The Divine Comedy

by Dante Alighieri

  say an Our Father for me in that host,

  as far as it may serve us in this world

  in which the very power to sin is lost.”

  With that, perhaps to yield his place with me

  to someone else he vanished through the fire

  as a fish does to the dark depths of the sea.

  I drew ahead till I was by that shade

  he had pointed to, and said that in my heart

  a grateful place to feast his name was laid.

  And he replied at once and willingly:

  “Such pleasaunce have I of thy gentilesse,

  that I ne can, ne will I hide from thee.

  Arnaut am I, and weepe and sing my faring.

  In grievousnesse I see my follies past;

  in joie, the blistful daie of my preparing.

  And by that eke virtue, I thee implour,

  that redeth thee, that thou amount the staire,

  be mindful in thy time of my dolour.”

  Then he, too, hid himself within the fire

  that makes those spirits ready to go higher.

  NOTES

  4-8. changing from blue to white . . . the western sky: It is now 4:00 P.M., or a bit later, of the third day on the mountain. At that hour of a clear day Dante sees the Sun as washing the blue out of the western sky and turning it whiter and brighter than the east. struck at my shoulder . . . now almost level on my right: If the circumference of the mountain is taken as a compass rose, the Poets have moved beyond WNW and are moving toward W. The Sun is in about the same position in the sky and getting low (perhaps a bit less than 30°), and Dante says its rays are almost level. In point of fact, the mean distance of the Sun from the earth is approximately 93,000,000 miles and to be level with it at one-third of its altitude, Dante would have to be about 30,000,000 miles up: an altitude that makes it a considerable mountain even as hyperbole goes. In any case, the shadow of Dante’s body falls on the wall of flame to his left, where it is noticed by many of the shades within the fire. This fact, too, is certainly impossible: Dante is treating the wall of flame as if it were a fog bank.

  20-21. all these: All these others who walk with me here. Ethiopes or Indians: Dante thought of Ethiopia and India as nothing but parched and burning wastes.

  29 ff. THE SODOMITES. The first shades Dante met on this Cornice walked along bearing to the right (from east to west, the direction of the sun, and the natural way of going on the mountain). These new souls, to Dante’s surprise, walk in the opposite direction, i.e., against the natural way. They are The Sodomites. (See further note to 37-42, below.)

  31. them: Both bands of sinners.

  32. and each shade kissed another: In accordance with the Apostolic admonition: “Salute one another with a holy kiss.” (Romans, xvi, 16.) These holy kisses not only remind them of the libidinous kisses of their sin, but help expiate it. without pausing: Throughout, Dante is moving behind Virgil and Statius as rapidly as possible along that dangerous path. Thus, all his exchanges with these sinners are carried on at a fast walk, the Sodomites walking the opposite way and soon passing from view, the other shades retaining their same relative positions to Dante in their course along the ledge.

  37-42. THE REIN OF LUST. The Rein consists here of a single admonition against unnatural lust, and of another against natural lust.

  (40) Sodom and Gomorrah: Ancient cities destroyed in a rain of fire from Heaven as punishment for the fact that homosexuality was a general practice in them.

  (41-42) Pasiphaë: Daughter of Apollo by the nymph Perseis. Wife of King Minos of Crete. Poseidon sent Minos a black bull to be offered as a sacrifice, but Minos put it in his herd. For revenge, Poseidon made Pasiphaë fall in love with the bull. She had Daedalus make a cunning effigy of a cow with wicker or wooden ribs, over which a cowhide was spread. She then crouched inside in order to be possessed by the bull. The Minotaur (see Inferno, XII, 12-18, note) was born of the union. Thus, lust gave birth to a monster.

  Note that Dante reserves “sodomy” specifically for “homosexuality.” In modern usage “sodomy” includes “sexual relations with animals.” Pasiphaë’s example, though it may seem unnatural enough to us, does not violate natural law, but only human law. See 82-84, note, below.

  43-45. the Rhipheans: The Rhiphean Mountains, a mythical range that occurs “somewhere in the north” on some old maps. Dante’s phrasing is best understood to mean north in a generic sense. the sands: Of the African desert. Note that Dante does not say cranes actually behave in this way (he could not fail to know that cranes do not migrate both north and south in the same season), but only that it is as if cranes did so behave. Clearly the figure relates to the cranes of Inferno, V, 46-47, thereby suggesting both a parallelism and a contrast.

  46-48. their opposing ways: The Sodomites go away from Dante. The others continue along in his direction. their first song: Summae Deus clementiae. each . . . an appropriate praise: The appropriate praises are the miscellaneous exhortations from The Whip of Lust. The sinners sing their hymn, then shout a praise, then sing again. After the first hymn they praise Mary. After the second, Diana. After the third, and before starting the cycle over, each cites his own example of chastity, probably an example that stands directly opposite his particular sin.

  55. beyond the flood: Across the sea. Hence, in the world.

  59. a lady: Dante could mean either Beatrice or the Virgin Mary.

  63. that heaven . . . that circles all: The Empyrean. of love: Note the special aptness of “holy love” to the state of these sinners whose crime was unholy love.

  77-78. Caesar . . . “Queen”: Suetonius (Caesar, 49) reports Caesar’s homosexual relation with Nicomedes, the conquered King of Bithynia, and that he was called “The Queen of Bithynia” for it, his soldiers singing a lampoon that ran:Gallias Caesar subegit, Nicomedes Caesarem;

  Ecce Caesar nunc triumphat, qui subegit Gallias;

  Nicomedes non triumphat, qui subegit Caesarem.

  The point of the lampoon lies in a pun on the word subegit—“put under” or “conquered.” Thus:Caesar put Gaul under; Nicomedes, Caesar.

  Now behold Caesar triumphant who put Gaul under,

  But not Nicomedes who put Caesar under.

  80-81. by their shame they aid the fire: To do its purifying work. The pains of Purgatory are willed joyously by those who endure them. Both the flame and the shame therefore are a gladly offered penance. In Dante’s view, the fire itself would be meaningless (and Infernal rather than Purgatorial) without the shame (a true act of contrition).

  82-84. hermaphroditic: Heterosexual. These sinners were guilty of abandoning themselves to lust, but not of mating with their own sex. human laws: Those restraints that govern human but not animal behavior, and which are the functions of intelligence and of a moral sense. To lose those restraints is to be bestial, and therefore the example of Pasiphaë in the Rein of Lust.

  87. the mock-beast: The “cow” in which Pasiphaë crouched, and which consisted of a hide stretched over a framework.

  92. Guido Guinizelli: Guido di Guinizelli de’ Principi (GWEE-doh dee Gwee-nee-TZEH-lee day PREEN-chee-pee). Vernacular poet of the mid-thirteenth century, esteemed as a forerunner of the sweet new style. Died 1276. here so soon: Since Guido had been dead only twenty-four years by 1300, his full repentance spared him a long delay.

  94-96. Lycurgus’ darkest hour: Hypsipyle, wife of Jason, to whom she had borne twin sons, Thoas and Euneus, was captured by pirates and sold to Lycurgus, King of Nemea. She was appointed nurse of the king’s infant son.

  When she met the parched heroes who fought against Thebes (XXII, 112, note) she put the baby down on the grass long enough to point out the spring called Langia. While she was gone, the infant was bitten by a poisonous snake. Lycurgus condemned her to death for negligence, and she was on the point of being executed when her sons (they had been sent to Nemea by Dionysus) discovered her, rushed to embrace her, and won her release.

  Dante’s point is that
he felt upon discovering the identity of Guinizelli as the twins had felt on discovering their lost mother. He adds, however, that he could not match their actions in racing to embrace her, for he was prevented by the fire. (Note, also, that in basing his figure on an incident narrated in the Thebaid, Dante is once more registering the presence of Statius.) Statius’ earlier feeling for Virgil forms another parallel.

  98. my betters: There is some disagreement as to whether or not Dante meant to rate himself among the six greatest poets of all time in narrating his reception in Limbo. Considering his confessed pride, and his willingness to point out how well he can accomplish certain poetic feats that no other has equaled (see Inferno, XXV, 91-99, and XXXII, 7-9), I believe Dante knew very well how good he was, and that he had few betters. This phrasing, therefore, is best taken as a compliment to the generation of poets that preceded him, its tone set by his wish to honor Guido Guinizelli. One must also recognize, however, that Dante distinguished between poeti (poets) and rimatori (versifiers). Here, “betters” could mean “as versifiers.”

  113. modern usage: Of writing about love in the spoken tongue rather than in Latin or in elaborate euphuisms. The Sweet New Style.

  119-120. Limoges produced a better: Girault de Bornelh, of Limoges, a rival poet. 121-123. I have all but abandoned Dante’s phrasing here in attempting to convey his meaning. Literally rendered, the passage reads: “They turn their faces to rumor (i.e., to what is being said, i.e., to reputation) more than to the truth (of merit in the writing) and so they fix their opinions before they have heeded art or reason.”

  124. Guittone: See XXIV, 56, and note. our fathers: Dante says antichi, the primary meaning of which is “the ancients” but which can also mean simply “gone by.” Guittone died in 1294, and Guinizelli, though only thirty-two years old, in 1276.

  131. as far as it may serve: The souls in Purgatory cannot yield to temptation, for their power to sin has been taken from them. Thus the supplication “and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” could not apply to them. One could argue, too, that Purgatorial souls do not need their “daily bread,” but “bread” can, of course, be taken to mean “spiritual sustenance.” In any case, the point is that not all of the Lord’s Prayer is apt to the state of the Purgatorial souls.

  136-139. that shade he had pointed to: Arnaut Daniel, Provençal poet of the second half of the twelfth century. He was especially given to intricate rhyme structures and elaborate phrasing and is generally credited with having invented the sestina. Many commentators have wondered why Dante held him up for such high praise, for his work seems rather more elaborate than compelling to most readers. Perhaps it was Dante’s particular passion for elaborate structural relations and for such devices as the UOM of Canto XII that drew him to Daniel.

  140-147. DANIEL’S REPLY. Daniel replies, in the original, not in Italian, but in the langue d’oc, the Provençal tongue in which he wrote. Since some obvious shift of language is necessary here, and since Daniel’s would seem an antique and a courtly tongue to Dante, I have rendered his lines into what can best be called a desperate attempt at bastard Spenserian. faring: going. blistful: blissful. redeth: leads. amount: mount.

  Canto XXVII

  THE SEVENTH CORNICE

  The Angel of Chastity

  The Wall of Fire

  THE EARTHLY PARADISE

  The Angel Guardian

  A little before sunset of the third day on the Mountain the Poets come to the further limit of the Seventh Cornice and are greeted by THE ANGEL OF CHASTITY, who tells them they must pass through the wall of fire. Dante recoils in terror, but Virgil persuades him to enter in Beatrice’s name.

  They are guided through the fire by a chant they hear coming from the other side. Emerging, they find it is sung by THE ANGEL GUARDIAN of the Earthly Paradise, who stands in a light so brilliant that Dante cannot see him. (It is probably here that THE LAST P is stricken from Dante’s brow. Or perhaps it was consumed by the fire.)

  The Angel hurries them toward the ascent, but night overtakes them, and the Poets lie down to sleep, each on the step on which he finds himself. (For Statius it will be the last sleep, since there is no night in Heaven.) There, just before dawn, Dante has a prophetic DREAM OF LEAH AND RACHEL, which foreshadows the appearance, above, of Matilda and Beatrice.

  Day arrives; the Poets rise and race up the rest of the ascent until they come in sight of THE EARTHLY PARADISE. Here VIRGIL SPEAKS HIS LAST WORDS, for the Poets have now come to the limit of Reason, and Dante is now free to follow his every impulse, since all motion of sin in him has been purged away.

  As the day stands when the Sun begins to glow

  over the land where his Maker’s blood was shed,

  and the scales of Libra ride above the Ebro,

  while Ganges’ waters steam in the noonday glare—

  so it stood, the light being nearly faded,

  when we met God’s glad Angel standing there

  on the rocky ledge beyond the reach of the fire,

  and caroling “Beati mundo corde”

  in a voice to which no mortal could aspire.

  Then: “Blessèd ones, till by flame purified

  no soul may pass this point. Enter the fire

  and heed the singing from the other side.”

  These were his words to us when we had come

  near as we could, and hearing them, I froze

  as motionless as one laid in his tomb.

  I lean forward over my clasped hands and stare

  into the fire, thinking of human bodies

  I once saw burned, and once more see them there.

  My kindly escorts heard me catch my breath

  and turned, and Virgil said: “Within that flame

  there may be torment, but there is no death.

  Think well, my son, what dark ways we have trod . . .

  I guided you unharmed on Geryon:

  shall I do less now we are nearer God?

  Believe this past all doubt: were you to stay

  within that womb of flame a thousand years,

  it would not burn a single hair away.

  And if you still doubt my sincerity,

  but reach the hem of your robe into the flame:

  your hands and eyes will be your guarantee.

  My son, my son, turn here with whole assurance.

  Put by your fears and enter to your peace.”

  And I stood fixed, at war with my own conscience.

  And seeing me still stubborn, rooted fast,

  he said, a little troubled: “Think, my son,

  you shall see Beatrice when this wall is past.”

  As Pyramus, but one breath from the dead,

  opened his eyes when he heard Thisbe’s name,

  and looked at her, when the mulberry turned red—

  just so my hard paralysis melted from me,

  and I turned to my Leader at that name

  which wells forever in my memory;

  at which he wagged his head, as at a child

  won over by an apple. Then he said:

  “Well, then, what are we waiting for?” and smiled.

  He turned then and went first into the fire,

  requesting Statius, who for some time now

  had walked between us, to bring up the rear.

  Once in the flame, I gladly would have cast

  my body into boiling glass to cool it

  against the measureless fury of the blast.

  My gentle father, ever kind and wise,

  strengthened me in my dread with talk of Beatrice,

  saying: “I seem already to see her eyes.”

  From the other side, to guide us, rose a paean,

  and moving toward it, mindless of all else,

  we emerged at last where the ascent began.

  There I beheld a light that burned so brightly

  I had to look away; and from it rang:

  “Venite benedicti patris mei.”

  “
Night falls,” it added, “the sun sinks to rest;

  do not delay but hurry toward the height

  while the last brightness lingers in the west.”

  Straight up through the great rock-wall lay the way

  on such a line that, as I followed it,

  my body blocked the sun’s last level ray.

  We had only climbed the first few stairs as yet

  when I and my two sages saw my shadow

  fade from me; and we knew the sun had set.

  Before the vast sweep of the limned horizon

  could fade into one hue and night win all

  the immeasurable air to its dominion,

  each made the step on which he stood his bed,

  for the nature of the Mount not only stopped us

  but killed our wish to climb, once day had fled.