-132 / DANTE
onde noi amendue possiamo uscirci,
sanza costrigner de li angeli neri
che vegnan d'esto fondo a dipartirci.
by which we might leave here., without forcing
any of the black angels to come
and extricate us from this deep.
FRIAR CATALANO / TERPSICHORE:
INF C23 133-135 / DANTE
INF C23 133-135 / KLINE
Rispuose adunque: Più che tu non speri
s'appressa un sasso che da la gran cerchia
si move e varca tutt' i vallon feri,
He replied: There is a causeway that runs
from the great circular wall and crosses all
the cruel valleys, nearer at hand than you think,
INF C23 136-138 / DANTE
salvo che 'n questo è rotto e nol coperchia;
this
montar potrete su per la ruina,
che giace in costa e nel fondo soperchia.
except that it is broken here and does not cover
one: you will be able to climb up among its ruins,
that slope down the side., and form a mound at the
base.
VIRGIL STANDS FOR A WHILE WITH BOWED HEAD [INF C23 139-141].
VIRGIL:
INF C23 139-141 / DANTE
INF C23 139-141 / KLINE
Lo duca stette un poco a testa china;
poi disse: Mal contava la bisogna
colui che i peccator di qua uncina.
Virgil stood, for a while, with bowed head,
then said: Malacoda, who grapples sinners
over there, told us the way wrongly.
FRIAR CATALANO / TERPSICHORE:
INF C23 142-144 / DANTE
INF C23 142-144 / KLINE
E 'l frate: Io udi' già dire a Bologna
del diavol vizi assai, tra ' quali udi'
ch'elli è bugiardo, e padre di menzogna.
And the Friar said: I once heard the Devil’s vices
related at Bologna, amongst which I heard
that he is a liar, and the father of lies.
133
VIRGIL
SETS OFF, ‘HIS FACE SOMEWHAT DISTURBED BY ANGER’ [INF C23 145-148].
PONDERS, CLOSES THE CANTO AND FOLLOWS HIM.
DANTE
DANTE:
INF C23 142-144 / KLINE
INF C23 142-144 / DANTE
And the Friar said: I once heard the Devil’s
vices related at Bologna, amongst which I
heard that he is a liar, and the father of lies.
E 'l frate: «Io udi' già dire a Bologna
del diavol vizi assai, tra ' quali udi'
ch'elli è bugiardo, e padre di menzogna.
Then my guide went striding on,
his face somewhat disturbed by anger,
at which I parted from the burdened souls,
Appresso il duca a gran passi sen gì,
turbato un poco d'ira nel sembiante;
ond' io da li 'ncarcati mi parti'
following the prints of his beloved feet.
dietro a le poste de le care piante.
INF C23 145-147 / DANTE
INF C23 148 / DANTE
CANTO 24
INF C24 1-18 / KLINE
In that part of the new year, when the sun cools his rays under Aquarius, and the nights already shorten towards the
equinox; when the hoar-frost copies its white sister the snow’s image on the ground, but the hardness of its tracery lasts
only a little time; the peasant, whose fodder is exhausted, rises and looks out. and sees the fields all white, at which he
strikes his thigh, goesa back into the house, and wanders to and fro, lamenting, like a wretch who does not know what to
do; then comes out again, and regains hope, seeing how the world has changed its aspect, in a moment; and takes his
crook, and chases his lambs out to feed; so the Master made me disheartened, when I saw his forehead so troubled, but the
plaster arrived quickly for the wound.
♫
MUSIC ? * * * * * * * * * *
THE WALL
INF C24 19-45 / KLINE
For, when we reached the shattered arch, my guide turned to me with that sweet aspect, that I first saw at the base of
the mountain. He opened his arms, after having made some plan in his mind, first looking carefully at the ruin, and
took hold of me. And like one who prepares and calculates, always seeming to provide in advance, so he lifting me up
towards the summit of one big block, searched for another fragment, saying: Now clamber over that., but check first if
it will carry you. It was no route for one clothed in a cloak of lead, since we could hardly climb from rock to rock, he
weighing little, and I pushed from behind. And if the ascent were not shorter on that side than on the other, I would
truly have been defeated, I do not know about him. But as Malebolge all drops towards the entrance to the lowest well,
the position of every valley implies that the one side rises, and the other falls: at last, we came, however, to the point at
which the last boulder ends. The breath was so driven from my lungs, when I was up, that I could go no further: in
fact, I sat down when I arrived.
DANTE
PANTS AND BOULDERS CLINK AS HE ATTEMPTS TO CLIMB TO THE TOP OF THE
SHATTERED ARCH (‘THE WALL’).
134
♫
BEATRICE MOTIF * * * * * * * * * *
BEATRICE:
(from later)
INF C33 148 / DANTE
INF C33 148 / KLINE
Ma distendi oggimai in qua la mano;
But reach Reach your hand here: open my eyes.’
(from earlier)
INF C24 29 / DANTE
INF C24 29 / KLINE
dicendo: Sovra quella poi t'aggrappa;
saying: Now clamber over that.,
DANTE SPEAKS
KIND”…
WITH AUTOMATIC POLITENESS, GIVING A MEANING SOMETHING LIKE
“SO
DANTE:
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONNET / MUSA
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONETTO / DANTE
Such sweet decorum and such gentle grace
Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare
…THEN REALISES WHO HAS HELPED HIM AND REPEATS THE WORDS WITH FERVOUR.
DANTE:
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONNET / MUSA
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONETTO / DANTE
Such sweet decorum and such gentle grace
Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare
VIRGIL COMES BACK ALONG THE TOP OF THE WALL AND FINDS DANTE PRONE.
VIRGIL:
INF C24 46-48 / DANTE
INF C24 46-48 / KLINE
«Omai convien che tu così ti spoltre»,
disse 'l maestro; «ché, seggendo in piuma,
in fama non si vien, né sotto coltre;
The Master said: Now, you must free yourself
from sloth: men do not achieve fame, sitting
on down, or under coverlets; fame,
INF C24 49-51 / DANTE
sanza la qual chi sua vita consuma,
cotal vestigio in terra di sé lascia,
qual fummo in aere e in acqua la schiuma.
without which whoever consumes his life
leaves only such trace of himself, on earth,
as smoke does in the air., or foam on water:
INF C24 52-54 / DANTE
E però leva sù; vinci l'ambascia
con l'animo che vince ogne battaglia,
se col suo grave corpo non s'accascia.
so rise Rise, and overcome weariness with spirit,
that wins every battle,.
if it does not lie down with the gross body.
INF C24 55-57 / DANTE
Più lunga scala convien che si saglia;
non basta da costoro esser partito.
Se tu mi 'ntendi, or fa sì che ti vaglia».
A longer ladder must be climbed: to have
left these behind is not enough if you
understand me, act Act now so it may profit you.
DANTE STANDS UP.
DANTE:
INF C24 58-60 / KLINE
INF C24 58-60 / DANTE
I rose then, showing myself to be better filled
with breath than I thought, and said:
Go on, I am strong again and ardent.
Leva'mi allor, mostrandomi fornito
meglio di lena ch'i' non mi sentia,
e dissi: Va, ch'i' son forte e ardito.
135
INF C24 60 / DANTE
INF C24 60 / KLINE
e dissi: Va, ch'i' son forte e ardito.
Go on, I am strong again and ardent.
DANTE STARES AT SOMETHING AND OPENS HIS BOOK.
INF C24 61-81 / KLINE
We made our way along the causeway which was rugged, narrow, difficult, and much steeper than before. I went,
speaking, so that I might not seem weak, at which a voice came from the next moat, inadequate for forming words. I
do not know what it said, though I was already on the summit of the bridge that crosses there, but he who spoke
seemed full of anger. I had turned to look downwards, but my living eyes could not see the floor, for the darkness, so
that I said: ‘Master, make sure you get to the other side, and let us climb down down the wall, since as I hear sounds
from below, but do not understand them, so I see down there, and make out nothing.’ He said: ‘I make you no answer,
but by action, since a fair request should be followed, in silence, by the work.’ We went down the bridge, at the head
of it, where it meets the eighth bank, and then the seventh chasm was open to me.
DANTE:
INF C24 82-84 / DANTE
INF C24 82-84 / KLINE
e vidivi entro terribile stipa
di serpenti, e di sì diversa mena
che la memoria il sangue ancor mi scipa.
I saw see a fearful mass of snakes inside,
and of such strange appearance,
that even now the memory freezes my blood.
INF C24 85-87 / DANTE
Più non si vanti Libia con sua rena;
ché se chelidri, iaculi e faree
produce, e cencri con anfisibena,
Let Libya’s no longer vaunt its sands: though
it engenders chelydri, and jaculi;
pareae; and cenchres with amphisbaena.
PRONUNCIATION: (I CAN’T GET COPY OF IPA.) CHELYDRI (KEL-), CENCHRES (KEN-?), AMPHISBAENA (ÆMFƏS'BINƏ).
DANTE MURMURS A NOTE FOR HIS POEM.
DANTE:
Chelydri are fetid and amphibious. Jaculi fly and
pierce what they hit. Pareae…Phareae…plough
with their tails. Cenchres wave from side to side
and Amphisbaena have heads at both ends.
(Lucan’s Pharsalia.)
INF C24 88-90 / DANTE
né tante pestilenzie né sì ree
mostrò già mai con tutta l'Etïopia
né con ciò che di sopra al Mar Rosso èe.
But Libya never showed pests so numerous
or dreadful, nor did Ethiopia, nor Arabia.,
the land that lies along the Red Sea.
VIRGIL:
INF C24 91-93 / DANTE
INF C24 91-93 / KLINE
Tra questa cruda e tristissima copia
corrëan genti nude e spaventate,
sanza sperar pertugio o elitropia:
Amongst this cruel and mournful swarm, people
People are were running, naked and terrified,
without hope of concealment, or of that stone, the
heliotrope, that renders the wearer invisible.
INF C24 94-96 / DANTE
con serpi le man dietro avean legate;
quelle ficcavan per le ren la coda
e 'l capo, ed eran dinanzi aggroppate.
DANTE VERSIFIES AS VIRGIL REPORTS.
They had their Their hands are tied behind them,
with serpents, that fixed fix their head and tail
between the loins, and were coiled coil in knots in
front.
DANTE:
INF C24 91-93 / KLINE
136
INF C24 91-93 / DANTE
Amongst this cruel and mournful swarm,
Tra questa cruda e tristissima copia
people were running, naked and terrified,
corrëan genti nude e spaventate,
without hope of concealment, or of that stone, sanza sperar pertugio o elitropia:
the heliotrope, that renders the wearer invisible.
INF C24 94-96 / DANTE
They had their hands tied behind them, with
con serpi le man dietro avean legate;
serpents, that fixed their head and tail between quelle ficcavan per le ren la coda
the loins, and were coiled in knots in front.
e 'l capo, ed eran dinanzi aggroppate.
VIRGIL:
INF C24 97-99 / DANTE
INF C24 97-99 / KLINE
Ed ecco a un ch'era da nostra proda,
s'avventò un serpente che 'l trafisse
là dove 'l collo a le spalle s'annoda.
And see! See! ...a serpent struck strikes at one
who was near our bank and transfixed him, there,
where the neck is joined to the shoulders.
ONE WHO: VANNI FUCCI
SEE BELOW
INF C24 100-102 / DANTE
Né O sì tosto mai né I si scrisse,
com' el s'accese e arse, e cener tutto
convenne che cascando divenisse;
Neither ‘o’ nor ‘i’ was ever written as swiftly
as he He took takes fire, and is burned,
and dropped down, transformed to ashes:
INF C24 103-105 / DANTE
e poi che fu a terra sì distrutto,
la polver si raccolse per sé stessa
e 'n quel medesmo ritornò di butto.
and after he was heaped on the ground, which heap
on the ground the powder gathered itself together,
and immediately returned return to its the previous
shape.
DANTE VERSIFIES AGAIN.
DANTE:
INF C24 97-99 / KLINE
INF C24 97-99 / DANTE
And see! A serpent struck at one who was
near our bank, and transfixed him, there,
where the neck is joined to the shoulders.
Ed ecco a un ch'era da nostra proda,
s'avventò un serpente che 'l trafisse
là dove 'l collo a le spalle s'annoda.
ONE WHO: VANNI FUCCI
SEE BELOW
INF C24 100-102 / DANTE
Neither ‘o’ nor ‘i’ was ever written as swiftly
as he took fire, and is burned,
and dropped down, transformed to ashes:
Né O sì tosto mai né I si scrisse,
com' el s'accese e arse, e cener tutto
convenne che cascando divenisse;
and after he was heaped on the ground,
the powder gathered itself together, and
immediately returned to its previous shape.
e poi che fu a terra sì distrutto,
la polver si raccolse per sé stessa
e 'n quel medesmo ritornò di butto.
INF C24 103-105 / DANTE
INF C24 106-108 / DANTE
INF C24 106-108 / KLINE
Così per li gran savi si confessa
che la fenice more e poi rinasce,
quando al cinquecentesimo anno appressa;
So, great sages say, the phoenix dies,
and then renews, when it nears
its five-hundredth year.
INF C24 109-111 / DANTE
erba né biado in sua vita non pasce,
ma sol d'incenso lagrime e d'amomo,
e nardo e mirra son l'ultime fasce.
DANTE TURNS TO THE SCENE.
In its life it It does not eat grass or grain,
but only tears of incense, and amomum:
and its last shroud is nard and myrrh.
137
DANTE:
INF C24 112-114 / DANTE
INF C24 112-114 / KLINE
E qual è quel che cade, e non sa como,
per forza di demon ch'a terra il tira,
of
o d'altra oppilazion che lega l'omo,
The sinner when he rose was rises like one who
falls, and does not know how, through the power
a demon that drags him down to the ground, or
through
INF C24 115-117 / DANTE
quando si leva, che 'ntorno si mira
tutto smarrito de la grande angoscia
ch'elli ha sofferta, e guardando sospira:
some other affliction. that binds men, and,
when he rises, He gazes round, himself,
all dazed by the great anguish
INF C24 118-120 / DANTE
tal era 'l peccator levato poscia.
Oh potenza di Dio, quant' è severa,
che cotai colpi per vendetta croscia!
he has suffered., and as he gazes, sighs.
O how heavy the power of God,
that showers down such blows in vengeance!
THE PISTOIAN PHOENIX SPEAKS FROM BEHIND THE WALL.
VANNI FUCCI:
INF C24 121-123 / DANTE
INF C24 121-123 / KLINE
Lo duca il domandò poi chi ello era;
per ch’ei rispuose: Io piovvi di Toscana,
poco tempo è, in questa gola fiera.
The guide then asked him who he was, at which
he answered: I rained down from Tuscany
into this gully, a short while back.
VANNI FUCCI
----
*
? - 1300 + AGE : 35??
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
PISTOIA.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
VANNI FUCCI: ILLEGITIMATE SON OF A NOBLE FAMILY, A TURBULENT BLACK GUELPH FROM PISTOIA WHO, IN 1293, TOGETHER
WITH 2 ACCOMPLICES, STOLE THE TREASURE OF SAN JACOPO FROM THE CHURCH OF SAN ZENO. RAMPIONO DE’ FORESI WAS
HELD IN PRISON FOR THE CRIME, WHILE THE CULPRITS WENT UNDETECTED FOR A YEAR. (THERE ARE OTHER NAMES, VERSIONS.)
NO COMMENTATOR HAS A GOOD WORD TO SAY FOR VANNI FUCCI EXCEPT THE CANONICO CRESCIMBENI…WHO COUNTS HIM
AMONG THE ITALIAN POETS…AND QUOTES A SONNET OF HIS: FOR I HAVE LOST THE GOOD I MIGHT HAVE HAD / THROUGH LITTLE
WIT, AND NOT OF MINE OWN WILL. (LONGFELLOW)
VANNI FUCCI:
INF C24 124-126 / DANTE
INF C24 124-126 / KLINE
Vita bestial mi piacque e non umana,
sì come a mul ch'i' fui; son Vanni Fucci
bestia, e Pistoia mi fu degna tana».
Brutish, not human, life pleased me, mule that
I was: I am Vanni Fucci, the wild beast,
and Pistoia was a fitting den for me.
SONETTO / VANNI FUCCI
SONNET / ?
For I have lost the good I might have had,
Through little wit, and not of my own will.
DANTE notes:
INF C24 125-126 / KLINE
INF C24 125-126 / DANTE
I am Vanni Fucci, the wild beast,
and Pistoia was a fitting den for me.
sì come a mul ch'i' fui; son Vanni Fucci
bestia, e Pistoia mi fu degna tana».
INF C24 127-129 / DANTE
INF C24 127-129 / KLINE
E ïo al duca: Dilli che non mucci,
e domanda che colpa qua giù 'l pinse;
ch'io 'l vidi uomo di sangue e di crucci.
And I to the guide: Tell him not to move:
and ask what crime sank him down here,
since I knew him as a man of blood and anger.
DANTE CATCHES UP ON HIS VERSIFICATION.
DANTE:
INF C24 112-114 / KLINE
INF C24 112-114 / DANTE
The sinner when he rose was like one who
falls, and does not know how, through the
power of a demon that drags him down to
the ground, or through
E qual è quel che cade, e non sa como,
per forza di demon ch'a terra il tira,
o d'altra oppilazion che lega l'omo,
some other affliction. that binds men,
and, when he rises, gazes round himself,
all dazed by the great anguish
quando si leva, che 'ntorno si mira
tutto smarrito de la grande angoscia
ch'elli ha sofferta, e guardando sospira:
he has suffered, and as he gazes, sighs.
O how heavy the power of God,
that showers down such blows in vengeance!
tal era 'l peccator levato poscia.
Oh potenza di Dio, quant' è severa,
che cotai colpi per vendetta croscia!
138
INF C24 115-117 / DANTE
INF C24 118-120 / DANTE
see above
And I to the guide: Tell him not to move: and ask what crime sank him down here, since I knew him as a man of blood
and anger.
INF C24 127-129 / KLINE
INF C24 130-132 / KLINE
And the sinner, who heard me, did not pretend, but turned his face and mind on me, and gave a look of saddened
shame.
VANNI FUCCI:
INF C24 133-135 / DANTE
INF C24 133-135 / KLINE
poi disse: Più mi duol che tu m'hai colto
ne la miseria dove tu mi vedi,
che quando fui de l'altra vita tolto.
Then he said: It hurts me more for you to catch me,
trapped in the this misery you see me in, than it did
the moment of my being snatched from the other life.
INF C24 136-138 / DANTE
Io non posso negar quel che tu chiedi;
in giù son messo tanto perch' io fui
ladro a la sagrestia d'i belli arredi,
I cannot deny you what you ask.
I am placed so deep down because I robbed
the sacristy of its fine treasures,
INF C24 139-141 / DANTE
e falsamente già fu apposto altrui.
Ma perché di tal vista tu non godi,
se mai sarai di fuor da' luoghi bui,
♫
and it was once wrongly attributed to others.
But, so that you might not take joy from this sight
if you ever escape the gloomy regions,
PROPHECY MOTIF * * * * * * * * * *
INF C24 141
VANNI FUCCI:
INF C24 142-144 / KLINE
INF C24 142-144 / KLINE
open your ears, and hear what I declare:
apri li orecchi al mio annunzio, e odi.
Pistoia first is thinned of Blacks:
Pistoia in pria d'i Neri si dimagra;
then Florence changes her people and her laws. poi Fiorenza rinova gente e modi.
INF C24 142-144 / DANTE
INF C24 142-144 / KLINE
apri li orecchi al mio annunzio, e odi.
Pistoia in pria d'i Neri si dimagra;
poi Fiorenza rinova gente e modi.
open your ears, and hear Hear what I declare:
Pistoia first is thinned of Blacks:
then Florence changes her people and her laws.
VANNI FUCCI PROPHESIES THE DEFEAT OF THE GHIBELLINE WHITES (BIANCHI) BY THE BLACK GUELPH (NERI) FACTION. THE
BLACKS WERE EXPELLED FROM PISTOIA IN MAY 1301. DANTE WAS ONE OF THOSE WHO VOTED FOR THE EXPULSIONS. IN
NOVEMBER 1301 THE BLACKS ENTERED FLORENCE, AIDED BY CHARLES DEVALOIS & IN APRIL 1302 MADE THE CITY DRIVE
OUT THE WHITES (CHANGING THE PEOPLE & ITS LAWS). PISTOIA BECAME A RALLYING POINT FOR THE WHITES IN TUSCANY,
UNTIL THEIR DEFEAT BY THE FLORENTINE & LUCCHESE GUELPHS, UNDER MOROELLO MALASPINA, MARQUIS OF GIOVAGALLO
IN VALDIMAGRA (THE EXTREMITY OF LUNIGIANA). PICENO’S FIELD IS THE AREA BETWEEN SERRAVALLE & MONTECATINI.
MALASPINA TOOK SERRAVALLE IN 1302 & REDUCED PISTOIA IN 1306. PISTOIA WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN FOUNDED BY THE
REMNANTS OF CATILINE’S ARMY, LEADING TO DANTE’S COMMENT IN THE NEXT CANTO (‘YOU OUTDO YOUR SEED IN EVILDOING’)
139
INF C24 145-147 / DANTE
INF C24 145-147 / KLINE
Tragge Marte vapor di Val di Magra
ch'è di torbidi nuvoli involuto;
e con tempesta impetüosa e agra
Mars brings a vapour
from Valdimagra cloaked in turbid cloud,
and a battle will be fought
INF C24 148-150 / DANTE
sovra Campo Picen fia combattuto;
ond' ei repente spezzerà la nebbia,
sì ch'ogne Bianco ne sarà feruto.
on the field of Piceno in an angry and eager
tempest, that will suddenly tear the mist open,
so that every White is wounded by it.
VANNI FUCCI SHOUTS.
VANNI FUCCI:
INF C24 151 / DANTE
INF C24 151 / KLINE
E detto l'ho perché doler ti debbia!
And I have said this to give you pain.
VANNI FUCCI HURLS HIS BOOK OR SHEAF OF POEMS AT DANTE.
WALL, DISINTEGRATES AND FALLS BACK BEHIND THE WALL.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
IT
BOUNCES ABOVE THE
DANTE
INF C24 151 / KLINE
INF C24 151 / DANTE
And I have said this to give you pain.
E detto l'ho perché doler ti debbia!
CANTO 25
VANNI FUCCI REACHES HIS ARMS THROUGH CHINKS IN THE WALL AND MAKES ‘THE FIG, THE
OBSCENE GESTURE WITH THUMB BETWEEN FINGERS, SHOUTING’.
VANNI FUCCI:
INF C25 1-3 / KLINE
INF C25 1-3 / DANTE
At the end of his speech, the thief raised his
Al fine de le sue parole il ladro
hands, both making the fig, the obscene
le mani alzò con amendue le fiche,
gesture, with thumb between fingers, shouting: gridando: Togli, Dio, ch'a te le squadro!
Take this, God, I aim it at you.
DANTE:
INF C25 1-3 / DANTE
INF C25 1-3 / KLINE
Al fine de le sue parole il ladro
le mani alzò con amendue le fiche,
gridando: Togli, Dio, ch'a te le squadro!
At the end of his speech, the The thief raised
his hands, both is making the fig, the obscene
gesture, with thumb between fingers., shouting:
Take this, God!, I aim it at you.
VANNI FUCCI:
INF C25 3 / DANTE
INF C25 3 / KLINE
gridando: Togli, Dio, ch'a te le squadro!
gesture, with thumb between fingers, shouting:
Take this, God!, I aim it at you.
DANTE OBSERVES AND WRITES.
DANTE:
140
INF C25 4-6 / DANTE
INF C25 4-6 / KLINE
Da indi in qua mi fuor le serpi amiche,
perch' una li s'avvolse allora al collo,
come dicesse `Non vo' che più diche';
From that moment the The snakes were are
now my friends., since one One of them coiled
coils itself round his neck, as if hissing:
“You will not be able to speak again.”
INF C25 7-9 / DANTE
e un'altra a le braccia, e rilegollo,
ribadendo sé stessa sì dinanzi,
che non potea con esse dare un crollo.
Another, round his arms, tied ties him
round his arms again, knotting itself so firmly
in front that he could can not even shake them.
DANTE STANDS AND VERSIFIES. VIRGIL INTERPRETS.
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
INF C25 10-12 / DANTE
INF C25 10-12 / KLINE
Ahi Pistoia, Pistoia, ché non stanzi
d'incenerarti sì che più non duri,
longer,
poi che 'n mal fare il seme tuo avanzi?
Ah, Pistoia, Pistoia, why do you not order yourself
to be turned to ash, so that you may remain no
since you outdo your seed in evil-doing?
INF C25 13-33 / KLINE
I saw no spirit so arrogant towards God, through all the dark circles of the Inferno, not even, Capaneus, he who fell from
the wall at Thebes. Vanni Fucci fled, saying not another word, and I saw a Centaur, full of rage , come, shouting: Where
is he, where is the bitter one? I do not believe Maremma has as many snakes, as he had on his haunches, there, where the
human part begins. Over his shoulders, behind the head, lay a dragon with outstretched wings, and it scorches every one
he meets. My Master said: That is Cacus who often made a lake of blood, below the rocks of Mount Aventine. He does
not go with his brothers on the same road, above, because of his cunning theft from the great herd of oxen, pastured near
him: for which his thieving actions ended, under the club of Hercules, who gave him a hundred blows perhaps with it, and
he did not feel a tenth. While he said this, the Centaur ran past, and three spirits came by, also, beneath us, whom neither
I, nor my guide, saw,
THREE SPIRITS GO PAST BENEATH THE POETS.
AGNELLO:
&
BUOSO DEGLI ABATI:
INF C25 37-39 / DANTE
INF C25 37-39 / KLINE
se non quando gridar: «Chi siete voi?»;
per che nostra novella si ristette,
e intendemmo pur ad essi poi.
until they cried: Who are you?
Our words ceased, then, and we gave
our attention to them, alone.
AGNELLO BRUNELLESCHI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
BUOSO DEGLI ABATI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
----? - *----?
*
----? - *----?
*
--?
AGE : *
--?
AGE : *
1. AGNELLO, BUOSO & PUCCIO APPEAR 2. AGNELLO BLENDS WITH
PLACE WITH FRANCESCO, A SMALL REPTILE. (LONGFELLOW)
CIANFA, A SIX-LEGGED CREATURE 3. BUOSO CHANGES
DANTE:
Agnello Brunelleschi and Buoso degli Abati,
citizens of Florence
141
INF C25 40-42 / KLINE
I did not know them, but it happened, as it usually does for some reason, that one had to call the other,
AGNELLO:
INF C25 43-45 / KLINE
INF C25 43-45 / DANTE
saying: Where has Cianfa gone? At which
I placed my finger over my mouth,
in order to make my guide stop and wait.
dicendo: Cianfa dove fia rimaso?;
per ch'io, acciò che 'l duca stesse attento,
mi puosi 'l dito su dal mento al naso.
DANTE:
Cianfa Donati, Florentine noble and thief.
PUCCIO:
INF C25 43-45 / DANTE
INF C25 43-45 / KLINE
dicendo: Cianfa dove fia rimaso?;
per ch'io, acciò che 'l duca stesse attento,
mi puosi 'l dito su dal mento al naso.
saying: Where has Cianfa gone? At which
I placed my finger over my mouth,
in order to make my guide stop and wait.
PUCCIO SCIANCATO DEI GALIGAI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
----? - *----?
*
--?
AGE : *
DANTE:
Puccio Sciancato dei Galigai, Florentine.
THE POETS WATCH FOR A WHILE.
AUDIENCE IN A HUSHED TONE.
DANTE
MAKES NOTES THEN READS THEM TO THE
DANTE:
INF C25 46-48 / DANTE
INF C25 46-48 / KLINE
Se tu se' or, lettore, a creder lento
ciò ch'io dirò, non sarà maraviglia,
ché io che 'l vidi, a pena il mi consento.
Reader, if you are slow to credit, now,
what I have to tell, it will be no wonder,
since I who saw it, scarcely credit it myself.
INF C25 49-51 / DANTE
Com' io tenea levate in lor le ciglia,
e un serpente con sei piè si lancia
dinanzi a l'uno, e tutto a lui s'appiglia.
While I kept looking at them, a six-footed serpent,
Cianfa darted in front of one of them,
and fastened itself on him, completely.
INF C25 52-54 / DANTE
Co' piè di mezzo li avvinse la pancia
e con li anterïor le braccia prese;
poi li addentò e l'una e l'altra guancia;
It clasped his belly… with its middle feet,
seized his arms with the front ones,
and then fixed its teeth in both his cheeks.
INF C25 55-78 / KLINE
The rear feet it stretched along his thighs, and put its tail between them, and curled it upwards round his loins, behind.
Ivy was never rooted to a tree, as the foul monster twined its limbs around the other. Then they clung together, as if
they were melted wax, and mixed their colours: neither the one nor the other seemed what it had at first: just as in
front of the flame on burning paper, a brown colour appears, not yet black, and the white is consumed. The other two
looked on, and each cried: ‘Ah me, Agnello, how you change! See, you are already not two, not one!’ The two heads
had now become one, where two forms seemed to us merged in one face, and both were lost. Two limbs were made of
the four forearms, the thighs, legs, belly and chest became such members as were never seen before. The former shape
was all extinguished in them: the perverse image seemed both, and neither, and like that it moved away with slow
steps.
VIRGIL HAS SEEN SOMETHING EVEN MORE INTERESTING.
142
INF C25 79-81 / KLINE
As the lizard, in the great heat of the Dog days, appears like a flash of lightning, scurrying from hedge to hedge, if it
crosses the track,
INF C25 82-84 / DANTE
sì pareva, venendo verso l'epe
de li altri due, un serpentello acceso,
livido e nero come gran di pepe;
so a A little serpent… came flashed towards
the bellies of the other two, burning with rage,
black and livid as peppercorn.
DANTE:
Francesco (Guercio) de’ Cavalcanti.
A LITTLE REPTILE: FRANCESCO (GUERCIO) DE’ CAVALCANTI, WHO CHANGES FROM SERPENT TO MAN & BACK, WAS KILLED BY
THE VILLAGERS OF GAVILLE, IN THE UPPER VAL D’ARNO, THE MURDERERS & OTHERS BEING SUMMARILY EXECUTED BY HIS
KINSMEN.
DANTE:
INF C25 82-84 / DANTE
INF C25 82-84 / KLINE
sì pareva, venendo verso l'epe
de li altri due, un serpentello acceso,
livido e nero come gran di pepe;
so a little serpent came towards the bellies
of the other two, burning with rage,
black and livid as peppercorn.
DANTE AND VIRGIL WATCH SILENTLY.
VIRGIL:
INF C25 85-87 / DANTE
INF C25 85-87 / KLINE
e quella parte onde prima è preso
nostro alimento, a l'un di lor trafisse;
poi cadde giuso innanzi lui disteso.
And it It pierced that part, in one of them,
where we first receive our nourishment
from our mothers: in the navel then fell
down, stretched out in front of him.
INF C25 88-90 / DANTE
Lo trafitto 'l mirò, ma nulla disse;
anzi, co' piè fermati, sbadigliava
pur come sonno o febbre l'assalisse.
The thief, transfixed, gazed at it but said nothing,
but with motionless feet, only yawned,
as if sleep or fever had overcome him.
INF C25 91-93 / DANTE
Elli 'l serpente e quei lui riguardava;
l'un per la piaga e l'altro per la bocca
fummavan forte, e 'l fummo si scontrava.
He looked at the snake: it looked at him:
the one gave out smoke, violently, from his
wound, the other from its mouth, and the smoke
met. Smoke from the thief’s wound and the
snake’s mouth, gushed out and met.
DANTE:
VIRGIL:
&
INF C25 94-96 / DANTE
INF C25 94-96 / KLINE
Taccia Lucano ormai là dov' e' tocca
del misero Sabello e di Nasidio,
e attenda a udir quel ch'or si scocca.
Let Lucan now be silent,
about Sabellus and Nasidius
and wait to hear that which I now tell.
INF C25 97-99 / DANTE
Taccia di Cadmo e d'Aretusa Ovidio,
ché se quello in serpente e quella in fonte
converte poetando, io non lo 'nvidio;
Let Ovid be silent about Cadmus and Arethusa:
if he in poetry changes one into a snake,
and the other into a fountain,
CADMUS: SON OF THE PHOENICIAN KING AGENOR, WHO SEARCHES FOR HIS SISTER EUROPA, STOLEN BY JUPITER IN THE FORM
OF A BULL. HE SOWS THE SERPENT’S TEETH & FOUNDS THEBES, BUT OFFENDS THE SACRED SERPENT OF MARS. HE & HIS WIFE
HARMONIA ARE ULTIMATELY TURNED INTO SNAKES. SEE OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 4 563 ET AL.
ARETHUSA: NYMPH OF ELIS, ONE OF DIANA’S MAIDENS, WHO WAS LOVED BY THE RIVER-GOD ALPHEUS. PURSUED BY HIM, SHE
WAS TURNED INTO A FOUNTAIN. SEE OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 5 572
DANTE:
INF C25 100-102 / DANTE
INF C25 100-102 / KLINE
ché due nature mai a fronte a fronte
non trasmutò sì ch'amendue le forme
a cambiar lor matera fosser pronte.
I do not envy him, since he never transmuted
two natures, face to face, so that both forms
were eager to exchange their substance.
143
INF C25 103-105 / DANTE
Insieme si rispuosero a tai norme,
che 'l serpente la coda in forca fesse,
e 'l feruto ristrinse insieme l'orme.
They merged together in such a way
that the serpent split its tail into a fork,
and the wounded spirit brought his feet together.
INF C25 106-108 / DANTE
INF C25 106-108 / KLINE
Le gambe con le cosce seco stesse
s'appiccar sì, che 'n poco la giuntura
non facea segno alcun che si paresse.
Along with them, the legs and thighs
so stuck to one another,
that soon the join left no visible mark.
INF C25 109-111 / DANTE
Togliea la coda fessa la figura
che si perdeva là, e la sua pelle
si facea molle, e quella di là dura.
The cleft tail took on the form
lost in the other, and its skin
grew soft, the other’s hard.
INF C25 112-114 / DANTE
Io vidi intrar le braccia per l'ascelle,
e i due piè de la fiera, ch'eran corti,
tanto allungar quanto accorciavan quelle.
I saw the arms enter the armpits: and the two
feet of the beast that were short, lengthened
themselves by as much as the arms were shortened.
INF C25 115-117 / DANTE
Poscia li piè di rietro, insieme attorti,
diventaron lo membro che l'uom cela,
e 'l misero del suo n'avea due porti.
Then the two hind feet twisted together,
and became the organ that a man conceals,
and the wretch, from his, had two pushed out.
INF C25 118-120 / DANTE
Mentre che 'l fummo l'uno e l'altro vela
di color novo, e genera 'l pel suso
per l'una parte e da l'altra il dipela,
While the smoke covers them both with a
new colour, and generates hair on one part,
and strips it from another,
INF C25 121-123 / DANTE
l'un si levò e l'altro cadde giuso,
non torcendo però le lucerne empie,
sotto le quai ciascun cambiava muso.
the one rose up, erect, and the other fell, prostrate:
not by that shifting their impious gaze,
beneath which they mutually exchanged features.
INF C25 124-126 / DANTE
Quel ch'era dritto, il trasse ver' le tempie,
e di troppa matera ch'in là venne
uscir li orecchi de le gote scempie;
The erect one drew his face towards the temples,
and from the excess of matter that swelled there,
ears came, out of the smooth cheeks.
INF C25 127-129 / DANTE
ciò che non corse in dietro e si ritenne
di quel soverchio, fé naso a la faccia
e le labbra ingrossò quanto convenne.
That which did not slip back, but remained,
formed a nose from the superfluous flesh,
and enlarged the lips to their right size.
INF C25 130-132 / DANTE
Quel che giacëa, il muso innanzi caccia,
forward,
e li orecchi ritira per la testa
come face le corna la lumaccia;
He that lay prone, thrust his sharpened visage
and drew his ears back into his head,
as the snail does its horns into its shell,
INF C25 133-135 / DANTE
e la lingua, ch'avëa unita e presta
prima a parlar, si fende, e la forcuta
ne l'altro si richiude; e 'l fummo resta.
and his tongue, which was solid before,
and fit for speech, splits itself. In the other
the forked tongue melds, and the smoke is still.
VIRGIL CLOSES THE CANTO.
VIRGIL:
INF C25 136-138 / DANTE
INF C25 136-138 / KLINE
L'anima ch'era fiera divenuta,
suffolando si fugge per la valle,
e l'altro dietro a lui parlando sputa.
The soul that had become a beast, sped,
hissing, along the valley, leaving the other,
speaking and spluttering, behind him.
144
INF C25 139-141 / DANTE
Poscia li volse le novelle spalle,
e disse a l'altro: «I' vo' che Buoso corra,
com' ho fatt' io, carpon per questo calle».
Then the second turned his new-won shoulders
towards him, and called to the other: “Buoso
shall crawl, as I did, along this road.”
INF C25 142-151 / KLINE
So I saw the seventh chasm’s bodies mutate and transmutate: and let the novelty of it be the excuse, if my pen has
gone astray. Though my sight was somewhat confused, and my mind dismayed, they could not flee so secretly, but
that I clearly saw Puccio Sciancato: and it was he, alone, of the three companions, who had first arrived, who was not
changed. One of the others, Francesco, was he who caused you, the people of Gaville, to weep.
CANTO 26
DANTE:
INF C26 1 / KLINE
INF C26 1 / DANTE
Rejoice, Florence, that, since you are so mighty, Godi, Fiorenza, poi che se' sì grande
INF C26 1-3 / DANTE
INF C26 1-3 / KLINE
Godi, Fiorenza, poi che se' sì grande
che per mare e per terra batti l'ali,
e per lo 'nferno tuo nome si spande!
Rejoice, Florence, that, since you are so mighty,
you beat your wings over land and sea,
and your name spreads through Hell itself.
INF C26 4-6 / DANTE
Tra li ladron trovai cinque cotali
tuoi cittadini onde mi ven vergogna,
e tu in grande orranza non ne sali.
So, among Among the thieves, I found five of your
citizens: at which I am ashamed, and you do not
rise to great honour by it either.
INF C26 7-9 / DANTE
Ma se presso al mattin del ver si sogna,
tu sentirai, di qua da picciol tempo,
di quel che Prato, non ch'altri, t'agogna.
But if the truth is dreamed, as morning comes,
you will soon feel what Cardinal Nicholas of Prato,
and others, wish on you.
PRATO: CARDINAL NICHOLAS
OF PRATO, SENT TO FLORENCE BY POPE BENEDICT XI IN EARLY 1304 TO ATTEMPT A
RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE WARRING FACTIONS. HE FAILED & LAID THE CITY UNDER AN INTERDICT, EXCOMMUNICATING
SEVERAL CITIZENS. SEVERAL LOCAL DISASTERS AT THE TIME, SUCH AS A FIRE (CAUSED BY A FACTIONAL FIGHT), DESTROYING
MANY HOUSES & A BRIDGE COLLAPSE DURING A MAY DAY FESTIVAL (THE WOODEN PONTE CARRAIA), WERE ATTRIBUTED TO
DIVINE DISAPPROVAL.
INF C26 10-12 / DANTE
E se già fosse, non saria per tempo.
Così foss' ei, da che pur esser dee!
ché più mi graverà, com' più m'attempo.
And, if it were come already, it would not be
too soon: would it were so, now, as indeed it must
come, since it will trouble me more, the older I am.
INF C26 13-24 / KLINE
We left there, and my guide remounted by the stairs that the stones had made for us to descend, and drew me up: and,
following our solitary way, among the crags and splinters of the cliff, the foot made no progress without the hand. I
was saddened then, and sadden now, again, when I direct my mind to what I saw, and rein in my intellect, more than I
am used, so that it does not run where virtue would not guide it, and so that, if a good star, or some truer power, has
granted me the talent, I may not abuse the gift.
DANTE AND VIRGIL WALK ALONG THE WALL.
DANTE:
INF C26 25-27 / DANTE
INF C26 25-27 / KLINE
Quan te 'l villan ch'al poggio si riposa,
nel tempo che colui che 'l mondo schiara
peasant
la faccia sua a noi tien meno ascosa,
The eighth chasm was gleaming gleams with
flames, as numerous as like the fireflies the
sees, as he rests on the hill, when the sun, who
lights the world,
145
INF C26 28-30 / DANTE
come la mosca cede a la zanzara,
vede lucciole giù per la vallea,
forse colà dov' e' vendemmia e ara:
hides his face least from us, at sunset and the fly
gives way to the gnat down there, along the valley,
where he gathers grapes, perhaps, and ploughs.
INF C26 25-27 / KLINE
INF C26 25-27 / DANTE
The eighth chasm was gleaming with flames,
as numerous as the fireflies the peasant sees,
as he rests on the hill, when the sun, who
lights the world,
Quante 'l villan ch'al poggio si riposa,
nel tempo che colui che 'l mondo schiara
la faccia sua a noi tien meno ascosa,
INF C26 28-30 / DANTE
hides his face least from us, and the fly gives come la mosca cede a la zanzara,
way to the gnat down there, along the valley, vede lucciole giù per la vallea,
where he gathers grapes, perhaps, and ploughs. forse colà dov' e' vendemmia e ara:
DANTE:
INF C26 31-33 / DANTE
INF C26 31-33 / KLINE
di tante fiamme tutta risplendea
l'ottava bolgia, sì com' io m'accorsi
tosto che fui là 've 'l fondo parea.
As soon as I came to where the floor showed itself,
I saw them, and, as As Elisha, the mockery of whom
by children who was mocked by children
ELISHA, ELIJAH: 2ND KINGS II 11, II 23-24
INF C26 34-36 / DANTE
E qual colui che si vengiò con li orsi
vide 'l carro d'Elia al dipartire,
quando i cavalli al cielo erti levorsi,
was and avenged by bears,
saw Elijah’s chariot departing,
when the horses rose straight to Heaven,
INF C26 37-39 / DANTE
che nol potea sì con li occhi seguire,
ch'el vedesse altro che la fiamma sola,
sì come nuvoletta, in sù salire:
and could not follow it with his eyes,
except by the flame alone,
like a little cloud, ascending,
INF C26 40-42 / DANTE
tal si move ciascuna per la gola
del fosso, ché nessuna mostra 'l furto,
e ogne fiamma un peccatore invola.
so each of those flames moved, along.
the throat of the ditch, for none of them show
the theft, but every flame steals a sinner.
INF C26 43-45 / KLINE
I stood on the bridge, having so risen to look, that if I had not caught hold of a rock I should have fallen in without being
pushed.
LAMPS
♫
LAMP: EERIE?
**********
INF C26 40
VIRGIL:
INF C26 46-48 / DANTE
INF C26 46-48 / KLINE
E 'l duca che mi vide tanto atteso,
disse: Dentro dai fuochi son li spirti;
catun si fascia di quel ch'elli è inceso.
And the guide, who saw me so intent, said:
The spirits are inside those fires:
each veils himself in that which burns him.
DANTE:
146
INF C26 49-51 / DANTE
INF C26 49-51 / KLINE
«Maestro mio», rispuos' io, «per udirti
son io più certo; ma già m'era avviso
che così fosse, e già voleva dirti:
I replied: Master, I feel more assured from
hearing you, but had already seen that it was so,
and already wished to say to you,
INF C26 52-54 / DANTE
chi è 'n quel foco che vien sì diviso
summit?
di sopra, che par surger de la pira
dov' Eteòcle col fratel fu miso?
VIRGIL PEERS AT THE FLAME.
THE HEAD OF A MUSE.)
who is in that fire, that moves, divided at the
as if it rose from the pyre where Eteocles
was cremated with his brother, Polynices?’
(IN THE STAGE VERSION EACH FLAME IS A FROM A LAMP ON
VIRGIL:
INF C26 55-57 / DANTE
INF C26 55-57 / KLINE
Rispuose a me: «Là dentro si martira
Ulisse e Dïomede, e così insieme
a la vendetta vanno come a l'ira;
He answered me: In there, Ulysses and Diomedes
are tormented, and so they go,
together in punishment, as formerly in war:
ULYSSES: STOLE THE PALLADIUM, A WOODEN STATUE OF PALLAS ATHENE, THE SAFETY OF WHICH GUARANTEED THE SAFETY OF
TROY & INVENTED THE TROJAN HORSE, BY WHICH THE GREEKS ENTERED TROY.
DIOMEDE(S): GREEK HERO, SON OF TYDEUS, KING OF ARGOS & COMPANION OF ULYSSES AT TROY.
INF C26 58-60 / DANTE
e dentro da la lor fiamma si geme
l'agguato del caval che fé la porta
onde uscì de' Romani il gentil seme.
and, in their fire, they groan at the ambush
of the Trojan horse, that made a doorway, by which
Aeneas, the noble seed of the Romans, issued out.
INF C26 61-63 / KLINE
In there they lament the trick, by which Deidamia in death, still weeps for Achilles: and there, for the Palladium, they
endure punishment.’
DIDO, LAST HEARD FROM IN CANTO 5, QUOTES IRONICALLY FROM THE AENEID.
DIDO:
AENEID various lines / VIRGIL / KLINE
good Aeneas
brave Aeneas
great Aeneas
magnus
magnanimus
pious Aeneas
virtuous Aeneas
dutiful Aeneas
great-hearted Aeneas
noble Aeneas
Aeneas, the Hero
DANTE:
INF C26 64-66 / DANTE
INF C26 64-66 / KLINE
«S'ei posson dentro da quelle faville
parlar», diss' io, «maestro, assai ten priego
e ripriego, che 'l priego vaglia mille,
I said: Master, I beg you greatly, and beg again
so that my prayers may be a thousand,
if those inside the fires can speak,
INF C26 67-69 / DANTE
che non mi facci de l'attender niego
fin che la fiamma cornuta qua vegna;
vedi che del disio ver' lei mi piego!».
do not refuse my waiting until
the horned flame comes here:
you see how I lean towards it with desire.
147
VIRGIL:
INF C26 70-72 / DANTE
INF C26 70-72 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «La tua preghiera è degna
di molta loda, e io però l'accetto;
ma fa che la tua lingua si sostegna.
And he to me: Your request is worth much praise,
and so I accept it, but restrain
your tongue. Let me speak:
INF C26 73-75 / DANTE
Lascia parlare a me, ch'i' ho concetto
ciò che tu vuoi; ch'ei sarebbero schivi,
perch' e' fuor greci, forse del tuo detto».
since I conceive what you wish, and because
they were Greeks they might
disdain your Trojan words.
INF C26 76-78 / KLINE
When the flame had come, where the time and place seemed fitting, to my guide, I heard him speak, so:
INF C26 79-81 / DANTE
«O voi che siete due dentro ad un foco,
s'io meritai di voi mentre ch'io vissi,
s'io meritai di voi assai o poco
O you, who are two in one fire,
if I was worthy of you when I lived,
if I was worthy of you, greatly or a little,
INF C26 82-84 / DANTE
quando nel mondo li alti versi scrissi,
non vi movete; ma l'un di voi dica
dove, per lui, perduto a morir gissi».
when on earth I wrote the high verses, do not go,
but let one of you tell where he,
being lost through his own actions, went to die.
ONE PEAK OR HORN OF THE FLAME SHAKES.
INF C26 85-90 / KLINE
The greater horn of the ancient flame started to shake itself, murmuring, like a flame struggling in the wind. Then
moving the tip, as if it were a tongue speaking, gave out a voice, and said
♫
WIND: BOAT? * * * * * * * * * *
Before INF C26 91
ULYSSES FLAME:
INF C26 91-93 / DANTE
INF C26 91-93 / KLINE
mi diparti' da Circe, che sottrasse
me più d'un anno là presso a Gaeta,
prima che sì Enëa la nomasse,
When I left Circe, who held me
for more than a year, near to Gaeta,
before Aeneas named it,
ULYSSES
--?
MYTHICAL AGE : *
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE MEDIATED BY FLAME.
AGAIN, THE UNSEEN DIDO RESPONDS TO AENEAS’S NAME.
DIDO:
AENEID 4 141-142 / VIRGIL
AENEID 4 141-142 / KLINE
ipse ante alios pulcherrimus omnis infert
se socium Aeneas
Aeneas himself, the most handsome of them all
148
VIRGIL murmurs:
AENEID 4 141-142 / KLINE
AENEID 4 141-142 / DANTE
Aeneas himself, the most handsome of them all ipse ante alios pulcherrimus omnis infert
se socium Aeneas
DIDO:
AENEID 4 384 / VIRGIL
AENEID 4 384 / KLINE
sequar atris ignibus absens
Absent, I’ll follow you with dark fires,
AENEID 11 232 / VIRGIL
AENEID 11 232 / VIRGIL
fatalem Aenean
fateful Aeneas
DANTE murmurs:
AENEID 4 384 / DANTE
AENEID 4 384 / KLINE
Absent, I’ll follow you with dark fires,
sequar atris ignibus absens
AENEID 11 232 / VIRGIL
AENEID 11 232 / VIRGIL
fateful Aeneas
fatalem Aenean
ULYSSES FLAME:
INF C26 94-96 / DANTE
INF C26 94-6 / KLINE
né dolcezza di figlio, né la pieta
del vecchio padre, né 'l debito amore
lo qual dovea Penelopè far lieta,
not even my fondness for my son, Telemachus, my
reverence for my aged father, Laërtes, nor the debt
of love that should have made Penelope happy,
INF C26 97-99 / DANTE
vincer potero dentro a me l'ardore
ch'i' ebbi a divenir del mondo esperto
e de li vizi umani e del valore;
could restrain in me the desire I had,
to gain experience of the world,
and of human vice and worth.
INF C26 100-102 / DANTE
ma misi me per l'alto mare aperto
sol con un legno e con quella compagna
picciola da la qual non fui diserto.
I set out on the wide, deep ocean,
with only one ship and that little company,
that had not abandoned me.
A LAST VOYAGE, OF DANTE’S INVENTION, TO THE MOUNT OF PURGATORY, IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, VIA GIBRALTAR &
THE ATLANTIC, WHERE HE IS WRECKED.
THE FLAME SPEAKS FROM A DISTANCE.
SHIP.
IT IS MOVING, AS ALONG THE COURSE OF ULYSSES’
INF C26 103-105 / DANTE
INF C26 103-105 / KLINE
L'un lito e l'altro vidi infin la Spagna,
fin nel Morrocco, e l'isola d'i Sardi,
e l'altre che quel mare intorno bagna.
I saw both shores, as far as Spain,
as far as Morocco, and the isle of Sardinia,
and the other islands that sea washes.
DANTE notes:
INF C26 103-104 / KLINE
INF C26 103-104 / DANTE
I saw both shores, as far as Spain,
as far as Morocco, and the isle of Sardinia,
L'un lito e l'altro vidi infin la Spagna,
fin nel Morrocco, e l'isola d'i Sardi,
ULYSSES FLAME:
INF C26 106-108 / DANTE
INF C26 106-108 / KLINE
Io e ' compagni eravam vecchi e tardi
quando venimmo a quella foce stretta
dov' Ercule segnò li suoi riguardi
I and my companions were old and slow,
when we came to that narrow strait,
where Hercules set up his pillars,
PILLARS OF HERCULES: AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE MEDITERRANEAN, IN ANCIENT TIMES, THE LIMITS OF THE WESTERN WORLD
(NAMELY MOUNT ABYLA IN NORTH AFRICA, NEAR CEUTA & MOUNT CALPE, GIBRALTAR, WELL SOUTH-EAST OF SEVILLE).
THE ULYSSES FLAME SHIP MOVES OFF AGAIN AND PASSES
AND VIRGIL, WHO ARE STANDING WHERE THEY WERE.
VIRGIL
Look out!
&
DANTE
Guarda!
BETWEEN THE PILLARS,
DANTE
149
ULYSSES FLAME:
INF C26 109-111 / DANTE
INF C26 109-111 / KLINE
acciò che l'uom più oltre non si metta;
da la man destra mi lasciai Sibilia,
da l'altra già m'avea lasciata Setta.
to warn men from going further.
I left Seville to starboard: already Ceuta
was left behind on the other side.
INF C26 112-114 / KLINE
INF C26 112-114 / DANTE
I said: “O my brothers who have
reached the west, through a thousand
dangers, do not deny the brief vigil,
"O frati", dissi ``che per cento milia
perigli siete giunti a l'occidente,
a questa tanto picciola vigilia
INF C26 112-114 / DANTE
"O frati", dissi ``che per cento milia
perigli siete giunti a l'occidente,
a questa tanto picciola vigilia
“O my brothers Brothers who have
reached the west, through a thousand
dangers, do not deny the brief vigil,
INF C26 115-117 / DANTE
d'i nostri sensi ch'è del rimanente
non vogliate negar l'esperïenza,
di retro al sol, del mondo sanza gente.
your senses have left to them,
experience of the unpopulated
world beyond the Sun.
INF C26 118-120 / DANTE
Considerate la vostra semenza:
fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza".
Consider your origin: you were not made
to live like brutes,
but to follow virtue and knowledge.”
THE ULYSSES FLAME SHIP TURNS ROUND TO DANTE AND VIRGIL THEN RESUMES ITS
COURSE. THE POETS CATCH UP TO THE SHIP AND WALK BESIDE IT.
ULYSSES FLAME:
INF C26 121-123 / DANTE
INF C26 121-123 / KLINE
Li miei compagni fec' io sì aguti,
con questa orazion picciola, al cammino,
che a pena poscia li avrei ritenuti;
With this brief speech I made my companions
so eager for the voyage
that I could hardly have restrained them,
DANTE ORATES AS IF ADDRESSING ULYSSES’S COMPANIONS HIMSELF.
DANTE:
INF C26 118-120 / KLINE
INF C26 118-120 / DANTE
Consider your origin: you were not made
to live like brutes,
but to follow virtue and knowledge.”
Considerate la vostra semenza:
fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza".
ULYSSES FLAME:
INF C26 124-126 / DANTE
INF C26 124-126 / KLINE
e volta nostra poppa nel mattino,
de' remi facemmo ali al folle volo,
sempre acquistando dal lato mancino.
and turning the prow towards morning,
we made wings of our oars for that foolish flight,
always turning south.
INF C26 127-129 / DANTE
Tutte le stelle già de l'altro polo
vedea la notte, e 'l nostro tanto basso,
che non surgëa fuor del marin suolo.
Night already saw the southern pole
with all its stars, and our northern pole was so low
it did not rise from the ocean bed.
INF C26 130-132 / DANTE
Cinque volte racceso e tante casso
lo lume era di sotto da la luna,
poi che 'ntrati eravam ne l'alto passo,
Five times the light beneath the moon
had been quenched and relit
since we had entered on the deep pathways,
150
INF C26 133-135 / DANTE
quando n'apparve una montagna, bruna
per la distanza, e parvemi alta tanto
quanto veduta non avëa alcuna.
when a mountain appeared to us,
dim with distance, and it seemed to me
the highest I had ever seen.
INF C26 136-138 / DANTE
Noi ci allegrammo, e tosto tornò in pianto;
ché de la nova terra un turbo nacque
e percosse del legno il primo canto.
THE SHIP
CANTO.
We rejoiced, but soon our joy was turned to grief
when a tempest rose from the new land
and struck the prow of our ship.
LEANS THIS WAY AND THAT AND IS THEN BLOWN AWAY.
DANTE
CLOSES THE
DANTE:
INF C26 139-141 / KLINE
INF C26 139-141 / DANTE
Three times it whirled her round, with all
the ocean: at the fourth, it made the stern rise,
and the prow sink, as it pleased another,
Tre volte il fé girar con tutte l'acque;
a la quarta levar la poppa in suso
e la prora ire in giù, com' altrui piacque,
till the sea closed over us.
infin che 'l mar fu sovra noi richiuso».
INF C26 142 / DANTE
THE SHIP FIZZLES INTO THE DISTANCE.
CANTO 27
INF C27 1-18 / KLINE
The flame was now erect and quiet, no longer speaking, and was going away from us, with the permission of the sweet
poet, when another, that came behind forced us to turn our eyes towards its summit, since a confused sound escaped
there. As the Sicilian bull, that first bellowed with the groans of Perillus, who had smoothed it with his file (and that
was right) bellowed with the sufferer’s voice, so that, although it was bronze, it seemed pierced with agony, so here,
the dismal words, having, at their source, no exit from the fire, were changed into its language. But when they had
found a path out through the tip, giving it the movement that the tongue had given in making them, we heard it say:
ANOTHER FLAME ARRIVES FROM THE DIRECTION OF THE FIRST, ON THE HEAD OF ERATO.
GUIDO FLAME
INF C27 19-21 / DANTE
INF C27 19-21 / KLINE
udimmo dire: «O tu a cu' io drizzo
la voce e che parlavi mo lombardo,
dicendo ``Istra ten va, più non t'adizzo",
‘O you, at whom I direct my voice,
and who but now was speaking Lombard,
saying: “Now go: no more, I beg you”,
INF C27 22-24 / DANTE
perch' io sia giunto forse alquanto tardo,
non t'incresca restare a parlar meco;
vedi che non incresce a me, e ardo!
let it not annoy you to stop and speak with me,
though perhaps I have come a little late:
you see it does not annoy me, and I burn.
INF C27 25-27 / DANTE
Se tu pur mo in questo mondo cieco
caduto se' di quella dolce terra
latina ond' io mia colpa tutta reco,
If you are only now fallen into this blind world,
from that sweet Latian land,
from which I bring all my guilt,
INF C27 28-30 / DANTE
dimmi se Romagnuoli han pace o guerra;
ch'io fui d'i monti là intra Orbino
e 'l giogo di che Tever si diserra».
tell Tell me if Romagna has peace or war, for I was
of the mountains there, between Urbino and Monte
Coronaro, the source from which the Tiber springs.’
151
VIRGIL to Dante
INF C27 31-33 / DANTE
INF C27 31-33 / KLINE
Io era in giuso ancora attento e chino,
quando il mio duca mi tentò di costa,
dicendo: Parla tu; questi è latino.
I was still leaning downwards eagerly, when
my leader touched me on the side, saying:
Speak, this is a Latian.
DANTE:
INF C27 34-36 / DANTE
INF C27 34-36 / KLINE
E io, ch'avea già pronta la risposta,
sanza indugio a parlare incominciai:
O anima che se' là giù nascosta,
And I who had my answer ready,
began to speak then without delay:
O spirit, hidden there below,
INF C27 36 / KLINE
INF C27 36 / DANTE
O spirit, hidden there below,
O anima che se' là giù nascosta,
DANTE’S SPEECH WAS PROBABLY PREPARED EARLIER.
DANTE:
INF C27 37-39 / KLINE
INF C27 37-39 / DANTE
your Romagna is not, and never has been,
without war in the hearts of her tyrants:
but I left no open war there now.
Romagna tua non è, e non fu mai,
sanza guerra ne' cuor de' suoi tiranni;
ma 'n palese nessuna or vi lasciai.
INF C27 40-42 / DANTE
Ravenna stands, as it has stood for many years: Ravenna sta come stata è molt' anni:
Guido Vecchio da Polenta’s eagle broods over l'aguglia da Polenta la si cova,
it, so that it covers Cervia with its claws.
sì che Cervia ricuopre co' suoi vanni.
GUIDO VECCHIO DA POLENTA: LORD OF RAVENNA, FATHER OF FRANCESCA DA RIMINI
INF C27 43-45 / DANTE
That city, Forlì, that withstood so long a siege, La terra che fé già la lunga prova
and made a bloody pile of Frenchmen, finds
e di Franceschi sanguinoso mucchio,
itself again under the paws of Ordelaffi’s
sotto le branche verdi si ritrova.
green lion.
SINIBALDO DEGLI ORDELAFFI: IN 1300 HELD FORLÌ, WHICH HAD ENDURED A LONG SIEGE BY THE FRENCH SOLDIERS OF POPE
MARTIN IV. THE FRENCH WERE FINALLY ROUTED WITH GREAT SLAUGHTER BY GUIDO DA MONTEFELTRO HIMSELF. THE FAMILY
ARMS WERE A LION RAMPANT VERT ON A FIELD OR
INF C27 46-48 / DANTE
Malatesta, the old mastiff of Verrucchio,
E 'l mastin vecchio e 'l nuovo da Verrucchio,
and the young one, Malatestino, who made bad che fecer di Montagna il mal governo,
jailors for Montagna, sharpen their teeth, where là dove soglion fan d'i denti succhio.
they used to do.
MALATESTA
MASTIFF’ &
DA VERUCCHIO: LORD OF RIMINI, RULING FROM THE CASTLE OF VERRUCCHIO (1293-1312) WAS ‘THE OLD
HIS SON MALATESTINO ‘THE YOUNG MASTIFF’, NOTED FOR THEIR FEROCIOUS CRUELTY. GUELPHS, THEY
IMPRISONED (1295) & MURDERED THE GHIBELLINE LEADER IN RIMINI, MONTAGNA DE’ PARCITATI.
THE FLAME ROARS AND FLICKERS, ALMOST DROWNING OUT DANTE AS HE CONTINUES.
INF C27 49-51 / DANTE
Faenza, on the Lamone, and Imola on
the Santerno, those cities lead out Pagano,
the lion of the white lair, who changes sides
when he goes from south to north,
Le città di Lamone e di Santerno
conduce il lïoncel dal nido bianco,
che muta parte da la state al verno.
MAINARDO PAGANO, OR MAGHINARDO PAGANO DA SUSINANA: LORD OF FAENZA ON THE RIVER LAMONE; IMOLA, NEAR THE
SANTERNO; & FORLÌ. HIS ARMS WERE A LION AZURE ON A FIELD ARGENT. HE WAS A GHIBELLINE IN THE NORTH (‘STATE’) & A
GUELPH IN FLORENCE (‘VERNO’). HE DIED IN 1302
INF C27 52-54 / DANTE
and Cesena, that city whose walls the Savio
bathes, where it lies between the mountain
and the plain, likewise lives between
freedom and tyranny.
152
E quella cu' il Savio bagna il fianco,
così com' ella sie' tra 'l piano e 'l monte,
tra tirannia si vive e stato franco.
INF C27 55-57 / DANTE
INF C27 55-57 / KLINE
Ora chi se', ti priego che ne conte;
non esser duro più ch'altri sia stato,
se 'l nome tuo nel mondo tegna fronte.
Now I beg you, tell us who you are:
do not be harder than others have been to you,
so that your name may keep its lustre on earth.
INF C27 58-60 / KLINE
When the flame had roared for a while as usual, it flickered the sharp point to and fro, and then gave out this breath:
THE FLAME ROARS AND FLICKERS TO AND FRO FOR A WHILE, THEN SPEAKS.
GUIDO FLAME:
INF C27 61-63 / DANTE
INF C27 61-63 / KLINE
S'i' credesse che mia risposta fosse
a persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
questa fiamma staria sanza più scosse;
If I thought my answer was given to one
who could ever return to the world,
this flame would flicker no more,
GUIDO DA MONTEFELTRO
1223 - 1298 AGE : 75
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
MONTEFELTRO, ROMAGNA.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE ERATO. GUIDO’S VOICE.
GUIDO DA MONTEFELTRO (1223-1298): LORD OF URBINO & ONE OF THE GREAT GHIBELLINE CAPTAINS. HE BECAME A
FRANCISCAN FRIAR IN 1296. BONIFACE VIII SUMMONED HIM FROM HIS RETREAT IN 1297 TO CONSULT WITH HIM ABOUT THE
RAZING OF PALESTRINA (PENESTRINO) 25 MILES EAST OF ROME, HELD BY THE COLONNA FAMILY, WHO WERE IN REBELLION
AGAINST THE CHURCH. GUIDO, FINDING IT IMPREGNABLE, ADVISED BONIFACE TO MAKE A PROMISE OF IMMUNITY & THEN
BREAK IT. THE COLONNA SURRENDERED (SEPTEMBER 1298) AND THEIR FORTRESS WAS RAZED. DANTE REGARDED GUIDO
HIGHLY FOR ENTERING THE FRANCISCAN ORDER (SEE HIS CONVIVIO 4 28).
GUIDO FLAME:
INF C27 64-66 / DANTE
INF C27 64-66 / KLINE
ma però che già mai di questo fondo
non tornò vivo alcun, s'i' odo il vero,
sanza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
but since, if what I hear is true, no one
ever returned alive from this deep, I reply,
without fear of defamation.
INF C27 67-69 / DANTE
Io fui uom d'arme, e poi fui cordigliero,
credendomi, sì cinto, fare ammenda;
e certo il creder mio venìa intero,
I, Guido da Montefeltro, was a man of arms:
and then became a Cordelier of Saint Francis, hoping
to make amends, so habited: and indeed my hopes
would have been realised in full,
INF C27 70-72 / DANTE
se non fosse il gran prete, a cui mal prenda!, but for the Great Priest, Boniface, evil to him,
che mi rimise ne le prime colpe;
who drew me back to my first sins:
e come e quare, voglio che m'intenda.
and how and why I want you to hear from me.
DANTE notes:
INF C27 72 / KLINE
INF C27 72 / DANTE
and how and why, I want you to hear from me. e come e quare, voglio che m'intenda.
GUIDO FLAME:
INF C27 73-75 / DANTE
INF C27 73-75 / KLINE
Mentre ch'io forma fui d'ossa e di polpe
che la madre mi diè, l'opere mie
non furon leonine, ma di volpe.
While I was in the form of bones and pulp
that my mother gave me, my actions were
not those of the lion, but of the fox.
153
INF C27 76-78 / DANTE
Li accorgimenti e le coperte vie
io seppi tutte, e sì menai lor arte,
ch'al fine de la terra il suono uscie.
I knew all the tricks and coverts and employed
the art of them so well that the noise
went out to the ends of the earth.
INF C27 79-81 / DANTE
Quando mi vidi giunto in quella parte
di mia etade ove ciascun dovrebbe
calar le vele e raccoglier le sarte,
When I found myself arrived at that point of life
when everyone should furl their sails,
and gather in the ropes,
INF C27 82-84 / DANTE
ciò che pria mi piacëa, allor m'increbbe,
e pentuto e confesso mi rendei;
ahi miser lasso! e giovato sarebbe.
what had pleased me before, now grieved me, and
with repentance and confession, I turned monk.
Ah misery! Alas, it It would have served me well,
INF C27 85-87 / DANTE
Lo principe d'i novi Farisei,
avendo guerra presso a Laterano,
e non con Saracin né con Giudei,
but the Prince of the Pharisees;
that Pope waging war near the Lateran
and not with Saracens or Jews,
INF C27 88-90 / DANTE
ché ciascun suo nimico era cristiano,
e nessun era stato a vincer Acri
né mercatante in terra di Soldano,
since all his enemies were Christians,
and none had been to conquer Acre,
or been a merchant in the Sultan’s land;
DANTE notes:
INF C27 90 / KLINE
INF C27 90 / DANTE
or been a merchant in the Sultan’s land;
né mercatante in terra di Soldano,
GUIDO FLAME:
INF C27 91-93 / DANTE
INF C27 91-93 / KLINE
né sommo officio né ordini sacri
guardò in sé, né in me quel capestro
che solea fare i suoi cinti più macri.
had no regard for the highest office,
nor holy orders, nor my habit of Saint Francis,
that used to make those who wore it leaner;
INF C27 94-99 / KLINE
but as the Emperor Constantine sought out Saint Sylvester, on Mount Soracte, to cure his leprosy, so this man called
me, as a doctor to cure his feverish pride. He demanded counsel of me, and I kept silent, since his speech seemed
drunken.
INF C27 100-102 / DANTE
E' poi ridisse: "Tuo cuor non sospetti;
finor t'assolvo, e tu m'insegna fare
sì come Penestrino in terra getti.
Then he said to me: “Do not be doubtful, I absolve
you beforehand: and, you, teach me how to act, so
that I may raze the fortress of Palestrina to the
ground.
INF C27 103-105 / DANTE
Lo ciel poss' io serrare e diserrare,
come tu sai; però son due le chiavi
che 'l mio antecessor non ebbe care".
I can open and close Heaven as you know,
with the two keys, that my predecessor,
Celestine, did not prize.”
DANTE notes:
INF C27 100-102 / KLINE
INF C27 100-102 / DANTE
Then he said to me: “Do not be doubtful, I
absolve you beforehand: and, you, teach me
how to act, so that I may raze the fortress of
Palestrina to the ground.
E' poi ridisse: "Tuo cuor non sospetti;
finor t'assolvo, e tu m'insegna fare
sì come Penestrino in terra getti.
I can open and close Heaven as you know,
with the two keys, that my predecessor,
Celestine, did not prize.”
Lo ciel poss' io serrare e diserrare,
come tu sai; però son due le chiavi
che 'l mio antecessor non ebbe care".
INF C27 103-105 / DANTE
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONNET / MUSA
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONNET / DANTE
she seems to be a creature come from
Heaven to earth, to manifest a miracle.
e par che sia una cosa venuta
da cielo in terra a miracol mostrare.
154
GUIDO STOPS TALKING, CLEARLY PUZZLED AND WE IMAGINE THAT VIRGIL LOOKS SHARPLY
AT DANTE. DANTE SHAKES HIS HEAD TO CLEAR IT OF THE SONNET HE IS COMPOSING.
GUIDO FLAME:
INF C27 106-108 / DANTE
INF C27 106-108 / KLINE
Allor mi pinser li argomenti gravi
là 've 'l tacer mi fu avviso 'l peggio,
e dissi: "Padre, da che tu mi lavi
Then the weighty arguments forced me
to consider silence worse, and I said:
“Father, since you absolve me
DANTE notes:
INF C27 108 / KLINE
INF C27 108 / DANTE
“Father, since you absolve me
e dissi: "Padre, da che tu mi lavi"
GUIDO FLAME:
INF C27 109-110 / DANTE
INF C27 109-110 / KLINE
di quel peccato ov' io mo cader deggio,
lunga promessa con l'attender corto
ti farà trïunfar ne l'alto seggio".
of that sin, into which I must now fall, large
promises to your enemies, with little delivery of
them, will give you victory, from your high throne.”
INF C27 112-114 / DANTE
Francesco venne poi, com' io fu' morto,
per me; ma un d'i neri cherubini
li disse: "Non portar: non mi far torto.
Afterwards, when I was dead, Saint Francis
came for me: but one of the Black Cherubim
said to him: “Do not take him: do not wrong me.
INF C27 115-117 / DANTE
Venir se ne dee giù tra ' miei meschini
perché diede 'l consiglio frodolente,
dal quale in qua stato li sono a' crini;
He must descend among my servants, because he
gave a counsel of deceit, since when I have kept
him fast by the hair: he who does not repent,
INF C27 118-120 / DANTE
ch'assolver non si può chi non si pente,
né pentere e volere insieme puossi
per la contradizion che nol consente".
cannot be absolved: nor can one repent a thing,
and at the same time will it,
since the contradiction is not allowed.”
INF C27 121-123 / DANTE
Oh me dolente! come mi riscossi
quando mi prese dicendomi: "Forse
tu non pensavi ch'io löico fossi!".
O miserable self! How I started, when he seized me,
saying to me: “Perhaps
you did not think I was a logician.”
DANTE notes:
INF C27 121 / KLINE
INF C27 121 / DANTE
O miserable self! How I started, when he
seized me
Oh me dolente! come mi riscossi
GUIDO FLAME:
INF C27 124-126 / DANTE
INF C27 124-126 / KLINE
A Minòs mi portò; e quelli attorse
otto volte la coda al dosso duro;
e poi che per gran rabbia la si morse,
He carried me to Minos, who coiled his tail
eight times round his fearful back,
and then, biting it in great rage,
INF C27 127-129 / DANTE
disse: "Questi è d'i rei del foco furo";
per ch'io là dove vedi son perduto,
e sì vestito, andando, mi rancuro.
said: “This sinner is for the thievish fire”.,
and so I am lost here, as you see,
and clothed like this, go inwardly grieving.
INF C27 130-132 / KLINE
When he had ended his speech, so, the flame went sorrowing, writhing and flickering its sharp horn.
155
♫
INFERNAL * * * * * * * * * *
INF C27 127
CANTO 28
THE SOWERS OF DISCORD
DANTE CLOSES
BEHIND.
CANTO 27 AND RELATES WHAT HE SAW. VIRGIL INTERPRETS A VERSE OR 2
DANTE:
INF C27 133-135 / KLINE
INF C27 133-135 / DANTE
We passed on, my guide and I, along the cliff, Noi passamm' oltre, e io e 'l duca mio,
up to the other arch that covers the next ditch, su per lo scoglio infino in su l'altr' arco
in which the reward is paid
che cuopre 'l fosso in che si paga il fio
INF C27 136-138 / DANTE
to those who collect guilt by sowing discord.
a quei che scommettendo acquistan carco.
INF C28 1-6 / KLINE
Who could ever fully tell, even with repeated unimprisoned words, the blood and wounds I saw now? Every tongue
would certainly fail, since our speech and memory have too small a capacity to comprehend so much.
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
INF C28 7-9 / DANTE
INF C28 7-9 / KLINE
S'el s'aunasse ancor tutta la gente
che già, in su la fortunata terra
di Puglia, fu del suo sangue dolente
If all the people, too, were gathered who once
grieved for their blood in the fateful land of Apulia,
by reason of the Samnite War of the Romans,
INF C28 10-12 / DANTE
per li Troiani e per la lunga guerra
che de l'anella fé sì alte spoglie,
come Livïo scrive, che non erra,
of Trojan seed; and those, from that long Punic War,
that, as Livy writes, who does not err, yielded
so great a wealth of rings from Cannae’s battlefield;
LIVY: TITUS LIVIUS, THE ROMAN HISTORIAN. HE RECORDS (23 11, 12) THAT AT THE BATTLE OF CANNAE IN 216 BC IN THE
SECOND PUNIC WAR, WHERE HANNIBAL DEFEATED THE ROMANS, HE SHOWED THE SENATE AT CARTHAGE 3 BUSHELS OF GOLD
RINGS TAKEN FROM THE CORPSES.
INF C28 13-15 / DANTE
con quella che sentio di colpi doglie
per contastare a Ruberto Guiscardo;
e l'altra il cui ossame ancor s'accoglie
and those who felt the pain of blows
by withstanding Robert Guiscard; and the rest,
whose bones are still heaped
ROBERT GUISCARD:(D. 1085): FOUNDER OF THE NORMAN DYNASTY IN SOUTHERN ITALY & SICILY. HE WAGED WAR IN SICILY
& S.ITALY (1059 TO 1080), AGAINST THE GREEKS & SARACENS. HE RESCUED GREGORY VII & SACKED ROME IN 1084.
INF C28 16-18 / DANTE
a Ceperan, là dove fu bugiardo
ciascun Pugliese, e là da Tagliacozzo,
dove sanz' arme vinse il vecchio Alardo;
at Ceperano, where all the Apulians turned traitor
for Charles of Anjou; and there,
at Tagliacozzo where old Alardo’s
ALARDO: ERARD DE VALÉRY; IN 1268, AT TAGLIACOZZO, CHARLES
USING RESERVE TROOPS, ON THE ADVICE OF ERARD.
OF
ANJOU DEFEATED CONRADIN, MANFRED’S
NEPHEW,
INF C28 19-21 / DANTE
e qual forato suo membro e qual mozzo
mostrasse, d'aequar sarebbe nulla
il modo de la nona bolgia sozzo.
advice to Charles conquered without weapons:
and some were to show pierced limbs, and others
severed stumps; it would be nothing to equal the
hideous state of the ninth chasm.
156
DANTE STANDS SILENT FOR A WHILE, OPENS HIS MOUTH TO SPEAK, SHAKES HIS HEAD AND
CLOSES HIS MOUTH.
INF C28 22-63 / KLINE
Even a wine-cask, that has lost a stave in the middle or the end, does not yawn as widely, as a spirit I saw, cleft from
the chin down to the part that gives out the foulest sound: the entrails hung between his legs: the organs appeared, and
the miserable gut that makes excrement of what is swallowed. While I stood looking wholly at him, he gazed at me,
and opened his chest with his hands, saying: ‘See how I tear myself: see how Mahomet is ripped! In front of me, Ali
goes, weeping, his face split from chin to scalp, and all the others you see here, were sowers of scandal and schism in
their lifetimes: so they are cleft like this. There is a devil behind who tears us cruelly like this, reapplying his sword
blade to each of this crowd, when they have wandered round the sad road, since the wounds heal before any reach him
again. But who are you, who muse there on the cliff, maybe to delay your path to punishment, in sentence for your
crimes?’ My Master replied: ‘Death has not come to him yet, nor does guilt lead him to torment, but it is incumbent on
me, who am dead, to grant him full experience, and lead him, through the Inferno, down here, from circle to circle,
and this is truth, that I tell you.’ When they heard him, more than a hundred spirits, in the ditch, halted, to look at me,
forgetting their agony, in their wonder. After lifting up one foot, to leave, Mahomet said to me: ‘Well now, you who
will soon see the sun, perhaps, tell Fra Dolcino of the Apostolic Brothers, if he does not wish to follow me quickly,
down here, to furnish himself with supplies, so that the snow-falls may not bring a victory for the Novarese, that
otherwise would be difficult to achieve.’ Then, he strode forward to depart.
INF C28 64-93 / KLINE
Another, who had his throat slit, and nose cut off to the eyebrows, and had only a single ear, standing to gaze in
wonder with the rest, opened his wind-pipe, that was red outside, all over, and said: ‘You, that no guilt condemns, and
whom I have seen above on Latian ground, unless resemblance deceives me, remember Pier della Medicina, if you
ever return to see the gentle plain, that slopes down from Vercelli to Marcabò. And make known to the worthiest two
men in Fano, Messer Guido, and Angiolello, also, that unless our prophetic powers here are in vain, they will be cast
out of their boat, and drowned near Cattolica, by treachery. Neptune never saw a greater crime, between the isles of
Cyprus and Majorca, not even among those carried out by pirates, or by Greeks. Malatestino, the treacherous one, who
only sees with one eye, and holds the land, that one, who is here with me, wishes he had never seen, will make them
come to parley with him, then act so that they will have no need of vow or prayer to counter Focara’s winds. And I
said to him: ‘If you would have me carry news of you, above, show me and explain who he is that rues the sight of it.’
INF C28 94-117 / KLINE
Then he placed his hand on the jaw of one of his companions, and opened the mouth, saying: ‘This is he: and he does not
speak. This outcast quelled Caesar’s doubts at the Rubicon, saying that delay always harms men who are ready.’ O how
dejected, Curio seemed to me, with his tongue slit in his palate, who was so bold in speech! And one who had both hands
severed, lifting the stumps through the dark air, so that their blood stained his face, said: ‘You will remember Mosca too,
who said, alas, “A thing done, has an end” which was seed of evil to the Tuscan race.’ ‘And death to your people’ I added,
at which he, accumulating pain on pain, went away like one sad and mad. But I remained behind to view the crowd, and
saw a thing, which, without more proof, I would be afraid to even tell, except that conscience reassures me, the good
companion, that strengthens a man, under the armour of his self-respect.
♫
INFERNAL
INF C28 21
THE MUSIC HAS GIVEN DANTE HEART.
OF BERTRAN(D) DE BORN.
HE HOLDS UP AN IMAGINARY HEAD./.LANTERN, THAT
BERTRAND DE BORN (C 1140-1215): LORD OF THE CASTLE OF HAUTEFORT (ALTAFORTE), NEAR PÉRIGORD, WHO SPENT HIS LIFE
IN FEUDAL WARFARE, ENDED IT IN THE CISTERCIAN MONASTERY OF DALON, NEARBY. HE WAS ONE OF THE MOST INDIVIDUAL OF
THE PROVENÇAL TROUBADOURS. ONE OF HIS FINEST POEMS (‘SI TUIT LI DOHL ELH PLOR ELH MARRIMEN’) IS HIS SONG OF LAMENT
ON THE DEATH OF PRINCE HENRY PLANTAGENET, THE ELDER BROTHER TO RICHARD COEUR DE LION & NAMED THE ‘YOUNG
KING’, THE SON OF HENRY II OF ENGLAND, AND TWICE CROWNED IN HIS FATHER’S LIFETIME. BERTRAND WAS ACCUSED OF
STIRRING UP THE STRIFE WHEREBY HENRY II REFUSED TO GRANT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF ENGLAND OR NORMANDY TO HIS SON,
AND WHICH LASTED UNTIL THE YOUNG KING’S DEATH IN 1183. (SEE EZRA POUND’S POEM ‘NEAR PÉRIGORD’ FROM LUSTRA,
AND HIS TRANSLATION OF THE LAMENT ‘PLANH FOR THE YOUNG ENGLISH KING’ IN PERSONAE: ALSO HIS TRANSLATION OF
‘DOMPNA POIS DE ME NO’US CAL’ IN LUSTRA, WHERE BERTRAND MAKES ‘A BORROWED LADY’, ‘UNA DOMPNA SOISEUBUDA’ OR
‘UNA DONNA IDEALE’, OUT OF THE BEST CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NOBLE WOMEN HE KNOWS, AND ITS COMPANION PIECE ‘NA
AUDIART’ IN PERSONAE.)
DANTE:
INF C28 118-120 / DANTE
INF C28 118-120 / KLINE
Io vidi certo, e ancor par ch'io 'l veggia,
un busto sanza capo andar sì come
andavan li altri de la trista greggia;
I saw it clearly and still seem to see, a headless
trunk, that goes on before, like the others,
in that miserable crew,
157
INF C28 121-123 / DANTE
e 'l capo tronco tenea per le chiome,
pesol con mano a guisa di lanterna:
e quel mirava noi e dicea: «Oh me!».
and holds its severed head, by the hair,
swinging, like a lantern, in its hand.
It looked at us, and said: “Ah me!”.
INF C28 124-126 / DANTE
Di sé facea a sé stesso lucerna,
ed eran due in uno e uno in due;
com' esser può, quei sa che sì governa.
It made a lamp of itself, to light itself,
and there were two in one, and one in two:
how that can be he knows who made it so.
It made a lamp of itself, to light itself,
and there were two in one, and one in two:
how that can be he knows, who made it so.
Di sé facea a sé stesso lucerna,
ed eran due in uno e uno in due;
com' esser può, quei sa che sì governa.
INF C28 124-126 / DANTE
INF C28 127-142 / KLINE
When it was right at the foot of our bridge, it lifted its arm high, complete with the head, to bring its words near to us,
which were: ‘Now you see the grievous punishment, you, who go, alive and breathing, to see the dead: look if any are
as great as this. And so that you may carry news of me, know that I am Bertrand de Born, he who gave evil counsel to
the Young King. I made the father and the son rebel against each other: Ahithophel did no more for Absolom and
David, by his malicious stirrings. Because I parted those who were once joined, I carry my intellect, alas, split from its
origin in this body. So, in me, is seen just retribution.
DANTE HAS CLOSED THE
METRE.
CANTO
BUT THE SWING OF THE HEAD./.LANTERN GIVES HIM A
DANTE:
INF C28 123 / KLINE
INF C28 123 / DANTE
It looked at us, and said: “Ah me!”.
e quel mirava noi e dicea: «Oh me!... Oh me
...Oh, me… Oh, me… Oh, me…
CANTO 29
INF C29 1-3 / KLINE
The multitude of people, and the many wounds, had made my eyes so tear-filled, that they longed to stop and weep,
VIRGIL RETURNS ANGRILY AND SURPRISES DANTE.
VIRGIL:
INF C29 4-6 / DANTE
INF C29 4-6 / KLINE
Ma Virgilio mi disse: «Che pur guate?
perché la vista tua pur si soffolge
là giù tra l'ombre triste smozzicate?
but Virgil said to me: Why are you still gazing?
Why does your sight still rest
down there, on the sad, mutilated shadows?
INF C29 7-9 / DANTE
Tu non hai fatto sì a l'altre bolge;
pensa, se tu annoverar le credi,
che miglia ventidue la valle volge.
You did not do so at the other chasms.
Think, if you wish to number them,
that the The valley circles twenty-two miles,
INF C29 10-12 / DANTE
E già la luna è sotto i nostri piedi;
lo tempo è poco omai che n'è concesso,
e altro è da veder che tu non vedi».
see.
and the moon is already underneath our feet.
The time is short now that is given us,
and there are other things to view., than those you
158
DANTE MUTTERS A LINE IN PROVENÇAL FROM DE BORN WHICH IS APPROPRIATE TO DE
BORN AND TO DANTE’S COMPOSING OF TANTO GENTILE… (HE QUOTES IT IN DE VULGARI
ELOQUENTIA.)
DANTE:
CANZONE? / ?
CANZONE? / DE BORN
I cannot refrain from sending forth my song.
Non posc mudar c’un cantar non exparia.
…AND INVENTS AN ALIBI.
DANTE:
INF C29 13-15 / DANTE
INF C29 13-15 / KLINE
«Se tu avessi», rispuos' io appresso,
«atteso a la cagion per ch'io guardava,
forse m'avresti ancor lo star dimesso».
I replied, then: Had you noticed the reason
why I looked, perhaps you might
still have allowed me to stay.
INF C29 16-18 / DANTE
Parte sen giva, e io retro li andava,
lo duca, già faccendo la risposta,
e soggiugnendo: «Dentro a quella cava
Meanwhile, the guide was moving on,
and I went behind him, making my reply,
and adding, now: In the hollow
INF C29 19-21 / DANTE
dov' io tenea or li occhi sì a posta,
credo ch'un spirto del mio sangue pianga
la colpa che là giù cotanto costa».
where I held my gaze, I believe a spirit
of my own blood, laments the guilt
that costs so greatly here.
VIRGIL:
INF C29 22-24 / DANTE
INF C29 22-24 / KLINE
Allor disse 'l maestro: «Non si franga
lo tuo pensier da qui innanzi sovr' ello.
Attendi ad altro, ed ei là si rimanga;
Then the Master said: Do not let your thoughts
be distracted by him:
attend to something else: let him stay there.
INF C29 25-27 / DANTE
ch'io vidi lui a piè del ponticello
mostrarti e minacciar forte col dito,
e udi' 'l nominar Geri del Bello.
I saw him point to you, at the foot of the little bridge,
and threaten, angrily, with his finger:
and I heard them call him Geri del Bello
GERI DEL BELLO: FIRST COUSIN OF DANTE’S FATHER, WHO WAS KILLED FOR SOWING DISCORD AMONG THE SACCHETTI FAMILY
& WAS NOT AVENGED UNTIL THIRTY YEARS AFTER THE VISION, WHEN GERI’S NEPHEWS, THE SONS OF MESSER CIONE DEL
BELLO ALIGHIERI KILLED ONE OF THE SACCHETTI IN HIS OWN HOUSE. THE FAMILIES WERE RECONCILED IN 1342.
INF C29 28-30 / DANTE
Tu eri allor sì del tutto impedito
sovra colui che già tenne Altaforte,
che non guardasti in là, sì fu partito».
You were so entangled, then, with him
who once held Altaforte, that you did not
look that way, so he departed.
WITH HIM: BERTRAND DE BORN (THIS SECTION IS OMITTED)
DANTE:
INF C29 31-33 / DANTE
INF C29 31-33 / KLINE
«O duca mio, la vïolenta morte
che non li è vendicata ancor», diss' io,
«per alcun che de l'onta sia consorte,
I said: Oh, my guide, his violent murder made
him indignant, not yet avenged on his behalf,
by any that shares his shame:
INF C29 34-36 / DANTE
fece lui disdegnoso; ond' el sen gio
sanza parlarmi, sì com' ïo estimo:
e in ciò m'ha el fatto a sé più pio».
therefore, I guess, he went away
without speaking to me: and, by that,
has made me pity him the more.
DANTE QUIETLY TRANSLATES DE BORN’S LINE.
DANTE:
CANZONE? / DE BORN
CANZONE? / ?
Non posc mudar c’un cantar non exparia.
I cannot refrain from sending forth my song.
159
INF C29 37-45 / KLINE
So we talked, as far as the first place on the causeway that would have revealed the next valley, right to its floor, if it
had been lighter. When we were above the last cloister of Malebolge, so that its lay brothers could be seen, many
groans pierced me, whose arrows were barbed with pity, at which I covered my ears with my hands.
DANTE
LAUNCHES INTO A FALSELY-FERVENT DESCRIPTION OF THE
INTERPRETS OR GIVES HIS OWN, BRIEFER ACCOUNT.
DANTE:
&
10TH CHASM. VIRGIL
VIRGIL:
INF C29 46-48 / DANTE
INF C29 46-48 / KLINE
Qual dolor fora, se de li spedali
di Valdichiana tra 'l luglio e 'l settembre
e di Maremma e di Sardigna i mali
Such pain there was, as there would be, if the
diseases in the hospitals of Valdichiana, Maremma
and Sardinia, between July and September,
INF C29 49-51 / DANTE
fossero in una fossa tutti 'nsembre,
tal era quivi, e tal puzzo n'usciva
qual suol venir de le marcite membre.
were all rife in one ditch:
a stench arose from it,
such as issues from putrid limbs.
INF C29 52-54 / DANTE
Noi discendemmo in su l'ultima riva
del lungo scoglio, pur da man sinistra;
e allor fu la mia vista più viva
We descended on the last bank
of the long causeway, again on the left,
and then my sight was clearer,
INF C29 55-57 / DANTE
giù ver' lo fondo, la 've la ministra
de l'alto Sire infallibil giustizia
punisce i falsador che qui registra.
down to the depths, where infallible Justice,
the minister of the Lord on high,
punishes the falsifiers that it accounts for here.
INF C29 58-60 / DANTE
Non credo ch'a veder maggior tristizia
fosse in Egina il popol tutto infermo,
quando fu l'aere sì pien di malizia,
I do not think it would have been a greater
sadness to see the people of plague-ridden Aegina
when the air was so malignant,
AEGINA: OVID: METAMORPHOSES 7 523-657
INF C29 61-63 / DANTE
che li animali, infino al picciol vermo,
cascaron tutti, e poi le genti antiche,
secondo che i poeti hanno per fermo,
that every animal, even the smallest worm,
was killed, and afterwards, as Poets say,
for certain, the ancient race
INF C29 64-66 / DANTE
si ristorar di seme di formiche;
ch'era a veder per quella oscura valle
languir li spirti per diverse biche.
was restored from the seed of ants,
than it was to see the spirits languishing
in scattered heaps through that dim valley.
INF C29 67-84 / KLINE
This one lay on its belly, that, on the shoulders of the other, and some were crawling along the wretched path. Step by
step we went, without a word, gazing at, and listening to, the sick who could not lift their bodies. I saw two sitting,
leaning on each other, as one pan is leant to warm against another: I never saw a stable lad his master waits for, or one
who stays awake unwillingly, use a currycomb as fiercely, as each of these two clawed himself with his nails, because
of the intensity of their itching, that has no other relief. And so the nails dragged the scurf off, as a knife does the
scales from bream, or other fish with larger scales.
INF C29 85-108 / KLINE
My Guide began to speak: ‘O you, who strip your chain-mail with your fingers, and often make pincers of them, tell
us if there is any Latian among those here, inside: and may your nails be enough for that task for eternity.’ One of
them replied, weeping: ‘We are both Latians, whom you see so mutilated here, but who are you who enquire of us?
And the guide said: ‘I am one, who with this living man, descends from steep to steep, and mean to show him Hell.’
Then the mutual prop broke, and each one turned, trembling, towards me, along with others that heard him, by the
echo. The good Master addressed me directly, saying: ‘Tell them what you wish,’ and I began as he desired: ‘So that
your memory will not fade, from human minds, in the first world, but will live for many suns, tell us who you are, and
of what race. Do not let your ugly and revolting punishment make you afraid to reveal yourselves to me.’
160
FALSIFIERS, LIARS
VOICES COME OUT OF THE DARKNESS AS DANTE SPEAKS.
GRIFFOLINO:
INF C29 109-111 / DANTE
INF C29 109-111 / KLINE
Io fui d'Arezzo, e Albero da Siena,
rispuose l’un mi fé mettere al foco;
ma quel per ch'io mori' qui non mi mena.
The one replied: I was Griffolino of Arezzo,
and Albero of Siena had me burned:
but what I died for did not send me here.
GRIFFOLINO
----
----?
*
?-*
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
AREZZO.
DESCRIPTION
--?
AGE : *
GRIFFOLINO:
INF C29 112-114 / DANTE
INF C29 112-114 / KLINE
Vero è ch'i' dissi lui, parlando a gioco:
``I' mi saprei levar per l'aere a volo";
e quei, ch'avea vaghezza e senno poco,
It is true I said to him, jesting,
“I could lift myself into the air in flight.,”
and he He who had great desire and little brain,
INF C29 115-117 / DANTE
volle ch'i' li mostrassi l'arte; e solo
perch' io nol feci Dedalo, mi fece
ardere a tal che l'avea per figliuolo.
wished me to show him that art: and only because
I could not make him Daedalus, he caused me
to be burned., by one who looked on him as a son.
INF C29 118-120 / KLINE
But to the last chasm of the ten, Minos, who cannot err, condemned me, for the alchemy I practised in the world.’
DANTE:
INF C29 121-123 / DANTE
INF C29 121-123 / KLINE
E io dissi al poeta: «Or fu già mai
gente sì vana come la sanese?
Certo non la francesca sì d'assai!».
And I said to the poet: Now was there
ever a people as vain as the Sienese?
Certainly not the French, by far.
VIRGIL:
INF C29 122 / KLINE
INF C29 122 / DANTE
ever a people as vain as the Sienese?
gente sì vana come la sanese?
DANTE:
INF C29 123 / DANTE
INF C29 123 / KLINE
Certo non la francesca sì d'assai!
Certainly not the French, by far.
CAPOCCHIO IS IMPERSONATED BY A MUSE.
CAPOCCHIO / EUTERPE:
INF C29 124-126 / DANTE
INF C29 124-126 / KLINE
Onde l’altro lebbroso, che m’intese,
rispuose al detto mio: Tra'mene Stricca
che seppe far le temperate spese,
At which the other leper, hearing me,
replied to my words: What of Stricca,
who contrived to spend so little:
161
CAPOCCHIO
----
*
? - 1293
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BORN IN FLORENCE BUT MAY HAVE PICKED UP THE SIENESE DIALECT.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE EUTERPE
CAPOCCHIO: FLORENTINE ALCHEMIST KNOWN TO DANTE, BURNT ALIVE AT SIENA IN 1293.
STRICCA: WITH NICCOLO, CACCIA & THE ABBAGLIATO (‘THE FOOLISH’) A MEMBER OF THE BRIGATA SPENDERECCIA, THE
SPENDTHRIFT BRIGADE, A CLUB FOUNDED BY TWELVE WEALTHY SIENESE, IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY,
WHO VIED WITH EACH OTHER IN SQUANDERING THEIR MONEY ON RIOTOUS LIVING.
CAPOCCHIO / EUTERPE:
INF C29 127-129 / DANTE
INF C29 127-129 / KLINE
e Niccolò che la costuma ricca
del garofano prima discoverse
ne l'orto dove tal seme s'appicca;
and Niccolo who first discovered the costly use
of cloves, in that garden, Siena,
where such seed takes root:
INF C29 130-132 / DANTE
e tra'ne la brigata in che disperse
Caccia d'Ascian la vigna e la gran fonda,
e l'Abbagliato suo sen no proferse.
and that company in which Caccia of Aciano
threw away his vineyard and his vast forest,
and Abbagliato the fool showed his wit.
INF C29 133-135 / DANTE
Ma perché sappi chi sì ti seconda
contra i Sanesi, aguzza ver' me l'occhio,
sì che la faccia mia ben ti risponda:
But so That you may know who seconds you
like this against the Sienese, sharpen your eye
on me, so that and my face may reply to you:
INF C29 136-138 / DANTE
sì vedrai ch'io son l'ombra di Capocchio,
che falsai li metalli con l'alchìmia;
e te dee ricordar, se ben t'adocchio,
so You will see I am Capocchio’s shadow shade,
who made false metals by alchemy,
and you must remember, if I know you rightly,
INF C29 139 / DANTE
com' io fui di natura buona scimia.
how well I aped nature.
CAPOCCHIO / EUTERPE:
DE VULGARI ELOQUENTIA dialect / SOC.DANTE
DE VULGARI ELOQUENTIA dialect /. DANTE
If only I’d left Siena for good.
Onche renegata avess’io Siena
THIS REMARK COULD INSTEAD BE MADE BY GRIFFOLINO OF AREZZO.
DANTE
DE VULGARI ELOQUENTIA / SOC. DANT. tr?
Onche renegata avess’io Siena
If only I’d left Siena for good., he says.
DANTE PEERS AT THE UNSEEN FACE AND CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C29 136-138 / KLINE
INF C29 136-138 / DANTE
so you will see I am Capocchio’s shadow,
sì vedrai ch'io son l'ombra di Capocchio,
who made false metals, by alchemy,
che falsai li metalli con l'alchìmia;
and you must remember, if I know you rightly, e te dee ricordar, se ben t'adocchio,
how well I aped nature.
CANTO 30
com' io fui di natura buona scimia.
162
INF C30 1-27 / KLINE
At the time when Juno was angry, as she had shown more than once, with the Theban race, because of Jupiter’s affair
with Semele, she so maddened King Athamas, that, seeing his wife, Ino, go by, carrying her two sons in her arms, he
cried: “Spread the hunting nets so that I can take the lioness and her cubs at the pass,” and then stretched out his pitiless
talons, snatching the one, named Learchus, and, whirling him round, dashed him against the rock: and Ino drowned
herself, and her other burden, Melicertes. And after fortune had brought down the high Trojan pride, that dared all, so that
Priam the king, and his kingdom were destroyed, Queen Hecuba, a sad, wretched captive, having witnessed the sacrifice
of Polyxena, alone, on the sea-shore, when she recognised the body of her Polydorus, barked like a dog, driven out of her
senses, so greatly had her sorrow racked her mind. But neither Theban nor Trojan Furies were ever seen embodied so
cruelly, in stinging creatures, or even less in human limbs, as I saw displayed in two shades, pallid and naked, that ran,
biting, as a hungry pig does, when he is driven out of his sty.
INF C30 28-57 / KLINE
The one came to Capocchio, and fixed his tusks in his neck, so that dragging him along, it made the solid floor rasp his
belly. And the Aretine, Griffolino, who was left, said to me, trembling: ‘That goblin is Gianni Schicci, and he goes,
rabidly, mangling others like that.’ ‘Oh, be pleased to tell us who the other is, before it snatches itself away, and may it
not plant its teeth in you.’ And he to me: ‘That is the ancient spirit of incestuous Myrrha, who loved her father,
Cinyras, with more than lawful love. She came to him, and sinned, under cover of another’s name, just as the one who
is vanishing there, undertook to disguise himself as Buoso Donati, so as to gain the mare, called the Lady of the Herd,
by forging a will, and giving it legal form.’ When the furious pair, on whom I had kept my eye, were gone, I turned to
look at the other spirits, born to evil. I saw one, who would have been shaped like a lute, if he had only had his groin
cut short, at the place where a man is forked. The heavy dropsy, that swells the limbs, with its badly transformed
humours, so that the face does not match the belly, made him hold his lips apart, as the fevered patient does who,
through thirst, curls one lip towards the chin, and the other upwards.
A SPIRIT CALLS OUT.
ADAMO OF BRESCIA
INF C30 58-60 / DANTE
INF C30 58-60 / KLINE
O voi che sanz' alcuna pena siete,
e non so io perché, nel mondo gramo,
diss' elli a noi, guardate e attendete
He said to us: O you You, who are exempt from
punishment in this grim world
(and why, I do not know), look and attend to
ADAMO OF BRESCIA
----? - *----?
*
AGE : 50??
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BRESCIA, ROMAGNA.
DESCRIPTION
WRAPPED UP AND LYING BARELY VISIBLE AT THE BACK OF THE STAGE.
ADAMO OF BRESCIA
INF C30 61-63 / DANTE
INF C30 61-63 / KLINE
a la miseria del maestro Adamo;
io ebbi, vivo, assai di quel ch'i' volli,
e ora, lasso!, un gocciol d'acqua bramo.
the misery of Maestro Adamo.
I had enough of what I wished, when I was
alive, and now, alas, I crave a drop of water.
INF C30 64-66 / DANTE
Li ruscelletti che d'i verdi colli
del Casentin discendon giuso in Arno,
faccendo i lor canali freddi e molli,
The little streams that fall, from the green hills
of Casentino, down to the Arno,
making cool, moist channels,
INF C30 67-69 / DANTE
sempre mi stanno innanzi, e non indarno,
ché l'imagine lor vie più m'asciuga
che 'l male ond' io nel volto mi discarno.
are constantly in my mind, and not in vain, since
the image of them parches me, far more than
the disease that wears the flesh from my face.
DANTE NOTES WITH UNCONSCIOUS CRUELTY.
DANTE
INF C30 63 / KLINE
INF C30 63 / DANTE
alive, and now, alas, I crave a drop of water.
e ora, lasso!, un gocciol d'acqua bramo.
163
INF C30 64-66 / DANTE
The little streams that fall, from the
green hills of Casentino, down to the Arno,
making cool, moist channels,
Li ruscelletti che d'i verdi colli
del Casentin discendon giuso in Arno,
faccendo i lor canali freddi e molli,
ADAMO’S VOICE IS HOARSER NOW.
ADAMO OF BRESCIA
INF C30 70-72 / DANTE
INF C30 70-72 / KLINE
La rigida giustizia che mi fruga
tragge cagion del loco ov' io peccai
a metter più li miei sospiri in fuga.
The rigid justice, that examines me,
takes its opportunity from the place
where I sinned, to give my sighs more rapid flight.
INF C30 73-75 / DANTE
Ivi è Romena, là dov' io falsai
la lega suggellata del Batista;
per ch'io il corpo sù arso lasciai.
That is Romena, where I counterfeited the coin
of Florence, stamped with John the Baptist’s image:
for that, on earth, I left my body, burned.
INF C30 76-90 / KLINE
But if I could see the wretched soul of Guido here, or Alessandro, or Aghinolfo, their brother, I would not exchange
that sight for Branda’s fountain. Guido is down here already, if the crazed spirits going round speak truly, but what use
is it to me, whose limbs are tied? If I were only light enough to move, even an inch, every hundred years, I would
already have started on the road, to find him among this disfigured people, though it winds around eleven miles, and is
no less than half a mile across. Because of them I am with such a crew: they induced me to stamp those florins that
were adulterated, with three carats alloy.’
DANTE:
INF C30 91-93 / DANTE
INF C30 91-93 / KLINE
E io a lui: Chi son li due tapini
che fumman come man bagnate 'l verno,
giacendo stretti a' tuoi destri confini?
I said to him: Who are those abject two,
lying close to your right edge, and giving
off smoke like a hand, bathed, in winter?
INF C30 94-96 / DANTE
INF C30 94-96 / KLINE
Qui li trovai--e poi volta non dierno,
rispuose, quando piovvi in questo greppo,
e non credo che dieno in sempiterno.
He replied: I found them here when I rained down
into this pound and they have not turned since then,
and may never turn I believe.
ADAMO OF BRESCIA:
INF C30 97-99 / DANTE
L'una è la falsa ch'accusò Gioseppo;
l'altr' è 'l falso Sinon greco di Troia:
per febbre aguta gittan tanto leppo».
One is Potiphar’s the false wife who accused Joseph.
The other is lying Sinon, the Greek from Troy.
A burning fever makes them stink so strongly.
JOSEPH: POTIPHAR’S WIFE TRIED TO SEDUCE HIM & CAUSED HIM TO BE IMPRISONED. (GENESIS 29.)
INF C30 100-105 / KLINE
And Sinon, who perhaps took offence at being named so blackly, struck Adamo’s rigid belly with his fist, so that it
resounded, like a drum: and Master Adam struck him in the face with his arm, that seemed no softer,
SINON STRIKES ‘ADAMO’S RIGID BELLY WITH HIS FIST, SO THAT IT RESOUNDS LIKE A DRUM’
[INF C30 100-105]. ADAMO GROANS.
SINON
--
AGE : * ?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
GREECE.
DESCRIPTION.
BEHIND ADAMO.
SINON: A GREEK WHO ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE CAPTURED BY THE TROJANS & PERSUADED THEM TO ADMIT
HORSE INTO TROY. DANTE, AS A TUSCAN CONSIDERS HIMSELF OF TROJAN DESCENT & OPPOSED TO THE GREEKS.
THE
WOODEN
ADAMO OF BRESCIA:
INF C30 106-108 / DANTE
INF C30 106-108 / KLINE
dicendo a lui: Ancor che mi sia tolto
lo muover per le membra che son gravi,
ho io il braccio a tal mestiere sciolto.
saying to him: I have an arm free
for such a situation, though I am
kept from moving by my heavy limbs.
164
WE HEAR ADAMO HITTING SINON IN THE FACE [INF C30 100-105]. SINON GROANS.
SINON:
INF C30 109-111 / DANTE
INF C30 109-111 / KLINE
Ond' ei rispuose: Quando tu andavi
al fuoco, non l'avei tu così presto;
ma sì e più l'avei quando coniavi.
At which Sinon answered: You were not so ready
with it, going to the fire, but as ready,
and readier, when you were coining.
HE HITS ADAMO IN THE STOMACH AGAIN. THE TWO CONTINUE TO PUNCTUATE THEIR
QUARREL WITH CONTRASTING BLOWS, WHICH (AS DE BORN’S HEAD/LANTERN DID EARLIER)
BECOME RHYTHM FOR DANTE’S COMPOSITION.
ADAMO OF BRESCIA:
INF C30 112-114 / DANTE
INF C30 112-114 / KLINE
E l'idropico: Tu di' ver di questo:
ma tu non fosti sì ver testimonio
là 've del ver fosti a Troia richesto.
And he of the dropsy: You speak truth in that,
but you You were not so truthful a witness, there,
when you were questioned about the truth at Troy.
SINON:
INF C30 115-117 / DANTE
INF C30 115-117 / KLINE
S'io dissi falso, e tu falsasti il conio,
disse Sinon; e son qui per un fallo,
e tu per più ch'alcun altro demonio!
If I spoke falsely, you falsified the coin,
Sinon said, and I am I’m here for the one crime,
but you for more than any other devil.
ADAMO OF BRESCIA:
INF C30 118-120 / DANTE
INF C30 118-120 / KLINE
Ricorditi, spergiuro, del cavallo,
rispuose quel ch'avëa infiata l'epa;
e sieti reo che tutto il mondo sallo!
He who had the swollen belly answered:
Think of the Wooden Horse, you liar., and let it be
a torment to you that all the world knows of it.
SINON:
INF C30 121-123 / DANTE
INF C30 121-123 / KLINE
E te sia rea la sete onde ti crepa,
disse 'l Greco, la lingua, e l'acqua marcia
che 'l ventre innanzi a li occhi sì t'assiepa!
The Greek replied: Let the thirst that cracks crack
your the tongue. be your torture, and the foul water
make your stomach a barrier in front of your eyes.
INF C30 124-129 / KLINE
Then the coiner: Your mouth gapes wide as usual, to speak ill. If I have a thirst, and moisture swells me, you have the
burning, and a head that hurts you: and you would not need many words of invitation, to lap at the mirror of Narcissus.
VIRGIL RETURNS AND FACES DANTE.
VIRGIL:
INF C30 130-132 / DANTE
INF C30 130-132 / KLINE
Ad ascoltarli er' io del tutto fisso,
quando 'l maestro mi disse: Or pur mira,
che per poco che teco non mi risso!
I was standing, all intent on hearing them,
when the Master said to me: Now, keep gazing
much longer and I will quarrel with you!
INF C30 133-135 / KLINE
When I heard him speak to me in anger, I turned towards him, with such a feeling of shame that it comes over me
again, as I only think of it.
165
DANTE (murmurs):
INF C30 136-138 / DANTE
INF C30 136-138 / KLINE
Qual è colui che suo dannaggio sogna,
che sognando desidera sognare,
sì che quel ch'è, come non fosse, agogna,
And like Like someone who dreams of something
harmful to them, and dreaming, wishes it were a
dream, so that they long for what is, as if it were not;
INF C30 139-141 / DANTE
tal mi fec' io, non possendo parlare,
che disïava scusarmi, e scusava
me tuttavia, e nol mi credea fare.
that I became, who, lacking power to speak,
wished to make an excuse, and all the while did so,
not thinking I was doing it.
VIRGIL:
INF C30 142-144 / DANTE
INF C30 142-144 / KLINE
Maggior difetto men vergogna lava,
disse 'l maestro, che 'l tuo non è stato;
però d'ogne trestizia ti disgrava.
My Master said: Less shamefacedness would wash
away a greater fault than yours,
so unburden yourself of sorrow,
INF C30 145-147 / DANTE
E fa ragion ch'io ti sia sempre allato,
se più avvien che fortuna t'accoglia
dove sien genti in simigliante piato:
and know that I am always with you,
should it happen that fate takes you,
where people are in similar conflict:
INF C30 148 / DANTE
ché voler ciò udire è bassa voglia».
since the desire to hear it, is a vulgar desire.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO, MORE ASHAMED BY VIRGIL’S READY FORGIVENESS.
DANTE:
INF C30 142-144 / KLINE
INF C30 142-144 / DANTE
My Master said: Less shamefacedness
would wash away a greater fault than yours,
so unburden yourself of sorrow,
Maggior difetto men vergogna lava,
disse 'l maestro, che 'l tuo non è stato;
però d'ogne trestizia ti disgrava.
and know that I am always with you,
should it happen that fate takes you,
where people are in similar conflict:
E fa ragion ch'io ti sia sempre allato,
se più avvien che fortuna t'accoglia
dove sien genti in simigliante piato:
since the desire to hear it, is a vulgar desire.
ché voler ciò udire è bassa voglia».
INF C30 145-147 / DANTE
INF C30 148 / KLINE
CANTO 31
INF C31 1-9 / KLINE
One and the same tongue at first wounded me, so that it painted both my cheeks with blushes, and then gave out the
ointment for the wound. So I have heard the spear of Achilles, and his father Peleus, was the cause first of sadness,
and then of a healing gift. We turned our back on the wretched valley, crossing without a word, up by the bank that
circles round it.
166
NIMROD
DANTE:
INF C31 10-12 / KLINE
INF C31 10-12 / DANTE
Here was less darkness than night and less light Quiv' era men che notte e men che giorno,
than day, so that my vision showed only a little sì che 'l viso m'andava innanzi poco;
in front: but I heard a high-pitched horn sound, ma io senti' sonare un alto corno,
INF C31 12 / DANTE
INF C31 12 / KLINE
ma io senti' sonare un alto corno,
little in front: but I heard a high-pitched horn sound,
INF C31 13-15 / KLINE
so loudly, that it would have made thunder seem quiet: it directed my eyes, that followed its passage back, straight to a
single point.
VIRGIL:
INF C31 16-18 / DANTE
INF C31 16-18 / KLINE
Roland did not sound his horn so fiercely
after the sad rout, when Charlemagne
had lost the holy war at Roncesvalles.
Dopo la dolorosa rotta, quando
Carlo Magno perdé la santa gesta,
non sonò sì terribilmente Orlando!
DANTE:
INF C31 16-18 / DANTE
INF C31 16-18 / KLINE
Dopo la dolorosa rotta, quando
Carlo Magno perdé la santa gesta,
non sonò sì terribilmente Orlando.
Roland did not sound his horn so fiercely
after the sad rout, when Charlemagne
had lost the holy war at Roncesvalles.
DANTE PEERS AND POINTS INTO THE BLACK DISTANCE OF BACKSTAGE.
DANTE:
or DANTE:
INF C31 19-21 / DANTE
INF C31 19-21 / KLINE
Poco portäi in là volta la testa,
che me parve veder molte alte torri;
ond' io: Maestro, dì, che terra è questa?
I had kept my head turned for a while in that
direction, when I seemed to make out many high
towers, at which I said: Master, tell me what city
this is?
VIRGIL:
INF C31 22-24 / DANTE
INF C31 22-24 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Però che tu trascorri
per le tenebre troppo da la lungi,
avvien che poi nel maginare abborri.
And he to me: Because your eyes traverse
the darkness from too far away,
it follows that you imagine wrongly.
INF C31 25-27 / DANTE
Tu vedrai ben, se tu là ti congiungi,
quanto 'l senso s'inganna di lontano;
però alquanto più te stesso pungi».
You will see, quite plainly, when you reach there,
how much the sense is deceived by distance,
so press on more strongly.
INF C31 28-30 / DANTE
Poi caramente mi prese per mano
e disse: «Pria che noi siam più avanti,
acciò che 'l fatto men ti paia strano,
Then he took me, lovingly, by the hand, and said:
Before we go further, so that the reality
might seem less strange to you,
INF C31 31-33 / DANTE
sappi che non son torri, ma giganti,
e son nel pozzo intorno da la ripa
da l'umbilico in giuso tutti quanti».
know that they are Giants, not towers,
and are in the pit from the navel downwards,
all of them around its bank.
167
♫
INFERNAL * * * * * * * * * *
INF C31 33
DANTE PEERS AND SPEAKS. VIRGIL INTERPRETS OR TELLS WHAT HE SEES HIMSELF.
INF C31 34-39 / KLINE
As the eye, when a mist is disappearing, gradually recreates what was hidden by the vapour thickening the air, so,
while approaching closer and closer to the brink, piercing through that gross, dark atmosphere, error left me, and my
fear increased.
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
INF C31 40-42 / DANTE
INF C31 40-42 / KLINE
però che, come su la cerchia tonda
Montereggion di torri si corona,
così la proda che 'l pozzo circonda
As Montereggione crowns its round wall
with towers, so the terrible giants,
whom Jupiter still threatens
INF C31 43-45 / DANTE
torreggiavan di mezza la persona
li orribili giganti, cui minaccia
Giove del cielo ancora quando tuona.
from the heavens, when he thunders,
turreted with half their bodies
the bank that circles the well.
DANTE:
INF C31 46-48 / DANTE
INF C31 46-48 / KLINE
E io scorgeva già d'alcun la faccia,
le spalle e 'l petto e del ventre gran parte,
e per le coste giù ambo le braccia.
And I already saw see the face of one,
the shoulders, chest, the greater part of
the belly, and the arms down both sides.
INF C31 49-51 / DANTE
Natura certo, quando lasciò l'arte
di sì fatti animali, assai fé bene
per tòrre tali essecutori a Marte.
When nature abandoned the art of making
creatures like these, she certainly did well
by removing such killers from warfare,
INF C31 52-54 / DANTE
E s'ella d'elefanti e di balene
non si pente, chi guarda sottilmente,
più giusta e più discreta la ne tene;
and if she does not repent of making elephants
and whales, whoever looks at the issue subtly,
considers her more prudent and more right in that,
INF C31 55-57 / DANTE
ché dove l'argomento de la mente
s'aggiugne al mal volere e a la possa,
nessun riparo vi può far la gente.
since where the instrument of mind
is joined to ill will and power,
men have no defence against it.
INF C31 58-60 / DANTE
La faccia sua mi parea lunga e grossa
come la pina di San Pietro a Roma,
e a sua proporzione eran l'altre ossa;
His face seemed seems to me as long and large
as the bronze pine-cone,
in front of St Peter’s in Rome,
BRONZE PINE-CONE: ONCE ON THE TOP OF THE MAUSOLEUM OF ADRIAN & THEN MOVED TO THE VATICAN GARDENS, STOOD IN
FRONT OF ST PETER’S & WAS BETWEEN SEVEN & EIGHT FEET HIGH.
DANTE DEMONSTRATES BY HOLDING HIS HAND ABOVE HIS HEAD.
DANTE:
INF C31 61-63 / DANTE
INF C31 61-63 / KLINE
sì che la ripa, ch'era perizoma
dal mezzo in giù, ne mostrava ben tanto
di sovra, che di giugnere a la chioma
and his other features were are in proportion, so that
the bank that covered covers him from the middle
onwards, revealed reveals so much of him above that
168
INF C31 64-66 / DANTE
tre Frison s'averien dato mal vanto;
però ch'i' ne vedea trenta gran palmi
dal loco in giù dov' omo affibbia 'l manto.
three Frieslanders would have boasted in vain of
reaching his hair., since I saw There are thirty large
hand-spans of him down from the place where a man
pins his cloak.
NIMROD./.EUTERPE RESPONDS TO DANTE’S SCRUTINY BY BABBLING
WITH HER FINGER. (MAKING NO ATTEMPT AT Raphèl maì…).
HIS/HER LIPS AT HIM
NIMROD / EUTERPE:
INF C31 67-69 / KLINE
INF C31 67-69 / DANTE
Raphèl maì amècche zabì almi,
The savage mouth, for which
no sweeter hymns were fit, began to rave:
«Raphèl maì amècche zabì almi»,
cominciò a gridar la fiera bocca,
cui non si convenia più dolci salmi.
NIMROD
mythical?
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
BABYLON.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE EUTERPE.
RAPHÈL: AN UNINTELLIGIBLE MIXTURE OF TONGUES.
NIMROD: THE MIGHTY HUNTER, RULER OF BABEL (BABYLON), UNDER WHOSE RULE DANTE PLACES THE BUILDING OF THE
TOWER OF BABEL IN THE LAND OF SHINAR, WHICH GOD FROWNED ON, CONFOUNDING THEIR LANGUAGE (GENESIS 10 9, GENESIS
11 4)
DANTE:
INF C31 68-69 / DANTE
INF C31 68-69 / KLINE
cominciò a gridar la fiera bocca,
cui non si convenia più dolci salmi.
The savage mouth, for which no sweeter
hymns were fit, began begins to rave:
VIRGIL:
INF C31 70-72 / DANTE
INF C31 70-72 / KLINE
E 'l duca mio ver' lui: «Anima sciocca,
tienti col corno, e con quel ti disfoga
quand' ira o altra passïon ti tocca!
And my guide turning to him, said: Foolish spirit,
stick to your hunting-horn and vent your breath
through that when rage, or some other passion, stirs
you.
INF C31 73-75 / DANTE
INF C31 73-75 / KLINE
Cércati al collo, e troverai la soga
che 'l tien legato, o anima confusa,
e vedi lui che 'l gran petto ti doga.
Search round your neck, O confused soul,
and you will find the belt where it is slung,
and see that which arcs across your huge chest.
(NIMROD./.EUTERPE TAKES OUT A TINY DOUBLE-FLUTE, HER SYMBOL.)
DANTE:
VIRGIL:
INF C31 76-78 / DANTE
INF C31 76-78 / KLINE
Then he said to me: He declares himself.
This is Nimrod through whose evil thought,
one language is not still used, throughout the
whole world.
Poi disse a me: Elli stessi s'accusa;
questi è Nembrotto! per lo cui mal coto
pur un linguaggio nel mondo non s'usa.
VIRGIL:
INF C31 76-78 / DANTE
INF C31 76-78 / KLINE
Poi disse a me: Elli stessi s'accusa;
questi è Nembrotto per lo cui mal coto
pur un linguaggio nel mondo non s'usa.
Then he said to me: He declares himself. This is
Nimrod, through whose evil thought one language
is not still used throughout the whole world.
169
INF C31 79-81 / DANTE
Lasciànlo stare e non parliamo a vòto;
ché così è a lui ciascun linguaggio
come 'l suo ad altrui, ch'a nullo è noto.
Let us leave him standing here, and not speak
to him in vain: since every language, to him,
is like his to others, that no one understands.
INF C31 82-108 / KLINE
So we went on, turning to the left, and, a crossbow-shot away, we found the next one, far larger and fiercer. Who and
what the power might be that bound him, I cannot say, but he had his right arm pinioned behind, and the other in front,
by a chain that held him tight, from the neck down, and, on the visible part of him, reached its fifth turn. ‘My guide
said: This proud spirit had the will to try his strength against high Jupiter, and so has this reward. Ephialtes is his
name, and he made the great attempt, when the Giants made the gods fear, and the arms he shook then, now, he never
moves.’ And I said to him: ‘If it were possible, I would wish my eyes to light on vast Briareus.’ To which he replied:
‘You will see Antaeus, nearby, who speaks and is unchained, and will set us down in the deepest abyss of guilt. He
whom you wish to see is far beyond, and is formed and bound like this one, except he seems more savage in his
features.’ No huge earthquake ever shook a tower, as violently as Ephialtes promptly shook himself.
INF C31 109-123 / KLINE
Then I feared death more than ever, and the fear alone would have been enough to cause it, had I not seen his chains.
We then went further on, and reached Antaeus, who projected twenty feet from the pit, not including his head. ‘O you,
who, of old, took a thousand lions for your prey, in the fateful valley, near Zama, that made Scipio heir to glory, when
Hannibal retreated with his army; you, through whom, it might still be believed, the Giant sons of Earth would have
overcome the gods, if you had been at the great war with your brothers; set us down, and do not be shy to do it, where
the cold imprisons the River Cocytus, in the Ninth Circle.
INF C31 124-145 / KLINE
Do not make us ask Tityos or Typhon. Bend, and do not curl your lips in scorn: this man can give that which is longed
for, here: he can refresh your fame on earth, since he is alive, and still expects long life, if grace does not call him to
her before his time.’ So the Master spoke, and Antaeus quickly stretched out both hands, from which Hercules of old
once felt the power, and seized my guide. Virgil when he felt his grasp, said to me: Come here, so that I may carry
you.’ Then he made one bundle of himself and me. To me, who stood watching to see Antaeus stoop, he seemed as
the leaning tower [at Bologna], the Carisenda, appears to the view, under the leaning side, when a cloud is passing
over it, and it hangs in the opposite direction. It was such a terrible moment I would have wished to have gone by
another route, but he set us down gently in the deep, that swallowed Lucifer and Judas, and did not linger there, bent,
but straightened himself, like a mast raised in a boat.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C31 79-81 / KLINE
INF C31 79-81 / DANTE
Let us leave him standing here, and not speak
to him in vain: since every language, to him,
is like his to others, that no one understands.
Lasciànlo stare e non parliamo a vòto;
ché così è a lui ciascun linguaggio
come 'l suo ad altrui, ch'a nullo è noto.
CANTO 32
DANTE:
INF C32 1-3 / KLINE
INF C32 1-3 / DANTE
If I had words, rough and hoarse enough,
to fit the dismal chasm, on which all
the other rocky cliffs weigh, and converge,
S'ïo avessi le rime aspre e chiocce,
più pienamente; ma perch' io non l'abbo,
non sanza tema a dicer mi conduco;
I would squeeze out the juice of my
imagination more completely: but since I
have not, I bring myself, not without fear,
io premerei di mio concetto il suco
più pienamente; ma perch' io non l'abbo,
non sanza tema a dicer mi conduco;
INF C32 4-6 / DANTE
INF C32 1-3 / DANTE
S'ïo avessi le rime aspre e chiocce,
come si converrebbe al tristo buco
sovra 'l qual pontan tutte l'altre rocce,
If I had words, rough and hoarse enough
to fit the dismal chasm on which
all the other rocky cliffs weigh and converge…,
170
INF C32 4-6 / DANTE
io premerei di mio concetto il suco
più pienamente; ma perch' io non l'abbo,
non sanza tema a dicer mi conduco;
I would squeeze out the juice of my imagination
more completely: …but since I have not,
I bring myself, not without fear,
INF C32 7-9 / DANTE
ché non è impresa da pigliare a gabbo
discriver fondo a tutto l'universo,
in
né da lingua che chiami mamma o babbo.
to describe the place: to tell of the pit of the
Universe is not a task to be taken up in play, nor
a language that has words like ‘mother’ and
‘father’.
INF C32 10-12 / DANTE
Ma quelle donne aiutino il mio verso
ch'aiutaro Anfïone a chiuder Tebe,
sì che dal fatto il dir non sia diverso.
But may the Muses, those Ladies, who helped
Amphion shut Thebes behind its walls, aid my
speech, so that my words may not vary from the
truth.
AMPHION: BUILT THE WALLS OF THEBES AIDED BY THE MAGICAL MUSIC OF HIS LYRE. SEE OVID’S METAMORPHOSES 6 176 & 15
427. HE KILLED HIMSELF THROUGH GRIEF AT THE LOSS OF HIS SONS.
EUTERPE
PLAYS TWO OR THREE HORN NOTES ON HER FLUTE.
IMITATES HER IMITATION.
♫
THE
CHORUS BRIEFLY
RALLYING CALL: EUTERPE’S FLUTE HORN IN CHORUS * * * * * * * * * *
INF C32 12
THE FROZEN COCYTUS
♫
INFERNAL: COLD * * * * * * * * * *
INF C32 12
VIRGIL ADDRESSES SOULS./.SOULS IN THE DARKNESS.
VIRGIL:
INF C32 13-15 / DANTE
INF C32 13-15 / KLINE
Oh sovra tutte mal creata plebe
che stai nel loco onde parlare è duro,
mei foste state qui pecore o zebe!
O you people, created evil beyond all others, in
this place that is hard to speak of, it were better
if you had been sheep or goats here on earth!
INF C32 16-18 / KLINE
When we were down, inside the dark well, beneath the Giants’ feet, and much lower, and I was still staring at the steep
cliff,
BOCCA / URANIA:
INF C32 19-21 / DANTE
INF C32 19-21 / KLINE
dicere udi'mi: «Guarda come passi:
va sì, che tu non calchi con le piante
le teste de' fratei miseri lassi».
I heard a voice say to me:Take care as you pass,
so that you do not tread with your feet, on the heads
of the wretched, weary brothers.
171
BOCCA DEGLI ABATI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FLORENCE.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE URANIA..
----? - 1260 +
*
A GHIBELLINE WHO FOUGHT ON THE GUELPH SIDE AT MONTAPERTI (1260) WHEN THE FLORENTINE GUELPHS WERE DEFEATED.
BOCCA CUT OFF THE HAND OF THE FLORENTINE STANDARD BEARER AT THE CRITICAL MOMENT.
DANTE AND VIRGIL TURN. DANTE OPENS HIS BOOK, WRITES AND SPEAKS.
BUOSO DE DUERA
----? - 1266?
*
AGE : 40??
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
CREMONA.
DESCRIPTION
MUSE POLYHYMNIA.
BUOSO
ANJOU
DE DUERA: BRIBED BY THE FRENCH, BUOSO, LEADER OF THE CREMONESE, TREACHEROUSLY ALLOWED CHARLES OF
ENTRY TO PARMA, IN 1266, AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS CAMPAIGN AGAINST MANFRED, WHO HAD ORGANISED ITS
RESISTANCE.
DANTE:
INF C32 22-24 / DANTE
INF C32 22-24 / KLINE
Per ch'io mi volsi, e vidimi davante
e sotto i piedi un lago che per gelo
avea di vetro e non d'acqua sembiante.
At which I turned, and saw see a lake in front
of me and underneath my feet, that, because of
the cold, appeared appears like glass not water.
INF C32 25-30 / DANTE
The Danube, in Austria, never formed so thick a veil for its winter course, nor the Don, far off under the frozen sky, as
was here: if Mount Tambernic in the east, or Mount Pietrapana, had fallen on it, it would not have even creaked at the
margin.
INF C32 31-33 / DANTE
E come a gracidar si sta la rana
col muso fuor de l'acqua, quando sogna
di spigolar sovente la villana,
As frogs sit croaking with their muzzles
above water, at the time when peasant
women often dream of gleaning,
INF C32 34-36 / DANTE
livide, insin là dove appar vergogna
eran l'ombre dolenti ne la ghiaccia,
mettendo i denti in nota di cicogna.
so the sad shadows sat sit, in the ice.,
livid to where the blush of shame appears,
chattering with their teeth, like storks.
INF C32 37-39 / DANTE
Ognuna in giù tenea volta la faccia;
da bocca il freddo, e da li occhi il cor tristo
tra lor testimonianza si procaccia.
Each one held his face turned down:
the The cold is witnessed, amongst them,
by their mouths: and their sad hearts, by their eyes.
INF C32 40-72 / KLINE
When I had a looked around awhile, turning to my feet, I saw two, so compressed together, that the hair of their heads
was intermingled. I said: ‘Tell me, you, who press your bodies together so: who are you?’ And they twisted their
necks up, and when they had lifted their faces towards me, their eyes, which were only moist, inwardly, before,
gushed at the lids, and the frost iced fast the tears, between them, and sealed them up again. No vice ever clamped
wood to wood as firmly: so that they butted one another like two he-goats, overcome by such rage. And one, who had
lost both ears to the cold, with his face still turned down, said: ‘Why are you staring at us, so fiercely? If you want to
know who these two are, they are the degli Alberti, Allesandro and Napoleone: the valley where the Bisenzio runs
down, was theirs and their father Alberto’s. They issued from one body, and you can search the whole Caïna, and will
not find shades more worthy of being set in ice: not even Mordred, whose chest and shadow, were pierced, at one
blow, by his father’s, King Arthur’s, lance: nor Focaccia: nor this one, who obstructs my face with his head, so that I
cannot see further, who was named Sassol Mascheroni. If you are a Tuscan, now, you know truly what he was. And so
that you do not put me to more speech, know that I am Camicion de’ Pazzi, and am waiting for Carlino, my kinsman,
to outdo me.’ Afterwards I saw a thousand faces, made doglike by the cold, at which a trembling overcomes me, and
always will, when I think of the frozen fords.
DANTE AND VIRGIL BEGIN WALKING OFF AS DANTE VERSIFIES.
DANTE:
INF C32 31-33 / KLINE
INF C32 31-33 / DANTE
As frogs sit croaking with their muzzles
above water, at the time when peasant
women often dream of gleaning,
E come a gracidar si sta la rana
col muso fuor de l'acqua, quando sogna
di spigolar sovente la villana,
so the sad shadows sat, in the ice,
livid to where the blush of shame appears,
chattering with their teeth, like storks.
livide, insin là dove appar vergogna
eran l'ombre dolenti ne la ghiaccia,
mettendo i denti in nota di cicogna.
Each one held his face turned down: the
cold is witnessed, amongst them, by their
mouths: and their sad hearts, by their eyes.
Ognuna in giù tenea volta la faccia;
da bocca il freddo, e da li occhi il cor tristo
tra lor testimonianza si procaccia.
172
INF C32 34-36 / DANTE
INF C32 37-39 / DANTE
INF C32 73-78 / KLINE
And, whether it was will, or fate or chance, I do not know: but walking, among the heads, I struck my foot violently
against one face.
DANTE NEARLY TRIPS OVER BOCCA./.URANIA.
BOCCA / URANIA:
INF C32 79-81 / DANTE
INF C32 79-81 / KLINE
Piangendo mi sgridò: Perché mi peste?
se tu non vieni a crescer la vendetta
di Montaperti, perché mi moleste?.
Weeping it cried out to me: Why do you
trample on me? If you do not come to increase the
revenge for Montaperti, why do you trouble me?
DANTE:
INF C32 82-84 / DANTE
INF C32 82-84 / KLINE
E io: Maestro mio, or qui m'aspetta,
sì ch'io esca d'un dubbio per costui;
poi mi farai, quantunque vorrai, fretta.
And I: My Master, wait here for me, now,
so that I can rid me of a doubt concerning him,
then you can make as much haste as you please.
VIRGIL MOVES OFF AND DANTE ADDRESSES BOCCA./.URANIA.
DANTE:
INF C32 85-87 / DANTE
INF C32 85-87 / KLINE
Lo duca stette, e io dissi a colui
che bestemmiava duramente ancora:
Qual se' tu che così rampogni altrui?
The Master stood, and I said to that shade
which still reviled me bitterly:
Who are you, who reproach others in this way?
BOCCA / URANIA:
INF C32 88-90 / DANTE
INF C32 88-90 / KLINE
Or tu chi se' che vai per l'Antenora,
percotendo, rispuose, altrui le gote,
sì che, se fossi vivo, troppo fora?
No, who are you, he answered, who go through
the Antenora striking the faces of others, in such a
way?, that if If you were alive, it would be an insult?
DANTE:
INF C32 91-93 / DANTE
INF C32 91-93 / KLINE
Vivo son io, e caro esser ti puote,
fu mia risposta, se dimandi fama,
ch'io metta il nome tuo tra l'altre note.
I replied: I am alive, and if you long for fame,
it might be a precious thing to you,
if I put your name among the others.
BOCCA / URANIA:
INF C32 94-96 / DANTE
INF C32 94-96 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: Del contrario ho io brama.
Lèvati quinci e non mi dar più lagna,
ché mal sai lusingar per questa lama!
And he to me: I long for the opposite:
take yourself off and annoy me no more:
since you little know how to flatter on this icy slope.
DANTE SEIZES BOCCA./.URANIA BY THE HAIR. HE./.SHE GRUNTS.
173
DANTE:
INF C32 97-99 / DANTE
INF C32 97-99 / KLINE
Allor lo presi per la cuticagna
e dissi: El converrà che tu ti nomi,
o che capel qui sù non ti rimagna.
Then I seized him by the back of the scalp,
and said: You need to name Name yourself,
before there is not a hair left on your head!
BOCCA / URANIA:
INF C32 100-102 / DANTE
INF C32 100-102 / KLINE
Ond' elli a me: «Perché tu mi dischiomi,
né ti dirò ch'io sia, né mosterrolti,
se mille fiate in sul capo mi tomi».
At which he said to me: Even if you pluck me,
I will not tell you who I am, nor demonstrate it to
you, though you tear at my head a thousand times.
INF C32 103-106 / KLINE
I already had his hair coiled in my hand, and had pulled away more than one tuft of it, while he barked, and kept his
eyes down, when another spirit cried:
BUOSO DE DUERA / POLYHYMNIA:
INF C32 106-108 / DANTE
INF C32 106-108 / KLINE
quando un altro gridò: «Che hai tu, Bocca? What is wrong with you, Bocca, is it not enough
non ti basta sonar con le mascelle,
that you chatter with your jaws,
se tu non latri? qual diavol ti tocca?»
but you have to bark too? What devil is at you?
DANTE SPEAKS TO BOCCA./.URANIA.
DANTE:
INF C32 109-111 / DANTE
INF C32 109-111 / KLINE
«Omai», diss' io, «non vo' che più favelle,
malvagio traditor; ch'a la tua onta
io porterò di te vere novelle».
I said: Now, accursed traitor, I do not want
you to speak: since I will carry
true news of you, to your shame.
BOCCA./.URANIA REPLIES WITH SISTERLY BITCHINESS.
BOCCA / URANIA:
INF C32 112-114 / DANTE
INF C32 112-114 / KLINE
«Va via», rispuose, «e ciò che tu vuoi conta; He answered: Go, and say what you please, but,
ma non tacer, se tu di qua entro eschi,
if you get out from here, do not be silent about
di quel ch'ebbe or così la lingua pronta.
him, who had his tongue so ready just now.
INF C32 115-117 / DANTE
El piange qui l'argento de' Franceschi:
"Io vidi", potrai dir, "quel da Duera
là dove i peccatori stanno freschi".
Here he regrets taking French silver. You can say,
“I saw Buoso de Duera, there,
where the sinners stand caught in the ice.”
INF C32 118-120 / DANTE
Se fossi domandato "Altri chi v'era?",
tu hai dallato quel di Beccheria
di cui segò Fiorenza la gorgiera.
If you are asked who else was there,
you have Tesauro de’ Beccheria,
whose throat was slit by Florence.
TESAURO DE’ BECCARIA ( BECCHERIA) OF PAVIA: ABBOT OF VALLOMBROSA & LEGATE OF POPE ALEXANDER IV IN FLORENCE,
PLOTTED AGAINST THE GUELPHS, AFTER THE GHIBELLINES HAD BEEN EXPELLED IN 1258 & WAS EXECUTED.
174
INF C32 121-123 / DANTE
Gianni de' Soldanier credo che sia
più là con Ganellone e Tebaldello,
ch'aprì Faenza quando si dormia».
Gianni de’ Soldanier is further on, with Ganelon,
and Tribaldello, who unbarred the gate
of Faenza while it slept.
GIANNI DE’ SOLDANIER: A GHIBELLINE WHO BECAME LEADER OF THE GUELPH COMMONS OF FLORENCE WHEN THEY REBELLED
AGAINST GUIDO NOVELLO & THE GHIBELLINE NOBLES AFTER MANFRED’S DEFEAT AT BENEVENTO (1265).
GANELON (GANELLON): DECEIVED CHARLEMAGNE WHEN ROLAND (ORLANDO) SOUNDED HORN AT THE BATTLE OF
RONCESVALLES
TRIBALDELLO: TEBALDELLO; ONE OF THE ZAMBRASI OF FAENZA WHO HAD A SPITE AGAINST THE GHIBELLINE LAMBERTAZZI, A
BOLOGNESE FAMILY, OPENED THE GATE TO THEIR ENEMIES, THE GEREMEI, A BOLOGNESE GUELPH FAMILY, AFTER THE
LAMBERTAZZI HAD TAKEN REFUGE IN FAENZA IN 1280.
INF C32 124-132 / KLINE
We had already left him, when I saw I saw two spirits frozen in a hole, so close together that the one head capped the
other, and the uppermost set his teeth into the other, as bread is chewed, out of hunger, there where the back of the
head joins the nape. Tydeus gnawed the head of Menalippus, no differently, out of rage, than this one the skull and
other parts.
COUNT UGOLINO GHERARDESCA
----
--?
*
? - 1289 AGE : *
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
PISA. (IRRELEVANT).
DESCRIPTION
SEEN ONLY: MUSE MELPOMENE. DANTE VOICES UGOLINO’S WORDS.
COUNT UGOLINO GHERARDESCA: A LEADING GUELPH OF PISA. IN 1288 UGOLINO INTRIGUED WITH ARCHBISHOP RUGGIERI
DEGLI UBALDINI. THE ARCHBISHOP HOWEVER BETRAYED HIM & HAD UGOLINO & 4 OF HIS SONS & GRANDSONS (GADDO,
UGUCCIONE; NINO (BRIGATA), ANSELMUCCIO (‘LITTLE ANSELM’) IMPRISONED IN THE TORRE DEI GUALANDI IN JULY 1288.
WHEN GUIDO DA MONTEFELTRO TOOK COMMAND OF THE PISAN FORCES, IN MARCH 1289, THE KEYS WERE THROWN INTO THE
RIVER ARNO & THE PRISONERS LEFT TO STARVE TO DEATH, EVEN A PRIEST BEING DENIED THEM. THE TOWER WAS KNOWN
AFTERWARDS AS THE TORRE DELLA FAME, THE TOWER OF FAMINE. UGOLINO HAD PREVIOUSLY ACQUIRED A REPUTATION BY THE
SURRENDER OF CERTAIN CASTLES TO THE FLORENTINE & LUCCHESE AFTER THE DEFEAT OF THE PISANS BY THE GENOESE AT
MELORIA IN 1284. (THE ISLANDS OF CAPRARA & GORGONA MENTIONED, NORTH-WEST OF ELBA & SW OF LIVORNO
RESPECTIVELY, WERE HELD BY PISA AT THE TIME.)
♫
INFERNAL: COLD: EXTREME * * * * * * * * * *
INF C32 123
DANTE:
INF C32 133-135 / DANTE
INF C32 133-135 / KLINE
«O tu che mostri per sì bestial segno
I said: O you, who in such a brutal way,
odio sovra colui che tu ti mangi,
inflict the mark of your hatred on him
dimmi 'l perché», diss' io, «per tal convegno, whom you devour, tell me why:
INF C32 136-138 / DANTE
che se tu a ragion di lui ti piangi,
sappiendo chi voi siete e la sua pecca,
nel mondo suso ancora io te ne cangi,
on condition that, if you complain of him with
reason, I, knowing who you are, and his offence,
may repay you still in the world above,
INF C32 139 / DANTE
se quella con ch'io parlo non si secca».
if the tongue I speak with is not withered.
DANTE CLOSES THE CANTO.
DANTE:
INF C32 136-138 / KLINE
INF C32 136-138 / DANTE
on condition that, if you complain of him with che se tu a ragion di lui ti piangi,
reason, I, knowing who you are, and his
sappiendo chi voi siete e la sua pecca,
offence, may repay you still in the world above, nel mondo suso ancora io te ne cangi,
INF C32 139 / DANTE
if the tongue I speak with is not withered.
se quella con ch'io parlo non si secca».
175
CANTO 33
INF C33 1-3 / KLINE
That sinner raised his mouth from the savage feast, wiping it on the hair, of the head he had stripped behind.
(IN THE STAGE VERSION, UGOLINO./.MELPOMENE SILENTLY ACTS OUT THE STORY, USING
DANTE SPEAKS HIS
THE TRAGIC MASK SYMBOL ON THE BOOK SHE CARRIES.
INTERPRETATION.)
UGOLINO / MELPOMENE:
INF C33 4-6 / DANTE
INF C33 4-6 / KLINE
Poi cominciò: «Tu vuo' ch'io rinovelli
disperato dolor che 'l cor mi preme
già pur pensando, pria ch'io ne favelli.
Then he began: You wish me to renew desperate
grief, that wrings my heart at the very thought,
before I even tell of it.
INF C33 7-9 / DANTE
Ma se le mie parole esser dien seme
che frutti infamia al traditor ch'i' rodo,
parlar e lagrimar vedrai insieme.
But if my words are to be the seed that bears
fruit in the infamy, of the traitor whom I gnaw,
you will see me speak and weep together.
INF C33 10-12 / KLINE
I do not know who you are, nor by what means you have come down here, but when I hear you, you seem to me, in
truth, a Florentine.
UGOLINO / MELPOMENE:
INF C33 13-15 / DANTE
INF C33 13-15 / KLINE
Tu dei saper ch'i' fui conte Ugolino,
e questi è l'arcivescovo Ruggieri:
or ti dirò perché i son tal vicino.
You must know that I am Count Ugolino, and
this is the Archbishop Ruggieri. Now I will tell
you why I am a neighbour such as this to him.
INF C33 16-18 / DANTE
Che per l'effetto de' suo' mai pensieri,
fidandomi di lui, io fossi preso
e poscia morto, dir non è mestieri;
It is not necessary to say that, confiding in him,
I was taken, through the effects of
his evil schemes, and afterwards killed.
INF C33 19-21 / DANTE
però quel che non puoi avere inteso,
cioè come la morte mia fu cruda,
udirai, e saprai s'e' m'ha offeso.
But what you cannot have learnt,
how cruel my death was, you will hear:
and know if he has injured me.
INF C33 22-24 / DANTE
Breve pertugio dentro da la Muda,
la qual per me ha 'l titol de la fame,
e che conviene ancor ch'altrui si chiuda,
A narrow hole inside that tower,
which is called Famine, from my death,
and in which others must yet be imprisoned,
INF C33 25-27 / DANTE
m'avea mostrato per lo suo forame
più lune già, quand' io feci 'l mal sonno
che del futuro mi squarciò 'l velame.
had already shown me several moons
through its opening, when I slept an evil sleep
that tore the curtain of the future for me.
INF C33 28-30 / DANTE
Questi pareva a me maestro e donno,
cacciando il lupo e ' lupicini al monte
per che i Pisan veder Lucca non ponno.
This man seemed to me the lord and master,
chasing the wolf and its whelps on Monte di San
Giuliano, that blocks the view of Lucca from the
Pisans.
176
INF C33 31-33 / DANTE
Con cagne magre, studïose e conte
Gualandi con Sismondi e con Lanfranchi
s'avea messi dinanzi da la fronte.
He had the Gualandi, Sismondi and
Lanfranchi running with him,
with hounds, slender, keen, and agile.
INF C33 34-36 / DANTE
In picciol corso mi parieno stanchi
lo padre e ' figli, e con l'agute scane
mi parea lor veder fender li fianchi.
♫
After a short chase the father and his sons
seemed weary to me, and I thought
I saw their flanks torn by sharp teeth.
INFERNAL: COLD: DREAM * * * * * * * * * *
INF C33 21
Ending with a cold version of Euterpe’s horn notes or a reveille.
AS THE DREAM MUSIC SOUNDS, DANTE MAY BE ABLE TO DISCREETLY DELIVER THE ITALIAN
VERSE AFTER THE ENGLISH.
UGOLINO / MELPOMENE:
INF C33 22-24 / KLINE
INF C33 22-24 / DANTE
A narrow hole inside that tower,
which is called Famine, from my death,
and in which others must yet be imprisoned,
Breve pertugio dentro da la Muda,
la qual per me ha 'l titol de la fame,
e che conviene ancor ch'altrui si chiuda,
INF C33 25-27 / DANTE
had already shown me several moons
m'avea mostrato per lo suo forame
through its opening, when I slept an evil sleep più lune già, quand' io feci 'l mal sonno
that tore the curtain of the future for me.
che del futuro mi squarciò 'l velame.
INF C33 28-30 / DANTE
This man seemed to me the lord and master,
chasing the wolf and its whelps on Monte di
San Giuliano, that blocks the view of Lucca
from the Pisans.
Questi pareva a me maestro e donno,
cacciando il lupo e ' lupicini al monte
per che i Pisan veder Lucca non ponno.
He had the Gualandi, Sismondi and
Lanfranchi running with him,
with hounds, slender, keen, and agile.
Con cagne magre, studïose e conte
Gualandi con Sismondi e con Lanfranchi
s'avea messi dinanzi da la fronte.
After a short chase the father and his sons
seemed weary to me, and I thought
I saw their flanks torn by sharp teeth.
In picciol corso mi parieno stanchi
lo padre e ' figli, e con l'agute scane
mi parea lor veder fender li fianchi.
INF C33 31-33 / DANTE
INF C33 34-36 / DANTE
♫
INFERNAL: COLD: BLANK DAY * * * * * * * * * *
INF C33 21
UGOLINO / MELPOMENE:
INF C33 37-39 / DANTE
INF C33 37-39 / KLINE
Quando fui desto innanzi la dimane,
pianger senti' fra 'l sonno i miei figliuoli
ch'eran con meco, e dimandar del pane.
When I woke, before dawn, I heard my sons,
who were with me, crying in their sleep,
and asking for food.
177
INF C33 40-42 / DANTE
Ben se' crudel, se tu già non ti duoli
pensando ciò che 'l mio cor s'annunziava;
e se non piangi, di che pianger suoli?
You are truly cruel if you do not sorrow
already at the thought of what my heart presaged:
and if you do not weep, what do you weep at?
INF C33 43-45 / DANTE
Già eran desti, e l'ora s'appressava
che 'l cibo ne solëa essere addotto,
e per suo sogno ciascun dubitava;
They were awake now, and the hour nearing
at which our food used to be brought to us,
and each of us was anxious from dreaming,
INF C33 46-48 / DANTE
e io senti' chiavar l'uscio di sotto
a l'orribile torre; ond' io guardai
nel viso a' mie' figliuoi sanza far motto.
when below I heard the door of the terrible
tower locked up: at which I gazed into the faces
of my sons, without saying a word.
INF C33 49-51 / DANTE
Io non piangëa, sì dentro impetrai:
piangevan elli; e Anselmuccio mio
disse: ``Tu guardi sì, padre! che hai?".
I did not weep: I grew like stone inside:
they wept: and my little Anselm said to me:
“Father you stare so, what is wrong?”
INF C33 52-54 / DANTE
Perciò non lagrimai né rispuos' io
tutto quel giorno né la notte appresso,
infin che l'altro sol nel mondo uscìo.
But I shed no tears, and did not answer,
all that day, or the next night,
till another sun rose over the world.
INF C33 55-57 / DANTE
Come un poco di raggio si fu messo
nel doloroso carcere, e io scorsi
per quattro visi il mio aspetto stesso,
When a little ray of light was sent
into the mournful gaol, and I saw in
their four faces, the aspect of my own,
INF C33 58-60 / DANTE
ambo le man per lo dolor mi morsi;
ed ei, pensando ch'io 'l fessi per voglia
di manicar, di sùbito levorsi
I bit my hands from grief.
And they, thinking that I did it
from hunger, suddenly stood,
INF C33 61-63 / DANTE
e disser: ``Padre, assai ci fia men doglia
se tu mangi di noi: tu ne vestisti
queste misere carni, e tu le spoglia".
and said: “Father, it will give us less pain, if you
gnaw at us: you put this miserable flesh on us,
now strip it off, again.”
INF C33 64-66 / DANTE
Queta'mi allor per non farli più tristi;
lo dì e l'altro stemmo tutti muti;
ahi dura terra, perché non t'apristi?
Then I calmed myself, in order not to make them
more unhappy: that day and the next we all were
silent. Ah, solid earth, why did you not open?
INF C33 67-69 / DANTE
Poscia che fummo al quarto dì venuti,
Gaddo mi si gittò disteso a' piedi,
dicendo: ``Padre mio, ché non m'aiuti?".
When we had come to the fourth day, Gaddo
threw himself down at my feet, saying:
“My father, why do you not help me?”
INF C33 70-72 / DANTE
Quivi morì; e come tu mi vedi,
vid' io cascar li tre ad uno ad uno
tra 'l quinto dì e 'l sesto; ond' io mi diedi,
There he died, and even as you see me,
I saw the three others fall one by one, between
the fifth and sixth days: at which, already blind,
INF C33 73-75 / DANTE
già cieco, a brancolar sovra ciascuno,
e due dì li chiamai, poi che fur morti.
Poscia, più che 'l dolor, poté 'l digiuno».
I took to groping over each of them…, and called
out to them for three days, when they were dead:
then fasting, at last, had power to overcome grief.
♫
178
INFERNAL * * * * * * * * * *
INF C33 75
DANTE TURNS TO THE AUDIENCE. VIRGIL INTERPRETS./.TRANSLATES.
DANTE:
&
VIRGIL:
INF C33 76-78 / DANTE
INF C33 76-78 / KLINE
Quand' ebbe detto ciò, con li occhi torti
skull
riprese 'l teschio misero co' denti,
che furo a l'osso, come d'un can, forti.
When he had spoken this, he seized the wretched
again with his teeth, which were as strong
as a dog’s on the bone, his eyes distorted.
INF C33 79-81 / DANTE
Ahi Pisa, vituperio de le genti
del bel paese là dove 'l sì suona,
poi che i vicini a te punir son lenti,
Ah Pisa, shame among the people, of the lovely land
where ‘si’ is heard, let the isles of Caprara
and Gorgona shift and block the Arno at its mouth,
INF C33 82-84 / DANTE
muovasi la Capraia e la Gorgona,
e faccian siepe ad Arno in su la foce,
sì ch'elli annieghi in te ogne persona!
since your neighbours are so slow
to punish you, so that it may
drown every living soul.
INF C33 85-90 / KLINE
Since if Count Ugolino had the infamy of having betrayed your castles, you ought not to have put his sons to the
torture. Their youth made Uguccione and Brigata, and the other two my words above have named, innocents, you
modern Thebes.
♫
MUSIC ? * * * * * * * * * *
DANTE:
INF C33 91-93 / DANTE
INF C33 91-93 / KLINE
Noi passammo oltre, là 've la gelata
ruvidamente un'altra gente fascia,
non volta in giù, ma tutta riversata.
We went further on, where the The rugged frost
encases another people, not bent down
but reversed completely.
VIRGIL:
INF C33 94-96 / DANTE
INF C33 94-96 / KLINE
Lo pianto stesso lì pianger non lascia,
e 'l duol che truova in su li occhi rintoppo,
si volge in entro a far crescer l'ambascia;
The very weeping there prevents them weeping:
and the grief that makes an impediment to their sight,
turns inward to increase their agony:
INF C33 97-99 / DANTE
ché le lagrime prime fanno groppo,
e sì come visiere di cristallo,
rïempion sotto 'l ciglio tutto il coppo.
since the first tears form a knot,
and like a crystal visor,
fill the cavities below their eyebrows.
INF C33 100-108 / KLINE
And though all feeling had left my face, through the cold, as though from a callus, it seemed to me now as if I felt a
breeze, at which I said: ‘Master, what causes this? Is the heat not all quenched here below?’ At which he said to me:
‘Soon you will be where your own eyes, will answer that, seeing the source that generates the air.’
FRIAR ALBERIGO:
INF C33 109-111 / DANTE
INF C33 109-111 / KLINE
E un de' tristi de la fredda crosta
gridò a noi: O anime crudeli
tanto che data v'è l'ultima posta,
And one of the sad shadows, in the icy crust,
cried out to us: O spirits, so cruel that the last place
of all is reserved for you,
179
FRIAR ALBERIGO MANFREDI
PLACE./.LANGUAGE ETC
FAENZA.
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
----? - 1300 +
*
--?
AGE : *
ALBERIGO MANFREDI OF FAENZA, ONE OF THE FRATI GAUDENTI, THE JOVIAL FRIARS, AVENGED A BLOW FROM HIS YOUNGER
BROTHER MANFRED, IN 1284, BY INVITING HIM, AND HIS SON, TO A BANQUET IN 1285, AND AT A GIVEN SIGNAL ‘BRING THE
FRUITS’ MANFRED AND HIS SON WERE MURDERED. LE MALE FRUTTA (THE EVIL FRUIT) DI FRATE ALBERIGO BECAME A PROVERB.
HE WAS STILL ALIVE IN 1300, THE DATE OF THE VISION.
FRIAR ALBERIGO:
INF C33 112-114 / DANTE
INF C33 112-114 / KLINE
levatemi dal viso i duri veli,
remove the solid veils from my face, that I
sì ch'ïo sfoghi 'l duol che 'l cor m'impregna, might vent the grief a little that chokes my heart,
un poco, pria che 'l pianto si raggeli».
before the tears freezes again.
INF C33 115-126 / KLINE
At which I said to him: If you would have my help, tell me who you are: and if I do not disburden you, may I have to
journey to the depths of the ice.’ He replied to that: ‘I am Friar Alberigo, I am he of the fruits of the evil garden, who
here receive dates made of ice, to match my figs.’ I said to him: ‘O, are you dead already?’ And he to me: ‘How my
body stands in the world above, I do not know, such is the power of this Ptolomaea, that the soul often falls down
here, before Atropos cuts the thread.
DANTE:
Alberigo Manfredi…Jovial Friar…He invited his
brother and nephew to a banquet and had them
murdered at the signal “Bring the fruits”.
FRIAR ALBERIGO:
INF C33 127-129 / DANTE
INF C33 127-129 / KLINE
E perché tu più volentier mi rade
le 'nvetrïate lagrime dal volto,
sappie che, tosto che l'anima trade
And so that you may more willingly clear
the frozen tears from my face,
know Know that when the soul betrays,
INF C33 130-132 / DANTE
come fec' ïo, il corpo suo l'è tolto
da un demonio, che poscia il governa
mentre che 'l tempo suo tutto sia vòlto.
as mine did, her body is taken
from her by a demon, there and then,
who rules it after that, till its time is complete.
INF C33 133-135 / DANTE
Ella ruina in sì fatta cisterna;
e forse pare ancor lo corpo suso
de l'ombra che di qua dietro mi verna.
She falls, plunging down to this well: and perhaps
the body of this other shade, that winters here,
behind me, is still visible in the world above.
INF C33 136-147 / KLINE
You must know it, if you have only now come down here: it is Ser Branca d’Oria, and many years have passed since
he was imprisoned here.’ I said to him: ‘I believe you are lying to me: Branca d’Oria is not dead, and eats and drinks,
and sleeps, and puts on his clothes.’ He said: ‘Michel Zanche had not yet arrived, in the ditch of the Malebranche
above, there where the tenacious pitch boils, when this man left a devil in his place in his own body, and one in the
body of his kinsman who did the treachery with him.
INF C33 148 / DANTE
INF C33 148-149 / KLINE
Ma distendi oggimai in qua la mano;
aprimi li occhi». E io non gliel' apersi;
But reach your hand here: open my eyes.’
And I did not open them for him:
DANTE FOLDS HIS ARMS AND WALKS AWAY WITH VIRGIL. HE CLOSES THE CANTO, WRITING.
DANTE:
INF C33 148-150 / DANTE
INF C33 148-150 / KLINE
Ma distendi oggimai in qua la mano;
aprimi li occhi». E io non gliel' apersi;
e cortesia fu lui esser villano.
But reach your hand here: open my eyes.’
And I did not open them for him:
and it It was a courtesy to be rude to him.
INF C33 148-150 / KLINE
INF C33 148-150 / DANTE
But reach your hand here: open my eyes.’
And I did not open them for him:
and it was a courtesy to be rude to him.
Ma distendi oggimai in qua la mano;
aprimi li occhi». E io non gliel' apersi;
e cortesia fu lui esser villano.
180
INF C33 151-153 / DANTE
Ah, Genoese, men divorced from all morality, Ahi Genovesi, uomini diversi
and filled with every corruption,
d'ogne costume e pien d'ogne magagna,
why are you not dispersed from off the earth? perché non siete voi del mondo spersi?
INF C33 154-157 / KLINE
I found the worst spirit of Romagna was one of you, who for his actions even now bathes, as a soul, in Cocytus, and
still seems alive on earth, in his own body.
181
CANTO 34
VEXILLA REGIS: ASCENT & DAMN!
VIRGIL:
♫
INF C34 1-3 / DANTE
INF C34 1-3 / KLINE
«Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni
verso di noi; però dinanzi mira»,
disse 'l maestro mio, «se tu 'l discerni».
Vexilla Regis prodeunt inferni, the banners of the
King of Hell advance towards us: so look in front
of you to see if you discern him,’ said my Master.
INFERNAL: A SINGLE LOUD NOTE * * * * * * * * * *
INF C34 2
INF C34 4-81 / KLINE
I seemed to see a tall structure, as a mill, that the wind turns, seems from a distance, when a dense mist breathes, or
when night falls in our hemisphere, and I shrank back behind my guide, because of the wind, since there was no other
shelter. I had already come, and with fear I put it into words, where the souls were completely enclosed, and shone
through like straw in glass. Some are lying down, some stand upright, one on its head, another on the soles of its feet,
another bent head to foot, like a bow. When we had gone on far enough, that my guide was able to show me Lucifer,
the monster who was once so fair, he removed himself from me, and made me stop, saying: ‘Behold Dis, and behold
the place where you must arm yourself with courage.’ Reader, do not ask how chilled and hoarse I became, then, since
I do not write it, since all words would fail to tell it. I did not die, yet I was not alive. Think, yourself, now, if you have
any grain of imagination, what I became, deprived of either state.
The emperor of the sorrowful kingdom stood, waist upwards, from the ice, and I am nearer to a giant in size than the
giants are to one of his arms: think how great the whole is that corresponds to such a part. If he was once as fair, as he
is now ugly, and lifted up his forehead against his Maker, well may all evil flow from him. O how great a wonder it
seemed to me, when I saw three faces on his head! The one in front was fiery red: the other two were joined to it,
above the centre of each shoulder, and linked at the top, and the right hand one seemed whitish-yellow: the left was
black to look at, like those who come from where the Nile rises. Under each face sprang two vast wings, of a size fit
for such a bird: I never saw ship’s sails as wide. They had no feathers, but were like a bat’s in form and texture, and he
was flapping them, so that three winds blew out away from him, by which all Cocytus was frozen. He wept from six
eyes, and tears and bloody spume gushed down three chins. He chewed a sinner between his teeth, with every mouth,
like a grinder, so, in that way, he kept three of them in torment. To the one in front, the biting was nothing compared
to the tearing, since, at times, his back was left completely stripped of skin. The Master said: ‘That soul up there that
suffers the greatest punishment, he who has his head inside, and flails his legs outside, is Judas Iscariot. Of the other
two who have their heads hanging downwards, the one who hangs from the face that is black is Brutus see how he
writhes and does not utter a word: and the other is Cassius who seems so long in limb.’
But night is ascending, [6 PM Sat] and now we must go, since we have seen it all.’ I clasped his neck, as he wished,
and he seized the time and place, and when the wings were wide open, grasped Satan’s shaggy sides, and then from
tuft to tuft, climbed down, between the matted hair and frozen crust. When we had come to where the thigh joint turns,
just at the swelling of the haunch, my guide, with effort and difficulty, reversed his head to where his feet had been,
and grabbed the hair like a climber, so that I thought we were dropping back to Hell.
DANTE
STARES AND STARTS FAINTING.
THE DARKNESS.
VIRGIL:
VIRGIL
HOLDS HIM UP AND STEPS FORWARD INTO
or VIRGIL:
INF C34 82-84 / DANTE
INF C34 82-84 / KLINE
Attienti ben, ché per cotali scale»,
disse 'l maestro, ansando com' uom lasso,
«conviensi dipartir da tanto male».
Hold tight., said my guide, panting
like a man exhausted, ‘since by these stairs,
we must depart from all this evil.’
♫
182
HYMN: VEXILLA REGIS * * * * * * * * * *
INF C34 84 from INF C34 1-2
From various sources:
Vexilla Regis was written by Venantius Fortunatus (530-609) and is considered one of the greatest hymns of the
liturgy. Fortunatus wrote it in honor of the arrival of a large relic of the True Cross which had been sent to Queen
Radegunda by the Emperor Justin II and his Empress Sophia. Queen Radegunda had retired to a convent she had
built near Poitiers and was seeking out relics for the church there. To help celebrate the arrival of the relic, the
Queen asked Fortunatus to write a hymn for the procession of the relic to the church.
http://Home.earthlink.net/~thesaurus/thesaurus/Hymni/Vexilla.html Michael Martin
This "world-famous hymn, one of the grandest in the treasury of the Latin Church" (Neale), and "surely one of the
most stirring strains in our hymnology" (Duffield)…
…Its original processional use is commemorated in the Roman Missal on Good Friday, when the Blessed
Sacrament is carried in procession from the Repository to the High Altar. Its principal use however, is in the
Divine Office, the Roman Breviary assigning it to Vespers from the Saturday before Passion Sunday daily to
Maundy Thursday, and to Vespers of feasts of the Holy Cross.
The correctors of the Breviary under Urban VIII [1632] revised Fortunatus’ hymn in the interest of classical
prosody…The correctors replaced the last two lines of the first stanza by those of the eighth, and changed
"reddidit" into "protulit", giving us the 1st verse:
Vexilla regis prodeunt,
Et morta vitam protulit.
Fulget crucis mysterium,
Qua vita mortem pertulit
Cross whereon Life suffered death
And gave us life with dying breath.
Abroad the royal banners fly
And bear the gleaming Cross on high That One of about 40 translations
The splendour and triumph suggested by the first stanza can be appreciated fully only by recalling the occasion
when the hymn was first sung--the triumphant procession from the walls of Poitiers to the monastery with bishops
and princes in attendance and with all the pomp and pageantry of a great ecclesiastical function. "And still, after
thirteen centuries, how great is our emotion as these imperishable accents come to our ears!" (Pimont). Gounod
took a very plain melody based on the chant as the subject of his "March to Calvary" in the "Redemption", in
which the chorus sings the text at first very slowly and then, after an interval, fortissimo. H.T. HENRY The
Catholic Encyclopedia Online Edition © 2003 by K. Knight
IN THE DARK, THE FAMOUS HYMN HAS NEW WORDS.
Abroad [the] infernal banners fly
The King of Hell, himself, is nigh.
Attentive from your earliest breath,
And on whose right hand standeth [leereth] Death.
THE INFERNAL VERSION OF SATAN’S FALL IS A GLOSS.
Resonant amid the Host,
Adamantine at his post,
Brilliant, beautiful and bold
Was Lucifer, and God was old.
The homeward Angel found the Gate
Barred and could [did] not stand or wait
To serve, but [or He] shook and fell, poor leaf,
Shamed to red, then black with grief.
INF C34 85-93 / KLINE
Then he clambered into an opening in the rock, and set me down to sit on its edge, then turned his cautious step
towards me. I raise d my eyes, thinking to see Lucifer as I had left him, but saw him with his legs projecting upwards,
and let those denser people, who do not see what point I had passed, judge if I was confused then, or not.
183
THE MUSIC FADES AND WE HEAR DANTE AND VIRGIL CLIMBING OUT OF HELL.
INF C34 94-99 / KLINE
My Master said:‘Get up, on your feet: the way is long, and difficult the road, and the sun already returns to midtierce’. Where we stood was no palace hall, but a natural cell with a rough floor, and short of light.
DANTE:
INF C34 100-102 / DANTE
INF C34 100-102 / KLINE
«Prima ch'io de l'abisso mi divella,
maestro mio», diss' io quando fui dritto,
«a trarmi d'erro un poco mi favella:
When I had risen, I said: My Master,
before I leave the abyss, speak to me a while,
and lead me out of error.
INF C34 103-105 / DANTE
ov' è la ghiaccia? e questi com' è fitto
sì sottosopra? e come, in sì poc' ora,
da sera a mane ha fatto il sol tragitto?».
Where is the ice? And why is this monster
fixed upside down? And how has the sun moved
from evening to dawn in so short a time?
VIRGIL:
INF C34 106-108 / DANTE
INF C34 106-108 / KLINE
Ed elli a me: «Tu imagini ancora
d'esser di là dal centro, ov' io mi presi
al pel del vermo reo che 'l mondo fóra.
And he to me: You imagine you are still on the
other side of the earth’s centre, where I caught hold
of the Evil Worm’s hair, he who pierces the world.
INF C34 109-111 / DANTE
INF C34 109-111 / KLINE
Di là fosti cotanto quant' io scesi;
quand' io mi volsi, tu passasti 'l punto
al qual si traggon d'ogne parte i pesi.
You were on that side of it, as long as I climbed
down, but when I reversed myself, you passed the
point to which weight is drawn, from everywhere:
INF C34 112-114 / DANTE
E se' or sotto l'emisperio giunto
ch'è contraposto a quel che la gran secca
coverchia, e sotto 'l cui colmo consunto
and are now in the southern hemisphere, below the
hemisphere opposite that which covers the wide dry
land, and opposite that under whose zenith the Man
was crucified, who was born, and lived,
THE MEDIAEVAL WORLD CONTAINED A KNOWN HEMISPHERE OF LAND (THE NORTHERN, THE KNOWN WORLD) & A HEMISPHERE
OF WATER…THE MOUNTAIN OF PURGATORY , RISING OUT OF THE SEA AT A POINT DIRECTLY OPPOSITE JERUSALEM ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBE…[IS] AN ISLAND IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN. [LONGFELLOW]
INF C34 115-117 / DANTE
fu l'uom che nacque e visse sanza pecca;
tu haï i piedi in su picciola spera
che l'altra faccia fa de la Giudecca.
without sin. You have your feet
on a little sphere that forms
the other side of the Judecca, the circle of Judas.
INF C34 118-120 / DANTE
Qui è da man, quando di là è sera;
e questi, che ne fé scala col pelo,
fitto è ancora sì come prim' era.
Here it is morning, when it is evening there:
and he who made a ladder for us
of his hair is still as he was before.
INF C34 121-123 / DANTE
Da questa parte cadde giù dal cielo;
e la terra, che pria di qua si sporse,
per paura di lui fé del mar velo,
He fell from Heaven on this side of the earth, and the
land that projected here before, veiled itself with the
ocean for fear of him, and entered our hemisphere:
INF C34 124-126 / DANTE
e venne a l'emisperio nostro; e forse
per fuggir lui lasciò qui loco vòto
quella ch'appar di qua, e sù ricorse».
and that which now projects on this side,
left an empty space here, and shot outwards,
maybe in order to escape from him.
THE REVISED VEXILLA REGIS ENDS AND LUCIFER, HAVING FAILED TO RECRUIT DANTE AND
VIRGIL, DAMNS THEM AS THEY CLIMB.
184
LUCIFER
DESCRIPTION
VOICE ONLY.
Damn God’s spies!
Damn your books. They’re packs of lies
HE GOES ON TO DAMN THE PEOPLE OF ALL NATIONS…
…………….………………
Damn Italians, those who are
From Florence in particular.
…THE SONNET, AND SICILY FOR
SAINTS, FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE:
INVENTING IT, TERZA RIMA, SONG AND SINGERS, THE
Damn the ladies, Be-a-tri-ce
Not included: what a peach, eh,
Dante! Do I see your Gemma
In the Sienese Maremma?
(See PURGATORIO C5 133-135; Gemma was Dante’s wife)
MOST OF THE DAMNING IS STILL BEING COMPOSED. SATAN FINISHES WITH
Damn the Primum Mobile,
The colours in eternal play,
The whirling planetary spheres,
The music for immortal ears,
The Empyrean - the sham!
Whatever I may be, I am!
DAMN!
♫
MUSIC * * * * * * * * * *
RETURNED
VIRGIL EMERGES FROM THE LOWER STEPS, DANTE BEHIND HIM. THEY STEP FORWARD INTO
THE BRIGHT LIGHT AND RAISE THEIR EYES.
VIRGIL:
INF C34 127-129 / DANTE
INF C34 127-129 / KLINE
Luogo è là giù da Belzebù remoto
tanto quanto la tomba si distende,
che non per vista, ma per suono è noto
Down there, is a space, as far from Beelzebub
as his cave extends, not known by sight,
but by the sound
INF C34 130-132 / DANTE
d'un ruscelletto che quivi discende
per la buca d'un sasso, ch'elli ha roso,
col corso ch'elli avvolge, e poco pende.
of a stream falling through it, along the bed
of rock it has hollowed out,
into a winding course, and a slow incline.
185
INF C34 133-135 / DANTE
Lo duca e io per quel cammino ascoso
intrammo a ritornar nel chiaro mondo;
e sanza cura aver d'alcun riposo,
The guide and I We entered by that hidden path,
to return to the clear world: and,
not caring to rest,
INF C34 136-138 / DANTE
salimmo sù, el primo e io secondo,
tanto ch'i' vidi de le cose belle
che porta 'l ciel, per un pertugio tondo.
we climbed up, he first, and I second,
until, through a round opening,
I saw the beautiful things that the sky holds:
DANTE:
INF C34 136-138 / KLINE
INF C34 136-138 / DANTE
we climbed up, he first, and I second,
until, through a round opening,
I saw the beautiful things that the sky holds:
salimmo sù, el primo e io secondo,
tanto ch'i' vidi de le cose belle
che porta 'l ciel, per un pertugio tondo.
VIRGIL
INF C34 139 / DANTE
INF C34 139 / KLINE
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.
and we issued came out, from there, to see, again,
the stars.
DANTE:
INF C34 139 / KLINE
INF C34 139 / DANTE
and we issued out, from there, to see, again,
the stars.
E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle.
DANTE RECITES HIS GREAT SONNET.
LA VITA NOVA 26 DANTE / MUSA Società Dantesca Italiana
THIS MOST GRACIOUS LADY OF WHOM I HAVE SPOKEN IN THE PRECEDING POEMS CAME INTO SUCH WIDESPREAD
FAVOR THAT, WHEN SHE WALKED DOWN THE STREET, PEOPLE RAN TO SEE HER. THIS MADE ME WONDERFULLY
HAPPY. AND WHEN SHE PASSED BY SOMEONE, SUCH MODESTY FILLED HIS HEART THAT HE DID NOT DARE TO
RAISE HIS EYES OR TO RETURN HER GREETING (MANY PEOPLE, WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS, COULD TESTIFY TO
IT IF ANYONE SHOULD NOT BELIEVE ME).
CROWNED AND CLOTHED WITH HUMILITY, SHE WOULD GO HER WAY, TAKING NO GLORY FROM WHAT SHE HEARD
AND SAW. MANY WOULD SAY AFTER SHE HAD PASSED: "THIS IS NO WOMAN, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST
BEAUTIFUL ANGELS OF HEAVEN." AND OTHERS WOULD SAY: "SHE IS A MIRACLE! BLESSED BE THE LORD WHO
CAN WORK SO WONDROUSLY."
LET ME SAY THAT SHE SHOWED SUCH DECORUM AND WAS POSSESSED OF SUCH CHARMING QUALITIES THAT
THOSE WHO LOOKED AT HER EXPERIENCED A PURE AND SWEET DELIGHT, SUCH THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO
DESCRIBE IT; AND THERE WAS NO ONE WHO COULD LOOK AT HER WITHOUT IMMEDIATELY SIGHING.
THESE AND STILL MORE MARVELOUS THINGS WERE THE RESULT OF HER POWERS. THINKING ABOUT THIS, AND
WISHING TO TAKE UP AGAIN THE THEME OF HER PRAISE, I DECIDED TO WRITE SOMETHING WHICH WOULD
DESCRIBE HER MAGNIFICENT AND BENEFICENT EFFICACY, SO THAT NOT ONLY THOSE WHO COULD SEE HER WITH
THEIR OWN EYES, BUT OTHERS, AS WELL, MIGHT KNOW OF HER WHATEVER CAN BE SAID IN WORDS. AND SO I
WROTE THIS SONNET WHICH BEGINS: SUCH SWEET DECORUM.
THIS SONNET IS SO EASY TO UNDERSTAND FROM WHAT HAS PRECEDED THAT IT HAS NO NEED OF DIVISIONS. AND
SO, LEAVING IT ASIDE, LET ME SAY THAT MY LADY CAME INTO SUCH HIGH FAVOR THAT NOT ONLY SHE WAS
HONORED AND PRAISED, BUT ALSO MANY OTHER LADIES WERE HONORED AND PRAISED BECAUSE OF HER.
DANTE:
LA VITA NOVA SONNET MUSA
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONETTO / DANTE
Such sweet decorum and such gentle grace
attend my lady's greeting as she moves
that lips can only tremble into silence,
and eyes dare not attempt to gaze at her.
Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare
la donna mia quand'ella altrui saluta,
ch'ogne lingua deven tremando muta,
e li occhi no l'ardiscon di guardare.
Moving, benignly clothed in humility,
untouched by all the praise along her way,
she seems to be a creature come from Heaven
to earth, to manifest a miracle.
Ella si va, sentendosi laudare,
benignamente d'umiltà vestuta;
e par che sia una cosa venuta
da cielo in terra a miracol mostrare.
Miraculously gracious to behold, her
Mostrasi sì piacente a chi la mira,
sweetness reaches, through the eyes, the heart che dà per li occhi una dolcezza al core,
(who has not felt this cannot understand),
che 'ntender no la può chi no la prova:
and from her lips it seems there moves a
gracious spirit, so deeply loving that it glides
into the souls of men, whispering: "Sigh!"
e par che de la sua labbia si mova
un spirito soave pien d'amore,
che va dicendo a l'anima: Sospira
BEATRICE:
LA VITA NOVA 26 SONETTO / DANTE
into the souls of men, whispering: "Sigh!"
♫
che va dicendo a l'anima: Sospira!
MELISMATIC TRIBUTE TO BE-A-T-RI-CE:
INF C34 139
Splendid, extended.
************************
© Kennedy © Kline
186