by Dante
I will lead you to them, if you wish.
48
And not without pleasure shall you know them.’
‘How is that?’ was the reply. ‘If a man should wish →
to climb by night, would he be hindered,
51
or would he not ascend because he lacked the power?’
Good Sordello drew his finger through the dust →
and said: ‘See, you would not cross
54
even this line once the sun goes down,
‘for nothing hinders the ascent
except the darkness of the night,
57
which binds the will with helplessness.
‘After nightfall one might head back down
and wander lost around the hill
60
as long as the horizon hides the day.’
At that my lord, as in amazement, said:
‘Lead us, then, to where you say
63
we may take pleasure in our rest.’
We had gone but a little way from there →
when I observed the hill was hollowed out,
66
as valleys carve out hollows in our mountains.
‘Let us go there,’ said the shade,
‘to where the slope sinks to a bowl,
69
and there await the coming of the day.’
A slanting path, connecting steep and flat,
brought us to the border of the glade
72
just where the rim around it falls away.
Gold and fine silver, carmine and leaded white, →
indigo, lignite bright and clear,
75
an emerald after it has just been split,
placed in that dell would see their brightness fade
against the colors of the grass and flowers,
78
as less is overcome by more.
Nature had not only painted there in all her hues →
but there the sweetness of a thousand scents
81
was blended in one fragrance strange and new.
Seated in the grass and flowers, I saw →
souls not visible from beyond the sunken valley.
84
‘Salve Regina’ was the song they sang.
‘Before the sun’s rim sinks into its nest,’
began the Mantuan soul who’d brought us there, →
87
‘do not ask me to take you down among them. →
‘From this bank you will more easily discern
their gestures and their features
90
than if you went among them down below.
‘He who sits the highest—the one with the look →
of a man who shirked his duty—not moving his lips
93
to match the singing of the rest,
‘was Emperor Rudolph. He might have healed
the wounds that have brought Italy to death, →
96
so that, for another to restore her, it is late.
‘The next, who looks as if he gave him comfort, →
ruled the land where the waters from the Moldau
99
flow into the Elbe, and from the Elbe to the sea.
‘His name was Ottocar, and in his swaddling clothes
he was of greater worth than Wenceslaus,
102
his bearded son, who feasts on lust and idleness.
‘And the one with the small nose, who seems in council →
with the one who is so gracious in his looks,
105
died in flight, deflowering the lily.
‘Look how he beats upon his breast!
And see the other, who rests his cheek
108
upon his palm and sighs:
‘father and the father-in-law of the plague of France,
they know his foul and vicious life—
111
thus comes the grief that pierces them.
‘He who looks so tall and sturdy and who sings →
in time with him who bears a manly nose
114
was girt with the cord of every virtue.
‘And if the youth who sits behind him →
had come to power on his throne, then indeed
117
his virtue would have passed from vessel to vessel,
‘which none can say of the other heirs. →
James and Frederick hold their kingdoms,
120
but neither has the better heritage.
‘Rarely does human worth rise through the branches. →
And this He wills who gives it,
123
so that it shall be sought from Him.
‘My words concern the large-nosed one no less →
than Peter, who is singing with him,
126
so that Apulia and Provence are now in grief.
‘As much is the plant poorer than its seed
that Constance may yet praise her husband
129
more than Beatrice and Margaret boast of theirs.
‘See the king who led a simple life →
sitting there alone, Henry of England.
132
His branches bloom with better issue.
‘Lowest among them, sitting on the ground →
and looking up, is William the marquis,
because of whom Alessandria and its warfare
136
make Monferrato and Canavese weep.’
OUTLINE: PURGATORIO VIII
I. Songs and the advent of the angels
1–9
it is the hour at which earthly travelers most miss their familiars; Dante turns his mind from the song of the penitents to a soul who asks to be heard
10–18
this soul sings, joined by the rest, “Te lucis ante”
19–21
first address to the reader in Purgatorio
22–36
the “army” looks up: two angels with flaming swords, their tips broken away, robed in green and with green wings, descend; one stands above the poets, the other across the valley from them; their blond heads shine too bright for Dante to make out their features
37–39
Sordello explains the purpose of the angels’ coming
40–42
fearing the promised serpent, Dante turns to Virgil
Interlude: descent into the valley (Nino)
43–46
at Sordello’s behest, they now move into the valley
47–51
Dante and a soul recognize one another:
52–54
Dante’s joy at seeing Nino Visconti among the saved
55–57
Nino’s question as to when Dante came to bliss
58–60
Dante’s shocking revelation: he is in the flesh
61–66
Sordello turns to Virgil, Nino to Currado Malaspina
67–84
Nino’s request that Dante seek out his daughter back on earth that she may pray for him, since his fickle wife, now remarried, apparently cares for him not at all
85–93
Dante’s eager eyes seek out three stars at the southern pole of the sky and Virgil explains that they have taken the position of the four stars seen earlier
II. The drama of the serpent
94–96
Sordello interrupts to call attention to the “enemy”
97–102
the snake slides through the grass and flowers, sleeking itself
103–108
the mere sound of the angels’ wings drives it away
Interlude: Currado’s turn to speak
109–111
Currado has not looked away from Dante during the drama
112–120
he longs for news of home, where he loved his familia
rs
121–132
the poet’s flattering portrait of the Malaspina family
133–139
Currado’s prediction of Dante’s visit to Lunigiana
PURGATORIO VIII
It was now the hour that melts a sailor’s heart →
and saddens him with longing on the day
3
he’s said farewell to his belovèd friends,
and when a traveler, starting out,
is pierced with love if far away he hears
6
a bell that seems to mourn the dying light,
and I began to listen less and fix my gaze, →
intent upon a soul who suddenly stood up
9
and signaled for attention with his hand.
He lifted his clasped palms and fixed his eyes →
upon the east as if he said to God:
12
‘For nothing else do I have any care.’
‘Te lucis ante’ came forth from his lips →
with such devotion and with notes so sweet →
15
it drew me out from all thoughts of myself.
The others joined him then and sang
the whole hymn through with sweet devotion,
18
keeping their eyes upon the heavenly wheels.
Here, reader, set your gaze upon the truth, →
for now the veil is drawn so thin
21
that piercing it is surely easy.
I watched that noble gathering
grow silent as they raised their eyes,
24
humble and pale with expectation.
And I saw issue from above and then descend →
two angels holding flaming swords,
27
their pointed blade-tips broken off.
Green as newly opened leaves, their garments,
stirred and fanned by their green wings,
30
swirled and billowed out behind them.
One came and took his stand there just above us
and one alighted on the other bank,
33
so that the company was set between them.
I could discern the angels’ flaxen hair,
but looking at their faces dazzled me,
36
my power of sight undone by so much brightness.
‘Both come from Mary’s bosom,’ →
said Sordello, ‘to guard the valley
39
from the serpent that will soon appear.’
Not knowing by what path, →
I turned around, all chilled with fear,
42
and huddled closer to the trusted shoulders.
Sordello continued: ‘Let us now go down →
into the valley and speak with those great shades.
45
They will be pleased to have you join them.’
It seemed I had taken only three steps down →
when I saw one who stared at me alone,
48
as if he tried to bring my name to mind. →
It was now the hour when the air grows dark,
yet had not turned so dark it failed to show
51
his eyes and mine what had been hidden. →
He moved toward me and I moved toward him. →
Noble Judge Nino, what joy it was to me →
54
when I saw you were not among the damned! →
Between us no fair greeting went unsaid. →
Then he asked: ‘How long is it since you came
57
over far waters to this mountain?’
‘Oh,’ I said to him, ‘I came this morning →
from the doleful regions. I am in my first life,
60
though by coming here I gain the other.’
And when they heard my answer →
Sordello and he drew back,
63
like men suddenly bewildered.
One turned to Virgil, and the other called
to someone seated there: ‘Rise, Currado,
66
come and see what God by His good grace has willed.’
Then, turning to me: ‘By that special gratitude →
you owe to Him who hides His primal purpose
69
so deep we cannot fathom it,
‘when you are far from these wide waters,
ask my Giovanna to direct her prayers for me →
72
to where the innocent are heard.
‘I think her mother has not loved me →
since she stopped wearing her white wimple,
75
which, in her coming misery, she may long for.
‘There is an easy lesson in her conduct:
how short a time the fire of love endures in woman →
78
if frequent sight and touch do not rekindle it.
‘The viper that leads the Milanese afield →
will hardly ornament her tomb as handsomely
81
as the cock of Gallura would have done.’
He spoke these words, his face stamped →
with a look of righteous indignation
84
that burns with proper measure in the heart.
My hungry eyes were lifted toward the sky, →
to that zone where the stars move slowest,
87
as does the spoke of a wheel close to the axle.
And my leader: ‘Son, what are you staring at?’
And I replied: ‘At those three torches
90
with which this pole is all aflame.’
‘The four bright stars you saw this morning,’
he said, ‘are low upon the unseen sky
93
and these have risen where those others were.’
As he spoke, Sordello drew him closer, →
saying: ‘Behold our adversary,’
96
and pointed his finger where to look.
In that place where the little valley →
has no rampart, a snake appeared,
99
perhaps the one that gave to Eve the bitter fruit.
Through grass and flowers slid the evil streak,
turning its head from time to time to lick its back
102
like a beast that sleeks itself.
I did not see and therefore cannot tell →
how the celestial falcons started up,
105
but I could plainly see them both in motion.
Hearing the green wings cleave the air,
the serpent fled. The angels wheeled around
108
and flew back up together to their posts.
The shade, who had drawn closer to the judge →
when he called out, had not through that assault
111
at any time removed his gaze from me.
‘So may the lantern leading you above
have ample wax in the candle of your will
114
to bring you to the enameled summit,’
he said, ‘if you have true news of Valdimagra →
or of the parts around, please tell me,
117
for there I once was great.
‘I was called Currado Malaspina,
not the old Currado but descended from him.
120
To my own I bore the love that here is purified.’
‘Oh,’ I said to him, ‘never have I been there, →
in your country. But where do men dwell,
123
anywhere in Europe, that it is not renowned?
‘The fame that crowns your house with honor
proclaims alike its lords and lands—
126
even those who have not been there know them,
‘and, as I hope to go above, I swear to you
your honored race does not disgrace
129
the glory of its purse and of its sword.
‘No matter how a wicked chief may warp the world, →
privileged both by nature and by custom,
132
your race alone goes straight and scorns the evil path.’
Then he said: ‘Enough. Not seven times →
shall the sun return to rest in the very bed
135
that the Ram covers and bestrides with all four feet
‘before this courteous opinion
shall be nailed within your brain
by stronger nails than the words of others,
139
if the course of Judgment is not stayed.’
OUTLINE: PURGATORIO IX
Introduction: the temporal setting
1–6
moonrise in purgatory or morning in Italy?
7–12
Dante falls asleep in the Valley of the Princes between 8:30 and 9 PM among his four companions
I. The first purgatorial dream
13–69
the dream, Dante’s reaction, Virgil’s explanation
13–18
a) the temporal setting before dawn (Philomel)
19–33
b) dream: eagle, Ganymede, “rape,” fire
34–42
c) Dante’s condition on awakening (simile)
43–48
d) reality: after 8 AM, Dante alone with Virgil
49–63
e) explanation: Lucy, others left behind, gate
64–67
f) Dante reassured (simile)
68–69
g) Virgil leads Dante toward the entrance
Interruption: address to the reader
70–72
