The Inferno (The Divine Comedy series Book 1)

by Dante

  10. This verse begins a series of conversations that give the canto its shape. With the exception of the eleventh Canto, 92 percent of which is devoted to dialogue (mainly Virgil’s explanations of the circles of hell, joined by Dante’s responses and questions), no other Infernal canto contains so much dialogue, with 118 of its 142 verses being spoken (83 percent). These conversations form a chiasmus (from the Greek chi, our letter ‘x’), the device of shaping the parts of a text into a perfectly balanced pattern (see Holl.1990.2, p. 100):

  1. Dante (10–36)

  2. Virgil (43–57)

  3. Beatrice (58–74)

  4. Virgil (75–84)

  5. Beatrice (85–114)

  6. Virgil (115–126)

  7. Dante (133–140)

  [return to English / Italian]

  12. The meaning of the phrase alto passo is debated. See Mazz.1967.1, pp. 180–84, for documentation. Mazzoni gives good reasons for accepting a literal reading, one that makes the passo correspond to the journey, rather than, as some have proposed, a metaphorical one, in which it signifies the poem. Mazzoni paraphrases these words with the phrase “impresa eccezionale” (extraordinary undertaking), while also stressing the difficulty of that adventure. Our translation seeks a similar solution. [return to English / Italian]

  13. According to Virgil, Aeneas was the father of Silvius and Ascanius. [return to English / Italian]

  15. In his commentary Padoan points out that the insistence on the physicality of Aeneas’s descent effectively undercuts that tradition of medieval allegorized Virgil which asserts that the “descent” is to be taken as a “philosophical,” rather than as a literal, journey. Aeneas’s journey, like Dante’s own, is to be dealt with as actually having occurred in space and time. [return to English / Italian]

  16–19. For the commentators, the most troubling aspect of a difficult tercet is found in the phrase “e ’l chi e ’l quale” (“considering who and what he was,” v. 18—see Mazzoni, pp. 192–96). The sense, however, may be fairly straightforward: it is not surprising that God should have chosen Aeneas to found Rome, with its profound impact on human history, both imperial and ecclesiastical, since Aeneas (the “who” of the verse) was both the founder of a royal line (ancestor of Julius Caesar through Ascanius) and “divine” (the “what,” since he was the son of a goddess, Venus).

  Dante uses the word “cortese” (courteous, i.e., as in the favoring generosity of a lord or lady) in v. 17 in a way that theologizes its usual courtly context. For the tradition of the concept as it comes into Dante see Crim.1993.1. [return to English / Italian]

  20–21. The adjective alma (here translated as “holy”) has had various interpretations in the commentary tradition, e.g., “exalted” (eccelsa: Boccaccio), “lofty” (alta: Buti), “nurturing” (alma: Landino), “holy” (sancta: Benvenuto). Citing Paget Toynbee, Mazzoni (Mazz.1967.1), p. 198, makes a strong argument for the last of these. Our translation reflects his view. And this formulation knits up these two tercets into a single meaning: Aeneas was chosen by God to be the founder of imperial and ecclesiastical Rome. Such a view disturbs those who believe that Dante, when he began the Comedy, was still a Guelph (i.e., a supporter of the papacy) in his political attitudes and not a Ghibelline (a supporter of the empire). A reading of the fourth book of Convivio (Mazzoni [Mazz.1967.1], pp. 216–20), demonstrates the close correspondence between what Dante says here and what he had said in Convivio IV, iv-v. There he had already made a decisive shift toward recognizing the importance of what we would call “secular Rome.” Dante, as the prophecy of the veltro (depending on one’s interpretation of it) may already have demonstrated, now believes in the divine origin and mission of the empire. See note to Inf. I.100–105. [return to English / Italian]

  22–24. See Mazzoni (Mazz.1967.1), pp. 198–220, for a thorough review of this tercet, made problematic not because its words or the sense of these words is difficult, but because what it says is assumed by many commentators to be premature in its championing of the empire, a position Dante is supposed to have embraced only later. See the preceding note. For a recent attempt to describe the political aspect of the poem see Hollander (Holl.2000.1), the section, in the discussion devoted to the Commedia, entitled “La politica.” [return to English / Italian]

  26. Aeneas understood things from what was revealed to him in the underworld, most notably by his father, Anchises (see Mazz.1967.1, p. 222). [return to English / Italian]

  27. This verse concludes the “imperial theme” of this canto, initiated in v. 13. These five tercets continually break Aeneas’s identity or task into two aspects (“e ’l chi e ’l quale” [who and what he was—v. 18], “de l’alma Roma e di suo impero” [holy Rome and her dominion—v. 20], “la quale e ’l quale” [both of these established—v. 22], “di sua vittoria e del papale ammanto” [to victory and … the papal mantle—v. 27]). This speech is not in the mouth of Virgil, but of Dante, and for a reason. It purveys, with some heated enthusiasm, the view of Roman imperial excellence that Dante had only recently developed. He cannot allow its religious dimension authoritative utterance by Virgil, whose credentials as “Christian” are not exactly imposing. And so the otherwise not-very-mature protagonist is here given the author’s voice to say what that author wants most definitely to set down before us. [return to English / Italian]

  28. For Paul as the Vas d’elezïone (Chosen Vessel) see Acts 9:15. For his ascent to heaven while still alive see II Cor. 12:4.

  This flat statement that Paul’s journey actually occurred contrasts with the less forthright claim made for Aeneas’s in verse 13: “Tu dici che” (You tell that). This and the subsequent phrasing, in which that same journey is referred to as the “andata onde li dai tu vanto” (journey for which you grant him glory) at v. 25, both imbue the speaker’s acceptance of the veracity of Virgil’s account of that journey with a certain sense of dubiety (see Holl.1990.2, p. 103), at least when compared with the biblical authority enjoyed by Paul’s.

  With regard to the question of whether or not Dante believed Paul had been to hell (as recounted in the Visio Pauli) see Padoan’s comment, with bibliography (to which now should be added Silv.1997.1). Most commentators would seem to believe that Dante is here alluding only to Paul’s heavenly journey, not to his apocryphal descent. [return to English / Italian]

  32. It has frequently been remarked that Dante’s denial must be taken ironically. What the protagonist says is not what his author thinks: Dante is to be understood as both the “new Aeneas” and the “new Paul.” Jacoff and Stephany offer an ample deliberation on this subject (Jaco.1989.1), pp. 57–72. For a recent study of Paul’s presence in Dante’s works see DiSc.1995.1. [return to English / Italian]

  33–36. Dante’s apparent modesty is obviously meant to be taken rather as cowardice, as Virgil’s response at v. 45 (“your spirit is assailed by cowardice”) makes pellucidly clear. [return to English / Italian]

  37–40. A type of simile Dante enjoys deploying, one in which both elements (“tenor” and “vehicle”) are eventually seen to involve the same agent: “and as a man … so was I.” See note to Inferno XXX.136–141. [return to English / Italian]

  41. For the importance of the word impresa (enterprise) in the overall economy of the poem see Holl.1969.1, p. 230. It occurs twice in this canto (next at v. 47), where it refers to Dante’s journey, then in Inf. XXXII.7, where it refers to the poem that Dante is writing, and finally in Par. XXXIII.95, where it surely refers to the voyage, and perhaps to the poem as well. See note to Inferno XXXII.1–9. [return to English / Italian]

  43. This is the first occurrence of the word “word” (parola) in the poem and in this canto. It will reappear four more times in the canto at vv. 67, 111, 135, and 137. If, as several commentators have urged (see Holl.1990.2, p. 96), the first Canto of the poem is the “canto della paura” (canto of fear—the word paura appears five times [see note to canto I.15], as does parola in this one, and neither appears so many times in any other canto),
then Inferno II perhaps should be construed as the ‘canto della parola’ (canto of the word). See Holl.1990.2, passim. [return to English / Italian]

  48. For a possible source for this verse, not hitherto cited, see Aeneid X.592–593, where Aeneas scornfully addresses Lucagus, whom he has just mortally wounded, and tells his fallen enemy that he cannot blame his plight on the shying of his horses: “Lucagus, the cowardly flight of your horses has not betrayed your chariot, nor has the empty shadow [vanae … umbrae] of an enemy turned them away.” See Holl.1993.1, p. 256. [return to English / Italian]

  52. The verbal adjective sospesi (suspended), that is, in a position between the presence of God and actual punishment, is a technical term for the virtuous heathen who dwell in Limbo. See Mazzoni’s note (Mazz.1967.1), pp. 239–47. [return to English / Italian]

  53–54. Beatrice’s anonymous first appearance and Virgil’s instinctive obeisance might easily lead a reader to assume that this lady has primarily an “allegorical” meaning. For a recent study of the roots of the problematic allegorical interpretation of Beatrice see Porc.1997.2. We will in time be told who she is (Inf. II.70). Dante’s first extended work, Vita nuova (ca. 1293), celebrated his lady, Beatrice, as a mortal woman unlike any other, her meaning indissolubly linked with the Trinity, and in particular with the Second Person, Christ. [return to English / Italian]

  56–57. Virgil describes Beatrice’s speech as being soave e piana (gentle and clear). She will, in turn, describe his speech as parola ornata (polished words—at v. 67). The two adjectives, piana and ornata, may remind us of a major distinction, found in medieval categorizations of rhetorical styles, between the plain, or low, style, and the ornate, or high. Benvenuto, commenting on this passage, was the first to point this out, glossing “soave e piana” as follows: “divine speech is sweet and humble, not elevated and proud, as is that of Virgil and the poets.” Thus Virgil’s description of Beatrice’s words corresponds antithetically to hers of his; her speech represents the sublimely humble style valorized by the Comedy, while his recalls the high style that marked pagan eloquence (the observation is drawn from Holl.1990.2, p. 107, where there are references to previous discussions in Auer.1958.1, pp. 65–66; Mazz.1979.1, pp. 157–58). [return to English / Italian]

  58. Beatrice’s first words, which Daniello (commentary to this verse) compared to Juno’s attempt to win over Aeolus at Aeneid I.66–67, offer a striking example of captatio benevolentiae, the rhetorical device of gaining favor with one’s audience. They will be effective enough in gaining Virgil’s goodwill. And, despite Virgil’s characterization of her speech, in v. 56, as being “gentle and clear,” it is also unmistakably lofty in its rhetorical reach. [return to English / Italian]

  61. For a consideration of the fullest implications of this verse see Mazzoni (Mazz.1967.1), pp. 256–68. According to him, the literal sense is that Dante is not a friend to Fortune, not that Fortune has forsaken him. The upshot of these readings is that Beatrice makes Dante her friend in true spiritual friendship, denying that he is “friendly” to Fortune. [return to English / Italian]

  62–64. Words familiar from the first canto come back into play here: diserta piaggia (I.29), cammin (I.1), paura (I.53), smarrito (I.3). This is not the last time we will look back to the protagonist’s desperate condition evident at the beginning of the poem. [return to English / Italian]

  67. See Holl.1990.2, p. 118, for discussion of the undercutting of Virgil’s “ornate speech” (parola ornata) when it is seen as linked to Jason’s parole ornate (Inf. XVIII.91), the deceptive rhetoric by which he seduces women. [return to English / Italian]

  74. Beatrice’s promise to speak well of Virgil to God has drawn some skeptical response, e.g., Castelvetro on this verse: “Questo che monta a Virgilio che è dannato?” (What good is this to Virgil, who is damned?). We are probably meant to be more impressed than that. [return to English / Italian]

  76–78. The meaning of this much-disputed tercet would seem to be: “O lady of virtuous disposition which alone, shared by others, may bring them, too, to salvation out of the sublunar world of sin …” This is to rely on Mazzoni’s affirmation (Mazz.1967.1, pp. 276–77) of Barbi’s reading of the verse (Barb.1934.2, p. 22), which continues to find detractors. [return to English / Italian]

  83. in questo centro. Singleton, in his comment on this verse, speaks of the “strong pejorative connotation” of Dante’s phrase, stemming from “the well-established view that the earth’s position at the center of the universe is the most ignoble—because it is farthest from God and His angels.” Singleton goes on to cite from a sermon of Fra Giordano da Rivalto, characterizing the true center of the earth as “that point within the earth which is in its midst, as the core is in the midst of an apple. We believe that hell is located there, at the true center.” [return to English / Italian]

  85–93. Beatrice’s insistence that she is not “touchable” by the grim powers of the pains of hell underlines the marginality of sin for the saved. Hell is simply not of concern to them. It is important to know, as one begins reading the poem, what one can only know once one has finished it: no soul in purgation or in grace in heaven has a thought for the condition of the damned (only the damned themselves do). Their concern for those who do not share their redeeming penitence or bliss is reserved for those still alive on earth, who have at least the hope of salvation. Hell, for the saved, is a sordid reality of which it is better not to speak. [return to English / Italian]

  94. While every modern commentator recognizes (quite rightly) Mary in this lady, none of the early interpreters do, a fact that may seem astonishing (Castelvetro, in 1570, may have been the first to do so). [return to English / Italian]

  97. Lucy, the martyred Syracusan virgin (fourth century), whose name itself associates her with light, obviously played a special role in Dante’s devotional life. She will reappear in Purg. IX.52–63, where she indeed carries Dante from the valley in which he sleeps in the ante-purgatory to the gate of purgatory itself; and then she is seen seated in blessedness (Par. XXXII.137–138). See the discussion in Jacoff and Stephany (Jaco.1989.1), pp. 29–38. [return to English / Italian]

  102. Rachel, the fourth lady indicated as dwelling in heaven, presented here as Beatice’s “neighbor,” is traditionally interpreted (as she is by Dante himself—see Purg. XXVII.94–108) as the contemplative life, as her sister Leah represents the active one. Since the fourteenth century there have been frequent (and widely varying) attempts to “allegorize” the Virgin, Lucy, and Beatrice, most often as various varieties of grace (see Padoan’s commentary to v. 97 for a brief summary). There is no textual basis for such efforts, as appealing as many readers apparently find them. [return to English / Italian]

  105. What exactly does it mean, Lucy’s insistence to Beatrice that, for her sake, Dante “left the vulgar herd” (la volgare schiera)? Guido da Pisa interprets the phrase to mean Dante turned from the study of the liberal arts to theology. Without debating such a judgment, one might add a poetic dimension to it, as has Francesco Mazzoni (Mazz.1967.1, pp. 289–93). According to him, the most important meaning of the verse is to reflect Dante’s turning from a “conventional” amorous poetic subject matter to what he will later call the “dolce stil novo” (Purg. XXIV.57), a poetry that presents, in a new “style,” the higher meaning of Beatrice. (Some would go further, still, and suggest that this meaning is essentially Christological—see Holl.1999.1.) Mazzoni’s view is seconded by the importance of the word volgare to Dante. While it is surely at times limited to the negative sense of the Latin vulgus, pertaining to the common people, the “mob,” it is also the word that he uses to describe his own vernacular speech, as in the title of his treatise De vulgari eloquentia (“On Eloquence in the Vernacular”).

  The view that Dante’s sense of his own poetic vocation is central to the meaning of this verse is supported by the text at Inf. IV.101, where the group of classical poets, who so graciously include Dante in their number, is also described as a schier
a (company). [return to English / Italian]

  107–108. As tormented a passage as may be found in this canto, and one of the most difficult in the entire work, whether for its literal sense (what “death”? what “river”? what “sea”?) or its possibly only metaphorical meaning. See Mazzoni’s summary of the centuries-long debate over the passage (Mazz.1967.1), pp. 294–303, as well as Freccero’s essay (Frec.1986.1 [1966]), pp. 55–69. For discussion of a “typological” reading of the passage see Holl.1990.2, pp. 110–11, associating the narrated action with a temporarily halted attempt to enter the River Jordan.

  For the literal sense in which the Dead Sea is not a “sea,” but a “lake” that receives the waters of Jordan see Filippo Villani (Bell.1989.1, p. 109): “And, in the literal sense, the river Jordan does not flow into a sea, but ends in a lake that is bright and clear, even pleasant.” [return to English / Italian]

  109–114. Beatrice concludes her speech by expressing the efficacy of Lucy’s words on Dante’s behalf, which won her over to interceding with Virgil in order to give her beloved a second chance. (Purgatorio XXX and XXXI will reveal that she had grounds for being less charitable to her backsliding lover.) Her speech concludes with the same sort of captatio benevolentiae that marked its inception at v. 58, now couched in terms that praise Virgil’s parlare onesto. The phrase means more than “honest speech,” as is made clear by its etymological propinquity to the verb onora (honors) in the next line. “Noble” (found also in Sinclair’s translation) seemed to the translators a reasonable way to attempt to bridge the gap between “honest” and “decorous,” retaining a sense of moral and stylistic gravity for the words of the greatest poet of pagan antiquity—which Virgil was for Dante. [return to English / Italian]