{"product_id":"inferno-isbn-9780812970067","title":"Inferno","description":"\u003cb\u003eThis dual-language edition of Dante’s classic poem chronicles the poet’s descent through the nine circles of Hell, stunningly translated by and featuring an introduction and notes from renowned professor Anthony Esolen, plus haunting illustrations by Gustave Doré.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e“Professor Esolen’s translation of \u003ci\u003eDante’s Inferno\u003c\/i\u003e is the best one I have seen.”—A. Kent Hieatt, translator of \u003ci\u003eThe Canterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eInferno\u003c\/i\u003e, the first and most famous part of Dante’s \u003ci\u003eDivine Comedy\u003c\/i\u003e, describes in unforgettable detail Dante’s harrowing journey to the very bottom of the underworld. Guided by the poet Virgil, he travels through the nine concentric circles of Hell, each more cruel and sinister than the last. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt once universal and personal, Dante’s \u003ci\u003eInferno \u003c\/i\u003eis an epic poem filled with politics and philosophy, humor and horror. This sublime translation brings Dante’s masterpiece to vivid life and includes a substantive introduction, extensive notes, and detailed appendices that reproduce Dante’s key sources and influences to provide the most comprehensive version of this classic poem.“Professor Esolen’s translation of \u003ci\u003eDante’s Inferno\u003c\/i\u003e is the best one I have seen. . . . And his endnotes and other additions provoke answers to almost any question that could arise about the work.” —A. Kent Hieatt, translator of \u003ci\u003eThe Canterbury Tales\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Crisp and clear, Esolen’s version avoids two modern temptations: a slavish literalness to the Italian or a taking of liberties in the attempt to make this greatest of medieval poems esthetically modern. . . . In addition to his scholarly tact, Esolen is simply one of the most vigorous English translators of Dante ever.”—\u003ci\u003eCrisis\u003c\/i\u003e magazine \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Esolen’s new translation follows Dante through all his spectacular range, commanding where he is commanding, wrestling, as he does, with the density and darkness in language and in the soul. This \u003ci\u003eInferno\u003c\/i\u003e gives us Dante’s vivid drama and his verbal inventiveness. It is living writing.” —James Richardson, professor of creative writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton University\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Opening the book we stand face to face with the poet, and when his voice ceases   we may marvel if he has not sung to us in his own Tuscan.\"—William Dean Howells,\u003ci\u003e The Nation \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnthony Esolen\u003c\/b\u003e is a published poet and professor of English at Providence College who has written extensively on Renaissance and medieval literature. His translations include the three volumes of The Divine Comedy—\u003ci\u003eInferno, Purgatory, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eParadise\u003c\/i\u003e—Lucretius’s \u003ci\u003eDe rerum natura,\u003c\/i\u003e and Torquato Tasso’s \u003ci\u003eGerusalemme liberata.\u003c\/i\u003eNel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  mi ritrovai per una selva oscura,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che la diritta via era smarrita.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAhi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che nel pensier rinova la paura!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTant' è amara che poco è più morte;7\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ma per trattar del ben ch'i' vi trovai,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  dirò 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\u003e  tant' era pien di sonno a quel punto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che la verace via abbandonai.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMa poi ch'i' fui al piè d'un colle giunto,13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  là dove terminava quella valle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che m'avea di paura il cor compunto,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eguardai in alto e vidi le sue spalle16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  vestite già de' raggi del pianeta\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che mena dritto altrui per ogne calle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAllor fu la paura un poco queta,19\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che nel lago del cor m'era durata\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  la notte ch'i' passai con tanta pieta.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eE come quei che con lena affannata,22\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  uscito fuor del pelago a la riva,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  si volge a l'acqua perigliosa e guata,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCanto One\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLost in a dark wood and threatened by three beasts, Dante is rescued by Virgil, who proposes a journey to the other world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMidway upon the journey of our life\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  I found myself in a dark wilderness,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  for I had wandered from the straight and true.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow hard a thing it is to tell about,4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  that wilderness so savage, dense, and harsh,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  even to think of it renews my fear!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is so bitter, death is hardly more-7\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  but to reveal the good that came to me,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  I shall relate the other things I saw.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHow I had entered, I can't bring to mind,10\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  I was so full of sleep just at that point\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  when I first left the way of truth behind.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut when I reached the foot of a high hill,13\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  right where the valley opened to its end-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  the valley that had pierced my heart with fear-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI raised my eyes and saw its shoulders robed16\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  with the rays of that wandering light of Heaven°\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  that leads all men aright on every road.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat quieted a bit the dread that stirred19\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  trembling within the waters of my heart\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  all through that night of misery I endured.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd as a man with labored breathing drags22\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  his legs out of the water and, ashore,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  fixes his eyes upon the dangerous sea,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e° that wandering light of Heaven: Italian pianeta, \"planet.\" It is the sun, considered a planet, or wandering light, revolving about the earth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ecosì l'animo mio, ch'ancor fuggiva,25\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  si volse a retro a rimirar lo passo\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che non lasciò già mai persona viva.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePoi ch'èi posato un poco il corpo lasso,28\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ripresi via per la piaggia diserta,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  sì che 'l piè fermo sempre era 'l più basso.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEd ecco, quasi al cominciar de l'erta,31\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  una lonza leggera e presta molto,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che di pel macolato era coverta;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ee non mi si partia dinanzi al volto,34\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  anzi 'mpediva tanto il mio cammino,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ch'i' fui per ritornar più volte vòlto.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTemp' era dal principio del mattino,37\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  e 'l sol montava 'n sù con quelle stelle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ch'eran con lui quando l'amor divino\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003emosse di prima quelle cose belle;40\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  sì ch'a bene sperar m'era cagione\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  di quella fiera a la gaetta pelle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003el'ora del tempo e la dolce stagione;43\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ma non sì che paura non mi desse\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  la vista che m'apparve d'un leone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eQuesti parea che contra me venisse46\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  con la test' alta e con rabbiosa fame,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  sì che parea che l'aere ne tremesse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEd una lupa, che di tutte brame49\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  sembiava carca ne la sua magrezza,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  e molte genti fé già viver grame,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003equesta mi porse tanto di gravezza52\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  con la paura ch'uscia di sua vista,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ch'io perdei la speranza de l'altezza.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eE qual è quei che volontieri acquista,55\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  e giugne 'l tempo che perder lo face,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che 'n tutti suoi pensier piange e s'attrista;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003etal mi fece la bestia sanza pace,58\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che, venendomi 'ncontro, a poco a poco\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  mi ripigneva là dove 'l sol tace. So too my mind, while still a fugitive,25\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  turned back to gaze again upon that pass\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  which never let a man escape alive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen I had given my weary body rest,28\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  I struck again over the desert slope,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ever the firmer foot the one below,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd look! just where the steeper rise began,31\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  a leopard light of foot and quick to lunge,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  all covered in a pelt of flecks and spots,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWho stood before my face and would not leave,34\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  but did so check me in the path I trod,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  I often turned to go the way I came.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe hour was morning at the break of dawn;37\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  the sun was mounting higher with those stars°\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  that shone beside him when the Love Divine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the beginning made their beauty move,40\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  and so they were a cause of hope for me\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  to get free of that beast of flashy hide-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe waking hour and that sweet time of year;43\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  but hope was not so strong that I could stand\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  bold when a lion stepped before my eyes!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis one seemed to be coming straight for me,46\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  his head held high, his hunger hot with wrath-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  seemed to strike tremors in the very air!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThen a she-wolf, whose scrawniness seemed stuffed49\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  with all men's cravings, sluggish with desires,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  who had made many live in wretchedness-\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo heavily she weighed my spirit down,52\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  pressing me by the terror of her glance,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  I lost all hope to gain the mountaintop.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd as a gambler, winning with a will,55\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  happening on the time when he must lose,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  turns all his thoughts to weeping and despair,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo I by that relentless beast, who came58\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  against me step by step, and drove me back\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  to where the sun is silent evermore.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ethose stars: the constellation Aries. It is the springtime of the year, recalling the springtime of the universe; see notes. Mentre ch'i' rovinava in basso loco,61\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  dinanzi a li occhi mi si fu offerto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  chi 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 già fui,67\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  e li parenti miei furon lombardi,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  mantoani per patrïa ambedui.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNacqui sub Iulio, ancor che fosse tardi,70\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  e vissi a Roma sotto 'l buono Augusto\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  nel tempo de li dèi falsi e bugiardi.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePoeta fui, e cantai di quel giusto73\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  figliuol d'Anchise che venne di Troia,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  poi che 'l superbo Ilïón fu combusto.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMa tu perché ritorni a tanta noia?76\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  perché non sali il dilettoso monte\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ch'è principio e cagion di tutta gioia?».\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e«Or se' tu quel Virgilio e quella fonte79\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che spandi di parlar sì largo fiume?»,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  rispuos' io lui con vergognosa fronte.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e«O de li altri poeti onore e lume,82\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  vagliami 'l lungo studio e 'l grande amore\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  che m'ha fatto cercar lo tuo volume.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTu se' lo mio maestro e 'l mio autore,85\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  tu se' solo colui da cu' io tolsi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  lo bello stilo che m'ha fatto onore.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVedi la bestia per cu' io mi volsi;88\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  aiutami da lei, famoso saggio,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ch'ella mi fa tremar le vene e i polsi».\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e«A te convien tenere altro vïaggio»,91\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  rispuose, poi che lagrimar mi vide,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  «se vuo' campar d'esto loco selvaggio;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eché questa bestia, per la qual tu gride,94\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  non lascia altrui passar per la sua via,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  ma tanto lo 'mpedisce che l'uccide;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow while I stumbled to the deepest wood,61\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  before my eyes appeared the form of one\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  who seemed hoarse, having held his words so long.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd when I saw him in that endless waste,64\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"Mercy upon me, mercy!\" I cried out,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"whatever you are, a shade, or man in truth!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe answered me: \"No man; I was a man,67\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  and both my parents came from Lombardy,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  and Mantua they called their native land.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the last days of Julius I was born,70\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  and lived in Rome under the good Augustus\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  in the time of the false and cheating gods.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI was a poet, and I sang of how73\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  that just son of Anchises° came from Troy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  when her proud towers and walls were burnt to dust.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut you, why do you turn back to such pain?76\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Why don't you climb that hill that brings delight,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  the origin and cause of every joy?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Then are you-are you Virgil? And that spring79\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  swelling into so rich a stream of verse?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  I answered him, my forehead full of shame.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Honor and light of every poet, may82\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  my long study avail me, and the love\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  that made me search the volume of your work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou are my teacher, my authority;85\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  you alone are the one from whom I took\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  the style whose loveliness has honored me.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSee there the beast that makes me turn aside.88\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Save me from her, O man renowned and wise!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  She sets the pulses trembling in my veins!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It is another journey you must take,\"91\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  replied the poet when he saw me weep,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \"if you wish to escape this savage place,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBecause this beast that makes you cry for help94\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  never lets any pass along her way,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  but checks his path until she takes his life.Translated by Anthony Esolen","brand":"Modern Library","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233269526757,"sku":"NP9780812970067","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780812970067_9cc4ffb7-c734-4eac-8fdb-2dbe1ea4322c.jpg?v=1767730035","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/inferno-isbn-9780812970067","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}