Due lunghe corna, e fra lor tiene ascosto
332 Un ampio seno, e porto un scoglio rende,
Ch’a lui la fronte, e ‘l tergo all’onda ha opposto
Che vien dall’alto, e la respinge e fende.
S’innalzan quinci e quindi, e torreggianti
336 Fan due gran rupi segno a’ naviganti.
XLII
A secret place they found in one of those,
Where the cleft shore sea in his bosom takes,
And ‘twixt his stretched arms doth fold and close
An ample bay, a rock the haven makes,
Which to the main doth his broad back oppose,
Whereon the roaring billow cleaves and breaks,
And here and there two crags like turrets high,
Point forth a port to all that sail thereby:
XLII
In one of these a lone spot they survey,
Where the shore forms a crescent, and extends
Two lengthened horns, between which a vast bay
It holds concealed; a rock the port defends,
And, fronting landwards, with its back defies
And stems the waves that from the westward sweep;
On either side two beetling headlands rise,
Landmarks for sailors o’er the pathless deep.
XLIII.
Tacciono sotto i mar sicuri in pace:
Sovra ha di negre selve opaca scena:
E in mezzo d’esse una spelonca giace,
340 D’edere, e d’ombre, e di dolci acque amena.
Fune non lega quì, nè col tenace
Morso le stanche navi áncora frena.
La donna in sì solinga e queta parte
344 Entrava, e raccogliea le vele sparte.
XLIII
The quiet seas below lie safe and still,
The green wood like a garland grows aloft,
Sweet caves within, cool shades and waters shrill,
Where lie the nymphs on moss and ivy soft;
No anchor there needs hold her frigate still,
Nor cable twisted sure, though breaking oft:
Into this desert, silent, quiet, glad,
Entered the dame, and there her haven made.
XLIII
Beneath, the ocean sleeps in peace profound,
Above, dark woods a gloomy landscape made,
Midway, a cavern lay with ivy crowned,
With waters pleasant, and inviting shade;
Ne’er rope, nor anchor with tenacious fluke,
Ships binds nor bridles where such calm prevails.
The damsel entered that secluded nook,
And in a moment furled the flowing sails.
XLIV.
Mirate, disse poi, quell’alta mole
Che di quel monte in su la cima siede.
Quivi fra cibi, ed ozio, e scherzi, e fole
348 Torpe il campion della Cristiana fede.
Voi, con la guida del nascente Sole,
Su per quell’erto moverete il piede:
Nè vi gravi il tardar; perocchè fora,
352 Se non la mattutina, infausta ogni ora.
XLIV
“The palace proudly built,” quoth she, “behold,
That sits on top of yonder mountain’s height,
Of Christ’s true faith there lies the champion bold
In idleness, love, fancy, folly light;
When Phoebus shall his rising beams unfold,
Prepare you gainst the hill to mount upright,
Nor let this stay in your bold hearts breed care,
For, save that one, all hours unlucky are;
XLIV
Then said: ‘Sir knights, that lofty pile which lies
Upon the summit of you mount, survey;
There, lost in sloth and sensualities,
Christ’s champion whiles his worthless life away.
With the sun rising for your escort, ye
By that ascent must seek the enchanted bower;
Nor such detention chide, since each would be,
Except the matin, an ill-omened hour.
XLV.
Ben col lume del dì, ch’anco riluce,
Insino al monte andar per voi potrassi.
Essi al congedo della nobil duce
356 Poser nel lido desiato i passi:
E ritrovar la via, ch’a lui conduce,
Agevol sì che i piè non ne fur lassi;
E quando v’arrivar, dall’Oceáno
360 Era il carro di Febo anco lontano.
XLV
“But yet this evening, if you make good speed,
To that hill’s foot with daylight might you pass.”
Thus said the dame their guide, and they agreed,
And took their leave and leaped forth on the grass;
They found the way that to the hill doth lead,
And softly went that neither tired was,
But at the mountain’s foot they both arrived,
Before the sun his team in waters dived.
XLV
‘By daylight, which still gilds the mountain’s side,
Far as its base ye can with safety reach.’
At the dismissal of their noble guide,
They leaped with joy upon the wished-for beach,
And found the road, that led to it thus far,
So easy, that no need they felt of rest;
And, at the foot arrived, saw Phoebus’ car
Rolling still distant from the ocean’s breast
XLVI.
Veggion che per dirupi, e fra ruine
S’ascende alla sua cima alta e superba:
E ch’è fin là di nevi e di pruine
364 Sparsa ogni strada: ivi ha poi fiori ed erba.
Presso al canuto mento il verde crine
Frondeggia: e ‘l ghiaccio fede ai giglj serba
Ed alle rose tenere; cotanto
368 Puote sovra natura arte d’incanto!
XLVI
They saw how from the crags and clefts below
His proud and stately pleasant top grew out,
And how his sides were clad with frost and snow,
The height was green with herbs and flowerets sout,
Like hairy locks the trees about him grow,
The rocks of ice keep watch and ward about,
The tender roses and the lilies new,
Thus art can nature change, and kind subdue.
XLVI
By many a precipice and ruin they
Perceive they must to the high summit pass;
And that with ice and snow is strewn the way,
While all beyond is flowers and emerald grass.
Near its white chin the hair all verdant grows,
And wintry frost preserves unsullied faith
With the fair lily and the delicate rose:
Such power enchantment over nature hath.
XLVII.
I duo’ guerrieri, in loco ermo e selvaggio
Chiuso d’ombre, fermarsi a piè del monte:
E come il Ciel rigò col novo raggio
372 Il Sol, dell’aurea luce eterno fonte;
Su su, gridaro entrambi, e ‘l lor viaggio
Ricominciar con voglie ardite e pronte.
Ma esce, non so donde, e s’attraversa
376 Fiera serpendo orribile e diversa.
XLVII
Within a thick, a dark and shady plot,
At the hill’s foot that night the warriors dwell,
But when the sun his rays bright, shining, hot,
Dispread of golden light the eternal well,
“Up, up,” they cried, and fiercely up they got,
And climbed boldly gainst the mountain fell;
But forth there crept, from whence I cannot say,
An ugly serpent which forestalled their way.
XLVII
In a wild spot, with matted shade o’errun,
At the hill’s foot the warriors passed the night;
But with the ea
rliest blushes of the sun,
Eternal fountain of God’s golden light,
‘Up! up!’ they both exclaimed, and recommenced
Their journey with a prompt determined will,
When a fierce dragon crossed their path, and fenced
(Horrid, diverse!) their passage to the hill.
XLVIII.
Innalza d’oro squallido squamose
Le creste e ‘l capo, e gonfia il collo d’ira:
Arde negli occhj; e le vie tutte ascose
380 Tien sotto il ventre; e tosco e fumo spira.
Or rientra in se stessa, or le nodose
Rote distende, e sè dopo sè tira.
Tal s’appresenta alla solita guarda;
384 Nè però de’ guerrieri i passi tarda.
XLVIII
Armed with golden scales his head and crest
He lifted high, his neck swelled great with ire,
Flamed his eyes, and hiding with his breast
All the broad path, he poison breathed and fire,
Now reached he forth in folds and forward pressed,
Now would he back in rolls and heaps retire,
Thus he presents himself to guard the place,
The knights pressed forward with assured pace:
XLVIII
His scaly crest, and head of squalid gold,
He lifts erect; swoln is his neck with ire;
His red eyes glare as he with fold on fold
Blocks up the path, and poison breathes, and fire;
Into himself now coils and now distends
His knotty rings, and glides along to guard
The wonted post that on his care depends;
Yet could he not the knights’ advance retard.
XLIX.
Già Carlo il ferro stringe, e ‘l serpe assale:
Ma l’altro grida a lui: che fai? che tente?
Per isforzo di man, con arme tale,
388 Vincer avvisi il difensor serpente?
Egli scuote la verga aurea immortale,
Sicchè la belva il sibilar ne sente:
E impaurita al suon, fuggendo ratta,
392 Lascia quel varco libero, e s’appiatta.
XLIX
Charles drew forth his brand to strike the snake;
Ubaldo cried, “Stay, my companion dear,
Will you with sword or weapon battle make
Against this monster that affronts us here?”
This said, he gan his charmed rod to shake,
So that the serpent durst not hiss for fear,
But fled, and dead for dread fell on the grass,
And so the passage plain, eath, open was.
XLIX
Already Charles had drawn his trusty brand
To assail the monster, when Ubaldo spake:
‘What wouldst attempt? Deem’st thou that mortal hand,
Or arms like thine, can pierce the guardian snake?’
Then shook the golden and immortal wand,
Whose hissing sound the brute perceiving, he,
Scared at the noise, fled swiftly o’er the sand,
Concealed himself, and left the passage free.
L.
Più suso alquanto il passo a lor contende
Fero leon che rugge e torvo guata:
E i velli arrizza, e le caverne orrende
396 Della bocca vorace apre e dilata:
Si sferza con la coda, e l’ire accende.
Ma non è pria la verga a lui mostrata,
Ch’un secreto spavento al cor gli agghiaccia
400 Ogni nativo ardire, e in fuga il caccia.
L
A little higher on the way they met
A lion fierce that hugely roared and cried,
His crest he reared high, and open set
Of his broad-gaping jaws the furnace wide,
His stern his back oft smote, his rage to whet,
But when the sacred staff he once espied
A trembling fear through his bold heart was spread,
His native wrath was gone, and swift he fled.
L
Still higher, to guard the pass, a lion stands,
That roars defiance, scowls, and stamps, and paws;
Bristling his mane, he opens and expands
The frightful cave of his voracious jaws;
Lashing his sides, he grows inflamed with ire;
And yet no sooner is the wand in sight,
Than secret terror chills the native fire
Of his proud heart; he turns, and takes to flight.
LI.
Segue la coppia il suo cammin veloce;
Ma formidabile oste han già davante
Di guerrieri animai, varj di voce,
404 Varj di moto, e varj di sembiante.
Ciò che di mostruoso e di feroce
Erra fra ‘l Nilo e i termini d’Atlante,
Par quì tutto raccolto, e quante belve
408 L’Ercinia ha in sen, quante l’Ircane selve.
LI
The hardy couple on their way forth wend,
And met a host that on them roar and gape,
Of savage beasts, tofore unseen, unkend,
Differing in voice, in semblance, and in shape;
All monsters which hot Afric doth forthsend,
Twixt Nilus, Atlas, and the southern cape,
Were all there met, and all wild beasts besides
Hyrcania breeds, or Hyrcane forest hides.
LI
Their swift advance the undaunted pair pursue,
But find before them a dread phalanx rise
Of beasts of prey, of every form and hue,
Diverse in voice, in motion, and in size;
All that most monstrous, most ferocious roam
‘Twixt Atlas’ confines and the Nile’s far floods,
Seem here assembled with the brutes whose home
Is wild Ercynia and Hyrcania’s woods.
LII.
Ma pur sì fero esercito e sì grosso
Non vien che lor respinga, o lor resista:
Anzi (miracol novo!) in fuga è mosso
412 Da un picciol fischio, e da una breve vista.
La coppia omai vittoriosa il dosso
Della montagna, senza intoppo, acquista;
Se non se inquanto il gelido e l’alpino
416 Delle rigide vie tarda il cammino.
LII
But yet that fierce, that strange and savage host
Could not in presence of those worthies stand,
But fled away, their heart and courage lost,
When Lord Ubaldo shook his charming wand.
No other let their passage stopped or crossed;
Till on the mountain’s top themselves they land,
Save that the ice, the frost, and drifted snow,
Oft made them feeble, weary, faint and slow.
LII
Yet was that savage army powerless quite
Or to resist or check the knights’ advance;
Nay, (novel miracle!) ’twas put to flight
By a slight whistle and a single glance.
The now victorious couple straightway gain
The mountain’s crest without impediment,
Save where the ice-bound paths their steps detain,
And Alpine snows encumber the ascent.
LIII.
Ma poi che già le nevi ebber varcate,
E superato il discosceso e l’erto;
Un bel tepido Ciel di dolce state
420 Trovaro, e ‘l pian sul monte ampio ed aperto.
Aure fresche maisempre ed odorate
Vi spiran con tenor stabile e certo:
Nè i fiati lor, siccome altrove suole,
424 Sopisce o desta, ivi girando, il Sole.
LIII
But having passed all that frozen ground,
And overgone that winter sharp and keen,
A warm, mild, pleasant, gentle sky they found,
That overspread a large and ample gr
een,
The winds breathed spikenard, myrrh, and balm around,
The blasts were firm, unchanged, stable been,
Not as elsewhere the winds now rise now fall,
And Phoebus there aye shines, sets not at all.
LIII
But when they had passed the line of endless snow,
And overcome the steep and rugged ground,
Beneath a sky of temperate summer, lo!
On the hill-top a spacious plain they found.
Here ever blows refreshing, balmy air,
Nor ceases aye its changeless course to run;
Nor is its gentle breath, as haps elsewhere,
Lulled or awakened by the circling sun.
LIV.
Nè, come altrove suol, ghiaccj ed ardori,
Nubi e sereni a quelle piaggie alterna;
Ma il Ciel di candidissimi splendori
428 Sempre s’ammanta, e non s’infiamma o verna;
E nutre ai prati l’erba, all’erba i fiori,
Ai fior l’odor, l’ombra alle piante eterna.
Siede sul lago, e signoreggia intorno
432 I monti e i mari il bel palagio adorno.
LIV
Not as elsewhere now sunshine bright now showers,
Now heat now cold, there interchanged were,
But everlasting spring mild heaven down pours, —
In which nor rain, nor storm, nor clouds appear, —
Nursing to fields, their grass; to grass, his flowers;
To flowers their smell; to trees, the leaves they bear:
There by a lake a stately palace stands,
That overlooks all mountains, seas and lands:
LIV
Nor doth the clime, as elsewhere, alternate
Now ice, now fire, now weather foul, now fair;
Nor too great heats or colds predominate,
But aye the heavens unclouded splendour wear,
Nursing to fields the grass, to grass the flowers,
Fragrance to flowers, perennial shade to trees:
Upon the lake a palace sits, and towers
In lordly loftiness o’er lands and seas.
LV.
I Cavalier per l’alta aspra salita
Sentiansi alquanto affaticati e lassi:
Onde ne gían per quella via fiorita
436 Lenti, or movendo ed or fermando i passi;
Quando ecco un fonte, che a bagnar gl’invita
Le asciutte labbra, alto cader da’ sassi
E da una larga vena, e con ben mille
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