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    The Divine Comedy
    The Divine Comedy
    The Divine Comedy
    Ebook717 pages7 hours

    The Divine Comedy

    By Dante Alighieri

    4/5

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    Paradiso is the third and final part of The Divine Comedy, Dante's epic poem describing man's progress from hell to salvation. In it, the author progresses through nine concentric spheres of heaven. Corresponding with medieval astronomy, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn deal with the four cardinal virtues Prudence, Fortitude, Justice and Temperance. The remaining two spheres are the fixed stars and the Primum Mobile, containing the purely virtuous and the angels, followed by the Empyrean, or God itself, continuing the 9+1 theme that runs throughout the Divine Comedy. The Paradiso is more theological in nature than the Inferno and the Purgatorio, features encounters with several great saints, and finishes with the author's soul becoming aligned with God's love.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media
    Release dateJun 26, 2018
    ISBN9781974994229
    Author

    Dante Alighieri

    Dante was a major Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy is widely considered the greatest work of Italian literature.

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    Reviews for The Divine Comedy

    4/5

    2,354 ratings46 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Extraordinary illustrations...Gustave Dore....Translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • 5/5
      Un classico in un'edizione davvero prestigiosa.
    • 4/5
      Dante's classic poem of his journeys through hell and heaven.
    • 3/5
      In finally sitting down and reading the entire Divine Comedy, I can now see why The Inferno is usually separated from Purgatorio & Paradiso. The Inferno is captivating and paints vivid pictures of what Dante &. Virgil are seeing and experiencing. However Purgatorio & Paradiso seemed to lack this each in their own way. Purgatorio was still able to paint the pictures but not quite as vividly. Perhaps the subject matter was not as captivating as well. Dante certainly had the gift of making Purgatory feel not too bad but also not too good. In Paradiso we switch guides from Virgil to Beatrice. It is then that Dante seems to loose his focus on his surroundings and turns toward fauning over Beatrice's beauty. I figured that the Canto with God in it would have been a bit more powerful & profound. Lucifer's appearance was more awe inspiring than God's. Don't get me wrong, I give credit to the absolute classic that this work is, however I think there are some issues with it from a reader's standpoint. When all of the action is over in the 1st portion of the book it becomes a chore to finish reading it. All-in-all this entire work was beautifully written in the terza rima rhyme scheme which adds a bit of romance to every line read. I have to mention that I think it's funny how people get the details of this work confused with The Holy Bible. There in itself stands testement to how amazing this work has been throughout history. Despite my personal issues with reading it I am honored to have read such famous and renouned piece of historical literature.
    • 5/5
      It is a wonderful read if you have footnotes to understand who the people he is talking about is. I found it fascinating and I hope that I finish it someday.
    • 4/5
      Dore illustrations. Beautiful!
    • 5/5
      Fascinating book that puts a different perspective on life and religion. Adds depth to the Bible and some of its symbolisms and philosophies. Has made me think of life and the life after death and has made me really aware of the precious things in life.
    • 5/5
      Perhaps the world's greatest achivement.
    • 5/5
      I loved everything up to the Paradisso portion. I know this is supposed to be the best part of the three but it really wasn't to me. I really thought the first two were absolutely excellent. This is definitely devine!
    • 4/5
      eBook

      Perhaps this was not the best choice of a book to read at the gym. That decision was certainly not helped by the fact that the eBook version I read had no footnotes.

      I'd read the Inferno before, but never Purgatorio or Paradiso, and I was a little disappointed that the physicality I admired so much in the first part was slowly phased out as the poem went on. I suppose Dante was making a point about the difference between the physical world and his relationship to god, but what was so impressive about the Inferno was how he charged a discussion of ideas and morality with a concrete dimension. He made the abstract real.

      This was carried over into Purgatorio, although to a lesser extent, but a significant portion of Paradiso seemed to be about his inability to fully render his experience. This seemed to me to be a structural flaw, as we are suddenly asked to once again perceive abstract concepts in an abstract way, and it seems a huge let down.

      Or maybe I just needed footnotes to explain it to me.
    • 5/5
      Wow! All I can say is what a pleasurable and enriching experience to have had the opportunity to listen to Dante's legendary poetry read aloud. The only metaphorical example I can think of is the difference between watching an epic film (like "Life of Pi") in 2D or 3D.

      Yes! Dante's Divine Comedy book vs. audiobook is on the same proportional movie-going scale! I highly recommend indulging yourself with this audiobook. It's one you'll want to purchase, not borrow!
    • 3/5
      Contains some wonderful imagery, but seems rather obsolete in certain sections. Still a masterful writing display though, which has had its impact over the last centuries.
    • 4/5
      Purgatorio is by far the best of the three.
    • 5/5
      A classic. One of my all time favorites. The visions and descriptions in The Inferno are enough to make anyone pious.
    • 5/5
      A gorgeous poem that has stood the test of time. This translation, along with the Moser illustrations, is a beautiful volume. Having the original Italian on the opposite page makes it more accessible. The author's notes are helpful, although readers without a heavy classical education may want to avail themselves of other notes or commentaries. A work that can be read in short bursts, and will be read again and again.
    • 5/5
      First and foremost, this is a review of Ciardi's translation. I haven't read any other translations of this work, but I did a moderate bit of research and the conclusion (of the critics) is that Ciardi's translation is superior.I have now read the Divine Comedy twice, and hope to read it at least once more -- if you read it you will see that it is the execution of perfection. Besides being about good and evil, and how one can salvage one's life by embracing the former while eschewing the latter, you will marvel at the structure of these three canticles. Dante leaves few loose ends. There are surprises, witticisms, and rapture.
    • 5/5
      A true classic that everyone should read but, unfortunately, few will genuinely appreciate. You travel the afterlife from Hell through Purgatory and arrive in Heaven. Along the way you meet various souls (some of whom Dante had been ticked at who today are not known) and realize the very Catholic approach to redemption.
    • 5/5
      Throughout The Divine Comedy Dante claims that his is no mere story, but a vision granted to him by the divine. While your personal faith probably plays a role in how you assess that claim, one thing is certain: Dante was a visionary, and The Divine Comedy contains some of the most stunning imagery you'll find in literature. Everyone has heard of Dante's nine circles of hell, but how many know that the ninth circle is surrounded by a living wall of giants, chained for their rebellion? Or that the mountain of purgatory is the land that was thrust up by Lucifer's fall, and atop it sits the Garden of Eden? Or that in paradise the souls of all the protectors of humanity form a huge eagle that addresses Dante, the eagle being formed of countless souls that shine like rubies in the sunlight? Not to mention the ultimate image Dante gives us, of the highest realm of heaven, wherein every soul that has reached paradise joins together to take the shape of a white rose, with God at its center.

      It's beautiful stuff, and even in translation Dante's prose proves up to the task of describing it. From the opening of Inferno where Dante has lost his way to the final lines of each canticle that draw our minds to the stars, Dante is a masterful writer. Not only that, but he's an assertive writer as well. While I could easily imagine an author falling back on his beautiful writing and delivering only a milquetoast moral stance (and indeed, Dante mentions this temptation), in The Divine Comedy Dante makes his opinions known on issues large and small. He's not afraid to criticize the practice of blood feuds, or to pillory different orders of monks, or even to call out the leadership of the Church and the rulers of Italy. He places popes and kings in the fires of hell just as readily as he does false prophets and foreign conquerers.

      In addition to this, The Divine Comedy serves as perhaps the best memorial for a lost love to ever be written. Dante's first love Beatrice, dead before he began work on The Divine Comedy, is not only placed by Dante among the highest ranks of paradise, but it is through her mercy and care that Dante is granted his vision of the divine. She is credited with not only inspiring his pen, but with saving his soul as well. Through this work Dante immortalizes his lost love, and if there is a love letter that can compare I don't know of it.

      The work isn't without its flaws. Paradiso has several cantos that focus on Dante's take on cosmology or astrophysics that aren't only clearly wrong under our modern understanding, but that don't flow particularly well either. They're like Melville's chapters on whale classification in Moby Dick- they struck me as more distracting than atmospheric. Paradiso is also rife with Dante raising theological questions, only to give them unsatisfying answers. I wish Dante had given us more of his brilliant descriptions instead of trying his hand at reconciling the nature of God with real world events. Occasionally in Inferno it feels as though Dante is sticking it to the people he doesn't like in life at the expense of the flow of the canto, while at other times it feels as though Dante is making an exception for historical figures he really liked at the expense of the logic of the divine system he has described (Cato being the prime example, but various Roman and Greek figures throughout raise this issue). Still, these complaints are minor. It's a vision, after all, and so the lack of a concrete system with steadfast rules isn't surprising.

      It's the journey that counts, not the destination, and Dante gives us one hell of a journey. It's an epic sightseeing trip through the world of Christian theology, a world that is still heavily influenced by the myths and scholars of ancient Rome and Greece. Though it's not perfect, it's great, and well worth your time.
    • 5/5
      Here is where I default by saying...I am not a Christian. However I grew up in churches...I like to think I know the bible better than most Christians seeing as I have actually read it. And I appreciate aspects of the religion. More than anything...the most interesting to me has always been the Catholics. Dante...while being ever so colorful...and ever so in the past...gives me a fun little look at past Christianity. What I noticed in this segment...rather than the other two...even he had some small concerns over his own religion...largely the way God was meant to deal with certain things...like the people who had come before said religion. People who might have been just as pure and pious and deserving of Heaven as those who came after. I enjoyed my realization that while he understood the rules of his religion what could and could not be done...he believed over that..that God was loving and merciful...should always be loving and merciful and therefore he could not understand partial exclusion of some. Which again I say came as a nice surprise because in the first two...I often got the feeling he was merely speaking out against what had been done to him...through his beliefs and his skill as a poet. Not that I'm saying he didn't...because well really...throwing enemies in hell and friends in heaven would have perks. But I think there is a little more there and I like it..a lot.
    • 5/5
      I've read the book twice. First time I got lost after Purgatorio, second time I finished with astounding understanding even amazed myself. The book is more than just an imaginary piece of work. It was Dante's spiritual journey in his own understanding, marvelously relevant to anyone who is in his/her own pursuit. The book even violently shook me during my darkest spiritual struggle... Besides that, the structure, philosophy, language, you can never finish reading Dante.
    • 5/5
      The edition I'm reading is Cary's, and, while I appreciate his command of iambic pentameter, I find him much harder to follow than Mandelbaum. I would recommend Cary or Longfellow for poetry, and Mandelbaum for comprehension, if given the choice between various translations.As for the actual book itself - well, it's the Divine Comedy. It's amazing. The Inferno is my favorite of the three, with the sheer of joy of Paradiso bumping it up to second. Purgatorio is the last of the three, because it drags a bit more than the other two. I wish I could go back and read this with a literature class or something, so that I could catch all the allusions and references - not being an Italian contemporary of his leaves quite a bit of the book stuck in obscurity, but I imagine that's easy remedied with a competent Virgil of your own to guide you through it.
    • 4/5
      This Allegory is the completed works of Dante transgressing the three stations (hell, purgatory, and paradise) in a way where one can truly understand the pain and suffering he went through to literally discover himself. The Divine Comedy is still to this day a highly read book by all ages and should continue to be so. With this take on the Allegory however did not follow the original Italian Vernacular and there by took away the authenticity of the epic.
    • 5/5
      Dante, Virgil, Hades, and the beloved Beatrice---what's not to like. This allegory of Dante's struggles with events in his own life with the geography of hell, purgatory, and paradise is beautiful. Dante was a beautiful writer. The story flows beautifully and leaves you with so many images of life and how to deal with it. Truly a masterpiece.
    • 5/5
      As with other books from a different time, take a course or get a good study guide. You'll never understand all the specific references to Florentine conflicts. Keep at it because understanding personalities, parody and sniping provides a lot of entertainment.
    • 2/5
      I didn't enjoy this book very much. There were a lot of references to people in politics at the time it was written (1200). Its interesting to see Dante's viewpoint on Catholicism during that time and throughout the book Virgil and Thomas Aquinas are referred to. I don't know too much about Catholicism then or now, so it was a little off topic for me. I was amazed at the technical aspect of the book. Dante refers to both mathematics in general and geometry at a fairly high level. My edition also had plenty of notes confiriming that most of Dante's calculations for sun, star and planet positions were correct. Seems a little technical for a religious story of a man's trip through hell, purgatory and heaven!
    • 4/5
      The Divine Comedy epitomized medieval attitudes. From historical perspectives, this work serves as a window into the mentality of late middle ages in Italy, on the brink of the Renaissance. Scholastic thinking informs Dante's approach.
    • 5/5
      I can't believe I read the whole thing. *phew*
    • 5/5
      Deservedly a true classic, Dante's portrayal of the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio is at the same time metaphysical allegory, religious and political commentary, and great poetry. I read John Ciardi's translation of the Inferno (1982) and Lawrence Binyon's interpretation of the latter two sections (1947, also includes several shorter poems and Dante's Vita Nuova). It is a work such as this that makes me wish my feeble mind could retain more of the specific details of what I read. The whole story takes place during the time of Easter, the various hours of which correspond to Dantes' travels. Inferno, in particular, hosts a myriad of fascinating events. We witness Dante descend with Virgil through a series of concentric rings, each holding a type of sinner and punishing them accordingly. Similar punihsments take place in Purgatorio, except of course that these seven deadly sins are being atoned for and occassionally a resident is freed to Paradise. Paradise also consists of a series of relative rewards, although everyone is completely happy with their lot in recognition of perfect justice (and they only differ in terms of relative bliss). Paradise is much more descriptive of the beauty and awe of God, Christ, and Mary. Dante used this work to compliment many of his friends and colleagues and also to disgrace political enemies and a host of popes.Two events in Dante's own life greatly influenced this final work of his -- his banishment from Florence and the death of his first love, Beatrice. The poem is structured in three sections each with 33 cantos consisting of three line groups. Together with the introduction, there are 10 cantos. Ciardi's translation is both more understandable and appealing to me.
    • 3/5
      In finally sitting down and reading the entire Divine Comedy, I can now see why The Inferno is usually separated from Purgatorio & Paradiso. The Inferno is captivating and paints vivid pictures of what Dante &. Virgil are seeing and experiencing. However Purgatorio & Paradiso seemed to lack this each in their own way. Purgatorio was still able to paint the pictures but not quite as vividly. Perhaps the subject matter was not as captivating as well. Dante certainly had the gift of making Purgatory feel not too bad but also not too good. In Paradiso we switch guides from Virgil to Beatrice. It is then that Dante seems to loose his focus on his surroundings and turns toward fauning over Beatrice's beauty. I figured that the Canto with God in it would have been a bit more powerful & profound. Lucifer's appearance was more awe inspiring than God's. Don't get me wrong, I give credit to the absolute classic that this work is, however I think there are some issues with it from a reader's standpoint. When all of the action is over in the 1st portion of the book it becomes a chore to finish reading it. All-in-all this entire work was beautifully written in the terza rima rhyme scheme which adds a bit of romance to every line read. I have to mention that I think it's funny how people get the details of this work confused with The Holy Bible. There in itself stands testement to how amazing this work has been throughout history. Despite my personal issues with reading it I am honored to have read such famous and renouned piece of historical literature.
    • 5/5
      This is the sort of work that seems beyond review. It is a classic of the highest order, one which I have only just scratched the surface. From even the barest reading, it is obvious that this work would reward close study and careful consideration. As someone who is not a specialist in poetry, particularly of this era, Christian theology, or the historical context, I can only record my impressions as someone reading this for its literary value. This review is based on the Everyman's Library edition of the Divine Comedy, which includes the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. It is translated by Allen Mandelbaum. I found the translation pleasurable to read, and it shows through some of Dante's poetry. Having heard readings of it in its original language, I can hardly imagine any translation really capturing its poetic brilliance, but such is the challenge facing all translations of poetry. While I cannot compare it with other translations, I did find this one an enjoyable experience to read.This edition also contains extensive end notes throughout. Unless one is steeped in the theology and history, this work would be impenetrable without these notes. Dante is constantly alluding to individuals of historical note (often only within his context), the political rivalry between the Black and White Guelphs plays an important role and the work is rife with symbolism (beyond the obvious punishments detailed in the Inferno!). Further, and most importantly, Dante is engaged with the philosophical and theological debates of the day, and he tries to defend certain positions in this work. I would have been lost without the notes here. Indeed, one of the most rewarding things about reading the poem is learning about the history and philosophical/theological context. Reading an edition without extensive notes not only makes the text more difficult to understand for a modern reader, but deprives one of one of the most rewarding experiences in reading it.The Inferno is the most famous of the three books, and it is no small wonder why. Dante's depiction of the levels of hell is riveting and powerful. The imagery throughout is engrossing. It is interesting, however, that Dante recognizes that his abilities to describe, in imagistic terms, what he observes diminish as he rises through Pugatory and Heaven. He consistently invokes higher and higher deities to help him match these sights poetically. Yet, taken in the imagery of the poem, none of the works is more immediately powerful than the Inferno. One of the most interesting aspects of the poem is how Dante rises to meet this challenge. While in the Inferno, Dante is able to describe all manner of punishment and pain, his descriptions of heaven often turn on the blinding nature of its beauty. Its beauty is such that his eyes fail, and the correspondingly imaginative nature of his poetry falls short. He compensates by revealing the beauty of his heaven in other ways. Most notably is that he does so by showing how the divine nature of heaven can meet all of his questions and intellectual challenges. The joy and beauty of heaven is revealed in its ability to provide rational coherence. While I may be over-intellectualizing Dante here (I am no scholar of this material), it was the intellectual nature of his work that really struck me.One final portion of the work that I found particularly moving is that Dante is a human being observing what he does, and this comes through in his emotions and questions most of all. Though he recognizes that the punishments of hell must be just (because they are divine justice), he pities those who suffer them. I wrestled with the same questions, and the reader cannot help but feel sympathy for these souls as Dante describes their punishments. Dante is our guide through these questions, and even if I as a reader am less than satisfied with the answers Dante comes with, he struggles with them. It is not merely a description and celebration of the divine, but rather a real struggle to understand it, and reconcile it to our own conception of justice and the world. This makes the work an interactive intellectual exercise, one works on the same problems that Dante does.

    Book preview

    The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri

    Inferno

    Canto 1

    The writer, having lost his way in a gloomy forest, and being hindered by certain wild beasts from ascending a mountain, is met by Virgil, who promises to show him the punishments of Hell, and afterwards of Purgatory; and that he shall then be conducted by Beatrice into Paradise. He follows the Roman poet.

    IN the midway of this our mortal life,

    I found me in a gloomy wood, astray

    Gone from the path direct: and e'en to tell,

    It were no easy task, how savage wild

    That forest, how robust and rough its growth,

    Which to remember only, my dismay

    Renews, in bitterness not far from death.

    Yet, to discourse of what there good befell,

    All else will I relate discover'd there.

    How first I enter'd it I scarce can say,

    Such sleepy dullness in that instant weigh'd

    My senses down, when the true path I left;

    But when a mountain's foot I reach'd, where clos'd

    The valley that had pierc'd my heart with dread,

    I look'd aloft, and saw his shoulders broad

    Already vested with that planet's beam,

    Who leads all wanderers safe through every way.

    Then was a little respite to the fear,

    That in my heart's recesses deep had lain

    All of that night, so pitifully pass'd:

    And as a man, with difficult short breath,

    Forespent with toiling, 'scaped from sea to shore,

    Turns to the perilous wide waste, and stands

    At gaze; e'en so my spirit, that yet fail'd,

    Struggling with terror, turn'd to view the straits

    That none hath pass'd and liv'd. My weary frame

    After short pause recomforted, again

    I journey'd on over that lonely steep,

    The hinder foot still firmer. Scarce the ascent

    Began, when, lo! a panther, nimble, light,

    And cover'd with a speckled skin, appear'd;

    Nor, when it saw me, vanish'd; rather strove

    To check my onward going; that oft-times,

    With purpose to retrace my steps, I turn'd.

    The hour was morning's prime, and on his way

    Aloft the sun ascended with those stars,

    That with him rose, when Love divine first mov'd

    Those its fair works: so that with joyous hope

    All things conspir'd to fill me, the gay skin

    Of that swift animal, the matin dawn,

    And the sweet season. Soon that joy was chas'd.

    And by new dread succeeded, when in view

    A lion came, 'gainst me as it appear'd,

    With his head held aloft and hunger-mad,

    That e'en the air was fear-struck. A she-wolf

    Was at his heels, who in her leanness seem'd

    Full of all wants, and many a land hath made

    Disconsolate ere now. She with such fear

    O'erwhelmed me, at the sight of her appall'd,

    That of the height all hope I lost. As one,

    Who, with his gain elated, sees the time

    When all unawares is gone, he inwardly

    Mourns with heart-griping anguish; such was I,

    Haunted by that fell beast, never at peace,

    Who coming o'er against me, by degrees

    Impell'd me where the sun in silence rests.

    While to the lower space with backward step

    I fell, my ken discern'd the form of one,

    Whose voice seem'd faint through long disuse of speech.

    When him in that great desert I espied,

    Have mercy on me! cried I out aloud,

    Spirit! or living man! what e'er thou be.

    He answer'd: "Now not man, man once I was,

    And born of Lombard parents, Mantuans both

    By country, when the power of Julius yet

    Was scarcely firm. At Rome my life was past,

    Beneath the mild Augustus, in the time

    Of fabled deities and false. A bard

    Was I, and made Anchises' upright son

    The subject of my song, who came from Troy,

    When the flames prey'd on Ilium's haughty towers.

    But thou, say wherefore to such perils past

    Return'st thou? wherefore not this pleasant mount

    Ascendest, cause and source of all delight?"

    "And art thou then that Virgil, that well-spring,

    From which such copious floods of eloquence

    Have issued?" I with front abash'd replied.

    "Glory and light of all the tuneful train!

    May it avail me that I long with zeal

    Have sought thy volume, and with love immense

    Have conn'd it o'er. My master thou and guide!

    Thou he from whom alone I have deriv'd

    That style, which for its beauty into fame

    Exalts me. See the beast, from whom I fled.

    O save me from her, thou illustrious sage!

    "For every vein and pulse throughout my frame

    She hath made tremble." He, soon as he saw

    That I was weeping, answer'd, "Thou must needs

    Another way pursue, if thou wouldst 'scape

    From out that savage wilderness. This beast,

    At whom thou criest, her way will suffer none

    To pass, and no less hinderance makes than death:

    So bad and so accursed in her kind,

    That never sated is her ravenous will,

    Still after food more craving than before.

    To many an animal in wedlock vile

    She fastens, and shall yet to many more,

    Until that greyhound come, who shall destroy

    Her with sharp pain. He will not life support

    By earth nor its base metals, but by love,

    Wisdom, and virtue; and his land shall be

    The land 'twixt either Feltro. In his might

    Shall safety to Italia's plains arise,

    For whose fair realm, Camilla, virgin pure,

    Nisus, Euryalus, and Turnus fell.

    He, with incessant chase, through every town

    Shall worry, until he to hell at length

    Restore her, thence by envy first let loose.

    I, for thy profit pond'ring, now devise,

    That thou mayst follow me; and I, thy guide,

    Will lead thee hence through an eternal space,

    Where thou shalt hear despairing shrieks, and see

    Spirits of old tormented, who invoke

    A second death; and those next view, who dwell

    Content in fire, for that they hope to come,

    Whene'er the time may be, among the blest,

    Into whose regions if thou then desire

    To ascend, a spirit worthier than I

    Must lead thee, in whose charge, when I depart,

    Thou shalt be left: for that Almighty King,

    Who reigns above, a rebel to his law

    Adjudges me; and therefore hath decreed

    That, to his city, none through me should come.

    He in all parts hath sway; there rules, there holds

    His citadel and throne. O happy those,

    Whom there he chooses!" I to him in few:

    "Bard! by that God, whom thou didst not adore,

    I do beseech thee (that this ill and worse

    I may escape) to lead me where thou saidst,

    That I Saint Peter's gate may view, and those

    Who, as thou tell'st, are in such dismal plight."

    Onward he mov'd, I close his steps pursu'd.

    Canto 2

    After the invocation, which poets are used to prefix to their works, he shows that, on a consideration of his own strength, he doubted whether it sufficed for the journey proposed to him, but that, being comforted by Virgil, he at last took courage, and followed him as his guide and master.

    NOW was the day departing, and the air,

    Imbrown'd with shadows, from their toils releas'd

    All animals on earth; and I alone

    Prepar'd myself the conflict to sustain,

    Both of sad pity, and that perilous road,

    Which my unerring memory shall retrace.

    O Muses! O high genius! now vouchsafe

    Your aid. O mind! that all I saw hast kept

    Safe in a written record, here thy worth

    And eminent endowments come to proof.

    I thus began: "Bard! thou who art my guide,

    Consider well, if virtue be in me

    Sufficient, ere to this high enterprise

    Thou trust me. Thou hast told that Silvius' sire,

    Yet cloth'd in corruptible flesh, among

    The immortal tribes had entrance, and was there

    Sensibly present. Yet if heaven's great Lord,

    Almighty foe to ill, such favour shew'd,

    In contemplation of the high effect,

    Both what and who from him should issue forth,

    It seems in reason's judgment well deserv'd:

    Sith he of Rome, and of Rome's empire wide,

    In heaven's empyreal height was chosen sire:

    Both which, if truth be spoken, were ordain'd

    And 'stablish'd for the holy place, where sits

    Who to great Peter's sacred chair succeeds.

    He from this journey, in thy song renown'd,

    Learn'd things, that to his victory gave rise

    And to the papal robe. In after-times

    The chosen vessel also travel'd there,

    To bring us back assurance in that faith

    Which is the entrance to salvation's way.

    But I, why should I there presume? or who

    Permits it? not Æneas I, nor Paul.

    Myself I deem not worthy, and none else

    Will deem me. I, if on this voyage then

    I venture, fear it will in folly end.

    Thou, who art wise, better my meaning know'st,

    Than I can speak." As one, who unresolves

    What he hath late resolv'd, and with new thoughts

    Changes his purpose, from his first intent

    Remov'd; e'en such was I on that dun coast,

    Wasting in thought my enterprise, at first

    So eagerly embrac'd. "If right thy words

    I scan," replied that shade magnanimous,

    "Thy soul is by vile fear assail'd, which oft

    So overcasts a man, that he recoils

    From noblest resolution, like a beast

    At some false semblance in the twilight gloom.

    That from this terror thou mayst free thyself,

    I will instruct thee why I came, and what

    I heard in that same instant, when for thee

    Grief touch'd me first. I was among the tribe,

    Who rest suspended, when a dame, so blest

    And lovely I besought her to command,

    Call'd me; her eyes were brighter than the star

    Of day; and she with gentle voice and soft,

    Angelically tun'd, her speech address'd:

    'O courteous shade of Mantua! thou whose fame

    Yet lives, and shall live long as nature lasts!

    A friend, not of my fortune but myself,

    On the wide desert in his road has met

    Hindrance so great, that he through fear has turn'd.

    Now much I dread lest he past help have stray'd,

    And I be risen too late for his relief,

    From what in heaven of him I heard. Speed now,

    And by thy eloquent persuasive tongue,

    And by all means for his deliverance meet,

    Assist him. So to me will comfort spring.

    I, who now bid thee on this errand forth,

    Am Beatrice;* from a place I come

    Revisited with joy. Love brought me thence,

    Who prompts my speech. When in my Master's sight

    I stand, thy praise to him I oft will tell.'

    "She then was silent, and I thus began:

    'O Lady! by whose influence alone

    Mankind excels whatever is contain'd

    Within that heaven which hath the smallest orb,

    So thy command delights me, that to obey,

    If it were done already, would seem late.

    No need hast thou farther to speak thy will;

    Yet tell the reason, why thou art not loth

    To leave that ample space, where to return

    Thou burnest, for this centre here beneath.'

    "She then: 'Since thou so deeply wouldst inquire,

    I will instruct thee briefly, why no dread

    Hinders my entrance here. Those things alone

    Are to be fear'd whence evil may proceed;

    None else, for none are terrible beside.

    I am so fram'd by God, thanks to his grace!

    That any suff'rance of your misery

    Touches me not, nor flame of that fierce fire

    Assails me. In high heaven a blessed dame

    Resides, who mourns with such effectual grief

    That hindrance, which I send thee to remove,

    That God's stern judgment to her will inclines.'

    To Lucia calling, her she thus bespake:

    'Now doth thy faithful servant need thy aid,

    And I commend him to thee.' At her word

    Sped Lucia, of all cruelty the foe,

    And coming to the place, where I abode

    Seated with Rachel, her of ancient days,

    She thus address'd me: "Thou true praise of God!

    Beatrice! why is not thy succour lent

    To him, who so much lov'd thee, as to leave

    For thy sake all the multitude admires?

    Dost thou not hear how pitiful his wail,

    Nor mark the death, which in the torrent flood,

    Swol’n mightier than a sea, him struggling holds?"

    Ne'er among men did any with such speed

    Haste to their profit, flee from their annoy,

    As, when these words were spoken, I came here,

    Down from my blessed seat, trusting the force

    Of thy pure eloquence, which thee, and all

    Who well have mark'd it, into honour bring.'

    "When she had ended, her bright beaming eyes

    Tearful she turn'd aside; whereat I felt

    Redoubled zeal to serve thee. As she will'd,

    Thus am I come: I saved thee from the beast,

    Who thy near way across the goodly mount

    Prevented. What is this comes o'er thee then?

    Why, why dost thou hang back? why in thy breast

    Harbour vile fear? why hast not courage there,

    And noble daring; since three maids, so blest,

    Thy safety plan, e'en in the court of heaven;

    And so much certain good my words forebode?"

    As florets, by the frosty air of night

    Bent down and clos'd, when day has blanch'd their leaves,

    Rise all unfolded on their spiry stems;

    So was my fainting vigour new restor'd,

    And to my heart such kindly courage ran,

    That I as one undaunted soon replied:

    "O full of pity she, who undertook

    My succour! and thou kind who didst perform

    So soon her true behest! With such desire

    Thou hast dispos'd me to renew my voyage,

    That my first purpose fully is resum'd.

    Lead on: one only will is in us both.

    Thou art my guide, my master thou, and lord."

    So spake I; and when he had onward mov'd,

    I enter'd on the deep and woody way.

    Note: Beatrice. I use this word, as it is pronounced in the Italian, as consisting of four syllables, of which the third is a long one.

    Canto 3

    Dante, following Virgil, comes to the gate of Hell; where, after having read the dreadful words that are written thereon, they both enter. Here, as he understands from Virgil, those were punished who had parsed their time (for living it could not be called) in a state of apathy and indifference both to good and evil. Then pursuing their way, they arrive at the river Acheron; and there find the old ferryman Charon, who takes the spirits over to the opposite shore; which as soon as Dante reaches, he is seized with terror, and falls into a trance.

    "THROUGH me you pass into the city of woe:

    Through me you pass into eternal pain:

    Through me among the people lost for aye.

    Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:

    To rear me was the task of power divine,

    Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

    Before me things create were none, save things

    Eternal, and eternal I endure.

    All hope abandon, ye who enter here.

    Such characters, in colour dim, I mark'd

    Over a portal's lofty arch inscrib'd.

    Whereat I thus: "Master, these words import

    Hard meaning." He as one prepar'd replied:

    "Here thou must all distrust behind thee leave;

    Here be vile fear extinguish'd. We are come

    Where I have told thee we shall see the souls

    To misery doom'd, who intellectual good

    Have lost." And when his hand he had stretch'd forth

    To mine, with pleasant looks, whence I was cheer'd,

    Into that secret place he led me on.

    Here sighs, with lamentations and loud moans,

    Resounded through the air pierc'd by no star,

    That e'en I wept at entering. Various tongues,

    Horrible languages, outcries of woe,

    Accents of anger, voices deep and hoarse,

    With hands together smote that swell'd the sounds,

    Made up a tumult, that forever whirls

    Round through that air with solid darkness stain'd,

    Like to the sand that in the whirlwind flies.

    I then, with error yet encompass'd, cried:

    "O master! What is this I hear? What race

    Are these, who seem so overcome with woe?"

    He thus to me: "This miserable fate

    Suffer the wretched souls of those, who liv'd

    Without or praise or blame, with that ill band

    Of angels mix'd, who nor rebellious prov'd

    Nor yet were true to God, but for themselves

    Were only. From his bounds Heaven drove them forth,

    Not to impair his lustre, nor the depth

    Of Hell receives them, lest th' accursed tribe

    Should glory thence with exultation vain."

    I then: "Master! what doth aggrieve them thus,

    That they lament so loud?" He straight replied:

    "That will I tell thee briefly. These of death

    No hope may entertain: and their blind life

    So meanly passes, that all other lots

    They envy. Fame of them the world hath none,

    Nor suffers; mercy and justice scorn them both.

    Speak not of them, but look, and pass them by."

    And I, who straightway look'd, beheld a flag,

    Which whirling ran around so rapidly,

    That it no pause obtain'd: and following came

    Such a long train of spirits, I should ne'er

    Have thought, that death so many had despoil'd.

    When some of these I recogniz'd, I saw

    And knew the shade of him, who to base fear

    Yielding, abjur'd his high estate. Forthwith

    I understood, for certain, this the tribe

    Of those ill spirits both to God displeasing

    And to his foes. These wretches, who ne'er lived,

    Went on in nakedness, and sorely stung

    By wasps and hornets, which bedew'd their cheeks

    With blood, that, mix'd with tears, dropp'd to their feet,

    And by disgustful worms was gather'd there.

    Then looking farther onward, I beheld

    A throng upon the shore of a great stream:

    Whereat I thus: "Sir! grant me now to know

    Whom here we view, and whence impell'd they seem

    So eager to pass o'er, as I discern

    Through the blear light?" He thus to me in few:

    "This shalt thou know, soon as our steps arrive

    Beside the woeful tide of Acheron."

    Then with eyes downward cast and fill'd with shame,

    Fearing my words offensive to his ear,

    Till we had reach'd the river, I from speech

    Abstain'd. And lo! toward us in a bark

    Comes on an old man hoary white with eld,

    Crying, "Woe to you wicked spirits! hope not

    Ever to see the sky again. I come

    To take you to the other shore across,

    Into eternal darkness, there to dwell

    In fierce heat and in ice. And thou, who there

    Standest, live spirit! get thee hence, and leave

    These who are dead." But soon as he beheld

    I left them not, By other way, said he,

    "By other haven shalt thou come to shore,

    Not by this passage; thee a nimbler boat

    Must carry." Then to him thus spake my guide:

    "Charon! thyself torment not: so 'tis will'd,

    Where will and power are one: ask thou no more."

    Straightway in silence fell the shaggy cheeks

    Of him, the boatman o'er the livid lake,

    Around whose eyes glar'd wheeling flames. Meanwhile

    Those spirits, faint and naked, color chang'd,

    And gnash'd their teeth, soon as the cruel words

    They heard. God and their parents they blasphem'd,

    The human kind, the place, the time, and seed

    That did engender them and give them birth.

    Then all together sorely wailing drew

    To the curs'd strand, that every man must pass

    Who fears not God. Charon, demoniac form,

    With eyes of burning coal, collects them all,

    Beck'ning, and each, that lingers, with his oar

    Strikes. As fall off the light autumnal leaves,

    One still another following, till the bough

    Strews all its honours on the earth beneath;

    E'en in like manner Adam's evil brood

    Cast themselves one by one down from the shore,

    Each at a beck, as falcon at his call.

    Thus go they over through the umber'd wave,

    And ever they on the opposing bank

    Be landed, on this side another throng

    Still gathers. Son, thus spake the courteous guide,

    "Those who die subject to the wrath of God

    All here together come from every clime,

    And to o'erpass the river are not loth:

    For so heaven's justice goads them on, that fear

    Is turn'd into desire. Hence ne'er hath past

    Good spirit. If of thee Charon complain,

    Now mayst thou know the import of his words."

    This said, the gloomy region trembling shook

    So terribly, that yet with clammy dews

    Fear chills my brow. The sad earth gave a blast,

    That, lightening, shot forth a vermilion flame,

    Which all my senses conquer'd quite, and I

    Down dropp'd, as one with sudden slumber seiz'd.

    Canto 4

    The poet, being roused by a clap of thunder, and following his guide onwards, descends into Limbo, which is the first circle of Hell, where he finds the souls of those who, although they have lived virtuously and have not to suffer for great sins, nevertheless, through lack of baptism, merit not the bliss of Paradise. Hence he is led on by Virgil to descend into the second circle.

    BROKE the deep slumber in my brain a crash

    Of heavy thunder, that I shook myself,

    As one by main force rous'd. Risen upright,

    My rested eyes I mov'd around, and search'd

    With fixed ken to know what place it was,

    Wherein I stood. For certain on the brink

    I found me of the lamentable vale,

    The dread abyss, that joins a thund'rous sound

    Of plaints innumerable. Dark and deep,

    And thick with clouds o'erspread, mine eye in vain

    Explor'd its bottom, nor could aught discern.

    "Now let us to the blind world there beneath

    Descend;" the bard began all pale of look:

    I go the first, and thou shalt follow next.

    Then I, his alter'd hue perceiving, thus:

    "How may I speed, if thou yieldest to dread,

    Who still art wont to comfort me in doubt?"

    He then: "The anguish of that race below

    With pity stains my cheek, which thou for fear

    Mistakest. Let us on. Our length of way

    Urges to haste." Onward, this said, he mov'd;

    And ent'ring led me with him on the bounds

    Of the first circle, that surrounds th' abyss.

    Here, as mine ear could note, no plaint was heard

    Except of sighs, that made th' eternal air

    Tremble, not caus'd by tortures, but from grief

    Felt by those multitudes, many and vast,

    Of men, women, and infants. Then to me

    The gentle guide: "Inquir'st thou not what spirits

    Are these, which thou beholdest? Ere thou pass

    Farther, I would thou know, that these of sin

    Were blameless; and if aught they merited,

    It profits not, since baptism was not theirs,

    The portal to thy faith. If they before

    The Gospel liv'd, they serv'd not God aright;

    And among such am I. For these defects,

    And for no other evil, we are lost;

    "Only so far afflicted, that we live

    Desiring without hope." Sore grief assail'd

    My heart at hearing this, for well I knew

    Suspended in that Limbo many a soul

    Of mighty worth. "O tell me, sire rever'd!

    Tell me, my master!" I began through wish

    Of full assurance in that holy faith,

    Which vanquishes all error; "say, did e'er

    Any, or through his own or other's merit,

    Come forth from thence, who afterward was blest?"

    Piercing the secret purport of my speech,

    He answer'd: "I was new to that estate,

    When I beheld a puissant one arrive

    Amongst us, with victorious trophy crown'd.

    He forth the shade of our first parent drew,

    Abel his child, and Noah righteous man,

    Of Moses lawgiver for faith approv'd,

    Of patriarch Abraham, and David king,

    Israel with his sire and with his sons,

    Nor without Rachel whom so hard he won,

    And others many more, whom he to bliss

    Exalted. Before these, be thou assur'd,

    No spirit of human kind was ever sav'd."

    We, while he spake, ceas'd not our onward road,

    Still passing through the wood; for so I name

    Those spirits thick beset. We were not far

    On this side from the summit, when I kenn'd

    A flame, that o'er the darken'd hemisphere

    Prevailing shin'd. Yet we a little space

    Were distant, not so far but I in part

    Discover'd that a tribe in honour high

    That place possess'd. "O thou, who every art

    And science valu'st! who are these, that boast

    Such honour, separate from all the rest?"

    He answer'd: "The renown of their great names

    That echoes through your world above, acquires

    Favour in heaven, which holds them thus advanc'd."

    Meantime a voice I heard: "Honour the bard

    Sublime! his shade returns that left us late!"

    No sooner ceas'd the sound, than I beheld

    Four mighty spirits toward us bend their steps,

    Of semblance neither sorrowful nor glad.

    When thus my master kind began: "Mark him,

    Who in his right hand bears that falchion keen,

    The other three preceding, as their lord.

    This is that Homer, of all bards supreme:

    Flaccus the next, in satire's vein excelling;

    The third is Naso; Lucan is the last.

    Because they all that appellation own,

    With which the voice singly accosted me,

    Honouring they greet me thus, and well they judge."

    So I beheld united the bright school

    Of him the monarch of sublimest song,

    That o'er the others like an eagle soars.

    When they together short discourse had held,

    They turn'd to me, with salutation kind

    Beck'ning me; at the which my master smil'd:

    Nor was this all; but greater honour still

    They gave me, for they made me of their tribe;

    And I was sixth amid so learn'd a band.

    Far as the luminous beacon on we pass'd

    Speaking of matters, then befitting well

    To speak, now fitter left untold. At foot

    Of a magnificent castle we arriv'd,

    Seven times with lofty walls begirt, and round

    Defended by a pleasant stream. O'er this

    As o'er dry land we pass'd. Next, through seven gates,

    I with those sages enter'd, and we came

    Into a mead with lively verdure fresh.

    There dwelt a race, who slow their eyes around

    Majestically mov'd, and in their port

    Bore eminent authority; they spake

    Seldom, but all their words were tuneful sweet.

    We to one side retir'd, into a place

    Open and bright and lofty, whence each one

    Stood manifest to view. Incontinent,

    There on the green enamel of the plain

    Were shown me the great spirits, by whose sight

    I am exalted in my own esteem.

    Electra there I saw accompanied

    By many, among whom Hector I knew,

    Anchises' pious son, and with hawk's eye

    Cæsar all arm'd, and by Camilla there

    Penthesilea. On the other side

    Old King Latinus, seated by his child

    Lavinia, and that Brutus I beheld,

    Who Tarquin chas'd, Lucretia, Cato's wife

    Marcia, with Julia and Cornelia there;

    And sole apart retir'd, the Soldan fierce.

    Then when a little more I rais'd my brow,

    I spied the master of the sapient throng,

    Seated amid the philosophic train.

    Him all admire, all pay him rev'rence due.

    There Socrates and Plato both I mark'd,

    Nearest to him in rank; Democritus,

    Who sets the world at chance, Diogenes,

    With Heraclitus, and Empedocles,

    And Anaxagoras, and Thales sage,

    Zeno, and Dioscorides well read

    In nature's secret lore. Orpheus I mark'd

    And Linus, Tully and moral Seneca,

    Euclid and Ptolemy, Hippocrates,

    Galenus, Avicen, and him who made

    That commentary vast, Averroes.

    Of all to speak at full were vain attempt;

    For my wide theme so urges, that oft-times

    My words fall short of what bechanc'd. In two

    The six associates part. Another way

    My sage guide leads me, from that air serene,

    Into a climate ever vex'd with storms:

    And to a part I come, where no light shines.

    Canto 5

    Coming into the second circle of Hell, Dante at the entrance beholds Minos the Infernal Judge, by whom he is admonished to beware how he enters those regions. Here he witnesses the punishment of carnal sinners, who are tossed about ceaselessly in the dark air by the most furious winds. Amongst these, he meets with Francesca of Rimini, through pity at whose sad tale he falls fainting to the ground.

    FROM the first circle I descended thus

    Down to the second, which, a lesser space

    Embracing, so much more of grief contains,

    Provoking bitter moans. There, Minos stands,

    Grinning with ghastly feature: he, of all

    Who enter, strict examining the crimes,

    Gives sentence, and dismisses them beneath,

    According as he foldeth him around:

    For when before him comes th' ill-fated soul,

    It all confesses; and that judge severe

    Of sins, considering what place in hell

    Suits the transgression, with his tail so oft

    Himself encircles, as degrees beneath

    He dooms it to descend. Before him stand

    Always a num'rous throng; and in his turn

    Each one to judgment passing, speaks, and hears

    His fate, thence downward to his dwelling hurl'd.

    "O thou! who to this residence of woe

    Approachest!" when he saw me coming, cried

    Minos, relinquishing his dread employ,

    "Look how thou enter here; beware in whom

    Thou place thy trust; let not the entrance broad

    Deceive thee to thy harm." To him my guide:

    "Wherefore exclaimest? Hinder not his way

    By destiny appointed; so 'tis will'd

    Where will and power are one. Ask thou no more."

    Now 'gin the rueful wailings to be heard.

    Now am I come where many a plaining voice

    Smites on mine ear. Into a place I came

    Where light was silent all. Bellowing there groan'd

    A noise, as of a sea in tempest torn

    By warring winds. The stormy blast of hell

    With restless fury drives the spirits on,

    Whirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy.

    When they arrive before the ruinous sweep,

    There shrieks are heard, there lamentations, moans,

    And blasphemies 'gainst the good Power in heaven.

    I understood that to this torment sad

    The carnal sinners are condemn'd, in whom

    Reason by lust is sway'd. As, in large troops

    And multitudinous, when winter reigns,

    The starlings on their wings are borne abroad;

    So bears the tyrannous gust those evil souls.

    On this side and on that, above, below,

    It drives them: hope of rest to solace them

    Is none, nor e'en of milder pang. As cranes,

    Chanting their dol'rous notes, traverse the sky,

    Stretch'd out in long array: so I beheld

    Spirits, who came loud wailing, hurried on

    By their dire doom. Then I: "Instructor! who

    Are these, by the black air so scourg'd? The first

    'Mong those, of whom thou question'st," he replied,

    "O'er many tongues was empress. She in vice

    Of luxury was so shameless, that she made

    Liking be lawful by promulg'd decree,

    To clear the blame she had herself incurr'd.

    This is Semiramis, of whom 'tis writ,

    That she succeeded Ninus her espous'd;

    And held the land, which now the Soldan rules.

    The next in amorous fury slew

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