{"product_id":"paradiso-isbn-9781400031153","title":"Paradiso","description":"With his journeys through Hell and Purgatory complete, Dante is at last led by his beloved Beatrice to Paradise. Where his experiences in the \u003ci\u003eInferno\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003ePurgatorio\u003c\/i\u003e were arduous and harrowing, this is a journey of comfort, revelation, and, above all, love-both romantic and divine. Robert Hollander is a Dante scholar of unmatched reputation and his wife, Jean, is an accomplished poet. Their verse translation with facing-page Italian combines maximum fidelity to Dante's text with the artistry necessary to reflect the original's virtuosity. They have produced the clearest, most accurate, and most readable translation of the three books of \u003ci\u003eThe Divine Comedy\u003c\/i\u003e, with unsurpassable footnotes and introductions, likely to be a touchstone for generations to come.“A beautiful translation of the astonishing fourteenth-century poem. . . . The best  on the market. . . . If you haven't read the Divine Comedy now is the time.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eThe  New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eParadiso . . . \u003c\/i\u003e contains some of the most exhilarating poetry ever written.  . . . Robert Hollander is one of the pre-eminent Dante scholars of our time.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eThe  New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “For our time and for an incalculable future the Hollander translation  of \u003ci\u003eThe Divine Comedy \u003c\/i\u003ewill be the one used by serious readers. . . . Splendid as this  new translation is, the endlessly valuable notes are what make this edition supplant  all others.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eNational Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “The Hollanders' version is supple and clear, a triumph.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eThe Los Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Very likely the most enduring, both as a literary achievement  and for its commentaries.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eAtlantic Montly\u003c\/i\u003eROBERT HOLLANDER taught Dante’s \u003ci\u003eDivine Comedy \u003c\/i\u003eto Princeton students for forty-two years, and is the author of a dozen books and more than seventy articles on Dante, Boccaccio, and other Italian authors. He is Professor in European Literature Emeritus at Princeton and the founding director of both the Dartmouth Dante Project and the Princeton Dante Project. He has received many awards, including the gold medal of the city of Florence and the gold florin of the Dante Society of America, in recognition of his work on Dante. Jean Hollander has taught literature and writing at Brooklyn College, Columbia University, Princeton University, and the College of New Jersey, where she was director of the Writers’ Conference for twenty-three years.PARADISO I\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOUTLINE\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          1-12   -proem: looking back at the completed journey and the promise to narrate the rest of its course\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          13-36  -invocation (fifth in the poem): the aid of \"Apollo\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          13-21  -invocation proper\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          22-36  -result of such inspiration; justification for it\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          37-60  -the narrative begins: Dante still in earthly paradise\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          37-42  -the constellation Aries\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          43-48  -noon: Dante looking as Beatrice looks into the sun\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          49-54  -simile: the sun in her eyes and reflecting rays\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          55-60  -Dante can look directly at the sun\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          61-81  -the ascent toward the Moon\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          61-63  -rising, Dante seems to see a second sun above him\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          64-66  -he looks back to see the stars reflected in her eyes\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          67-72  -simile: Glaucus and Dante's own \"transhumanation\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          73-75  -the poet cannot say whether he ascended in body\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          76-81  -reaching the sublunary ring of fire: son et lumiere\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          82-141          -Dante's questions and Beatrice's responses\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          82-93  -the first question: where is he? and the response\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          94-99  -the second: how can he pass through air and fire?\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          100-126        -response: the upward inclination of all things\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          127-135        -response: how things diverge from their true goal\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          136-141        -response: but not Dante, now freed from sin\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e          142     -coda: Beatrice looks back up.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ePARADISO I\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eLa gloria di colui che tutto move\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eper l'universo penetra, e risplende\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e3        in una parte piu e meno altrove.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNel ciel che piu de la sua luce prende\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efu' io, e vidi cose che ridire\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e6        ne sa ne puo chi di la su discende;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eperche appressando se al suo disire,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003enostro intelletto si profonda tanto,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e9        che dietro la memoria non puo ire.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eVeramente quant' io del regno santo\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ene la mia mente potei far tesoro,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e12      sara ora materia del mio canto.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eO buono Appollo, a l'ultimo lavoro\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efammi del tuo valor si fatto vaso,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e15      come dimandi a dar l'amato alloro.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eInfino a qui l'un giogo di Parnaso\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eassai mi fu; ma or con amendue\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e18      m'e uopo intrar ne l'aringo rimaso.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eEntra nel petto mio, e spira tue\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003esi come quando Marsia traesti\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e21      de la vagina de le membra sue.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eO divina virtu, se mi ti presti\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003etanto che l'ombra del beato regno\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e24      segnata nel mio capo io manifesti,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003evedra'mi al pie del tuo diletto legno\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003evenire, e coronarmi de le foglie\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e27      che la materia e tu mi farai degno.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe glory of Him who moves all things\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003epervades the universe and shines\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e3        in one part more and in another less.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eI was in that heaven which receives\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003emore of His light. He who comes down from there\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e6        can neither know nor tell what he has seen,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efor, drawing near to its desire,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eso deeply is our intellect immersed\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e9        that memory cannot follow after it.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNevertheless, as much of the holy kingdom\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eas I could store as treasure in my mind\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e12      shall now become the subject of my song.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eO good Apollo, for this last labor\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003emake me a vessel worthy\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e15      of the gift of your beloved laurel.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eUp to this point, one peak of Mount Parnassus\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ehas been enough, but now I need them both\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e18      in order to confront the struggle that awaits.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eEnter my breast and breathe in me\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eas when you drew out Marsyas,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e21      out from the sheathing of his limbs.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eO holy Power, if you but lend me of yourself\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eenough that I may show the merest shadow\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e24      of the blessed kingdom stamped within my mind,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eyou shall find me at the foot of your beloved tree,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ecrowning myself with the very leaves\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e27      of which my theme and you will make me worthy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eSi rade volte, padre, se ne coglie\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eper triunfare o cesare o poeta,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e30      colpa e vergogna de l'umane voglie,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eche parturir letizia in su la lieta\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003edelfica deita dovria la fronda\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e33      peneia, quando alcun di se asseta.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ePoca favilla gran fiamma seconda:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eforse di retro a me con miglior voci\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e36      si preghera perche Cirra risponda.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eSurge ai mortali per diverse foci\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ela lucerna del mondo; ma da quella\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e39      che quattro cerchi giugne con tre croci,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003econ miglior corso e con migliore stella\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eesce congiunta, e la mondana cera\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e42      piu a suo modo tempera e suggella.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eFatto avea di la mane e di qua sera\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003etal foce, e quasi tutto era la bianco\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e45      quello emisperio, e l'altra parte nera,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003equando Beatrice in sul sinistro fianco\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003evidi rivolta e riguardar nel sole:\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e48      aguglia si non li s'affisse unquanco.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eE si come secondo raggio suole\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003euscir del primo e risalire in suso,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e51      pur come pelegrin che tornar vuole,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ecosi de l'atto suo, per li occhi infuso\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ene l'imagine mia, il mio si fece,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e54      e fissi li occhi al sole oltre nostr' uso.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMolto e licito la, che qui non lece\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ea le nostre virtu, merce del loco\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e57      fatto per proprio de l'umana spece.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eSo rarely, father, are they gathered\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eto mark the triumph of a Caesar or a poet--\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e30      fault and shame of human wishes--\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ethat anyone's even longing for them,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ethose leaves on the Peneian bough, should make\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e33      the joyous Delphic god give birth to joy.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eGreat fire leaps from the smallest spark.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ePerhaps, in my wake, prayer will be shaped\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e36      with better words so Cyrrha may respond.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe lamp of the world rises on us mortals\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eat different points. But, by the one that joins\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e39      four circles with three crossings, it comes forth\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eon a better course and in conjunction\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ewith a better sign. Then it tempers and imprints\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e42      the wax of the world more to its own fashion.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIts rising near that point had brought out morning there\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eand evening here, and that hemisphere\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e45      was arrayed in light, this one in darkness,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ewhen I saw that Beatrice had turned toward her left\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eand now was staring at the sun--\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e48      never had eagle so fixed his gaze on it.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAnd, as a second ray will issue from the first\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eand rise again up to its source,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e51      even as a pilgrim longs to go back home,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eso her gaze, pouring through my eyes\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eon my imagination, made itself my own, and I,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e54      against our practice, set my eyes upon the sun.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMuch that our powers here cannot sustain is there\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eallowed by virtue of the nature of the place\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e57      created as the dwelling fit for man.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIo nol soffersi molto, ne si poco,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ech'io nol vedessi sfavillar dintorno,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e60      com' ferro che bogliente esce del foco;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ee di subito parve giorno a giorno\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eessere aggiunto, come quei che puote\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e63      avesse il ciel d'un altro sole addorno.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBeatrice tutta ne l'etterne rote\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efissa con li occhi stava; e io in lei\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e66      le luci fissi, di la su rimote.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNel suo aspetto tal dentro mi fei,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003equal si fe Glauco nel gustar de l'erba\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e69      che 'l fe consorto in mar de li altri dei.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTrasumanar significar per verba\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003enon si poria; pero l'essemplo basti\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e72      a cui esperienza grazia serba.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eS'i' era sol di me quel che creasti\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003enovellamente, amor che 'l ciel governi,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e75      tu 'l sai, che col tuo lume mi levasti.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eQuando la rota che tu sempiterni\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003edesiderato, a se mi fece atteso\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e78      con l'armonia che temperi e discerni,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eparvemi tanto allor del cielo acceso\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ede la fiamma del sol, che pioggia o fiume\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e81      lago non fece alcun tanto disteso.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eLa novita del suono e 'l grande lume\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003edi lor cagion m'accesero un disio\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e84      mai non sentito di cotanto acume.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOnd' ella, che vedea me si com' io,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ea quietarmi l'animo commosso,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e87      pria ch'io a dimandar, la bocca aprio\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eI could not bear it long, yet not so brief a time\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eas not to see it sparking everywhere,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e60      like liquid iron flowing from the fire.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eSuddenly it seemed a day was added to that day,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eas if the One who has the power\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e63      had adorned the heavens with a second sun.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eBeatrice had fixed her eyes\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eupon the eternal wheels and I now fixed\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e66      my sight on her, withdrawing it from above.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAs I gazed on her, I was changed within,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eas Glaucus was on tasting of the grass\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e69      that made him consort of the gods in the sea.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTo soar beyond the human cannot be described\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ein words. Let the example be enough to one\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e72      for whom grace holds this experience in store.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWhether I was there in that part only which you\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ecreated last is known to you alone, O Love who rule\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e75      the heavens and drew me up there with your light.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eWhen the heavens you made eternal,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ewheeling in desire, caught my attention\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e78      with the harmony you temper and attune,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ethen so much of the sky seemed set on fire\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eby the flaming sun that neither rain nor river\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e81      ever fed a lake so vast.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe newness of the sound and the bright light\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003elit in me such keen desire to know their cause\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e84      as I had never with such sharpness felt before.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAnd she, who knew me as I knew myself,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eto calm my agitated mind\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e87      before I even had begun to speak, parted her lips\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ee comincio: \"Tu stesso ti fai grosso\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ecol falso imaginar, si che non vedi\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e90      cio che vedresti se l'avessi scosso.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eTu non se' in terra, s“ come tu credi;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ema folgore, fuggendo il proprio sito,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e93      non corse come tu ch'ad esso riedi.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eS'io fui del primo dubbio disvestito\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eper le sorrise parolette brevi,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e96      dentro ad un nuovo piu fu' inretito\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ee dissi: \"Gia contento requievi\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003edi grande ammirazion; ma ora ammiro\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e99      com' io trascenda questi corpi levi.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOnd' ella, appresso d'un pio sospiro,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eli occhi drizzo ver' me con quel sembiante\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e102     che madre fa sovra figlio deliro,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ee comincio: \"Le cose tutte quante\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ehanno ordine tra loro, e questo e forma\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e105     che l'universo a Dio fa simigliante.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eQui veggion l'alte creature l'orma\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ede l'etterno valore, il qual e fine\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e108     al quale e fatta la toccata norma.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNe l'ordine ch'io dico sono accline\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003etutte nature, per diverse sorti,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e111     pi? al principio loro e men vicine;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eonde si muovono a diversi porti\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eper lo gran mar de l'essere, e ciascuna\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e114     con istinto a lei dato che la porti.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eQuesti ne porta il foco inver' la luna;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003equesti ne' cor mortali e permotore;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e117     questi la terra in se stringe e aduna;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eand said: 'You make yourself dull-witted\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ewith false notions, so that you cannot see\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e90      what you would understand, had you but cast them off.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'You are not still on earth, as you believe.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIndeed, lightning darting from its source\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e93      never sped as fast as you return to yours.'\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIf I was stripped of my earlier confusion\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eby her brief and smiling words,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e96      I was the more entangled in new doubt\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eand said: 'I was content to be released\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efrom my amazement, but now I am amazed\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e99      that I can glide through these light bodies.'\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThen she, having sighed with pity,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ebent her eyes on me with just that look\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e102     a mother casts on her delirious child,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eand said: 'All things created have an order\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ein themselves, and this begets the form\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e105     that lets the universe resemble God.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'Here the higher creatures see the imprint\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eof the eternal Worth, the end\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e108     for which that pattern was itself set forth.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'In that order, all natures have their bent\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eaccording to their different destinies,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e111     whether nearer to their source or farther from it.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'They move, therefore, toward different harbors\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eupon the vastness of the sea of being,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e114     each imbued with an instinct that impels it on its course.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'This instinct carries fire toward the moon,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ethis is the moving force in mortal hearts,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e117     this binds the earth to earth and makes it one.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ene pur le creature che son fore\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ed'intelligenza quest' arco saetta,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e120     ma quelle c'hanno intelletto e amore.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eLa provedenza, che cotanto assetta,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003edel suo lume fa 'l ciel sempre quieto\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e123     nel qual si volge quel c'ha maggior fretta;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ee ora li, come a sito decreto,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ecen porta la virtu di quella corda\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e126     che cio che scocca drizza in segno lieto.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eVero e che, come forma non s'accorda\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003emolte fiate a l'intenzion de l'arte,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e129     perch' a risponder la materia e sorda,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ecosi da questo corso si diparte\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003etalor la creatura, c'ha podere\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e132     di piegar, cosi pinta, in altra parte;\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ee si come veder si puo cadere\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efoco di nube, si l'impeto primo\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e135     l'atterra torto da falso piacere.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eNon dei piu ammirar, se bene stimo,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003elo tuo salir, se non come d'un rivo\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e138     se d'alto monte scende giuso ad imo.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eMaraviglia sarebbe in te se, privo\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ed'impedimento, giu ti fossi assiso,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ecom' a terra quiete in foco vivo.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e142     Quinci rivolse inver' lo cielo il viso.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'This bow impels not just created things\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ethat lack intelligence, but also those\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e120     that have both intellect and love.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'Providence, which regulates all this,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003emakes with its light forever calm the heaven\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e123     that contains the one that whirls with greatest speed,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'and there now, as to a place appointed,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ethe power of that bowstring bears us,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e126     aimed, as is all it shoots, at a joyful target.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'It is true that as a work will often fail\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eto correspond to its intended form, its matter\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e129     deaf and unresponsive to the craftsman's plan,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'so sometimes a creature, having the capacity\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eto swerve, will, thus impelled, head off another way,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e132     in deviation from the better course\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'and, just as sometimes we see fire\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efalling from a cloud, just so the primal impulse,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e135     diverted by false pleasure, turns toward earth.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'If I am correct, you should no more wonder\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eat your rising than at a stream's descent\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e138     from a mountain's peak down to its foot.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e'It would be as astounding if you, set free\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003efrom every hindrance, had remained below,\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eas if on earth a living flame held still.'\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e142     Then she turned her face up to the heavens.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ePARADISO I\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e1-36.  Dante clearly offers these verses as an introduction to the third and final cantica as a whole. So much is dealt with in them, and in precisely such a way as to set Paradiso off from the rest of the poem, that it is perhaps worth considering them as a unit before attempting to come to grips with particular lines. One burden of these remarks (and of the specific glosses that follow them) is that Dante is once again (see, e.g., Purg. XXIV.52-54) playing a dangerous game as he addresses his role as poet. He presents himself, if in hidden ways (in modern political parlance, he \"preserves deniability\"), as being inspired by God to write this part of the poem (a barely hidden claim in the first two canticles as well). At the same time he allows us to believe, if we are uncomfortable with that claim here, that he is only doing what all poets do, invoking deities for poetic inspiration as has been conventional since Homer's time.","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303646908645,"sku":"NP9781400031153","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781400031153.jpg?v=1767734484","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/paradiso-isbn-9781400031153","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}