{"product_id":"inferno-isbn-9780553213393","title":"Inferno","description":"\u003cb\u003eA superb translation of Dante’s classic tale that chronicles the poet’s journey through the nine circles of Hell, a dual-language edition vividly rendered and with an introduction and commentary by National Book Award–winning translator Allen Mandelbaum\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Exactly what we have waited for these years, a Dante with clarity, eloquence, terror, and profoundly moving depths.”—Robert Fagles, Princeton University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the \u003ci\u003eInferno, \u003c\/i\u003erenowned translator Allen Mandelbaum brings to life the first and most famous part of Dante’s \u003ci\u003eDivine Comedy\u003c\/i\u003e. Here is Dante at his ribald, shocking, and demonic best as he describes in unforgettably vivid detail his harrowing descent to the very bottom of the underworld. Filled with politics and philosophy, humor and horror, Dante’s \u003ci\u003eInferno\u003c\/i\u003e is an epic poem at once personal and universal that provides a darkly illuminating view into our present world no less than his own. For as we’re led to the last circle of the Inferno, we recognize the very worst in human nature . . . and the ever-abiding potential for redemption. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStunningly translated, all of Dante’s evocative images—the earthly, sublime, intellectual, demonic, ecstatic—are presented with marvelous precision. This definitive dual-language edition is unsurpassed for its clarity, beauty, and faithfulness to the original.\"An exciting, vivid\u003ci\u003e Inferno\u003c\/i\u003e by a translator whose scholarship is impeccable.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eChicago\u003c\/i\u003e magazine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The English Dante of  choice.\"--Hugh Kenner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Exactly what  we have waited for these years, a Dante with  clarity, eloquence, terror, and profoundly moving  depths.\"--Robert Fagles, Princeton  University.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Tough and supple, tender and  violent . . . vigorous, vernacular . . .  Mandelbaum's Dante will stand high among modern  translations.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Christian Science  Monitor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Lovers of the English language will be delighted by this eloquently accomplished enterprise.\"\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eBook Review Digest\u003c\/i\u003eDante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. His early poetry falls into the tradition of love poetry that passed from the Provencal to such Italian poets as Guido Cavalcanti, Dante's friend and mentor. Dante's first major work is the Vita Nuova, 1293-1294. This sequence of lyrics, sonnets, and prose narrative describes his love, first earthly, then spiritual, for Beatrice, whom he had first seen as a child of nine, and who had died when Dante was 25. Dante married about 1285, served Florence in battle, and rose to a position of leadership in the bitter factional politics of the city-state. As one of the city's magistrates, he found it necessary to banish leaders of the so-called \"Black\" faction, and his friend Cavalcanti, who like Dante was a prominent \"White.\" But after the Blacks seized control of Florence in 1301, Dante himself was tried in absentia and was banished from the city on pain of death. He never returned to Florence. We know little about Dante's life in exile. Legend has it that he studied at Paris, but if so, he returned to Italy, for his last years were spent in Verona and Ravenna. In exile he wrote his Convivio, kind of poetic compendium of medieval philosophy, as well as a political treatise, Monarchia. He began his Comedy (later to be called the Divine Comedy) around 1307-1308. On a diplomatic mission to Venice in 1321, Dante fell ill, and returned to Ravenna, where he died.?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAllen Mendelbaum's\u003c\/b\u003e five verse volumes are: \u003ci\u003eChelmaxions\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Savantasse of Montparnasse\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eJourneyman\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eLeaves of Absence\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eA Lied of Letterpress\u003c\/i\u003e. His volumes of verse translation include \u003ci\u003eThe Aeneid of Virgil\u003c\/i\u003e, a University of California Press volume (now available from Bantam) for which he won a National Book Award; the \u003ci\u003eInferno\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePurgatorio\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eParadiso\u003c\/i\u003e volumes of the California Dante (now available from Bantam); \u003ci\u003eThe Odyssey of Homer\u003c\/i\u003e (now available from Bantam); \u003ci\u003eThe Metamorphoses of Ovid\u003c\/i\u003e, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry; \u003ci\u003eOvid in Sicily\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eSelected Poems of Giuseppe Ungaretti\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eSelected Writings of Salvatore Quasimodo\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eDavid Maria Turoldo\u003c\/i\u003e. Mandelbaum is co-editor with Robert Richardson Jr. of \u003ci\u003eThree Centuries of American Poetry\u003c\/i\u003e (Bantam Books) and, with Yehuda Amichai, of the eight volumes of the JPS Jewish Poetry Series. After receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia, he was in the Society of Fellows at Harvard. While chairman of the Ph.D. program in English at the Graduate Center of CUNY, he was a visiting professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and at the universities of Houston, Denver, Colorado, and Purdue. His honorary degrees are from Notre Dame University, Purdue University, the University of Assino, and the University of Torino. He received the Gold Medal of Honor from the city of Florence in 2000, celebrating the 735th anniversary of Dante's birth, the only translator to be so honored; and in 2003 he received the President of Italy's award for translation. He is now Professor of the History of Literary Criticism at the University of Turin and the W.R. Kenan Professor of Humanities at Wake Forest University.CANTO I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emi ritrovai per una selva oscura,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche la diritta via era smarrita.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAhi quanto a dir qual era e cosa dura4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eesta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche nel pensier rinova la paura!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTant' e amara che poco e piu morte;7\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ema per trattar del ben ch'i' vi trovai,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ediro de l'altre cose ch'i' v'ho scorte.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIo non so ben ridir com' i' v'intrai,10\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003etant' era pien di sonno a quel punto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche la verace via abbandonai.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMa poi ch'i' fui al pie d'un colle giunto,13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ela dove terminava quella valle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche m'avea di paura il cor compunto,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eguardai in alto e vidi le sue spalle16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003evestite gia de' raggi del pianeta\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche mena dritto altrui per ogne calle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAllor fu la paura un poco queta,19\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche nel lago del cor m'era durata\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ela notte ch'i' passai con tanta pieta.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eE come quei che con lena affannata,22\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003euscito fuor del pelago a la riva,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esi volge a l'acqua perigliosa e guata,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ecosi l'animo mio, ch'ancor fuggiva,25\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esi volse a retro a rimirar lo passo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche non lascio gia mai persona viva.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePoi ch'ei posato un poco il corpo lasso,28\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eripresi via per la piaggia diserta,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esi che 'l pie fermo sempre era 'l piu basso.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe voyager-narrator astray by night in a dark forest. Morning and the sunlit hill. Three beasts that impede his ascent. The encounter with Virgil, who offers his guidance and an alternative path through two of the three realms the voyager must visit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen I had journeyed half of our life's way,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI found myself within a shadowed forest,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efor I had lost the path that does not stray.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAh, it is hard to speak of what it was,4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat savage forest, dense and difficult,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhich even in recall renews my fear:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eso bitter--death is hardly more severe!7\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut to retell the good discovered there,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI'll also tell the other things I saw.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI cannot clearly say how I had entered10\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe wood; I was so full of sleep just at\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe point where I abandoned the true path.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut when I'd reached the bottom of a hill--13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eit rose along the boundary of the valley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat had harassed my heart with so much fear--\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI looked on high and saw its shoulders clothed16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ealready by the rays of that same planet\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhich serves to lead men straight along all roads.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt this my fear was somewhat quieted;19\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efor through the night of sorrow I had spent,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe lake within my heart felt terror present.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd just as he who, with exhausted breath,22\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehaving escaped from sea to shore, turns back\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eto watch the dangerous waters he has quit,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eso did my spirit, still a fugitive,25\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eturn back to look intently at the pass\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat never has let any man survive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI let my tired body rest awhile.28\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMoving again, I tried the lonely slope--\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emy firm foot always was the one below.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEd ecco, quasi al cominciar de l'erta,31\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003euna lonza leggiera e presta molto,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche di pel macolato era coverta;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee non mi si partia dinanzi al volto,34\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eanzi 'mpediva tanto il mio cammino,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'i' fui per ritornar piu volte volto.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTemp' era dal principio del mattino,37\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee 'l sol montava 'n su con quelle stelle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'eran con lui quando l'amor divino\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emosse di prima quelle cose belle;40\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esi ch'a bene sperar m'era cagione\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003edi quella fiera a la gaetta pelle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003el'ora del tempo e la dolce stagione;43\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ema non si che paura non mi desse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ela vista che m'apparve d'un leone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQuesti parea che contra me venisse46\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003econ la test' alta e con rabbiosa fame,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esi che parea che l'aere ne tremesse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEd una lupa, che di tutte brame49\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esembiava carca ne la sua magrezza,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee molte genti fe gia viver grame,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003equesta mi porse tanto di gravezza52\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003econ la paura ch'uscia di sua vista,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'io perdei la speranza de l'altezza.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eE qual e quei che volontieri acquista,55\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee giugne 'l tempo che perder lo face,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche 'n tutti suoi pensier piange e s'attrista;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003etal mi fece la bestia sanza pace,58\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche, venendomi 'ncontro, a poco a poco\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emi ripigneva la dove 'l sol tace.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMentre ch'i' rovinava in basso loco,61\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003edinanzi a li occhi mi si fu offerto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003echi per lungo silenzio parea fioco.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQuando vidi costui nel gran diserto,64\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Miserere di me,\" gridai a lui,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"qual che tu sii, od ombra od omo certo!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRispuosemi: \"Non omo, omo gia fui,67\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee li parenti miei furon lombardi,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emantoani per patria ambedui.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd almost where the hillside starts to rise--31\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003elook there!--a leopard, very quick and lithe,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ea leopard covered with a spotted hide.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe did not disappear from sight, but stayed;34\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eindeed, he so impeded my ascent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat I had often to turn back again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe time was the beginning of the morning;37\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe sun was rising now in fellowship\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewith the same stars that had escorted it\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhen Divine Love first moved those things of beauty;40\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eso that the hour and the gentle season\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003egave me good cause for hopefulness on seeing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat beast before me with his speckled skin;43\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ebut hope was hardly able to prevent\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe fear I felt when I beheld a lion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis head held high and ravenous with hunger--46\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eeven the air around him seemed to shudder--\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethis lion seemed to make his way against me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd then a she-wolf showed herself; she seemed49\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eto carry every craving in her leanness;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eshe had already brought despair to many.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe very sight of her so weighted me52\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewith fearfulness that I abandoned hope\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eof ever climbing up that mountain slope.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEven as he who glories while he gains55\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewill, when the time has come to tally loss,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003elament with every thought and turn despondent,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eso was I when I faced that restless beast,58\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhich, even as she stalked me, step by step\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehad thrust me back to where the sun is speechless.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhile I retreated down to lower ground,61\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ebefore my eyes there suddenly appeared\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eone who seemed faint because of the long silence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen I saw him in that vast wilderness,64\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Have pity on me,\" were the words I cried,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"whatever you may be--a shade, a man.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe answered me: \"Not man; I once was man.67\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoth of my parents came from Lombardy,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand both claimed Mantua as native city.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNacqui sub Iulio, ancor che fosse tardi,70\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee vissi a Roma sotto 'l buono Augusto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003enel tempo de li dei falsi e bugiardi.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePoeta fui, e cantai di quel giusto73\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efigliuol d'Anchise che venne di Troia,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003epoi che 'l superbo Ilion fu combusto.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMa tu perche ritorni a tanta noia?76\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eperche non sali il dilettoso monte\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'e principio e cagion di tutta gioia?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Or se' tu quel Virgilio e quella fonte79\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche spandi di parlar si largo fiume?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003erispuos' io lui con vergognosa fronte.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"O de li altri poeti onore e lume,82\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003evagliami 'l lungo studio e 'l grande amore\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche m'ha fatto cercar lo tuo volume.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTu se' lo mio maestro e 'l mio autore,85\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003etu se' solo colui da cu' io tolsi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003elo bello stilo che m'ha fatto onore.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVedi la bestia per cu' io mi volsi;88\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eaiutami da lei, famoso saggio,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'ella mi fa tremar le vene e i polsi.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A te convien tenere altro viaggio,\"91\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003erispuose, poi che lagrimar mi vide,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"se vuo' campar d'esto loco selvaggio;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche questa bestia, per la qual tu gride,94\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003enon lascia altrui passar per la sua via,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ema tanto lo 'mpedisce che l'uccide;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee ha natura si malvagia e ria,97\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche mai non empie la bramosa voglia,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee dopo 'l pasto ha piu fame che pria.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMolti son li animali a cui s'ammoglia,100\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee piu saranno ancora, infin che 'l veltro\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003everra, che la fara morir con doglia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQuesti non cibera terra ne peltro,103\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ema sapienza, amore e virtute,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee sua nazion sara tra feltro e feltro.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDi quella umile Italia fia salute106\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eper cui mori la vergine Cammilla,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEurialo e Turno e Niso di ferute.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd I was born, though late, sub Julio,70\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand lived in Rome under the good Augustus--\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe season of the false and lying gods.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI was a poet, and I sang the righteous73\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eson of Anchises who had come from Troy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhen flames destroyed the pride of Ilium.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut why do you return to wretchedness?76\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy not climb up the mountain of delight,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe origin and cause of every joy?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"And are you then that Virgil, you the fountain79\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat freely pours so rich a stream of speech?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI answered him with shame upon my brow.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"O light and honor of all other poets,82\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emay my long study and the intense love\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat made me search your volume serve me now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou are my master and my author, you--85\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe only one from whom my writing drew\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe noble style for which I have been honored.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou see the beast that made me turn aside;88\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehelp me, o famous sage, to stand against her,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efor she has made my blood and pulses shudder.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It is another path that you must take,\"91\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehe answered when he saw my tearfulness,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"if you would leave this savage wilderness;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethe beast that is the cause of your outcry94\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eallows no man to pass along her track,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ebut blocks him even to the point of death;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eher nature is so squalid, so malicious97\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat she can never sate her greedy will;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhen she has fed, she's hungrier than ever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe mates with many living souls and shall100\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eyet mate with many more, until the Greyhound\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003earrives, inflicting painful death on her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat Hound will never feed on land or pewter,103\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ebut find his fare in wisdom, love, and virtue;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehis place of birth shall be between two felts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe will restore low-lying Italy106\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efor which the maid Camilla died of wounds,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand Nisus, Turnus, and Euryalus.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQuesti la caccera per ogne villa,109\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efin che l'avra rimessa ne lo 'nferno,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ela onde 'nvidia prima dipartilla.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnd' io per lo tuo me' penso e discerno112\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche tu mi segui, e io saro tua guida,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee trarrotti di qui per loco etterno,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eove udirai le disperate strida,115\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003evedrai li antichi spiriti dolenti,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'a la seconda morte ciascun grida;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee vederai color che son contenti118\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003enel foco, perche speran di venire\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003equando che sia a le beate genti.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA le quai poi se tu vorrai salire,121\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eanima fia a cio piu di me degna:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003econ lei ti lascero nel mio partire;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche quello imperador che la su regna,124\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eperch' i' fu' ribellante a la sua legge,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003enon vuol che 'n sua citta per me si vegna.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn tutte parti impera e quivi regge;127\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003equivi e la sua citta e l'alto seggio:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eoh felice colui cu' ivi elegge!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eE io a lui: \"Poeta, io ti richeggio130\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eper quello Dio che tu non conoscesti,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ea cio ch'io fugga questo male e peggio,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche tu mi meni la dov' or dicesti,133\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esi ch'io veggia la porta di san Pietro\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee color cui tu fai cotanto mesti.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAllor si mosse, e io li tenni dietro.136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd he will hunt that beast through every city109\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003euntil he thrusts her back again to Hell,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efrom which she was first sent above by envy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTherefore, I think and judge it best for you112\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eto follow me, and I shall guide you, taking\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eyou from this place through an eternal place,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhere you shall hear the howls of desperation115\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand see the ancient spirits in their pain,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eas each of them laments his second death;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand you shall see those souls who are content118\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewithin the fire, for they hope to reach--\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhenever that may be--the blessed people.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you would then ascend as high as these,121\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ea soul more worthy than I am will guide you;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI'll leave you in her care when I depart,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ebecause that Emperor who reigns above,124\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esince I have been rebellious to His law,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewill not allow me entry to His city.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe governs everywhere, but rules from there;127\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethere is His city, His high capital:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eo happy those He chooses to be there!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd I replied: \"O poet--by that God130\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhom you had never come to know--I beg you,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat I may flee this evil and worse evils,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eto lead me to the place of which you spoke,133\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat I may see the gateway of Saint Peter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand those whom you describe as sorrowful.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen he set out, and I moved on behind him.136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCANTO II\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLo giorno se n'andava, e l'aere bruno\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003etoglieva li animai che sono in terra\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eda le fatiche loro; e io sol uno\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003em'apparecchiava a sostener la guerra4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esi del cammino e si de la pietate,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eche ritrarra la mente che non erra.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eO Muse, o alto ingegno, or m'aiutate;7\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eo mente che scrivesti cio ch'io vidi,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003equi si parra la tua nobilitate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIo cominciai: \"Poeta che mi guidi,10\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eguarda la mia virtu s'ell' e possente,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eprima ch'a l'alto passo tu mi fidi.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTu dici che di Silvio il parente,13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ecorruttibile ancora, ad immortale\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esecolo ando, e fu sensibilmente.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePero, se l'avversario d'ogne male16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ecortese i fu, pensando l'alto effetto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'uscir dovea di lui, e 'l chi e 'l quale,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003enon pare indegno ad omo d'intelletto;19\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'e' fu de l'alma Roma e di suo impero\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ene l'empireo ciel per padre eletto:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ela quale e 'l quale, a voler dir lo vero,22\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efu stabilita per lo loco santo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eu' siede il successor del maggior Piero.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePer quest' andata onde li dai tu vanto,25\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eintese cose che furon cagione\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003edi sua vittoria e del papale ammanto.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAndovvi poi lo Vas d'elezione,28\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eper recarne conforto a quella fede\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ech'e principio a la via di salvazione.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe following evening, Invocation to the Muses. The narrator's questioning of his worthiness to visit the deathless world. Virgil's comforting explanation that he has been sent to help Dante by three Ladies of Heaven. The voyager heartened. Their setting out.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe day was now departing; the dark air\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ereleased the living beings of the earth\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003efrom work and weariness; and I myself\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ealone prepared to undergo the battle4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eboth of the journeying and of the pity,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhich memory, mistaking not, shall show.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eO Muses, o high genius, help me now;7\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eo memory that set down what I saw,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehere shall your excellence reveal itself!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI started: \"Poet, you who are my guide,10\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esee if the force in me is strong enough\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ebefore you let me face that rugged pass.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou say that he who fathered Sylvius,13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewhile he was still corruptible, had journeyed\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003einto the deathless world with his live body.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor, if the Enemy of every evil16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewas courteous to him, considering\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eall he would cause and who and what he was,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethat does not seem incomprehensible,19\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003esince in the empyrean heaven he was chosen\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eto father honored Rome and her empire;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eand if the truth be told, Rome and her realm22\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ewere destined to become the sacred place,","brand":"Bantam Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304207536357,"sku":"NP9780553213393","price":7.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780553213393.jpg?v=1767730036","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/inferno-isbn-9780553213393","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}